Breakfast in Bed

Went to Cami's house.  Mom wouldn't get out of bed.  She didn't want to take her meds and she definitely was not cooperating.  I finally managed to coax her to take her meds.  Meds at this point are much more important than breakfast. 
I tried her waffle and Cami uses a syrup that has a slight different flavor to it.  I got Mom to try it and the bananas and strawberries.  I basically fed her like a little bird and she ate her whole breakfast.  It is kind of funny.  Cami was worried she might choke and that is a valid concern, but it didn't happen this time.
I zoomed to Highgate and got the rest of the stuff I needed from there.  Took it back to Cami.  Funny how this stuff had more relevant information than the first stuff they gave me.  Anyway it seems Mom has bee resistant to take her morning meds for awhile.  All we can do is try.  And take it one day at a time. 
Tomorrow Mom has an assessment done for living at Cami's house. 
I'm beginning to really wonder when I had time to work. 

Mom

Transition is hard.  Especially hard on dementia patients.  And so there was a message on my machine from Cami.  Seems she left it on Saturday, but I didn't see it until today.  So I called and waited for my return call.  Cami has weekends off.
She called me back and they had fun with Mom's shower yesterday.  Seems she did want her hair washed, but she didn't want water on it.  Which just makes the rest of us give a little shake to our heads.  I'm not sure Mom every understood about the water, but she did get her shower.  And she got her hair washed and water was used. 
She is resisting taking her medications.  She is sleeping a lot.  Cami understands that and is fine with it.  But she wants to make sure Mom takes her meds.  She also needed some more information.
I will go tomorrow to Highgate to get more paperwork and to see Mom.

Pain is Back

The little man had a toothache about a week and a half ago.  He has a dentist appointment next week.  He woke up a day later and had no pain. So I didn't call and try to get him in sooner.  That was my mistake.  So tonight the pain is back.  Not as full force as last time, but definitely causing him some issues.  We decided we could tough it out till the appointment. 
I can't even tell which tooth hurts.  Where he tells me it hurts there is no tooth.  So he is sure it is the tooth under the gum that hasn't grown in yet.  I'm thinking that isn't right.  Guess we will find out in a couple of days. 

And She is Moved

Oy.  Something that would have taken the movers about three hours tops, took me all day.  I started at 9 and got home just before 6. And it's not like I did a lot, but it was an emotional day.
So first, one of the muscle, Mike's old friend, bailed.  So Mike filled in, but naturally there is always a whole lot of drama around that.  I tried to just roll with it.  He went with me to Highgate to get Mom. And she was up and dressed which put me back on my schedule.  She spent the day with Pat.  They ate tuna fish sandwiches made out of the tuna he caught.  They, or I guess he had pizza.  She did a lot of complaining. She was complaining from the time I picked her up. But she remembered a couple things which is amazing....or not.  Mike went on his way and I saw him again at 1. 
Got the uhaul rented and back to Highgate.  Got everything ready to go for when the muscle arrived.  I was quicker than I thought I would be.  Mike and Jeremy both arrived a little after 1 and we loaded it up.  I had one person from Highgate say good-bye and she was in her car leaving at the time. 
We only took Mom's bed to Cami's house.  We lowered it and it will work so much better for Mom now that she is having more difficulty with getting around.  No more climbing up in bad and sliding off when she got out of bed. 
Dropped the rest of the stuff at home and then back to Hazel Dell to return the uhaul.  Good thing I took more than four hours for the rental.  I had the truck for five. 
Then it was back to Pat's.  Mom was still in a funk, but she was okay.  We got to Cami's just in time for dinner.  And dinner smelled wonderful.  Phyllis stepped right in and took Mom under her wing.  They had meatloaf, world's best mashed potatoes (and they were) and a salad.  Then there was cherry pie for dessert.  Wow.  Wished I would have had time to join them.  But I needed to get home and back to kid life.
Now here is hoping for smooth transitions. 

Almost

Both kids went to school on time.  Anytime that happens I consider it a win.  All week I have had plans that needed to be taken care of.  And due to children and Mike those plans got bumped again and again. 
Today I almost had enough motivation and energy to get things done.  I did get my muscle lined up for Mom's move.  I got the uhaul reserved.  The original plan was to hire a moving company, which we have done before.  And while I started the process last week, it just followed suit of my not ever getting workers.  We go with the back up plan.  And then of course Mike is mad because I didn't offer him the work and offered it to one of his old friends.  Seems like some days I just can't win. 
Anyway....it was an almost day.  A few things taken care of, but not the whole list.

