Friday, September 19, 2008

Family Update

I haven't blogged in a while, so I figured I'd take a moment (or 20) and give everyone an update on the fam, and thus why I've been so scarce. So here goes...




Connor:

He's 7.5 months old now, and huge. Last time I weighed him he was 22 lbs. Apparently I make heavy cream. We are still nursing, of course, and that infection I had seems to have been gone for a few months now, thank GOD! This baby is so freakin' cute and sweet, I feel like he's what's keeping me together these days.

So, Connor is sitting up on his own now, and starting to crawl. He low-crawls very well, and is beginning to get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth sometimes. He'll be crawling for real before I know it! All of that beautiful reddish hair he was born with is gone; most of it had rubbed off except some ridiculous wings over his ears, so we buzzed it off. Now, he's got a head full of bleach blond hair! It's so adorable. I will post pics as soon as I can find my camera, which has been missing for several weeks now. :(



Kieran:

He finished his 6 months of speech therapy, and he has improved by leaps and bounds, but there is still much to learn. He was accepted into the ESE Pre-K at Talbot, and we go on Monday to write his IEP and meet the teacher (who is my first boyfriend's mother - yikes! - awkward). He should be starting the following Monday, if not sooner.

I have been busy making all sorts of visual aids to post around the house to help communicate various things to Kieran. We have a going potty sequence, an evening routine sequence, a daily calender, and an activity choice board. I am working on a feelings board and a bathing sequence. These seem to help him greatly, so I am excited to see how these new ones will impact him.

He is having meltdowns almost daily, and it's very difficult to redirect/distract him once he gets an idea in his head. The meltdowns are usually about something he can't have/do, and he doesn't understand why.

He is also having serious sleep problems. It's really typical insomnia. He either takes hours to fall asleep, or wakes up in the middle of the night and plays for hours. Sometimes he wakes up really early and won't go back to sleep. It has been exhausting for all of us. A good night is when he simply comes in our room and crawls in bed with us without waking anyone up, and he just falls asleep. Sometimes Robby crawls in our bed too, if he has a bad dream or something. There have been several times when we've woken up in the morning with 5 people in our bed! Thank goodness we have a king-size.



Devin:

She is resisting the potty learning like it's nobody's business! I know it's because of the new baby, but still! She knows what the urge feels like, and knows how to use the potty, but she just won't! I put her in panties and she just pees on her bedroom rug. GRRR! I'm ready to rip out her carpet and paint the cement underneath. We should be getting new floors in the bedrooms soon, anyway, to match the faux-wood in the rest of the house.

I'm hoping the are going to let Devin into the ESE class with Kieran, where she'll be a "role model" student. I sure could use the break.



Robby:

Ah, Robby. He is back in school, as I obviously decided against homeschooling after an awful summer full of boredom induced tantrums and begging for something to do. There's no way I can keep him busy enough full time, so back to public school he goes. He's doing much better this year so far, and I think it's because there are higher expectations in first grade than in Kindergarten. Less room to goof off. He's really good at math, that kid. He can sit there and do his math homework all by himself, no problem. Now, reading and writing, that's another story. He gets very frustrated with it. We are working on that.

Robby has developed some anger issues and has lashed out violently at me several times. I have found him a new therapist who we both like, and I have high hopes that she will help us through this rough patch.



Drew:

He has been working for Sears as an appliance repair tech for six months now. He has his own work van and drives all over creation to fix people's lawn and garden equipment. The money is decent, but the hours are very long sometimes. There have been many nights where he isn't home until 7:30-8pm. Those days are rough, since I have to do the dinner-bath-bedtime routine for 3/4 of the children all by myself. Reminds me of deployment, but with an extra kid in the mix!

Drew checked out of his Marine unit last weekend. I am so relieved, but I know it is bittersweet for him. He's still a reservist, but it's unlikely that they will deploy him, and even if they try, Kieran's disability will more than likely allow him to waive any "mandatory" activation. WHEW. We are losing our health insurance through Tricare, but I have already signed us up for the insurance through Sears. Not as good or cheap as Tricare, but it's insurance.



And finally, me.

Things have been completely turned upside down in my life since Connor was born. I have been neglecting the checkbook, forgetting to pay bills, and losing touch with friends.

I have never been so busy and exhausted in my life. I'm doing about 10-15 loads of laundry a week, and I can never keep up with the folding and putting away. I have joined an attachment parenting group that I am pretty active in, so I'm getting together with other moms and kids several times a week for various activities. I am so glad I found that group. <3

I am dealing with anger/irritability issues of my own, mainly due to sleep deprivation and stress due to my childrens' different special needs. My house is almost always a disaster, and that just adds to the stress, because it is impossible for me to keep up with all the housework. This, of course, leaves me with little time for myself, and even less time for my marriage. I am fervently reading parenting books to help me figure out how to regain some peace in our household.

So, I'm taking things day by day, and looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel.