I'm BACK!!!

Yep, that's right...I'm BACK! I feel like I have been in a fog (or a little funk) the last several months! Since August, I had a hard time getting enough work to meet our monthly budget. As a result, we ended up using a lot of our savings to make ends meet (thank god for savings). I thought I was doing OK, but now that that time has passed, I'm realizing that I didn't handle it too well. You would think that I would have gotten a lot of stuff done at home, but the amazing thing is that I didn't! I was too busy being in my own little funk! I guess I kind of shut down and quit doing some of the things that I enjoy doing...blogging being one of them. Hindsight is always 20/20, you know. I should have figured it out when all I wanted to do was sleep. If the boys were sleeping, then I was sleeping (hence part of the reason for my unproductivity)!

OK...so some things changed! I found some pharmacy work 1-3 days/week, am meeting our family budget, have lost 12 pounds (YAHOO!!), have finished my Christmas shopping, have sold the rental house (another YAHOO!!...we close in January) and have moved back into the world of coupon shopping...which brings me to a couple of things that I wanted to share with you (since I'm so darned proud of myself)!

My biggest coupon bargain this week is buying a $80 SonicAire toothbrush (which I have needed since mine went south this summer) for $19.99! Yup, you have read that correctly...20 buckaroos!

I also just got home from doing my Albertson's ad shopping and spent $120. You should have seen my cart...it was completely overflowing and I only spent $120. The best part was that I SAVED $145!!! Isn't that cool???

My new favorite website is The Krazy Coupon Lady! This website takes all the guesswork out of coupon shopping. They tell you where the deals are AND tell you where to find the coupons (even giving you the links to most of them so you can print them at home)! And the best part of the website is that it is FREE! Check it out!

I've also discovered the world of Blog Giveaways! This is just one of the many sites out there that you can earn FREE products from! So far, I have received a FREE kid's t-shirt from SOFT (a company that makes clothing for children who have sensitivities to clothing seams) and my own copy of "Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey" (to help me learn more about coupon shopping)!

OK...so back to reality here at the George home! Good thing I'm out of my funk 'cause it's a whirlwind here...


This evening we sent the boys to bed an hour early for arguing with each other! I swear, I'm tired of it...they are constantly bickering and are fiercely competetive with each other!...Kelly and I are (as I type) enjoying the peace and quiet that comes with two boys in their rooms AWAY from each other!

All three of my boys (including hubby) have had the flu for the past 5 days! ARGH!!! There's nothing like cleaning up puke, diarrhea and catering to the wows of whining boys! Like my mom always says, "I want the kids either sick or well 'cause it's the in-between stages that's no fun!" And how is it that everyone around you is sick...but MOM! I guess we were put on this earth for something, right?

Everyone is off to either daycare or work tomorrow...I want out of the house!!!

Daddy's Car Attacks Carson

What will this kid do next? Who knows...

First it was a bat into a bee's nest. Now, he smashes into daddy's car with his teeth...while riding his bike! Yep, we're still trying to figure out how that one happened! What's going to be next? Maybe ride his bike into a bee's nest? Hmmm...not completely out of the league of possibilities.

He just about knocked one of his front teeth clear out of his mouth! It is pushed back (and down) pretty significantly. But the dentist assures us that as long as he can chew (gotta get that food down somehow), that it will be OK. Thank goodness for baby teeth, huh? We'll have to get an xray in 4-6 weeks to make sure this hasn't caused a dental abscess (infection) and worse case scenario is that they will have to pull his tooth! Hmmm...I guess you'll have to stay tuned on that one, huh?

Have a safe night! We will try to do the same!

Logan's New Bike

We bought Logan a new bike last weekend for an early birthday present. We also bought Carson a few accessories for his bike (cup holder, horn and kick stand) that he had been requesting for a while. We tried to explain the concept of an early birthday present, but neither Carson nor Logan understood. All they wanted was their stuff 'right now' and they knew their birthday wasn't for a few weeks. Oh, the woes of a child, huh?


A 12 inch bike was too small and a 16 inch bike was too big...but a 14 inch bike was just right! Have you ever tried tracking down a 14 inch bike? They are not very common and when you do find them, there isn't much selection. We made a few phone calls in the Toys R' Us parking lot to the usual places (Target, Walmart, etc.,). We finally found one at the Toys R' Us in Bellevue! So off we went to Bellevue 'cause you see, once you tell your child they are getting a new bike, you aren't going home until you have that bike...and Logan made that very clear to us!!! Even in the line to purchase it, he couldn't take his eyes off of it...he had to ensure that it was going in the back of daddy's truck...that was HIS JOB!


We got it home and the boys were in heaven together! Carson was ecstatic to have a bike riding partner!!!

George Family Update

WOW...it has been an entire month since I have posted. Where have I been these days? I've thought about posting, but the couch keeps calling (loudly, I might add) to me in the evenings. Oh well...I am here now and that's what really matters, right?

So, I have added a cool feature to my blog...MUSIC! Yep, if you stay on my blog for a little bit, you will be enamored with wonderful music...while reading about our crazy lives! Sounds like fun, doesn't it! I hope you enjoy the tunes.

I have recently taken up scrapbooking...digitally! A couple of weekends ago, I was able to scrap ALL WEEKEND! It was nice to be able to do what I wanted to do...when I wanted to do it! I thought some of you would enjoy seeing a couple of my favorite pages. So, here they are!

I like this page because I was trying to learn how to use the 'wand' tool. This tool is used to cut out objects from a photo, so I used it to cut around the front portion of the bike to get rid of the rest of the photo...pretty cool, huh? It took me a while, but I like how it turned out.


I like this page because of the layering effects of the paper and the colors...doesn't it just scream SUMMER? Oh, how I miss those days!

So, on a completely different note...I have been pretty discouraged about my weight and have finally decided to do something about it! I have been a Weight Watchers fan for 20 years (YIKES!), but this time I just can't seem to be making any head way with the program! So, I decided to mix it up a bit and join Jenny Craig! So, I joined and have been on the program now for 1 week. I lost 4 pounds my first week! YEAH! I'm pretty excited about that! It's nice because I just eat what they tell me and that's about it! It's a great way to jump start my weight loss and hasn't taken too many brain cells to figure it out! So, I'm hoping for some good success this time around! Wish me luck!

I haven't been working much since August. I keep waiting to get that call to help fill in somewhere at the last minute...and it never comes! I wish I could say that I've completed some amazing projects around the house, but that hasn't happened. As one of my friends puts it, I'm "in a funk!" I guess that sums it up...I'm waiting to get out of my funk and get my good 'ole self back, but that doesn't seem to be happening as quickly as I would like. I think losing some weight and getting some energy back with help (or at least I am hoping)!

Carson went back to preschool on 9/28 after the teachers decided to stop striking and to start working! Here are a few photos of him getting on the bus!

Carson has been doing well. His fits are still there, but they have significantly decreased! It's fun to see the twinkle in his eyes when he sits and laughs with me. This morning, I was sitting by him at the kitchen counter while Logan was in timeout in his room, and Carson just loved that undivided attention! I went to get up to do some laundry and Carson says, "Mom, don't go yet!" "OK Carson, did you want me to sit with you a while longer?" Very cute!

Carson has been doing Occupational Therapy (OT) since the spring (in hopes of helping him learn some self regulation skills) and he will be transitioning to a Social Skills group this next week. He tends to not know how to interact with other kids, especially when conflict is involved. He gets too close to others, not respecting personal space and is still biting, hiting and scratching when he is upset with. To say that he could use some knowledge in the social skills arena is an understatement! The purpose of this group is for him to actually gain some really close friends out of the group. We'll update how the group is going...

Just as Carson is getting more manageable, then comes Logan! YIKES...that kid gives you NO breaks! He is always on his toes and keeps you running! If he slows down, then you know he must be sick. He has lately been working as a blossoming artist in our home...decorating the walls in his room with chalk and last night he decided to color on the carpet and couch with a black permanent marker! He certainly got sent to his room to go to bed early over that one! Daddy was FURIOUS! And then this morning, I found him coloring on the computer screen with a pen as well! YIKES...will he ever learn? He also has taken to throwing things...over the fence, in the house, wherever he chooses. Very frustrating as well! And, does he have any other words in his vocabulary besides "NO!"?? ARGH!!!

He turns 3 years old on the 19th of this month. Since we have been doing speech therapy and occupational therapy thru SKIP since he was 18 months old, he is supposed to transition his services to the school district by age 3. That's if he qualifies. Well, you have to be at least 1.5 standard deviations (SD) away from normal in 2 areas in order to qualify. Logan was -1.4 SD in speech articulation. Hmmm...that's not going to go over so well. Our speech therapist wrote a very convincing report to the school district, but so far they are not buying it. You see, all the testing accounts for articulation of single words. Does he talk to single words? Nope...in sentences! And, when he talks in sentences, he is about 25% intelligible! But, the testing doesn't account for that! Also, we asked for the school district to do a full assessment (social, emotional, behavior, fine motor, gross motor, etc.,) and apparently they don't have that request. How do things get so messed up along the way? So, the battle with the school district begins. I have already made lots of phone calls and will continue to do so until I hear what I want. Also, when Carson was evaluated by the neuropsychologist, she told me that if Logan doesn't qualify for the developmental preschool program, to let her know and she will ensure he DOES qualify. So, I am meeting with her next week to discuss what needs to happen. We'll see where that goes!

Then there is daddy...who was involved in a hit and run accident on I-5 last Friday morning. He was driving in the far right lane when a car was weaving in and out of traffic and clipped him in the bumper...spinning him across all lanes of traffic. It tore up his back and he was taken to the hospital. The driver didn't stop! Can you believe that? Anyhow, some other driver followed the guy and called 911 with the license plate. We were notified a few days later that the reported license plate was invalid. Not sure if we will be able to catch the guy. What kind of moron doesn't stop after they hit someone? Poor Kelly! He has back problems anyway and this just adds to them. So, he was down for a good couple of days. Since they took Kelly to the hospital, they had to impound his vehicle. Kelly had to pay $250 just to get his car back and towed to the shop. And, we get to pay our deductible if they can't track the moron down! Such is life driving to Seattle, I suppose. ARGH!!!

