T-Rex had a good day

After school today I grabbed the two big girls and we snuck over to watch Prince Caspian. VERY glad the little ones didn't go because it contained a lot of battle scenes - great battle scenes, but a lot of them. It was also a bit different from the book, but absolutely wonderful. T-rex loves these books, and has been counting down to see this one, so I was glad to oblige.

When the movie was over we walked around the shops looking for a birthday present for a friend of Big Al's, and walked into an earring store. T-rex has been thinking about ear piercing for awhile now, but always is a little too squeamish. To my surprise when I asked if she wanted to try today, she said YES! AND THEN SHE DID IT!!! So look at the bling in her ears, and the smile on her face. My 2nd daughter is growing up too.

I'm not eating it

Strolled outside with the kids tonight to water the garden. We've got green beans and peaches growing at the moment, everything else is still maturing. I showed Cheesie the green beans and had a conversation that went like this:

(Me) Cheesie, come look at this.

(Cheesie) What is it mom?

(Blondie) It's a green bean.

(Cheesie) Ew. I'm not eating it - it's been in the dirt.

The peaches....

No, that isn't a rabbit, that's Tate getting scolded out of the garden. White dogs are not pretty with black dirt on their feet. Everything is getting so tall compared to two weeks ago.

Below is the butterfly garden we have near the kids play area. I'm not too keen on the light mulch, but Brian mumbled something about cheaper, so I guess that's okay. I got Brian the adirondak chairs and stools for his birthday so we have a place to hang out in the shade. Now if we could only get rid of the plastic playground stuff we'll be good to go.... oh, I guess we have to plant the other half of the yard.... and take down trees in the back, and then the front.... and then....

On a different note, stay tuned for May 30th when T-Rex gets a chance to go up in a hot air balloon for being a top AR reader. Now, I'm not really a fan of the program, because SO MANY great books don't have tests, therefore kids tend not to read those, but T-Rex reads everything. Unfortunately I have to be at my last day of school, so I can't be with her - although I'm working on it. Brian will go up with her, and someone else will take photos from the ground, so I think we'll have lots of coverage.

Meanwhile, at therapy today...

Blondie worked out on the elliptical (with lefty holding on), and attempted to dribble a ball.

Busy Busy Busy

Wow, its been awhile since I last posted. Thursday night we went to see Big Al's chorus concert (last one for elementary school). They sang a bunch of broadway type songs, and then ended with High School Musical. I tried uploading the video of that because she had a solo, and a GREAT time, but it was too big. Saturday we drove about an hour to watch her last soccer game. Tonight she actually had try-outs for next year, so we'll see how that goes.

Sunday we drove to see Brian's grandparents. They are wonderful people (in their eighties) and we always enjoy seeing them. We were also able to see their son (the girls' grandfather) who had flown in from Texas. This is the best picture we had (their cousin is on the couch too). You know how it is with a bunch of kids, and they all blink at different times....

We love spending the day with extended family, and are so thankful that the girls get to have aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and great-grandparents that they get to see frequently.

I am part of an online group of parents with children similar to Blondie. I have promised to post her running, walking and going up the stairs with her new brace. Those of you who don't have a disabled child, may not realize how thankful a parent can be for a piece of plastic (in our case, a piece of metal), but this thing has really made a difference in how Blondie walks. The limp is so much less than two weeks ago that it is amazing. She used to turn her knee out and drag her foot a bit, and she tripped a LOT, but now she pretty much has things in alignment - VERY important to her growth and development. So below is one of the promised videos, and a goofy picture of her holding her "relay baton" with her sleepy hand. I have to work on two of the videos because I turned the camera, and can rotate it on my menu, but it still downloads sideways - another one is too big so I have to edit the time down. Also a couple pictures of her trying to eat chips - what doesn't show is the pouting that went on, and the eye rolling (my personal favorite). Looking for a SAEBO therapist if anyone knows someone. I'm willing to drive just about anywhere to get her started until Kathy or the new OT can get training. .

The tears at dinner tonight

Blondie had therapy today, and Ms. Kathy thought that she might be ready to try to start eating with her left hand. Now I know that she is right handed (even before the illness), but we are working on trying to get her wrist to turn over. Her hand can lightly hold the fork by itself, but it will drop from time to time. This was our first attempt. On top of that, therapy is followed by an hour break and then a 30 minute ballet class - she is wiped out!


Now before I get angry emails asking me how I could make my daughter cry by forcing the issue, let me just say that you have to start somewhere - and starting something new is darn HARD. Our goal for Blondie is that she have as much mobility as possible for all parts of her body. Right now Brian and I care more than she does because she is only 6. She does want to be able to play with two hands like her little sister, but can't really remember a time when she could do it - she was only 2.75 when life changed. We care because we want as few kids as possible making fun of her in the future - it has already started. We care because we don't want an employer to find a reason not to employ her (even if they say it isn't because of the hand). Folks, we've had countless daycares turn us down because she might be too much work (even though she was walking, talking, feeding herself, and going to the bathroom before I went back to work). We've had teachers stop her from doing things because she might get hurt - things she does all the time at home - or even worse they do it for her. We love her, and we do push - gently- to persevere through things. Therapy does create tears from time to time.


Disclaimer before you watch this: I KNOW to cut children's food, but Blondie didn't want her fish sticks cut up. I explained it would be easier, but this was her choice. The soft restraint is on her right arm and velcros on and off(you can see it on the table).

