Update Fall 2008

Hello all, I hope that the summer was enjoyable for all of you! I have been so incrediably busy. As you know I went back to school to be a physician assistant, and have been busy on my clinical rotations. I have successfully completed my pediatric, orthopedic, surgical, and obstertics and gynecology rotations. I am currently doing a second OB/GYN rotation as that is what i would like to get into.
I am also busy getting ready for number five to make its appearance in the near future, so life in my house is a bit busy.
Kids are doing great, missing mommy as my hours to date have been terrible ( I keep residents hours for those of you who are familiar with medical school basically 60 to 80 hours a week).
Peanut is still not talking, and I am becoming increasingly concerned, however, she understands everything you tell her. My oldest is in third grade and is doind amazing she is a super star speller!, James is adjusting to first grade and is still recieving speech for his verbal apraxia, but is doing great as well. My little guy, is 22 mos old now, and is quite the smarty pants! He understands everything and unfortunatly is following in his big sisters path and not speaking but signs and also understands everything.
Big B is doing well, keeping busy with work as well.
Anyhow, I hope to keep all of you posted on the happenings here,
Happy Fall!

The Results Are in.....

I did it! I passed my exam! I can't believe I did it...but I did! Not only did I pass (with 151 points), but I got above average in my class (141 points), as well as above the national average (140 points)!
WHEW! that's a relief!
Not to brag or anything, just didn't want to leave anyone wondering for the next year ;)
Ok, vacation time can officially begin!
:)

PACKRAT - Another Name for Fun

So at the end of our first year of Physician Assistant School, they require us to take a national test (PACKRAT is what they call it) to determine our level of knowledge that we have acquired throughout the year. Today was the big day. After months of preparing, and hundreds of dollars later spent on study guides, I took my three hour long exam. We don't get the results back until later today, so i can't tell you how I did. But I can tell you that that was a pretty tough exam...I surprised myself with the things I knew and was surprised at the things I thought I knew but may not have.
It is an exciting day as it means the end of my first year of school. I start my clinical rotations in less then two weeks...seeing patients and learning more. I have great rotations set up, thanks to my fabulous clinical coordinators, and am sure I will have a fun time, albeit exhausting!
I think the family will be glad that today is overwith, as they haven;t seen too much of me lately owing to the incredible amount of studying that I have been doing lately.
Anyway, just thought I would update all of you, it's not that i don't think about blogging, its more that i haven't had the time.
I will keep you posted on my rotations and family life over the summer as much as i can, with all my non-existant spare time ;)
Tata for now!

Update Spring 2008

So we have been so busy. Hubby is busy at work, and holding the forst down while i am in school and studying. He has become the homework doing, dishwashing, laundry doing, and dinner picker up delux KING!
I am winding down my first year in physician assistant school. I have my final exams next week and the week after. So I have been busy studying and need to be spending more time studying...can never study enough. So this iwll be short, sweet and to the point.

Kids are well...up to their old antics. Had to call poison control twice last week, as the baby decided to drink some contact lense solution and a few days later decided he'd try colgate toothpaste as a chaser. They must think I am the world's worst mom. Really, my kid is just very creative, climbing up in the bathroom on the toilet to climb into the sink and get into the medicine cabinet. Watch out world, first the bathroom sink, next stop Mt Everest!

Eli turned 8, Amanda is 4 now, had her biurthday ...can't beleive it's been 4 fabulous years! THe progress we have made has been amazing. She is such a peppy little, personality filled, loving little girl, who also happens to have a stubborn streak. What can I say...she knows what she wants and when she wants it!

The two little ones are like having twins..they do everything together! Getting into trouble, playing and just hanging around. I will try to post a more complete update after I finish my exams in a couple of weeks. I can share all my upcoming clinical rotations (doctors officed and hospitals that I will be spending the next year at practicing my skills I have learned all this year).

As always...my little girl loves her food!
She gets down and dirty with it...even though she knows how to use utensils...who has time for that! It is much faster and way more fun to shovel it all in there!

