Saturday, February 28, 2009

Family and Friends weekend

I am off to a nice CRAB BOIL party in Ft Lauderdale tonight. I have to make a quick stop at the North Naples Hospital to drop off Down syndrome resources to a new mom .


Tressa woke up wanting to get into the pool...She was persevering so I was ignoring and she said..Mom, why are you ignoring me..LOL I explained and then she said. You must know I like cold water pools, I really do. I explained it is not safe to swim alone and no one else is willing to do into the pool ths early. this cold. The boys are playing Wii. The teens are---sleeping---it is the weekend.

I will get adult party fun photos in Ft Lauderdale and have the girls staying here be sure to capture a night without mom at the house...I need to get moving...

ALSO

Tomorrow my parents and sister with her husband from N Carolina will be visiting so I will post photos but no promises on blog time this weekend. Have a family fun weekend yourselves.

Friday, February 27, 2009

The POOL is full, ready for fun.

Lucas passed on the ice cold swim
Steven can not get water in his ears...make shift swim cap

This pool is SOOOOO COLD!!!




Tressa braves the dunk to get her head wet.



Kailtyn dives in and makes a big wave..... said it's warm! NOT


time goes so fast... where are my babies....they are young ladies and gentlemen

My blogging is not as consistent as it has been. The kids have had appointments and things stepped up in activities
Today is another picture day at school. Tressa wanted her hair curly...Her hair as thick and lots of it. ...and..... if you remember she cut it while doing arts and crafts in the middle of the night so it will not look like last falls photos as she thinks...another teachable moment about cutting our own hair.

Jordan and Kaitlyn have dentist appointments this morning. Jordan is dressed in a preppy navy collared polo with some Cotton plaid shorts . Last minute, as the bus is in front of the house, he dumps a cup of style gel on top of his head!!! LOL oh well it is all memories.

Lucas has on a little NIKE outfit yellow/navy in satin material, he was HAPPY HAPPY to wear this morning..he was rubbing his tummy with his thumb in his mouth smiling...a little self stem.

Kaitlyn is getting ready for for school, brought me her reading points 90% is this score...she said 1900 mom I got 1900 an A.... she knows a 100% is an A and with it being a 90% she got confused...she is so cute.... we talked about percentages and I told her to go look at the pool and tell me how much water is in it.... (we cleaned it and are filling it' yesterday and today it is 50% this morning. she said 1/2 full and so we then moved it to 50% half...

Got to run, she is getting distracted and not preparing for her bus.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Crazy week.....

Tressa had her eye appointment Monday to get her new script before I shelled out more $$$ for new glasses... The good news is he believes he can weaken the one side (her left) which is the eye that falls inward... the new lenses he says are guaranteed 30 days to we will be back to be sure...this is a major purchase in our household as she needs the HYPER FLEX glasses which run $300.00 a pair. So, Monday was the four hours at the specialist then to the eye center for glasses and we stopped to help Kaitlyn pick out school supplies and a new book bag.

Oh I can not forget the drama of Monday is I am out of medication for Jordan WHO MUST HAVE MEDICATION.... there is a really bad snag in re-fill (pre-authorization) and he needs meds for the rest of the world doesn't suffer..lol of course home as well. His triple diagnosis makes meds therapy tricky and when we get a good mix we celebrate so the past several months have been good.... Any way I have been in contact with almost everyone daily to get this fixed and my next step is contacting heads of city/county/state... My decision came at 5 pm when everyone closed and I did not have a pill to give my son....I hit SEND!

Tuesday....first thing in the morning I am getting responses and help is on the way for medication. Tallahassee has and RN on the case and our head person from the local state office has given perfect solutions and has made some doors open for "samples" right now and getting the paper trail looked into...

I am off to take Tressa and Steven to the dentist for their 6 month cleaning..... Once done with the dentist we are scheduled for Tressa to get a crown in the morning..that was a little unexpected although her teeth suffer from lack of saliva production and grinding her teeth.. so I stuck another appointment into tomorrow (WED) 9:30 I learn I am having family in this weekend whom I haven't seen in TOO long so this steps up the fine tuning of the house...you know that shelf in the laundry room I put off until tomorrow., weeding the front flower bed which has been screaming for attention and all the other parts of preparing for out of town guests for a long weekend, So now we clean out the pool......................oh what a job the annual cleaning is..it is more than a day ...


Wed...Tressa can not eat or drink anything until after the dentist.... this is how I am on here this morning..she is watching TV as her "treat" all the Television she wants this morning...she thinks it is odd...lol I do not want her to think about CEREAL!!! Shhhh Ok, it is time we can drive slow and be there at 9:30.......

Lots more to catch up ...

Katie crashed...she looks 100% better here..









