Working Mama!

It's official I am no longer a stay at home mom.  Yep, I'm a working mom.  I worked one day...so far...LMAO  I do plan on working more. I will probably.... most likely... work 3 days this week.  Well I'm only scheduled for one, so we shall see.  Oh, and I'm working for my parents!  WOO HOO...so grown up...Oh well its the only job that will allow me to work on the days my hubby is off! SAVING a fortune in daycare! I don't know how others do it daycare is ridiculous!  I know the saying usually goes you get what you pay for, and when it comes to your kids you probably don't want to go the "oh they were the cheapest one" route!  But still....Anyways my first day was kinda crazy I worked there years ago, but A LOT has changed.  So for the first time ever I was constantly like how do you do this.  It was really nice to be around ADULTS all day thou!  The best part was thou that even without me home the house didn't burn down, and everyone is still alive! AMAZING!  Just kidding I knew my hubby could do it! I was just amazed the house wasn't even that dirty when I got home!  First time ever I was away from the kids for 10 hours! 

Day two of Pre-School

Ugh....Yesterday's excitement was short lived.  This morning Topher didn't want to go to school.  He didn't want to get dressed.  He said "I want to play!" I told him if you don't go to school you're going to bed!  After a little trouble we were outside waiting for the bus, and he was doing fine.  So I thought all the trouble was over.  Then the bus pulled up and he ran for the door to the house! I picked him up, and quickly grabbed a small army guy for him to take.  I thought bringing it might ease the stress. Nope, he just screamed and cried.  I carried him to the bus. He wouldn't get on.  I carried him on and put him into his seat.  I sat him down and said "I'll be right here when you get back!"  Then I left.

It all happened so fast.  I forgot to say "I love you" or even "good bye"! I felt horrible enough and that just iced the cake.  The couple hours till they got home were shear torture for me.  I felt like the worlds worst mom!  The bus pulled up and the kids came out happy as can be.  I gave Topher a big hug and said "See I'm right here waiting for you!" 

I asked who had a good day at school today, and they both said "I did!"  So apparently he's not traumatized for life!  Hopefully it gets better because this is rough, on me!

First Day of School

Today was Topher's first day of school ever.  He is in 3 year old pre-school. Evangeline is in her second year.  She is in 4 year old pre-school.  They go from 12:15 to 3.  This year I have decided to let them ride the bus. The first day wasn't without a few bumps.  The bus was late picking them up!  I got worried and called the bus driver, who answered her phone while driving! 

3 hit and I waited on the front porch for the bus to bring my babies home!  No bus! after a half hour I called the school.  The buses were all still there! This is the schools first year being a STEM magnet school or whatever.  I'm not sure what that means.  But due to this they were having troubles.  So I waited 15 more minutes, and some buses went by but none stopped!  I'm freaking! I call the school and it hits me maybe they were sent to Safe harbor (basically day care).  Yep that's where they were. It was an honest mistake.  I'm looking for a job so I signed them up.  I told the safe harbor people the kids didn't need it yet.  But positions are on a first come first served basis. So I had to apply.  The message just didn't get passed on, and the kids had to be listed on the roster. 

When I went to get them there were still buses in the parking lot! 45 minutes after school was over and it was 90 degrees outside.  So thank God the kids were in safe harbor and not sitting on those buses.  Parents were pissed.  The buses were all screwy. Some buses ended up with the wrong kids and had to come back.  Some kids were left behind.  One dad was at the school one daughter made it home the other a preschooler didn't!  Hopefully the bugs are sorted out tomorrow!

Anyways the kids were happy to see me.  They had fun at school. Both of them only complained that they didn't get to go to the computer lab!  At the meet the teacher night we were told preschoolers would have access to the computers now!  So they wanted to play computers.  Watch Topher be upset when they don't let him watch netflicks!  LOL...

As we walked to the car Topher pointed to the preschoolers playground and proudly said "I get to play there!" He also informed me that he went potty at school.  He said "I said excuse me teacher I have to go potty!"  I don't know if that's true or not but how cute!  I asked if he wanted to go back he jumped up and down and said "YES, I want to go back to school!" 

I'm glad they are both so excited about school and riding the bus.  Just hope the bus bugs are worked out cause tomorrow is gonna be hot again!

Seeing the specialist!

Topher's sleep study is complete and now we are waiting to see the Ear Nose & Throat Dr (ENT).  We got a letter this am reminding us of an appointment we didn't even know we had.  They just made an appoitment and sent us a letter.  Thankfully, the day works out.  He will have to miss school, but that's ok.  It sucks we have to wait till October to see the ENT!  I wish we could have gotten in sooner. 

His diagnosis are severe onset of insomnia and sleep disordered breathing!  I am just praying that whatever we have to do to fix this, that it is something easy.  Online it said they usually remove the tonsils and adnoids to correct obstructive sleep apnea in kids.  However, not all kids are surgical candidates.  It sounds like he will probably have to have surgery or wear a mask.  Either way its gonna be a challenge.  At least with the surgery he will probably (hopefully) be fine after healing.  I don't see how sleeping with any type of equipment will make him better.  That will be a nightmare!  That being said, we will do whatever it takes for him.

Parenting 101....

Tip number 1

If you hear your child say "Eeewww!" Go check, cause whatever it is, its probably nasty!"

I picked this tip up after hearing my 1 year old Ally saying "EEEEWWW" as she pulled stuff out of the garbage can! Yeah, eww is right, along with gross, nasty, and yuck!

