Croup: Season 7, Episode 1 (Samson) ...and so much more!

Well goodbye, October! Jeez, that month went fast. I'm so far behind with my posts. I hope you're still reading! Let's rewind to two Thursdays ago..

Sammy got a scary croup episode right in the middle of the day. We had just pulled into the driveway after school and he could hardly breathe. He looked at me with panicked eyes, so I rushed him inside, panicking myself, and got a small dose of oral steroids down his throat. I sat with him outside for a bit and decided to hold of on the epi neb until absolutely necessary. We never had to take the neb and his breathing became much less scary. As always, his body held onto the croup forEVER, but thankfully it never became that scary again. Two weeks later, he still has a lingering cough from it.

Along these same lines, sickness has totally taken over our family for the past few weeks. It started with stomach issues for me, then last week Sammy threw up before school one morning followed by some tummy troubles for Elijah. We all seemed to be healing when, two days later, Elijah started throwing up. A few hours later, Sammy puked ALL OVER his brand new mattress in the middle of the night. A few hours later he spilled his puke bowl onto his newly changed sheets. Two days later Elijah threw up again. The next day my stomach was bad again and I was bed-bound for 12 hours. A few hours later Dan was throwing up and he spent all of today in bed. UGH! We are ready for healing!

The boys, my little minions, had such a fun Halloween this year! Our new neighborhood is the PERFECT neighborhood for trick-or-treating, with it's big beautiful trees and friendly neighbors. Sammy was so excited and happy that he was skipping from house to house and giggling and telling me every ten seconds that this is the BEST HALLOWEEN EVER!!! The boys of course got tons of candy, but we've been rationing due to above-mentioned tummy troubles.

We have been trying to squeeze a few things in between the sickness, but honestly it has been frustrating how slow the unpacking process has gone. I just can't seem to get anything done! Soon. Right?

Not as much time will pass before my next post. Thanks for peeking in! Go INDIANS! (Cheering as we type, Gramps!)

Halloween 2015 and an update

I was hoping that we got sickness out of the way for a bit, but it has invaded our home again. Yesterday Sammy had a fever and sore throat so we kept him home from school today. As the day went on I noticed he was swallowing more and more gingerly, so I took him to the doctor right before the clinic closed. Thank goodness I did because he has strep! We got Elijah tested, too, and he's in the clear for now. Sammy and I will have another day tomorrow of chillin' at home. Not that I ever wish for my boy to be sick, but I LOVED our time together today. 

I'm so glad the sickness struck after Halloween! The boys had such a blast dressing up and going trick-or-treating. I don't know if I have ever seen Sammy so excited and happy. He was bouncing off the walls, even before the sugar entered his body. :) Sammy decided to do his own thing with his pumpkin this year and I love it. He even carved most of it by himself!

Sammy and Elijah dressed up as Fear and Anger from Inside Out. They love that movie SO MUCH and have been so excited to personify these cute little guys. My talented mom knitted Sammy's sweater vest. Isn't it perfect?! I think they both looked so darn cute.

We went trick-or-treating at a nearby mall and the boys got TONS of candy and had fun hanging out with a couple of their awesome cousins. In standard fashion, our organized Sam came home and immediately began counting his loot in perfectly straight rows. 54 pieces (or something like that)!

Elijah isn't quite as organized with his candy, but he of course still enjoyed it!

Our boys are so different in just about every way. Dan and I always know not to touch a single piece of Sammy's candy stash because he will know immediately that something is amiss. Elijah gets excited about acquiring candy and enjoys eating it, but not to the degree that Sammy does and without so much forethought and organization. IF...we "steal" candy at all, it is from Elijah's stash because usually by the next day it is off his radar. :)

Aside from Sammy's sickness, we have had a great past few days. We are still adjusting to things in this new life of ours with Dan working "normal" hours and with Elijah being able to handle so much more than ever before. For literally the first time since before I got pregnant with Elijah, we feel like we have room to breathe. We are able to go above and beyond with some things, which is actually probably just "normal" for most people. We have scraped by for so long and it feels good being in the place we're at. I have been printing and hanging pictures on walls, keeping up with laundry, reading books, keeping up with Elijah's homework and so much more. Life is good!

