Surviving the everyday…

Sometimes Small Successes have to be more about surviving the everyday than about celebrating truly monumental occurrences.  This week shall be a little of both – but leaning a little heavier on the survival.

1.  When I absolutely didn’t feel like cooking because Matt was taking a client out to some fancy restaurant in downtown, I cooked anyway.  I’m talking – I was looking for every reason to NOT cook!  It was Papa John’s day for my mom’s elementary school (I could earn her classroom points if I ordered a pizza).  I forgot to get the chicken breasts out to thaw in the morning (so the planned dinner was out the door).  The boys were snacking all afternoon and probably not that hungry anyway (Halloween and Easter lead to abnormal amounts of snacking in our house).  But ultimately, I bucked up, boiled some pasta and cleaned the random veggies out of the fridge resulting in a rather delightful “Vegetarian Pasta a la Frigidaire” that both boys seemed to enjoy despite the fact that Nathan’s first bowl got dumped on the dining room floor.

2.  I let Nathan eat his yogurt all by himself this morning, even though I knew it would result in laundry and a need for a bath all before 8:15 this morning.  Despite it being a “whipped” yogurt (meaning it clings to the spoon even when turned upside down – Nathan still ended up wearing more of it than he ate.  Nonetheless, he enjoyed it since his favorite phrase right now is “I do it” and this mommy is using bath time as an excuse to blog. 

3.  This past week has been a lot about surviving without a reliable car.  Matt’s car was on it’s last leg and seemed to tip the bucket late last week.  I’ve been relegated to necessity driving (this isn’t really a bad thing) while Matt has been taking my car to work.  It’s the little things that never get done when you can’t depend on a car.  I didn’t NEED to get to the dry cleaners to drop off clothes.  I didn’t NEED to return the books to the library, I could just get online and renew them.  I didn’t NEED to pick up my Rx at the pharmacy across town – it’s maintenance meds and I had plenty to survive for the week.  I didn’t NEED to get blood work done right away – it’s maintenance too and I requested it, not the doctor.  I didn’t NEED to drop stuff off at my parents house as they could surely survive a few more days without the ovenproof soup bowls we borrowed.

4. OK – here’s my monumental one….I told you I had one!  We bought a new vehicle on Halloween.  We are now the proud (?) owners of a Chrysler Town and Country minivan.  The payments will tighten the budget (it was nice not having any car payments for the short while that it lasted), but the cost is worth it to be able to tote the kids around.  Plus, by buying the minivan now – it prevents needing to upgrade our car for space later on and having two car payments in the future.  Right now we’re liking the idea of only paying on one car at a time.  John and Nathan LOVE the minivan and think it’s a giant toy for them to play in.  We’ll see if they still think it’s cool when they are in junior high….

So that’s been our week – what have you been up to?  Head over and visit Sherry at Chocolate for Your Brain to share your successes with the blogger world! 

Success! Can’t Beat That!

It’s Small Successes Thursday – and I’m excited to share some successes from the past few weeks (I’ve been missing on the blogging scene recently).

1. John has started school.  It’s not been an easy process, but we’re navigating the process of dealing with special education and IEPs.  It’s been great to watch him blossom the last few weeks in school though.  He now eagerly runs towards the bus when it pulls up (sometimes, forgetting to kiss mommy )…and jumps right on.  His teacher is claiming that he’s talking more and more too!  Another highlight of these 2.5 hours Monday through Thursday is that it’s giving me some 1-1 time with Nathan!  We’ve enjoyed being able to read books he (not brother) likes, ride on the toy tractor, and play in the kitchen.  I’m loving it!

2.  I washed the curtains in the living room.  It shouldn’t be that big of an accomplishment, but I hate the process of taking them down and putting them back up.  I’m sure the curtains hadn’t been washed since the 70’s when they were probably hung up originally and I’ve been talking about washing them since we moved into this house over a year ago.  BUT – it’s done, I feel better, and the room smells fresher!

3.  When last night’s plans got derailed because Matt’s car decided to just stop on the side of the road 5 minutes from his office….I handled the night with a surprising amount of grace.  I managed to get to the pharmacy before it closed to pick up Matt’s Rx and got the boys to the Halloween party at school on time.  Granted, we would have loved for Daddy to be with us, but he patiently waited for a tow truck to tow the car home.  Then we picked him up, took him to a lovely dinner at McD’s and a trip to the grocery store.  Now – the car has started and run no less than 5 times in the past 24 hours – so we’re now stuck trying to figure out what to do.  Matt’s car is waaay past it’s prime, begging the question of whether it’s more financially responsible to trade it in and call it a wash – or pump some money into it in hopes that it can hang on just a little longer.  I’m thinking I’m about to get a mini-van…..hmmmm….am I mentally ready for that?

Head over to Chocolate for Your Brain and share your Small Successes!

