Ten on Tuesday

NUMBER ONE on the list - My little monkey is potty trained! Can I get a woo hoo! He's still having an accident or two during the day, and I still have to stop him and tell him to go potty, but by golly, we're doing lots of happy dances throughout the day! The trick that finally worked - the sticker chart and m&ms!

2. I have emailed nearly everyone I know who has gone to JTC and am meeting with another local mom who went last year to see all her pictures. (and if you haven't heard from me, and you've gone, umm excuse me, please let me know, I need to get in contact with you asap). With all this great advice (and my little OCD), I have made a plethora of lists, including: what to pack, what to buy there, recent speech samples, thoughts/questions, aiden's reports to bring, to do before we leave, places to visit while there - I think I need to make a list of what lists I need to make ... just kidding (maybe not), seriously, I'm really not that bad.

3. Aiden's favorite book right now is, Poor Puppy. I used this for a writing lesson with my fourth graders. I LOVE(d) this book. It's been part of our nightly reading for the past many, many, many weeks. What drives me crazy, it's been excellent in helping him with his /p/ and he can say "poor puppy" perfectly; but pig is still "kig" and potty is still "hotty".

4. Aiden's speech therapist from early intervention was able to fit him in for six sessions around our busy schedule this summer. I'm so excited because 1) Aiden loves playing with Ms. Cheryl and 2) it's only 5 minutes from my house.

5. For a good week, my niece becomes my fourth child in the summer (besides the fact that I love her, she keeps Kailyn busy which is huge). She came to go camping with us in Wisconsin, but after all that fretting of whether to go our not, I had to cancel our trip. Aiden had the flu, then I got the flu, and now Aiden has a cold. Sure, why not. I am so bummed, but already planning a possible August or Labor Day trip AND so glad all this ewwy sickness is hitting us before we leave to California.

6. and, we're still having fun. We've been to the zoo, the park, eating ice cream nearly every.single.day, praying it doesn't rain so they can swim and ride bikes, and of course, staying up late giggling to the wee hours of the morning (the little girls anyway).

7. and since we didn't head to Wisconsin, and I'm single-momming it right now, one of my SILs and her two boys are coming in for the rest of the week. we're going to try canoeing, find some state parks to venture through, grill it up, swim, sit around the fire drinking our favorite cocktails, and stay up late giggling to the wee hours of the morning (now add in the big girls) : ).

8. last night the girls asked if they could have ice cream for dinner. at first I laughed, but why not? it's summer and I really didn't feel like cooking AND how fun is that!

9. Summer yumminess to me is all kinds of fresh juicy fruit, anything grilled, and a delicious salad to go with it. I'm looking for new ones to add to my list. I made a three bean salad for today, making taco salad for tomorrow, and bought the stuff to try this one and this one. What's your favorite summer salad? Do share!

10. With all these kids in my house, I'm also looking for refreshing summer cocktail recipes. I bought the stuff to try this one. What is your favorite ... and yes, do share, and hurry, kids are about to overtake my house.

"don't miss all the beautiful colors of the rainbow

looking for that pot of gold."

--author unknown

hope your summer is as colorful as a rainbow.

dear flu

it's the beginning of summer break!

if you are going to run through our family

please do it now,

before our Wisconsin trip,

and definitely before our trip,

to California.

poor Aiden has had the wrath of you,

(first time ever),

for the past two nights.

which means,

so have I.

and now of course,

he's feeling better at 10:00am,

even though he was still throwing up

at 5:00am. I've had very little sleep

for two nights straight, and he's

decided to take the form of the energizer bunny,

when all I want to do is

take the form of the couch.

on a positive note,

we've had some good practice with

the following vocabulary:

flu, sick, belly, bucket, puke, throwing up, all better;

(which we've talked about this morning because he

wanted NOTHING to do with his CIs while he was sick, except

for the first night as I read to him at 12:30 am)

and which he used, as he handed me his cup of pedialyte,

in exchange for chocolate milk,

"mommy belly all better."

note to self:

next time you're at the drugstore with your daughter,

and she asks if you need a flu shot in the summer,

don't jinx yourself (and the whole family) by saying,

"no, you usually don't get the flu in the summer."

which of course, that same night, it all started.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Aiden had his last day of school last week and my oldest two have one more day. Is it just me, or was this the FASTEST school year ever?!?

2. I am in the process of putting my resume together again. With Aiden heading to preschool full time next year AND the possibility of Ryan heading to a Catholic high school, it's time to go back to work. I wouldn't mind teaching again, but truly, I was busier when I taught than when I worked sales. I'm going to look into both, and am hoping to find something flexible enough to work from home. I refuse to give up being here for my kids before and after school - especially my teenager. ; )

3. For two straight days, Aiden's speech seemed jumbled. So was his walking. We go through these bouts here and there. Lo and behold, we head to Cleveland to see Dr. Don (AVT), and his speech was clear as day, including many blends!

