Another Picture Post

Sitting on the back of one of the trucks. This is the place he loves to be every Tuesday night

He had a great time at Cook's but he was ready to leave the doctors office. He took all the paper off the exam table and went to town. I think they got the hint because a few minutes later we were on our way lol! 

Wanting to be just like daddy. He loves his wearing daddies glasses

He is so excited to hang out with his brother and sisters. They had so much fun today at the pool.

Testing the water. He would rather just splash for now.

He is just going to watch and learn how to swim like his brother.

"Here Sean let me splash your face with some water."

Showing us how much he loves his doggy. They like to hug.

Horse playing with his pup. This dog is so tolerant of his antics. They are like two peas in a pod.

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Adventures in Diaper Boy

This title is brought to you by my humors son Sean. Tonight before our family dinner. H was running around climbing onto things knocking things over and getting all sorts of excited his siblings are all under one roof, that he just decided to title his life the adventures of Diaper boy and mom lady. Yep I am mom lady. Cleaver little nickname huh? I guess he has a point this is pretty much an adventure and I am just his sidekick along for the ride.

Backing up a bit since I got a wee bit ahead of myself. Tuesday H had his weekly ECI appointment. Since I am working when they come work with him I left a nice long note about progress, this way when she comes she can talk to his teacher and get straight to work. The note consisted of his progress, new concerns, what we are trying and what can we do to help. He was having some problems with aggression that day along with some meltdowns. Staci gave me a list of things to start doing, keep doing and what we want to try. We have been told to get a small trampoline to help him jump his aggression and anxiety out, weighted blanket and vest for calming his anxiety, we need to keep up with the things that vibrate such as his toothbrush, the soft silky things also help sooth and calm him.

They have also decided that they are going increase his time to 45 min a week. We are still awaiting when speech therapy will start. I am hoping next week we will know. Next Wednesday I have a meeting with his coordinator. I am going to bring up a few things that I keep forgetting. At least I know if I write it down Staci looks at it and addresses it. I am so glad to have such a great team all on top of his care.

His apt at Cook's Childrens Hospital in Ft. Worth went awesome! We saw Dr. Pfaff in Pulmonolgy and he is the most amazing specialist I have ever come across. He has such a calming presence and just this way about him that H was totally calm. He did everything he needed to do with H without him freaking out on him. Chris and I sat there with our jaws on the floor. Where had this man been all our lives? The added bonus of our new doctor is that he does have a office out here in Abilene so from here on out as long as he is out here we can see him at his Abilene location. SCORE!

We spent about 20 minutes discussing his past history with breathing problems. I was prepared for him to say something along the lines of " he is fine no need to worry" or " I am sorry I have no idea what the problem is with your son." Well we got the total opposite. He was very concerned and felt sorry for H. He has educated us on Abuterol and Xopenex and we now realize we had been under medicating our child. Abuterol is much better for him but, since he knows our hesitations and H's situation he gave us some tips and tricks to help fight the side effects that it can cause. He also knows that H does not want to be stuck to a nebulizer all the time so most of his meds can be done via his inhaler and chamber and only needing the nubulizer if he is really having a hard time. Another huge bonus for us. Like I said before we got 2 years worth of answers in 20 minutes. I left feeling this huge sigh of relief and knew that things where going to be just fine.

We got to Dallas had a bit to eat and headed out to pick up the kids. I kid no you not the girls packed every last thing that they have ever owned! The truck was pretty weighed down lol. I was pretty excited to see them and of course H was very happy to see his sisters. He can say Hannah now and well he refers to his siblings as Hannah ha ha. After we got the girls we headed out to pick up Sean. Thankfully he packed lite. We packed into the truck and made our way back to Abilene. We got home around 6:30 did a quick food run made some pizza and called it an early night. Hey have I mentioned how much stuff the girls brought?! Goodness it was insane to find a place to put everything.

It has been great to so far with all the kids. They had a baby sitter today but next week they get shipped off to the Youth Center on base. Ella will go to day camp all day and Sean and Hannah will go to the Tween Wing. They will get to do all sorts of things and I know they have field trips I just have to keep an eye out so they can do them. Ella wants to do soccer camp and I think Sean wants to do basketball camp but I am pretty sure that starts next week. I know the YC will keep them busy so I am not worried.

