Cat video

I am trying this out to see if I can load videos more easily. These are my cats Oreo and Tiger.



**Well it looks like it worked. I am loving this flip camcorder! Now I just have to figure out what else I want to record. I can't wait to take it to the beach, but you won't be seeing me in my swimsuit!

Another video!

Ok here is a link to Elijah reading, but you will have to cut and paste. It just won't load and I can't get the LINK thing to work so here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVc7u_zerhw

Ten Years Ago Today

Ten years ago today, I was in the hospital having just delivered my second son Elijah. He was eight weeks premature and very sick! I had him a small rural hospital and he was transported to a larger hospital in Dallas. By 4:00 in the afternoon, I was discharged and heading home to pack a back to head to Elijah! He was such a small little thing at four pounds nine ounces. He needed a ventilator for the first twelve days of his life and antibiotics for an unspecified infection that we never did identify.

It has been a journey since he arrived. Jacob, who was almost four years old at the time, became an instant big brother. I had to juggle him around to the sitters between visits to the NICU. Eljiah spent five weeks in the hospital. When he did come home it was on oxygen.

His hearing loss was discovered the day he was coming home. It was quite a shock. a few weeks later he was diagnosed with Auditory Neuropathy, the cause of his hearing loss. That summer was spent going to see several specialists--audiologists, developmental pediatrician, cardiologist(he had a small hole in his heart, but it closed) and pulmanologist.

We are still on this journey and still have a ways to go. Overall he is a healthy ten year old boy, who has his quirks. He has bilateral cochlear implants, which have given him access to language and speech. He was diagnosed with tourette syndrome in the summer of 2008. He also has ADHD, OCD and anxiety. The journey has not alwyas been an easy one, but I am looking forward to continuing it with him!

Elijah on video

Giving this a try. I am practicing using a camera from work, so now I can finally share Elijah talking on video! It is a short video. He was playing on the computer. Tomorrow is his birthday! I am going to try to get more video later!

Update on Tics and meds

Elijah seems to be doing really well right now(knock on wood!)! He started taking a new medication for his tics back in February and it seems to be helping. We have also lowered one of his other medications that he had been taking for tics. Hoping we can lower it some more too. Both meds increase his appetite and he has PUT on some weight.

I spoke to the teacher about a month ago about his tics. She reassures him as do I that he can TIC at school. However, I still was thinking he was self concious about them. Now he has a "tic room" that he can go to if he wants to "get the tics out". It has really seemed to help him a lot.

I am seeing fewer tics at home, but he still has his "bathroom tics". For whatever reason he just lets those tics out when he is bathing. He makes all kinds of noises and slams his legs, feet and hands around the tub area. I guess he is relaxed in there. He has longer periods between tics and that has helped a lot. Back in February he never seemed to get a rest from his tics.


We have six weeks of school left and then we head to Alabama to see family and go to the beach. We are all so excited. Elijah LOVES the beach. It is one of his most favorite places to go. Jacob likes the beach, but is paranoid about getting sunburned, but I don't blame him on that one!

Recently Dead--Teacher Story

I made it a habit to bring in the Dallas Morning News(newspaper) each day to school. I would bring in the paper from the day before. One of the student’s assignments each week in their social studies class was to find a current event and write a paragraph about it. If there was an interesting story we would take the time to chat about it. After Hurricane Katrina we had many discussions about articles in the paper and also from the news on the television.

One day we came upon the obituaries in the metro section. I asked the students if they knew what an obituary was and they did not. There were pictures with some of the obituaries and the pictures were from when the person was younger. Some of the men were in military uniforms and the pictures looked older, like from World War II.
Emily looked at me and said, “I want to see the recently dead.” I replied, “These are people who recently died.” She said, “No, look these are pictures from World War II, so these people died during the war.” I then had to explain that these were people who died recently but that their family chose a picture of them from their past. They may have been proud of their time in the military so they chose a picture from that time.

You just never know what conversation may arise from a simple look in the newspaper.
The recently dead comment made me think of “The Handbook for the Recently Deceased” that was in the movie Beetlejuice!

Dating

I am seriously considering dating again. I have not dated anyone besides my exhusband in over twenty years. I feel so out of touch with dating. How will it affect the boys if I date? I am not looking for marriage, but rather just someone to get to know or have fun with.

