First Day

It was Carson's first day of third grade, and things did not go so well. He complained about the heat first thing in the morning. Then he apparently had to go to the cafeteria and wait at the tables before school started and he said it was too loud and the kids were misbehaved, so he covered his ears. The actual class and teacher part were"o.k" but then he had to deal with loud kids in a small space for recess, noisy cafeteria for lunch, and at the end of the day while waiting for pick up, a few kid got in a little "scuffle."

Most of the evening we went over how he could manage the different situations that are causing him some distress and anxiety and hope today is a better day.

Adeline started kindergarten! I cannot believe my baby is already that old. After Open House, she was ready to start kindergarten. She kept asking how many more days until she could go. Adeline walked into school and did great. I got to catch a "sneak" peak at her eating snack in the cafeteria as I was helping at the school. Her only grip about the first day of school was that she did not learn to read!

I Am Ready

I did not think I would say it, but I am ready for my kids to go back to school. I am not one of those moms who every spring starts dreading summer with my kids. I do not scower the city for summer camps and try to farm them out to other places. I enjoy my kids being home and like having the unstructured time of summer and summer activities.

This morning though, as my son was growling, snappy and both kids were arguing with each other, I was thinking that I am ready for school to start.

8 Years Ago

I cannot believe it was just over 8 years ago that I had my first child. I know it gets old hearing it because everyone says it, but where does the time go? Can my baby really be entering 3rd grade?

Here are a few photos from his 8th birthday party. We did not have a big party as we were still in the middle of moving but he had fun nonetheless.

His Aunt made a great Beyblade cake with the Beyblade assembly chamber inside the cake and a beyblade on top

The candles were like sparklers

Every gift was............ Beyblades

Its Been Awhile

Where has summer gone? It is already time to gear up to back to school. I look back at the last month and wonder where it has gone, then I realize, wow, it's been a busy month. Here it goes:

1. House sitting for a friend in San Diego, yes, very rough but someone has to do it!

2. Doctor's appointments and phone calls

3. Answering to "mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy"

4. Being the newspaper runner/picker upper at my dad's house

5. House hunt

6. Deal with bank and mortgage company

7. Move

8. Unload one house and make it "home" before school starts

9. Decided one or two days to do this without taking my ADHD meds

9. oh yeah, work, and try to help emotional and neurologically disturbed kids and families

I am not ready to say good bye to summer break with my kids, but I look forward to having a schedule and routine again. Plus the kids get to go back to school in a brand new, custom created school building. I know this sounds odd, but the classrooms have windows, like floor to ceiling windows. This makes it seem so livelier and less institutionalized. I think I am more excited they they are!

Sleepy Time

Our family is full of abnormal sleepers. As a child, I remember my dad being up all hours of the night, or he would be up at 4 in the morning doing paperwork. My mom always had insomnia and still does to this day.

I used to sleep pretty well until the pressures of adulthood started and my anxiety began to skyrocket. Then I found I could not sleep because my racing thoughts were impeding my sleep. Before my husband was diagnosed with depression, he too would be up in the middle of the night watching T.V., or would decided at 3 in the morning to go fishing. After he started anti depressants this seemed to resolve itself and he now sleeps.

So, it is not a far family stretch at all to say that my kids don't sleep well. Carson has never been a great sleeper since day one. There were always those mom's who would brag that their 6 month old was sleeping through the night. We tried every type of bed time routine and sleep schedule with no success. At 4 years old he finally slept through the night, hallelujah !!! But then his sister was an infant and up every two hours like clock work.

Settling down at night is very rough for Carson and was increasingly so the last year. He would toss and turn in bed, move to the floor, then back to bed. He would lay down at 8 at night but was usually not asleep until after 10. At his last doctors appointment, I voiced my concern of his irritability. She asked about other possible side effects of his ADHD medication, his daily schedule and sleep patterns. After discussing sleep, the doctor suggested trying the medication Clonodine at night to help with the night time restlessness. Wow! has that done wonders! It is not two hours of tossing and turning in bed, trying 20 million positions trying to get comfortable, all to fall asleep and wake up multiple times a night.

Carson is sleeping better through the night now and I can tell in his disposition that he is getting better quality sleep.

I am be no means anti medication, nor am I 100% medicate everybody for everything, but I tried my whole therapist arsenal of sleep techniques, and it was not working. How do you teach a child to sleep when it is part of his neurology? All I know at this point is that sleep is making him feel and function better.

Special, Special Needs

I think my special needs kids are becoming more "special" as they age!

Carson is completely perseverating on Beyblades to an extreme. One more TV episode, or conversation about Beyblades and I might start spinning off my rocker like the Beyblades. Carson takes at least one, if not more Beyblades with him everywhere and usually one of the battle arenas accompany us in the car. I am happy that he wants to "earn" Beyblades since I don't just buy them, but honestly, it is just enough, I rather do dishes then have him do them for a week to earn one more hunk of spinning metal!

Getting this ADD kid to read this summer has also been a challenge, that is if he has to read anything other then Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I think Carson enjoys this series because the main character has a little Aspie in him just like Carson. I have also heard repeatedly from Nana that he cannot remember long sequences of numbers to add, or where he was in certain reading or math problems. Yes Nana, this is common, and this is what I battle with all through the school year, so cut him (and me) a little slack on his summer workbooks.

Little Adeline has not been formally diagnosed with ADHD, but there is no question in anybodys mind that she is an ADHD'r. She asks questions and does not even give me time to respond before she moves on, her body is in constant motion from the moment she wakes up, till the time she actually falls asleep.

She wants someone to read to her, and wants to read her own book too, "because I can do more then one thing at a time." One minute she is tap dancing, and 2 seconds later she is starting a craft project. I always know where Adeline has been in the house based on her little "tornado" areas with stuff everywhere and half completed projects or games. Ms. Adeline is constant for sure, and so are her emotional moods and meltdowns too.

Good thing I know which kindergarten teacher she will have in August. We will be constant companions for 9 months!

God Love Concerta

I have been on Concerta to treat my ADHD symptoms for over 6 months now. I had an increase in milligrams once, and since then, I have been very happy with my results.

Except that this month we started our new deductible year and our deductible is $3500. Yep, everything is out of pocket until we have reached that mark, which meant that my Concerta prescription was going to cost me $151.00. Ouch!!!!! (My sons metadate, for ADHD, was $130.00).

I called the doctor and they gave me a new prescription for Adderral. I am not a fan of Adderral, it seems to bring out aggression and moodiness in children, and agitation in adults. But $15.00 seemd better then $151.00.

I took the Adderral for 3 days and went back to the Concerta. I did end up getting a discount coupon, so it was $116.00, but it is worth every penny I spent!!