I'm almost done so now I can get sick

We're on the home stretch of completing my son's IEP so my body has decided it's a fine time to succumb to those half cold half flu thingy. I have a stuffy nose and sore throat and a few aches but no fever. I sometimes feel incredibly tired to the point where all I want to do is lie in bed and sleep and at other times I feel almost human.

I don't feel quite sick enough to justify my husband staying at home so this has lingered on for exactly a week now. My son's IEP meeting was on Monday and I rallied enough to be fully present there. I also rallied myself to go riding later that day. The rest of the week I laid in bed until it was time to pick up my daughter and then looked after both kids until about 6pm when I just waited for my husband to get home until I could crawl into bed.

This weekend we missed four parties and may miss the fifth one today. Yet yesterday I deal with an insurance issue and also the lingering portions of my son's IEP.

I need to get better so I can have some fun!

Burning inferno

I feel most sad for all the wildlife dying out there and neglected pets and the firefighters who have lost their lives. This silly picture is for them and the CCI folks. I send my prayers to the people affected by the fire and the CCI dogs and people at the SW regional center. These brave folks are waiting in the path of two fires. The smoke and soot and air quality are terrible. They're staying there multiple nights in case they need to evacuate the dogs and cat and I think they mention bunnies? That's true dedication.

As a child of 12 I once had to evacuate one solitary cat from my dad's friend's house because of an avalanche warning. Unlike these folks I didn't have any animal carriers so I had to hand-carry this cat down the mountain. The cat was very worried and tried to claw me but I was well bundled up. The cat was so freaked that she jumped out of my arms and tried to climb up a snow bank. After that she realized that it was my arms or the cold snow so she stayed with me.

I know these dogs are very well trained unlike this cat but still it must be very freaky to them to smell all this smoke and ash. I hope they're all doing okay.

Pimped from Jed's blog

map of San Diego fires

Southern California Fire map

Look out world!

My little niece has started rolling over. I remember naively thinking that babyproofing didn't start until they learned to crawl. Special K at least milked every milestone for all its worth. As soon as she could roll she was rolling rolling rolling everywhere. Carpet wood floor no flat ground was safe from my little tumbleweed. Every little speck that I left on the floor was picked up and put in her mouth if I was careful. I told my brother all this. Hee hee.

My daughter walked for miles and miles

My daughter walked from 1:30 to 6pm for her school walkathon. She took one bathroom break. Otherwise she walked and walked and walked. 54 laps in all. I'm so proud of my little Kindergartener who could. I talk about Little T's determination all the time because life is more challenging for him but Special K also rises to the few great challenges her life presents her.

She also got her hair sprayed pink which she said "was scary for me."

I have been trying to tell her that a lot of life is just persistent effort over time or walking around and around. You do get prizes along the way but mostly the point is just to keep on going. I guess she knows that lesson at least for now. Do I say how incredibly proud I am of her?

Steps for Little T one huge victory

Little T can climb up and down the steps of his school bus by himself. His preschool teacher says she has worked with him on steps everyday. How she accomplished this miracle I don't know since in therapy sessions it has been difficult to say the least. Picture a screaming boy at the top of our stairs. Bribes offered and refused. Lots of "No" screamed loudly.

No screaming at school. But then it's hard to refuse his teacher anything. She makes it all sound so sweet and reasonable.

It looks like Special K will be a Daisy Girl Scout if we can find one more girl in the entire school to join the troop.

I really like being able to walk to Longs. I'm still perhaps a bit overly excited to have a Longs in my neighborhood. I think it brings back childhood memories of biking to Longs as a child and Longs was this wonder store full of delights like candy and Merlin the electronic game that all the kids wanted and amazingly my parents bought.

Bodies in motion

I'm thankful my husband made me tea and went shopping with me and Little T. Something he does quite a lot. He's really a very nice man.

It was good but a bit painful to get my back worked on. It was sweet to see that although I woke Tucker from his little puppy nap. He got up lifted his head and greeted me with a little puppy snuffle. To me it sounded like an "I know you and am happy to see you" sort of noise. It reminded me of how my children as young babies used to snuffle before they could coo at me. It's funny how in the end we're all mammals. I read this breeder's journal about her puppies learning the commando crawl. Oh yes I remember my kids learning that.

I loved visiting Little T's preschool today and seeing how excited he was to participate in "body class". The OT made it all about fire safety and engines. How could he not be excited. He laughed as he bounced on the big ball.

Gratitude

I'm happy because I kept Louie engaged 95% of the time yesterday during our lesson and he only tripped twice even though we were walking and we had a side walker too.

I'm thrilled that Little T is alive. A friend just wrote that yesterday was Infant Loss Day. I have no idea how or why he lived that first day but I'm so glad he's still here.

I'm pleased that the reason my butt still hurts is that the muscles are still tight and pinching a nerve. A good hard massage from my chiropractor Dr. Deb helped and I hope it will heal over time.

My kids and cat fence keep my cat Mori young

Yesterday at Mori's annual checkup the vet said that Mori looked like a younger cat. He's eleven years old now.

Last year he went to the vet having snuck outside and been abused by a neighbor who was convicted of animal cruelty and had to pay my vet bills and serve community service.