I am still pondering the idea. I am not sure what to do. I did check out the eharmony website and it seems like one of the better dating web sites.

Any thoughts, anyone??

More progress!

I wrote about the small victory on Thursday for Elijah. Well we have had two more good days. Last night, I took Elijah to an ASL(American Sign Language) chat at a coffee shot about 30 min from us. My friend teaches ASL at a high school in the area and she has started a deaf chat night once a month. Elijah played very well with my friends three girls and overall acted like any other typical boy! He was a bit mischiveous but nothing horrible. When I counted backwards from three, no voice, only using my fingers to count, he would stop what he was doing and come to me! That is a huge step for him!

Today my sister-in-law, brother and niece met us at Chik-Fil-A(however you spell that) and the kids played in the indoor play area. At one point I see a woman speaking to Tabitha looking out the window. I figure the woman was asking Tabitha who Elijah's mom was. I went over and sure enough Elijah was being a little rough with some of the kids. I explained his issues to the woman, who was very nice, and asked Elijah to come down. We talked about his behavior and I told him it was time to go back to the table to eat some more. He left with me for the table and sat and ate his lunch. We talked some more about how he was supposed to behave when in a play area. After sitting for a bit, I let him go back to play. He did fine and no more issues. Now him just being able to leave with me to go back to the table with NO arguing is a huge milestone for him. It usually becomes a battle and becomes unpleasant. I did praise him later for how he handled leaving the play area and reviewed why he had to leave the play area.

He is defiintely making progress. They may be baby steps but he is moving forward.

Small Victories

I got a very nice email from a paraprofessional who works with Elijah. I usually correspond with his teacher so it was very different to get an email from the "parapro". She said Eiljah had asked to go to a different room to get his tics out. When he came out he looked anxious. She asked why and he said he was scared, but wouldn't say why. She asked if he wanted to go back to his classroom to get his tics out and he said yes. He spent 20 min. getting his tics out. He rolled on the floor, pushed his feet then hands against the wall and snorted/moaned many times.

The speech teacher came at the end of this 20 min and asked if he was ready for speech. He popped up from where he was and said YES!

The parapro mentioned in her email how hard it must be for him to concentrate and work when he feels like he has to move with his tics. He learning to communicate better with words and let his feelings out so they know how he feels. I sometimes wonder if he had not been born deaf if it would easier for him to deal with the tourete syndrome/tics. We will never know and I have to accept that. I am glad for the language skills he does have and that he is learning new skills to communicate. It was nice for someone to really SEE what he goes through and "get it". It was a small victory for him today. He gained some acceptance and understanding.

Let's Wrestle

Elijah really loves to wrestle. It isn't that easy with him anymore though. He weighs about 80 lbs now and can really wrestle. His newest thing to say is "I'm going to take you down girl!" He says it in this funny way and it just makes me laugh. I am trying to set aside time each day to just do what he wants to do and if that means wrestling than that is fine with me. Although I have to be careful, because he can really squash me if he wants to! I don't think he realizes how big he has gotten. We still have a long ways to go with behavior but for now we are in a good place and I have to be careful because HE may just take me down!

A Day at Home

Well I stayed home yesterday from work, because of an issue with my tire. The tire indicator light(which looks like this (!)) had come on and I knew I had a problem. Oh and with my OCD I worry about my tires all the time and I LOVE this new light indicator. It had come on last week and I had had air added to one tire and here the light was on again. I pulled into Discount Tire at 7:15 am and they didn't open until 8:00. Now I drive 30 min to work everyday and then drive at least another 100 miles on average daily for my job. I really didn't want to have a flat tire or a blow out somewhere in East Texas so I waited. I decided to call in and take a personal day because I also needed an oil change and the element in my oven was out.

So here I was with a day to myself to get chores done. I also found out a Taste of Wylie was happening so I paid for that and met my dad, stepmom and her mom for lunch. It was fun and I ate way too much. The repairman called while I was there and I met him at the house. He had my oven fixed in about 15 minutes and so I was glad I had stayed home to take care of things. I also picked Elijah up from school and then we waited for Jacob to take him to a doctor's appointment. Well, Elijah threw up at the doctor's office and they checked him out too. No strep, so we figured a stomach virus maybe.

