Thursday, August 30, 2007

A Day of Firsts

Tuesday, August 28th was a day of Firsts in our house. It was Zee's first day of preschool. She had fun on the 27th while the two of us were in her classroom for orientation. On the 28th I got my hug & kiss in the hall and sent her into her classroom. She did such a good job!!! She loves school.

It was also Sissy's first day of day care. I dropped her off after I left Zee at preschool. She did not cry when I left her. When I got back to pick her up, I got a glowing report of how well she did. I am so happy that she is liking day care.

Tuesday was my first day of my internship. I did not spend the entire 3 hours in the classroom. The classroom teacher thought it would be best for me not to start on their first day of class.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 is a day that needs to be put in the record books. I dropped both of my babies off at their new schools and I did not shed one tear. If they had cried, I am sure that I would've joined in.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

The Call

I received the call today. Zee is going to preschool!!! She is sooooo excited. I was in such shock that she got in that I forgot to find out if she would be in the morning or afternoon class. Her teacher is coming in the morning for a home visit. I guess I'll find out then when she gets to go.

This might throw a wrench into my plans though. I am supposed to be doing my internship/student teaching at the school in one of the preschool classrooms. I have not heard back yet from the principal, but he did see Jay at school today and told Jay the following. "Tell your mom I have not forgotten about her." I was planning to either call or go in tomorrow to find out what was going on with my placement in a classroom.

If this is going to be a problem I guess I can have my instructor help me get placed in another program. I'll do whatever is necessary. I am just so glad that this is working out for Zee.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

B's knee surgery

B had his knee surgery on Thursday. He was supposed to be at the hospital at 11am and have his surgery at 1:30. I got him settled and then went home for awhile. L & Sissy were with me. I had to get L back so that her mom could pick her up at about 12:30 and I needed to feed Sissy some lunch before going back to the hospital.

Figuring that B would be done is surgery sometime between 2 & 2:30 I got back to the hospital at about 2pm . I checked in with the volunteer and she told me that B had been taken to recovery at 1:30. At about 2:30 they called & said that B was heading back upstairs to his room in the day surgery dept. Since the doctor was ahead of schedule and I was not there when he came out of surgery at 1:30 we do not know anything about what he found or exactly what he did. On the discharge paperwork there was not any info on when B could go back to work. The nurse assumes that he will get released after his follow up appt. on the 30th, which pissed me off.

When we went for B's initial appt. the Dr said that if he had surgery on a Wed. or Thurs. he would be fine to go back to work on Monday. He kept saying 2-3 days off would be all that would be necessary. So why now is it 2 weeks +???? B called the office on Fri. morning before 9 and the nurse informed him that the Dr would be in surgery all day. She finally called back at about 5pm to say that the Dr indeed wants him off until after he is seen on the 30th. This sent me into a major tailspin. I was PISSED!!!! I said, not so quietly while the nurse was on the phone, "What the hell happened to 2-3 days?? Is the doctor going to pay our Fucking bills?? If I had known that it would be 2 weeks + we would have waited." This did not make B very happy. He got pretty mad at me.

You have to understand that I was already stressing about paying the bills this month and now we may have 2 weeks that we will have to survive on my minimal income only. B does not have any vacation pay left. His employer doesn't give any sick pay either. I wish I had gotten short term disability through the company with the silly duck in their commercials. God willing we will make it through and I will not get any new gray hairs or a new ulcer.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Sissy's Results

Our meeting yesterday was very productive. Sissy will begin receiving speech services in a couple of weeks with the ST who came and did her evaluation. I am happy that she decided to pick Sissy up as a client. The ST needs to receive her authorization from the state before she begin providing services.

Each therapist had a report that outlined what area they evaluated and the scores that Sissy received in each area.

