Follow Up on the Cough

I took a half a day and took Elijah to the pulmonologist on Wednesday of last week. His breathing test was not as good as the one he had back in March. The doctor decided to put him on steroids for five days and gave me a prescription for an antibiotic as well. He also increased his inhalers to 4 puffs 4 times a day for a week of albuterol. Then for another week it would be three times a day and then back to two times a day and only two puffs.

I kept him home on Thursday, because he didn't sleep well and I wanted to get in breathing treatments over just using the inhalers. I also knew he would be wound up on steroids and he was. By Saturday, the cough was about the same so I filled the antibiotic prescription. Today was the first day that I haven't really heard him cough much. He it using his inhaler at school with the nurse watching him to be sure he is doing it correctly. I am glad he is over this hump. He has not had issues like this in a long time.

We already had an appointment for June 9th and we are keeping that one as a follow up for this cough as well as a typical check up. I am fortunate to have a doctor who is very pro-active when it comes to asthma! Some people wonder why I keep using a pulmonologist, and not just my pediatrician and this is why!

What a Weekend!

Elijah and I left on Friday around lunch time to drive to Austin to participate in the Family Weekend Retreat at the Texas School for the Deaf(TSD). Jacob had to work over the weekend so he stayed with my partner, who also had to work! We arrived around 4:00 and got checked in. We went to our dorm room and settled in. Dinner was at 5:30, so we left a little early to walk down to the cafeteria. I have learned from past experience, it is good to get to the cafeteria early when attending something like this!

We had about ten minutes to wait and there was another family there waiting also. Elijah and their daughter played and ran around a bit. The mother and grandmother chatted with me. I then hear a scream and someone crying.  I look over and Elijah is getting up and holding his nose. He had fallen while running up the stairs. He comes running to me and when he moves his hand all I see is BLOOD. The other mom handed me tissues and when I wiped away the blood, I saw this huge gash! It was deep. I knew it needed stitches.

He and I started our walk back to the check in area, because our car was there and I needed to find out where the closest hospital was. I was a nervous wreck. This would be my second trip to an ER in two weeks and this was in another town! The nurse looked at Elijah's nose and agreed it needed stitches. Someone offered to drive us, because by this time I was in tears and my hands were shaking. Elijah was crying and all I wanted to do was take care of him.

We arrived at the ER and they got us back pretty quick. The woman who took us waited in the waiting area. She was the first of many angels that night. They took X-Rays and he had also broken his nose. He got five stitches. Elijah was not very happy about stitches and threw a fit. I told him they would have to give him medicine to calm him and he would get sleepy. There would be no ice cream social at TSD if he was sleepy. He calmed down and after two huge shots he got his five stitches. We then got his prescription for antibiotics and left. It was now around 7:45. We found a CVS and arrived right around 8:00. The pharmacist then tells me they closed at 8:00. I explained the situation and she filled the prescription. Our second angel of the night.

We arrived back at TSD and they had saved us dinner. TSD is a huge campus. It reminds me of a small junior college and there are lots of stairs! Another staff member then drove us over to the ice cream social in a golf cart, because the walk was SO long. This was Elijah's favorite part!!! We ate our dinner, had our ice cream and Elijah got to play with other kids. He was a real trooper!

The rest of the weekend was awesome. I went to workshops on Saturday and Elijah went to a day care where he got to play with other kids. He swam, but did not submerge his head due to the stitches. He had an awesome time and he behaved! I arrived back and we hung at the dorm until our group got to eat dinner. We then went and watched them shoot off rockets at the football field and then hung out with some other families. Let's just say we crashed hard that night and were in bed by 9:30.

Sunday morning was our last to be there. Elijah went to day care after breakfast and I went to two more presentations. We left around 11:15 and met my sister and nephew for lunch. We are now at their house!

Once we get home, I will post some pictures that I took. I really enjoy connecting with other families at this retreat. This is also a time when Elijah gets to be around other deaf kids his age. There was a good mix of families there with kids who signed, talked or did both! If you live in Texas, I encourage you to take your family if you have a deaf child. It is only $75 for the weekend. You stay in the dorms and they feed you while you are there! You can't beat this deal. Just be careful on those stairs, or you will spend some time in the ER. OH and I am ever so glad to have that accident insurance, WHO knew I would need it again so soon!

