Wednesday, March 31, 2010

V A C A T I O N tomorrow - I sure can use a break from school.

This morning went pretty well up until it was time to load the elementary school bus at 6:20. Jordan the last minute wanted to take Lilly a new pencil and he wanted it to be sharpened. He had snack for the class some great items given by the baker last night (which I can not keep in my house) so the pencil thing came up last minute out of no where and it went over the top. I got one sharpened as the bus pulled up, but he then found a camp rock one he wanted for her.. He has his tablet for taking notes on the ride to school...I get him out the door. Kaitlyn took Lucas and Tressa boarded herself. Tressa is extra emotional after learning no more swim lessons and she had made Miss Kristy a necklace out of beads for a long time Sunday. Tears and drama... The kids are on the bus, I come back in. The bus doesn't go any where... A knock at the door. It is the 6 foot tall bus driver stating "TRESSA TRIED TO HIT ME" You have got to be kidding me.... So I walk to the bus. Tressa tells me she wants to hug Kaitlyn because when Steven takes Lucas out to the bus he hugs Tressa goodbye and Kaitlyn didn't. I give the ole mommy firm voice about no matter what we do not put our hands on other people. as the driver looks over my shoulder... OK, I am no professional but did he just show her he has no authority??? Then I stand and the aide had her chest puffed to tell me Jordan spit in her face over a pincer she will not allow him to have on the bus. SO she tells me her issues with Jordan and she imitates Lucas scream.......LOL ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I at this point want to pull my kids off the bus and say GROW UP ADULTS GROW UP or at least get some training in dealing with children who have special needs. I go back to Jordan and tell him how dirty it is to spit and this woman is right there and then back talks me...WELL, I HOPE THAT HELPS....

One more day, one more day. I have my kids for the next 11 days without early mornings, with out the added stress. I want last year driver and aide back...
I guess it is time to call district and ask about training. On the kids' IEP it states they must go through the training for the BIP from his FBA. It isn't rocket science folks. DO NOT FEED INTO NEGATIVE BEHAVIORS.

I pray something really really good and pleasant happens today because I sure can use a calm day...

The van is loaded with bread for delivering, Kaitlyn has a consult on her braces this morning, I need to go to the bank and stop to get flyer's printed. Many emails came in yesterday to get supplies for the May 8th meeting which is progressing nicely.

Grocery shop tomorrow when Mandie comes and Friday a trip to Bush Gardens with the older ones only FUN FUN FUN, we sure can use some FUN.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

I believe today ranks as the wierdest day of my life...... if I told you everything you would never believe it any way.... JUST WIERD!

Sleep, I need sleep, The bread run is complete and we have an early morning....

Good night :o)

YOU JUST WILL NOT BELIEVE MY MORNING

I get up late, my PALM PRE' has no sound...no alarm. The kids can not get ready in the manner I would want because today is class picture day.

I drive the Elementary kids to school, Kirsten (16 yr old) says she doesn't feel good, doesn't want to go to school. I leave...

I get home to a house of black smoke. Steven has put his coffee cake in the oven at 500..... and he did not remove the bread I had in there for making bread crumbs... Not a pleasant smell. I wake up Keirsten AGAIN, she seems "startled" as she wasn't asleep...yeah right.

Clear house of smoke, get next set of kids dressed and make new coffee cake...and the middle school kids are out the door with some stress...

Phone rings, a good friend needs to vent about her family issues (dysfunction moving to function) I am directing this family to some better communication to avoid so much drama..

BEEP IN... A friend from the past is in crisis.. a neighbor of hers has been supporting a pregnant woman she met at TACO BELL in hopes she could adopt the unborn baby... Birth mom did drugs last night and plans to deliver at home RIGHT NOW to avoid DCF involvement. I tell them; STOP! Get mom to the hospital even it means calling 911--she is in labor. They choose to drive to the hospital and yep...they didn't make it. 911 an ambulance is on the way baby is crowning and thy are having a baby road side. NOW, the woman who wants to adopt this baby boy is wanting an attorney, NOW??? YIKES... I call Mikal. It is passover, I get another attorney. My phone is ringing off the wall... I give all the information to the new attorney and pass the issue off to the professionals. The social worker at the hospital called to get details and all is in the right hands.

Next call a woman wanting to adopt a child with Down syndrome is seeking direction.

Next email with the little girl with Down syndrome in Haiti, must get more info..Email out and found some great leads, I THINK WE WILL FIND HER NOW!!! I am praying every second I get that God opens that path.

Call from a parent seeking advice raising a child with bipolar... I am whooped!

On the phone with sprint...they want 100.00 to replace my palm pre' which has NEVER EVER worked properly and they know it because I have been calling since I got the phone. URG..... OMGoodness you will not believe this...my phone just rang. I kid you not while on the phone with sprint the darn thing rang (I was using Mandie's phone) That is exactly what happened when I took it to the repair shop. It would shut off when I answered a call...I took it to the shop and it worked perfect.



I needed a break...I went shopping and I am home now.

Class photos today... and we have missed the bus




Monday, March 29, 2010

Monday, Monday.... singing in the rain.....

Yes, another raining morning with more to come so says the morning news man.

Yesterday was smooth sailing once the morning drama ended. The kids played for short periods of time in the cold pool which has no filter system yet today. I will need to go get a new motor tomorrow because filling the pool twice in a month will be killer water bill next month. I need that pool running for the 11 days off starting the end of this week. HUGE difference in our lives with or without a pool.

Swim lessons canceled yet again. Back to Wed/Fri from the switch Mon/Wed which ended in a real blunder. I will post pics each session for you to enjoy the journey as they learn to swim efficiently.

I have no set appointments today, lots of catching up in the house and the need to straighten the arts/crafts closet is long over due.. I need to pull out Easter items to see where we are on that. Figuring out who will wear the suit???? My boys are up North... Lord knows we can not hide eggs in the back yard...HHhhhmmmmm.

Some catch up on here. Mom chose parenting, YEAH!! She is coming over Thursday to get some materials to read up on. Because she is a mere 21 yr old mommy I have matched her to our other young mommy Holly who also breast feeds and will help with those issues if they come up. Our new mommy (6 mos pregnant) read on line it is difficult if not impossible to breast feed a baby with Down syndrome. Holly, well Brooke is and Holly explains Brooke has made it her job. Very cool.

