More To Do Then Ever Before Monday

I thought my life was busy before Linebacker arrived... I was mistaken! Today was phone call day... Oh my... I was calling people and people were calling me... We met a new Respite Worker... She will fill shifts on Mon, Tue and Thurs in June... I look forward to the extra help... She did great today and my oldest really liked her... The highlight of their time together was watching construction way down south... They are widing a road... I have a feeling that will be a regular event when she visits... We are now up to 2 Respite Workers... I scheduled Peanut's 3 year well check and Linebacker's 2 month well check next month... I also updated the 'Prenatal' program offered through my husband's work insurance... If you participate in the program and meet all the requirements (talking to a nurse after every prenatal visit)... At the end with your last phone call to your 'assigned' nurse you give the birth details and they send you a $50 gift card usable any where... How cool is that? I participated with Peanut also... I didn't know about it when expecting Monkey and my husband didn't work there when I was pregnant with our oldest... Today was the first day of ESY (Special Ed Summer School) for my oldest... He had a good morning... Today a friend delivered Breaded Chicken Strips and Cheesy Diced Taters... We still have Lasagna leftover so I froze it... The Lasagna is awesome... Very meaty and we love it that way... All in all it was a good day...

Shopping Saturday

I went shopping for Father's Day and had a blast... I picked up Father's Day cards... I didn't realize till late yesterday that today was Father's Day... Gee I wonder why... I will have to wait and mail them on Monday because the PO is closed already... They don't have a cash dispensing stamp machine no more... The automated machine requires you use a CC/Check Card and spend a minmum of $1... I went shopping at Sears... Good store to shop at for Father's Day... I took advantage of the 'sales'... I also had a coupon... I bought my husband a Craftsman 16 oz. Rip Claw Hammer with Hickory Handle and Craftsman 15 in. Electric Line Trimmer plus an extra Craftsman 20 ft. Replacement Spool, .065 Diameter... Today a Lasagna and Chocolate Chip Cookies with Nuts was delivered from one of our friends... We spent the rest of the weekend mowing the lawn (first time this year), doing some remodeling, and my husband loved all his gifts... After Mass on Sunday they had a treat 'Father's' to a Root Beer Float... It was a good weekend...

Twists and Turns Thursday

We were told one thing and then when we showed up we were told something different for our oldest... That was frustrating, upsetting and a relief all at once... We are still very nervous but made real progress on finding help for our oldest... Hopefully tomorrow and beginning of next week we can move things along here towards the positive... Monkey had his first ST today... He did well... I updated the ST about our oldest... I was in a daze most of the afternoon after all that happened today with our oldest and all that is about to happen... In Safety Town today Monkey about Poisons and Pet Safety... They had a Pharmacist from our network give a talk on poisons... My good friend, Jen, stopped by with her famous soup, strawberries and bread... I'm thankful she was due to deliver a meal today... I really needed someone to visit with me and talk this afternoon... She stayed quite awhile... After she left I took a much needed nap... Today has been quite the ride...

Will we float away?

It has been pouring and pouring yesterday and today.... Yesterday he learned more about Fire Safety and toured a Fire Truck... He really liked that... Today he learned more about Fire Safety, 911 and BNSF (railroad) came to give a presentation about railroad safety... Monkey had another OT session yesterday... He did very well... He is picking up skills really quickly... My friend delivered a Roasted Chicken, Rice Pilaf, Green Beans and Fresh from the Oven Chocolate Chip Cookies... When I saw the rice I thought it was just plain white rice... However when you taste it... Yummy!!!! I went to my second API meeting since the group restarting up... It was fun showing off Linebacker... I was very pregnant at the last meeting... Cat had ST and did well... We talked a bit about my oldest... She is annoyed that it seems to be more nonsense like I talked about on Monday... She is hoping someone wakes up and gives real help... I had my post-partum meeting with one Doula today... We talked about everything under the sun... Despite all that is going on with my oldest I've had a very good post-partum recovery... It felt good to just sit and talk with a friend while the children napped... It was very refreshing... Really rejuvenated me... We talked about the MOTH people... I borrowed her MOTH book when we were at the API meeting... She is also the co-leader... I've enjoyed reading what I have so far... I ordered the Encourement For the Homeschooling Family Box Set of 10 CDs... I look forward to listening to them... We only part-time homeschool at this time but hope to full time homeschool in the future... I stopped by and visited my friend, Kristin (expecting twins), yesterday night... We chatted for a bit while the children played... She made us some spicy chili, and had chip/sour cream to go with it... Yummy... We planned an afternoon together when 'the guys' will be working on remodeling at our place... I can't wait for that to happen...