Phoebe in Wonderland

Phoebe in Wonderland is a movie that depicts a family dealing with a child with Tourette Syndrome. The family does not know this is what they are dealing with at first. The daughter acts strangely, makes sounds, spits, has OCD tendencies and overall is just not acting "normal". It was a hard movie for to me to watch, because I had gone through the range of emotions that the mother in the movie goes through. I had thought there was NO way that Elijah had Tourette Syndrome. Even when we suspected it, I didn't grasp the full effect of this condition.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to get a better understanding of Tourette Syndrome and its co morbid disorders. There is a point in the movie when the family is eating dinner. There are the two girls(Phoebe and her younger sister) and the parents. I don't remember exactly how it all starts, but the girls tease their parents about having a baby. They keeping being silly and saying the mom should have another baby. The parents are extremely stressed with everything that has been going on with Phoebe and the father looks at her and says(and I paraphrase) "Do you think your mom can handle another one like you?" Of course, he regrets it as soon as he says it. The daughter is hurt and the mother is upset. Later the parents talk and the father tells his wife that he has apologized to Phoebe, but the mother is still very upset with her husband. She finally says(and paraphrasing again) "You said exactly what I was thinking. You are right, I can't handle another one like her." I cried through this entire part of this movie. It was at a time, when I felt the same way about Elijah. I just didn't know what to do with him or how to best help him.

Elijah is doing very well now and I am thankful for that. We have had some very rough years, and we may have some rough times again, but I am better equipped to handle it. He has good doctors and a great staff at his school. We just take it day by day!

The Wind Brings a Cough

The wind has really come through today. We had gusts up to 30 mph this afternoon and they are supposed to get stronger tonight. Elijah had good day at school and we had a nice night together. I put him to bed and within 10 minutes, THE COUGH starts. Now this just isn't your regular cough, this is that "OLD MAN WHO SMOKES 2 PACKS OF CIGARETTES COUGH". I immediately go back to his room and he informs me he has a cough. He follows me to the kitchen and I give him a teaspoon of prescription cough medication, that has codeine. The bottle said 5 ml and when I measured from the spoon into an actual small 5 ml measuring dispenser, what I had given him wasn't enough. SO, I gave him a bit more and a breathing treatment.

All of this kept him up longer than his usual bed time. He is usually OUT by 8:00 or 8:15. I emailed his two teachers to let them know what was going on, because between the prescription cough medication AND staying up a bit later, his behavior could be ALL over the place tomorrow. He is fast asleep now and I am hoping that this was just a small flare and all will be better tomorrow. It never fails though, we go to the pulmanoligist and get a good report and then a week later, he is sick! Keep him in your prayers that this will all blow over!

Trip to Endocrinologist!

Elijah visits the endocrinologist every six months at Children's Medical Center in Dallas. He has "short stature" when you look at his information. We are keeping an eye on him to make sure that he reaches his genetic potential, as the doctor puts it.

Since July of 2012 he grew just over an inch. After a quick physical exam, the doctor said there is definitely testosterone in his system and he should be entering his growth spurt soon and we should see him grow taller in the next 12 months. This is good news, but not a guarantee. We will go back in July of this year to see how much he has grown and then around this time next year. We also learned that this doctor sees patients at the Plano hospital, which is a LOT closer than Dallas for us. Plus, a lot less traffic!

This is always an easy visit and we are usually in and out within 30 minutes. Elijah is always worried that there will be some kind of needle involved, and sometimes there is(drawing blood) but this time there was not.

We go see the psychiatrist on Monday and check in with her. We will have good news for her since we are seeing such an improvement in behavior. I will be glad to share this with her and we NEED to pick up another prescription! We have a three day weekend and I am going to let Jacob drive us to the doctor on Monday and to some of my mystery shops! He needs the practice!

Sugar!