Sensory Diet

It has been almost 3 weeks since Tophers OT (occupational therapist) sent home his sensory diet plan.  That is a program she has designed for me to implement at home.  I am supposed to do this 3 times a day! 

Topher's Sensory Diet is as follows: 

    Step 1: Vestibular/Movement input:  stopping and starting frequently as well as changing speed and direction!  spinning, crazy swinging, jumping on trampoline, running in circles,  ... until he stops seeking additional input

    Step 2:  Active Proprioception/Heavy Work:  pushing, pulling, play tug of war, animal walks, wheelbarrow walk.....

    Step 3:  & Step 5:  Passive Proprioception/Deep Pressure:  massages, sandwich game, joint compressions (we call them boom booms), vacuuming (he is the vacuum),  weighted backpack...

    Step 4:  Tactile Input/Touch:  brushing, finger paint, play in water, digging in sand,beans, corn kernels, etc...

    Step 6:  Skill:  functional task: homework, following directions, potty time, shoe tying, fine motor tasks...

We have meet 2 huge obstacles with this process.  The first hurdle is Topher's sisters!  They are extremely jealous of the extra attention he is getting, and naturally want to be involved to.  They actually are more cooperative with the therapy than he is!  They love the joint compressions, brushing, vacuuming, and sandwich game. 

However, this makes completing his sensory diet a struggle because not all activities are easily done with 3. Especially since Evie and Topher are close in age but Ally is only 1! It takes a long time, and is extremely exhausting (for me)!  It is also A LOT of work finding and setting up things that all 3 can do.

   The second problem is Topher himself.  He has become very non-compliant.  At first he loved it and participated.  Now he doesn't want to at all.  He only wants to sit in the toy room and play. He yells "I wanna play. I don't wanna do nothing...nothing...nothing..nothing....I wanna play!"  Lately I tell him if he doesn't do it I'll take his toys away.  It is supposed to be fun, so it helps.  I feel horrible.

 His play is very fascinating lately too.  He will have the dinosaurs and doll house out.  They will all be playing together.  He plays pretty good with his 4 year old sister, but doesn't tolerate the baby very well. She knocks down his stuff and takes stuff away.  Topher cannot handle that, and responds very aggressively.  He also insists that Evie (older sister) play with him all day long.  The poor girl has to be exhausted.  He will cry if she won't play.  This is a new behavior over the last 2 weeks!  I'm not sure what to do or think about this, but it is getting to be a problem.

Unfortunately, to prevent melt downs he needs to do his therapy.  It's a pain in the butt.  Most days I am not very successful and feel really bad about it. 

The Sleep Study!

Its been about 3 weeks since Topher's sleep study.  The doctor started talking about medications, but I insisted before we get to that point we test everything. I have long suspected Topher to have sleep apnea or something wrong.  He has never, no not ever, slept through the night.  Even when he doesn't wake me up I hear him up getting a drink or something.  He also snores, and it can be pretty loud at times. Yep, he's only 3. 

 I wasn't sure if snoring was normal for him because of the condition he was born with, Laryngomalacia.  I may have spelt that wrong.  It is basically a birth defect, where the throat muscles are weak and actually close up on you when you breath.  Like the way a shower curtain gets sucked in to the shower.  His condition was actually really severe.  The doctor was on the fence about corrective surgery but Topher is strong and made a miraculous recovery.  He still gets bad coughs and vomits alot from them.  We aren't sure if this may actually be a type of asthma on top of all his other problems.  The pediatrician diagnosed him with exercise induced asthma and reactive airways disease. 

So we did the sleep study.  I was so worried I thought it would be a nightmare.  He did so well! I was like who is this kid.  He cooperated with the ladies, and just watched dvds till he fell asleep.  He did complain a lot.  I think it helped that he was really tired and really really freaked out by it all. He wouldn't talk to the ladies any louder than a whisper.  Which was crazy he is usually so loud. I have never heard him so quiet. 

He really hated the piece that went into his nose! He couldn't use his Binky, but thankfully he didn't even ask me for it!  The stickers on his legs with nothing connected to them were his to play with.  He was so freaked out it took forever for me to convince him it was ok to cover up with the blankets!

My only complaint was that at 5 am the lights were switched on.  It was like bam being hit by a freight train.  He looked really scared.  They were very bright.  If I had known I would have asked they wake me up first.  Then I would have woken him up myself before the lights hit.  They also told me they had dvd players there, but they only had one.  It was in another room.  The nurse let him watch dvds on her laptop!

Finally the doctor called with the results.  In all my paranoia I half expected him to say the test was normal.  Unfortunately, I am usually right when something is wrong with the kids.  I know that's actually a good thing, but I didn't want to be this time.  Apparently, Topher has mild sleep apnea and mild sleep disturbances.  I have no idea what that actually means I missed the doctors call and got his message.  I have to wait till Tuesday to talk to him, but he did say we'd most likely need to see an Ear Nose & Throat Dr to see what happens next.

Even thou I suspected this, I wasn't prepared for this.  Listening to that message my heart just sank.  I feel like I've been hit with a freight train.

Lessons from TV!

Evie said to Topher, "If you kiss a talking frog you turn in to a frog, but if you kiss a frog that doesn't talk nothing happens!" 

This is what she learned from watching the Princess and the Frog yesterday!