Whew! Update 2007

Ahuva was in her first play...A Chirstmas Play at school, where she got to be Elmo. They sang the theme to Sesame street and ite a Winter Wonderland. She did really well, signing along to the song. I cried...yep, even though I promised I wouldn't, it brought tears to my eyes.
Sorry, I don't know how to rotate the pictures.
You'll have to rotate your heads for this one. The teachers are amazingly talented, they MADE the costumes each child wore. Truly amazing!
The kids are growing like weeds. Baby Alistair is one year old already. Can't believe it..the year flew by. I think with each kid, the years go faster.

If you recall, I went back to school to be a physician assistant ( we do pretty much everything the Doc does, but they supervise us..that's a PA in a very compact nut shell, obviously there is more to it then that).
I have been so busy in school i hardly see my family any more. Just in the morning to get dressed,and out the door. Home to pick them up from Gram and Gramps, and in the dorr to spend the rest of the night doing homework at my desk. Thank god for Gramdma and Grandpa. They have been truly amazing, a godsend that my parents are so willing to help out the way they do. (the hubby has been great too. He does housework, homework, dinner, and well, is pretty much Mister mom.) Been busy with didactic work, for now with the exception of two short rotations in areas to keep us interested. I got the Emergency room out in the boonies...let me tell you, I have some WILD stories from there...unfortunatly due to HIPPA, I am not sure I can share them with you..if you are dying to know a sotry, perhaps one day when the laws change I can share a few. Regardless, they tend to be rated R for stupidity. Anyway, I have loads of other stories...people sure do dumb things, let me tell you.
So here's a picture of me in school, to prove I really am there, and not just blowing you all off for no good reason. I was doing a casting and splinting workshop with a freind of mine and all my class mates. We practice on each other (expensive guinea pigs). This was back in October (seems like a life time ago). Seems like eons ago, but really only a few months...where does the time go?
I am busy busy busy. All day in school, home to made dinner (i mean eat dinner that B bought at the local Pizzaria). You know you eat out too much when you call to make an order and they recognize you by call id...at least that's what Big B says (I never make the orders, he does). Ahuva still is not talking (she says BABY!), bu the signing is coming along great. Although I think we have stalled alittle with the siging due to some OT issues that need to be worked out. James keepin gus on our toes, boys are boys! Elie is a amazing little girl. Alweays helping out, and jumping in in the nick of time when mom or dad need another set of hands. She is also a great speller. Got her report card the other day..all A's, of course I would not expect anything else ;)
Alistair started walking at 11 months, at 11.5 months he was climbing. He understands everything you tell him, smart as all get out. He signs a little and says mama, dada, and all kinds of babble. Really a cute kiddo. Of course I am not biased, not at all.
Big B is busy at his new job. Spending ungodly hours working and coming home to work at home. The work never stops.
With winter break came a respite..ok not quite...a break in the monotony of weekly habits. Time for Doctor appointments and grocery shopping (FOOD!!!!!) ok, some cloths shopping to, I mean I haven't been to Ann taylor, Target or Macys in well, months! Sorry honey, I have to go back...you know how it is when you are goin gthru withdrawal.
Ahuva has had some Cyanotic episodes in the last month and we have to check her out with pulmonology. Cardiology and ophthalmology gave her thumbs up. Here's hoping there's good news here this week.

So here's one last cute picture of my three kiddos...James was off making trouble somewhere instead of getting ready for bath time like the others.
Oh, well, boys will be boys.
At some point I will be able to write more...actually, I doubt that as I start back to classes next week and have no breaks until well, Easter...no I take that back we get off good friday, but not easter. Oh, well, point being, It's crazy heere, life is good, kids are great. Just wondering what the hell I was thinking.. seriously, It's good. Wishing everyone a Happy healthy, prosperous New year with only good news and blessings!
Happy New Year to all!

Family Fun Day

Amanda's school offers a funfilled day at the school for the entire family to enjoy in the middle of the summer session. We spent the better part of a sunday doing art projects, making jewelry, applying tatoos, and seeing all our friends from the spring.


They had the Penguins penguin there to meet and greet the kids, wouldn't oyu know Amanda was so scared she was shaking, and wanted nothing to do with him. If you look closely in the background of the picture you can see baby head in the stroller looking curiously at the silly bird. He enjoyed it, not amanda.



The school set up a food booth with cotton candy, ice creams and lots of cool drinks. James certianly enjoyed himself.

Hey look, at the left of James you can see baby avi sitting in his stroller, I think he is eyeing that Cotton candy, better watch out James, he's gonna get you!


