dissapointed May 14, 2008

Our wonderful OT told us today that he and his family will be moving out of state and that J will only have about 3 more sessions with him.  We won’t have a lapse in service as the hospital has already hired someone to take on his case load and we will meet them before he leaves.

 

But we haven’t been going very long and J has already come so far with Mr. Steve.  He’s formed a bond and genuinely looks forward to his session every week.  I look forward to our sessions every week.  Normally it is J’s best hour out of the whole week.  He has a fun time and learns stuff without even knowing it.  He doesn’t have to compete for attention.  He has 2 adults all to himself.  Mr. Steve gets J but doesn’t let him slide by or get away with things.  I’m sure the other person will be equally wonderful.  All of the therapists at this place come to the waiting room to pick up their kids so I have been witness to the quality of people they hire.  BUT to be honest, I have a bit of social anxiety myself.  It has been really hard on me to get the services J needs because I am just as nervous about new people and situations as he is.  I’ve obviously learned over the years to buck up and do it anyway, but it isn’t with out a fair amount of trepidation.  All of my closest friends will label me as outgoing, but it is only because they met me in situations in which I was controlling the circumstances. 

 

Alright, I’m done spilling secrets for the night.  Wanna hear about my “comfort food” late dinner after the kids went to bed?  Hubby is away for work this week.  J had a headache off and on today.  Some moments he was weeping with pain.  He was fine pain wise for OT, but his energy level was way down.  The kids ate fruit and yogurt for dinner.  J went to bed of his own asking at 8:30 and Little J was tucked in by 9:30.  I was starving and needed something easy.  My dinner?  Buffalo wings with chunky blue cheese, a soda, 1/3 package of double stuff oreos, and milk.  YUM!  Not what I usually eat, but good enough for tonight.

Ode to RSS May 13, 2008

Okay I don’t know how to write an Ode.  But here is my lament over the fact that my laptop has taken a trip with hubby until Friday.  I use the RSS feed reader that is in the IE toolbar, so it is only available to me on that computer.  My RSS is incomplete on the desktop.  So if I miss you this week, I will catch up on the weekend.

 

This is probably a good thing.  Since we got the key to the new house, I told hubby that I would try and move some of the smaller stuff over there in van loads this week.  Lack of computer might be a good motivator.

 

I need some opinions.  Play Therapy.  Any one have experience with this?  I was looking stuff up and one of the descriptions said that it is good for anger management.  J is not by nature an angry kid.  But he does have a hard time expressing frustration and anger appropriately.  There is one social worker on my insurance that does this type of therapy.  He is listed in an online database with all his credentials.  I was thinking about asking for a referral to see him.  I know it would get approved since he is listed under social work and we are allowed a certain number of “mental health” visits a week.  Anyway, I just wanted to know if you guys have done this.  Is it a one time deal or do they see the kids on a continuing basis like OT?  Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks

My 5 Things May 12, 2008

This one has been floating around, and I’ve enjoyed reading all of yours.  Last week I was tagged by Emily at A Life Less Ordinary to do this.  As I left in her comments, I didn’t even know about her blog, much less that she read mine. So I am flattered.  (I just went and checked her comments and it isn’t there, so either it didn’t go through or she chose not to publish it.  But I have left comments for several of you lately and gotten all sorts of errors.  I forget to come back and try again. )

And now I will quit being busy/lazy to do this.

5 Things found in your bag

1. A diaper.  Little J is still not potty trained but I refuse to carry a diaper bag anymore, so I have a pretty pink purse and a diaper stuffed inside.

2. Assorted army men of the plastic non-posable variety.  These are for waiting rooms.

3. Small pink makeup bag containing hand sanitizer, carmex, lotion, and crayons.  Necessities, of course.

4. Box of Raisins and bag with gluten free snacks.  For when the munchies attack the kids

5. Stride Gum.  I love this stuff!

 

5 Favorite Things in your room.

(I’ll go with the living room since that is where I am)

1. Little J and J.

2. T.V., DVR, DVD player.  I LOVE TV and movies.

3. Laptop - DUH

4. Fish - so relaxing to watch

5. My rabbit named Ginger.  She is so soft its like petting air.  AND she is litterbox trained.

 

5 things you have always wanted to do

1. Get a degree in technical theater

2. Take a tour of Europe

3. See a play in England and on Broadway

4. Go on a Disney Cruise (not going to happen since hubby gets motion sick just looking at a boat)

5. Ride in a hot air balloon

 

5 things you are currently into

1. Sleep

2. Staying cool in the AZ heat

3. Trolling Craigslist and yard sales for bargains

4. Other people’s blogs

5. Finding balance for my fish tank

 

I’m not tagging peeps.  Every who I read that I know reads this, has already done this or been tagged to do it.  I live in a small blog circle right now.  So if you read and I don’t know it (cause you’ve never commented before) and you want to do it, leave me a comment so I can tag you.  I know, I know, not very good incentive to leave me a comment.  Do it anyway!

