Who Am I?

I know, I'm a blogging slacker

October 9, 2008

I am a slacker here..but trust me, my life has been nuts.  Between school (mine), Mike's birthday party yesterday, the kids education and things going on there, dealing with a little boy who has ADHD--trying to adjust meds, attitudes, behaviors..and a psych who is driving me nuts. It's all a bit overwhelming at times.  So let me give you a little update.

Jamie first.  Jamie was diagnosed with ADHD in June..which I probably wrote about here.  It wasn't a big surprise but is frustrating none the less.  He is a sweet little boy with a wonderful personality.  He gets along well with most people, one on one.  Unfortunately, in groups, of 2 or more he has a tendency to get frustrated and strike out or melt down.  Not all the time...and he's actually doing a little better (praise God and knock on wood.)  We are on med number 2-dose change #4 over all..not bad for 5 months I guess.  We started out on Adderall XR 5mg...ended up at 10---there just was not enough there..though we did see some increased focus which was nice.  He went from being a little boy who never sat still to play to a creative little boy who would sit down and build with his legos, K'nex, etc...and enjoy it.  Unfortunately, one of the side effects of Adderall is increased irritibility.  And boy did we end up it!  We also struggled with lack of appetite--and while Mom and dad can both stand to skip a meal or two Jamie can not...at almost 6 he's only 45 lbs and holding.  So because of the five times a day meltdowns that were turning ugly the psychiatrist-who is  the process of being replaced because I"m tired of being treated like I have no brains and can get no help from him other than medications...changed his med to focalin 5mg.  We saw an almost instant change from the irritability and have had no meltdowns since the change in meds....PRAISE GOD!!!  Unfortunately 5mg had him not focusing much again and he was changed to 10mg after 2 weeks.  So far, he's doing ok.  He's calmer, far less irritable, still high energy but not in an uncontrolled way --playing outside and going to the pool help immensly.  The downside is we are back to dealing with decreased appetite and now the constant noises (clicking his tongue, swishing spit, other mouth noises not associated with playing) are back--this is something we dealt with before diagnosis that had gone away.  We aren't sure if it is a tic from the med or what to do about it...his therapist doesn't know either but OMG is it ever annoying!  LOL...still I'll take the noises over the meltdowns any day of the week.  He is doing well at school thus far, is learning and happy for the most part.  He'd rather watch tv or play at home than go to school but doesn't resist going.  He's a bit on the defiant side, but again, not something I can't handle at this point...he also enjoys annoying his sister to no end...which is typical but no less annoying because of it.

Cassy-besides being regularly annoyed is doing fairly well.  Fall softball season is almost over...they done decently but not great.  However, she's learned alot and I've seen more growth in this fall season that in the spring.  She and Jamie both are going to be joining swim teams through the aquatic center locally.  I think it will be good for both of them.  Normally she plays basketball in the winter but during spring season in softball and again in PE at the start of the school year she sprained her ankle...now she has a torn ligament and is in a brace...by the time she's out of it she will have been in it and on treatment for 2 months...if not more.  Basketball just wasn't a good choice for her right now.  She's still in PE but on restricted activity which I'm sure thrills the PE teachers--considering she can't run, can't play contact sports, can't work out on the weight or cardio equipment that work the legs.  Still, she's covered under a doctor's note.  Her grades in all of her  classes are good--with 7 classes she has 4 A's, 2 almost A's (high b's--may be A's before the end of the grading period) one B that if she's not careful may be a C before the end of the grading period.  She likes school, is adjusting to middle school, but hates getting up so early.  Even though she  has good grades she is still struggling...those good grades are because of some very hard work--and I'm very proud of her.  Her two big struggles are math and spelling.  Both lead to great frustration and sometimes tears.  She is being tested (at her own request) for help with special services.  I've been told she's not the typical special ed student, and while I get that, this is a bright child who reads at a high school level that has trouble spelling words a second grader can spell....and yet, some of the bigger words are no problem.  She spells phonetically and I don't know how to help her make the transition for those words that don't follow any rules. 
Anyway, she's doing pretty well, is going on retreat with her youth group this weekend and looking forward to it.  She had a slumber party for her birthday and we all survived.  Even dad who doesn't do well with all the noise.

Mike's doing pretty well...we celebrated his birthday yesterday--with a mini surprise party.  He's the light of my life and the joy in my heart.  He is struggling right now with work, things are going real well and we are trying to find him another job--just in case the company goes under--which looks imminent. 

I'm busy, busy, busy.  School is overwhelming.  Trying to manage everything for school that is due in one week sometimes is daunting but so far so good.  I'm enjoying most of my classes and am thankful I can take my classes online again this semester.  I won a family membershipt to the aquatic center and we have just started going to water aerobics twice a week.  It's been good and it's been fun. 

Prayer requests:  Please keep my sister in your prayers as she awaits results from 2 polyps and 2 biopsies taken from a colonoscopy the other day...in an attempt to discover why she is having so many GI problems.  Keep us both in your prayers as we head towards mom's birthday...it may have been 6.5 years but it's still no easier.  Please pray for mike's job, my schooling, and my kids' different issues.  Please pray for this country as we try to make the best decision in the upcoming election--and pray for our troops no matter where they are.

You will be in my thoughts and prayers as well...and I'll try to get back in again soon
hugs
Vicky