Proud owner of a BUS

Yes, seriously. When applying to get a tag for our new 12 passenger van the man at the dealership tried to register it as a truck. No go. A van. Nope. A bus? Yes, Ford has classified the E-350 as a BUS. We brought home our new vehicle tonight and took the back seat out. It now has seat belts for 8 and a decent trunk. Granted we laid down the wheelchair and put in the triple stroller and, if not careful, those two will fill up the entire trunk on their own! And though I don't look forward to getting the stroller in and out of the BUS since it's a lot higher than our van, I DO look forward to not having to switch between whether the stroller or the wheelchair is with us, or having to empty them both out to go grocery shopping. Or having to lift the kids backwards and sideways over seats to get them in their car seats from an upside down position. Or having to say "I can only take ONE of your kids on a play date unless you can drop the other one off to me, I don't have enough seats." Or having to take two cars when we're going out a set of grandparents. Or having to be the one to cram into the 'third seat' which was effectively taken over by the other 2 car seats in that row.

Yes, we're now the proud owners of a BUS.

A video for you...

HERE's a message from Nick Vujicic to Titusville, what a wonderful blessing it was to have him come! And what a huge blessing to his team to have received about $42,000 in contributions to his missions outreach through the weekend he spent at Park Avenue!

Confused.

Today I got home from being out and my answering machine is full. Yes, mostly old messages. But instead of saying "3" new, it just says "FULL". So I hit play and listened to one message, stopped it, called them back, went back again and hit play and now... I don't know if that was the new message or an old one! Anyway... it was from the doctor's and so I needed to talk with them anyway and called it back.

The person I need to talk with isn't there (surprised? me either...) but the person at the desk... yes, surprised again! took my question. Emma has a "nutrition clinic" scheduled Oct 7th, we'll be out of town, I need to cancel and reschedule. Except that the desk person doesn't have Emma on that clinic. Weird... I might NOT write something on the calendar when I should, but I generally don't write something that's not been scheduled...

She transfers me over to someone else and that person (I know, I was in SHOCK at this point) was not only at their desk, but again could help me! So she said that Emma wasn't supposed to be scheduled with nutrition. They found out that the nutrition clinics are only for kids who are OVERWEIGHT and Emma is way under, so it wasn't an appropriate clinic for that. Ok... so instead they'll schedule her for a GI clinic to figure out her dietary needs. HUH?? But ok, if you insist, we'll see GI.

So her GI appointment is in MARCH. Again... WHAT? How is that going to help my 22lb 5 yr old for the next 6 months?

At this point I add in that we've waited 6 months already for Micah to see GI (reflux issues) and that his problems are MUCH better but he does still spit up more than a 2 yr old should. Ok, so we see GI for Micah on Oct 21st... Can't they be seen together?

No, Emma's a new patient and he only sees... WAIT... MICAH is a new patient too! He's not been seen yet and we scheduled this 6 months ago. Surely they can take her too on the same day.

After a LOT of thought, suddenly Emma can be seen on October 21st at 11:15 (Micah's is at 11 and Emma sees the Ortho at the same office at 2:30). Amazing. Magical. Convenient... WoW! But... also a bit confusing. Why is it that since I'll be there anyway with Micah all the sudden they can fit Emma in too? What about the Neurologist? I'm still told she can't see him until APRIL! That's another 7 months from now! Good thing we think that the brain issues are "old" but still... I'd like to know that there's nothing active.

So, they are confusing in their scheduling. This time it worked to my benefit, getting Emma in sooner, but still... Um... Where's the logic??

Don't forget!

To buy your raffle tickets! This raffle is supporting a child that has NO COMMITTED FAMILY to help raise a grant that will go toward the cost of his adoption. Please consider a $5, $10, $50? donation to Oleg and your chance to win this beautiful quilt!

See the original post HERE

Nothing like poop in the tub

to get a Monday morning started off right! And just for fun, Brianna and Micah were BOTH in the tub and I was standing in the doorway on the phone getting a car insurance quote. So, two (now dirtier) little people out of the tub, Brianna on the toilet to FINISH her business, Micah crawling naked around the bathroom (hey, he can't get any dirtier, though I generally don't let the babies on the floor in the bathroom because I have a 4 yr old with not so perfect aim...) and I was draining the tub and fishing out poo pellets. Fun fun fun.

