Wow.

It's been forever since I posted and I've really been slacking off with only 1 or 2 posts a month. I didn't post anything at all in March, what was that about!?! So I'm going to update with a bunch of pics. I'm not going to back track their dates. I usually do, but this time I'm not going to. I'll try to include when they were taken in the post, but it will be current so that what pops up will be the most recent stuff and no one will have to go looking for old pics.

July is going to be a busy month around here. James and Jayden are each taking a class once a week. James will be taking an art class for an hour and a half on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings Jayden will be taking a cheerleading class. I am also trying to get her in to a reading clinic at Western. The tuition fee for it is somewhat expensive. I figure if nothing else, Jason and I will "donate" our birthday money to it. Gotta do what needs to be done, right?

I should be getting the results of Jayden's eval shortly. Jason has to go in on Wednesday and do his part of the question/answer game and then we'll have them. I am pretty sure that I'll be told that she has severe dyslexia, which I know already. That is what the reading clinic is for. To give us some help and ideas on how to approach reading with her differently. I've been doing some reading and I have found out that for some dyslexic kids, they don't learn to read until they are teenagers. I hope that it doesn't take that long for Jayden, however I now know a better way to help her with her school work. We'll keep on working on the basic reading skills as well as sight words, and I'll help her with her other stuff by doing the reading aloud for her. I'll also be having James do some reading to her.

I have an appointment next Friday, the 11th, for Izzy to begin the process of an evaluation to see if he qualifies for the Croyden Autism Program. We are hoping that he does. It's a 5 day a week, full school day, all year program. We are hoping that if he can do that for ages 4 and 5, then by the time he is ready to start Kindergarten, we can homeschool him. We are hoping that the day to day therapies will be enough to get him signing/talking consistently as well as get him to sit still and be able to focus on a task for a short period of time.

We have switched agencies so we are getting settled in with a new case manager. We have to have a case manager in order for James to continue seeing Dr. O with Community Mental Health. Dr. O is a psychiatrist and is the one that handles the meds for James. We are trying to get James in to a program that does a mentoring thing. He'd go with the trained therapist 2-3 days a week for about 3 hours on average. They'd go do social things. It'd be a way for James to work on those social things he has such difficulty with in a setting where I wasn't right there to directly and immediately monitor and correct him. Which is something that he is going to need to learn to do.

I tried my meds at a double dose today. The twice a day dose is what is "usually" prescribed. I see the doc on the 8th for a follow up and I like to know what kind of effects I'm looking at before I ask for med increases. I do this for James usually, but it works great for me as well. The difference is ASTOUNDING. I actually had energy. I wasn't put off by the enormity of my tasks. I just hunkered down and worked on it. I got the girls' room almost completely cleaned and reorganized. Tomorrow I'm going to finish that room and then work on the boys' room, the stairs, and the landing area at the top of the stairs. On Sunday it will be the playroom and I see that easily carrying over in to Monday.

Jason has the weekend off so I'm hoping that once I get the boys' room cleaned, he can go in and paint it. We've had the paint sitting in the basement for quite some time, it's just been waiting for the right moment. I also have a wallpaper border to put up in there as well. I want to try to find all the stamps that I was using for the girls' walls and get back to finishing that. I have curtains to make for all of the rooms as well. It seems like a lot, but I know if I just take it one day at a time and focus on the task of the moment it will all come together.

I have been reading the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover. I've just started it. It is making sense, especially the part about the person in the mirror. I'm going to talk with Deb on Monday about some of that to see what she suggests. Having grown up without a lot of direction about money, personal finance, budgeting, prioritizing, and personal responsibility I am a bit lost in this at times. I know that Jason and I have it worked out that I handle the bills and I'm just trying to make sure that things get done. I want to make sure they are getting done better however, so we can actually start making progress toward our ultimate goals. I've been talking with Jason about what I've been reading. One thing I have noticed is that some of his suggestions are out of context for a larger family on a smaller income. The concepts are sound so we'll see what we can do with what we have.

I have energy to "work" now, which is amazing. I am still doing ChaCha but I am making a more concentrated effort on doing it. I'm also listing things on eBay. I'm starting with my maternity clothes. They are in good condition and I know I'm never going to need them again so they are just taking up space. It's also hard to find affordable plus sized maternity clothes. They don't exist but for a very few stores, and then they are rather expensive, especially considering they are meant for a short period of wearing.

