Birthday Party

Another Birthday party success! 9 Years old, I can't believe it. For some reason my parties don't stay to the normal 1-2 hours. Oh no, they just keep going and going.....I hate to stop the kids when they are having fun though.

This year "Pretty Pony Parties" came to entertain. Yep, I'm not a good entertainer at all. Normally these people bring ponies, but since the kids were a little older, they brought a horse. Then she called to tell me they were going to bring 2 horses. And they still stayed the hour and a half. She even brought them a little gift and card.

Afterwards we had lots of cake and ice cream.

Sydnee's turn...... After her friend Shannon rode, she wanted to be in charge. So they let her lead Sydnee around for a bit.

When Simon first went to get on the horse, he realized he had to climb "way up there" and decided that horses are "stupid" and he didn't need a dumb ole party anyway. That is his way of dealing with something he is either scared of or just doesn't want to do. But Olivia didn't hesitate to get up there.

But I turned my back and 5 min later he was up on that horse. I was thrilled. Heights aren't Simon's strong point. He will just avoid things if he thinks he may fail. But I praised him up and down. So he rode several rides and then even let Ethan ride with him. Ethan got a lot of rides because he was so small and just went along with who ever would take him.
Sydnee decided it was her turn. Shannon was chomping at the bit waiting until they would let her lead someone around by herself.

And she is getting her chance.

Aubrey and Haleigh were having a ball. I knew Aubrey loved horses, but had no idea Haleigh would enjoy it like she did.

And Simon up for one more ride.

Nothing like a nice group photo.

A story that many of us international adopting parents live

Here is a story regarding a tragic situation with a 7 yr old Russian boy. The sad thing is that the parent didn't go for help anywhere. There are resources out there, but you definitely have to hunt and find. But for parents of biological children have a hard time understanding why we go to the lengths we do to help our adopted children. I have actually had someone tell me "if you would just take your kids out of therapy and let them just be kids they would be better off. They don't stand a chance with a parent like you". This came from someone with a biological child/ren who didn't have a horrible time raising their child/ren. I really felt it unfair for them to say this comment when they had no idea what we were going through with our children. Especially since they had only seen my kids a couple of times. So here is the story below. The drastic measure isn't that common, but sadly the story is. As a parent to one or more of these hildren, it is exhausting and makes you constantly question yourself as to if what you are doing is the right thing. But then you have to snap into reality; is your child better here or back in their home country. These kids don't stand a chance over there.

(April 12) -- When Torry Hansen sent her 7-year-old adoptive son back to his Russian homeland alone on a one-way flight last week, part of her note to authorities said the boy had "severe psychopathic issues" and she no longer wished to parent him. Hansen's mother, Nancy, later told The Associated Press her adoptive grandson threatened to burn down their house and kill their family members. Adoption experts and psychologists now say Hansen had several options in coping with Artyom "Justin" Savelyev's alleged behavioral problems, including consulting her adoption agency, family pediatrician, social worker or even Tennessee's child protective services."If you're in crisis, you need to reach out," Sue Gainor, national chairperson of Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption, told AOL News. "Nobody should be alone in crisis, because it results in rash decisions."

