I'm finally not so uncomfortable right now so I figured I'd get on here, give some shout-outs and then have some inner dialog with myself on whether I should attempt to eat anything else today.
What am I thankful for? I don't have enough time in the day to go over everything. But I will say that I'm thankful for my family (duh). But not just the obvious members. All of them. Whether they're a part of my life or not. Because without them, I would never have learned a thing. Whether it is how to be stronger, how to move on or how to forgive. I may not be all the way there on that last part, but I'm getting there. And for that, I'm thankful.
I love my life. I love my friends. I may not have the best relationships with everyone whether it's my fault, theirs or both. But I love them all. Whether we're close or just friends who hang out occasionally but don't quite know enough about each other. I wouldn't have you in my life if I didn't think you were worth it, and I hope the feeling is mutual. Some people I have reconnected with this year. And while I do tread lightly and I do keep some walls up out of fear, I'm thankful for second chances.
I have been trying my best over the past couple of months to be a better person. To not be so negative. It's a hard thing to do when I've spent the last 32 years being nothing but. People who once drove me nuts with their "glass is half full" mentality are now people I look forward to being around. I'm not saying I am now going to be annoyingly chipper, I'm just saying that my glass won't always be half empty.
So, thank you to everyone in my life. Good, bad and in between.
Now, if you don't mind--I have an awesome little family to get back to.
Gobble, gobble, yo.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Where to start
Ugh.
I know I've been slacking on the postings--it just seems like every time I sit down to type something up, I have to stop to do something else. And by the time I can get back to it, days have gone by and there's so much more to cover.
So instead of going into waaay too much detail that no one cares about anyway, I'll make it short and sweet.
Kale's TVI (teacher of visual impairment, or VIT--visual impairment teacher) started visiting a couple of weeks ago. She's great, she's teaching me braille and thinks Kale is the bees knees. Yesterday an O&M (orientation and mobility) teacher came by to meet Kale and to see how he is "traveling-wise". She was very impressed with him and how he moves around, but it probably won't be another six months or so before she starts to actually work with him. She's the one who will introduce him to mobility devices including a cane. Ms. Powers (Kale's TVI) said she will keep the O&M teacher updated on his crawling and walking and maybe he'll get to work with her sooner. He's pulling up on everything now--the couch, the recliner, the table. And he loves it. If he falls, he gets right back up and does it all over again. He'll walk around everything he pulls up on, too. He even prefers to stand (assisted, of course) in the tub now--which is just oh, so fun for me. Not difficult at all (That's not drenched in sarcasm at all, is it?).
Kale started crawling a lot the other day. He did it around six different times. Yesterday he did it twice, once while the teachers were here! That made my day because it seems like I'm the only one who ever sees Kale do it--finally someone else saw it and I don't have to worry that people think I'm making things up (not like I really think they think that...).
Formula is finally a thing of the past! Kale is finally drinking milk. Whew! Now if only I could get him to drink from a sippy cup instead of a bottle. And to drink water and juice. He is eating chunkier foods and I can give him these little yogurt bites and puff snacks. Before I was having to break them up into little pieces but today he took them all in one bite (thanks to my mom). I'm hoping he'll eventually learn to take them in his own fingers and feed them to himself. We'll see. So many things to do, don't want to overwhelm him.
Right now our biggest issue/problem is getting Kale to sleep on his own. In his crib. There was a time before he started having surgery back in April when he slept through the night and it was pure bliss. But since that first surgery, it's been a battle. Most of the time him and daddy are on the couch and that's just no way for either of them to get any rest. We've been attempting the whole crying-it-out and that didn't last too long. But there are safety issues that have us trying to suck it up and get it done. Right this very moment, Kale is in his crib screaming his head off and has been for about 45 minutes. Tonight we're trying out the Ferber Method. So far? It sucks. We find ourselves asking if it's worth it right now. He's going to be having surgery again in a couple of weeks and we'll just have to start all over again.
I know some people think it's horrible and we should just hold him and give in or whatever. But we have our reasons for needing to do this. Every family is different and ours is no exception.
Maile is doing phenomenal. She's learning to read which is such an awesome thing to watch. Reading has always been my "thing" so to see her do it and enjoy it brings me so much joy! She's always loved books but now she goes through and points out all the words she knows and tries to sound out the ones she doesn't. Today she showed me a list of words she was trying to spell just for the heck of it and one of the words she was trying to spell was "dolphin". She spelled it "dofin". How awesome is that? A few weeks ago, the movie "Akeelah and the Bee" was on and we recorded it (I personally love the movie and I wanted Mike to see it--he ended up loving it, too). I swear for the next two days, that's all she wanted to watch! And she kept pretending to be in her own spelling bee, which was the cutest thing.