At least I hadn't had a shower yet because fishing poo out of the tub while feeling dirty and nasty myself already is MUCH better than knowing there's no way I'll get another shower during the day.

On the flip side, at least it was only 2 kids in the tub and I did get a good car insurance quote :)

I even called and have pre-approval for a loan. And that at a pretty decent rate as well. It's all good...

Did you know that State Farm (at least ours locally) no longer writes policies for vehicles of more than 10 passengers? I thought that was interesting. They did, however, give me the name and number of someone else to call and they were very kind and will call SF up to get all the particulars of our current coverage to transfer it to our new van. AND... only $30 more/6 months than our current coverage for the 1998 Taurus that we're selling :) I think we can handle $5/month!

So now, what are the odds that I can get my shower while everyone has lunch??

Things I haven't done and need to

Overdue:

• Clean the mouse cage
• Find the release forms for the school system to evaluate Emma for PT/OT and mail them in (found, stamped, ready to mail!)
  
• Mail the paperwork to the senator asking for help getting Medicaid approved
• Call the Medicaid office to find out what I need to do next
• Fold laundry
• Vacuum living room (done!)
  
• Mail scrapbook pages to Joy- she won them and I forgot to get an envelope.. AGAIN!
• Go through medical bills and figure out what needs to be paid and what doesn't based on insurance and the possibility of still getting Medicaid
  

Due:

• Clean shampooer (just got from garage sale) and shampoo family room
• Clean porch (playroom) AGAIN
• Straighten up our bedroom now that the crib is gone
• Get the borrowed crib back to Angie (THANKS by the way :) )
• Call for insurance info on 12 passenger van (done!)
  
• Call for auto loan (done!)
  
• Backup photos and documents on external hard drive (done!)
• Call insurance for covered pediatric neurologist
• Adjust E's wheelchair based on PT recommendations
  

Need to do soon:

• Go through the boys' closets and dressers to find out what fits and doesn't fit
• Put all the movies back in their cases instead of the 2" stack next to the DVD player
• Start planning for our vacation in 2 weeks!

Would really LIKE to do:

• Finish my book I've been reading for a month
• Make a montage that tells our family's story to share
• Get the side yard fixed up some so we can play outside more often since it's getting cooler out

What's already on tomorrow's agenda: (done!)

• Kristopher preschool, pick up at 12:15 (Mike will get him up and going and drop him off)
• 3 little ones need baths
• Emma has school from 2-3
• Figure out whether anyone needs to go to the dr for their runny noses/congestion they started on Friday (E, B and M)
  
• The usual... bottles, breakfast, dishes, clothes, diapers, lunches, diapers, bottles, naps, bottles, diapers, dinners, books, snacks, bottles, diapers, bed...
• Online scheduled Chat with adoptive parents from RR at 8:30pm
  
• Mike has class so he'll be home from 4-5 pm then head for Orlando
• Finish making babyfood
  

Miscellaneous stuff

Don't argue with your mother. You won't win!

Tonight I was talking to my mom and our conversation went like this

"The Taurus Mike drives (we traded cars with them about 2 1/2 yrs ago) we bought at the same place you're buying your van from but the name changed."

"Oh, Gator Ford?"

"No, the name is Black, something Black."

"But it says "Gator Ford" on the trunk"

"No, it says Black, it's not Gator"

"I've ALWAYS identified dad's car (now Mike's car) as the white Taurus that says "Gator Ford" on the trunk, seriously, it says "Gator Ford"."

The conversation went on like this for a few minutes and even Mike and Dad were in on it- us insisting it says GATOR and them saying no, it's BLACK.

Easy solution, the car is in my driveway. Remember, this is a 1998 vehicle. It has been owned by my father and then my husband since late 1997. It was bought new. I have been looking at this vehicle for 10 years, as have my parents. And yet we both were very sure about what is written on the trunk...

My mom made me say "I'm sorry Mom, You were right, I was wrong!" LOL Look at that- GALON BLACK FORD... well, I'll eat crow again! (yes, I know it needs a bath!)

(ps, look again, it doesn't say GATOR... it says GALON... but thanks to the poster that says we were both right! LOL But no, I was wrong... I admit it!)