Rossia 1 Television Channel / AP
Artyom "Justin" Savelyev, the 7-year-old boy sent back to Russia by his adoptive American mother last week, gets into a minivan outside the police department office in Moscow on Thursday.As Russia weighs a freeze on adoptions in the U.S., the Hansen case is shining new light on "disrupted" adoptions, which occur when a family decides to relinquish custody of an adopted son or daughter. Though experts said statistical data are spotty in recording the number of disrupted international adoptions in the U.S., Nashville adoption attorney Bob Tuke, a longtime member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, said broken adoptions like that of Hansen and Savelyev are generally uncommon."It's so rare to hear about anything as extreme as the Hansen case, but sometimes disrupted adoptions do happen," Tuke told AOL News. "In the very few times I've seen it in my experience, it's been because the parent simply could not parent the child. There was an inability to deal with the child physically or emotionally."Children adopted from Russia can come with severe emotional and psychological problems stemming from their time in the country's orphanage system, where children may suffer neglect and abuse. Fetal alcohol syndrome is also a prevalent problem among Russian orphans. These circumstances could lead to attachment and behavioral disorders among Russian adoptees that may make it difficult for them to bond with the American parents who adopt them."Some of these children have never been loved, since birth. They haven't been held, and they aren't allowed experiences that help them develop their senses. ... They don't even know what a parent is," Chuck Johnson, vice president and chief operating officer at the National Council for Adoption, told AOL News. "We bring them to the U.S. and put them in a brightly colored room with lots of noisy toys, and we think that's supposed to make them happy when, really, it can hurt their integration process."Hansen described her adopted son as "mentally unstable" and "violent." Such behavioral problems are consistent with special-needs children transitioning out of international orphanage institutions. Development delays, attachment disorders and problems with self-control and aggression are among the difficulties international adoptees confront, according to Joseph LaBarbera, a clinical psychologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who works with international adoptees.Parents are often unprepared for the challenges of raising a son or daughter recovering from severe trauma. Hansen's mother said her daughter was lied to about Savelyev's well-being because the Russian orphanage wanted to get rid of him."A subset of these kids are very difficult to deal with. ... The usual interventions like counseling or medication or brief hospitalization are sometimes not sufficient," LaBarbera told AOL News. "Certain kids are born in this world that are damaged by their early treatment, and years later those problems come home to roost."Nancy Hansen also told the AP that her daughter did not seek professional psychological help for Savelyev before sending him back to Russia. Adoption advocates like Johnson say that was a grave mistake."We know that they had options. They did not have to resort to these drastic measures," Johnson told AOL News. "Here she is, a nurse. ... She could have talked to a pediatrician, received a referral for a child psychologist, reached out to her placing adoption agency. There are programs for families who want to disrupt their adoptions."All of the experts interviewed by AOL News pointed to educational resources at their Web sites for parents of international adoptees. They also pointed to state protective services as last-ditch efforts."What you don't do is put your 7-year-old adoptive son back on a plane to Russia," Tuke said. "It often takes work and help. ... We think love conquers all, but sometimes love needs a little help."Despite the outcry over Hansen's actions, LaBarbera cautions against rash judgment against her."The woman was vilified, demonized for what was obviously not an ideal solution to the problem, but the problems are often very difficult to deal with," he said. "Some of the parents, their lives have been dramatically changed as a result of these very impaired children who were damaged in orphanages. They deal with some pretty difficult to control kids, and I feel sorry for them."Gainor stressed that the majority of international adoptions are success stories."Individual crises occur and they're tragic, but the larger outcome is that thousands of children have been adopted into loving, happy homes," she said. "Most parents work really, really hard to help their children that they love. We don't want one crisis to paint a very broad picture of adoption."The Russian government hopes Savelyev will be welcomed into a loving home back in his native country. Three families have come forward voicing their desire to adopt him.That wish was echoed by Johnson. "My hope is that the child can find a home that will meet his needs," he said.

I can't believe2 months have gone by already. There has been a lot going on. To begin the year I went to go see a house that was offered to me for a retreat house. Actually it was brought up around the first of December, but I just wasn't thinking it would work. After the holidays were over I gave it more thought and figured that it couldn't hurt to at least go look at it. Oh my goodness. When I walked in, I knew it was meant to be. After looking at all 3 floors, I was sold. In February I closed on the house and will take possession around April 1. I am so excited. This is the answer to a dream come true. I have prayed daily for guidance on this massive project. So far everything has fallen into place one piece at a time. I am in awe of everything that has worked out. There is a little construction that needs to be done in the walk out basement to open it up, but other than that it is just paint. You can see details by going to www.thecapecodretreat.com. I still can't believe it's going to happen. We're taking names of volunteers who are interested in coming April 16-18, air mattresses and all to paint and clean. And of course I will take help any other time too.

The kids have been doing pretty well for the most part. We have had trouble with Sydnee acting out in class which we met with the principal this morning. Simon has done well up until they started practicing for the spring program. This is a very intense practice. The program is tomorrow, so it will be over soon. He just doesn't do well in large crowds. Especially if he walks into the crowd instead of the crowd coming slowly to him. But he is doing way better than he was doing several years ago. He is also learning to recognize when things don't feel right to him. Back in the days he would just blow up. But now he is figuring out what it is, what's causing it and how to deal with it without automatically blowing up. That is a huge thing for him. He is starting to feel pretty proud of that accomplishment.

