Progress! For the past couple of weeks it seems like all we've been doing is waiting - waiting for meetings, waiting for people to call me back, waiting for stuff in the mail, etc. And yesterday it all came at once!
1) We got James' marks back for 3rd year, and he passed! We were pretty sure that he had, but we had never had to wait that long to get his marks back before (he took his test Feb 26) so we were sweating it a little bit. That means that James is officially in his last year of apprenticeship, and will get a raise (from 70% of the journeyman rate to 80%). That also means that we can go ahead with buying a house! I'm in the process of finding a realtor right now, and James and I have been scouring MLS. We've got a few places in mind and our fingers are crossed that we'll find something suitable. Our budget is definitely in the "teeny tiny" category, which limits us a bit, but I think we'll find something that works. My strategy is that I keep my standards low, and then I won't be disappointed. ;)
2) I heard back from the nurse at the Glenrose, and they will be mailing me a prescription for some anti-anxiety medication for Emmett. He really struggles with anxiety, both with little everyday things and big scary things (haircuts, medical appointments). These pills will hopefully help him with those big scary things when they happen.
3) I met with Emmett's teacher, SLP, OT and PT yesterday to write up his IPP for school (ah, the land of special needs is full of abbreviations!). Basically, I sat down with everyone who works with Em at school and we discussed his strengths, weaknesses and made some specific goals for him for the rest of the school year. It was so great sitting down with these women who have been getting to know my son and had some great insights for me. I was happy to learn that Emmett has a little group of friends in his class and he loves to spend time with them and do what they do - he has some issues participating and trying new things, so watching his friends do things is going to be huge for him. He's happy at school and his speech is really improving...at home I've noticed less and less of using just one word and a big jump in using short sentences. The staff at his school are so nice and accommodating - they didn't even seem to mind that Seth was in the meeting or that he continually added his own opinions, at top volume!
Life is so busy right now, and it looks like it will continue to be in the months to come. I am really looking forward to summer in my own place, with my own (landlord's-dog-poop-free) backyard, with everything unpacked and just being able to relax with the boys. I can feel that time is coming, but there is a lot to be done first!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
And the journey continues...
It's 2:30am, and I can't sleep (it seems a lot of my blog posts are a result of insomnia!). Four years ago exactly I was tossing and turning as well. I was in the hospital, extremely pregnant and with my waters broken, waiting for my baby to make his or her long awaited entrance into the world. I wasn't in labour, just being monitored and watching for pot to boil, so to speak. I didn't have a private room so James had been sent home and told to come back if I made any progress (you can guess how much sleep HE had that night...zero!). I was so excited (I'm going to be a MOM!!) and nervous (this thing is coming out of me, and I'm going to be solely in charge of it! Are they nuts??!?). Of course that "thing" turned out to be Emmett, who finally arrived on the scene around dinner time that day. It was an exhausting and emotional day, and I will never forget the moment I looked at my son for the first time, saw he was a boy and James and I said to each other "Emmett! We have a little boy, Emmett!".
Now I'm up again in the middle of the night, after another long and exhausting day. We had the family conference to wrap up Emmett's assessments and get a diagnosis. Essentially, Emmett is about 25 months old mentally. He is severely delayed in his communication and learning. We're not sure why, but we suspect the cause may be genetic. We will probably be undergoing some genetic testing to see if we can isolate the cause.
I'm still processing everything...a lot of the behaviors that I'm concerned about, and that were leading me to believe he may have a form of autism, could be explained by the fact that mentally he's only 2. They aren't totally ruling autism out at this point but right now he doesn't meet the criteria for that diagnosis. We also aren't sure what this means long term...he will continue to progress but he has been classed as having below average intelligence and will probably never fully catch up to his peers.
So that's where we're at right now. Obviously, it's upsetting news and not what we wanted to hear, but it's reality. The good (great!) news is, Emmett has been blessed with SO many family and friends that love him and will support him. He's in a great program with excellent teachers and other professionals. He's got all the tools he's going to need to live up to his full potential in life, whatever that may be. We are clearly living in the "right" place, at the "right" time...there are so many programs and resources we can access.