John Started School

We’ve somehow managed to navigate the transition from Early Intervention to the public school system with John’s therapies.  Trust me, this has not been an easy process.  In fact, to be completely honest, we’re not 100% there.

We started with a transition meeting back in June this summer.  Then in early August I started calling the school district.  At that time I was told they didn’t have any openings for screening him in the month of September.  *geesh*  But after ‘explaining’ that was not going to be an option they magically found a spot open in their September 2nd screening.  Surprise, surprise! 

During his screening, he passed his fine and gross motor tests and rocked his concepts and receptive language tests.  Then comes his expressive speech test – which after three words (his name, “cup” and “ring”) the speech therapist discontinued the test, sent him out of the room and looked at me saying “there’s no reason to keep testing him, he’s in desperate need of speech therapy”.  Gee thanks!  That’s why I’m here lady!  I already know that!

Once we got to the consultation part of the screening, it became clear that they were going to admit John to the special education preschool program.  The program allows John to continue receiving therapies. 

The last week of September proved to be a little more of a struggle than I anticipated.  We went into John’s IEP meeting hopeful that we could get physical therapy once a month, occupational therapy once a month and 1-1 speech therapy 4 times a week for 25 minutes.  At our IEP meeting we were informed that they would only offer him OT once a week, PT on a consultation basis, and speech 15 minutes a day in a small group.  We can handle the OT and PT….but he needs more than group speech therapy!

We’re in the process of appealing the offerings and trying to get him more speech therapy.  It’s a slow process – starting with another IEP meeting which isn’t scheduled until November 14.  After that we move to mediators and eventually, if we can’t see eye-to-eye, we’ll go to court.  Let’s hope it doesn’t get that far!

We had a few options but went with a classroom that has only 2 other boys in it and is 2.5 hours 4 days a week. It was the best option for John at the time. His teacher is awesome and does a great job working with John.  He rides the bus to school – it picks him up at our house and has a car seat on it for him – and I pick him up after school so I can get a daily report from his teacher (because his speech is unintelligible and we’d never know what he did if the teacher didn’t tell us). 

John is loving school.  He happily gets ready after lunch and runs to the bus when it pulls up to our driveway.  Every day when I pick him up he bounds out of the school and greets me.  We talk about what he did each day and he shows me the content of his backpack.  He has homework every weekend (a single worksheet with about 5 activities on it).

I’ll try to keep the blog posted on the progress of our appeals with the school district.  In the mean time – here’s my little man on his first day of school (October 12, 2011)

I’m Back…..

I feel like the last few months there have been more posts about why I haven’t blogged recently than there have been posts about our family life.  So no apologies this week – I just didn’t blog for a while – I enjoyed my family instead.

That being said, since I’ve been absent for a while, I’ve decided to share our successes from the past several weeks with everyone.  Here they are:

1.  We enjoyed a wonderful vacation to South Padre Island with my husband’s family.  Ten of us in a condo with 6 family friends about 3 doors down and we had a blast!  And despite the sensory stuff with John, we managed to get him not only in the ocean – but in the SAND at the beach.  Granted it took 3 days for him to warm up to the idea, but we made it.  (And I got to nap and read a book!)

2.  With the help of my father, John’s therapists, and the support of my husband, I think we’re ready for John’s IEP meeting tomorrow.  We’ve got a battle plan for what we want, we’ve got research to support our requests, and it seems like the school district is being relatively accommodating thus far.  I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going to do with a child in school 4 or 5 days a week but we’ll make it through.  In the mean time, I have an almost 3 year old who is pretty excited about the prospect of riding the bus….

3.  With some funky stuff going on with the MOMS Club, I’ve managed to keep my head above the water.  I’m realizing that this president thing is becoming pretty time consuming and unfortunately (and honestly) I’m not managing my time well.  I’m hoping that with a new schedule (John in school) I’ll be able to breathe a sigh of relief and start anew.  But for the current time, I’m still head above water and I don’t think too much has fallen through the cracks.  That’s got to be good enough under the circumstances.

4.  Both boys had their well-child physicals yesterday.  John is in the 75% for height and 50% for weight.  According to Dr. Herman, if John’s growth stays on the track, he’ll be 5’11 1/2.  Nathan, per the norm, is 90% for height and 75% for weight.  Overall, we have two happy, healthy boys who are growing just like the should be.  Both got their flu shots and Nathan got his last required shot before he needs all his Kindergarten shots.  (And as a side note, Matt and I both have our flu shots scheduled!)

And for next week – my goal is to get the house clean and the laundry caught up.  We’ve got a birthday to celebrate and family coming in town!!!!

What have you been up to?  Share your successes over at Chocolate for Your Brain!

It’s the End of the World As We Know It

 

I’m proud to present…

a little boy who can walk!

Keeping It Real

I missed last week’s Small Successes (mostly out of laziness) so I decided I absolutely needed to post this week.  Let’s be honest – I mostly want to post because I’m excited about the accomplishments of the past week.

