Minnesota River Flooding

Photos from my parent's house, whose property ends where the river begins.   If you aren't familiar with their backyard, it's hard to know what to think.  I'll just say that from where I stood when I took these shots, you shouldn't be able to see any water.

In this next one, the arrow points to the stake in the ground that marks the spot where the water rose to in 1997.  If it reaches that stake, my folks will have to turn off the water, plug all the drains, and go stay in town.

The photo below shows the creek, which should be about three feet wide and shallow enough to see the bottom, and wade through without getting wet higher than your ankles.

 And then a few of Aliza and her grandpa looking for fish.  They only found weeds, sticks, and debris.   But they had fun looking!

We're Getting There

AJ is doing it!  He's drinking from a sippy cup!  I just have to decide if I dare give him his morning bottle in the sippy.  I don't know if I can handle the screaming and crying that early in the morning.  It might depend on how well we all get to sleep.  But, this was AJ's 2nd sippy of chocolate milk.  He sipped from it until it was gone!

Now that AJ has shown us he is completely capable of drinking from a sippy cup, I have a little less sympathy for Zack as he continues to fight it.

Zack is not happy about being served his milk in a sippy.  Not happy at all.  I'm surprised, I expected Zack to take the change in stride, and AJ to fight like a bear.  Just when you think you know your kids.....

Some Might Call it Failure; I'm Calling it Reassigning the Goal Date

At 1:30 I was awakened by the sound of a door slamming shut.  Subtlety, thy name is not AJ.

I got up and led him to our bed to try and get him to settle down, but he was very agitated.  Wringing his hands, tense, trembling a little bit.  I brought him downstairs and tried to sit down in the lazy-boy with him, but he had other intentions.  He went into the kitchen and he hesitated, and this is why perhaps my kids are slow to talk -- because they don't have to.  I knew exactly what he wanted.  I knew from the moment I heard that door slam.  But I waited for him to tell me.

He glanced at the refrigerator and I know he wanted to point at it, indicating he wanted juice or milk, but yesterday all day long, pointing at the fridge just got him a sippy cup, and that wasn't what he wanted.  So finally he looked at me and said "bot-l" more clearly than I've ever heard him say it.

I caved.

He drank two full bottles of milk, and then went right back to sleep.

So my new goal to be a 100% sippy cup house is next week Friday.

Bottles to Sippy Cups Update

Not terrific progress to report.  Today they had their bottles this morning and nothing to drink since.  We keep offering the sippy cups, shifting between passively setting them out on the table, to pleading, encouraging, bribing them to take a drink.  They refuse, stolidly.  Tonight they both cried themselves to sleep.  Might be a rough night.

FX Testing

Yesterday we went to a genetic counselor, Dr. Peirpont, at Children's Hospital, whom we are scheduled to see every few years.  We last saw her around 3 years ago.  A lot has happened since then, so we had a lot to discuss.  She examined the boys and was happy to see how healthy they are and how much progess they've been making in therapy.  They tolerated her examining them really well.  Maybe because we brought along the mini DVD player and our huge pack of Dora, Diego, Wiggles, and Wonder Pets DVDs.  She would like to get echo-cardiograms (yes, I'm aware I probably spelled that wrong, but I just don't feel like looking up the correct terminology right now, so bear with me) but they would have to be sedated, so if there is ever a time when they are sedated for something else -- like maybe dental work -- they can get the echo at the same time, killing the proverbial two birds with one stone.  Something for us to keep in mind, should the topic of sedation come up.

We talked a lot about my family, who has been tested and who has not, who is affected and who is not.  We talked about testing Aliza for the Fragile X gene.  We have never had her tested, and she has a 50/50 chance of being a carrier.  It's something I haven't necessarily been putting off on purpose, it's just that it's an expensive test and I wasn't sure how to go about doing it so that our insurance would pay for it.  Dr. Pierpont seems to think insurance should cover most of it.  As we discussed our family and the number of people who have been tested positive as carriers, we decided, for various reasons, it might not be a bad idea to test me as well.  By the way, if none of this makes sense to you and you want to learn more, check out http://www.nfxf.org/ to find out everything you ever wanted to know about Fragile X and how it is passed from parent to child.

