Phew... that was quite a week! I'd be using this week to recover if I wasn't so sick.
Clara had her appointment with the opthalmologist on Wednesday. Clara definitely needs glasses. The good news in all this is that her vision at this point in time CAN be corrected with glasses. The bad news is that she is high risk for amblyopia, which can NOT be corrected with glasses. With the vision in her left eye so much worse than the vision in her right, anisometropia, the brain tends to block out the eye with the poorer vision. "Amblyopia is a neurologically active process, where the inhibition process can result in a permanent decrease in the vision in that eye that can not be corrected with glasses, lenses, or lasik surgery. However, improvements are possible at any age, but early detection and treatment offer the best outcome." (About Amblyopia). Needless to say, the opthalmologist wants to see her again in a year. Unfortunately, Jason's vision insurance doesn't go into effect until he's been with the new company for 30 days... so we'll just have to wait. Going into the opthalmologist's office, Clara was adamant about not wanting glasses, but after spending time in the waiting room trying on frame after frame, she has come to the conclusion that she'll still look pretty in glasses.
On Thursday evening we discovered a flat tire on our ONLY car in the JC Penney parking lot (it must have been low before we left the house, as Jason was commenting on the handling of the car on the drive there). We put the donut on the car in the JCP parking lot to get home... only to discover upon getting home that the donut was low, too! When Jason took the cap off the valve to check the pressure, air just kept escaping... there was obviously something wrong with the donut valve. It was a horrendously stressful night, trying to figure out what to do in the morning. How was he going to get the tire fixed with a flat tire and a flat donut? The next morning, he tried my idea of pumping up the donut with the bicycle pump and that actually worked!! He was able to take the car in without any problems. In fact, we ended up with two new tires and they fixed our donut!! Hopefully, we won't need that donut for many many years!
After the car was fixed, I had to hurry to Eli's 18-month checkup. He is in great shape and great health. His vitals: weight - 26 lbs 2 oz (55 %ile) and height - 32 1/4 in (57 %ile). The doctor checked his ears and eyes after the last infections and all is well. He got three shots (DTaP, polio, and HepA) and took them like a champ. Now I just need to take him in for his 18-month portrait.
Friday night was a spaghetti dinner at Clara's school (it was a fundraiser and the 6th graders were the servers). It was really fun. The thing that I especially loved was seeing Clara in that environment. She is very well liked. Lots of these little girls (some kindergarteners and some 1st graders and some that I didn't know at all) were coming up to her to say hi, give hugs, or just be silly. It was wonderful seeing her being social and interacting with all these "friends". I also enjoyed meeting some of the parents of the girls I hear about so often.
I was able to go to a Mom's Night Out right after the school dinner. That was a nice treat. I was able to see many women that I haven't seen in a long while. We (me and the boys) haven't been attending playgroup much in the past few months. It's been hard to fit it into our schedule, but it was really nice catching up.
And then Saturday night was Rock Band, woo-hoo!! We had so much fun... it's almost sad to think it will be a whole month before Sovereign Awesomeness reunites.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Fraidykids
Monday started a new session of swim classes for Clara. Watching her hesitate to jump into the pool, not because she's afraid to jump into the water, but because she's afraid of the jets (or "sprinklers" as she calls them) in the pool, made me want to devote this post to "things my kids are afraid of". After much reading about Asperger's Syndrome online and talking with Clara's teacher and special education teacher about it this past week, I realize that irrational fears are a symptom. With that being a tentative explanation for many of Clara's fears, I still have to wonder about Lucas. Is it more a monkey see-monkey do situation, or do we live in a scarier world than even I was aware?
Clara has been afraid of the overflow holes in all sinks for as long as I can remember (though somehow she has come to terms with the one in her bathroom and in the bathroom downstairs, she still won't wash her hands in the master bathroom). She won't even walk into a bathroom if she can see the overflow hole in the mirror. Our strategy lately has been to have her close her eyes and then I guide her to the sink. This is much preferable to the meltdowns she used to have when there were no paper towels to cover the holes.
