One IEP and One IFSP

So both of my kids have a speech issue of one sort or another. Today Nick was evaluated and determined to be speaking at a 10-13 month old level (he's 16.28 months old - yes they calculate it all out). He should have a vocabulary of at least 6 words and he has 3 words. This doesn't seem like a big difference to me but the developmental specialist said it is more than just number of words it is how he applies words and sounds. Huh? Also he should be way past babbling and into gibberish and he is still babbling. I am not upset or in the least concerned about any of this. Lucas was far worse off than Nick is at this age and look how far he has come. But it did strike me the other day when I was at a function with my Mom's group and heard a boy the exact age of Nick gibbering away. I realized that I had never heard sounds like that come from either of my children and that THIS is what gibberish sounds like. And yes it is bad to compare children to each other but I never claimed to be perfect.

So next we get to build an IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan) which was really an intimidating mound of paperwork when we did it for Lucas. Now that Lucas has hit the ripe old age of three and still requires services (which he now receives from the school district) he has moved on from the IFSP, which is only for children 0-3 years old who are not enrolled with the school district, to an IEP (Individualized Education Program) which is another intimidating pile of paperwork. An entire team of people (I'm considered a "team" member) are assembled (a federal mandate) to write this document- it is really amazing how much work goes into just one of these things and when you look at how many children require them it is no wonder the schools are having financial difficulties. The IEP is reevaluated at preset intervals to assess the progress the child has made and effectiveness of the current IEP. Is your brain scrambled yet? Well I hate to tell you this but I have only just begun to explain this stuff. . . but I'll stop here.

On a positive note, Nick is out of his crib and into a big boy bed. Again - this is not at our insistence but at his insistence. I liked him in a crib because he was contained. However, he slept on a big boy bed this entire vacation and never once had a problem so when we got home he REFUSED (and I can't emphasize it enough how adamantly he refused) to go into his crib. It was as if the whole damned world had come crashing down around him and he was the last lonely soul on this planet. And then he made several (very nearly successful) attempts at getting out of the crib just to demonstrate in all his fury what a terrible, terrible mistake we had made.

So we put a box spring and mattress in his room without a bed frame and now he is asleep on that. He seems quite happy to be a big boy just like his brother. The bed is low enough to the ground that he can safely get into and out of the bed without assistance and if he falls out it will be far less serious than when he crashes off of the couch. Although he keeps getting out of bed to come see what we are up to out here. So we keep getting up and putting him back into bed, patiently over and over again until he gets the hang of this. It is better than the screams of intense fury that come from the room when we dare to place him into The Baby Crib because clearly he feels he is NOT a baby anymore!

The Vacation of '09

Yes it deserves a title like that because there was a day in the middle of my fabulous vacation that I am NEVER going to forget - and not for a good reason, but I'll get to that later. Are you ready? This is a long one. Here we go.

We had a great time. We arrived in Sacramento and met up with AJ's sister and his Mom. We promptly went to eat where I got these great pictures of my nieces.

Marissa is 2 years old and REALLY excited to show off her teeth

Lucas with his Momma waiting for some grub

Kylie, Kaydence and Marissa

soooooo cute!

They are the sweetest girls. And I'm not just saying that because they are my nieces. They are so good to my boys and so patient with them. They never seem to get frustrated with them and they always share and look out for my boys. They are great kids.

We got out to Great Grandma's house where we had a big yummy family dinner and as we were about to eat. . . the power went out. So we spent several hours trying to figure out why there was power to the TV but not to the pump for the well. It was a mess, but as it turned out there was a downed power line somewhere. It was a mess. AJ and I collapsed into bed early after getting the kids to sleep. It had been a long day.

The next day we had family photos planned. I hate family photos. I really don't like them, but I endure them because they are a big deal with AJ's family. I know that years from now I will appreciate them, but in the moment I am grumpy. And the moment photos are over I am excited to see how they turned out. . . so I am apparently not consistent on how I feel about this matter. Here are photos of the kids before and after the pictures. It was close to 102 that day and we were outside for pictures so I bribed Lucas (and myself) with ice cream if we could get through pictures without a meltdown.

Lucas found a pipe and a stick to play with - so he's good for the next 5 hours

Nick crashed after a big morning

Kaydence holding Lucas's hand and walking him up past the barns and pond so that he stays away from the horses and the water (both of which are dangerous she informed me).