Today is Emmett's birthday, and we are going to celebrate him. He has changed my life forever, and if I had the choice of doing it all over again, I would without a doubt. That sweet child is and always has been a huge blessing to our family, and I love him for exactly who he is.
Now I'm up again in the middle of the night, after another long and exhausting day. We had the family conference to wrap up Emmett's assessments and get a diagnosis. Essentially, Emmett is about 25 months old mentally. He is severely delayed in his communication and learning. We're not sure why, but we suspect the cause may be genetic. We will probably be undergoing some genetic testing to see if we can isolate the cause.
I'm still processing everything...a lot of the behaviors that I'm concerned about, and that were leading me to believe he may have a form of autism, could be explained by the fact that mentally he's only 2. They aren't totally ruling autism out at this point but right now he doesn't meet the criteria for that diagnosis. We also aren't sure what this means long term...he will continue to progress but he has been classed as having below average intelligence and will probably never fully catch up to his peers.
So that's where we're at right now. Obviously, it's upsetting news and not what we wanted to hear, but it's reality. The good (great!) news is, Emmett has been blessed with SO many family and friends that love him and will support him. He's in a great program with excellent teachers and other professionals. He's got all the tools he's going to need to live up to his full potential in life, whatever that may be. We are clearly living in the "right" place, at the "right" time...there are so many programs and resources we can access.
Today is Emmett's birthday, and we are going to celebrate him. He has changed my life forever, and if I had the choice of doing it all over again, I would without a doubt. That sweet child is and always has been a huge blessing to our family, and I love him for exactly who he is.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
A little bit of everything
I've been meaning to post for awhile, but didn't have anything "major" to blog about. So I figured I'd just update on a few little things:
Weight Loss
I lost another 3 lbs in February! I figure that's pretty good considering February was pretty insane for me...with James being in school I was pretty much a single mom and was transitioning Emmett into school at the same time. I just discovered this morning that my scale is broken, so this will probably be my last weight loss update for awhile. I'm not at my goal yet, but all my pants are too big so I'm happy with that. The next couple of months will be crazy as well, so I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing - watching portion sizes and making good choices most of the time. I'm also trying to carve out some me time a few mornings a week to work out at home...lately I've been kickboxing.
Seth
My little one is growing in leaps and bounds! He took his first steps a couple of weeks ago, and it's starting to dawn on him now that walking *could* be a better way to get around than crawling! He usually starts out walking and goes as far as he can with that until he falls down (which doesn't take much!) and then finishes with crawling. He also now says "Emmett" clear as day, which is so awesome! He usually goes down for a nap while big bro is at school, and often "Emmett" is the first thing he'll say when he wakes up...he misses his brother! He's turning into your typical annoying little brother, following Emmett around and bugging him all the time. Usually this does NOT end well, but once in awhile Em will play with him and it makes him SO happy!
Emmett
My eldest is SUCH a grump in the mornings, until I mention the magic words: "school bus". Yesterday I wasn't getting ready fast enough and I got "Come on mama, time for SCHOOL BUS!!" You should see him waiting in front of our house every morning, he's practically bursting with excitement. His bus drivers love him and it's a great start to his school day. He also understands the whole birthday thing this year, and is VERY excited for his 4th birthday next week. He's getting cupcakes at school, a friend party, *and* a family party so he's going to be in heaven! He is still obsessed with Cars (in fact we're watching it right now...sigh...) and we got him Mater, Sheriff, Red (the firetruck) and Chick Hicks for his birthday - he's going to flip when he opens them!
My Hubby
James survived school again this year...he got the highest mark in the class on his blueprinting project and passed all of his subjects. Now we're just waiting for his final exam marks...he thinks he did pretty well. He's back at work, but they've actually got him doing materials handling for the time being - a complete overhaul of their warehouse. Word must have got out that James was a parts handler for 4 years, because he's been put in charge of the project! James has a real knack for organizing so he's right in his element.