Speaking of Elijah and homework, he is doing so much better with it this year. I sit down with him every weekday after school that he doesn't have therapy. His teacher told me to JUST have him do 2 problems per section so we don't overwhelm him and that is going well. I usually hear a few BOOORRRINNNNGs, but not much more than that. Last year and the year before, something that took 45 minutes and with MUCH more complaining now takes 10 minutes. Tonight he sat down with me and wrote five sentences by himself without a single complaint. Last year he never ever ever would have done that. He is so smart. Math clicks quickly in his brain and we all know that reading has always come so naturally for him. He told me the other day that science is a new interest!

I need to write more updates because I could go on and on. Working in Cannon Falls for this season doesn't allow me quite as much time to do that, but I need to write down more about daily life with these awesome boys. They are still so little and funny and sweet. They still enjoy being with me and holding my hand and snuggling with me and I love it. I soak it up every single day and enjoy every single moment.

Thanks for checking in and reading to the end. :) Have a great night!

Pumpkins, Halloween and meetings at school.

Do I say this every week? Working away from home full time makes the time absolutely fly by! This is my fifth week working in Cannon Falls for the fall and I miss my boys so much. The Sammy and Elijah hugs I get upon returning home every evening are the sweetest things about my entire day.

Halloween was fun! We did our annual family pumpkin-carving evening one day last week. The boys were more involved than they have ever been before. 

Here is Dan, intent in his carving. Notice Elijah's tired gaze? This is something we see a lot lately.

Sammy and I carved our pumpkin in no time. Ghosts in the graveyard.

Sammy hiding from a photo, as usual!

The gooey stuff around Frankenstein's carvings is glow-in-the-dark paint.

The one typical NLD characteristic that Elijah definitely does NOT have is limited facial expressions. :)

My silly, adorable Sammy.

The boys scored with candy on Halloween. We took them to a nearby mall for trick-or-treating and then brought them back home to go to a few houses in our neighborhood. They love handing out candy to kids who stop by our house, so we always make sure to leave room for that. When the doorbell rang, they would RUN to the door and hand out candy while shaking (Elijah) out of excitement.

This year Sammy did what I used to do as a kid. He laid his candy in rows and counted it all. He memorized exactly what he had. I know this because I may have stolen candy from his pumpkin after he was asleep and he totally busted me the next day. He blamed it on Elijah..."ELIJAH STOLE MY COLORFUL LICORICE!" I haven't touched his pumpkin since. The kid knows. Don't mess with Sammy's candy.

I got costumes for the boys last summer super cheap, but Sammy insisted on wearing his robot costume for the THIRD year in a row. :) He might still be wearing this when he's 12. He did willingly wear his cute new Toy Story alien costume a few weeks ago at another Halloween party. Could two boys possibly be any cuter?!

Cute blue super-crayon (Elijah added the "scary mask") and robot, trick-or-treating at the mall!

And this is what I walked in on this morning before leaving for work. Genuine early morning brotherly love. These two love each other so much!

Dan and I had another meeting with Elijah's team at school this week. It was a tough one for us. We were informed that Elijah's behavior has been getting progressively worse while at school, which has included frequent physical aggression and name calling. Dan and I were both startled by some of the things we read in the eval report. Since, we have been in closer communication with his teacher so we can appropriately discipline on days when he becomes physical and calls names.

Next week is our official IEP meeting. In this week's meeting, his teacher pushed for getting an aide in the class who would be solely dedicated to Elijah. She told the team that she pretty much has most of her focus on one child throughout the majority of every day....Elijah. :( That obviously stretches her and detracts from her relationships with the other children. Dan and I are on board with this, so we will see what the team thinks next Wednesday.

Still, we do not feel understood. It seems like the majority is placing focus on ASD instead of NLD, which makes sense considering his new special-education label at school is ASD. I kept mentioning Elijah's tank being totally empty and him being above boiling point, but I received a lot of empty stares back.

I called Dr. M, E's neuropsych, today and asked if he would be willing to come to school to chat with the team. He said he absolutely would! Music to my ears. I feel like he could word things differently and not be the "protective mother" that people hear in these meetings. I'll attempt to set up a meeting for early December so that can happen.