Mixed Messages Monday

We had Tarter Tot Hotdish, Salad and NY Vanilla Icecream delivered yesterday... Everything was delicious... We had leftovers for lunch today... I've never had Tarter Tot Hotdish before... We are receiving mixed messages about our oldest... I was very excited and thinking he would finally receive the help he needs... However after today's conversation on the phone I heard a lot of the same ole non sense and run around as always... That has me worried and nervous... Monkey started his 2nd week of Safety Town... Today he learned about Fire Safety, Gun Safety and Practiced saying his address... We practiced over the weekend to be ready for this week... He is doing very well at saying his address... Peanut had her lady come today... Only a couple more sessions because she will be 3 soon... Well, Linebacker is hungry... Growth spurt... ::grin:: So, I will have to cut it short...

Sunny Saturday

It has been raining like crazy but today is beautifully sunny in the mid 70s... Today one of my friends delivered a Mexican Hotdish of some sort (freezing since we have tons of previous meals delivered we need to finish up), fresh pineapple and a delicious salad with a vinaigrette dressing I've never tasted before... A friend of mine stopped by and gave me a few of her laminated posters and another calendar I can use dry erase markers on... Now if I can just find a place to hang it! I really need the extra space... The children and I walked to the park... Monkey rode his bike all the way there and back with little to no help... I'm so proud at how well he has learned to ride a bike in such a short amount of time... We stayed at the park until the street lights came on... We walked one and arrived home at 10 PM... Just in time for the news... It was a really great day... I felt great and confident as a mom... Something I haven't felt in a long long time...

First Week of June

Monday:
Monkey started Safety Town today... He learned about crossing the street, playing on the playground and a Police Officer visited... He had a great time... I have to find his bike helmet... He's never ridden a bike before... He does own a helmet though... He will need it for when he learns about bike safety... He colored/drew a picture called "The Police Officer is my friend"... He had a great time! While he was there I ran to Walmart to buy a new Alarm clock... The one I have now just isn't cutting it... I didn't hear it this morning and we barely made it on time... It poured this morning... While I was there I also picked up Anthony another blanket and some bubble holders for the children... We had one spill proof bucket... I picked up two more... Monkey had his PT screening today... He doesn't qualify for private at home PT... His skills have really come along since he was tested at the school... So, he may not need it in the fall either even though it's on his IEP... I was very pleased by his advancement... Our first meal arrived to make tomorrow... Tuesday:
Safety Town Today he learned about Riding in the car, Traffic Safety Signs, Strangers, and a Police Officer explained the driving course (bike) traffic safety signs... It was too wet for bike safety so he didn't need his helmet... He colored Safety Signs and glued them on to straws... Monkey had his OT screening today... He does qualify for OT services private at home... They will come every week until he starts K... He will then only have OT on his IEP... They saw the same concerns as before... He has pencil grasp issues and some other fine motor skills... He is coming along but not where he should be... My friend watched Monkey and Peanut while I visited my oldest... She also watched them while I ran quick to Sam's to pick up Green Beans and Broccoli... We chatted for quite a while and I didn't arrive home till late... Earlier another friend stopped by in an emergency for me to watch her 18 month old... She forgot and I didn't ask for his car seat so I wasn't able to run to Sam's during the early afternoon like I had planned... My oldest was doing well today... We sat and watched trains... He was kind of all over the place in his conversation... Couldn't stay on one topic... We had our first meal from friends today... It was a hamburger/noodle hot dish and rice crispy treats... Both were delicious! Wednesday:
Safety Town today was a Police Car Tour and Introduction to the Bike Course... He colored a picture about Seat Belt Safety... We went to Walmart in search of Dinosaurs... We didn't find any... We did however buy a smaller jacket for Linebacker, bubble bucket for my oldest, Monkey picked out a View Master Disc Set with Dinosaurs and Peanut picked out a View Master Disc Set with Diego... Peanut had ST today... She did well... We moved our appointment time on Friday to make room to add Monkey in the future visits... ST wants to see them on the same day back to back if possible to save on gas to drive here and for my sanity in scheduling... Monkey had his ST screening... He qualifies for ST private at home... Again it will discontinued when he starts K because he will have it as indicated on his IEP... Having OT and ST at home over this summer is just a jump start and to help him so that he won't require it as much on his IEP... Tonight was the end of school year Mass for FMCHE... After Mass we had a Pizza Party Potluck... We had a great time... I didn't arrive home till almost 10 PM... There was a whole leftover Pepperoni Pizza I took home... Our next meal arrived for me to prepare tomorrow... Since we still had hamburger/noodle casserole leftover, pizza and other things we needed to eat... I didn't thaw the next meal but added some extra wrapping and put it in the freezer... I did start snacking on Raspberry Danish that came with it... I would never buy the Raspberry kind usually the plain or apple... It was delicious change from my usual... Thursday:
Safety Town today Monkey learned a lot more about Bike Safety... He had a great time... He rode a big boy bike for the first time... He glued red, yellow and green circles on a black rectangle to make a traffic light... We all ran errands with my husband... It was a long and busy day... I was at Walmart yet again... We found Monkey a Dinosaur that roars and moves... Peanut we picked up a Diego Game that teaches Numbers and a Dora Game that teaches the ABC... We went to the Library, Dollar Store, and Grocery Store... We had another meeting about my oldest... Looks like yet another 10 days... I took a very refreshing nap... The power went out in the middle of the night for 2-3 hours... Having more storms and rain yet again... We didn't call and report the outage... We decided if it was still out in the morning then we would call... The weather wasn't bad temperature wise... It was the middle of the night... If my husband wasn't up doing some last minute things really late we would have never known it was out till morning when we saw the blinking clocks down stairs... Alarm clock has battery back-up so it will still Alarm if the power is out... It won't tell you the time but still wake up up as needed in the morning... When the power does come on you don't have to reset anything... Very nice feature to have... Friday:
I took the Seafood Casserole that was delivered out of the freezer to start thawing... The first week of Safety Town is over... Monkey took a tour of a School Bus today and learned School Bus Safety... he learned about School Bus Safety and toured a School Bus... I asked him what he thought of a School Bus... He said 'It has lots, and lots, and lots, and lots of SEATS!... LOL... His voice grew louder and louder as he talked till he yelled seats... He cracks me up... He made a School Bus as his craft... Peanut had ST at her new time today... It was drizzling when I dropped Monkey off... When I picked him it up it was a fabulously sunny day... Less then an hour later when ST was to start the buckets started falling... It POURED!!! Talk about flip flopping... Luckily by the time ST was done it had stopped... A friend of mine watched Monkey and Peanut during my visit with my oldest... He is the best I've seen him in MONTHS!!! I couldn't believe it... We sat and watched the trains... We also colored a picture of Scoop (Excavator from Bob the Builder) together... It was a lot of fun... The children were having such a great time that my friend and I really were able to talk... We never really sat and talked with each other before... It was nice to learn more about her family and tell her about mine... She is a really wonderful lady and I look forward to doing more things with her family... Her children and mine had a terrific time playing... I have really Thanked God this week over and over for what wonderfully supportive friends I have in FMCHE... I'm not sure how I would make it through this difficult time without their prayers and support... They are truly a blessing... I'm honored to call them all my friends...