Does anyone know of a GOOD home school program for special education? I'm not liking K-12. Their program is too much for Kirsten. We are putting her in public school just long enough to get her tested and see where she qualifies in their system, and what her strengths and weaknesses are...but I will be bringing her home to do school with me.
My three oldest will be going to school and my two twins will be going to a preschool program, and so I'll only have Kirsten who is about 3 years old mentally, and my 4 year old Ashlynn who I can't send to preschool because it's not free for her, and my youngest, Aniessa who is learning to stand up on her own. But Ashlynn is ready to learn and get started and Kirsten wants to learn, but is not socially ready, and being that the potty training isn't going so well for her either, she'd be in a "severe SDC" class and she can't be there. Autistic children learn best by mimicking and I don't want her picking up bad habits or mimicking someone who is further behind developmentally than she is. We want PROgression not REgression.
Any suggestions? Anyone know of any help or groups for this sort of thing? Please contact me as soon as possible. I would greatly appreciate it.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
A Sigh of Relief
We finally found someone who is going to help us reduce our mortgages and keep our house! The foreclosure should end shortly. It's a scary feeling when you can't really afford a rental, and you aren't able to move yet, so you have to find some way to keep a roof over your family's heads.
Kirsten and the twins are finally potty training, and starting to grasp the concept of "going in the toilet". Kirsten is still struggling, but the twins are coming along well. IF they stick to it, we should be pull up free in about 2 weeks for them. I'm not so sure about Kiki, but I'm gonna keep trying. I really don't want her in an SDC on campus if I can at all help it. I would rather her be mainstreamed with a TA! I know it's a long shot, but I refuse to believe that she can't do something. She has come such a very long way in just a few short months. It's amazing to me.
My little one who used to fear small pools,sprinklers, and any other foreign water that was not a bathtub where she could unplug it at any time....jumped into my grandfather's 10 foot deep pool and began kicking and treading water on her own and LOVED it!!
This is her and Hunter enjoying the "cuzi" at Papa's house.
She's imagining now. She pretends to read story books, and sometimes even gets it right! She's attempting to potty train, where before it was "no, no panties mama. Kiki have pull ups." and those were fighting words for her! She is speaking better, and understanding more...though we are working on the tantrums and the attention span. She occasionally gets "bored" and slaps her siblings to stir up entertainment, I guess. Working on that one too.
Kirsten and the twins are finally potty training, and starting to grasp the concept of "going in the toilet". Kirsten is still struggling, but the twins are coming along well. IF they stick to it, we should be pull up free in about 2 weeks for them. I'm not so sure about Kiki, but I'm gonna keep trying. I really don't want her in an SDC on campus if I can at all help it. I would rather her be mainstreamed with a TA! I know it's a long shot, but I refuse to believe that she can't do something. She has come such a very long way in just a few short months. It's amazing to me.
My little one who used to fear small pools,sprinklers, and any other foreign water that was not a bathtub where she could unplug it at any time....jumped into my grandfather's 10 foot deep pool and began kicking and treading water on her own and LOVED it!!
This is her and Hunter enjoying the "cuzi" at Papa's house.She's imagining now. She pretends to read story books, and sometimes even gets it right! She's attempting to potty train, where before it was "no, no panties mama. Kiki have pull ups." and those were fighting words for her! She is speaking better, and understanding more...though we are working on the tantrums and the attention span. She occasionally gets "bored" and slaps her siblings to stir up entertainment, I guess. Working on that one too.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
I've got some exciting news..for ME!
OK, so we're NOT moving to Idaho...yet. We still want to and we will try to later on in the future, but for now, the job is not coming through and we told my parents to let the house go. No sense in dragging them financially through the mud! Right? So we are looking to move into a rental in the next couple of weeks (so long as we can get into one!) and our house is currently, officially, in foreclosure! ( you're still waiting for the exciting part aren't you?)
Quincy may be up for a promotion which IF he gets it, we will be receiving a pay raise, which with 8 kids would be WONDERFUL!!! But that's not the exciting part. He and I, yes, I said me...we are going back to college to finish what we started! OK, you are all scratching your head, chins dropped, asking yourself, "what the heck? How?" Allow me to answer you.
2 of my classes are online, and the other 3 are during the hours when I have a respite worker available, and they are only 1 hour 30 minute classes! (Thank you Jesus, because I don't think I could do 3 hour classes right off the bat!) His classes will be half online and half at school too. We are trying to go at the same time so we only have to have one parking pass, but that probably won't happen like I plan. So, you wanna know what I'm going for?
Well, I am going to take child development classes, special education courses, and music (piano and voice) classes. I have a desire to help other families like ours get the help they need, and I also want to MAKE SURE that my kids get the help they need from me. If they can't get it anywhere else, at least they'll get it from me! Plus, later in 5 years when my house is empty of little ones, I can get a job (a paying one) on campus as a special ed aid/tutor and be close to my kids where I can keep an eye on them and the system that's teaching them, while getting a small income to help us out. (We'll need it..we'll have 8 teenagers at one point! 4 proms, 3 graduations, 5 driver's licenses, etc.,etc.,etc. all happening at the same time same year). I'd like to have a little money for when they move out to take care of our needs too. I mean we'll have college expenses and our retirement to care for.
So, anyway, I am excited at what my future holds, and the help I will be able to give others through this! Just wanted to share my happiness with the great cyber abyss!
Quincy may be up for a promotion which IF he gets it, we will be receiving a pay raise, which with 8 kids would be WONDERFUL!!! But that's not the exciting part. He and I, yes, I said me...we are going back to college to finish what we started! OK, you are all scratching your head, chins dropped, asking yourself, "what the heck? How?" Allow me to answer you.
2 of my classes are online, and the other 3 are during the hours when I have a respite worker available, and they are only 1 hour 30 minute classes! (Thank you Jesus, because I don't think I could do 3 hour classes right off the bat!) His classes will be half online and half at school too. We are trying to go at the same time so we only have to have one parking pass, but that probably won't happen like I plan. So, you wanna know what I'm going for?