Lately the exposed pipes under sinks in public places scare her (though she admits to not wanting to look at the pipes under the sinks at home either).
As stated above, jets (in pools, in tubs... any jets) are taboo. This posed a huge issue when visiting my dad one Thanksgiving after they remodeled the bathroom that we would be using and put in a nice jacuzzi tub. Now whenever we visit, she showers.
Flashing lights have been an issue for both Clara and Lucas. Our subwoofer would turn off automatically; before turning off, the green lights would flash and then turn red. During the day, Clara would periodically ask if the lights were going to flash, even if the subwoofer wasn't on. Lucas would run from the room when he saw them flashing. Even now, the subwoofer has been long since unplugged, neither of them will go anywhere in its general vicinity.
Both Clara and Lucas show anxiety at small red lights (like the one on the baby monitor to show that it's turned on). We had Eli in Clara's room for a week while my dad was here. She complained constantly afterward about how she didn't want Eli sleeping in her room anymore. I thought it was because he sometimes cried in the night... but no... it was because I put the monitor in her room. I've been talking a while now to Lucas about Eli moving into his room with him and his response is always the same, "Eli's crib, but not the monitor". If it's dark in the hallway, they won't go past Eli's room if they can see the monitor light. And there was the time that we were in a doctor's office that had a light switch with a small red indicator light. I heard about that for weeks afterward.
They both are affected by loud noises (although I was super shocked that the fireworks didn't bother them at all).
They both find crowds highly undesirable, though I have to empathize with them on this one. I often site the example of Clara's kindergarten open house when I lost sight of her for a minute, only to find her in a corner eyes shut tight and hands covering her ears.
Clara is afraid of all dogs (which makes it interesting to visit my mom's house with her huge cocker spaniel). She used to be afraid of cats, too, but once she realized that most cats run away from her, she loosened up.
Clara used to have an issue with Cyberchase (the PBS show). It used to come on right after Dragon Tales and before it would even come on, she'd be screaming for me to turn the TV off. It must have changed times on the schedule because we never run into it anymore... thank goodness.
Certain characters on TV (i.e. the giant from the SuperWhy episode of Jack and the Beanstalk) and certain scenes in TV/movies (i.e. when the clock struck midnight in Cinderella) really affect both Clara and Lucas. They both have been pretty good about controlling their comfort levels when watching TV; when something on TV makes them uncomfortable, they'll either leave the room or ask to turn the show off.
I've noticed that as Clara gets a little older, she handles her fears much better. The fears haven't gone away at all, but how she reacts has changed immensely. An example that I want to share: we were in the locker room getting ready for swim class and I needed to wash my hands. She took a glance over at the sinks, looked at me and calmly stated "I don't like the overflow holes, but I'm not scared". Funny thing was, she still had to be guided, eyes closed, to the sink to wash her hands.
Lucas has always been a pillar. Even when something scares him, he doesn't fall apart. He has a way of controlling himself and either leaving the area or asking for help. And as I type this... it seems completely the opposite of what I was saying about him just a few weeks ago, right after he bit that little boy in preschool!! Funny...
I'm curious to know what Eli will add to the mix. Maybe he'll end up being our fearless one. Hmmm, I'm not sure I like that thought as I'm picturing daredevil-type scenarios in my head, ending in hospital runs. Maybe a little fear is good!
Clara has been afraid of the overflow holes in all sinks for as long as I can remember (though somehow she has come to terms with the one in her bathroom and in the bathroom downstairs, she still won't wash her hands in the master bathroom). She won't even walk into a bathroom if she can see the overflow hole in the mirror. Our strategy lately has been to have her close her eyes and then I guide her to the sink. This is much preferable to the meltdowns she used to have when there were no paper towels to cover the holes.
Lately the exposed pipes under sinks in public places scare her (though she admits to not wanting to look at the pipes under the sinks at home either).