We are still looking for a home for a now 8 mo old kitten. He is beautiful and loving. But he needs a home. We have had him for 6 months now and it was always a plan to get him healthy and find him a home. And we also have a 4 mo old cockatiel who needs a family. We will probably be getting more eggs this spring and the cage isn't large enough for 3 cockatiels and a nesting box. And then with the hatchlings.

Mike has been working on his train room in the garage. He's gotten pretty far with it.

We have had 2 deaths in the family. These were cousins in their early 20's. I just feel for their mother and grandmothers. I can't imagine losing one of my children. So please lift them up in prayer for peace and comfort.

I have a quilt event this weekend where I will have a booth to show quilts and of course the retreat center. I am looking forward to it. I have given out just under 500 business cards already and I haven't even gotten out there formally. We will have our open house July 2-3. I hope you join us.

Happy New Year

New Years Eve started well. Everyone was being very lazy. Later in the day we had another episode with Simon. After calling his doctor, I was told to bring him up to Cinci Hospital. So I gathered our things and headed on up. It was very late when we got there. And after they decided to admit him into the other hospital it was 2:15am when I got to my hotel. I was exhausted. I headed home on Friday aroud 1pm.

When I went to Mom's to get Sydnee, they were planning a surprise for me. I had no idea what they were doing. But she told me that Deanna and Pat were meeting us at the pizza place. Well, we got to the restaurant and they showed me a quilt Sydnee had worked on all day. There was an online quilt challenge. They would send instructions every hour for you to go onto the next step. Well, Sydnee did a wonderful job. I was amazed at how perfect her seams were. She was so excited to show me. Mom said she never wanted to take a break. She just wanted to keep on sewing. Yeah Sydnee.

Another bit of good news is that I found two new possibilities for a retreat house. I will find more information this upcoming week. I am hoping that this will be a step in the right direction.

This starts as a love story. We have had Tovarysch for over a year. In July we got the male cockatiel. After a couple of months we realized they really liked each other. The funny thing is that we bought Tovarysch as a "male". Well, not so....he's a she. Well, sure enough in November they proved to us that they really are a couple. Here is the series of photos which leads up to "Little Guy". What an adventure it has been. We have enjoyed it thoroughly.

The happy couple.

One day I found an egg in one of the food bowls. It was ice cold so I disposed of it. Mike quickly made a laying box. Within 48 hours we had another egg. 48 hours, another and then another. We had a total of 4 eggs (not including the first one that we disposed of). While I was gone to retreat Nov 13-15, Mike called to let me know that an egg hatched. He was so excited.

Two days old

Momma sitting on the other eggs right next to Little Guy

He's so ugly he's cute.

I can't believe how fast he/she has grown.

AIE Auction

Mom and I went to the AIE Foundation auction. This was for the school to raise money for the scholarships that parents may need if they fall on hard times. We did great! It was a lot of fun just watching people bidding back and forth. I have no idea how much they raised. They also set a goal to collect $25,000 by Dec 31. If that goal is reached, Mr Savage will let the kids shave his head. Too funny.

The kids have both done well over the last month or so. They have a new psychiatrist in Cinci. So now their appointments will be in the same place at the same time. That really makes a difference. Less travel time for sure. They have a new counselor here in Louisville that will communicate with the doctors up there. But that will help with the travel as well. That was Cinci's goal. They wanted to try to make things easier on us during the school year. Speaking of school, they have both done well this year. Even the principal has stopped me in carpool multiple times to let me know he is very proud of Simon this year. That was great to hear.

Sydnee got her casts on but was able to get them removed within 3 weeks. It was supposed to be a 4-8 week process. She was getting new casts every week. She thoroughly enjoyed Tuesday nights when she could have the casts removed for 24 hours and soak in a nice hot bath. Now she is only wearing night casts. She did very well and can actually now stand on one foot for 16+ seconds. Before it was less than 5 seconds. So this is a great change.

We still have our little black kitten. Well he isn't tiny anymore. This little guy needs a loving home. If Mike has told me that once, I have heard it 1,000 times. He is very handsome. Solid black with big green eyes. He loves to play, but will cuddle up with you as well. Gets along with other cats and does great with kids. We just have too many little critters running around. So I would love to find him a wonderful home.

Our cockatiels have decided to become parents. We now have 5 eggs in a nest. I have read that if the birds are under 1 year old, there is a chance their eggs won't be viable. So we'll have to wait and see. But in the meantime, they are taking turns on the nest. If they hatch, they should start around Nov 13. So if you are intersted in a cockatiel, let me know. I have already had 4 people ask if they can have one.

