No fun pictures today! Just randomness.
JB has been puny most of this week. Missed 2 days of school thus far. You know your 3 year old is not feeling well when you ask him if he wants to ride the bus to school or take a nap and he chooses a nap.
JB has gotten into cheering these days. He gets excited and says "wahoo, wahoo". He still has not been evaluated for OT yet - guess lots of people are requesting evaluations these days at the facility we go to.
The older two are counting down until they get to hit the slopes again!
B asked yesterday 'why is it called a pair of underwear when it is only one'? Anyone have an answer for that. Leave it up to that kid to come up with that one.
Jbird continues to do well with reading, gaining more and more confidence!
I asked one of the older boys recently what word they thought of when they thought of me. That was a tough question I was told, so I told them they could come up with 5 words. They came up with 4....merciful - although they told me it was optional, argumentative, caring and loving. I had to think about the argumentative one...maybe I need to quit trying to reason/explain myself and just say no.
I have sold 3 items on Craiglist and made $90 this week. I could get into more of this....Even sold/traded a few things on Amazon and hoping to add to my account gift card balance so I can get another camera lens. Always more fun to purchase something when you have been saving up for it.
JR continues to work a lot. So thankful for a good, steady, secure job! I put in 35 hours this month - which is just perfect for me. Looks like March will be somewhat busy with spring breaks happening. I have already talked with them about summer and sounds like things will ramp up quite a bit for me with the rental cars. I guess it makes more sense, since people feel more comfortable driving in the summer instead of taking taxis and buses everywhere like they do in the winter.
Off to get dinner and then to Cub Scouts. The boys officially advance tonight. Which means B is now a Webelo. He can start going on some overnight camping trips and can now attend their 3 day summer camp! They are slowly introduced to Boy Scouts too, when all the fun and work really begins.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
The boys had a blast on the ski hill today.....Jbird is signed up for 5 weeks of Saturdays. B decided he wanted to try it too. So, I signed him up for a group lesson and as I had hoped, he was the only one his age and skiing ability, so he got a private lesson for an hour and half.
I tried to get them to wait to put on their skis....was not gonna happen.
B and his instructor Tom
Look at the snow....
He likes the ski lift.
J had so much fun doing one legged - still not sure how that came about.
He was frustrated with his fogging goggles.
A big thumbs up
J's first time getting on the lift.
Hopefully the first of many pictures of them on the hill.
The two of them road the lift by themselves several times!
Poor little JB, he was not feeling well. He slept for 3 hours in the lodge. JR and I would swap off sitting with him. He would briefly wake up, look around and then snuggle with whoever was sitting down with him next.
It was a blustery day at times.
The overall concensus of the day...they had a blast and cannot wait until next Saturday. I know now why I have not attempted it earlier...it is a ton of work getting everyone geared up and in their right place. Hopefully next week will be much smoother.
I tried to get them to wait to put on their skis....was not gonna happen.
B and his instructor Tom
Look at the snow....
He likes the ski lift.
J had so much fun doing one legged - still not sure how that came about.
He was frustrated with his fogging goggles.
A big thumbs up
J's first time getting on the lift.
Hopefully the first of many pictures of them on the hill.
The two of them road the lift by themselves several times!
Poor little JB, he was not feeling well. He slept for 3 hours in the lodge. JR and I would swap off sitting with him. He would briefly wake up, look around and then snuggle with whoever was sitting down with him next.
It was a blustery day at times.
The overall concensus of the day...they had a blast and cannot wait until next Saturday. I know now why I have not attempted it earlier...it is a ton of work getting everyone geared up and in their right place. Hopefully next week will be much smoother.
Friday, February 22, 2013
We headed out recently to feed the ducks at the college duck pond.
I don't think any of us expected to be stormed by the ducks. I don't know if they were just really, really hungry (it was President's Day so there were no college kids around) or if they just need a lot more calories during the winter.) Surprisingly, the kids were not too freaked out about them being so close.
I love this picture because you can see the ducks following the boys around the pond.
