Some Good News

It seems easy to get caught up in all the negative. Easy to focus on the hard spots in raising kids. Today we had a session with Holland's therapist. She really made me take note of how much his behavior has improved. When she asked me to name the things that he was doing well, things that he's had a good attitude about, I had no trouble coming up with great examples of how he's doing at coping with change or frustrating situations. I also had some great examples of how his memory is improving. How he had remembered, when no one else could, where Romania had left his glasses. How he can fold an 8-step paper airplane without looking at the directions. His mood is just generally happier. It's nice to have Holland back.

The next doctor

We have an appointment for Egypt on May 7th with a Pediatric Rhematologist. It's at the same hospital where Holland had all his appointments for the tethered cord and his surgery. My pediatrician told me she was glad I got in to see this particular doctor because he's so good. She said if he wasn't available she would have sent me across state lines! So glad I didn't have to do that. She has been so good in referring doctors that I would go anywhere she told me.

As I was getting everyone ready to leave for school the phone rang and it was Egypt's pedi. She had blood work done last week and we were waiting for the results. I've never had the doctor call back about lab work, so I was kind of uneasy. She said two of the tests made her suspicious. They were both tests that could be interpreted as being positive for rheumatoid arthritis. The one test that was supposed to show if it was arthritis came back negative, but with the other two showing signs of being high, she wasn't ready to rule it out. So glad we are seeing this doctor next week. She favors the other leg - you can see it when she sits and she walks up the stairs on her toes.

Hello Birdie

Today my mom came over to watch Egypt while I had a meeting at Holland's school. After I came home, we were sitting at the table discussing all the bird feeders I had hanging up. The kids and I get such a kick out of watching so many different birds come to eat the Nyjer thistle and the Black Oil Sunflower seeds. You get such a variety of birds. They are amazing creatures. I have a clear plastic feeder attached to the window by suction cups. We've been waiting many weeks to see birds come to this feeder. It just takes one brave bird. And today we had two! (Click on the picture to get a great close up of our friends!)

Well, I didn't see this coming

Today I ended up at a doctor's office, but it wasn't with my normal patient. Egypt has been having leg pain every morning when she wakes up for about a week or so. It usually goes away, so I didn't think anything of it. I thought it was a leg cramp. But this morning, super-hero dad noticed that her knee was swollen. After dropping Romania at school, I called our pediatrician to get in as soon as possible. They had an opening at 10.

After the doctor looked at her swollen knee, I knew something wasn't right. Egypt hasn't taken any falls recently and there was no bruising. She gave me several possibilities and the main one was juvenile arthritis! Her symptoms are consistent with an arthritic joint because there is no external bruising and the pain goes away after she's been on it for awhile. She asked if Egypt had been sick recently and I told her she'd had a high fever 3 weeks ago that lasted for 3 days. She said it's not uncommon for a viral infection to bring on arthritis. Her x-rays were normal; no fractures. She also had blood work done and we'll know the results in a few days. The doctor wants us to get in with a pediatric rheumatologist as soon as possible. Then we'll know for sure what to do from there. Meanwhile, she's on Motrin three times a day and I have to make sure she doesn't get stiff and do some movement exercises with her.

Luckily, the new doctor will be at the same hospital that Holland's been at. I totally know how to navigate my way around!

The Fruits of the Spirit

One of the things I love seeing in my kids is a recognition for what is right, pure and honest. The past few days I've been hearing Egypt say the sweetest things that shows me she is listening. She's often told me that she is obeying when I ask her to do something and a few days ago pointed out that "Jesus wants us to obey." And tonight at dinner she was looking at the kid's menu at the restaurant we were at. She noticed a treasure chest filled with gold coins and exclaimed, "Money for Jesus!" Even little things like this are baby steps in the right direction!

Memory Breakthrough

Today we were getting the kids ready for church and could not find Romania's glasses. (These are the times I wished I'd ordered 2 pair, but just didn't have the funds at the time). We couldn't find them anywhere but determined we'd clean the house looking for them after church.

After lunch, I sent Romania upstairs to look for them again. He could not find them anywhere, so I enlisted the help of Holland. We went through all the rooms he'd be in at the time of getting ready for bed. Still came up empty. Then Holland said, "I think they're outside. We played outside (with a neighbor) and we were wrestling. I think they fell on the ground." I couldn't imagine they were outside. So dad and the boys went outside and came back with the glasses! Holland actually remembered the last time he saw them. So that memory is from two days ago and he somehow was able to recall where he'd been the last time Romania had them on. Yea!

