Chatty morning

W had speech this morning and boy, was he ever chatty!  Neither of us could understand about 90% of what he was saying but he sure did have a lot to say LOL  They read some books and played with a baby doll and its teddy bear and he kept up a steady stream of chatter interspersed with a few understandable words here and there :)

After lunch we headed out to the Super Kid's open house.  Seventh grade!!  The good news is he has his favorite class on his schedule (social studies), the bad news is he may not get to do cross country because he has speech and OT and therapy two days a week and cross country meets every day :\

We stopped at our favorite thrift store to see what clothes they had and everyone found a few things.  The Super Kid has been working around the  house to earn money to save up for a Nintendo Switch so he's starting to understand that money means working for it so he has become a HUGE fan of thrift stores.  He found some forty dollar jeans for seventy five cents that are in great condition and he keeps telling me "why would I pay for new when I can save so much money!?"

Why are we up so early??

We were up way too early this morning :p  Well, early for summer hours anyway ;)

We had to reschedule W's physical therapy and met at 8am instead of 9:30 today.  Miss C and I both forgot about the issue of dew and by the time it clicked that the playground we met at was so wet, three of four kids were already all wet so we shrugged and kept on going LOL  It did make things a bit difficult once PT was over, though, as we had to quickly run home for people to change when I had planned on going straight to our next appointment.  We just managed to get to the next appointment on time.

Pretty much a repeat of yesterday morning's appointment only it was the Busy Little B getting an occupational therapy evaluation instead of Isabelle.  I'm fairly confident insurance will definitely approve his services as the OT evaluating him is recommending two times a week because his areas that need work are kind of severe--one time a week is pretty standard and it takes alot to get them to ask for twice.  I don't know if insurance will approve twice or if they'll knock it down to one but the fact that they have enough codes to request twice means it would be difficult for insurance to argue there are no necessary treatments. Then again, its an insurance company so *shrug* you just never know.

We had a wonderfully long break between appointments so we were able to go home, watch a cartoon together, eat lunch, play outside, and then head out again so the Super Kid could go to speech and OT (why,  yes, all four will be in OT and three in speech.  This stuff runs in families :p).

Tomorrow is an easy peasy day--only two appointments!

Did we even stop moving at all today?

We started out our day getting an OT evaluation for Iz that lasted almost two hours.  One thing I can say about our rehab place is they are really thorough when determining if you need services, what those services should be, and what your goals should be.  You might remember she did occupational therapy here last year and was discharged but Developmental recommended we pick it up again.  Hopefully insurance approves it because it did help last time and we still have some areas to work on.

We ran home to get a quick lunch and then were off again to take the Busy Little B to speech therapy.  He seemed really excited to come and tell me all about it when he was done--he even talked to me about it instead of zoning out on the waiting room tv (this was a first--he always gets distracted until they turn off the tv.  The other kids in the waiting room just LOVE when that happens.....).

We ran a quick errand to pick up some necessities and then were off home for snack and a tiny bit of quiet time before we were off to open houses.  I was expecting maybe a few minutes in each classroom but three classrooms, some paperwork, and two different schools took just under three hours. OH BOY.  We had a late dinner and bedtime.  Such bad timing--tomorrow we have to be out the door at 7:30 am.  Not a good night to go to bed late!

Today, we napped!

Only one appointment, OT with Miss M.  Remember how W used to HATE swinging in Miss M's blanket?  He'd cry and fuss and barely tolerate it.  The last few sessions, he has asked to swing!  Today, he kept asking to swing.  He swung at the start, he did several activities, and then swung at the end.  He didn't want to stop and rolled himself up in the blanket so he wouldn't have to get out LOL

I had good intentions for the rest of the day--a few errands, some school shopping that needs to be done, maybe a fun outing for the kids.  Instead, we took a nap.  Maybe tomorrow :p

GO!

W had speech this morning.  He was very excited Miss H was coming and then when she got here he would barely speak to her.  He was being a stinker (as his Aunt Heidi would say) and do his own thing instead of following the plan.  Miss H tried to get him back on track but when it became quite obvious he would not be deterred, she incorporated the toys he was focused on in her activity (reading a book) and managed to capture some of his interest.  When it was time for her to go, he walked her to the door (as he usually does), gave her her shoes and then waited at the door to say goodbye.  She and I talked for a bit about scheduling and the upcoming school  year and he got inpatient.  He started pushing on her leg and shouting GO! GO!  She was breaking the pattern of departure and he wasn't having it.  Luckily she thought it was funny and praised him for using his words so clearly.