JB spent about 15 minutes with an occupational therapist yesterday. She definitely sees some issues. She is hoping to do a more detailed evaluation soon to see if he qualifies for more therapy. She cannot quite pin point it yet but having to do with hand eye coordination, bilateral movement, visual tracking,etc. I told her I have always considered him coordinated. She said it is not necessarily coordination, so to speak. She compared it to how kids will often walk on the parking 'blocks' (the concrete blocks that you find at the top of a parking space) with no problems. But when she gets them in her office and asks them to walk on a balance beam, they can't. If it requires a thought process, they struggle with it. Since apraxia is a neurological issue, affecting motor planning, we are assuming that the motor planning issues are starting to show up in the gross and fine motor areas. This OT saw him at 22 months, so she has a baseline to compare it to once she re-evaluates.
I of course came home and emailed JB's teacher, since the therapist said she wanted to talk with them. The teacher said they have seen some of the same things and have some of the same concerns (she was just waiting to address them at our next IEP meeting). So I am glad everyone is seeing the same issues. Now to get the official eval and then deal with insurance.
Tomorrow is the big day...Jbird is finally going to hit the ski slopes. He has ski lessons for the next 5 Saturdays. B has been given the option, he just is not sure yet if he wants to commit to all 5 weeks or just take a sporadic one or two lessons while Jbird is taking his. Will be fun to see how he does with a new sport.
I don't think any of us expected to be stormed by the ducks. I don't know if they were just really, really hungry (it was President's Day so there were no college kids around) or if they just need a lot more calories during the winter.) Surprisingly, the kids were not too freaked out about them being so close.
I love this picture because you can see the ducks following the boys around the pond.
JB spent about 15 minutes with an occupational therapist yesterday. She definitely sees some issues. She is hoping to do a more detailed evaluation soon to see if he qualifies for more therapy. She cannot quite pin point it yet but having to do with hand eye coordination, bilateral movement, visual tracking,etc. I told her I have always considered him coordinated. She said it is not necessarily coordination, so to speak. She compared it to how kids will often walk on the parking 'blocks' (the concrete blocks that you find at the top of a parking space) with no problems. But when she gets them in her office and asks them to walk on a balance beam, they can't. If it requires a thought process, they struggle with it. Since apraxia is a neurological issue, affecting motor planning, we are assuming that the motor planning issues are starting to show up in the gross and fine motor areas. This OT saw him at 22 months, so she has a baseline to compare it to once she re-evaluates.
I of course came home and emailed JB's teacher, since the therapist said she wanted to talk with them. The teacher said they have seen some of the same things and have some of the same concerns (she was just waiting to address them at our next IEP meeting). So I am glad everyone is seeing the same issues. Now to get the official eval and then deal with insurance.
Tomorrow is the big day...Jbird is finally going to hit the ski slopes. He has ski lessons for the next 5 Saturdays. B has been given the option, he just is not sure yet if he wants to commit to all 5 weeks or just take a sporadic one or two lessons while Jbird is taking his. Will be fun to see how he does with a new sport.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
A recent outing to a children's museum....
Here is JB playing on a homemade pinbell machine.
The boys building with some sticks and connectors - sure glad we don't have all these in our house !
They had a really fun farmers market with lots of play fruit and veggies
This is a bubble wall. You did the long rod into the trough of soap. Not sure if you can see it, but everything in front of JB is a wall of bubbles. The kids love blowing on it and watching it move and wave and eventually pop.
We were treated to a puppet show.
JB in a row boat, trying to figure out the life jacket.
Jbird was also with us, but he was elusive when the camera was out.
I pulled out the 4 year old and 6 year old clothes. I have learned with Jbird to not assume he will wear something. He went through everything size 6 and he either put it in the 'yes' pile or the 'no' pile. The 'no' pile gets put right back in the crawl space for when JB turns 6. (Most of Jbird's clothes are not worth passing on when he finishes with them.) I also pulled out all the other in between sizes and ended up giving away probably 250 items of clothing. Two huge, waist high garbage bags!
Talking with JB's speech therapist today. She is going to have a occupational therapist observe him on Thursday. The speech therapist is starting to see some differences/delay with his bi-lateral movement (I think that is the movement across the body). The speech therapist just wants to catch anything early, especially since what she is currently seeing could affect things when he starts to read or write. He obviously is not to the reading or writing, but I have learned - early intervention. Apraxia is all about finding things early and retraining the brain before bad habits are developed. So, will be interesting to see what the OT thinks on Thursday.