Well, I am going to take child development classes, special education courses, and music (piano and voice) classes. I have a desire to help other families like ours get the help they need, and I also want to MAKE SURE that my kids get the help they need from me. If they can't get it anywhere else, at least they'll get it from me! Plus, later in 5 years when my house is empty of little ones, I can get a job (a paying one) on campus as a special ed aid/tutor and be close to my kids where I can keep an eye on them and the system that's teaching them, while getting a small income to help us out. (We'll need it..we'll have 8 teenagers at one point! 4 proms, 3 graduations, 5 driver's licenses, etc.,etc.,etc. all happening at the same time same year). I'd like to have a little money for when they move out to take care of our needs too. I mean we'll have college expenses and our retirement to care for.
So, anyway, I am excited at what my future holds, and the help I will be able to give others through this! Just wanted to share my happiness with the great cyber abyss!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
"happy we're a family" day
My kids love to celebrate any holiday, birthday, accomplishment..you name it. We are planning for our son's birthday coming up here very shortly, and our kids were just not understanding that we were NOT having the party today, but in a few days. (note to self: 3 days to a 6 year old means tomorrow after nap time). So I decided to surprise them with a new holiday to celebrate... we had a "happy we're a family" celebration! Sounds funny, but here are the rules! It was so much fun!
We pick any day we want, can even be more than once a year. We get some streamers, color pictures, make decorations, etc. We (meaning mom) make a feast (i.e. we had bbq ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, and mashed potatoes with salad...at least one thing that everyone really likes). We made desert, chocolate brownies with M & M's on top. We had 7 up (because everyone has to have a special drink, and well, that one's clear when it spills on to the carpet.). Everyone had their own part to play. Someone helped clean and set the table, clear the table, vacuum, make mashed potatoes, make the brownies, serve food, serve drinks, etc. Then we played board games (which is chaos with 7 who are all very young like ours...be warned!) and then they got ready for bed, laid down for a "camp out" in the playroom and fell asleep together watching a new movie never seen before. It was hectic, chaotic, and a little stressful...but all in all...it was a great night. They even gave their own reasons for why they are happy to be part of this family and what they enjoy most when spending time as a family....those were notes worth taking, let me tell you. You can learn so much from a child, just by giving them room to celebrate something that they never knew was so special!
It may not be everyone's forte to make up holidays, but it certainly gave us a great night together and brought everyone closer to each other. I had fun, and they did too! Try it, it was literally the cheapest holiday we've ever had! Our meal and decorations was less than $30 for a family of 10 people!!! We spend more than that per person at Christmas!!!
We pick any day we want, can even be more than once a year. We get some streamers, color pictures, make decorations, etc. We (meaning mom) make a feast (i.e. we had bbq ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, and mashed potatoes with salad...at least one thing that everyone really likes). We made desert, chocolate brownies with M & M's on top. We had 7 up (because everyone has to have a special drink, and well, that one's clear when it spills on to the carpet.). Everyone had their own part to play. Someone helped clean and set the table, clear the table, vacuum, make mashed potatoes, make the brownies, serve food, serve drinks, etc. Then we played board games (which is chaos with 7 who are all very young like ours...be warned!) and then they got ready for bed, laid down for a "camp out" in the playroom and fell asleep together watching a new movie never seen before. It was hectic, chaotic, and a little stressful...but all in all...it was a great night. They even gave their own reasons for why they are happy to be part of this family and what they enjoy most when spending time as a family....those were notes worth taking, let me tell you. You can learn so much from a child, just by giving them room to celebrate something that they never knew was so special!
It may not be everyone's forte to make up holidays, but it certainly gave us a great night together and brought everyone closer to each other. I had fun, and they did too! Try it, it was literally the cheapest holiday we've ever had! Our meal and decorations was less than $30 for a family of 10 people!!! We spend more than that per person at Christmas!!!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
UCLA is over
Kiki had her surgery on Monday, and is home doing fine. Other than being hungry all the time now (probably from not eating for 30 hours), she is healthy. So far no fevers, no discomforts outside of incision pain, and she appears to be eating just fine. She tries to play, but is still not wanting to play around too much (could have something to do with her brother's obsession with wanting to play "Kung Fu Panda" withe her...ouch)
Thank you very much for keeping tabs on us. I am sorry I am not very good at keeping up with this thing. I promise I am trying. I will come back again later to update you on everything else, but for now, it is almost lunch time and the natives are getting restless.
Thank you very much for keeping tabs on us. I am sorry I am not very good at keeping up with this thing. I promise I am trying. I will come back again later to update you on everything else, but for now, it is almost lunch time and the natives are getting restless.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Kiki's update
well, sorry for the long delay...been a little crazy here. Her surgery was canceled at the door of the OR due to her frantic crying causing her to cough, which left potential open for an asthmatic episode and possible onset of pneumonia following the procedure.
We are rescheduled for 530 am Monday June 23rd....two days from now. Needless to say I am a little stressed out. She is doing well, and honestly I was glad they canceled it because the following day, we took the kids to dinner and a movie (yes, we do that once in a LONG while) and she fell asleep at the restaurant and then she was sleeping in the movie, unless she felt me move....all the while, we get her home only to find out that our precious little one has an unexplained fever of 103! I took her to her pediatrician the next morning, only to hear the usual, "it's probably the flu or a virus, we've seen a lot of that lately" which in normal English means..." I have no idea what's causing this, so just load her up on Motrin and hope for the best." Ok, so I'm a little sarcastic. Wouldn't you be? She has a gal stone, and a hernia...could that be what's causing the unexplained fever, since in a home with 8 children, who sleep together (like on the floor in the playroom every night because it's a "sleep over Mama") and eat off each others plates (in case someone didn't want something, they don't want to waste it...ok so it's really that they are little thieves and love to irritate each other, but I like my way of thinking about it better than reality.) and NO ONE else has ANY symptoms of ANY kind..... you tell me?