My Fault My Bad

Well it seems all of the little man's problems are again laid on my shoulders.  It starts with the call from the state when the little man was three days old.  Dave and I agreed to take the little man while things were worked out.  And since here we are today, this is the way it worked out.  I have been informed more than once that we ruined what the parents wanted...they were giving him up for adoption.  The funny thing about that is they always could have done that.  Him being placed with us had nothing to do with their decision about adoption.  The state just wasn't going to allow it to be the people they had picked and there were reasons for that.
As time moved ahead the little man starting showing symptoms of his developmental trauma.  And I have blogged about most of that.  When Dad came home this last time from incarceration  he laid down some ground rules and helped with some structure.  All good things for this type of trauma.  And it helped.  Broke the cycle in the house.
But as time goes on and Dad reverts back to his old ways....so do behaviors here. And as Dad loses his patience he also loses his ability to see that they are children and will not learn immediately the things we want to teach them.  You have to do it over and over and over.  So their inability to grasp behaving all the time....it in turn makes him even less patient.  Kind of a catch-22.
So this week when his impatience and their flight or flight responses collided it again became my fault.  I don't discipline enough or in the right way.  And that is why he isn't here very much. He's not the first one to say that, but...... So hey it is all my fault, my bad.  But I'm not changing in the way he thinks I should.  I am going to keep on loving and trying(big trying) to be patient.  We will get through the panic attacks and the misbehaviors.  We will get through each day the best we can.  I will keep calm, collaborate and keep boundaries.  And I will not be successful every day.  So if I can't be successful every day, why would I ever expect a child to.  And I must not forget.  I am here every day 24/7.

Up and Down With Anxiety

The little woman had a therapy appointment this morning.  Seems she was better than how she appeared to the home specialist yesterday afternoon.  I think part of it is perception.  She had went for a small walk with the home specialist and he said she banged her knees several times.  That is really hard to do when you are standing and walking.  Anyway we are to practice some calming strategies.  Okay. 
We talked more about her referral from Friday and what caused the incident.  Seems there are some mean girls in her class.  And she did not want any advice from me nor did she want to talk to the teacher about it.  This anxiety stuff makes me crazy.  It also gives a better explanation of why she doesn't want to go to school anymore.....AGAIN. 
One day at a time.  We see the psychiatrist next week and may be upping her anxiety meds.  He had already expected it and had us make the appointment now rather than at the end of November. 

Suspension

Well the little man earned his first suspension of the year.  It's a long story. Suffice it to say he wanted lunch, they said no due to behaviors and that escalated him.  It is what happens when he gets hangry.  I thought we had talked about that at his IEP meeting.  It is one of the patterns we have found...if he gets too hungry he can escalate. 
So the plan we have come up with (the little man and I) is putting more things in his backpack to eat.  That way if he can't get his lunch, he can at least eat something and hope that helps enough.  And at the next IEP meeting next week, we will again touch on letting him eat.  There is always a way. 
Hopefully when he returns to school he apologizes to the principal and his aid for his behavior.  And it is only a one day suspension. 

Fish

Pat wanted to borrow Mom's pressure canner.  I told him he could just have it.  I have the instant pot to cook that way and don't need it.  I gained half a shelf in a cupboard.  And he got to use the canner for his tuna. 
He had finally gotten his make up trip tuna fishing out in the ocean.  He caught a tuna that was about 30 pounds.  And he gained another half a fish because someone didn't want theirs.  Can't even imagine that.  Pay that much money and then not want the fish.
So today was can the tuna for Pat.  He was having a learning curve also, but canned a bunch.  We had estimated 22 half pints.  After I went home he told me it was going to be more because at least one of the fillets was larger. 
He also tried one can to see how it was and he said it made a pretty tasty sandwich.  Success then.  He said next year he may buy a bigger canner if he goes tuna fishing again.

Picture/Netflix Day

The little man had his appointment for his pictures.  The plan was for the little woman to have her turn at Uncle Pat's.  But that all changed when she and her friend convinced her friend's parents to let them have a sleepover.  So the little woman went there. 
We went and got pictures taken.  Then we stopped at Pat's to see about his fish.  The little man asked to spend the night and was told yes.  So I left.  Home I went, hitting Panda Express for a cheap dinner.  I got to spend three hours on the couch just vegging and watching Netflix totally uninterrupted.  Glorious.  Much needed down time. 

