Aiden: chapter 147

We went to see Aiden's pediatrician today to talk about all of the options that we have in helping him with his ADHD. As a group (Chris, Dr. Del and I) we decided to put him on a long lasting stimulant. It was a hard choice and we are a little nervous about it but we trust Dr. Del and spent a loooooooong time talking with her and feel this is a good start. We should see results in 3 days, even though we will be gone we will keep in close contact with her about any concerns we have. In one week we get back to her no matter what about his progress and to see if we need to tweak the dosage any. Then in 1 month we go back for a visit. Next summer we will try taking him off to see if he can do  without and will continue like that for as long as we need to. If the stimulant doesn't work we will try anti-anxiety meds as those seem to work better for kids that have ADHD with an anxiety component. So it is still wait and see but we are moving forward.

Zach...at almost 7

Zach LOVES Izzy kisses.

He watches Lilo and Stitch over and over and over again.

He eats just about any fruit you put in front of him and a fair number of veggies too.

He is only about a head shorter than I am

He loves math

He reads at least 2 hours a day but still resists reading chapter books

His allergies are getting better since he's been getting allergy shots

His favorite food is pizza or nachos

His favorite candy is any I'll let him have

He chooses minty gum over fruity gum

He is a great swimmer

He still enjoys soccer as long as it isn't too hot. He does best when he is on defense.

He is a great helper around the house

He wants to go back to school, only 3 weeks into summer

His best friend is Andrew R.

He is still nervous of new situations but warms up quickly

He is learning sarcasm, and he's good at it.

He is excited to finally be able to watch Star Wars. He doesn't realize there are 6, we are only letting him watch the first one that was released.

He doesn't want to hold my hand anymore.

He is excited about 2nd grade.

His favorite colors are red, blue and orange.

He still doesn't like pants with zippers and/or buttons.

He's wearing a size 8-10 in boys.

He's wearing a size 3 shoe.

He is growing up to be a wonderful boy.

Good night Aiden

We came upstairs Tuesday night around 11PM and found Aiden asleep in the hallway.  We heard him get up to go to the bathroom, I guess he was just to tired to get back into bed. I asked him about it Wednesday morning and he didn't remember it at all.

Lost Dog

Chris and the boys found this lost dog wondering around by the pool so they brought it home and called the owners.  They came right away and picked him up.  That was a good thing too because Izzy wasn't too happy with the newcomer.

THANKS Jenny!

My friend Jenny came to the park with us to take some family pictures because things aren't going so well with the "professional" photographer we had.  Jenny did a great job. We are going to take some at the beach as well and pick our favorite of the bunch.  Thank you SO much Jenny, I'm so lucky to have such an awesome person for a friend!

Izzy's home

Izzy is home with us. She did have to spend Friday night in the hospital but she came home Saturday afternoon. She's on a ton of meds and special food but she is doing well and they said it was fine for us to take her to the kennel for our Myrtle Beach trip so all is good.

missing Izzy

Izzy is at the vet today. It seems she swallowed something that has become stuck. The vet is going to keep her overnight on fluids and if the thing-whatever it is-starts to move then they will send her home tomorrow, if not then they will have to do surgery. I'm so worried about her, I'm tearing up as I write this, I don't like that she is all alone in a strange place hooked up to tubes and she may have to be having surgery. I know that the vet is wonderful and that he has a lot of wonderful people working with him but it still saddens me. Even Buster is sort of mopey without his doggie sister. 

I'm also kicking myself that I didn't get doggie health insurance for her. We got it for Buster because he is into SO much, but Izzy is so laid back and she doesn't really chew on things that aren't meant for her so we decided to save the $25/month and not get health insurance on her. Now that I'm looking at $500 possibly much more I'm really regretting that decision.

Movies

Tonight I went to the movies with friends to see Sex and the City. When I was trying to decide what to wear I became very aware that I have a "mommy" wardrobe. Mostly jeans and t-shirts and because I have been yo-yo-ing with my weight the past few months my wardrobe seems even smaller. The skirt I decided upon had dust on it(!) that is how long it has been since I have worn it. I put the camera on the table and took this picture of myself to commerate the fact that a) I'm wearing a skirt and b) that I was going out with friends.

PS the movie was wonderful.

Lunch with Dad, again

The boys have been begging to go to Red Robin ever since I took it away when they had a bad rest time last week. So today I called Chris to see if he wanted to join us for lunch there, he did. Fun was had by all.

Horton Hears a Who

We went to see Horton Hears a Who today. Luckily this week the theater had power :)  Both boys enjoyed the movie and I enjoyed the price (just $1.75/person) so it was a win/win way to spend an afternoon.

keeping busy

Aiden wasn't very hungry at dinner tonight so he spent his time cutting up the carrots and celery into small pieces. His concentration when doing something he wants to do is amazing. I wish he could concentrate like that all the time.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!  To all the Dads I know. 

Dog fest

On Saturday we went to the Dog Fest with Buster and Izzy. We didn't really take any pictures although there were plenty of interesting sites. When we first got the dogs Chris hated to have them anywhere near the front seat. He seems to have changed his tune however, he actually requested that this picture be taken. I think he loves the dogs a little more than he lets on.

a tent....inside

Instead of going to the YMCA pool with some friends after my workout we had to go grocery shopping, so I told the boys if they had a good rest time I would take them when they got up. Unfortunately it started to thunder and lightening just as we were going to get dressed, so I came up with a fun alternative. We would set up a tent in the family room, I underestimated it's size however and the only room it would fit in was the playroom. I'm sure it will come down soon but for right now Aiden enjoys jumping under it.

upgrade

With all of the picnics we have been taking I had to upgrade our cooler, the little 6 pack one just couldn't cut it anymore. 

