Stop it Spring!

A couple days after the Spring Blizzard, we got six inches of heavy wet snow.  Under that heavy wet snow is a layer of gooey mud from the melted blizzard snow so my main vehicle is now stuck in the mud :|  Fun times during Mud Season!

Miss Iz has been working on some new sensory strategies with her OT and has been doing a great job.  She keeps Miss J on her toes as things will work great for a while and then Iz gets desensitized to them and they have to start over to find something else.  But she is enjoying the new activities, especially the kids yoga, and shows off the new things she is learning at home :)

The Busy Little B is making tons of progress with his OT but we expect to see some regression soon because Miss A is leaving :(  She is wonderful and he has made so much progress with her but she was only part time and she found a full time position.  As much as I want to keep her, she can't pass up full time :p  I wish the rehab center had a full time spot for her so she could stay :(  B doesn't always do well with change so it might be a hard transition for him.  We had to switch speech therapists recently and he won't say a word to the new therapist.  He will nod or shake his head and smile at her but that's it.  Hopefully he adjusts soon and starts talking to her :p  So it will not surprise anyone if he does the bare minimum at OT with a new therapist until he adjusts.

The Super Kid is also making good progress on his goals in OT but he's been recertified for another session because he's not met the goals and they adjusted a few.  One of the main things we started for was handwriting and it has improved so much!  He's a leftie with hand strength issues plus learning disabilities that effect handwriting so the fact that his print is so clear now is fantastic.  He's still struggling with some reversals and spacing issues and the quality of his writing is still going downhill after some time writing but its progress!  He's quite proud of how nice he can make it look when he first starts writing :)  Those hand strengthening exercises will help with how long he can write, too.

Little W will be doing some testing soon as he ages out of the Birth to Three program to see if the school system will pick up his services.  OT is so hard to get through the school i doubt they will continue that but maybe speech.  He's improved so much but he's still hard to understand--his articulation isn't the best :p  I may need to get him evaluated at the rehab center to continue his services privately if he doesn't qualify to transition to the school system's services.

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.

Return to appointments. Mostly

I am still sick and Baby W is a little, too, so we skipped his swim lesson on Tuesday.  His teacher has several classes for his age group throughout the week and is fine if we show up for any of them so hopefully we will be well enough for one later this week!

Our day wasn't too restful, though, as all those errands we've been putting off since last week got done :p  Post office, oil change place, Costco, Aldi, etc.  Picked the Busy Little B up from school so he and Miss Iz could go to occupational therapy.  Then B has social skills group.  And then off to home for chores and dinner (thanks, crock pot!).

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)

We have a swimmer!

I picked the Busy Little B up from school the other day and it was such a nice day, in the fifties and sunny and warm enough to not need your coat.  We went and filled up the tank and took the long way around to B's OT appointment to enjoy the sunshine.

He had a really good OT session--they worked on an activity that is normally a source of frustration but he stayed cheerful and focused and determined to defeat the activity (everything right now for him is in terms of conquering and defeating.  He wants to be a knight).  The work they are doing on multi-tasking is really helping at school!

Miss Iz also had a good therapy session and talked about what had  been happening since her last session (she often feels anxious talking about the highs and lows of her week and refuses to participate.  We do what was the high point of your day and the low point of your day at the dinner table periodically to try to get her comfortable with the concept and it seems to help).  The "bad" days tend to stick out but if you really look at it, her emotions and responses to it are much more even and appropriate overall than when we pulled her from school.  Progress is always good :)

We went home for chores and dinner and then were off to swim again :)  This session of swim is almost over--they are going to be so sad when it ends.  Its great for them but I must admit I won't mind having my evenings back again ;)  W went to nursery and the Big Kids and I went to the pool and Iz had an awesome lesson!  Her instructor said if she keeps this up, she will graduate to Level Two.  Iz is SO EXCITED.  She wanted to master the skills in Level One and she did it :)  The Super Kid is *so close* to level two but he's still too timid and hasn't mastered floating because he's afraid of sinking.  Iz got over that fear and ticked off all the boxes to move on.  Poor B.  He's trying so so hard but he's still just too  uncoordinated to pass level one.  He's gotten better but there's a reason he's in OT twice a week to work on being able to process and execute multiple instructions at once :p  But I'm so proud of him because he keeps trying and improving and doesn't give up.