The DT used the Battelle Developmental Inventory. Sissy's scores are as follows:

Adaptive (self care) 20 months

Personal-Social 19 months
Adult interaction 16 mos
Social Role 23 mos

Communication
Receptive Lang. 23 mos
Expressive Lang. 14 mos 26% delay

Motor
Gross 24 mos
Fine 28 mos

Cognitive 22 months
Attention/memory 21 mos
Perception/concepts 23 mos

The categories that are underlined are the major categories with their subcategories listed below. Some areas gave the average for the development for that category (like cognitive). As you can see from the above information, Sissy is above average in all areas except Adult interaction (She still has major stranger anxiety.) and her expressive speech. A 26% delay is still a significant delay according to the DT.

The ST used 3 different tools to measure Sissy's speech. One listed her at the developmental age of a 13 1/2 month old. which would be about a 23% delay. Another tools that was used was based completely on questions that I had to answer regarding her development. This found that Sissy was above age level for receptive language and at about a 9 month old level for expressive which means a 50 % delay. The last test used was the Rosetti.
Subtest /Score/ Age Performance(mos)/ % delay
Interaction /18/ 15-18 mos/0%
Pragmatics / 12/ 12-15 mos/ 33%
Play / 18 / 15-18 mos / 0%
Gestures / 18 / 15-18 mos / 0%
Lang Comprehension / 12 / 9-12 mos / 33%
Lang Expression / 9 / 6-9 mos / 50%

The ST said that at 18-24 months of age Sissy should be beginning to use some 2-3 word sentences, imitate environmental noises (car, animals, etc.), have a vocabulary of 20+ words, refer to self by using her own name.

She says "woo woo" for a dog sound and she does that for any animal she sees. "Mama" is clear, but she also says "ma" for just about everything else. Zee gets mad because she thinks that Sissy is calling her mom. You can distinguish between to two and you know when she is saying Mom & when she is just babbling. Dad is either "ada" or "da". She doesn't even put it together to make it "dada" like most kids do. She has recently started to say "ball". At 18 months she should have been saying at least 8-10 words.

Hopefully, under the guidance of the ST Sissy will begin to make more recognizable sounds and words soon.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Update on Sissy's evaluations

I received a call from Sissy's SC today about the evaluations that she had done last week. The developmental therapist (DT) scored her at a 26% delay and the speech therapist (ST) scored her at over a 30% delay. With at least one of them scoring her at or above a 30% delay Sissy qualifies for services.

We have our IFSP meeting tomorrow afternoon. The SC told me that at this meeting we can decide if we want Sissy to receive services (Of course we do. Why else would I have started the process?). We will also set up the plan for what we want to happen with these services, etc.

The SC also asked me today what I thought of the therapists. She wanted to know so that if I was not comfortable with someone and they offered to provided services she could help with handling that situation. I loved the ST and would like it if she were to offer to provide services. I like the DT well enough, but I was more comfortable with the ST. I will update again tomorrow night or sometime this weekend with what was decided and possibly with more details of the results of the evaluations.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

I'm Melting

I don't know about you, but I am positively melting!!! It is so damn hot here that I can't stand to be out of the house. I live in the St. Louis metro area and we are in the midst of a major heat wave. We have had temps in the high 90's & low 100's for the last few weeks and there is no relief in sight. We have had heat indexes above 105 most days.

Some of you might be thinking that the 90's are not that hot. Our summers are full of heat and major HUMIDITY. We are in desperate need of several days of rain. Last summer we were wanting the storms to stop and this year we are wishing they would come. Last summer we had several severe thunderstorms that hit our area that knocked power out to TONS of people. In one storm we lost ours for over 5 days.

This summer makes me remember a T-shirt that my brother had when we were kids. It had an illustration of the St. Louis Gateway Arch melting. There was a saying like "I survived the summer of 1983 (I think that was the year.) in St. Louis." I'm beginning to think that they need to produce them again changing the year to 2007.