The next day we left early and drove up to Lassen National Park. I remember when my sister in law got portable DVD players for her kids and we gave her such a hard time about it. "HOW COULD YOU??" we demanded to know. Well now I know how she could. It was the BEST thing that happened to us that day. A DVD to keep the kids quiet in the car. It is like a shinning beam from the heavens shone down onto us and made the 4 hour drive tolerable and at times. . . *gasp* pleasant!!!


Some people might see zoned out kids - but I see a peaceful drive.

My parents decided to come down to Lassen and join us there (where AJ and I first met 10 years ago). We wanted to go back and spend some time in a park that we have such fond memories of. My folks were there waiting for us and they came fully stocked with food and toys for the kids and they fed us dinner and breakfast every day for FOUR DAYS. They babysat our kids so AJ and I could drive through the park just the two of us. This is how I spent the next few days. . . in total bliss.

Do you see this picture? This is me with my emerging beer gut (note the beer) with my dirty jeans and shoes elevated in an extremely comfortable reclining camp chair. There was a red tailed hawk that was circling and landing in the trees around us all afternoon. And I just sat there. Watching it. All afternoon.


Brokeoff Mountain


Crags (view from the campsite). If you aren't even slightly jealous yet than you are soooo not my type.


And this is a tree. One of many that was dropping cones. All the fuzzy wuzzys were out very busily collecting all the seeds they could carry and store. There were golden mantled ground squirrels with cheek pouches so heavy it is truly a miracle they could move not to mention fit into their little holes. And holes. There were fuzzy wuzzy holes everywhere. Everyone felt winter approaching and everyone was really busy preparing. It was apparent that us humans were just in the way. They were so busy they just ignored us (or in some cases rudely yelled at us) if we got close.

Seeds!!! Everywhere.

Naked pine cones!! Everywhere.

And the fuzzy wuzzy's sure knew what they were doing because the first snow of the season fell on us while we were up there. It didn't last long but it got pretty darn cold at night. Good thing AJ's wonderful, thoughtful brother in law offered to let us borrow their trailer for our trip. We were really happy that for once we weren't one of the "poor suckers" stuck in a tent during 27 degree weather. All the tenters glared at us the next morning (just as I would have done if I were in their frozen shoes) probably because we had clean clothes and hot cocoa and . . . socks that weren't frozen to our feet.


And then we left. And this is what happened.

And then after this happened, we discovered that we didn't have a spare tire that fit onto the trailer. So then after a long drive into the next town down the interstate that carried trailer tires and trailer rims this happened.

We finally got the AAA guys back out to help us lift the trailer up after ANOTHER 1.5 hour wait and were on the road once again. After all this drama went down I (hereafter known as the "crappy navigator") chose the wrong freaking road to take us to Point Reyes National Seashore. Oh yes that is right. We went up Highway 1 from Stintson Beach with a 30+ foot trailer towed behind a ginormous Ford Excursion. It's alright. Go ahead and call me a complete freaking dumb ass because on that drive (hereafter known as the drive of "certain death") I called myself far worse names.

This is not a road for someone who has anxiety problems (read: me). And with every single hairpin turn AJ had to inch into the oncoming lane just to make it around the turns. It was truly horrible. Even my normally calm husband was unusually quiet and focused. The Crappy Navigator on the other hand clutched onto the Tom Tom GPS that helped get us into this mess and tried to distract myself by announcing frequently exactly how many more miles we had left on the drive of certain death. AJ on the other hand did not appreciate my nervous chatter as he was trying to concentrate on not running his entire family off of a cliff. There weren't even guard rails to offer a false sense of security. It was 26 miles in the hot seat of hell - and it was a sllloooowww drive. On a side note the Crappy Navigator accidentally flipped on the seat warmer to the chair in one of my dramatic moves to clutch onto something . . . anything, while going around a turn. My butt was ON FIRE and I truly thought that this was just what impending death felt like. I had no idea that the seat warmer was on.
It may not look like a bad road from the pictures but if you have ever driven a trailer you will notice that the critical shoulders on the side of the road are missing and that there are scary things at every turn like HUGE rock walls and cliffs and trees that you really shouldn't crash your trailer into on a 90 degree turn on a 9% down hill grade.

When we arrived in the campground we all collapsed. The Crappy Navigator felt an odd need to throw up but also to kiss the ground. The wedding we were there to attend was beautiful and we had a really good time. I am so glad we were alive to attend. (Dramaaaa Queeeenn). After the wedding Lucas came home and put on some eyebrow pencil while AJ and I weren't looking. He was so proud of himself and we told him he looked really good - and he did.