It's been an crazy month! We are not sure about moving as a job has not presented itself to be "solid" as of yet. We are very close to "foreclosure proceedings" and I just turned 30. My birthday was nice, but the week prior to.....was emotionally horrendous! And now here we are, yet again, on our way to UCLA and another wonderful visit to the OR.
I will update as I can when we get back home. Please continue to pray and we'll look forward to hearing from you all when we return home with our little one.
We are rescheduled for 530 am Monday June 23rd....two days from now. Needless to say I am a little stressed out. She is doing well, and honestly I was glad they canceled it because the following day, we took the kids to dinner and a movie (yes, we do that once in a LONG while) and she fell asleep at the restaurant and then she was sleeping in the movie, unless she felt me move....all the while, we get her home only to find out that our precious little one has an unexplained fever of 103! I took her to her pediatrician the next morning, only to hear the usual, "it's probably the flu or a virus, we've seen a lot of that lately" which in normal English means..." I have no idea what's causing this, so just load her up on Motrin and hope for the best." Ok, so I'm a little sarcastic. Wouldn't you be? She has a gal stone, and a hernia...could that be what's causing the unexplained fever, since in a home with 8 children, who sleep together (like on the floor in the playroom every night because it's a "sleep over Mama") and eat off each others plates (in case someone didn't want something, they don't want to waste it...ok so it's really that they are little thieves and love to irritate each other, but I like my way of thinking about it better than reality.) and NO ONE else has ANY symptoms of ANY kind..... you tell me?
It's been an crazy month! We are not sure about moving as a job has not presented itself to be "solid" as of yet. We are very close to "foreclosure proceedings" and I just turned 30. My birthday was nice, but the week prior to.....was emotionally horrendous! And now here we are, yet again, on our way to UCLA and another wonderful visit to the OR.
I will update as I can when we get back home. Please continue to pray and we'll look forward to hearing from you all when we return home with our little one.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Little Red Spots
So today was starting out wonderful. Got up, got laundry going, got Hunter off to school...while doing the breakfast dishes, I hear, "Mo-oom, look what Kiki's doing". And, CRASH< style="font-style: italic;">Good morning mom, any hallucinations that you may have had about this being a wonderful day are officially brought to light, and the truth will now set you free....Kiki is "curious George" today!
We then then head down to UCLA for Kirsten's "pre-op" with the anesthesiologist's office...only I notice Kiki's covered from her head to her mid-line with little tiny red bumps. She's allergic to something!! Of course I'm stressing because this is the final appointment that says yea or nay to the surgery. Where's my benadryl when I need it? We get through the appointment just fine, explaining that she got into something she shouldn't have and given her high allergy to gluten and casein it could be anything she ate that I didn't see her sneaking....all the while, I'm thinking "I .hope that's it" . Sounded good! Right?
So we get home to pick up the rest of the kids, I'm in the kitchen making dinner when Quincy notices that Gracey is broken out and needs benadryl now too. Now I'm scrambling trying to think of everything....sun block, bug spray from the yard, a snack I didn't see....I'm wiggin' out a little bit. So I give them both their dose, and decide to check everyone else out just in case, all the while praying it's not a virus!! The twins have a mild break out on their bellies too. Break out the benadryl once again. Then I notice, it's on Quincy's back too!!! So he's now medicated and I am officially stressed.
After hours of searching for answers and checking for fevers or any other signs of illness, I finally found the cause!!! The taco seasoning, which we always use, is normally diluted before we eat it so it doesn't bother us...BUT in pure form in the air without any buffer like water....their bodies can't handle it!!! It's foreign in that form. Weird I know, but honestly, that was it! THANK GOD!!! I don't think I could hand;e one more thing this week!
We then then head down to UCLA for Kirsten's "pre-op" with the anesthesiologist's office...only I notice Kiki's covered from her head to her mid-line with little tiny red bumps. She's allergic to something!! Of course I'm stressing because this is the final appointment that says yea or nay to the surgery. Where's my benadryl when I need it? We get through the appointment just fine, explaining that she got into something she shouldn't have and given her high allergy to gluten and casein it could be anything she ate that I didn't see her sneaking....all the while, I'm thinking "I .hope that's it" . Sounded good! Right?
So we get home to pick up the rest of the kids, I'm in the kitchen making dinner when Quincy notices that Gracey is broken out and needs benadryl now too. Now I'm scrambling trying to think of everything....sun block, bug spray from the yard, a snack I didn't see....I'm wiggin' out a little bit. So I give them both their dose, and decide to check everyone else out just in case, all the while praying it's not a virus!! The twins have a mild break out on their bellies too. Break out the benadryl once again. Then I notice, it's on Quincy's back too!!! So he's now medicated and I am officially stressed.
After hours of searching for answers and checking for fevers or any other signs of illness, I finally found the cause!!! The taco seasoning, which we always use, is normally diluted before we eat it so it doesn't bother us...BUT in pure form in the air without any buffer like water....their bodies can't handle it!!! It's foreign in that form. Weird I know, but honestly, that was it! THANK GOD!!! I don't think I could hand;e one more thing this week!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Insights to me
My husband and I were watching a movie tonight , P.S.I Love You...great movie by the way, and while watching this woman try to find herself again after the loss of her husband, I began thinking. I would NEVER EVER want to know what that's like, first of all...but the part about finding herself again....I can totally relate to that.
I don't know about the rest of the moms around here, but once I was married and became a mother, there were parts of me that seemed to slowly vanish. My love for certain things, my fears, my dreams...everything changed, and somewhere between wife and mom, I lost "Jeanne". For example, I LOVE to read!!! One of my most favorite things growing up was to get lost in a great book, covered up in a warm blanket on my bed just before bed, so I had something wonderful to imagine and dream about. Now I'm lucky if I can read through 2 pages before my eyes blur out and I fall asleep from exhaustion.
