I think I need to take an extended weekend, mini-vacation a couple of times a year.  My time away these past few days has been just what the doctor ordered.  

Blissful peace and quiet.

Hot meals that were cooked for me, with no clean up involved.

Sleeping in until 9am.

Adult conversation, uninterrupted.

I could get used to this!   Though I thoroughly enjoyed my time away from home, I am looking forward to returning.   Returning to my family, to my routine, and after all the eating I did this past weekend, returning to my diet as well...

Thank you dear Marlena, for being such a wonderful hostess, tour guide and taxi driver...I love you and will be looking forward to our next visit together!

Feelin' the Butterflies!

You'd think I'd be running down the concourse through the airport to be the first one to get on the plane...instead, I sauntered along, eyes straight ahead--nervous as hell.  That said, I was one of the first to board the plane anyway.

I have a love/hate relationship with flying.  I love the THOUGHT of flying..getting away from the hum drum of this life of mine.  But, when reality hits the fan and I actually GET to fly, the butterflies in my stomach take over and I begin to second guess my need to get away.  And believe me, I NEED to get away.

Gulp.  I did it. Today.  One step at a time.  I boarded the flight from Colorado Springs to Denver--the first leg of my journey.  I'm pretty sure I left fingernail marks in the armrest of the plane as I clung to it for dear life, but I did it.  I made it to Denver in once piece.  I survived all of the 20 minutes it took to get there.  No worries, I have a 3 hour layover in Denver to come to grips with the almost 3 hour flight ahead of me yet. I've also got my good friend, Xanax to help...love those little blue pills!

The next leg of my trip is Denver to Portland, Oregon, where my BFF from High School will be picking me and my dulled fingernails up and driving us to her place in Washington. Destination: Seattle.  

It only took me about an hour to figure out how to hook up to the free wifi, so in the meantime, I wandered the l.o.n.g. concourse sniffing out what to eat.  I ended up at Panda Express for some Firecracker chicken and chow mein.  I ate a hot meal.  All by myself. No kids. Just me, myself and I.

Weird.

It almost feels overwhelming, if THAT makes any sense, to not have any kids with me. Again, weird. But, I get to be without kids for 96+ hours...   

Imagine that. 

I'll update more later, IF my plane makes it to Portland in one piece.  Breathe in, breathe out...

Hiatus Unintentional, Sorta

A year has gone by since my last post.  A whole year.  I'll spare you the excuses as to why and just say "I'm back"!

I've missed blogging.  A lot.  So forgive me if I go off on tangents that don't happen to make any sense. My blogging skills have faded in a years time, and so has my brain.  6 kids is sure to give one a case of brain drain.

Anyway...

We've just pulled off Christmas Break 2012.  And I say "pulled off" in all truthfulness.  That said, I have some explaining to do.

In November, right around Thanksgiving, Roy and Caleb moved back in with me and the kids.  Roy and I have been separated for almost 2 years and divorced for almost 1 year now.  Caleb lived with Roy for about a year and a half, while I had the 5 other kids with me.   Getting to the point, Roy and I decided that since we've been able to form a great friendship over the last year, we needed to try and parent together...and have Roy more in the kids lives.  It also makes financial sense for us to live in the same house and share the rent.  Takes some of the weight off of both of us, you know?

Back to "pulling off" Christmas break...nothing surprising that having a houseful of kids trying to adjust to one another again was hard. Really hard.  But, we pulled together and made it work, successfully!

I realize this was one of the most boring posts ever, but the blanks needed to be filled in so there isn't mass confusion later amongst my readers (thanks Mom!) later...

I Survived Christmas Break 2011...Almost

I can only say almost, because it's not quite over yet. Three days and counting.

Santa Claus made his rounds at our house, as well as the stomach flu. Fun times. Oh yeah.

I always feel like I am the only mom that is waiting on pin and needles for "breaks" to come to an end and to send the cherubs back to school.  Everyone else seems to enjoy the "free" time with their kids.  Me? No, I run a tight ship. A rigid schedule. I don't like to live on the edge.  I like to know that by 8:15am the kids will be safely deposited into the care of their wonderful teachers...such blessed souls.   Besides, I still have Faith, whom I have decided is part monkey, ( DEFINITELY her father's DNA) that I have to peel from the light fixture hanging over the kitchen table.  This kid IS a full time job all on her own.

She's lucky she's so cute.      See?

I have recognized though, over the last few months that I NEED a break. Regularly. From ALL of my children.  Not that I don't love them dearly, but Lord, they can drive me to the brink of insanity. No really, it's true.    Seeing as how I am now a single mom, it makes getting a break all but impossible most of the time, however grateful I am to the kids' dad for working two jobs so that I can stay home with them and not have to be a "working" single mom as well.

Respite. I found it. I am going to use it. For Faith. For the other kids when needed.  Sure, go ahead, look at me like I have two heads and wonder why in the world I would use something like that...something like respite.  Respite is defined as a temporary rest period, utilized by caregivers of the ill or disabled. Six kids. Two with ADHD. One with Tourette's. One with Down syndrome.  One typical teenager.   Judge me if you want, but to make myself a better "caregiver" to my daughter AND all of the the other children, I am choosing to do this for them and for myself.