THere were therapy dogs, caricatures and pony rides, they had a train running on the street in front of the school (they closed off the street), they had a concert with Mr Joe Negry from Mister Rogers Neighborhood and the Purple Panda...did I mention the picnic food buffet complete with hot dogs, and all the appropriate sides...including watermelon!...it was so much fun we are all waiting (ok, not so patiently) for next year...Wonder if they will find a way to do something else...if not, hey it was a blast, and we are totally going to show up.








Ok, I really was there, I know there are no pictures of me, but I guess that's the fate of the photographer. Baby Avi was there too...I swear!

Cool article If you haven't seen it yet.....

Check this out....

Thunder player finds joy in family struggles

By Lori Gilbert
Record Sports Columnist
April 08, 2007 6:00 AM

It doesn't take long for Stockton Thunder defenseman Beau Geisler to get over a loss.
It's not because when he walks into his home he's confronted with the reality that there are greater challenges to overcome than losing a hockey game. Rather, it's because he's overcome with sheer joy.
It envelopes him whenever he looks at his 21-month-old twin sons, Wyatt and Bryce, who were born with Down syndrome.
He and his wife, Heidi, devout Christians, view their boys as a gift.
"We believe God won't give you any more than you can handle," Beau said. "God gave us two children with Down syndrome, so we must be able to handle them."
"I love the reaction I get when I take them to the store," Heidi said. "I get triple takes. They say, 'Oh, you have twins.' Then they realize they have Down syndrome. I am so proud to be their mother. ... Everywhere I go, people tell me how beautiful they are."
Beau, 26, and Heidi, 22, came to Stockton in October for Beau's third season of a professional hockey career that began in Reading, Pa., with an ECHL team, followed by a season in Latvia.
The couple, who first met at the Evangelical Free Church in Grand Rapids, Minn., that Beau's parents had helped start, married in July, 2004 and wanted to have a family right away.
Beau, the eldest of 11 children, almost always had a baby in his house. Heidi, though, was the youngest of three girls and had no experience with infants, but Beau convinced her motherhood would come naturally.
They were ecstatic when they learned in November, 2004, that Heidi was pregnant. At the six-week mark, an ultrasound revealed twins.
"We were just giggling the whole way home," Heidi said.
Twins didn't run in the Geisler family until Beau's mom, Ruthie, delivered two sets of twin girls.
His mother wasn't there to celebrate his good news. She died when Beau was 10. She learned she had leukemia when she went to deliver the last of her seven children and died 13 days later.
The rest of the family, though, which had grown to 11 children when Beau's father married a woman with two children and then they had two more of their own, was ecstatic.
News that the first grandchildren of Beau and Heidi's families would be twins made for a Merry Christmas in 2004.
Wyatt arrived first, on July 3, 2005, and Beau beamed with pride. He saw a perfect baby, but the doctor told him they would need to run a test for Down syndrome.
"Bryce wasn't even born, so obviously when he told me that I was like, 'OK, I've got to be with Heidi because she's delivering our other baby. I went to her and she delivered Bryce," Beau said.
"The hospital's pretty small, and I was wheeling (the babies) back to our room and I met her mom and dad, and they're like 'Is everything all right?' I didn't know what to say, so I just said, 'Yeah, they're doing great.' I was still in shock. I didn't know anything about Down syndrome."
He didn't know it is caused by an extra chromosome, that 1 in 800 to 1,000 babies in this country are born with the condition. And while older women are more susceptible to having babies with Down syndrome, 80 percent of babies are born to mothers under the age of 35, just because more younger women deliver babies.
When Beau welcomed his newborn children, he didn't want to think that his boys would develop more slowly than other children, that they would be more likely to have heart or digestive track problems.
"I wanted to enjoy their birth, their new life, my two new sons," Beau said. "I wanted to enjoy that, take that all in. Maybe an hour later they could have told me, let us enjoy the moment."
Instead, doctors had told the two separately, and Beau needed to talk to Heidi.
They were shocked. They cried together, and wondered why.
Those thoughts were momentary.
"We were at the point when they were born, we just wanted to hold them and be near them," said Heidi, who went from not knowing if she could be a mother to suddenly being a mom with two special needs children. "Beau and I, when we had them, knew we would give them ... "
She started to cry, admonishing herself for giving way to tears.
"We knew we would give them the best life we could, and treat them great, and everything we'd do with a normal child, we'd do with them.