I had been looking at a house to buy to use as a retreat center. But someone bought it before me. So we are looking at building. Now I am looking for a piece of property. We'll be holding our fundraiser in January. More on that later. I would love to be up and running by October 2010.

American Family Association - Action Alert

American Family Association - Action Alert

School started in August and we have done very well so far. The first couple of weeks were great and then we ran into some issues. But the kids are doing way better now. We think it was just an adjustment thing. Simon has a hard time with transition and change, so this was a lot at one time. He likes his friends and has the same teacher, so adjusting well now.



Sydnee did well at adjusting. She doesn't have as hard a time with change.



The school fall festival is coming up soon and the kids really can't wait. They love the cake walk and being able to just run around with their friends without mom and dad hovering over them.



We got Simon's sleep study results and they were negative. So now it's on to figure out what is going on with him. He is still falling asleep at school for hours at a time. So this just isn't right. Now we are keeping a sleep chart to see if we can pin point when and where the problems are.



Sydnee got her leg casts on. At first she was excited. We had tried to keep her from being scared about it. Because she had to get the injections the week before. That was going to be more scary than anything else I think. They even put her flu shot in her calf too. Yikes! But it was already numb, so she didn't feel it. But she won't have them on that long, so it won't be too bad. They sure haven't slowed her down at all.

Oh my heavens, it is October already

I have been slacking in my blog entries. So I am going to try and catch up a bit.

Meeps spent much of August and September trying to recover from Toxoplasmosis. After her surgery for the polyp, she was doing so well. Her little head tilt was much better, she was playing and all. But all of a sudden her back legs were getting stiff. As days rolled on she started having something like seizures. Very scary so such a small kitten. She never reached 2 pounds. But two weeks ago after another hospital stay and several specialists, she lost her battle. This disease is horrible to watch. But the whole time you would just keep thinking she just needed a little therapy to help her legs move, etc. Everyone loved her. She went on 3 retreats and had a lot of loving friends. It's been very hard without her. I was handfeeding her 5 times a day, watering more often than that. She couldn't walk, so I had to carry her everywhere. She went to the office, appointments, etc with me. I couldn't leave her in the car because of he heat and I had to keep a very close eye on her the whole time. She was so lovable. But in the end the stiffness moved up to her neck and it wasn't going to be good. So I had to make the decision whether she was living for me or her. No one can put a finger on why she seemed so special.
You can go to my facebook page and see all kinds of photos of her. Thanks to Dr. Wolf for helping her so much of the way.

Mother in Law

Well a lot has gone on for the last week. First my mother in law fell on Monday when she tried to look out her window. The new nurse she was getting ready to have coming to the house recommended she go to the ER because she wasn't very coherant and seemed to be having a lot of trouble standing. They ran labs and found her white blood count was very high. They decided to then to do a spinal tap. Nothing showed up. They called in a neurologist and infectious disease doc and with a scan they determined she had cancer of the brain, bones, kidneys, liver and pancreas. How can someone have this much cancer and have no symptoms. Later determined that she was on so much medication for other ailments that is was just masking the pain and symptoms. They didn't feel very hopeful that there would be much time. Today is Sunday and she passed away around 8PM. I had visited her after a retreat and then headed to my Mom's to pick up my kids. Bless her heart she was helping watch the kids since Angela and Mike needed to spend a lot of time at the hospital. She had to be tired.

Meeps had a neurologist appointment on Monday morning to try to figure out what is going on with her. She got out of the vet on Friday with no fever or fluid on the lungs, but she still couldn't walk and just didn't look good to me. After an appointment for over an hour with Dr. Wolfe, she told me she thinks she could know what is wrong with her. But they would need to do a more thorough oral exam. She asked if she could do that. A couple of hours later she called to tell me that Meeps had a polyp over her soft palette that was the size of a nickle. She thought she would be much better now. Well, sure enough, she is eating much more, although it is still kitten formula and canned A/D. She isn't doing well on dry food at all. Right now she is cuddled up on my shoulder and snoring.

Well it's time for me to hit the hay. I am tired and the morning will be here before we know it.

