Christmas card

I tried and tried to find a website to upload individual pics of the kids to make a Christmas card, but could not find one for 5 kids, all were up to 4................

Oscar's pic is not very Christmas(y), it's his latest band pic..............they came in seond at "the battle of the bands" in Tampa last week, so even though I really do NOT like the music.......I am proud of his dedication and I guess the kid has talent !! Did I mention he made All State in concert choir !!!


So, merry Christmas everyone and a Happy, healthy 2010 !!!! ( better late than never)

Nice surprise !!!!!!!!!!!

The day before Christmas, in the midst of all the mayhem, we actually had a delivery of an "edible ornament" I was so excited ! It was from Oscar's girlfiend's mom and grandma, so very nice and thoughtful ! It was part of our Christmas breakfast, delicious !

200 cookies

These posts are going to be as topsy turvy ( watched too much Hunchback of Notre Dame) dis-combobulated ( is that actually a word to spell..or just to say LOL)as these Christmas days have been !!

Anyhoo, because I do so try to be the mom that does all these fun things with her kids...........( T...R...Y) I had decided it would be wonderful to all bake cookies together, put them in decorative tins and deliver them to our neighbors and friends.
And not the store bought dough that you cut slices.................NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Fancy ones, peanutbutter and regular with a Hershey's kiss in the middle........

The kids actually did pretty good...............it was fun..........for a while........and then one after the other got bored and I was left to finish with a pile of dough....................oh well......................................

Time for the next tray in the oven..........................wait a minute..........
all the hershey kisses were missing their little tips..........mmmmmmmmm.........

SEBASTIAN..................................................@$##^%$%@&^%&^*&^!!!!

LOL LOL LOL I had to laugh, little sneak !!!!

So Christmas crept up !

I will HAVE to make some changes next year !! Too hectic and crazy ! The day before Christmas Eve L still had an appointment, all went well, but it takes a chunk out of your day ! Christmas Eve I did the food grocery shoppong in the morning, the afternoon was spend in relative calm until it was time to get dressed for church, the family service was at 4 pm and all the kids were in the Christmas play !

They all did good, Sofia said her lines loud and clear ( she was the inn-keeper's wife) Lili smiled looking at baby Jesus in the manger, she was Mary (I only had to wave a couple of times to remind her to keep her fingers out of her mouth ! LOL )
Sebastian was one of the 3 kings, LOL, he was a clown, and then laid down and fell asleep typical ! Max decided he did not want to do it, he was super hyped up, so he stayed with L in the nursery. L chose this day as the first time he would have a major separation crying fit...............poor baby. Good sign though !!

On the way home we picked up pizza and the kids went to bed early. I went to bed at 1 am after wrapping all the presents, putting them under the tree, etc

Christmas morning I was up with the boys at 6.30 am, rise and shine ! I started breakfast prep (biscuits & cheese, bacon ) and I think those smells helped waking up the rest of the crew.

I told the kids we would not open any presents until after I ahd taken L to his visit ( started at 9 am ) So after I dropped him off I ran back home, and we started opening presents. I think the kids were all happy with what they got ! The whole thingw as interupted twice by L's mom, first she needed to know what time he last ate, then she called again to tell me she forgot she was out of formula, if I could meet her mom at the CVS ( our meeting place for visits).......................sigh

That afternoon, I cooked up a storm, arroz tapado (peruvian rice with olives and raisins) sweet potatoes with marshmellows, green beans&bacon, mashed potatoes, corn, white rice, pork roast and some more stuff I forgot.............................

I love to cook...........................it's not worth it though..................at dinner time, all was ready and hot, all timed perfect, except for my oldest was still at the movies.............and my husband was having a drink, so he wanted to wait................he actually asked me why I was setting the table.................what's the rush..............I swear I could have strangled someone.............................................................

Christmas is creeping up.....

I had one of those "oh my God" moments this afternoon, 2 more days until Christmas. Two more presents to get, for Sofie, still need to wrap. Christmas play is Thursday and all the kids are in it.......

pfffffffffffffffff, no wonder I have a headache ! Oh and tomorrow L has a neuro appointment, today he was supposed to have a 2 hr visit with dad, who showed up late and so the visit was cancelled........

This morning I did a team building exercise with the kids, they emptied the pantry together, LOL, and we put everything back in it nice and neat.

The weather is still cold, I am making some fried rice (nasi)now, waiting for the rice, so I can mix it in, so I had 2 minutes.

