Well, we’re off to a good start in our household! I think we’ll have a nice rhythm and routine going…something solid enough to keep Mommy and Emma sane! Emma has been working wonderfully with her “tutor”. They will work together at least twice a week, and for at least one hour each time. I think Emma enjoys working on her skills. And her keeps things new and fresh, and will change it up when she senses Emma gets restless. Last week we took the kids to the Phoenix Children’s Museum. It is a place I absolutely adore. I really do think it’s one of the best Children’s Museums out there…and I’ve been to a lot of them! I’m so bummed I didn’t bring my camera that day, but there’s a good chance we’ll go again this summer. I think that Tuesdays will be our outing day. Weather we hit a museum, a splash pad, or the movies, we’ll try to do something fun and exciting for them (and, really, for all of us). It’s so nice to have an extra adult on hand when the kids want to go in opposite directions! We’re very lucky to have her (we’ll call her J for now!).
The weather has been getting pretty warm here, too. We finally hit 100 last week. But mostly we’ve been in the high 90′s. The temperature hike keeps us indoors during the middle of the day, but they are outside in the morning and late afternoon and early evening…and I don’t want to stop them! They are loving it! While we don’t have a pool, we have an inflatable pool my parents got them and that’s good enough for them! Here are some pictures from their play time outside!
Love this action shot with Emma running and Mason getting splashed in the face!
Emma's face is so funny...she's sooo excited to go down a slide of which her legs take up the entire length!
What do you guys do to keep cool during the summer months?
This guy is amazing…I love his tenacity and determination. And I would love to see him on tour! And…did you know he’s a Christian? You can visit his website here. Check out this video first, though.
Before school got out, which was just last week, I wanted to think about summer goals I had for Emma. I will set some goals for myself as well. And Mason, well he’s along for the ride! Although one thing we’ll work on is writing his name. Anyway, back to Emma. I decided I was going to keep it easy. I mean, it’s still summer! She has 2 goals. The first is to swallow pills. If you remember this post, you’ll know that it’s not something I really know how to teach. It’s interesting, though, that she started taking an interest in preparing her medicine. She will take it all by herself, but the preparation is where the time commitment comes in. There’s the crushing and dissolving of pills. And juice and applesauce are heavily involved! So her taking an interest in preparing is a good first step. On Sunday, I simply asked her to swallow one of her pills, the cortef. And she did. It took a few big gulps of juice, but she got it down! We are now halfway to that goal. She will swallow her cortef and levothyroxin. My next goal (starting next week, perhaps?) is to work on getting her to swallow the capsules. Undeniably bigger in size, but perhaps easier to swallow because they’re gel-coated and slippery? We will see. It might be a struggle that involves a reward at the end. As well it should. Wish us luck!
Her last goal is to move out of the pull-ups at night and into underwear. We have pull-ups mostly for insurance as she’s dry in the morning about 98% of the time. But I figure that if she has any accidents, cleaning it up in the middle of the night will be a lot easier if we don’t have school the next morning!
And, as far as Emma’s habilitation gal, so far so good. She met with Emma on Monday and said Emma did really well working. I think that having a routine of work will help a bunch. She will work Mondays from 9-12 while Mason and I are out of the house. We’re going to shoot for Tuesdays as “field trip” days. And Thursdays Emma’s hab gal will have both kids. But I will insist they work at least one hour. Mason can do a lot of this stuff already.
So, that’s my plan as of now. Of course things can always change!
8 years ago today I married my best friend. I can tell you that the road we’ve taken has been unexpected and bumpy at times, but I couldn’t imagine traveling that road with anyone else. Every little thing we have gone through has made us stronger as a couple…and I’m so thankful for that! Brett is a wonderful husband and an amazing dad and it shows…to everyone.
Tonight we will celebrate at Fleming’s. There will be lots of food and wine involved. And of course, dessert! I’m looking forward to it!
This is a picture-heavy post as I’m SOOOOO proud of my little girl! On Tuesday, she graduated from Kindergarten! You may know that for us, any milestone is a BIG milestone! And one that’s celebrated. A few months ago, when we were in the throes of IEP‘s and in the back of my head, I really didn’t know if she should move on to first grade. It was a huge struggle for me…something that I thought about. A lot. After speaking with her teacher (also my college roommate!), she finally put my mind at ease. Yes, Emma needed to move on to first grade. This was such a relief to actually know. And to know that she would stay with her peers. Here are some pictures from our wonderful day!