Here is JB playing on a homemade pinbell machine.
The boys building with some sticks and connectors - sure glad we don't have all these in our house !
They had a really fun farmers market with lots of play fruit and veggies
This is a bubble wall. You did the long rod into the trough of soap. Not sure if you can see it, but everything in front of JB is a wall of bubbles. The kids love blowing on it and watching it move and wave and eventually pop.
We were treated to a puppet show.
JB in a row boat, trying to figure out the life jacket.
Jbird was also with us, but he was elusive when the camera was out.
I pulled out the 4 year old and 6 year old clothes. I have learned with Jbird to not assume he will wear something. He went through everything size 6 and he either put it in the 'yes' pile or the 'no' pile. The 'no' pile gets put right back in the crawl space for when JB turns 6. (Most of Jbird's clothes are not worth passing on when he finishes with them.) I also pulled out all the other in between sizes and ended up giving away probably 250 items of clothing. Two huge, waist high garbage bags!
Talking with JB's speech therapist today. She is going to have a occupational therapist observe him on Thursday. The speech therapist is starting to see some differences/delay with his bi-lateral movement (I think that is the movement across the body). The speech therapist just wants to catch anything early, especially since what she is currently seeing could affect things when he starts to read or write. He obviously is not to the reading or writing, but I have learned - early intervention. Apraxia is all about finding things early and retraining the brain before bad habits are developed. So, will be interesting to see what the OT thinks on Thursday.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Yesterday was Feb 16th and absolutely gorgeous. It was probably close to 50 degrees out and sunny. Amazing how warm 50 feels when you are use to 20 or 30. We got out and washed the car.
The boys for some reason love climbing on the van. Jbird had been to a party that morning and one of the party favors was a cool mask that the mom had made - striking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pose.
JB was out without a shirt on! He tears it up on the bike. A few weeks ago I went walking with a friend and their street was very long with little traffic. I took all three of the boys' bikes in hopes that they would ride and ride. JB was the only one that rode and rode and rode. He went for a bike ride yesterday and he rode and rode and rode. Jbird wanted to roller blade - that did not work too well. JB got so far ahead of us, that I had to send B on his bike to ride with him. JB gets in the middle of the road and those training wheels make so much noise, he can't hear anything. It was precious though watching B come along side him and ride with him.
The older two got in some soccer action. At one point B was encouraging Jbird with his amazing moves. Jbird was quite proud of himself for sticking it to his older brother. They both have good moves, but Jbird is just amazing. I was so thankful that B could be excited for his brother and recognize his talent.
This was one tired little boy after all that fun in the sun. All three of them were sitting in the desk chairs that swivels. I am very thankful that the older two boys had the insight not to spin in the chair - otherwise JB would have been hurting.
The boys for some reason love climbing on the van. Jbird had been to a party that morning and one of the party favors was a cool mask that the mom had made - striking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pose.
JB was out without a shirt on! He tears it up on the bike. A few weeks ago I went walking with a friend and their street was very long with little traffic. I took all three of the boys' bikes in hopes that they would ride and ride. JB was the only one that rode and rode and rode. He went for a bike ride yesterday and he rode and rode and rode. Jbird wanted to roller blade - that did not work too well. JB got so far ahead of us, that I had to send B on his bike to ride with him. JB gets in the middle of the road and those training wheels make so much noise, he can't hear anything. It was precious though watching B come along side him and ride with him.
The older two got in some soccer action. At one point B was encouraging Jbird with his amazing moves. Jbird was quite proud of himself for sticking it to his older brother. They both have good moves, but Jbird is just amazing. I was so thankful that B could be excited for his brother and recognize his talent.
This was one tired little boy after all that fun in the sun. All three of them were sitting in the desk chairs that swivels. I am very thankful that the older two boys had the insight not to spin in the chair - otherwise JB would have been hurting.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! Holding on to the greatest love there is today, that from our God and Father!
The cheesecake is finishing up in the oven and have plans for mac n cheese, chicken nuggets and buffalo wings for dinner. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? I like to save all the laboring for when the kids are older and will appreciate a finer selection of food:-)
The boys made their own valentines this year...(These are for you Kenna - I am trying to dust the camera off and take more pictures for you)
They actually had a lot more fun doing it than I anticipated. The best part, they finished them. I thought for sure I would end up doing the last half!