That Was Wonderful

The Mama was right.  The meat in beef and homemade noodles is much better in a pressure cooker.  I've never made it that way as I did not know how to use the pressure cooker.  But now that I have the instant pot and a small understanding of how to use it I decided to try it on my favorite meal ever. 
And it was wonderful.  And I was right.  It takes a different amount of salt and spices than what I am used to in the normal ways I cook.  Now I can adjust accordingly and start looking for some really good recipes.  Best part besides eating was it only took about 40 minutes from start to finish.  My stovetop kind takes at least two hours if not more.

Oy Such Great Plans

I hit the days in the week where I don't have other things planned other than kids in school.  So I figure those are great house cleaning days.  And then it seems I get stuck on the computer, watching TV or as has been most of the summer.....Mike needs a ride.
Now I have changed my stance.  Rides are for real jobs, dshs, grocery store for real grocery shopping. Today he needed to go to dshs.  And that took up my motivated time.  As I like to say....I plan, God laughs.

Snail Hunt

The other day when the little man rode his bike to school, I noticed many snail on my walk home.  Good sized ones.  So today I suggested we go to the snail trail and try to find some.  Now where I saw them last week and where the snail trail is are two different spots.
We found no snails on the trail.  We did find some babies on another street.  So they considered our outing a success.  Maybe we are just too early for our neighborhood.  Big ones are more interesting to look at.
The little man was so happy.  He found out his best friend who had moved in Kindergarten has moved back.  So he went there after out search.  Friends are so important.

Sucky Day

The best part of the day was the IEP meeting.  The therapist and I were pretty impressed with how well the team understands the little man and the things they have already implemented to help him be successful.  And we got the busing straightened out.  Yay!  That is going to add an hour onto my day.  But I will miss that ten minutes of time alone with him in the morning and the afternoon. 
Pat and I decided it was time to put Phoebe down.  Her eye  was getting much worse and it was making her cry.  So the drops just weren't helping at all.  She seemed to have lost all control of her bladder.  And we just couldn't see letting her live in silence and darkness and in pain.  That ended my morning. 
Then the afternoon brought me an escalation from each child.  I'm not sure why, but it was.  And when I called Mike he got angry and hung up on me.  So there it is.  Took a deep breath and tried to get back to calm. 
My cousin messaged me.  My Aunt Cris died.  Now she was on hospice and we knew it was coming, but it is still a blow.  I will make a post just for her later. 
And that is just enough for my sucky day. 

Ready

The therapist came over today to touch base about the IEP meeting tomorrow.  Behaviors in school have blown up my plan.  Why am I not surprised?  Anyway we will listen to what they have to say.  So far I haven't gotten any inkling of negatives.  We must address the busing issue.  And that is that. 

School Pictures

Last year I bought the school pictures taken by the company the school district uses.  The pictures were fine, just expensive for what they are.  A quick head shot.  I love the Picture People pictures.  But they are harder for us to utilize now since the only local one is in Clackamas. 
Groupon had an offer for JC Penney's.  So I bought two for $32.  I can only use one at a time.  I made an appointment for the little woman because the little man was going to spend the night at Pat's. Great timing. 
The little woman found a praying mantis just before we left to drop the little man and get her pictures taken.  Well the insect had to go with us.  And yup, it made it into some of the pictures.  That's me.  I don't have to control the whole process.  And then I let her pick which pose we would use for our Groupon and naturally it is one of the insect ones.  But it is very cute and very her. 
It kind of reminded me of the year the little man had to wear his batman costume.  I am just hoping for authenticity and realness.  And next weekend we get his done.  Wonder what he might want to use as a prop.

Skills

I seem to have the worst luck when it comes to hiring someone to help me with projects I can't or don't know  how to do.  I'm lucky I found someone to do the siding really.  And so it goes.  Now that things have calmed down I decided it was time to start fixing things.  My big projects were replacing bad switches,patching drywall, and fixing the sump pump.
I thought I had a guy coming to help me with the switches, but he flaked.  He was only going to charge me $20 per plus the cost of the switch.  I knew it was a good price.  Once he flaked I went on YouTube.  Dang.  That is as easy (easier) as replacing a drain hose on a dishwasher.  So I bought the switches and then they sat for awhile.  We'll get to tools in a bit.
Tried to get a couple of different people to help patch holes in drywall.  The last one told my brother he had to be there for the guy to come do it.  Wait...what? If my brother had to be here he could just help me with it.  Went on YouTube and learned how to do it.  I had bought supplies awhile back and they disappeared. So I bought new supplies.
That is the thing about tools.  I bought a little needle nose pliers for my switches and it disappeared.  Argh.  The joint knife for compound was right in the garage....two weeks before I decided to buy the patches and new compound.  Sure couldn't find it when it was time.  So Mike did part of the holes and I bought a new joint knife and did some more.  Boy you can tell who had the proper tools.
Jodi has a friend who is a plumber and he came and looked at the sump pump.  Told me the pump is shot and how easy it is to replace it.  Just cut here, glue there and put in the new pump.  Um okay.  I'm surprised he even came and looked at it, but he definitely had that vibe of not wanting to do the job even if it was as easy as he said.  Maybe I need to go on YouTube.....the problem with it is, it is under the house and I can't jump down the hole or crawl back up the hole into the house.  Anyway.....
I am making progress and saving tons of money and gaining new skills.  Thank you You Tube.