This weekend we are probably heading to the pool tomorrow. I know I must be brave to take 4 kids to the pool. Tomorrow night we have a pending BBQ with friends. Sunday is family day and hopefully meeting up with the Westbrook's. I went from quiet weekends of hanging around the house to now needing to find some things to do to keep them all from climbing the walls. I am sure it will be just fine though.

Well you know it is summer when you look up see that it's 8pm and dinner has not been made. The kids are making sandwiches and then winding down for bed. I love seeing them all at the table together. For now my heart is happy and there is a big ole smile on my face!

Hey There!

Wow I think I just went  a week without an update! I guess life has been busy but not busy enough for a normal update. Of course this new consistent schedule I thought I was getting didn't happen so life has been a bit more hectic again. Also I am doing what I can to spend my time with H working with him doing the stuff his ECI therapist is doing to get him the extra help that push he really needs.

While we were at home for the 4 days I fell into a place I am not proud to say I hit. I was so down and feeling hopeless and frustrated I was really afraid of what was going to become of me. I was so angry and lost. I could not wait for nap time to roll around so that I could sit down and have some time to decompress. I realized at that point that staying at home with H would not be good for us right now. While I can work with children all day long and I have a fair amount of patience, the demands and needs of H are something that I need help with and fear I would not have just being at home with him all day. He needs to be around others and in a different setting. I was really quiet relieved when school rolled back around on Tuesday.

Last week we saw some progress along with some set backs. His morning teacher was moved to another room and they placed a new teacher in his room. His new teacher is great and trust me she was well warned of his issues. She handled him like a champ! Kellie trust me that Lobster Rita was well earned my dear! However with the changes with a teacher and now my schedule changed, oh and lets not forget our 4 day weekend, we saw some new issues come about. We will celebrate the no biting, ok well he bit once but it was so not a big deal we are just going to shrug that one off. Though the meltdowns, shuddering and the aggression of pushing and hitting are needing to now be addressed. 

Tuesday morning I went in cringing praying that this new schedule, new teacher and odd week would just not phase him. Tuesday went pretty good. Sigh! Wednesday was about the same just lots of aggression. Maybe this week was not going to be as bad as I expected it to be. Gosh did I say that out loud?! Thursday we hit the downhill slide. It started off taking the dogs to the vet to go get groomed. That flipped him out when they took his beloved Schatzie away. The ball of fluff cat toy they gave him actually worked well. It was at that moment I realized no matter what those dogs can not leave our family and of course B! YIKES! The day was a total flop. He flipped out all day, hit kids, shoved them and just kept throwing himself to the ground. Friday was that but much worse. It was a relief oddly to be able to leave early.

So I am making a list of things for his therapist tomorrow. What is working, what is not and new concerns. We have discovered a couple of things that we are realizing while at first were cute are now a bit alarming. We thought his food rage was something cute he would do but now realize he will stop stare off and ball up his fists and shake them. Sometimes his whole body will tremble sometimes just his hands and arms. Sometimes he will let out these high pitched shrieks others he is just quiet. He has also become the stripper. If he is mad the clothes are coming off. Dinner and a show anyone??! I am hoping for a call after I get out of work tomorrow to go over stuff and see where to go from here. I think speech starts tomorrow however I am not sure. I guess we will see.

Tonight we are starting Melatonin to help get him to relax and rest. I am desperate to find a way for him to wind down and get some decent sleep. He was crashed out by 8:30. This is a first for us. It was nice to have the last few hours to relax and just do what we needed to do and not have to worry about what H was getting into and preventing meltdowns. However I just came upstairs for bed and he was sitting up in his bed ready to go. Thankfully now he is at the foot of our bed asleep. I do chalk a bit of this up to him having croup but the coughing has not been to bad tonight.

Thursday is a big day for us for two reasons. We make our trek to Ft. Worth to meet with Dr Pfaff, his pulmonologist. I am hoping for some great answers and some big relief. If the rumors I hear are true this should be our only apt in Ft. Worth and the rest will be done here in Abilene. This would be a huge help for us quiet honestly. This is also the day we pick up the kids for the summer! I get to pick up my 7th grader, 4th grader and 2nd grader! Yea that is right I got some pretty big kiddos now. Sean and Hannah's birthdays are just around the corner and I am sad and happy all at the same time. A 10 and 12 year old! WHAT! Who said they could grow up?! I am hoping they are just as excited as I am for this trip. I miss my babies like crazy!

