Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Happy Freaking Tuesday

I'm really not in a bad mood...just getting grumpy about the fact that it was in the 40's this morning. I want summer back. I really need to move some place warm. The only good thing is that the soup I'm making for dinner tonight will be really yummy.

Bella decided to go into heat this weekend. Ugh. She's still, very much, in heat today. The vet wanted to spay her earlier this month but she had a skin infection so she couldn't do it. I take her in to the vet later this morning to get her pre-op stuff ready and to get her scheduled for her spaying. I want my sweet kitty back...not the one that wants to hump everything that moves.

Alice went in for her rabies shot this morning. She's, essentially, full grown and weighs a whopping 11.7 pounds. It's surprising because she looks like a little tank. I thought she was a little heavier. Mike thought she was at least 20 pounds. Last we checked, Bella weighed 4 pounds. I'm really curious to see what she weighs now. *UPDATED* Bella weighs 5.7 pounds.

They went to scan Alice's microchip and they couldn't find it. They really thought that it was either malfunctioning or that there wasn't one in there. They took her back for an x-ray and discovered that it had migrated to under her armpit. Go figure. But it does work.

My soccer team had a game last night and I actually agreed to play forward for the last three minutes. Probably not the smartest idea since I've only played forward once in my entire life, but I figured it couldn't be that hard. Those were the longest three minutes of my life but I almost got a goal. If I had kicked the ball about a foot to the left, it would have gone in. Instead, it bounced right off the wall. So close, and yet, so far. Oh well. I'll be going back to my defender position next time. I've had enough of offense. I did manage to slip and fall on my butt. I landed on the ball and had two girls from the other team desperately kicking at me to get the ball. Neither of them touched me but both were very apologetic. All I could do is laugh. And laugh I did. One of my teammates told me that I had a creative way of keeping the ball away. LOL! I'm so enjoying playing.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Hmmm...

Okay. So tonight was the Grey's season premiere. Yay! Of course, I spent those two hours trying to look for Ellen Pompeo's baby bump (never found it since they only filmed her from the shoulders up) but I have to say that I loved the two episodes. I feel bad that I didn't cry for George but whatever.

We've had a running toilet in our bedroom that's been driving us nuts for the past few months. I've been just too lazy to change out the innards of the thing (the suction thingy inside isn't sealing properly) and it came to bite us in the butt tonight.

Mike went up to get ready for bed when he tells me there's a minor flood in the bathroom. Apparently, the toilet got clogged and since it seems to continually run, it overflowed. Stupid me, I flushed it again and more water flowed out. I plungered it and turned off the water. I came downstairs to find that there was water dripping out of one of our can lights in the kitchen. It wasn't a lot of water (like just the amount that overflowed) and it only flowed for a minute or so but it was enough to freak us out. So, tomorrow I'll be changing the innards of that stupid toilet like I should have done months ago.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Monday, September 21, 2009

Random Monday

We had a very busy weekend. So busy, I'm not convinced we actually had a weekend.

Friday afternoon, our pediatrician called and said that they've set up an appointment for Daniel's EEG on November 13. She said that was the first available but that we can get on a list to be called in case of a cancellation. She thought we'd absolutely be in before November. I hope so.

Rosh Hashannah snuck up on me this year. I did my best to get the apples and honey and whatnot but I really think there was something off about the soup. Hmmm. Oh well. My challah turned out beautifully. I let it go in the Kitchen Aid for about 20 minutes and let it rise forever. I think I've just been in such a hurry to get it in the oven that I'm not giving it full time to rise. I guess I'll just be making them in round form for now on instead of braided. My braids always turn out lop-sided.

Mike took the kids to services on Saturday afternoon and they really enjoyed washing away their sins in the creek behind the synagogue. Next week is Yom Kippur.

Hannah had two soccer games again this weekend. I cannot believe the skills these little first graders have. They're really good at dribbling, turning and controlling the ball. You can already see these girls falling into different roles on the field. The forwards are obvious. They're the ones running and running and running. Then there's the defenders. They hang back and watch for when the other team breaks away with the ball. My Hannah's a defender. And that's more than okay. At this age, they don't have goalies so these defenders are even more important. Hannah had 4 saves in her game yesterday. She stood in front of that goal and kicked that ball almost to midfield, away from their goal. It was so fun to watch her beam as the other parents cheered for her like she had just scored a goal of her own. I'm so glad she enjoys soccer. I finally got her a pair of cleats (we've wasted WAY too much money on equipment for the kids when they only play one season and fight us the whole time). They're really cute and pink. She loves them.

