WOW so it's been over a month since I updated. Every time I sit down to make an actual update something comes up that pulls me away from the computer and the entry never gets written, so here I sit determined to write an update today.
Tuesday (the 22nd) was the end of my 4th semester of school. I finished the term with 2 A's and a B :( Which means I no longer have a 4.0 but that's okay, I'm doing the best I can so it's good enough. Semester 5 starts on Monday. On the agenda for this semester is Med Surg 2, Community Health, and Mental Health. This semester runs through December 9th and then I'll be in my last semester of nursing school. In fact, today marks less than 5 months until graduation date. Hard to believe it's almost over. With the start of the new semester is the start of my diet. I fell off the wagon at the start of last term with the stress of the semester and just wasn't able to get myself back on the wagon. Needless to say, the scale wasn't very favorable to me and it's totally my fault but it's time to get back with it and get the pounds off (again).
River has been in school for over a month now and he LOVES it. He's so smart. The goals that the school has for the 3 year olds to know by the end of the year, he already accomplished at the start of the year so they are continuing to work with him to further his education. He's learning letter sounds, sight words, and how to spell his name. He is amazing. He is potty trained fully during the day now. He's in " big boy underwear" from the time he gets up in the morning until the time he goes to bed. We still have him in a pull-up at night because he sleeps too soundly to wake up to go right now. He is still in both OT and Speech but it's looking like only another month or so before they will be able to release him from therapy. He's been doing great. We still have our good days and our bad days but with the start of school and the routine it brings, his behavior has significantly improved. THANK GOD
Journey has been loving being home with daddy, we had originally planned to start him in daycare the day that River started pre-school but mommy bulked and kept him home instead. However, we've decided that he really does need the seperation time from us so starting Monday he'll be going to daycare from 9 until 12 Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. We may decide to step it up to full weeks once he is comfortable going there and we can also do extended care which would give Doug the time to get a job which would be SOOO nice. He went to an audiologist appointment this week and was NOT impressed with the preecedings at all. He cooperated for a bit and then he was just over it and would not follow the commands anymore, so technically he failed his hearing test. We go back October 23rd to see them again and try a retest. He also saw the ENT the same day and we've decided not to schedule tube surgery yet, we want to wait and see how he does with the coming winter months, see if the ear infections start back up. We are to go back in January or schedule the surgery if he gets more than 2 ear infections between now and then. He was 24 lbs 8 oz at the doctors and just shy of 32 inches. He is still recieving OT and speech as well. His occupation therapist says he is doing SO well that when she does his reevaluation next month she thinks he'll be ready to not receive services. YAY! As for speech, he's learned quite a few signs and has an amazing comprehension vocabulary but he still has no words. Not even momma and dada. We'll continue working with him, he'll get it eventually.
Doug and I have been discussing what comes next for us once I graduate. What our plans for the immediate future are and the plans for the long term future. Our 2 options are to stay here in Florida, living with Linda for a while to give me time to gain experience in the field and give us time to pay off some of our debt. We would pick up a bill for Linda and ease some of the burden on her and it would still be extremely low cost for us. Our other option is to move to San Antonio, Texas with a friend who has offered to allow us to come live with her in her home and split the bills. The financial responsibilities would be more for sure but it would be a chance to experience somewhere different (ie get out of Florida) and also allow me the chance to learn a ton from our friend. I can transfer my nursing license out there and should be able to get a job releatively easily even with little experience. However the move would cost a good deal of money and would involve alot of work to move our children (and all the different doctors they need) out that way. I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of the choices but feel lost. One of the big things that we're waiting to see is how we mesh with our friend on a daily basis. We shall see. she's coming for a visit next month and then we're going on vacation together for a week in December to Disney. I'm excited to see what's coming next for our family no matter what the next might be.
On Friday, August 21, 2009
I told myself that this weekend I would update here and not the short little update either, a real update. So here we go...
School is going good. I have just over 6 months left to go. It's FLYING. We just took our Health Assessment finals and try as hard as I could, I couldn't manage to pull an A out of the class which ruined my 4.0. I did manage to get a 90 (which is a solid B) so it's not like I was in danger of failing but it was frustrating none the less. Then earlier this week I took my Pharmacology 2 final and found out today that I finished the class with a 97 which is an A. So now the only class I've got on my slate currently is Maternal/Child, which is the class I've been waiting on since the start of the program and it's not disappointing. We are over half way through the class and as such got our midterm grades this week. I'm currently at a 97. This semester runs through Sepetmber 23rd and then it will be just 20 short weeks left until graduation. It truely is just around the corner. I renewed my LPN license last month for the next 2 years as a back up just in case I don't do well on the NCLEX-RN next year which takes a little pressure off. I wish I could say I've been doing as well with my diet as I have with my schooling but it's just not the case. The stress from school sure hasn't been kind to my waist or my will. I really need to find the strength to get back to it. I need to find a way to afford the gym again. For my health both physically and mentally. I was a much more happy me when I was able to go work out.