More later. I'm tired. Dan will be away for the weekend hunting, so the little boys and I have some fun planned (cleaning! baking! sleeping!). Thanks for peeking in. Have a great weekend!

Keep doing what you're doing.

October is done! We accomplished so much last month, work and fun alike. November will be busy, too, but not quite as crazy. Elijah had a really rough day at school on Friday. We've been keeping a detailed journal of every aspect of his days (nutrition, activity, screen time, sleep, etc), so I have been able to look back and see patterns with certain things. He has slept horribly for the past three nights and the only real difference is that he didn't fall asleep until 7:00 or after on those nights. His bedtime routine is lengthy and sometimes we have potty issues that keep him from falling asleep right away. Instinctively I have always known when he needs to be sleeping and when that doesn't happen, I get stressed out! Last night I knew he needed to be asleep by 6:30 and when that didn't happen I knew the night would be bad. His fitbit showed that he was awake for a lot of the night and up for a solid stretch from 1:15 to almost 3:00. That is the third time that has happened in the past week.

Some behaviors have popped up with Elijah recently that are unique. Suddenly when left alone, he acts like a two-year-old and becomes destructive. I've found cupfuls of water poured onto the floor, soap emptied onto the floor/sink, kleenex boxes thrown into the toilet and peed on, hand towels put in the toilet, toilet paper unrolled and strewn around the bathroom, toys have been thrown across the room, and the list goes on. I literally can not leave him in a room alone anymore. I'm hoping these new behaviors are an effect of feeling overwhelmed and out of control and that once his tank is filled up a bit they will lessen.

He has also been super obsessive about certain things lately, especially times. He has to know exactly how many minutes every given event is going to take. If we watch a show or movie, he needs to know the EXACT number of minutes it will take and he keeps a tally along the way. He knows exactly how many minutes every kids' movie in our home takes to watch. There is a CD we listen to in the car that the boys love and he keeps very close track of what number each song is and how long each is, etc. It gets out of control at times, and I never know if I should feed into his need to constantly know such minute details about everything or if I should try to make it seem like it's not a big deal. I know it is control for him, in a world that makes him mostly feel out of control, so there is definitely a fine line.

Elijah did not start his partial days at 100%, so it is going to take a while for progress to show. I hope his team at school understands this and doesn't expect to see an immediate change. Dan and I are committed to doing EVERYTHING in our power to help him get back to baseline. There are a handful of things we can control, such as nutrition and bedtimes. Today I decided to start our bedtime routine at a ridiculously early time so we can be sure to fit everything in and factor in time for potty issues. Dinner: 4:30. Bath: 5:00. Potty time: 5:30. Jammies/brush teeth/books: 5:45. In bed: 6:00. Asleep (hopefully): 6:30.

There was an awesome moment in church this morning at the end of worship when total peace swept through the room. Everyone was silent and we could all feel HIM right next to us. During that time, I felt like I wasn't even breathing. My body and mind were both so still and quiet and totally receptive. I had some distinct thoughts/messages come to me: the main one was GRACE. We need to have major grace with Elijah during this time because his behaviors are out of his control. Next, I heard the words, "Keep doing what you are doing." Then I thought of music and swimming. Once Elijah is closer to baseline, I think both will be very calming and helpful tools for him. I sense that music is going to be a source of peace for him and we all know how calm the water makes him feel.

I owe Halloween pics! Halloween was fun. It totally wiped E out and keeping him up till almost 8:00 had us paying for it the rest of the weekend, but both boys had a blast and looked as cute as ever. My next post will be Halloween photos, I promise! Thanks for checking in.

Halloween 2013

Life is crazy. Do I always say that? Because if I've said it before I didn't mean it. Or maybe I didn't know that it could get crazier. I am so thankful for my boys who make me smile and give me comfort constantly.

We had a fun Halloween! The only way Sammy would dress up this year is if he could wear his robot costume from last year. Uhh, do you see how short the pants are (look closely)? We had to literally cut the seams with scissors to get them on him. Next year the robot will NOT be working. :) Elijah was so happy to be a Ninja Turtle! Can you tell?

We took the boys to the mall to trick-or-treat again this year. They still love it and get PLENTY of candy (some of which I am munching on as I type). I suppose in a few years we will have to change things up, but for now it's a good fit.

