Whew, the end of the week!

What a long long week it was. Nothing major, beyond the stress of Tuesday (see previous post). But busy, non-stop.

Let's see...the problem I alluded to on Tuesday regarding Micah attending the school next year turned out not to be a problem, so never mind. Just keep in mind the source when someone tells you something "alarming" before you panic.

Wednesday wasn't too bad. I worked on the yearbook while Sofia was in school, and mid-afternoon E watched her while I went to Sam's IEP meeting. My boy now qualifies not only for a Learning Disability, but also for an Emotional Disability. He shows signs of Depression, but we think it's actually just Anxiety, not full-blown depression. So in addition to seeing his private-practice therapist, come September he will also see the public school psychologist once a week, and she will work with the day school staff to address the school-related issues (so the private therapist can concentrate on the home front issues).

We had a terrific Lag B'Omer picnic in the evening at the day school's "new" site (we purchased property, but have not started building the school yet). It was raining at the beginning of the picnic, but then the sky cleared and everyone could play on the fields. David (yes, he was there!) and another dad were in charge of "baseball" (mostly just pitching to the kids), while my boys and a lot of the older kids played soccer or capture the flag. Sofia had a grand time trying to get away from me; fortunately, she loves not only her own Dada but our friend E, so she was well cared for.

Thursday after I dropped off the boys, Sofia and I went to Home Depot and I bought a new grill! Hooray! A Fiesta Blue Ember, with 3 burners and a side burner and an LED light and a bottle opener (ok, no wine cork, I guess it's not totally perfect). unfortunately, the already-assembled one would NOT fit into the minivan, so I had to bring home a box. I spent about and hour and a half this afternoon (while the babysitter was here) assembling the bottom, and when David can help me lift the uppper portion tomorrow, I'll finish it. Can't wait to cook!

Monday, Sofia had seen the Cardiologist - we have to schedule a sedated echo in July - and also had her blood tests for the Endocrinologist. Endocrin called Thursday with the results. The TSA level, which last time was 7 (under 6 is normal, above 10 they treat, in between they just watch), this time was 4.4! So we'll just continue to watch.

This morning, we saw Dr. Buie, our dear GastroInterologist. Sam started going to this delightful man at the wee age of 2 months, for about 5 years. Right before Sofia was born, I'd taken Sam for his checkup, and found out the doc had written a chapter in "Medical & Surgical Care for Children with Down Syndrome"! So once Sofia started showing similar gut problems like Sam, she started being a patient, too. Anyway, the reason we were back again today was that her celiac results had been elevated at her routine screening (same one that indicated thyroid issue).

I'm pleased to report that Dr. Buie doesn not think she has Celiac at this time. Whew. We will continue to monitor it, adding TTG and IGA levels to all her routine bloodworks, and continue our wonderfully varied diet. It was good to see this man, who takes the time to explain things carefully and clearly. He also had suggestions for Sam (fish oil supplement to help with anxiety) and David (Niacin Supplement to help with Cholesterol).

We stopped by Micah's allergist while we were in the building, to get refills on all his prescriptions (Mometasome, Bactroban, and Albuterol inhaler). Of course, as soon as we left Dr. Buie's office, Sofia started to develop a stomach bug - she pooped several times throughout the day (including at the allergist's office), and has an awful rash now.

But we had a nice day. It was too late to take her to school when we were done with the doctors, so we went shopping instead. I had to get my dad's birthday invitations printed (we are celebrating his 70th birthday in July!), and we walked around Shoppers World. She fell asleep in the stroller, so I got to try on some clothing, and actually bought a pair of shorts, 2 sun dresses, and a bathing suit!

This afternoon, E watched the kids a bit while I built the grill. David had taken the minivan down to CT today - he had a client in New London - and he went to my folks' for dinner and to pick up the couch. He's on his way home now (almost 10 pm), so it was just me and the kids all evening. We had a nice time. We watched 2 episodes of the BBC production of "Robin Hood." We're all really tired, so it was nice to sit still together. I hope the boys sleep late tomorrow. Micah was up at 4:30 today, and Sofia shortly after that. I have not gotten much sleep this week - they keep waking up early, and Sam's just a wreck from being tired (and he had some standardized tests at school this week, too).

Best Wishes to all for a happy, healthy, and heartwarming Memorial Day weekend.

School School School

So today was all about who should go where to school and when.

This morning, Micah told me that his friend J is saying that he (J) will not be returning to MWJDS next year. Beyond the fact that J is Micah's best friend, J is also one of only 4 boys in Micah's entire class - it's Micah, J, E, and one other kid who I already know is not coming back.

So I stopped J's mom this morning to find out, and she said indeed, they are considering a different school, but had not decided. Ok. But she also told me some other possible issues that are making her look around. I am not at liberty to divulge yet, but they would affect Micah's ability to stay.

Combine that with the tantrum my husband threw yesterday about the tuition increase, and it was beginning to look as if I should seek alternate schooling for Micah. So when I dropped off Sofia, I went into the school (which is where 1st and 2nd grade is also held). I ran into our OT, who is on both Sofia's and Sam's IEP, and who I trust and really really like. We chatted a bit about Sam's IEP (which is tomorrow), and then she took me in to meet the school nurse.

