Day #244

 Photograph 1: Josie having herself a bit of coffee this morning before school. Hoping the caffeine calmed her down a bit!

Photograph 2: Maeve working on shape cards during session. She does such a good job on them, I am so proud at how hard she was working during session today.

Day #243

No casualties, cats and kids are all fine even though there was a terrible toy avalanche in the girls room today! Sheesh! Think they have enough toys?!

Photo Lab for me today, school for Josie, session for Maeve with a team-tea-chat-meeting afterward. A busy but very productive day!

Day #242

I found this when I got back inside from taking Josie out to her bus this morning. I thought Maeve was content and occupied but I guess I was wrong. She got into the kitchen, into the fridge and was having quite a lot of fun with the cheese.

I started thinking this morning about Maeve's IEP yesterday and really processing everything that was said. It dawned on me that she was given another label yesterday: global developmental delays. Now, according to the experts, she is severely autistic with 17p13.3 duplication syndrome, sensory processing disorder, and global developmental delays. All of that aside, she is my little girl, my world and I love her to no end!

Reading Josie's progress sheet, sent home each day from her preschool, I saw something that didn't go over well with me. It seems the speech therapist is making Josie use PECS! WHY?! Why would you make a child that can and does speak regress to non verbalization by using PECS!?!? Josie had no interest in PECS before and went right into manding, it makes no sense to take that step backward with her. Make her speak, insist she use her words, I just don't get it!

Day #241

I am really slipping on this daily picture thing, seeing that it has been a couple days since I posted last. Not sure whether it is life getting in the way, my procrastination gene taking over or just plain laziness. I would guess a combination of all three, but that is just me!

Don't you just LOVE these pictures?! I am a bit biased but I think they are great! Josie with her pumpkin and Maeve, the blur that she is, not staying still long enough to have her picture taken; but I think it came out well, blurred action.

I had photography class this morning where we went over everything we have covered this semester in preparation for the midterm exam next Tuesday. Josie had school as well, according to her progress sheet she did well today. Following picture prompts for transitioning better and art, she loves art! Maeve had session with Shelley in-home and Ginger came to check in on how things were going. At 1:30p.m. Beth came to the house for in-home headstart and brought pumpkins and other gourds for the girls and stories to read. Next week she has a pumpkin painting project where they will paint the actual pumpkins she brought and put glitter all over them. Should be messy and fun! At 2:30pm we had Maeve's trienniel review at the Tuolumne County Office of Education. We had a FULL house, I would guess fifteen people, all there for one little girl! Lots of reports and information being exchanged. We decided on increased hours for her in-home program with a meeting in January or February to discuss progress. She will be getting a VOCA for her PECS program, an adaptive PE assessment, and speech. Coffee during the meeting didn't help a bit and I am so ready for bed! Three hours, I think I can make it...

Day #240

Maeve insisted on walking backwards most of our walk this evening. She was really enjoying the sensation of it, giggling and stumbling, waving her arms to see her shadow do the same. We went for a longer walk this evening than normal due to the fact that the girls seemed restless and were having a screaming duet, so I thought it best to get some energy out of them. Not much else to report, it has been a rather lack luster type of day.

Day #239

A wet spot like this to Josie is catastrophic and requires an immediate wardrobe change or she will scream like the world is ending! I am not over exaggerating in the least, I swear. Even smaller spillage requires as much! I wonder how she handles this at school or if she ignores it or maybe by luck it hasn't happened yet?

In the wee hours of the morning Maeve woke up three times from a sound sleep laughing uncontrollably, to the point that I was wondering what was wrong with her. When she tried to stop giggling she couldn't. Adding up the time elapsed in these on and off laughing spells was a whopping seven hours before she got considerable control of herself. I did not look to see if her eyes were dilated, I will next time though. She was not in any distress, and there were no convulsions so it makes me wonder if it was gelastic seizures or not. What else would cause a child to laugh like this? Ever since she was tiny she would either laugh or cry for 30-45 minutes at a time, we could set our watches and she would come out of it like a switch being turned off at about the same amount of time each occurrence. That hasn't happened for quite a while, until this morning that is. She has had an EEG and an MRI, both of which came back normal. She is a puzzle, my dear Maeve, one that confounds me on a regular basis.

Day #238

Josie was being a very attentive pupil as Evan tried to teach her how to kill goblins in a game on Kena's iPad, isn't this such a cute picture?!