This past week I ended up in District Court. A friend of mine, who is a single parent, had to go to a hearing. Her boys were assaulted last year and I was along for moral support. When we got there, we entered through a back door and then headed to the victim services office. A lady told us what she knew about today's proceedings and then the three of us walked down to the courtroom. As soon as we sat down, my friend noticed a man standing outside the door looking at her through a window. It was a very intentional, intimidating stare. The victim services lady left for a bit and when she came back in, my friend mentioned the man. She assured my friend, as did I, that he was just trying to intimidate. We were not sure who he was but confident he was with the perpetrator and his mom. My friend, after about 15 minutes, became very uncomfortable and the man was still standing there. So the victim services lady went and asked him to move away from the door. He in so many words, was very rude and said absolutely not. The three of us then decided to leave the courtroom. My friend and I were not in the courtroom for the hearing but the perpetrator pled guilty, which we expected. I would have liked to have seen the process. But as they escorted us back out of the building and to our car, it occurred to me that we had not walked through any metal detectors. Given the day and age we live in, I was really surprised. We were in district court, where some are given lenghty sentences and emotions can run high. My friend started putting two and two together and realized the man was the perpetrators father, who had recently been released from a federal penn in Texas for armed bank robbery. I don't know about other courthouses, but our security seems pretty lax. I am thankful for God's protection yesterday and that someone was not packing a pistol. Needless to say, I don't know that my friend wants to go back for the sentencing phase.
Not much else going on around here, which I am coming to appreciate the mundane days!
The cheesecake is finishing up in the oven and have plans for mac n cheese, chicken nuggets and buffalo wings for dinner. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? I like to save all the laboring for when the kids are older and will appreciate a finer selection of food:-)
The boys made their own valentines this year...(These are for you Kenna - I am trying to dust the camera off and take more pictures for you)
They actually had a lot more fun doing it than I anticipated. The best part, they finished them. I thought for sure I would end up doing the last half!
This past week I ended up in District Court. A friend of mine, who is a single parent, had to go to a hearing. Her boys were assaulted last year and I was along for moral support. When we got there, we entered through a back door and then headed to the victim services office. A lady told us what she knew about today's proceedings and then the three of us walked down to the courtroom. As soon as we sat down, my friend noticed a man standing outside the door looking at her through a window. It was a very intentional, intimidating stare. The victim services lady left for a bit and when she came back in, my friend mentioned the man. She assured my friend, as did I, that he was just trying to intimidate. We were not sure who he was but confident he was with the perpetrator and his mom. My friend, after about 15 minutes, became very uncomfortable and the man was still standing there. So the victim services lady went and asked him to move away from the door. He in so many words, was very rude and said absolutely not. The three of us then decided to leave the courtroom. My friend and I were not in the courtroom for the hearing but the perpetrator pled guilty, which we expected. I would have liked to have seen the process. But as they escorted us back out of the building and to our car, it occurred to me that we had not walked through any metal detectors. Given the day and age we live in, I was really surprised. We were in district court, where some are given lenghty sentences and emotions can run high. My friend started putting two and two together and realized the man was the perpetrators father, who had recently been released from a federal penn in Texas for armed bank robbery. I don't know about other courthouses, but our security seems pretty lax. I am thankful for God's protection yesterday and that someone was not packing a pistol. Needless to say, I don't know that my friend wants to go back for the sentencing phase.
Not much else going on around here, which I am coming to appreciate the mundane days!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
JB and I headed back to the ENT this week. Seems that one ear is doing great. The other ear, not so good (this is the ear that JB 'failed' in his hearing test). Seems the tube was laying on the outside of the ear drum but the original hole where the ear tube was is about 4mm, instead of 1mm. To have an ear drum not close up after ear tubes is not unheard of. We knew it was a potential complication. The doctor is giving it 6 more weeks to see what it will do. He is thinking it won't close up. If that is the case, he will go back in for a very short procedure where they will cover up the hole. I did not fully get the details but he talked about taking a small bit of fatty tissue from the ear lobe and using that!? I did tell him that beginning early June we plan on lots of swimming, so I want to make sure we have time for surgery and healing. If surgery was done early April, he would be cleared to swim towards end of May.
