Let Summer Begin!

Yesterday was Romania's last day of school. I took him to the bus stop as usual, but then about 10.15, I packed up a picnic blanket and Holland and Egypt and headed out to the school for an afternoon of games, food and fun. The weather was kind of chilly when we first got there, but by the time the day was over, it was a little too warm. Plus there's no shade, so you're stuck being hot.

The kids did different games that the older kids put together and rotated from station to station. Then they had a BBQ that the local phone company hosted. They brought out big grills and guys to cook hamburgers and hot dogs. After lunch the kids got ice cream and we did a little cleaning in Romania's classroom. The kids got their yearbooks and signed them for each other. By the end of our 4 hours there, Holland was so wiped out. He wore totally the wrong clothes and was hot the entire time. When I said, "Can you believe it? You're not in 2nd grade anymore!" he answered, "that was a long time to be in 2nd grade."

But I already have stuff planned for this summer. We have two church camps we're attending; a week at the cabin and three days at a family camp for children with JRA. The kids are so excited about this. It's completely free and they have tons of activities lined up for the kids. I also get to work in doctor appointments and a little school. I know. Give them a break, right? Wrong! There's a couple reasons why I continue to do "light" school through the summer. First, Holland especially, needs to continue or he would lose too much by the start of 5th grade. Second, they would all kill each other and just sit and watch tv all day. In my next couple posts, I'm going to show you what I've done to make our school time easier, more organized and more fun for the kids.

Busy Day

Today was spent mostly at the hospital for two doctor appointments. I somehow managed to make an appointment with Holland's gastroenterologist and Egypt's rheumatologist on the same day. Even at different times! I never could have planned that so carefully if I had tried. After dropping Romania at the bus stop and then quickly gathering some distractions and snacks for the hospital, we drove up and had a valet park our van. I tell you. Whoever invented that was a genius. How easy is that? You drive up to a curb. A nice guy gives you a little ticket and goes and parks your car.

Holland's doctor was even on time. Just gotta give him more Miralax and some rice bran. He's not having stomach aches, but doc said he's still backed up. Ugh. He asked if Holland had any questions and he actually remembered that he might get to start eating oatmeal now. We have to get blood work done to see where his gluten levels are at. If they're still low, we can introduce real oatmeal - the catch is it has to be gluten free. Betch'a didn't know there was such a thing as gluten free oatmeal? Well, Bob's Red Mill has it. No fake oatmeal (none of those tasty Quaker packets). I don't even think those are real oats. Gluten free oatmeal actually looks like what real oatmeal should look like. The taste is a little different and it takes longer to cook, but we doctor it up with brown sugar and cinnamon.

So after seeing this doctor, we go back to the valet, get our van and drive over to the next office building (the main hospital) and I went one time around the parking garage, found no spots and then drove up to the next set of valets and handed over my car again. What's great about this is it's complimentary. We got another parking stub and walked into Diagnostics to wait until our check-in time. My parents met us there and my dad took Holland so he wouldn't be stuck at the hospital all afternoon. They ran some errands and got lunch. We got Egypt checked in and then the nurse got us to do all the vitals and talk about the procedure. I was sure she'd be more scared than last year because she was 3 1/2. The nurse let her pick the flavor for the mask (bubblegum) and then the doctor came in and I signed a bunch of forms and he talked about the risks. He was fairly certain it would just be the one joint, but she had been complaining of her left knee hurting, so he said he'd check that while she was out. The whole thing lasted less than 10 minutes. I was in the gift shop buying her some books when the doctor came in and said it was over. We got to go back to the room and be there when she woke up. She almost sat straight up and we had to lay her back down. She got a popsicle and a wagon ride to the car.

We have a follow up in four weeks to check the joint, but so far, it looks good. The doctor said "just a quiet afternoon" before she went in. Then he kinda laughed when he said this while watching her bounce around the room. It didn't take her long to want to run and play. She makes a horrible sick person. It's very deceiving :-)

Rheumatologist Today

I took Egypt to see her Rheumatologist today up at Emanuel. Our last appointment was three months ago and we are supposed to come in more often to check her mouth/jaw, finger joints and just to see how her knee is holding up. She was so goofy today. I'm glad that the doctor enjoys that. She wore this Horton Hears a Who elephant mask from a game she has. She kept making elephant sounds. Holland was not amused at all until she said something like "elephants make poop!" Then he started cracking up. It has been one year since her first injection and she will finally be needing her second injection next week. The doctor said he could only fit two fingers under her knee while trying to press it down and today he could fit his whole hand. She also continues to have a longer femur on her right leg and was actually bothered when he tried to bend her leg while she was laying on her tummy. She complains so little that it's surprising that her knee is so bent. I think she just keeps getting used to not being able to move it and doesn't complain about the pain. So we are scheduled for next Monday. Glad it's sooner than later.

Then on the way home, to top off the morning, I got a ticket for changing lanes in a construction zone. If you know Portland, it's one big construction zone. Super-Hero has a little sign at his office that says "There are two seasons in Oregon: Winter and construction". I didn't even know that there way anything going on. I only drive this road when I'm going up to the hospital. Totally felt like a trap (I saw two other people getting tickets at the exact same spot as me). There are no workers, no trucks, no signs of anything happening. Yup. Looks like construction to me. I emailed Super-Hero to drive over there tonight and look for those mysterious signs that I missed.

Busy Two Weeks

I haven't had time to post about anything the past week and a half. Super Hero had shoulder surgery on May 21st and I've barely had time to do anything except take care of him (drive him around), cook, clean and do school with Holland. The last post was about our jet boat ride on the Willamette and that was the day after (I post about the important things) his surgery. We totally needed a break and he just slept all day anyway. I realized how much I depended on him when he couldn't help out. Getting the kids dinner; getting them to bed; cleaning up at night. I'm totally exhausted and he's still pretty much out of commission. He has to have physical therapy every day for three weeks to make sure his shoulder doesn't freeze up again. And a few days I had to drive him (and bring everyone else in the process) because he was taking Percocet. You know what they say "do not operate heavy machinery". Crud. That means cars. So we'd pile in the car and drive dad to his appointment.

He went back to work on Thursday (which I thought was too early). He's still very sore, but he's itching to get going on some projects at work and felt he needed to get back. The day he had his post-op appointment, Holland had an appointment with a neurologist; Egypt had an eye doctor appointment and he also had a physical therapy appointment. That was one crazy day. We found out that Holland is getting migraines. We're supposed to try getting him more aerobic type exercise. I told the dr. he's really 'busy' but she said he needs more "sweat" activity. We did walk around a park only one day this week. But at least it was once. It's just too hard with Egypt in a jogger stroller. She wants to walk/run/play and Holland is complaining he's bored. He also might be getting the migraines from stress. Did you even know kids could get migraines from stress? I'll be sure to eliminate all that stress for him. Right after I do that for me. I had a migraine that lasted 16 hours one day. I literally felt I couldn't drive to pick up Romania from the bus stop. But who's gonna do it? So, you just suck it up and do what you gotta do.

So if you noticed that Egypt had an eye appointment the same day as Super Hero and Holland, you probably figured out I was a driver short for that. I had to get my mom to take her for her 3 month check up. This appointment takes a little longer because they dilate her eyes and look more closely for the infection that can result from the JRA. She's fine - just nearsighted which he said not to worry about until she's school-age.

So I am really tired from all this activity. All I want to do is sew. I have people that have asked me to sew them ruffle pants or make a head scarf - and I haven't had time to do it. I'm assuming people with jobs outside the home totally ignore their kids. How else would they do everything? As a tribute to trying to do it all (or just the laundry at least), I turned one of my good white T-shirts pink today. I save a whole load of red laundry to do together and forgot to pull out a white shirt that I wore under a red sweatshirt. See? One person just cannot do it all. But now I have a nice pink T-shirt to wear. I really didn't want a pink T-shirt.

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The ER Queen

There is no shortage of fun and excitement around here and last night proved that.  Five minutes after arriving home from getting Romania at the bus stop, I was on the phone with my pediatrician wondering if I should take Egypt to the ER.  Holland and Egypt were playing outside and within minutes she was in the house screaming and blood dripping out of her mouth.  That's one thing you never want to see when your child is injured.  Holland helped piece together what happened:  the kids were playing with squirt guns and Egypt thought she was being chased.  She was pretending to be an elephant and was running with a plastic sword in her mouth.  She tripped and the sword jammed in her throat.  