Parents Night Out

So the school booster club put on a "Parent's Night Out" last night.  Kids could come and hang for three hours playing on the playground, in the gym and have dinner.  Only costed $10.  The little man wanted to do it.  So I let him. And he had a great time and got really hot and sweaty.  He wasn't the only one. 
When I picked him up they came out and told me they had had a couple of little incidents.  The little man got mad and threw a block at someone.  So he was told that next time he needs to be on his best behavior or else he cannot attend these events.  The next one is next month I believe so we shall see.  And he did tell me all about it on the drive home and we talked about what he could do differently in the future.  Last year he wouldn't have even told me about it.  Making progress.
I enjoyed my three hours even if my plans almost completely fell through.  I did manage to get Phoebe her eye drops.  :)

She was Up

My week definitely did not work out the way I had it planned.  That is my life.  Today I went to see Mom and she was actually awake, dressed, had breakfast and was drinking coffee.  I asked her if she wanted to go for a ride.  And she did. We drove over to Cami's house and saw Aunt Cris for a bit.  Mom got a tour of the house and she liked it.  She loved Rex, the resident German Shepherd.  He is such a great dog.  Can't wait until he knows me well enough to let me hug him.  I think she is going to like it there.  We spent some time sitting at the table with another resident just chatting.  It was good.

Making More Progress

I made it to Cami's house.  I saw Aunt Cris.  Mostly I just sat with her.  Hospice was there so they were doing their thing.
Then I got to talk to Cami about Mom and her care needs.  I brought her latest assessment.  We talked about what was easiest for the extras.  Then we settled on a price.  Made me wish we had done this a while ago.  But Mom was okay where she was and we don't rock the boat unless we have to.
Now to make the move happen. 

Biking It

The little man has been asking to ride his bike to school.  We finally got a bike lock.  The weather changed back to kind of nice.  So today was the day.  Daddy told us ten minutes.  Ha.  Took us 35 minutes.  Course we did have a pit stop at the cafe on the way to use the restroom.  Took me almost half an hour to walk back.  And that just started my day too late.  So I called Cami and told her I would come tomorrow instead.  And then sleep called my name.   Maybe I was just tired.  I know the little man was tired when he got home. 

Getting Ready

This week I had a session with the little man's therapist.  He is still trying to get sessions set up at school for the little man.  We talked a lot about what we wanted at the IEP meeting next week.  And how the little man has now thrown us for a loop.  He still wants to go to Maple Grove, but he needs to work towards that. 
My original plan was full time gen ed at Maple Grove.  I quickly realized that won't just happen.  So we have to adjust for Daybreak.  My next plan was full time gen ed at Daybreak.  And then they got a new teacher in the SLC room with a whole bunch of changes.  One of those being recess.  Thank goodness.  The downside is now the little man is so happy there he doesn't want to go to gen ed.  Oy.
Our plans stays.  We want him working towards full time gen ed.  It may take some time to get there, but he has went for a couple of hours a few times already.  And he is making friends in that classroom.  We want him to have success on many fronts at school.  Educational, social, emotional, etc. 
We shall see what they have to say. And what comes about. 

Instant Pot

Tonight we had a chicken done in the pot.  Kind of reminded me of turkey.  And kind of dry like my turkey get.  I have to do doing something wrong.  The little man was happy though.  He had seconds of the chicken.  Tomorrow we make stock. 

Family Dinner for Three

Tried out our new Instant Pot.  Had a pot roast with potatoes and carrots.  It tasted fine.  I wasn't overly impressed.  But I'm still learning.  I did like the fact that from start to finish was an hour. 
The little woman opted to not join us and stay home with Daddy.  So just the little man and I went to Pat's.  I did try to get Mom to come, but she is in a big sleeping stage.  So it was a quiet dinner. 