I am sure there will be an update Thursday evening as to what happened at Cook's and how wonderful it is going with the kiddos. I am again just so thankful for our friends and family who are showing so much love and support right now. The more answers and help we get the more and more confident I feel that H will get the best opportunities possible! We are still awaiting to hear from Dr. Rogers in Lubbock this still could take a few weeks but we are hopefully that we can get an apt soon and go from there.

As for the plans to move those are now all just plans said aloud. We want to go back home but there are so many variables that are coming into play. We have to make the most rational and reasonable choices. I want to be back where my roots are, where my family and my friends are. I am sure it will happen but it is not wise or mature to leave where we are at with no firm idea of where we would find work, live or go to school. Once we had more firm plans and details we can make this plan take a bit of action. We still have a lease until September so we have some time to try but of course if nothing surfaces between now and then we will remain here doing what we are doing. I have found a great support system out here and am so thankful for them because without them right now I would be lost. They have helped me make this place a home when I said it never would. It has made a world of difference.  Thanks a million you guys.

Well the Melatonin has kicked in for both of my boys so I guess I am just going to close this up and call it a night. I started this a few hours ago but got so excited about my extra free time I got a wee bit side tracked. Hope you enjoy! Good night all

Come and Go

Wow another blog, come on I know it is what you are thinking! This lady needs a hobby huh? Well to bad apparently blogging is my hobby now. So just deal with it because this one is another not so typical blog but lately I guess I have found more things to talk about. So since the munchkin is asleep I am going to blog.

I have generally been blessed with having a great outgoing personality. I have been blessed with the ability to be a good friend. Sadly I have not been to blessed in having friends who are loyal, honest and true. Do not get me wrong I have a group of friends who I know are there for me even if we have not talked in forever. Those friends who even if we only see and comment on posts on FB we know we are still friends. I have friends who know that I like to be out and about and a social butterfly and understand how that has to be put on the back burner for now. To those friends I am so thankful that you are caring and understanding. 

My friends and family know I will have their back. I will stick up for them when I know they are right and they need the support. My friends and family are still there for me when I stick to my beliefs and I fight for what is right. Sadly I have had "friends" who have ditched me because I don't share the same beliefs as them, I say the opposite of what they might say, do things differently than they do. I call them "friends" because at one point or another we did have a true friendship and sadly it came to an end. 

Call me silly but boy it sure does bug me when I lose a friend and I have no idea why. I know we all go through our friends list and remove those we never speak to. Heck I do that all the time. I mean come on it really isn't a friendship but more like stalking, you know it's true! So really its no love loss when you delete them and move on heck I doubt they even notice. The times it does bother me is when it is a friend someone I talked to regularly and I realize "Wow, what did I do to upset them? Why couldn't they just confront me?"  For a long time I let it get to me especially when I lost a string of friends who blew me off and choose to lie to me about it. I might not be the brightest person in the world but I am smart enough to know when you lie to me. That to me is a huge sign of disrespect so don't lie to me. 

I noticed around the time that we started figuring out that H had problems and we started changing how we did things, where we went, if we went and backing out of things, is when my friends went on the decline. I got a bit down about it I won't lie. Heck I can name on at least 2 hands on my page of people who are dealing with some sort of life altering issue and I am so supportive and want to do what I can to help. I post a few blogs about our situations, update a few status with things going on or talk about and apparently that deems me the need to lose friends. It stings a bit I wont lie. It hurts to know that there are some people I stood by was a shoulder to them, bent over backwards for them, was an ear for them and now they vanish. It hurts but it's not going to get me down. 

I discovered recently that a friend of mine who I thought I was close to, one of my first friends out here ditched me because I guess I wasn't loyal enough. I have several friends who do fundraisers for various things at the moment. I am one person, not made of money and can only do so much. I try to help and support where I can. Keep in mind my child does not do well in big over crowded public places and it gets to a point where it takes it's toll. I lost another "friend" because heaven forbid I didn't stick up for her when she was very rude to someone and was essentially a bully to others. I realized this is becoming high school. Everyone listens to the negative about people, judge and then decide if that person is worthy enough for their friendship. Then I have had had people just flat out lie to me. UGH we are not friends if you can not tell me the truth. The best lie so far is "Oh I am just keeping my page for my family so I avoid drama" Oh I didn't realize that our 23 mutual friends here are your family. Again shouldn't bother me but it is more the lying than anything. You have no respect for someone if you lie sorry. 