Anyway, just putting it out there.....my heart on my sleeve. 

Sie Center For Down Syndrome Visit #1

The day has finally come. I've been looking forward to it for 6 weeks now.  Truth be told, anxiety has been mixed with the excitement.  I was all eyes and ears taking it all in.

My brain is on overload with the information I was given today.  That's not a wild fire you smell, it's my brain matter.  Really.

The kids outside the Children's Hospital

Getting ready to go in the center

First, Faith was weighed and measured.  She weighed in at a whopping 22lbs and just over 32".  Peanut!

Then we met with Patricia Winders.  She is the author of several books relating to Down syndrome, regarding gross and fine motor skills.  She was VERY impressed with Faith's motor skills...saying she was "ahead of the curve for a child with Ds".   I was so proud of my girl...she's a rock star.   Pat had Faith running, kicking a ball, bouncing on a trampoline, and climbing up and down toddler sized stairs.  Pat recommended that we have Faith fitted for "Sure Steps" orthotics to help strengthen her heels and provide her with more of an arch in her feet rather than walking so flat footed.   So, she was measured for the orthotics today.  They will be have adorable little bumble bees all over them with matching yellow straps.

Kicking a ball while"running" with Pat.

Showing off her stepping down skills, with a little help.

We had a little "lay over" in the waiting room waiting for the doctor.  In that 10 minutes, Faith managed to take a head dive off a chair and landed right on her mouth.  Blood everywhere.  The nurses came running.   Turns out she split open her upper lip frenulum, leaving a gaping hole above her top teeth.  Luckily, it is such a vascular area, it will heal quickly with no intervention needed.  A popsicle, a teddy bear and a cozy quilt made it all better, thankfully.

Next we met with Dr. Francis Hickey, a developmental pediatrician that specializes in kiddos with Down syndrome and their unique health issues and challenges.  He went over her medical records that were compiled for him over the last 6 weeks from all of her specialists here in the Springs.  He was very impressed with her pediatricians and their attention to detail with Faith's medical conditions. After talking to us and his own examination, it was determined that Faith needs to see an ENT as her tonsils are "huge" ( greater than a +3...+ 4 is the largest they can get).  She needs to be scoped down her throat and have a tonsil and adenoidectomy in the near future.  I was also told by the doctor that after having gone over her medical records and chest x-ray reports that she has "never had a *normal* chest x-ray".  The concern is that she has some lung disease due to micro aspirations of fluids that she drinks and also from her reflux.   Soooo, we will be seeing a Pulmonologist and a Gastroenterologist  in addition to the ENT.  She also has some cardiac concerns with having a coarctation of her aorta and aortic stenosis.  Dr. Hickey also believes that Faith may pack on a few pounds and have less feeding issues once her ginormous tonsils are removed.

We also met with a social worker to make sure things were all on track...they were.  I was so impressed with the level of care Faith received there.

Labs were drawn for celiac disease, thyroid function and blood counts. It was recommended Faith go on a mostly dairy/lactose and gluten free diet.   She will also continue to be followed by a hematologist/oncologist for her ongoing neutropenia.

It was a whirlwind of a day, but very educational and somewhat encouraging.  

More to come...

Happy 4th!

The Dog Days of Summer require eating a nice, cold, juicy slice of watermelon...with your shirt off, of course.

Mmmmm, mmmm good!

Want some?  I'll share!

Nah, I want it all...

Sayin' "cheeeeeeeeese!"

And dancing with daddy was the best part of my day!

A Catch Up, Of Sorts...

I'd like to say that I haven't blogged in the last 3 months because I decided to stay in California, but obviously, that isn't the case.   And, I'm pretty sure they have internet in California too.  I have no excuse for not blogging other than, well, um, oh heck...I have no excuse.

The kiddos have been out of school since May 26th and my mind has been gone since May 27th.   Maybe with enough coffee and diet Coke, I'll have the energy to blog more regularly again.  Time will tell!

Annnnnyyyyway.

      We've kept busy having play dates with friends...

       Having a birthday...

           Being Super Heros...

        Graduating from Preschool...

        Taking naps...

     Doing Yoga in the sand...

     Reading books...

     Hanging with dear friends...

     Playing silly games...

     Going bowling...

     Talking on the phone...

     Eating watermelon...

     Hangin' with Pirates...and trying to be one :)

     Having tests...

     Touching slithering snakes...

     Enjoying the sunshine...

     Being happy with the simple things...

     Riding a pony named Billy...and loving every second of it...

     Hangin' around...

     Climbing trees...

     Kicking a soccer ball...

     Hangin' poolside...

      Lovin' each other...

     Going for walks in the park...

     Becoming "famous"...

      Splish splashing around...

      Soaking up some sun...

     Sitting on Grandpa's lap...

So, there you go...life is busy, sometimes too busy to even blog about it.  But, I'll be back again. Soon.