I felt so much better after talking to the nurse, that I am seriously wondering if Micah would not be totally better off going to public school next year.

Then i went home, and checked on-line, in case Sam's IEP turns out to be too much for MWJDS to handle. The OT and I agreed that the public 4th grade is WAY too big for Sam, so where would he go? Well, I found a lovely school for dyslexic children, not far from here. The tuition? Oh, a mere $33,800 per year!!!! (I guess that kind of puts out tuition into perspective, huh?).

Ok. My girlfriend D called to see if I could meet her for coffee. Sure, but I was so rattled when I met her, she suggested I have some calming tea. Great. Had the tea, had a nice conversation, then went to get my hair cut...and FELL ASLEEP while my hair was being blow-dryed! Sound asleep.

Got a coffee (and a muffin) and went to David's office to pick up Sofia. She fell asleep before I got home, so I had a little quiet time. E came, I raced off to get the boys and go to TKD. Then home, and met R for dinner - and my husband stopped by the restuarant to give us dark chocolate M&Ms before he went out with his friend.

I'm going to sleep now!

***

Oh crud, the Ashland Override LOST by 49 votes. Closing the school libraries and losing some professionals, including some SPED folk. YUCH!

Ain't Nothin' like a hug at the supermarket

The Stop & Shops near us all have a lot of people with Down syndrome and some other disabilities working there. At the store we usually go to, there is a fellow named O. Sometimes when I say hi to O, he says "I don't know you, ma'am." (you can just hear his mom coaching him on strangers!). However, Thursday, when Sofia and were there, O came over and gave me a BIG HUG. It was wonderful. He started telling me about a friend who had died, and how his job is pretty easy but fun.

Thursday night was the Celebrate Israel event in our area, so I took the kids (R and I stayed with them on the playground a long time, then we did a BJ's run). There was Israeli and line-dancing, and Micah and Sofia were dancing like crazy. Sofia really loves to dance. We were playing with my neighbor's daughter, who is about to turn 2, and Sofia kept going to my neighbor while S kept asking for me.

Friday, I ran another dinner at shul, and this time I had over 90 people! It was really great. I've finally got it to be easy; the caterer cooks everything, so I all I have to do it put the pans back in the oven during services and then set up and serve. We hold the service in the Social Hall also rather than the Sanctuary, and Micah (along with Murray the Moose, who is visiting us from Kindergarten this week) sat right between the Rabbi and the Cantor for the entire service. Sofia sat on the floor with our neighbor S (yes, we got to spend 2 evenings with them), and followed every move the Rabbi made. When he stood up to make an announcement, she stood up and tried to get everyone else to stand also.

This morning we went back to shul. Sofia was good in babysitting, and the boys both went to the big-kid service in the chapel. I helped in babysitting a bit, because the sitter was alone (supposed to be 2, but the other didn't show), and some of the bat mitzvah guest kids were very badly behaved.

It was a day for bad behavior. This afternoon, while David took Sam climbing at REI, Micah had his long-anticipated playdate with N. N is 3 years older than Micah, but otherwise they get along great. Unfortunately, N is NOT a very well-behaved boy. I had already explained to the mom that we no longer use computer or TV or Nintendo on Shabbat, but the boys have both been wanting to show each other things on their NIntento DS. So I said I would allow them to use it for just a few minutes, to show, but that during a playdate and on Shabbat, we would not have a long session on the DS.

Well, when N arrived, his dad was carrying the Nintendo, and the boys wanted to immediately look. I said they could have 5 minutes. N started whining that this was too mean, but they went upstairs. After a few minutes, I yelled up a 2 minute warning, and I heard N tell Micah something about "She's mean, that's not enough time!"

They argued with me at the 5 minute point (which was really more like 10) but eventually they both shut down the systems (actually, N would not shut down, only close it, and had to yell at me that he would lose data if he shut down).

So then they played a bit, but whined a lot that this was boring. I sent them outside (I was exhausted, and Sofia was starting to drag, too). They played skateboards for a little while, but then the real whining came when they wanted to go back on the Nintendo again. I said no, but there was a lot of "that's not fair" and "why do you have to observe Shabbat anyway?" (this from a kid in day school!) and rejection of all my other suggestions as "boring". When I offered to take them for a bike ride, the kid said he could ONLY ride his own bike and not borrow Sam's.

At that point, I'd had it, so I told them to get in the car. Now, to be fair, my Micah had actually decided that a bike ride would be fun. Although he'd been whining about "please can we use the Nintendo", he was not disrespectful. The other kid was. So I put Micah's bike in the car and we took N home. He yelled at me a bit, and when I explained that his behavior was unacceptable, he quieted down. I did offer to stop at a playground on the way, but N was having none of that.

When we got to their house, he got out and ran into the house. The father apologized rather weakly. Back in the car, I talked to Micah about his friend's behavior. He understood that N was behaving very disrespectully, and that he himself was NEVER allowed to behave like that, to me or to any other grown-up.

