I am so very excited tonight!!! A pretty terrific friend of mine has agree to do a product review for me. And.....I'm doing a giveaway through her blog. I'm not going to go into specifics because she pretty much has all of the bases covered....
So....what the heck are you waiting for??? Get on over there!!!!!
Thoughts From The Wells
Thoughts From The Wells
Welcome to a Northern Girl's Take on Things
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Things I Know About Today
It's Sunday (Sunday, gotta get down on Sunday). Hubby's day off. The weather is rockin' it out here, so I see some sort of fatigue-inducing fresh air activities for the kids. As I sit here with my coffee, I'm thinking about what's been going on with us lately. We were told on Thursday that there was a house available for us to take when we move, and Friday it was given to someone else. Major bummer. But, I just keep telling myself that it will all work out in the end, and it doesn't matter where we live, as long as we're happy (I'm really trying to convince myself that living in small row housing is just as good as a nice big house with an attached garage). Anyhow, I've turned my thoughts to what I know for sure (being type A, I like to have certainties, I don't do well with sitting back and going with the flow). Here is what I know for sure:
- I didn't get my laundry folded last night because I was engrossed (yet again) in the first Sex In The City movie, just priming myself for part 2, which I haven't seen yet. I know, I'm still trying to get into 2010.
- I have waffle batter sitting in my fridge waiting to be cooked for breakfast. Love these waffles! They are made with yeast, and I let the batter sit overnight, and well, they are divine!!!
- The weather has been awesome! Three days before we got home from holidays, there was a major snowstorm here, and I thought we'd still be shovelling out, but Mother Nature (thankyouverymuch) decided to change her mind on that and melt it all herself.
- My daughter is sporting a huge black eye from the playground. Monkey bar - 1, sweet little girl - 0.
- I'm still so excited about my new business, and have some exciting news coming up about that, so stay tuned!!
- I am stalling on actively trying to potty train my son, am I lazy or is he just not ready? I think I'm lazy. He's 3. In my defense, I am offering smarties and pee treats to him, he is just really stubborn (too bad he's so much like his Dad! ha)
- I wasn't taken away in the Rapture everyone has been talking about, which kind of worries me. I heard (correct me if I'm wrong) that all of the good Christians will be taken to heaven on May 21st, and the rest will be taken to hell 5 months later. I'm thinking this means I didn't make the cut. A little worriesome.
- My kids are awesome. That is all.
Have a great day, hoping your weather is as great as ours!
- I didn't get my laundry folded last night because I was engrossed (yet again) in the first Sex In The City movie, just priming myself for part 2, which I haven't seen yet. I know, I'm still trying to get into 2010.
- I have waffle batter sitting in my fridge waiting to be cooked for breakfast. Love these waffles! They are made with yeast, and I let the batter sit overnight, and well, they are divine!!!
- The weather has been awesome! Three days before we got home from holidays, there was a major snowstorm here, and I thought we'd still be shovelling out, but Mother Nature (thankyouverymuch) decided to change her mind on that and melt it all herself.
- My daughter is sporting a huge black eye from the playground. Monkey bar - 1, sweet little girl - 0.
- I'm still so excited about my new business, and have some exciting news coming up about that, so stay tuned!!
- I am stalling on actively trying to potty train my son, am I lazy or is he just not ready? I think I'm lazy. He's 3. In my defense, I am offering smarties and pee treats to him, he is just really stubborn (too bad he's so much like his Dad! ha)
- I wasn't taken away in the Rapture everyone has been talking about, which kind of worries me. I heard (correct me if I'm wrong) that all of the good Christians will be taken to heaven on May 21st, and the rest will be taken to hell 5 months later. I'm thinking this means I didn't make the cut. A little worriesome.
- My kids are awesome. That is all.
Have a great day, hoping your weather is as great as ours!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Chaos That Surrounds Me
In my life, I have found a few certainties, some of which are:
- if one kid sleeps through the night, the other won't
- when you drop a piece of toast on the floor, it will always fall peanut butter side down
- just when you start thinking life is as it should be, a curve ball (or two or three) get thrown at you
Don't get me wrong, my life is pretty damn good, I can't complain. But, I will - just a little.
I can now make light of this (a little bit), because I'm a couple months removed from the initial kick in the crotch.
Let me take you back to last July. (For the record, this may get a little long). I mentioned to the nurse at our health center that I had concerns about our son not talking. He was 28 months at the time. I was of the opinion that he would just wake up one day and decide to talk (as every story I ever heard from anyone I've talked to about this has gone - to that I say ppptttthhhhhhh). Fast forward to March when we finally get an appointment with a speech therapist.
This gal was fairly young, and new to her job - but I wasn't holding that against her. Yet. Our appointment was 1/2 hour long, and 25 minutes of the appointment consisted of her observing him and asking me questions. She spent a few minutes on seeing what he could say, if he could identify pictures, etc. After our "appointment", she tells me that she is concerned that he is on the autism spectrum. And, several times she told me "I know this is very hard to hear right now". Really? Maybe you should reserve judgement until someone qualified looks at him. (sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself...)
I'm frozen.
Before I freak out on her (which, let's face it, any parent in denial would do) I readily agree to a referral to a pediatrician and occupational therapist. Now, where we live, appointments don't come quickly (see: July to March above). So. I go home, and inform my husband of what just went down. We both proceed to take turns in causing more panic in the other, all the while focusing on nothing else but what weird behaviour our son is exhibiting at any given moment. (When did he start doing that? Is that normal? What the hell does that mean?)
I think it was a full day and a half before I stopped crying, that time full of thoughts about what his future would be like, and how I was going to beat the crap out of any kid that dared to bully my sweet, sweet boy, because clearly, the therapist had just given him a death sentence.
Enough of that crap. Luckily, the kids and I were flying "home" for a visit, where there is a wider variety of care for cases like his. I get that he has a severe speech delay, and I wanted another opinion on that, seeing as how the last gal told me to "just keep doing what you're doing with him". Clearly that was working, lady.
I managed to contact a lady who not only is an occupational therapist, but also owns another company with a speech language pathologist. (Not sure what I did to deserve that shiny gem, but it lifted about 1000 lbs. off of me). She heard my story and told me that they would work around us and see us whenever we could get there. I love this woman. Love.
I took him for an assessment with each of them, and after all was said and done, he does have a severe speech issue, as well as some immaturity/behavioural issues, which could be attributed to the lack of speech. Oh, and no autism. Surprise surprise. Not a word you want to be throwing around to parents when clearly it's not autism at all. But, I digress.
We are getting together a clear plan of what we need to be doing for him, and I feel a lot better about the whole thing. Yes, it would be easier if he just talked and acted like other kids, but on the other hand, he is healthy, alive and happy (and oh so silly!!).
I always try to see the lessons in things, and the big one here is how much compassion I've gained for parents who have autistic children (or any special needs children for that matter). These kids are so awesome, but I caught a glimpse into the unbearable heartache these parents feel. To envision your child's future as grim, as I have for a brief moment, is the biggest hurt I've ever felt. I pray to never feel it again, yet I know that there are so many parents who live it every day.
To put the cherry on the top, we found out we are moving by June 10th (thankfully to a larger center where speech therapy is readily available). I hate moving. But, that's for another post.
For now, we are teaching and praising new words, enjoying every little milestone and just hoping for the best.
- if one kid sleeps through the night, the other won't
- when you drop a piece of toast on the floor, it will always fall peanut butter side down
- just when you start thinking life is as it should be, a curve ball (or two or three) get thrown at you
Don't get me wrong, my life is pretty damn good, I can't complain. But, I will - just a little.
I can now make light of this (a little bit), because I'm a couple months removed from the initial kick in the crotch.
Let me take you back to last July. (For the record, this may get a little long). I mentioned to the nurse at our health center that I had concerns about our son not talking. He was 28 months at the time. I was of the opinion that he would just wake up one day and decide to talk (as every story I ever heard from anyone I've talked to about this has gone - to that I say ppptttthhhhhhh). Fast forward to March when we finally get an appointment with a speech therapist.
This gal was fairly young, and new to her job - but I wasn't holding that against her. Yet. Our appointment was 1/2 hour long, and 25 minutes of the appointment consisted of her observing him and asking me questions. She spent a few minutes on seeing what he could say, if he could identify pictures, etc. After our "appointment", she tells me that she is concerned that he is on the autism spectrum. And, several times she told me "I know this is very hard to hear right now". Really? Maybe you should reserve judgement until someone qualified looks at him. (sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself...)
I'm frozen.
Before I freak out on her (which, let's face it, any parent in denial would do) I readily agree to a referral to a pediatrician and occupational therapist. Now, where we live, appointments don't come quickly (see: July to March above). So. I go home, and inform my husband of what just went down. We both proceed to take turns in causing more panic in the other, all the while focusing on nothing else but what weird behaviour our son is exhibiting at any given moment. (When did he start doing that? Is that normal? What the hell does that mean?)
I think it was a full day and a half before I stopped crying, that time full of thoughts about what his future would be like, and how I was going to beat the crap out of any kid that dared to bully my sweet, sweet boy, because clearly, the therapist had just given him a death sentence.
Enough of that crap. Luckily, the kids and I were flying "home" for a visit, where there is a wider variety of care for cases like his. I get that he has a severe speech delay, and I wanted another opinion on that, seeing as how the last gal told me to "just keep doing what you're doing with him". Clearly that was working, lady.
I managed to contact a lady who not only is an occupational therapist, but also owns another company with a speech language pathologist. (Not sure what I did to deserve that shiny gem, but it lifted about 1000 lbs. off of me). She heard my story and told me that they would work around us and see us whenever we could get there. I love this woman. Love.
I took him for an assessment with each of them, and after all was said and done, he does have a severe speech issue, as well as some immaturity/behavioural issues, which could be attributed to the lack of speech. Oh, and no autism. Surprise surprise. Not a word you want to be throwing around to parents when clearly it's not autism at all. But, I digress.
We are getting together a clear plan of what we need to be doing for him, and I feel a lot better about the whole thing. Yes, it would be easier if he just talked and acted like other kids, but on the other hand, he is healthy, alive and happy (and oh so silly!!).
I always try to see the lessons in things, and the big one here is how much compassion I've gained for parents who have autistic children (or any special needs children for that matter). These kids are so awesome, but I caught a glimpse into the unbearable heartache these parents feel. To envision your child's future as grim, as I have for a brief moment, is the biggest hurt I've ever felt. I pray to never feel it again, yet I know that there are so many parents who live it every day.
To put the cherry on the top, we found out we are moving by June 10th (thankfully to a larger center where speech therapy is readily available). I hate moving. But, that's for another post.
For now, we are teaching and praising new words, enjoying every little milestone and just hoping for the best.
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