Strabismus Surgery - expotropia

We were told that Lane would need eye muscle surgery after she turned four years old. Unfortunately, when we went for a check up at the pediatric ophthalmologist, it was determined that Lane lacked muscle control and her eyes had gotten worse. She had a high liklihood of losing vision if she continued with the poor muscle control. We had already tried patching and it didn't help at all. To err on the side of conservative, her doctor decided that surgery needed to be done prior to this coming summer. It was a disappointment for us as we weren't expecting it yet.
As the surgery date grew near, my anxiety and fear rose. The lack of control over the surgery was daunting to me. I also didn't want my tiny three year old daughter to feel pain and fear. I would take her place if it was at all possible. Deep in the recesses of my being, I knew everything would be okay but I am an emotional being and it was impossible to shake my anxiety.
Thankfully I am friends with a (former) child life specialist. She was kind enough to send an email full of ideas to help Lane understand her surgery. I am grateful for her ideas because I know that what I did, based on that email, helped her a lot. We practiced the mask on a doll and on each of the children before our departure. She giggled as the pink plastic cup touched her precious face.
Our plan was to divide and conquer the day. I would take Lane to the children's surgery center an hour away while Andrew took care of the boys and their school schedule. Our friend (and babysitter) lives near the surgery center and offered to help me during the surgery and recovery time.
The morning of the surgery arrived and Lane cried because she wanted her "big family" with her. She was incredibly disappointed that her brothers weren't coming with her. We wanted her to be as calm as possible so we called the school to let the teachers know that the boys wouldn't be at the school. She was much happier when we all traveled with her to the surgery center.
Shortly after our arrival, Lane and I were called back to prep for surgery. Lane put on a little gown. She was not happy that the gown had tigers on it and talked to the nurse about changing the gowns to include more girly options. She decided that butterflies, horsies, or purple would be a much better choice. I had her baby and blanket her Granny made for her with us. She asked for her princess blanket right away. Her vitals were taken and she was such a brave, happy girl. My stomach was churnng but she didn't have any idea that I wanted to curl up in a hole and emerge three hours later.

We talked to the anesthesiologist about practicing with a mask and she thought that was a great idea. Apparently it isn't the norm to practice with the mask. She brought us a chocolate flavored mask to play with while we waited. I had no idea that the masks have a flavoring choice now!

Lane did a great job until she was given versed. She spit it out and cried. I was told that it tastes terrible. Unfortunately, we had to hold her down to administer it through her nose.
Another sweet nurse arrived and carried Lane to the operating room. She was going to put her in the bed but the doctor said that Lane was too smart to put in the bed and they needed to carry her there. As they carried her away, I quietly said, "please take good care of my princess."
I went to the waiting room where Andrew had returned with the boys after taking them to breakfast and the pharmacy. Renee had Starbucks for me. What a treat! It would take 45 minutes to cut the muscle in her eye and leave two small stitches.
It didn't seem like 45 minutes when they called my name to go back and get her. Lane was not a happy camper when I got to her bed. She was stiff and crying. I held her in the rocking chair, soothing her, trying to calm my sweet baby girl down. Soon she was snoring and the nurse brought juice and a popscicle. I was asked to get her dressed and moving. Even while I dressed her, she continued to sleep. She didn't want to eat or drink. Despite that, the nurse discharged Lane.
I carried a sleepy, uncomfortable child to the van. It wasn't easy to strap her into the car seat, knowing that in my arms was a better place for her. Alex and Gabriel were upset about their sister. Alex cried because Lane was in pain. On the way home, I held Lane's head up while she slept and gagged from nausea. Even though I was warned about bloody tears, the sight of them was startling. I was glad that the circumstances allowed me to sit in the back of the van with her rather than being stuck driving home while she was miserable.
When Lane was finally awake, she asked Daddy for a cake pop. She remembered that she was going to get one after her surgery. Oops - we didn't have one. Andrew went to the convenience store for donuts and that was a fair trade in her eyes.
She also had double vision when she woke up. She thought it was funny that there were two doors and two televisions in our bedroom. It has been difficult to wash the blue "yes" above her right eye that the doctor wrote there. It is a stark reminder to what we went through one morning.
It is the day after surgery and she is doing well. She is an active, busy three year old. We've already created art work, played with cars, and played a duck game. I have to remind her that she can't run and climb today. Lane's eye is bloodshot and we were told that it will look worse before it looks better. It will take three weeks for her eye to heal but we should be able to tell if the surgery worked before that time.
I sincerely appreciate the well wishes and encouragement. A surgery for my child is a frightening thing and I hope we don't have to face another surgery for a long time.