I do not expect nor do I want any ones pity or sympathy for what is going on. I make our life as open as possible to avoid people spreading untrue info and speculating. I would rather just be upfront and honest leaving nothing to guess. I just function better that way I suppose. If you follow our story that is great. Thank you we appreciate your support. I am not one to judge, if you don't feel inclined to know our story and remain un-involved that is your prerogative. Just please know this for me is my only outlet that I can say how I truly feel and not worry about people discounting my thoughts and feelings.

My life is full right now and I have to keep my focus on what is important. The people who treat life like high school, refuse to grow up and be a bully have no place in my life. I can say with confidence that I am happy with the people whom I share my life with. I would rather have only a few close friends who I knew I could count on, support me and be there for me if I need them then a ton of friends who are so wishy washy that it's a crap shoot if I can count on them. I know some people doubt our situation right now and that is ok. I can't make you feel the way I do. I have even heard people say that I am doing this for attention and that I exaggerate what is going on. Why in a million years would someone want this for their child? 

Strangely as I write this I flip back and forth to facebook to see what is going on.  I came across a friends status message and it really resignated with me. "Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes."Pardon the language but honestly I have felt very down about myself lately. I have hated that I have not spent time with my friends that I have been doing these things I like to do. 

I took that as a sign that I am not as bad off as I feel but that maybe I am surrounding myself with people who are not conducive to my mental well being. I need to not worry if I have so many people that are my friends but that I have quality friends. I tend to worry to much about what others think of me and I shouldn't let it get to me. I guess I have always worried about pleasing people and making them happy. I think maybe I need to stop focusing on them and put a little focus on me. If I am deemed selfish so be it. Those who know me best know I put the best interest of my children and those around me first. 

At this point I don't have time for nor do I care to partake in the games and drama. I am not going to judge you and you shouldn't judge me. Do what you are suppose to, do what is right, do what you believe you are called to do that is all we can ask of anyone. Just remember the next time you sit there judging someone, talking poorly about them that it could be you. Think about how it feels to have that shoe on the other foot. I cant force someone to have compassion for others or think about others but I can sure put the bug in their ear to maybe decide to evaluate their ways. 

Screaming on the inside

I try to avoid these blogs but I have felt so out of sorts and emotionally drained that I figured this would be my best outlet. I am not trying to be a martyr or the lady who can do it all. I am simply me, one woman, one mom, one wife, one friend, one person. I can do only as much as I can do and then I slowly feel myself hitting a walk, reaching a breaking point and just want to scream.

This week has been full of very informative stuff. I call it stuff because to me right now that is all it is to me. Each time I speak with a doctor or therapist it seems that something more is added to our list! I call it stuff because nothing seems real anymore and that maybe if I just try hard enough this will all go away and we can go back to where we were about 2 months ago. Of course I am sure we just jump back 2 months ago and I would be saying why can't we just figure this out and get him help therefore it would just be some vicious cycle.

Wednesday I was given a lot of information. I have spent that time since then working and digesting that information given to me. Pondering over the road blocks that had been put in the way of the path to get H the help he needs. I guess I was being overly optimistic in assuming that this would be an easy process. I call a few therapists and doctors and poof all the appointments and sessions would be booked and taken care of with out a hitch. Ok everyone can stop laughing now. It's not like I do this all on a daily basis and have a overwhelming experience in doing this. I have always been on the other end of this. Telling parents it will be ok and that these services are going to do what the can to help their child. I am thankful for the the few that have been supportive and encouraging during this.

I have noticed that his behaviors come in waves. Lately at school he seems to be doing better. I chalk that up to the routine. He goes to school at 8 each morning and then does his day until 2pm when I pick him up and call it a day. I will gladly take him having great days at school over the what it has been. Once he is home however I can't keep as strict as a routine like at school. There are days that we have to go to an appointment, run an errand, or just anything else that might come up.

