Since I’ve last posted….sadly almost 2 months ago, I’ve been spending a lot of time working on me.  Figuratively and literally.  I really feel like this is my family’s year to shine.  And in order to do that, Mom was first on the list to “get right”.  Not that I was wrong, I just mean that when Mama’s not taking good care of herself, she really can’t take good care of her kids. It’s time for me to come first right now.  And in doing that, I have taken quite a liking to the gym (again), and am doing my darndest to eat cleaner.  I started this new thing, aka “being healthy” in January.  Since then I’ve lost 25 pounds.  I’ve got 15 more pounds before I reach my first goal.  Once I reach that goal, my trainer and I will chat about new realistic goals.  I think it’s good for me to do this in phases.  These goals then seem more attainable.  This weight loss has paid off in more ways then one. Clothing fits better (and in some cases, too big which means shopping for me!); self-confidence has improved greatly; more energy; clearer skin; people are noticing and complimenting!  I feel pretty.

I should mention that this wouldn’t even be possible if I didn’t have an awesome trainer, Brandon.  He’s been with me for almost 2 years now and he has stood by me through all the crap that’s gone on with Emma.  He’s pushed me when I needed (or present tense: need) pushing, and backed off when I needed that too.  He always delivers a great work out, and he’s just as motivated as I am to help get this extra weight off.  If you’re in the North Scottsdale area looking for a great trainer and a wonderful small private-owned gym, please go visit Premier Fitness Systems and tell them Jessica sent you!

I’m sure you’re all wondering how Emma is doing.  She’s definitely improving.  Not without some hard work on our part (yes, parents are usually the ones that need to do the hard work when it comes to behavior modification).  We have hired a behavior analyst (specialist?) to come to the house every other week and work on creating behavior modification systems to apply within the house.  She’s got one that clearly works for her in the school…and we needed to create one to mirror that at home.  With Carey’s help, we’ve got a great token economy in place as well as other tools that help Emma specifically.  It’s a topic that has interested me and challenged me at the same time.  And it’s brought out my creative juices.  My teacher instincts come back in full force as I create daily routines and interchangeable calendars.  It’s really a topic that deserves its own post.  There’s a lot to it.

Something that’s a trend with Emma (and a lot of kids with her condition) (and a lot of kids, in general) is her knack  for perseverating.  It’s frustrating!  The girl won’t give up.  Some things Emma is perseverating on right now:

• Pumpkins that are growing in our “garden”. (Are they growing? Can we pick them?Will they become jack-o-lanterns? Can we carve them?)
• The plate and screws in her hip.  This is one topic I don’t mind her constant questions about.  When it comes to her medical issues, we are very honest with her- in an age appropriate way, of course.  But still.
• Her costume. (Can I wear it? Can I wear it to school? Does it fit?  Do I need shoes? Can I grow Rapunzel hair?)
• Halloween. (Is it Halloween yet? Are our decorations up? Can I have some candy corn? Where’s my trick-or-treating bag? Can I get my bag? Can I see my bag?)
• Daddy. (Sweet and endearing, yes.  But when you’re mom on the receiving end of “Is Daddy on his way? Is Daddy coming home? Can we call Daddy? Daddy’s going to love…  Adorable, but for the mom who listens to it from 3:00-6:00 or later, whenever Daddy gets home.  Hello?  Am I chopped liver?)

~~AND THE BIGGEST ONE…

• Disneyland. (Is Disneyland over there? (usually pointing west) When can we go to Disneyland? What will I wear to Disneyland?  Can I get cotton candy? Can we go now? Will we stay in a hotel room? Can we go faster? (that question relating to the rides and the actual travel west) Who is going to Disneyland with us?  Not Daddy? Oh, I’ll miss Daddy (see previous perseveration) Can we go on Thunder Mountain? (which sounds like Funder Mountain, which is kinda cute) The questions keep coming.)

Now this topic, it’s my fault.  If you know me, you know I have an absolute affinity for Disneyland and anything Disney related. And I got so excited thinking about our upcoming trip that I let the cat out of the bag.  And I will pay for that.  For 29 more days until we’re actually driving to Disneyland.  And if you count the car ride there and the additional night stay that we have to endure before we actually go into the park, then 30 days.  I am the adult.  I should’ve contained my excitement.  I can hold it in better than she can.  Shame on me.  I really shot myself in the foot this time.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s done this!

We had Emma’s pre-op appointment yesterday with the orthopaedic.  Dr. K is the “hip” doc and so that is who we see.  And we got so many of our questions answered.  And one super-great piece of information…Emma will be in the new tower!  Have you seen the new tower?  It’s beautiful!

