Poor B--he had two new therapists yesterday!  Luckily his OT is someone he knows and has worked with before so he had no problem working hard for her.  He loves her and so when she fills in for Miss A, he is happy to go with her.  It would be awesome if she gets to be Miss A's replacement once the dust settles down and they have all of Miss A's clients assigned out to other therapists.  He was so happy with OT that when a new speech therapist came to work with him, he was comfortable and chatty :)

Miss Iz also had OT and they did some feeding therapy and she was not only willing to try everything presented to her but she actually ate it as well :p

The Busy Little B had his very last social skills group--he's so sad their meetings are over :(  The last class was at the bowling alley so they could practice their skills in a real world setting.  I rented the lane next to the group so the other kids could bowl.  I haven't been bowling in an incredibly long time and discovered my wrists can handle my old weight (thanks EDS!) so I had to use a ball that was way too light and my first time six year old bowler had a better score than I LOL

We can't get away from The Sick!

This is a miserable cold.  I am a walking Nyquil ad, Baby W has the runny nose and sneezes, Iz woke this morning with the sore throat and runny nose, and now we are just waiting to see if the Busy Little B and the Super Kid get it.  Everyone who is ill is grumpy.

Yesterday we took it easy, only one appointment for the Super Kid to do OT.  We were supposed to have speech this morning for W but I let the SLP know about the Nyquil Ad our house has become and she decided to stay away.  Can't blame her!  I was hoping we'd be up to a makeup swim lesson after missing Tuesday but that's not happening.

We have a Level Two Swimmer!

We had a busy day on Thursday!

W had speech first thing and boy, was he excited!  He chattered to Miss H from the moment she arrived and couldn't wait to "pay!" with her.  She brought a doll house and he really loved it.  

It was late start day for the Super Kid so he got to hang around during speech and then got ready to school while Iz and W and I got ready to go to open swim.

The Busy Little B had early dismissal so we picked him up early and had some time to relax before heading off to OT.  

And it was the big kids very last swim lesson for this session (the next one starts after school is out).  At the end, they get their completion certificates and a prize (candy usually).  We had a graduate!  And it wasn't the kid we thought.  The Super Kid got his level one certification card and will be in Level 2 next time.  He's so proud of himself.  Iz was so close but she didn't quite nail swimming on her back.  She's slightly disappointed but more excited than anything because Miss M wrote "you are so close!" on her certificate LOL

Now it is Spring Break and everyone is off school for a few days (they go back Wednesday)

One less appointment!

The Super Kid had speech and OT tonight and he is now officially done with speech!  He stopped speech at school a few weeks back because while he was still working on that "r" sound, it wasn't effecting his schoolwork anymore because the teachers could understand him so they didn't meet the criteria to provide services at school.  But he was still doing private speech therapy and rapidly improving and he's now consistent enough that he doesn't need to keep going :)  He still has to work at it, though, since if he's not paying attention he'll slip back into old speech patterns but he's been pretty determined to master this and has worked on this sound for YEARS so I'm not too worried :)  His enunciation has improved so much the last few months!

Talk talk talk all day long

W was so talkative on Thursday!  Which was perfect timing since he had speech :p  He had lots of fun with Miss H and Iz got to do some puzzles, too :)

We ran a few errands after speech then picked the Busy Little B up from school so he could go to OT.  He had a great session and we are noticing his mental coordination is improving so much in many different areas--this twice a week OT is helping so much!  I'm so glad we switched him over to the rehab center--he liked his OT at the children's hospital but he didn't make even a fraction of this progress in the year he was with her that he's made in a few months at the rehab center.

Miss Iz had therapy right after B's OT and then we were off home for a quick dinner and to pick up the Super Kid so we could head off to swim lessons.  W went to nursery and oh, boy, did he scream at being dropped off.  When we picked him back up, he was happy as a clam :p  He LOVES the ladies at the nursery and loves to play there and loves getting to be around the other little kids but he never ever remembers that love when I drop him off.

The Super Kid is almost done with speech!

Wednesday after school the Super Kid had both OT and speech.  He's been doing really well with OT despite his reluctance to do things in front of other people--they were able to get him to do some of the motor planning and core strength work despite his initial reluctance and then enjoyed doing it :p  They did an obstacle course and he admitted it was fun. ha!

Speech is coming along so nicely.  He goes every other week and they are focusing on conversational r's (the last sound he has to conquer.  He does well with the sound in individual words but its a bit harder to keep the sounds correct in sentences).  He has about a month left on his current script so if he can master that conversational use in that time, he'll be all done.  Otherwise, they'll renew the script and keep working.  He's been trying to get r down for YEARS so he's so pleased with himself (as he should be!) that he's made such huge progress since started therapy at the rehab center :)

I made my life harder :p

I completely spaced out on the time of the Super Kid's appointments on Wednesday.

Normally, Wednesday is our "off" day--nothing scheduled, the Busy Little B rides the bus home instead of me picking him up, we just do some cleaning and cuddling and dinner in the afternoon and evening.  But with B going to the social skills group on Tuesdays, I had to reschedule (temporarily) S's OT and speech on Wednesday.

So S gets home from school and we immediately leave to get him to therapy.  We are rushed and in a hurry but at least we will be home in time to cook a fast dinner and get everyone to bed mostly on time so I don't set up the crock pot today.  We arrive at the rehab center.....and S's appointments are a full half hour later than we have shown up for *head desk*.  Its my fault, I marked the wrong time down because as soon as I saw the scheduled times I remembered Miss K telling me she could only schedule speech an hour later than normal (with OT staying in the same time slot).  So yesterday was a full hour and a half in the waiting room with the kids, we got home later than I anticipated so after cooking we sat down to eat at bedtime, everyone went to bed late (again), and no one wanted to get up this morning :p

*sigh*  at least next week I know!