So I told the boys to stay with the neighbor and then off we went to the ER.  I was just there a month ago with Romania for the dog bite incident.  The first doctor to see her said "I don't see anything" while looking in her mouth without a light.  Okay, even I know I wouldn't see anything like that.  Then a male nurse came in and said "looks okay to me".  Luckily, there was an ENT right next door at his office that they called over.  He looked her over very carefully and explained that although she hadn't punctured anything, the blunt trauma could be damaging.

She has pretty good bruising on both sides going down her throat.  He said she scraped it pretty good (hence the blood).  But there was something called Horner's Syndrome that could take up to three days to show up.  It is a nerve injury and I was given a whole list of things to watch for (drooping or sagging on one side of her face; one pupil constricted; clumsiness....)  I even had to wake her up last night to check her out.   She couldn't even eat last night.  She barely drank milk and even this morning was complaining that it hurt.  

Life is never dull.....

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The Cat in the Hat

Or should I say backpack. I always debate about whether to go out. I really need a break but it's a gamble for what I'm going to come home to. There was a women's retreat this last Friday and Saturday at my church. They decided they would attract more women if we didn't have to pack up and go somewhere. On Friday night I had made everyone dinner and was trying to get dressed and put my face on. All of a sudden I hear screaming. I come running downstairs and here's Romania crying with a bright red mark on his face. I don't have the whole story, but apparently he and Egypt we outside on the patio and he was playing basketball. Egypt was picking up and tossing these chunks of Christmas tree trunk (that's another story: my big plan was to turn them into rustic-looking candle holders). She hit him pretty hard, but I can't see how she could have that good an aim. She clobbered him in the cheek - nice red mark and a scratch that was bleeding.

So I have to put getting ready on hold and attend to the victim. Egypt was so upset she even went upstairs and got him a bandaid for his cheek. I told Super-Hero there was no way he could take the three of them for a walk in the woods (right behind our house) because there was no way to tell if they would ambush each other. That statement caused a chain-reaction: now Holland is crying hysterically because he had big plans for taking backpacks and having this hiking expedition. Romania is crying from being hurt and disliking his sister and Egypt is crying because her brother's hurt. And I'm supposed to leave like 10 minutes ago.

They were all asleep when I got home so I didn't even care what happened while I was gone. But I was planning on staying only half the day on Saturday. Holland was still planning on his explorer hike. I got a message on my pager from Super-Hero a couple hours after I left. Apparently Holland decided to pack LuLu, one of the cats, in his backpack to trek along with them. And if you know that Super-Hero is deaf, this becomes so much more comical. Now any normal hearing person would have nixxed this right away. But because he can't hear anything, he had no clue that a cat was being transported in a backpack. I just can imagine all the meowing and cries coming from that backpack. It wasn't until he started walking behind the kids, that he saw the cat poke her head out of the pack. They immediately turned around and came home.

Super-Hero had all these plans for the rest of the day: he was hoping to get gravel from someone giving it away off of Craigslist; he wanted to install these landscaping light fixtures; he wanted to go to the zoo. He didn't get the gravel (what a surprise with three kids), he didn't install the light fixtures (big surprise with three kids) but he did go to the zoo (big surprise with three kids). I really thought he was nuts to do this. Especially after the cat-in-a-backpack incident. What if one of them decided to stow-away a cat to the zoo? I'm not sure about all the happened, but I did get a report that Holland retrieved some money from one of those wishing ponds. I am now picturing what that looked like and wondering what Super-Hero saw (or chose to ignore, more likely).

I left just before the last meeting and came home to a quiet house. Which I immediately felt the need to clean. I should have taken a before and after picture. It's quite amazing how fast a place gets messed up. The other day I commented that it looked like a tornado came through. Egypt looked at me and said "a tornado is a big wind!". That's exactly right - a big wind blew through the family room.

We've Got Software!

I can hardly believe we finally have the writing support software. I think it was about three months ago that I approached the school about getting some kind of software for Holland. We've had lost order forms, canceled meetings, second software introduced, canceled meetings, avoiding giving me the software because someone else might need it (they really just wanted Holland's charter school to pay for it, not the school district). Then finally after 3 months of this, I get an email about two weeks ago from the OT who said she just might have the software that would work. Ok. I don't understand that. You had it all along? Yup. And she even had had training on it last year.

I think it was actually worth the wait. Hopefully I get to actually keep it on my computer and this isn't just a tease and I'll have to uninstall it. I wouldn't be surprised by that based on all that's happened. But anyway - it's a great program and there's free support materials online. Many teachers that have used it, have submitted their own forms that you can use right online. The software allows the student to use pictures, sound, words, video and animation to write. The program will read the words or sentences just like the other software. But this one is different because you can create your own writings from documents on your own computer, or from any website. Here's their website: it's called Clicker 5.

First Haircut

Well, not really. I cut some baby hair for Egypt's scrapbook. But this was a real haircut. I gave her bangs. She was growing them out but I was so sick of seeing them fall in her face. Even when we pulled them back, they always fell out of the rubber band. And I also trimmed about an inch and a half off the back.

Super-Hero Joins the Ranks

No, not those ranks. The ranks of "patient of surgery". Two weeks ago he had an MRI on his shoulder. It's been bothering him for some time now. He's done physical therapy like it was a religion and still no improvement. Yesterday I called the dr.'s office to find out more about his treatment options. The interpreter that showed up I don't think did a very thorough job and left him wondering about things. I called expecting to find some answers, but found out instead that he had an appointment today. She told me they didn't have an interpreter scheduled - the agency never called back with someone for the job. So instead of cancelling the appointment, I asked my mom to watch the kids so I could go in. I haven't interpreted in a long time and medical interpreting can be tricky with all the jargon and words that I don't know the signs for. But I'm so glad I did.

Turns out the doctor he had before this (at the same office) told him he didn't have any tears on his shoulder and that it could be corrected by a manipulation (while he was under anesthesia). I didn't understand this type of treatment and felt the interpreter did a poor job with her translation. Turns out he DOES have a tear and also a bone spur. The doctor explained there was no way to correct this other than surgery and intense physical therapy everyday for three weeks following the surgery. Super-Hero was pretty stunned. He'll have to take a week off from work and we don't have enough phsyical therapy visits left on our insurance to cover all the therapy.

We scheduled the surgery for May 21st.

You Haven't Sold Anything Yet??

This is what I hear every night from Super-Hero. I bought this amazing serger and he's fidgeting because I haven't made a bazillion dollars from my sewing. I check my etsy store everyday and lots of people are a-lookin' but no one is a-buyin'. Go check out my etsy store and tell your friends! Someone must need to buy something cute!

A Kid's Perspective

This is the funniest compilation of pictures. The kids borrowed my camera and took all these pictures. I love all the blurry pictures, the duplicate pictures of a Beaver poster and the numerous pictures of a GameBoy the boys want me to sell on eBay. Apparently they needed several shots of the items and they even wrote what the price would be.

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It's Not AVM!

I finally got a call from the Physician's Assistant about Holland's MRI. It is not AVM, but has to do with enlarged blood vessels. To be 100% sure that it is benign, they have to do another MRI-type imaging test. Which means we get to go back to Emanuel and have more anesthesia. It's kind of weird because I'm glad it's not something that has to be surgically corrected. But many problems related to this condition are issues Holland is dealing with. This would have been a tidy way to label everything that was wrong.

So for now we just wait to schedule an MRI and see a specialist about his headaches.

MRI Results

We got tentative results back from the MRI last Friday. The radiologist determined there could be something called AVM (arteriovenous malformations) on the left side of his head. I am still waiting to hear from the surgeon who did his tethered cord surgery for a definite diagnosis. But from what I've been researching, this is when arteries and veins are tangled up and interfere with circulation. They can form on the brain or spinal cord so it's not really surprising that he has spina bifida and tethered cord if he does in fact have AVM. There is more information about it here. But many of the symptoms he has and the problems he's been diagnosed with seemed to be explained by this condition. His headaches are not getting any better and Tylenol with Codeine only puts him to sleep. We barely get any school done and I basically just want to quit the rest of the year and read all day. Who cares about studying history or doing math when faced with a problem like this?