We returned to Great Grandma's house for more family photos. WHOO HOOO!! This time with a different cast of players than the previous weekend. The kids had fun feeding geese with AJ's Uncle Lucky. And Uncle Lucky had a really good time teaching the kids how to feed geese.


The kids had fun playing with eachother again.


We packed up and headed to the airport early in the morning (4 am). This pretty much sums up how tired we all are:

Ready Set Go

And we're off to the Golden State. Wish us luck. Over the past two weeks I have made lists, planned, packed, organized, cleaned and surely forgotten at least a dozen items critical to our survival. Olivia is at the pet resort (I upgraded her to a king size room out of guilt) and a friend of ours has his individual alarm code and key so he can check on the girls. . . the kids are set (I hope). We got a new camera . . . which is waterproof and hopefully Kristin proof too.

I have NO IDEA how we are going to get all these bags into the airport. I think we will have to be one of those families that uses those carts. I've always looked at those people and wondered what on earth they have in all those bags . . . and now I know what is in there. A bunch of kid stuff. I even packed a booster seat for Nick because I have found it to be a necessity to enjoying a meal. Otherwise he is all over the place trying to sit on my lap. . . or stand on the chair.


Here are the kids helping me make dinner. There isn't much food in the house (I don't want it to go bad while we are gone) so we made eggs.


Lucas beat the eggs all by himself. He had a rough day today. . . I'm hoping tomorrow will be smoother.


Nick colored himself instead of the butcher paper with his markers. . . can you tell? Can you also tell he is right hand dominant? He is getting at least three teeth in currently. In the last 13 weeks he has popped out 10 teeth and is working on three more. Although I think I see his top canines coming through so that would make FIVE teeth currently trying to come through. . .and I can't wait for this teething thing to be O-V-E-R. I bet Nick would agree with that.

I'll try to update with pictures while we are gone.

Good Day then Bad Day

To start with I went to see my new doctor again and am beginning to realize that he is a "drug doctor". He has a pill for everything if only I'd just say "YES!!" he would hand me the Rx. Which can be good or bad. Today I said yes. I think I will try some of that, thank you Doctor.

Then we headed off to the Nestle Cafe for a tour and cookie making extravaganza with my Mommy group. The kids got all hyped up on sugar and I got to clean them up. It was fun. I dropped my camera on the ground and it broke. I'm a little pissy about it. I really hadn't planned on purchasing a new camera.

Then I got home and walked in the door and saw that the D-O-G had shredded an area of our carpet in the hallway. Great. So I will have to replace carpet now too. I'll be sure to put that on the list. Right up there with college savings for the boys and a metal dog crate to LOCK HER UP IN when we leave.

Nick walked into the computer room and had diarrhea which leaked from the diaper onto the carpet in that room. Did I mention that my carpet shampooer isn't sucking anymore? Let's put THAT on the F-ing list too.

AJ had the guts to ask me if I'd had a chance to pick up Lucas's prescription at the pharmacy and I had to tell him "hell no baby, we've been doing important things like making cookies and breaking expensive electronics. " Of course I was joking. But now I need to go out again and pick that up. AHHHH. Stupid life getting in the way of my fun.

Here are some pictures from the happy part of the day - before it all went straight to hell:

Odds and Ends

Here is Mr. Lucas at the bottom of a kiva at Pecos NHP. It is such a cool park! We had so much fun yet again. Dog friendly trails!!!


The boys and I at the bottom of a kiva. I know it looks like Nick is scared but I looked at him right after this picture and he was smiling for the camera - it just didn't turn out.


Here is Mr. Lucas all wrapped up after "Quiet Time". This is when he gets some yummy chocolate milk and a cartoon or two.


And here is yet another time out scenario where Nick puts himself into time out next to Lucas. In case you are wondering, Lucas threw dirt at the dog's face. I am following the advice of this book(the quadrillionth book I've read on discipline) called 1-2-3 Magic and holy cow you guys it seems to be working!! True to the books advice I have found that if I get upset with the kids they keep doing what they are doing and things escalate. So now I just hold up a finger and then two fingers and if the behavior doesn't stop they go to time out. The hard part is training myself to be consistent.



Right after showers. Showers are reserved for nights that my back and AJ's back just can't handle bending over a tub. The kids love them and I figure they won't die if they don't get scrubbed down for one night.

