What to write, what to blog. It's not that I don't have anything to write about, it's that I have too many thoughts going through my head, and it's sorting them out and choosing so they make the best sense.
We left on Sunday the 21st to start out our vacation. We headed for Devil's Tower, WY. The girls did okay--mostly Syd was impatient, but okay. What an amazing site--we topped one of the hills heading there, and all of a sudden there it was. This big rock sticking up out of the earth peering over the hills. It was amazing. It wasn't like there was a bunch of other rocks around it--it was pretty much by itself. Very cool. We spent the afternoon--once we got the camper parked and settled--hiking around the base and watching climbers on the tower. It was such a fun day. The girls got tired and hot, but they did great. Monday morning we got up, packed everything back up and headed for South Dakota. It took us a while, but we made our way through Rapid City and down through Hill City and to our campground. It's HUGE!! We got parked and settled and were deciding on what to do, when we heard a knock on our camper door. Great, it's the KOA guy--what are we in trouble for this time? (long story, but it seems sometimes when we go camping we get into trouble--but not because we've done anything wrong, but sometimes people are just jerks!) Anyway, we weren't in trouble, but actually the KOA was in trouble with one of their customers. Apparently a man made reservations way back in January for our specific spot, and he happened to arrive the same day we did--but we got here first--and for some reason--I think when we added an extra night to our stay--they put us in this guy's spot. Well he threw a fit, so one of the head honchos came to our camper and offered us our whole stay for free if we would move. Heck yeah we'll move! So, we ended up moving--closer to the playground and pools--and spent the rest of the day here at our campground, swimming, playing and hanging out. Tuesday morning we decided to get up early and head to the Needles highway and drive on the pigtails and go through Custer State Park. We saw tons of buffalo, a few deer, and fed the burros. It was a fun day but lots of driving. Wednesday we slept in a little bit then headed towards Rapid City and went to Reptile Gardens. Sydney was pretty scared to go in there, but once she realized that all the animals were behind glass and in cages (well for the most part) she was okay. We even sat and watched a bird show and saw part of an alligator show. We really enjoyed Reptile Gardens, which is amazing because that wasn't even one of our original planned stops, but we decided to try it out. We then headed into Rapid City to have a lunch cooked for us (our first time eating out on vacation!) and then went to the maze. Well that kicked us in the butt! It was pretty confusing, but we had fun even though we were really hot and tired. Then we drove around Rapid City and stopped at Sonic (never eaten there before!) to have some ice cream. By the time we got back to the campground, we were pretty sure Marlene, John and the kids had arrived at the lodge, so we walked up there and found them, and played with the kids at the park for a while, then came back to the camper for a campfire and some fun.
This morning (Thursday), we got up EARLY so we could make it to Mt. Rushmore before it got too crazy busy. Wow--that was amazing too. Unfortunately, it was not a good time for Sydney. She was on overload. I missed most of the museum because she would take off running once we entered and she heard the explosion from the little video demonstration. She refused to go in there. She cried so much today--it was pretty rough--I'm sure for her more than me because I don't understand. I was almost in tears at the museum from frustration. There's only so much you can do until everybody is miserable, so basically you do the best you can. Then we headed to Flintstone Village. She had more overloads there. The little Flintstone Trio show was more than she wanted to take, and we forced her to sit in there with us, which I don't know if that was a good idea or not. Then Barney and Fred came out in their costumes--yikes--more overload. She wouldn't even walk AROUND them. We had to wait until they left before we could continue on. Bleh. She then did okay--decided she wanted to ride the Flinstone Village train, so that was good. The kids played on the playground lots, and we all got something in the gift shop. I guess looking back at the morning, with 8 of us in John and Marlene's vehicle and all the walking, and the heat, the kids didn't do too bad. I think Miss Melissa will get an earful from Syd next week at OT. Let's hope the thunder boomers don't come tonight and tomorrow at Bear Country is fun!!! It has been a great vacation so far. I'll post some pics later.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Change
Change is comin' down the pike--what am I saying? Change is here--change is everyday life I think. Besides, what would like be without change? BORING! If only change came without worry, without heartache, without fear--hassle-free change. It does happen sometimes, but lately, it seems like change has been painful for my sister, my girls, and myself.