I love movies about the past, such as Pride and Prejudice (yes I know it was a book first, but I loved the movie because I could get more involved with the characters.) I watch it all the time till I fall asleep on nights when Quincy has to go out of town, or when I was healing form my last c-section. I admire the things that they taught their daughters back then. They learned foreign languages (because they wanted to, not merely to pass high school) , they played an instrument, they sewed, cooked, and did some form of art anything from painting to sculpting. They were well read, strong, intelligent women.....now we're taught to be better than men at what we do, or treated like we are unemployed because we choose to be "just a house wife and a stay at home mom".
I love to write! I was once a very good story teller, and had a very vivid imagination. I have stories up the ying yang that I'd love to share about the kids and our lives, but when would I have the time to write it? I can barely keep up with email and a blog page!
I love music. I can play the clarinet and the alto sax, but my passion was always singing. I love to sing and make people happy. It releases my stress like nothing else I've ever known, but now I don't really do it that much or I try to do it softly so no one else hears me. No , I'm not horrible, I just do it for myself. I once wanted to sing professionally, but then I decided that I REALLY wanted to be a wife and a good mother, and a life on the road wouldn't work...so I let that dream escape me. Though I still to this day can not go to a concert and not wish to know what it felt like to be up there!
I am a total romantic! What woman isn't, right? But seriously, I have been trying for years to make our room a special haven for us, and just somewhere where we could be intimate without all "that" stuff...but when you are fishing through baby clothes, bottles, cries and whines, and diapers (yes, in my room!!) it just doesn't quite work out the way you hoped. Yes, I was always a sucker for the guy with the right words...thankfully I was smart enough to know "stuff" when I smelled it!!
I love the outdoors....fishing especially. I used to go camping and fishing every summer when I was younger. My dad and I got closer to each other without really having to talk to each other. We'd find a lake, a good spot, throw our lines out and wait together....not saying hardly anything to each other all day, and would come home feeling like we'd accomplished something together. Weird, I know, but I was once a daddy's girl.
Now, I love my family! I love my husband with all I have! We bicker and such, but in the end, I couldn't handle life without him. Our children are my world!! I literally revolve around them on a daily basis! I couldn't imagine not one day without them. I can't leave overnight without checking on them , talking about them, buying something for them...I live for them all!
So there you have it....this is me....and hopefully one day the "wife and mother" will collide with "Jeanne" and we'll all get to see the full package!
I don't know about the rest of the moms around here, but once I was married and became a mother, there were parts of me that seemed to slowly vanish. My love for certain things, my fears, my dreams...everything changed, and somewhere between wife and mom, I lost "Jeanne". For example, I LOVE to read!!! One of my most favorite things growing up was to get lost in a great book, covered up in a warm blanket on my bed just before bed, so I had something wonderful to imagine and dream about. Now I'm lucky if I can read through 2 pages before my eyes blur out and I fall asleep from exhaustion.
I love movies about the past, such as Pride and Prejudice (yes I know it was a book first, but I loved the movie because I could get more involved with the characters.) I watch it all the time till I fall asleep on nights when Quincy has to go out of town, or when I was healing form my last c-section. I admire the things that they taught their daughters back then. They learned foreign languages (because they wanted to, not merely to pass high school) , they played an instrument, they sewed, cooked, and did some form of art anything from painting to sculpting. They were well read, strong, intelligent women.....now we're taught to be better than men at what we do, or treated like we are unemployed because we choose to be "just a house wife and a stay at home mom".
I love to write! I was once a very good story teller, and had a very vivid imagination. I have stories up the ying yang that I'd love to share about the kids and our lives, but when would I have the time to write it? I can barely keep up with email and a blog page!
I love music. I can play the clarinet and the alto sax, but my passion was always singing. I love to sing and make people happy. It releases my stress like nothing else I've ever known, but now I don't really do it that much or I try to do it softly so no one else hears me. No , I'm not horrible, I just do it for myself. I once wanted to sing professionally, but then I decided that I REALLY wanted to be a wife and a good mother, and a life on the road wouldn't work...so I let that dream escape me. Though I still to this day can not go to a concert and not wish to know what it felt like to be up there!
I am a total romantic! What woman isn't, right? But seriously, I have been trying for years to make our room a special haven for us, and just somewhere where we could be intimate without all "that" stuff...but when you are fishing through baby clothes, bottles, cries and whines, and diapers (yes, in my room!!) it just doesn't quite work out the way you hoped. Yes, I was always a sucker for the guy with the right words...thankfully I was smart enough to know "stuff" when I smelled it!!
I love the outdoors....fishing especially. I used to go camping and fishing every summer when I was younger. My dad and I got closer to each other without really having to talk to each other. We'd find a lake, a good spot, throw our lines out and wait together....not saying hardly anything to each other all day, and would come home feeling like we'd accomplished something together. Weird, I know, but I was once a daddy's girl.
Now, I love my family! I love my husband with all I have! We bicker and such, but in the end, I couldn't handle life without him. Our children are my world!! I literally revolve around them on a daily basis! I couldn't imagine not one day without them. I can't leave overnight without checking on them , talking about them, buying something for them...I live for them all!
So there you have it....this is me....and hopefully one day the "wife and mother" will collide with "Jeanne" and we'll all get to see the full package!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Dirty Little Thieves
So, I'm on my bedroom getting dressed for my day thinking I'm doing good to actually be up and functioning this morning after 2 nights of restless sleep, right. It's Friday, pay day, which means when Trianna comes then I get to go grocery shopping for the household (yeah....it comes in an d goes out within hours...the paycheck I mean!)
The kids are being good, sitting quietly watching Dragon Tales while waiting for Mama to get ready to take big brother to school. Only, it's too quiet. So naturally, being the mother that I am and knowing my children the way that I do, I hurry to finish up so I can get back to the other room.
