Mystery Reader

If you didn't know, which I didn't, March is reading month. Alexandra's preschool had mystery readers and She wanted Pa Pa (or my dad) to read. He agreed but said we'd have to pick the book for him. Last night Alexandra started to pick books. The first one was about Human Development. I told her no. Then she picked a easter and religious traditions book that had no pictures and lots and lots words. So I directed her to a fire dog book and a bakers counting book. As you can see and hear he did an awesome job and the kids seem to really enjoy it. It was so cool to see him reading to Alexandra's class.

Wordless Wednesday - My boys

A haircut for Granny

When we were in Florida my mom thought it would be a good thing to get Alexandra a hair cut. Just to trim her hair up. Both Alexandra and I told her no. So, after I got home I thought about what she said (see mom, I do listen to you)and I talked to Alexandra about it. She thought it would be fine. So, I trimmed it. Here's a pic of the new do. She's not real thrilled with it since it's too short to really braid it but other than that I think it's really cute a little shorter.

I think it was harder on me

Today was the day I had been dreading for a while. Sebastian started his preschool class today. We all headed to the school. Sebastian went right in and started to play. We had to check in with the lunch lady and once we left he started to cry. We peeked in the window and the Teacher told me that he was upset and she was holding him. She told me to go. I started to cry as we walked out the door. Alexandra asked me what was wrong. I told her that dropping Sebastian was hard for me and it made me sad. I could tell she didn't get it. I cried more on the way home. We got home and got Atticus to bed and Alexandra was getting ready for rest time. I started to cry again. Alexandra said, mom you don't have to be sad, I'm not sad. He'll be back in a couple of hours. Plus, you have that other boy in the other room." I laughed through my tears and I said, "I also have you". We picked him up around 3:30 PM and he was really happy to see us. The Teacher said he did really well and got a star on his hand for helping to pick up toys. She said they played in the gym and he was kicking balls and running around. He told me as we left that he had a good time and wanted to go back. He fell asleep on the way home and he slept in the car for about an hour. He was a little out of sorts tonight, I think it'll be a few days or even into next week to transition out of his nap time.

I of course analyzed why this was so upsetting to me to leave him at preschool today. I cried when I dropped Alexandra off but I also knew she and I were both ready. I hadn't prepared myself for this like I did with her. I think my other concern was that the teachers wouldn't get him, like I get him and maybe they won't but that doesn't mean they can't help him. I also don't want him to be mistreated. It's not that I get that feeling but it would pain me to know we made this decision and it hurt him in some way instead of helping him. I guess I'll leave it at that for now. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts tomorrow.

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The time of our lives

Sorry I haven't been able to update via utterz but my cell phone hasn't been working in Port. Yesterday we were in Cozumel and it was awesome. We snokeled, enjoyed the ocean on a private beach and had an awesome ride on a catamaran. We also had a great time yesterday at dinner with our new friends Kelly and Chris and Wendy and David. Ask me about the game show the Quest. I won't blog about it here. We arrived in Progreso this morning and it was raining and cloudy. It was still warm though. We visited a mayan ruins site and it was fantastic. I'll post pics soon. We enjoyed climing the ruins and seeing the country side of Mexico. Progreso is a fairly new port and the city isn't quite the tourist mecca that Cozumel is. We've had rough seas most of the time but Paul has not been sick anymore. Tonight we'll enjoy another delicious dinner with our table mates and then hopefully have a warm and sunny day at sea. We'll arrive back at Tampa at 7 AM on Saturday. This trip has been a great time for Paul and I to reconnect and just talk about stuff and really cut loose and have a great time together, like we did early in our marriage. This was well worth the money for the encouragment it's been to our relationship. Please continue to pray for my mom and Russ as they are still taking care of the three little ones. I'll post more soon!

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Today is the day

We arrived in Florida save and sound. It was really late and Sebastian decided he didn't want to sleep in the playard, he wanted to sleep in the big bed with Alexandra. He did and pretty much stayed in the bed until morning. Hopefully, this will help him transition to the big bed when we get home. We also left Sebastian's nite-nite at home in Michigan. Granny saved the day and went and bought him a new one and we made a big deal about it when we arrived. Out of the three, he's the one who would deal with it the best! He's done really well. Atticus I think is still recovering from the sickness and is still pretty tired. We will leave for Tampa today at 2 PM and hopefully be on the boat and ready to sail by 3 PM. Last night I started to think about being away from the kids for that long and it started to bother me. I know they will be well taken care of here with My mom and Russ, it's still a litte weird to know we'll be gone for 5 days. Oh and for my friends in cooler climates, the weather has been sunny and 85 to 90 here. The kids have been loving being outside and playing in the pool. It's been so nice! I hope to update either by Utterz or via the internet while on the boat to keep a record of our trip!

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Crazy Time

Our OT , Joann has recommended that we do some things to help reset Sebastian's vestibular system. I have called this crazy time in our house. The kids get to jump on the bed and run around and be "crazy". The physical activity stimulates Sebastian's large muscle groups and it also helps all the kids to let off some steam. As you can see from the pics, they are having a good time.

