Christmas!!!!!!!!

Two weeks from today it will be Christmas morning.  I'm so excited!!!

I love Christmas, always have.  The decorating, the baking, buying presents, playing Santa...I just love it.  Christmas morning, I wait in bed bugging Geek to let me wake the kids up!

Christmas Eve we celebrate with my family, Christmas Day with Geeks.  It's a busy time, but I love getting to see the family.

I'm hoping to bake with the kids this weekend...but we have our home wrestling tournament so who knows how much free time we will have.

Yeah migraines

I've suffered from migraines off and on for years.  My mom had them, my sisters get them...we know how to deal with them.  I get them 1-4 times a year and they usually go away with some Excedrin Migraine, a dark and quiet room, and some rest.

I had the worst one ever on my second day in the hospital.  It made me vomit, I've never had that happen before.  So they sent me home with meds to take when I get one.  Having not had many this year, I decided not to fill the script.

BIG mistake.

I've had 3 in the past two weeks, one I'm almost over now.  And my kids have been home the past two days due to the weather...so there has been no dark and quiet room or rest.  I think the only reason I'm not hiding in the closet (you know, because it's dark and quiet) is the Excedrin is dulling the pain enough so I can function.

Seriously, these suck. 

This really sucks

In my last post, I mentioned that I was admitted to the hospital a few days ago...I'm still there but I think I'm going home today.  I spent a few hours in the ER, "waiting for a bed" but when I got to the place they admitted me to, there were more empty beds than full ones.

I had a private room but had to share a bathroom and didn't have a shower.  It was a trade off, I could live with it.  They transferred me up there at 2 am :0(

Then, last nigh, knowing I'm most likely leaving today, they moved me yet again.  This time to a regular floor...roommate, in room bathroom, etc...I even got a shower!  However, I got no sleep at all.

Why?  My roommate is getting treatments of some for or another almost hourly...my blood sugars are being checked every 4 hours...I have my vital signs taken at midnight (who the hell decided this was a good time to check vitals???)...my roommate is doing a bowel cleanse and can't walk to the bathroom so I get to listen, and smell, her all night...there is a confused man somewhere on the floor and he is very loud...the light in the hall is really bright...the bed is super uncomfortable as is the pillow...I miss my husband and my kids...basically, take your pick!

Hospitals suck so hard sometimes.

Who decided it was a good idea to stick two strangers in a room together, two who most likely have totally different needs.  If rest is so essential to recovery, why isn't there a higher priority placed on it?

I can understand something like needing to wake me to check my blood sugar, it's what put me in here, but is it really that important to take my blood pressure and temperature at midnight???

If I'm ever in the hospital again, I'm insisting on a private room (LOL, like that will happen, but I can hope, right?) and a sleeping pill.

I should not have to choose!!!

I like choice, I like being able to make my own decisions.  Should I wear the blue shirt or the grey one?  Should we have chicken or fish for dinner.  Should I run the vacuum before or after lunch.  I like choice.

I don't like when I have to choose between buying my kids medicine and my insulin.

That is exactly what landed me in the hospital the past few days.  Our prescription coverage changed at the start of this calendar year and I could no longer afford my insulin.  I was able to keep getting the pills I was taking so with that and a super strict diet I had been doing well...until this past Sunday.

I woke up with what I thought was the flu.  Sore throat, aches, fever, just feeling down right miserable.  Then I started vomiting.  And was still vomiting more than four hours later.  Geek finally talked me into going to the ER.  Good thing I did.

I was suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis.  Nasty little thing...and very serious.

I'm doing better now, in fact I'm typing this from my hospital room.  I should be going home tomorrow.

Why are medications that are necessary for people to LIVE so freaking expensive???  It's not like I'm taking this so I can get an erection (seriously, I could do a whole post on this sentence alone!)

"I just want to walk and walk and walk!!!"

Those are the words that came out of Diva's mouth this past weekend...on her second day of wearing her AFOs (leg braces). 

My baby girl, who usually hates talking because it makes her so tired and makes her legs hurt, wanted to walk and walk and walk!

It's enough to make a mom cry...with happiness, of course!