The Long Day was a little easier

I got a call that The Busy Little B's social skills group was being rescheduled due to Dr. D not being able to make it. That meant our evening wasn't so hectic and gave me a little break! B handled the change in schedule like a champ and I was so proud of him for taking it in stride :)

I really like the change we made moving Miss Iz's OT from Monday to Tuesday.  Monday B rides the bus home now which saves me time and gas.  On Tuesday I pick him up, he and Iz see their OTs at the same time so I only have to entertain W in the waiting room and then we were off home.  Kids did their chores, I made dinner (lemon parmesan sheet pan chicken with potatoes and green beans.  It was really good!), we ate, gathered up all our swim stuff and headed off for lessons.

I usually have to keep W with me on Tuesdays because we are coming straight from social skills and don't have time to take him to nursery.  Since we didn't have social skills group, W went to nursery and that means a much more relaxed lesson for me :p  That boy is so squirmy and stubborn and is contantly trying to wriggle away from me because he wants in the pool.  Much nicer to let him play with the other kids and toys until everyone is done and showered and changed :)

Emotional Regulation

I was really proud of Miss Iz yesterday.  She did such a great job handling emotions!  She's been dealing with pretty severe anxiety ever since her open heart surgery at seven months old and has been in and out of therapy since shortly before she turned two.  As she grows and matures, the manifestation of her anxiety changes.  Adding an anxiety med last year helped as well and we moved from her very long selective mutism stage into what I call the "Fight or Flight" stage.

One of the things we deal with is the fact that regular ordinary frustrations for her age can often kickstart the anxiety and then we go from 0 to 300 in a very short amount of time.  She does OT as well as meets with a therapist to help and she and I do a lot of work at home.  She had been making big improvements and then school just set her back to the point we pulled her out.  She's made great strides again and those fight or flight outbursts are getting further and further apart.  Yesterday morning W had OT and then we ran errands to finish off our grocery shopping for the weekend and next week.  She did awesome navigating the crowds (sometimes just having so many people around puts her on high alert and it takes very little to tip her over the edge), she handled being told "no" to things like a champ, she listened to instructions fairly well.  She needed some reminders here and there but nothing escalated and she chose appropriate ways to express the emotions she was having.  She used her words, did her breathing, when we needed to we simply moved together to a quieter part of the store, we talked things out.

We talk a lot about how we all have big emotions and that that is okay and normal and we are supposed to have big emotions.  But we have to choose how to handle those big emotions--we can't hurt others or ourselves or destroy things.  We talk a lot about making safe choices and that even grownups have to still keep working on things, too.  She may not always be in control enough to make the choices she needs to (which is why she's homeschooled now--the school was unwilling to step in when needed to keep her and others safe.  She knows that if she's out of control, I'll step in to keep her safe.  She doesn't like getting "tight hugs" when she's upset but she's a smart kid and when she's calm, she can tell you she needs them, even when she can't ask for them), but she's working on making them a habit so she doesn't have to think about them.  We practice when she's calm and she's applying her calm down strategies to other people in the house.  I was irritated with W this morning because he kept trying to climb on me and almost knocked my coffee over and I asked him to get down and go into the living room--Iz came over and starting rubbing my back in long firm strokes and told me that pressure input is really good for staying calm when you start to get mad LOL (Iz's response to W irritating her is usually screaming and crying and we are working on that because the loud wailing won't fix the problem--using  her words will be more effective because then even if W doesn't stop because he's two, I can hear what the problem is and come help.  I used my words like she is supposed to tell W to stop and go in the other room but she figured some pressure input wouldn't hurt).  She's a funny, sweet, thoughtful little girl :)

Open Swim

Thursday was another open swim day.  I try to go to both every week because its great for my bad knee (thanks, EDS!).  When its just Iz and I, I do a lot of swimming but when W comes with me, I have to carry him the entire time so I spend a lot of time water walking forward and back and doing crossovers going sideways in both directions.  He normally loves going with me and was so excited to get ready

But after a few minutes in the water, he was such a Grumpy Gus.  He was "NO" to everything, fighting me holding him, kicking, trying to get out of the pool and leave.  He'd calm down and practice his "kicks and scoops" or jumping in and seem happy and then a few minutes later, grump grump grump.  Iz got in plenty of swim practice, at least!

