An update . . . .

A long overdue update! things have been quite busy since the school year started. I have had much to keep me too busy including 2 positions on 2 of the 4 PTA's I belong to! In August, things changed as I now had a 6th grader in my house! I was spoiled as Stephen made lunches in the morning and I could count on him to keep the other two from fighting (well at least sometimes!). The new Jr higher has been doing very well! He went into Accelerated math and he has percussion in band. Despite not having much music experience, he is doing well! He played baseball over the summer and was a starting pitcher, and played football in the fall. He did well in that as well. He is a great athlete and is good in school too, very well rounded kid and I'm very proud of him! He's had almost all A's for the past 3 quarters, so a great start in Jr. High. He has also made the rank tenderfoot in Boy Scouts (he crossed over just a year ago March 2010) and is working on his 2nd class rank (possibly advancing late summer if he works hard). He is tall as I am now and I can no longer buy his shoes in the kids department! This summer he most likely will have braces put on. Ryan has been having a great year. He has a great teacher this year and I recently had his IEP eval. They were having trouble figuring out what to put as goals for the next year because he is doing so well. He has not displayed any aggressive behavior and his noise making in class has greatly decreased. He has been more attentive and focused and doesn't hate school as much as in previous years! In his latest report card, he got all A's for grades and for Effort alot of O's (O's are for outstanding effort!) Last summer we had him evaluated for PT. He has some pronation issues as well as some low tone issues in his shoulders and back. He's been doing phsical therapy since January and is wearing some shoe inserts. This is hopefully a short term thing with the therapy. He is doing much better with his "slouchiness" and has more strength everywhere overall. He is still taking straterra for his ADD. It has helped somewhat but we know he may do better on another drug, yet we have decided to stay on the stratterra as we are afraid if we try a different medication (a stimulant) that he will have even more of a hard time gaining weight. He may have even less body fat than Trevor at this point!! He continues to show his creative side with all the things he builds, all the things he draws. And, he out of the 3 of them, shows so much interest in the cats and all living things - he loves bugs, reptiles, and has had lots of things in his little terrarium this year. cuddles follows him around and they are best buds! Ryan had 6 teeth pulled over the summer of 2010 - preparation for braces! He took it like a champ! He did a lot of swimming over the summer and I'm sure we will do a lot of time at the pool this year when summer gets here. Last year was a big year spiritually for Ryan as he made his 1st Holy Communion. He looked so grown up. It was a great day, yet family drama affected some of the celebration. Trevor is doing so well at the preschool. His speech path says he is ready (has been ready) to be discharged from speech, but we may finish out the year. He is quite a talker. It is hard to believe he had been speech delayed! We are workign on fine motor skills right now. He seems a little behind in that area. He doesn't have good control on his hands when holding a pen/marker/pencil/scissors. I try to work on that with him at home but he usually has to be bribed to do anything with a writing instrument! Trevor has put on enough weight that at our meeting iwth our endocrinologist will not be for a whole year. Trevor has been eating a bit better, but it is still a great struggle to get him to eat anything besides pasta and sweets. He had his first cavity this past year. We had stopped supplementing his juice and he seems to be doing well. He hasn't had any major illnesses - he in fact went through the flu the best out of everyone in the family when we got it this year (note to self, get the darned flu shots next year!!). At a check up with the eye doctor, his one eye is turning in more than the other, so we now patch his good eye in hopes of making the other eye stronger. I am a bit worried about his eye, so I am anxious about his upcoming apt in April. As for me, well, last year was a very difficult year for me on so many levels. One of the reasons I was not blogging. Sickness, family drama, lots of unexpected financial things that led to a lot of stress and a host of other things took its toll on me physically, emotionally and phychologically. I am hoping this year will be a bit better, but only time will tell. I try to keep busy as that will at least give me something to focus on. I am the treasurer at the preschool, and I am the Recording secratrary at the Special Needs PTA. I have made some great friends from the special Needs PTA and at the preschool and that has been a blessing as some of the friends I've had for years just haven't been around much to confide in, joke around with, go out with and all that. So now I am trying to build new friendships. I've been so busy at the preschool and Special Needs PTA that I've had to cut back my Tupperware time. With Stephen's sports, scout activities, social stuff and Ryan's therapy and Religous Ed and Cub Scouts I am in the car alot and when I add that to all the meetings I have for my PTA stuff, I don't have as much time to devote to Tupperware. I still had a decent year, but just didn't make what I wanted to make and didn't have as many parties as I would have liked. I really enjoyed being at Stephen's games, trying to make his performances for band and helping out in Trevor's preschool class, so it is all good. This year Mike and I celebrated our 15 wedding anniversary. Hard to believe its been that long (makes me feel very old!). It also means lindy and gracie are now 15 years old. Lindy has lost her hearing and we just found out they both have early stages of kidney disease, so they are on a special diet. I guess we are all getting old, despite me being in denial about it! So, that is my update.

