Lent

Gosh, I have been so wrapped up getting to St. Louis that I put Lent out of my mind. I did think about heading in to church for Ash Wednesday, but did not. I am sorry to say that I am not the best Catholic, but I try.

In past years I have given up behaviors rather then things. The way I see it is Lent is to better yourself. I can give up chips, chocolate, tv, but really, I want to give up something I will never never go back to. Quite frankly, I know I could give up things for 40 days, but I know me, I will go back to them. So instead, I have tried giving up behaviors to try to be a better person.

Previously I have given up taking the Lord's name in vain. I was the worst at staying OMG. Now I say gosh all the time. I like it better. So much nicer on the ears and better to hear repeated by little voices.

It took two years of giving up swearing for it to really get there. I am still working on it, but am so much better.

I was driving the boys to school this morning trying to think of what I should give up this year when a car pulled up beside me at the light. The young man had a hand flipping the bird hanging from the rear view mirror. I thought, what a horrible way to start the day! The first thing you see before you even hit traffic is negative and all the cars that see it could send you negative vibes. YUCK!

Then I thought about my morning, and all my mornings. I am NOT a morning person. In fact, I am a night owl. I would much rather stay up until 2 am and get up at 10 am. That works well for me. Of course that does not work with kids. The boys go to bed well and around 7:30. That means they are up early. I have tried changing that, but they are just early risers. They will never be kids to sleep until 8.

So I work on going to bed at a better time, but I am still tired in the morning. Matthew is prone to nightmares and rarely sleeps all night long. In a good week, I get two nights of uninterrupted sleep. On average, I am up twice a night.

That makes for one grumpy mommy in the mornings.

And I thought about that as I saw the hand flipping the bird. I do start out my mornings tired and grumpy even before I get in the car. I need to change that.

So, for Lent this year, I am going to try and embrace the mornings. Smile and be happy for the kids. Give them a boost first thing every day, even if it is 6 am.

Wish me luck, this one could be on the books for the next few Lent's.

Sensory Processing Disorder

When Matthew was little we said he was colicky. From the day he was born, he SCREAMED 24-7, and continued for the first 4 1/2 m of his life.

When he settled a bit, I did some reading and decided that Matthew was a spirited child.

When he was a bit older, I did some more reading and decided he was a spirited toddler.

When he was even older, I read a book called Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka and cried when I read the case studies, this was my child.

Then we started Matthew in preschool. He had a lot of issues and needed a full time aid to keep him from running out of the building and working with him to get him involved. The first day, after 5 min of observation, the coordinator asked me if he had Sensory Processing Disorder. It was the first I had heard of it.

Looking back it made sense. To name a few, loud sounds would send Matthew screaming and crying from a room, often taking cover under his crib or behind the rocking chair in his room. He still covers his ears when Happy Birthday is sung. He never liked to finger paint. Ever. Would not touch his fingers to it.

I don't think Matthew has full blown Sensory Processing Disorder, but he definitely tests on the high side of normal and it sure explains a lot. Thankfully, he was able to work with an O/T once a week all last year to help him out. It did wonders for him.

Which takes me to this morning.

Matthew was dressed and we were going to head out the door for school when he went to the bathroom, yet again. I followed him and he was washing his hands, again.

"Mommy, my hands stink and I can't get rid of the smell." Wash, wash, wash.

He leaned over for more soap.

"MOMMY! It's my shirt! It stinks!"

I smell it, nothing and I tell him that.

"MOMMY! You don't know but it STINKS!!!!!" Meltdown eminent in 5...4...3...2...

"Let's change your shirt." Meltdown on hold...

New shirt still stinks according to my sensory child. We decided that maybe some of Daddy's cologne will help. It manages to fool him for a few minutes until we are getting boots and jackets on.

"Mommy! Now my mitts stink! And my jacket!"

I push them out the door, the icy cold air stops his complaint for the moment.

Now we are in the van driving.

"Mommy! Now my hat stinks!" Off comes the hat. "And my mitts!" Off come the mitts.

"Matthew, it is really cold, you need those on."

Meltdown commences. Screaming, tears, kicking feet, flailing of the arms. Then a split second of silence before I hear at the top of his lungs "MOMMY!!!! THE AIR STINKS!!!" Followed by retching sounds. Gosh, I thought he was going to make himself throw up at the thought of the smell.

All of a sudden my brain kicked in and I remembered the words of a friend (Thanks Lisa) 'Gum works well for sensory kids'

I pass Matthew a piece of gum. He chews. He settles.

He was calm by the time I pulled into the parking lot. He ran into class and started his day like nothing had ever happened.

Until the next time...

