The hero and son went camping with the Boy Scouts this weekend. They left late yesterday afternoon but they'll be home late tonight or crack-o-dawn early in the morning because we have plans. It seems kind of pointless to me to go out amongst the bugs and sweltering heat for one night and one day of cooking food with ash and dirt in it but what do I know....
I planned to take Emily to the cheap theater and out to a cheap supper of fried chicken at Popeye's but that didn't happen. She's not feeling well and has a fever to go with it. I should have known something was up when I gave her a day off her adhd meds and she wasn't hungry. In fact, she was so UN-hungry that she didn't even eat enough calories all day to constitute a meal. She drank some water and opened a can of cherry Pepsi but that was about it.
Instead she got in her flannel jammies and curled up on the couch under a fleece blanket. Sweltering heat outside, air conditioning inside (set to 72) and she's looking like Nanook. I ordered a couple of movies from our cable provider and she was set. She didn't fall asleep until nearly midnight but she was quiet.
This morning she's up and feverish. She has a wet cough and she's not interested in breakfast. You have to know this child to know this isn't normal. I've found a couple more movies (free On Demand) and she's back on the couch. So much for a leisurely Saturday morning without the boys. I guess I'll fill in the day with much-needed (but not much-wanted) cleaning while she gets over this summer virus.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
I won't feel guilty about a little break
Not that I ever feel guilty about anything anymore. I'm long over that. Besides, what does feeling guilty accomplish anyway? Nothing positive, that's for sure.
Actually, I'm taking a day off today. We - my hero and both kidlets - are going to the ballpark in the middle of the afternoon to watch the Rockies vs. the Diamondbacks. The hero is taking off in the middle of the week for no good reason except that I love baseball and he was able to get us really decent seats along the first baseline.
I'm marking the kids' attendance for school but we are not doing book learnin' today. This is real life and so much more fun. We'll head to Sam's this morning to buy peanuts and crackerjack. I'll make them add the bill and figure tax (0% on food) so that will be math. Emily can read the tickets to Eli and he can lead us to our seats - literature, reading, and geography, right? And as long as they watch our pitcher Jimenez, they'll be seeing History in the making.
The best part of today is that we're going to repeat it on Sunday after church. Only Sunday we'll throw in a fast food lunch!
Sometimes doing something good for your soul involves doing something good with your family.
Actually, I'm taking a day off today. We - my hero and both kidlets - are going to the ballpark in the middle of the afternoon to watch the Rockies vs. the Diamondbacks. The hero is taking off in the middle of the week for no good reason except that I love baseball and he was able to get us really decent seats along the first baseline.
I'm marking the kids' attendance for school but we are not doing book learnin' today. This is real life and so much more fun. We'll head to Sam's this morning to buy peanuts and crackerjack. I'll make them add the bill and figure tax (0% on food) so that will be math. Emily can read the tickets to Eli and he can lead us to our seats - literature, reading, and geography, right? And as long as they watch our pitcher Jimenez, they'll be seeing History in the making.
The best part of today is that we're going to repeat it on Sunday after church. Only Sunday we'll throw in a fast food lunch!
Sometimes doing something good for your soul involves doing something good with your family.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
The more things change the more they stay the same
It's funny how so much can change in a mere four weeks.
The good news is that we don't have that obscene amount of paperwork to fill out anymore. We were in the process of adopting an 11 yo boy we know but his foster family finally stepped up to the plate and decided they'd keep him. I wanted this child and we would definitely be the better placement for him but the state... yeah, they don't always get it right do they?
I got the big pots planted outside. I should take pictures and post them with this writing but that would entail effort I'm not willing to expend this very minute. they are pretty, though, and I have to say I done good. I can see them from my front porch so maybe I'll enjoy them enough this summer. I miss having a garden.
After having 10 days of meltdowns and not getting anywhere with the mental health facilities in all of Denver and the surrounding towns and after finally threatening a lawsuit - and that's not an idle threat - I finally found an agency willing to get us the help we need for our 8 yo daughter. We used to have a psychiatrist we could call but because we only needed them for medication management and because the dianosis was only - only adhd (the kind of adhd that was intense and impulsive and dangerous to her well-being) - we were cut loose about a year ago. Well, whatever the behavior issues are, they aren't only hyperactivity. We, her doctor, and even the psychologist suspect bipolar dissrder and if that's the case she's on the wrong meds. And the only doctor that can determine and monitor the right meds is a psychiatrist. Which we haven't been able to make an appointment with because apparently there aren't any openings anywhere in this city of 1.5 million people.
Amazing, huh?
We lived this life a long time ago. Our oldest daughter (biologically the mom to this child of ours) is bipolar with schizo-affective disorder. She wasn't diagnosed until she was in her mid 20's but she's been bipolar for a lot of years. It wasn't a mental disease of childhood or even adolescence when she was those ages. It's only been a short 11 years since the professionals said "hey, maybe these kids can have this afterall". What we know for sure is that we can't live it again without help now. So I've become the crazy parent trying to advocate for my child.
And - no surprise here - the Hero hasn't exactly been a strong tower in all this. I'm having to teach him how to pick his battles with this child, how to effectively discipline this child (no small task in and of itself), and how to believe that this child will be able to grow into an amazing woman before we die.
At least the dog stays the same. Once a terrorist... umm, terrier, always a terrier.
The good news is that we don't have that obscene amount of paperwork to fill out anymore. We were in the process of adopting an 11 yo boy we know but his foster family finally stepped up to the plate and decided they'd keep him. I wanted this child and we would definitely be the better placement for him but the state... yeah, they don't always get it right do they?
I got the big pots planted outside. I should take pictures and post them with this writing but that would entail effort I'm not willing to expend this very minute. they are pretty, though, and I have to say I done good. I can see them from my front porch so maybe I'll enjoy them enough this summer. I miss having a garden.
After having 10 days of meltdowns and not getting anywhere with the mental health facilities in all of Denver and the surrounding towns and after finally threatening a lawsuit - and that's not an idle threat - I finally found an agency willing to get us the help we need for our 8 yo daughter. We used to have a psychiatrist we could call but because we only needed them for medication management and because the dianosis was only - only adhd (the kind of adhd that was intense and impulsive and dangerous to her well-being) - we were cut loose about a year ago. Well, whatever the behavior issues are, they aren't only hyperactivity. We, her doctor, and even the psychologist suspect bipolar dissrder and if that's the case she's on the wrong meds. And the only doctor that can determine and monitor the right meds is a psychiatrist. Which we haven't been able to make an appointment with because apparently there aren't any openings anywhere in this city of 1.5 million people.
Amazing, huh?
We lived this life a long time ago. Our oldest daughter (biologically the mom to this child of ours) is bipolar with schizo-affective disorder. She wasn't diagnosed until she was in her mid 20's but she's been bipolar for a lot of years. It wasn't a mental disease of childhood or even adolescence when she was those ages. It's only been a short 11 years since the professionals said "hey, maybe these kids can have this afterall". What we know for sure is that we can't live it again without help now. So I've become the crazy parent trying to advocate for my child.
And - no surprise here - the Hero hasn't exactly been a strong tower in all this. I'm having to teach him how to pick his battles with this child, how to effectively discipline this child (no small task in and of itself), and how to believe that this child will be able to grow into an amazing woman before we die.
At least the dog stays the same. Once a terrorist... umm, terrier, always a terrier.
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