The meeting for May 8th has been falling into place. I have many many donations of inspirational materials to give all the new families. It is going to be an awesome get together.

The young family from Cape Coral will be leaving for the Ukraine in the next week or so to adopt 3 little ones from the orphanage who all three have Down syndrome. hey have been spending time with us the past couple months to prepare for things they can do while there and as they return and adjust to stimulate the children's muscle tones and enhance their lives as quickly as possible. Out OT will be adding this family to her list as summer comes and school closes for break. The future for these children will be changed forever...Praise God. I am very excited for this family as their heart and mine coincide.. Listening to them talk, they put into words how I feel about what I do.

I call to get hospital clearance to move little Brown's case to come to the US for medical and we pray little Miss Haiti is located so that her heart can be repaired. If she can not be located, I pray it is because another country picked it up and she is well somewhere here on earth.

I am not sure I posted but a 23 yr old mom delivered way too early last Tuesday and her baby with Down syndrome is doing OK, although could use all our prayers as they live in NICU for at least another 7 weeks.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Pringle's are in session.....Therapy has begun!







Ali pictures; what's that saying? keep your nose clean.LOL


Emma on a Sunday morning... Therapy on the way

Pool too cold for Jordan, he is in the warm tub "ho ho ho"

FEEL MY PAIN..............

OK, this has been the 18 hours I wish I could rewind and do over...

Saturday went good, productive or at least we felt it to be productive. We got the fence duc taped with white duc tape until I can get the mental strength to screw in all 137 thousand slats with self tapping screws to keep my dog from nose butting them down. SO that seemed completed for now.

We cleaned the back porch of paw sand and the chewed everything "stuff" that didn't get put away... We drained the remainder of the pool, scrubbed the sides, bleach drain, scrub, mop, scrub, bleach, drain..after everyone was sunburn and yes we had on 60 block...we began to fill the pool,(after a run to walmart for supplies that had been chewed and no longer useful). I believe it was about 2 pm Saturday afternoon the filling began.. all seemed great; leading to a Sunday of blissful swim time relieving mom of all children "bored." Well, the kids ate dinner and went to sleep with ease from their hard work... At about 10ish--ten thirty...whenever I posted on face book my house volume level raised to epic disciples...MICHELLE IS HERE, MICHELLE IS HERE.....my older daughter who lives in GA drove straight threw and was in the house.. OMGoodness, she woke up each of them in high energy levels THE HOUSE WOKE UP--even Emma to open Birthday presents, Ali to jump and play... For about 45 minutes and then Michelle states it is time for her to go to her resting spot (friends house) ..and here I sat with all the kids having about 2 hours of solid sleep and now awake.... THANKS MICHELLE!

It took a little over an hour to get everyone back to sleep. Keirsten informed me her "boyfriend" was caught by his Dad on the phone after shut down time so he had to get off and now that he has gotten the phone after his Dad must be asleep; she wants to talk to him....... Where do these teens get logic??? When I said no I was the mean one...go figure it is midnight and she needs to go to sleep.

I think everyone is alseep....WHAT THE HECK??????????? three firetruck, an ambulance and police EVERYWHERE.... I fear it is Ann, my next door neighbor so I grab clothes and race outside... No it is Nahan's grandparents home... A moment to pray..and I see the fireman pulling down their attic ladder... the ambulance folks are gathering, no one seems to be rushing..... It was nothing serous and they are all fine...back to bed. I did try to capture the red light flashig with my cell phon but the app fo camera wouldn't work??? I HATE MY PALM PRE' I can not say that enough. It has been crap since the day I opened the box.

Emma wakes at two am and I can hear she needs fed or it is not going to be a good night.. Up to feed Emma, as I take her dishes to the sink I hear water... "Keirsten did you turn the hose off to the pool" she repels "YES MOM" I venture out and no she did not..Full blast 12 TWELVE hours later I turn off the water...yes, this is paid water like Gold in S Florida... I know that was a $200.00 day. I look and the yard is flooded. She also claims she put the chemicals in..do I believe her??? She said she plugged in the filter/pump??? DO I believe her?? Well as long as the water is off I can wait till morning to deal with the rest - right. I sleep from 3 to about 5 when Jordan wakes up to go swimming. I do my best to get him to bed, he settles for a cartoon and TV... I just want some sleep.... Not happening. Steven has his cup and boat heading to the pool; NO NO NO it is not even 6 am, everyone to your rooms until 8 am!!!! that is our rule. At 7:30 the kitchen has been broken into, Tressa is in the bathroom with two chicken sandwiches Keirsten left in the toaster last night and Kaitlyn is wrestling her to the floor to get them away. HELLO the people down the street can hear this.. GO KATIE! LOL When Tressa hear me she knows to release or the calories will count as breakfast and she has a cereal she must eat or this could be a long day.... Hey 7:30 is close enough to 8 am..I turn and Jordan has the making of pancake breakfast out on the counter...Can I do it, can I do it, Yes I can, Yes I can...lol Pancakes for all but Tressa who eats her cereal and into her swimsuit with snorkel and goggles she is heading to the pool............ OH NO.................. Where is the water in the pool??????????????????????????????????????? The filter tube (brand new)has holes and the pool is draining of the GOLD (water which is expensive here) YES I CAN, YES I CAN.... As I slop in the saturated yard to the pool I think HHmmmmm I wonder------- I go back to unplug the filter because something seemed to be jumping in the water where the cord was laying in the water........ Once unplugged, I retrieve the white duc tape to patch a hole in the filter tube, ironically it appears to be Brown Lab mouth/teeth bite holes in the shape of one Ali girl puppy I know.... :o) URG!!!

Tape the tube, get everything secure and plug in the filter??? IT trips the outlet so you know ---YES JUST SAY IT CAUSE I HAVE ALREADY SAID IT..............Ali has chewed up the electric cord to the pump! Yes, she has...... The good news is I did not get electrocuted. Ok, that's the good news. The other good news is the kids will have the pool for today, the water is what it is and it is clean TODAY!

