I kept myself pretty busy yesterday.. I woke up and looked around our clutter filled apartment and just said, Ok, that's it. So we went into full on spring cleaning mode, getting laundry all squared away, all the dishes done and put away, counters cleared, etc. And then I sent the kids and Tom out for a while and I shampooed all the rugs in the apartment, well, steam cleaned actually.
Today I got up and was just..ahhhh, I don't have to do much today except pick up and be mom. The rug looks great, for a change, the floors are all mopped where there isn't rug..the bathrooms are sparkly..the kitchen is clean. I do have some folding to do, but I can deal with that :D
Last night, Sophie wouldn't sleep again, so we were up watching sprout and hanging out together when a gigantic palmetto bug flew by. I think it was somewhere around 1:30am..I jumped up and freaked out and woke up Tom to go kill it. I'm such a girl! By the time I got him out there, we couldn't find the thing, so I just put up with the whiny crying stuff from Sophie and we stayed in our room so I wouldn't spend my night wide eyed searching for the bug. This morning I even made Tom go out and clear the room before I could go out there. I really hate bugs that size. I can handle the tiny midge things that are all over here in Florida, but not the giant bugs!
So, this morning it was especially hard for he and I to get out of bed..took a good hour of snooze alarms to get moving. But I did it..and Tom nicely took Eli to school for me so I could rest up a bit before really getting going. Plans for today are to start a crochet top for Sophie and just keep up with keeping it nice in here, for my own sanity if nothing else. And fold laundry.
I'm sure I'll have more to say later on!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Back from Gainesville!
Well, today was really great so far. Alexis sounds a little better on the phone, and we finally had our initial appointment with Angi (our consultant) for the RDI therapy. A little background..RDI is a type of therapy that works on the missing piece in autistic children, namely, social and relationship development. You can read more about it on their website: www.rdiconnect.com
In any case, this is basically a parent led therapy, where we get to do the work. We need to go back to where Eli is developmentally and slowly but surely bring him forward to where he can be. I'm very excited about this process and feel like it gives us so much hope for Eli's future.
So today we went in for our initial appointment. They smartly have a room set aside with some bean bag chairs and balls and blocks where the kids can entertain themselves or they can hang out with us in the office which is very kid friendly. They did both. In the other room there is a camera and a tv in the office so if they did wander off we could still keep our eye on them. Very comforting for me. Anyway, then Angi did a little background stuff and tried to see where we were emotionally as a family coping with the realities of autism. She found us to be calm and receptive where many families are still operating in crisis mode. I'm glad I've been able to move away from that mode, honestly. I see so much potential and hope in Eli that I don't really allow myself to believe there is any badness about our situation. There is challenges, and we as parents meet those challenges. We adore our son and just want what all parents want, for him to grow up and have a life. We think he can do that, and RDI gives me hope he can do it with meaningful relationships and social skills.
So we have some exercises to do. One of the big things they think parents should do is spend time together and build their OWN relationship so the children have a positive example to look at. I have to agree. We both know we need to make time for ourselves that way. And time for alone time, too. One of the exercises is to write out a schedule, getting really nitty gritty, so we can find time for the all important things like that. The other exercise is to visualize a scenario for 2 yrs, 5yrs and 10 years from now. A moment in time, and write about what you think it will be like. I'm looking forward to thinking on that, too.
Anyway, next Saturday we start the evaluation process in earnest and then have a couple weeks off with exercises to do before they finish the assessment May 18-19. I'm hoping we can catch some time to go visit some of my family while they are in Orlando next weekend too :D
In any case, this is basically a parent led therapy, where we get to do the work. We need to go back to where Eli is developmentally and slowly but surely bring him forward to where he can be. I'm very excited about this process and feel like it gives us so much hope for Eli's future.
So today we went in for our initial appointment. They smartly have a room set aside with some bean bag chairs and balls and blocks where the kids can entertain themselves or they can hang out with us in the office which is very kid friendly. They did both. In the other room there is a camera and a tv in the office so if they did wander off we could still keep our eye on them. Very comforting for me. Anyway, then Angi did a little background stuff and tried to see where we were emotionally as a family coping with the realities of autism. She found us to be calm and receptive where many families are still operating in crisis mode. I'm glad I've been able to move away from that mode, honestly. I see so much potential and hope in Eli that I don't really allow myself to believe there is any badness about our situation. There is challenges, and we as parents meet those challenges. We adore our son and just want what all parents want, for him to grow up and have a life. We think he can do that, and RDI gives me hope he can do it with meaningful relationships and social skills.