Assessments
Emmett's big appointments at the Glenrose are scheduled for Mar 8-10...I'm a bit nervous but looking forward to getting a complete picture of what he's dealing with and how to help him. I'll update on that once he's been assessed.
Weight Loss
I lost another 3 lbs in February! I figure that's pretty good considering February was pretty insane for me...with James being in school I was pretty much a single mom and was transitioning Emmett into school at the same time. I just discovered this morning that my scale is broken, so this will probably be my last weight loss update for awhile. I'm not at my goal yet, but all my pants are too big so I'm happy with that. The next couple of months will be crazy as well, so I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing - watching portion sizes and making good choices most of the time. I'm also trying to carve out some me time a few mornings a week to work out at home...lately I've been kickboxing.
Seth
My little one is growing in leaps and bounds! He took his first steps a couple of weeks ago, and it's starting to dawn on him now that walking *could* be a better way to get around than crawling! He usually starts out walking and goes as far as he can with that until he falls down (which doesn't take much!) and then finishes with crawling. He also now says "Emmett" clear as day, which is so awesome! He usually goes down for a nap while big bro is at school, and often "Emmett" is the first thing he'll say when he wakes up...he misses his brother! He's turning into your typical annoying little brother, following Emmett around and bugging him all the time. Usually this does NOT end well, but once in awhile Em will play with him and it makes him SO happy!
Emmett
My eldest is SUCH a grump in the mornings, until I mention the magic words: "school bus". Yesterday I wasn't getting ready fast enough and I got "Come on mama, time for SCHOOL BUS!!" You should see him waiting in front of our house every morning, he's practically bursting with excitement. His bus drivers love him and it's a great start to his school day. He also understands the whole birthday thing this year, and is VERY excited for his 4th birthday next week. He's getting cupcakes at school, a friend party, *and* a family party so he's going to be in heaven! He is still obsessed with Cars (in fact we're watching it right now...sigh...) and we got him Mater, Sheriff, Red (the firetruck) and Chick Hicks for his birthday - he's going to flip when he opens them!
My Hubby
James survived school again this year...he got the highest mark in the class on his blueprinting project and passed all of his subjects. Now we're just waiting for his final exam marks...he thinks he did pretty well. He's back at work, but they've actually got him doing materials handling for the time being - a complete overhaul of their warehouse. Word must have got out that James was a parts handler for 4 years, because he's been put in charge of the project! James has a real knack for organizing so he's right in his element.
Assessments
Emmett's big appointments at the Glenrose are scheduled for Mar 8-10...I'm a bit nervous but looking forward to getting a complete picture of what he's dealing with and how to help him. I'll update on that once he's been assessed.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Oops.
I noticed a few days ago that Seth had a bit of a rash on his back. It's not unusual for Seth to be a bit rashy so I didn't pay much attention to it. When I undressed him last night I discovered that he was now covered in big red welts.
Oops.
So, off to the after hours clinic I go...I've never had to wait there more than 45 min or so, so I figured I would be fine with just a bottle and a few diapers.
Oops.
After 2 1/2 hours of waiting (and 2 hours past bed time), Seth had explored every inch of the clinic and was DONE. It was all I could do to keep him from screaming his head off. I resorted to wearing his pajama top as a hat for comedic effect and was ready to start making origami out of the paper covering the exam bed when we were finally seen. He's got hives all over his little body from some kind of allergic reaction (to what I'm not sure, but our scented laundry detergent is the #1 suspect right now - good thing I just used the last of it yesterday and had just bought some fragrance free stuff). By the time we got out of the clinic it was 11pm and we were both incredibly tired. I had a prescription but I didn't think he'd tolerate another stop at the pharmacy and we had to be up at 6am, so we just went home to bed.
Oops.