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Stealing from babies

Tonight I am making baby food for the week. We had NOTHING left in the cabinets or refrigerator or freezer... which is always good to do occasionally so nothing goes bad, but this time it was just that I hadn't gotten to the grocery store in too long. So I went tonight and now I'm cooking up all the good stuff for little people to eat this week.

Unfortunately, because Mike took a nap, then I took a nap, it was about 5pm by the time I left for the store and I missed eating dinner with the family (frozen chicken nuggets- cooked of course- because that's one thing that I won't EVER let run out ;) ).

So I got home and it was bed time when I finished putting away the groceries. Bottles, pajamas, teeth brushed, stories read... bed. By 8:30 I was not only tired, I was HUNGRY! So when I started making the baby food... well, there WAS more zucchini than would fit in the quart sized container... and it was REALLY good! I snatched some zucchini here, some grapes there, now I have broccoli and cauliflower cooking and I'll do the apples, carrots and potatoes tomorrow. I've made 3 1/2 quarts so far, the half quart is raisins (with hen there's a quart each of bananas, grapes/yogurt, and zucchini. I'll have a good quart of broccoli and one of cauliflower before the end of the night and another quart each of potatoes with cheese, carrots and cinnamon apples tomorrow sometime. Yes, that's 8 1/2 quarts and it'll last about a week. I hope! :)

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GO TO BED!

Tonight Kristopher came about about 10,000 times to tell us about a bruise he needed to check for, a question about something, Micah's standing, etc... There comes a time when you say "GO TO BED!" and they just HAVE to stay there! But that didn't end with Kristopher.

Tonight Emma tried it out too. She's in there giggling, playing with a toy, banging her foot (which I need to put the mesh guard on her crib since she moved cribs) on the bottom of the crib by dangling her leg out... She's LOUD! So I finally gave her some Melatonin at 9:30 after waiting since 8:15 for her to go to sleep on her own. She's taking lessons from Kristopher on how to keep yourself awake!

Some tricks and Our car shopping trip

Let me start with, we had SUCH a good time yesterday!  The kids were exceptionally good- not without difficulties here and there, but overall I couldn't have wished it to go better as far as they are concerned, and we all know what a day OUT with NO SCHEDULE can do to a child... some people would go so far to say that a child with Down syndrome thrives on a schedule more than a typical child even, but I shopped with four ANGELS yesterday and I'm so blessed to have children that can behave so well in public.

I'll let you in on a few of my 'tricks' at the same time which I, unfortunately, forget to share but some are the difference between a great trip and a really BAD one... Of course, some of these things work for me because my little ones are all similar sizes...

• I pack a cooler (or in this case 2 cooler-lunchboxes) with prepared bottles, a milk cup for Brianna, and a juice or gatorade for Kristopher so if we're in the car and they need something I can just pop it out and give it to them
• I pack a gallon ziplock with "healthy" snacks such as peanut butter crackers, graham cackers, yogurt covered raisins, cereal bars, fruit snacks, etc. so even if it's somewhat close to a meal time if the kids are hungry they can have something that I don't mind if it ruins their appetite a little... it just becomes "part of" the next meal
• I keep one extra set of clothes that will fit any of my 3 little ones in the diaper bag (which, by the way, is now my backpack I bought to go to Ukraine which I use gallon size baggies to separate things out inside it!).  That way I don't have to pack for 3 and yet I always have it available for whomever needs it.  Just a big onesie at the moment.
• I keep extra water, pediasure, formula powder (even tho they're off of formula, it's not bad in an emergency!) and babyfood along with 2 empty bottles on me at all times!  This way if our trip goes long (which it did) then I can easily mix up another bottle for each of the little ones, give Brianna the pediasure (or Emma if I can get real milk for Brianna), and I don't have to scramble home or to a grocery store to buy things for the kids that I had at home.  Kristopher will drink the rest of the water after I make bottles too.
• I bring pajamas with me for all of the kids and at our last destination we do a diaper change and put on PJ's so that when we go home everyone can go straight to bed since they'll likely be asleep in the car anyway. 

Ok, so those aren't completely wonderful and original, but they make our outings SO MUCH easier and they make coming home better too because no one's starving, everyone's ready for bed, and everyone's had plenty to eat during the day.

All right... on to the cars...

We went with an idea of what we want from this next car.  7-8 seatbelts and the ability to put the wheelchair (assembled) as well as the 3-seater stroller (folded) into it at the same time as 7-8 seatbelts are being used. 