Daddy (and Frankie) has recently finished building the boys a tree fort. There was already one started in our backyard (was there when we moved in), so they reinforced it, added guard rails and changed the staircase and voila!...a tree fort! The boys are very excited about it!

Whirlwind Update

I have been getting quite a few e-mails from friends asking me how our camping trip went. I have been meaning to blog about them, but just couldn't seem to get myself in gear. As a matter of fact, I guess I have taken a "blogging vacation" for a while. My hubby is very proud of me since he thinks I am addicted to the computer (well...what would I do without my computer?). To be perfectly honest with you, I have been doing a lot of sleeping...yep, that's right...a lot of sleeping! I guess I have been tired the last couple of weeks, so I have been taking advantage of my vacation time with (and sometimes without...YIPEE!) the boys.

So, to get you all back up to speed, I will attempt to recap the last couple of weeks for you!


We went camping in Easton, WA (on the summit of Snoqualamie) with my parents the week of 8/17 for the whole week in their 5th wheel. Kelly and I have never taken the boys camping, so this was a perfect way to introduce them to it...and it was my way of having a comfy camping trip (minus the dirty tents). God Bless my parents for putting up with my crazy boys (and all the grandkids for that matter...they took each family camping seperately!)!

I wanted to bring our bikes since they are a life saver when Carson needs an outlet for himself. So, when the boys discovered I would be bringing the bikes, they asked if I was bringing daddy's new truck! (new to us, not new to the world...). After explaining that we wouldn't have our cool DVD player OR air conditioning in the truck, I gave into their demands (hmmm...I think they just wanted to see me drive the truck!). So, we had no problems fitting all our stuff into the truck...and I was able to bring my bike as well as theirs!

Camping puts a new spin on the word 'dirty!' The boys were clean when I put them in the truck and we hadn't even arrived at the campground and they were filthy (hmmm...must have been that chocolate popcicle they were eating on the way!). Nana was all prepared with a pan that I could wash the boys in each night before bed. At least that way they were clean when they started their day. Lord knows they needed a bath at the end of it!

Nana and Papa were very generous and fixed all of our yummy meals (the boys loved papa's homemade oatmeal with oranges each morning) and even allowed me to catch up on my sleep at naptimes! We were truly spoiled!













Our campground had a nice little kid's playground and we went there frequently! One morning, we ventured out for what we thought would be a short walk on a trail that said "15 minutes to the lake" and after about an hour of walking, decided we should turn back since we were worried how much longer the boys were going to make it (and we weren't in any condition to be carrying them). Bummer! We really wanted to see that lake!


So, the next morning, the boys and I took a bike ride to see if we could find the lake. Come to find out, we had come very close to it the day before! When we arrived at the lake, we found a great kids play area and a nice grassy picnic area complete with a beach and flush toilets! So, we played for a bit and then had to go back to camp to tell nana and papa about our find! We had to go back later to play in the water, for sure!






The next day, we packed our lunches, bathing suits and lawn chairs...we planned on spending the bulk of the day at the beach! The boys were very excited!









It didn't take long for the boys to get into the water. For about an hour, we were the only ones at the park and on the beach. Slowly, folks joined us and the boys found some friends to play with. Two girls from the Seattle area showed up and they instantly bonded with Carson and Logan. There was this really big round blow up mattress thing that someone had brought and left in the water. They were all over it and had a blast! The girls were wonderful with the boys! They were helping them get up on the mattress and all sorts of things. It was fun to watch them play together!






Carson, Logan and the girls all having fun together!










Logan loved playing with his front loader in the sand and water!
















I helped the boys try to build a sand castle. It didn't work out too well because the sand wasn't wet enough, so Carson thought he would help out with that!

Thanks to nana and papa for taking us all camping! We had a great time and look forward to our trip next year!

(I swear this post toook me days to complete! I'm just going to scream...why does it have to be so difficult sometimes???? ARGH!!)

Neuropsych Results Are In...

Dr. Fay started out our parent meeting together by stating that Carson was one of the most hyperaroused kids she has ever seen in her office before. Tristyn was the gal who did the testing and she has an expertise of working with kids like Carson...and she even had a hard time working with him. Carson required a very highly structured environment and needed tasks to be broken down into small segments for him.

Here is what she said are areas of concern for Carson:

Severely hyperaroused
Unable to self soothe or self regulate
Aggressive, destructive and out of control
Lacks boundaries
Unable to tolerate frustration
Attention Deficit Disorder
Overall seen as having PDD-NOS (for more info on this, check out previous blog entry)

Hmmm...OK, no real big news here other than she thinks he has ADD...OK, maybe that's not such a big surprise either!

She feels that Carson needs a comprehensive day treatment program (not really sure what that means) to help him with his self regulation/self soothing skills. She also feels that because of the severity of his hyperarousal, we can expect it to be very difficult for Carson to be able to function in a mainstream elementary environment.