The last few days have been a total nightmare. We can't go anywhere without him losing his mind and just melting down. Some prime examples are on Tuesday night we go to Potosi so that Chris and I can work. Normally he is content this week he was anything but. After an hour and a half I left. It was just to much for him. I could hardly cook dinner Wednesday night and he was semi decent on the walk we later went on. Thursday however, that took the cake! From the minute I picked him up he was all out of sorts. Then again our day was not near as scheduled as it has been!! After work I went to check on my friend who is pregnant and had the stomach bug. I ended up taking her to her doctor. It was ok at first and then H started to slowly lose it. After the second time of stripping I had a feeling it was time to go! Misti's husband had arrived they had got her checked in so it was my cue to head out! And not a moment to soon. On the agenda was a fundraising dinner at a local restaurant to help some friend of ours. I assumed 2 hours of down time between events would be enough. We lasted 30 minutes! A few fits to the floor, a run through the place and then an attempt to take off out the front door was enough for me.

For the first time I left angry. I was angry because simple outings are no longer simple! To many people, to much noise or to much or to little light will set him off in a tail spin. I miss my friends, I miss being social. I didn't care that seeing my friend yesterday meant seeing her as I took her to the hospital it was just nice to have that time with another adult that I could just talk to. I hate taking him out in public but sometimes I am just that desperate to get out and be around other people. I developed a sense of resentment and it really isn't justified. H didn't ask to be born the way he is and nothing we did or didn't do caused or could have prevented this.  I was just angry because sometimes I feel very alone. I am a social creature I love to interact with others and suddenly I feel very isolated.

Today I was looking forward to spending the evening with some ladies enjoying some sweet treats and good company. A check up to see how the antibiotics worked for his lung infection and to see how the ear drops for his supposed ear infection. No ear infection, lungs sound better but now we have Strep! So much for that evening with the ladies. Now its an evening at home and a fun filled trip to Walmart on the agenda. That anger started to rise again. I swear it was like everything was against me. When do I get a break? When do I get just 1 hour to step away from my responsibilities and have some me time, some down time, some time to just relax and not worry about the household chores, the kids or any of my other responsibilities?

I finally broke down and start to cry at the doctors office. I told her while having ECI has been great and we look forward to his WTRH appointment in a few weeks but things are just getting worse. I told her that ECI wanted me to ask her for a referral to see the specialist in Lubbock. I think seeing how stressed I was made her realize this was needed. The downer to this however is it could be months before he is seen. So in about 3 weeks I should be hearing from her office and getting the ball rolling to  head out to Lubbock.

Our next obstacles to over come are switching H's insurance, getting in touch with EHS to get him registered. Since I have not gotten in touch with anyone at their office I am now assuming that sadly I will have to go to the Civic Center in July to get him registered. Oh well it could be worse. I am having to hold off on the medicaid application because the behavioral doctor in Lubbock is not taking Medicaid patients at the moment, his pulmonologist at Cooks only takes Amerigroup and his pediatrician's office takes all Medicaid plans except Amerigroup! She told me this was a common thing to do for children who have multiple doctors and have children who are more sickly. Co-pays add up, medication costs are unreal and then throw in traveling all around Texas to see doctors holy cow we are going to go broke. She did however mention that parents have gotten so stressed out by the traveling around that those that could have up and moved to the DFW area to be closer to these specialists.

For a fleeting moment the weights I thought had been lifted are now back and heavier than ever. I mean of course it makes sense that the DFW area would have everything we would need possibly under one roof. However at this moment we are in no place financially to up and move. If I had a set job lined up and a place to live it would be something to seriously consider. I am sure getting Chris' VA stuff would probably come with snags to. I am not making any decisions yet but I am just going to say this, if I happen to get an offer it would something I would consider. I love Abilene and I love my job but I am thinking we have reached a point it might not benefit my family to stay here. Gas is not cheap and having to take entire days off of work to drive all over the state is not much of an option either. I can't put a price tag on my child but I can put a stress limit on our family. We are reaching that point so it's time to really take some serious actions.