4. Dr. Don finished up a big round of testing with him too. I was shocked at some of the words Aiden understood, but we also got a nice list of words we need to work on over the summer. A lot of synonyms - such as Aiden didn't know "different" but knew "not the same", or "alike" vs. "same" or "beneath" vs. "under" etc. He also wanted to see how Aiden did on the WIPI (Word Intelligibility by Picture Identification). This test has six pictures from which to choose, but before Aiden could see the pictures, he had to repeat what he heard. At our normal voice level, with background noise, Aiden repeated and identified 10 out of 10 words. Great listening buddy!

5. Speaking of listening in background noise, as my carpets were being professionally cleaned next to us, I checked Aiden's lings. I spoke the lings in my regular voice, about 2-3 feet away, and he repeated each one back bilaterally. Then on his own, he wanted to test each ear separately. This time he missed the /s/ and /sh/ on both ears, until I came closer and spoke a tad louder. I don't think I'll ever stop being amazed.

6. I miss Wisconsin. I miss my mom. I miss my grandparents. I'd love to meet a couple moms whom I feel like I already know through this wonderful hearing loss community. Kid's summer activities are C-R-A-Z-Y, including extra speech therapy for Aiden the school district is providing, and I'm already going to be away from my husband for a total of FIVE weeks throughout the summer. Do I skip a soccer camp and one of Aiden's speech therapies for the month for the fun?

7. In addition to the speech therapy mentioned above, Aiden's preschool teacher is also hosting a small play therapy group. This will be once a week, for three hours a day, for six weeks. We will be able to make three of them, if we go to Wisconsin, four if not.

8. Oh, and have I mentioned this awesome place we'll be at for three weeks?!? ; ) Speaking of which, I am in the process of finishing one list of preparations (all the lovely medical to dos) and about to make the packing list!! YIPEE!

9. Ok, I think I just talked myself into Wisconsin. Yes, Aiden could benefit from the extra speech therapy, but see #10 below and I think you'll agree, we ALL just need a break.

10. It' been one helluva a school year - all around - and tomorrow I'm celebrating it's end. We finally got Kailyn on an IEP just in time for the state tests (ewww) to be read out loud to her and identified things we definitely need to work on this summer. Now I have two IEPs to keep up with (yay me - did you hear that sarcasm?). It was a rough year, but thank God she had a teacher who modified for HER needs without something in writing. Imagine that! (a lil' more sarcasm). Ryan is 14. enough said. very rough year all around and I can't say how glad I am that it's over. limits were tested. He's a wonderful kid, who hit some pretty rough spots which turned my hair gray. I'm not a fan of this age, YET. BUT, I'm a fan of his and we're both learning as we move forward; definitely the hardest age to parent so far. I learned that sometimes tough love is exactly that - TOUGH - on everyone - especially mom. aiden's aiden, and truly as hard as we worked this year, he was the least of my worries, and he deserves a break right along with the rest of us. he's doing great, he's smart, and moving along on his path to success.

11. ya, I think I just wrote myself into canceling one of the extra therapies and going to Wisconsin for a bit. We could all use it. and even more fun, my grandpa will be 87 this month - and THAT'S reason enough to go, all in itself.

faith

I am honored that others shared my last post on their blogs and FB pages. I am proud to be a part of such a wonderful community and I can't say enough about all the friends I've found through Aiden's journey. To have the support of people who just "get it", is indescribable. One of the first things I suggest to parents who are new to this journey, is to reach out, because it is the love and support from this community that can mean the difference of going insane to finding peace inside.

So yes, we worry. and yes, we freak-a-zoid out at times. it's a part of parenthood no matter what the situation, and sometimes it's just needed in order to move forward.

one of my inspirations, Jodi, whose son is quite a bit further in his hearing journey than Aiden, said it best on my FB page:

"you can worry about your future ... because your present is ok

... and that is a good place to be."

(LOVE this)

and in this post:

...Keep moving forward, because it is those lessons learned in the present,

the time and attention that you dedicate to loving your family and

worrying

that will prepare your child to confront all of those infamous worries that torment those free moments that actually give you time to think.

Keep the faith.

amen to that.

but know,

so much more than worry, we have HOPE, and we have FAITH. We are INSPIRED by those who have walked before us, ENCOURAGED by those who walk hand in hand with us, and only hope to provide GUIDANCE and a bit of PEACE to those who walk after us.

and with that said, please take the time to read THIS POST from another one of my inspirations, Rachel, who helps ease my worries about Aiden's future through her story and all her adventures. Make sure you watch the video by clicking on the picture at the top.

chills. tears. smiles.

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

Martin Luther King Jr.