Alice is fitting in with the family. A couple of times a day, she'll bounce on Oriana and the stampede begins. It sounds like a herd of elephants running through the house when they run and chase eachother but I'm really happy that Oriana's getting attention and having fun as well. I just wish Alice would quit pooping on the floor. I hate the housebreaking stage.

I took the kids up to the Deanna Rose Farmstead on Saturday for their Apple Fest. I'm not sure what made it an Apple Fest since I didn't see any apples but that's okay. I love Deanna Rose because it's free and there's so much to do. The kids panned for stones (Hannah's favorite since she wants to be a rock finder...LOL!) and got to make a corn cob doll in the old schoolhouse. They also got to bring home a wooden top that some men were making for the kids.

So, that's about it from here...I'm going to enjoy the thunderstorm that just rolled in.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Here We Go...Update

We took Daniel in this morning and our pediatrician thought there was enough evidence to send him to the pediatric neurologist at Children's Mercy for an EEG. What I think is really nice is they are actually going to set the appointment up for us. He told us that it can take about a month to get in but the when we do get in, it will be a very thorough exam.

More than likely, he'll have to do a sleeping EEG. Unfortunately, what that will mean is we'll have to keep him up all night so that he'll sleep during the day of his appointment.

While I was hoping this would happen a little quicker, I think this is playing out the way I'd thought it would. I'll keep you updated.

Here We Go...

We have Daniel's doctor's appointment this morning. I hope we get some answers today. We probably won't get much more than a referral but it'll be a start.

I have to say that I'm really disappointed with Daniel's teacher. I asked her to simply write down whenever she notices Daniel zoning out and she told me that she couldn't possibly watch Daniel all day. That maybe I should ask the school psychologist to come in and observe Daniel for 20 minutes. That's not what I asked you to do! I just wanted her to document it when she noticed it. She's so not on board here.

The person that surprised me, though, is the school counselor. I left her a voicemail explaining what I thought was going on and she left me a message back. Her first words were, "Wow. Wow wow." She also said that it makes total sense and that she'd be more than happy to help in any way that she can and that she'd talk to Daniel's teacher about watching for whenever Daniel zoned out (HAHAHAHAHA!!!) and about strategies she can use to help Daniel more in the classroom.

I can't believe how nervous I am about all of this.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

This Is The Video...

This is the video that made me really take pause. This could easily be Daniel. Again, we don't know for sure but, oh, I don't know.

I'm struggling with the embedding so here's the link Absence Seizure

A Ray of Hope?

I was so upset about the 9 minute long voice mail that I got from Daniel's teacher the other day that I couldn't even think. I asked Mike to listen to it so we could discuss it before deciding what action we were going to take. Mike told me that Daniel's teacher said something that really resonated with him. The line was this:

Daniel will just be sitting there working and then it's like he's suddenly gone.

Mike said he could relate to this and even said that he experiences it as well. It's like he's listening and the next thing he knows, someone is saying, "are you listening to me?" He says it's really frustrating but he can't help it.

As we were talking, Mike casually mentioned that his brother has Epilepsy. I knew that but it wasn't on my radar. Yesterday, I, on a whim, Googled Epilepsy in children. The first article that popped up was something about getting the school ready for a child with seizures. I clicked on it and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

The first thing they said to let the school know was "my child is not ignoring you. He's having a seizure. Please let me know when this happens." What? Aren't seizures where you lose total control of your body and have convulsions? Apparently, there are many types of seizures.

There is a type called Absence Seizures where someone hits the pause button in the brain. It gets turned back on after 10-20 seconds and the child has no memory of it and, aside from appearing to be daydreaming, there are often no other symptoms. Some have eye rolling or fluttering but most just stare. The scary thing is these can happen 50-100 times a day. And it's often genetic.

I call Mike and he tells me that this is the type of seizure his brother has. Now we're getting somewhere. I called the pediatrician and we have an appointment for Friday morning. I was talking with my friend, Vivian, last night at TKD. Her husband is a neurologist and she told me that more than likely they'll just send him for an EEG for an official diagnosis. That's what Marc told me as well. I also called his teacher and told her to write down any time she may see him appear to be daydreaming. I don't know if she'll actually do it but we'll see.