Summer pictures!

lazy days of summer

Trevor at the park on the last day of school
Mike and the boys at the Kane County Cougars game

Ryan and Toadie!

Close up of Toady - quite impressive!

Stephen sliding into home (after a triple he hit!)

IT"S SUMMER!

It already seems that the summer is half over and yet it is only June 17th. The kids got out on May 28th (rather early), so maybe that is why I feel the summer is half over!

We haven't done many big adventures, but everyday we are busy! Stephen has gone camping - canoing in Michigan! Stephen and Ryan are enrolled in a tennis camp. Stephen likes it, Ryan my "I hate sports" guy isn't so enthusiastic about it. Stephen is in baseball and he is a star player (it makes me so proud to see how well he does and how well liked he is and how much the team/coaches seem to really think he is very good! He pitches, catches and has also played short and 1st. He loves pitching and catching best. He is so much better at bat this year, the improvement is so amazing to me! He is also starting to really grow. last summer a size 2 in shoes, he is now a size 5!

Ryan is loving searching and digging for bugs and rocks! We have "wormie" our beetle that the 2nd graders each brought home. Next came Taddy - the tad pole we bought at the pet store. He passed on, guess he didn't like the food (we really took good care of him:( ) Then there was Toady - a big huge toad Ryan caught on his communion day. (I took that as a sign of good luck). After 3 days, we let him go. We didn't want him to go to Toady heaven and he didn't seem to be eating much in the terrarium. Then came Mr. Froggy. On a rainy day, we went on a hike with the Pack 215 hiking club (Cub Scouts). There were tons of itty bitty and not so itty bitty frogs. He caught a little tiny thing and that was Mr. Froggy. We weren't sure what to feed him, so we put in a food pelet we had from Taddy. Today after 4 days, we let him go (we didn't want him to die from not having the right food). And, on the way to tennis camp, we caught a butterfly in the car, but he then got away!

Now as for Trevor, well he plays with his buddy next door Harrison here and there and is my little man as we seem to go almost everywhere together. We are having a battle of wills right now as I am determined to have him potty trained before he is 4 and with a summer birthday, it means getting down to business (yes, pun intended!). He likes reading and playing parking lot with his cars and he loves watering the plants outside.

Next week Ryan starts summer school. Stephen will continue with Tennis camp Mon - Thurs as well as baseball in the evenings. We hopet o get to go to the pool, but haven't been yet (how can that be!!).

As far as healthwise, Trevor goes for another eye apt end of the month. His eye still turns in a lot without the glasses, so I'm sure he will continue wit the glasses. He will go to the endocrinologist again in Sept, but he is still tiny and not eating great. We are still supplementing his food. ryan is also very low on the charts - 2% for wieght. He is underweight about as much as Trevor is. His appetite had never been great, but since we upped his meds, its decreased even more. He doesn't care for meat much. He would eat fruits and veggies every day if I let him. He does like a hamburger from McDonalds now and again. We need to take him for another apt with his ADD doctor. I know they will want to change his medicine, so I've been putting it off. He really had a hard time the last weeks of school and I am just glad lgad the school year is finished.