We tried out a few different cars.  We started in East Orlando and basically looked through the list of Suburbans, Navigators, Expeditions, and other large passenger cars that are "family cars."  Before leaving the house we'd decided that our dream of a 9 passenger van was going to be next to impossible to find because they just aren't made that often so it's hard to find one used.  Mike had opened up Craig's List and found a place called Mullinax Ford in Apopka (a WHILE away from us, on the other side of Orlando...) and they seemed to have several Econoline vans.  Those are the 12 passenger type vans you see churches using to bus around wild teenagers to take them to camp or the water park...  We only have 6 people.  Do we REALLY need a 12 passenger?

We went anyway and were glad we did.  The dealership had an Expedition EL which is for Extended Length and although it had a nice size trunk, it didn't fit the wheelchair and stroller both in the trunk together without taking the wheelchair apart.  Also, if we end up with a different wheelchair and the need for a ramp with that vehicle we'd have very few options and would inevitably lose seating, making it too small.  It was a 7 passenger with captain's seats in the second row.

We also looked at the 12 passenger variety of vans there.  They had both an E-150 and an E-350.  When we asked what the difference was (other than about $1750) we were told that it was mostly in One suspension spring (I think...) and towing capacity.  Neither van had a tow package... and we don't plan on towing (at the moment) so that's not a big deal.  The other difference was that in the interior an E-150 has 3 rows of seating, 2,3 and 3.  So it seats 8 people and has a huge trunk.  There aren't any latches or anything to later add a bench in the trunk, it's meant just for storage.  The E-350 has 12 seats, 2, 3, 3, and 4.  Both vans had LATCH capabilities in the center of the first two bench seats.  That's good that at least TWO carseats could go in with LATCH.  It's SO MUCH EASIER than regular seatbelts are especially if we swap the carseat between cars or grandparents borrow one, etc. 

The vans at this place were both 2008, they both had approx 13,000 miles on them, and we were SURPRISED (in a good way) by their price tags.  The E-150 was $16,000 and the E-350 was $17750.  WOW!  (For comparison, the Expedition EL would be $24+K if we could find one used.)  We also asked about gas mileage and all three vehicles have the same engine and similar weights so they would all get the same gas mileage.

Here's the E-350 that we test drove, it has 12 passenger capacity (though for the most part we'd remove the 4th bench to have it seat 8 and just have the 4th row available when we need it-- two man job to get it in and out but it's not that difficult, just heavy).

 

From there we drove around a bit and then went to Car Max.  We found they had a "12 passenger" van as well but it was a 2002.  The kicker was that it had only 28,000 miles on it.  It looked brand new still other than the older style body and it sat lower to the ground and seemed a bit more "cozy" inside.  The down side is that it has only 3 rows of seating as well and the second row is 2 captain's chairs.  That makes it have seating available for only 7 with a huge trunk.  Plus, it's 6 years older and who knows how it's been serviced all that time since it obviously wasn't being driven much.  And lastly, it was made before they put all the stabilizers on the vans to keep them from rolling as easily, and the safety factor is a big one for us.  We drove it, we liked it ok, but we decided that it's not a great fit for our family.  The nice part was the price tag, just under $11,000.  So if you're looking for a hauling vehicle with 7 seats... that'd be a good one!

So there we have it, we're trying to get an insurance quote on Monday and have been playing around online to figure out how we'd like to finance it and what amount of our savings will be going directly into this van.  Mike will be driving the Venture and we're going to sell his car for a whopping $500 to (we hope) my brother.  He needs a vehicle cheap, we have a vehicle which holds no value to us because we don't want to pay for repairs... there ya go...

Now... Anyone drive a van this size?  Any recommendations, cautions, or thoughts you'd like to throw out to us?  There are two on the lot- identical except color- and we're not in a huge hurry to run and get it today.  In fact, it's Sunday and tomorrow will be a day to get financing and insurance info and Mike has class, Tuesday is our family's appointment for church pictures, so it'll likely be Wednesday before we would drive back over... if at that time we decide that this is really the best thing for us right now and everything works out to finance AND there's still one available.

Any thoughts??

We spent the entire day

CAR SHOPPING!

Found a few things... now to decide what to do...

