Rejuvenation + Super dad = Happy mom

Stressful times call for drastic measures. And what a greater way than to drop every responsibility and head to a spa for an extended weekend? It could not have been possible without the generosity of my step mom and dad for the wonderful Christmas gift. And my amazing hubby for playing super dad for three days straight!

Highlights of life at home while I was away:
- Occupational Therapy session
- Physical Therapy session
- Trip to the dr. with both kids since Owen was having a major ear infection draining issue.
- Follow up trip to target to pick up multiple medicines to help his ear.
- Swim time at the Y with both kids on his own - he is brave!
- Host poker night with buddies
- An outing to the zoo
- Meals, cuddles, baths, clean house from top to bottom, get all laundry done, play, play, play
The kids had fun. Jason is a bit tired but I haven't been able to chat with him much since we have just played the tag your it game. I am home and now he is gone to the fabulous state of....Iowa.


Highlights of our trip:
- spa treatments, spa treatments, spa treatments. 4 total, fabulous, relaxing, addicting
- Chocolate chip waffles
- Hikes
- Great views
- spending time with my lovely sister

And this is us. We do it all the time, wear the same/similar outfit without knowing it before hand. We hiked this day and got so many comments from the passerby. It was a little silly as we tried to scope out friends to join our blue team. Good times.

A few events where we people offered to take our picture. One guy actually pushed the button appropriately.

And then there was this guy, see him down there with the walking stick? We were at the top and he offered to take our pic. He didn't actually take one, just acted like he did, oops. So I took a pic of him ;)

We had a good giggle about it an just took a picture on our own. Love our facial expressions in this one> I promise we are sticking our tongues out, or maybe not?

It was wonderful to get away, to just have some me time, I think we all need that from time to time. But I missed my kids. Its just not the same to hear their little voices over the phone. It was nice knowing they were having fun though and getting quality time with their dad.

It's good to be home. It will be even better knowing we are all home together again.

Snow Days

It's picture overload time!!!!

We've been sick.

It snowed another 18 inches.

What more is there to do than set up some tents in the living room?

Owen is in his tent but wanted his shut. And you can see Olivia of course laying there sucking her thumb cuddling her blankie.

Have a photo shoot with my babes

Owen didn't want to leave his "guys" out so thought they needed a turn. I thought they should at least be standing up facing the camera but that proved to be too challenging. (He loves Geo Trax men - wish they sold them seperately from the Geo Trax - darn)

And my sweet girl with her fancy skirts wanted to wear sneakers and cupcake socks. sneakers?

I do love that she is starting to have opinions on her clothing.

And this one was just too cute I had to share.

Her cheeks are just so her. Love her to pieces.

And what is better for a Friday than to have Marshall and Mykaela as visitors. Owen always loves his time with his 1 boy cousin!

Seriously. Enough with the snow already.

That garden fence is 3 feet tall. I think we need a break, I want my garden back.

Focus

This was one of those weeks. One of the weeks that seemed like we were on a roller coaster that only has highs and lows, the lows you don't want to face and the highs you can't even imagine.

But we end it on an up. And hope to stay up for a while. To focus on the up. Dream big. Hope big. Keep positive.

A report doesn't define you
After reading through the 36 page assessment we had a meeting with Owen's team. The team of people that did the assessment. 10 people sitting in a school conference room ready to tell Jason and I how Owen did. I was prepared to be a puddle of tears but what a surprise it was to walk through each section and hear the positivity everyone had to share. They put a different spin on each result. The results are needed so Owen get the services he will benefit from. But the people doing the assessment got so much joy from Owen they wanted to make sure we knew how much they cared for him and how proud they were. They shared stories that made us laugh. The reminded us what great foundation skills he has. They uplifted us and showed us how lucky we are to have that team supporting him everyday.
The tests were hard for him, but I think they were even harder for them because they know his gifts. My favorite story was when they told us they were trying to get him to sort objects. One set was for a farm, another set for musical instruments. They handed him a baby chick and asked him where it belonged. He put it in the musical instrument picture. His teacher said ooops that chick doesn't play music. Owen looked at her, took the chick held it up to a tuba in the picture and made a blowing noise. He got it right, the chick plays music.