"We're not going to hold them back. We won't be ashamed of them."
The two boys seem just like any other toddlers as they run around the family's north Stockton home, stuffing basketballs into a miniature hoop, turning on the television set, riding their three-wheel bikes and playing with a stash of toys.
Teaching them to sit up, to crawl, to walk and communicate has just taken more time and effort on the part of the parents.
"You learn a new kind of patience," Heidi said. "It's more like perseverance."
Sitting came at seven months, when they were in Latvia. Walking came last fall, after they'd moved here. They also learned to ride their tricycles and took their first swim in a blow-up pool during this stop of their daddy's professional hockey career.
Although Beau considered retirement as recently as two summers ago, Stockton has been a great fit for him and his family. Playing the game he loves a few more years seems more likely.
"We want them to be proud of their dad, to know he played professional hockey, and that they lived in Europe and California," Heidi said.
Hockey is in his immediate future, but Beau looks further down the road when he looks at his twins.
"I've changed my thoughts, my dreams," Geisler said. "I love hunting and fishing. Maybe they won't be able to do that. Maybe they will. One day I'd like to be able to take them with me. I'd like to take them four-wheeling."
He wants to show them the things he loves, just as the parent of any child does. It's the same vision he and Heidi have held since their babies were born and they learned they had Down syndrome.
"We had two awesome kids. We just had to shift our focus," Heidi said. "We still have dreams of a child who can run and play, but we put them in a new direction."
The boys challenge one another. When Bryce sees Wyatt stuff the ball through the basketball hoop, he wants to do it, too.
"I'm so glad I have two boys with Down syndrome and not one," Heidi said. "They'll be there for each other."
Eventually, Beau and Heidi expect to add to their family.
In the meantime, raising the twins is demanding enough.
"Every now and then, when it's hard, you're overwhelmed, and if the thought (of why) crosses my mind, I know why. It's because we're meant to be their parents. We're perfect for them," Heidi said.
Added Beau, "We don't want anyone else to have them. We feel lucky, fortunate."
Contact columnist Lori Gilbert at (209) 546-8284 or lgilbert@recordent.com. Visit her blog.
Down syndrome
Normally, at the time of conception a baby inherits genetic information from its parents in the form of 46 chromosomes: 23 from each parent. In most cases of Down syndrome, however, a child gets an extra chromosome for a total of 47 chromosomes. It’s this extra genetic material that causes the physical and cognitive delays associated with Down syndrome.
The cause is unknown, although it isn’t caused by environmental factors or anything the mother does before or during her pregnancy.
It occurs in one of every 800 births. Maternal age is the only factor that has been linked to an increased chance of having a baby with Down syndrome. A 35-year-old woman has a one in 350 chance of conceiving a child with Down syndrome. By age 45, the incidence has increased to one in 30. However, because younger women have higher fertility rates, 80 percent of babies with Down syndrome are born to women under the age of 35.
Kids with Down syndrome tend to share certain physical features such as a flat facial profile, an upward slant to the eyes, small ears, a single crease across the center of the palms, and an enlarged tongue.
Low muscle tone and loose joints are also characteristic of children with Down syndrome.
Half of all children born with Down syndrome also have congenital heart defects and are prone to developing pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs). Approximately half of all kids with Down syndrome also have problems with hearing and vision. Other medical conditions that may occur more frequently in children with Down syndrome include thyroid problems, intestinal abnormalities, seizure disorders, respiratory problems, obesity, an increased susceptibility to infection and a higher risk of childhood leukemia. Diagnostic tests for pregnant women are about 99 percent accurate in detecting Down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities.
Source: Kidshealth
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Lighter side of July.....

July has so not been our month...kids have been sick, spent time in the hospital, kids have been sick once again with 103 degree temps, sore throats, and no strep...just viral.

AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH! Summer has not been good to us, although I guess I should say thank you that it is not worse!

Here are a few pics from the better times of this interesting month.
Ahuva Loves her baby brother....so much so, that she tries to eat him up!


Alistair is such a cool baby! He is looking mighty fine and cute in his Joe Cool glasses, compliments of mommy ( the things we can get away with doing to our kids as babies!!!)