There is a down side, we had to buy her new sneakers (ugh, $50!) because she needs the widest ones available.  By the way, I HIGHLY recommend New Balance shoes and a visit to Stride-rite!  They were so helpful!  But sneakers are the only thing we have found to fit her.  Being a lover of shoes, this has been hard on her, but she understands.  At just shy of 6, this little girl understands that she can either wear whatever shoes she wants or she can have her legs not hurt.

AND!!!  She is getting her toe fixed on Friday.  She is excited because the toe hurts her.  I'm anxious, really anxious.  I'm not sure why, it's not like my kids have never had surgery before.

We are STILL at odds with Bubba's school, nothing really came of our meeting and Geek and I are currently in contact with an attorney.

AND, with all this craziness...wrestling season has started!!

Never a dull moment :0)

Here is the pattern Diva picked out

Here she in in her new AFOs

I Would Be So Bored With "Normal"

There is nothing normal or typical about my life.  Well, there are a few things.  I cook for my family...we laugh...we play games (the Minions LOVE bored games)...I spend one night a week putting their weekly pill containers together...we visit so many doctors that my kids know the drill by heart...

Wait, those last two aren't normal.

I spend Thursday nights, after the Minions are tucked into bed, filling their weekly pill containers.  Diva takes two pills each day...one is a fish oil and the other to help her sleep, in addition to mirilax.  Bubba takes 5.5 pills each day...two fish oils, 1.5 for ADHD, one for asthma, and the other for reflux.

Doctors visits...Diva sees a GI doctor, an orthopedic doctor and a psychiatrist on a regular basis, in addition to her family doctor.  Bubba sees a pulmonolgist (for asthma) and a psychiatrist, in addition to the family doctor.  Of course, they also see the dentist and eye doctor.

Did I mention before that they both get physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) and Diva also gets speech therapy (ST)??

They have seen just about every specialty at the childrens hospital at some point in their life.

It makes me sad when we get complements like "it's great that they can swallow pills and that they don't give you a hard time taking them"..."you are so good letting me examine you"

Honestly, I wish I had to hold them down to get a shot or take meds.  I wish they haven't had to experience of anesthesia.  I wish I would have to sit there and watch them take medication, rather than just telling them "time for meds" and they know which slot to open.  I wish they didn't know to question if they have the correct pills if the color/size/shape changes.

I wish my kids didn't know what the inside of a childrens hospital looks like.  I wish I didn't have to give their teachers a full page background on them.  I wish Diva could have milk, didn't need medication to help her poop every day, and that she could sleep well.  I wish Bubba could make friends easily, knew a time when he didn't have daily pills to take, and didn't have to carry a nebi/inhaler everywhere.

I'd like to have just one week to enjoy my Minions without the consent worry.  But it's not going to happen, and I'm ok with that.  Taking Diva home after her surgery a few weeks ago, I said to Geek, "We would be so bored with our life if the kids were "normal""  He agreed.

A friend of the Geek said to him, "I don't know how you do it.  I'd be mad a the world."  Geeks response, "What good would it do?"

Mainstream schooling...*sigh*

Bubba has an IEP (Individual Education Plan) and is mainstreamed at school, with some modifications.  Basically, that means that he is in a regular education class with some extra in-class support and he gets extra time to take tests.

This keeps him with neurotypical students.  Neurotypical means kids who don't have "issues" with their brain, for example:  autism, seizures, etc

This is a good thing and a bad thing.

It's good because the other kids are usually good role models for how to act.  They help him practice proper social interactions.

It's a bad thing because kids with Aspergers usually can't tell when someone is a friend or a bully (we dealt with this in kindergarten adn 1st grade) or when someone is friendly-teasing.  And it can also leave the non-neurotypical kid feeling like an outcast.

We have been having trouble with Bubba's school over the last week-ish.  We get a feeling that he is being singled out due to his Asperger's, and that the teachers/aides are relying on the other kids side of the story and not even listening to Bubba's.  Kid's with Asperger's are honest to a fault.  They don't understand things like the "little white lie."

I threatened to pull him out of school to home-school him.  I don't want to because this child is going to be smarter than his college graduate mother before too long :0)

Our next option was to look into alternative or private schooling.  There is an autism program run in our county out of a school about half an hour away.  We are going to insist, at the least, that we be permitted to look into the program.