However, despite his hyperaroused state, his IQ tested as 'average'. It would be very interesting to see what happens to his IQ when we are able to get his other issues resolved.

I immediately got overwhelmed by this information because I could forsee a lot of work that lie ahead of me...I'm sure the least of which will involve a fight with the school district. Dr. Fay did recommend that we contact PAVE and have a PAVE advocate help us meet with the school district. PAVE is a parent advocacy group that knows a lot about the rules and regulations surrounding having a child with special needs.

Kelly took this meeting really well. He was easily able to relate to this information since this is how he saw himself as a child. In that respect, I feel that Kelly could totally relate to Carson and what he is experiencing.

So, that's it for now! I'll update as more stuff progresses...

Encouragement, Please?

Boy, I really feel like I have a lot of things on my mind lately.

The most frustrating thing for me right now is my weight. I have put on about 25 pounds In the last 18 months or so and it is really frustrating me! It seems that no matter what I do, my weight just keeps climbing. I bought a bunch of new clothes in the spring to fit the larger me...and now, some of those clothes are too small! What is wrong with me? ARGH!!!

I have been doing Weight Watchers (WW), of which I have been doing off and on for the last 20 years (yep, my weight has been a life long battle for me) and no matter what I do, I am always hungry and constantly eating! I easily surpass my daily points by evening-time. I know part of my issue is stress! I am very much a stress eater and can't quite get this under control.

I try to attend WW meetings, which always help me in my weight loss journey, but my favorite WW leader only teaches Saturday classes. Saturdays are days that Kelly sleeps in in the morning and then I always feel guilty leaving him with the kids when I could have gone to another meeting during the week when I didn't have the kids. ARGH...more excuses, huh? YIKES...what's up with me?

I have also tried to fit exercise into my daily routine, but it is very hard. When I am working, exercise just isn't an option. I need to commit to fitting it in on my non-working days, but other things seem to take priority. I would love some encouragement around this issue!

This afternoon we also have our appointment with the neuropsychologist and that has been weighing heavily on my mind. I guess my biggest fear is how Kelly will 'take' this information. And, what exactly will she tell us? I can't help but reverting back to the thought that Carson's behavior is because of my parenting...even though I know there is 'something' bigger going on with him. I'm sure these are all normal mommy fears...what does Carson's future hold for him...and us as a family? Only time will tell....

Also, we will be doing some testing of Logan to see if he will qualify for the developmental preschool program when he turns 3 years old (YIKES...October will be here before we know it!)

Our rental house has not had much activity since it went on the market in July, so my hopes to be able to pull the kids out of daycare in the Fall just isn't going to happen. So, I have moved onto 'plan B'. I will continue to work 2 days a week and will cut the boys' daycare days to 3 days a week to help conserve our savings as much as possible. This will give me a day to do errands and appointments by myself so I can focus my attention on the boys the rest of the week. That's my plan at least, we'll see how it works out.

Both boys will be transitioning to different classrooms in the Fall...and that just stresses me out as well. That means I have to educate another set of teachers on what makes my boys tick. It means another set of conference meetings to trouble shoot Carson's behavior in this new environment. And the one teacher who I thought would be teaching in Carson's room will not be there. She was someone who I felt understood Carson. Hmmmmm.....so much to think about! I know we will get there...it just feels so painful when there are so many changes...and I am the one who orchestrates it all! On a positive note, in Carson's classroom there will only be 9-10 kids at the most for a while. This is a very good thing...a smaller classroom will immensely help Carson from being overwhelmed by all the classroom commotion that a larger class size brings.

The boys have been constantly bickering and it makes our time together very frustrating, to say the least! Mealtimes are the worst! We have tried separating them, yelling, etc., but nothing seems to make it better! Logan has taken to constantly getting up at dinner time, so we are always yelling "sit down and eat your dinner" and finally last night, resorted to strapping him in his baby seat again! He's not a baby, why are we having to do this? Despite that, he still didn't eat his dinner! ARGH!! Maybe we should try some positive reinforcement this evening. Maybe a sticker chart for achieving our mealtime expectations? Ideas anyone?

On Sunday, I tried tackling Logan's potty training again! He wore his undies and every 20-30 minutes I put him on the potty and in return he got 2 chocolate chips (gotta love good 'ole bribery, huh?). He really did well! He peed every time I asked him to (and a few times in his undies as well). I didn't want to push the issue too much, so at nap time, I put him in a pull up...he woke up from his 2.5 hour nap completely DRY! WOW...that's impressive Logan! I think we will continue to tackle this issue next week while we are camping with nana and papa!

Yep, you heard that right, the boys and I are going camping with my parents, who have come up from California to take all the grand kids camping (my sister and her girls went last week and my brother and family went a couple months ago). Our turn is next week and we are very very excited about this! They have a fifth wheel, which is my kinda camping...out in the woods, but not too dirty 'cause you can clean up with the wonderful fifth wheel amenities! The boys are going to have so much fun, I'm sure! I think we will re-define the word "dirty", that's for sure! They are such great adventurers, so I'm sure they will be in heaven! Perfect time to learn about peeing in the bushes, don't you think?