Now, Elijah came home and held down water(by the spoonful at first) and sprite. He also ate some toast. He played on the computer and then went to bed. He said he felt fine so I dropped him off at school today. I know, bad momma, but I had kids to see and a meeting to attend. I almost made it to work and the school called. He was in the office tired and saying his tummy hurt. I stopped by work, talked to them and headed home.

He was dead asleep when I arrived at the school. He came home and ate some toast with some sprite. I made him lay down in my bed and we watched a movie together. Well, guess who fell asleep? ME! I woke up to the sounds of Wii in the den. He just ate a peanut butter sandwich and seems fine. I am wondering if he just had a touch of something OR just an upset stomach. He does take prevacid for acid reflux.

Now yesterday when I was home, I also cleaned house and did some other things. I also had SEVERAL phone calls from work. Today I have been lazy and taken a nap and played on the computer. It was nice to have that nap today, but OH MY it took a bit to wake me up. Maybe my batteries will be recharged now and it was nice to lay with Elijah and just watch a movie. Just letting my mind wander and then just falling asleep. Forgetting all the worries from work and from life. Sometimes it is just nice to have a day at home!

Beavers Built the Dam--Teacher Story

The first story I want to share is “Beavers Built the Dam”. I swear if I ever write a book about my time as a teacher of the deaf, this will be the title of the it. It has been the inspiration for me to start keeping a list of all of my “stories” from my time in the classroom. By the way, I won’t be using the students’ real names and every student I refer to is going to be named Emily. Emily was the name I would have chosen if I had had a girl, but no girl for me.

BEAVERS BUILT THE DAM



I was teaching at the high school at the time and had four hearing impaired students. Most of them had good speech and did not rely solely on sign language to communicate. I always signed with them, but most of the time they spoke and didn’t use their hands to communicate. I had two students in a World Geography class. One day we were studying Egypt and having a discussion about the chapter in the book. There was a picture of the Answan Dam and of course a paragraph about the dam. I was talking about the dam when my young lady, named Emily, looked right at me, pointed to the picture of the dam and said, “Beavers built that dam!”

I looked at her and said, “No, beavers did not build that dam. Beavers build dams but not that dam.” She then replied, “Beavers built the damn” and again pointed to the picture. She was very sure of herself and was determined she was correct. Now this picture was of a large cement dam and it was clear to see that there was NO way an animal built the dam. I grinned from ear to ear and stifled a chuckle and again said, “Beavers build dams, but NOT that dam.”



I then went to my computer to connect to the internet. I pulled up several pictures of dams that were built by beavers. I called Emily and the other student over so we could discuss HOW a dam built by a beaver was different from a man made dam.

We had a good little chuckle over it and from that point on, if something outrageous was said in class we would say, “Oh that is a beaver built the dam story
.

Teaching Stories

I have been in education for almost twenty years now as a teacher of the deaf. I am no longer in the classroom on a daily basis as I am now head of my department. I have many stories from my days in the classroom though, that I would like to share. I once thought about writing a book and still may some day, but for now I'll share them here in my blog. I'll share my first story this week and hope to have at least one story a week! I hope you enjoy them!

Krispy Kreme

I grew up with Krispy Kreme doughnuts in my hometown of Mobile, Alabama. Every Sunday, after church, we would go to Krispy Kreme and get to chose two doughnuts. The white powder doughnuts were my favorite. Sometimes we did go to Polman's bakery instead and I would get two cupcakes, but Krispy Kreme was my preferred choice on Sunday. The hot glazed doughnuts were like eating pure sugar! Sinful!

In 1980 we moved to Richardson, Texas and soon found out there were NO Krispy Kreme stores in Texas. Oh it was horrible! How could we stay in Texas without our Krispy Kreme. We did learn to adjust, but everytime we visited Mobile one of our first stops was Krispy Kreme. In fact, we went several times while we were there.

When my exhusband, who was my boyfriend at the time, visited Mobile with us we soon made him a convert to Krispy Kreme. When a store finally came to Texas, in Arlington, he went and stood in line for me for two hours to bring me back a two dozen doughnuts. This was after we were married. Arlington was about 90 minutes away, so it was a trek to get the doughnuts. We actually would make the trip every few months to get our Krispy Kreme fix.