For several days he dragged himself around the house like a very old man. We worried about it and gave him lot of very gentle petting and tried to cajole him to eat and drink.

Now we have built a cat fence for our back yard. Yes they do work but periodically he finds a chink and worms his way out again. So we walk around trying to find the 1/4 inch hole he's exploited and patch it up. It seems more like something to do than a discontent with our back yard. He always returns at mealtimes meowing at the front door or when called. And our other cat seems perfectly content to stay in our yard and has never once escaped.

The back yard provides exercise sunshine and a lot of ways to run around. He also comes inside and gets a lot of petting and attention from the kids. My daughter carries him around with her arms stuck out. He's so big compared to her that he's secure but it's very peculiar to see them together. Then he wants less attention so he goes into our yard again.

The two T's - Same age different species

Little T and Tucker the 12-week old golden retriever puppy are so cute and adorable together. They are about the same age in terms of social behavior.

I ask Little T "Do you want to see Tucker?" "No" he says firmly. "Okay but I'm going over." Then he stares fascinated at Tucker. "Look he's chewing a bone." he giggles Every aspect of Tucker is commented upon. Then he doesn't want to leave. "No I want to see Tucker." just as firmly as he said he didn't 20 minutes before. Ahh the life of a three-year old.

Tucker's owner said that Tucker used to follow her on the leash very well but has just started sitting down and she has to carry him. I laughed and I said "That sounds very familiar."

I read some leash training techniques to try to get Little T to cross parking lots. Not that I use a leash but Little T still tugs on my hands and it hurts or abruptly sits down. We have mastered crossing the street pretty well now but an empty parking lot is apparently terrifying. It amazed me that one technique worked. I walked in front of him and took both of his hands from behind and walked slowly at his pace. He walked this way for few steps. My back was grateful it was just a few steps. Then he asked to just hold my hand standing next to me like a typical kid. On the way back he just crossed the parking lot holding my hand the typical way. Apparently I needed to show him that I was going to get him across the parking lot safely without picking him up.

Pet therapy and Chiropracty

My chiropractor has the cutest little golden retriever puppy named Tucker. He's 12 weeks old and has just learned to sit and lick instead of bite. Not CCI standards. But gosh he's cute and loves a good belly rub.

I was actually bummed when my chiropractor said that I only needed to come twice a week cos I'll miss lil' Tucker.

Kicked out of the center

Little T got kicked out of the Regional Center. He's no longer officially developmentally disabled. Still has his special needs but he's one smart little boy.

Thank you

Thank you Fenders Collision for fixing the latch on my car door so it shuts properly. You had the right tool and just screwed it in. And you all are so nice.

Thank you for the nice handwritten note my CCI friend.

Thank you Little T for having good vision even if you didn't want to cooperate with the optometrist.

Dear dog owner

Dear Dog owner:

My children love dogs. They really adore them in fact. Specific dogs that they know and trust.

You see my children recognize that each dog has his or her personality and training and that's how they judge dogs. I write his or her because my daughter always corrects me on the correct pronoun for dogs she knows. Both kids view dogs as sentient beings. My son greets dogs he likes by name. Both kids feel free to command dogs they know and expect the dog to obey. This makes for a much happier interaction as sometimes dogs do get over excited and forget that kids are two legged and not four legged.

My daughter thinks smaller dogs are "cuter" than bigger dogs but cute is only one factor in what makes a dog lovable. My kids' two favorite dogs are a lab mix and a golden retriever so clearly size isn't everything.

You say "My dog is great with kids." My kids want to make that decision for themselves after observing your dog. Please do not thrust your dog upon my children. If your dog is socialized your dog will not like it either. If my children take their time to observe your dog before they get close saying things to them like "You're afraid of dogs" will not help them get closer to your dog. If your dog is seen to be well trained or responds to correction my kids will approach your dog.

For those owners whose dogs are shall we say a bit excited? Perhaps your dog often strains on the leash or jumps up and is poorly trained or perhaps your dog is simply excited right now. My children can only judge what they see in the moment. These behaviors that you consider cute or harmless or expressing excitement can knock over my small children and make them cry. I don't think you should take it personally if my kids keep their distance. As soon as your dog settles down my kids will approach.

I've also taught my kids that some dogs work and should not be petted. For them these dogs wear a vest. They've also learned on their own that these dogs tend to hold more still. So if your therapy dog fits this description please don't take it personally if my kids don't pet your dog. They're still learning all the finer nuances of dogs. They're only 5 and 3 so they have some time yet.

Thank you for your understanding

Mom of two small keen dog observers and lovers

Little T's First day of preschool

Little T's first day of preschool went well. No tears. He just climbed up into that school bus like he'd be doing it all his life. He sat patiently as he was strapped into the vest.

The preschool itself apparently proved a bit of a challenge as his teacher said "he didn't want to go along at first but he was persuaded." But he was clearly not bored or missing my mommy which were my two biggest fears. I'm sure he'll learn the preschool routine. The first day is hard for almost everyone adults included.

Pictures when I get a chance. But as I learned with Special K's first day of Kindergarten. Post first. Pictures later. Or it will be two weeks after he starts. ;)