The school keeps insisting that he needs to be with neurotypical kids to "socialize" him.  He started publie school in Pre-K, he is now in 2nd grade.  His friends are the kids he wrestles with because they accept him for who he is.  He has no friends in his class and hasn't since he started school. 

"Socialization" is no longer a good enough reason to keep him in that school.  Especially when I get an e-mail from one of his teachers telling me that the other students "shouldn't have to tolerate" the things he does.  Well, I don't think he should have to tolerate being forced to sit still for hour at a time, or being picked on when the teachers/aides are out of ear-shot.

After he came home with wood chips all over his socks and him telling me that some kids TOOK HIS SHOES out on the playground, I asked him if he told an adult at the school.  He said he did but was told not to "tattle."  So when the kids pick on him, he doesn't say anything anymore.

How freaking sad is that?



We have an appointment on Monday, 10/21.  I'm sure I will have to get pissy a few times.

Don't mess with the cub if you can't handle Mama!

Finally....some answers!!!!!

We have some answers for Diva!  She has mild Ataxic Cerebral Palsy.  And CP is most likely the cause of her cronic constipation.  As for the feeling of food getting stuck in her throat?  Well, according to her orthopedic doctor, the form of CP she has is mild so it's not likely...but anything is possible.

Her treatment plan (Geek and I are so freaking happy we finally have one!!!!) is as follows:
-PT is increased from once a week to twice
-lower leg braces to be worn part-time (so basically for school and walking trips, like the zoo)

We left her appointment feeling so much lighter.  This massive weight has been lifted off our shoulders. 

We have treatment plans for both kids.  We feel we have the best diagnoses for both of them.

Things are starting to fall into place!

Tummy Troubles

Diva is still having tummy troubles, and they really don't know why.

She had an endoscopy with biopsy just over a week ago.  We got the results back and they are normal, totally freaking normal.  Geek and I are at the point where we just want them to find something, any thing!  Once we know what's going on, we can treat it.  Right now, we are just grabbing at straws in the dark.

We don't get the results of her gait analysis until the end of the month, but they did tell us she is coming down harder on one foot compared to the other.

Geek and I really hope we get some answers soon, it sucks not being able to help our kids simply because we don't know what's going on with them.

I keep telling myself...

I have to keep reminding myself that Bubba's brain doesn't work the way mine does.  Between the Asperger's and ADHD, his wiring is just so different from mine that I have to keep telling myself he has his own way of doing things.

This has good and bad parts.

The bad is that it can take him a lot longer to do what I consider a simple task.  He can't focus because he hears everything.  For example, the sound of my super quiet (to me at least) dishwasher is so loud to him.

The good?  He sees things and thinks things that amaze me.  He has such an active imagination.  The way he solves problems blow my mind.  There have been a few times he has come up with a solution that Geek and I never considered.

I need to keep telling myself that we will eventually get from Point A to Point B, we just may take the scenic route.

Even Easier Headwrap!

I love Pinterest.  Where else can you get a recipe for dinner and a great winter ear warmer pattern?  LOL

Anyway, I came across a pattern titled "Easiest Headwrap EVER!!!" from Frayed Knot.

I learned to crochet at 8.  Over the years I've taught myself so much thanks to the internet.  I'm still working on reading a pattern chart, but I'm really good with written patterns.  So after about 2 hours of trying this pattern (which is really easy!) I still couldn't get the ear warmer to come out straight.

Honestly, I still have no idea why it crocheted up in a diagonal but I'm guessing it had something to do with the half-double crochet stitch.  I hate that stitch :0)

So, using the pattern, some trial and error, and a lot of cussing...I came up with the following:

Even Easier Headwrap

Hook:  H/8 - 5.00MM
Yarn:  Any Worsted Weight will do, I used Bernat because I picked up a skein on sale

*unless otherwise noted you will end each row with "CH 2, turn"*

CH 5, starting in the second chain from the hook make 4 SC (4)

Row 1:   DC, CH 2, DC (this is your button hole)
Row 2:  2 DC in same stitch, 2 DC in the CH 2 space, 2 DC in same stitch (6)
Row 3:  6 DC
Row 4:  2 DC in same stitch, 4 DC, 2 DC in same stitch (8)
Row 5:  8 DC
Row 6:  2 DC in same stitch, 6 DC, 2 DC in same stitch (10)
Row 7:  10 DC
Row 8:  2 DC in same stitch, 8 DC, 2 DC in same stitch (12)
Row 9:  12 DC