Walking onto the stage with her classmates
Here she comes!
Receiving her certificate!
Such a big girl!
Proud mommy!
Proud parents! (Mason was there, but had a bit of a 'tude working)
Emma and Grandpa
Oma and Emma
Grandma, Emma, and GG
Emma and Mrs. Huguley
Me, Emma, and Christine Huguley, my college roommate!
Emma and Ms. Steier...the best aide EVER!!
Emma's sweet friends, Julia, Kayla, and Treasure
Mrs. Paul and Emma. Mrs. Huguley and Mrs. Paul job-shared...they were WONDERFUL together and they will be missed!!
Emma and her two teachers. What wonderful ways to start your education in school. We couldn't have been more blessed!
What special celebrations do you have for your kids at the end of the year?
My friend posted an MSN article a few days ago about some new statistics regarding ADHD. And they’re not that surprising. The title is Pesticides in Kids Linked to ADHD. The title says it all. But is it that surprising? Maybe some of the numbers will surprise you.
“Kids with higher-than-average levels of one pesticide marker were nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD as children who showed no traces of the poison…. The most alarming finding was a near-doubling in odds of ADHD diagnoses among kids with higher-than-average levels of the most common of the six metabolites detected. Kids with high levels of dimethyl thiophosphate were 93 percent more likely to have the disorder than children with with undetectable levels of the marker.”
Yeah, those are some big numbers. But there are SO many other factors that go into ADHD. Take Emma, for example. She has at least 2 other factors that contributed to her diagnosis. First, kids with SOD have a tendency toward an ADHD diagnosis. Secondly, it can be hereditary and her Dad had/has ADHD (truth is, he is able to control the tendencies). So it was almost a given Emma might have it. Hence my persistence in getting the right evaluations.
Which leads me to my next question. I wonder how the diagnosed kids in the article got diagnosed. It’s no secret that ADHD is widely over-diagnosed. I have had people tell me, “well every kid these days has ADHD.” Which is precisely why I went through the measures I did to get her diagnosed correctly with a trusted pediatric neuro-psychologist (who is wonderful, if you need someone from PCH). But practically any doctor can diagnose ADHD these days. And they can all write out that prescription for Ritalin, too.
So what do we do about this? Well, the article suggests buying organic as much as possible and washing all produce. I think the last one is a no-brainer. I do try to buy organic when it’s cost-effective. That stuff can be expensive! I DO wash my produce every time with Fit Spray. I find mine at Fry’s. Whole Foods also has a spray…actually a few to choose from. I believe Fit is made from citrus. So is the Whole Foods spray, and their’s is organic, too. Oh, and I will try to stay away from frozen produce. Which actually will be easier said than done. Eek! At this point, what more can you do when it comes to produce?
I realize this is quite a hot topic and I am not trying to step on toes. But I would love to start a dialog about this and see what you all think of the ADHD topic and this article in particular.
I started a discussion in my Blog Frog community over here…come on over and join in, won’t you?
I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed Emma’s kindergarten year. First of all, her teachers are amazing. Yes, one of them was my college roommate. But if I didn’t feel comfortable with her, she never would’ve been in the class. I knew it was going to be a good fit. And the other teacher was just as awesome. Her aide, Jessika, is a doll. I’m going to hone in on my persuasive writing skills in the next few days to convince the super-intendent of Special Education that Emma and Jessika are two peas in a pod. Don’t split them up! And I can’t forget her OT, PT, Vision, Special Ed teacher, Special Ed aide, etc. But the kids in the class…are all darling. I have requested twice now that the entire class be moved together into first grade. They are so sweet to my Emma, and I know it may not always be this way. But to the kids and their parents, I want to say Thank You!!
Brett and I have been blessed with having both sides of the family in the Phoenix area. It makes it so much easier to get out on date nights or to maybe sneak away for a few days. This past trip was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken. And we’ve taken a lot of good trips. It was so nice to relax on the beach without worrying about anyone getting sand in their eyes, nap times, meal times, boredom, etc. It was like a second honeymoon, which I mentioned, was the last time we went on a beach vacation alone. Talk about time to recharge the batteries! Is it just me or do most parents come back with a deeper appreciation for their kids? I missed them a lot…especially the last day. And flying for a whole day seemed to take forever! My energy is restored, and so is my patience.