Last week were parent teacher conferences. Both teachers told me how much my boys love to write. It seems that Jbird gets upset when writing time is over. The teacher thinks he would write for an hour, if given the opportunity. B's teacher said that he has so much creativity and how much he adds to the class. They are both doing very well. Jbird can sound out most 6-7 letter words. B is still reading close to 45-60 minutes most nights. I think he would stay up until 10 every night reading if I let him.
There are several mantras that are becoming common around our house. One of them, that I read about in the book Unglued is "Remember Who You Are". Just wanting to instill in the boys who they represent - our family - and how they act out in public is a direct reflection on what people think our family stands for. The same for being a Christian. We represent Christ. The same when B has on his cub scout uniform - the scouts are expected to behave in a manner of respect.
Speaking of scouts, we have a den meeting tonight and we are working on our whittling card. We are carving things out of soap tonight. I must say, I had fun today as I practiced. Was thinking it would be a fun activity for a birthday party!
No school tomorrow, not sure why but a kick off to a fairly quiet weekend!
Last week were parent teacher conferences. Both teachers told me how much my boys love to write. It seems that Jbird gets upset when writing time is over. The teacher thinks he would write for an hour, if given the opportunity. B's teacher said that he has so much creativity and how much he adds to the class. They are both doing very well. Jbird can sound out most 6-7 letter words. B is still reading close to 45-60 minutes most nights. I think he would stay up until 10 every night reading if I let him.
There are several mantras that are becoming common around our house. One of them, that I read about in the book Unglued is "Remember Who You Are". Just wanting to instill in the boys who they represent - our family - and how they act out in public is a direct reflection on what people think our family stands for. The same for being a Christian. We represent Christ. The same when B has on his cub scout uniform - the scouts are expected to behave in a manner of respect.
Speaking of scouts, we have a den meeting tonight and we are working on our whittling card. We are carving things out of soap tonight. I must say, I had fun today as I practiced. Was thinking it would be a fun activity for a birthday party!
No school tomorrow, not sure why but a kick off to a fairly quiet weekend!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Here is a picture JB's preschool teacher sent me. They made muffins yesterday and she got a picture of the little chef. He was so proud of himself - although he did not share them with me.
Yesterday was the 100th day of school - 80 more days. They seem to really fly by in the spring though.
B got his mouth appliance put back in. We negotiated on a payment at the beginning and the rate we are going, we will come out ahead. When he went in to have his appliance replace, the Dr. realized it was not a good fit, so had to, once again, make another. This time he did it with B sitting in the chair. We are about 5 months in and he has yet to get it tightened.
I have been working on the piano. Not practicing as much as I would like, but still making progress. My 'teacher' told me she sees some natural ability. Since I am right handed, I am finding it hard to have my right hand hold a note while the left hand plays. All about practice, right?
Busy next couple of days with work. I am just amazed at the money that people can/are able to spend. Great job security for those of us that are in the 'customer service' jobs. I thought a plus to the job would be that I could take the boys with me, but I have found it twice as hard to clean when they are with me. No sooner do I get things vacuumed out then they walk back over it. Amazing how a kid will not touch a window until you clean it!
Yesterday was the 100th day of school - 80 more days. They seem to really fly by in the spring though.
B got his mouth appliance put back in. We negotiated on a payment at the beginning and the rate we are going, we will come out ahead. When he went in to have his appliance replace, the Dr. realized it was not a good fit, so had to, once again, make another. This time he did it with B sitting in the chair. We are about 5 months in and he has yet to get it tightened.
I have been working on the piano. Not practicing as much as I would like, but still making progress. My 'teacher' told me she sees some natural ability. Since I am right handed, I am finding it hard to have my right hand hold a note while the left hand plays. All about practice, right?
Busy next couple of days with work. I am just amazed at the money that people can/are able to spend. Great job security for those of us that are in the 'customer service' jobs. I thought a plus to the job would be that I could take the boys with me, but I have found it twice as hard to clean when they are with me. No sooner do I get things vacuumed out then they walk back over it. Amazing how a kid will not touch a window until you clean it!
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