I had originally thought that we were going to have a flood this year. In the spring it looked as if the area rivers were going to continue to rise and spill their banks. In our area we can expect the worst to occur each summer. It is either tons of damaging thunderstorms, floods, or major heat & drought. There are times that I wonder why I stay in the area. But then I remember that this is where my family is and I wouldn't want to be too far from them.

Updates

I know, I'm a posting fool tonight. I just have not had much of an opportunity to get on the computer in the last few days and alot has happened.

B did not have is surgery on Wed. They realized late Mon. that the facility where it was scheduled is out of network for our insurance. So he went for his pre-op appt. and was not able to get his lab work done. They rescheduled his procedure for Thurs.

I have gotten the OK to take my internship class. I just need to go to the campus and finish up my financial aid stuff. They said they mailed me a letter stating that they needed some further information, but I never received it. As long as I can get it all taken care of I this week I can start classes the following week. I know I'm doing everything last minute. I still have to find a preschool or day care where I can get my hours. I was told that the one that I wanted to use would not work if my girls we in attendance. It is too open and the college will not allow you to work with a group that your own child is in. I put in a call to the principal at the elem. school to see if I could get my hours in one of their preschool classrooms. He was gone for the day, but hopefully I will hear back from him early Monday.

We got Jay signed up for junior high. He is not ready to go back to school though. On one hand he seems exited about certain aspects of JH, but on the other he appears to be apprehensive. The JH & Elem. schools are connected and all of the kids eat breakfast & lunch in the JH cafeteria, so he is familiar with the school. It is just that he will no longer be in the same classroom with the same teacher the majority of the day. I think this kind of scares him. In some respects he does not deal well with change. Pleas keep your fingers crossed that he makes a smooth transition into JH.

Sissy's evaluations

We had Sissy's developmental & speech evaluations on Friday. She was slow to warm up to the two therapists that were here. They were both very friendly. I really liked the speech therapist and hope that if Sissy qualifies for services that she will pick her up as a client.

The ST has a daughter who has the same auditory processing disorder that Jay has. She is also getting ready to start junior high. The ST recommended a psychiatrist that really stays on top of the kids meds and tries to tweak them so that the child is getting the most benefit from the meds to help them succeed in school. I am thinking that maybe it is time to go down that road again with Jay. We took him off of his ADHD meds about a year ago and there did not seem to be much difference in him. So we thought why medicate if there's no benefit.

Anyway back to Sissy. Both therapists commented on how smart Sissy is. She is not delayed in any other area other than her speech. I think that she will qualify with a 30% or great delay. The ST told me that she would bring me some information that might help us with Jay the next time she sees me. Well, she won't be back unless Sissy qualifies.

Sissy decided to start babbling up a storm today. It is the most verbal I have ever heard her be. She even told daddy "Some" multiple times today. She was wanting daddy to share his sunflower seeds. I guess she'll talk when she's ready.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Lice-- Round FOUR

Yes, I said ROUND FOUR. And I am PISSED!!!!!!

L came over late on Wed. Her mom let her sleep in and had L's older sister bring her over at about 11:15. She has been nit free since coming back after last week's nit-fest so I didn't worry about checking her right away. I checked her at about 2:45 and you guessed it, I found nits AGAIN!!! This is getting to be truly ridiculous!! I am about to the point of telling her parents that I can no longer take care of her.

It is not that I don't like L or her parents. It's just the fact that I am having to spend so much time, energy and money on trying to prevent my family from getting lice that it just does not seem worth it anymore.

Here is what I have to do each time she comes over with nits.
  • Wash all blankets, towels, etc. that L may have come in contact with.
  • Remove all stuffed animals and baby dolls that have hair. Put them in trash bags and store them for at least 2 weeks.
  • Buy spray for the couch, chairs, van and car seats.
  • Remove and wash Sissy's bedding. (She is now sleeping in the playroom.)
  • I clean Sissy's bed, in the playroom, kitchen, dining room & bathroom with a bleach solution.
  • Vacuum, vacuum and vacuum some more.
  • Check my entire family for signs of Lice.
  • Wash everyone's hair with coconut shampoo.
  • Throw away any hair ties that were lying around.
  • Soak all combs & brushed that may have been removed from the bathroom cabinet in alcohol or a bleach solution.