In yesterday's blog I mentioned that I thought the sugar from the doughnuts affected Elijah and made him arguementative. Well, today he got in trouble for hitting another student. The principal called me and he has consequences at school and I had some for him at home. I told her I was going to check online and see what he ate for lunch. I can check through the online parent page for the school district. He had a LARGE ice cream and chocolate milk. Both of these things have SUGAR! I emailed the principal to see if there was any way to monitor what Elijah eats in the cafeteria. She was going to check with the cafeteria manager.

When the principal and I talked about the incident at school, I asked how he reacted when she came and got him. He calmed down a great deal faster and was better behaved than he had been in the past. This was very good to hear. She also said he got back to work and very focussed on his work. I do think the new medication is helping a great deal, but we still have to be diligent with everything! Hopefully, he will have a better day tomorrow. Up until he hit the kid, he had had a good day! I guess that counts for something!

Update and Will it Last

Elijah had an AWESOME week at school last week. He has seven chances to earn a red, yellow or green(green is the best) for each class he has. He had all greens for every day but one last week and on that day he still only had one red. NOW, will it last?? That is the question. He was more argumentative this weekend, but then I realized he had two doughnuts for breakfast yesterday and one today...HMMM...could that be it. He earned them by having good days. Let's just say, he will be working for money for next weekend. No more doughnuts for him! I just think the sugar gets to him and causes it. We shall see.

I did email his teachers to ask them how he is really doing. We are going back to the doctor in a week and I really want to give her a good update on how he is doing. The green marks on his status sheet give only part of the story. I am hoping I haven't jinxed things by sending the email. We are also going to the endochronolgist this Friday....I sure hope he has grown! I'll keep y'all posted!

Medication

Elijah takes a great deal of medication to address his Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADHD. He also takes medication for his asthma. We recently changed his ADHD medication and he has been much calmer and more focused. We have noticed a significant change at home and we were glad to see that he had two very good days since we went back to school this past Monday.

Elijah brings home a status sheet each day that lists each class period. He can earn GREEN which means he behaved, a YELLOW which means he needed prompts and behavior was not so good, or a RED which means he had a really hard time in that class and there was probably a trip to the office to calm down. Elijah had ALL GREENS for the last two days. He was so proud of himself. Today he had six greens and one red. He had an extreme meltdown after lunch and his teacher had emailed me. She was curious to know if I might know what set him off.  I really had no idea. She also mentioned he had a bit of a hard time in PE and maybe that started it. Now Elijah gets NO iPad, nintendo or Wii during the school week. He had purchased a mini iPad of his own(saving for a long time!) and I told him if he had an ALL green day he could have 30 min on the iPad. I was shocked that he had had two all green days.....he had trouble getting even four or five greens in one day for the last few months. I thought maybe he was worried about getting the iPad and so that caused the melt down.

Well, later tonight, he went to take his evening medication and he says, "Mom, my Tuesday medicine is still in here." I went and looked and sure enough he had not take his medication last night. I always remind him to take it and he always goes and takes it. I remember reminding him last night, but I had not double checked to make sure he took it. I emailed his teacher to let her know that he had not taken his medication last night and this was probably the reason he had the melt down.

I know there may be many people out there who don't believe in medicating children OR adults, but Elijah couldn't function in the world if he didn't have his medication to support him!

Looking Back on 2012 and Forward to 2013

Here we are again at the end of another year! Overall, I would say it has been a good year. There have been several milestones this years for all of us. Jacob took driving classes and got his permit. He is now a junior and got his class ring! He is taller than me and growing up way too fast. He has a friend that is a girl, who has been over to our house several times. He and I have had some really good talks lately and he showing signs of becoming an adult and other times he is still such a teen. Next year brings him taking his test for his driver's license and turning 17. He still plans to referee soccer and then possibly getting a job in the summer.



Elijah is in sixth grade and will enter middle school next year. He will soon enter his teen years when his birthday rolls around in April. He told grandma today that he will be 13 in 2013! He is still such a little boy though. Children with Tourette Syndrome act 2/3 their age when it comes to maturity and I can definitely see this with Elijah. He is 12 but sometimes act more like an eight or nine year old. I guess he will grow up soon enough. He has had his ups and downs this past  year and we have made many changes in medications, but through it all we just keep on going. We recently made a new change in his medications and I think it has been a good change. We will know more when he goes back to school. He still sleeps with his stuffed animals and likes for me to tuck him in. One of these days he will grow up and not want me to "mother" him too much, so I think I will try to enjoy it while I can. Here is playing with a castle he made using styrofoam. He has a good imagination.