So anyway, next Monday morning Aliza and I are going to go have some blood drawn to test our Fragile X repeat numbers.  I haven't told her anything about it yet, I'm not sure how much I'm going to explain it to her.  I obviously have to tell her something but I'm not sure she'll understand the difference between being a carrier and actually having the disorder, and I'm not sure I want her to understand it right now either. 

When we are done giving blood, I think we'll go to the Science Museum, which will probably soften prick of the needle a little for her.....and we might get ice cream, which will make me feel all better.

Friday is the Goal!

Hoping to have them 100% on sippy cups and 100% done with bottles by Friday!  We are going to have to hit it hard.  Today Zack even drank from a sippy cup a little bit, but it was just because he was talked into it.  He didn't actually quench his thirst with it.  And AJ fought it harder today, he's a tough egg to crack.

On a more positive note, we did the traditional "first time outside taking pictures" this afternoon.  You can always tell the first time out in the spring because we are all wearing jackets, the grass is brown, and everyone looks tickled to pieces to finally be playing outside.

Zack has to wear Aliza's old boots -- that is just the way things work when two boys follow a girl in the family -- somebody's going to end up wearing some pink hand-me-downs.  Can't be helped.

Battle of Wills

I nearly caved and gave him a bottle when he pointed to the top of this sippy cup and said "bottle".  He was so driven to get a bottle it motivated him to speak!  But as you can see, and as is ever more clear to me, he is quite a big boy, plenty big enough to give up bottles.  They love to chew on things, there is no reason they cannot chew on sippy cups instead of bottle nipples.  Change is just so, so hard....

So we did give them bottles eventually.  But we'll try again tomorrow.  Both boys put their mouths on the sippy cups.  With just a little more effort, they could be doing it.  It's going to happen!

Security Stuff

AJ:  1 long sleeved-shirt.  Pretty simple.  Sometimes, if that one cannot be found, another shirt can be grudgingly substituted.  Sometimes he pulls the blanket off mom & dad's bed and hauls it downstairs so he can lay on it.  There are probably, between what is in his bed, his brother's bed, his sister's bed, and already in the living room, probably 20 other blankets he could choose from.  But apparently mom & dad's is the best.

Zack:  at last count, his security items include a throw-pillow, two spoons, and ice cream scoop, and a big hardcover Dora the Explorer book.  All dragged around at the same time.

We just had to throw out the ice cream scoop since the handle broke off.  Hopefully he won't miss it.  If he does, I may have to give him another spoon or maybe a measuring cup.

Score!

Look at these awesome American Girl PJs I got Aliza at Once Upon A Child for $8!

And her awesome book which she insisted on holding for the picture.

I'm Judging a Book by its Cover

Did you know Half Price Books has an entire section devoted to the subject Paranormal Romance?  It's true.  That's where I found the Charlaine Harris books, the Sookie Stackhouse series, the Southern Vampire Mysteries.  And if I were going by the titles of the books or the cover designs, I'd never read any of them.  But, they come highly reccommended by my friend Amy, so I'm giving them a shot.

Anyway I picked out what I figured was probably the first in the series, based solely on the first publication date.....came home, googled the series, and the one I got isn't a part of that series.  But I've already read the first few pages, and I think it's pretty good.  So we'll see.....

We haven't begun the Bottle Battle yet.  Yesterday we had a little family birthday party for the boys which while fun, was exhausting from beginning to end, and this morning I just didn't have the energy to begin a battle.  Besides, there's no reason we couldn't begin tomorrow.  There's no law that says all new enterprises must begin on Mondays, is there?  If there is, it needs to be broken.

Anyway I discussed it with Mark, so we'll see how tomorrow goes.  We are both tentatively committed, and that's the best I can give at the moment.