River is doing well. He appears to have caught a bug or something. He threw up a few times last night and has been running fevers all night and day. He doesn't seem to be acting sick but he has been acting up alot more then he was so maybe that's his way of showing us he doesn't feel good. I'm hoping he feels better by Monday because that's his first day of pre-school and I'm SO excited for him. I went to a parent orientation for his school last week and got to meet his teachers and find out what class he'll be in. I feel like I'm going to be missing out because I won't be able to take him to his first day of preschool on Monday because I have clinicals and can't miss them. Doug has been sitting down with him almost every day and going through flash cards and a work book that we got him to help him learn different things. He definitely knows his colors, shapes, counting, numbers up to 20, his ABCs and can recognize his letters by sight. So we've been working on matching things that "go together" or things that "rhyme" and he's been doing really well. He's so smart. I can't wait to see how well he does this fall with an actual teacher involved in helping to educate him! His potty training has been going great. He goes most days with out an accident while in big boy underwear and wears diapers or pullups at night. I'm so proud of him.
Journey is growing up so fast. Monday he will start his first day of Lighthouse Learning Center, the daycare I mentioned earlier in the blog. And I must say I am apprehensive and nervous, and upset that I'm going to miss his first day as well. I'm not sure how it's going to go. He is very very people shy and very attached to mommy and daddy. I'm afraid he'll be scared and inconsolable while at daycare and I feel guilty for pushing him into the daycare when we don't currently NEED the daycare. I want him to get the socialization though. He's been doing really good with his therapies. The speech therapist sees him once a week and he's learned 4 signs. He is babbling a whole lot more than he was and his babbles are getting much closer to actual words than they were just a few months ago. He understands quite a bit of what we say but he still isn't saying much and doesn't really sign for things with out prompting either. I'm wondering how much is just him being stubborn and how much is his Noonan Syndrome. I'm not sure we'll know anytime soon. The goals for the speech therapy are to have him saying 5 or 6 words consistantly by January.. I'm not sure that's going to happen. Wondering what we do if it doesn't? Will they just keep going or will they start seeing him more often? His occupational therapy is going really well. He's much more into this therapy and is doing great. Unforunately I don't get to be there for this one either as I'm usually in school so I'm not sure exactly what he is and isn't doing that he should be. I should get to be there next week for his therapy though so hopefully I know more then.
School is going good. I have just over 6 months left to go. It's FLYING. We just took our Health Assessment finals and try as hard as I could, I couldn't manage to pull an A out of the class which ruined my 4.0. I did manage to get a 90 (which is a solid B) so it's not like I was in danger of failing but it was frustrating none the less. Then earlier this week I took my Pharmacology 2 final and found out today that I finished the class with a 97 which is an A. So now the only class I've got on my slate currently is Maternal/Child, which is the class I've been waiting on since the start of the program and it's not disappointing. We are over half way through the class and as such got our midterm grades this week. I'm currently at a 97. This semester runs through Sepetmber 23rd and then it will be just 20 short weeks left until graduation. It truely is just around the corner. I renewed my LPN license last month for the next 2 years as a back up just in case I don't do well on the NCLEX-RN next year which takes a little pressure off. I wish I could say I've been doing as well with my diet as I have with my schooling but it's just not the case. The stress from school sure hasn't been kind to my waist or my will. I really need to find the strength to get back to it. I need to find a way to afford the gym again. For my health both physically and mentally. I was a much more happy me when I was able to go work out.
