Um, what did we do again?

I think my brain has gone on overload.  I can't for the life of me recall exactly what W did with the educator at the latest appointment.  I remember her carrying in some toys and the rest....is sort of blank.  Even with all the appointments, I can usually recall the details for at least a week or so before they blend into the background of the neverending round of appointments but nope, not this one.  Blank.  Huh.

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 

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).

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.

And the Educator gets to see "normal" W

Miss S is still new to us so W has been on his best behavior--calm, focused, cooperative.  Today, Miss S got to see him at his normal speed--distractible, short attention span, demanding, flitting from one thing to another. She was flabbergasted at the change in him.  I told her this is pretty normal for him.  He can be a lot more flighty so it was still a calm day but he is always on the go, never stops, doesn't stick with one activity for too long.  Kid doesn't even stop moving in his sleep until he slips into a deeper sleep.  Its good, though--she needs to see it because this is what she was brought in to work on :p 

The Educator

Today was W's second session with the EI educator, Miss S.  We are still in the "get to know you" phase so she brought a bunch of toys and is letting W warm up to her.  He is super shy when she first comes in but warms up to her when she gets out toys :p  She lets him lead the way right now so he tends to flit from activity to activity but eventually she'll be working on helping his stay on task for longer times.  Her visit was complicated by Iz being home but she is rather flexible and was able to incorporate Iz and make her feel included while still getting some one on one work with W.

Let's try speech again, shall we?

Baby W had his first session with the educator today, Miss S.  They played with toys and it was basically a get to know you session.  One of the downsides to having multiple therapies is the fact that there is often toy crossover :p  Miss S was trying to get W to play with a toy she brought and he kept arguing on how to do things--he wanted to do it the way he'd done it the last time he played with the toy but Miss S was asking him to do it a different way. He was so frustrated so I told her how he'd played with it before and why (working on crossing the midline and he was frustrated putting the shapes in the shaped holes because his control isn't as good when he crosses the midline so Miss M had him putting toys in the "exit" hole) and Miss S was able to switch tactics and get him to do a mix of "her" way and "his" way and that made him happy.

After the Busy Little B came home, off we went to speech.  You may remember last week was a bit of a disaster--the session ended early because he wasn't participating and then he cried all the way home (and was sick the next day!).  This session was so much better.  He was excited to see Miss A and tell her all about his birthday--they had a birthday snack together and played games and he had a great time with her :)

Finally! we are well enough again!

I had considered keeping Miss Iz home an extra day to rest since she was the sickest of the kids but you would think I had announced the End of the World by the way she reacted!  That kid wanted to go to school SO BAD.  She was going to hit her 24 hour fever free within an hour of school started so we went ahead and went in--her teacher said a lot of the kids  had been out that week so I guess whatever virus was hitting everyone hard.

With both the middle kids better and off to school, there was nothing standing in W's way of finally having a therapy session! Miss M came to do OT with him and he was so very happy one of his "friends" finally came to see him :)  He was a little uncooperative but I think that had more to do with the whole week's schedule being thrown off.  Miss M was still pleased with his work, though, so it was a good session.

We went to pick Miss Iz up from school and came home for a quick snack before W's annual meeting for early intervention.  All his therapists and his coordinator came plus they introduced Miss S, the educator who will also start coming to see W once a week to work on his attention span.  We talked about his progress and defined the goals for the next six months to a year.  So with the new Educator added in, he will get 30 minute sessions four days a week.  Busy kid :p

After B came home from school, we had to pack everyone up and head for S's school to have a 504 meeting--he already has an IEP that pretty much covers everything  but they wanted to start a 504 as well so sure, why not, I'll bring all my kids to your school and set them loose on your conference room!

Then it was off home again for dinner and then everyone back to S's school for the band concert!  I have to admit, that was kind of a horrible experience.  Not the band!  I thought they did rather well :)  But I had three kids at bedtime, trying to sit in uncomfortable bleachers listening to loud instruments for an hour.  They were restless and tired and unhappy and *sigh* we get to do it all over again in a few weeks for the orchestra concert :\