After swim, we went home for lunch, then picked up the Busy Little B at school to take him to OT, then home again for dinner and to get the Super Kid, then right back to the gym for the Big Three to take their swim lessons :P  Iz was happy she got to swim twice in one day!

We had a common theme yesterday

We headed to the gym yesterday and dropped W off at nursery while Iz and I went to open swim.  She is doing great practicing her swim skills!  She realllllllly wants to graduate to the level two class so she's been working hard to conquer the last few skills she needs to leave level one :p  I'm not quite sure she's there yet even though she has made a lot of progress.  I also don't think she realizes moving to level two means leaving her beloved teacher Miss M behind because Miss A teaches level two.  We spent about 75 minutes in the pool and she did awesome handling corrections and frustrations.  She kept herself centered and calm, even when frustrated, and that's a skill we've been working on.

We ran to the grocery store and then home for lunch to pick the Busy Little B off at school.  W fell asleep in the car so it was good we had a gap between school pickup and our appointment time.  We filled up with gas and then took the long way around to enjoy the sunshine and a nice drive before going to the rehab center.

Both Iz and B had OT.  Both worked on things a little harder than they are used to.  Both of them did awesome in staying calm and collected and working hard on overcoming the challenges given to them.  Again, its a skill both have been working on, to keep calm and work through it rather than wailing/crying/pouting/shutting down/lashing out when they get frustrated.  Both of their OTs were pretty happy that they are doing better in that area both during therapy and at home, school, and at lessons!

We ran home again for a snack and to wait for the Super Kid to get home from school and then off to B's social skills group!  He had an awesome session--the kids did a scavenger hunt and had to work together and B did awesome handling frustration and was able to take turns and work with the others  in the group.  Our theme for the day was developing!  Stay cool and calm was the motto for our day apparently :P

After social skills group we rushed across time to get ready for swim lessons.  W was not all that happy at having to sit out at the side of pool (he wanted to swim!) but on Tuesdays I don't have time to check him in to the nursery so he sits with me.  All three kids did awesome (is that my word of the day?) in lessons and carried on our daily theme of cool, calm, and collected :p

May today go as well!

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.

Monday really was a day off

The sleet turned to snow on Monday and the school ended up cancelling all evening events so we really did get a day off.  And then we got a half day off on Tuesday :p  We were  under a blizzard warning and the major highways across the state closed down so the school called a snow day on Tuesday.  By the time we needed to leave for our appointments, it was clear and sunny and the roads plowed so off we went for double OT, social skills group, and then swim lessons.  For a snow day, we sure were busy ;)

We might have another leftie!

W's new OT, Miss K, has been watching his hand choices and while he's still young, she's thinking he might be a leftie (the Super Kid is.  I think I was supposed to be left-handed as well because I remember getting in trouble in school for using my left and having to switch to using my right whenever a teacher looked my way).  A lot of the time he will begin tasks with his left and then switch to the right when his left gets tired.  We are gently encouraging left hand use to building up his strength and stamina so when he does choose to do a task left-handed, he can continue to use it instead of having to switch.  I have an aunt who is ambidextrous so maybe he'll be one of the ones who can use both :p  The Super Kid and I can both write with both hands--its a skill he had to develop when he broke his left arm (twice in one year, a few months apart) and I've never lost the ability to write left-handed.

We had a busy afternoon of errands--post office, gas, groceries, household goods.  I didn't get to everything I needed to before it was time to meet the Busy Little B getting off the bus yesterday so at some point today I will need to take everyone out with me to get a few things done.  At minimum I need to pick up meds at the pharmacy because the seizure meds are running low.  