The girls started this week at their friends' house for the day with our babysitter Sarah. I was nervous about it--mainly because of Sydney and how she deals with change, and also because I don't want a wedge to go between my friend (the mom of the other 2 girls) and myself. I don't want any drama. I am so SICK of drama. But, thanks to my worrisome ways, the drama is there. The first day went great--Sarah took the kids to the park at the school, and they got to see some of their friends that are in the boys and girls club summer program. That made them happy. They did great, had fun, and were completely tired when they got home. Sydney was soooo cranky--and completely clumsy. I bet she fell 5 times Monday night. Then Tuesday morning came (after 2 nightmares Syd had) and she was CRABBY!!! It was bad. She kicked at me and was so mean. It was an awful morning. I left the house in tears. Mainly because I had been stressed and didn't sleep much during the night (plus Kory was SNORING!) so that doesn't ever help with the emotions.
Anyway, Tuesday night came, and things were a little bit better--the girls were still tired, but they had a good day. Same thing with Wednesday--but the girls were REALLY tired last night! Today is Syd's appointment with the new OT--I hope she's not too tired to function okay at the appointment! I'm glad they're staying busy and getting wore out--it really is good for them. Sarah takes them to the school for lunch on days that they know they will like what's being served. That is a good thing--it will get Sydney used to the cafeteria for when she goes to Kindergarten. She'll know what she needs to do, how busy and noisy it is, and where it is. These are all good things. But, they stress me out--I worry. I hate worrying. It sucks. Change is not so bad--it's the crap that comes with it. . . that I do to myself!!!
The girls started this week at their friends' house for the day with our babysitter Sarah. I was nervous about it--mainly because of Sydney and how she deals with change, and also because I don't want a wedge to go between my friend (the mom of the other 2 girls) and myself. I don't want any drama. I am so SICK of drama. But, thanks to my worrisome ways, the drama is there. The first day went great--Sarah took the kids to the park at the school, and they got to see some of their friends that are in the boys and girls club summer program. That made them happy. They did great, had fun, and were completely tired when they got home. Sydney was soooo cranky--and completely clumsy. I bet she fell 5 times Monday night. Then Tuesday morning came (after 2 nightmares Syd had) and she was CRABBY!!! It was bad. She kicked at me and was so mean. It was an awful morning. I left the house in tears. Mainly because I had been stressed and didn't sleep much during the night (plus Kory was SNORING!) so that doesn't ever help with the emotions.
Anyway, Tuesday night came, and things were a little bit better--the girls were still tired, but they had a good day. Same thing with Wednesday--but the girls were REALLY tired last night! Today is Syd's appointment with the new OT--I hope she's not too tired to function okay at the appointment! I'm glad they're staying busy and getting wore out--it really is good for them. Sarah takes them to the school for lunch on days that they know they will like what's being served. That is a good thing--it will get Sydney used to the cafeteria for when she goes to Kindergarten. She'll know what she needs to do, how busy and noisy it is, and where it is. These are all good things. But, they stress me out--I worry. I hate worrying. It sucks. Change is not so bad--it's the crap that comes with it. . . that I do to myself!!!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Evaluation
Sorry I hadn't posted about Syd's evaluation. Things are just terribly crazy!!
