Frustrated and Fun Friday

The first half of the day was awesome... The second half was the frustrating part... I will start with the end of the day and then go back and talk about the morning to end of a positive note... I ready the littles to go pick up my oldest with respite worker in tow... We arrive... I start asking well where is this and that... They start looking... They only found a few of the things I requested... The rest they said they would hopefully find later... Otherwise make a list and cost and they would pay us... One thing missing is his Rand McNally 1934 World Atlas Book... ::eye roll:: We sat there for over an hour waiting till we could leave... I signed tons of paperwork... I was given one RX and they fax'd the other I needed... I'm not sure why they did it that way... He had quite the episode while the 'staff' ran around looking for things... Thank God for Plexiglas or there would have been at least 3-4 broken windows in the place... I love how they said prior to his episode he is stable... Yea, that is the picture of stability... We can't even leave and he is pounding on windows, doors and walls... So, we finally made it out... We head to the pharmacy because I'm thinking once I'm home I want to be home... Taking him out again probably wouldn't be a good idea... I wasn't sure how unstable his behavior would be... I had the respite worker with me... So, at least I wasn't alone with all 4... We were stuck at the traffic light prior to the railroad tracks... It wouldn't change because a train was going by... When I saw the train I was hoping this would help calm him since he loves the trains... It has the opposite effect... My oldest wanted to be closer so he could watch... He had another episode in the van and banged on the vent window in the sliding door he sits next to... Nothing I could do but wait it out... I was boxed in and couldn't switch lanes... Luckily it wasn't a long train... He was still very upset about the train thing 6 blocks away when we arrived at the pharmacy... I laid down some ground rules about going in the building to the pharmacy before going in... He was mostly calm... He couldn't sit still but that is understandable... He was still quite anxious and agitated by the train thing... The pharmacist who knows us put a rush on his order (moved us a head of everyone else)... She understand he has difficulty waiting and could tell he was already upset... Her plans were foiled when she tried to run billing... She told me the doctor didn't have a participating provider number for my oldest insurance and without that number she couldn't bill it... I gave her the number from memory of where we had just left... She tried several times and still didn't make it any where... She said go on home and she would call when they were ready... It has now been a half hour... We even tried contacting our usual psych (another number I gave from memory, pharmacist was impressed at my skills) but he had left of the day... It is now 4 PM on a Friday and I'm livid... There is no way I'm going through almost 3 days with no medicine for my son... Considering he is acting this way on his meds... So, I call over to where we had just left once I arrived home and told them they need to do something about this and do it now... After another 20-30 minutes (after I had left the pharmacy) everything was solved... The respite still had a bit of time left before her shift for the day was over... My oldest was happily picking up sticks that had fallen down in the yard during our recent rains... I pack up the littles and head back to the pharmacy... The pharmacist apologizes about the issues and the delay... I told her it wasn't her fault and not worry about it... Also, thank you for all her help... We chatted a bit about Linebacker and then I headed back home... I don't think she had seen him yet... We know several pharmacist there as well as their helpers what ever they are called... So, everything worked out... I had all the meds I needed for the weekend well the whole month... The rest of the night after the ordeal was much better... Everyone went right down to nap as scheduled, ate a good dinner, bathed and went to bed with no hassles... Now to the first part of the day... Monkey and Peanut had their first back to back ST session... That went pretty well... It has been 4 weeks since Linebacker's birth... Everything is going well... Today is his Saint's Feast Day... St. Anthony of Padua... So, we had a mini celebration about that... Now on to a very special part of our day that happened first thing...
Monkey had his Safety Town Graduation (told in pictures and captions)!!!
This is outside... He is said it was cold... So, I guess that can explain the expression on his face... He is also saying 'cheese' instead of just smiling...
This is the yellow dotted line he followed to his Safety Classroom every morning...
This is his 'group'... He is the 2nd from the left sitting in chairs (front row)... They had 4 groups... Green, Red, Blue and Purple... He was in the purple group... Aren't they cute!!! They song several songs about safety complete with hand movements... They all received a stop sign shaped diploma...
Proud Daddy and Mommy with Monkey newly Graduated from Saftey Town... He is mad and didn't want to wear his hat for the PIC...
Linebacker is telling me it's meal time... So, that's all for today...

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...

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...