Sunday, April 24, 2011

He is Risen!

P1090424-2

After making Resurrection Cookies last night I hurried everyone off to bed.  We spent the entire day working outside and were all pretty exhausted.  Unfortunately it took the bunny until after midnight to get through all of his/her work!  The kids were under orders not to appear until after 7:00 but apparently Paige didn’t get that memo.  Just after 6:00 I awoke to a loudly whispered, “Caden, wake up!  It’s Easter morning!” being repeated over and over.  I groggily told her to go back to bed but of course it was too late. 

P1090431-2

P1090438-2

The boys were less than thrilled at having to get “all gussied up” (Caden’s words) for the obligatory picture.  But they just look so cute, don’t they?  Don’t let the brightness of the picture fool you.  It rained all. day. long. 

P1090441-2

P1090443-2

Thank you Trace, for getting photographic evidence of what is quickly becoming a tradition – burnt marshmallows on the sweet potatoes!  At least this time they didn’t ignite into 3 inch flames like they did at Christmas!

P1090445-2

Rick spent the day in Seattle on a trip.  We all missed having him here but over all it was a nice day with friends and family!

Friday, April 22, 2011

An Exciting Day for Paige

P1090420-2

This morning Paige and I took all of her paperwork down to the school and registered her for Kindergarten.  She was SO excited!  It was fun to see her so happy and I know she is ready but…

As I helped he put on her dress this morning and pulled her wet hair out of the collar there was just this little pang of, “how did this happen?”  This is my baby.  The one I waited so long for!  I’m not one to get overly emotional with these kinds of events, but I think with Paige it is a little different.  We worked so hard, went through so much and ultimately waited so long for her that it just doesn’t seem possible that she can be growing up so fast.  I’m excited for the future and to see each of the kids grow, but …

Time to Color the Eggs!

Before Rick left for his trip we wanted to color eggs with him.  As usual, the kids were very excited.  Paige was especially excited – she didn’t remember doing it last year very much.  We all had a good time though and in the end we had 2.5 dozen (a few broke in the process) hard boiled and 18 unboiled, brightly colored eggs!

P1090401-2

 

P1090411-2

P1090415-2

P1090418-2

Oops!

P1090395-2

As I was walking in the house from work last Friday I stopped to figure out where the “sssssssssssssss” sound was coming from.  It didn’t take me long to figure it out and it didn’t take long for the tire to look like this (about an hour to be exact!).

Yep, that’s the nasty culprit! As you can see, those nice bald tires needed to be replaced anyway.

P1090397-2

 

P1090398-2

Caden got to learn how to change a tire though!  See, there is a bright side to everything!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Can you believe my kids get to go to school here!


If that isn't the most beautiful setting, I don't know what is! We are very blessed.

As for the other parts of life around here...
I finally made a decision about a doctor for Caden. That apparently was the easy part though! Then I spent two days on the phone calling insurance and offices to find out if we could even go to him and then if we could even get an appointment. To make a long story short, we have an appointment made for July with what sounds like an exceptional doctor! I was initially very upset at having to wait so long, but after a night of sleep I had a new perspective and am now just grateful to have an appointment at all. Rather than be angry with God for another delay, I am thankful He made an opening with a doctor on staff at one of the best hospitals in the country!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Yes, we're still alive!

There just really isn't anything going on. The kids and I were on Spring Break last week and we pretty much sat around and played video games all day. Pretty pathetic, but it rained for all but two days of the break.

So, I've been stewing for a while about a couple of different things. It really just boils down to making the right decisions for your kids. That seems like it should just be so simple and yet we all know that it is anything but simple. The first issue for me right now is dealing with Caden. While I have been pretty open on here about most things there is a small part of this that I feel needs to be kept private. For him to share if he ever feels like it. Unfortunately that has a lot to do with the decisions I'm trying to make for him. So, hopefully I can explain in a semi understandable way! I counted up the other day and figured that we have seen seven different medical professionals since he was born. Three of those have been in the last six months. All of them were consulted about his anger. None of them gave us any answers. Several of them tried, they really did, but it wasn't the answer. Six months ago I decided I couldn't take another day of the anger and violence. Our home was in constant turmoil and Caden was never happy. So we went to our pediatrician. He tried to help but ultimately sent us to a behavioral pediatrician. I was so unhappy with that guy that I took him to see my doctor. Now I just feel like we are in limbo. My doctor really isn't ideal for the long term and I won't go back to the behavioral pediatrician (he asked Caden the same questions every visit and told us about three times that he definitely doesn't have Asbergers (Autism) - no kidding!? Since that isn't what we brought him in for I'm so comforted to hear that! There were several other issues with him too.) So where do we go next? I'm so tired of "trying" out doctors and having to repeat our story and all the tests. I'm really, really just tired of it. Mostly for Caden's sake though. He is sitting right there when I'm telling the doctor what is going on! That just isn't right and I refuse to do that again. So, I have the recommendations of three different doctors and some center for testing and evaluation. But I need someone who is going to listen to me. I definitely don't know everything, but I've lived with this kid for nine years, read everything I could get my hands on and consulted with seven doctors. I've also worked with young children for over 20 years. I think I have earned the right to be listened to and worked with. I'm not a quack job or a nut case, really I'm actually pretty reasonable (so I've been told). At this point I'm trying to decide between a referral from my doctor, one from a special ed. assistant and one from a parent. The one from the parent happens to be at OHSU which I think would be fabulous except that he seems to specialize in Autism - which you will recall we've been told he definitely doesn't have! I don't know what to do anymore. I really don't and that's probably why I haven't done anything.

The other issue is Paige and school. I've been asked many times over the last couple of years what we were going to do with her when she started kindergarten. For about the last year now I've been trying to figure that out. My first choice is to send her to the private school Trace went to for kindergarten and part of first grade. We were very happy with the school and they are certainly more advanced than the public schools, but they have a high price. The public school is obviously the easier choice in some ways - no cost, no uniforms and bus service to name a couple. Our principal though has made it very clear that she will not move kids up a grade. Not a whole grade and not even for a subject. I have a real problem with that and did find out it is not a district wide policy - just hers. I am in pretty good standing with everyone at the school and I don't really want to rock the boat. However... my child comes first. If she tests into first grade reading or math I want her sent to a first grade classroom for those subjects! There is study after study after study that shows the benefits up placing kids with like-minded peers rather than age equivalent ones. I haven't seen anything that says it is detrimental to a child or their development. Now if she doesn't test that high I'm totally ok with that too. She isn't a genius just very bright and I don't want her bored with school right off the bat. Anyway, that's what I've been tossing around in my head for a while now. I'm open to any thoughts, ideas or suggestions from the three of you who actually read this blog (if there is more than that I wouldn't know because you never comment!).