Now Pay Attention

Have you ever wondered what happens when a mom doesn't feel good and decides to lay down for a short rest? Here's what happens: bowls of cat food get moved around - there's a trail down the hallway to Egypt's room; the family room becomes a tornado touchdown point and I end up purchasing something on ebay. How does that work? Well, you have a curious and ambitious 8 year-old who's been eyeing Lego Star Wars parts on ebay and decides to bid and buy something.

When I checked email this afternoon I saw an email that read "Congratulations on your ebay purchase". I couldn't believe that he actually did this. I told him he'd be purchasing those items and then when they arrived, I would post and sell them on ebay and he would not get any of his money back.

Just a head's up for all you parents not paying attention (didn't think that was possible, did ya?). They're sneaky and quick and it'll cost ya!

My Big Purchase

I actually did it. I bought the serger I've been drooling over. It's the biggest purchase I've made in awhile. Hospital bills don't count as purchases. I've been struggling with the Huskylock and the threads that keep coming off the looper. It is so frustrating to be serging something and getting to the end of a seam only to find that somewhere along the way the thread came out and you've cut the entire length of your seam off. I was getting really into sewing all these outfits after I donated that dress and ruffle pants to Romania's school auction. I put a few things back up on my etsy site here. This serger will make everything look professional and take half the time. I had the dealer demo several of the stitches just so I could make sure I was making the right decision. Anyone who sews, knows how much work it is to make a ruffle or gather something. This machine actually does it! Two to one gathering is done just like a regular seam. This is going to be so fast - now I just have to see if anyone's going to buy all my creations!

Included with the price of the machine was a 3-year warranty (which is good in my house since things seem to break a week after they get here) and $300 worth of extra feet attachments. When I pulled it out of the box tonight, there was a sample piece of fabric attached to the footplate and 4 pieces of thread that had been cut off. I could see that the stitch was perfect and all I had to do was tie my four spools of thread on and away I went! Now off to cut a pair of pants and a dress to sew!

Update on MRI

Today Holland had his MRI. Egypt spent the night at my parent's house and I dropped Romania at the bus stop this morning so it was just the two of us. He couldn't have anything to eat, only clear liquids, so he was pretty cranky all morning. We just took it easy and didn't do school. He played the Wii, played with the cats and Legos until it was time to leave. I'm always amazed at how well he handles being in the hospital. The intake nurse was very nice and the anesthesiologist Dr. Wong came in beforehand to answer any questions. The whole procedure took about 45 minutes and he came out of it beautifully. He was still a bit cranky he couldn't eat right away, but I took him out for Sprite and some McDonald's french fries later. The hardest thing for him is to be "still" and he was told not to do any activity tonight other than sitting on the couch and doing quiet activities. We find out next week what all the headaches mean, but the nurse said that headaches are common to spinal cord issues.

Two For One MRI's

Stranger things have happened, but we seem to have had our share of trips to the hospital and emergency room (see yesterday's post!) Both Super-Hero dad and Holland are having MRI's this week. Super-Hero goes in today to have them look at his shoulder. He's been having pain for quite some time and like any normal man, he waits until he can't move it at all and THEN he goes to the doctor. At first, the orthopedic doctor sent him to do Physical Therapy. He went probably 15 times total and did his exercises religiously twice a day. Things were not improving and he thought were even getting worse. So they scheduled an MRI today to figure out what's going on. He probably got hurt landscaping our backyard and then scar tissue formed over whatever didn't heal properly.

Which brings us to MRI #2. With all of Holland's medical issues, little things like headaches were getting pushed to the side. But after his "holy moley" ear infection cleared up and they didn't go away, the pediatrician said it's time to check out his brain. Is there some Guiness Book record that we have broken for the most ailments to one person? I'm kinda thinking we're close if we haven't already beaten it. I'm not even trying to predict the outcome of this one. Because we have to go back and see the surgeon that did his tethered cord surgery. He's been having bowel problems and tingling in his feet and legs. Both are symptoms of scar tissue forming over the cord that was cut.

Another Trip to the ER

I think we are on a first-name basis with doctors at two different hospitals. Romania finally ended up in the ER on Monday night from a dog bite. I guess it was his turn to be in the hospital. Holland and Egypt have had their fair share of injuries, illnesses and mishaps. He was playing next door with the neighbor's son, doing boy things - running around with nerf guns. He tried to pet their Pomeranian and she didn't see him and freaked and bit him on the face. So at 5.45 I left for the emergency room. I was just putting dinner on the table. Super-Hero had just walked in the door when I was walking out. Pure chaos - which is completely normal at our house.

He did amazingly well. They put a topical numbing liquid on his lip, he had several x-rays of his face done to make sure no teeth fragments were left in and then he got three stitches. He was treated to dinner at McDonald's and then we picked up an antibiotic. And unlike all those television programs on emergency rooms, this was snail-slow. We were there almost three hours. Nothing is fast about the ER (except maybe the bill). I let us all sleep in this morning and then drove him to school. He was so proud of his stitches and showed all his classmates. He doesn't know that come Saturday when he has them taken out it's gonna hurt worse because it won't be numb. Looking forward to Saturday.

He Is Risen!

He Is Risen, Indeed!

I always loved saying that in church on Easter Sunday. For some reason we didn't do that today and every time someone on stage said it, I answered with that phrase. We had our service over at the high school auditorium. Egypt stayed in her Sunday School class across the street at the church and the boys came in with me. I have to say, they did pretty well with sitting through the service. Romania really likes the singing. Here's a quick picture of the three of them right after church (before they had a chance to get dirty or rip off their clothes and change!) I made Egypt's dress and hat over the past three days. I only found the fabric on Wednesdsay morning and didn't even start sewing until Thursday evening. I was also able to throw together a hat with some leftover fabric. Now, if I can just convince Super-Hero that I neeeeed that expensive serger. I could totally sell this on etsy in my store!

Back At The Hospital

So it's been pretty stressful around here lately. Holland has been having trouble behaviorally, emotionally and phsyically. On Friday, I took him back to the gastroenterologist up at Emanuel. He started having accidents again which is what first put us up there with the diagnosis of spina bifida with tethered cord. We are completely gluten-free and he's taking Miralax twice a day. There should be no problems with this, but there is. On Thursday I called the doctor's office at 5 p.m. not even expecting them to answer the phone. Not only did they answer, they had a cancellation on Friday at 2.30. We answered a bunch of questions, he felt his tummy, checked his reflexes and sent us up to the main hospital for an x-ray. He suspected that he was backed up and would need a good "cleaning". He also suspects (although this is not his area of expertise, he does have an understanding of what complications come with tethered cord) that scar tissue has formed over the area on his cord that was cut to release the pressure. He has been having tingling in his legs and feet, which to him indicates pressure building up on the spine again. I will be calling our surgeon next week to go back and see her. I don't know how else besides surgery that they would even be able to say for sure that scar tissue has formed. They couldn't even 100% diagnose the tethered cord until she did the surgery.

Last night we did a "cleaning". Although the taste of this was better than the magnesium citrate drink (fizzy, salty, cherry drink), the results were about the same. He had two major episodes that required a shower and a complete change of clothes. He kept apologizing and I kept telling him it wasn't his fault. I totally expected this since I had given him 6X the normal dose of Miralax. On a positive note, I did notice that his mood had improved. He was laughing and cracking some jokes. We are going to our pediatrician on Monday to discuss the daily headaches he's been getting.

Never A Dull Moment

We've had our round of ups and downs this week - emotionally and behaviorally. Some days Holland has coped better than I had expected and other days, I just wanted to turn and run. Yesterday after our homeschool co-op, I had offered for my nephew to come over while my sister went to one of her jobs. Holland was so excited - he had all these plans. They ended up playing well together - if you discount all the yelling by Egypt because she was left out. After about an hour we had to leave to pick up Romania from the bus stop. Holland even had a plan for that. He wanted his cousin to duck down in the back seat and jump up and scare Romania. I didn't really like that plan. Usually when he gets home from school, Romania is so tired that he just wants to sit on the couch and watch TV. I didn't think he'd react well to being scared from behind.