The Sickness has got to go

Ok so last week it was colds and sinus infections. I thought, ok great we'll be good to go for vacation. Then, I get this in bed all day stomach flu yesterday. For the first time ever in our marriage, I called Paul at work and asked him to please come home. I was either on the couch or in the bathroom. Paul got home around 12:30 PM and I was in bed the rest of the day until 7:30 PM. It was horrible. I'm thankful that today I am feeling better but still not well. I've been praying the kids don't get it especially since we fly to florida on Saturday. Paul is still fighting his infection and is hoping to get more medicine tomorrow. The kids seem to be all over everything so I'll keep praying that they stay well. Paul and I leave Tampa on a royal caribbean cruise for 5 nights. I am so excited. I just realized last night that I've never been to Mexico and our cruise will make two stops in Mexico. Oh and keep checking back next week, I hope to be posting pics and sound from our cruise!

Sebastian Update

We had Sebastian's IEP on Friday. I was on my own, other than the prayers of faithful friends and family. Joann couldn't make it. I met with the school psychologist and the teacher for the ECDD class. Joann had given me a list of questions specifically about the OT and the training the teachers had. Sebastian's sensory issues have flared up quite a bit in the last week. He's telling me more and more that things are too loud like music and TV. Joann wants us to start what they call "Theraputic Listening". It's where we put headphones on with his favorite song or my voice and set it at a level where it's comfortable for him. Then we do that for a few days and then take it up a level and see how he responds. We are also going to be starting the "brushing technique" to help with the touch sensitivity. Joann wanted to make sure that if we put him in the classroom, they would continue to help me with those things. Joann will train me as well so that I can do those things at home. The teacher assured me that if that's what he needs, they will be trained and will do what the OT in the classroom suggests. They will also allow activities every day he's there that will help stimulate his vestibular system. We are also asking the dr. to refer us to a audiologist to determine whether or not there is anything physically wrong wit his inner ear since he does have balance problems. I decided to sign the agreement to put him in the afternoon classroom starting March 25th. He'll be going 3 1/2 days which is better than the 4 I thought. On a good note, his gross motor skills are improving and his speech is so much better. He continues to amaze me with the things he says. He's also learning more and more about sharing and caring. He accidentally kicked me in the face the other day on the swing. I said to him that he hurt me. He said, oh mama, I'm so sorry! I'm very thankful for the help we are receiving and I hope that by the fall he'll be ready for a mainstream 2 day preschool.

The process

Although I'm in Gr right now helping out with WaYfm's sharathon, I'm also still processing what happened yesterday when we visited the ECDD classroom. Sebastian didn't really engage with the kids when the music was playing and they were dancing around. Now that I look back, he had his fingers in his ears. He usually dances around when we play music at home. I talked to Joann today and she said it seems his auditory issues are really progressing. He started to tell me when I rip the sides of his pull up to change him, that its too loud. I think as we continue to progress with him, other issues are rearing their heads. Joann will advocate for him on Friday that maybe the classroom isn't the best thing for him that maybe one on one therapy. I think the socialization and the extra work would be really good for him but I don't want him to be overwhelmed with all the noise. Oh, I have so much on my mind but I am having a great time on the radio. I'm on between 3 and 5 PM. And then 6 to 8 PM. Listen live now at Way.fm

I'm a believer

As I go through the struggles with Sebastian I have felt God share with me about what my struggles are and how I dishonor God and My Husband as I struggle with Food and Money issues. Tonight I shared some of that with Paul and for the first time we had a civil conversation about it. I truly believe that it went so well because I was honest, upfront and owned up to my stuff. I tell you it is so shameful to have to face your stuff with the person you Love the most. Paul finally understood that my actions are not acts of defiance. I spend and eat too much because I'm trying to fill a need with those things that I should be getting filled by God. I told him I couldn't be out here all alone anymore. I need guidance and accountability. He for the first time that I was more important to him than Money or Debt. I needed to hear those words. I needed to hear that I was more important to him than fixing these things in our life. I'm considering seeking some counseling for these issues. My call to you is, if you are hiding something from someone you love, don't let it rule your life. Sit down with them, share the honest truth that you are struggling and that you need their help. You can't go it alone anymore. It's hard, but to be unburdened Is so much better.

Busy, busy, busy

It seems like this is just a busy time of year for us. Alexandra has had school three days a week, Sebastian still does his therapy once a week and Atticus is just all over the place all the time. I'm working on a spaghetti dinner and auction for the preschool. I've secured donations and meat for the dinner. That doesn't happen until March 27th. Sebastian's IEP meeting is this Friday and I needed to stop by the classroom this week. We did that today. Sebastian did well and I think I'll be good for him. I'm the one that is having a hard time with it. He told me after we left "mama, that sandbox was so nice!". I chuckled. The kids in the class had a lot of speech issues and a few had physical issues. Tomorrow I head to GR for Sharathon 2008 for WayFM. I'll be on tomorrow at 10 am and then throughout the day and Thursday as well starting at 7 AM. As I said I have Sebastian's IEP on Friday. Whew! I'm tired already and I haven't even gone through it all. The nice thing is that these kinds of things usually energize me so I should come off of the two days. I will try to give an update while I'm in GR but we'll have to see.