I took a drive last night and I did it solely to clear my head and not lose it. I did what ever it took to avoid the highways that lead me out of here that go straight to Dallas. I wanted to go home last night. I wanted to be around the love and comfort of my children, my family and friends. I knew if I got on that highway I would just keep on driving. I think most days we live in denial staying out here. We make excuses essentially to justify why we remain in this military town. To me this place only holds the memories of what our life once was. To Chris I assume its a way for him to still be connected and tied to a life he once had. A few have said it might be best to break away and stop the torture of hanging around a place where we feel torture and resentment daily. H is young enough to leave his friends behind and be none the wiser. Dallas has ECI, pulmonologists, behavioral pediatricians and I am sure specialized program he can attend that will meet his needs.

Staying here might be selfish. My friends here won't be here forever they are mostly military and will at some point PCS or get out of the military and move on. I can reunite with my friends back home and pick up were we left off. I can even make new friends and create new memories and a new path in our lives. I can only keep my head up and think of positive. I can only hope things can go up from here.

Slight overload

H had his first ECI appointment yesterday morning. Part of me was sort of hoping the report would be along the lines of "Lady you are crazy and your child is totally fine" I mean no parent wants their child to have anything wrong with them and it's always this fear that lingers in the back of their mind "what if something is wrong with my child?", "what would I do if something was wrong with my child?", and the big one "how do we cope and manage as a family if something is wrong with our child?" To me being proactive is of complete importance. I do not care how minor the issues might be if there is help available I want my children to have any and all of those opportunities.

Getting back to is first session yesterday. Staci came to observe him at school and for the most part it went well. The problems came mostly when they came in from outside. He loves the outdoors and I am pretty sure if we let him he would stay outside all day long! So when he came in he started to get aggressive and shoving kids hard into shelves etc. He also attempted to bite and this all appeared to be sensory related. She took some notes and gave some tips to his teacher to help the transition and the sensory issues. Carol is so patient with H and is glad to have all the help she can get working with H each day. I am hoping these things will help.

Staci called me that evening while I was out in Potosi to go over what she observed today and some ideas and things to bring up. Since H has shown oral sensory issues there are special devices out there designed specifically to help with this oral fixation. Sadly what he needs is 50.00 and while I am not going to put a price tag on my child's needs at the same time money has not been free flowing. They also suggested a small trampoline to help get his energy and aggression out in the morning, when we get home and in complicated transitions throughout the day at home. They suggest him, with the help of his teachers, jumping up and down when he encounters a difficult situation at school. To help with anxiety and meltdowns she suggested weighted items and bear hugs. We have his back back but the are suggesting something to use around the shoulders and middle body to balance it all out. We are now looking into vests and blankets.

Through just odd luck a friend Chris from back home who's 4 year old son that has been diagnosed with Autism, Sensory processing Disorder and ADD. They use the vests and blankets and say what a life saver they are! She has given me the information about the blankets because a lady custom made theirs. He has oral issues and are currently using the cheap store brand battery toothbrushes to help. Until we come into some money this might be the best route for us ha ha. I have been told by the trainers at the school that there is a website where I might find what he needs at a more reasonable price. I tried Amazon and that was a FAIL!

Today Becky, his coordinator came out to the house to go over stuff and help put things in order for us. We have a few road blocks right now but nothing major. It of course is a little discouraging but honestly I know we will get it all sorted out. We can apply online for CHIP, but of course this would not go without a hitch. His pedi takes two types of CHIP and his Pulmonologist  takes a different one. We are not sure they both accept the same ones. As for Dr. Rogers in Lubbock we can't figure out which one she accepts so I will call tomorrow and figure that out.  I have until Friday to get in touch with the lady at Early Head Start to get him on the list. ECI will be submitting his paper work to them this week. We need his birth certificate, which of course at the moment we do not have! I am hoping when I talk to this lady Friday we can do what we need to do and when we get it just give her a copy. If not we have to wait until July to register him at the Civic Center. Blah not hoping it comes to that! To get an appointment with Dr. Rogers we have to go get a referral through our pedi and then she will submit it and they will set up the appointment. It's mostly a lot of leg work but we will get it done.

We are about a week away from his first appointment with the Pulmonologist in Ft. Worth. It will be at 9am so that should be a long interesting day for all of us. The bonus is we will have the kids coming back to Abilene with us! I can not wait for them to be here for the summer. Tonight Hannah is performing in her school's talent show. Myranda sent me the video of it from earlier and it was way to cute! Thank you so much for sending it to me.