Back inside for breakfast as I realize I am being bit up by ants as they have been rerouted from their homes since my yard is flooded and my feet and ankles hurt, itch and just burn........... Can I get back to bed and start over???????????????????

Saturday, March 27, 2010

WHAT DO YOU SEE.........???




What I saw was an opportunity for me to pick up the phone and ask my local Orthopedic surgeons if they do any International Charity Care. I got a no, another no, and then yesterday I got the contact.... I GOT A YES!!!!! So just 15 minutes of my time I personally have changed a life forever... Well others helped.. The Medical Advocacy Team made me aware of this little Boy. Now many will do their part to make this happen.... My message to you all is if you have 15 minutes or even five you could save a child's life from a contact you have. "JUST DO IT" I can not wait to journey this little guys way to walking independently. I pray the doors open quickly and with ease. I will keep you all posted as this unfolds. It will be here in SW Florida.

UPDATE: The little girl with Down syndrome needing the complete AV canal repair from Haiti has not been located to this day. They are still looking for her as I took a day to contact Florida Doctors and Hospitals and landed her the life saving operation of heart surgery. YOU CAN DO IT TOO!

One of a few projects I have going....

We are offering a long over due local mini conference for families with children having Down syndrome. May 8th in Naples, FL The location has not been confirmed although within the week we will have this information. It will start at 2 pm with the opening guest speaker: Blogger Mom Kelle Hampton sharing how she learned her child's diagnosis.

Early Steps 0 to 3 year olds services and supports

Advocate for 3 to 5 year olds school/medical...

This will be a series of over the life span...

JUNE meeting will be held in South Ft Myers moving the topic to Elementary School years.

JULY IS NATIONAL DOWN SYNDROME CONFERENCE IN ORLANDO

August: HANG ON! Middle/High School years

September: Transition to the workforce and prep for October, National Down Syndrome Awareness month

OCTOBER: National Down syndrome Awareness Event.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Cloudy with scattered showers

Today is a day to stay in bed and watch movies... eat Bonn Bonn's and in my case try to figure out babble language. Emma is the most talkative infant in my house. She has so much to say; I see speaking in her future.

I am telling you, Miss Tressa is in another seeking stage...She said her friend let her "hold" her fruit cup for her.... YEAH RIGHT..... the fruit cup which is empty in her book bag. This mom didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday. I picked her up from school yesterday because they called to tell me she is too tired to stay at school.... She told her teacher I MAKE HER watch TV all night. So needless to say she has no TV in her room... She shares a room with Kaitlyn who insists her teacher Ms Peach said she has to watch TV all night... what is up with the all night TV crap. I know Tressa got it on the Health channel. I TiVo's a PWS show I want to watch when I am ready.... BUT she was watching "having baby's" so she had her doll up under her shirt all up in the delivering squat and had tweezers... HHHEEEELLLLPPPP ... It is time for TV deletion. Well while she was home it was non stop relentless food seeking.. I was exhausted with keeping her in her room to rest. Do you think she thought she would come home to an empty house...Like I leave during the day and would leave her here alone..??? She sure seemed focused on not resting.


Jordan went down better last night, he had been out of meds..so many insurance changes so they now can not auto refill..so I have to remember all 46 scripts and when each needs called in on time..and when I call them in it may or may not be the time... crazy. I know I called in the shot on Tuesday and here it is Friday and no meds.. If it doesn't come today ??


While on the topic... I can not wait for this new medical to kick in, maybe I will get to the Doctor and Dentist??? I will go the moment it is available. I had insurance after Emma came but with her needs being so intense I forgot to take care of me and now it is over for me, she still has insurance because when you adopt you get that as an adoption subsidy. Me, well I didn't do all this the best interest of me way.

ADOPTION..... I am now officially the Co founder of the Adoption support group of Lee County. We will be hosted out of the Lutheran Church in Ft Myers which is going to offer adoptive families a support group and the children who have been adopted peer support with professional directed conversations as needed. I am excited about it. I need to get into being out there again, meeting new people and building friendships that work today... Single for so long the friends I have prefer other activities than my interests for today. I have ever changing needs.LOL

DOWN SYNDROME.... This is my soul, and I believe we are on the rise. I am getting a lot of calls with many many new moms in their 20's. We are going to start back the monthly support meetings for Down syndrome as well. The first will be in Naples where we have a new mom blogging which has gotten world wide coverage. Awareness to Down syndrome. She can share how it was to receive the news. I have a few other moms as well so we can take the message to the community on how to be more receptive to our moms. I got yet another call from a mom who is 5 mos pregnant and is hassled to abort by our local maternal fetal medicine. I am all about giving all options equally but this pressure to end life only because the markers of Down syndrome are present is crazy. This mom was told to abort and NOT TO GET AMNEO... how crazy is that. You have no idea how many call with "markers" indicating possible Down syndrome, I provide books and their baby does not have DS... This mom did the amneo and she is having a baby with DS and she is not aborting. She is not confident she is capable of raising the baby because the vision right now in her news/grief is looking at the disability not the baby. It is a process of educating and we have time for that. I am a firm believer of all options of support and then if mom feels she is not best we plan then. Just to hear the DS diagnosis is scary before you have that gift to hold and look back at you... The last mom who didn't want to place after birth but felt obligated because the adopting mom had invested in the journey....broke my heart... That Birth mom told me the life pain of giving her baby to the adoptive mom was going to be less than the life pain of breaking the heart of the woman who wanted her baby........ so my heart broke for her. I feel very strong that no woman should decide if the only reason is a disability until after their baby is born. They just do not know, God may have more strength than they knew...It would not hurt to make decisions after. UNLESS, it is an obvious.