Did you know that the Shoppers Drug Mart on Whyte and 109th street is open at 2:30am? Cause it is! Did you know that doctors at the after care clinic prescribe weird liquids that cause pharmacists to make a "What the hell?" face and phone 4 other pharmacies looking for the stuff? Cause they do! Poor Sethers had to settle for some OTC stuff and an oatmeal bath in the middle of the night. By the time I got to bed I was supposed to be up in 2 and a half hours (to drive James to school so I would have the car to take Em to school) so I woke James up and told him he could just take the car and I would walk the kids to the school in the stroller.
Oops.
The fact that the stroller is currently located in the trunk was the very first thought I had when I woke up this morning. About an hour after James left. Thankfully my friend down the street has a very nice jogging stroller that I was able to borrow....phew! Hey, at least I'm getting my exercise today (72 blocks for 2 round trips).
Something has to go right today...right?
Oops.
So, off to the after hours clinic I go...I've never had to wait there more than 45 min or so, so I figured I would be fine with just a bottle and a few diapers.
Oops.
After 2 1/2 hours of waiting (and 2 hours past bed time), Seth had explored every inch of the clinic and was DONE. It was all I could do to keep him from screaming his head off. I resorted to wearing his pajama top as a hat for comedic effect and was ready to start making origami out of the paper covering the exam bed when we were finally seen. He's got hives all over his little body from some kind of allergic reaction (to what I'm not sure, but our scented laundry detergent is the #1 suspect right now - good thing I just used the last of it yesterday and had just bought some fragrance free stuff). By the time we got out of the clinic it was 11pm and we were both incredibly tired. I had a prescription but I didn't think he'd tolerate another stop at the pharmacy and we had to be up at 6am, so we just went home to bed.
Oops.
Did you know that the Shoppers Drug Mart on Whyte and 109th street is open at 2:30am? Cause it is! Did you know that doctors at the after care clinic prescribe weird liquids that cause pharmacists to make a "What the hell?" face and phone 4 other pharmacies looking for the stuff? Cause they do! Poor Sethers had to settle for some OTC stuff and an oatmeal bath in the middle of the night. By the time I got to bed I was supposed to be up in 2 and a half hours (to drive James to school so I would have the car to take Em to school) so I woke James up and told him he could just take the car and I would walk the kids to the school in the stroller.
Oops.
The fact that the stroller is currently located in the trunk was the very first thought I had when I woke up this morning. About an hour after James left. Thankfully my friend down the street has a very nice jogging stroller that I was able to borrow....phew! Hey, at least I'm getting my exercise today (72 blocks for 2 round trips).
Something has to go right today...right?
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Prayers Answered!
Emmett is doing wonderfully at his new preschool! He did WAY better than I expected - he cried a bit when we first arrived on the first day, but once he noticed all the toys he started to warm up to the idea. I stayed at the school for his whole first day and popped in and out, and he wasn't clingy at all! This morning he went by himself the whole time and did great!
They way this worked out was no coincidence...things were mentioned to the right people at the right time just when a spot opened up. Heavenly Father knew this was where Emmett needed to be, and I know he's going to blossom!
They way this worked out was no coincidence...things were mentioned to the right people at the right time just when a spot opened up. Heavenly Father knew this was where Emmett needed to be, and I know he's going to blossom!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Good News/Bad News
The past week has been crazy - in a nutshell I learned of a spot at an amazing special needs preschool and have spent the past week trying to figure out if we can get Emmett in there. One of the pre-requisites was an official assessment to send to Alberta Learning so that Em could get funding to attend. We had that assessment today.
The good news is that the speech pathologist seemed pretty positive that he would qualify for funding. He's pretty much already been accepted to the school and the vice principal is just trying to get all the ducks in a row to make it official, but that was still nice to hear. Actually, I think the reason she told me he could just start attending right away is after meeting him for less than 10 minutes she could tell he would qualify.