More Valentines Fun 2013

It is important that my children learn to be generous of their time. I want them to learn how to give, especially to people they love. Valentine's Day, even though it is coined as a Hallmark holiday, seems like a great day to teach this to my three cuties. I don't need much encouragment to celebrate a holiday with my family. They are at fun ages for cute crafts and treats.



They made handprint card for their teachers. The card said, "children hold our hearts in the palm of their hands." I added a gift card to each card to make it extra special for them. I got the idea from this site: http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/my_montessori_journey/2011/02/index.html



The boys took store bought cards with a red sucker taped to it. Lane, however, helped me assemble cards with bubbles. She actually helped with five of the 36 cards. The cards said, "I am bubbling with excitement that you are my friend." She lost interest rather quickly. I heard that she was thrilled to hand her cards out to her friends. A free printable is here: http://www.simplymodernmom.com/2012/02/a-bubbly-valentines-card-printable/



Alex's class needed treats for their party. I was at a creative loss until I saw marshmallow pops. All it takes to make them is sprinkles, sticks, marshmallows, and meltable candy. It took me a little while to figure out how to melt the candy to get it to coat on the marshmallows. I burned a couple bowls of the candy but once I figured it out, it was easy peasy. I saw the idea on this site: http://applevalleygirl.blogspot.ca/2013/01/valentines-marshmallow-pops.html The kids LOVED them.



Alex's teacher sent home this card that she made with the students. It is one of my favorite things this month.

Letter Containers

Lane continues to work on her letter sounds. She is getting good at putting a couple of the sounds together but she needs more practice. I bought 26 plastic containers and magnetic letters from the dollar store.
The kids were off school last Friday so I enlisted their help in putting one letter in each container. Then we added at least one item that began with that letter. For example, B has a ball. As we put the items and letters in, the boys talked to Lane about the sound and how to isolate the first sound of the word.
It was an interesting assembly project. Alex's leadership skills shone as he directed Gabriel and Lane on where to put the items. I only need to print and add the letter on the outside of the containers.



We pulled out the plastic animal bin while adding objects. It hasn't been out for the kids since we moved from Iowa, over a year and a half ago. The kids were fascinated by what the bin held. Lane didn't remember the barrel of monkeys my parents had given Alex a long time ago and thought it was fun to hang the monkeys. It was a big challenge but she was up for the task.

Dance Like Nobody's Looking...

Lane has been asking to attend ballet or gymnastics lessons. I couldn't decide which one was the best to start at the age of 3. I called a couple dance studios and did research on gymnastics programs in the area. When I found Joanne's dance studio, it seemed like a good fit for us. Lane attends a preschool class once a week that consists of gymnastics, ballet, and tap.




She began classes in January. I melt each week when I put her hair in piggy tales and help her put on tights and a leotard. She also adds a tutu or cute skirt to her outit. Her little ballet slippers and tap shoes are adorable.



Lane's class is small and I appreciate the extra attention available to her with the teacher to student ratio. Another little girl started the same day and they are inseperable. They are only a couple weeks apart in age. Their conversations are so darn cute and I adore their reactions when they see each other.



She has surprised me with how quickly she is learning the terms and steps. She easily shows me a pirouette and wants to practice several times a week. I hope her enthusiasm remains for many years.



I signed Alex up for hip hop at the same time. He was far more reluctant to participate. For over a month, he told us that he hated dance even though he would leave the class smiling. Finally, this last week he left crying. He cried because he didn't want to leave his class and teacher.