About 5 minutes later, just as I'm finishing up, my little one (Jocelyn) comes in, "Mama, food! Mama Look food!" So I come down the hall only to find three little bandits, raiding my pantry and taking turns with who gets a bite of what! And of course, here's Kiki on top of an empty otter pop box, handing everyone a pretzel, one at a time of course (I'm sure she was trying to make sure they weren't eating too quickly, right?) Then she catches a glimpse of Mom out of the corner of her eye, throws her food, and runs to the recliner to sit down before I can tag her rear end for being naughty! I let it slide, without a spanking this time....
Then I go down the hall to go potty, and I hear the cupboards again, and the refrigerator door...they're doing it in teams now!! I rush down the hall to find Jocelyn and Ashlynn, just browsing the cupboards, and of course Kiki in her recliner with her hands in the air "what? what Mom? nothing.." She was right, she didn't have anything, because she left the milk cartoon sitting on the floor behind the recliner with a blanket around it....not over it, so I could see the top! I think they're trying to tell me it's time for breakfast and I've taken long enough to get dressed and take care of myself this morning. So if you see me around town today....don't ask about the hair day!!!
The kids are being good, sitting quietly watching Dragon Tales while waiting for Mama to get ready to take big brother to school. Only, it's too quiet. So naturally, being the mother that I am and knowing my children the way that I do, I hurry to finish up so I can get back to the other room.
About 5 minutes later, just as I'm finishing up, my little one (Jocelyn) comes in, "Mama, food! Mama Look food!" So I come down the hall only to find three little bandits, raiding my pantry and taking turns with who gets a bite of what! And of course, here's Kiki on top of an empty otter pop box, handing everyone a pretzel, one at a time of course (I'm sure she was trying to make sure they weren't eating too quickly, right?) Then she catches a glimpse of Mom out of the corner of her eye, throws her food, and runs to the recliner to sit down before I can tag her rear end for being naughty! I let it slide, without a spanking this time....
Then I go down the hall to go potty, and I hear the cupboards again, and the refrigerator door...they're doing it in teams now!! I rush down the hall to find Jocelyn and Ashlynn, just browsing the cupboards, and of course Kiki in her recliner with her hands in the air "what? what Mom? nothing.." She was right, she didn't have anything, because she left the milk cartoon sitting on the floor behind the recliner with a blanket around it....not over it, so I could see the top! I think they're trying to tell me it's time for breakfast and I've taken long enough to get dressed and take care of myself this morning. So if you see me around town today....don't ask about the hair day!!!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
stressin out
I'm struggling inside myself today thinking about Kiki's surgery. It's supposed to be simple, but I don't care who you are, as a mom, surgery for your 5 year old child (child period for that matter) is never "simple". It's anything but. The last "simple" procedure she had landed her an airlift trip and a 4 day stay in the ICU at UCLA. It was no one's fault, it was just her body. She's been sick for so long that when the doctor's did something to try and relieve her body of some stress, it freaked out! It was so used to being one way for so long, it just reacted horribly to the surgery.
Don't think this morbid of me, but here is the last time I saw my daughter in the hospital....
On a ventilator, strapped to her bed, barely coherent
3 days later after having the vent taken off, and realizing mama was there with her instead of some strangers sweet voice telling her to "hold still it'll be OK."
Trying to wake up enough to smile for Daddy, but not quite able to get over her surroundings.
Now like most multiple moms, my kids were really premature and really little, so we are no beginners to the whole "ICU and tubes" thing. But That was 5 years ago that she was all wired up to machines.
I can not begin to tell you how scared I was to see her that way. No one is ever prepared to see your child turn blue and stop being able to breathe on their own. She was retracting so badly that you could hear her chest "pop" when she'd breathe out. One minute we were in a ped's room talking to nurses, I took a friend home and left Quincy there with her, only to come back 10 minutes later and find an ER response team in her room surrounding her. They hooked her up to a machine that was not a ventilator but did about the same thing, it forced air into her lungs and caused her lungs to stay open at all times. The poked her several times to get blood gases from her. They gave her breathing treatments, and nothing seemed to work. So they decided to airlift her to UCLA to the ICU. Unfortunately, being that she has the neurological issues that she does...she's sensitive to "humming or buzzing" sounds and to being lifted in the air. Needless to say she panicked and they had to land back at AV and inti bate her before transporting her. She pulled her oxygen off, her iv loose, took off her safety straps and began kicking the window of the helicopter in the air! All while telling the nurse on board "you shut up!!" (sorry, I giggled at that because to her "shut up" is a cuss word, so she thought she was being this little tough girl) When they pulled her out of the helicopter, she was so worked up that she started losing oxygen fast and was becoming tachycardic and ended up having to be inti bated. Her oxygen levels were below 20 at some points.
They finally got her to UCLA where we sat and waited for her to be able to breathe on her own again. It was horrible. She would wake up, and her hands were strapped to the bed to keep her from pulling anything out. She would just cry if she recognized us, and would just keep saying "I want you mommy"...how do you explain to a 5 year old that mama can't hold you or fix it right now? I can't stop your pain, I can't even hold you yet. But I'm standing right here watching them poke you and change you, and give you loopy medicine. I was absolutely helpless and I hated it!! I am the "go to " person at home, as are most mommies....I'm not looking forward to another possible torturous time for her. I cringe at the thought of anything harming her again. But she has to have this surgery to help reduce some of the pain she deals with on a daily basis. It's better for her in the long run, but mentally draining for me for now.
I've been on here a lot today, but today is one of those weird days when you think about all kinds of stuff, but can't really talk about it...so you blog about it. I never really know who reads these anyway unless someone leaves me a comment,so really sometimes it's just like writing something to the great abyss just for the sake of getting it out of my head and some where else.
Don't think this morbid of me, but here is the last time I saw my daughter in the hospital....