Rows 10 - 47:  12 DC

Row 48:  skip the first and last DC spots, DC 10 times in between (10)
Row 49:  10 DC
Row 50: skip the first and last DC spots, DC 8 times in between (8)
Row 51: 8 DC
Row 52:  skip the first and last DC spots, DC 6 times in between (6)
Row 53: 6 DC

SC around the entire headband, fasten off, weave in ends, and add a button.

I used this flower pattern.

If you want to make this without a button, start with a CH 7 then follow from Row 3 and attach to Row 53 before SC around the headband.

This is my first "pattern", be kind!

NOTE:  If you make something from this pattern to sell, link back here.  Don't claim it as your own and don't sell the pattern.  As you can see, I linked back to the original pattern and I'm freely sharing my changes.

I did it!

I opened my very own Etsy store!

Go check it out at candcboutique.etsy.com

When you place your order, let me know you came from my blog and I'll give you something special.  Haven't decided what it will be, but it will either be free goodies or a discount.

In a bit of a daze...

We got back from Bubba's behavioural health appointment a few hours ago.  Why is this blog-worthy?  Because his doctor not only agrees with us that there is something more than ADHD going on with him but has diagnosed with with Asperger's as well as Tourette's Syndrome.

Let's tackle the Tourette's first.  We stopped all ADHD meds on the last day of school back in June.  If the medication was causing his tics, they would have stopped after we stopped the medication.  He is not only still having them but they are worse and he is having more.  As of now, the plan is to treat the ADHD with medication and the tics with fish oil and hope that the combination helps control the tics.  There are medications to control the tics, but the side effects aren't worth starting him on them right away.  And we really don't want to put him on yet another medication.

While the Tourette's is a shock, I actually think I'm more shocked about the Asperger's diagnosis.

I'm really not sure why, seeing as how I have had the suspicion this is what was going on for a few months now.  I guess I was hoping the doctor would tell me I was reading too much into Bubba's quirks.

From what I understand, there is no cure or medication for the treatment of Aspergers, you just kinda manage the symptoms.

We walked into the doctors office with one diagnosis and left with three.

He is still my Bubba.  He is still the funny, loving kid who is obsessed with history...and reading...and playing video/board/card games...and cheeseburgers, he loves cheeseburgers :0)

I really hope this isn't rambling, I really don't have my thoughts organized, I just knew I had to get them on paper.

Well, Diva has her gait test tomorrow, her behavioral health appointment next week, and her endoscopy next Friday.  I'm sure there will be a lot to write in the coming days!

Why is it so hard to speak properly?

I live in a highly diverse area, which I love!  But one of the downfalls is the butchering of the English language.  I'm not talking about those who learned English as a second language, nope, I mean the ones who grew up speaking it.

To borrow some phrases from Bill Cosby: "where he be" "what he drive?"  And I will add a few of my own : "diz be how..." "how cum she..."

Look, I have no problem with text-speak...in text messages!  I abbreviate all the time in my text messages.  But when you write or post like this in or on things like Facebook or e-mail (or even worse you actually SPEAK like this!) you just sound uneducated.

Please, please, please don't allow your children to speak this way. 

Would you want your surgeon to say, "Yo, diz what we gonna do.  We cut 'cho head open, den we gonna cut dat bitch outta dere and stitch yo head back up."

Probably going to piss a few people off with this one!

It really pisses me off how all you breastfeeding mothers high-five yourselves and put down those of us who choose to use formula. Where does all the anger come from?  Someone posted on line a picture of a recipe for a pizza that was paid for by someone else because the mother whipped her boob out in the restaurant to feed her baby.

Please remember, some of us want to breastfeed and can’t. Some of us choose not to breastfeed.  GET OVER IT!

Guess what?!?!?!? It doesn’t come easy to everyone.   Does that surprise you "Nipple Nazis"?  

Does that make me less of a mother because I NEVER got milk in?  Yeah, even with meds, herbs and many lactation consultations I STILL couldn’t get milk in either time I was pregnant!  

One was born 9 weeks early and the other 4 weeks early, both were difficult, dangerous pregnancies.  I almost died while pregnant with my oldest, hence him being 9 weeks early.

"Oh, but you could have gotten milk from someone else!"  HELL NO!  There is no way in hell I would allow another woman's milk into either of my kids bodies.  Sorry, that's just gross.  Not to mention, with two kids with special feeding needs (i.e.- I had to mix their formula to a special calorie mixture and add rice due to reflux) formula was easier in the long run.

"But that's how they did it before formula!"  Yeah, they also used to drain blood out of your body to "cure" just about everything.  The old way is not always the best way.  Oh, and if we still did things "the old way" I would have probably died from pre-eclampsia before Bubba was born and if I had survived, Bubba probably would have died from the pyloric stenosis he was born with.

Just once, I’d like to see “High-five for feeding your baby!”  Really, who the fuck cares how you feed them!

I’m an AWESOME mother, I have AWESOME kids…hell, my son has genus level IQ and my daughter isn’t far behind!  See how important breast milk is?  

Seriously, other than your kids doctor and maybe your OB/GYN, who was the last person to even care if your kids got the boob or the bottle?  I haven't been asked in years.

One hell of a storm!

I thought the rain was never going to end!  I heard on the news we got around 5 inches of rain!

My street during the storm

My back yard during the storm

Diva enjoying the new swimming pool :0)

Bubba enjoying the new swimming pool :0)

We usually park the car here, it's up over my ankles

Just about 4.5 feet onto my sidewalk, the tip of my shoe is where the water like is.

My whole street during a brief period of no rain.

The new fountain from the man-hole cover...it was still going like this a few hours later.

 My street is still flooded out, it has NEVER stayed flooded this long.  The rain stopped about 3 hours ago but they are calling for more overnight.  I'm so thankful that our house sits up on a small hill, otherwise I have a feeling our basement would be flooded.

There are pictures all over Facebook of the flooding in my area.  So far there just seems to be a lot of water and no property damage or bodily harm...let's hope is stays that way!

I know, I know, it's been over a month...

But I've been so freaking busy!  Soccer camp, doctor visits, vacation...things are starting to wind down now that we are heading into August (sing: It's the most wonderful time of the year....).

Update on the Minions:

Bubba is doing well off his ADHD meds, which really only reinforces our concern that this may not be the best diagnosis for him.  He enjoyed  soccer camp, but not enough to want to play the sport.  He is excited for wrestling season to start.

Diva is another story.  We decided to put her on some meds for reflux hoping that the coughing and feeling of food getting stuck will go away...so far no good.  And we had another bout of severe constipation, yeah, that was a ton of fun :0(  Unfortunately, she may need an endoscopy.

She has an appointment with the gait lab to see what's going on with her muscles/walking, but that's not until the end of next month and we won't have any results for another month after that.

And her behavior issues are escalating, even with more positive reinforcement.

I have a feeling kindergarten is going to be a rough year for her.

Expect a bunch of posts in the next few days, I have a lot on my mind!

"Special Needs"

I have a problem with my kids having this label.  You can't see their medical issues like you can with other things.  They don't use a wheelchair (ok, we did have to get Diva a special needs stroller, but it looks like an umbrella stroller), they don't have braces or casts, etc.

They both kinda fall into a gray area.  They aren't 100% healthy but, to us, they aren't disabled enough to be considered disabled.  Sadly, if Bubba actually had a diagnosis on the Autism Spectrum there would be more resources available to him and us than there are with just an ADHD diagnosis.

I feel like we are sitting on a fence and we don't really fit on either side of it.  Then there is that label...special needs....different needs...differently able...etc.  I dislike all of them.

I have yet to figure out exactly why I dislike the label, but I think it may have something to do with wanting my kids to be treated like any other kid.  Labels have a way of separating people.

I'm lonely, oh so lonely....

Hubbys aunt likes to have to kids for a weekend or a week over the summer.  They left Saturday and we will go pick them up Friday...did I mention that she lives over an hour away?  They are having a blast because they are swimming all day and spending time with their grand-aunt and 2nd cousin...two things they love.

But I have no idea what to do with myself.  My house is still clean, there is no laundry to fold, no Minions begging for a snack or lunch or asking me to play games/read books/cuddle with them...I seriously have no idea what to do with myself!

I tried playing The Sims 3, one of my favorite past times, but I start getting bored after an hour or so.  Probably because I never get that long to play it when the kids are home.

I tried crocheting...but, as with The Sims 3, I don't get the chance to do that for long stretches at a time either so I'm actually finishing projects faster!

I've been a stay at home mom for more than 5 years, you would think I'd be used to this down time, but I'm not.  It's better than it was in the begining!

Oh, and daytime tv really sucks. 

Got Wrestling?

Both my kids wrestle.  They LOVE it!  They wrestle for our local Junior Wrestling club.  Bubba just completed his second year and Diva just completed her first year.

Wait?  Didn't I say both my kids have special needs (by the way, I hate that term, but more on that in another post)?  How can we let them do things with "normal" kids?  How can we let our daughter wrestle with boys?

First of all, wrestling is one of the best sports for kids, like Bubba, with ADHD to participate in.  I read about that recently in ADDitude Magazine and wish I had saved the link.  It hepls with social skills because the kids practicce as a team, but the accomplishments are personal.  The kids are out there for 3, one minute periods (unless they get or are pinned)...it's all them in those three minutes.

Wrestling has also done wonders for Diva with her low muscle tone.  The best example:  at the beginning of the season she couldn't do a back bridge, she couldn't even hold herself up in one if the coach assisted her into getting into the position.  By the end of the season, she was not only able to hold the bridge but she was able to get herself up into it!  This position is fairly important for the sport as it's the best way to get out of a pin.  Oh, and she was also able to make it through the entire 1.5 hour practice.

So how did they do last season?  Wonderful!  Bubba didn't get any pins, but he got much better as a wrestler.  He was able to put what he was taught in practice to use on the mat and improved as a wrestler.  Diva eventually stopped crying when she got pinned, so that's a BIG plus!  How do we know they love what they do?  They can't wait for next season to start!

How do we feel about girls wrestling the boys?  To us it's a non issue.  I know of other mothers who force their daughters to quit once they start to develop boobs, even if they are amazing wrestlers.  I don't agree with this, but they aren't my kids so my opinion really doesn't matter.  What will we do once Diva starts to develop?  I don't know.  Who's to say she will even still want to wrestle in a few years?  We will cross that bridge when we get to it.

Hubby and I are so happy the kids have found a sport they are passionate about.  He coaches and I'm Team Mom.  Basically, we do nothing but wrestling from October-ish to March-ish...but I wouldn't have it any other way!

 professional pictures from Picture People...they do amazing work!

 Diva and Bubba at a tournament

 pep talk from Coach Daddy

pep talk from Coach Wayne

Taking the Plunge!

I've decided to take the plunge.  I'm going to see if I can actually make money doing something I love...crocheting.

I've tried with my sewing, but to be honest the cost of fabric makes it rather expensive for people to buy custom made items.  I can make Diva a dress for about $15...but I can also buy her a dress for $15 or less.  Same with making shirts for Bubba.  I have found that making doll clothing is sort of proftable (well, at craft fairs at least)

Since I can take my crocheting pretty much anywhere I can crochet pretty much anywhere.  Kids want to go play out back?  Give me a second to grab up my yarn and a hook!  Going out of town for the weekend?  Let me pack some skeins and hooks!

Below are just a few of the things I have made for either my kids, my nieces/nephews, or my friends kids.

 R2D2 inspired hat

 Iron Man inspired fingerless gloves

 Ice Cream Cone barefoot sandals

 Cupcake purse

 Mickey Mouse Inspired hat

Winnie the Pooh inspired hat

And there is many, many, many more!

Wish me luck!!!!

He's not a "bad kid" he has a medical diagnosis!!!

A big "SCREW YOU" to anyone who still...STILL...thinks ADHD isn't real.  Is it over diagnosis, probably, do some parents use it as an excuse for their shitty parenting, you bet.  But my son has an actual diagnosis, from actual medical professionals.

We spoke with our family doctor about some issues he was having at school.  Did his teacher bring it to our attention, yup.  But she spends hours every day with him so of course she would mention it to us.  It wasn't "your son is a bad kid he needs meds" it was "he's having some troubles in class, you may want to bring them up with his doctor next time he goes."  None of these issues were a surprise to us, we were noticing them at home.

Luckily, he had a well-child check up not too long after that so we spoke with his doctor.  The doctor (whom we feel is a GREAT doctor) felt we should see someone in the Behavioural Health Department at the local children's hospital...and I'm glad we did!

After over 4 hours of testing, interviews with his teacher at the time, interviews with us...he was diagnosed with ADHD/combined type.  That means he has the inattentive and hyperactive types.  He was almost diagnosed on the Autisim Spectrum but, in the doctors words, "he is WAY too sociable"

Yeah, not really sure why that exclueded him as I know some very sociable autistic people but so be it.

Oh, and he is HIGHLY inteligent.  Reads and does math 2 grade levels above his actual grade level (yeah, he went up that extra half a grade level since the last post).  Scored in the 99.9 percentile in the visual/spacial reasoning portion of the test.  Oh, and they want the test repeated in 18-24 months after the initial test.  Why?  Because they think the current number it low due to his ADHD and impaired fine motor skills.

So I didn't go to our doctor and tell them he refused to sit still and focus and insisted he needed meds.  Trust me, the last thing I wanted to do was put him on another medication (he already takes one for his asthma and another for his reflux) but they help him.  He gets the lowest dose and we go up by very small amounts.  We have incorporated non-medical things (social skills group therapy, "fidgets", positive reinforcement, etc) with small success.

He isn't a bad kid, he isn't a kid who can sit still for hours at a time (especially without something to do), and he sure as hell isn't being a brat!  Don't give me a look because I don't yell at him for "acting out", he shuts down with loud noises so talking to him softly is the best way to handle dicipline with him.  And he's my kid, worry about your own life!

It was a long road to get the correct diagnosis for him.  Yes, I'm frustrated at the end of the day with him...I'm also mentally exhausted and have very little patience left.  Want to spend a day in my life?  Want to answer a million questions and hear a million stories that make no sence to you but are told with such passion that you want to understand them?  Want to constantly be on alert to make sure your son doesn't hurt himself because he doesn't remember he needs to think before he does and says something?  Oh, and don't forget that you still have another child who has her own special needs.

I want to get my son a t-shirt I saw, it says "Spend a day in my brain before you say I don't need meds"  Truer words have rarely been spoken.

So for those doctors and parents who over-diagnosis and use the diagnosis as an excuse...thanks for making it harder on those of us who are dealing with an actual diagnosis and trying to raise our ADHD kids to not blame their disease on being a brat.  Jerks.

Grass Between My Toes...why that name?

I love to be outside.  I love being barefoot.  Seriously, I wear my flip flops all year...even in the snow!  Therefore, I love to feel the "grass between my toes"  I know it's a silly name...but it's memorable!

Since this is my first post, I'll fill you in on some things about me and my life.

I have two children, who I refer to as The Minions. 

Bubba is my oldest, he is currently in 1st grade.  He was born at 31 weeks and spent 6.5 weeks in the NICU.  He was diagnosed with ADHD over a year ago.  We are struggling with finding medication that works for him.  He is highly intelligent, which only adds to his fidgeting since he works faster than his classmates.  He is also an avid reader (he reads 1.5 grade levels above his actual grade!!), a wrestler, a lover of cheeseburgers and animals, and just an all around great kid.

Diva is my youngest, she will start kindergarten in the fall.  She almost made it to full-term, being born at just over 36 weeks.  She has hypotonia, which is basically a fancy way to say she has low muscle tone.  She is allergic to dairy.  She also wrestles, it has helped her strengthen her muscles.  She loves pink, purple, anything that sparkles, and her cats.

My husband is a Geek, and proud of it!  He works in IT but isn't afraid of manual labor.  He can fix my computer and a hole in the wall!  He loves me, he loves our children, we are both avid readers and beach bums...what more can I say??

Me?  I'm a college graduate who left the workforce when Diva developed RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) at only 4 weeks old.  I love to cook and bake.  I'm an avid reader and I feel weird when my hands aren't busy with something...usually crochet!  I have a great sense of humor and I don't get offended easily. 

Well, I think that's about it...enjoy!