She's also quite the artist and I'm hoping she sticks with it. She really blows us away with some of the stuff she draws. I was big into drawing (and quite good at it) when I was a kid but stopped for whatever reason. I just hope she doesn't!
Aiight.
I think I covered most of everything. I'm sure I'll remember something else and come back and edit it in. But right now I have to go check on Kale.
So much for short and sweet, huh?
Hope you all have a wonderful, safe and Happy Thanksgiving. I'm sure I'll be back sometime around Thursday to bore everyone with all that I am thankful for.
Until then...
I know I've been slacking on the postings--it just seems like every time I sit down to type something up, I have to stop to do something else. And by the time I can get back to it, days have gone by and there's so much more to cover.
So instead of going into waaay too much detail that no one cares about anyway, I'll make it short and sweet.
Kale's TVI (teacher of visual impairment, or VIT--visual impairment teacher) started visiting a couple of weeks ago. She's great, she's teaching me braille and thinks Kale is the bees knees. Yesterday an O&M (orientation and mobility) teacher came by to meet Kale and to see how he is "traveling-wise". She was very impressed with him and how he moves around, but it probably won't be another six months or so before she starts to actually work with him. She's the one who will introduce him to mobility devices including a cane. Ms. Powers (Kale's TVI) said she will keep the O&M teacher updated on his crawling and walking and maybe he'll get to work with her sooner. He's pulling up on everything now--the couch, the recliner, the table. And he loves it. If he falls, he gets right back up and does it all over again. He'll walk around everything he pulls up on, too. He even prefers to stand (assisted, of course) in the tub now--which is just oh, so fun for me. Not difficult at all (That's not drenched in sarcasm at all, is it?).
Kale started crawling a lot the other day. He did it around six different times. Yesterday he did it twice, once while the teachers were here! That made my day because it seems like I'm the only one who ever sees Kale do it--finally someone else saw it and I don't have to worry that people think I'm making things up (not like I really think they think that...).
Formula is finally a thing of the past! Kale is finally drinking milk. Whew! Now if only I could get him to drink from a sippy cup instead of a bottle. And to drink water and juice. He is eating chunkier foods and I can give him these little yogurt bites and puff snacks. Before I was having to break them up into little pieces but today he took them all in one bite (thanks to my mom). I'm hoping he'll eventually learn to take them in his own fingers and feed them to himself. We'll see. So many things to do, don't want to overwhelm him.
Right now our biggest issue/problem is getting Kale to sleep on his own. In his crib. There was a time before he started having surgery back in April when he slept through the night and it was pure bliss. But since that first surgery, it's been a battle. Most of the time him and daddy are on the couch and that's just no way for either of them to get any rest. We've been attempting the whole crying-it-out and that didn't last too long. But there are safety issues that have us trying to suck it up and get it done. Right this very moment, Kale is in his crib screaming his head off and has been for about 45 minutes. Tonight we're trying out the Ferber Method. So far? It sucks. We find ourselves asking if it's worth it right now. He's going to be having surgery again in a couple of weeks and we'll just have to start all over again.
I know some people think it's horrible and we should just hold him and give in or whatever. But we have our reasons for needing to do this. Every family is different and ours is no exception.
Maile is doing phenomenal. She's learning to read which is such an awesome thing to watch. Reading has always been my "thing" so to see her do it and enjoy it brings me so much joy! She's always loved books but now she goes through and points out all the words she knows and tries to sound out the ones she doesn't. Today she showed me a list of words she was trying to spell just for the heck of it and one of the words she was trying to spell was "dolphin". She spelled it "dofin". How awesome is that? A few weeks ago, the movie "Akeelah and the Bee" was on and we recorded it (I personally love the movie and I wanted Mike to see it--he ended up loving it, too). I swear for the next two days, that's all she wanted to watch! And she kept pretending to be in her own spelling bee, which was the cutest thing.
She's also quite the artist and I'm hoping she sticks with it. She really blows us away with some of the stuff she draws. I was big into drawing (and quite good at it) when I was a kid but stopped for whatever reason. I just hope she doesn't!
Aiight.
I think I covered most of everything. I'm sure I'll remember something else and come back and edit it in. But right now I have to go check on Kale.
So much for short and sweet, huh?