Turned out that when the bus arrived, the two boys were by a tree behind the bus and my nephew just walked up to Romania and said "hi". I was relieved there were no scare tactics involved. The boys played well together but then when my sister called to say she would pick him up in a few minutes, Holland fell apart. It was like he hadn't been playing for the last two hours. It's all that emotional up and down that is drowning me.

This morning we had another little snafu. A few days ago I went to Target to get a few things for the kid's easter baskets. I found two little Lego sets for the boys that Holland ending up finding. It's probably that I need to get better at hiding. But because he's 10, I don't work that hard at burying stuff, just covered up out of the way. He kept asking what they were for and finally after failing at being vague and him accepting it, I just said they were for Easter and to drop it. Well, this morning I am sitting at the sewing machine trying to work on Egypt's dress and he's at the top of the stairs and says, "Mom, I need to tell you something." I knew right away that he had done something that would need forgiveness. He told me he couldn't help himself and that he and Romania opened the Lego sets. I was so angry. Not only had he been defiant about the Legos, he had coerced his brother into his tangled web. He kept saying at least he told me. And yes, I'm thankful that he's remorseful. But come Sunday, the only person opening an Easter basket will be Egypt.

Spring Has Sprung!

Today was such a beautiful day! Even though the sun was out this morning and it was chilly, it warmed up so nicely. Made me want to garden! We just didn't have time today, but hopefully this next week, we'll be able to get some plants in the garden. Holland has been given several starter plants and my kitchen area has become a regular greenhouse. I'm trying not to get annoyed at the mess - the cats have knocked over some of the plants and we come home to dirt all over the floor. But last weekend we were able to get some flower seeds and some carrots in the ground. He has a way of distracting me when I'm trying to get something done. He bugs me until I find myself somehow involved in his plans. Not sure how that happens. Maybe it's just easier than putting him off.

We also had an amazing number of birds visit our feeders today. We have suet, black oil sunflower seeds and thistle on our deck and finally today, we had 4 woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, Scrub Jays, Juncos and my personal favorite, the Purple House Finch. They are the most amazing birds with this firey red crown and nape (why it's called a "purple" finch is beyond me). But the kids are learning all the names of the birds and I love it when one of them yells "there's a chickadee at the feeder!" What's even more fun is that they are finally coming to the feeder we have attached to the window. It's a clear plastic feeder with suction cups and they perch on the edge of the little house and we can watch them close up. They aren't disturbed by the big mean Scrub Jays. I got a couple pictures of the woodpeckers that ate the suet, but they didn't turn out very well since I had to take them through the window.

The other fun thing about spring is that Holland is learning how to mow the lawn. I was getting the biggest laugh out of watching him. Super-hero was getting frustrated because Holland couldn't steer in a straight line. My neighbor was over chatting and we were watching him push this big lawn mower that probably weighs more than he does. Super-hero is yelling over the noise of the mower to "go this way!" and Holland just keeps pushing it and swaying back over what he just mowed. I don't even care that the lines weren't straight, but when you're married to an engineer, you can just imagine how much it bugs him not to see these perfectly straight lines in the grass. But who cares? My 10 year-old wants to mow the lawn. Happy momma.

The Birdie Knot Dress

When I'm productive, I'm productive! Here's what I made in three hours on Saturday night. I've been in such a sewing mood. The dress I made for Romania's school auction got my juices flowing. I've found great fabric on etsy.com.

This is a layered knot dress (instead of buttons, the straps are knotted through buttonholes) and ruffled capri pants. The hardest part is choosing the fabrics and what goes where.

Vacation's Over

Although it was a nice few restful days, the turmoil is back. They had lots to share of what they did at the beach (and more importantly the things they got at the Dollar Store). But it's back to being stressed-out. On top of all the stress, I got sick. Really sick. I was really thinking it had completely missed me. Super-hero got really sick; and both boys had it in one form or another. Egypt kinda got stuffy but nothing too big.

Sunday afternoon I had a headache, but that's so normal. The only other thing was I was so completely tired. Not just tired I'm gonna take a nap. Tired I can't even walk. I rested and when I got up I felt no better. The pile of dirty clothes covers the entire upstairs hallway and I couldn't even get up to do it. Super-hero made dinner for the kids and I actually ate. But when I went to bed early (I was told to go to bed!) at 9.15, I lay in bed until 12.30 and hadn't slept at all. I just lay awake singing hymns in my head. Now hymns aren't normally bad, but I could not stop my mind from going and I think I may have slept an hour after moving downstairs to the couch after listening to my bed-mate snore.

By Monday I was throwing up whatever I ate and I only ate toast and ginger ale. The kids watched movies and the boys spent some time next door with the neighbor boys. I haven't felt this bad in a long time. Super-hero bought some Unisom for me and I actually slept last night, but woke up with a dry mouth and a little loopy from the sleep aid. Today was a little better. The boys went back to play next door, Egypt watched movies and played with play-doh and painted. I just lay on the bed and wondered how I was going to fix dinner.

The worst part is, when the boys were called home (and I warned Holland about this), they were told they would be eating dinner here and not going back. Then I was told that they had been invited to spend the night. Not only is this not a good idea for behavior reasons, I would never let the boys spend the night there because I just don't trust the situation between the two adults (who aren't married). This sent Holland into a tailspin. It was so not pretty to look at. We had upped one of his meds this past Sunday because he was getting so out of control. There was no other way, except hospitalization, to curb it. So on Sunday, he falls asleep on the way to church and I just let him sleep on the pew next to me during the whole service. He just could not handle the situation. We ate dinner, he took a bath and went to bed at 7.30.

And now I have to figure out how I'm gonna go grocery shopping with these three for my Bunco game on Friday. I so want to do something fun and normal again.

A Mini-Vacation

So things have been pretty hectic here, but I actually got a mini-vacation (or should I say "stay-cation). My parents took the boys to the beach for two days. They spent Wednesday night at their house so they could leave first thing in the morning. Egypt and I have had nice mom/daughter time together.

Yesterday I had a meeting to discuss getting technology assistance for Holland. Everything's about the meeting when you're on an IEP. "Let's have a meeting to plan a meeting." Basically I was told that even though the district already owns the software I want, there might be someone else that needs it more (????) Ok. I don't understand that at ALL. WEEEEEE need it! They're going to let us try it out, but my take is that they want the charter school to buy it. I'm ready to put it on a credit card and buy it because I'm tired of everyone dragging their feet. One of the members of the IEP team wanted to know my goals for using this software. "I want him to learn how to read and write" I said. I've been trying to teach him for 4 years and she's worried I'm expecting this software to solve all my problems. Well, I'm not that stupid. Give me some credit. I would think after 4 years and countless methods that she knew I wouldn't be expecting this software to solve everything. She kept bringing up other software that I knew wouldn't work (there's one she wants us to try that uses hand signals for the different sounds of speech). I've already told these people that he isn't a phonetic kid - he needs pictures to help him connect meaning to the jumble of letters he sees. The software I want has little pictures above each word and you can go from pictures to words or words to pictures.

My stay-cation included running some errands yesterday and having a quiet day with Egypt reading on my bed, playing and doing an art project. Today I borrowed the cultural pass from the library to go to the Children's Museum in Portland. We haven't been there in about two years. The last time I took her, I had the boys with me and they complained the entire time (it really is too young a place for them, but what was I supposed to do?) So today it was just us and we had a great time. She shopped in the grocery store, brushed an aligator's teeth, floated ducks in a water bath and drew with a light on a tree trunk. We did a few errands on the way home and checked out some movies at the library.

Now I'm getting ready for the loudness to return. It's been so nice to have quiet here. Hopefully they had a good time at the beach even if it was cold.

Someone Dropped the Ball

Today I met with my ES for an IEP review. We meet three times a month, but four times a year we have to review Holland's goals and mark his progress. He has not been in a good mood lately which is making everything difficult. While we were waiting for the ES, I asked about the Co:Writer software that we're waiting for. The secretary said that she couldn't find the paperwork. When I asked my ES about it, she said we both signed it and she gave it to me to turn in. I do NOT remember it this way. I never turn in any of the paperwork for things I want ordered. I fill out the form, sign it and give it to my ES to order. So this whole time I've been waiting for what I thought was approval for the software and no one actually had the order form. I don't get this at all. I spoke with these two people several times about the process and was told we were waiting to get approval because if the school couldn't use the software on someone else, they may not want to order it for a single student.