Trevor will get speech again next year, but I think he will not need speech after that. He is really talking and alot of it is now understandable! I have on my list of things I want to do is spending 10 mins a day with Trevor practicing his letters, but so far we've only done it a couple of times! We always seem to be off to pick up Stephen or Ryan or at the grocery store!

As for me, I am trying to get some house projects done- mostly re-organizing and all kinds of things I put off the past couple of months. I'd been so busy this school year that I didn't get to things like cleaning out closets and getting music on my MP3 player and all that stuff. I did however manage to paint most of the 1st floor rooms. We had painters for the foyer and master, but I painted in the living room, front room, bathroom and kitchen accent wall.

I want to see about taking Stephen to a sox game this year. My friend gave me some "kids club vouchers" and stephen loves the sox! We don't have big vacation plans this year. Between the money spent for my root canal, crown, car work, new washer and dryer (aargh) and we still need to buy a new vaccum, we will probably do a "stacation" type of vaction (day trips!). We did get to the Kane County Cougars game and most of us enjoyed it (not sure about Ryan and trevor).

So far we are enjoying the "lazy days of Summer"!

the birthday blues

It's my birthay, sigh. sniff, sniff. sniff.

Thank goodness for technology. All my facebook friends are remembering my bday. And I got a call from my friend who I hear from about once a year now, and my mom and my aunt, but other than that this birthday is a pretty non -event. Where are the balloons, champagne, and all that stuff. I was feeling pretty depressed about this bday coming all year long, and now I'm even more depressed. I guess I am at an age where I shouldn't care about birthdays, but I have had my hand at planning quite a few 30th, and 40th bdays and showers and the like in my time and was sure hoping for more than this. I guess I could have put together my own celebration, but it was just too depressing to think about. I even put a post on facebook looking for someone who wanted to go out to lunch with me today, but no takers. Instead I stayed home vaccuming, windexing and straightening up. It's beautiful weather outside, but I don't seem to have the gumption to get off my pity party and go enjoy it.

About an hour ago, my middle son asked if it was my birthday today. I said yes, he said ok. Maybe there is hope for the rest of the day, but knowing my husband as I do, I doubt it.

Maybe I will just go to the mall and splurge on myself. Shopping therapy as I call it.

Michele

PS - after just about being done with my post, my sweet boy Ryan comes into the den with a handmade card for my bday from him and Stephen. He is a very thoughtful little guy.

2010 - reflecting on the past year and looking ahead

Happy New Year.

Bloggin's not been a priority lately. Juggling everyday stuff has gotten in the way of that (that and facebook).

Happy New Year. I am hoping to have a HEALTHY NEW YEAR. (So far not off to a great start on that one!) (This latest cold has been around since before Christmas and doesn't seem to want to leave me!)

2010 will sure be something! It is a big birthday for me (I'm debating on whether I want to celebrate it or just pretend it doesn't exist!)

Ryan will make his first Communion this year, so we will be having a big party!