Busy day today from sun up to sun down but all very enjoyable. First thing was getting Josie up and out the door to school. After which I got Maeve ready for session but took a walk with her before Shelley arrived. Then I was out the door with Guy for a photo shoot, can't wait to develop the negatives tomorrow. When I got back home Maeve was just finishing session and Josie was home from school. I made a batch of pumpkin bread and got finished just before Mackena and Evan arrived for another FUN visit. Now I am so ready for bed...one more hour to go, I think I can do it; but first I need to make a clean sweep of this place, it's a mess!

Day #237

We made chunky applesauce with Beth today during In-Home Headstart. It was very tasty, even the girls enjoyed it! Maeve really liked the peel, it ended up all over the place. We also did some coloring, made little Halloween sticker crafts and read a story. Fun! Fun! Fun!

Day #236

Josie is most definitely a mellower child when she returns from preschool. Even though she has been having a yelling-to-decompress fit when she first gets home, but she settles down once she relieves some stress from the day.

Maeve had OT this morning, where she was very much like a tornado. Whirling about from one spot to the next, unable to sit still long enough to get any fine motor work accomplished. The walk home afterward calmed her down a bit, but I noticed a lot more hand flapping today then during previous appointments.

I want to share my Prep. for College Comp. discussion board post for this week:

Success is the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors. Plainly, it is the accomplishment or happy outcome of trials and tribulations. Successes come in all shapes and sizes depending on who attains the victory. It can be as large as pulling through a lifesaving operation; or, as small as scoring the last piece of cake. Being a mother, I have gone beyond searching for the relevance of my achievements, and pride myself more in the successes of my daughters. Seeing the world through their eyes, even the tiniest hurdle cleared in growth is a tremendous party worthy success. They try so hard, tripping so often, but still get back up doing it again unscathed. Success is not only the attainment of things, positions or outcomes; it is also a state of mind. Success can and will be achieved when you have a positive, motivated mindset; but will never be achieved if you fail to try.

Day #235

Okay, maybe I am just too easily amused but doesn't this look like the dinosaur is eating the LPS dog? I thought so! No, I didn't set this up, I was on chat with Mackena when I looked down and saw this and just had to share :D

Day #234

It's Saturday, you would think I would try to relax because I really didn't have anything pressing that I needed to do. No, I just can't seem to do that. After finishing up household chores and getting Gerard over to watch the girls for a little bit, I decided to go get a haircut and do some shopping. Once home I worked a bit more on my photography portfolio, played with the girls, made dinner and then crashed in bed early. This picture is my Maeve in her pajamas all snuggled in next to mama, tired but very happy.

Day #233

This is a picture Ginger took with her cell phone while visiting Josie at preschool today. She looks so sweet and content with the activity that she is engaged in; but I have been told that is not always the case. I just got off the telephone with teacher Cindy, the woman standing behind Josie, and she had a few questions for me. She was concerned because Josie has not been eating or drinking anything at school and wondered what her diet was at home. After discussing that for a bit we decided that I would send a box of the protein bars that Josie will eat into class and after that Head Start will get them for her so she has something there that she will eat. Cindy also said the OT wondered if Josie has ever done the therapeutic listening program because she would like to start that with her. Cindy is also having to structure Josie's day more, they have actually broken her day down into 10 minute increments which they will start next week. Jo just doesn't do well with the free flow, do-as-you-please way the preschool is setup to run, she NEEDS more structure because that is all she has ever known and most autistic kids function better that way as it is. Josie has also been a screamer lately and drew blood today, pinching or scratching I assume. She is my snuggle bug but definitely the most INTENSE child in the classroom.

Day #232

Wow! It has been four days since I last blogged and a lot has been going on, I will catch you up in this post and try my best to continue a picture a day from now on.

Monday10/8/12: I got Josie on the bus to school, then Cyndi worked with Maeve while I made an unsuccessful trip to file a paper at the courthouse, I didn't realize it was closed even though it was Columbus Day :P

Tuesday10/9.12: Stayed home from photography, kept Josie home and didn't have session for Maeve. Instead we spent seven hours trying to stay out of the maintenance man's way as he installed a new sliding glass door in our apartment. What a headache!

Wednesday10/10/12: Josie was out the door to school by a little after 8a.m. Then Shelley arrived to work with Maeve just as the maintenance man was finishing the install and painting our deck. I was able to go file the paper I needed to and get some shopping done. Then it was home to the girlies and finishing my Prep. for College Comp. assignments and a roll of film for photography. Plus the beginning of the sniffles.

Thursday10/11/12: Photography at the college where I turned in an assignment, took a quiz and developed a roll of film. Back home to get Josie off the bus, Shelley finished Maeve's session then helped me with Maeve during Josie's dental checkup. Couldn't get any x-rays from Jo, cleaning went well but they are concerned with a couple stains. We are going to work on them, they are not cavities yet but could develop into them.Still battling the sniffles, feeling a bit better but not much.  The girls have gone through it already and lucky mama is the last to get it, we share everything even colds.