River is doing well. He appears to have caught a bug or something. He threw up a few times last night and has been running fevers all night and day. He doesn't seem to be acting sick but he has been acting up alot more then he was so maybe that's his way of showing us he doesn't feel good. I'm hoping he feels better by Monday because that's his first day of pre-school and I'm SO excited for him. I went to a parent orientation for his school last week and got to meet his teachers and find out what class he'll be in. I feel like I'm going to be missing out because I won't be able to take him to his first day of preschool on Monday because I have clinicals and can't miss them. Doug has been sitting down with him almost every day and going through flash cards and a work book that we got him to help him learn different things. He definitely knows his colors, shapes, counting, numbers up to 20, his ABCs and can recognize his letters by sight. So we've been working on matching things that "go together" or things that "rhyme" and he's been doing really well. He's so smart. I can't wait to see how well he does this fall with an actual teacher involved in helping to educate him! His potty training has been going great. He goes most days with out an accident while in big boy underwear and wears diapers or pullups at night. I'm so proud of him.
Journey is growing up so fast. Monday he will start his first day of Lighthouse Learning Center, the daycare I mentioned earlier in the blog. And I must say I am apprehensive and nervous, and upset that I'm going to miss his first day as well. I'm not sure how it's going to go. He is very very people shy and very attached to mommy and daddy. I'm afraid he'll be scared and inconsolable while at daycare and I feel guilty for pushing him into the daycare when we don't currently NEED the daycare. I want him to get the socialization though. He's been doing really good with his therapies. The speech therapist sees him once a week and he's learned 4 signs. He is babbling a whole lot more than he was and his babbles are getting much closer to actual words than they were just a few months ago. He understands quite a bit of what we say but he still isn't saying much and doesn't really sign for things with out prompting either. I'm wondering how much is just him being stubborn and how much is his Noonan Syndrome. I'm not sure we'll know anytime soon. The goals for the speech therapy are to have him saying 5 or 6 words consistantly by January.. I'm not sure that's going to happen. Wondering what we do if it doesn't? Will they just keep going or will they start seeing him more often? His occupational therapy is going really well. He's much more into this therapy and is doing great. Unforunately I don't get to be there for this one either as I'm usually in school so I'm not sure exactly what he is and isn't doing that he should be. I should get to be there next week for his therapy though so hopefully I know more then.
On Monday, August 17, 2009
Both boys went to the doctor today. River was there for his pre school physical and Journey for his 18 month well child check up.
First River..
River was 44 lbs and 42 inches and is at the 97th percentile for both height and weight. He needs to go for some blood work that the daycare requires but they don't do them in office so we had to get a lab order. Should be fun. She said he's doing great. She said that his Left Eye came back a little "off" so they want to see him back in a few months.
Then Journey...
Journey was 24.4 oz and 31 inches tall which is the 28th percentile and 12th percentile (50th on the adjusted Noonan chart) respectfully. His head circumference hasn't changed and is now around 50th percentile. He got 2 shots today. Cried until they let him go and was fine the instant I picked him up. He is good to go on his check ups until February when he goes for his 2 year. However, he'll most likely be starting his Synagis shots again next month
First River..
River was 44 lbs and 42 inches and is at the 97th percentile for both height and weight. He needs to go for some blood work that the daycare requires but they don't do them in office so we had to get a lab order. Should be fun. She said he's doing great. She said that his Left Eye came back a little "off" so they want to see him back in a few months.
Then Journey...Journey was 24.4 oz and 31 inches tall which is the 28th percentile and 12th percentile (50th on the adjusted Noonan chart) respectfully. His head circumference hasn't changed and is now around 50th percentile. He got 2 shots today. Cried until they let him go and was fine the instant I picked him up. He is good to go on his check ups until February when he goes for his 2 year. However, he'll most likely be starting his Synagis shots again next month
On Wednesday, July 22, 2009
I am really hoping to have some pictures of River to share with in the next few days. Getting any good shots of him is SO hard as he's never still and when we do manage to get him to sit still, he closes his eyes when we get his picture. But meanwhile... Here are a few of Journey.
This picture is Journey in one of his new 18 month jammies. They are still a bit big on him and he get caught up in the footies when he walks but the 12 months won't fit him much longer in the length so he's in the weird in between size.
Look at those beautiful baby blues!!!
As many of you know, we have had major issues as of lately with Journey getting some pretty nasty diaper rashes. This only started when we put him in disposables. It didn't matter how often we changed him or anything else so it occured to me that perhaps he's sensitive to the disposable diapers themselves. So a friend (thank you Stacey) suggested I try the same diapering system that she uses for her daughter K. These are g-diapers and inside are some prefolds (think the old style cloth diapers that many people use as burp cloth) so the whole system is completely reuseable which means 1) no more diaper trash and 2) hopefully no more diaper costs.. YAY Another really cool feature is they fasten in the back so my little nudist can't get out of them easily :)
"Hello... what's that??? You think she needs to shop taking pictures of me too??"