Time to Move

Poor Mama.  It is not going to be easy or good.  But it is time to move from Highgate.  The rent keeps raising and  is ready to raise again.  I'm not happy about the infection fiasco.  And so it is.
I went and visited a place where Aunt Cris lives.  It is very nice and like a home.  Well it is a home.  My cousin has been very happy with the care Aunt Cris has received for the last year there.  That says a lot. 
So I gave notice at Highgate.  I also told Mel, the manager, what a great job I thought they had done for the three years (already?) Mom has been there.  I also explained about not being happy taking Mom to the doctor for stitch removal only to find out she was so infected it took another nine days before the stitches could come out and two rounds of antibiotic to get rid of. 
Now on to the next part.  Getting paperwork done and then finding movers.

Dragon Scales

Boy we are all about the dragon scales now.  The little man told me he earned 26 scales today and was so happy about it.  It is good to see him happy and have pride in something he has done.  I'm not sure what all he did to earn those scales but he told me about cleaning some tables. 

The little woman is still saying she hates school.  And yet the teacher emailed me and one of the things he told me was how she was sharing a book she was reading with him.  I'm sure there are aspects of school she really hates.  But not everything.  Guess it is as always....one day at a time. 

Wonderful Day

The teacher implemented a new strategy in the little man's classroom.  They earn dragon scales for good behavior. When the class has earned enough of them they chose to have a root beer float party.  The little man is so excited.  It is something that seems to resonate with him. 
He had had a couple little mishaps at the beginning of the week.  So I'm glad we are back on track and something is working. 

Just Keep Swimming

The  littles have asked for the last six months to go swimming at Firstenburg.  And so I finally decided it was time.  We had a little Arby's for dinner and got to Firstenburg in time for the last open swim of the day.  My intention was for swimming to wear them out so bedtime was sweet. 
And so they bounced back and forth between the river and the slide.  Now I love how much they love the slide.  To do the slide you have to go up all those steps.  Talk about an energy burner.  They must have done that slide at least forty times each. 
The times they would be in the river I got some fun.  I love the river.  It just pulls you along. 
While there though I was thinking about the things we had planned.  One being swimming at Firstenburg.  At least we did get that one crossed off our list.  We also wanted to go to Wild Waves.  But that was to be a daddy trip.  I noticed almost all of the daddy plans fell through. 
No bowling for the Kids Bowl Free.  I paid for two adults to be able to bowl also.  I should have taken them, but we spent too much time waiting. 
No camping at Camp Dakota and paintball playing.  I paid for it but since we didn't get there in the time frame....basically lost it. 
We did make it to the fair and the littles had a great time.  It wasn't what it was suppose to be though.  Daddy was too sick to really interact and do rides. 
And on and on and on.  I guess I need to figure some other stuff out and not pay for stuff in advance.  The frugal nature of mine wants me to get the discounts by paying early.  It's not a discount if it doesn't get used. 

Something Must Have Been in the Air

The day started all right and then kind of fell apart.  The little woman had an anxiety thing.  And that just put the whole day in a funk.  She missed the bus.  And she got driven to school twice.  The second time she did voluntarily get out of the car and go in.  I immediately had one of those panic things set in myself.  It felt just like last school year.  Oy.
Then when it was time to pick up the little man, the teacher walked out to the car.  No little man though.  Never a good sign when that happens.  He informed me that the principal was talking to the little man trying to convince him to go home.  When I walked in the classroom he told me he wasn't leaving but then left. He did tell me that he threw at least one chair because he got mad.  I don't know.  It felt just like last year.  Oy.
Something was in the air or it was just already a bad break in the routine having a three day weekend. 

Weird

It was kind of weird not to go camping this weekend.  We didn't do anything in place of it.  We did go to Pat's house and he bbqed up a tri-tip roast for us.  It was delicious.  The little man's green machine got fixed and is getting a lot of use.  Maybe even more use than when he first got it.  Course that was winter. 
We didn't see Mom.  So that means we probably should plan a family dinner soon.  And maybe I should check into camping up north for a weekend.  The season is almost done. 

Running Again

The front wheel went flat on the green machine awhile back.  Well it was always a little low, but then it was flat and the tire kind of came off the wheel.  So we took it to Pat's house and it sat there for awhile because we procrastinate pretty well. 
Neighbors had given the little woman a bmx bike with flat tires.  So Mike said get the tubes for it and he would fix it.  Naturally that means he rides it a lot.  Said it was a nice bike for a kid and was surprised the neighbors just gave it to her. 
So I picked up three tubes.   Mike fixed the bike.  We took the other tube to Pat's house.  The little man helped him change it out and get it inflated.  Something was said about the little man being too big for it now.  Well the seat adjusts.  So once home he and Daddy adjusted the seat a bit and off he went.  I suspect it runs a lot better with a fully pumped front tire.