KAITLYN KAITLYN KAITLYN I wish I had a live cam here so everyone could feel the pain of Kaitlyn in the morning.. DRAMA over nothing. A complete melt down because a sub bus came to pick her up and it wasn't her #. She is screaming "it is not ten fifteen, it is not ten fifteen." I look out and her driver is comforting her that he used a different bus because Olivia is in the hospital and they could..... OMGoodnss she is off the chain. The morning was rough; I even offered for her to stay home.. Are you feeling sick Kaitlyn? DO you want to stay home to sleep ??? Nope, she wants to wake up like a tiger and blow through the house (like usual) Good morning world. If anything is out of place, it is world war for her. If I mention to Hurry, your bus is coming, do you have this or that...ROAR! Then there is Steven who has a smirky hiss "Hey Katie knock it off"...... LOL my morning.. thank goodness it is only about 30 minutes long like that. I have tried music, breakfast in bed, leaving all her items together next to her... all helps a smidgen but she is NOT NOT NOT a morning person.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

I can not figure out if I want to blog or don't want to blog today. It is one of those bla bla mornings.. The sun is up and packing a bag to head for the beach seems the better plan. Emma has not been to the beach in a long time. Her fair skin means we need to ease into the summer with loads of sunblock. Maybe a Milk bath (sunblock) each morning. It is also necessary to keep that scar ever so slight. She is playing in her new Emma's world play center. (BIRTHDAY GIFT)

Ali is trying to find her place in the house..you will never believe this but she has figured out how to ram the privacy fence and make planks pop out so she can get out... we have several down..I hear I need to self tap screw in to each plank all 137 thousand of them....so much for putting the pretty side out for the neighbors.. if it were turned around she couldn't BUT maybe the method to their madness is strange dogs can't get in??? We didn't have a dog when the fence was installed.

Lucas did fantastic at swim lessons last night, he actually didn't want to get out. What a relief. his is going to be fantastic.... Tomorrow night and then we are switching to Mon Wed classes.

Tressa, oh Tressa.... I haven't blogged since back from our trip. When I got back and had the spaghetti dinner I noticed that the cream cake for the party was missing. HHHMMMMM well I took everything out of the freezer and it was not there I found it empty under her bed. When I asked if she had gotten the white cake with two cherries she said "Actually mom there was three cherries on top" Kn she just said yes I ate the cake right??? So then I said, I thought it was in the freezer for the party? That meas it was very cold and hard.... she said "but mom if you leave it under my bed for a little bit it gets ready to eat" Exploring the conversation she says she got the cake while I was a the MRI, that the older kids forgot to lock the kitchen door (not where the freezer is) and Keirsten was on the computer.... she added "I was very quiet" You can just picture it can't you. PWS


Jordan is doing ok, what is with boys and body functions.. He thinks it is such a great feat to fart when it is the most inopportune moment for me... I mean it smells worse than the county land fill... and he is proud of it. GROUSE!

Steven loves the weather break. I need to clean the pool and get that fixed -up and running again. Remember Ali chewed the filter hose..Gotta love her! I am working on bring her indoors full time but who knows...I hear her drinking out of the toilet..YUCK..she has her own water cooler...(dog one) The sand on my floor and all her dog hair will I get use to this???? Also the flip flops that have been chewed, well pretty much everything now put away has been chewed.

Monday, March 22, 2010

It is hard to believe that is has been since Wed that I posted. Some small amounts have been placed on facebook but it has been a fast paced life for the past few days.

Thurs...is a blurrrrrrr... no memory at this moment.

Friday I woke at 5 am to be at the Out Patient Surgery for Jordan at 6:30 am Yes I have not forgotten we are leaving for a mini vacation TODAY.... The spot opened and so they called last minute to put him in. They tell m that it is 2 hours.. I have an appointment for Emma at 9:15 at the lung specialist. She gets a synergsis shot monthly. Well, we go in a tad behind schedule. Jordan isn't liking this at all. I pray he calms so they can get good results on the MRI with contrast. The times seems long but he comes out and over to recovery. The nurses all know me so they where willing to let him leave shortly after getting to recovery. We drove straight to the next appointment with Jordan a bit out of sync. The shot wait was incredibly long and then we were put way behind schedule. Mandie is meeting us at the house at 10:30 to be on the road by 11. It is now 11. As I pull in Mandie is pulling in with all the items needed for Sundays #@! event for World Down syndrome day. We unload hr car, finish loading my van and pile in with movies for the road. The frog and the princess... except it will not run in my DVD player in the van. YIKES Scoobi Do to the rescue.

The drive up was uneventful for the most part. Back roads do not allow for many McDonald meltdowns. We are heading to a DUDE ranch in the middle of no where USA. Mandie is having some axiety as we are attending a BBQ she fears will be a hog roast and a Rodeo which she isn't sure she will be able to view without PTSD. So she is preparing for the worst - hoping for the best. LOL

When we get there the room is smaller than we thought so 9 people in one motel room with 2 beds...You get the picture. Next time it will be a cabin as they are right there..This was our first stay at this annual conference which all others brag about. The first time any where for us is usually hit and miss as we learn the hard way what we need to do NEXT TIME... so we have it down for next year. That is if we can go. The conferences get rather costly and this year we were funded by extended family THANK YOU!!!!!! It is a ax deduction to have it paid directly to the conference which is a 501C3 so it helps for people giving to have credit even is we are "family" It was a win win situation. Photos tell that story.

SO Friday we went to meet everyone, saw the country and line danced into the night.
Sat up early for conference and kids to have YIP and YAAP time. (that is what the respite rooms/programs are called) LOL

Sunday up early to pack the van and head home by noon for therapy and mom to unload the van of mini vacation to load for 321 event set up.

321 event (spaghetti dinner) went ok, a low show but enough to make it a good time. It also gave a couple dollars for much needed media items for PODS is lacking bg time..

I am beat, Emma is waking, Lucas and Jordan had early morning eye speciality appointment and Jordan needs new glasses and keep patching the right eye. Lucas' eyes are better and does not need to wear his glasses this year...YIIIPPPEEEE one out of glasses... SUPER.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY







SWIM LESSONS HAVE BEGUN





Catch up not Ketcup.....LOL

Saturday night the call came...MARY-MARY wake up go get on the computer!!!! You have a mom in Ft Myers thinking of placing her unborn baby for adoption because the baby has Down syndrome..... WAKEEEEEEE UUUUUUPPPPPPPPP !!!!!
Ok, so now I am up ...almost midnight. You know I wasn't back to bed for some time. Then Sunday a all day my mind was finding and supplying supports to the agency hosting this moms desires. MY FRIENDS RESPONDED!! Thank you all! Very touching letters.