I'll ask for some help tomorrow :)

Q&A

Anonymous said... if she can handle that much cotton in her mouth, could she handle some more toddler like food, like some slippery pasta (butter it up good for maximum slippage) without it being completely blended up? I know these kiddos have a hard time swallowing but I

would think this would be a good sign.

Unfortunately, though she handles STUFF in her mouth, she doesn't have the control with her tongue to move food around or the ability- right now- to get anything down (she gags).  She does tolerate brushing her teeth, the inside of her mouth, and chewing on fabric...  We start ST soon I think and I know that will be beneficial!

 

For children with visual impairments our vision therapist recommends covering the underside of trays with black contact paper. This cuts down on visual distraction (the floor, child’s legs, etc.) and allows the child to visually focus on the toys on their tray.
Taya - EC PreK Teacher

Wonderful to know!  Thank you!

 

Anonymous said... Will you be doing PT & OT with her to TRY and get her to eventually walk? I'd hate to see her "stuck" in a wheelchair - or is this just for school?

We will be doing PT and ST and yes, we'll be trying to get her to walk.  We have the wheelchair for upright play, therapy, and school as well as general transportation so she can see the world :)  Also, she needs proper positioning to learn to be upright and this will help provide that as well.

 

Susan said... How generous! I do hope the wheelchair can be modified as needed.
Has Emma begun physical therapy yet? Physical and/or occupational therapists can be great in assessing just what sort of wheelchair is needed to help Emma achieve her potential...and would also know how to modify this very kind gift to fit her.
Given Emma's CP diagnosis, it would seem to me that your insurance would surely cover physical therapy prescribed by her pediatrician, at least the initial assessment and perhaps short-term treatments that could later be continued at home. What does her pediatrician say about PT?
BTW, I was delighted to see Emma sitting up on her own again - this little girl really wants to be up and involved!

We will be having a PT eval probably next week and maybe ST at the same time.  I just talked to our PT today and she said she'd make sure that it's set up well for Emma and has experience in that :)

 

Erika said... Impressive! Now do you get a nap? 

Kathy said... Wow. tired much?

NO and YES LOL  I would LOVE a nap most days, or to just sleep through the night would be good, so yes, I am tired a lot.  But... that's why God created Coca~Cola :)

 

Leah said... Just curious if you've tried the Melatonin with Michah to break his funky sleep cycle. Bet you'd only need it for a few days!

Yes, we use it with the girls sometimes (Emma often) but it somehow doesn't work for Micah.  He gets really irritable and restless when we've given it to him in the past.

 

Mer- Didn't I teach you that saying when you interned! LOL I know we experienced this!!!!! :) Yeah for K's great listening skills!!! I love Mrs. L!! :) T.G.

I hadn't heard it this way!  Can I blame it on being pregnant when I was interning?? :)  I'm so glad it looks like the kids will be at your school next year though!  ALL FOUR!

 

THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR KIND WORDS AND SHARING ABOUT YOUR OWN FAMILIES ON MY DIFFERENCES POST! I WAS ESPECIALLY GLAD TO HEAR FROM YOU KARLA AND HOPE TO GET TO SEE YOU AGAIN SOMETIME- AND NICK TOO!

 

Christine said... Hmmm, do that curve around the ears? (glasses)

Yes, they do, but he's little muscle man and pulls them off anyway :)

 

narretto said... Great picts. Emma sure looks real good. I noticed a huge difference right after William has his heart surgery, did you with B (more mobile, wanting to get around)? Maybe it is easier for E to get around and sit up since the surgery.

Yes, I think that's made a HUGE difference for her!  She's doing great now that her heart is working!

 

Shelley said... What was that you said about your life getting boring??????

HAHAHA... yeah, I know... not happening, is it?

Here's my girl...

Yes, she pretty  much always has something in her mouth... it's SOO MUCH BETTER than grinding her teeth though!!

And after she's a bit tired...

Blessed!

My mom tutors some kids and one of her students has a sister with CP. This family, a few months ago, got a new wheelchair for their daughter. The mom, not knowing me or having met my children, saved her daughter's old wheelchair for Emma! We finally met at the breakfast for parents of children with special needs with Nick and today I went to her house to see her wheelchair. I brought Emma and would you know... it will work GREAT! We need a few modifications, which of course won't be easy because we don't have medicaid and they don't take our insurance... but there's only really one thing that's a MUST have. That would be smaller wheels :) These are a bit dangerous for a tiny girl who likes the way they spin and wants to grab them :)

I was going to post a picture of E in her new chair, but as you can see below, she didn't want to cooperate...