 

Things continue to go well with me and my honey. We have had a wonderful year together and are looking forward to many more years. We have fixed up the house and have plans to fix things up even more. We talked today about putting money away to travel to Germany in a year or two. I enjoy our family and I see such a difference in all of our happiness since my honey came along. My job is going well and keeps me busy. I enjoy my job and it brings me much satisfaction when I see growth in our students.

I am not sure what 2013 has in store for us. Jacob will have to start thinking about what he wants to do after he graduates. He still plans on being in ROTC next school year. Elijah will change schools in the Fall and have new teachers to get used too. I am sure something will change at work, it always does, but I will just have to roll with it. I know my honey will be there to support me through all of this as I will support her.

Please be safe tonight and Happy New Year!

Dealing with a Special Needs Child

This is a link to a blog titled, "I am Adam Lanza's Mother: A Mom's Perspective on the Mental Illness Conversation in America."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother-mental-illness-conversation_n_2311009.html

I read this blog and thought it was very well written. I hate to say, that since the shooting in Connecticut I have thought of nothing else then could this be my son? Elijah has a neurological condition and his brain doesn't always work right. He can get angry at time and have full rages. I don't share this too often on this blog, because it is hard to talk about. He takes four different medications in the morning and then two at night to help him with his implusivity and his tics. People with Tourettes can have Tourette Storms--he has trouble controlling his anger and when he is in the middle of one of these storms, there is no reasoning with him.

Thankfully, these storms do not happen very often and very rarely happen at home. When he is at home he is in his most comfortable place and there are not as many demands as there are at school. These storms seem to happen at school and we can go months without one and then when he has one it is out of the blue. When he does have one it is a lot of yelling and kicking at walls. He has been known to bite objects and people. He may also spit at people.

We manage as best we can with medication. I run a strict household with written rules. He has no access to the iPad, computers or video games during the week. He gets limited amounts of these things on the weekend. Many people may think I am too strict with him, but they don't understand. We don't go places during the week so we aren't out late at night. He needs to be in bed by 8:00 if it is a school night.

When I hear other parent's stories, I am thankful that Elijah's problems don't seem too severe, but then when it flares up I am saddened. At times, I wonder if I can continue, but there is no other choice. I am thankful for my partner and for others in my family who support me emotionally. Jacob is an awesome big brother, but even he has his limits.

I do love my little man though and we will keep on keeping on....it will get better.

Two Days of Doctor's Appointments

Having a week off of work usually means a few doctor's appointments for the boys. I don't like using my stocked up "leave" at work for doctor's appointments. I usually need them for sick days for me or the boys or for the random appointments we just can't get scheduled during a break!

It started yesterday with a visit to the pulmanologist for both boys. They both got a clean bill of health and we were done in about 90 minutes. This is pretty good for this doctor. We have been there for three hours before, for a scheduled visit...not a sick visit.

We came home and then Elijah and I went off for a visit to the audiologist in the afternoon. We made sure his back up processors were programmed and then did a hearing test. Here is how he did:

Right ear:
250 Hz    10 db
500 Hz    10 db
1000 Hz   10 db
2000 Hz   5 db
3000 Hz   10 db
4000 Hz   10 db

Left ear:
250 Hz 15 db
500 Hz 15 db
1000 Hz 10 db
2000 Hz 5 db
3000 Hz   5 db
4000 Hz   5 db

We were all pleased with the results. She asked if he had a favorite "ear" and I told her that he prefers his right ear over his left. She says that is pretty common for kids who had their implants done with years in between surgeries. I mentioned that he still has to wear his left "ear" because I know he gets benefit from it. When I have him wear only his left ear it NEVER falls off. He uses it just fine and hears excellently with it. I guess he just gets tired of all of the noise!

Today we went to see the psychiatrist. It was a quick visit and for now we are leaving all of his medications the same. She thinks he is doing well and that we just have to keep up with the behavior management.

The next round of doctor's appointments start with in January with a trip back to the psychiatrist and one to the endocronologist. We go back to the pulmanologist in February!

I have a lot to be thankful for:  Elijah's cochlear implants, medications for both boys that help with their asthma and for Elijah's Tourettes, OCD and ADHD, my sweetheart and for my extended family.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Tics Are Still Here!

Elijah's tics have lessened a very small bit in the morning, but are still pretty intense in the afternoons and evenings. I called his doctor today and she decided to add 1/2 a milligram of his tic medication to the mornings. We will see if that helps. One of his new tics is to BLOW out of his nostril as hard as he can. He sounds like he is blowing his nose, but has no Kleenex. I know he can't help it, but it is sort of gross. The licking tic is also still here. He licks his hand or fingers and touches his face. He will do this over and over again. He also makes his noises! They don't seem to bother him much and they really don't bother me, but I know it is hard for people who don't get it. Its not like you can tell he has tourettes when you look at him. Hopefully adding this medication back to his morning will at least lessen the intensity of these tics. I am also hoping the blowing the nose tic runs it course and goes away before school starts. We may have to get him some tissues to carry so at least when he feels the urge he can put a tissue near his nose.

Update on Tics and Sleeping!

Elijah's tics are still around, but they seem to be a little less intense.  I notice them more in the afternoon and early evening before he goes to bed. I realized today that I hadn't heard any LOUD tics in a while, but had heard some quiet ones. I'll have to pay a bit more attention tomorrow.

Now Thursday and Friday night he had a hard time going to sleep. We had eaten dinner late and he had a late bath. He gets an hour of electronics at night and I think he was playing to close to his bed time. I changed things up and now there are no electronic games after 8:00 and he fell asleep just fine last night. I am very glad of that! He slept almost eleven hours last night! He fell asleep quickly tonight too! I'll update things in a few days and hopefully we won't have to add an additional dose of a medication.

Friday Night is Pill Night!

Once a week, I sit at the kitchen table and get Elijah's medications ready for the week. He has this exact pill dispenser that you see pictured above. It really does help to have this organizer.Jacob takes two medications a day and I take three, so I get those ready two. However, Elijah's medications are the real work. He takes four pills each night and seven pills each morning for a total of eight different medications. There is one pill I have to cut in half! That makes life even more fun. He never complains and takes his pills each morning and each night. He even goes and gets them out of the weekly dispenser each night when I remind him to take them.

I so wish he didn't need all of these medications. There is one pill for his asthma and the rest are for his ADHD, OCD and tics. He also takes two inhalers in the morning and the same two in the evening! Some pills are yellow, others are green or white, but they all help him. His tics are about the same and throat clearing has been added to his list of vocal tics. I hate to say, but they wore me down today and so I know they must wear him down at times. If they continue, then I will call his doctor by Tuesday and see what she has to say. I have tried to catch him on video again, but if he hears me turn on the flip camera he just stops. Now some would say he can control his tics. Well, he can for a while, and then watch out...he explodes with tics. I just can't seem to catch them on video.

I am thankful there are medications that can help him. However, there is no blood test that can show which ones really help and HOW they help OR if we need to change something. It is all a big of a guessing game, and sometimes doctors make very good decisions and sometime we try something and it just doesn't work. I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes!

More Tics!

I took another video of Elijah, actually two videos, and figured out how to splice them together. I am technically challenged when it comes to videos. You hear more of his noises on this one and see the licking again. He is making a LOT more noise than is what on the video, but I can't seem to catch him in the act.

You may wonder why I video him, well, he doesn't tic on command and there are some(teachers, principals and some doctors) who have never really seen him TIC like this before! I want to have evidence for the doctor when I call tomorrow. I'll be more than happy to email her a copy of the video or send her a link to the website. I know she believes me, but I want her to see it. This video is just a small example of what he is going through right now.

Here it is!

Tics are Back!

