Showing posts with label Hallie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hallie. Show all posts

Friday, November 1, 2013

I am "Hustle and Flow"

TGIF everybody! So glad the weekend is here, it's been a long week! Lots of updates this week as Jackson had more testing today as I mentioned we were going through. I think he did ok. These tests are taxing and emotional to say the least, but they are necessary. I sometimes stay for portions of his testing but most times I leave him to do his thing and come back. Hallie was with me today (supporting) for the morning as we dropped off Jackson this morning. We stayed for the first little bit but after I realized "supportive" sis was whispering answers to the testing for Jackson (BAD HALLIE!) we promptly left, ha. Today's test consisted of his speech and language evaluations. It's time for the yearly deal plus it met the requirements of the testing we are going through for the SCS program for Jackson. Killing two birds with one stone, don't mind if we do. We also received a letter in the mail today being approved for Jackson's neuropsychological evaluation to be covered by insurance, whoooo! Win #2.

As the week has been winding down and Jackson continues on the rigorous test trail, we are also still working on the house trying to make it our own. We are painting at the moment and it's been a whirlwind of paint like a color wheel around here. The kitchen, dining room, office, laundry and Jackson's bedroom and trim are all getting a facelift this week/weekend. Yep, we look like we just moved in again. Stuff is everywhere! (cue the OMG the house is upside down) Just a few pics of the house (excuse the mess!)

The front living room, still a work in progress


Yes, it's dark and yes I L-O-V-E it! (one day that lovely carpeted floor will take a hike, right honey??? Hehe Excuse the decor, I'm just throwing things in the room for color options at the moment. 
I LOVE how things are really coming together on the house and it's starting to finally feel like home.  I'll post some before and after pics soon with all the ins and outs of the house coming together! This week we had a field trip, spelling test, Jackson got a 100 I might add, saints parade at school, RIPE reading award, speech and language testing, gymnastics, ballet, halloween and painting on the house. Whew. That makes me tired just to type it all and I'm probably leaving out something. So two  costumes later and Halloween was a success last night. I am so glad we got to go trick or treating with the kids. We trotted around the neighborhood with Sleeping Beauty and Wolverine and came home with an overload of sugar so it was a good night and so much fun! A couple of pictures from the saints parade and Halloween. 



Ever feel like you literally hustle to the nth degree? I sure do. Between all the demands of Jackson's testing and keeping up with the school schedules I am worn out. Otherwise, I have to just go with the flow with all things autism related and all things life. We'll get updates on Jackson's testing at the end of the evaluation period. We have 41 days to go, but who's counting right? Until then, I guess I'll mark down the days on the calendar like the countdown to Christmas. Super blessed to be the Mommy to these two monkeys. Enjoy the weekend and hug your babies!

~EM

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The Mummy Test

Ahhhhhh... the MLK holiday. Yes, I was off work and yes I spent the entire day with my two little monkeys.  I don't get too many days at home with them (which may be good for my sanity to some degree, ha) but I often take then time with them when I can and love every minute of it. We stayed in our pajamas til noon, yep noon. Can't say I do that too often either, but trust me, I'm not complaining about having a few lazy hours.

Jackson had a birthday party to go to on Monday for his friend Peter, so at 2pm we headed out to Pump it Up to celebrate and exude some energy for a little bit. Jackson was having a good time for about the first 45 minutes, but a room full of wild boys, bouncing blow-up slides and pegging heads with bouncy balls and you can probably guess how that was bound to end.

Before we reached that point, it was time to leave and head to the doctor. (Phew! Crisis meltdown averted!) Jackson had a EEG (more on EEG here) test scheduled for 4pm. Don't think I got off that easy however. A full on meltdown over missing the cake at the party was the meltdown culprit all the way to the doctor. Ugh... some days I need a raising window in the car. You know like the ones in limos so people can block out the sound from the back to the front. I would have given my left arm for one of those windows during that car ride. We got to Dr. Eastmead's office in Midtown and in we went. Normally I don't like to take Hallie with me, but on Monday she was in tow since John was out of town for work. I was instructed not to give him any caffeine 24 hours before the test, no this, no that blah blah blah, but let's be serious. Jackson is like an operating caffeinated jack-rabbit without the caffeine. Do you really think I give him that stuff doctors??? Really!?!? Ok ok, back to the test. Just had to get that out there. We didn't wait but maybe 3 minutes before they called us back to get started. Lots of gooey gunk, a bazillion wires later and a full mummy headdress and we were ready to go. 