Sunday brings therapy, the Cape Coral family going to adopt 3 angels from Ukraine stop over. We share information and the day passes quickly. Jordan was a bit off Sunday, feeling extra needy. He is in the process of getting a wish granted from the Make A Wish foundation and I think he gets a bit over stimulated in mentally thinking of a special all about him time. ??? Keirsten went off to babysit and we are all having a lazy day of backyard play.

My calendar this week is slammed. Lots to get done before going out of town. I am so excited about going to the ranch, just getting away from phones, internet and chaos. Might even wear a cowgirl hat!! LOL

Monday I spent trying to get back up on the horse from a cold I keep pushing back...it keeps creeping to the forefront. Emma is also coming to the end of her cold. Jordan makes a HUGE cheese pizza for dinner which brightens every one's mood.

Tuesday it is Jordan's clearance physical for his MRI. He is having anxiety about shots.. NO SHOTS! We meet up with Victoria and Mom (family with DS) and they are in need of support. They will be at the spaghetti dinner. It made me realize I need to have information packets about services/supports and use this for helping families help themselves...Jordan stays with me for the day. Mandie comes and I seem to get sucked into the computer.

Wed; 2 kids to eye appointment (Tressa and Emma) 8:45 am until noon.... Can you say LLLOOOONNNNGGGGGGG waits. Tressa's eyes are pretty much un-changed, if not better. Emma has something going on and we need to check back with the neurologist about the MRI.

SWIM LESSONS!!! 1st day...I will have the camera. we are dressing now to go...

SW FL PODS Angels vs MARY PRINGLE

3 2 1 REALITY ROCKS is my life. I blog to help educate on many levels of real life. Our real life. The ways people with Down syndrome thrive when given opportunities many of us take for granted. The hopes of getting all children adopted who wait years for families; again, we all take for granted. The fact children w/DS in other countries are left to die if not adopted by the ripe ole age of 4??? The views of large families not having enough love; squashed as you view the abundance of love we share as a family with 12 children today.... that is why I blog 3 2 1 REALITY ROCKS, exposing the inside of my heart.

I volunteer a large number of hours each week for an organization I started in 2001 called Southwest Florida PODS Angels Family Support Group, Inc... I know (long name) more than a mouthful but I was new at it. Often referred to as SW FL PODS. Lot's of bumps in the road; reality lessons at this level for me as well.

SW FL PODS Angels is a support organization where I help families as I can who are dealing with disability issues. Actually this has been overwhelming at times. The needs of families here in SW Florida are staggering as agency's are over worked and under paid.... so people tell me... LOL I have not once received a paycheck for what I do. SW FL PODS Angels has not had any funding for years outside the Cape Coral respite grant and a small donation to complete the Holiday party. So for ZERO pay/salary I provide hundreds if not thousands of community service hours to families. Often taking from my families limited monthly budget to make it all work. Some times people feel I do not do enough. I wear out, the needs are grand. I have my household which must always be priority.

Without going into long drawn out explanation I have decided to leave this blog for my family life, my love for what I do personally. I will pick up on my PODS blog and do more blogging for PODS issues in there.

http://downsyndromeangels.blogspot.com/

I need to run, 2 kids at Doc, Jordan woke with Croup and it is bread delivery morning... St Patrick's Day and therapy at the house not to mention celebration Dinner just because...somewhere among us we are Irish.

Friday, March 12, 2010

WIN: 3 DAY 2 NIGHT, directly on the beach in Fort Myers Beach, Florida





3 DAY 2 NIGHT STAY AT THE BEST WESTERN FORT MYERS BEACH- 418$ VALUE. Raffle tickets, need not be present to win. $10.00 a ticket 5 tickets for $40.00 tax deducatable donatioin. Drawing is at 8 pm March 21st, 2010

DO NOT NEED TO BE PRESENT TO WIN, out of town mail in please have in the mail to me on or before March 20th... email if an issue.

www.bwbeachresort.com

The Best Western Beach Resort Hotel, located directly on the beach in Fort Myers Beach, Florida



checks made to SW FL PODS Angels. I can send a tax receipt.

mail donation to:
SW FL PODS Angels
3422 SE 11th Place
Cape Coral, FL 33904

We celebrate EVERYTHING........it's life!




"When Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away."

They can not wait until next week to perform for the family all decked in green. We have a green dinner planned.

Can ya' HEAR me now?








If you could share my mornings you would know why I love LIFE each and every day.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

FAIR IS FAIR....you best be ready for a good laugh




Ok, if I say it once, I say it a million times in a week to the GIRLS who all wear about 14/16 in girls or S on Jr. You get the picture.

Tonight Steven took his shower, got ready for bed, presented as is...(photo)
I said; Steven, I think that is Lucas' shirt. His response: He wore mine, fair is fair..... LOL LOL LOL I couldn't argue. I say it to three girls every day.

Indeed Lucas had Stevens red long sleeve turtle neck PJ top on yesterday.

Watching my children share their love

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

MY GIRLS ARE HAPPY!!!


Just another day.....a day in the life of me

To bed last night about 11:45pm after the bread run, sorting and preparing for morning deliveries.