This is the lobby:

And this is what a new (private) patient room looks like:

So are we looking forward to this?  In certain ways, yes.  This needs to happen.  Her hip needs to get fixed.  It’s obvious to the untrained eye.  The hospital stay will be nicer in a new room.  The recovery will be better because there will be no SPICA cast.  This is what Emma’s cast looked like when she had her first hip surgery at age 3:

This go around, I will be looking for a water therapist (anyone have any ideas with that?) to start therapy in the pool after week 3.  She’ll be in a wheelchair 6-8 weeks.  We will bling it out, no doubt.  And I got the clearance for roller coasters after week 12.  If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know that every fall we see Dr. Borchert in L.A. for her eyes.  And this, of course, requires a trip to Disneyland.  It’s an annual girl thing.

So the plan is this.  Paris on Thursday (how do you say “woohoo” in French?).  1 week to recover upon coming home.  Just recovering from jet lag takes that long.  And I’m sure it won’t be any easier than it was 10 years ago.  One week after I return home we have the surgery.  And we’ll be buckled down in the nice cool house while it’s sweltering outside.  Could be worse, right?

 

Every fall, Emma and I head west.  Ultimately, our goal is LA where we visit Emma’s awesome neuro-opthalmologist, Dr. Borchert.  But, along the way we always manage to have some fun.  And for the third year in a row, we’ve hit up Disneyland for a day or two.  This year I was wise and we stayed in Anaheim.  Years past, we have stayed in West Hollywood, which is close to the hospital (and, an awesome area to stay in). This year, looking outside our hotel door we saw this.

Emma was so excited to get through those Disneyland gates!  I think I was just as excited.  In fact, Monday morning, I woke up first and was dressed and ready to go before she even stirred! (granted, a lot of that sleeping has to do with her ADHD medication, but still)  I asked her which ride she wanted to go on first.  If you know my girl, you know her answer was Thunder Mountain.

First, we stopped at City Hall.  I had a chat with one of the cast members there and explained a bit about her disabilities.  They handed me a guest assistance pass, which to me was like paper gold.  If a ride had fast pass, we went directly to that line.  If the ride didn’t have fast pass, we went through the exit to get on the ride.  This cut down or eliminated waiting in line for Emma.   oh.my.gosh.  Hello…why hadn’t I tried this before? The longest we waited for a ride was probably 15 minutes.  And that was for Space Mountain; a ride we won’t be going on again anytime soon.

And, I might add that using the guest assistance passed probably allowed me to walk at least 2 miles more. (note to self: get a pedometer before next trip to DL)  Anyhoo.

So our two days in Disneyland were awesome.  Granted it rained the second day.  A lot.  As in, we were both drenched when we got to the hotel.  But she didn’t want to leave!  In fact, that day during the rain, we went on Thunder Mountain 4 times in a row, 7 times total. A personal record. You can see the evidence of humidity in her hair.  Wish I had those curls!

I’m ready to go back already.  I seriously can’t get enough of that place!  And Emma’s taking after me.  Never once did she want to stop or slow down.  Even when we grabbed a bite of food, she was always wanting to go! Even though I will gladly head to Disneyland with anyone, this fall trip will always be “our thing”.

I think I would like to make my kids love Disneyland as much as me.  I’ve been able to hook Emma in.  She’s a sucker for fast rollercoasters!  For Mason’s birthday, I surprised him with a day at Disneyland, just him and me.  I caught his reaction on video when I told him.  Not what I expected!  His eyes welled up with tears and he didn’t want to go.  As we started driving (let’s face it: we weren’t not going), we talked about the rides, listened to music (is it pathetic that I have a CD of all of the ride music??), and talked about everything at Disneyland.  At least the tears stopped and the frown turned upside down!  This is the kind of day we had:

I’ve won him over.  Now the only problem is winning their Daddy over.  And…sidenote, is it bad that an Arizona resident wants to get a Disneyland annual pass?

What’s your favorite ride at Disneyland?

…Disneyland!!!!

I have told him for awhile that I will take Mason to Disneyland when he is tall enough to go on the “big kid rides”.  Last year when we went for Emma’s birthday, he was only tall enough for the Matterhorn.  Which, yes, is a big kid ride.  But I’m a Disneyland fanatic and I’m not about to be stuck in Fantasyland and Toon Town all day.  Anyway, so Mason is now tall enough (40 inches, if you’re wondering, for most rides with the exception of Indiana Jones and California Screamin’ and a few others (yes, I know the height requirements, it’s a gift).  So this morning we will drive from North County to Anaheim and spend all day at the Magic Kingdom.  I want to tell him so bad, but I will refrain.  And try to keep it to myself.  In fact, I haven’t told many people I’m taking him.  It’s more fun as a surprise!

We will last as long as he lasts.  And hopefully that’s a long time!  I would like to stay for the new World Of Color show, but we will see.

Did I mention I. Can’t. Wait.  !!!

What’s your favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom?