My Ordinary Chaos

We took the kids to the zoo yesterday.  We’d been planning to do it for a long time but it just never seemed to work out, other stuff came up, yada yada yada.  Anyway, we finally made it.  We  had a wonderful time.  They loved the Sea Lion show.  It’s always their favorite part.  The best part came at the end though when everyone else was pretty much gone and the trainer brought one of the Sea Lions right over to Ian.  The trainer got the Sea Lion to nuzzle Ian’s arm and Ian got to pet her.  It was really neat.  We were really touched at the thoughtfulness of the staff in making that a really special experience for ian!

After we got home, got everyone supper and put the kids to bed (early), we went to sleep early too.  Then at 11:00 Ian’s monitor started alarming.  I checked him, oxygen was at 88%.  I thought it was probably just the sensor needing repositioned but after several tries, it didn’t come up.  I put the sensor on MY finger and it came up to 99%.  So we called the 24 hour Nurse Connect line, they paged his pediatrician doctor that was on call last night and she told us to take him to the ER.  Pneumonia is always a concern.

He coughed and choked all the way to the hospital but after we got there, his oxygen was up to 97% >.>  He loves making a liar of me.  They did chest x-ray, urine sample and took blood, all of which came back fine.  The consensus was that he probably got some mucus clogging his upper airway and then when I got him up in his chair to take him to the hospital, he managed to clear it.  That would explain all the coughing, choking and gagging in the car all the way there.

Anyway, I got home with him at 3:30am and we slept until the other kids woke everyone up at 7am.  He’s still coughing up mucus but I think if I keep his head elevated and sit him up to get him to cough, we can manage this just fine at home.  I’m so very glad his chest films were clear.  The fewer pneumonia’s we get, the stronger he’ll be.

Hopefully this post is written in English without too many grammar, punctuation and spelling errors.  I’m completely zonked and I know my English Teacher mother sometimes reads this.  Any run-on sentences are the result of sleep deprivation.  At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Ian missed school today.  He’s been trying to fight off some kind of bug and this morning was running a low grade fever.  I think he’s feeling better tonight though.  He’s not setting off his monitor with low oxygen readings anyway.  He was dropping down in the low 80’s for the past two nights *yawn*  Tonight:  so far so good.

Tomorrow I take Isaac to a local autism clinic.  His school funded an evaluation and feedback sessions for his teacher and me to give us ideas on how to help him overcome the frustration the results when something doesn’t go the way he’s decided it should.  When something changes suddenly in his normal routine or he’s asked to do something that is new or difficult for him, he has a history of wigging out and having a meltdown.  I have to say - this year has been a HUGE improvement thus far.  I think he’s only had one major meltdown with me and the school hasn’t called at all.

In fact - the school hasn’t called at all for ANY of the kids.  For a while I wondered if the principal had lost my phone number because I’m used to the first few weeks of school being pretty rough.  I haven’t been called to come coax anyone out from under a table or easel or out of the bathroom at all in this first month of school!  I’m not used to this!  I’m going to find some wood to knock on as soon as I hit “Publish” on this post.

The youngest little spawn trotted off to Kindergarten this fall.  At first I didn’t quite know what to do.  I’ve been cleaning in a cyclical way, one room at a time, while they’re all at school.  However my favorite activity is listening - to nothing.  It’s like sunbathing only it’s silencebathing.  No one is argueing over whose turn it is to use their XBox time.  Nobody is pinching anyone else just to see them jump and then running away screaming when the retaliatory strike inevitably follows.  There’s just me and the cat and he doesn’t say much.

I leave the TV and radio off.  Even the mp3 player has found a new home in my gym bag.  The quiet hum of the central air system and the clicking of the keys are the only sounds to be heard.

People ask me what it’s like to have all four children school after 12 years of having someone at home and I say:  “I’m alone in my house for the first time in twelve years and it’s everything I ever thought it could be!”  LOL!

Today though, it’s nearly at an end.  So I’m sitting here writing this, getting ready to gear up my stiff muscles (I may have overdone it at the gym this morning) and pack for a night at gymnastics.  Good afternoon Silence.  I’ll see you tomorrow

Gary and the boys have been watching a lot of Survivorman lately.  This weekend I had the following conversation with Isaac.

Isaac:  Mom, I’m going outside to play “Survivorman”

Me:  Ok

*5-10 minutes go by and Isaac comes back inside*

Isaac:  Ok, I played Survivorman!

Me:  uh huh?

Isaac:  I ate a worm.  It tasted like copper.  It was the grossest thing I ever ate!

Me:  rendered incapable of speech due to laughter

Is a killer.  I haven’t updated in so long because I haven’t had time to mess with the pictures from the Chicago trip and kept thinking I should finish that post first.  Well, who knows WHEN I’m going to have time for it.  I just decided to do it when I had the time/desire to mess with pictures and formatting.