Later a store opened up a little closer, about 45 minutes away. One time, my little brother Alex went with Jacob, Elijah and me to get doughnuts. He was about thirteen at the time and bought himself half a dozen glazed doughnuts. I bought two dozen doughnuts for my dad's family and two dozen for my family. We decided to eat a few at the store and Alex was standing there eating his doughnut when he moved his hand to the side with a doughnut in it. Elijah, who was about three years old at the time, managed to grab half of Alex's doughnuts. Since the doughnuts were HOT at thet ime, Alex never even felt Elijah pull half off the doughnut off. Alex went to put the doughnut in his mouth and HALF of it was gone. The look on his face was priceless. We both looked over and Elijah was shoving half a doughnut in his mouth.

A few years ago a store finally opened up in Plano, which was about 20 minutes from our house. The coolest thing was to stand and watch the doughnuts being made. We went every six to eight weeks to buy doughnuts. Elijah loved to watch the doughnuts being made. We all had our favorites. Jacob liked the raspberry and apple filled. I liked the apple filled and chocolate covered. Elijah liked the glazed(which he called Krispy Kreme) and chocolate covered with sprinkles.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts aren't cheap though and we started going less. Plus gas prices increased and we stopped driving to Plano as much. We went every few months when we were in Plano for a doctor's appointment or to do some shopping. A few months ago, Elijah and I decided to get some doughnuts after a doctor's appointment and the Plano store was closed. Poor Elijah just didn't understand it. The closest store is somewhere in Dallas and we just haven't gone looking for it.

My mom came in last night from a trip to Oklahoma and brought some Kripsy Kreme doughnuts with her. There are now two left in the box waiting for Jacob this morning. Elijah did not hesitate in opening the box this morning and grabbing a chocolate doughnut. I said screw the diet and ate two myself. This summer when we go to Mobile and then the beach I am sure we will stop and get us some Krispy Kreme doughnuts. It isn't just the doughnuts, it is the memories they bring to mind and the new memories they make. We still laugh about Elijah stealing half of Alex's doughnut, who by the way ate all six of his glazed doughnuts, well five and a half, before we got home that day!

Getting Easier

Life is a journey, as they say. Elijah and I have been on such a journey since his birth. I think we are finally on a good path. I am finally really beginning to accept and understand his Tourettes, OCD and ADHD. How they work together and how his brain is just not built like my brain. I am more at peace with it. I can better deal with him, which makes his life easier and makes it easier for him to be accepting of himself. I still think we have a journey ahead of us and he has his own journey to make. I am going to be there with him for as long as he needs me though.

Jacob's journey is more typical of most kids, but he is his own person. He has a lot of choices in the next four years as he enters high school next year. He is a good kid, and I can only hope that I have raised him to make good decisions.

I have my own journey too as a single mother and as a single person. I don't know if I will find someone to share this journey with or not. I'll just have to keep moving forward!

Shopping!

Well, I took both boys out shopping today. Both were in dire need of new shoes and both needed a few things to get ready for the summer. Jacob wasn't in the mood, but he never is. His mood changed some when we got to Target. He picked out his own shoes. Elijah found two pairs of shoes he liked and he could not make up his mind. I put both in the cart so he could make his final decision at the checkout stand.

We then went looking for clothes. I found some shorts and shirts for Elijah. We found one nintendo Mario Kart shirt that he was thrilled with! Jacob, who isn't quite fourteen, went and tried on size sixteen shorts. They fit! We had to go to the men's section to find some T-shirts for him. He picked out a "Blues Brothers" shirt and a Marvin the Martian shirt!

It was nice to buy things for my boys! They were both good in the store and we got in and out of there pretty quickly. I am not a big fan of shopping myself!! OH and Elijah chose the black sneakers over the white sneakers. He managed NOT to have a meltdown. In the past he sits and keeps changing his mind and cries over the shoes he has to leave! Much better today!