Not to my surprise, Miss Hallie felt the need to be right up in the middle of the action. She held Jackson's hand the whole time and told him, "You're doing reawllly good Jack". I was so proud of her. Only 3, but man she is well beyond her years. She amazes me everyday with how mature she is for her age. She never faltered the entire test. In a way I felt like she relieved me of some of my Mommy duties for this test. She was being the strong warrior for us both and honestly, I let her. It lasted about an hour-ish and Jackson ultimately fell asleep during the test, which he was suppose to do for the latter part of the test. 

As the technician warmed water in the microwave Hallie continued to ask questions and be involved. "What are you going to do with that?", she asked the technician. She told Hallie that was to help remove the sticky stuff from Jackson's hair. Even though that was the answer, she still stared a hole through the technician through the whole process. (ha, my little protective one) Even the technician mentioned how "aware" she seemed to be during the whole process. Normally I don't post pictures from any testing but I feel like this is all part of the journey, so.... head wrapped "mummy style" and another test we can check off the list, here's my little mummy during his EEG. 

Poor thing, he was NOT a happy camper by the end of this experience. I tried to explain that it was just some wrap and that it's ok, but huge shocker here... he didn't care (or even understand). All he knew was that he wanted off that gurney and he wanted that head wrap off! And fast! So fast, that he tried to "assist" in the removal process, which was all but a huge fail of frustration for him.  

On a lighter note, Jackson's latest trick of the trade is to name every female he meets "Woman". So as he was being set free from the mummy gear, he was yelling at the tech saying, "I don't like this you Woman!!!" (lol) Even though it's not funny, we were both laughing at the moment. It was cute, sweet, innocent and typical Jackson in every way. I am more than pooped this week and it's only Wednesday. The results from this EEG will be like most of the other testing, we'll be waiting for a bit to hear results. (big shocker there) Oh well. Glad to have this one out of the way and I think my little dude would second that.  

This will sound silly, but I'm glad Hallie was there on Monday, even if she is 3. I talk to her about Jackson a lot because believe or not, I think she gets it. My very own little pint-sized shrink ha! So thanks to my little peanut for being my rock on Monday. She's the best!

~EM

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Miss Mishnastics

Mishnastics: plural of mish-nas-tics (noun)- my pint sizes diva's vocal version of gymnastics.

Ever since the summer Olympics, Miss Rhea, aka Hallie has been asking to take "mishnastics" and NOT ballet! Direct quote: "Momma, I don't wanna do ballet" What! I have 20+ years of dance experience under my belt, with many many years of ballet and my dream was to always have a little girl and for her to love ballet just as much as me! Noooooooo!!! (Ok, not my life, not my choice, fine.) I threw myself a teeny tiny pity party from those words, but honestly it's ok. I just want my children to be involved in something that makes them really happy and something that makes them proud. Something they want to put their whole heart into and love it, like I love dance. Alright, so mishnastics it is! But before we get to that, I just have to post at least a couple of shots from ballet here or I'll kick myself later. At least I have a couple of pictures of a princess ballerina for the books. HA! So I'll go ahead and fulfill my dreams here....

          Cutie pie ready for her first class!                I have the same pic, same pose when I was little.
                                                  So happy to help her do her first bun! 

Soooooo NOT interested! (tear)

Now that I'm done living vicariously through my child, we'll move on to what SHE likes! (I guess, ok last whiny moment I promise, LOL) 

Watch out Olympics 2024, Hallie's coming for you! We have retired our tutu for a super sparkly purple IRIDESCENT leotard that is SKIN tight! Hallie picked it out herself, imagine that.... so we took a couple of test classes to see where she wanted to take lessons and I let her decide where she wanted to go. Yes, I let my 3 year old decide where she wants to take gymnastics. I wanted her to be comfortable, and yeah it may sound silly letting a 3 year old decide, but I feel like empowering your kids to make their own choices helps them really love what they do. And for me it didn't matter which place we went so I let her pick. So River City it was. She has been taking class for about 3 months now and she LOVES it! She is surprising very serious about it and very focused. She always wants to go to the side where the "big girls" are as she calls them and she loves her coach Miss Elaina! I love going to watch her, and she looks up every now and then to the observation room to make sure Mommy's there clapping after every move, ha! And yes, I am the obnoxious Mom that claps every time she looks at me, oh well! 

So without further adieu, my little gymnast and some of her action shots! 



               


I think I'm in for a long journey of "mishnastics" here, but I'm super excited for my sweet little lady! I couldn't be more proud that she has found something she is so passionate about, even at 3! Although, I will mention, she may be 3, but she thinks she's 16! Whew, gonna have my hands full with this little diva! So proud to call her my little peanut! She says she's going to the Olympics... if that happens I'll definitely be clapping and obnoxious after ever move then too! HA You can look for me on the "funny parent reactions and faces" the  media always broadcasts of Olympic parents watching their kids compete. I'm sure I'll be posting about our "mishnastics" in the future! Can't wait to see where this journey takes us! 

~EM