It has been a very long day Hanna was up at 4:00 am. I tried to get her to lay down with me and and Thor (the cat at Jared`s) but she could not calm down. Since she was not being allowed to eat or drink anything I knew being up so early was going to make things difficult. I got her to watch cartoons and then I made her take a very long bath before going for a long walk and then heading over to the hospital. Things did not get any calmer there. she complained, paced, sat in a chair and spun herself, and rocked in the rocking chair until surgery time.
Surgery was expected to take about an hour, however it was just over two hours before they were finished, then we had tears, an IV to deal with, and a kid with a very swollen face.
We are home now and she has lots of meds on board so is pretty out of it. I am going to put her to bed and go there myself since I have this feeling that it is going to be a very long night. Hopefully some of the swelling goes down tomorrow and then we get to work on cleaning her mouth while it heals.
Even with all of the swelling the appearance of her mouth and teeth is definitely much improved. It is quiet now except for Paul`s chatter so I will enjoy it while it lasts.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
We Are Off
Hanna and I are spending the night at Jared`s "grand Mansion" since it is only about thirty minutes away from the hospital instead of an hour and a half. We need to be at the the hospital bright and early in the morning for Hanna`s first surgery on her mouth. I am really ready to get this over with. I can not give this kid her morning meds so until they get her into the operating room I get to deal with anxiety gone crazy, impulsiveness, hyperness, and attachment disorder all rolled into one, along with all the kicking, screaming, biting, hitting, and swearing that go along with taking her to any medical appointment.
I am ready, lets just do this so I can relax!
I am ready, lets just do this so I can relax!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Saturday
It is Saturday and we survived the first week of school. Lauren earned herself some trouble by not telling the truth and Hanna earned some trouble at home being a tattle tale. Allen did fine and Paul lost it every day after school. He had worked very hard and kept his behavior under raps but when he got home he could not control things any longer. He is going to need more sensory time throughout the day so now I have to explain all of that once again. I have been there done that many times already.
This afternoon we are attending a wedding and then I need to get groceries. Hanna has already thrown a fit because we do not have any milk. She does not like to drink juice and apparently she is going through milk withdrawal. Trying to get the kid who drinks milk at every meal, even at a restaurant to take a break for a whole day is a lot of work. It is rather strange because all seven of the other kids would drink apple juice or orange juice before milk if given the opportunity to do so.
This afternoon we are attending a wedding and then I need to get groceries. Hanna has already thrown a fit because we do not have any milk. She does not like to drink juice and apparently she is going through milk withdrawal. Trying to get the kid who drinks milk at every meal, even at a restaurant to take a break for a whole day is a lot of work. It is rather strange because all seven of the other kids would drink apple juice or orange juice before milk if given the opportunity to do so.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
A Big Kid Now
Paul started kindergarten today, so he is officially a big kid now. According to school staff he had a great day. He has lost it altogether since coming home. I will be recording this to show them in the very near future as I expect that this will be the situation on a regular basis. He is just so darn cute that I would like to hug him to pieces, but right now I think that I had better give him some space.
Where Have All The Flowers Gone
That song Where Have All The Flowers Gone, the one sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary pops into my head now and again. Just knowing that song makes me really old according to my kids. It is a war protest song from long ago but when I hear it it makes me think of something which causes just as much anger, sadness, fear, and grief as any war would, that is FASD.
Fighting FASD is like fighting a war, in that the battle is long and difficult. Many babies are born with the affects of the alcohol their mothers consumed. These babies will live all of their lives with the impairments known as FASD. They are Innocent victims just as many are victims of war.
Their families will carry on while dealing with the mental health issues, anger, and frustration their loved ones are living with.
Everyone else continues on seemingly unaffected by all of this, however they to live with damage caused by those affected with FASD. Everyone pays to house, feed, and clothes those who are incarcerated. Everyone pays for residential treatment centers, mental health facilities, and education. There is a tremendous amount of potential lost.
All of this for what? It is absolutely crazy when we consider all the harm caused by behavior which is socially accepted. For those of us who know all to well the hurt that FASD causes the war continues to stop potential moms from consuming alcohol. The one line from this song that keeps rambling around in my brain is this simple question.
"When will they ever learn? Oh, when will they ever learn"?
Fighting FASD is like fighting a war, in that the battle is long and difficult. Many babies are born with the affects of the alcohol their mothers consumed. These babies will live all of their lives with the impairments known as FASD. They are Innocent victims just as many are victims of war.
Their families will carry on while dealing with the mental health issues, anger, and frustration their loved ones are living with.
Everyone else continues on seemingly unaffected by all of this, however they to live with damage caused by those affected with FASD. Everyone pays to house, feed, and clothes those who are incarcerated. Everyone pays for residential treatment centers, mental health facilities, and education. There is a tremendous amount of potential lost.
All of this for what? It is absolutely crazy when we consider all the harm caused by behavior which is socially accepted. For those of us who know all to well the hurt that FASD causes the war continues to stop potential moms from consuming alcohol. The one line from this song that keeps rambling around in my brain is this simple question.
"When will they ever learn? Oh, when will they ever learn"?
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Summer To Fall
We finished off summer over the weekend with a last trip to take a swim, or for most of the group to play in the sand. Paul did not want to leave even though he was so cold he was turning purple. He really enjoys playing in the sand with the trucks. We grilled some burgers and had fresh fruit and vegetables.
Now this morning four of the five kids have headed out the door to start a new school year. Paul will start in a couple of days. Once he gets going I will be able to get some sort of routine going around here for myself.
