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

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!).

The last crazy Tuesday

I am so glad the Tuesday schedule is going to be easing up a little.  I had come to dread Tuesdays and how packed and stressful they are with the constant moving from one appointment to another.

This week is the last week of swim lessons and the next session will be after school is out (they have one more lesson on Thursday) so now we can go home after social skills group for the Busy Little B instead of rushing off to the pool.  And near the end of April the social skills group will be over as well so we'll have our evenings back for the rest of the school year :)  Not having to eat dinner late and going to bed on time will be greatly appreciated :p

OT went well for both the Busy B and Miss Iz.  B's therapist is really pleased with his progress and it is showing in school and at swim as well!  He has trouble processing multiple things at once so coordination and multi-tasking really suffer but since starting his twice a week OT he's shown so much improvement!  He still struggles a lot more than your "average" kid his age but compared to his abilities at the beginning of the year, he's come a long way!  Miss A is really really good for him :D  Iz's therapist, Miss J, has been really pushing Iz's boundaries so they can work on her strategies for dealing with frustration and sensory overload.  Miss J had to really back off on that type of thing earlier this year because Iz was spiraling out of control due to everything happening with school.  She regressed so far over the fall and early winter :(  But she has really bounced back!  I'd say we aren't quite back to where we were at the end of summer just yet but we are getting there.  Just last night she was in sensory overload at the pool and she shouted at everyone that they needed to JUST BE QUIET.  While this wasn't an appropriate response because you can't just scream at everyone, it was a better response than a few weeks ago when she had to be physically removed from the pool while she lashed out at everyone in reach :\  Baby steps?  (and while none of the adults stopped being loud and the music was still blaring and it was still very very loud in the pool, the kids stopped shouting and calling her name and trying to talk to her and she was able to focus and do her task).

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 :)

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!

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 ;)

Good school reports!

I picked the Busy Little B up for school so he could go to OT and his teacher was telling me how much progress he's made recently in the social areas of school.  He's participating in small group more, doing partner work, talking to other kids, etc.  That social skills group he's doing through the local rehab center is really helping :) I'm noticing that he is more social and getting along better with other kids in waiting rooms as well.

He had a good OT session and his OT is so proud of him that he's handling things more calmly instead of with meltdowns.  We are still working on this at home ;)  Although he is doing better about talking things through instead of immediately jumping to being upset.  It is a work in progress!

It was also the big kids last night of this swim session so they got their certificates.  We haven't quite mastered all of the level one skills so they'll be repeating level one but they are all getting closer!  I think if the Super Kid really works at it, he could advance to level two soon.  Iz is getting close, too.  I think it will take the Busy Little B longer because he has such trouble coordinating all the different parts of his body (one of the things he works on in OT) but he's doing better each time :)

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*

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!

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

Miss Iz and W were sure excited about school this morning!  We didn't even make it through breakfast before Iz was doing math worksheets and then they finished eating while watching a Magic Schoolbus episode about air pressure :p

This afternoon was OT.  One of Iz's goals is to be able to tolerate trying foods, particularly vegetables.  She used to eat just about everything but over the last year, the list has dwindled dramatically and she was complaining about the feel of food.  This past week she has skipped many a meal because it didn't look like it would "feel right" and she refused to eat.  So OT includes a bit of feeding therapy as well to overcome the sensory aversion.  She tried all kinds of stuff at OT today :p  Now if we could just get her to eat at home!  She helped me cook dinner (chili) and she actually ate an entire serving so progress, eh?

Later in the afternoon we had to take the Busy Little B back again to do an intake appointment/evaluation with one of the psychologists.  He's going to do a ten week social skills group with other kids his age starting next month.  B is friendly but his friendships are very surface level and he doesn't actually interact with kids very much.  Hopefully this will help!