Elijah and I visited the doctor about two weeks ago and he decided to take Elijah off one of his medicaitons for his tics. He stated that another medication Elijah was on SHOULD control the tics and this one we were removing, let's call it medication R, was a duplicate of medication S, so he didn't need R any more. Well, here were are a little less than two weeks later and TICS are back in full force. He also isn't going to sleep at night like he used to, so last night I gave him 1 mg of medication R. He slept almost 11 hours and has been much better today. He isn't as moody and I am seeing fewer tics. Now really, tics don't bother me, but one of them is him licking his hands and rubbing his face. After a while, his face gets really chapped. He has two sores around his nose already and I don't want more. I tried to get a video of his tics to show the doctor, and got this short video. He noticed me recording him and controlled his tics. He is also making LOTS of noises, which aren't an issue, but can get on your nerves after a while. I know it can be very physically exhausting for him as well which affects his mood!

We actually saw the doctor last time we went in. He usually sees the nurse practioner and I will call HER tomorrow to get her opinion. He had been on 3 mg of medication R and I just gave him 1 mg yesterday. I would rather he NOT have to take medication, but I would also rather he not harm himself. Also, licking your hands all the time can spread germs(there is my OCD at work!)

Here is a very short video of his tics from last night.

Freeze the Cheese!

One of Elijah's medicine's makes him very hungry. This has resulted in locking up food in my bedroom and also putting a lock on the freezer. Every afternoon he has two tortillas with two cheese slices for a snack. I leave it all in the fridge and he heats it up himself. Well, he started eating the cheese slices in the fridge and we were going through cheese quickly. I also worry about him putting on too much weight. We finally took the cheese and started freezing it it with two slices put together. I used parchment paper to separate the cheese into two slice groups and then put them together in a ziplock bag. It has actually worked out quite well.

Now fruit is always available and shockingly enough, Elijah chose an apple for a snack the other day. I was quite proud of him. I am thankful for the medicine, but I hate that it has caused him to gain so much weight. I guess you have to weigh the pros and cons of medication. Right now he needs the medicine so he can't function, so I just have to make sure I monitor what he eats!

I am also monitoring what I eat and have started back on weight watchers. I lost five pounds during my first week! I am very motivated this time around!

More Puke, Poison Ivy, Doctor Visits and Mystery Shopping

Wow! What a title, but what a 24 hours it has been. This time last night, all was well in the world. Elijah had a great day at school and we had some great leftovers for dinner. I did notice I had a rash on one of my arms, and decided it must be poison Ivy from the yard work I did. I put medicine on it and hoped it would improve. My partner made it home from a late night working and we went to bed around 10:00.

My partner wakes me up around 2:45 in the morning saying, "I think Jacob is throwing up in the other bathroom." I get out of bed and sure enough, he is in there puking. He finished up, washed out his mouth and went to bed. I told him he would be staying home from school and he actually tried to argue with me that he NEEDED to go. NOW this is a turn around! Well, I won this argument and we went to bed, or so I thought. Forty-five minutes later I am up again with him puking, but there is NOTHING more to puke up so he is puking up bile and having a really HARD time. He even let me wipe him down on his face and neck with a wet wash clothe. We again went back to bed and 45 minutes later, I was up again with him. Needless to say, this kept going on and on. I decided to stay home and get him into a doctor.

I make it up around 6:30 and get Elijah off to school on the bus at 7:40. I called the clinic in town and got an 8:30 appointment for Jacob and one for me for my poison Ivy. The rash had spread and was also on my other arm. In the past, when I get poison Ivy, I don't usually have much luck with over the counter meds. I let my partner sleep, because she had to work later.

We went in and poor Jacob threw up in the trash can in the waiting room, but BOY did they get us into a back room quick. We then saw the doctor. He got a shot for nausea and I got a steroid shot. He also got a prescription for nausea and I got one for my rash so I won't itch it.

We come home and Jacob just goes right to sleep. The puking stops and he is able to hold down some liquids. I leave around 11:00 to get our meds and conduct one mystery shop in town and get a free lunch. I then come home and check on him and leave to get Elijah around 12:45. We head out to McKinney where I do two quick mystery shops(that I had planned for later, but since I was off, why not?) and then we go to the psychiatrist, where they inform me that our appointment is not until 4:15. What the heck! NO way....I remember having to make it for 2:15 so we could see the doctor, not the nurse practicioner. They were nice, but ugh, we would have to wait. Well, I had some shops that I could do instead of waiting for the weekend, so Elijah and I went and did the shops and grabbed an ice cream while we were out. I took a few phone calls from work and THEN we arrived back at 4:05 PM to wait until 4:30 to see the nurse practicioner.