We also ended up having an impromptu pediatrician appointment for W.  He broke out in some hives a few days ago so we did the whole allergy med, baths, itchy cream route and it was getting worse not better.  In fact, while I was on the phone with the nurse discussing if we should come in or wait it out, three more spots popped up on his face.  So she brought us in and Dr. M hadn't seen anything quite like it before.  Because, of course he hasn't.  These are my kids, who love to beat the odds in the wrong direction.  If our family can manage to have something there's little chance of seeing, we do it!  The hives turned rash don't look like any of the common contagious spotty things, doesn't look exactly like an allergic reaction, doesn't exactly look viral.  Best guess is a random reaction to something that overflared or maybe something viral (Iz and the  Super Kid both get the classic welt-type hives 3-5 days before some of the big viruses).  So we are adding a second allergy med to alternate with the one he's already on and he has a steroid cream for the worst parts of the rash.  He's in good spirits and hasn't slowed down at all.

The pharmacy was having a hard time with the scripts (one they didn't even had) so we went off to our next two appointments (we were running late but they knew we were going to be due to W's last minute appointment) and came back later to pick up the script and another branch of the pharmacy for the steroid cream. 

Saturdays at the zoo

On Saturdays, our local zoo has a storytime session for the kids.  They read a book and then get to meet a zoo animal.  This week was Sammy the Star Tortoise--they got to pet him and learn all about what makes Sammy special.  The highlight of the visit?  Sammy pooped.   Yep, you heard that right--they most enjoyed the part where Sammy pooped.  Not his neat domed star shell.  Not the spines on his front legs.  Not his beak.  His poop.  *sigh* KIDS.

We spent a little bit of time walking around and seeing some of the favorite animals.  First and last stop on our trip was the koalas.  They were sleeping both times we were there but the kids were still pretty excited to see them in person

We were there during Zookeeper talks so we got to learn some extra facts about koalas and then tigers in the next exhibit.  The Zoo Educator at the tiger exhibit pulled no punches for the young ages of my children so now my five  year old knows that tigers will suffocate their prey with their strong jaws if they can't break its neck right away.  Now, my 12 year old was fascinated by this but perhaps the five year old could have lived with just petting the fur and looking at the skull and teeth :p

W's favorite is always the red panda.  It will run up to the glass and have a look at whoever is out there and then go back and forth.  W would stand there forever if you let him

The Busy Little B likes to go into the "Tortoise Tunnel" in the children's play area and peek at me:

W was on foot this trip instead of the stroller so we were limited in how long we could stay before he started to get tired.  We need to remember the stroller next time for the hike out to the Savannah exhibit so the kids can see the giraffes :)

At least it wasn't six?

After yesterday's six appointments I could have used a break but, alas, it was not to be!

We started our morning with physical therapy for W.  We were meeting at a new park and ended up having to cut through freshly mown grass to get there while the guy was still cutting the big side lawn near the playground.  For most this would not be a problem.  For me, fresh cut grass is an asthma trigger.  Trying to climb a big hill whilst holding's ones breath is harder than anticipated......  It wasn't as bad as it could be--I had a lot of throat clearing but no wheezing so I got lucky!

It was actually an excellent park for W to work at.  Lots of variety in equipment, hills, ledges, stairs.  He got in quite a workout without even realizing it :)

We did a grocery run next (always super fun with all four under foot) and stocked up, especially on veggies.  My little bottomless pits will have plenty of snacks.  I did, however, hide my hummus because I'd actually like to eat some of it this time.  Once I've gotten some, they can have at it but I get to go first!

Then off we went for Iz's regular check-in with GI.  Everything is going well and she gets to go a whole six months before her next visit!  She was a bit disappointed there are no changes to her meds but better they stay the same than go up, yes?

We went home for snacks and quiet time and then we were off again to take the Super Kid (he can't make up his mind what he wants his nickname to be) to back to back appointments for speech and occupational therapy.

It was so tempting to do the whole dinner out thing again but I behaved and went home and made Taco Tuesday (and now you know how many days behind I am on posting about things LOL)

Happy (belated) Eclipse Day!