Now, I really want it to be bedtime...just a couple hours to go, I can make it!

Day #231

What a gloriously lazy day this day has been so far. Not much accomplished and I am completely okay with that. The girls and I went to the store early then have been hanging out, doing our nails and enjoying some music the rest of the time. Yes, even Maeve let me paint her toenails, a nice lilac sparkle. Josie loves having me paint her nails but this is the first time Maeve has participated. Now I think we will go for a walk before it is time for evening rounds of dinner, bath and bedtime.

Day #230

We had way too much fun with Mackena and Evan today! Here is a photo booth strip that we took using Kena's iPad, we enjoyed ourselves immensely with this app. We all laughed so hard, I think our stomachs were sore and our eyes watery by the time we finished with it.

We made veggie wraps for lunch, delicious! Lots of talk, laughter and just a bit of sadness. I am lucky to have such a wonderful friend! The girls were slow to warm up but once they did it was fantastic. Maeve ended up sitting on Mackena's lap, which made her whole month, and Josie wanted tickles. I think those two little girls have another person wrapped around their little fingers :D

Day #229

What a BIG yawn! Josie thinks getting up to get ready for school and out the door onto the bus at a little after 8 a.m. is quite tiring. From her progress reports it sounds like she is doing great, settling in a bit better, and listening to directions more. Give it a couple weeks and she will have the routine down to a science.

Day #228

That is one tired child! Maeve decided her swing was a good place to try to fall asleep, I don't blame her either. It is nice and cool outside, gentle breeze, swinging motion lulling her into drowsiness. Early bedtime after a long day, sounds good to me!

Josie was off to school today at about the same time as I was off to the college for my photography class. After which I went to the courthouse and filed for divorce, figure he moved out about ten months ago now and hasn't ever made the statement that he wanted to reconcile. I think it is about time to completely move on, don't you?! The lady who helped me in "self help" of the family law office was such a doll. She spent an hour going over paperwork with me, got me all the copies I needed, separated the papers to serve him from the papers I keep and/or file.  After that: I went home, cleaned house, did a batch of laundry, took a walk with the girls, made us dinner, and it is finally time to get them in bed.

Day #227

Maeve in Walmart this morning, we decided to go to the store after her dentist appointment and got stuck in the slowest lane, of course. She did really well though, only a bit impatient right at the very end. Her dentist appointment was the fastest dental exam I have ever seen. Maeve was being rather vocal so I guess they decided to kick it in gear. No cavities, nice spacing between her teeth, overall healthy chompers that Dr. French is very happy with. They were able to get two x-rays and a quick cleaning done as well, even though it took both Shelley and myself to hold her.

Josie's second day of preschool sounds like it went a bit smoother than her first. She was on the bus at about 8:10 this morning as happy as a clam. They added extra support in the classroom to free up the special education teacher so she could follow Josie around and be the constant aide that Jo needs at this point. She finger painted and drew at the easel, played with play dough and blocks, and had speech as well. She enjoyed riding the trike there and playing with the instruments too. All in all it sounds like she had a good day.

Day #226

Life has been hectic lately, and I realize I have missed a couple days; but I will catch you all up today and hopefully get better about keeping up on the daily photographs again. Maeve is doing a lot better, she is eating and drinking again, she also seems to have a lot of her spunk back. I think it was just a virus that got to her but we should have the results soon for the giardia testing.

Today was Josie's first day of preschool at Blue Bell Head Start. There she is sitting on the little bench right outside the classroom reading a Clifford story before class began. I received a daily progress report and it says: she assembled puzzles, practiced letter/number recognition, did rote counting, practiced turn taking, eye contact, transitioning, attending skills and following directions. I was called by the special education teacher and told that Josie mouthed a lot of things, even trying to eat play dough and sand, which I warned her about to begin with. She also told me how someone had to follow Josie around to aide her the whole time. Well, I did try to tell them at the IEP that Josie needed an aide at all times to troubleshoot behaviors but was told that they didn't need an extra person in the classroom and they could handle it. Now they are seriously discussing having extra supports for Josie during this transition time. Wow, you might actually think mom knows what she is talking about, huh?! We are also going to jump in with both feet into a full week schedule now instead of taking the extra, confusing time to ease her into preschool. She is ready for it but she NEEDS an aide and I would like one of the therapists she already knows to be that aide for her until she is more comfortable in a classroom setting. Anyways, in the end I only want what is best for Josie! She rode the mini bus home like a big girl and looked completely exhausted, she will sleep good tonight.