 

Oh wait….

Tracy over at The Fairy Castle hasn’t done this.  So consider yourself Tagged!

Cooking up a storm May 6, 2008

Yesterday I got up early so that I could get the door when Baby A arrived.  I waited for 30 minutes and she never showed, so I called her mom.  Baby A was sick and staying home.  Well geez, what am I suppose to do now?

 

Well you would cook too wouldn’t you?  I finally got brave enough to cook up the Bob’s Red Mill GF Pancake mix that I have had in my cupboard and taken to my parents’ house and back for a couple of months now.  I am terrible at making pancake mixes.  The only pancakes that ever turn out is the recipe I got from my mom.  (If you aren’t GF/CF and want an awesome and easy recipe, let me know).  I always start by following the directions explicitly and then modify as necessary.  Well the test pancake was way too thick andjust sat like a blob in the pan so I added more milk.  The secondpancake was better, but it tasted bland.  In an effort not to add more sugar, I added a teaspoon of vanilla.  PERFECTION!  Well as perfect as a GF pancake can be ;)  I doubled the recipe so I could have plenty for the freezer.  They were a hit definitely and a dearly missed treat.

 

So while the pan was preheating and the mix was resting I took out Bob’s Red Mill GF Cinnamon Raisin Bread and dumped the necessary ingredients into the bread machine and pressed start.  4 hours later the boys were enjoying some fabulous toast.  It was the 1st thing J asked for this morning.  Raisin toast with butter was a favorite breakfast around here before the wheat free diet.  I sliced the loaf and stored all but a few slices in the freezer.  Sorry no pictures, but trust me, it looked great and the raisins that I never even saw in the mix appeared magically and plump.

 

Then because I really didn’t have much to do, I took out the 2nd half of the pizza dough I made on Friday.  What I didn’t tell you I made GF pizzas on Friday and GF Corn dogs on Sunday?  The Bob’s Red Mill Pizza crust has directions for dividing the dough in half and making two 12″ pizzas.  The babysitter made it for the kids a few weeks ago and she only made one pizza from the dough…it was fine but a little dense.  So I divided and pressed it thin into a pampered chef bar pan.  Directions say to use wet fingers, this is definitely key, andyou must keep them wet.  So the second set of dough was a challenge to remove from the plastic that I was instructed to wrap it in but I was able to pull it off by sprinkling it with rice flour to make it a little stiffer.  Pizza was great except for a few crispy cheese spots, which J refuses to eat because he thinks it is some kind of mystery topping.  It wouldn’t have gotten crispy except I got an important phone call at the same time I was suppose to take it out of the oven.  The kids ate it after J got home from school.  then I wrapped the rest in foil.  Can you guess where it went?  You are getting so good at this…  I really should try Once a Month Cooking for more than just the kids’ GF foods.

 

The Pizza Crust and Raisin Bread mixes from Bob’s Red Mill were sent with the samples I received last month.  They were easy to make, take very few ingredients, and the kid’s love them.  I guess when my pantry and freezer run out I will be buying these products.  I’ll be taking the easy way out for a while.  I am just not confident in buying all the separate flours needed to make stuff, yet.

I know several of you are curious (and possibly a little jealous) about our future school district.  I only know what I’ve heard 2nd hand, so I’ll keep you updated when we know more from personal experiences.  I can tell you this though:  This school district was one of the main reasons we decided to move off base after only being here a year.

Just a little stress May 3, 2008

We’ve been to multiple houses over the past week.  We’ve had our hopes up about 3.  2 didn’t work out.  One of those was a nightmare but it is finally over.

 

We are moving into a house that is not only in our desired school district but also our #1 choice for elementary school attendance.  This districtworks hard at full inclusion, which at a glance is terrifying to me, but most kids with IEPs have para-pros and it is only 1/2 day kindergarten vs. full day of our current district.  So far every parent of a special needs child in that district has given rave reviews.  Oh and a bonus for us…It is a year round calendar so he gets out on the 20th of May and will go back the middle of July.  He’ll have several 2-3 week breaks through out the school year to make up for the loss of summer.  This will be good because an entire summer of no school just may set us back to a time before there was school.  That was a really dark place and I don’t care to revisit it.

