Happy Halloween

Tonight was fun. Jim came home early to carve pumpkins. We were supposed to do more last night but that's another bad story of me getting mad at Jim. Tonight he made up for it. When I got home he had the pumpkins carved and pizza ready to be eaten. The kids got tired early. Got to love that. They had enough candy anyway. Here are some pictures. Lauren was a cat and Brandon was Superman. Hope everyone has a great and safe night.

Dad's Big Day - 50 Years as a Priest

This weekend was definitely big for Dad. On Saturday we had family come in and everyone was getting ready for Sunday. I finished the poster of pictures. Mike (my brother) came to town with a video presentation for all to see and the cake was made. All the teenagers went to my sisters to party and spend some time together. Sunday started very early for me. I needed to pick up the cake and get to church by 8:30 am to make sure someone was making coffee. All went well during the service, which was special to honor Dad. He was asked to preach and celebrate. Everyone liked the cake with his picture on top and the poster with all the pictures from the last 50 years of work. Later we went to the party that my Step-Mother threw and had a good time. It was great to also be able to celebrate his 75th birthday, even though it was a little late. In the end we went home and were exhausted for the rest of the evening. Congrates Dad. Can't wait for the next party, at what . . . 60 years?

Nature VS Nurture

I've been thinking about genentics a lot lately. I was going to do a entry about who the kids look like and that the boys look so much alike. Just can't get the photos to load. Will try again later. The thing is, what do we teach our kids and what is just in them, you know, just who they are. I had to laugh this morning. Brandon has been sitting on the counter a lot lately. At times it drives me crazy. Funny, I used to do the same thing to my Mom. Maybe it's just her revenge. She once said that my kids would be her revenge. And I thought she was kidding. I used to sit on the counters while she cooked and talk to her. As I got older I used to sit in the center bar in the double sink. I even remember doing it in high school. Anyway, the point is I don't remember teaching Brandon to sit on the counter unless you count if he hurt his knee and I had to put something on it. So, where did it come from; are we genetically disposed to sit on the counter. I know, I'm really losing it. But look, it came from somewhere.

This Weeks Ups and Downs

This week is turning out to be a real roller coaster ride. On the one side we have Dad celebrating 50 years as a priest. This is a major accomplishment. There is a celebration at church and a party later in the day. My brother is coming to town and that is always good for the spirits. I hate that we don't live closer. On the other side we have bad news from Jim's sister. She needs heart surgery and the doctors at the hospital are refusing to do it. They say its to complicated but the real reason is her insurance. We are now hoping to find another hospital that will take on her case but don't know how it will go. You just don't how to feel at times like this. One side of the family is happy and looking forward to a big celebration and the other side is depressed and stressed out. I hope next week goes better.

Genes Can Really Suck

When you think about it, we pass a lot on to our kids; our looks, our temperaments, and a lot you wish would just disappear. After talking to my oldest brother I really see how genetics has effected our family. Out of my 2 brothers and 1 sister, we have 9 kids: 5 girls and 4 boys. Out of these we have 4 with ADHD and 3 (if you count Lauren) have dyslexia. This number can grow depending on Brandon later being diagnosed with dyslexia. All the boys have been effected in one way or the other. Three are being treated for ADHD and 2 are dyslexic. The one boy that isn't treated for ADHD does show signs of mild ADD but it's not bad enough to treat. But he is one of the dyslexics. Out of the girls you have 1 being treated for ADHD, and I'm pretty sure Lauren is dyslexic. And then theres Brandon who has a Language Disorder (dyspraxia of speech). All these are forms of sensory disorders. Oh, and don't forget, I now suspect that Lauren's toe walking is caused by a sensory disorder. Funny when I was having my 2 younger kids my main concern was what they could get from Jim's side, but turns out that wasn't genetic. All this comes from my side. After explaining this to my oldest niece of 16, she said "great, that means I'll pass it on to my kids". I couldn't lie. She will, just as I did. Kind of depressing. At least she will know more than we did and will be aware of what to look for.

Sensory Profile is In

We got back the sensory profile from the school. Kind of confusing. I'll give you the short and long of it so if you just want the gist of it you don't need to read the whole thing. Basically it said that Brandon does have issues and that he will be getting 30 minutes a week of OT.

Now the long version. The areas of definite difference were Auditory, Modulation of Sensory Input Affecting Emotional Responses and Activity Level, Emotional/Social Response and Behavioral Outcomes of Sensory Processing. The areas of Probable difference was Visual Processing, Vestibular Processing and Multi-sensory Processing. After this (which means very little to me) there was a pretty good description of Brandon's behaviors that we had noticed both at home and school. They also gave a list of intervention and recommendations. They are as follows.

Provide opportunities for vestibular input throughout school day e.g., bumpy chair cushion, resistive theraband on chair legs, trampoline, opportunities to run.

Provide frequent sensory breaks in quiet area of room.

Reduce visual/auditory distractions e.g., a work corral placed on table, position desk away from busy doorways or facing windows, keep only those items needed for task in sight; sit near teacher/develop cue to refocus back to task.

Break down tasks into smaller steps to assist with motor planning.

Praise/rewards for trying tasks perceived to be difficult especially those involving fine motor planning and sequencing such as planning strokes to form letters and sequence letters of his name.

Visual cue to assist with behavior regulation.

Trials with adaptive pencil grips to facilitate dynamic tripod grasp.