I'll write a quick update about school/behavior, etc. Last week ended up being an improved week at school for Elijah. He had a few rough patches, but overall was much improved from the previous weeks. Yay! According to him, he had a rough day yesterday. I haven't gotten a report from his teacher yet, which I don't seek out these days (too much heartache). She is great about filling me in eventually. He claimed to have a good day today, so we are hoping for many many MANY more of these.

We also started bringing E to a child psychologist for a little extra insight. His second appointment is this week, so I'm hoping to feel a sense of relief in some way. His sleep specialist appointment is next week already, which I am super hopeful about. Also, his IEP meeting is next Friday (yikes). Lots of stuff coming up!

Look at the loot! :)

I will write more later! I must get to some work before I head to bed. Thanks for checking in! Please pray for upcoming appointments, if that is on your heart. Thank you!

Pumpkin carving 2013

I realize I am a bit biased, but...aren't these boys HANDSOME?! Look at these beautiful faces!

We did our annual pumpkin carving tonight, which involves...

..the boys getting the process started.

And Dan and I doing all of the work while the boys play. :)

We love it! Guts and all.

Dan broke out his drill this year (unsuccessfully). Notice the ear-plugging going on in the background. :)

We decided to have a contest this year. Daddy-Elijah vs. Mommy-Sammy. I think I know who won, don't you?! :)

Halloween 2012

I sped home from work to bring our boys trick-or-treating in a nearby mall. We have done this every year since Elijah was a teeny baby. Sammy was a bit overwhelmed tonight (I remember Elijah being like this up until last year), while Elijah was on Cloud 9!

As those of you who know our Sammy know, he is a very independent little boy. He does things only when he wants to. Dan and I both knew that getting his costume on him would be an ordeal. And it was. He had a cute robot hat that he allowed on his head for about 3 seconds. This is the only photo we got of him wearing it (i.e., taking it off). Somehow he allowed the costume to adorn his body for the entire evening (miracle!).

We had a fun evening! The boys got plenty of candy and tired themselves out walking through the mall.

Elijah was dishing out the love when I asked him to pose with Sammy. 

Kisses even!

When we got home, the boys helped to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. Elijah loved this. When our doorbell rang, he would run to the door literally shaking with excitement. He happily tossed candy into other kids' buckets, and then said, "Happy Halloween!!" He totally thrives on social interaction.

I love watching my boys enjoy themselves. It is the best feeling in the world. Tonight I thank God for THEM (all three!) and for toothpaste and floss.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween 2011 and a Sammy update

Halloween was a ton of fun this year! It gets more fun with Elijah every year, and soon Sammy will be enjoying it, too.



We took Superman and our little bumble bee to a nearby mall, where the stores hand out candy. It is a WARM way to enjoy trick-or-treating and Halloween in general.



Dan's mom and sister were able to join us for trick-or-treating, and that made it so much more fun. We were all happy to have them there with us! Thanks, guys, for joining us!



Elijah walked the entire perimeter of the mall (both upstairs and down) by himself! That was by far more than he was able to do last year.



When we got home, Sammy went straight to bed (sorry, Sam), and Elijah gobbled down loads of sugar. Thankfully being so tired from the walking overruled the sugar high, and he didn't have any trouble sleeping.



Before he went to bed, though, he was able to help us hand out candy to trick-or-treaters stopping by our house. I could tell he thought it was cool being on the other side of the door. I was glad he got to experience the giving-sharing part of a fun holiday!



Today Sammy is still running a temp off and on. Gradually the temps are coming down over time, but we are still dealing with 101-102-degree temps at times. We are hoping that today is the turn-around day! We have managed to get most of Sam's medicine in his belly...by force. Medicine-time is pretty traumatic. I wish he wouldn't fight it so much!

Sam taught Elijah and I a few new dances today. He does the chicken dance, which goes: chin to chest, chin up in air, repeat (walk while doing this). He also has a new arm dance, and his standard ear to shoulder dance. Elijah finds Sam's dancing hilarious, as do the rest of us. About every ten minutes I hear Elijah say, "Sammy, pwease do your chicken dance! Sam, pwease dance for us!"

We are off to take much-needed naps! Have a good day!