People all around me are dropping the ball. I'm ready to cancel all the speech sessions we've been having. Well, I don't really need to do that because our speech person has been doing that for me. I had to move my entire schedule around because she couldn't meet on the two days per week we originally agreed upon. We finally worked out where she would come to our house for Holland's speech. On Thursday, the day of the speech session last week, she called saying she needed to reschedule for some reason. So we bumped it to Friday, which I didn't want to do because that left one day to shop for birthday presents for the boys. I agreed to it and Friday morning she calls and says she misjudged the time it would take her to drive to my house from her last appointment. She wanted to bump it an hour. I said no that I could do it 30 minutes later than she originally said. Luckily I had my mom coming over to watch the kids while I went out. But it just happened again today. It was Romania's first full day of Spring Break and I had a dr. appointment, a meeting with the ES and then Speech. I just listened to the machine as she left a message saying she needed to reschedule yet again. I haven't even called her back. I'm so tired of being bumped around and it really messes up Holland.

I need a vacation.

JRA for TMJ

I went to my first JRA informational meeting on Saturday. Two of the kids stayed and did crafts and pet an aligator in another room (I would love to have seen that!) while I listened to a doctor talk about the effects of arthritis and TMJ. He had amazing before and after pictures of patients with jaw problems. Basically if you have TMJ resulting from arthritis, there is mandibular hypomobility and loss of posterior face height. Several of the patients were from Guatamala and Ecuador, so obviously the chance of early detection and treatment is not as high as in the States. But it was scary to see what could happen - when the condyle erodes away, the chin disappears, the cheeks puff up and you cannot close your mouth without straining.

But I learned some new vocabulary in the process: ginglymodiarthrodial; condyle reconstruction surgery; and arthrocentesis. Don't ask me to explain them. We just hope we never have to deal with this!

Lost and Found

I didn't have time to post about our lost kitty until she was found. But it was a traumatic day, for sure! Romania has been out of school all week and I was doing light school with Holland. I hadn't seen Fancy all morning and asked the kids if they'd seen her. We looked in all the usual hiding spots, but couldn't find her. Finally around noon, I emailed super-hero and asked if he saw her before he left for work. Yes, he had. He had gone outside to put something in his car and she followed him out. Now, our cats are not outdoor cats, so I'm not sure why he even let her out. But, he didn't make sure that she followed him back in. She had been outside for about 6 hours before we realized she was missing. Oh. And it snowed in the morning. Indoor cat + snow + 6 hours = not good.

Right away Holland made three lost cat signs to hang around the neighborhood. We put two on mailboxes and then drove around calling for her. Several neighbor kids came over and looked in our backyard and past the fence where the tree fort is. No Fancy. I was positive that I would just have one kitty from now on. After the kids were in bed, I went out for a much needed break at Target. (great escape, huh? Shopping at Target!) When I came home, I stood outside and just listened for her. I called and heard some quiet meowing. I looked over and saw her come from behind the hydrangea bush. I still don't know if she wandered around or stayed in our yard and was just hiding. The kids of course were thrilled to see her. She was wet and muddy but very happy and hungry. I've decided to put them in the laundry room at night so there's no more escaping.

High School Reunion

Do you ever wonder if you are the same as you were in high school? Apparently I am. Last night I met with a friend from high school that I hadn't seen in 20 years! I didn't attend either reunion, but we found each other on Facebook. We decided to meet up at a restaurant and catch up on the last 20 years. I arrived a few minutes before she did and saw her through the glass doors and waved. She started to laugh and when she came in said, "I knew it was you! You have the same wave you did in high school!" We talked for about 3 hours and closed the restaurant. We didn't even noticed that the place had emptied out! If the internet had been around 20 years ago, we'd have had no problem staying in touch.

You know that song from "Sound of Music"; "How do you solve a problem like Maria"? This song should be about my daughter. Most of the time she's pretty cooperative. She loves to sing songs and play with the cats and do puzzles. But there are moments that I wonder who she is and what she did with the real Egypt. Today was no exception.

It was going to be a busy day. We had ceramics, then Egypt had an eye dr. appointment and then swimming lessons. Well, after doing a half page of his logic book, Holland fell asleep on the heating vent. I let him sleep and we missed ceramics. I debated getting him up; wondering if it was just his way of getting out of schoolwork. But I think he's not been sleeping well and it's affecting the rest of his day. We had already planned on my mom coming by to watch him while I went to Egypt's eye appointment. I couldn't remember if she was going to have eye drops at this one and it could take up to 2 hours if that was the case. After my mom dropped Holland home, we went straight up to swim lessons. Holland was a little sassy but then apologized and said he wanted to do a good job during his lesson. He ended up being only half the problem.

As soon as she got in the water, I knew that I'd be spending most of the lesson correcting Egypt and getting her back in the water. She refused to do any work for the instructor. I came downstairs and pulled her out of the water. We had some conversations about obeying and the consequences. She refused to get in the water. I took her in the bathroom for some more conversating. We had 5 "conversations" and she still refused to get in the water. I took her back to the pool, told the instructor I didn't know what to do (she's the only student in class - so we are getting private lessons without the cost). I asked what would happen if I threw her in. She said "go ahead". So I did. She came up sputtering a bit, but I can tell you that she obeyed the rest of the lesson (all twelve minutes by that time). I asked if I was the first person to do that and was reassured that I wasn't (whew, right?) I had to leave the deck area and went with another mom to get something to drink and clear my head.

When I went back in to get the two swimmers, I noticed Holland sitting on the concrete bench. I thought maybe he was sick (remember super-hero three days ago??). Not sick. Just refused to listen. Kept popping under water every time the instructor was talking. It was so frustrating to have them both behave that way. Kinda wish I could have thrown Holland into the pool as well.

I Hate Planning Parties

For some reason, I just can't get into planning a birthday party. The boys' birthdays are a day apart and I can never get up enough motivation to plan anything. Usually we do something lame, like go to a park. One year we didn't even make it to our own party. I had just invited my sister and her kids and I couldn't find the place I said to meet. It was really pathetic. They ended up partying without us.

The other big problem is having to clean the house. And not just for guests (if I get up enough energy for that), but for new toys/books/gadgets that will flood the house with two birthdays at a time. Part of me wants to completely empty their rooms. Purge. Oh wait. I've already done that with Holland. Several times. And it always finds its way back into his room. This last round of room-cleansing, some boxes did actually make it to the basement, but what was transferred to the garage, is now back in his room. I guess I'm just not looking forward to the chaos I feel when new things enter the house. Because I know that within hours, there will be parts and pieces and doodads leaving a trail around the house.

I need some motivation.

"I want to sell this rock"

That's right. Holland wants to sell a rock. A neighbor boy convinced him that this was worth at least $100 and he's insisting that I list it on ebay. I told him nobody would want to buy a rock, but he begs to differ. I checked on ebay and the only rocks like this that were selling (and they were hardly selling) were those pretty Thunder Eggs, all smooth and polished. Ever since I started listing clothes to sell on ebay, the boys have been bugging me to sell their stuff so they could earn some money. I decided to list it on Craigslist instead, so I wouldn't have to deal with far off places or the listing fees. We had no takers. Not even one person was interested. So I can't imagine that listing a rock will get much response either. I just can't convince him that listing a rock makes no sense. I'm still convinced that his curiosity will benefit him somehow in his adult life. Maybe he'll come up with some new show for the Discovery Channel.

He has the crud

I usually don't like to write about the bodily functions of my family, but last night was a doozy. Super-hero was up all nite puking in the bathroom. The reason I share this is because it totally disturbed my sleep! I know. I know. I'm so callous. But when you have to take care of three kids and get them off to school and you have a sick adult (a man no less) on your hands, it's hard to function on no sleep. I had locked Holland's door last night, something I haven't done in a long time. But he's getting up very early and wandering around the house again. The other morning I found milk on the counter, cocoa mix in the sink and food out of the pantry. Then he ends up sleeping on the couch with the fireplace on and the heat cranked up to 80. So, I must lock his door so he doesn't sweat us to death.