I find some of this as "your just now figuring that out" kind of thing and others as "ok, I get it". Part of me is really mad that when I ask his early intervention teacher to have him evaluated for OT that they just blew me off and said the OT person said he was fine and part of me is glad that Vanguard did the one that will be in his file because it really seems that it will really address the problem. I guess somethings work out for the best.

Sugars and Boogers

Jim likes to say that Brandon's diet consists of sugars and boogers. He's always saying "you have to eat something besides sugars and boogers". Well, this morning Brandon had a runny nose and as I got him out of the shower with Dad he started to sing "sugars and boogers" over and over. You know, that's not something I want my son going around singing. Although it was kind of cute.

It's In, Barely

It's in. The new frig is like a frig on steroids. There is no extra space. We used it all. This thing is huge. The delivery guy looked at us like we were crazy when we said it would fit. We were right. You should have seen him re-measuring the space.

New Frig Today

Today is the day my new frig comes. We can't wait. I have skipped church to make sure I'm here. I still need to clean it out and limit the amount of stuff I will have to move. It kind of silly, but I am so excited that for once in my life, all my kitchen appliciance will be the same color. The kitchen will really be transformed. It looks so much better with the new floor, the frig will be the topping on the cake.

Big Test Day for Arion

Today is the day Arion has to take the SAT test. I know we are a little late. I'm not TOOO worried for him. He usually is very good at taking tests. I just hope he takes it slow and does OK. He bought his own cell phone this week so I don't have to worry about when he's done. I have to get him there at 7:45 am. Man he's growing up fast. I keep looking at the photos by the computer of when he was young. He looked so much like Brandon. He was such a cutie. GOOD LUCK ARION

New Family Photos and Work Really Sucks

The church is putting together a picture directory. This means every is supposed to get their picture taken and then you can buy some is you want at an outrageous price. So were suckers and got some. Not too much. Their not great but not all bad. I guess I have a bad attitude right now. I found out that my co-worker has been searching my office to find the key to my desk and then searching my desk and making copies of some papers. I hate this guy. I really wanted to tell my boss to "f*** off" I was so mad yesterday. The thing is, he know I can't complain about him anymore, so he can do what he wants.

The Weeks Events

Been awhile. I've been so busy I haven't been able to write. Last weekend we went pumpkin picking. Thought I would post some pictures. It went very well. Kids had lots of fun.



In my life, I have decided to step down from the church vestry. Something had to give. We have become so busy that their just isn't time. I still have some things to finish up.

I guess my biggest problem is a need a new job. I don't want to leave. I like my job. I like the company. I even like most of the people. The problem is they gave me a new maintenance guy several months back. His last manager left because she couldn't get them to do anything about him. He is so lazy. He either sits at his computer and plays games or sits in a vacant unit and reads that paper. I have tried complaining. The problem is they don't care. I'm not sure if its that he's on the baseball team or if he has a friend somewhere up the ladder. Last week they pretty much told me that if I don't stop complaining about him I will get fired. ME. The one doing her job. So, it's either shut up and live with it or leave. Anyone that knows me knows that shutting up is not my strong point. I talked to a head hunter yesterday and things aren't so bad. We'll see.

Frig Features

Funny how things happen. Jim and I decided we should start looking for a new frig. I don't know . . . something about having a soda explode in the frig or the carrot that we a little extra crunchy. The one we have has got to be 12 or more years old. We first thought it was just Brandon playing with the controls. But even after they were turned back we were having problems. When we started looking my biggest concerns were which kind and how big could we fit. While we were in the Sears I started to see that some of the feature would be very useful in our home. You know, . . . I love my kids, but they do keep you on your toes a lot. Seems like you always have to be one step ahead. Lauren even buys the line about eyes in the back of my head. Sorry, I digress. The features. Yes. This one frig had some features that really caught my eye. First it had a door alarm. If the door was left open an alarm would go off. That would be great for when Brandon go in for yogurt and leaves the room without closing the door. The second was that you could lock the controls to the cold settings. That way Brandon couldn't change the temp in the frig and freeze the soda. Third, they have a lock for the water and ice dispenser. That way Brandon couldn't unload all the ice on the kitchen floor. The person that came up with this thing must have had lots of kids.

What the Hell have I done???

I swear you would think I was my sister (sorry Mary). I feel like I spend all my time running one kid here and another there. First swimming then girl scouts and now karate. If I'm not running around than I need to the shopping or clean the hampster cages or fish tank. Oh and don't forget picking up Arion from work. Each night I feel like we are rushed. I guess that's what I get for having 3 kids. Don't get me wrong. I think it's great that the kids are learning to swim and Lauren is now in the girl scouts. It is great for their self esteem. Arion taking karate will be great exercise. His work is going great and he is keeping grades up so far. The only thing is it's going to get worst in the future. What about when Brandon starts cub scouts or Lauren want to do something else. I think I just need to stop some of my activities and concentrate on them.

No New House But I Did Get My Floor

Well the auction was very depressing. No new house for us. The final bid was $425,000. Crazy. Zillow says that the place was worth $300,000. We were hoping for a lot less. Chalk that one up to experience. We will probably wait till spring now. Spend the time fixing up the house to get the best money. Our neighbor is having problems selling her house so maybe its a good thing. I have to believe there is something better out there for us. Anyway we went ahead and put in the new floor in the kitchen. I have been wanting a new floor in there for years. I hated the old ones. It had little holes all over it. The new one totally changes the room. We are thinking of continuing it around the breakfast bar and through the dining room. Think of the easy cleanup. I am forever cleaning the carpet in there. It would look great with the tile and a little rug under the table. Oh well, that is for another day.