Emmett's speech delay has been classified as severe. She didn't give me an approximate age level that he's at, but I'd guess about a 2 year old level (he'll be 4 next month). She said "I know that's hard to hear", and I was very professional about it all and tried to focus on the positive (now he can get the specific help he needs to grow). I won't lie though, inside I'm really struggling. I know this is just the beginning and things can only get better from here, but it's still scary and overwhelming. I question my ability to help him reach his full potential.
Next week is going to be very difficult - ever since his 3 day stay at Hitler's Preschool for Young Nazis, Em's anxiety goes right through the roof whenever he's in a school type setting. Heck, he was practically hyperventilating at library storytime. My family has been great about agreeing to watch Seth so that I can stay with Em at school for as long as he needs me there, but it's still going to be hard. At least there are a TON of cool things to do at school, which should help win him over...the question is how long that will take.
To whomever is reading this...if you pray, please include Emmett in your prayers. We're praying that he will feel safe at school and learn to trust the teacher and aides. I'll post an update this time next week about how his first few days went.
The good news is that the speech pathologist seemed pretty positive that he would qualify for funding. He's pretty much already been accepted to the school and the vice principal is just trying to get all the ducks in a row to make it official, but that was still nice to hear. Actually, I think the reason she told me he could just start attending right away is after meeting him for less than 10 minutes she could tell he would qualify.
Emmett's speech delay has been classified as severe. She didn't give me an approximate age level that he's at, but I'd guess about a 2 year old level (he'll be 4 next month). She said "I know that's hard to hear", and I was very professional about it all and tried to focus on the positive (now he can get the specific help he needs to grow). I won't lie though, inside I'm really struggling. I know this is just the beginning and things can only get better from here, but it's still scary and overwhelming. I question my ability to help him reach his full potential.
Next week is going to be very difficult - ever since his 3 day stay at Hitler's Preschool for Young Nazis, Em's anxiety goes right through the roof whenever he's in a school type setting. Heck, he was practically hyperventilating at library storytime. My family has been great about agreeing to watch Seth so that I can stay with Em at school for as long as he needs me there, but it's still going to be hard. At least there are a TON of cool things to do at school, which should help win him over...the question is how long that will take.
To whomever is reading this...if you pray, please include Emmett in your prayers. We're praying that he will feel safe at school and learn to trust the teacher and aides. I'll post an update this time next week about how his first few days went.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Weight Loss Update
It's been 1 month since I started eating better and working out...and I've lost exactly 5lbs! It doesn't really sound all that impressive, but I'm celebrating anyway. ;) I am now approximately 10 lbs above my original weight watchers goal weight from when I was 19, so I know the scale is going to move slowly...I remember it taking a few months to get those last pounds off. Even though I'm almost 10 years older and have popped out a couple of puppies since that time, I think that goal is still do-able. I'm going to have to work it though!
My goals for this month:
-find more healthy and cheap things to cook, and try to move away from "recipes" a bit more and just cook lots of whole foods. (I'm thinking lots of root vegetables roasted with olive oil and a spinach salad sort of thing) The trick is finding something the kids will try as well...Emmett is very wary of foods he doesn't recognize, and Seth's starting to become kind of a pickypants too.
-drink lots of water, and less diet pop
-keep doing some form of exercise 6 days a week...I can really see a different in my abs already so I'm going to definitely keep up with that.
-this is unrelated to weight loss, but I need to get back in the habit of daily scripture study.
I'm hoping to see another 4-5 lbs gone this month...we'll see how it goes!
My goals for this month:
-find more healthy and cheap things to cook, and try to move away from "recipes" a bit more and just cook lots of whole foods. (I'm thinking lots of root vegetables roasted with olive oil and a spinach salad sort of thing) The trick is finding something the kids will try as well...Emmett is very wary of foods he doesn't recognize, and Seth's starting to become kind of a pickypants too.
-drink lots of water, and less diet pop
-keep doing some form of exercise 6 days a week...I can really see a different in my abs already so I'm going to definitely keep up with that.
-this is unrelated to weight loss, but I need to get back in the habit of daily scripture study.
I'm hoping to see another 4-5 lbs gone this month...we'll see how it goes!
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