This year as it starts out, I almost feel like a normal mom - to normal kids. For those of you who don't have special needs kids, just realize how blessed you are. I am truly blessed for the kids that I have, but being the mom of special needs kids sometimes makes me feel so defeated and without much support or empathy. While I am lucky that the issues we deal with here are workable, and we could be so much worse off, at times I do wonder about my sanity. Lately though I have started to feel more normal. The past couple of months, i have caught glimpes at "normalcy". It is an odd place to be at. Trevor no longer has Speech paths, OT's, nutritionists coming weekly - no more constant Dr. visits. He just gets speech once a week at the pre school. Ryan is no longer getting notes from school daily and we no longer have daily melt downs anymore. I have come to a point that at times I feel like I have normal everyday life and deal with every day mom issues from typcial children. On days that seem everything is pretty normal I think how great life is. Ryan is doing so well on his medication. He has a teacher that is so much more suited for a child with his issues. Trevor is making small gains in his wieght, and seems to be doing ok at pre-school. Speech, well not sure what to think of his speech - I guess its coming along. He still is off as far as his crying jags that go on for up to 40 mins after naptime and he still has sleeping issues and being overly sensative to EVERYTHING especially when he is sick, but I am having periods of time where I almost forget that he has sensory issues, or speech delays or Failure to Thrive issues. He is a very stubborn little boy. He is a very mischevious boy by nature. He is very smart and wants things his own way. He wants to be involved in EVERYTHING and wants to constantly be talking and asking questions. I do believe that out of all three of the boys, he is the one who requires the most energy to keep up with and to keep out of trouble (he is way to smart for his own good). He is a momma's boy and wants to always be with me or with Ryan. Ryan and Trevor seem to really know how to press each other's buttons. When they play together nicely, it is wonderful and makes me smile ear to ear - but most of the time Trevor just isn't a very reasonable sharer/player and then it makes Ryan get angry - then there are lots of yelling, and tears, sigh. The good side is that Stephen and Ryan play nicely together ALLOT. They seem to have teamed up together to not let Trevor in. Trevor does have a tendency to bust up any lego buildings they have put together, deletes pictures on their cameras, turns their gameboys on and runs the charge down and has been known to rip up masterpieces they have made. Trevor really is a force to be reckoned with! I'm at my witt's end a lot of the time trying to keep him from destroying the house and protecting my stuff and the boys stuff from him. 2 1/2 hours of pre school 3 days a week isn't much time away from home, so Trevor is home a lot missing his brothers so he is off to try all their things while they are away!

Trevor is my walking tornado. Ryan has become my quiet creative child - still prone to getting overly upset at small things. Stephen is my bright, shy, sensitive one with lots of friends who keeps allot of stuff to himself. I think they are rather "typical" and feel very blessed that when I think of my kids right now I think of sensitive and bright, creative and quiet and a walking tornado - no longer the first things that come to mind are "failure to thrive", speech delayed, ADD, developmentally delayed. It is nice to have come to a place where we do have some "normalcy" in this family. their issues don't seem so life threatening. Their futures don't seem so unpredictable and possibly a struggle to get through.

We went to Mike's aunt for a holiday get together and she couldn't believe how quiet and well mannered Ryan was. My mom said the same thing. It's been almost a year since Ryan was diagnosed with ADD (even though we knew that was most likely what we were dealing with) and he is doing wonderful. He is one of the best behaved kids in his Cub Scouts Den. Academically he is doing all right. He has definitely become a more serious boy and he is more thoughtful and he is not as impulsive as he had been.

Trevor is no longer getting tons of service from Early Intervention and I think that he really missed all that attention. He definitely goes out of his way to misbehave at times. He does get bored easily and is constantly wanting to clean and do whatever it is that the rest of the family is doing. I no longer fixate on everything he does or doesn't put in his mouth. His hair is growing, he looks healthy. I did get really overly anxious about the latest H1N1 scare. And for a period of time I was obsessed with the thought of him getting the flu. We did get a priority vaccine for him and the rest of the family was vaccinated too. We have been rather sickly November and December, but no flu and no strep throat which has been invading our school and our friends have been hit by them.

so for 2010 I feel very lucky where we are at when I look back at where we were just a year ago. We do have upcoming visit with the endocrinologist in March as well as Trevor's opthamologist in March too. We probably won't be going back to see the new Gastroenterologist we saw in December. He recommended a consult with an OT, and a nutritionist. While I'm sure we could benefit from their expertise, we cannot afford their astronomical fees - over 400 for a 2 hour eval from the OT and then ongoing treatment is guesstimated to be at over 300 each session. His health situation is no longer as bad as it had been and I have learned allot from our time with our nutritionist from Early intervention, and had learned from our OT from Early intervention that I feel okay about not pursuing these therapies anymore. I wonder who can afford this kind of therapy. And don't even get me started on the lousy insurance companies and how terrible it is that speech therapy is not covered, nutritionist consultation is not covered for Failure to thrive patients, SPD (Sensory processing disorder) therapy is not covered. Nor is our visits to the phychologist at the ADD clinic that we will have some office visits.