Sofia made a really sweet card for her sister, and she wanted her to have one of the presents that she received last Saturday, and she made an ornament with he rpicture on it. On the card she wrote;

"dear best sister, I love you, I hope you have really great Christmas with your new family"

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

B is going for a week's visit with her pre-adoptive family, we could use some extra prayers that all will work out !!! She can not live with us, if she could we would have adopted her years ago.

She has always stayed in our hearts and she deserves her own forever family !! (has been in fostercare for 9 years, UGH)

It is freezing !!!

Well, actually not really freezing, as in below zero ( stil going in Celcius) but pretty close to it !!!

L and Sebastian woke up at their regular time, so we have been up for a little while, it's 7.30 am now. I made myself a slice of "weihnachtstolle" that I found in a locl store. Oma had left some real butter in the fridge (something I never, ever buy) Yummy !!!

L really, really seems to be chunking up a little, his legs are getting fatter and all of a sudden he doesn't fit clothes anymore. I have been adding some cereal to his overnight feeds, to help with his reflux and for some extra calories, seems to be working !! His mom is doing better and better, communicating more and more, calling me during her visits to ask questions and in general seeing me more as part of her team instead of the enemy..................that always helps !! L seems much more comfortable as well. There's still things to work on, but it's all been positive lately ! Last visit grandma came with a huge tin of homemade cookies for us, very thoughtful and nice. It can not be easy being "one the other side" of the whole thing and I always try to be aware and sensitive to that. L will have a visit on Christmas Day, they will pick him up at 9 am.

Oscar just woke up, he had a "battle of he bands" last night in Tampa and his band actually came in 2nd...............not too shabby.................

I better splash some make up on my face....................gotta head out soon to OT/PT and feeding therapy.

oh happy days....................

NOT, geez................................where to start, where to start.............

Had some real bad, weird days.........you know, the ones where every flipping thing that can go wrong, goes wrong..............................and Christmas creeping up............and not even having bought one present yet...................the lights are in the tree, but no ornaments yet.................................

All in all, enough to make me feel like a bad mom....................not enough hours in the day to do everything, lack of energy and still recuperating.

Today................so far, so good. Did some major shopping this morning........
Bought gifts for the kids, a big item each, and 2 smaller things, that will be it, really, they do not need any more stuff !

And for myself, just because it's something to make my life easier, and if I don't buy it for myself, no one will.......................a Dyson vacuum cleaner, the Mercedes, the Jaguar of vacuum cleaners..................it was on sale, I have been drooling over it for a while and finally thought..............WHY NOT (kinda feels good to have more of a why not attitude !) Almost $300, without blinking an eye (okay almost without blinking !) it's a lot lighter and has a lot of power, it actually lifts up the rug, that's how strong it is..........I'm psyched !!!!!!!!!!

Oh and in Big Lots I actually found a Kerstmis stol MET spijs, it's aspecial "bread" we eat for Christmas, mjammie, (er is geloof ik nog roomboter hi hi)

Good to be back, sorry I didn't post for a while.........................

waiting......................

Waiting on the second part of the blood test today, the first part was not so good, the white blood count is up..............can you believe it.............we're hoping it's not because he's sliding without the second antibiotic.................

Praying the protein test is more promising..............

Now he is loose and walking around. When he first got out of bed he was very, very wobbly, but it's getting better. We put on regular comfy clothes as well, brushed our hair, put on some "colonia"

He ate a cheese stick and 4 M&M's, is drinking water and papa is bringing him some french fries.

I just had a half tuna sandwich, the nurses were ordering out and included me, we love these girls, they always take such good care of all of us. Beanie babies for the kids at home, Sebastian has gotten several "prizes" ( Connect 4, Mr potato Head set, block puzzle, playdoh, etc, etc)

brotherly/sisterly love

some pics

These were all taken at the adoption picnic a couple of weeks ago. The kids had so much fun, we all released balloons for all the kids that are still waiting for their forever family.

maybe tomorrow...............?

Hopefully, we're praying............he's off O2, IV fluids at minimum (just to keep IV going for meds) stopped one antibiotic and the other one is one that we can do at home................

Food intake is not a huge concern, that's where the feeding tube comes in handy ;)

He is drinking water, especially after a couple of doses of nyastatin for his mouth...............

He wants to go home, he is dying to see his new bike that oma bought him this morning, she found it at a garage sale in our neighborhood, it's looks brand new, Hot Wheels bike.

Oma sat with Sebastian this afternoon, I went home and had L for a couple of hours. He is such a good, good baby. I cooked while he was playing, but he would crawl and hang against my legs, wanting a cuddle/hug, and then he would go play again, such a little lovebug !! when the girls came home, they were tickled pink to see him ! Papa took the kids to see G force and then dropped off max at a birthday at Bounce U. busy day for everyone !