My gut tells me that this is what it is. Everything I've read about it and everything I've seen on YouTube of kids with it tells me that it's seizures. Not that I want him to have Epilepsy but it would explain so much and it's completely treatable. My research tells me that most kids are able to stop meds after 2 years. The school will also be forced to make accomodations for him, like repeating directions and offering extra help.

Please pray for Daniel on Friday. The poor thing needs to get rid of the label of being a bad kid.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Dear Daniel's Teacher

I am writing because this is the fourth year in a row that my son's been labeled as "difficult" and "inattentive." I am aware of your concerns and I appreciate you letting me know that you think he's brilliant but unfocused. I also appreciate you letting me know that you've been teaching for 30 years. Several times. That should make you an expert in handling children of all temperaments. So, imagine my surprise when I find you are having such difficulty with my Daniel. Amazing how one child can bring your classroom serenity to a screeching halt.

I have never disagreed that Daniel has difficulty dealing with transitions. I know that it is something that has been written about many times by the school counselor and I know that you've been chatting with his previous teachers so this should come as no surprise to you. My question for you is this: why in the world would you send him to the Reading Specialist (who seems to find Daniel delightful, eager to work and very attentive) five minutes after arriving at school? Do you think this is potentially setting him up to feel behind for the entire day? I think that if you ask him about this, he will tell you that he feels as though he's playing catch-up until the end bell rings.

As far as his DWP from last week goes, I am aware that you think you personally put the packet in his homework folder but I can assure you that it was not in there last Tuesday. I, personally, go through his homework folder as soon as he arrives home and it was never there. Can you possibly admit that you made a mistake and that when he asked you for another because he didn't have one, you wouldn't hold it against him as being forgetful? I highly doubt that he took it out of the folder and "did something with it before getting home." Of course, I'm not ruling that out as a possibility but I struggle with why he would only remove that one bit of homework. Especially when he's been threatened with no computer, no DS and no outside time if he forgets his homework again.

I also understand that Daniel took the wrong spelling test last week. Yes, he should have known, as he was taking the test, that he didn't find any of the words familiar but as this is only the second spelling test of the year, do you think that you are being a little hard on him? You must have some very smart students if you've never had a single student in your 30 years of teaching take the wrong test. As someone who once taught third grade, I know that that kind of organization can be difficult for some 8 year olds. I'm sorry that Daniel had to be your first student to make this mistake.

I understand that, as a third grader, Daniel needs to learn personal responsibility and self-direction. I commend you for making the effort to make all of your students self-sufficient. This is one of the reasons I've been letting Daniel slide for a bit. He needs to learn that there are consequences for not doing homework or not paying attention in class. Unfortunately, I don't see that you are dishing out any consequences for these behaviors. You specifically told us at Meet-The-Teacher Night that all that they will be required to do is fill out a missing homework form and that we can dish out the punishment if we so choose. I guarantee that all Daniel wants to do is please you and if you start doling out the punishment, he'll start complying. The boy doesn't find me a threat. You, he does.

So, I will not, as you suggest, "take Daniel to see our pediatrician." We've been down that road last year and our pediatrician doesn't see an issue. It may be because his parents don't see an issue, but I don't want to put words into his mouth. I would be more than happy to sit with you and talk about developing an IEP or 504 plan that would guarantee the accommodations that it seems you've been having to make without one. That would actually please me quite a bit. That way, maybe I'd get you teachers who seem to think 8 year olds are mini adults off my son's back.

Sincerely,
Daniel's Mom and advocate

Random and Junk

So, last night, Alice cried. I knew she would. Oriana did too when we first brought her home. I put her in her little crate before heading to bed myself, turned out the lights, snuggled my head in my pillow, said a little prayer (please, please don't let her cry!), closed my eyes...*whine, whine, WHINE* We decided to bring her crate into the bedroom, which helped, but she still whimpered off and on throughout the night. At least Bella wasn't crying too.

I knew that we should expect crying and that we'd have to work on housebreaking (oh, the joy) but I forgot that you have to teach puppies things like walking on a leash. She started getting the hang of it last night but we still have a long way to go. The kids have been enjoying running up and down the street with her. Oh, and I was looking at her papers last night and it says that she was born in Berryville, Arkansas. LOL!!!

Later this morning, we're ditching Comcast in favor of AT&T. I'm pretty excited about it since we'll be getting a new DVR and can finally watch all of our channels on both TVs. We only get the very basic cable on our upstairs TV because it doesn't have a box.