Past the district issues, the new house has a relaxing backyard with established landscaping and beautiful fragrant flowers.  A gardener I am not, but I am very appreciative of a low care yet beautiful yard.  And when I am done relaxing in my yard, I can soak in my oval soaking tub w/ jets.  I might even let ya’ll come visit me ;)  The house is by no means as large as the other 2 we were looking at but it is in a more convenient location and has a good feel to it.

 

Time to dig out First Experiences and review Moving House.  Yes review, J has been through 3 moves since we got the book.  One of those, like this one, was across town, so everything but the house stayed the same.  Keeping as much normalcy as possible is very important.  We always get the living room, kitchen and the boys’ bedroom unpacked on Day 1 so that they can go to sleep peacefully.  We’ve also learned to say goodbye to the old house and every room in the old house.  When we moved across town a couple years ago (different state) we didn’t know how important it was until we were trying to go to sleep the 1st night and he kept asking to go back.  the next day we went back and let him say goodbye and it was over and he was fine with moving on.  Right now I just keep reminding him and Little J about the backyard.  It was very distinctive and they loved it, a rock path is their dream come true. 

 

So if I am scarce this month, I tore myself from the computer to pack.

Trial by fire May 1, 2008

Last summer we had a lot of regression due to mving and swimming lessons.  We didn’t have a diagnosis, medication, or school in our lives yet.  This were horrible.

Well we are in for some more changes.  Yesterday I started watching a friend of mine’s baby who is 7 months old.  The crying annoys both boys but for the most part they are doing well.  Little J is smitten with her…or maybe its just the fun toys her mom sends with her.

We had been discussing moving for the sake of more room and better schools.  Then all of a sudden it became a reality.  We found our dream home for a dream renters price.  It is about 25 miles from Tucson but the town it is in has plenty of amenities too.  The schools are small but have passed and exceeded state standards.  The boys were pretty excited wen running around it empty.  We will actual move into it in about 2-3 weeks.  We’ll see how they feel about it then.  We are waiting until school is out to move completely.

Also in the works is the possibility of a live-in babysitter/nanny in the form of a college student looking for a place to live.  We have emailed several times and will be meeting her in a couple weeks when she comes to town.  That would possible happen mid summer….but still completely undecided due to outside factors.

 

So I may be asking for a summer of meltdowns with all the changes in store.  I sure hope that the new understandings, medication, and schooling from the past year will help us navigate this time a little easier.

 

Edited to add:  Right after I published this, we talked to the landlord about something we caught in the lease.  We had only told him about our dog last night because most people only care about dogs and cats.  any way it said “No other pets allowed besides those listed in the lease.”  So we asked about our rabbit and he said “no.”  I was really torn so we went out to look at other houses closer to the base, yet in a better school district.  We may have found one.  It is smaller, but it has tons of space and closets and a super nice yard.  It also zoned for one of the best schools for special needs kids in the area.  So maybe the rabbit has caused some heartache while bringing blessings.  I’ll never know.  Hopefully we have some firm plans by the end of the week.  I can’t take all the stress.

How to wear your clothes…as told by J May 1, 2008

Every day before school we go through our routine.  I tell J to go to the bathroom and take off his pull-up, put it in the trash and then put on his clothes.  Depending on the day, I either let him pick out his clothes from the dresser or I get them for him.  then I put all 3 pieces in the bathroom and he often comes out dressed.  Some days he is more distracted than others.

Here is what happened today when I yelled asked politely “Are you dressed yet?”

And 5 minutes later……

 

And after we played a game of “Does it belong on my knees?  How about my feet? My toes”  Me: “How about OVER your toes?”

“I’m all dressed up mommy!”

ummmmm not so much honey.

What could I do?  I just laughed and took pictures.  Even under the clothes he is saying “Cheese and Pickles” while waiting for the flash.  He did finally get completely dressed with shoes and everything.

And the secret ingredient is….. April 25, 2008

CORN FLAKES!

Yes I made the nuggets.  I couldn’t let yesterday’s corn dog oil go to waste.

I nixed the rice crackers from previous attempts.  I think the nuts in the crackers were giving them an odd aftertaste.