As stated above, jets (in pools, in tubs... any jets) are taboo. This posed a huge issue when visiting my dad one Thanksgiving after they remodeled the bathroom that we would be using and put in a nice jacuzzi tub. Now whenever we visit, she showers.
Flashing lights have been an issue for both Clara and Lucas. Our subwoofer would turn off automatically; before turning off, the green lights would flash and then turn red. During the day, Clara would periodically ask if the lights were going to flash, even if the subwoofer wasn't on. Lucas would run from the room when he saw them flashing. Even now, the subwoofer has been long since unplugged, neither of them will go anywhere in its general vicinity.
Both Clara and Lucas show anxiety at small red lights (like the one on the baby monitor to show that it's turned on). We had Eli in Clara's room for a week while my dad was here. She complained constantly afterward about how she didn't want Eli sleeping in her room anymore. I thought it was because he sometimes cried in the night... but no... it was because I put the monitor in her room. I've been talking a while now to Lucas about Eli moving into his room with him and his response is always the same, "Eli's crib, but not the monitor". If it's dark in the hallway, they won't go past Eli's room if they can see the monitor light. And there was the time that we were in a doctor's office that had a light switch with a small red indicator light. I heard about that for weeks afterward.
They both are affected by loud noises (although I was super shocked that the fireworks didn't bother them at all).
They both find crowds highly undesirable, though I have to empathize with them on this one. I often site the example of Clara's kindergarten open house when I lost sight of her for a minute, only to find her in a corner eyes shut tight and hands covering her ears.
Clara is afraid of all dogs (which makes it interesting to visit my mom's house with her huge cocker spaniel). She used to be afraid of cats, too, but once she realized that most cats run away from her, she loosened up.
Clara used to have an issue with Cyberchase (the PBS show). It used to come on right after Dragon Tales and before it would even come on, she'd be screaming for me to turn the TV off. It must have changed times on the schedule because we never run into it anymore... thank goodness.
Certain characters on TV (i.e. the giant from the SuperWhy episode of Jack and the Beanstalk) and certain scenes in TV/movies (i.e. when the clock struck midnight in Cinderella) really affect both Clara and Lucas. They both have been pretty good about controlling their comfort levels when watching TV; when something on TV makes them uncomfortable, they'll either leave the room or ask to turn the show off.
I've noticed that as Clara gets a little older, she handles her fears much better. The fears haven't gone away at all, but how she reacts has changed immensely. An example that I want to share: we were in the locker room getting ready for swim class and I needed to wash my hands. She took a glance over at the sinks, looked at me and calmly stated "I don't like the overflow holes, but I'm not scared". Funny thing was, she still had to be guided, eyes closed, to the sink to wash her hands.
Lucas has always been a pillar. Even when something scares him, he doesn't fall apart. He has a way of controlling himself and either leaving the area or asking for help. And as I type this... it seems completely the opposite of what I was saying about him just a few weeks ago, right after he bit that little boy in preschool!! Funny...
I'm curious to know what Eli will add to the mix. Maybe he'll end up being our fearless one. Hmmm, I'm not sure I like that thought as I'm picturing daredevil-type scenarios in my head, ending in hospital runs. Maybe a little fear is good!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Welcome Spring?