We went to the mall tonight for dinner in the food court -- the easiest way we can go out to eat with the boys.  They can get McDonalds and the rest of us don't have to, and everyone is happy.  I thought it was going okay but then glanced over at AJ and noticed he was biting on his forearm pretty hard.  I told him to quit and he switched to the other arm.  We could see he was agitated but I'm not sure why.  It wasn't crowded or loud.  He's always been fine at the food court before.  It might have been that he kept dropping his McNuggets on the floor and we keep chastising him for it.  We didn't really chew him out, but every time he'd drop one one of us would go "AJ!"  He probably dropped, accidentally or on purpose, 4 out of 8 of them.  And dropped food at the mall is in a completely different category than dropped food at home.  There is no 5 second rule at the mall -- if it hovers anywhere near the floor, it's instantly diseased.

Anyway we came right home and he was fine by the time we got to the car.  Sigh.  It's always an adventure to figure out what is going on in these boys' heads.

International Fragile X Conference

I just completed the online registration for the conference in July.  I can't wait!  We attended the one in 2008 in St. Louis (the NFXF holds conferences every two years) and it was overwhelming, but amazing.  I expect this one to be even moreso.  I feel like I've gotten to know a few people online that I hope to get to meet in person now.

Also, I'm thrilled to bring Mark to the conference, as he didn't get to experience the first one.

An Aliza Conversation

The other day Aliza was telling me a story about her friend.  She said she cut her hand at piano lessons and was bleeding.  From this point on I was only half listening, because I started to come up with jokes in my head.  (What did she do, fall off the piano bench and hit a C-sharp?  Ha!  Ba-dum-bum!)  Then I thought I heard her say something about aliens, so I interrupted her and said
"What?  There was an alien in her cut?"
'No, mom," Aliza sighed, and rolled her eyes at me.  "Alien eggs."

The moral of this story is, always listen carefully when children talk, because there's a good chance whatever they are about to say is funnier and more creative than anything you might come up with.

The Bottle Battle

We've been talking about breaking the boys' bottle habit for a couple of years now.  5 years old, and still on the bottle.  Not to mention in diapers.  But, one developmental problem at a time.

So every once in awhile we talk about the fact that we are just going to have to quit bottles cold turkey, and force the sippy cups on them.  I know they are physically able to drink from sippy cups; it's a sensory thing.  Zack can actually drink from a regular cup.  But the only way we can drink on-the-go is if they can manage sippy cups and/or straws.  Both would be nice, actually, but again -- one battle at a time.

I want to do this bottle battle before it gets warm out, and I have to worry that they are dehydrated.  It's rained the past few days and dehydration is about the last thing we worry about right now.  Seems like maybe a good time to give it a go, right?  I'm thinking Monday morning, we offer them sippy cups.

Okay is it totally backing out on the plan if I give them their morning milk in a bottle first, and THEN start the nothing-but-sippy cups routine?  Because the thing is, I put their vitamin supplement in their morning milk, and I really want them to take that.  Plus, if they don't have that morning drink, therapy is likely to go badly that morning.  Maybe that's what I'll do.  Wish us luck.

Busier than a......

.....one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest
.....one-legged cat in a sandbox
.....one-eyed cat watching 9 rat holes
.....set of jumper cables at a family reunion
.....stump full of ants....
but apparently not too busy to make this useless list!

Anyway we've been busy around here lately.  The phone rings off the hook, and to Mark's great delight, it's not always for me!  He has an interview every other day for the next week or so.  It's so great to have some action on that front.

Yesterday I got a tour of the two elementary schools in our district that have autism programs, one of which the Wonder Twins will attend.  In both schools I could see a lot of similarities to the early childhood special education preschool the boys attend now, except that........everything was bigger.  The equipment, the kids, the hallways, the classrooms.  It's all bigger.  Some of those kids were huge.

I didn't see any kids that were as hyper as mine.  They'll shake the place up.

We should know within 1 to 2 weeks which school they'll be at, and then we'll start transition meetings.  This is a very long process which maybe is in direct correlation to how different kindergarten is going to be from preschool.

Today someone from the company that is going to organize our grant money came over to go over that paperwork.  It was about as interesting as that sentence.  That's all I have to say about that.