Hope you all have a wonderful, safe and Happy Thanksgiving. I'm sure I'll be back sometime around Thursday to bore everyone with all that I am thankful for.
Until then...
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Finally
Kale has a Visual Impairment Teacher (VIT)!!!
Today was the staffing meeting for Kale and it went very well. It was a bit overwhelming--there were eight other people there along with Kale and me. But the end result was all I've been waiting for since January.
I don't know yet when his VIT visits will start, but I'm hoping soon. She will come here to the house for thirty minutes twice a week. I've met her before and she seems to know her stuff. She should--she's been doing this for 35 years!
Anyway, I'm looking forward to learning some new things from someone who is somewhat of an expert when it comes to the visually impaired, rather than just trying to figure it out myself (sometimes unsuccessfully).
So, yay! The ball is rolling...
Today was the staffing meeting for Kale and it went very well. It was a bit overwhelming--there were eight other people there along with Kale and me. But the end result was all I've been waiting for since January.
I don't know yet when his VIT visits will start, but I'm hoping soon. She will come here to the house for thirty minutes twice a week. I've met her before and she seems to know her stuff. She should--she's been doing this for 35 years!
Anyway, I'm looking forward to learning some new things from someone who is somewhat of an expert when it comes to the visually impaired, rather than just trying to figure it out myself (sometimes unsuccessfully).
So, yay! The ball is rolling...
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Breakthrough (sorta)!
Yesterday my mom and dad watched Kale for me for a few hours and I gave my mom the "go ahead" on trying to get him to eat more than just baby food. I think I've just been too scared. The few times I've tried to give him stage 3 foods (the really chunky kinds), he would gag over and over again and I would freak out.
When I got back to my parents house, my mom told me she was able to get him to eat. And eat he did! Homeboy had a feast! She put some macaroni and a sweet potato in a small food processor but still left chunks all in it. She said he gagged a couple of times, but eventually stopped and was able to just eat it all. And the pudding. And the yogurt melt thingies (although we have to break them up into smaller pieces, but still).
So today I broke out the stage 3 Chicken Noodle jar that I've had stored away for when I felt Kale was finally ready for it...and he ate it! No problem! Well, except for the part where he refused to swallow any of the carrot bits in it. He would just keep them in the front of his mouth and I would have to take them out with my finger. I think it's safe to say he's about as fond of carrots as I am.
I'm sooo glad I had my mom do my dirty work for me! It never fails--if ever I have something I'm too scared to do, I just call on her. When Kale had his first surgery and had his eyes all covered in gauze and tape that wouldn't come off for anything, I called on her to be the one to get it off of him. And she did.
Anyway.
Today we took the kids to the pumpkin patch. We were going to do it sooner but then everyone got sick. But today was a beautiful day and we went to the one we always go to. Thankfully, they weren't completely out of pumpkins. Maile picked one out for her and picked a tiny one out for Kale. And Mike and I picked one out for us. Tomorrow we're going to carve ours and let Maile decide what she wants to do with hers. We have these pumpkin face things you can stick in it--kinda like the Mr. Potato Head stuff. But they're Halloweeny and Maile also has a princess set...so we'll just have to wait and see what she wants to do I guess. I'll post pictures of our pumpkins once we're done with them. Until then, here are the ones from today--Enjoy!
When I got back to my parents house, my mom told me she was able to get him to eat. And eat he did! Homeboy had a feast! She put some macaroni and a sweet potato in a small food processor but still left chunks all in it. She said he gagged a couple of times, but eventually stopped and was able to just eat it all. And the pudding. And the yogurt melt thingies (although we have to break them up into smaller pieces, but still).
So today I broke out the stage 3 Chicken Noodle jar that I've had stored away for when I felt Kale was finally ready for it...and he ate it! No problem! Well, except for the part where he refused to swallow any of the carrot bits in it. He would just keep them in the front of his mouth and I would have to take them out with my finger. I think it's safe to say he's about as fond of carrots as I am.
I'm sooo glad I had my mom do my dirty work for me! It never fails--if ever I have something I'm too scared to do, I just call on her. When Kale had his first surgery and had his eyes all covered in gauze and tape that wouldn't come off for anything, I called on her to be the one to get it off of him. And she did.
Anyway.