So we have some exercises to do. One of the big things they think parents should do is spend time together and build their OWN relationship so the children have a positive example to look at. I have to agree. We both know we need to make time for ourselves that way. And time for alone time, too. One of the exercises is to write out a schedule, getting really nitty gritty, so we can find time for the all important things like that. The other exercise is to visualize a scenario for 2 yrs, 5yrs and 10 years from now. A moment in time, and write about what you think it will be like. I'm looking forward to thinking on that, too.
Anyway, next Saturday we start the evaluation process in earnest and then have a couple weeks off with exercises to do before they finish the assessment May 18-19. I'm hoping we can catch some time to go visit some of my family while they are in Orlando next weekend too :D
Friday, April 27, 2007
Today...Was not so Easy
I'm worried sick about my older daughter. She is not doing well alone in California, but I won't post the details in public. I love her and I hope I can get her here to Florida soon. She needs loads of help and her family's support.
Eli was kind enough to sleep a 12 hour night last night. He never does that and it was extraordinary. I think he is also much more alive and vibrant today because of it. I narrowly avoided a poop disaster today but he managed to climb the counters in the kitchen and get some foamy soap to play with. I had allowed the kids to paint today but apparantly that was not enough for my sensory seeking little fellow. Out came the rug cleaner so I could clean the chair where he deposited the foam! At least it smells really good in here now :D
I'm tired and sweaty and I hope that Tom has the energy to do the dishes so I can cook up some supper. I just need to stop worrying and get clean and find a nice attitude. Tomorrow we go start the RDI process..it begins with the RDA evaluation, which takes about a week's worth of time to do. I'm so happy to get going with this, especially with Eli having slept and having a sweet attitude today.
The next thing for our family is teaching our kids to eat yummy nutritious snacks. I've allowed a few things that I'm hating now. Lollipops are a big problem. Cookies, Chips, etc. Today I asked Sophie what she wanted for lunch and she insisted on fries. I told her yes, but that from today on, she would only get food I gave her. For breakfast I gave her grapes and corn flakes (without milk). It took some doing to let her understand there wasn't going to be anything else, but once she did, she ate. I think it's going to be a battle, but it's a battle better fought now than when she is 4 or 5. Eli is harder than her because of his oral motor issues and because he doesn't really like utensils...though now he will use a spoon very well for soy ice cream at the least.
That's enough for one day..I'll try to remember to write tomorrow about the RDI process!
Eli was kind enough to sleep a 12 hour night last night. He never does that and it was extraordinary. I think he is also much more alive and vibrant today because of it. I narrowly avoided a poop disaster today but he managed to climb the counters in the kitchen and get some foamy soap to play with. I had allowed the kids to paint today but apparantly that was not enough for my sensory seeking little fellow. Out came the rug cleaner so I could clean the chair where he deposited the foam! At least it smells really good in here now :D
I'm tired and sweaty and I hope that Tom has the energy to do the dishes so I can cook up some supper. I just need to stop worrying and get clean and find a nice attitude. Tomorrow we go start the RDI process..it begins with the RDA evaluation, which takes about a week's worth of time to do. I'm so happy to get going with this, especially with Eli having slept and having a sweet attitude today.
The next thing for our family is teaching our kids to eat yummy nutritious snacks. I've allowed a few things that I'm hating now. Lollipops are a big problem. Cookies, Chips, etc. Today I asked Sophie what she wanted for lunch and she insisted on fries. I told her yes, but that from today on, she would only get food I gave her. For breakfast I gave her grapes and corn flakes (without milk). It took some doing to let her understand there wasn't going to be anything else, but once she did, she ate. I think it's going to be a battle, but it's a battle better fought now than when she is 4 or 5. Eli is harder than her because of his oral motor issues and because he doesn't really like utensils...though now he will use a spoon very well for soy ice cream at the least.
That's enough for one day..I'll try to remember to write tomorrow about the RDI process!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
What an Afternoon!!
I'm sure no one wants to know about our crazy life, but it helps me to get it out there and stop obsessing about it all.