We decided to rename grandma and grandpa Mitchell, because the boys were constantly getting confused when we talked about grandma and grandpa...they would say, "You know mom, the ones with the trailer" (Mitchell's) or "the ones who go golfing" (George's). So, they decided to name grandma and grandpa Mitchell "nana and papa" instead. We will have lots of time to practice their new names next week!

So, I better get off this computer and get to work...I have carpets to clean! Have a good one!

A Weekend With 5 Kids!

I invited my sister and her 3 kids up from Portland for the weekend of 7/24-26. I am just now getting to post pictures of their visit...I guess that means that I am just now recovering from their visit??

With my sister and her girls here, this means that there would be 5 kids total in my house! YIKES! It had been a while since Kendra and I had been able to get together and since I just had the whole week off from work, I wanted to take advantage of it!

I also knew that this many kids would just drive my hubby nuts...so I politely suggested that he call his friend Frank to see if they could spend the weekend together. No sense pushes his buttons if it was unnecessary, huh?

So, Kendra and the 3 girls arrived Friday evening (after 7 hours on the road!! YIKES...the traffic was horrific that night!)...and the RACE began!

My plan was that Kendra and I would sleep in our bed with the twins sleeping in seperate pack n'plays on either side of the bed. And, as we did the last time they came to visit, Carson and Rachel would share Carson's bunk bed. Yeah...that didn't go so well this time! The kids didn't settle down for bed until close to 9pm...and then Rachel kept pestering Carson (and I'm sure Carson was giving it back to Rachel as well)! By 9:45pm, Kendra and I decided that the sleep arrangements needed to be altered...so now Rachel is now in our bed...and since I needed to get my sleep as well...I go sleep on the couch!

Without hesitation, Logan woke up and started pounding on his door at 5:45am! The morning started very early (as usual) and it seemed like the fighting never stopped! Carson, Logan and Rachel were all over each other!
Kendra and I would periodically have to corral the kids with a TV show or two to get them to calm down!

Rebecca and Joanna are the cutest things ever and pretty much minded their own business...investigating all the toys in the playroom they could find! It wasn't long before all the toys were all over the place!


Carson was pretty cute trying to get Rebecca and Joanna's attention, so he offered to cuddle with them on Saturday morning. Joanna quickly decided that she was up for this, but Rebecca reluctently gave Carson "that look" meaning "No Way Jose!" However, once she saw how much fun Joanna was having, she quickly hopped up onto the couch with the other two. Very cute!

Logan had been pretty whiny the previous last couple of days (he had an ear infection earlier that week), so I opted to have the pediatrician check his ears one last time...just to make sure they were getting better. I asked Carson if he wanted to stay and play with his cousins or come with us...and he said that he wanted to come with us! Hmmm...I think he just needed a break from all the kids! Fortunately, Logan's ears were OK...I guess that means that I was dealing with 'cranky two year old whining' instead of 'hurting ear whining'! Hmmm...it's almost easier to deal with 'hurting ear whining'...at least Tylenol can help with that!

When we got back to the house, we got the kids ready to go to the water park! We packed out picnic lunch and got our bathing suits on! These kids need to get out of the house! Off we went!








The kids had so much fun playing in the water! After about an hour of playing, the kids were completely wiped! We got the kids changed into their dry clothes and rushed to get back home for naps! All the kids were soooo tired! They were all crying...and just needed to go to sleep!

OMG...the amount of food that we went through that weekend was impressive! I told Kendra that when the number of kids outnumbers the number of adults...we ALL get kid food! I tried to keep it easy....and keep it coming! I usually let my boys come into the kitchen and get their own snacks as they need them...but while we had 5 kids in the house, I couldn't let them do that! When one kid would come to get a snack...ALL of them wanted a snack! I was in the kitchen a lot as it was...I didn't want to be in there ALL DAY!

On Sunday, we played in the back yard. Is this the cutest picture ever? Joanna and Logan are checking out the worms in the dirt! We also pulled out the bouncer and played in the sprinklers.

The kids also found their favorite rock in the yard and we painted pet rocks! Very cute!







But, by 10:30am...all the kids were in tears and they were all very whiny! Kendra and the girls were going to take off for home after lunch...hoping that the girls would sleep most of the way home! These poor kids were very tired! It takes a lot of energy 'keeping up' with each other...and fighting your territory of the toys, you know! So, we decided on an early lunch so that everyone could take an early nap! I felt bad that our time was quickly coming to an end...but, let me tell you...my boys were asleep before you knew it (and the girls were as well!)

Kendra and I had a bit of time to chat with each other...but most of our time together was just trying to stay on top of the kids...and to keep them from killing each other! It's amazing how much energy that takes!

While we all took our naps, daddy came back home! He had fun playing computer games, golfing and doing some 'fix it stuff' with Frank! The boys were excited to see him when they woke up! They were also excited to have their home back!

Anyone up for hosting our next get together?

Sleep Study Success!!!

We had done all the prep ahead of time to prepare Carson for this big event! We told him that all the medical play we did on Friday was now his turn for. He seemed to be pretty acceptant on that fact. As a matter of fact, he would periodically ask on Sunday, "What minute do we go to sleep center, mom?"