We got to the OT's office (Miss Aimee) and there was Sydney's doctor with her daughter. That was a pretty cool coincidence. The daughter was talking to Sydney and telling her how much she would like Miss Aimee and checking to see how tall Syd was compared to her. So they left, and our visit with Aimee started by her having Syd swing on a "boat swing". It's hard to describe--it's like a flat rectangular board that hangs from the ceiling, and there are wooden dowels on either side that hold the rope (I don't think I'm explaining this very well). Anyway, after we finally convinced Syd to get on the swing, Aimee had her hold onto one of the dowels and start swinging by using her shoulders/arms. She then had her 'fish' from the swing with a fishing pole and a magnet and catch cards that were puzzle pieces and put them together. She did fine with all of that. She then had her slither like a snake on the ground (I think to test if she only used one side or both sides of her body) and then roll like a log. She was videotaping everything. I won't go through all the gory details, but she did see that Syd has some tactile dysfunction, as she would not put her feet into the swimming pool filled with unpopped popcorn (thus the fact that she refuses to wear socks and certain clothing). And she only wanted to use the scoops and not her hands to play with the popcorn. Aimee also thought that Sydney had problems tracking things with her eyes--like a ball hanging on a string from the ceiling. But, I think, even though I'm not a professional, that some of that was that she was busy watching Aimee and not the ball. She also noticed visual avoidance when she would throw the beach ball at Syd, but again, I think Sydney thought the ball was going to hit her in the face so she turned her head. The biggest thing, I think, that Aimee noticed and that we are working on is her fine motor skills. Sydney tends to tire easily when writing or coloring, so we have a lot of work to do there. Aimee suggested some exercises and fun things to get Sydney to do to help out with her shoulder strength which will help her with her fine motor skills/muscle strength. It was all very interesting to watch, but I was really disappointed when we left, as Aimee said she could not get us a report for 3 weeks, and then after that she could only see Sydney once every other week. I was really stressed and worried about that. Why is it that I seem to be the only one worried? Kory doesn't seem worried at all which frustrates me. If he is, he doesn't express it, and he isn't acting on it.
Luckily, I have this wonderful sister Marlene who was able to get us in for a second evaluation with the OT Jared sees, and she got us in for weekly appointments with the OT assistant. Thank you Marlene! You took a huge worry off my shoulders!!!
We got to the OT's office (Miss Aimee) and there was Sydney's doctor with her daughter. That was a pretty cool coincidence. The daughter was talking to Sydney and telling her how much she would like Miss Aimee and checking to see how tall Syd was compared to her. So they left, and our visit with Aimee started by her having Syd swing on a "boat swing". It's hard to describe--it's like a flat rectangular board that hangs from the ceiling, and there are wooden dowels on either side that hold the rope (I don't think I'm explaining this very well). Anyway, after we finally convinced Syd to get on the swing, Aimee had her hold onto one of the dowels and start swinging by using her shoulders/arms. She then had her 'fish' from the swing with a fishing pole and a magnet and catch cards that were puzzle pieces and put them together. She did fine with all of that. She then had her slither like a snake on the ground (I think to test if she only used one side or both sides of her body) and then roll like a log. She was videotaping everything. I won't go through all the gory details, but she did see that Syd has some tactile dysfunction, as she would not put her feet into the swimming pool filled with unpopped popcorn (thus the fact that she refuses to wear socks and certain clothing). And she only wanted to use the scoops and not her hands to play with the popcorn. Aimee also thought that Sydney had problems tracking things with her eyes--like a ball hanging on a string from the ceiling. But, I think, even though I'm not a professional, that some of that was that she was busy watching Aimee and not the ball. She also noticed visual avoidance when she would throw the beach ball at Syd, but again, I think Sydney thought the ball was going to hit her in the face so she turned her head. The biggest thing, I think, that Aimee noticed and that we are working on is her fine motor skills. Sydney tends to tire easily when writing or coloring, so we have a lot of work to do there. Aimee suggested some exercises and fun things to get Sydney to do to help out with her shoulder strength which will help her with her fine motor skills/muscle strength. It was all very interesting to watch, but I was really disappointed when we left, as Aimee said she could not get us a report for 3 weeks, and then after that she could only see Sydney once every other week. I was really stressed and worried about that. Why is it that I seem to be the only one worried? Kory doesn't seem worried at all which frustrates me. If he is, he doesn't express it, and he isn't acting on it.
Luckily, I have this wonderful sister Marlene who was able to get us in for a second evaluation with the OT Jared sees, and she got us in for weekly appointments with the OT assistant. Thank you Marlene! You took a huge worry off my shoulders!!!
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