So today I used Chicken tenders and cut them in half (the boys nayed the idea of check fingers and I was NOT cutting them up tiny like last time!)  2.5 lbs of chicken

rice flour

corn flakes blended

1 thick slice of frozen homemade bread

2 eggs + a little milk

Skillet full of vegetable oil

 

They came out really pretty unlike before.  they were light and fluffy and tasted pretty good.  Now I just need to figure out what kind of spices to add to this mix so they aren’t quite so bland.  I have to cater to both ends of the taste buds with the little guys.

 

I simultaneously (while being careful not to contaminate) made macaroni (quinoa and corn elbows) with homemade Velveeta cheese sauce.

 

The kids loved dinner and I had plenty of both to freeze for later meals.

 

Today was J’s monthly Psychiatrist appt.  Since he has had so much anxiety about the bus and it has manifested as aggression, we decided to up one of his meds.  We also made the decision to start him on Melatonin.  He has been having a really hard time getting to sleep and then staying asleep for a while now.  So far, so good.  He didn’t get out of bed once he got in tonight.  Lately he has been in and out for up to 2 hours past bed time.  then he gets up in the middle of the night and changes where he sleeps (moves to a random couch in the house.)  Then to top off the lack of sleep, he has been waking up 1-2 hours earlier than normal.  I decided to go with the time release melatonin…..I’ll let you know the results of day one tomorrow.  Too early to tell right now.

Rachel Ray, I am not. April 24, 2008

Its been a long time hasn’t it?  Let’s play a little catch up…

Friday School Safety was parked outside my house when I went to put J on the bus.  He got on with no problems but they said that if he had violent outbursts again then they could refuse to transport him.  His teacher got on the phone that afternoon to try and work things out.  She found out that they came to my house with out following protocol and that no they can not refuse transportation, they have to find an alternative.  He had a pretty good day at school.  We went to a friend’s house to have dinner and play.  We stayed late and the boys did very well.  Little J was a little bit of an instigator with a boy younger than him, but other than that we all had fun.

 

Saturday I took the kids to the Earth Day Festival and Parade.  Since it was an Earth Day themed parade and every one was either on foot, wagon, or bike the kids were not impressed.  We went around to the different booths and left with some fun free stuff including 3 “pots” with seeds to grow.  So now we are starting a garden.

 

Sunday was pretty much as usual.  J had a few scuffles with his least favorite 4 year old girl.  I went to a passover Seder/service. 

 

Monday was HORRIBLE.  He got on the bus just fine and then lost it when he was at school.  His report chart had all negative items on it and he even punched his favorite teacher.  That night hubby and I went on a date.  We had Miss M, the boys’ favorite babysitter come over to stay with them.  I left her with the new Bob’s Red Mill Pizza Crust Mix.  She loves to cook and bake so I knew it was in capable hands.  When we got home, J had eaten 2 pieces and Little J was working on his one piece.  He got to playing and when it was bed time he realized he was still hungry so he decided to squirrel it away in his fists and take it to bed…..hello crumbs in the morning!  He asked for another piece for lunch on Tuesday.  I froze the rest.

Tuesday was a good day.  J got on the buss with no problems.  What was an accident on Friday, we have turned into a pattern.  He is now playing in the house until the bus is on the street.  Then I rush him to put on his bag and send him out the door just as the bus is opening the doors.  I stay on the front porch and he takes a small toy in his hands.  By rushing him out the door instead of playing outside for 5-15 minutes he doesn’t have time to think about the separation.  He is focused on not being late.  and by having a toy in his hands, the Aid engages him in a conversation about his toy and gets him to come up the steps to talk about it.

Tuesday night we went to the county fair for discount rides night.  The boys had a blast.  Their favorite ride was the kiddie roller coaster.  We played for almost 2 hours. 

 

Tonight I knew that a mom of a child in my Bible class was having cupcakes for her b-day.  I also knew that the mom was inviting the brother’s class, which is where J is.  So I used the Bob’s Red Mill recipe for gluten free brownie cake using the brownie mix to make cupcakes.  I only took one for class and the mom of the b-day girl put some whipped topping on it with sprinkle so it was like the rest.  He loved it.  I bagged up the rest to freeze.  I plan on bringing them out for other party type events when I don’t want them to be left out of dessert. 