Whew!

This morning I...
Got 3 kids up, fed, dressed (K does these things himself)
Made a loaf of bread in the breadmaker
Disassembled 2 cribs
Moved furniture in the girls' room (twice because the first way didn't work quite right)
Ran 5 loads of laundry
Fed 4 kids and 2 adults lunch
Changed 9 diapers
Changed Emma's clothes again (She keeps sucking/chewing on her shirts and stretching them out!)
Put 3 kids down to nap
Canceled 4 utilities at our house that we CLOSE ON TOMORROW!

And now...
The girls are back to sharing a room (no worries, Bria sleeps like a brick and Emma won't keep her up!)
and
Our bedroom is back to being OURS!

Rearranging

Because Brianna can reach the light switch from her bed.

And I don't want her AND Emma up at 6am.

And Micah needs to learn to sleep past 4am.

Because when we both have had no sleep we're BOTH grumpy.

And Kristopher can't sleep through his screaming.

So K will have the great pleasure of sleeping in the guest room a few nights.

And Micah will have to learn that 4am is not a time to call for reinforcements.


Starting tonight, in my perfect world scenario...

Micah will sleep past 4am because he will have no other choice.

Brianna will roll over and go back to sleep because the room is still dark.

Kristopher will sleep until 7 as he used to because no one is screaming in his room.

Emma will sleep as long as she needs to because Brianna won't turn on the light.

Sounds good in theory, doesn't it?? I will daydeam about it all day...

If you promise not to believe him, I will too!

This may sound weird, but that was said to us during my son's open house the day before he started pre-k. There was a little more to it... It went like this:

"If you promise not to believe everything your son says about ME, I promise I won't believe everything he says about YOU."

At first I thought- WHAT? I WANT to believe my son!

But today I got the first glimpse of what she was talking about...

"Mom, my teacher says..." Yes, that's how it always begins, right? And on the teacher's side it goes "Teacher, my mom says..."

Today? "Mom, my teacher says that God doesn't like races and it's bad to race so we can't race to eat all my food faster" (our way of getting him to eat more than 1 bite in 20 minutes... and to quit TALKING! LOL).

Ok, Mrs. L... I promise :)

Hmm... our first night off O2

I'm thinking Emma's ready for her bedroom NOW! LOL I didn't sleep a wink! Actually, I did... on the couch. My neck is really stiff to show for it too! I think that the compressor running outside our bedroom masked a lot of the little noises that Emma makes during the night. Like sucking. Her ENTIRE hand. Constantly. Slurping. Chewing. Ewwww... LOL! And kicking. Constantly. The headboard. The mattress. The cribrails. It's LOUD. I had to go sleep on the couch to get TO sleep, then I woke around 3 and went to bed, fell asleep to wake up 20 min later to her SLURPING. Got her a bottle. No go. Put it away. (of course this isn't a 20 second thing, it means heating the bottle, getting a bib, giving it to her, waiting to find out she's not going to drink it, cleaning up her messy face- even tho none went in- and putting the bottle back in the fridge.) So I laid back down and woke up an hour later.

Micah was crying, got him a bottle, it was 5:30 so I gave it to him in his crib. He went back to sleep. I went back to bed... Emma was sitting up. Laughing. LOUDLY. You know the developmental level when kids learn a new trick and want to do it constantly to where it disrupts every other piece of their normal routine for a few weeks? We're THERE. She sat in bed and laughed for 20 minutes. I closed the bedroom door. I laid down on the couch. At 6:59 I wasn't asleep anyway and went in and turned off my alarm set for 7:00. Mike had relocated to the family room couch when Micah got up- kind enough to sit on that side of the house for "a few minutes" to get Micah calmed down when he finished his bottle. No calming, no need, and Mike was asleep anyway.

So... I'm thinking that Emma's just fine without the O2. Hey, she pulled it off half the night anyway before! And tonight might very well be her first night back in her OWN BED in the room she and Brianna share :)

Differences

I've thought about this post a lot. I started thinking about it when my friend Christine posted about "keeping it real". Of course I think the best "real" post you'll ever see of mine was my Confessions...But generally I post about what's happening with the kids, the house, the days, etc. But this one is more to do with different parenting styles and different kids...