Today we took the kids to the pumpkin patch. We were going to do it sooner but then everyone got sick. But today was a beautiful day and we went to the one we always go to. Thankfully, they weren't completely out of pumpkins. Maile picked one out for her and picked a tiny one out for Kale. And Mike and I picked one out for us. Tomorrow we're going to carve ours and let Maile decide what she wants to do with hers. We have these pumpkin face things you can stick in it--kinda like the Mr. Potato Head stuff. But they're Halloweeny and Maile also has a princess set...so we'll just have to wait and see what she wants to do I guess. I'll post pictures of our pumpkins once we're done with them. Until then, here are the ones from today--Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Time to start baby-proofing--for real!
Kale crawled the other day!
Of course, he won't do it anymore now that I know he can and want him, too. But at least I know that he can. Also, he's been doing everything he can to stand up on his own and with some help initiating it, he'll pull up on the chair and couch. It's so friggin' funny to watch him, too. As soon as he's pulled himself up, he holds on with one hand and then starts to laugh or has this big goofy grin on his face. Sometimes he falls, but he'll pull himself back up again. Sometimes he'll just turn himself around and then lean on whatever it is he pulled himself up on--but he'll still be standing. He's just so damn cute.
You may be asking yourself why is this such a big deal to us. I mean, aside from the fact that it's exciting for any parent to watch this happen with their baby. Well, visually impaired babies tend to be delayed when it comes to things like crawling and walking. I have worked and worked with Kale to do these things and finally just kind of stopped pushing it so much. I figured he'll do it when he's ready. And sure enough--he proved he knew what to do all along! And he's figuring out the whole standing thing on his own--because he wants to. Not because I'm drilling it in his head every minute of the every day.
Now if only I could get him off the bottle and on to a sippy cup. And drinking milk. And eating something other than baby food...(And believe me, I've tried every trick).
All I know is help from a visual impairment teacher cannot come quick enough. We have a staffing meeting next week with a bunch of people and a VI teacher and I'm crossing my fingers we won't have to wait much longer after that to get the ball rolling. Kale will be thirteen months old tomorrow--I wish we'd had all of this taken care of at least six months ago. Maybe some of these road bumps we're hitting could have been avoided. It's not their fault though. Because there was the question regarding whether he had hearing loss or not, we had to wait until all of that was taken care of. We didn't finally get our answer until the end of March. And I think it was April or May before I ever was able to get back in touch with the people I needed to regarding this situation. And then it was June and VI teachers were out for the summer. Luckily, we were able to get back on track once school started back up and it's just been a meeting here, a meeting there. And finally this meeting next week.
Cross your fingers that it won't be much longer!
Of course, he won't do it anymore now that I know he can and want him, too. But at least I know that he can. Also, he's been doing everything he can to stand up on his own and with some help initiating it, he'll pull up on the chair and couch. It's so friggin' funny to watch him, too. As soon as he's pulled himself up, he holds on with one hand and then starts to laugh or has this big goofy grin on his face. Sometimes he falls, but he'll pull himself back up again. Sometimes he'll just turn himself around and then lean on whatever it is he pulled himself up on--but he'll still be standing. He's just so damn cute.
You may be asking yourself why is this such a big deal to us. I mean, aside from the fact that it's exciting for any parent to watch this happen with their baby. Well, visually impaired babies tend to be delayed when it comes to things like crawling and walking. I have worked and worked with Kale to do these things and finally just kind of stopped pushing it so much. I figured he'll do it when he's ready. And sure enough--he proved he knew what to do all along! And he's figuring out the whole standing thing on his own--because he wants to. Not because I'm drilling it in his head every minute of the every day.
Now if only I could get him off the bottle and on to a sippy cup. And drinking milk. And eating something other than baby food...(And believe me, I've tried every trick).
All I know is help from a visual impairment teacher cannot come quick enough. We have a staffing meeting next week with a bunch of people and a VI teacher and I'm crossing my fingers we won't have to wait much longer after that to get the ball rolling. Kale will be thirteen months old tomorrow--I wish we'd had all of this taken care of at least six months ago. Maybe some of these road bumps we're hitting could have been avoided. It's not their fault though. Because there was the question regarding whether he had hearing loss or not, we had to wait until all of that was taken care of. We didn't finally get our answer until the end of March. And I think it was April or May before I ever was able to get back in touch with the people I needed to regarding this situation. And then it was June and VI teachers were out for the summer. Luckily, we were able to get back on track once school started back up and it's just been a meeting here, a meeting there. And finally this meeting next week.
Cross your fingers that it won't be much longer!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
And this little piggy....
Okay, okay. Lame title, I know. Especially considering that the swine flu is no longer being called the swine flu, but N1H1 (are you happy now, Christie???).