What crazy weather we've been having. Monday we were digging our way out from under nearly 7 inches of snow; and then Friday was warm enough for shorts and t-shirts! The wonderful weather continued into the weekend and the flowers even started to pop out of the ground (we even have a few that have already bloomed in our yard). However, we were warned by the weathermen that winter was not over and cooler temps would be on the horizon. I don't mind that winter isn't over... I love these little treasures in the midst of winter. If this were really spring it would be turning too hot too fast and then it would be summer in a blink. We sure took advantage of the nice warm days. We grilled out burgers both days and ate on the screened-in porch. After one of our meals, Clara proclaimed that "Daddy makes the best hamburgers grilled ever!" While Clara ate a whole burger and Lucas ate a half of a burger... Eli ate one AND a half burgers!! That boy can sure put away the food. Sunday we went out to Harper's Ferry, WV for a few hours. The weather couldn't have been better!! Harper's Ferry (or as Lucas was calling it: Harper Ferries) was a nice little place to walk around, with lots of small museums and quaint little shops. We all had a wonderful time, but the perspective is quite different between my version and Jason's version. He was able to go in and look around at a few of the museums, while I stayed outside and walked with Eli (which translates into something between chasing and herding). Clara said her favorite part of the day was the Industry Museum and Lucas' favorite part was the shuttle bus that took us from the parking lot to the town center. My favorite part was the footbridge that went from West Virginia to Maryland along a railroad line over the Shenandoah River (I probably took too many pictures of that, which I will post on Flickr later). I don't know exactly what Jason's favorite part was, but I can guess that it was the John Brown museum. We will be going back and next time... we'll leave the stroller at home and just bring the carrier pack for Eli. I didn't mention that Clara hurt her ankle just as we were getting off of the shuttle bus, so SHE was the one in the back of the stroller for most of the day and her 50 pounds plus Eli was a bit much to be pushing around up those hills... at one point, a stranger stopped and asked me if I needed help! How embarrassing.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Goodbye February
Yesterday is what I assume was the last hurrah for winter. An accumulation of about 7 inches of snow. Maybe the last snow day the kids will have until next year. We only had two good snows this winter (the first was ruined by the inch or so of ice that topped it late on the very same day). I love a good snow and how it makes everything beautiful. I also love the excitement that the kids exhibit about wanting to get out and play in it... or at least most kids. Getting Lucas to get out and have fun in the snow is one of the hardest chores I've experienced yet. He will suit up in coat, hat, gloves and boots reluctantly and then it's pushing him out the door. Then he will wander around in the snow head lowered like he is being punished. Meanwhile, Clara just can't wait to get outside to dig holes and scatter and throw the snow around. She did enjoy making snowballs and throwing them at Lucas... which was rather funny, even if it wasn't necessarily nice. Neither one was interested in building a snowman with me... maybe if the daddy had been there with his enthusiasm, it might have rubbed off a little.
The past week was headache inducing. Clara and Eli were both sick with Lucas contributing his cough to the chorus. There was an incident at Lucas' preschool and a re-evaluation meeting at Clara's school. These both will be detailed a bit more in a minute. First I just want to take a breath and start by saying that Jason started his new job yesterday. Yay, Jason! Of course, I didn't take that into consideration when I made Clara's opthamologist appointment... with the change of insurance coverage, I rescheduled for March 18.
At preschool on Wednesday morning... Lucas bit another little boy! When I was asked to come in and talk to the teacher, those words coming out of her mouth couldn't possibly be referring to my sweet boy! No... I must have misunderstood! Alas, it was my boy and she did have to repeat herself before I was able to respond. Though the situation has been taken care of, I still wonder if it's only a matter of time before it happens again. I am fully aware that my sweet boy can be a bit of a sour preschooler at times. He has a history of biting Clara, but the thing is... it's always been confined to our tiny bubble. So the idea of him using that as a defense mechanism at school really upsets me. Other parents have weighed in with "at least you know he can defend himself", but is that really the desired lesson to come out of this?
Thursday was the meeting to discuss whether or not Clara is in need of re-evaluation, and the results of which will determine if she continues to be eligible for special education services. All kids receiving services must go through this process at the end of kindergarten... since she skipped kindergarten, they are playing catch-up trying to get her back on track. Although I was hoping we were done with this, the things I was hearing from the panel at this meeting made it abundantly clear that we are far from that. I sat amid a panel consisting of Clara's 1st grade teacher, Clara's special education teacher, a physical therapist, a speech/language specialist, the school principal, a behavioral psychologist, and a sociocultural psychologist; each of these people telling me why my daughter needs to be re-evaluated. What is interesting to me is the fact that these "issues" are just coming to light for them now, whereas I've been dealing with them for years; I've even brought it up to her special education teacher in the past. I guess if it's not a documented issue, then the special education teachers don't need to help with it. I was discussing this meeting with a friend recently, and aside from the humorous take that these county employees are using this as a means to keep their jobs secure, the idea of Asperger syndrome was mentioned. I don't like the idea of that, but in some ways it would be nice to know the reason/cause behind much of her behavior. I guess I have a bit of research to do.