Team Sports--what it teaches kids

I signed Elijah up for soccer three years ago as a way to teach him social skills and to get him out more with boys his own age. For the last 4 seasons(2 Fall and 2 Spring) he has been with the same team--The Dragons. We were a smaller team when he first started and new boys have come on to the team as they have gotten older. Now he is playing U10 soccer and there are twelve boys on the team. Being on this team has helped Elijah a great deal with social skills and to follow along with others during a game. He is not the greatest player in the world, but is getting better at following with the game and running where he needs to be. Today he got to do a throw in and he did it correctly! I wear a mic and he wears a receiver on each processor so I can talk to him from a distance. It hasn't always been easy, but I think it has been good for him.

Since the beginning of this season I have seen so many boys who work well with Elijah. One night at practice, Elijah was the goalie and one boy, who is a really good player was heading towards the goal. He could have easily have scored on Elijah, but he chose not to kicking it in such a way that Elijah was able to snag it and keep him from scoring. Another boy today during the game, gave directions to Elijah on wear to stand. Elijah did demand to do a throw in and kept getting in one of his own players way. This same boy walked over and said something to Elijah, that made Elijah move and get out of the way. For a nine year old I was quite impressed. None of the boys get upset with Elijah if he misses a kick or isn't paying attention. This same boy always makes a point to talk to Elijah and interact with him. Another new boy on the team is always nice to Elijah and doesn't get upset if Elijah is having an off day and seems to be getting into people's faces(thankfully this doesn't happen much).

All of the parents know of Elijah's issues and are great with him. They don't treat him different and they always tell him he has played a good game. Looking at things now, I think playing soccer has been good for Elijah as well as his teammates. It has taught them acceptance and compassion. Something not easily taught and something I think they need to learn at a young age. I also have to say, his coaches are wonderful. They play him as much as they play the other boys and always high five him when he does a great job. No one minds that I sit with on the coach's side of the field to be close if Elijah has a melt down. I think this has been a good experience for everyone!

Another Update!

The week started off rough for Elijah, but slowly got better. He has had an increase in tics and a change in meds. I think that has affected him, but hopefully we are on the right track now. His stomach troubles have improved. I think he has about cleared out his system! He amazes me with his academic knowledge and his ever increaseing vocabulary. Just crossing my fingers that things continue to go well. He is playing soccer and had one of his better games last night. He actually kicked the ball!

Jacob is out of his room more and playing with friends. Now that the weather is nicer he is out playing with friends most evenings. He and two friends came in when the sun went down and have been playing back in his room. I'll have to send them home in about 45 min! I am glad to see him get out more and off the computer!

I am doing well. Work keeps me very busy. I will travel to Austin for a meeting at the beginning of May. I have a three day workshop in Fort Worth in July. Thankfully, I'll be off most of the summer!

We head to the beach in June with my mom, sister, and my nephew. It will be fun. My grandmother has been ill and I cannot wait to see her. Please keep her in your prayers.

The Middle!

Have any of you all seen the TV show "The Middle"? I just started watching it a few weeks ago and love it. The teenage boy named Axel reminds me of Jacob in so many ways. Jacob's hair looks a lot lot Axel's. They both have the exact same attitude! The episode tonight was really funny. At one point Axel says "OH MY GOD!" and it sounded just like Jacob.

He got a kick out of being compared to this kid! The younger son Brick is pretty funny too and so is the daughter, but I cannot remember her name! If you haven't watched it yet, put it on your list!

Just Tired

Well I guess we are back to "not so good" days at school. Another crappy day for Elijah after a crappy day last Thursday. He turned the day around, but not after pushing a chair down.

I also went to the social security administration office today to once again be turned down for SSI for Elijah. I make too much money, even without child support, which I am getting but not much of right now. I guess the middle middle class gets crap for special needs kids.

Just frustrated with it all.

It's Just Not Fair

OK, I just need to vent for a minute and let off some steam. I am not aggravated at Elijah, more at the situation.

For whatever reason tonight, he brings up our cat Ridgeway, who died in November 2008. This is over a year ago. He has been going to sleep with no problems since I can't even remember, but not tonight. Tonight I can hear him crying in his room. He mentions Ridgeway and how he misses him. Now you must realize, at this point he cannot hear me. I sign to him that I miss the cat too and it is time to go to sleep. He says YES and I leave after a few hugs and kisses. About ten minutes later I hear him sobbing in his room and so I go back in. He says I LOVE YOU MOM....I miss Ridgeway. I took him a melatonin pill and I put his processor back on. I am stern and tell him he must go to sleep or no computer for tomorrow. I tell him that Ridgeway did die and is in heaven, but NOW it is time to go to sleep. I hate to be so stern, but he doesn't GET IT when I am nice about going to sleep.