It Is a Big Deal

Today I was able to take Romania to the bus hub instead of driving him in to school. Holland had the day off for conferences so I hurried everyone along so we could make the bus connection. I walked with him to the place where the Dragonflies waited and he immediately engaged in conversation with kids in line. They were talking about the latest movie we watched called "Bee Movie". The one thing that Romania has is a sense of right and wrong and he said, "but they say, 'Oh, my G*d' in the movie." This mother standing right there said, "yes, it's a very common expression." Just like that. I wanted to lecture her on how it wasn't 'just an expression.' I wanted to tell her that she may think it's okay, but my son was pointing out how it's not.

These are the kinds of messages that now surround my kids being in public school. I now have to work twice as hard to keep my kids pure and from assuming that just because some adult deems something 'no big deal' that it is in fact a big deal to us.

Stop the Madness!

Holland has been really into these computer sleuth games starring Nancy Drew. They are a great series of mysteries where you have to solve a series of clues to finish the game. The one we are doing now is about a kidnapping in an old theatre. I am becoming obsessed with this stupid thing. I almost didn't even make dinner tonight (shock!) I get caught up in helping Holland maneuver through all the clues since he's not reading. Sometimes they are very tricky. We found a website that gives hints and spoilers that help a great deal, but you can still get pretty turned around. I'm glad we can spend so much time together doing this and am amazed at how long this can hold his attention since there's not a lot of visual stimulation.

The Principal

On Friday I met with the Principal at Romania's school to discuss whether Holland could attend there next year. Since he's on an IEP, the 'team' needs to decide if it's the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). She looked at his IEP, the evals I had from the therapists and said it's a tall order. But she didn't think it was appropriate to dismiss the notion of a trial period. How will we know if he can succeed in this setting, if he's never given a chance in the setting? I'm sure the IEP team thinks he still needs to be contained in a special ed class. I probably would have said the same thing at the beginning of last year. But he's obviously getting frustrated and I don't think they fully understand his mental capabilities (which is why I'm looking into educational therapy).

I also think he needs to be around kids who behave more age appropriate. There are kids in Holland's class who throw chairs and knock over desks (at which point the entire classroom has to be vacated. How can that be conducive to learning?). He has never done that. I don't think that he would. His behavior has improved a great deal. The medications that he is on now have transformed him. I think he needs to be in a place where there is lots of activity, opportunities to go outside and play and explore, hands-on projects and various learning experiences to keep him busy.

IEP meeting is next week. We'll see how much stock I hold in this arrangement.

Got $5010??

That's how much the educational therapy is going to cost us next year. Which means it most likely will not be happening. I cannot imagine telling my husband we have to spend $5000 on something he will not think necessary. I was shocked when the director emailed me the cost for next year. Since we are not attending the Christian school that's on the same campus, there is not a price break. And it went up (obviously) from last year.


So my request is that everyone reading this blog start praying for a way for us to afford this therapy.

Educational Specialist

I seem to be cramming more and more into each day. Today after dropping Romania at the bus stop and my Physical Therapy appointment, I met with an Educational Specialist. I brought testing results, Holland's current IEP, the evaluation from the OT and an evaluation from a Psychologist as well as samples of his writing, his math and pictures he drew.

I'm thinking about getting some outside help. I feel like he's stuck where he's at. He was put on a new reading program at school because they felt he wasn't making any progress with the phonics program. So now, I have to be careful not to tell him to "sound out the word". He's had evaluations with an OT and PT that I think should be worked into his current IEP, but the school has to administer its own testing before adding those goals to his IEP. There has to be clear evidence that his motor skills, planning, processing skills and coordination are directly linked to his educational performance. (This all seemed very obvious to the learning specialist.)

It sounds like exactly what he needs. They treat the underlying causes of the learning difficulties rather than just treating the symptoms. The sessions are on a regular school year schedule. Two 90 minutes sessions per week at $3500 per year. I'm waiting for God-intervention at this point.

We bought a van!