We did not get to see it in person because we were in the midst of thunder and lightning and so much rain there was flooding around the city.  We actually drove through the beginnings of what would later become and impassable intersection because so much water collected.  It was getting pretty dark due to the eclipse and the storm so it was hard to see the water--I was lucky it wasn't deeper yet and we made it through.

We started our day with Miss S the Educator.  W was really invested in what she was doing, probably because she brought a few things he hasn't seen before.  One of her main goals is to get him to focus for longer stretches of time so he can benefit more from his other therapies and everyone has noticed he has been improving :)

W took a nap and then we ate lunch while watch the live NASA feed--we got to see the eclipse over the Pacific and then in Oregon while we prepped and ate lunch.  I must admit I took a bunch of screen shots on my phone because it was pretty neat!  I had very little hope our storms would clear up long enough for us to see anything in person but the NASA feed was a good substitute.

Then off we went to take the Busy Little B to speech therapy (where we drove through the beginnings of the flood).  Everyone who wasn't with a client hung out in the waiting room for us while we watched the sky get darker and darker and darker.  We were not in the path of totality but we were supposed to come pretty close so even though we could see anything through the clouds, we could watch the light black out and then come back.  The kids though it was cool for a few seconds and then asked to watch cartoons in the waiting room ;)

From there we went straight to the dentist for four back to back appointments.  That was a super fun time in the waiting room.......  I got to see the last half of Boss Baby.  I suppose at some point I'll watch the first half LOL

I fully admit to breaking my budgeting streak and picking up some dinner on the way home.  I'm trying to be good and do most of the cooking at home to save money and because its healthier for us but I was tired and just done for the day.  So burgers it was :P 

How about a little attitude?

Miss M came for occupational therapy and oh, my, did W have a little baby attitude with her!  He had an idea of what he wanted to do and how the session was going to go and he made his displeasure known that her plans did not match up with his plans.  There was a lot of head shaking and pouty lips and plopping down to glower at her.  A few times the both of us had to stifle laughs because two year old pouting is also pretty darn adorable. He did eventually settle down and run through his tasks and then took a nap!

We got rained out!

For PT today we were supposed to check out a new playground but we got rained out!  Its been gray and rainy for a few days and the kidlets were getting a little stir crazy so instead of Miss C coming to the house, we met up at the nature center to play.  She checked his feet for me to make sure his pronation was at a normal level for his age (two of the other kids wear custom orthotics because their feet roll inward badly enough to throw the alignment of their knees and hips out of place.  W's feet roll inward a bit, too, but I was unsure at what age it is still considered normal and what age it becomes a problem.  Its nice to have experts to check these things without having to schedule an extra appointment somewhere!

Peanut :)

Today was another visit with Miss S, the educator.  The big hit toy today was one of those magnetic doodle boards.  We used to have one but it got worn out after much use.  I don't think W was around for that one but the bigger kids get excited whenever Miss S brings hers and therefore W gets excited when she brings it.  He's been working on holding crayons in OT so I think his newfound ability to actually draw on the doodle board helped get his excitement up.

It is kind of funny--whenever one of the other therapists call W anything other than his full name, he ignores them.  But Miss S calls him Peanut and he loves it LOL  He gives her his little grin and snuggles on her lap and they read (most of) a book together.

My Busy Little B also had speech--one of the things he has been working on is being able to tell me what he did in their session instead of telling me "I dunno" or "I don't remember".  At first, he needed lots of prompting from Miss A but this time he did great. He came right out and told me all about the activities they did and what sound he worked on (th).

Another busy day

But today it was Izzy's turn to be busy.  We started off with therapy with her psychologist and then headed over to do her sleep deprived EEG.  She never did nap the way they wanted but the EEG tech did get her to lay quietly with her eyes closed so they could get the data they needed.  Unfortunately, her results were abnormal, showing activity in the right temporal lobe.  The neurologist was hoping she would have outgrown it but nope, still there.  We went up on her seizure meds again so hopefully some of those breakthrough seizures and symptoms she has been having will stop.

HE PASSED!!!!!!

Today was quite the busy day!  We had OT first thing.  W was a little cranky--I had to wake him up at 6:30am to feed him breakfast because he could not eat or drink after 7am.  By the time Miss M got here, he was mad and uncooperative.  She was patient, though, and got him distracted enough to play a bit.