 

 On the way home they both decided that they wanted Corn Dogs, known in our house as “hot dog on a stick.”  I really don’t know why they decided on this.  they haven’t had them in over a month.  Funny thing is, I’ve been contemplating making them for 2 weeks now.  I bought Bob’s Red Mill GF Cornbread Mix anticipating this recipe.  Then I researched recipes on-line to see how the rest of the world makes corn dogs at home.  Then I called my mom to ask her advice.  Then I just sat on the ingredients.  A while ago I saw an episode of Rachel Ray’s talk show where she was making summer favorites.  One of her recipes was corn dogs.  I watched her thinking, “That is just TOO much work!”  So I thought about that and fretted that my corn dogs would look lumpy like hers and the kids would reject them because they didn’t look store bought.  I accidentally saw an episode of “Unwrapped” on the Food Network that featured fried foods.  One of the items was corn dogs of course, how was I ever going to live up to that???  Tonight I knew I was going to have to bite the bullet.  And there was no way I was baking them like Rachel Ray because they were hungry NOW.  So I modified the directions on the back of the mix by leaving out 1/4 cup of milk and added 2 Tbsp of honey.  I don’t have a fryer so I heated up vegetable oil in a large deep skillet.  I stuck Popsicle sticks in the hot dogs after patting them dry on paper towels.  (I probably gave my kids lead poisoning b/c the only sticks I had were the colored ones!)  Then I tried numerous ways of getting the better on the dog.  One of the tricks I read on-line, put the batter in a tall skinny vessel and dip the dog, was a total flop.  Sticking it in the batter bowl and then spooning the batter on worked the best.  then I fried them up.  The first couple were really dark b/c the oil got too hot, but the rest cae out nice.  The boys devoured them.  Little J even asked for seconds!  So of course I bagged the rest and stuck them in the freezer.  Tomorrow I am going to get another package of dogs because I still had batter left over.

I think I am going to have to commit to 2 days a week of wheat-free bulk cooking and freezing.  Tommorrow I will probably make a 3rd attempt at chicken nuggets and a 1st try at pancakes.  I’ll top off the night with macaroni and cheese.

 

Disclaimer:  I have not been paid by Bob’s Red Mill nor did they even ask me to write reviews.  I just use the name brands so that you know exactly what we are doing to make our wheat free diet work.  Different brands are not all created equal.

Pushing the limits April 18, 2008

J is a button pusher and a limit tester.  He will test authority figures until they lay down the law.  His old bus driver and aid got this about him and used a firm hand in getting him on the bus.  He would act stubborn going up the 1st 2 steps, then they would shut the door, take him by the arm and lead him to his seat.  Everything was fine after that, I never got a bad report and I never had to get on the bus to help get him seated.

 

He got a new driver and aid, and they broke up the bus routes so he is not with all the same kids either.  All of these changes were a lot for his system.  Top it off with the fact that the driver and aid are afraid to touch him and want him to go to his seat all on his own and we have a recipe for disaster.  J has severe separation anxiety.  He’s been doing great lately with a certain babysitter and he does great once he is at school, but getting him on the bus or dropping him off at the gate has always been a trial.  However, his mood after riding the bus has always been better than dropping him  off.  Twice this week the driver has asked me to get on the bus to put him in his seat.  Twice this week he has screamed and kicked and hit all the way to school.  And twice this week he has had horrible days at school, complete with hitting students and teachers.  Apparently Monday was not bad because it was Monday, but because I had to get on the bus and that is a deviation from routine.

I am really frustrated with how these people have decided to handle him.  I have told them that he needs a hands on approach.  The aid on Monday said, “well as long as I have your permission.”  Today was a different aid and they gave me crap about not wanting to pull his arm out of the socket.  J now knows that they are going to do nothing.  So he is going to fight tooth and nail not to get on that bus.  And his days are going to be completely disrupted.

His teacher called me today and we talked for a while.  She said that this isn’t the 1st time that one of her kids has had problems with this driver.  She is going to call the school social worker and see if they can pull strings with transportation to get him back on his old bus.  She said that while she was holding him and trying to calm him after he went on a random hitting spree, she was trying to get him to express why he was so angry.  She finally asked him, “If you can ride your old bus would you be happy again?”  She said he totally relaxed and his attitude changed and he said, “yes that would make me happy.”   Of course since his whole morning was totally off, when they transitioned to the next activity, he went wild again.  I think at any other school he would have been written up, sent to the office, had me pick him up, etc.  I applaud his teachers for sticking it out with him and not letting him get away with stuff.  I also applaud them for being swift advocates for him.

I told her that tomorrow, if he won’t get on the bus then I will drive him to school.  Me dropping him off has fewer repercussions than him having a bad bus ride.  So we will see.