It was a very, very long summer here. I was not able to let kids do as many things as I usually do simply because I did not have the hours to use my staff to do it. Lauren has the same hours for which we are very great full, paul`s were cut a bit so those two were able to have the regular routine going for summer. Hanna and Allen`s hours have been cut dramatically therefore I could not let them do things that they usually do. They need direct one on one supervision and support in order to participate in any activities either in the home or out in the community. One example of this is that the kids usually do horseback riding, but we were only able to go one time and could not go again because it takes three people to supervise and support the kids in this activity. Karre and I tried to do it alone but it just did not work and we will not do it again that way. This activity requires lifting kids, dealling with sensory issues, impulsive behavior, and being able to take turns. They have both riding the horses and wagon rides. Hanna and Paul could not understand why they had to wait for us while Lauren and Allen had turns at riding the horses. They thought they could go on the wagon ride without us and when told that they could not of course Hanna just impulsively took off so that left me with three of them while Karre retrieved her and of course she was mad so we ended up leaving so then we got to drive home with three of the four pitching a fit, oh and that is so much fun. Hanna refusing to wear her seat belt and Allen yelling at her to put it on, and the rest is chaos.
Now that the kids are back in school I will be working to get their PCA hours back if I can as well as the continued issues that I am working at to get their medical benefits issues taken care of. The task of dealing with the system goes on and on no matter what season of the year it is.
Now this morning four of the five kids have headed out the door to start a new school year. Paul will start in a couple of days. Once he gets going I will be able to get some sort of routine going around here for myself.
It was a very, very long summer here. I was not able to let kids do as many things as I usually do simply because I did not have the hours to use my staff to do it. Lauren has the same hours for which we are very great full, paul`s were cut a bit so those two were able to have the regular routine going for summer. Hanna and Allen`s hours have been cut dramatically therefore I could not let them do things that they usually do. They need direct one on one supervision and support in order to participate in any activities either in the home or out in the community. One example of this is that the kids usually do horseback riding, but we were only able to go one time and could not go again because it takes three people to supervise and support the kids in this activity. Karre and I tried to do it alone but it just did not work and we will not do it again that way. This activity requires lifting kids, dealling with sensory issues, impulsive behavior, and being able to take turns. They have both riding the horses and wagon rides. Hanna and Paul could not understand why they had to wait for us while Lauren and Allen had turns at riding the horses. They thought they could go on the wagon ride without us and when told that they could not of course Hanna just impulsively took off so that left me with three of them while Karre retrieved her and of course she was mad so we ended up leaving so then we got to drive home with three of the four pitching a fit, oh and that is so much fun. Hanna refusing to wear her seat belt and Allen yelling at her to put it on, and the rest is chaos.
Now that the kids are back in school I will be working to get their PCA hours back if I can as well as the continued issues that I am working at to get their medical benefits issues taken care of. The task of dealing with the system goes on and on no matter what season of the year it is.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Rene`s Day
Today is Rene`s birthday and she is celebrating it going to class.. Happy birthday today anyway!
When Rene` came into the world twenty-five years ago today I never dreamed that we would have at least one infant, toddler, or preschooler in our home for all of those years. Well we have done just that with adopted kids, birth kids, and foster kids (there have been 42 in all).
I have fed, rocked, bathed, cuddled and changed diapers of babies who had blue, brown, and green eyes to gaze into.
I have gone through the "no" phase, danced, and sung with toddlers who had dark brown, olive, and fair skin.
I have watched Sesame Street, Dora, and Mickey Mouse, made play dough,built forts and castles, played dress up, played with baby dolls and trucks, read books and colored, answered "why" questions with preschoolers who had black brown, blonde, and red hair.
We have gone through to many strollers to count and two wagons taking kids to the park, play ground, and pool. These kids have worn out or grown out of mountains of clothes. They have lost socks and mittens. I still find them in the couch or under the seat in the van when I am cleaning.
It is a lot of work to be a mom to all of these kids. There have been times of frustration and I have dealt with many a crisis, but I have enjoyed doing it and I hope that I have given them a good start, I have certainly given it my all. Now our baby boy will go off to school all day with the rest of the big kids so I will be retiring from being a mom with kids at home. It will be something new for me and I am looking forward to moving on, yet I am pretty sure it will take a bit of time to get used to doing things without toys to trip over, someone needing something,and kids by my side all day.
When Rene` came into the world twenty-five years ago today I never dreamed that we would have at least one infant, toddler, or preschooler in our home for all of those years. Well we have done just that with adopted kids, birth kids, and foster kids (there have been 42 in all).
I have fed, rocked, bathed, cuddled and changed diapers of babies who had blue, brown, and green eyes to gaze into.
I have gone through the "no" phase, danced, and sung with toddlers who had dark brown, olive, and fair skin.
I have watched Sesame Street, Dora, and Mickey Mouse, made play dough,built forts and castles, played dress up, played with baby dolls and trucks, read books and colored, answered "why" questions with preschoolers who had black brown, blonde, and red hair.
We have gone through to many strollers to count and two wagons taking kids to the park, play ground, and pool. These kids have worn out or grown out of mountains of clothes. They have lost socks and mittens. I still find them in the couch or under the seat in the van when I am cleaning.
It is a lot of work to be a mom to all of these kids. There have been times of frustration and I have dealt with many a crisis, but I have enjoyed doing it and I hope that I have given them a good start, I have certainly given it my all. Now our baby boy will go off to school all day with the rest of the big kids so I will be retiring from being a mom with kids at home. It will be something new for me and I am looking forward to moving on, yet I am pretty sure it will take a bit of time to get used to doing things without toys to trip over, someone needing something,and kids by my side all day.
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