First off, I have four VERY DIFFERENT children. Yes, three have Ds, but their personalities are stark contrasts as well. Here's a little about each of my kids, in order that I "received" them, not birth order:

Kristopher- is very very very talkative. He likes to explore, hear the how's and why's, try something 10 different waays to figure out how it works. He loves to sing, loves to please, loves to entertain. He can also be very shy around people he doesn't know and will turn introvert with a sly little grin at unexpected times. He likes to be in charge and play teacher, daddy, etc. especially if he can get away with being bossy in the meantime. He waivers back and forth between being sweet and loving, patting the little ones' heads, rolling the ball with them, serving them pretend dinners, and sharing all his toys to throwng balls, knocking them over and taking things away from them just so they don't have it to play with. Did I mention he's really talkative?

Brianna- is very snuggly. She is quiet but stubborn though she is often easily convinced or consoled if she doesn't change her mind. She likes some strangers and not others but if you ask her to say 'hi' to a stranger her response is almost always 'no'. Some days she'll talk up a storm though noone knows most of what she's saying quite yet. She's the "mother" of the group and is always patting someone's head or back, twirling their hair, or carrying a babydoll around with her. She loves to play pretend and to help around the house by picking up tossed bottles, grabbing a diaper, or getting all the shoes out (sometimes to be distributed to each room of the house...). She can be quite stubborn. She's also my destroyer. If I need EVERY toy in the house out then I can just leave her be in each room for 30 seconds and that will be accomplished. And lastly, she's a clothes queen. She likes to empty dressers or laundry baskets, included folded clothes on beds, and throw them around and bury herself in them. Seriously, she really ENJOYS this, doesn't just do it. I'll sometimes let her 'play' with the laundry before I put it away just because I know how much fun she'll have with it. And she's stubborn.

Emma- is generally quiet and laid back though she spends a LOT of the day "making sounds" which range from having a foot in her mouth to a hand, to a sock or a bib or a towel. If nothing else is around then the shirt is fair game too. She sometimes sits and laughs at her own noises just for fun and can entertain herself for literally HOURS if left to do so (which I don't like to do!). She is very resourceful and if she wants it she'll find a way to get it. She's a fighter too and if she DOESN'T want something, she'll tell you LOUD AND CLEAR. She tends to be either very happy or very upset with no in between. She'll be smiling one minute and screaming and clinching her hands and snapping her feet and knees the next. She's easily distracted and entertained when she's happy and she's learning to seek out something to do now which is a good thing.

Micah- is a happy little guy most of the time but is definitely a hold me kid. If you pass by him and don't pick him up he's sure there's something wrong. He loves the company of the other kids (unless he's the one being knocked down... which he usually is...) and is smiling and happy a good amount of time. He plays well on his own if he's got a toy that interacts with him but anything that doesn't sing or move ro light up doesn't count. He's motor driven and wants to go and explore. He bumps a lot and doesn't mind usually but when he gets hurt he tells you about it. He's easily distracted at times and very driven at others. He'll take a snuggle any day and usually will sit and curl in to a hug. He'll eat at any opportunity (just about) but only if it's in a bottle. He's also got his stubborn streak and will scream in frustration (short loud screams) if he's the last to go out to the car or if he sees a bottle and doesn't have it yet or if he's figured out he's getting put in bed.

Now, all four of these little guys need some form of consoling and some form of discipline at times. Here's the ways that they accept best:

Kristopher- Consoling is a talking to, an ice pack, a kiss, or a QUICK snuggle.
Discipline is in many forms ranging from a lok of disappointment to a time out or a swift reminder that it's not ok to hurt other people. He needs a firm hand to keep him in line and generally his "talking tos" don't turn around his behavior.

Brianna- Consoling is generally a loooong soft snuggle and sometimes she'll get her lovey and that makes things better.
Discipline ranges a little from a stern "no" to a time out and occasionally a quick reprimand to remind her that hurting others isn't good or that she's compromising her safety. She has a 'time out seat' that she'll occupy two or three a day for maybe 2 days then won't need again for a month. She's VERY stubborn about saying "Sorry" but she'll do other things like give a hug and a kiss so I'm not sure she understands all of the idea behind "sorry" yet.