I still am struggling with my health. Still very sleep deprived, still don't know what caused my heart irregularities, still having trouble maintaining my weight, and chronic and excessive fatigue. Maybe this year I will get some answers on myself. The thought has crossed my mind that the stress I had been under last year might be a big factor in my health. Dealing with my dad's death, Ryan's ADD diagnosis and fighting with the school for him to be treated right, Trevor turning 3 and aging out of Early Intervention and still not gaining the weight he should and still speech delayed - those things can all make a person a bit anxious to say the least.

As this new year starts out, I am feeling optimistic about it. I hope to lose some weight and get healthy, get my house organized, and keep helping my kids reach their potential and deal with their issues and struggles. I do have a lot on my plate. I don't know what I was thinking when I decided I wanted to co-chair the Sweetheart dance at Trevor's pre-school, among other things I added to my already big list of things on my to do list. but that's what most of us who are mom's do. One of the things on my "to do list" - get Trevor potty trained, get Trevor to sleep in a big boy bed, and clean out my basement. Just a couple of things!

I hope 2010 is going to be a great year filled with lots of great memories for my family and for yours.

HAPPY 2010 to you! May you have great health, great joy, and great prsperity in this new year!

So, whats so great about fall?

I am not having a great Fall. I don't like the weather getting cold. Yes, the leaves turning colors is pretty, but then come all the leaves that blow into my garage!

To me fall means badk to school (and that means homework).

It also means I need to get out my sweaters. I now have to do a load of delicates and hang dryables (sweaters). I can't have my kids go outside through the sprinkler for a cleaning.

I wake up and its dark (because Trevor has been getting up at 6:15, its still dark).

It means sitting bundled up trying to stay warm as I watch soccer or baseball games. (My son was playing this weekend while it rained, then snowed!!)

I also don't like fall because it means fundraising time. School fundraisers, pre school fundraiser, special needs PTA fundraisers, Cub scout fundraisers. I'm fundraised out!

Another biggie for me is that fall means Halloween is coming and that means Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. I jsut don't feel ready to be all jolly yet!

I guess I am a little grumpy. It has been so wet and cold since September. We didn't get a gentle easing into fall that is for sure. I am so tired of the rain.

Send me a joke to get me out of my "fall funk"!

Fabulous Family pictures!

The last time we had an "official" family picture was when Trevor was about 3 months old - (the day before his Christening as a matter of fact!). We had it done because the pre-school that Ryan went to offered it as a fundraiser. In the pictures, Trevor tends to look constipated and I was having a very puffy, hair day! so although I was glad to have a Family Portrait, it wasn't all that I had hoped for.

This year once again the Pre-school offered family photo sessions. In addition to the pre-school the Special Needs PTA also offered the family picture, so I decided it was time to update the family picture and support the Special Needs PTA in the process.

I did go out shopping all of Friday the day of (pics at 6:00 in the evening). Trevor and I went to the Children's place, Petite Sophisticate, The Gap, Gap for Kids and maybe even another store. I got them each a nice outfit (and something they can wear for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve too). Besides the clothes I bought at the resale, I haven't bought much for the boys, so it was nice to update thier wardrobes with a brand new outfit!

I think the pictures turned out good! We were in and out within 20 mins, no waiting. There aren't any different back droops to choose from and not a lot of pose changes, but even without all that "fluff" we got some great pics.

I even decided at the shoot that it was time for Mike and I to get an updated picture of ourselves too. We haven't had a nice pic of just us for years (well, we did have some pics of us at Brad's wedding, but I was in labor that day and super bloated, so not my most photogenic!)

Here are our pictures: Me and my handsome men!

And, here is Trevor's latest picture - They take class pictures in pre school now!

I am back!

Here I am . . .

what have I been up to, well lets see, since my last blog (July I think), Trevor turned 3, we went to Arkansas for vacation, stephen started fall baseball, ryan started fall soccer, trevor started pre school, boys started 2nd and 5th grades respectively, Ryan joined cub scouts and stephen is continuing in Cub Scouts.