On a ventilator, strapped to her bed, barely coherent
3 days later after having the vent taken off, and realizing mama was there with her instead of some strangers sweet voice telling her to "hold still it'll be OK."
Trying to wake up enough to smile for Daddy, but not quite able to get over her surroundings.
Now like most multiple moms, my kids were really premature and really little, so we are no beginners to the whole "ICU and tubes" thing. But That was 5 years ago that she was all wired up to machines.
I can not begin to tell you how scared I was to see her that way. No one is ever prepared to see your child turn blue and stop being able to breathe on their own. She was retracting so badly that you could hear her chest "pop" when she'd breathe out. One minute we were in a ped's room talking to nurses, I took a friend home and left Quincy there with her, only to come back 10 minutes later and find an ER response team in her room surrounding her. They hooked her up to a machine that was not a ventilator but did about the same thing, it forced air into her lungs and caused her lungs to stay open at all times. The poked her several times to get blood gases from her. They gave her breathing treatments, and nothing seemed to work. So they decided to airlift her to UCLA to the ICU. Unfortunately, being that she has the neurological issues that she does...she's sensitive to "humming or buzzing" sounds and to being lifted in the air. Needless to say she panicked and they had to land back at AV and inti bate her before transporting her. She pulled her oxygen off, her iv loose, took off her safety straps and began kicking the window of the helicopter in the air! All while telling the nurse on board "you shut up!!" (sorry, I giggled at that because to her "shut up" is a cuss word, so she thought she was being this little tough girl) When they pulled her out of the helicopter, she was so worked up that she started losing oxygen fast and was becoming tachycardic and ended up having to be inti bated. Her oxygen levels were below 20 at some points.
They finally got her to UCLA where we sat and waited for her to be able to breathe on her own again. It was horrible. She would wake up, and her hands were strapped to the bed to keep her from pulling anything out. She would just cry if she recognized us, and would just keep saying "I want you mommy"...how do you explain to a 5 year old that mama can't hold you or fix it right now? I can't stop your pain, I can't even hold you yet. But I'm standing right here watching them poke you and change you, and give you loopy medicine. I was absolutely helpless and I hated it!! I am the "go to " person at home, as are most mommies....I'm not looking forward to another possible torturous time for her. I cringe at the thought of anything harming her again. But she has to have this surgery to help reduce some of the pain she deals with on a daily basis. It's better for her in the long run, but mentally draining for me for now.
I've been on here a lot today, but today is one of those weird days when you think about all kinds of stuff, but can't really talk about it...so you blog about it. I never really know who reads these anyway unless someone leaves me a comment,so really sometimes it's just like writing something to the great abyss just for the sake of getting it out of my head and some where else.
photos
This is my crew!
Gracey (triplet "c") Hannah (triplet "b") Kirsten (triplet "a") Hunter
Sophia (twin "a") playing dress up
Ashlynn (middle child)
Jocelyn (twin "b")
Aniessa (our newest addition)
Hannah (struttin' her stuff")
Aniessa laughing at mama's
funny faces
And this is what becomes of you after 10 years together, 8 years of marriage, 8 children, and hardly any sleep in between!!!! This is my wonderful better half, Quincy! He's the proud "diddy" of all these beautiful monkeys! and of course there's me, the high strung, ready for a nap, mama!
Here we go again
I took Kiki to the surgeon at UCLA yesterday, and once again my baby girl (I not a baby, I a big girl mama is ringing in my head) will undergo another surgery. She has a hernia under her belly button that must be fixed and her gall bladder will need to be removed as well. It's supposed to be a simple procedure, however, so was the tonsillectomy that went sour the next day! She aspirated and ended up with pneumonia and was airlifted to UCLA where she was on a ventilator for 4 days...needless to say, I'm not looking forward to this at all.
When we heard from other parents that kids with autism don't just have autism...I thought what else could happen? It's just her learning abilities, right? OMG so much more goes along with this. They typically have gastrointestinal problems ( the poo poo tells stories...it's gross, but true!) Some, like our daughter have major food allergies that affect EVERYTHING about them, their mood, their attention span, their skin, their speech, their cognitive understanding...oh gosh! and my most insane issue...their sleep patterns!!! (this is where my issues come in....every mom waits for the moment that all her 8 kids are sound asleep so she can have a moment to herself, or get something done she couldn't do during the day....doesn't hardly ever happen here!!!) It is amazing to me how much diet can affect these little ones.
Though I must say with diet change, additional supplements, and some time, she has improved vastly! Her speech has cleared up a bit. Her attention span is improving, slowly. Her hyperactivity is controllable. Her tantrums are less (though lately with her pain and things, she's having tantrums more than I'd like to see, but mostly out of frustration). She pretends now with more than one toy together. She attempts to play games with her siblings like hide and seek or matching cards. She doesn't play long, but the interaction itself is a wonderful accomplishment. She was never non-verbal just not clearly understood, and rarely comprehended what others would say. Now we've found that a simple broken down sentence, such as "kiki no eating play dough", when asked to repeat what she heard mama say comes back, "Kiki no put play dough in mouth". So we are now trying to find a way to keep this pattern going. If she can get all of that out of 4 words.....she CAN be taught!!!
I'm sure to some of you out there in "mommy land" this is all kind of trivial, but to those of us who live in this world, where autism is a major roll player in our homes....these little mile stones are actually viewed as boulders of progress! I am no expert in this, I'm just a mom who's learning day by day, and with 7 other children in my life you can imagine how much this puts on a person each day. I just pray that I can learn enough, be helpful enough, and that my entire family can grow from all of this.
SO there you have it...my thoughts for today.
When we heard from other parents that kids with autism don't just have autism...I thought what else could happen? It's just her learning abilities, right? OMG so much more goes along with this. They typically have gastrointestinal problems ( the poo poo tells stories...it's gross, but true!) Some, like our daughter have major food allergies that affect EVERYTHING about them, their mood, their attention span, their skin, their speech, their cognitive understanding...oh gosh! and my most insane issue...their sleep patterns!!! (this is where my issues come in....every mom waits for the moment that all her 8 kids are sound asleep so she can have a moment to herself, or get something done she couldn't do during the day....doesn't hardly ever happen here!!!) It is amazing to me how much diet can affect these little ones.