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance

So we made it through the last couple of weeks with a few bumps in the road. But, we made it!
Let's see, to fill you all in, after we got diagnosis of pneumonia, things calmed down with Ahuva a little. She started to feel better and was starting to act like herself. The kid was happy, she was getting ice cream two times a day (we hide her medicine in her ice cream...hey it beats wearing penicillin all day!) However, Baby Alistair decided it was his turn to make us crazy. He began coughing and was having trouble breathing, so we ended up with the Decadron shot for him too. Unfotunately he had a reaction to the shot and became pale for two days... he is still coughing and I plan to take him this week to get re-checked just to make sure that he doesn't have anything else I don't know about.
Wait! You are thinking my week of hell was finally over? No way! Eli felt a little left out of the action, so she decided to be up all night screaming her ear hurt, of course my otoscope wasn't charged so I couldn't look...next day we went to the ENT and there was a possibility that she rutured (perforated) her ear drum. She had puss and goo and all kinds of wild looking stuff coming out of her ear...poor kid! she was so miserable! So we started her on medication, but she still says things sound 'low'...I think we have to get her hearing checked now too....
After ENT we headed over to audiology for Ahuva's annual hearing screen, which she cooperated so well for that they got a good amount of info and things look great!
By thursday last week my motto was...the hits just keep on coming! I have since decided that while life may not be the party we hoped for, while we are here we might as well dance...and so I dance, but my feet hurt and I am so not wearing my dancing shoes, can I leave for a while and come back in more comfortable shoes?

Pneu News

So it is official, Ahuva has pneumonia. We went yesterday to follow up with our pediatrician since we had been in the ER earlier in the week. She heard crackling and wheezing, and Ahuva still had a temperature, which suggests pneumonia. So we were started on antibiotics and sent home.

Last night at 10:15 pm, she woke up, with a fever of 105 degrees F..burning up, miserable. So we called the doctor who sent us in to the ER for a chest x-ray. Which came back bacterial pneumonia (ok, it was not a 100% conclusive either, but it appeared to have streaks that would support the pedicatricians earlier diagnosis of pnuemonia).

She got back home amidst a chaotic flurry of activity on our street. Apparently some idiot stole a car, crashed it on the street around the corner from us and ditched the car. There were eight police cars, three unmarked cars, two paddy wagons and two police dogs going all over the street, in back yards, up and down driveways looking for the person. When Daddy finally came home aroung 2 am, they managed to catrch them shortly after that....after over an hour of activity.

Daddy gets a big kudos, as he took Ahuva to the ER last night to give me a break...some break, I am such a control freak about her and her medical care, as I am the one that deals with all of it, he just sits back and lets me do it. But he managed to do a pretty good job last night. Although I did not sleep much, I dozed for 45 minutes...how could I possibly sleep if my little girl is in the ER.
I helped that one of the Cheif of ER was there last night taking care of my little girl....I knew she was in good hands.

I need to make a list of all her medical history and allergies and stuff for the fall, as I will be in school and not around all the time, it would be helpful, to give a peice of paper instead of calling every five minutes to talk to the ER staff and quiz daddy on what is going on.

Croup de jour

We have been busy in our house...making sure that the local emergency room knows how to handle situations where children are in repiratory distress from the croup. This comes at just the right time of the year, the changing of the gaurds...ie the new residents all start on July 1...I make it a habit to stay away from hospitals in July...no offense to the newbies, I just don't want to deal with them...this year, I broke that cardinal rule of mine. Oh well!

We have to start a couple of weeks ago for you to appreciate my situation. We had been diagnosed with strep three weeks ago, went on medication, the next day after the diagnosis we went into the hosptal for new ear tubes. After ten days of antibiotics, I took her back in last wednesday for a recheck to be sure the strep was gone. Then on thursday I had my yearly well check with the local Down Syndrome center ( I have to follow up with cardio now...that's another story). So on Friday when she developed a fever I thought maybe she still had strep. The rapid came back negative and the overnight I found out on friday was negative. So I just watched her. By Friday afternoon she had a croupy cough, and was miserable.