I'll wrap this up with a couple of photos....here's AJ double-fisting his McNuggets~

And Aliza wearing the necklace she got from her grandma's cousin, which used to belong to her great great aunt Mercedes~

Someday when I have more free time (insert laughing here) I am going to focus more on genealogy.  My goal is to record most of our family history.  This past weekend I got copies of a couple of letters my great great grandmother Flora wrote to her husband Elbert while he was in the Civil War.  I felt a little bad reading them, they are obviously quite personal, but it made me feel like I knew her a little bit too.

Learning about our Teeth

Aliza told me last night they learned about dental hygiene in school. She said that germs get in between your teeth and make a cafeteria in there, and that's how cavities are made. So she flossed last night, to get rid of the cafeterias.

Criers

This morning Zack found the case for Wiggly Safari and I took it away from him before he could destroy it.  He shrieked like I'd beaten him with it.

AJ whined and teared up in sympathy.  Not too tough an act for him since he'd cried piteously earlier when I didn't get the Wiggles video started quickly enough.

Now that Aliza's up, I can try to make her cry and complete the trifecta.

The R Word

There's been a lot of press lately about ending the R word.  I don't get too involved.  An article that appeared in The Week magazine last week does a good job of expressing my view on the subject.  I had to sign in to show I was a paying subscriber to see it online, so I'm not sure it'll work for anyone to click on it, but there it is just in case.

But the gist of it was this; ending the R word is all well and good but another word will just end up taking its place.  "Retarded" is just the latest clinical term to be made into a slur, right along with "idiot" and "imbecile" and "moron".  And I think the more we pay attention to the word and people who use it, the more power it has.  I don't mean to imply that I tolerate it.  Anyone who uses the term "retarded" derogitorilly around me is going to be sorry and embarrassed by the time I'm through with them.  But I'm not going out of my way to work toward condoning and outlawing it for the masses, either.  It's just not a battle I can muster the will to fight; another word will just take its place, eventually.  Right now instead of referring to someone as "mentally retarded," we call them "developmentally delayed" or "cognitively impaired."  How long do you think it'll be before kids are calling each other "developmentally delayed" in the playground?

After the health nurse left

I think it went as well as I expected.  The rules have changed, and behaviors now don't account for much for how much of a grant we'll receive.  The fact that the boys are not cooperative and bite people won't mean nearly as much as it did last year.  Also they don't have any gaping wounds I have to dress, or require feeding tubes or catheters, or anything such as that.  Those are the issues that bring in the big money, I guess.  So our amount will most likey go down, hopefully not too much.  She said we'll know in one to two weeks.

Both boys ignored her for the most part.  AJ heard her voice and refused to come downstairs at first, knowing there was a stranger here.

A Visit Pending....

Today the home health nurse is coming over to evaluate the boys and see if they still qualify for the grant.  Kind of a big deal although I'm trying not to worry about it too much, because I know they still qualify.  They both will probably be tired which will be helpful because we want them to show the nurse just how difficult -- I mean, how much fun-- they can be!

More afterward.

Sundays

Sundays in the winter are the worst.  It's the only day of the week the boys are completely free -- no school, no therapy, no nothing!  We take them to church fairly often but we struggle sometimes to fill the rest of the day.  Thank goodness my parents are on their way back from Galveston so we can go to their house on Sundays!

Yesterday we took the kids to Target and then to the Medford Outlet mall on I35.  We walked around there quite a bit since it was above freezing.  The boys do better just walking around than they do in a store.  For the most part it went really well though, except for in Payless Shoes when Zack tried to walk behind the cash registers and we stopped him.  He didn't like that and he started that scream of protest he does.  He's not a toddler anymore; when he screams, everyone stops what they are doing and looks at him.  We got his coat on him and went back outside, but he couldn't stop screaming for several minutes.  He had to stay outside while daddy and Aliza and AJ went through the Levi's store.  He just couldn't shake it, I guess. 

I was thinking he could have probably done with a few drops of Clonidine, but we hadn't brought it with us, of course.  Seems like often when I realize he needs a little something to calm down, we are nowhere near home to give it to him.  I need to start remembering to give him a little bit before we go places in the afternoons, I guess.

We stopped at our favorite fast food restaurant (i.e., the kids favorite fast food restaurant) and got chocolate milks for the boys and that did the trick for both of them.  A chocolate milk and a little car trip are like a valium for them.