James is gone with Linda for 2 weeks. He left this past Wednesday morning. Jayden will be going for 2 weeks in August. Katy will be spending about 1/2 of her summer with us, a fact that she isn't too pleased about. That is because she would rather spend the time with her friends. Thankfully Jenn and I are in agreement that family trumps friends. This also is kind of "make up" for the school year when she has commitments and that kind of thing that allow us to see her about once a month. We'd love for it to be more often but the 1 1/2 hour drive one way is also a bit inhibitive.

Well, I think that is all for now. I'll be back in the next day or so to post some pics. I'm hoping to make daily blogging a habit again. I'll be updating The Journey blog after my appt on Tuesday, or even Monday after I have therapy. Prayers and blessings everyone, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

This Other Blog That I Do

Technically, there is more than one. I have one set up for James to talk about video games. I am hoping it helps his grammar and spelling and basic english skills. I'm also hoping it helps him get the video game rants out a bit in a format where there are others to "listen" to them.

Then there is the business blog. I'm just getting started with that.

Finally there is the Journey blog. That is the one I was referring to in the title. I realize I've been very lax in posting to this blog. For the year so far there have been less than 10 posts and here it is, the 5th month already. Wow. Honestly, it's been too much "effort". Though honestly, that doesn't make any sense. After all, it's just typing and clicking and that's it. So I'm working on doing it more. All around.

This other blog is my food journal exercise log health rant blog. I needed somewhere I could put it all down in one place. Somewhere that the focus was my health and what and how I'm dealing with it. I want this blog to be about family and my relationships with them. Showing off pictures of the kids and that kind of thing. I don't want the health thing to distract from that.

My goal for the month of May is to post 4-5 times a week on this and the health blog. I would love to post frequently on the business blog, but if I don't have business, then I can't do that. My hope for posting that frequently is that I can sit down and really look at what I'm doing, where I'm going, and where I want to be. Be prepared for a lot of mind numbing posts like "I did 4 loads of laundry and washed 3 racks of dishes today. I knitted for a while. The kids and I went for a walk." Those are the kinds of things that I want to keep track of.

I want to start having recipes on both blogs, food pics too. The ones here will be more family focused. The ones there will be ones that I'm trying as a way to be healthier. They will overlap I'm sure.

The kids are doing all right. Jack is crawling and pulling himself up. He'll be walking before he turns a year old, I can guarentee that. As it is, he walks along the furniture so it's just a matter of time before he lets go. He'll be my earliest walker. Abbey is pulling herself up to her knees and rocking back and forth. She'll be crawling by the end of the month I think. Up to now it seems like she hasn't felt the need to be moving, but something has struck up the nerve in her to do it. They have a check up on Monday so we'll see how they are doing weight and height wise. It's a shot free appt, so that will be nice.

Izzy still isn't speaking. We are working on trying to teach him sign. I've talked to his ped about a lot of things going on with him. We both feel he may be on the Autism Spectrum, though most likely, not very severely. It seems that his language abilities are the most severe of his issues. A lot of his behavior problems directly relate to his inability to effectively communicate his wants and needs. I'm calling to try to get him in to a speech and language clinic at WMU.

I went to an Autism Conference not long ago. I learned some things and it was a nice afternoon. I met a woman, I believe her name was Ashley, from an organization here in town called Parent to Parent. They are all parents of children with special needs. Parent mentors and resource ideas and all of that. I'm looking at being connected with possibly another parent who had a child with a severe speech issue similar to Issac's. I'm also going to do the training to be a parent mentor because of my experiences with James, Jayden, and Izzy. It was suggested to me to try to get Izzy in to a music program of some sort.

This has been something that I've been working with James and Jayden on already. Music theory. I am going to keep doing that and try to expand it to include Izzy. I am now in search of beginning piano books for them. I'm not sure what will work best, and odds are it may end up being different for each of them, but we'll see how it goes. I have the keyboard and the music knowledge myself.

We are applying for a Y-Grant. It will help us get a reduced fee to join the YMCA where the kids can take classes. We are thinking swim for James and dance for Jayden. This summer James will be taking an art class and Jayden will be doing cheerleading through our local parks dept. I am also trying to get Jayden in to a summer reading clinic. I am hoping they can help her break through her barrier and make sense of the letters and how they form in to words.

We are in the final stages of an evaluation for Jayden. I asked that it be done so that we could discover if the suspected dyslexia is actual. I wanted to know if there were any other things going on that could inhibit her learning. I don't think that we will get a diagnosis like Autism or anything like that. With James' eval, Asperger's was the anticipated result. With Izzy, mild Autism/PDD-NOS is the anticipated result. With Jayden, severe Dyslexia/AD(H)D is the anticipated result. I just hope that my intuitions regarding my kids stay on par with what I experienced with James and that I'm not totally off base with Jayden and Izzy.