The kids had their first day of Sunday School for the year yesterday. It was cute to see the kids in their new classes. I have to say that I'm happy that Hannah didn't get the same teacher Daniel had...it wasn't that she was bad but she just wasn't very energetic. I really think she should be teaching older kids. I'm not sure why but they combined the third grade this year so there are two teachers. That should be very interesting.

After dropping off Hannah, I ran into one of the rabbis, who was also walking out of the first grade room (one of her daughters is in Hannah's class...as an aside, the rabbi also had a baby about a month ago). Rabbi H came up to me, threw an arm around my neck and let out a huge sigh. "We made it!" She told me, obviously very relieved. I laughed and said, "yes, we did! At least you didn't try dropping your girls off in the wrong room!" Rabbi H looks at me quizzically. "I walked over to the 4th grade room and tried to drop Daniel off there. The teacher asked me if Daniel was in 4th grade and I said yes while he was saying no! I don't have the same baby excuse you can use!" She laughed and said, "well, in all fairness, that's always been the third grade room." That probably is why I was so confused. Too funny.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Yeah, We're Kinda Crazy

Okay, so we got a new dog. A Miniature Schnauzer named Alice. She and Oriana seem to get along okay but we're not going to be leaving them alone together anytime soon. She's so stinking cute. She's also pretty much full grown so she won't be getting much bigger.

Oh, and this is Mike's fault. LOL!











Saturday, September 12, 2009

Hannah's First Game

Hannah had her first soccer game this morning. She was so excited. In previous years, the teams had played at different schools in the district. This year, Overland Park opened a brand-spanking new soccer complex. I think there are about 14 fields. For the games, we play on half of the field with two others playing on the other half. They then break the field up even more so that the kids get even more play time. Since it's 4 on 4, they wouldn't get a whole lot of playing time since there are an average of 14 girls on each team. It's kind of hard to explain but they kind of break each team up into two and they play side-by-side on a quarter of the field. Each with their own goal. It was so cute to watch them running up and down the field. At this age, they don't play positions and all you see is 8 girls running up and down with a ball in the middle. It's pretty funny. I'm so glad she had a good time. She really went after it out there and tried her best.

Oops!! Don't fall! The girl really needs some cleats. I didn't want to get her any until I knew she liked playing.
I love this picture. Hannah and two of her friends sit and chat on the sidelines. Too cute. Oh, and that grass they're sitting on...astroturf. Looks real doesn't it?

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

So Sore

A few weeks ago, I was at Hannah's very first soccer practice. A few of the moms were talking about putting together a mom's soccer team in this indoor league that another mom had previously played in. Sheri, the mom that had played before, looks at me and says, "you played in high school, right? Are you in?" I thought about it for a little while and decided I was.

Our first game was Monday night and boy, did I feel that game all day today. It was seriously fun, though. I played in my usual defender position and was surprised to find that I wasn't too bad. Even after all these years. However, I'm definitely not 15 anymore. I came home so stiff. The games are 44 minutes long (two 22 minute halves) and I probably played 20. I didn't find my groove until minute 42. Just when I started to get into the zone, the end buzzer went off. Ugh. Figures. What was cool was one of my neighbor's husbands came up to me after the game and said, "you know, Barb, you were really good out there." Thanks Nathan! :) I never thought that I'd be playing team sports again and it's pretty awesome. I needed something to fill the void that MOPS left and I really think this is it.

On a side note, the girl that had proclaimed her hatred for me in high school has been nothing but overly-friendly too me lately. She's been posting on my Facebook page and messaging me about what a great mom I am and how she's so happy that we're friends. Give me a break. I'll be polite and all that but she's not one that I'm going to be getting together with the next time I'm in Peoria.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Really???

Venting...

Tonight was interesting. Very interesting. An old "friend" from high school informed me, in her Facebook status comments, that she hated me in high school because I was immature. She went on to say that she was also mad at me for stealing her best friend in high school as well. But isn't it great that we're all so much older and we can forget about all that?

Wow. She's held a grudge against me for at least 16 years. Good for her for getting it out after all this time. But what makes me mad is that she felt she had to let me know so publicly. Especially since we (literally) have 79 mutual friends...including the friend that I guess I stole (because, apparently, she had no free will).

For the record, I wasn't very fond of her either. You'd think she'd be more upset that I actually stole her boyfriend rather than her best friend. But there was no mention of that. Huh. Go figure.