I have yet to bring any of the girls' toys out that I bagged up the first time L came over with lice over a month ago. My girls who are used to having lots of babies and animals to choose from now have 2 naked baby dolls that they can play with. I bagged up all of the baby clothes too. Nits do not need to eat and it takes about 14 days for them to hatch, so any that are laid on any kind of fabric, synthetic hair, etc. can still cause an infestation to occur later. Once the nymphs (name for an immature louse) have hatched they will die if they do not feed within 48 hours. I have decided that I will not open any of the bagged up toys until about the 3 week mark, just to be safe.

I know L's mom is extremely frustrated with the situation as well. I know that she is spending a large amount of time and money to take care of the problem. But on the other hand, there is something that has been over looked. They either have not treated something or L is coming into close contact with someone else who has lice. Nobody in her immediate family or my family for that matter have lice. So we know that she is not getting it from any of us. I know she is tired of having to send someone to pick L up or leaving work early to do it herself, but if she were in school right now she would be sent home each day that they found evidence of head lice.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Lice -- Round 3

We are now on round three of the head lice situation. I checked L's hair this morning to see if she was still nit free. Guess what. She had a brand new batch of nits in her hair. I picked at least 6 out and then stopped. I called her mom to have someone come & pick L up.

I feel bad that I keep having to send her home, but as I've said before I do not want anyone at my house to get lice. So far, I have done a good enough job preventing that. How long will that last if L keeps coming over with lice?

This whole situation is getting so F***ING frustrating!!! The girls have very few toys to play with. I had to put all of their stuffed animals and most of their dolls in plastic bags and store them for 2 weeks. Well the 2 weeks has now become 3 weeks plus. I have bought Sissy 2 new dolls through out this ordeal that I have also had to put away. In addition to the effects on the kids, I have been loosing alot of money. I loose money not only from not having L here but also the money that I have to spend to treat my house each time that L comes up with nits/lice. I have done so much laundry in the last 3 weeks that I'm surprised the washer has not given out due to pure exhaustion. I am about to the point that I want to just stop babysitting her. I am looking into a few part time job opportunities.

Tonight's Work Experience

I went to work this evening and discovered that someone has been screwing with me. I do occasional work for a real estate office in the evenings and on weekends. I am in charge of putting together their listing packets.

In this packet there are many different forms that are required to be completed when a client lists their house through our office. We have mail slots like you see in a schools for the teachers' mail. We have a slot for each individual form that the agents need. I usually make sure that all of the slots are stocked. Even those that are not part of the listing packet.

I guess I should explain something about myself before I go any further with what happened tonight. I am somewhat of a perfectionist. I like things to be just so. If you looked at my house you would never believe this about me, but it's true when I'm at work. I keep the forms going all the same way, I punch the appropriate holes, and I make sure that the forms are professional looking. I have also voiced to some of the agents that it irritates me when people throw pieces away that are not needed for the listing that they are currently working with. I have also said how their messes and unprofessional manners irritate me.

When I started working on the packets tonight, I did things a little different than normal. Lately I have just been copying all of the forms that I need. The copier said it needed toner replaced, so I didn't make very many copies. I used the forms that were in the slots. When I got to one particular form the stack was a mess!!!! There were 2 pages on way and 10 the other, then 4 the opposite way. Some had holes some didn't. Most of the ones that were mixed every which way were ones that were copied at the same time (There was a lighter portion on all of them that was from a poor master copy being used.) and punched at the same time. All of the holes lined up perfectly at the same off set slant.

This really pissed me off!!! I hate it when these people do things like that. I'm sure someone heard me complaining about behaviors that are exhibited in the office and decided to screw with me. Some of those people can be so juvenile.