James is growing well. He's constantly wanting to eat. At his age, that doesn't surprise me. I'm glad to see that he is beginning the typical teenage need to eat. I know that pre-teen and teen boys grow quite a bit. I also know that James is hoping this starts to happen naturally, and soon, so that he can stop doing the hormone therapy. His endo has said that is what will happen. Once he hits the typical teen growth James will be able to stop with the growth hormones.

James wears glasses full time now. He has needed them for a while, but convincing him to wear them has been difficult. The way they feel on his face bothers him, understandably so. He picked out a pair that he really likes and I made sure to pay extra for the replacement warrenty. He is now comfortably reading chapter books. He's read Percy Jackson, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and is working on How to Train Your Dragon. All in the past month. I think we are definately developing a love for reading with him!

This summer for our schooling we will be focusing on reading. We will include a little math and science with that, but it will mostly be reading. The other focus will be social. Working on family interactions. Helping out around the house and outside in the yard. Behavior and attitude. Being a good role model for younger siblings.

One of the things I'm having a difficult time teaching James is being a role model. Because he is such a concrete thinking, he has a hard time understanding how his actions affect others. He also isn't grasping the notion that how he acts toward his brother and sister is how they are going to act toward the ones younger to them. It's very difficult to teach him to think outside of his very small box where he believes that how he acts is in direct relation to how others treat him first. He can't see that he is not actually reacting, but acting first and the others are either reacting to him or mimicing his previous action. It creates a lot of smack my head against the wall moments for me.

Katy has gotten herself in to trouble. For the past few months her grades have really gone down. She has started to alter her perceptions to something much darker and definately unacceptable. She has made herself "mentally ill" in order to fit in more with friends, when in fact there isn't anything wrong. She has a boyfriend that is very consuming of her energy and focus. It's a relationship that is much too, in my opinion, intense for someone who is only 12. She keeps "forgetting" that she is only 12 and really is trying to be much older. This all came to a head a couple of weeks ago. I won't go in to specific detail as to what she did, however it did get her grounded and pulled out of school and homeschooled for the last month of the school year. Jenn felt it was necessary to remove her from the friends and school in order for Katy to refocus on what is really important. This summer when Katy visits, she is going to find out what it really means to be intensely involved in a relationship. The side effects of all of that, of having an "adult" relationship. Instead of lounging about reading all day, she'll be helping me cook and clean and take care of the three youngest kids. This will be all day long.

She had changed her relationship status on facebook, at one point, to married. That is how involved she feels that she is with her boyfriend. I want to show her what being married REALLY is. It's not all fun and games and hanging out together. That's dating. Marriage is responsibility and time consuming. It is about love and respect as well. However a child of 12 (she really is still very much a child) doesn't have the life experience to understand the love and respect part, not really, not completely. She says that she loves her boyfriend, and I'm sure to her that is what it feels like. I remember that kind of love. It is nothing compared to what I have with Jason. I don't want her to get so focused on that feeling that she closes herself off to everything and everyone else that she will experience and meet in the future.

Do I think my lesson will work? I have no idea. I know I'll be talking with her about it, the intensity of her relationship, as well. Trying to explain how it is taking her focus away from her school work and therefore, taking away from her future. Thankfully her boyfriend will be in high school next year, he's a grade above her. While he'll doing school online instead of attending a physical building, my hope is that it will lessen the intensity of the relationship.

Well, I suppose that is enough of a update for right now. That is what has been going on here. Prayers and blessings for everyone.

I'm Home

I'm going to break up this past weekend in to a few different posts. It will be easier for me to organize and post and honestly, easier for all of you to get through. We'll start with the birth and work our way to going home. I have a TON of photos. My mom, my sis, my friend Jenn, my friend Teresa, and Christina and her kids all made the trip up to visit with us. The babies are healthy and doing really well. I'm feeling pretty good too. My blood pressure is still on the high side, so I have to take meds for that for a week. I'm doing well physically and mentally. The breast feeding is going well, I'm actually pretty comfortable with it right now, which is a big difference than with my previous kids. Jason is handling the adjustment pretty well. He is in LOVE, and honestly, so am I. The kids will be home tomorrow (still on Monday mentally), so we'll see how that goes. I think Jack and Abbey will have a little adjusting to do as well. After all, they've had peace and quiet since they were born. Tomorrow I'll post the birth narration and pics.