We thought that we'd make this a special event and go pick out a new movie for him to watch while we were at the sleep center. We gathered up Carson's favorite pajamas, blanket and pillow...as well as his music and 'Moon & Sun' night light! We also picked out a soda, a candy treat and popped a bag of popcorn (sounds like we were going to the movies, huh?). With that combination, we thought that he would easily be content while his tech did the "hookin' up"! Daddy even let Carson take daddy's favorite teddy bear with him to cuddle with! So, off we went to the sleep center (check-in was at 7:30pm)!

We knew that Victor was going to be our tech and were quickly introduced to him when we arrived! Let's take a shot before the procedure gets started! We were already in our jammies (we came prepared!), so we got our stuff all out, went potty, put the movie in and waited for Victor! Victor had Carson be his "helper", so Carson helped Victor put the sensors down his jammies (to be attached to his legs and chest). He also helped put the breathing belts on (those purple belts) and was very proud when he clicked them into place!

They had one of those cool barber chairs for him to sit in while the probes were being attached to his head and face. It didn't faze Carson in the slightest when Victor started this part of the process! Carson was just chomping away on his popcorn and watching his new video (Over the Hedge)! It was very cute!



After Victor was finished applying the probes, he put a mesh ski mask on Carson (to help keep all the probes attached for the night). It was a bit itchy, but once Carson got used to it, it was OK. He never tried to pull ANYTHING off! WOW!!!

By now, it's 9pm and it's time for bed! So, Victor and I got Carson into bed (this is a feat with all those darned wires, let me tell you!) and then Victor left the room. It was at this point that Carson got a bit scared. He started complaining about the mesh mask itching and that he was a bit scared (completely understandable!!). I gave him lots of reassurance, hugs and kisses and explained that I was going to be sleeping in the bed next to him! I also gave him daddy's teddy bear and his blanket again...and he was very thankful! It probably took him 30-45 minutes to finally go to sleep (yikes...that's a late bedtime for a little boy who usually goes to bed at 8pm!). Once he was asleep, Victor quietly walked in and put on a nasal prong to Carson's nose (I think this is the worst part of the sleep study, from my memory of my sleep study...OK the whole thing is NO fun!). He managed to keep the prong on for a while and then OFF it went...until Victor finally taped it in place! (Hmm...guess it's not coming off now, huh?)

Carson woke up many times in the night (many more than usual) crying when he woke up. I think he realized how confined he was with all the cords and stuff. But, he was easily consolable with me talking to him from the other bed. Then, came the "Mom? I wet the bed, mom!" Kinda weird, really because he wears a night time pullup to bed and it wasn't even soaked! Oh well...I wasn't in charge of changing the sheets, so it wasn't a big deal to me! (he he he he) I changed his pullup and cuddled with him while Victor changed the sheets. Then back to bed we went...waking up at 6:30am!

YIPEE!!! It's over! Off comes the probes and into the shower we go! Now we have to get all the goop out of his hair! I washed his hair twice and there is still some in there...oh well!

He was very excited when it was finally over! We came back from the shower and found 6 stickers waiting for Carson on the bed! Carson said, "Who in this world gave these to me?" Very cute!



So, as promised...we were off to eat breakfast out at a restaurant! Carson wanted lots of pancakes, sausage and orange juice! Okey dokey, dude!

I am soooo proud of Carson! He did a magnificent job! Carson even got to pick out a special toy at the toy store today! What a big boy you are Carson, mommy and daddy are so proud of you!!

Special thanks to Robyn and Terry for 'playing with us' on Friday! And, special thanks to Victor for being very kind and patient with us...and for changing the wet sheets in the middle of the night!

I'll update everyone when we hear the results!

Cute Stories, My Birthday and Sleep Study Preparation

I am sitting in the family room right now...drinking my iced latte, enjoying the fact that both my boys are outside playing nicely with each other! (I'm not too happy about the fact that Logan was pounding on his door to get up this morning at 5am, despite the fact that the sun on his night light hadn't appeared yet...but that's another story!) They have really enjoyed this 'cooler weather' since our 103 degree record breaking weather here in the Seattle area this week! But, believe me, even that hot weather did not stop the boys from playing outside!

We had another good week! (I'm hesitant to say that statement for fear that I'm going to jinx what we have going on here) I honestly believe that these good weeks are a compilation of Carson's medication being titrated to an optimal dose for him, the good weather (since the boys love being outside) and no preschool this summer. Now the boys are still going to daycare, Carson is just not attending his developmental preschool, since they are closed for the summer. He loves preschool, but it does introduce two big transitions into his daily routine and transitions are very tough for Carson!

Dad even mentioned that Carson's behavior was getting better and I commented back to him with what I thought were the reasons. His response was "or he's growing out of this" and I just chuckled to myself. I just thought to myself, "No honey, I don't think you grow out of this in a couple of weeks, but you can believe what you want. Don't think for a minute that we are going to stop his medication!" It's interesting how we all have our own perspectives to life. It's really not about who is right or wrong...it's all in how it is perceived and handled! I'm OK with that!