I chaired Red Ribbon again this year, became the Special Needs PTA liason for NYE, became Co-Chair for Sweetheart Dance at the pre-school, am a greeter for the pre-school, am a room parent in stephen's class, a Head Room parent in Ryan's class, a classroom helper in Trevor's pre-school, volunteered for the Halloween party at the pre-school, and I'm sure I am missing things

Oh, I forgot I also agreed to the "the historian" at the pre-school. Plus, I may do some work on the directory for Young again this year.

There have also been Dr. appts, (me I was wearing a heart monitor for a month) Trevor and stephen had bone age scans done and went to the endocrinologist.

Really, I thought I was cutting back. The only thing I've cut back on is my Tupperware business. So please if you need some Tupperware, I need some orders!

So I long to blog, but lately I can't even remember what my name is of where I am supposed to be (or where my kids are supposed to be), so stringing some coherent thoughts together seems a little more than I was willing to do the past couple of months.

Today is the last day of Red Ribbon. While I am still busy with other things, I will not have this on my shoulders. It has been a full time job fo rthe past 2 weeks, and there was a lot of time put into this since school started before the past 2 weeks!

Printable Coupons: Grocery Coupons

Printable Coupons: Grocery Coupons

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First Day of school

Today was the day.

I was not at all ready; I really enjoyed this summer even as cram packed and fast paced as it was. But here it is, the first day of school already!

I think the boys were feeling ready about going back.

Ryan's classroom

In the gymnasium (couldn't line up on the blacktop because of the rain)


Stephen at his desk in his classroom

I now have a 5th grader and a 2nd grader (and next week a pre schooler!) Where does the time go?

Trevor sings, and Am I going to Hell??

Another Trevor post!

Me, Ryan and Trevor were on our way back after dropping Stephen and friends to tennis practice. I have the music on (101.9 I believe). It's a song I recognize and has a great beat so I am kinda humming and tapping my feet and doing my "car dancing" to the music. (and no I was not paying attention to the lyrics, . . . .yet)

Then Trevor chimes in. He is singing the lyrics! And, its not quite as slow paced as Twinkle Twinkle little star either! He is singing and he is singing clearly - my little speech delayed son!

Are you wondering yet what song he is singing? Brace yourself . . . .
I hope I am not going to hell for not censoring my music and also for not turning the station once I realized what the lyrics were, but he was sining and it does have a great beat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kju9VU2B7Bk

Just in case the link above doesn't work . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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The song was by All American Rejects - if it gives you hell

this is the chorus part that Trevor sang:

When you see my faceI hope it gives you hell,
I hope it gives you hell
When you walk my wayI hope it gives you hell, I hope it gives you hell

So, am I wrong to be happy and proud about Trevor singing a pop song, Or am I going to HELL??

Another birthday

Today is Dear Hubby's birthday. Being the busy family of 5, we don't have much "birthday plans" for him. We did call and all of us except trevor who was being shy sung him Happy birthday.

I am off to the store with the boys to make him my fabulous Key Lime Pie. Its easy and its delicous and lots cheaper than bakers Square.

Of course, we might not get to eat it together. I will be taking Trevor for immunizations today as it was one of the few times I could get in and I made this appt more than a month ago (and we need to get these immunizations and another set before school starts in Aug). And it is also a game night for Stephen. While I am driving Trevor to get his shots, Mike will be arriving home and then have to take Stephen to a baseball game. Baseball isn't really Mike's thing, but he is a "team player" in the house, so he will be driving to a game on his bday.

This is Michael at a "more celebrated birthday". I can't say that he has changed much!

HAPPY BDAY MICHAEL!

Trevor's Eye appointment

Why am I ever surpised when a doctor or teacher or someone suggests I need to take my son to a specialist or have him seen for this or that, and then am still surprised when they ACTUALLY find something wrong with them??

Sigh, I don't know why i continue to be surprised, but I am. since Trevor failed the vision and hearing - oops, I mean was referred for vision and hearing, I had to go have him checked out for vision and hearing. We have yet to do the hearing, but we did go and see an Eye Dr. yesterday for Trevor and his eye that turns in or as they stated "left eye deviates in" on his referreal form.

