Happy FOURTH Birthday, May 2006 Babes! - Page 5

[mamacatsbaby]

Maine Mama Doula, Amy, you and yours are in my thoughts and prayers .

[ecoteat]

Nina, I'm so sorry about your miscarriage. I hope you are being well taken care of. Blue Hill is the peninsula before Acadia.

So my stubborn grandma is still hanging on! Which actually amuses me to no end. She hasn't had any food or water in three days and is mostly unconscious and unresponsive, but her vitals are steady! So I'm home waiting. Most of the rest of the family is there, but one of my cousins is waiting too. I'm thinking I'll be there over the weekend, I guess, but who knows?! Despite all that, though, I am SO happy to be back at school. I love my kids.

[Marylizah]

Ecoteat, so sorry to hear about your grandmother. I hope she has a peaceful end. Thinking of you...

MMD, so sorry to hear about the miscarriage.

Max, great to hear from you! Glad to hear your DH's plans are moving forward nicely.

MCB, hope things are going well. You are so busy!

MB, that's quite a commute you have! I hope you can quit commuting soon.

School started today. DS1 was excited until yesterday-- then the nerves kicked in. I'm picking him up for lunch in a bit and I'm curious to hear how things went. He's only with a couple of his friends from last year...

Well, better go make dinner while the baby is napping!

[Sydnee]

Hi mamas! Call me a bad friend for not being on here much Now that things will slow down, I'll be on much more It has been a NUTSO zoo here. the last two weeks I've had up to 14 kids here, waaaaaay too may for me. I am so unbelieveably stressed it's crazy. Tomorrow is it though, and then next week I will only have 5 kids here during the day, I cannot WAIT!!

The girls are very ready for school, we had open house last night, and met the teachers. I LOVE our school, it is only 2 years old, and is the only second "green" school built in Mn. It's so neat how it all runs. I am just ready to get back into a routine again, and have my evenings back, lol!

Amy- Soooo sorry to hear about your Grandma I will pray that she doesn't suffer long.

MCB- How is school going? Hope it isn't too nutty for you

Max- I too love Fall, tonight it's about 55 degrees and windy, I am enjoying a glass of wine, it's the only time of year I drink it, lol!

Marylizah- How was Geo's first day??

Mamabeakley- How are things going? How is the traveling?

Maine Mama Doula- Welcome!! And I'm so sorry to hear about your miscarriage Hugs to you...

kathteach- I absolutely remember you! How are you??!!

Alright, time to enjoy my glass of wine before the craziness starts again tomorrow, ugh.....lol....

[mamacatsbaby]

Mary, how did your DS's day go? Are things settling down?

Hey Sydnee! Not a bad friend bone in you . School is going well, very, very busy. Functions and their stupid graphs have taken over my life though .

[Maine Mama Doula]

I'm so excited to get to know this group of mamas

Both DD and DS start pre-K next Wednesday. I can' wait! It's Mon-Thu 8:30-4:30, they provide breakfast and lunch which isn't really a big deal to me. I can't wait to see if DS (my picky eater) will eat what they give him. He's never been in a daycare setting so it will be interesting to say the least.

My May 06 baby, DD, is just so smart and independent, I don't even worry about her. I'm just super excited for her to make some friends.

[Mamabeakley]

Welcome, Nina!

Not much time right now - we are at the beach for the holiday weekend, and I am working. Bah. But we did see the coolest thing last night: phosphorescent sand! When we walked on it little sparkly things glowed in the dark! I've been coming to this beach my whole life and I've never seen anything like it before. I guess the storm washed some bacteria or something up that does that.

[mamacatsbaby]

Very cool Mama B!

I am tearing my hair out with screaming and bored babies while trying to figure out WTF is up with the domain of composite functions. And of course it's a holiday weekend so I might be screwed.

Dammit...

[Maine Mama Doula]

Holiday weekends are always crazy, aren't they? I work in an animal emergency hospital and yesterday was crazy - surgery after surgery and all rooms full all day. I work 12 hour days, so I thought I was going to fall apart by the end. And tomorrow I do it again. Today, I am determined to relax while the children entertain themselves.

[ecoteat]

My grandma is on day EIGHT of no food, no water, unresponsive, in and out of consciousness. This is insane. Yesterday she had a few mild siezures. Everyone is so anxious for this to end. We can't even wrap our heads around how she can possibly still be alive. I could have gone before to see her, but I would have had to come home for the funeral and somehow it seems more important to me to be there during the viewings and funeral. But I keep stringing school along with sub plans and uncertainty and I feel terrible about it. I keep calculating things like--if she dies today I can take the 7:00am flight Wednesday and be there in time for the afternoon viewing and it will cost $450 and the sub can show this movie to my kids Thursday and, and... And then my head explodes.