The rest of our summer was pretty fun.  The kids “pooled” (pun intended) their money from summer school and bought an above-ground pool.  It was too deep for Grace to reach the bottom so we bought her a waterski jacket and she paddles around like a dolphin and I can relax a bit more in worrying about the drowning risk.  We also put Wyatt in a floater swimsuit.  He was just barely tall enough to keep his head  above water.  Not tall enough for me to be comfortable though.  It was a huge success.

In sadder events, my brother in law passed away last week after a long battle with cancer.  It looked for a while like he might pull through but it didn’t end the way we all hoped and prayed it would.  His funeral was Wednesday this week.  It’s too painful to write about right now so in the words of Forrest Gump, “That’s all I have to say about that”.

Gary had a trip for work to Chicago and I went with him. One of the guys he works with also made the trip and as it happens, I’ve known his wife for a few years because our children attended the same gymnastics classes. She went too. Day 1 started out a little rough but it did get better and ended up being a fun trip!

We had to drive from the town where we live to St. Louis to catch a flight to Chicago on Tuesday. I’ve been having some problems with ear infections and have had to keep going back on antibiotics. I had to start a new round Monday. I really didn’t want to go out of town (and FLY) with painful ears.

Tuesday morning we got all packed up and left the house with a couple of errands on the way to the airport. Our friends were riding with us so we needed to pick them up as well as drop off a prescription form at Gary’s doctors office. It was at this point, I realized I wasn’t going to react well to this antibiotic. I felt pretty sick by the time we reached the doctors office. Fortunately, my doctor is in the same office as Gary’s so I asked if he’d call in a prescription for anti-nausea medication to a nearby pharmacy. We could pick it up just as we left town.

He called it in and I quickly took the first dose. I made it an hour and a half to St. Peters, Missouri. We stopped for a quick lunch on the way to the airport. As we were pulling into Burger King, Gary was making jokes about “sliders” from the nearby White Castle. That was all it took. As soon as he parked the car, I opened the door and vomited all over the parking lot, the side of the car, my shirt and my shoes. Oh, we were also right in front of the drive through. On the bright side, maybe my lovely vomiting episode encouraged someone on a diet not to buy fast food?

Gary was trying to help me clean up and clean the side of the car up and he brought me some wet paper towels from the bathroom. I didn’t think I could face the odor of food (especially grease cooked food) and told him I thought I’d just stay in the car. He gave me the keys so I could at least turn on the a/c while I waited for them. I asked him to take one of the used paper towels to the trash can by the door to Burger King. He was afraid he’d accidentally get a little vomit on his hands (waah…) and wouldn’t do it. So I stood up and wobbled over to the trash can to throw it away. It was then that he convinced me to just go in and sit down. I said “ok” and started to open the Burger King door and he locked the car and closed the car door.

It was then that we realized the keys were still on the seat…..

So now we’re still a half hour away from the airport and the keys are locked in the car along with all our luggage. Gary borrowed BK’s phone book and was able to locate a locksmith. The man showed up within minutes and had our car unlocked within five minutes. He was quick, courteous and did a great job and as soon as I can find his receipt (I’ve looked for 10 minutes now) I’ll mention his business name >.>

We trekked on to the airport in quick order. The only remaining snag was my boarding pass not printing correctly. They wouldn’t let me through the first security check and I had to go back to ticketing and get a new boarding pass. Everything went smoothly after that.

We made it to the gate 20 minutes or so before boarding began. The flight went smoothly and we were touching down in Chicago after only a 45 minute flight. We tried to catch the El but apparently they’re doing maintenance or something in the segment between O’Hare and Rosemont station. So first we had to take a bus to Rosemont and then take the El downtown. It was my first ride on a subway…in fact really the first time I’ve ever used public transportation so it was a new experience for me. Don’t worry though. It wore off. I spent a lot of time on the El and the Chicago bus lines over the remainder of the stay ;-).

After reaching downtown, we walked 30 or 40 blocks….errr…well maybe it wasn’t quite that long. It certainly seemed like it after dragging our luggage the whole way though >.> We found our hotel and went to check in. Our friends were in front of us in line and somehow the clerk got the idea we were all checking into the same room, a room with one king sized bed. Whaaaa??? I’m trying not to think about the implications of that one. We got checked into TWO separate rooms and walked across the street to eat at O’Tooles. It was awesome food.

Thus ended the first day of our Chicago trip. Thank you again to my wonderful mother who took on the care of all four of our spawn…errr…children. She’s a saint (although a very tough one who doesn’t put up with nonsense) to do that! I love you mom!

Technically it’s only a week and a half but that seemed an obnoxiously long title for a post.

I started seriously making some lifestyle changes about two weeks ago.  That included changing eating habits and exercise habits.  It honestly hasn’t been as hard as I expected although the exercise is definitely an easier change than the eating.