Monday was my birthday! I had kind of forgotten about it until my hubby said "Happy Birthday" to me while I was in the shower! I had to work on my birthday, so as I was getting the boys ready for daycare, I told the boys that today was my birthday. Carson promptly began calling me "The Birthday Girl!" It was very cute! Even when I dropped the boys off at daycare, Carson gave me a hug and kiss and said "Have a good day Birthday Girl!"

I arrived at work and it was same 'ole, same 'ole work! Then a guy arrives to the pharmacy window with a vase of flowers and a balloon! I took a look at him and said, "Oh, those are for me!"

"How do you know that?"

"Well, today is my birthday and I bet those are from my hubby!"

"Well, I guess you guessed correctly!" They were beautiful! Thanks hubby!

Later that evening, I fixed a birthday cake. Have you ever added a can of diet soda to a cake mix? Well...it's a good Weight Watchers technique I have learned. Just add a can of any diet soda to any cake mix, mix it all up and bake per box directions. Voila! It's very moist and delicious and much less calories than adding the oil and eggs! So, after dinner we had birthday cake topped with cool whip and raspberries/blueberries! Yum! We all had birthday candles on our cake (per Carson's request) and we all took turns singing happy birthday to each other! It was very cute! The boys both gave me a birthday card and daddy gave me a present! (speakers to enjoy my computer music outside!). All in all...a good birthday day for me!

Both boys went to daycare again on Tuesday and I was home on Wednesday. After I picked up the boys from daycare on Tuesday, I was telling them that they get to stay home with me on Wednesday and Carson started to cry.

"But mom, they are having pajama day at daycare tomorrow! I don't want to miss out!"

"Oh really? OK Carson, I guess you are going to daycare tomorrow! And Logan, you get to have mommy all to yourself tomorrow!"

So on Wednesday, I took Carson to daycare and which pajamas do you think Carson chose to wear? He chose he two piece FLANNEL LONG SLEEVED pajamas! Yep, he did! It took me all morning to convince him that he was going to be hot with those jammies on and he was dead set on wearing them...until we got to daycare and he got out of the car!

"Mom, can I put that T-shirt on that you brought?"

"Yep, you can!" WHEW, I thought, as Wednesday was predicted to be the hottest day EVER in Seattle!

Logan and I had a nice day together! He ran a bunch of errands with me and then we had our speech therapy appointment later that morning! Our speech therapist walked into our house and you could just see the look of relief and smile on her face as she says, "Oh Kari, you guys have air conditioning?" Poor thing...she goes from home to home providing speech therapy services to folks and I can only imagine how hot some homes truly were!

On Friday, Carson got to stay at home with mommy all by himself! It is very nice to be able to give them some one on one attention! It just isn't the same when you have to share mommy's attention with your brother! And, believe me...they are highly competitive for mommy's attention! We had Carson's occupational therapy appointment early and then we were off for our tour of the Mary Bridge Sleep Center. Carson has his sleep study on Sunday evening and I was on a mission to prepare him for this event! Thursday evening, I made a story for Carson about all the steps of the sleep study process, so he would know what to expect when we actually went for the study. I gave it to him that morning and he was very excited to have 'his own book'. He spent a lot of time just looking at the pictures! I just let him look at it on his own and didn't read it to him until we were at the Sleep Center.

If you are interested in viewing the 'book', you can download it at one of the following links:
Word document Format
Power Point format

We grabbed our Sleep Study Book and were off for our personal tour. We met our Child Life Specialist (CLS) and one of the sleep center technologists there. I had previously spoken with Robyn, the CLS and we planned on what we were going to do with Carson. She brought Carson his personal 'sleep buddy' which was a white fabric stuffed doll. She also brought markers for him to color his 'sleep buddy!' He was all over that...coloring it from head to toe, front and back! We let him get comfy in the room (the actual room that we would be sleeping in) and then we slowly introduced the 'stuff' and read him the story. He got to touch the electrodes that would be placed on his head, face and body. He thought it was pretty cool to put them on us, but wasn't too interested in putting them on himself! We did a lot of 'medical play' and just let him get comfy with everything that was going to happen to him. I was really proud of how well he did with this process. We continue to read the book and talk about this test and I'm hoping that he will be able to make the leap from 'having it done to others' to 'having it done to himself!' We talk about it all the time, so I'm hoping that he will be comfortable with what will happen on Sunday evening. Keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer for us on Sunday evening!

Well...that was our week in a nutshell! Let's hope for a cool and pleasant weekend! Hope you have a nice one as well!

Update on our Week

It's been a while since I have posted on the blog and I am getting a lot of anxious friends wanting updates on Carson's neuropsych testing. Our original plan was for Carson to have 4 two hour testing sessions. Well, after the first session, it was clearly obvious that two hours was going to be a bit much for Carson! Surprise, surprise!!! So, instead we opted for 7 one hour sessions...we planned to drive to Bellevue every day this week to complete these sessions. Well...the good news is is that Carson completed his testing in 5 sessions!!! The bad news is...mom got a speeding ticket on the way home from a session! Nothing like Logan telling me that "mommy drive too fast!"