Prayers and blessings everyone, I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Another Doctor Appointment Update

I met with a doc yesterday. The female Dr. Rodriguez. I don't know if the two are married or what, after all it seems Rodriguez is a pretty common name, like Johnson and Smith. With both babies being head down, I don't need a c-section. I was also told they CAN do an induction as long as it is "slow". Um, how do you have a "slow" induction?

I have another appointment next friday, which I'll end up taking ALL of the kids to because Jason has to work 8-5, but that's fine, it's just a regular appointment with no extra fancy stuff like ultrasounds or NST's, so I'm not too concerned about it. I need to ask if they'll do an ultrasound to follow up with the position of the babies. I also need to ask what will happen if they both stay head down and the c-section date comes up. Should I plan on being there for that or just let it pass on by? What if I don't go in to labor on my own, and it seems as there is no end in sight? I keep getting told "Oh, you'll have those babies some time around 36 weeks". Well what if that just is not the case?

Jason is supposed to have his vasectomy on the 17th of July, but he is in the process of rescheduling that. I guess they are now looking at dates in October and when that calendar opens up, the woman who does the scheduling will call him and set a date. I would have liked for him to have it done before the babies arrive, however with it being the 17th and things being so unknown about their birth, it's better to reschedule. If this were a single baby birth, I would tell him to keep it and not even worry about it overlapping the birth. I'd be pregnant until the end of August easily then!

My BP is normal again. I was right, it's the automatic machine that does that to me. With the nurse taking it by hand, it was a good 124/70. I have swelling in my feet and fingers, but I'm ok with that, I think that is more from the heat and the fact that my body feels as pregnant as a woman who were 4 weeks overdue

With the babies being over 4 pounds each and I'm now past 33 weeks, the told me that if I go in to labor they won't try to stop it. That was according to this one doc. I might get a completely different story if I were to ask another one. I would like to stay pregnant until the kids leave for Wisconsin, it would just make that a little less stressful. I know I would also like some time alone with Izzy before they arrive. However is it really that wrong of me to hope it happens sooner?I'm SO over this already. I've been waking up each morning with HORRID cramping in my legs, and I've been making sure to get a dose of calcium each day. I drank a decent (12 oz) cup of milk yesterday and no cramps in my legs today, so I need to start making sure I'm doing that every day. The heat is not helping my lovey dovey happy feelings at all!

I know this next month is going to get crazy, but as long as I'm NOT pg through most of it, I'll be OK! I have an open schedule (meaning I can call and schedule any time I feel I need to talk with her)with my therapist, so I'm hoping that with her help I'll be able to handle the breast feeding/pumping to the point that I can get over the hurdle and make it 2nd nature. It's all psychosematic for me, there are no physical inhibitions to it, so thankfully that helps.

Evening Primrose Oil is now a daily thing for me. 1000 mg orally a day and starting tonight I'm going to do the suppository (yes I know family didn't want to read that, sorry for the TMI but it's a risk you take while reading here!) and hope that it really kicks my cervix in to gear. If I can go in to labor on my own and deliver vaginally I know that will really help with my recovery!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and they find that staying cool isn't too hard! Prayers and blessings everyone.

It's All Done!!

Katie's wedding was today and I survived! It's all done! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!! Now I can focus on getting office reorganized and painted and knitting my baby sweaters. Oh, and I need to pick up fabric for the moses basket cover. Anyway, it's ALL DONE!!!!

I'll have pics to share over the next week or so, Jason is going to start editing tomorrow. I also have pics from Easter (everyone but Izzy rode in a fire truck!) and from a trip to the park last week that INCLUDED Katy!

Prayers and blessings everyone. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and some task that you have been putting off or dreading is finally done and over with for you!

Oooh, Updated Posts!

I'm feeling better, thankfully. I think Izzy is now coming down sick. He's not his usual "Destructo Boy!" self today. Poor guy. If you scroll down, you'll find a post for his birthday, and very shortly, I'll be putting up the ultrasound pics and the babies' names.

Prayers and blessings everyone. I hope your week finds you warm (we have chilly temps and some slush) and well.

I'd Like to Introduce...

...as the newest members of the Serial Household...

As Baby A we have Jack David. He was measuring 19 weeks and 6 days. His placenta is in the front of the uterus, which can make it more difficult to feel him moving around. It also explains why where he is laying looks so much bigger compared to where Baby B is.

Jason is debating about calling him Jack. He likes the name, however he doesn't feel that Jack really is a "baby" name. Jason was thinking of calling him Davie, or something like that. Audra suggested using the initials, J.D. Me, I'm not too keen on either of those ideas. I don't like using middle names as first names. If I wanted to use the name as the first name, it would be the first name. The same goes with initials as names. I know Jason orginally wanted David as the first name. I nixed it. I like the name, however I don't like it THAT much.