4:16 am wake and look at clock...urg
4:45 hear Kiersten's alarm going off non stop... go out to inform her it is 4:45 and her alarm is going off and I do not appreciate hearing it until 5:55 when she ACTUALLY gets up every day. She turns it off by snooze... I inform her it will be going off in 10 minutes.
4:55 I hear alarm about 6 beeps and it is turned off, I hear no movement.
5:05 alarm 4 beeps and off, no movement
5:15 alarm 4 beeps, no movement
5:25 alarm 4 beeps and still no movements.
This continues until 5:45 when my alarm goes off and I get up about 5:50 after 5 minutes of whispers into Jordan's ears about time to get up for school --h too needs his morning routine or he can be a BEAR in the morning. He slept with his Bible (which he carries every where) and he makes sure it is there, tucks it under his arm and says 5 minutes. OK

5:50 am I turn on house lights and inform Kiersten her bus comes in 10 minutes (5 blocks away) so she does her usual, runs to the closet like a crazy person, transforms to clean clothes or just grabs a sweater because she wore what she was going to school in to bed...(NICE :o)) I did not teach her that... brush her teeth and run out the door. Nice healthy wake up for FCAT's

6:00 am coffee brewing, Lucas surfaces to the living room, I call Tressa out and they both begin to dress. I dress Lucas from clothes laid out last night, Tressa starts dressing herself but with one problem..she is trying to put on my underpants... I only wish I was a girls 14. So she gos to get another pair and returns with a size 4T pair...She only wishes to be a size 4T... LOL On the third try she has the right pair and gets dressed. I finished Lucas and he is ready for the bus. He goes to get a toy and plays on the couch, I tie Tressa's shoes help her with her sweater and fasten her harness.. We do hair do's before bed... All about pre-planning. Tressa HATES to have her hair brushed. We nee to get done because we have to finish the book Little Bill...off to make Tressa's lunch (takes lunchbox)
I return to my bed to get Jordan who has not surfaced freely. He struggles and tells me he wants to stay home. I remind him he needs to bring the wagon to get the bread today for the after school program for the kids. Peanut butter and Bread.. we donate it each week. I tell him if he cooperates he can choose from the bins a snack for his class...He pops up to get dressed. Once out he slacks off and goes to the potty for a long time..comes out and tells me he threw up, he is sick, he needs to stay home. I say "oh I thought you were taking snack" OH YEAH then perks up to get dressed quickly to choose snacks for his class. He finds some with small pieces and then he choose TWO APPLE TURN OVERS... I tel him there is not enough for his class. He informs me he and Lilly will each have an apple turn over together... (his little girlfriend)He is quite smitten by her. Tressa wants to take something for her class so I agree. We put a little something for Lucas' class. Everyone is happy, it is almost time for the bus and I finish Little Bill. Bus comes kids start to board and Jordan realized he left his Bible on the couch. I hear screaming coming from the bus, Steven runs the Bible to the bus and the screaming intensifies. I go out to the bus as the driver was coming to get me. Apparently the last time Jordan tore pages out and pt the pages into his mouth so they will not let him have his Bible on the bus. Oh dear it was not pretty. I strap Jordan in and tell him his book will be waiting for him when he comes home.
The bus is calm they are ready to leave it is 6:40 am..

6:43 am I am pouring a cup of coffee with flavored cream and 2 sweet n lows... a BIG CUP! Steven is up getting ready for school, I look over at my day planner and it says Jordan needs to be at the ENT at 8:45!!!!!!! YIKES....

6:45 I decide I am not well enough to sit in the Doctors office and neither is Emma, it is an annual check and h has no ENT issues so we can re-schedule until next week...his office is easy to get appointments. That day planner next week is scary. Oh well, it will have to work.

7:00 am I make Steven a hot breakfast and allow Kaitlyn to sleep extra since she does the bread run with me. I check emails, decide to blog and sip hot coffee and wipe my nose. Emma is cooing and playing in her bed. She loves her time n the morning to talk to her toys and sing songs with her musical items about her bed.
7:10 Ali needs feed and her water bowl cleaned out and filled.

More coffee, more Kleenex and I'm off to make breakfast for Emma, we need to leave right at the time the middle school bus leaves so we can get bread delivered and b back for morning therapy... (I THINK) I can not remember if it is the 2nd Wed or the 3rd Wed morning of the month... I lost that planner back in December and have not written it back into the new wall one..last month she called m while I was delivering bread to tell me she was at my door.... I want to be back today before start time.

I will catch you up after 9 am when things will break again for me this morning.
This is a very typical calm morning in the Pringle household..Off to wake Kaitlyn and feed Emma.


================
10:10 am I am running an hour behind.

I was at the after school food program at a bit before 8:30 to drop off peanut butter and bread.

I took two calls one riding out and one riding back from local families in crisis. On of my dear friends is the grandmother to three children who experienced a tragic event the day before yesterday. Their family dog attacked a playmate over to play (6 yr olds) not life threatening but traumatic and serous all the same. The family has some issues to get through over this and poor Grandma is beside herself trying to be the "fixing problems" that she needs to distance herself from for her own health... Be a supportive Grandma I tell her 1000 times a week, do not be a therapist, financial advisor, addiction councilor etc.... she needs to enjoy her years now. So my rescue issues always need my checks and balances as well.

Emma's PT is in our drive...I am late again so it is the 2nd Wed of each month CHECK! on the day planner it goes. Emma did very well in therapy and I have new tasks to work on this next month because she is reaching her goals. Emma still is fighting her cold so as you see in the photo her eyes show allergies and congestion.

My daughter calls, another huge crisis with the friggin mail..... Let me catch you up.. the tax return is lost in the world of return mail. In 4 weeks it has not made it back to dead tax return central in Atlanta. They now have a tracking on it which takes 6 weeks. Once that has passed they will re-issue in her new married name which can be mailed and she will receive at her home. No mail has yet to be delivered from all she has done. AMAZING our postal system can be so screwed up. So that is weeks away but Social Security had already notified IRS the name is changed. The other part was the last IRS call said to just report an address change??? This person said No can do... ax return is going to get fixed in due time. Now her employer changed her pay days and it went out to her in the mail weeks ago to notify her... CRISIS today is that mail never reached her and today was set to be paid bills from a set to b direct deposited payroll.... OUCH! Hate it when that happens... so until Friday she is at the mercy of who will believe her mail story one more time.

I have a local family desperately wanting a baby girl with Down syndrome....she sent me a photo of the most precious little girl ..Enough to make you loose your breath.. I did learn of a little boy in Colorado last night who is 7 and needs a home. I NEED A BIGGER HOUSE!!!! I just do not feel like I can move forward with even thinking of another adoption unless I add on. Well fix issues first then add on... A bigger washer...LOL the washer and dryer I am using are not even mine. Conni had a pair in her garage she wasn't using so she had me use hers until she needs them back. I have a washer that needs repaired??? It is not old just never worked right from the day Kory installed it...I know key sentence Kory installed it.