I can't wait for everyone to be home again, regular life......oh and papa put up the Christmas tree while I was picking up Max and dropping off L. I think that's the first time LOL

off oxygen

Sebastian has been off O2 since late this morning, YEAH !!
He has slept a lot today............when the doc needed him to sit up for a minute, he could literally not keep himself upright. He's very, very weak.

Papa came up late afternoon so i could go home and take the kids to the annual tri county Christmas party. When it was their turn to talk to Santa, Max told him right away that his baby brother was in the hospital and he needed a present ! LOL

When I came back to the hospital, Sebas was just waking up, he had been sleeping since 6.30, until 8.30, when I came in. He was awake for a while, looked at his present ( a Tonka firetruck) had to have blood drawn, I checked his MicKey button, since for some strange reason he is leaking milk from around his button ???
When it was time for his breathing treatment, he was crying that his mouth was hurting and i found out he has massive white spots on his tongue and gums, thrush.....................ouch !! (spruw)

Poor thing....................

So, even though he's doing better, he's still very, very sick and his pneumonia is still pretty bad, lots of crackling in his lungs. He cries throughout his CPT (where they pound his back and sides to loosen the crap in his lungs) I know that hurts, but it's the only way, unfortunately................

Tomorrow afternoon, L will be home for a couple of hours, so the kids can play with him, Oma will be keeping Sebas company, peace and quiet for her !! sebastian is such a good patient, he just wants to watch scooby Doo over and over (ad nauseum) LOL

what a difference !

Sebastian had a good night, slept good, did not need extra O2 when sleeping, he actually went down to 3 L overnight and now is on 2 L !

He woke up and wanted to go to wal-mart...............LOL, definitely a good sign ! he has asked for food, but not taken more than a couple of small bites, that's okay though, we'll bolus some pediasure later.

Nebs are still Q2 (every 2 hrs) and we are now doing CPT (chest "pounding" therapy as we call it LOL) to loosen the junk and get him to cough.

Papa is coming in a while, so I can go home and have a shower. Oma is holding down the fort. Sofia stayed home with her today, her guinea pig Spikey died overnight, so Sofie was pretty upset :(

I guess we'll have a little "service" in the backyard later this afternoon for Spikey........................

guess where we are........

Yup, inpatient at the local hospital...................UNBELIEVABLE !

Yesterday monring sebastian woke up at 5 am coughing like crazy, finally did fall asleep again. When we all got up, he had a fever, cough, nothing too, too bad. Took him to the doctor, left with a couple of RX's, nebs Q4, steroids, pretty "normal"

fast forward to this morning...........nebulizer.....not doing a whole lot of good, fever...........up to 39.7 under arm, belly breathing, retracting, nostrils flaring and on and off grunting.
RT came 45 minutes after a neb treatment, pulse oxygen.....89 %, which means a one way ticket to the ER. Once we were up in the room on peds, he really started crashing, in the ER he was on 2 L oxygen, upstairs he went to 3 then 4 liters and was barely hanging between 91-93. Grunting constantly, looking gray, so doc started talking about transfer to All children's intensive care, intubation, etc...........................he had us all worried sick !!

Around 4 pm he started coming around a little, fever going down a bit, actually opening his eyes, etc. Still very sick, but holding his own for right now. IV fluids, 2 antibiotics going, tylenol/motrin round the clock, nebs Q2.

Poor baby, he's such a trooper, he's sleeping, which is what i should be doing.................papa went to work tonight (after taking the day off, Oma went with me to carry/lift Basje) Oma went home ( driving all by herself) Oscar brought me the laptop, and some stuff I forgot (phone charger, clean underwear LOL)

Hopefully he'll continue to do good tomorrow, it would be nice if we can be home before the weekend !!

home again

Actually I have been home for a couple of days, but let me rewind a little...................

Thursday night Oma arrived, safe and sound. Friday we took L for his therapy, and while he was at his visit, we went for pedicures.

Friday night, the plan WAS to drop off the kids at "operation relaxation" and go for dinner ( Oscar, girlfriend G, Oma and me)
Around 5 pm, I really wasn't feeling that well, so I cancelled that. Stomach pains out the wazoo..........................

Around 7 pm I was doubled over in pain, neighbor Lisa, who is a nurse, came over and took me to the ER. Doc took one look, guessed gallbladder, and send me to have an ultrasound. Oh, before they took me, they gave me some meds and the nurse said; warm &fuzzy, enjoy the carpet ride...............HOLY COW...............warm and fuzzy ???????????????? How about drunk off my a$$ !!! No more pain though !!!