Just to show that she did cry, watch part two - there is only about 10 seconds between the two videos. This therapy is a long process, and we won't have success every time, but you can be sure when she can do this we'll upload it. By the end she is stuffing the food in her mouth just to be finished, but she really only did about 2 fish sticks. Big Al did have the idea that we try this next time with her e-stim (wish I had thought about it), but she also thought she might need a plastic fork because of electricity conducting through metal (hmmm, glad she thought of that, wonder if its necessary). See, the whole family is involved.

I know there are other parents, and their friends and families, looking at what she does and hoping your child does the same. They will. Be patient, we're in year 3 of therapy, and we have worked through tears (this week) and huge successes (last week). Some kids are able to do things much faster than others, just enjoy the journey and be glad they are here to learn.

Conversations with my children

Blondie just walked in and said,"Mom, guess what's for dinner."

Um....Marshmallows?

No (giggle). It starts with a "whuh."

Watermelon? No

Wonder Bread?

NO! Wibs, silly.

(Silly me, what was I thinking?)

I actually DO have other children

This is Big Al. She is 11 and weighs about 60 pounds. My dad gave her this nickname. She is incredibly extraverted and can NEVER be by herself - she doesn't understand how people can read a book in the same place ALL day and not want to talk to anyone else. She and Brian go to country music concerts together (I hate them) and they just saw Kenny Chesney about a week ago. She played softball for about 6 seasons, and now plays travel soccer - although I'm told she doesn't want to do this next year - I'm trying not to be crushed because I enjoy watching her. She wants to take tumbling for cheerleading this summer (Yes, I know I did that when I was young, but I am SO not that person any more) and maybe Lego robotic camp. She is waiting for Disney or Nickelodeon to discover her and build a Big Al 101 type show featuring HER. She wants to sing for the masses, but also talks about being a physical therapist. Although she looks like Brian's family she is my personality clone, so if you knew me way back, then you know Big Al. Every now and then she asks me what she's thinking - and I tell her - and then she rolls her eyes and tells me to get out of her head. She loves the phone, and we don't bother to pick it up unless we remember that she isn't home. Boys call. We hate that. She still likes having us around though, and I hope that lasts a bit longer.

This is Cheesie. She is our builder, and loves to snuggle. She builds streets through our house that are precisely straight, and if the dogs knock a piece out of alignment she comes running to fix it. Her baby dolls also enjoy elaborate towers, and beds made out of blocks. She can't wait to grow up and be a mommy and a teacher, and live in my house (she doesn't want to live by herself - truly she says that). I am flattered that she wants to follow in my footsteps, but I would love her to be a mommy, an architect who changes the world and provides amazing affordable homes without clear-cutting lots, AND I would like her to live next door, not in the next room. She loves to pull things out, create something cool, and then leave it sitting there - forever. She is also HOT competetion for Blondie because they are 18 months apart AND share a room. When Blondie was beginning rehab after surgery, Cheesie would come to therapy with us and do everything perfectly which used to make Blondie very angry so she would try to do it better. Hey, it worked. Use sibling rivalry wherever possible. It can be a good thing.

These are the vegetable beds that T-Rex and I put in a couple of weeks ago (okay, Brian put in the far one because I had to WORK while he sits and works from home in his cushy job looking at computer screens without a lot of stress). We started them from seeds, and then Brian made the raised planting beds. We have corn, beans, a gigantic cabbage, tomatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon, and peppers (bell and jalapeno). The broccoli wasn't too happy, so it died out, but we figure we can get a couple of dinners out of this in the summer. So far the geese and the deer haven't found it (yes, the Canadians ship in their geese every year, and we have confused deer that live here in suburbia). It doesn't look much like suburbia with the giant pond behind us, but we live quite near the shopping.

T-Rex has some very specific interests in her life. She loves the Great Depression, Victory gardens, American Girl, dance, horseback riding, the declaration of independence, cooking and visiting historical places. At one point she wanted to be a zoologist and work with the elephants, but I think now she keeps her options open because she also wants to be a chef, own a ranch, and write historical fiction - probably for American Girl. I've explained that after working at the zoo saving the elephants and the giraffes, she could come home to her farm, feed the horse, cook a gourmet meal, and write in the evening, but I don't think she likes that option. She will be an interesting kid to watch.

I have really great kids, who for the most part are fairly mellow. We spend a lot of time together as a family, but definitely have boundaries. We are working hard to raise 4 strong women, who can do whatever they want (as long as all attend college - preferably Ivy League on a full scholarship). If I could just get them to pick up after themselves then life would be perfect, but then what would Brian and I do?

From ticked off to SO PROUD

I swear I don't have mood swings. I just had one of those days when you realize how much of a difference therapy makes.

Today, Blondie (#3 chose this as her blog name) opened a drawer with her "sleepy hand." Folks this is HUGE. She has gone from limp noodle, doesn't remember she even has a left side, no muscle tone, to using it for something functional. Ms. Kathy, the #1 therapist EVER, is in the background, and Blondie is reciting her school mantra.

She also turned a lightswitch on and off and held a mask. The pictures are above because I can't make this blog put them RIGHT HERE where I can talk about them. I'll have to wrestle it later. Any suggestions on how to do this would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, I am so proud to see how hard she works. She has been very anti-therapy lately, but with an Icee as an incentive- NO I don't always bribe my children..... just this one...... to perform amazing feats at therapy...... - and bringing a camera along, helped get amazing results. I hope all the grandparents out there will be proud. Those of you that are tuning in, I think a lot of you are from my yahoo group, so I KNOW you understand. THIS KID IS HOT!!! Post a comment, and boost her ego. Thanks! Kelly