Therapy done, another cup of coffee and Emma is ready to rest while I take a shower. She will get her bath and then we can start our errands to get laundry soap, baby cereal and diapers. I think that is all I need right now. Well besides a back rub- that would be nice.

I got a call from Connie to use my van to move a couch and chair, I need to get errands done first. SO off to shower I go .......

==============================
It is now noon,

Showered actually taking time (shave) Not going there in this conversation. Almost needed to plunge the drain ... It had been awhile the legs could have been rolled with curlers..Eeeeeeewwwwww

Emma is clean and off for a short walk to find two teens in my drive dropping off paperwork and questioning me on how they can help if we are chosen for Extreme Makeover: home edition. I gave them the email to the casting producer. Gosh darn, I had it out of my mind a few days.... They watch the show and had so many comments about how it could be 2 story and the slide from one floor to the next with boys bedrooms..??... I missed that show I think??? They were cute High School girls from big Brothers Big Sisters which have had contact with my children for a few years. So look out Lindsay they got pretty excited to get a team of teens to write to volunteer.

I was working on a letter to seek Internet group help..I will post here and now I need some healthy food, too much coffee and I get a bit hyper. Emma is napping, I will prepare lunch. Oh, I didn't mention I have done 2 loads of laundry since I woke up, dish washer is done and while showering I scrubbed the toilet and straighted up my 2X2 bathroom (very small) the best I could.

Dear families of children who have experienced open heart surgery, or anyone willing to help out. I am working with MAT (Medical Advocacy team) bringing children into the USA for heart surgery on charity missions from countries where they will die if they do not get our help. I need to locate Cardiovascular surgeons and Children's hospitals who accept Charity care for International children. My focus is getting hearts of children with Down syndrome fixed so that they can be reunited with birth families or adopted in their country if possible to help expand the education and experiences our children with Down syndrome provide to their communities. The MAT mission is for all children.

We are happy to report our first approval of a little girl 1.5 yrs of age with Trisomy 21 needing a complete AV canal repaired will be coming from Haiti as soon as all the paperwork is completed for her medical VISA.

If you would call your surgeons practice and ask if they do or know of a group or hospital who do; CHARITY CASES FOR INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN, we can take it from there if their answer is anything but no. :o) Many hospitals are connected to civic organizations who need paperwork filled out to get a child into a program that is linked to a specific medical facility. Right now we are focused on hearts. Any help is appreciated ten fold. Please email the contact information if you get a yes, maybe or we need more information.

Sincerely,
Mary Beth Pringle
Pringleclan@msn.com
For:

Remember International, INC.
the Medical Advocacy Team
PO Box 340
Albany, OH 45710
740-590-0742
medicaladvocacyteam@live.com


now off to make a healthy lunch

=======================================
afternoons and evenings are busy and blogging was not an option so it is actually now Thurs, morning for m to catch you up on how the rest of my day (yesterday) went.

I did have a good lunch, ate while Emma slept and I did work on line.

Emma woke and I fed her lunch, she is such a picky eater, I am not use to that. She had all the "P" fruits the first year to balance her stools to keep her from constipation so she has that taste for sweet. Green veggies are not going in so well.

Bath, and dressed for her therapy afternoon. She is laughing all the time any more, makes for such fun.
Laundry kept going,

Keirsten home at 2:30 from school, not sure how she did on her FCAT. She helped check the fence to be sure no slats came loose and then went to watch the new move from Netflix.
Jordan, Tressa and Lucas came at 3:00 with home work to do. Jordan was frantically looking for a pencil???? This would be odd for Jordan. He has his binder out to show me last months big smiley face on our reading log. Then flipped to a page of smiley faces from other days...then he laid the daily point sheet out and tried desperately to erase the message to me for the day..... Needless to say it wasn't good. He apparently found that having beans and rice the night before gave him entertainment value...YEP! He was positioning himself in from of his teacher and peers and letting one out... PPPEEEEEEWWWWWWW believe me I have been a victim, it is not pretty. So we talked about that and read a story about kids who are bully's.

The kids had snack and I started thinking of what to make for dinner???? I am not feeling up to par so it is not pleasant. Keirsten chose fish sticks (easy enough) Emma is not taking an afternoon map and she has therapy at 4:30 with Ms Jill.
During my afternoon I have a few calls helping get information out to one couple where the husband is collecting adoption information to present the idea to his wife. They had always thought adoption was very expensive and had no idea about adopting from foster care. Another is looking for a little girl with Down syndrome and is looking to possible take the route of international.
Connie came to get the van so we took out seats and I got some cold medication from her which I pray helps dry me up.
I have dinner going, Keirsten laves with Connie, Jacki and my van with the seats on the driveway...and black clouds rolling in....YIKES.
Ms Jill is here, kids need home work checked, dinner, baths Ms. Jill, Lucas has Ms Jan tonight for an hour 6 to 7

7pm they have their bath and come for their medications and then it is their choice for quiet activities.

8 pm TV's off if they are on, lights out.... Tressa never makes it to 8 pm, I find her asleep on her bed with her baby dolls, a game, or whatever her quiet time activity was. Jordan cuddles on my bed and is always asleep before 8 pm. Steven and Lucas I have to turn off their TV and I can hear Lucas always getting back up i the dark to collect light up musical toys. He is very good about staying on his bed so it is no problem, he has many nights of no musical toys as an infant to catch up on. Kaitlyn can be up or down..Last night she chose to watch the Netflix move and fell asleep.. ALl but Kiersten asleep and I laid down and somewhere around 8:30 fell asleep myself... NOW you did not read that the floors got mopped, dishes done or my household responsibilities completed (THEY DIDN'T) but even with Keirsten up wide awake it did not dawn on her to pull the slack.... That Cold meds kicked in for me I guess. So now I blog this and look up to see all the last night cores waiting for me.... But I am on track today so all is well, no one dies from the house chores not being competed.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

JORDAN JORDAN JORDAN

I want to be very careful not to hurt any one's feelings but my son has his school team wrapped around his finger with master manipulation!!! and he seems very proud of it!