So the past seven days have been fun. Last Sunday, Maile started running a fever and coughing. Monday I kept her home from school and I started coughing and feeling a little under the weather. I called her and Kale's pediatrician's office and spoke to the nurse (who knows me well now) and she said it sounded like Maile had the flu and for me to just keep an eye on her fever and continue doing what I was already doing. Of course, if Kale started to run a fever or show any other symptoms, I needed to call and have him seen (their pediatrician is just trying to be super cautious with him, I guess). Monday night? I'm in the ER with Maile whose fever spiked to 104. We spent almost four hours in the waiting area along with about fifty other people. And I swear, we were all there for the same thing. I eventually just took Maile home (her fever had gone down while we were there) and took care of her myself.
Tuesday I was still feeling bad and my mom came over to help out with the kids. Maile was home again and Kale was starting to cough a little bit. I talked to Mike on the phone while he was at work and he was starting to feel sick with a cough and sniffles.
By Wednesday, Kale was running a fever, Maile was still home from school with the fever that refused to go away and still had that nasty cough. I called the doctor and had to take Kale in. Kathy (my mother-in-law) went with me (which proved to be a gift from Heaven later on as I endured a Walmart trip from Hell). Kale had his nose swabbed and about fifteen minutes later his doctor came in and said Kale had the swine flu. And that Maile probably had it, too but if it's not treated within the first 48 hours then it has to just run its course (which was totally not my fault--I had called the doctor around three times during the week out of concern for her!!!). I called Mike to let him know because his work is super crazy about anyone getting this virus.
So Thursday--His work had him take the day off to get checked and sure enough---after two doctor visits (one questionable regular doctor and a surprisingly speedy ER visit for him and Maile) he tested positive for it, Maile with bronchitis. So Maile missed an entire week of school and now Mike has to miss an entire week of work.
Luckily, Kale was treated early and he's been doing great. Maile's doing better and looking forward to going back to school and doing all the things I wouldn't let her do all week for fear of getting even more sick or getting someone else sick. And Mike is feeling much better today than he has been the past four days (I think got the worst of it). Everyone is getting and feeling better and tomorrow is a new day.
And me? I'm looking forward to catching up on all of last weeks shows that are stored on my DVR ;)
So the past seven days have been fun. Last Sunday, Maile started running a fever and coughing. Monday I kept her home from school and I started coughing and feeling a little under the weather. I called her and Kale's pediatrician's office and spoke to the nurse (who knows me well now) and she said it sounded like Maile had the flu and for me to just keep an eye on her fever and continue doing what I was already doing. Of course, if Kale started to run a fever or show any other symptoms, I needed to call and have him seen (their pediatrician is just trying to be super cautious with him, I guess). Monday night? I'm in the ER with Maile whose fever spiked to 104. We spent almost four hours in the waiting area along with about fifty other people. And I swear, we were all there for the same thing. I eventually just took Maile home (her fever had gone down while we were there) and took care of her myself.
Tuesday I was still feeling bad and my mom came over to help out with the kids. Maile was home again and Kale was starting to cough a little bit. I talked to Mike on the phone while he was at work and he was starting to feel sick with a cough and sniffles.
By Wednesday, Kale was running a fever, Maile was still home from school with the fever that refused to go away and still had that nasty cough. I called the doctor and had to take Kale in. Kathy (my mother-in-law) went with me (which proved to be a gift from Heaven later on as I endured a Walmart trip from Hell). Kale had his nose swabbed and about fifteen minutes later his doctor came in and said Kale had the swine flu. And that Maile probably had it, too but if it's not treated within the first 48 hours then it has to just run its course (which was totally not my fault--I had called the doctor around three times during the week out of concern for her!!!). I called Mike to let him know because his work is super crazy about anyone getting this virus.
So Thursday--His work had him take the day off to get checked and sure enough---after two doctor visits (one questionable regular doctor and a surprisingly speedy ER visit for him and Maile) he tested positive for it, Maile with bronchitis. So Maile missed an entire week of school and now Mike has to miss an entire week of work.
Luckily, Kale was treated early and he's been doing great. Maile's doing better and looking forward to going back to school and doing all the things I wouldn't let her do all week for fear of getting even more sick or getting someone else sick. And Mike is feeling much better today than he has been the past four days (I think got the worst of it). Everyone is getting and feeling better and tomorrow is a new day.
And me? I'm looking forward to catching up on all of last weeks shows that are stored on my DVR ;)
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