This morning I'm taking a shower after listening to puking all night. I have to get Romania to the bus hub and then get back for a few moments of school before heading off to Portland for a chiropractor appointment for me. All of a sudden I hear pounding. That's when I remembered I locked the door. Even if super-hero hadn't been sick, there's nothing he could have done about the pounding, what with not being able to hear and all. So, I ended my shower prematurely and ran downt he hall in a towel to let the cat out of the bag. He had wet the bed. Or more precisely the floor. I swear we should just get rid of his bed. He never sleeps on it. He ends up on his floor, my floor, the couch downstairs. Apparently it's not cozy enough. So the night he decides to sleep on the floor and be cozy (that makes perfect sense, right?) he has an accident. So, I'm rushing him down to my shower to get cleaned up and it's then that super-hero decides he needs water very badly and starts grumbling. This is the perfect situation where cloning would be beneficial. No one in my family seems to understand that there is just one of me and four of them. Everyone feels I'm ignoring him (and believe me, sometimes I wish I could!)

But we all survived the day and they are all in bed. I doubt they all brushed their teeth, but hopefully they all went to the bathroom!

Updates and New News

Well, Holland is exempt from the State Assessments. I'm so glad he doesn't have to be put through that torture. He was in tears when I was trying to prep him for it. The Charter School didn't check his IEP, which stated the exemption and there will be other ways for him to be tested and the results reported. The good news is, I've ordered the Co:Writer software. I had enough money left in this year's allotment and decided it was the best way for me to test it without actually spending my own money. Only bad part is I have to give it back at the end of this school year. Anything that's consumable (workbooks, art supplies, calendars, or anything that can be written in) we get to keep. Everything else has to be returned that can be reused. I'm sad we have to give back our bird feeder, but it was $25 bucks I didn't want to spend! I'm hoping that we can somehow get this software written into his IEP for OT and speech purposes and maybe somehow get the school district to pay for it. I can't wait to see how it works and hopefully the success it will bring to Holland's writing.

The new news is that I took Egypt in for a re-check on her knee. She's been complaining quite a bit. I haven't noticed that it was locking up, but thought we should go in. It has been 8 months since her first injection and we really should have gone in before now. The doctor said there are so many subtleties to this disease that he really should see her every 4 months. He checked all her fingers, the way her arms moved, both legs and her jaw. I didn't realize that the jaw could be affected. There's going to be a parent chat on the effects of arthritis on the jaw in a couple weeks through this parent support group. There is this amazing bunch of parents who created this support group here in Portland. Everything they do is free. We attended our first activity last year - a family picnic that was lots of fun. They have these informative meetings every couple of months and they provide activities for the kids in another room while the adults listen to the speaker. They are also having their first annual family camp next year. It's fully funded - we pay nothing! It's a three day camp that includes accommodations, food and fun. I'm so excited!

So back to Egypt. Basically I waited too long for the recheck. When we first saw the doctor, he measured how flat her leg could be pressed down. He wrote in his chart a -5. The first injection got the leg to go all the way flat. But yesterday, he measured and it was at a -2. Not good, but not bad. She doesn't have much, if any fluid on her knee. But there is bony growth that makes her knee look swollen and the arthritis is causing her right leg to grow faster. He showed me and I could totally see how her right leg was longer. We are supposed to come back in 3 months, or sooner if I notice any changes. He said I may not notice a big limp, but I need to watch for the little changes. She may not even complain about pain and it could still stiffen up.

I Need a Secretary

Apparently one person can't do it all. And it's not because I'm not trying. I got a call from Holland's charter school saying we never signed up for the statewide Writing assessment. It is Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Luckily Holland's speech session got canceled. We drove over to the school and he had about a 30 minute session. I just felt horrible. He is so not prepared to do the kind of writing they are expecting. I tried to prep him right before we left and he just ended up throwing his pencil and ran off crying. We were very blessed to have a proctor who was very understanding. He has accomodations written into his IEP, so we are spreading out the testing over several days and he is one-on-one with the proctor.

And let's complicate things even more. I drove Romania to school this morning. I wanted to hand-deliver his immunization records. As soon as I walked into the building, the Principal said, "oh, people have been talking about you. They heard you know sign and want you to teach a class." If this doesn't give me a mental breakdown, I don't know what will. How do I answer that? "I'm sorry. I have no time to help you out. I'm busy schooling Holland, driving to doctor appointments, going to swim lessons, meeting for speech, attending a ceramics class. Somewhere in there I manage to feed everyone and wash clothes every now and then." How do I explain to people that I'm overwhelmed and cannot add one more thing without sounding like I'm making excuses? Let me know if you've figured that one out.

A Day In The Life

Today was a packed schedule, from the moment I fell out of bed (just kidding). After dropping Romania at the bus stop, we had about an hour of schoolwork before heading off to ceramics class. Then it was home again for more school, lunch and then swim lessons. I had to remember to pack clothes for after swim, snacks for after swim and after my chiropractic appointment. Yes, today was the only day I could fit in an appointment. I even had to get my mom involved. She had to pick up Romania from the bus stop. By some miracle, I remembered to throw some chicken in the crockpot so when I came home from being gone all afternoon, and before I had to get Romania to basketball practice, we actually would have something to eat. Things are getting so complicated. Do you ever feel like your head is going to explode?

The rest of my week looks no better:
Tuesday - Holland's appointment with his therapist; school; speech in afternoon; pick up Romania
Wednesday - school; swim; pick up Romania; another dr. appointment
Thursday - HIGHday co-op; meeting with ES; speech; pick up Romania; Romania's bb practice
Friday - Romania has no school, but we'll be doing school anyway all day.

Now that doesn't look like a whole lot on paper (internet, whatever), but you have to figure in drive time; allow time for arguments, not being able to find clothes/shoes/socks/bag/lunch, rescuing a cat locked in a closet, finding gross dirty clothes under someone's bed; and the 2 classroom sets of Valentine's that we have to make (Romania's school is "environmentally friendly" and they like you to make them. Does printing them count?) And I always seem to run out of things that have to be replaced right away (dish soap, laundry soap, pullups, deoderant). Why does that happen? Is there some law of Murphy's that says you have to run out of laundry soap when no one has any clean clothes left? I would love to be able to pull something dirty out of the laundry room and make them wear it, but I'm not kidding, there's just no way that clothes smelling like that wouldn't offend (or scare) someone.

It's Just Too Stressful

I thought I would be able to handle it. I thought I wouldn't get upset. But apparently, watching my son, the mini-NBA player in a basketball game for 7 year-olds, makes me a wreck. I seriously got irritated every time one of the opposing players knocked the ball out of his hand; or stole it while he was dribbling or made him miss a basket. And it didn't help that super-hero dad forgot to bring the strap for his glasses so he had to play without them. He dribbled so close to the floor I wasn't sure if it was because he couldn't see or he didn't want anyone to take the ball.

I told super-hero that I was a non-contact sport kinda gal. I play tennis. I could do badmitten. But forget basketball. Someone in my space would make me want to knock 'em down. They don't keep score for games in this age group. And they're pretty lax on the traveling calls. I just don't know if I can enjoy myself because I just tense up when he's playing. After the game I asked if he had fun. "Yes. Can I play the computer?" Well, there you have it. The attention span of a 7 year-old.

Like Links in a Chain

It's amazing how things all come together. I have not been teaching in a school since Holland was born. But I've kept in contact with several of my co-workers. One in particular was actually my boss at the school. Over the years she's sent me great websites with information about education and just been a great resource for all the complexities of this journey of teaching a child with learning deficits.

I emailed her a copy of a writing that Holland did. It was unprompted, but it was about birds which we have been studying for a couple weeks. If you remember the bird sanctuary he built on our deck, that was the inspiration for his writing. Basically, it's unreadable. I had to send along an interpretation of it. And several of the "sentences" Holland wasn't even sure what he had written when I asked about it. After seeing this, my friend offered to drive up to my house (she lives over an hour and a half away!) and chat face-to-face to see if she could offer any more help. Holland had a speech and language evaluation several months ago and I showed her a copy of that. Many of the suggestions she had were very similar or the same as this evaluation. I showed her the drawings and writings we do for any reading we do; the picture dictionary and the general curriculum we're using.