My baby

Today was Aiden's evaluation at Children's. Their job was to take all of his symptoms, characteristics, etc and make a diagnosis as to what was going on with him. As of today not only does Aiden have Sensory Processing Disorder he also has been diagnosed with 

Inattentive  ADHD. So.....at this point there isn't any thing else we can do but that has never stopped us before :)  Chris and I will be going to a parenting class with parents of children with ADHD. In terms of the hospital they will see him again in October/November where it will be decided if he should go in for another speech evaluation- not so much his articulation as his understanding of words.  That will set us up for a meeting with the school for his Kindergarten IEP. 

On a more emotional note, I am so sad for him. I know that we will handle things and do what's best for him, the same that we have always done for our boys. I am sad that he wants so much to be JUST like his brother and becomes so SAD when he can't be, and it's not just an age thing. He is a wonderful child, different from Zach, but a wonderful different. I hope that someday he knows that. I hope he knows how much he is loved for being him.  

I also worry what this label is going to do for him. I don't want teachers to see the label then the child, I want them to see the child then the diagnosis. I know he will learn to deal with his weaknesses, and knowing him he will turn them into strengths. I just wish his path was smoother with fewer potholes.

Yay Chris

Chris found out at about 7:30 this morning that he received the new job he had been wanting. I won't put details on here because he'll just sign in as me and delete them.  Anyway, it is a challenge and I am SO proud of him. He has waited so long and worked so hard. I will be a GE widow for the next 6 months or so because he will be working even harder to make this team into what they need/should be.  

The boys and I planned a surprise shin-dig for him, complete with balloons, brownies, and chipotle's.  What more could a guy want. We also bought him some stuff for work, a new wallet (Buster ate his a couple nights ago and he was using one on Zach's Buzz Lightyear ones), some new dress socks, undershirts, and a new belt.  

Once again I can't say how proud of him I am. He is a wonderful man and we are lucky that he is part of our family.

Zach's last day

Today was Zach's last day of school. Here he is getting on the bus for the last time this year. I wanted to get a picture of him getting off the bus but he thought he was a pick up and I ended up getting a call from the school to come pick him up :)  After his allergy shot I took him and Aiden to Graeter's Ice Cream for our end of the year tradition of ice cream. Aiden had Double Chocolate in a cup, Zach had a Mint Chocolate Chip in a cone, and I indulged in Cookies and Cream in a cup. It was quite yummy. So nice to know that tomorrow is not a school day, I'm sure in a month or so I'll be counting down the days until school begins but for right now I am thrilled to not have a schedule and to have both of my boys home.

Chris

Chris wanted me to take this picture for the blog because he was eating Ghiradelli chocolate (made in San Fran) and drinking a beer from San Fran too. I guess he misses California and wants to feel like he is back there any way he can.

Last soccer game

Saturday was Zach's last soccer game but he was only able to play for about 5 minutes before the officials sounded the siren due to thunder and we decided to postpone the game (we had already had a 30 min delay due to thunder). He had lots of fun this season and although he gripes at the beginning of the season he always has a blast with his friends.

Lunch with Dad

On Friday I went swimsuit shopping and the whole process was so depressing that I called Chris to see if he could have lunch with us. Luckily he could and we met at Ruby Tuesday's. Aiden loves seeing his dad in the middle of the day and so do I.

Awards for Zach

On Thursday Zach's school had an awards ceremony for the students. Zach received an Outstanding Academics award and a certificate of first grade completion. I wasn't able to attend because I was with Aiden at OT but Chris said for the most part he looked bored with the whole thing. What a stinker!

June 4th

Here is the guest room/scrapbook room. It was the boys shared room and now it's back to what it was minus the computers. I have already begun crafting in there. I love my space, no matter where it is.

Bathroom

Chris and I really wanted to gut the 1/2 bath (actually we'd like to gut all of the bathrooms but we're starting small) but money constraints made it an unrealistic project so we decided to do a little updating. Chris painted the walls a sand color, he put up a new light fixture and mirror, installed a new faucet and sanded and re-stained the cabinets and then added hardware to them. We both really like how it turned out and it only cost $400 instead of $1000+ if we were to gut it.

new room

Over the weekend we worked on switching the boys back to separate rooms and updating the 1/2 bath. Chris was in charge of the bathroom and I painted Aiden's old/new room and switched all the furniture around.  This is Zach's new (old) room. He is happy to be back in a room of his own. He was also really excited to get his own reading lamp.  Pictures of the other rooms to follow as they are finished.

baseball

Chris was able to take Aiden to a Reds game today. He took Zach last year. They had so much fun, Aiden had peanuts, cotton candy, a snow cone, and mountain dew! They gave every kid a red bucket hat from David Sunflower seeds so when Aiden got home he was on my lap looking at the hat and he said:

A:Know what this is made of.

M:No, what?

A:Sunflower seeds but you can't even feel them.   :)

Soccer

Zach's soccer season is winding down. We were down a few players this week so all the boys had to play the whole game and one of the boys had a 100 degree temp!  Now that's dedication.