Update on Meeps

Meeps has been in the hospital since Monday morning. She kept spiking a fever over the weekend. Mike had taken the kids to the lake, so I was catering to her all weekend with icing her down, giving cool baths, etc. On Monday morning I took her back to the vet and she has been there ever since. She is so pitiful. When I come to the vets office, they bring her to me all wrapped up in a babies receiving blanket. The staff has fallen in love with her as everyone else has.

She has been on IV fluids, antibiotics, steroids, nebulizer treatments and being hand fed. The pneumonia had gotten pretty bad. But today when I saw her, she could actually breathe without gergling. She could even breathe through her mouth. That is improvement. She is still very tiny and has a lot of growing to do. So I don't know how it will all play out in the end. But she has been fighting her way through.

So just say some prayers for this little one and hope she comes home soon all healthy and bright eyed.

Update on Meeps

Mike took the kids to the lake this past weekend and I had a sit and sew with my quilting friends. Then I was determined to work on the room downstairs. I want to be able to get the kids toys moved out of their rooms and down there. So in the end I did manage to get it started and about 1/2 done. When they got back, Sydnee was smiling from ear to ear. She was loving the idea.

During all of this I am still taking care of Meeps. We had been told last week that she has pneumonia. She has been running a high fever (103.5-104.9). She is wanting to sleep all the time. No interest in eating unless you hand feed. Even then she isn't overly thrilled to eat or drink. I have been giving her ice water, lay her on a gel pad to help cool down, gave her a cool bath, give her the meds and keep taking her temp. I feel so bad for her. So on Monday morning she went back to the vet after no success in getting the temp down. So she is now in the hospital on IV's with antibiotics. They were able to get the temp to 102.7 so far. They will call me tomorrow.

We're in Cinci tonight and this is our last overnight stay for a while. I am looking forward to the break. We don't come back until Oct 1 for Sydnee's castings.

Yes, school is almost here!

Time is ticking. Starting to gather the supplies needed for school which begins on August 17. The kids are looking forward to it as well. We have gotten some new clothes and working on the shoe issue. Simon is in the inbetween range of shoe sizes from boys to mens. Yes, he wears a size 6-61/2. He is always putting on my garden boots, flip flops and all. He just thinks it's halarious. He is growing way too fast for me.

Sydnee just has narrow feet and they are flat. You can't find many choices with arches in them. They are making most kids shoes with flat inserts. I guess we may have to get arch supports to put in them.

As we have been taking care of the little gray kitten (Meeps), we keep finding more and more things she has wrong with her. I am beginning to think that we have a special needs kitty on our hands right now. I haven't even tried to adopt her out yet. I took her to our regular vet when she was still having alot of head tilting and gurgling sounds. Come to find out her upper respiratory in the lungs was much better. No crackles. That was good news. And she no longer has an ear infection is wonderful news. BUT she has a ruptured eardrum on the left side, explaining the left head tilt. And has a respiratory virus which has to just ride out on it's own. It's all in the nasal passages and sinuses. So it will be another 6-8 weeks for healing. Hopefully that will take care of it. Simon's didn't grow back and had surgery if you remember. So she's still on antibiotic for a few more days and she just has to be watched for any other signs. In the meantime she is just a tiny adorable kitten that is one of the most loving kittens I have ever seen. Smokey and Maggie have been so good with her. They even let her eat their food first and leave their bowls during the day so she can nibble. That is completely unheard of from those two. They usually eat every drop at once like their afraid someone will take it. I have noticed that Meeps isn't growing very much either. She isn't near the size of other kittens we have had at this age. She is almost 4 months old and still looks like8-10 weeks.

Last Thursday our family headed to Chicago. Yep! All of us. I had a conference from Fri-Sun, so Mike was able to take the kids to sightsee. They had a ball and were very tired at the end. They got to go to the Lego Discovery Center, Build a Bear, The Navy Pier and ride several rides, eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp, ride a boat on Lake Michigan for a tour. By Sunday they were exhausted. We got back home about 11:30 at night. Then I had two early morning appointments on Monday so I had to get up early. Then a 4:00, 5:00 and 7-9:00 appt with the kids. Then had to head to Cinci for 3 appts at 8:00am, 9am, and 10:30 am. We were all so tired. As soon as we finished we headed right back to the hotel and were able to take a 1 hour nap with a late checkout. But we could have all used more than that.