1.  Thanks to a great pin on Pinterest (seriously, I’m addicted! and if you haven’t checked it out yet you really should) and a wonderful website, I made homemade finger paints for the boys.  Awesome because when Nathan sticks his fingers in his mouth I don’t freak out and it gave John some sensory play.  In fact, John ended up using the paints with his developmental therapist.  It went much better than mommy anticipated!  And when all was said and done, the therapist asked for the recipe

2.  With Matt’s help we did a serious cleaning and purge of the playroom last weekend.  Serious, how do two little boys get soooo many toys?  Oh wait, they’re called grandparents.  Ironically, after we spent a whole afternoon taking toys downstairs, donating toys we don’t need/use, and finding homes for the remaining toys, my mother arrived with a bunch of toys that all the teachers at her school were not using anymore.  Maybe the innate desire to purge toys was Divine Intervention?

3.  I finally finished gathering the 9 bazillion pieces of paper, forms and surveys that the developmental pediatrician needs from us before he’ll even schedule John’s appointment.  It’s going in the mail today!  Praise God!  This has not been the easiest process considering it required records requests from 5 therapists, 4 hematologists, 3 hospitals, 2 pediatrician offices, 1 chiropractor and a partridge in a pear tree….  Not to mention that Matt and I filled out a nearly 30 pages on health history, family history, concerns, and questionnaires.

4.  Next week is going to be a packed week with lots and lots to do.  This summer we haven’t had the chance to attend many of the boys playgroups or activities through the MOMS Club because of John’s therapies, trips, and everything else.  SOOOO – I canceled several of John’s therapy sessions for next week and we’re going to Jumping Kangaroos (John’s playgroup), Little Monkeys (Nathan’s playgroup), hosting Executive Board (my group) and headed to STL for some fun at City Gardens on the MOMS Club field trip.  Sometimes we need a break from all the “help” we get and need a chance to be little boys!  Executive decision made!

What To Choose?

What a great week it’s been!  So much accomplished and so much to be proud of that I’m going to having a hard time picking out our successes.  We’ve just been a really busy family!

1.  Last week I hosted cooking club for our MOMS Club.  I choose a theme of “Served On A Stick” and it was a huge hit.  We enjoyed fruit salad on a stick (fruit kabobs), stick in the mud (chocolate cookie on popsicle sticks), PB&J skewers, muffin pops (mini muffins on toothpicks, and more.  I personally made bacon-wrapped breadsticks and they were the hit of the party!  And super simple to make thanks to the microwave and only 3 ingredients.  Then a mere 3 days later I hosted the MOMS Club executive board here at the house for our monthly meeting.  We got through our business and had time to enjoy each other’s company which was wonderful.  So we’ve been a bit like MOMS Club Grand Central Station this week…

2.  With the help of my wonderful husband, we purged the clutter out of the dining room, cleaning closet, coat closet, and most of the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen this weekend.  I’ve been feeling overwhelmed with all the random ‘stuff’ that doesn’t have a real home in our house, so he graciously agreed to help me do some serious cleaning.  A lot of items went in the trash, some went to family members  who could use them, and a bunch are now downstairs in our yard sale box  Those two rooms and two closets make me happy!  Hopefully we can keep up the momentum and work our way through more of the house in the upcoming weeks.

3.  Nathan is right on the verge of walking.  He has taken a couple steps here and there this week (the first truly notable ones on Sunday, July 24 while we were Skyping with grandma and grandpa).  He’s now standing up in the middle of the room periodically so I’m sure the actual walking will be here in no time at all.  Then I’ll be chasing two little boys around! Nathan-man is also a chatty little boy.  “Up” seems to be his favorite word right now meaning “pick me up mommy!”  He babbles the day away and makes requests for “dink” (drink), “up”, “ow-pa” (out please – of his highchair), “mow” (more) and “aw-duh” (all done).  I’m loving all the conversation!

4.  Since I used #3 to celebrate on behalf of Nathan – I’m tacking on a #4 for John.  He successfully made it 60 minutes in the child care room at the YMCA yesterday!  Only brief tears at the very beginning and then he did fine the rest of the time.  This is a huge success in my book.  Since he was 1 we’ve never been able to use the child care room because he would cry to the point of hyperventilating within the first 10 minutes at which point the day care workers would come get me from the gym.  With the help of his psychologist from Early Intervention over the past 6 months – we’re now up to 60 minutes!!!  And on another note – we’re meeting with a physical therapist today to have the structure of John’s ankles and feet examined.  I’m interested to see what she has to say! 

So – it’s been a busy week – I could keep going!  We’ve booked tickets to South Padre Island in September, I’ve started holiday/birthday wish lists for the boys, I baked my first ever blackberry pie, I located a developmental pediatrician for John and have started gathering the 9 bazillion papers and forms he wants, and we started doing some school supply shopping in hopes that John gets into Early Childhood starting in October.

Jump over to Chocolate For Your Brain and share your successes!