Now you have an understanding as to why I am worried about a full leg cast for 6 weeks.

The flights are booked!

Gosh, this is all happening so fast. I had a message on my machine after dropping Matthew off at school this morning. It was the travel agent ready to book our flights.

I called her back and we are now booked. I called Craig and told him, his reaction was "I guess you really are going then". Ummmmmm YEAH!

The flight times are not the greatest but we had to go with the cheapest not the most convenient and seeing that Shriner's are paying, who am I to argue?

We leave early in the morning on Sunday March 29 and arrive back in Calgary Tuesday March 31 in the early afternoon.

Now for the hard part. I have to tell Matthew.

Running

I recently met a small group of moms online who's children have the exact same combination of needs as Matthew. They all have clubfoot with nerve damage or neuromuscular clubfeet. It has been absolutely wonderful to chat with them as they are a wealth of knowledge having already seen Dr Dobbs, as well as the feeling of comradeship. I started to wonder if I was giving anything back to them as Matthew is the oldest of the group and has had the most 'work' done.

In the process of chatting with them, they have read some of my blog and were happy to read that Matthew not only runs, but plays soccer and does everything that other kids do. I realized that I needed to show them how well he functions so they can see how their own children may one day be as well. Yay! Feels good to give back to them!

So, here it is girls, here is Matthew running all out this morning racing his brother in the gym of the school. (Matthew is in the red shirt)


Alright, don't blast me, I know what I am going to say sounds selfish. He looks great running, can keep up with other kids, is doing fantastic. But... (there's always a but isn't there?)

Here is another angle of him running. If you watch carefully, you can see where he is compensating. He swings his arms with as much force as he can as well as both of his feet are now turning to the left of the screen because of the regression.

Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that he is able to compensate and run and play soccer and do everything an average 6 yr old can. I am also relieved that we are going to see Dr Dobbs and find out what needs to be done to stop this regression and get him on the right track. If he is compensating this much at 6, I can only imagine what his gait will look like after puberty without intervention.

Thanks, I needed that.

First a small update on the Dr. Dobbs appointment. Matthew has an appointment March 30 at 8:30 am. The Shriner's travel agent is going to call me back later today with flight and accommodation details. Shriner's is covering both of our flights as well as accommodation and meals.

I am so thankful.


Winter Camping update.

Our first foray into winter camping was a HUGE success. First of all, we had fantastic weather. Sunny, clear blue skies, not a breath of wind and this was the view. At night it was about -10 C (14 F) and during the day was 6 C (43 F). Our trailer was toasty warm, in fact I was warmer then when we had the tent trailer out in the summer.

A weekend away was just what I needed. It was a quiet, relaxing weekend filled with fresh air and exercise. No one wanted to leave Sunday afternoon. In fact, the boys were desperately trying to talk us into just one more night. Guess we will have to get out again soon before Matthew gets casted. Who can resist this much fun?

In shock

I jumped onto the computer to blog about how I dropped the tire off this morning at 8:30, dropped the kids off at school, got groceries, picked up the tire and am now getting ready to load the trailer.

I turned to the answering machine to see the flashing light, hit play and hear a voice telling me that he has spoken to Kristina in St Louis and our possible appointment dates are March 2, March 9, or March 30. What?! This is INSANE!! I just called Shriners last week about this time!

I am so shocked that I can't even call back yet, I need a few minutes before I call, I can't formulate a proper sentence yet let alone think of when all this needs to start.

One thing I need to take into account is Ryan's 5th birthday is March 18 and he will be having a party. Can't have Matthew and I away for that.

March certainly has become a significant month in our lives.

The best laid plans

Ever since we bought the new trailer, we have been planning to get out winter camping. So, when we saw the weather forecast for this weekend, we thought why not! It is supposed to be above freezing during the day, and not too cold at night.

Got going today, got the calls made to the campsite, packed the kids clothes and my clothes, got the menu made, grocery list made, and Craig brought the trailer in from the storage site. It is sitting out front right now.

Tomorrow I need to buy the groceries, warm the trailer, load it and be ready to go at 3:30. Yay! Getting out of the city just appeals to me right now. Quiet, hikes, tobogganing, hot chocolate, fires... what's not to love?

Craig pops his head in the door, one of the propane tanks is almost empty. Crap, so off to Costco he runs to get it filled. I can't do it, it is just too heavy for me. Get back, and CRAP! We have a flat! Picked up a nail somewhere and the tire is flat. Oh no!

So my wonderful, loving husband is outside right now, at 8:30 at night, with the snow coming down, taking the tire off so I can run it in tomorrow to see if someone can fix it ASAP. Otherwise, we are not going tomorrow.

Crossing my fingers.