Emma- Consoling is unusual for her as she definitely prefers a firm touch to a soft one. A sweet snuggle and pat on the back she continues to scream through. A firm squeeze and firm pats on the back or tush and she "snaps out" of whatever pretty quickly. She'll pull in and likes to feel secure and surrounded to be comforted. She likes to be bounced hard, patted firm, rocked quickly.
Discipline isn't a huge issue yet with her but she does still have rules that apply to her and things she knows she's not supposed to do. Again, firm pressure and a firm voice are the best ways to get through to her so a squeeze on the hand (for hitting) or pressed on her cheek (for biting) with a firm "no hitting" attached generally does the trick.
Both with comforting and discipline she often needs to be removed completely from the surroundings to turn around her behavior.

Micah- Consoling is a quick snuggle which he'll "lay in to" for a while. He likes to be gently rocked, patted softly, rubbed, soothing voice and touch.
Discipline again isn't a big thing for him yet but he does try to bite and also gets angry or throws little fits with his screams when something isn't going his way. For him gentle is still key or he'll be even more upset about the discipline then he'll need comforting... he doesn't 'snap out of it'. A firm but quiet 'no' with some pressure on whatever area he's using inappropriately (often his cheek for screaming or biting). He's pretty good to respond to 'no' and will climb back off of Emma when he's trying to beeline it to something on the other side of her or will at least look at me to try to figure out why I'm saying "no".

And when I say "firm pressure" I mean take your hand, place it on an object, and press down so they feel it. It's not just a sweet way of saying a spanking.

So when Micah gets upset or Emma gets upset, the way of consoling them is almost polar. I've been reminded of the differences in my kids a lot lately as we've been really busy and sometimes it's easy to react the same way to different kids doing the same offense just because.... they did the same thing.

But if I picked up Emma in her screaming fit and said "it's ok" and patted her back, she'd cry for an hour. And if I picked up Micah from falling down and hugged him tight and patted his back he'd cry harder. And if I tell Brianna "it's ok, come here and let me look" she's not going to get up and come to me. And if I scoop up Kristopher and hand him a stuffed animal to snuggle he's not going to calm down either.

I have a feeling I'm going to hear a lot of "but... that's not what _________ had happen" in disciplining my children for years to come. Because they don't all need the same things. But for some reason I doubt my kids will ever question the different ways they are comforted and will be glad I know the different things each of them needs in that area....

Less is more...

Less prep time
Less dishes
Less serving utensils
Less mess
Less cost

No more glass jars to fill, seal, spoon out, rinse, wash, and put away




I packaged all my baby food in quart size containers instead of baby food jars. I use pre-made baby food jars for trips (less chance of spilling) and keep quart containers in the fridge. At the moment I have 8 quart containers in the fridge. This is week 2 and I'm LOVIN it!

Great Cardio Visits!

We went to the cardio this morning for Micah's 6 month follow up and Emma's next 1 month (now 6 weeks out from surgery) visit.

Micah's doing great, his heart function is fine but still that thicker muscle. She wants to see him again in a year and thinks he'll be released at that time :)

Emma's Lasix had been dropped to once a day 2 weeks ago and we're having to up it a little bit (believe it or not this is the FIRST step backward she's taken at ALL since her OHS!) She'll be on 3 on one off :) morning- night -morning (not night). Should be fun to try and keep up with??? LOL

Emma is also OFF O2!~ I'm so happy! That means that after a week we can send the O2 supplies back and in about 2 weeks maybe we can move her back to HER BEDROOM! :) Not that I don't love having her close... but... It'll also be nice to sleep through the night without hearing her kick her mattress or getting up to put her O2 back on.

Just wanted to share my happy news :)

(by the way, they told us she'd likely always need O2 and that this was the "beginning" and she'd have it upped from here... huh, seems that she didn't listen.. AGAIN :) )

No glasses

They just won't wear them. Emma does for about 20 min at a time. Then she throws them and I realize it in order to spend the next 20 minutes finding them. Micah's works on a similar schedule except his is about 20 SECONDS on and he's much better at throwing them further, so more like 2 hours before I find them. I need to spend a good 5 days straight just putting their glasses BACK ON THEM but I haven't gotten up the gumption to do that yet to get them used to them. Slacker Mommy, I hear ya!