BUT... it's a perfectly gorgeous long weekend in Maine and I've put up many pounds of food from the garden for the winter and that feels good. Off to can some more beans!

[Maine Mama Doula]

I'm so sorry Amy My grandmother held on for a very long time as well. I'm glad your finding some release in jarring your foods

Yesterday was absolutely crazy at the e-clinic. It was a BAD day. We had a lot of animals crash and die on us. Way different type of busy than Saturday. Saturday was loaded with surgeries and healing emergencies. Happy things like c-sections where mama and baby yorkie did great

[~*max*~]

(((Amy))). What a tough situation. Sending prayers that your Grandmother doesn't suffer for long.

Nina, your job sounds really interesting. We are big animal lovers here. I have a horse and a boxer/pitbull mix pup.

MCB, good luck w/your back to school work! How much longer do you have?

Mamab, hope you had a great weekend at the beach!

Sydnee, phew! That's a lot of kids you had this summer. I hope you are enjoying a more quiet fall.

Mary, how did ds make out w/his first day at school?

Today was the first day I had all 4 kids in school. Of course I filled it w/errands, but life will settle down soon I hope. to all the May Mamas!!!

[alaskaberry]

Hey everyone! Haven't been on MDC in awhile, I was hoping for more posts on the thread so I could do a giant string of personals, -- this is pretty much the only place I check besides my local tribe.

We are sliding softly into another autumn. It hasn't snowed yet...yippee! Indian Summer is still hanging tenaciously on. It's been in the 60s and 70s for the past two weeks and it looks like it will be a little cooler for the next week to come (NOAA is my fave website for weather, haha) but still t-shirt weather! Hey that's all that counts when you're so not ready for snow!

We are doing a little bit of preschool, but only an hour a day. Sometimes it doesn't even last for that long...Orion doesn't like to listen to me. I guess I just don't challenge him enough--he knows pretty much everything already except how to read and how to write. And he shoots down every unit I suggest with "I don't like that". I guess we just aren't suited for homeschool! Still, it's fun to do activities and trace letters...he really likes to paint. hopefully it will get better. I will be entering him in all the charter school lotteries next spring, so we gotta get ready somehow, right? Oh, and we're done with nursing too...almost.

Amy--it sounds like your gma is waiting for someone. I hope that she goes peacefully.

Nina--welcome to the group, I love Maine. My brother lives in Bar Harbor.

Syd--that sounds awesome!

kathteach--welcome back!

max--are you planning on going into the workforce or are you going to stay at home?

mcb--what IS a composite function?

maryL--I am also trying to figure it out. I always remember that quote from the "wear sunscreen" 'song' : "Some of the mots interesting people don't know what they want to be at 30...at 50..." I love writing too. Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year?

[~*max*~]

Hi all. Just thought I'd pop in to see how my May Mamas are doing.

Good to hear from you Alaskaberry! Orion sounds like he's doing really well. My kids go to a fabulous charter school. for your lotteries! As for the work question, I am staying home. I do a little part time counselling and I am helping dh w/his new business. So those two things plus everything I have w/the kids & home will keep me plenty busy.

Speaking of the new business - it's official! Dh has left his old job and his new business has started. There have been some roadblocks and stress, but there have also been a lot of positives. It's exciting, but scary too - have to buy our own health insurance, unsteady paychecks at first, etc. Please keep us in your thoughts & prayers!!!

[kathteach]

Hi mamas, it is so nice to be welcomed back. I will start to try to get more in the swing of things.

In 2008 Edgar was diagnosed with autism. It has been a whirlwind of therapies, self-education, and for awhile just dealing. For a long time I have only felt safe around families who had children with autism, because it was so hard to hear of all the milestones that Edgar's typical peers were going through. I've been avoiding hearing all the things your kids are doing because I know Edgar might not be capable of them. I get jealous and I get sad. But I am going to try to get over that and be more active with all of you. I said try!

OUr son Desmond was born in 2007 and he has been such a joy. The brothers are best buddies and it is very sweet.

Hope to catch up with all of you,

Kath

[~*max*~]

Hi Kath. Thank you for sharing with us about Edgar. I'm glad you felt OK to do that here. I can absolutely understand how it would be hard to be part of a DDC/age group club in your situation. I think that mostly these days this thread takes on the themes of our lives, not just focusing on our May babies. You are always welcome here. And we are all here for you, any time you need anything.

[ecoteat]

Phoebe, did I know your brother lived in Bar Harbor?! Do you ever visit him? I'm about 45 minutes away from there when there isn't summer traffic.

Kath, I've been working with kids with autism for a long time and I can understand the relactance to be in any situation that compares them to "typical" kids. I'm currently teaching an autistic 8th grader, and I've been teaching him for 6 years, and it's been fascinating to learn with him and see what challenges come along at different developmental stages.