Their recital is in mid-June and I am excited to see how they react to their first performance. I think the costumes alone will make me melt.
Gabriel is also taking a dance class. It's a solo class and he is having a lot of fun. His teacher is incredibly patient and understanding. We have been very lucky to find a dance studio that works for all of our children and we are grateful for these expereinces with them.

Grinch Ale

Besides decorating the house and a tree, we don't have many traditions for the December holidays. We've made reindeer food in the past but it didn't seem quite the same in warm weather. When Gabriel was a baby, we wanted to go on a trip every Christmas in order to avoid the stress of the holidays. We didn't follow through with that after Alex was born. Maybe that's a tradition we should renew next year.
I have been sending holiday cards since I was in high school. We also exchange gifts and this year the kids picked out something for each other. For Christmas Eve, they exchanged their gifts and opened any gifts that arrived in the mail. Andrew also recorded the traditional holiday movies and we watched them together.
I tried to add Grinch Ale to our traditions. It's green lime sherbet mixed with sprite. The kids liked the first sips and that was about it. I saw the same recipe used for leprechaun punch but that won't work for us. On to better ideas, I guess

"Cc" caterpillar

Lane was working on the sound of C. I looked for ideas to make something fun with her. She liked a paper caterpiller I found so we put it together. I found a C template, printed it on construction paper. I cut out the circles because she isn't confident in her cutting skills yet. She glued away and added eyes and antannae. Another easy craft that involved fine motor skills and letter/sound recognition.



I also saw a bubble gum math idea on Pinterest. Unfortunately, the link doesn't go to the correct person so I can't credit the creator. I found a bubble gum printable and wrote numbers 1-10 on each one. Lane used a pencil eraser dipped in ink to create gum balls for each gum ball machine. She is very good at one-to-one coorespondence. I recommend this project for fine motor and math work.

Year of the Snake

The Chinese New Year fascinates me. I think I would enjoy celebrating this holiday but I don't know how to recreate that with my children. The only thing I've done is tellthem about the years and the animals. It's easy to do when we are sitting at a Chinese restaurant with the cute orange and white paper placemats. They all like to tell us which animal they are though I think Gabriel would rather be the dog than the monkey.
It is a challenge to find things to do with the kids to encourage learning about the Chinese New Year. I was delighted when Gabriel's teacher sent home a few things for us to do at home.
We made a little book about a dragon. We cut out the Chinese zodiac and glued it to paper, adding color to make it more interesting. We read about each animal and talked about if the description fit our personality. We also made a red paper wish.
If Andrew goes on his China trip, I'll be sure to ask him to bring back some fun things to complete our education on this neat holiday.

Our Valentines Boxes

The boys teachers asked for Valentines boxes this year. I haven't made one with the boys in a couple years so I wanted to make some fun ones this year. When Gabriel was in PreK, I made a Valentine's box with a dog on it and he wanted that again this year. I went on an internet hunt and found the template. On the same site, was a bear template. It was perfect for Alex's class of bears this year.
I felt like the Little Red Hen baking bread. The boys thought the boxes were great ideas but didn't want to help. Lane was interested until she realized the bozes weren't for her. I transformed red dollar store paper boxes into delightful dog and bear Valentines boxes complete with their names.




The dog template can be found here: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mdogbox.htm
The bear template is available here: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mbearbox.htm

ADHD, welcome to Mai house

Back in the day, when I was studying child psychology at the University of Minnesota, I had the opportunity to attend seminars on the weekends. I attended several and one I remember well was about ADHD/ADD. Two full days were spent learning about the differences between the two as it was seen back then, the symptoms, the causes, the studies, the medications, and more.