In other news... Journey and River will BOTH be starting school on August 24th. River will be starting preschool and Journey will be starting 3 hour days (9am until Noon) at The Lighthouse Learning Center. For those of you who can't get to the website right now.. it's a preschool for children with special needs. And best of all, because Journey is enrolled in Early Steps it is completely paid for. His therapists both see clients there so they will both be able to see Journey while he is at school and it will give Journey a chance to socialize with other children and adults. They have an RN on staff at all times and they base the ciriculum around each kiddo. And they'll work with his cloth diapers :) WOOOT.
River has been doing phenomonal with his pottying. He very rarely has accidents during the day and usually only when mommy and daddy forget to remind him to go. So it looks like he should be potty trained for school next month. YAY! He has been doing great with his therapy sessions and seems like our biggest issue lately is just normal 3 year old things like back talking, not listening.. which don't get me wrong, it's HIGHLY annoying.
School is going okay. The semester is proving to be a lot more time to consuming then I thought. I'm exhausted even after a night's rest but I'll get through it. (I hope). 7 months to go...
This picture is Journey in one of his new 18 month jammies. They are still a bit big on him and he get caught up in the footies when he walks but the 12 months won't fit him much longer in the length so he's in the weird in between size.
Look at those beautiful baby blues!!!
As many of you know, we have had major issues as of lately with Journey getting some pretty nasty diaper rashes. This only started when we put him in disposables. It didn't matter how often we changed him or anything else so it occured to me that perhaps he's sensitive to the disposable diapers themselves. So a friend (thank you Stacey) suggested I try the same diapering system that she uses for her daughter K. These are g-diapers and inside are some prefolds (think the old style cloth diapers that many people use as burp cloth) so the whole system is completely reuseable which means 1) no more diaper trash and 2) hopefully no more diaper costs.. YAY Another really cool feature is they fasten in the back so my little nudist can't get out of them easily :)
"Hello... what's that??? You think she needs to shop taking pictures of me too??"
In other news... Journey and River will BOTH be starting school on August 24th. River will be starting preschool and Journey will be starting 3 hour days (9am until Noon) at The Lighthouse Learning Center. For those of you who can't get to the website right now.. it's a preschool for children with special needs. And best of all, because Journey is enrolled in Early Steps it is completely paid for. His therapists both see clients there so they will both be able to see Journey while he is at school and it will give Journey a chance to socialize with other children and adults. They have an RN on staff at all times and they base the ciriculum around each kiddo. And they'll work with his cloth diapers :) WOOOT.
River has been doing phenomonal with his pottying. He very rarely has accidents during the day and usually only when mommy and daddy forget to remind him to go. So it looks like he should be potty trained for school next month. YAY! He has been doing great with his therapy sessions and seems like our biggest issue lately is just normal 3 year old things like back talking, not listening.. which don't get me wrong, it's HIGHLY annoying.
School is going okay. The semester is proving to be a lot more time to consuming then I thought. I'm exhausted even after a night's rest but I'll get through it. (I hope). 7 months to go...
On Saturday, July 18, 2009
While we were out walking in our yard with the boys just a bit ago we came across this....
The poor thing appears to be hurt. He's trying to fly off but can't seem to get going. We called Animal control and guess what we found out... Animal control here is Monday thru Friday. So We called the local County Sheriff and told them that we have a hurt hawk in our yard and asked if we could have an after hours number for someone to come get it being that we have 2 small boys here. So they are contacting someone on our behalf and will send someone out here tonight to get it.
Meanwhile.. we are trying to make sure that none of the other wildlife bothers it :(
EDIT:::: We took the hawk to a rescuer this morning. It was a red-shouldered hawk which IS on the protected species list in Florida. She was doing okay this morning. Was feisty and ready to take off.
The poor thing appears to be hurt. He's trying to fly off but can't seem to get going. We called Animal control and guess what we found out... Animal control here is Monday thru Friday. So We called the local County Sheriff and told them that we have a hurt hawk in our yard and asked if we could have an after hours number for someone to come get it being that we have 2 small boys here. So they are contacting someone on our behalf and will send someone out here tonight to get it.
Meanwhile.. we are trying to make sure that none of the other wildlife bothers it :(
EDIT:::: We took the hawk to a rescuer this morning. It was a red-shouldered hawk which IS on the protected species list in Florida. She was doing okay this morning. Was feisty and ready to take off.