Then she told me about this computer software called "Co-Writer". We went to the website and I've gotta say it's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. The software uses "intelligent word predictor", a built-in ability of the computer to recognize phonetic and invented spelling patterns. It has a very extensive dictionary and all the possible spellings of a word. So when a child is typing, the software will predict what the next word will be and the student can roll over the word to hear it. I looked at before and after writings and the difference is phenomenal. Some of the students had legible handwriting, but spelling, punctuation, spacing problems were common among all of the samples. Then they had a sample of what that same student did with Co-Writer. Not only was spelling improved almost 100% in every case, but the students wrote more and added more details.

I want this software! Only problem is it costs $245. I don't have $245 just lying around. But I've talked with several people on his IEP team to see about getting the software added to curriculum the district has for special needs students. The wheels are in motion. Hopefully (sooner than later) we will have this software and I can't wait to see what kind of writing Holland produces!

It's Sports Season Again

Romania just started basketball last week. He's had about three practices and on Saturday played his first game. He was bouncing all over the court, hopping back to the opposite side whenever the direction of the ball changed. It was fun and funny to watch. He made 2 baskets and had several assists (according to Super-Hero; I wasn't counting!) They practice twice a week, which isn't bad, but Thursday's practices are at 7 and for us that's kinda late because he gets home after 8.

Holland and Egypt are swimming twice a week, which is great excercise for Holland, but I practically have to bribe him every time we go. He just hates it, but you'd never know it once he gets in the pool. He basically gets a one-on-one lesson. After being in the same level for about 2 years, I asked if they had special considerations for kids with disabilities. They said yes they did and so the second session of lessons he's had his own teacher. He's made some good progress, but he still has trouble with the rhythm of kicking. He ends up just flailing around. Hopefully in the next couple of sessions he'll progress enough to move up. Me? I get to sit for 30 minutes and do nothing. Aaaaaahh.

I Can Name That Tune in Three Notes

"He-ey kids, of all the rest, these are the Books we love the BEST! We can sing them one by one. Come on kids let's have some fun! Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy..."

This is our new favorite song. And I'm not just talking the kids. I love it! They are learning the Books of the Bible in Sunday School. I learned them when I was young, but have forgotten the song over the years. So unless I sing a ditty, I can't remember the order. (It's like knowing how many days in a month - I have to sing a song). So it turns out that Holland's Sunday School teacher loaned him a tape with the song on it. We play it every morning while we're waiting for Romania's bus to come to the bus hub. It's very addicting. I still get stuck with the last few books of the Old Testament. I'm hoping that having a song will help Holland to remember them. Memory is a funny thing. He could recall a detail from a book that I couldn't remember (we had just read the book yesterday!) when I was telling a friend about it. I stumbled and said "oh they turned into something but I can't remember." And Holland piped right up (didn't even know he was following the conversation) and said "Crows. They turned into crows."

Of course, he can also remember when I owe him money (I currently owe him $10), or that he could play with a friend on Friday, or that I promised to go to Fred Meyer. But for some unknown, unexplained reason, he can't remember to pick up all the tiny pieces of radio that he hammered with a crowbar. Yes, that's right. This is our latest "experiment". Taking things apart with a crowbar. But all the environmentalists would love him because he recycled the parts to make a robot and a battery operated vehicle of some sort.

The Birder

I'm blaming this one on Holland's Sunday School teacher. He came home with tiny, tiny seeds in his pocket, wanting to plant them. So I let him get a plastic container, put dirt in it and stick it in the window. He was a little too generous with the watering. And he's a little impatient with the waiting for the seeds to sprout. But within 3 days, our house (and deck and sections of my backyard) have been turned into an environmentally friendly, bird friendly, compost-lovin' sanctuary.

Here's a rundown of what he's accomplished in the last week of school. He planted the seeds from church; he did a potato and celery experiment with dad, which are still in the window; he's taken out food scraps 5 different times to the compost bin (he actually remembered an old apple in his room and took that out!); he collected dead leaves and a couple buckets of cut grass to the compost bin; he's gathered cut limbs from our Christmas tree and hauled them on the deck; he built a bird sanctuary on the deck, filled three bird feeders, scattered corn that the squirrels are too dumb to eat and called grampa to put in his order for a platform bird feeder. We are charting the birds we see in the yard because that's what we're studying in science right now. But as is typical for Holland, we've taken our learning to the extreme. I should say he's very passionate about what he does. He was trying to create a platform feeder out of 4 different objects from the garage and wanted to tear apart my birdbath in the front yard ("because it's chipped anyways").

I did order a platform feeder with some of the money from our Charter school annual budget and we are hoping to attract some woodpeckers and some other birds that like nuts and sunflower hearts. We are learning how to identify the birds by their physical characteristics. He's now looking more closely (literally) at the birds that come in and they're staying because of his little forest project. The birds hop around on the branches and dine on the food. I can't wait to put up a more varied selection and see what flies into our yard! Here are a couple pictures (taken through a window so we didn't scare the birds off) of Holland's bird sanctuary.

Pamela's Pancakes

This morning after dropping Romania at the bus stop, we came home and I made gluten-free pancakes for Egypt and Holland. I've been using a recipe that Super Hero's gramma made when he was growing up. Of course, it used regular flour. I had tried a couple different times to make the same recipe with my own blend of gluten-free flour, but they never tasted right.

Until I found Pamela. She's come up with some magical flour blend that make things taste normal. The mix is for pancakes and waffles and I've used it for brownies, muffins and now my own buttermilk pancake recipe. As a testament to how good they are, Holland downed 8 pancakes this morning. The most he's ever eaten has been maybe 4. And the great thing is this recipe makes a ton of pancakes. The recipe on the flour bag makes probably 6-8 pancakes. And the flour is not cheap - $15 for a 4 pound bag of it. Here is a picture of the plate of pancakes that were left over. Among the three of us, we probably ate 12-13 and this is how many were left! I was told my pancakes were better than any he's ever eaten in a restaurant. *sniff, sniff*

What to post? What to post?

So I was all ready to blog about Holland starting up his projects again. Then I realized that I hadn't posted anything about some friends visiting us from California. Then in the middle of doing that, it started to snow again! This was Sunday afternoon (and it's Tuesday now). This is how long it takes me to form an idea now. Two days. I was so freaked out that it was going to stick again. I didn't hear any forecast of snow in our area. But *whew* by morning, it had all melted. The thought of being stuck in the house again made me claustrophobic.

Now that it's been over a week since Super-Hero's friends have visited, I figured I'd better post about that. Let me just start by saying that it's impossible for adults to have any kind of normal conversation with wild kids in the background. They had just stopped in town for the night and came over for dessert after setting up camp at their hotel. We hadn't seen them since we had them come visit us at the cabin. Our kids had so much fun together. This night was no different. Well, that's not true. It was different because we had 4 wild boys and a girl thrown in the mix and no lake to explore. This friend reads my blog and I'm sure she must think I'm exaggerating every time she reads about Holland's crazy experiments. Well, I couldn't have planned it any better (and I didn't!). We were upstairs so the kids could check out the rooms and the new Christmas toys. We weren't even up there 5 minutes. I looked around and realized we only had Egypt with us. The four boys had disappeared. We went downstairs and there is Holland with vinegar, baking soda and markers and colored water. He wanted to show his new friend his experiments! I couldn't believe that it happened that fast. And now, I have a witness who can testify that it actually does happen! Since then he's rebuilt the cat scratching post, made a spear to catch sturgeon at the lake (this one's a doozy - it has nails hammered in the pointy end all sticking out. You know, so the sturgeon really gets caught when he grabs on!), and several spears with foil on the end. He's had a great time using his pocketknife to whittle the ends of sticks. Only problem is I keep finding shards of wood all over the floor. Oh, I almost forgot the toothpick experiment. He emptied almost an entire box of toothpicks and was trying to make something like a blowdart gun. We will not even go there.

So, here are some pictures of our wild boys. This is the only picture of them sitting still, because it only lasted 5 minutes!

This is what they looked like the entire night.