She has hand brakes and I didn't think to go over it a couple times o show her what happens if you are going fast and squeeze only the front tire break and lock that wheel....OUCH! This photo is 3 days past the crash as she was a mess with swollen face/cheeks from smashing against her braces. Her helmet was on therefore her head and top of face were spared!!! Thank you helmet.

The core strengthening ball is being used by all the kids. Tressa is balance and of course strengthening er core muscles to help her with endurance and exterior muscle tone. Her inside muscles must gain strength to offer further growth to the fine motor skills. This seems to be the most over looked PT skill in the education world. If they can walk on campus they are able to move about their educational grounds it is no longer educationally relevant to continue PT...well any school PT/OT knows that if the core is not functioning properly this lend to weak fine motor so we work on this at home. I have enough battles to face than review teaching folks what their college days did... and truth be told it is all about $$$ funding...BUDGET as the new new language in America is spoken in 2009. Making the numbers BALANCE...well exactly what the goal is for my children I want their bodies to BALANCE so they can have a quality life as well....so there you go Mr. President...one more list from your common citizen...put that in our purple folder.

Core strengthening ball, she manages less than a minute right now.







Monday, February 23, 2009

Tressa's weight loss continues.

Tressa has a personal "trainer" so we call her. This person is in the home from the time she is off the bus until all food prep-clean up is completed.

SHE HAS LOST 12 POUNDS!

During the time the personal trainer is at the house; Tressa walks/runs 8 to 12 blocks, jumps on the trampoline, plays basketball, has a Wii fit game that has a core building ball she stands on... photos are coming. She is hoping to get a bike which fits her, (3 wheels) and other activities to help through the summer days off school.

Her body clearly shows the loss. people have started commenting that she has lost weight. She has more energy as well.. I believe it is a combination of vitamin and medications which started along with the physical activity although CLEARLY her food intake with 100% supervision is less. The catching of fingers in the cookie jar so to speak are 99% and a HUGE eye opener to all of us as to the level of her ability to achieve a desired item NO MATTER WHAT THE COST.... and now she can not.. things have changed a little--today while I ran in for some band aides for Kaitlyn CRASH face...oh anther story...but while I ran through the store while she was dilating during her eye specialist appointment she is just gorging down and apple inside the store as if she hadn't ate in years...We had a little chat about "stealing" and we took the apple to be weighed and she could eat it as long as the points we counted... the poor lady behind the counter came running with a chocolate chip cookie thinking she was HUNGRY... I had to do the quick speech about PWS and gave her a card to look it up on line as she seemed very interested as a Deli/bakery person.....You know the line..I might have that....LOL

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Lucas' eating skill.....a work in progress

Yogurt is no problem..if we could only live on yogurt alone.


Cheerios on the other hand...the progress is he himself placed them into his mouth. And not with smiles. Crying makes his nose run (he has a cold) ;0(

Yes, I ate a cheerio and now I get my grits/egg and cheese... so he is more apt to try to get more cheerios out of the bowl himself...still cries but to get his desired food FED TO HIM he will place cheerios into his mouth and chew. Oh he cries...but when I remove the yogurt and grits he quickly complies.


ROLE MODELING..... Ayden (grandson spent the night) role models self feeding.


Oh why oh why can i just not eat yogurt...Yummy yogurt!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

New bikes....they are in heaven!!




BIRTHDAY BASKET BALL

My advice to parents buying basketball hoops.....get them assembled... This was a much bigger job than we thought..Happy Birthday Steven. As you can see he is loving his new game.

Instruction #1: Two capable adults..... LOL















Friday, February 20, 2009

Steven turned 12 today
















HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVEN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mr. STEVEN
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

12 years old....How does it happen so fast????? He has on some new Michael Jordan tennis shoes sparkling white with curl laces...he is lovin it! He is in for a real surprise tonight.. This years party focus is getting him ready (styling) for MIDDLE SCHOOL! Steven will join Kaitlyn at Mariner Middle in the fall.


I have not written in a couple days.. Kaitlyn has that fire back in her. Sitting at the table doing home work, smiles and so excited to tell us about her day at school and naming teachers.. She is so excited about her new school. Last night she had to find ways to measure things for math home work. She found rulers, measuring cups/spoons, measuring lids, medication measures, scales etc..and she had to write what she found around the house.

She is studying South America which happens to be where some friends of ours are vacationing right now so that brought up conversations and computer searches to the resort town our friends are in, the beautiful waters and also some of the dangers that are different there than here. I am not sure Kaitlyn can understand any culture differences but she loved the green forest look and beach.

The true blessing is that here at home we know what she is learning at school and we are able to support it and build on the subject. As you can tell, I am happy for her as well.