I’m going to the gym five days a week.  I work on strength training two days and cardio 3 days.  Because of my hip issues, normal cardio workouts aren’t an option - yet.  Treadmill, bicycle and elliptical type machines as well as just normal walking/running outside result in so much hip pain that just walking around the house was awful.  The pool, however, is a different story.  I absolutely LOVE it.

On pool days, I do an hour aquasize class and then do another hour (at least) of swimming and other water exercise.  I’ve been really focusing on using the water resistance to strengthen the weaker side.  I’m amazed at how much I don’t want to get out of the pool.  My energy level is certainly increased from what it was 2 weeks ago.

The eating is double edged.  I’m trying to eat healthier options and eat only when I actually feel hungry.  After two hours in the pool however, I’m ready to eat the steering wheel in the car on the way home.  I didn’t realize how hungry swimming makes you and I’m having a hard time not going home and eating myself into a coma.  This week, I’m going to concentrate on eating slower so I don’t consume as much before feeling full.

On a positive note, I’m almost completely off soda of any kind.  I had been drinking diet but now it’s pretty much water.  I am craving salt.  I’m thinking the increase in water drinking probably has something to do with that.

That’s what it feels like here! We had awesome weather over the Independence Day weekend. It was so cool and humidity was low. No one wanted to be inside. It feels like we’re back in Missouri now though *grin* I think I broke into a sweat the moment I went out the door this morning. It’s hot, humid and there’s a thunderstorm brewing over the tops of the trees. After I put away groceries and get Ian settled on the couch after he gets home from school, I think I’ll lie down with him. This kind of weather makes me sleepy.

Isaac is doing well in gymnastics lately. I’m proud of him. It is a little scary from a parent’s perspective to see him flipping backward. One of the kids in his class came down wrong and landed on his neck. He didn’t break anything but you could tell it hurt. Isaac twisted his shoulder but it seemed to be better when we got home. He didn’t want ice for it. I probably should have made him ice it anyway. He’s doing so well I think we’re going to bump him up to twice a week lessons. He wants to do it so we’ll probably let him try it for a while.

Wyatt also asked to go back. I’d revoked his gymnastics privileges this spring because of his behavior. Other than the one incident at summer school, he’s done pretty well. I told him if he kept it up, he could start back in August.

As for me and my gym journey, I bought more sunscreen. Hour and a half in the pool yesterday without it = ouch… Yes, I really was that dumb

I’ve seen today how some people can set a goal for themselves and work very hard to achieve it.  Then progress is made toward that goal, and it’s interesting, encouraging and discouraging all at once to see how their success is received by others.  I have a friend who has worked hard to reach a goal and who is making steady progress toward that goal.  In a moment of celebration today in a group of friends, I was intrigued at the support some of them gave while others seemed to want to minimize that success.

Then, I felt a similar feeling when I was feeling satisfied with myself.  I’ve been working on my bad hip, trying to get it back to where I can do things like running again.  I am making good progress and had been feeling pretty pleased with myself and then I was visiting with some people who were talking about running marathons and began to feel like my progress was really rather pathetic when compared to them.  I caught myself feeling very discouraged, my bubble had been burst.

Then I realized I was sabotaging myself and now I’m just plain irritated at me.  So tomorrow I’m going to pack up my feelings of self-pity and be happy with me and my progress, not comparing it to others.  I met my goal and exceeded it.  I was supposed to be able to go 15 minutes at a time without having to stop and rest that hip and I made it the entire session, plus an additional 20 minutes for fun.

As for my friend, she knows how far she has come and I’m glad she can feel proud of her progress.  I’m amazed at times how some will pull together to support people and others will (either consciously or subconsciously) try to undermine their success.  It teaches me to try to always be the one who encourages and builds up others rather than allow my own uncertainty to cause me to undermine them.

Ok so it happened the day before Independence Day.  I was too tired to write after it was all over yesterday.  Every year,  Ian’s special ed summer program has a parade on the last school day before Independence Day.  I wanted to do this last year but wasn’t able to find the right colors of hair spray.  I found them later in the year and saved them for this year’s parade.

Tessa (one of our respite caregivers) cut Ian’s hair for us.  She’s in cosmetology school at the moment and she did a great job!  We mohawked it.  Then in the morning before school, we used a lot of hair gel, a lot of hair spray and the colored spray and made his mohawk red, white and blue for his parade.  He was a big hit!  Everyone loved it and he looked awesome :D  He was really proud *grin*

All of the kids enjoy being in their own parade so much, the excitement at school was palpable.  Teachers were putting the finishing touches on banners and wagons.  The summer school theme this year has been on famous Missourians.  Some of the children dressed up like Mark Twain, Laura Ingalls Wilder and other well known historical individuals from our state.  They were all very proud and walked very tall.

Here are some pictures of Ian’s hair!  He looks so grown up.  I’m not sure I’m ready for that!