Jack is my grandfather's name. Jack is my brother's name. Jack is also about 7 other family members from my mom's side, all of whom we see rarely, if ever at all. In fact, the last time I saw any of them was when my grandfather (the same Jack) was married when Jayden was about 7 or 8 months old. My siblings aren't using the name Jack. I thought it'd be a nice tribute, especially considering that the babies will be born right around my grandfather's birthday. Izzy has Jason's middle name. The same middle name also happens to belong to Jason's dad, and Jason's grandfather. Jason's dad's name is David. So, to me at least, we have the "name the child after the grandfather" thing covered and I didn't feel the real need to do it a 2nd time with having David as a first name.

I figure I'll call him Jack. The kids will call him Jack. My family will call him Jack. If nothing else, he'll grow up wondering how come his dad can't get his name right!









And as Baby B we have Abbey Michelle. Now for those that know is IRL, you may or may not understand the full import of having a daughter with the first name Abbey and our last name. I'm going to sum it up simply by saying that Abbey is ALL Beatles tribute. Abbey was measuring at 20 weeks and 1 day. Her placenta is to the back.

I honestly thought that the babies were reversed and that the boy was the "bigger" baby. There isn't much difference in their size, and they are right on target for my 20 week mark, which is when the ultrasound took place.

This is where I made my compromise in naming our children. I really liked the name Maxine. However, Jason has said that for as long as he could remember, he would want a daughter named Abbey so that she could be that Beatles tribute. Yes, we are freaks, let's move on, shall we? So after much discussion with myself, not internal mind you, I talk outloud when I'm speaking, and debating, and yes, I debate outloud with myself too, it's not like the kids are actually listening to what I'm saying, I decided that I would give up Max and agree to Abbey.

Now to me, Abbey was a great compromise for Jack. Which I guess is why I'm upset (is it really upset or more disturbed? eh, who cares about the semantics of it) that Jason doesn't even want to use Jack's first name. I gave up a perfectly good name for another name that I kind of love so he could have a tribute that, to me, is kind of goofy and hokey. How many are taking bets that I win this one? Yeah, I wouldn't bet against me either.








It certainly seems that dreams do come true, oddly enough. Prayers and blessings everyone. I hope that, even with disagreement, your dreams do come true.

Where oh Where Have I Been?

It's the holiday season which means busy busy busy. And then more busy.

Baking, shopping, wrapping, cleaning, travelling, gifting, visiting. You know, all that craziness.

I got the bee in my bonnet that I would make homemade breads on top of doing homemade cookies. My in-laws benefited from this, my mom however did not. I was just so tired after getting home from the in-laws that I said "I'm going to bed" and then the next day there just wasn't the time. Oh, we did manage to forget the camera at my mom's house, not that we were actually USING it or anything though. I *think* Jason *might* have taken some pics of the kids as his sis' place, but don't quote me on that, at all.

We've had crazy weather around here. The week before Christmas it was record freezing temps and snow snow snow snow and then more snow. Over Christmas we had RAIN and record HIGH temps. Go figure.

Our van is crying for repairs, however we won't have the money until we get our income tax return some time in February is my guess. We don't drive much, especially now that all the holiday visiting is all done, so she *should* (knock on lots of wood and say lots of prayers) ok until then. We have one trip to see Katy at the end of January and that will be all. I may ask my sister to borrow her car for that trip just to feel safer.

We still haven't done our gifts for the kids. They are all wrapped and under the tree. We were going to do them this morning, however the only kid that is awake at 6 minutes to 10 in the morning is Izzy. They did go to bed pretty late last night. Even Jason is still asleep.

Lately, he has been letting me sleep in, which is really nice, but it totally throws my schedule off. Of coarse, just having him home all day, every day throws my schedule off. He is getting very upset with being home all the time. Apparently, the kids and I are a lot to handle all day every day. Uh, yeah, DUH on that one! Hehe. I love the man dearly, but he was definately meant to be at work. Stay at Home Dad he is not.

James sees the psychiatrist this afternoon. It's just a med check really. I'm going to ask the doc about applying for SSI and if he feels James would qualify. We applied last year, and between the fact that our old case managers left the agency we had been working with for the past couple of years and not having any recent workups of James and all of that, it was denied. The application didn't even have the most pressing issues listed on it as reasons for applying. It was a debacle all around. Now that we are in the more intensive therapy program, and with James seeing the psychiatrist regularly, we are going to reapply.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I will be back to posting regularly now that the hulabaloo has died down. Prayers and blessings everyone.