No big deal, right, just the croup? Well, Saterday morning she could barely breath. She was working so hard to get air...I thought that once she was upright for a while it would go away...maybe a steam bath would help. Yeah, right. By 11 o'clock she was taking breathing breaks from her activity...playing then stopping to lay down and breath...I felt so bad at that point I took her into the ER. We spent the afternoon there, getting Vapos and Decadron shots...finally she sounded better then she had when we had arrived that they let us go home.

But wait! We didn't sleep too hot saterday night, and ended up back in the ER Sunday night, once more struggling to breathe. THis time we got or Vapo, humidified O2 and were admitted overnight. THat was fun! I find great humor in this overnight admission. We had come into the ER at 10: 15pm, we made the decision to keep us overnight at 1am....we found a room and got into a room by 3 am....by the time we had the nurses in to do vitals, the floors docs to do an initial eval, and the docs for my medical practice come thru it was 5: 15 am. HAHAHA! I thought, we will be discharged with morning rounds at 7 am...ok, they rounded on us at 10am, were discharged after another shot of Decadron, which by the time we got the shot and signed our discharge papers, it was 11:30 am.

By the time I got to bed last night and fell alsleep, I had been up awake for over 40 hours. I realize now how these doctors do it...after a certain point you are soo tired you work on overdrive.

No tonight, I plan on going to bed nucie and early with no distractions, no interruptions.

Oh, did I mention my James woke up this morning with a croupy cough?

Hmmmm...I wonder if all the other new residents know what to do with croup? I think I will leave it to someone else to test them out. For now I have had my fill of doctors and hospitals...

ooops, I almost forgot I have a Cardiology appointment this afternoon at the hospital...YIKES!

I need a vacation!

Harriet Houdini

Ahuva has a new nickname - Harriet Houdini. You've heard of Harry Houdini, the famous escape artist who could get himself out of almost any predicament possible? Well, Ahuva has a new trick, that allows her great freedom, and is really impressive. Are you ready to hear what it is? Let me give you some clues and see if you can add them all up:

She has mastered wrist rotation!

She has added to that the pull of the upper body -

and the stepping backward of the lower body which in turn allows her to

....are you ready?


...Are you sure?


...OPEN A DOOR! Yes ladies and gentleman, she has mastered opening a regular door knob! No longer can she be coraled by any ordinary door knob...for now she is master of her domaine!

YIKES! Am I in trouble or what?

Tin

Today is our 10 year wedding anniversary. No I did not get tin for my gift - thank you smart hubby! I got the modern ten year gift - diamonds. A beautiful ring to symbolize our eternal love -- sorry to be so mushy, but hey isn't that the whole thing about diamonds? I already know that they are definitly a girls best friend....
For my hubby I replaced his lost wedding band. I thought that would be appropriate.
Honey, I love you and here's to Ten more years..
love ya!

James Big Day

Doesn' t that sound like the title to a Thomas the Tank Engine Story?

But I digress...Today was James end of year party and play in school. Even though they have school til the end of the week, the teachers did a great little play and song thing for the parents. It was so cute, and the kids all had worked so hard! James did a great job singing aling (ok to most of the songs, he is a little shy about his speech). He did do all the hand motions.

After ward, James helped his little sister explore his classroom, introducing her to everyone, "this is my sister Ahuva!" He helped her climb the stairs to the "tree house" . He made sure she held the railing and reprimanded a fellow classmate for pushing past her. HE told them, "you'll make her fall and crack her head open! She is slow, you have to say beep- beep"....ahhh out of the mouths of babes!

It is so nice to see the two kids getting along so nicely, helping each other out. Even better is that James has a sense of his little sister doing things more slowly and is willing to protect her. I am so pround of my big boy! HE has really grown and become quite the young man,.....not if we could do something about the dirty clothes left on the floor..well, I guess I have to leave somehting for his wife to deal with?

James even insisted on a picture with "mommy, baby and sissy too". I can't beleive we are heading to Kindergarten next year...boy does time fly!