Though I must say with diet change, additional supplements, and some time, she has improved vastly! Her speech has cleared up a bit. Her attention span is improving, slowly. Her hyperactivity is controllable. Her tantrums are less (though lately with her pain and things, she's having tantrums more than I'd like to see, but mostly out of frustration). She pretends now with more than one toy together. She attempts to play games with her siblings like hide and seek or matching cards. She doesn't play long, but the interaction itself is a wonderful accomplishment. She was never non-verbal just not clearly understood, and rarely comprehended what others would say. Now we've found that a simple broken down sentence, such as "kiki no eating play dough", when asked to repeat what she heard mama say comes back, "Kiki no put play dough in mouth". So we are now trying to find a way to keep this pattern going. If she can get all of that out of 4 words.....she CAN be taught!!!
I'm sure to some of you out there in "mommy land" this is all kind of trivial, but to those of us who live in this world, where autism is a major roll player in our homes....these little mile stones are actually viewed as boulders of progress! I am no expert in this, I'm just a mom who's learning day by day, and with 7 other children in my life you can imagine how much this puts on a person each day. I just pray that I can learn enough, be helpful enough, and that my entire family can grow from all of this.
SO there you have it...my thoughts for today.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
My six word memoir.
Ok I stole this from Tammie, but I liked it so I'm in!!
The Meme originated over an idea that was prompted by the book written by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser, Not Quite What I was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. It's a compilation based on the story that Hemingway once bet ten dollars that he could sum up his life in six words.His words were- For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.
Here are the rules:
1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.
4 .Tag five more blogs with links.
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!
Mine was pretty easy to determine, since, well regardless of how many ups and downs we have..I could never see myself doing anything else.
Wouldn't Change It For The World!!
Mine was pretty easy to determine, since, well regardless of how many ups and downs we have..I could never see myself doing anything else.
Wouldn't Change It For The World!!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Going on vacation!
I ma so excited! We are leaving on Friday to go to Idaho to see my parents and my sister and her family!! The kids are excited too mostly because they know we'll be going to Chuck E. Cheese while we're there! But none the less, it's a road trip!
We are going to go looking at homes and different areas up there to see if we might be able to pull off moving there. My parent's are trying desperately to help speed up that process...as am I. I grew up here in Palmdale/Lancaster and well..I don't want my kids to. It was great for me, but it's changed dramatically and I don't like it t all anymore.
So I am already 1/2 way packed, with 4 days and counting to go!! A road trip with 8 kids, 15 hour drive, and not knowing if we're going to stop overnight along the way....hmmmmmm.....anyone else
thinking that sanity might be an issue?
We are going to go looking at homes and different areas up there to see if we might be able to pull off moving there. My parent's are trying desperately to help speed up that process...as am I. I grew up here in Palmdale/Lancaster and well..I don't want my kids to. It was great for me, but it's changed dramatically and I don't like it t all anymore.
So I am already 1/2 way packed, with 4 days and counting to go!! A road trip with 8 kids, 15 hour drive, and not knowing if we're going to stop overnight along the way....hmmmmmm.....anyone else
thinking that sanity might be an issue?
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Back from the Dead!!
Ok, soooo, it's been a REALLY looong time...but it's been a really crazy time here at this "quiet little place" we call home! HA! We have had sickness upon sickness here! craziness! 3 ER visits since January! Absolutely ridiculous I tell ya. I honestly would have been better off had I been on here I think. I feel like I am losing my mind!! Insanity is not one of my most attractive traits!
Oh, where to begin. First, we are all finally on the mend. Kirsten was the toughest case as far as ER visits and such go. All are scary (obviously or we wouldn't have ended up there right?) but we had just gone to a TACA (talk about curing autism now) meeting on Saturday and got some great info on how to help Kirsten and Hannah...HUGE HELP!!! (if you need info or help on autism PLEASE go this site and contact these people! It's a life saver and I mean that literally! www.tacanow.org) So anyway, the next evening we were discussing our 3 main concerns that we wanted to address with Kirsten right away....
1) Sleep deprivation 2) her belly (it's always swollen and she has weird bowel activities)
3) Potty training
We notice at around 11:30pm that the side of her neck is the size of an egg, literally. So I take her to the ER to see what's going on, she can't sleep and this makes her apnea's worse. So upon getting there, I decide, slick mom, let's check the belly while we're here, so I add it to the symptoms...good thing I did. The first doc wrote her off as an "ear infection, throat infection causing swollen glands, and the stomach was possibly due to a touch of the flu"...thankfully the second dr said "my mom instinct says this is something else, do you mind if I x-ray her abdomen just to be safe?" I of course allowed it because I'm not convinced of anything yet. (now keep in mind, Kirsten is an autistic child with an extremely high pain threshold and she doesn't verbalize pain at all) the x-ray comes back and it shows her bowels are backed up so they give her antibiotics for l the "infections" and some medicine for her tummy.....she throws everything up including dinner form the night before undigested (sorry for the graphics ladies). Obviously, NOW we're looking for the problem a little more closely. They do a cat scan..... ok, so tell me how you would react if a doctor told you this after just being blown off as "just and ear infection, throat infection, and touch of the flu"...
"her liver is swollen, her spleen is swollen, she appears to have a small gall stone, her bowels are backed up to the colon and she has some free flowing fluid in her abdomen."
Let me help you out here...because this was how I reacted.... "What the...how did all this...OK what tests are you doing now? And where is the phone so I can tell my husband we're being admitted and get my kids some child care?" Basically, I was not leaving without answers!