On Monday, July 13, 2009
Today was the start of the 4th semester. OMG welcome to hell. It's not that any one class is hard. It's that there is ALOT of effin work. What the hell was I thinking?? I got up at 6am this morning and I just finished my school work (or as much of it as I can concentrate on tonight) and it's 10pm. And the joy of it.. I get to do it all over again tomorrow. Tomorrow I have a day much the same as today. Then Wednesday I have Health Assessment with an instructor as yet unknown. Class should get out at about 1pm . Thursday is another long day. We're planning on being at the school until approximately 4pm but we will be getting IV therapy training. WOOT. Finally something new. Kinda.
Nice to know that when I come home I get to come home to someone as cute as this...
River has been testing our patience lately. He's become extremely defiant. Telling us NO when we tell him to do something. Telling us to "Wait a second". Stomping around when he doesn't get his way. He is still doing well on the potty training. No real improvement but no real back track either. So we'll take it. School starts in just over a month. I'm so ready for him to get back into the routine. He went for evaluation the other day at the preschool and they said that he is academically on track or ahead in every aspect. He is however lagging behind a bit in personal/social skill. No surprises there. Hopefully with some school and interaction with other kids he'll come up in that too. I know he's excited.
Journey will be starting a daycare a few days a week in the mornings for a few hours to try and get him used to socializing with other people and children. The daycare specializes in children with developmental delays and learning disabilities. So Journey will be in great hands. Early Steps and River's preschool director and therapy center all spoke high praise of the place. And best of all, because Journey has an IEP through Early Steps, it's covered. We pay nothing unless we want extended hours past noon. I'm STOKED. I'm not sure how well it will go over with him but I'm very excited. And I think his occupational therapist and speech therapists will be able to see him there for his therapy sessions as well so he'll be able to continue his care. It will be GREAT for him.
Doug is doing great with his massages. School and boys don't allow him much time to schedule massages but he has a few regular clients that keep coming back and that's always a good thing. He's great at what he does and he loves it. I'm hoping that if Journey starts the daycare center and River starts preschool that Doug will be able to start picking up a few more clients. If nothing else, hopefully my hours will make it easier for him to pick up an occasional client.
I got my CPR recertified last week so now I can start picking up shifts or sign on per diem with a facility for some extra funds as well. I'm hesitant to do it because I don't know how rough this semester is going to be. I want to try and settle into the semester before I start picking up shifts but the idea of having income coming in regularly again is SO appealing. I just don't want my school grades to suffer because of it.
Well it's 10pm so I guess I should stop writing and go to bed.
Nice to know that when I come home I get to come home to someone as cute as this...
River has been testing our patience lately. He's become extremely defiant. Telling us NO when we tell him to do something. Telling us to "Wait a second". Stomping around when he doesn't get his way. He is still doing well on the potty training. No real improvement but no real back track either. So we'll take it. School starts in just over a month. I'm so ready for him to get back into the routine. He went for evaluation the other day at the preschool and they said that he is academically on track or ahead in every aspect. He is however lagging behind a bit in personal/social skill. No surprises there. Hopefully with some school and interaction with other kids he'll come up in that too. I know he's excited.
Journey will be starting a daycare a few days a week in the mornings for a few hours to try and get him used to socializing with other people and children. The daycare specializes in children with developmental delays and learning disabilities. So Journey will be in great hands. Early Steps and River's preschool director and therapy center all spoke high praise of the place. And best of all, because Journey has an IEP through Early Steps, it's covered. We pay nothing unless we want extended hours past noon. I'm STOKED. I'm not sure how well it will go over with him but I'm very excited. And I think his occupational therapist and speech therapists will be able to see him there for his therapy sessions as well so he'll be able to continue his care. It will be GREAT for him.
Doug is doing great with his massages. School and boys don't allow him much time to schedule massages but he has a few regular clients that keep coming back and that's always a good thing. He's great at what he does and he loves it. I'm hoping that if Journey starts the daycare center and River starts preschool that Doug will be able to start picking up a few more clients. If nothing else, hopefully my hours will make it easier for him to pick up an occasional client.
I got my CPR recertified last week so now I can start picking up shifts or sign on per diem with a facility for some extra funds as well. I'm hesitant to do it because I don't know how rough this semester is going to be. I want to try and settle into the semester before I start picking up shifts but the idea of having income coming in regularly again is SO appealing. I just don't want my school grades to suffer because of it.
Well it's 10pm so I guess I should stop writing and go to bed.
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