Max, congrats on the new business! I was a nervous wreck when DH started up a little side thing earlier this year, even though it didn't even effect his main job. I can't imagine having all your eggs in your own basket like that! It sounds like it's off to a good start.

It's been fun seeing Phoebe be one of the "big kids" at preschool. She's been there three years and there are kids aged 2-5, so she's definitely at a leader role--as much as preschoolers can be! There's another 4 year old that's been there the whole 3 years, too, and they adore each other. I just wish Phoebe wouldn't still whine and cling to me when I drop her off! I know the moment I can release myself from her grip and get out the door she's completely fine, but something about the anticipation of going there and then me leaving is hard on her just about every time. How are your LOs with being dropped off by you at preschool or babysitter or something?

DH is in NYC again for work and I have a giant stack of papers in front of me that I should be grading before i fall asleep on m keyboard. My time management skills are terrible when he isn't around to help keep me in check!

[Mamabeakley]

Woah - I think my subscription blipped for a while. I missed a bunch!

Amy, I rarely am dropping my kids off, but we do spend time apart while I'm working (~3 days/week). I think my May boy actually does the best with separation issues of the three. My oldest is pretty high-needs and still seems stressed to me by the transition from "Mama's in charge" to "Daddy's in charge" and back again, at age 6. R at 4 is pretty chill with it all. And the baby at 1 is just getting old enough to comprehend time to some extent and is clearly feeling that I'm gone for a a LONG time when I'm gone (which isn't helped by the fact that right now I pretty much have to work 3 days in a row, sometimes 4, rather than spacing the "away" days out more.) And I'm sorry about your grandma. :-(

Kath, I'm glad to have you here. I hope we can be a supportive space for you - but I also know that having the full range of humanity present (so to speak) is a huge gift for any community. Kids and their families living with autism are part of the real world, and I choose to live in the real world, not an imaginary one where everyone is "perfect" and "happy".

Max - congrats on 4 kids in school and work to be done for yourself and for your DH. Here's hoping the road is smooth and clear!

Alaskaberry - what does Orion do if you're not "doing preschool"? We are officially homeschoolers but in many ways more unschoolers. What is working (more or less) for us right now is that each day I'm at home with the kids I ask each of the older ones to choose a 'project' for us to work on together, something that I can list as educational in our records, and then I get to choose a 'project' too. Their projects are things like play the piano, make rock candy, do a scavenger hunt in the yard, do a puzzle - pretty random, but when you add them all up it is a rich educational environment. Right now I am usually picking reading, since DS1 is just making the leap to being able to read very basic stuff relatively independently (like Green Eggs and Ham). He reads a book or part of one to me, DS2 does a set of alphabet flash cards with me since he's not strong at identifying all the letters by name yet, and then I read to them for as long as DD will tolerate us all sitting still.

Anyway, I'm glad we're not trying to send DS1 or DS2 to school since it would be almost impossible to do our current crazy 3 days in one state, 4 days in another schedule that way. Among other reasons. But I hope your charter schools work out if that's what feels right for you and your family!

[kgianforti]

Hello! Just popping in to say hi!

I was looking at the calendar that the school district mails out and if we weren't homeschooling, my "baby" would be headed to Kindergarten orientation next spring. That realization made me sad.

BUT, we are homeschooling and already started K and that made me sad as well.

How fast they grow...

[Sydnee]

Hi mamas, wanted to pop in quick to let you know whats been going on with us...

Friday morning Alayna had an episode of being very pale, and almost unresponsive. After feeding her, she perked up, and I called the pediatrician. Brad took her in about 11:30, and by 1:30 they called to say her blood sugar was 334! They told us to head on up to the hospital as they would be admitting her. Once we got there, the pediatrician (a different one) informed us that Alayna has Type 1 insulin dependent diabetes Brad and I were in shock at this point. However, after taking more blood, her blood sugar was now down to 60, which had the ped stumped. They consulted with a pediatric endocrinologist from the cities, and honestly didn't know what to think.

They kept her overnight for observation, and at 8:00 that night her blood sugars once again spiked up to 225. But over night and all day Saturday they stayed in the 130's. We came home Saturday afternoon and have been taking her blood sugars three times a day. They have been very normal. Monday we saw a ped. endo. and he thinks she has something called Ketotic Hypoglycemia. Basically because she is so skinny, her body has no fat stores to take from when her blood sugar drops. We have to be constantly giving her high protein, higher (good) fat snacks after meals.

We feel good about the diagnosis, but then yesterday she had a lot of mucous and blood in her underwear, so now I am waiting to hear back from the ped. Ugh, so frustrating. My gut feels like they are missing something, she is so pale, and always complains about her tummy hurting. Not sure what to think.

I will keep you all updated, once I get more info!