At 6 pm we had to be back to the hospital downtown for Simons sleep study. That also meant after getting special approval that Sydnee was able to stay with us that her and I slept in a fold out chair together. Oh my, another sleepless night. On Tues at 7am, we were out of the hospital and on our way home. The kids slept all the way home. Simon even fell asleep in the booth eating breakfast at Bob Evans. I couldn't wait to get home. Simon fell back to sleep and slept until 2:30pm. Poor thing, he doesn't do well with any kind of schedule changes that take any sleep away. But that's ok as long as he gets sleep later. We'll get the results about his sleep study in a couple of weeks.

Simon all hooked up to the monitors. Doesn't he look cute. LOL....

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The next morning Sydnee wanted to help the nurse, so she was trying to get the glue off of Simon's face. See they really do love each other.
Well it seems that our mystery vegetable turns out to definitely be a pumpkin. They are all nearly the same size and shape. I can't wait to taste what they are like.

Miscellaneous Pictures

It started off looking like a plant for cucumbers, squash, etc. But now it seems like they may be pumpkins. I was hoping for watermelon, but pumpkins will work too. They are getting quite large. So I do hope it is something l can put up in the freezer for pies. We love pumpkin pies. I noticed today they are actually starting to turn orange.

Sydnee was able to make a seam in a quilt during the Sewing Expo in Sharonville, OH. She loved it! Although it's hard to tell by the intense look on her face.

During the retreat in July, this momma and her fawn were just prancing through the field behind us. We then saw them run across the highway as we held our breath.

Also during the retreat I had the little kitten with me. So here are some shots of being completely spoiled.

Granny Kathy

Her famous little head tilt.

Granma Pat

Now we're catching up

This past weekend was great. Kids did well again and I got more done around the house. While we've been gone in and out of town, my friend Jill has been taking are of the little grey kitten. She has done very well with her. Now keep in mind that she isn't really a cat person. She prefers dogs.

On Tuesday it was back to Cincinnati for more appointments. Simon saw Dr. Bukuvalas for the vomiting issue we have. Of course though he hasn't done it for about 2 months. But he was doing it several times a week while watching tv or playing. He wasn't eating or anything. He would tell me he couldn't figure out what happened because he didn't feel sick. For now we're going to watch it and keep a journal of the hows and whys when it happens again.

Simon also had another speech evaluation. His pronunciations are good, but his pragmatic speech is where the problems are. He runs all of his words together because he speaks so fast. His vocabulary is quite extensive too. But they attribute that to the Aspbergers. We're on the list for the Kelly O'Leary Center and U of L Autism Center. It will be months before we can get in. But hopefully they will pinpoint what we can do to help.

And then it was back home again. I was so tired.

Friday was a little simpler, but long. Sydnee had an appointment to get her hair cut, and I had an open house that evening in Jtown. And then we had to fit in another vet appointment. "Meeps" (the grey kitten) has a head tilt to the left. She can nearly look back to the sky with the direction she turns it. It's been like that, but it was getting worse again. She is up to 2.1# now and eats well. Come to find out she has a perforated ear drum from the infection. And her poor nose is all clogged up. That explains the breathing noise she has. And why she tilts her head. She'll get a fever off and on too. Usually 103.5-104. She acts just like a child would with a high fever. She'll lay around, sleep, light eating, little drinking, etc. So we are continuing the antibiotics, and he gave her a worm booster. I didn't realize there are several stages of de-worming when they do it as a small kitten. Even though she doesn't have worms. We're now up to $256 in vet bils for a $15 kitten that I didn't plan on keeping. The vet said she was a keeper. She is so calm, loves to be held, will sleep in your arms, snores in a cute way right now, and loves to play. Very different than some kittens I have had in the past.

July 13-17

This has been a very strange week around here. Sydnee is home but Simon isn't. It has also been very quiet. Mike is working 12 hour days (7-7). I got some things done around the house. I cancelled my open house for Tuesday. I'm just not up to it with all that is going on.

Tuesday was a meeting with the doctor and nurse. It went well. And Simon is doing well also. They are hoping he can go home by Friday. We visited with Simon after he finished lunch. He turned off the lights in his room and said "I have to have quiet time now. I don't have to sleep, but I have to be quiet". He layed down and asked me to lay with him. He fell asleep within 2 minutes after he asked me to rub his back. They told me he seemed to be very tired. We had noticed that a lot too. It was nice to visit with him and for him to want me to rub his back.