If you have been following, Jordan has "lost memory" since about Christmas. He has not been able to do much of what he knew last year and the year before. He has growing delays from things like writing his name to telling red from green and a circle from a square... all things he knew hands down.

We have notified his medical specialists who are scheduling tests, we are watching every move to be sure the Dandy Walker isn't presenting to move to a splint, we are all treating Jordan with extra care because it is concerning and then TODAY...

Today he slipped.. In speech last Friday he counted to five easy as pie in a game he played with Ms Jill, Sunday he counted to eight jumping on the trampoline for Ms Jan. Today with all the concerns Ms Jill brought back some fun activities all based around colors, shapes and counting.. as he moved through his speech session today she praised him for all he knows. They called me into the room to display all his abilities, then Ms Jill praised him for being so smart and knowing all his colors, numbers and such a smart boy...... He loud and clear said " BUT NOT AT SCHOOL I DON'T" I KID YOU NOT....Because Jill and I were shocked and I am sure our faces showed it, he laughed and make light of what he just disclosed...LOL

I am going to see if lightening the load as the IEP has all been changed to lighten the learning then we can pick it up here and see what happens. He is a hoot... I am not discounting this could b a day on and some days off situation because we did see some drool here at home today but clearly he knows something is going on from him not "doing" all he has the ability to do in school....his is a watch and learn journey.

House hunting dreams

I am not sure if any of my followers are in this market but if you are please do not get offended as I poke fun.. having a moment to pick up a free in the lobby take along home purchase guide I was shocked simply blown to a sitting position. The first page had homes not under 100M the third or forth page of this 12" by 14" magazine had a home about 11M and then as you moved to the later pages you could find 3M then 1M homes LOTS OF HOMES.... Sorry for your luck, if the home was 600K it wasn't in the status of having a photo only a tiny 3 line info cube and many pages of those like personal ads stacked on top of each other..LOL

OK, If you are in the market to buy a oh say 17 to 14 MILLION DOLLAR home please do not tell you you pick up this paper and look through it like I did.....The 100M buyer please.... I can not IMAGINE the thought of even beginning to shop for this market. You see my mind goes this way... The home which is 3 M could hold say 50 kids....and caretakers....the grounds were perfect for activities and gust houses... so in the market for a 17 M I buy the 3 and spend 3M getting the house full of children and my goodness I have 11 M to invest to cover expenses for a life time... OK, I am not capable of even dreaming....

This magazine is now in my trash... almost felt I shouldn't, possibly I will pull it out and run it up to the Duncan donut on the corner wouldn't want that shopper to miss his opportunity to see the home of h is seeking to purchase.... OMGoodness this blew my mind.

I have had a bad head cold today, Emma as well and Mandie showed up feeling the same an me.

I slept until about 2 PM from say 10ish. This morning Emma was a mess and I hadn't had much sleep since she was not able to sleep through the night well. I got medication in her this morning to dry up her running nose and about 2 hours after we napped we were sitting on the couch and this horror look came across her face. I was a bit taken as she looked like she was scared to death. I shake her a little to say what? what? She dos a low deep in the throat cough and seems scared to death but looses a mucus plug from sleeping with her mouth open she could just cry. Poor thing had no idea what just happened to her little body. She went back to sleep with me and woke when Mandie got her at noon. I slept on until 2. I am not 70% even but it helped.

Handi Dandi Mandie and some packing tape

HOLY MOLEY

When I bought my house it had a nice quality chain link fence. It was 4" high and worked for years. When Steven grew up to be able to look over the fence he realized he could also climb over the fence and perfected that to a step hop and over in seconds... off down the road to adventures and beyond... after a number of search parties with the fine officers of the Cape Coral Police Department and a number of neighbors concerned about a little boy singing You are my sunshine while enjoying one of their beverages from their garage refrigerator it came time to replace the chain link fence with an 8' slick Privacy fence...The cost was well over my annual income. well half... then the state came to my rescue and helped in placing the fence not only where the chain link fence went but up to the front of the home so that bedroom windows being climbed out were encompassed with the protection of ENCLOSURE... UNTIL TODAY!!!!

Jordan some how for some reason tested his powers at punching down a section of the fence one plank at a time causing CHAOS with dogs, kids and neighbored calm.... Our dog ran right through to notify the neighbor dogs she escaped and our backyard is the PARTY yard full of kids and "stuff" I heard screaming as dogs were in and out excited rising the excitement of neighbor children and all was total CHAOS... Handy Dandy Mandie was our savior along with Keirsten and some wide clear packing tape.. once we got dogs out, dog in, kids in... Ali went to time out in the bathroom...LOL the kids got a kick out of "time out" for Ali... (only for safety) and we taped the planks back to the fence posts... see photo. SO what now... I did see down the road this yard encompassed by a concrete wall and screen to top the yard. This would salve our issue having one child allergic to mosquito saliva and the no escape plan.. Now I am sure this project will be well over my annual income plus some.... :o(

Good Morning Kaitlyn :o)

I blogged awhile back about Kaitlyn's skill in marking her her planner "DAYS OFF" no not official school calendar days off but days off Kaitlyn feels she should have for herself. (She is 15)

Today she woke up AS USUAL in her wonderful chipper joyous mood (NOT! NEVER) after my routine of giving her space and laying pretty much everything out for her she went to the family calendar and got upset that I had not kept up with placing today's number on the board. Listening to her say to me " DO NOT CALL ME HURRY"...She was seeking for it to be Friday. Then said "I am taking the next 2 Fridays off so do not wake me up Friday" LOL LOL LOL after I gathered my laughter, I explained to her that she could not just randomly take Fridays off. She informed me she never wants to go to school on Friday so "do not wake me up".. I let her have her moment and asked why she doesn't want to go to school on Friday and her reply "Do not wake me up Friday" LOL I have to tell you mornings with Kaitlyn haven't changed a bit since she was 3 years old! The clincher is once she is all ready and doing her waiting scavenger hunt for that one more pencil to take she tells me "I love you mom" several times.

TEXAS TIE, newest to the collection



This tie came from a family in Texas who use to live in Cape Coral. I have not made alterations to it yet. Jordan was excited to wear it today and tell his class about TEXAS.