I talked to an old friend the other day (first time in almost a year) only to find out that she is going through some really horrible personal drama, part of which involves separating from her husband of 10 years. It goes without saying that my thoughts are with her now, but what I keep focusing on is that all this has been going on for months and I had no idea... and I consider her to be one of my dearest friends. I really hate how communication diminishes so intensely simply due to geography... that out of sight out of mind philosophy. I know that I'm at fault for this... as much as any person. Life takes it's journey and we get involved in our own little worlds, but the people that helped make us who we are along the way shouldn't be forgotten just because they didn't move with us. FaceBook has been really helpful to correct some of these lost communications, but there needs to be more... more phone calls, more emails, more contact!
The past week was headache inducing. Clara and Eli were both sick with Lucas contributing his cough to the chorus. There was an incident at Lucas' preschool and a re-evaluation meeting at Clara's school. These both will be detailed a bit more in a minute. First I just want to take a breath and start by saying that Jason started his new job yesterday. Yay, Jason! Of course, I didn't take that into consideration when I made Clara's opthamologist appointment... with the change of insurance coverage, I rescheduled for March 18.
At preschool on Wednesday morning... Lucas bit another little boy! When I was asked to come in and talk to the teacher, those words coming out of her mouth couldn't possibly be referring to my sweet boy! No... I must have misunderstood! Alas, it was my boy and she did have to repeat herself before I was able to respond. Though the situation has been taken care of, I still wonder if it's only a matter of time before it happens again. I am fully aware that my sweet boy can be a bit of a sour preschooler at times. He has a history of biting Clara, but the thing is... it's always been confined to our tiny bubble. So the idea of him using that as a defense mechanism at school really upsets me. Other parents have weighed in with "at least you know he can defend himself", but is that really the desired lesson to come out of this?
Thursday was the meeting to discuss whether or not Clara is in need of re-evaluation, and the results of which will determine if she continues to be eligible for special education services. All kids receiving services must go through this process at the end of kindergarten... since she skipped kindergarten, they are playing catch-up trying to get her back on track. Although I was hoping we were done with this, the things I was hearing from the panel at this meeting made it abundantly clear that we are far from that. I sat amid a panel consisting of Clara's 1st grade teacher, Clara's special education teacher, a physical therapist, a speech/language specialist, the school principal, a behavioral psychologist, and a sociocultural psychologist; each of these people telling me why my daughter needs to be re-evaluated. What is interesting to me is the fact that these "issues" are just coming to light for them now, whereas I've been dealing with them for years; I've even brought it up to her special education teacher in the past. I guess if it's not a documented issue, then the special education teachers don't need to help with it. I was discussing this meeting with a friend recently, and aside from the humorous take that these county employees are using this as a means to keep their jobs secure, the idea of Asperger syndrome was mentioned. I don't like the idea of that, but in some ways it would be nice to know the reason/cause behind much of her behavior. I guess I have a bit of research to do.
I talked to an old friend the other day (first time in almost a year) only to find out that she is going through some really horrible personal drama, part of which involves separating from her husband of 10 years. It goes without saying that my thoughts are with her now, but what I keep focusing on is that all this has been going on for months and I had no idea... and I consider her to be one of my dearest friends. I really hate how communication diminishes so intensely simply due to geography... that out of sight out of mind philosophy. I know that I'm at fault for this... as much as any person. Life takes it's journey and we get involved in our own little worlds, but the people that helped make us who we are along the way shouldn't be forgotten just because they didn't move with us. FaceBook has been really helpful to correct some of these lost communications, but there needs to be more... more phone calls, more emails, more contact!
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