Since Sofia by this time was sound asleep, I ended up having a nice time with Micah. We drove a bit, and stopped at a farm for some ice cream. As he sat on my lap eating his ice cream, Micah said "It's important to make your friends happy, but it's more important to make your Mom happy."

Arte y Pico award

Amy from The Flege Farm thought I was worthy of an award!!!!!


The rules for this award are:
1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.
4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. To show these rules.

Thank you, Amy! I have a lot of reading to do to cath up on all the blogs, and the two I would most want to nominate (Tammy and Pam), I don't want to add any extra work for them (i.e. having to post the award info!). And Amy would have been another of my winners anyway, so I'll get back to you on my own award winner picks.

(And apparently I cannot figure out how to post the award picture, but you can see it here.)

It's all about the Couch

My mother just got a new couch in her Family Room. And her old couch is sitting in her garage, waiting for a ride to our house, where it will come replace the futon in our living room.

But it's not waiting patiently. Oh, no, this was my mother's couch, after all, and patience is next to impossible. This couch needs to call in every three days or so, asking when it will come live with us. This couch needs to be out of my parents garage - presumably because Connecticut gets way more snow in May than Massachusetts does.

In the mean time, my husband is once again NOT home tonight - his meeting that was supposed to start at 5:00 for only about 45 minutes is still going on at 9:51. And he leaves for Albany tomorrow...through late Friday...and then is planning to spend Saturday in Worcester cleaning out the rental units (rather than taking Sam rock climbing, per suggestion of Sam's therapist).

Between the *(^ couch, my mother hanging up on me because I can't tell her exactly when I could find a babysitter long enough to drive down and back (4 hours round trip) in a vehicle large enough to carry a couch, and my husband...oh, and Sofia, who took an hour and a half to go to sleep...I'm a little annoyed, and any good mood I had from yesterday is starting to dissipate.

But thanks for "listening"! Knowing you all are out there really does help.

Happy Mothers Day (belated, of course)

We mailed out all our cards on Saturday afternoon, so what do you expect? I had a pleasant day. Micah was in our room at about 4am, and Sofia soon after. Poor Micah was having serious pollen allergy problems all day. Anyway, the boys had each made gifts for me at school. Sam wrote a page of "I Am":

I am the person who likes to play rock music on an acoustic guitar at Tae Kwan Do school on Tuesdays, who likes to play soccer on a cold windy day in spring, who likes to watch the Time Warp Trio on Sunday morning, who likes to read big war books in the dark black night with the light shining bright, who likes to play made up games with my small sister and nice brother.

I am the person who likes to see professional drawings in the Museum of Fine Arts, who likes to smell my mom's chicken with really sweet spices on Shabbat night, who likes to taste crusty cheese pizza with my family, who likes to listen to my mom's singing in my small bedroom at night before I go to bed, who likes to feel my little cousin Lilly's soft smooth hands touching me.

I am the person who gets scared in big crowds, who gets excited when I get a new book, who dreams for a DS system, who likes when my grandparents come to visit from Connecticut, who likes my two shofars, who likes creative arts, and who loves when my cousins come to visit me.

Gorgeous. They framed it, and put stickers of books, pizza, and soccer. A real treasure. (By the way, the "DS system" he refers to is a Nintendo DS.)

Micah made a "flower" with his picture, as well as a plaque. Sofia also made a card and planted a flower in a little flowerpot.

I got to sleep a little late, and they eventually made me breakfast in bed (after David went down to yell at them for watching TV instead of making breakfast!). We went to friends' home for their 3 year old's birthday party, and the big brother is one of Micah's close friends (plus mom and dad are good friends of ours). In the afternoon we cleaned out the garage a bit, and then went to dinner at a Hibatchi place that also has great sushi. Micah was really having allergy problems, so I had to run over ot the drugstore after we ordered so I could get him some Benadryl!

Greetins from the Mass EI Consortium

Yes, I get to stay overnight at a hotel WITHOUT my children :) [or hubby :( ]

It was a nice day. Last year, being the first year I attended, was probably a little more exciting for me, but I still learned new things, and this year I have friends to see, so it's fun.

At 8:00 we finished dinner, and my roommate (another mom) and I came straight up to the room. It's 10:00 now - she's asleep, and I'm about to be (really, I promise!).

I still have this sinus infection, and can "smell" it in my nose (yuch), but at least my ear doesn't hurt as much now. I'm SOOO glad for a break from the kids, 'though!

Yesterday, Sam freaked out about going to the Day School Music Festival (tonight), and was actually saying to himself in the car "Ok, I know it's hard to say no, but I really am just too stressed, and mommy's gonna be away and I want to be with my dad, and I really just can't do it." How can you say no to that? Poor kid. He was so glad when I told him it was ok not to do the concert. Sigh.

Micah's legs are a wreck, from all the scratching he does between allergies and those hives back in the winter. I've tried Aquafor, Lubriderm, Bactroban. Nothing seems to help. I think a little sunshine might help, but the kid insists on sweat pants and long sleeve shirts most of the year.

Miss Sofia has switched her biological functions clock so that she's pooping during preschool, which has her teacher less-than-thrilled. I hope that's not a long-term schedule change!

Nothing much else. Hugs to all my online friends, and to my real-life friends, too!