What's up with us!

I guess I have been a little busy, because I haven't posted since September. I am not sure what all to update you all on. I did get some money towards the rechargeable batteries from the insurance company.....a whole $147.00 towards $800 worth of batteries....YIKES right? At least I didn't have to battle them for it.

Jacob is still working at a local electronics store. He needs to take a certification test and then start applying again. We hope that the certification will help him with getting a job. Elijah is in 10th grade and doing well. He is having a very good year and still likes ROTC. I married my girlfriend back in June and we are doing well. We have been together for six years, but this will be our first married Christmas. I am not sure if that is a big deal or not, but I love Christmas anyway.

I decorated over Thanksgiving break. There are lots of presents under the tree, but I have been saving for a while. I had some medical issues back at the end of October and early November. I am going back in to see the gynecologist to see what can be done to help with that. It isn't anything too serious, but something that needs to be addressed.

I haven't watched the news since the election. As a parent of a special needs child, I was not a Trump supporter and I am still not a supporter of him. Enough of politics though. We are still waiting on gutters, insulation, a mailbox and for the fence to be repaired since the storm in APRIL! It has been almost 8 months! At least we have a roof and the majority of the damage is fixed.

Tiger was sick for several weeks and the vet finally figured out it was a severe allergy to fleas. He is off medication and wearing a flea collar. The other three cats are have flea collars too. We give him melatonin at night. He is finally growing back some hair and seems better. The other three cats are good too! They are a big part of our family.

Overall, Life is good. I am happy as are the boys and my wife. I love saying "my wife". I'll try to write more often, but we our lives are not that exciting!

SUMMER!

We started our summer on June 6th this year! We haven't done too much so far. I am keeping my niece two days a week and had hoped to do some fun things, but the weather is not cooperating. We were going to go to a local outdoor museum that has nature trails, but it rained the day we were to go. We have had a LOT of rain recently, so when I called I was told that the trails were REALLY MUDDY. We went to the movies instead and then out to Steak 'N Shake for lunch. I was going to try the museum again tomorrow, but we woke up to RAIN again. We haven't even been swimming yet!

Overall though, the summer is going well. I am taking fewer mystery shops so I have time to do things. We renewed our membership at the local recreation center so we try to go daily and walk. I have taken my niece and Elijah to the teen room at the library and they really enjoy that. My niece is now old enough to go to the teen room and she thinks it is SO COOL.

Elijah and I are going out of town for a few days and my honey will be here at home. We are going to go and visit my grandmother in Alabama and my mom is going too. Jacob is in Waco all summer attending school, but is home this weekend! He brought two weeks worth of laundry home! My grad school class starts on July 7th, but it is only ONE class so I think I can handle it. I will stop all mystery shopping by that date. Elijah has three doctor's appointments coming up in July. The newest doctor he has added to his list is the ophthalmologist. He didn't do very well with his eye exam at his check up a few weeks ago. He is also going to the pulmonologist and the audiologist. 

I also have two babies through ECI that I will be seeing all summer. One baby is only twice a month so that is no biggie, but the other one is weekly! I enjoy the babies though. We don't have any other big plans for the summer. I just want to try and relax and bit and sleep in!

Elijah's Nucleus 6 Processors Arrived Today!

I was quite surprised to hear my doorbell ring this morning. Elijah and I were getting ready to leave to go to the local rec center for his Lego Robotics Camp, when the doorbell rang. I opened the door to the FedEx man standing there with this HUGE Cochlear box. SunMed had said the processors would ship in 5-7 days, and today is only day 4. When I had talked to Cochlear they had said 6-8 weeks.

 

It also never fails that I miss anything that needs a signature from Cochlear. I always have to drive in to the FedEx office to pick up the shipment. I should have run out and bought a lottery ticket today! We had to rush off to the rec center so we didn't get to take a look at anything until we got home, 3 hours later.

 

We looked at all of the tiny little boxes in the two big boxes, and then left it all alone. I tried to snap the processor and battery together, but could not get them together. I decided to leave it alone, because there was probably something I was missing and I didn't want to break them!

 

I got an appointment for Elijah for Monday at 3:30! I am very excited for him. I will be sure to post pictures.  Here is a picture of him with the cool boxes his processors came in.

 

 

Mischief

The definition for mischief is--playful misbehavior or troublemaking, esp. in children. This definitely describes Elijah these days. He is not misbehaving to be mean or cause trouble, he is just being a kid and accidentally breaking things or driving me crazy. I think it is a mix of his Tourette Syndrome, OCD, ADHD and being  TEENAGER. I hope I can survive these teen years.

This mischief usually occurs when he is bored and doesn't have much to do. I may be busy with house work, grad school work, or just WORK in general. He has too much time on his hands and I am too busy to notice this mischief. After two days home with him on the weekend, I am ready to go back to work.

One day he will finish growing up and move out (I hope at least) and I know I will look back on these days and laugh. I will not want him to move out and have him be my little boy forever. I guess I should enjoy these times now and be glad he isn't out causing mischief, and is just causing it here at home.

ICED in AGAIN!

School was cancelled again today due to icy roads and unsafe driving conditions. The sleet started yesterday afternoon and didn't let up. Elijah was SO excited to have the day off. He spent the day watching TV and playing with Legos. I did get him to complete a few chores with me that we didn't finish yesterday. Jacob slept in and did his chores late in the morning, but has been on his laptop since then. I even ordered us a PIZZA for lunch to be delivered! I haven't left the house all day.

I walked 10,000 steps while watching the Oscars--OK not all 10,000 at once, but I met 10,000 for the day and will add a few more before bed. I completed one quiz last night and one quiz today in each of my classes. I even watched THE WALKING DEAD today! It was nice to get this extra day off and play catch up with my TV. I am also way ahead in my grad school classes, but I'll keep working. I would prefer to stay ahead then have to start playing catch up.

We are off for Spring Break next week, and then in a few weeks we will take Elijah to a Tourette's camp. He is very excited about that!

Update on Tics!

Elijah's new tic is still around! He seems to be experiencing a LOT of tics lately, both vocal and motor. He has also been more argumentative with me at home and teachers at school. He has had more issues at school too! We had already increased one of his medications by 0.5 mg in the morning, but I went ahead and called the doctor after another phone call from the school. He is now taking 1.5 mg of this same medication three times a day. Overall, this is an increase of only 1 mg per day. Overall this seems to have helped with his behavior and with tics.

We go back to see this doctor around the middle of January. I am hoping things stay stable between then and now. It is amazing to me how his behavior is tied to his tics, but I know his tics get on his nerves and drive him a little crazy. I know when I have the hiccups for a long period of time, that I am a little snappy with people, so imagine having tics constantly. I also think his tics tend to increase around the holidays, because he is excited about them. He is also out of his routine, which is  never good.

I took him to the movies today and he had several loud tics during the movie. Thankfully, they were spread apart and didn't all happen at once. He does pretty good and I tap his leg so he knows he is being a little loud. Here's hoping these tics calm down for him when we get back into our routine after the holidays!