On Thursday he was discharged. He was anxious to leave with Sydnee and I. He had earned a lot of bucks to use at the little store they had. He bought all kinds of things there. And some of them were from Sydnee, which I thought was very nice. We headed to the hotel because we had an appointment at 8am on Friday morning up there. And then it was home we went. It was nice to have us all back together under one roof. Simon and Sydnee were playing so well together. He was being so polite and saying please, thank you, I'm sorry, etc. And all without being told.

July 10-12

Until this morning. I had packed the car last night so that all I would have to do was get dressed to leave for my quilt retreat. I needed to leave at 9:15am to be there on time. Everything was very smooth and there wasn't rushing around or anything. I was able to spend more time with the kids before I left and straighten up a little. And then.....

2 Minutes before I left out the door, Simon started being irritable. I couldn't figure out why. There didn't seem to be any reasoning behind it. He just kept saying he didn't know why. Well, within minutes he was at a full blown rage. For over an hour he was violent, screaming, calling everyone names, etc. He kept threatening me and himself. After one hour and 15 minutes, I had to realize that it isn't physically possible for me to hold him like I need to. He is so big now and when he's like that he is even stronger than ever. I had spoken to the doctor last night about it and she told me that she wanted me to bring him in if he got like that again. So I told Mike to get his clothes, and pack a backpack to head to Cincinnati. I was an emotional wreck by then and wasn't sure how I would handle 2 hours in the car with him. So Mike drove him up there and spent 13 hours in the ER. They had taken them straight back as soon as they got there because they knew he was coming, so that was good. But it took a while to process and decide what the plan was. Later Mike called to tell me that they were transferring him to the College Hill Campus. He got settled in and Mike was heading home.

I took Sydnee with me to the retreat, which wasn't as nice as most because I cried the entire weekend. But I had a lot of people to give me hugs. I had also taken the grey kitten with me since she was on medicine multiple times of the day after seeing the second vet because she wasn't getting any better. Her eyes were better, but they had to change her antibiotic because she now has and upper respiratory infection and ear infection on top of everything else. She now weighs 1.6#. The antibiotic she was on wouldn't help the upper respiratory. So she gave her a penicillin injection and meds. Everyone at the retreat fell in love with her. She got more lovins that I ever thought she would have. But she needed them.

I did get a little done at the retreat, but I just couldn't help but to think of Simon. We visited him on Sunday evening. He wasn't thrilled to see us at all. But I had a feeling that would be the case. They are going to start medication adjustments on Monday. He hasn't had any changes in a year and he has grown a lot. So I would think it would certainly be time. They had him on a strict routine and schedule which he seemed to like a lot. We were thinking back to when this all seemed to be starting up and we think it was about a week after school was out. So it made sense that he would like it.

July 7, 2009

Today was another day of appointments. The kids had reading lab at school, then to the chiropractor and then I had an appointment with my rheumatologist. After he saw me this time, he decided to go ahead and start treatments. I was worried about that, because I know the medicines can be pretty wicked. I have more swollen joints and he measures them and puts them on a diagram on my chart. Several had moved to a 4 from a 1 or 2 and then there were some added ones. My left pinky finger has been hurting so bad I can't even wrap the steering wheel with it. It literally burns from the hand to the last knuckle. So tomorrow I will start on Methotrexate and Folic Acid. I take 7 tablets of the Methotrexate one day a week and the Folic Acid daily to prevent getting the mouth sores that the Methotrexate causes. Wow, doesn't that sound like fun. So now that means going to the lab monthly to monitor its effects.

After finishing our appointments, it was off to Cincinnati again. The kids had their weekly appointment with Dr. Parkins at 8am the next morning. Then it was back home again.

Thursday was reading lab and OT for Simon again. So not too much going on this week until......

Fourth of July Weekend

Here it is the holiday already. On Friday, Sydnee spent the day at Jenna's house and Simon went with Mike to the lake. So I was able to do chores a lot easier.

On Saturday, we planned to go to Mom's along with a couple of her friends. There is a neighbor behind Mom that does a large fireworks show every year. And since this year was on a Saturday we thought we would go. The kids were able to swim for a while and we all pitched in a dish. So it worked out well. After swimming all day and then staying up late, the kids were pooped! But they had fun. Mike and Simon came home early on Saturday because there were so many people at Gary's and space was getting thin. So they gave it up.