Well, long and short of it, she had Mono! It can cause your liver to spike in enzymes causing swelling of both the liver and the spleen, and the swollen neck glands. She also has massive ear infection and is awaiting surgery to remove her tonsils, adenoids, and place tubes in her ears.
But through all of this we found out that she can not eat wheat or dairy!! So we have been on an new diet for a month now, and let me tell you..prior to trying it I would've never thought it would help, but OMG!!!! She is doing so well. She speaks clearer, her tantrums are less aggressive, she plays pretend with more than one object interacting them by herself (still no group play, but it's coming) and she is beginning to show signs of interest and understanding toilet training. Her concentration level has improved as well! It's amazing to me. We thought it was silly, till we let her eat pizza one time!! And saw major tantrum the next day, dark circles under her eyes, lack of concentration, more conflict....it's huge! (If you need more info on a GFCF diet got to the TACA website listed above! good free info!)
So sorry I've been gone so long, but now you know why!!! Life was happening, and in chaotic settings!!!
Oh, where to begin. First, we are all finally on the mend. Kirsten was the toughest case as far as ER visits and such go. All are scary (obviously or we wouldn't have ended up there right?) but we had just gone to a TACA (talk about curing autism now) meeting on Saturday and got some great info on how to help Kirsten and Hannah...HUGE HELP!!! (if you need info or help on autism PLEASE go this site and contact these people! It's a life saver and I mean that literally! www.tacanow.org) So anyway, the next evening we were discussing our 3 main concerns that we wanted to address with Kirsten right away....
1) Sleep deprivation 2) her belly (it's always swollen and she has weird bowel activities)
3) Potty training
We notice at around 11:30pm that the side of her neck is the size of an egg, literally. So I take her to the ER to see what's going on, she can't sleep and this makes her apnea's worse. So upon getting there, I decide, slick mom, let's check the belly while we're here, so I add it to the symptoms...good thing I did. The first doc wrote her off as an "ear infection, throat infection causing swollen glands, and the stomach was possibly due to a touch of the flu"...thankfully the second dr said "my mom instinct says this is something else, do you mind if I x-ray her abdomen just to be safe?" I of course allowed it because I'm not convinced of anything yet. (now keep in mind, Kirsten is an autistic child with an extremely high pain threshold and she doesn't verbalize pain at all) the x-ray comes back and it shows her bowels are backed up so they give her antibiotics for l the "infections" and some medicine for her tummy.....she throws everything up including dinner form the night before undigested (sorry for the graphics ladies). Obviously, NOW we're looking for the problem a little more closely. They do a cat scan..... ok, so tell me how you would react if a doctor told you this after just being blown off as "just and ear infection, throat infection, and touch of the flu"...
"her liver is swollen, her spleen is swollen, she appears to have a small gall stone, her bowels are backed up to the colon and she has some free flowing fluid in her abdomen."
Let me help you out here...because this was how I reacted.... "What the...how did all this...OK what tests are you doing now? And where is the phone so I can tell my husband we're being admitted and get my kids some child care?" Basically, I was not leaving without answers!
Well, long and short of it, she had Mono! It can cause your liver to spike in enzymes causing swelling of both the liver and the spleen, and the swollen neck glands. She also has massive ear infection and is awaiting surgery to remove her tonsils, adenoids, and place tubes in her ears.
But through all of this we found out that she can not eat wheat or dairy!! So we have been on an new diet for a month now, and let me tell you..prior to trying it I would've never thought it would help, but OMG!!!! She is doing so well. She speaks clearer, her tantrums are less aggressive, she plays pretend with more than one object interacting them by herself (still no group play, but it's coming) and she is beginning to show signs of interest and understanding toilet training. Her concentration level has improved as well! It's amazing to me. We thought it was silly, till we let her eat pizza one time!! And saw major tantrum the next day, dark circles under her eyes, lack of concentration, more conflict....it's huge! (If you need more info on a GFCF diet got to the TACA website listed above! good free info!)
So sorry I've been gone so long, but now you know why!!! Life was happening, and in chaotic settings!!!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Just for you Tammie!
Since I don't have 5 people to tag on here, I'll skip the intro, and answer your questions. Let's go with 5 random facts about me.....
1. I love to sing. I wanted to go professional, but decided I wanted to be a mom more, and gave it up to find MR. Right (or Moran rather) and get married and raise a family.
2. I love Marvel Comic movies! So love superheroes! can't help it..I totally grew up watching them on t.v. while eating my capn crunch before going to school...never out grew them, or the capn crunch!
3. I want to have my own ministry some day. But first I have to work on myself. I want to help other women learn about who God really is, and how He strengthens them. Why He made us the way we are, example...why are we nurturing and men are oblivious? ( still researching this)
4. I get lonely alot. I'm surrounded by children all day, yet I feel like i am all alone in a world that no one else knows even exists. A place called "momville"....population, 1.
5. I am a blanket hog!! I can not sleep without blankets, no matter how hot it is! I steal blankets all the time, and my hubby says it's not nice. But I am a little person and I freeze easy.
There you have it. Nothing super spectacular, but it's my life.
1. I love to sing. I wanted to go professional, but decided I wanted to be a mom more, and gave it up to find MR. Right (or Moran rather) and get married and raise a family.
2. I love Marvel Comic movies! So love superheroes! can't help it..I totally grew up watching them on t.v. while eating my capn crunch before going to school...never out grew them, or the capn crunch!
3. I want to have my own ministry some day. But first I have to work on myself. I want to help other women learn about who God really is, and how He strengthens them. Why He made us the way we are, example...why are we nurturing and men are oblivious? ( still researching this)
4. I get lonely alot. I'm surrounded by children all day, yet I feel like i am all alone in a world that no one else knows even exists. A place called "momville"....population, 1.
5. I am a blanket hog!! I can not sleep without blankets, no matter how hot it is! I steal blankets all the time, and my hubby says it's not nice. But I am a little person and I freeze easy.
There you have it. Nothing super spectacular, but it's my life.
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