Ryan also had what seemed to be an eye that turned in and we took him to the eye Dr. and was told that although it looks like his eye turns in, it actually isn't. There is a fold of skin that makes it appear his eye is turning in, but in fact his eye is fine. I wasn't so sure about this, but its been a couple of years and I don't notice it anymore. So I guess because of this, I expected to hear the same thing at the eye Dr.

Long story short there was good news and bad news. Good news - no surgery. Bad News - he will need glasses. He has a condition called Strabismus. It is a visual defect where the eyes are misaligned. About 4% of all children have this. for the exact kind of Strabismus, I think he said esotropia.(not exotropia) Trevor is faresighted and will be wearing glasses all the time.

Strabisums is common for kids with disorders such a s cerebral palsy, down syndrome, hydrocephalus and brain tumors, but I guess it is still common enough in kids without those issues either. As for long term, I'm not really sure what it means. i was in a state of shock and not doing my best at listening, but I thought he said there is a chance he may outgrow this. I was not listeing because I had several thoughts running through my head

1. What do you mean he is far sighted? Mike and I are both nearsighted!

2. I can't believe there is yet another thing to add to the list of "issues" this little guy has

3. Becasue of his sensory issues, he hates having hats and gloves and stuff on him, wonder how he will do with glasses (he wouldn't wear the little plastic sunglasses thing home to make his eyes deal wtiht the sun on the way home after his eyes were dilated during the appt.

4. How much is this latest thing going to cost me!

So, I am a terrible mom, aren't eye! (get it eye and not I!!)

It's day 3 of summer break, and I am making phone calles trying to find a place that sells frames for toddlers. Its harder than i thought to find glasses that small (and they aren't cheap at least not ones in stock)

So after I wait for some eye places to call me back, I will be trying to hunt down the hearing evaluation that was done last summer on Trevor. He did pass it last summer (although I was shocked that the girl passed him - its not that I think he can't hear, it was the fact that he was totally not paying attention and responding to most of the things the way he was supposed to)

The past month is a bit of a blur . . . . . Here's a small run down of what we've been doing the past month:

The start of baseball season for Stephen ( Stephen is doing well and a pretty good pitcher!)
Several happenings at school –

Umbrellas’ for Peace Project, - (awesome project with the artist Matt Lamb to promote world peace – I got to help the kids with their painting of the umbrellas )

4th grade state Fair – (Stephen did North Dakota – the kids are so talented and creative!)

Field Days – (didn’t see much of this one because it was changed days because of poss rain)
1st grade beach party – I didn’t get a chance to see this, but this was a very traumatic day for me and not Ryan – I’ll be blogging about that one for sure! I was not picked to be a room mom for the event, then come to find out the head room mom didn’t even come and I could have stepped in – maddening!!

Last Full day of school and School assembly (June 5th)

Stephen leaving after the last WHOLE day (friday)
Ryan at the year end assembly
In the car for our last time Going for the last hour on Monday as a first grader and 4th grader!

It's over, let summer begin (stephen doesn't look so excited, does he?)

Stephen and some friends - now we will smile for the camera!

Ryan and his friend Aden

and last day of School June 8th (to celebrate we went with friends to Steak and Shake and got shakes and burgers – yummy!)

Several family happenings
Sean’s christening (my nephew was christened in May – such a sweet looking baby)

Jimmy’s bday party (our nephew is now 12 and is taller than me!)

My mom’s visit – (she didn’t spend much time at our house, but we did have a nice time at the christening, at a restaurant to see the brothers and sis in laws and babies, and saw my aunt lil who’s 93 now and still driving)

My mom and all 5 of the grandkids (my 3 and the babies Annabelle with my mom and Sean with my sister in law Donna)

And other things happenings:

Memorial day bar b que – Thanks Kathy –we invited ourselves and forced them to have a Memorial Day bar b que (well it was your turn, I Think!) – good food!

Smores time!!