The Big Trip

We went to the wonderful city of Detroit, Michigan for two days to visit my niece and brand new great nephew. In other words my neice had a baby boy and we went to check him out. He is so yummy, small at 6 pound 14 oz - ok not so small, but compared to my moster baby he is small. My niece looks great for having had number three a week ago, and the two other kids are adjusting well. The trip in wasn't bad at all. My kids travel so nicely, which is a good thing, as the Mother-in-law came with us. I am sure that my Hubby will blog about the trip...I will just skip to the fun parts.
We stayed at a hotel so that we didn;t impose on the new mom, and it made it feel like a mini-vacation. When we got to the hotel, the kids, my husband, mother-in-law and I went swimming. What better way to go swimming then indoors, where you don't have to mess with sun scream (oops...that's sun screen, to you we call it sun scream cuz the kids usaully end up screaming at some point during the application...'honey, did you put it in the kids eyes again?") They had a blast, especially miss amanda, who thanks to school and her teachers LOVED the water. She was so mad when it was time to get out. She has no fear fo the water at all...ahe just wants to jump right in!
Baby Alistair even got in on the action, with daddy taking him in for a spin around the pool (unfortunatly I can only put soo many pictures in a post...perhaps Daddy will pout that pic on his post?!)
While we were there, we decided, ok I decided, that we should take the kids to the zoo before we left...you know to tire them out so that the trip home would be a breeze? Let me tell you it worked! The only problem with my plan is that then we, the adults were all exhausted too!
The Dertoit Zoo is amazing! First of all, our zoo here at home is filled with hills and alot of cement. The Detriot zoo, is, well Flat! Not too much cement, and fun! We went to the Polar bear exhibit where you can walk under the water and watch the sea lions and polar bears swim over you and around you...very cool. Amanda loved it so much. She was a little distracted by the water reflections since it was a sunny day (92 degrees baby!) but when the sea lions came up, she was watching intently.
After the zoo trip, we hopped in the car, fed the kids and watered them up, got on the raod and headed home. We made in good time stopping two times. THe kids, Ellie, James and Alistairt slept most of the way home, while Peanut was awake and glued to her TV scrren, not sure how on earth we managed to get Blue's Clues in the car. Hey, whatever works, right?
All in all it was a great trip, kids behaved, I behaved, you know a little mint chocolate chip ice cream will get you along way ion my house!

Holy Shoes!?!

Since when do childrens shoes cost $100? I remember the good old days when my mom would take me for shoes. The most expensive ones were $50- $60 and man that was alot of money back then. I remember she splurged a couple of time for weddings, on good pairs of shoes.
We went for a walk today ( in an effort to save gas - besides it was nice out) to buy sandles for the kids. School is over the end of the week, and it is time for their toes to get a breathe of fresh air. Miss Ellie has narrow heels and need to be fitted in a good shoe. MrJames has a double wide foot, and Miss Peanut needs good arch and ankle support. So this is one family that can't shop for shoes at Wal-mart. Miss Ellie found pair of cute shoesshe really liked them until I saw the price tag...$100.."um, Ellie perhaps you like the OTHER shoes better?"
We came home a little lighter in the wallet, but the kids have great fitting shoes. Ahuva had to have hers ordered from Zappos, as the store didn't have her size in stock.

NOTE: So the shoes we ended up with are NOT the ones pictured above. Those are the $100 shoes she wanted...I guess sshe'll start saving her allowance up for next year....

Goodbyes...for Now

Yesterday was Peanuts last day of school. Although she had only been there for a short time, about a month, we fell in love with her teachers , therapists, staff and friends . She has grown tremendously - in personality, social skill, and developmentally. Amanda has managed to find new ways to explore her environment. Peanut has become a student and a teacher. She has taught fellow classmates to open doors to explore other environments (ie she taught them how to run out the room and down the hall, shrieking with delight). She has discovered that she can help her classmates learn how to participate in self help skill, by encourageing wiping their mouths after a meal. Amanda has also learned how to blow kisses from one of her new, dear friends. Not to mention shoe shopping by offering 'lost shoes' to those without shoes on. My little one has grown tremendously independant, wanting to feed herself, and getting very mad when you try to do it for her. Music is her newest love, dancing to the rhythm of the beat, coaxing her baby brother on by grabbing his hands and helping to to 'dance' along. Let's not foget the finger isolation and extention - she points at what she wants and says 'uh-uh' patting you until you give it to her. If she knows the sign she'll sign for what she wants...all while smiling that adorable smile, that which melts all hearts.
We will miss everyone over the summer...those who will be back for our special summer session, we look forward to seeing, everyone else we can't wait to see you in the fall. Amanda has taken to school like a fish to water, thanks to all your love and support. Thank you for being there and for being so caring. Enojoy your summer...and KEEP IN TOUCH!

