This and That

It was a busy day today, as usual.

First, Micah and Sam got in an argument this morning - Sam kept accusing Micah of stealing a particular Pokemon card, and Micah got more and more vehement in his denials. Eventually things turned to fisticuffs, and that's when David got involved, making Micah a maniac (Micah felt threatened and singled out because HE was getting in trouble and Sam wasn't). I let David handle it, but then David got upset that I wasn't "with" him on it...I explained that I was trying to keep out of the way (an alternate argument between us), and that I would have handled it differently, but if he was handling it, he was welcome to it and I had breakfasts and lunches to make.

So We finally left the house late, because by then Micah was a complete maniac. I signed us in to the Tardy Log with "Micah was possessed by a demon". Apparently, a fellow from our shul came by the school, and happened to see the log. He told the person he was meeting, "Oh, yes, I know Micah. That's absolutely true!"

Poor Micah eventually calmed down to go to school, and he had a good morning. I was able to speak with the school psychologist, and she promised she would check in on him.

When she finally did get time with him, he was starting to get a tummy ache, worrying about having to deal more with David and Sam. He was really upset, and telling the school psychologist his side of the story ("Daddy pushed my head", of course leaving out "because I threw a shoe at him and he was trying to keep me from reaching him with my punch"!).

So then I began a frantic phone chain, leaving messages for everyone's therapists. HOW do I get this family to not tear each other apart? My own therapist was able to recommend a Family Therapists (great, add another professional to the mix), and we have an appointment on the 10th.

In the mean time, Micah did calm down eventually (especially after he took some Pokemon movies and some books out from the library). David had a really rough day, lots of work stuff in all directions, so he's still in a bad mood, but he's out tonight with D.A.D.S. (Dads Appreciating Down Syndrome). It's 10:40 and he's not back yet - hopefully that means he's having a great time.


Sofia's Morning

After I dropped off the boys, I attended a curriculum update meeting at their school. I had intended to just bring Sofia to her school late, but the meeting kept going and was really interesting, so I texted David to call preschool and say she wouldn't be in. Sofia and another little girl were playing nicely together (and occasionally escaping the cafeteria to try wandering the school - the other girl's dad and I took turns hunting them down, usually finding them in the gym).

Allergy Update

This afternoon, I finally got Micah's blood test results back from the allergist. For those who ar interested, the Level refers to the severity of the allergy (a level 1 can still be deadly, but a level 3 is really really bad). Micah's 2009 Allergy List:

Item - Level - '09 Score - '08 Score
------------------------------------------------
Peanut - (1) - .42 - .37
Cashew - (3) - 6.35 - 3.74 (a very large increase)
Pistachio - (3) - 8.5 - 5.94 (also very high)
Apple - (1) - .47 - undetectable (but I think that was a mistake,
since in '07 and '06 it was higher)
Black Bean -(2) - 1.17 - .26
Grapefruit -(1) - .42 - .62 (down a little!)
Pear - (2) - 1.03 - 1.57 (also down a little)
Safflower - (1) - .57 - .29
Zucchini - (2) - 1.00 - different scale was used last time, level 1 in '08
Yellow Squash -(0/1) - .14 - different scale last year, normal score

The good news is that he tested "undetectable" for Avocado, which means I can try him on that. Asparagus was also normal.

Penicillin and Shrimp were but undetectable, but we are advised to keep them out anyway. I tested him for shrimp because David still eats shellfish out of the house, and now sometimes Sam will ask to try a shrimp; also I know that personally I tested as allergic to shellfish (good thing I don't eat it!).


Babysitting

A couple of weeks ago, our synagogue abruptly canceled Saturday morning babysitting. They had been hiring 2 agency sitters from 10-12 during services, so that parents could let kids play in the nursery school gross motor room and not have to miss the service.

Of course, when I complained, I was elected to lead the efforts to find a new solution.

Well, tonight I got a phone call from the president of Sisterhood. The Sisterhood had decided to sponsor babysitting for the rest of the year, but the synagogue's Executive Board (mostly men) felt that it wasn't necessary. She was looking for my "take" on that.

I told her that any board member who wanted to follow Sofia around the shul for 2 hours so I could sit comfortably in the sanctuary and listen to the Torah reading and the sermon was more than welcome to her! She felt that would do the trick ;)