Transitions are tough
The kindergarten transition. How do we pick a program? It is a stressful process to figure out what is the right choice. We considered moving because we have had mixed results in preschool. I wish someone a year ago would have shown us the opportunities Owen would get to be having now. We have found the perfect fit for him. We toured the program on Friday and to say we were happy is beyond the feelings we had. How do you find a school that seems so perfect? Teachers that say and do the right things? A principal that goes out of her way to talk with us and make us feel good about the situation and who is such a huge proponent of special education? We could not have asked for anything better. Owen loved it as we went from room to room looking at each of the areas he would get to participate in. They even let us join in on a Kindergarten class to see how the typical setting would be for him. The teacher welcomed us with open arms, and turned it from an observation to full participation for Owen. He got to be a part of their "circle time". It was the sweetest thing. he loved it. He didn't want to leave. We didn't either. He will be treated like all the regular kindergartners, their philosophy is exactly what we want. It seems too good to be true.

What was lost is now found
Our beloved Oscar. He has his moments where he can be a pill but we love him dearly, he is great with the kids, never barks, loves to cuddle and life without him just would not be the same. We were faced with that on Friday night. Unfortunately when we had a satellite dish installed a few weeks ago the installer left the gate open. It is on the side of the house that we can't see so we didn't know. With the snow melting Oscar decided to find his way out the gate before we noticed and away he went. We spent until dark trying to find him with no luck. Sent out a message to all the neighbors asking for help. Everyone was on the lookout.
It was so cold last night, I was so worried about our little pup out in the cold longer than he had ever been. Thankfully someone found him took him into their home kept him warm until Animal Control picked him up. I called first thing in the morning to ask if they had him but they were closed. Within a few hours they called us back and confirmed he was there. To say we were relieved was an understatement. Sixty dollars to get our Oscar back but worth every penny.
We found out he crossed the major road by our house. Luckily someone spotted him roaming the street and took him in before he got hurt. Maybe now he has learned his lesson?

 

A special little girl

We were "introduced" to this family last year. A special ed teacher who works with our friend Tracy (Will's mom). Her baby was diagnosed with DS before she was born. She was found to have a major heart defect and she wasn't expected to live. But this little girl has already had 2 heart surgeries and now a chance to go to Boston to get that little heart of hers "fixed" when no one thought they could. She is only 3 months old. She had a rough week and they weren't sure she would make it through but through many miracles she is on her way to recovery in time for her next big adventure. I introduce you to them because they could be us. They could be any one of us. And they need your prayers.  https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/graciedelaney

It's stories like hers that remind us how our worries are so minor in comparison. We have two healthy and happy children.

We are blessed.

Assessments. A necessary evil.

Warning: honest post about to hit. No sugar coating here. I am just going to tell it like it is.

Assessments suck. Test results are hard to read. And here I sit trying to digest 36 pages of them.
We try to prepare ourselves for the outcome but deep down we already know what it will be because we live it every day. They do not define Owen, we know that. They are not always a true reflection of how he performs, we know that. But they are an indicator, it is a guide, it rates him against where he "could be".
Assessments have been a part of his life since the day he was born. And once he entered into the school district at 7 weeks old we have been working on identifying where he is at. It has always been hard to take. It never gets easier. We focus our energy on the day to day improvements, we focus on the little wins and gains, so when we get these numbers it hits hard. It is hard to see him on the charts.
His therapists and teachers are always so fantastic in their explanation of the scores, helping us understand the tests. Making sure we understand that they know it is not defining him. It helps but you never want to see your child struggle..

You name it, they tested him. The timing of him getting hearing aids and entering kindergarten in the fall initiated the assessment. They typically don't do the assessment until age 7 but since they wanted to get him qualified for deaf/hard of hearing services - away we went with the process.
Lots of forms, questionnaires, observations, tests, interviews and now we know where he falls within the norm. Academics, communication, functional skills, intellectual functioning, health screenings, motor ability, physical status, social emotional behavior, sensory status, just to name a few.

The results were bad. Some areas he didn't even get into the 1 percentile. We know he has a lot of strengths, the tests just don't show them very well. I appreciate the content in the results though, it details where he is beyond the numbers.

It's hard to express this to those that haven't gone through it. Most just do pre-k screening and pediatrician tests to see if they need to be worried about anything. This process finds every flaw, every problem area, everything to worry about and gives him a label. The results even bordered on having the Severely Multiply Impaired label. And maybe one day he will need that but it just saddens me to think that is how bad things are.
I posted my sadness to a group of DS moms and the response was immediate, they know the feeling and have a way of encouraging you to look past the number. I am thankful to have that support.
And one that will stick with me is this response: "As long as someone is there to remind us whats really important. Krista, Owen is beautiful. He is an awesome brother, a sweet boy and he tries really hard. Despite his challenges, he tries, he's learning. And you're lucky he's yours" We are lucky he is ours. We are lucky to have such an amazing community to help us through these situations. And times like this that I am reminded how blessed we are to have Owen. To remind us of what is important. To appreciate the little things. He is amazing. We are so proud.

These are hard posts. To share the struggles. the concerns. the problems. But it is what it is. And now we move on. We meet with the team to discuss how this impacts his IEP. How it impacts his Kindergarten placement and strive to help him grow above the 1%. We will do it. He will do it. We will NEVER give up.

happy LOVE day

The timing may not have been the best.

Olivia was sick. Owen was crabby. But we tried anyway.

A little photoshoot to capture a few valentine shots.

At least we got one of them where they were both happy.

And it went down hill from there.

Owen always becomes a rockstar when the camera is around.

And Olivia finally perked up in time for a sucker. After about 3 licks it was everywhere. In her hair all over her hands and then she was not happy.

Love my little valentines. Hope everyone enjoyed their day with their loved ones!

Projects

It's been a while since I did a big project. I've done lots of little baby hats and booties for new babies.

I pulled out the bin of hand me down clothes from the Thorsens and pulled out a sweater I made for Mallory. It makes me want to take up a new project! Now just to find a pattern I want to do....

Here are a few of the "big" projects I have done over the years...

(Mallory's sweater that now fits Olivia)

Wow she looks so grown up in this photo.

Here is one I made for Owen. It even had a hood (I only had to take it out and redo it 2 times because I kept knitting it backwards!)

My favorite project so far (and yet never worn yet) I know the pattern is a bit crazy but there is just something funky about them that I just loved them. Now I feel like I put so much effort into them I have a hard time letting them be worn. lol.

Build a Buddy

Why do they call it build a bear when they have so many other options than a bear? There are monkeys, and puppies, lady bugs, cats, the list goes on. But we went with the gimmick to build a "bear".

Olivia has become attached with my prized teddy bear that I have had since before I can remember. It was my comfort toy, it even went to college with me. I have a little bit of a hard time just turning it over to her so time to get her her own. I thought the kids would enjoy the experience of building their own.
So off we went on a crazy sunday when the mall was full of people to give them the experience.
It was structured with stations so Owen had some trouble and didn't understand why we were doing what we were doing so we had to literally push him into some of the activity.

They were both pretty confused to be picking out such a deflated animal. Olivia barely wanted to hold hers.

But once they got stuffed, they didn't want to let them go.

I wish Owen would have enjoyed it a little more. But like everything we just deal with it and try and make it work.

They are both now loving their new furry friends. Owen's even turns into a fantastic superhero!

And Olivia's little fairy bear is now joining my teddy bear cuddled up in her bed. (mission not accomplished)

juggle, juggle, juggle

There are days when the juggling is too much. Trying to balance a career, a home, 2 small kids who need me 110% of the time, be the best wife, be a supportive sister and make my parents proud is tough.
It's times like this week that I have to remind myself that I am human and just can't possibly make it all work. I can't get Owen to all his therapy appointments. I can't spend as much time to work on things with Owen as we know he needs. I can't always be in the best of moods. I can't always give Olivia all the attention she desires. I just can't. Juggling it all is hard. It's mom guilt, I know
But I can make the most of it. Start to focus on what we can do to make a difference in each others lives.
And what makes it better is to have such a supportive family. They recognize when we need help. Always willing to do whatever it takes. My dad stepped in huge this week. Jason is traveling for a national meeting and I had a last minute meeting that I needed to be at in....Nebraska. One call to my dad and he said no problem he could handle it. Only a few bumps along the way but he did it. Made it through 2 night time routines and a morning dropoff, got a few loads of laundry done, the driveway plowed and the kids loved having him all to themselves.
And I made it through my meetings. Hopefully said and did the right things with all the right people in the room and made it through the treacherous drive to the sole flight out of the airport to get home to my kiddos.
It was a crazy trip and even made it on their local news standing in the airport talking on my phone (they interviewed me but my responses must have been too upbeat for them - they wanted drama, I didn't give them any!)
You can see me for about 2 seconds at the 1:30 mark, lol.
http://www.klkntv.com/global/Category.asp?c=190066&clipId=5525666&topVideoCatNo=148363&autoStart=true

And as we wrap up the week, I will try to keep all the balls in the air but I have a feeling by tomorrow night I will be spent. And ready to have a sense of normalcy back. Unfortunately Jason is gone until the end of the week and I get to do it all over again next week as I travel for work one more time. This time at least I get to go somewhere warm!

I am hopeful the signs of sickness that have been brought on today for owen, olivia and myself are just a fluke. The runny nose, tickle in the throat and hacky cough will all go away tomorrow right? It should just be a 24 hour thing for all 3 of us. One can hope. I will hope.