It just isn't fair that on top of having Tourettes with OCD, ADHD and anxeity that he has to be DEAF. With his implants he can hear, but there are SOME situations that he cannot....bathtime, swimming, and bedtime are the main times that I can think of. He does know some sign so I can sign to him, and he does talk back to me, but NOT enough sign for us to have a REALLY good conversation. It just isn't fair that he is deaf AND Tourettes, OCD, ADHD and anxiety. I consider that second grouping ONE neurological condition.

I am thankful that he does have such a good language set. His language skills are good, don't get me wrong, but there are times when it is NOT good enough.

OK, my vent is done and I feel better!

Playing with Others

Today I my niece Tabitha came over to stay with us for the day. Usually, Elijah can be a bit bossy with her and not interact well with her. I really enjoy having Tabitha come over because she makes a very good playmate for Elijah. She is a bit younger, but maturity wise Elijah is more at her age level. They did great together today.

We went to Walmart so I could do my grocery shopping. At one point Tabitha said, "I found 250,000 eggs yesterday!" I said, "250,000??". Elijah started lauging and he said, "No one million!" Well they both started going back and forth with, "I am going to pay you back 2 billion dollars," and the other would reply "No, I am going to pay you back $1,000." They went back and forth like this the whole time we shopped. Elijah would start running, she would follow and of course I would say "stop running" and they both stopped and would come back! Elijah got to act like a big brother instead of being the "baby" of the family. He was so polite and sweet with her. Of course, she is always sweet!

We came home, ate some lunch and the dyed some eggs. Again, they did great together. Neither of them were bossy, and they used very polite words when dying and decorating the eggs. Later they shared and played with toys. Tabitha asked if she could have a turn and Elijah said yes and let her have a toy.

I have seen so much growth in Elijah in the last few months. There is still a lot of work ahead for him, but he has come so far. My sister-in-law thanked me for keeping Tabitha today, but it was a joy for me for so many reasons. I also got to play with Tabitha, we did the Wii fit!!!

My Niece

I always wanted one boy and one girl when we were considering having children. However, I got two boys and couldn't be happier. I am a tomboy at heart and if I had had a little girl, she would probably NOT be a tomboy. I do get to borrow my niece from time to time. Her name is Tabitha and she is six years old....soon to be seven in July! She is definitely all girl and wears pink any time she can. She and I had a great time making cookies over Christmas Break. Today, she and Elijah will dye eggs for Easter. It should be a lot of fun!

She will have a little brother come the Fall and she will be the only girl when it comes to all of the cousins. She gets to remain the princess of the group!I am sitting here watching her do the Wii fit and she is too cute!

If I couldn't have a girl of my own, at least I get to borrow one and have her to myself for a day or so!

Roller Coaster of Meds

Elijah is back on the rollercoaster of medicine. We went and saw the psych today and she wants to lower his seroquel. Two reasons: 1)He has gained a lot of weight and this med makes him hungry. The risperdal does too, but that med is actually helping with tics 2) He is on the highest dosage of seroquel for his age and if it isn’t helping with tics then we need to lower it.

The only downfall is we don’t know how much the seroquel is helping right now. The risperdal has helped with tics but does the seroquel work with this new med and how will things change when we lower it. He will take half of his usual dose in the morning and at lunch. At least he is home for the next three days.

I have emailed his teacher so she is aware of the change and informed her it may affect his behaviors. We may have to ride it out until his body gets used to this change, because we really don’t want him putting on all of this weight. He is also severely constipated. Even if he is not hungry the risperdal and seroquel make him THINK he is hungry. He is on a OTC med now to help with the constipation.

I just wish I had a crystal ball so I could see how this change in meds would affect him. It can just send him for such a loop and many people don’t get how this change can affect him and HOW IT REALLY ISN’T HIS FAULT WHEN IT DOES AFFECT HIM. He can’t help it! All I can do is keep educating people!