So, today after we picked up Eli from school, we had about an hour before having to go off to Occupational and Speech Therapy. Both children are really into stripping off their clothes these days, normal kid stuff, but my kids aren't trained, we live in an apartment with really easily stained carpet..
I noticed that Sophie was naked so I told her to go sit on her potty if she had to pee. She went and sat and didn't do anything. I reminded her to sit there if she had to pee or poop. I then went and did some computer stuff, and then went and checked on Eli. He'd stripped and pooped on the floor and proceeded to spread it about the room. Of course, it was time to get ready to go and here I had to clean up a kid and the floor and get him dressed again.
Got that done, and went to go dress Sophie, only to find she had also pooped on the floor, thankfully she didn't play in it, but now I had another child to clean and dress and more floor to clean. It's a wonder we made it to therapy on time, as I was about to hit total mommy meltdown at any moment. Driving calmed me down at least.
Sophie fell asleep in the car so we dropped off Eli at the therapy office and went for a ride, because it was too hot to sit in the car and I really didn't feel like sitting in the waiting room with a sleeping kid for an hour. We got back and got Eli, his ST said..he might have pooped..the OT was concerned and tried to find you. HAHAHAHAHA..well, he hadn't...so I basically deadpanned that oh, he must have tooted. he he he.
Got home, I'm so tired I made some old coffee from this morning just to perk up...went into Eli's room and noticed I'd missed a bunch of poop...sigh. More cleaning. By this time I decided to call Tom and tell him I was done being mommy for a while. Like anyone is ever done with that!!
The good thing today, though, was that I asked the universe to send me something good, like maybe a check in the mail. I was pleasantly surprised when we got home, and not only did the checks from our new account come, but an actual check for money was there too. woohooo!!
Tom is taking us out to dinner so I don't have to cook and cope with making a meal while chasing crazy people. Of course, going out to dinner with a GF/CF child and a toddler who is very messy is always a joy. We leave big tips :D
So, today after we picked up Eli from school, we had about an hour before having to go off to Occupational and Speech Therapy. Both children are really into stripping off their clothes these days, normal kid stuff, but my kids aren't trained, we live in an apartment with really easily stained carpet..
I noticed that Sophie was naked so I told her to go sit on her potty if she had to pee. She went and sat and didn't do anything. I reminded her to sit there if she had to pee or poop. I then went and did some computer stuff, and then went and checked on Eli. He'd stripped and pooped on the floor and proceeded to spread it about the room. Of course, it was time to get ready to go and here I had to clean up a kid and the floor and get him dressed again.
Got that done, and went to go dress Sophie, only to find she had also pooped on the floor, thankfully she didn't play in it, but now I had another child to clean and dress and more floor to clean. It's a wonder we made it to therapy on time, as I was about to hit total mommy meltdown at any moment. Driving calmed me down at least.
Sophie fell asleep in the car so we dropped off Eli at the therapy office and went for a ride, because it was too hot to sit in the car and I really didn't feel like sitting in the waiting room with a sleeping kid for an hour. We got back and got Eli, his ST said..he might have pooped..the OT was concerned and tried to find you. HAHAHAHAHA..well, he hadn't...so I basically deadpanned that oh, he must have tooted. he he he.
Got home, I'm so tired I made some old coffee from this morning just to perk up...went into Eli's room and noticed I'd missed a bunch of poop...sigh. More cleaning. By this time I decided to call Tom and tell him I was done being mommy for a while. Like anyone is ever done with that!!
The good thing today, though, was that I asked the universe to send me something good, like maybe a check in the mail. I was pleasantly surprised when we got home, and not only did the checks from our new account come, but an actual check for money was there too. woohooo!!
Tom is taking us out to dinner so I don't have to cook and cope with making a meal while chasing crazy people. Of course, going out to dinner with a GF/CF child and a toddler who is very messy is always a joy. We leave big tips :D
Day one of Blogging..
Elijah's new therapy starts on Saturday with the initial evaluation so I thought I would start a blog to give us a way to record how therapy is going and how we are coping as a family, etc. Sometimes I figure someone might want to know how RDI is, how living with autism is, or just how we are as a family.
Today we have OT and ST and Sophie and I have a playdate, so we must go now. More later.
Today we have OT and ST and Sophie and I have a playdate, so we must go now. More later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