A Tale of Two Lenses

So you've heard of the famouus Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities? Well, here's my version of the story. A Tale of Two Lenses.

This morning we got dressed as usual, put her lenses in and headed downstairs to get ready for school. Shce sat at the big table, to eat her Cheerios. Then, while my older two headed outside to play on the deck, she followed. I checked her eyes before she went out, and her lenses were still in. After getting lunches organized, kids shoes on, and putting car seats in the car (I traded cars with the ubby cuz my radio was on the fritz..that's another story) I gathered everyone up and checked her lenses one more time. Low and behold she was mssing, not one but BOTH of her lenses. OMG! I thought I was losing my mind! I knew I had put in both her lenses this morning, at least I had thought I had, didn't I keep checking her eyes for them?
I asked Ellie if I had put them in...she must have thought I was nuts, as the look she gave me as she said, " yes you did mommy, remember?"...I guess I didn't want to face the reality of what this meant, that she lost TWO lensses at once. The repurcussions of such an event would be , well, not good. It would mean more money shelled out for lenses. Two weeks after having just gotten these, means these haven't been paid off yet.
I spent 45 minutes crawling around looking for them, to no avail. Disappointed, upset, bewildered I put on her back up glasses (the really thick bottle looking ones) and set off to drop her off at school.
I can't beleive we are going to start the last day of school like this - late and minus our contacts. It was bad enough she had broken her glasses for ontop of the contacts last week and worse still that the frames had been discontinued and I can't seem to find them anywhere! Now this!? COuld she possibly have eaten the lenses, while partaking in her breakfast? Mmmmm, these Cheerios are extra crunchy this morning mommy....
I dropped her off, and returned home to crawl around for another couple of hours and guess what! You awill never believe it...I FOUND not one, but BOTH of the lenses. One was on the deck under the patio furniture, and the second was at the edge of the deck where it over looks the car. Amanda had been standing there watching me put the car seats in.
My luck was greater then great, as I found them before it started to rain cats and dogs.
Now my only dilemma was which lense went in which eye, as they had not marked this pair with the customary dot. I found an optomitrist who was able to read the lenses and give me his best guess as to which one goes to which eye. I also have the prescribing physician sending me a new set, so that the ones I found will become extras, as we are not 100% sure which one goes to which eye.
Boy, with all the excitment we had today I hope tomorrow is a bit duller.

First Tooth for Baby

Today, Baby Alistair cut his first tooth! He has been so incredibly cranky these last few days. I even had ENT look at his ears to make sure he didn’t have an infection. He just was not himself. Finally I noticed in his little mouth the nub of a first tooth! YAY! He is 5 and a half months old, and has his first tooth, with a second not far behind!
He is also trying so hard to crawl. Yes, I said crawl. He gets himself moving, although usually backwards, but he wants to go go go go go! Alistair will turn a complete 180 degrees on the floor. Which means Peanut comes over and moves his toys behind him…but he still gets them. Wait until he is really moving, she is in for a rude awakening. She is so funny..miss Amanda thinks that Alistair is a ride…tally ho there cowgirl..wait that’s not a horse that’s your baby brother!

Blast from the Past

An old family friend was in last week visiting...ok really he was on his way back home from a conference and made a pit stop here to see the crew. Dr. Bill , as we fondly call him, has known me for the last 16 years...watching me grow up, get married and start my family. It was cool to see him again. The last time I saw him was before Brian and I got married. We spent Christmas with him and his family while we were still dating.


So we, Baby Alistair and I had lunch with him and my parents then after making our rounds picking kids up from school, the family came back to my parents for dinner with Dr. Bill. We had a great time catching up, and yes, dare I say it , reminiscing (do I feel old or what?) I used to think only really really old people would spend their time remembering the "good old days" Well, I guess that means I'm old! Here's a Pic of Dr. Bill with my big Baby boy, Alistair. At 5 months old he is wearing 18-24 month clothing. I can barely lift him in his little car seat carrier..Dr. Bill couldn't hold him for too long either. Don't feel bad Bill...Brian can't hold him that long either. About 2 minutes is his max time!