Well that about wraps it up for this update. Our next ECI meeting will be in June. His therapist won't be able to see him until the first week of June. So fingers crossed we continue to see progress. It is nice to walk into his classroom and hear he is having a great day and minimal issues. Fingers crossed next week when they pull his morning teacher out and replace it with a new teacher that his world does not go upside down! He sort of loves that routine of his!

Holy weekend Batman!

Wow what a weekend here in Dallas. We really had an action packed trip. We got to Dallas around 1:00pm Saturday and checked in to our hotel. H was not really digging it. Infact H was not a fan of the schedule change at all! He was a bit over stimulated and anxious.

Well we got all settled and luckily the hospital was right around the corner. We were excited to be seeing our former NICU crew. I of course anticipated meltdowns and complete chaos. It was held at the Medical City Children's Hospital. All the graduates from the last few years up until the last few weeks were in attendance. We got to see the doctors and nurses also which was great. One of our most beloved nurses was not there sadly because she no longer worked there. What a bummer :( . We got to see our good friends the Haaser's, their daughter was a pod mate with H. Their daughter was born a micro premie and will now be 2 in to a few weeks. She is an amazing little girl.

We stuck out the event as long as we could but had to take a break oi we headed up to Ante Partum to see my favorite crew of nurses. Those ladies played such a huge part of my life for my very extended stay at the hospital. It always comforts me when I get to see them. After the visit we headed back down to the party as it was now clearing out. H got to play with his podmate Sarah and us parents got to chat. Shortly after we headed back to our hotel for down time.

I am going to venture to say H didn't get enough down time because dinner with my sister and brother in law was a huge fail! Basically the table behind us raced through their meal because, I assume they were not a fan of our child going totally bonkers. Its not like we actually got to enjoy or meal but it was still nice to hang out with my family.

Ill be honest I am not sure what possessed us to head to Babies R Us after dinner but the evening was still young and we are all about treating fate in our house lol. So off we went and I am glad we did! We ran into our NICU friends Bob and Stephanie and theory darling daughter Sarah. Who knew you could have so much fun in a two story toy store an hour before closing time! H did great. He played with Sarah and didn't have any issues at all. We so need one of these out in Abilene!

Of course what's a trip with out a bit of breathing issues? We ended up doing a treatment at the hotel and that settled H enough for him to go to sleep. Thank goodness because he did not nap all day! He must have known Sunday would be just as action packed and he would need to bring his A game ha ha.

Today we got packed up grabbed my oldest son Sean and headed to Grapevine. We took in a little Bass Pro Shop and Grapevine Mills. The mall was fun and crazy. H was pretty anxious the while time. I mean who could blame him the place was packed! Sean got to do the bungie trampoline and had so much fun. He got lucky some guy handed him a free ticket go do it. I really wanted to do it but oh well lol.

My sister Jordan was so awesome and made two cookie cakes for Hannah's birthday party today. We headed to her place to decorate. She wins the cool aunt award for letting Sean draw butts on the spare cookie that she made. She really does love my kids. I wish she had felt better so she could have joined us tonight. She was there in spirit.

Hannah is a figure skate so of course she wanted a skating party. We had the ice rented for just her friends and family. I put my skates on and tried to get H to do it. He had been before and had fun this time he wanted nothing to do with it. I did finally get him out for a bit but this ended in a meltdown. Its ok poor baby was totally over this whole busy weekend. I was however relieved that we didnt have to leave early do to him melting down and over stimulating. We had a great time and ate some very yummy cookie cakes compliments of Jordan.

We are now heading back to Abilene. H crashed out in the back and I am writing this on my phone. If there are typos I apologize because this touch screen usually adds crazy stuff and auto correct loves to put in its own words ha ha.

Well that was our crazy weekend. I am sure 5am is going to come mighty early. ECI starts this week so fingers crossed. We are starting to see a trend at school so this is helping us hart progress and triggers. Now I just need to relax and breathe. I hope all of you enjoyed your weekend. Ill reporting an update Tuesday to let everyone know how his first session went.

Ill leave you with some highlights of the weekend......


Off to the reunion


H and his podmate Sarah


H and Sarah trying to take all the trucks off the shelf


Weeeeeee!!!! Let's go for a ride!


Sean doing the bungee trampoline at Grapevine


The birthday cookie

Fun with Aunt Jordan and the butt cookie!

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