Morning Fun

This was my morning:
4:30 - Nick is awake
5:30 - Finally get Nick to sleep
6:15 - Nick up again
6:45 - Still trying to keep my eyes open
7:00 - Lucas up
7:10 - Everyone is hungry and no one wants to eat what I serve
7:20 - Wrestle children into clothing - any clothing will do, it doesn't have to match
7:25 - Rush to get myself dressed. Forgot to put on the other shoe. Had to return to the chair to get it on.
7:30 - Heading for the door to get Olivia to the pet resort for her "Doggie Day Camp" evaluation - must be there by 8am (more on this later)
7:31 - When the front door opens and the cold air hits me I realize that I have forgotten to put a shirt on. There I stood in my bra.
7:32 - Back to my bedroom to find a t-shirt. Any shirt will do. The dog is bouncing off the flipping walls - THANK GOD I am getting rid of her for the day. Maybe she will come back tired.
7:33 - I forgot to feed the dog breakfast. So I feed her breakfast while loading the kids in the car
7:40 - Drive away - for the resort.

That was only the beginning. Olivia needs to be evaluated for three days if we want her to have "group play" while we are on vacation. This is our last opportunity to get it done before we leave. Except they tell me that she is missing her final Parvo/Distemper shot. So there we sat in the waiting room while they tried to get ahold of the vet. I was not upset about the shot but was mostly upset about the prospect of taking Olivia home for the rest of the day. She was so hyper and I was so tired. Eventually (1 hour later) they let her in once the vet said that she was current. My word doesn't count, they need proof.

They day improved though. Olivia has come back from Doggie Day Camp with a glowing "Campers Report Card". She did great. Two more days of evaluation and she is accepted into group play while we are on our trip.

That . . . sound

There is a sound that babies and kids can make that will cause a Mommy freeze in her tracks and move so fast. . . lightening fast. I first heard the sound when my nephew EJ was just a little guy and we were eating lunch at a restaurant with AJ's sister and EJ. Christina was returning from the buffet with a plate and when she was about 10 feet away EJ, who was seated in the booth across from AJ and I, made that sound. Something was in his throat. I'll never forget because AJ and I never had a chance to move - not a chance. Because Christina was by EJ's side so fast and gave him a swift blow to his back - so fast, way before AJ or I could process what had just happened. And I remember thinking that she was really in tune with her kid to hear just one little tiny sound and immediately identify that sound and REACT to that tiny sound waaaaaayyyyy before anyone else could.

I've heard that sound once with Lucas. And now I've heard it from Nick. Nick had a Tablespoon that he removed from the dishwasher while I was unloading it. I didn't see him take it but I heard that sound when it was jammed into his thoat - hard. He was face down on the ground and it was holding his head off the ground. . . yeah. Scary. I moved so fast. Thankfully he is alright. He immediately took a very long nap and I kept going in and checking on him because I was worried that the trauma might cause his throat to swell up. But thankfully he is alright. And I was reminded about how fast I could move when properly motivated. : )

NM State Fair 2009

We went to the fair today. I forgot how expensive the fair can be. But it was still fun, the kids had a blast looking at all the animals and they went to the petting zoo and Lucas got to ride his first "horse" (really a pony ride) and he was soooooo excited! You can't tell from his pictures because he REFUSED to smile or look happy the entire time he was on the stinkin' pony. But he was just soaking it in and was so proud of himself. It was neat to see him be that excited about something. Nick loved the petting zoo. He got such a kick out of the animals tongues licking his hands. Too bad Nick was too young to ride the pony. But hey. . . it saved us $7!! We saw a pig talent show which was pretty cool and then we saw a dog jumping competition. It is where the dogs jump into a big pool of water after a fake duck. They are judged based on how far out from the dock they land - or in this case whether or not they get into the water at all. Some of the dogs were too nervous to jump. But their owners were pretty cool about it, they didn't try to force the dogs which was nice.

I got a larger than expected thrill from seeing all of the award winning quilts. They were amazing. It has inspired me to try quilting. Some other day though. In the distant future. Once I find the time to actually fold my laundry - then I will try quilting. I have no concept of how long it would take to finish one of those quilts, but the HAND quilted ones . . . were truly incredible. Since I already crochet I think the afghans are more within my reach. I don't think I will be able to crochet anytime soon though because 1) the kids will use the hook as a weapon and 2) they will find my in-progress afghan and unravel it. And forget about hiding it from them. There is no such thing as a safe hiding place in my house - they find everything. Thank God we have a gun safe. Anyway, I didn't get to spend much time admiring the artsy fartsy stuff because the kids were pretty pooped out by the time we found the quilts and they were in full meltdown mode.