Kiersten continues to bring her grades up and raise her self esteem as the effort comes forward. Her turning to teen was difficult for her to balance all the emotion and hormone so as she leaves middle school heading to high school she sees the effort she makes is the key to her future happiness (ability to buy expensive purses) Her desire to HAVE have have the new and trendy style requires her to make the grade, to get to college to get the job needed.

Jordan and Tressa are so excited to be in school today as they are getting IDENT-A-KID id's today and they believe it is for their ID checks for traveling... Their very own license.

Lucas was so under the weather yesterday he slept the entire afternoon. I got cold medication which cleared him out and he woke up like nothing was wrong... We will see how today goes. Steven has been fighting off the green express....Yuck! Musinex cleared him right up yesterday.

I have a busy day today with lost of checking up on follow through medication refills, school supplies, food shopping and lunch with an old friend... the women who put Steven into my life. Off to get ready.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The sky is falling.....

...the little ones have gone, not sure Lucas will stay at school all day as he seemed under the weather. No fever and he wanted to go so we are trying. I will be at his school soon for his IEP so might be to pick him up.

RIGHT NOW......Kaitlyn is getting ready for her first day back in school and it appears some one has removed her mechanical pencil from her pencil bag and for some reason Kaitlyn has in her mind that Keirsten has the pencil in her possession. Try as I have, I can not get the mind moved from the missing mechanical pencil.......... YIKES! It matches her new bag.

Keirsten being just as stubborn has held out, the one she has, is hers........ and Kaitlyn is in a stand off for the pencil. It is a for sure stair down at this time... I have them in corners.....we will have a cool off, then locate Kaitlyn's pencil ....I always tell them it doesn't have legs so it is where you left it. Need to hop off here to help her "remember"

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Steven bilatteral myringoplasti




Pancake Day=FREE PANCAKES!!!

About National Pancake Day
February 24, 2009
Known also as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, National Pancake Day dates back several centuries to when the English prepped for fasting during Lent. Strict rules prohibited the eating of all dairy products during Lent, so pancakes were made to use up the supply of eggs, milk, butter and other dairy products…hence the name Pancake Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday.
Since beginning its National Pancake Day celebration in 2006, IHOP has raised nearly two million dollars to support charities in the communities in which it operates. With your help, we hope to raise $1,000,000 for Children’s Miracle Network in 2009!

we will be attending Pancake Tuesday
a great cause!!!!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Hospital trip in the morning.....

You know I have mentioned this once or twice...each time I visit the doctors with the kids I get a "list" of more duties to get completed....

Steven goes into outpatient/ER in the morning to have a hole closed in his ear, It has been infected for a few weeks and will not respond to medications. The Doctor said quick, in and out....

Steven is on Nasanex daily for a green nose as well..

The pharmacy is behind in their automatic refills so I stopped to get them back on track.

Holiday party photos on side and in Dec posting here

Our Holiday party photos have been put on the blogs.

www.podsangelsholidayparty.blogspot.com

Presidents Day

Today being Presidents day offers us a sleep in morning (NOT) the kids woke at 4:45 am.....I got them to play in their rooms for a little bit. By 7 am they were in the back yard playing on the swing set, giggling in the sand box as I lay on the back porch wrapped in my afghan trying to keep cuddly warm.... which was not easy. The rule is stay in your room until 8 am although I had a decision to make...do I continually put them back in their rooms, start the morning off not so pleasant or move to the back yard and let them play and I get to rest in peace until 8 am....

No matter what when 8 am hit I KNOW IT... this is where some think I am nuts....

Tressa gets her bowl of cereal...easy girl!
Lucas a bowl of two pack of grits, milk, egg and shredded cheese is in the microwave 4 minutes,
Jordan a single pizza with an egg and extra cheese on top into the oven 12 minutes
Pot of coffee on for me,
Steven wants french toast sticks as does Kaitlyn so they make it easy as I load the toaster oven click it three time and everyone is getting breakfast...

Tressa is eating, Lucas is up to the table his bowl now in the freezer to cool, the french toast onto plates with mini bowls of syrup, those two are eating, the pizza onto a plate- cut and Jordan is eating, the bowl from the freezer, grab my Sweet/blond coffee I managed in between it all to make and we are all at the table eating breakfast.

We eat, do morning routine of medications and off to centers.... Tressa onto the laptop, Jordan doing Leap Frog reading, Steven to the back yard, Kaitlyn mothering over Lucas who is playing with multiple toys that move and light up....

Oh, yes I do have a sixth child-- she would be 15 and very much sound asleep....it isn't noon! The whole point - (I laugh inside when people comment)----

You must be such a big help to your mom.......................RIGHT!

Saturday, February 14, 2009