On Friday I drove up to Super Hero's work and picked him up so we could go look at a van. The guy we had bidding on vans for us wasn't able to get any of our top three picks. But he did buy another van, same year we wanted, to sell on his lot. He offered it to us before selling himself. We test drove it, tried out all the seat mechanisms and then decided that it wasn't worth an extra $4000 for power doors. That was the only thing I wanted on a van. I've never had it, but it seemed so helpful with three kids and rarely any free hands. The miles were higher than we planned on, but for basically the same amount we got from the insurance for our wrecked van, it just didn't seem prudent to pass it up.

We spent almost 2 hours at our credit union filling out paperwork and deciding on a loan for the van. It's been serviced, has new brakes and new wipers; it looks brand new. We should be able to pick it up on Tuesday. The kids are thrilled we won't be cramped in a Forester much longer.

Balloons for Corey

This afternoon the kids and I released balloons in memory of Corey Halpin, the little boy I posted about earlier who died when a dresser fell on top of him. Many moms around the country who were touched by Corey's story released balloons in his memory today. Romania said he hoped the balloons reached him in heaven. It's so nice to be able to do something for someone without looking for anything in return.

"Do not be deceived"

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Self over truth; man over God: Can a Christian be so deceived? Evidently. Paul referred to the Galatian church as having been “bewitched” (Galatians 3:1), and Jesus warned that a prominent sign of the days before His coming would be an increase in deception (Matthew 24:14).

The Answer to THE Question

Today I was at my Physical Therapy appointment for neck and back pain from my accident. I really thought it would go away, but it hasn't. And of course, the more I do around the house and with the kids, the more pain I feel.

Today I brought Egypt with me. Both boys are in school, so it was the best time to go in. I have stretches to do and she checks my range of movement. Then she gave me a back and neck massage. We're chit-chatting and she asks why Egypt isn't in school. I said, Well, she's only 3 1/2. She asked me What do you DO all day? So for the benefit of all those well-wishers who wonder what a Stay-At-Home-Mom does all day, here's a sample schedule:

We get up before all three kids so we actually GET to take a shower.
Get all three kids dressed, lunches packed, remind them to get their socks, shoes and notebooks. Stop doing Origami, we need to focus on getting our teeth brushed. No, turn off the TV and get your shoes on. Please take your dishes to the sink. Ok, you can feed the cat. Let's check your backpack so you don't accidentally take toys to school. Oh, I forgot to sign your daily report. Find a pen, scribble my signature, put it back in the backpack. Now, two of you, get into the car and you there, wait outside for the bus. No, I'm not going to carry you to the car you can walk by yourself. Stop bothering your brother and get into your car seat.

One kid leaves on the bus and we pull out of the driveway only to notice we're attempting to drive 10 miles on Empty. Go get gas. Turn around and drive back down the hill to school. Come back into town and stop at a store for prescriptions and a few necessities. Come back home and feed the cat and bring the bags into the house. Make a few phone calls, and then head back out the door for the PT appointment. The rest of my day will look like this:

Feeding Egypt and putting her down for a nap. Making more insurance related phone calls or calls about a new van. Going through paperwork for an upcoming IEP meeting. Eating lunch before running out the door to pick up Holland from school and taking him to a doctor appointment. Rushing back home so my mom can leave and I can run over to the bus hub to pick up Romania. Letting the kids play outside, trying to do some laundry, picking up the mess that whirled through the house, cleaning up the kitchen from last night, and trying to figure out what to make for dinner, which nobody will like anyway.

Doing more laundry, getting three kids ready for bed which always takes longer than it humanly should. Sewing a few stitches on a new blouse for Egypt. Getting backpacks and clothes ready for the morning. Doing research online for alternative learning methods. Picking up Legos, dirty clothes, cleaning a bathroom, washing sheets and sleeping bags and finally clearing the clean clothes off my bed so I can crawl in.

So, I guess I don't do much all day.

Praise God!

Today I spoke with the therapy place where Holland goes to check on my benefits. My insurance only allows $2500 per calendar year (and that's not alot). I wanted to find out how many more visits we could have. I have about $1400 left, so we can probably go in eight more times. I also called the office where he will be fitted with orthotics to find out how that was being billed. She said I have great benefits (never heard that before!)and that because we've met the deductible (his surgery) that the orthotics would be paid for 100%!!