All goes well with her and we don't change any meds. I stop on the way home for yet another mystery shop to get dinner which I bring home! I had planned this shop ahead of time, but it wasn't too far from home.

It was a LONG day and I am sure I'll be JUST a little tired tonight. Jacob is back asleep after eating some chicken noodle soup and I am hoping he makes it back to school tomorrow and NO ONE else gets sick.

Puke, Meds and other stuff!

My mom came into town yesterday to see all of us. She came by the house for a while and I helped her file her taxes online! She then took the boys and I out to dinner with my brother and his family. We had a very nice dinner. Elijah didn't want to eat much of his dinner though, but did want dessert. My mom went ahead and got something for him, which I shared with him.

All seemed fine when we left, but when we got in the car I hear, "I just puked" from Elijah in the backseat. As I looked back and noticed the puke on his shirt, he puked again. I yelled for him to get out of the car and he did and puked once again. Oh my! I took his shirt off and cleaned him and the car up as best I could. I then drove us home. I now had the debate of whether or not to give him his meds. He came home and sat on the toilet for a bit and thankfully had a BM. I am assuming at this point that he was just stopped up. I gave him a bit of water and waited. He held that down so around 7:30 I gave him his medication.

I put him to bed around 9:00 and he seemed OK. Well then he yelled for me around 10:00 and said he had to go to the bathroom. Halfway there he said he had to puke so I pushed him along faster. Now, remember, he just got out of bed so NO ears....meaning NO hearing. He makes it to the toilet and OH my did he puke. He said he was done and came over towards the sink for me to wash his face and OH MY he projectile pukes ALL over the sink. I moved him back to the toilet where he continues to puke while I clean up the sink area. OH MY was it a lot and was it ever gross. He finally seems all done and says he feels better. I gesture out to him that the Easter bunny is coming and to NOT eat any candy in the morning. He seems to understand and I put him back to bed. I signed to him to wake me up if he felt bad in the night.

I woke up this morning to find him asleep on the den floor. Thankfully, there were no candy wrappers on the floor around him. He and Jacob looked for eggs in the den and then Elijah tried to eat some chocolate. I got to him in time! He ate two pieces of toast for lunch. NOW the dilemma again....do I give him his meds? He has had so little to eat and I hate for those meds to just SIT in his stomach and make things worse. I waited an hour and he kept down the toast. I decided to give him his zoloft and singulair, but to hold off on his other meds. He went with me to run some errands around 10:00 and fell asleep for a while. It is now 12:10 and he hasn't puked again! He had a little bit of sprite to drink, two small sips and so far so good.

I am hoping this was just an issue of him being stopped up and not a virus! I have a roast cooking for dinner later and am planning on just having a laid back day today. I really don't want to have to clean up more puke!

Spring Break

Well Spring Break did not start off well. I got a phone call around 3:15 on Friday afternoon(last day of school) that Elijah had been aggressive again at school. I could hear him in the background yelling. Isn't life grand? I was told what happened and that they were afraid that he might not get on the bus. I was 90 minutes away and there was no way I could get to the school in time. Thankfully, he did get on the bus.

Needless to say, he is grounded for the entire Spring Break. He doesn't get to play with his nintendo DS, the Wii or my iPad. I have also found several web pages with free math and language arts worksheets. He is working on some now and worked on some yesterday.

I did call the doctor on Friday, because Elijah had been having a hard time falling asleep for the few nights prior to this and was awake before I woke up. She upped one of his meds and we had a planned trip to see her for Monday(tomorrow).

He has been pretty good all weekend, but he does show his attitude at times and I send him to his room. I really do get that he has impulsivity issues, but he has also got to learn how to control it or it will always get him in trouble. He has a pulmanologist appointment on Tuesday and Jacob sees the orthodontist on Wednesday.

Needless to say, when Elijah is grounded, I am also grounded. I limit what I watch on TV and he wants my attention since he doesn't have much to do. I would hope at some point, he would "get it" but I guess it is going to take more practice.