I felt like I had a good understanding of ADHD. I was pretty comfortable with it after two days submerged in information followed by a well written paper that earned an "A". One statistic that has stuck in my mind is that only 3% of the population truly has ADHD. I wonder if that still stands true?
When we went through our adoption class, I checked off the "comfortable with a child diagnosed with ADHD" box. Clearly, if I understood it in the classroom, I could apply that knowledge to the real world, right? When will I ever learn that just isn't the case?
I knew Gabriel needed to go back to a child development center but I put it off the past year. It was nice to avoid the doctors and therapists for a while. Our world easily becomes a revolving door full of co-payments. While it seems like other parents are taking their children to lessons and athetic events, I'm trotting to another specialist. Ah - the world of special needs children isn't for wimps. As parents of special needs children, we need a tough emotional armor to accept that our children aren't going to have the typical childhood. It was nice to pretend the world of copayments to specialists didn't exist for twelve months, besides I had enough to advocate for in the educational setting last year.
I got a referral for Gabriel and waited the standard four months for the appointment. I filled out the twenty-two page questionaire, and took Lane and Gabriel to downtown Orlando. It was at this child development center that I was given a new label for Gabriel. He still has severe SPD and ASD. (as well as PICA and a bicuspid aortic valve) Now he gets to add ADHD to his letters. When is this kid going to catch a break?!
I held it together. I only shed a few tears as we discussed medication and behavior options for him. It has taken me three weeks to realize that I could blog about this. It isn't that I'm ashamed of his new diagnosis, it just took a few weeks to digest it. Since I believe in advocacy and understanding, I wanted to share our story with any friends who will listen.
It's strange how I can rationally discuss ADHD with a friend. I advocate medication when a friend struggles with whether their child needs it. I explain, "if your child was diabetic, you wouldn't question the medication, would you?" Now I had to say the same thing to myself in the mirror. I'm not as rational when I face the fears of side effects of medications and my own child. I am not as rational when I wonder if we are making the best choice for him. He can't make the decision to take medication or not so it is our choice and I am hopeful we made the right choice for him.
It has been three weeks of emotionallly grabbling with another label. Gabriel is still the same child - sensitive, sweet, caring, funny - and I am hopeful this new label will help us understand and help him more in the future.
ADHD, you are welcome in our home but you can damn well be sure that we will fight to minimize you and your effects on our son. Hopefully we will find a way to coexist peacefully.

101st day of second grade

Gabriel's second grade class celebrated the 101st day of school. It was exactly what Gabriel enjoys too - dogs! He came home with a white shirt covered in black dots and paper puppy ears. He also had a paper bone collar with his name on it. I have to say that when he walked out of the school doors, it was pretty darn cute. He had a HUGE smile on his face. Gabriel also took 101 day smarties treats for his class.
It is wonderful to see my second grader smiling at school. It has been a long time, if ever, since I've seen him truly happy at school. He has a caring teacher and a great group of kids in his class. He hopes for another special dog day at school soon. I might have to hide his shirt after I wash it because it wants to wear it every day!

I Want a Crown Too!

Alex came home with his adorable 100 day crown the other day. Lane decided she wanted a crown too. We can't have a princess in our home without a crown now can we? Gabriel is home in the mornings and thought a king needed one too.
I haven't made crowns in a while. Actually, I don't know if I ever made a paper crown with my preschool classes or nanny kids. Templates weren't easy to find before the internet became a gold mine of resources.
I found a crown template here: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/crown_template_2.htm

I printed crowns on card stock. We cut them out and the kids added gliter. I had ssntence strips from the dollar store that I haven't used yet. I cut the sentence strip in half, stapled it to fit around their head in a ring and stapled the crown part to the ring. Easy peasy crowns! They have worn them most of the day! Ahhh - a love a successful craft.

Alex's 100th day of First Grade

Alex celebrated his 100th day of first grade today. He counted 100 legos to share with his class. He took M&Ms and mini marshmallows for their party. At the party, the students counted out ten different items to make a yummy treat with 100 pieces.

This weekend he decorated a tshirt with 100 printed paws. Alex likes numbers and had fun counting and recounting the 100 paws. I added a bear iron-on patch to the tshirt. I chose a bear because his class is called Bailey's bears.

Alex also took smarties attached to a star that said, "I am 100 days smarter."

He was one happy first grader at the end of the day. He wanted to sleep with the crown he made at school today and he was very disappointed when we explained why it wasn't a great idea to sleep with a paper crown.