Me and Kathy - BFF's (umm, maybe I need to ask her if thats ok)

Dr. appts (another neurologist visit for Ryan– tomorrow opthamologist for Trevor’s turned in eye)

Ryan waiting for Dr. Ikramudin - Ryan is doing awesome with being on meds, but we'll take the summer off - hopefully ryan will gain some weight being off the meds

Pre school evaluation and follow up (what a disappointment to learn Trevor will only get speech) No OT, he is not developmentally delayed despite his major speech delay so no extra services besides speech once a week for an hour)

Friends birthday parties (happy birthday to Samuel, Aden, and Ben – Kelly you rock with the Survivor theme, it looked so awesome – and you are brave to have 29 kids at your house and looking like it might rain all day!)

This is at the Survivor party that Ryan's friend Ben invited him to


Ryan and one of the birthday boys - Ben

It was neat seeing all the kids in their different colored survivor t-shirts

Shop Crop and Craft for a Cure Event – I was a vendor there – anybody want to buys some Tupperware and help a great cause??

Sensory Processing Disorder Seminar – this was a great seminar! How I wish Trevor could continue in Early Intervention for a while longer so I can learn more about this

Landscaping project - Having 4 bushes/trees taken out of the front landscaping

Before with the tree by the garage door and the junipers flanking the porch

After pic - no more trees by the garage or junipers!

And the usual:

Nutritionist meetings (back off the growth chart in weight), OT, and Speech –Cub scout Meetings and events

PTA meetings and stuff

I’ll have to pick a couple of events to blog about! I hope to get some time to do some blogging about so much of these memorable events!

The return on Lindy cat

Wow, when I came on here and saw I hadn't posted since Lindy cat's great escape, I was amazed. Life's been THAT busy!

Lindy cat is back home, safe and sound. She was a couple of doors down, and may have been there the whole time. She was spotted there the first day she was missing, and then again the next day. We looked for her there, but she didn't appear to be there. Our neighbors called again the next day after dinner saying she was out on their patio again. I raced down there and was there in less than 3 mins. I could not see her or figure out wher she was. I thought she ran away, but she was just in a little hiding place underneath an opening by the house by their fireplace. she would not come out no matter how much i called. Thank you to my friend Kelly who got a flashlight and did spot her. I looked exactly where she was hiding and didn't see her. I had to drag her out. She's been home for a while now, but still seems to want to try to get outside.
Last week, Trevor left the door open again. I was sitting in my den and I see a big blackish brownish blob out the corner of my eye out the den window - she was out again. She was under the deck, and I scared her and she ran towards the front and I thought, not again! But she ran into the house, whew.

I hope she gets used to being an indoor cat again.

Lindy Cat is gone!

My "Little Old Lady cat" Lindy is missing. She has been gone a whole day. She has never been gone over night. I've been really so frustrated with her lately as she keeps trying to sleep on my pillow. She starts out inthe middle and when she thinks I'm asleep she creeps upmy pillow and then tries to lay on my hair. She actually uses her paw to move my hair and then tries to lay on it, all the while pulling my hair and hurting my scalp. Needless to say, I keep trying to get her to sleep at the end of the bed. Sometimes she tries sneaking up there 4 or 5 or even more times a night and its been almost as bad as waking up for newborn feeding time.

Last night there was no Lindy and I did sleep without anyone pulling my hair. It was still a terrible night as I worried about her.

She is as I said, my "little old lady". She is 13 years old (as old as I've been married). We got her as a kitten just weeks before our wedding. She is not very active and loves to just sleep and eat. She doesn't come out much when the boys are home as they are too noisy and unpredictable for her tastes (I don't blame her). But she is a pretty laid back and sweet cat and I hate to think she is out there in the rain, knowing how much she hates rain, and knowing how much she loves to eat cat food.

I have neighbors keeping their eyes open, and many tell me that cat's are smart and she'll be able to take care of herself and find her way home, but I have my doubts. she doesn't get much exercise, is frightened of her own shadow and doesn't know how to go about getting food in the wild.

I hope it stops raining. I can't imagine her walking aroun in the rain. I'm guessing she is under a bush or deck somewhere waiting for the rain to stop.

My poor old girl. Please come home!