I am so tired

The Busy Little B was up at 5:30 this morning. Usually I have to drag him out of bed at 7:15.  But he got up, got dressed completely, and asked to play a game.  So 5:30 started our day.

W had speech today. He started out super shy but soon was participating and we had a good session.

Thursdays are open swim day at the warm pool so W goes to the kid gym/nursery and I take Iz to practice swimming and play.  A little over an hour of constant movement, either walking, swimming, or towing her about, combined with our 5:30 wake up call had me dragging by the end.

Home for lunch and then off to pick up the Busy Little B from school to take him to OT.  His regular OT, Miss A, was not in but he saw Miss S.  He's worked with her before so he had no hesitation going with her and jumping right into therapy :)

Now to just make it through evening chores, dinner, and bedtime.......I could fall asleep right now but there are hours yet to go!

The Long Day

Right now, Tuesdays are our long day. But this past Tuesday I got a break!

Took W to his swim lesson (and Miss Iz went to Kid Gym).  The swim class after ours didn't show so we stayed longer and played about in the pool and W practiced some more of his skills.  Then off home and Mr. Piper arrived!  He's been on the road and we weren't supposed to see him until next week but he had to wait for his coworkers to pass by to meet up with them (they drive the buildings, MrP is their escort driver) so we got an unexpected visit.  So after lunch, we all went to pick up the Busy Little B to go to OT.  He had a good session and worked on fine motor control (kid is opposed to silverware so we are working on getting him more comfortable with it so we can end the eating with fingers thing :p) as well as balance (he wants to ride a bike but he can't coordinate balance and movement so he's working on getting balance down first and then adding in the movement so he can pedal at the same time.  All my kids have trouble making both sides of the body work in coordination so its slow going but he'll get there!).

On Tuesdays the Super Kid also has appointments after school.  OT every week and speech every other week.  Because MrP is home, he took the Super Kid while I stayed home with the other three.  This is a nice break for me :p  Sometimes MrP will stay home and I get to go alone to wait for the Super Kid to get done and read a book in peace and quiet but I wanted to get a few things done at home so I opted to stay.

The Busy Little B sure was glad I stayed because I made his very favorite meal ever, ready to eat as soon as MrP and the Super Kid got home :D

Guess what day it is?

OT Day!!!!

Sorry, couldn't help myself ;)

We started our day with in-home speech for W.  He has been rather quiet lately but he had a lot to tell Miss H today and toys to show her.  It was cute :p

 Once speech was over, we packed up and headed for the gym.  W went to the kid gym while I took Miss Iz to open swim at the warm pool.  Her lessons do not start again until February but she wants to practice her skills so she can hopefully graduate to level two after this set of lessons.  So we practiced floating and kicking and she showed off she can swim independently for a couple feet/strokes.  And we just played for a while.  We were in the pool for a little over an hour and I'm kinda tired now LOL.

We stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items, had a super quick lunch at home, and then off to pick up the Busy Little B at school.   My check engine light had come on so we stopped at Advance Auto Parts on the way to the rehab center to make sure it was nothing imminent.  I have a misfiring cylinder :\  Just what I needed!

OT for B went well.  He's been working hard!   

Today felt absurdly busy :p

We started off our day with some speech therapy for W.  At first, he just wanted to hide but by the end, he was mad we had to stop LOL

We left immediately after speech to drive cross town so W could have his swim lesson!  Miss Iz went into the kids gym and there were a LOT of kids there for her to play with.  One of the workers asked another "why are there so many kids here today!?" and the second worker just looked at her and said "Its January."  Resolution month ;)

When W and I got to swim I discovered we were at the wrong class.  I signed him up for a level one class but he is supposed to be in a level two class (same class, just divided by age) which is on Tuesday.  This is the first time the gym has used an online registration system and our swim instructor says everyone is showing up for the "wrong" classes because there were just too many glitches with the system.  She said we can go to whichever class we want but it actually works out better for us to go on Tuesdays so we don't have to rush after speech.  We did the Thursday class today and will switch to Tuesdays next week.  And this is better for Miss Iz, too, as it looks like one of the local homeschool groups meets on Thursday morning fairly regularly so maybe she can make some buddies to play with.

We did a milk run after swim and then home for lunch and then off again to pick up the Busy Little B.  He had OT after school (and he loves Miss A so going twice a week is fine by him) followed immediately by Miss Iz's appointment with her psychologist Miss J.

By the time we got home again, I was tired :p

A very busy day

We had a busy day yesterday and it felt like I was constantly trying to catch up.

We didn't make it through our homeschooling list as quickly as we normally do so Iz and I ended up doing her "research project" in the waiting room of the rehabilitation center the kids do things like PT, OT, and speech at :p  A couple times a week I pick a topic for her to search online for--we are starting young on the basics of research and reliable sources--so instead of me teaching her something, she's getting the information on her own (sort of, I still read it to her and help explain it so she can understand).  Yesterday's topic was "why things float" so we had a good discussion on density and buoyancy :)  Why, you may ask?

After the Busy Little B had OT (and we ran home for half an  hour to wait for the Super Kid to come home from school so we could go right back to the rehab center) and The Super Kid had both speech and OT, we headed for the gym for the next session of swim lessons!  They were so excited :D  Got there, got all changed, got down to the pool, waited for the teachers and other kids to show up......and nobody did.  There were adult classes in the pool and lap swim but no swim lessons.  OOPS.  Apparently I marked down January in my calendar but big kid lessons are in February.  Sorry, kids!  Baby W is the one who does lessons in January (starting tomorrow).  So my dejected kids got changed and we went home to eat and go to bed :p

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!

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. 

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 

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.