Tuesdays are soooooo long

The Super Kid hasn't hit 24 hours sick free so he's still home from school.  He felt worse on Tuesday than Monday so he skipped getting out of the house and slept a lot.  Iz and W and I picked up the Busy Little B from school then took him to OT.  Then we rushed home to gather up all the swim stuff and do a little cleaning before rushing off again to social skills group.  There were a lot of people there today so there weren't enough chairs to sit.  I ended up holding W in my lap in a tiny chair and we watched Stick Man on my phone.  Then off to swim lessons for B and Iz (S stayed home).  On Tuesdays I don't have time to bring W to the nursery so  he stays with me and he wants to go swim so bad that the whole lesson is me basically fighting to keep W contained and distracted because POOL!  SWIM! WANT! PEASE! *sigh*

W loves the new OT

Today was our meeting with the new OT and he LOVES her.  He loved his old OT, Miss M, but he's responding so well to Miss K.  She had him doing things he has always refused to do plus she had him thinking it was his idea to do it :p  Miss K also got Miss Iz involved in doing OT and now Iz is telling everyone she's going to be a therapist when she grows up and she's already in training to be an OT LOL 

Busy busy day

Still sick over here so yay :|

Yesterday was packed once lunch was over.  We picked up the Busy Little B, filled up the gas tank, took B to OT (he had a good day.  They are working on some hand strengthening right now because he's struggling with some of the fine motor stuff that requires strength), then we ran home and gathered up everything we need for swim lessons.  As soon as the Super Kid got home, we took off again because B started his social skills group.  He has been SO EXCITED about doing this because the psychologist who did his intake told him how much fun it would be and he'd get to play and there'd be games and art and stuff :p  The lobby of the place, though, is going to be a challenge to keep the others occupied and contained for the next ten weeks......

As soon as skills group was over, we took off again to go to the gym and get changed and get everyone over to the pool for lessons.  There wasn't enough time to check W into the nursery so he sat with me during lessons and oh, boy, that was NOT fun.  He wanted to swim and spent most of the lesson asking "poo-oo!  whim! poo-ooo!"

Then home again where the crockpot had dinner waiting for us and everyone was in bed an hour late.  The kids love swim lessons but twice a week for the next two months we are rushed and going to bed late :p

New OT!

We met W's new OT this morning (he got too comfortable with Miss M and just would not work for her.  So Miss K will be coming to see him now).  He was comfortable with her right away and talked up a storm.  We couldn't understand most of what he said but he sure did have a lot to say LOL  She played with him a bit, they looked at books, and she got to observe him in action.  We talked a lot about his history and some of the other kids and she's getting a game plan together on what to work on :) 

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!   

OT day again!

We had a busy day yesterday.

After the boys were off to school and breakfast was eaten, off we went to the gym.  Iz went to kid gym and W went to his parent-child swim lesson.  Only one other parent-child set showed up and they left early so W got lots of extra attention from the instructor.  We stayed an extra fifteen minutes because the kids for the next class were late.  Once they showed up, though, W and I headed out--even though it was an open swim time in the pool and we could have stayed, if his instructor is teaching a class, he thinks he should be right there, too :p

Iz had fun in the kid gym and when we picked her up she was sitting with another little girl looking at books together :)

Home for lunch then off to collect the Busy Little B from school so he could go to OT.  B got extra prizes in OT because he spotted a pair of nail clippers and voluntarily clipped one of his nails!  This may seem like no big deal but B is extremely tactile defensive in many areas and one of the worst is his nails.  Kid's brain processes the sensations of clipping as extreme pain and one of the things he has been working on in OT (unsuccessfully up until this point, I might add) is desensitizing his fingertips so nail grooming can happen.  It was a HUGE moment for him :)

After that we headed home to wait for the Super Kid and then took him straight back to the rehab center we had just left so he could have OT :p  He has always had really low strength in his hands and this has made things like tying shoes and writing rather painful as his hands tire quickly.  His handwriting has improved to the point where its actually quite nice when he starts out but as his hands begin to hurt, his writing is barely legible.  He's done OT in the past to help improve hand strength but they are working on it again.