Christmas Time Is Here

It finally did stop snowing, but we pretty much were stuck for about 10 days in the house. Super-hero dad was able to go to work every day, although he left later than normal. The kids played outside and here are some great pictures of the piles of snow around our house, as well as Christmas Day pictures of the kids and family. Make sure you have your volume up so you can hear the song!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The Snow Won't End

Not saying that I'm sick of the snow - it's very beautiful. But it's so hard to be stuck in the house with three kids who are getting on each other's nerves. We are running out of staples like milk, bread, fresh fruit and no chance of getting out. Super hero dad went into work today and is stopping at the pharmacy to pick up some meds and milk, but that's about all we're doing.

We made a Chex cereal snack, played Zoombinis, played Rummikub, I did laundry, watched TV, played in the snow, Holland shoveled the sidewalk and built forts for the cats. Here's a little video of Holland as he goes out on the deck and checks out the snow drifts and icicles.

Room Overhaul

On Friday, my mom came over to help me clean out Holland's room. It's just getting so out of control I cannot find the time to even attempt organizing it. I should have taken a before picture, but it's almost too embarrassing to give a permanent account of what it looked like. We got about half way finished cleaning and then I had to take my mom home because of the threat of snow.


On Saturday, we worked more but couldn't finish before the kids went to bed. I had the boys sleep together so I could vacuum and put everything away. I knew that they had the cats with them and went in to check before I went to bed. It was complete darkness when I went in, but I grabbed my camera when I saw what Holland had done. Our cats just love him to death, I'm sure. Cats love to sleep in weird positions and Holland helped Fancy find a comfy new way to sleep. Romania has a loft bed. Just enough room to play underneath and that's where Holland was sleeping. I see this down blanket hanging from the slats of the bed. I tried to pull it down, but it was weighted. Then I realized that he had hung up the cat and she was just laying in there and purring! They're both crazy. So before she decided to crawl out of her hammock, I ran to get my camera. I took the picture in total darkness, so I couldn't even tell if I was getting a picture of the cat. Here she is right before she crawled out.

Here's LuLu sleeping with Romania.

And here is more evidence that cats will sleep anywhere.

Worshipping at home

Today, not surprising, church was cancelled. A lot of things have been cancelled this week. I've only been out once or twice in the last 8 days. But despite all the inconveniences, we have the most beautiful scenery outside right now. I've never seen it snow so much here and on top of all this snow (probably 8 inches or more!) we had freezing rain fall last night. I decided since we weren't having church, we'd do our own worshipping at home. So I had the kids take baths, get their church clothes on and we sat on pillows in front of the tree reading stories about the birth of our Savior. And the cinnamon rolls weren't bad either!

We went out for a quick picture in the snow.

Oh The Weather Outside is Frightful

It hasn't been this cold, this long for awhile. I'm talking the high the other day was 22. The kids went out and played on Sunday when church got cancelled. I haven't left the house in 4 days. Not that I haven't wanted to. The kids are getting antsy, and I've been doing way too much baking.

What usually happens is the snow falls, it melts and then refreezes, but it doesn't snow again. So we are left with ice rinks for roads. This time, we never got above freezing and now it's supposed to snow again tonight. Romania has had two days off from school so far this week. Well, that's not entirely true. We have still been doing school here - otherwise there would be even more chaos than there already is. We just get out old books and he does work from them. He told me in class they see how much math they can get done in 5 minutes. He told me it takes him only 2 minutes to complete the work. I told him he needs to ask for more work and he said the teacher just said to sit quietly. Yup. That's what happens in a class of 22 kids, a lot of sitting. He did three pages of math today, some writing and vocabulary and read a couple chapters from a book. I still plan to do history and maybe an art project. What I really want to do is make cookies. I have a new GF flour mix I want to test out with my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.

The kids feel I'm trying to trick them when I say it's really cold outside. They can't grasp that sunshine wouldn't make it warm. So Holland has tried about 3 times to go outside without gloves and comes in crying because he's so cold. And my heating bill is going to take a beating this month. There have been about three different times I've felt like I was sweating it was so hot in the house. I thought it must be because I was working so hard. That was not the problem. The thermostat had been hiked to 90 degrees in here. Holland gets so cold and that's how he solves the problem. Super-hero has the opposite problem: I woke up to a house that was 55 degrees this morning. I told him I'd rather not feel like I was sleeping outside (although it was 17 last night, so it was actually warmer inside). To which he replied "you have a good sense of hoo-mur". I told him I didn't want humor, I wanted heat.

A Mom's Scientific Experiments

I've been doing my own scientific experiments. It happened last weekend when I (again) helped Romania clean up his room. Only this time, we cleaned it out as well. I gave him two blue metal boxes and told him whatever he could fit in there was what he could keep in his room. He picked Bionicles and Legos (good choices: nice small parts). Everything else was put in his closet with a lock on it. The results of my experiment? I've come to the conclusion that garbage multiplies. Every two or three months, I go into one of the boys' rooms and I haul out enough garbage to fill a plastic garbage bag. How does this happen? Every time we clean up I feel like I've picked up everything that could be construed as garbage. The floor is perfectly clean; boxes are stacked nicely in the closet; all clothes are put back where they belong.

So I reached a conclusion, but I haven't figured out how it happened. There is some kind of molecular force that causes garbage to seek out other garbage and bind to those molecules. My next experiment will be how to keep those molecules from binding. I need federal funding (or maybe my "redistributed wealth") to conduct these experiments.

You Call That Art??

This morning after dropping Romania at his bus stop, I got to chatting with two other moms. I usually don't stay because I want to get right to Holland's schooling. But this morning one of the moms was talking about her son getting a referral, so I was curious. She said her son had brought clay on the bus and had made a body part. An inappropriate body part. She said her son fessed right up, didn't even wait for someone to confront him and he felt really bad. But the other mom's son had been sitting nearby and she said "was considered an accomplice". Whatever that means. She has some pretty strong ideas about what is appropriate for kids. Her son got in trouble for downloading vulgar songs on his iPod and passing it around on the bus. (She thought the school over-reacted.) So I wasn't surprised when she said that making clay body parts was a form of art expression and they should be allowed to do it! I spoke right up and said, "not at that age!" I knew that I would have to work hard to instill a Christian worldview with Romania being in a public school setting. What I (naively) didn't factor in was other parents having such strong liberal views.

So Long Mr. Telemarketer

This morning during school with Holland, the phone rang. I usually keep the ringer off so we aren't disturbed and can work without him being distracted. The phone downstairs had the ringer on, so I looked at the number. It said "New Jersey". I do not know anyone in New Jersey, so I didn't bother picking it up. Holland thought that Egypt answered it upstairs, but I thought the answering machine came on. We went back to work and then to Costco. When we got home I picked up the phone to dial a number and the screen showed "line in use". Sometimes one of the three phones will get bumped and the Talk button will get pushed. I went upstairs and found the phone call from New Jersey had been left on for 4 1/2 hours! I wonder what that telemarketer did when the line wasn't disconnected!

Cat's Cradle

Did you ever play that game as a kid? I loved that game! Just a few months ago, I remember begging my sister to play that with me. And because we're so stupid, we couldn't get past about 5 or 6 turns. Then we just laughed because we're old and our kids think we're weird. For some reason Holland decided he wanted to make his room look like a giant Cat's Cradle. I didn't even get a picture because Egypt decided she needed to cut it all down because she had to rescue one of the cats (who didn't need rescuing, by the way). He had used half a roll of curling ribbon and strung it all over his room. His plan was that if his sister or brother came in in the middle of the night, he would have a light sensor set up by the door and then they would get caught in all the ribbon. What he didn't count on was his sister cutting it all to pieces.

He actually wasn't as mad as I was preparing myself for. The next day he had two old phones, more ribbon, blankets and bungee cords strung around the room. I'm not even asking what it is. I guess I should be thankful that he wants to create - but the experiments are getting pretty elaborate. When I was getting two of the kids ready for church on Sunday, he came up with blue fingers. I asked what it was and he said he was doing an experiment with water and food coloring (of course. Why did I need to ask that?) He got out baking soda and vinegar and wanted to see if the water bubbled the same color as he put into the cup. This is my fault. We used to shoot foam rockets 100 feet into the air in our driveway with vinegar and baking soda.

I think he's going to be a spy.