I attended the first session with Carson and dad attended the second session. By the third session, I had to bring Logan with us ('cause he was sick with another ear infection....poor guy!), so we opted to try having Carson test by himself. No big deal! As a matter of fact, he did a really good job all by himself! So, by the 4th session, I thought that we would just continue with Carson attending these sessions by himself...and he did! Way to go Carson! We did a lot of rewarding Carson...before and after these testing sessions, we would walk around the business park! Carson (and Logan) were in heaven! The business park, in their eyes was like a camping area, complete with trees, paths and 'rock walls'! Carson would climb up and down the rock wall and when Logan came, Carson had to 'teach' Logan how to climb the rock wall as well! This particular office was the only pediatric practice in the business park...and it quickly became clear that the business park was not used to having kids in 'their area'. By the end of our testing sessions, we had a big dude come up to us saying that they had a complaint of kids playing on the rock wall! Yep, those are my kids! He says, "Please do not allow them to climb on this rock wall." "Why?," I ask. "Well, if they get hurt on the rock wall, then you can sue us." I thought...my boys WILL hurt themselves because they are boys...and believe me, you are the last person I would think of suing. Can you tell there were lawyers in this business park? ARGH!!! Now I have a devastated little boy because he cannot decompress on the rock wall! Hmmm...maybe that gentleman should have neuropsych testing done and see what sort of stress he needs to work off? I bet he would want to climb the rock wall too! Oh well...luckily that night we were notified that Carson had completed his testing, so we wouldn't be 'bothering' them anymore! Believe me, I was ready to allow Carson to continue climbing the rock wall and have them call the cops...and then kindly explain why my child needed to climb the rock wall! Bummer that I wasn't able to enjoy that...I would have enjoyed the look of guilt on his face! We won't have the results until August 12th!!!

Oh...I've been meaning to post these photos! These are drawings that Carson has made. Carson LOVES to do art! So, especially when he has gone to daycare...we bring home A LOT of art! So, I asked him about these particular pictures and this is what he said!

This is a 'golf course!' Impressive, I thought! He has been obsessed with golfing ever since he found out that Grandpa George golfs! He even laid out some clothes for going golfing with grandpa...he says that you have to wear polo shirts...and he picked out his own polo shirt! Very cute!

This second picture is a map...a TREASURE MAP! He says that the treasure is where the 'X' is!

I have been off from work this past week and have spent most of it with the boys. On Monday, I was able to help chaperon Carson's daycare classroom to the Ballard Locks (to see the cool boats going from Puget Sound to Lake Union and the salmon ladders). I was in charge of only one child (my own) while other chaperons were in charge of three! Hmmm...does that mean that Carson is equivalent to three kids? Some days I would definitely agree! Anyhow...we had a blast! Carson thinks he is the most special boy in the world when he gets to pack his lunch for a field trip...and Logan CANNOT come! Here are a few photos from our day!

We visited the botanical gardens and Carson had to 'smell' ALL the flowers! So cute!

After lunch, we had some time to run around in the fields and Carson wanted to play with the 'bigger kids' from daycare! It was so cute to see him bend down to race just like the big kids do!

Then later in the week, we got to go to a concert in the park! The boys thought they were super duper special when we got to pick up McDonald's for lunch and take our 'backpack chairs' (lawn chairs with a backpack attached) to the concert! You should have seen those boys smile!! When we got to the concert, Carson spotted Miss Rachael, his most favorite daycare teacher, and he was in heaven FOR SURE!

Like those sun glasses?

Logan forgot his cool sunglasses in the car, so he had to beg to use mommy's sunglasses!

Then after the concert, we played at our favorite water park...right next door! (water fountains coming up from the ground) They were very ready for naps and so was mom!

Our yard was in dire need of major weeding, etc., Since I had some spare time on my hands (yeah right...spare time??) I tackled the yard and got it in darn good shape by the end of the week! (Dad...don't ever say that I don't help in the yard!) It was a bit therapeutic for me...weeding is right up my 'picking everything' alley and power tools (like hedge trimmers and blowers) are great at taking out some aggression! The boys even helped me pick up after all the cutting!

In the backyard, there is a section that Carson has been watering, saying that he is watering his flowers! Poor guy didn't realize that the reason why those flowers were bloomin' was because the weeds had gone to the bloomin' stage! Not a good thing! So, when he saw me pulling is flowers, Carson was not a happy camper! I had to think real fast and came up with "Oh Carson, it's OK...we should go to Home Depot and get some really pretty flowers to plant tomorrow!" "OK mom...it's a deal!" So, off to Home Depot we went the following day to fulfill my promise! Carson picked out some really pretty flowers and was a super big helper planting them as well!



Carson waters the flowers everyday and he makes sure to water around the flowers (instead of on top of them) so the flowers don't bend (so Carson says)!

Carson even found a yummy worm along the way as well! Hmmm....Yummy!

Stay tuned for another post on our weekend! Our cousins came to visit us from Portland and boy, did we have fun!

Back to work and daycare tomorrow!