After OT, we were off to the Children's Hospital for yet another swallow study.  We do them about every 4-5 months and are always disappointed by the results.  W threw a big massive tantrum over having to sit in the radiology chair and refused to drink his barium solution.  He was so hungry!  They gave him a graham cracker and a car to take home and that calmed him down and then he drank 2 ounces of thin liquid in 17 seconds and had no aspirations or penetrations!  YAHOO!  They want us to continue to thicken for a few days at half the amount of thickener to ease him from nectar to thin but after that he is cleared to drink normally :)  The SLP did say to continue with his very thin straws for awhile since his last swallow study showed he only had penetrations when he took big gulps.  We are to watch for signs of aspirations, keep him on the controlled drinks via tiny straw, and when he's doing fine on thins with the straw we can slowly start a transition to thicker straws and open cups.

PT day!

We tried out a new playground and it was a big hit.  Only problem was the different play areas were so far apart and we spent a lot of time crossing from one side to the playground to another whenever something caught W's eye.  It did give Miss C a chance to see how much improvement he's made running, though, so that's a plus!  Mr. Piper was able to come to this session but then he spent the whole time running kids to the bathroom because of course no one had to go at the same time ;)

We are seeing more and more improvements since starting the migraine medication!

Triple therapy day!

A little schedule maneuvering today meant three appointments today, two for W and one for my Busy Little B.

First thing was another visit from the Educator.  Normally we don't see her so soon but her last visit was a reschedule from the week before because her family took a trip.  W has started to get really comfortable with her and gets so excited when she comes.  Little imp hid some of her toys, too, which I didn't find until after she left so they went into the little basket I keep on top of the fridge just for therapy toys I find stashed around the house.  I was talking to Miss S and apparently I am an oddity--most of the time if a toy is left behind, they never see it again.  She's never had anyone buy a basket to make sure left behind toys are corralled and kept safe until the next visit.  I can't even imagine stealing toys from the birth to three therapists :\

Next came speech--Miss H is taking a vacation later this month and so she's fitting in make up sessions here and there and today was one of ours.  She's been bringing barn themed books and toys and he loves it :)  Of course he will NOT name off animals for me but he will for her!

And then the Busy Little B has speech.  His speech therapist keeps trying to get me to take a break from speech even though he's still behind.  He has his routine down, he looks forward to seeing her, and he's been really cooperative and attentive.  I could understand taking a break if he was burnt out and I have given him time off in the past when he got burnt out but he's so focused right now.  If we break his good routine, I'm worried he will regress.

W loves his OT :)

W is learning to say his occupational therapist's name :)  His pronunciation is a bit off but it is adorable and she loves it :D

He did so well this week!  We have all noticed a change in his abilities since starting the migraine medication and his skills and attention span have improved quite a bit.  He still has moments of uncoordination but they are fewer and shorter episodes.  He has mastered some of the fine motor skills Miss M has been working on and is moving on to more complicated things :)  His sensory issues seem to have gotten a bit worse, though, so she is refocusing on some of those as well and has shown me some new massage techniques to help him get more input.

Speeech day!

W was so talkative during speech today :)  He's picked up a bunch of new words and is starting to use more and more independent phrases.  The biggest problem we are having is enunciation.  If I have some context clues, its pretty easy to figure out what he's saying but man, oh man, is he ever getting mad at me when he tries to use his words to tell me what he wants and I cannot figure out what he's saying.  He'll just randomly say something to me, I have no idea what it is, he gets mad and starts screaming and crying and repeating the word over and over and I STILL can't figure it out.  He's not quite at the point where he can do charades or give me an alternate word so its all a guessing game.

PT is down to one

Now that Miss Iz has finished her PT, our PT day is short!  Just W in the mornings.  This week we went to the Early Childhood playground at our local school.  We've been visiting different schools with a preschool program lately so the equipment is a little more on W's level.  However, his balance and coordination has improved so much since starting the migraine meds that next week we are trying a regular elementary playground.  He likes those better because there is more to do but he was so unbalanced we stopped going to a bigger kids playground.  We've never been to next week's school so the kids are excited (they spotted the playground driving past and asked we visit during PT).