Ultrasound was negative, I was still in happy la-la land, so the doc send me on my way with an RX for Vicoden, for what he called "stomach spasms" MMMMMMMMMHMMMMMMMMM

I could not walk straight for the life of me, bouncing from wall to wall, came home, went to bed. Woke up, not quite feeling that well anymore, so took a pill, fell back asleep, woke up again, went to the bathroom and almost passed out on the way back to bed.

PAIN PAIN PAIN, and I an not a wooz or a "mietje" as we say in my country.......................................

Lisa (sweet, dear, trooper Lisa) took one look and took me right back to the ER, different doc this time.................no happy meds.................2 gallons of contrast crap I had to drink.......CAT scan from my chest to my pelvis................

wait, wait, agonizing pain, cold, shakes (big time teeth chattering)

Doc comes back.........................you have acute appendicitis.......................

I have to tell you, I was relieved...........at least they found what it was. The rest is history, they loaded me up on morphine, called the surgeon, wheeled me down to pre op. Surgeon came and actually complimented me on my pedicure ( did you do your toes especially before coming here ? LOL)

back in room, world is fuzzy...........little pain, sleep, sleep, wake up with the mother of all headaches...........fever, 103

I ended up staying an extra day because of fever, but I am home again. I will save the stories of the halleluya feeling when I first managed to pass some gas..............having to sit up/walk the first time ( oh my God !)

Thank God for my mom, who took over, I did not have to worry about the kids once, she kept everything going, even with a broken down microwave and a dryer that stopped working (so that's 3's right)

Thank God for my neighbor and friend Lisa, for taking me to the ER twice and staying by my side for hours.

Thank God for P and L, who came and picked up L in a heartbeat and are loving on him until he can come back. We miss him !

Thank God for my son, who had to see mommy in her not so finest hour and got really upset, sorry papi : (

Thank God for my true friends who were there with calls, prayers, good thoughts and offers of help to my mom.

And last but not least thank God for my husband, who was so worried, changed his flight and flew home on his birthday /
Thanksgiving.

So, that's it in a nutshell, our last week...................

again never a dull moment !!!!!!!!!!!

new header picture

I love this picture, it's exactly 2 years ago, it was taken on Max' adoption day. Sebastian still so little, Max making a heart sign with his hands and the girls with their gap toothed smiles, papa all handsome dressed up (doesn't happen very often LOL) and Oscar, so big and handsome (even with the long hair..oy)

Whirlwind day

But it all worked out perfect ! This morning the kids went off to school without a hitch. Sebastian stayed home, since he had an EEG and lab work scheduled, but before we had to leave I had some time to pick up a bit, do a load of laundry and vacuum.

We arrived for our appointment right on time, one of the front desk girls used to work for our pediatrician, it's always fun to see her and she was so impressed to see how well Sebastian was doing ! We talked while she registered him and then came the time for "the bracelet"................................

that innocent little plastic ID band...............instant "deer in the headlight" look ! I assured Sebastian there would be NO staying in the "hopital"
He was assured, but still a bit leery....................

We were called back, they opened the door to the room where the sight of a hospital bed with a curtain around it, was enough to get Sebas from relative calm to absolute hysterics, no calming down, no reason, no nothing...........................

L had fallen asleep right before we were called back, perfect timing ! but with Sebastian screaming, he would wake up any minute !

This is where the "mean mommy" came out, I had tried calming him down, bribes, reason. He would not listen.....................all that came out was " I want to go school"

I told the tech's to do what they had to do, I knew he would calm down once they put the electrodes on his head, so do the "burrito" or whatever you need to do. I told Sebastian that mommy had to go bathroom real quick, I would be right back ( he was fine with that)

I walked out and within minutes I heard him screaming...................poor baby................bad mommy..................... :(

Several nurses stopped and all asked the same thing...................is that Sebastian ?????????????????????????? See, he's known as this gentle, laid back, sweet, sweet boy..................................today he was not having it though !

He stopped crying within 2 minutes, I went back in, they told him to go to sleep for a little, he rolled on his side, with his "mommy night-night" ofcourse (my old shirt)
and then he said..................mommy, I just want papa to come home tonight.......

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, instead teary eyes for me.................................

The tech's were wonderful when I explained papa had just left last night for a trip. They jumped in right away, assuring him papa's and mama's always, always come back and sometimes even bring a present...........LOL he fell asleep with a smile !

L was great throughout all this.................................

I re-scheduled the lab work for next week, enough trauma for one day and it was running late, I had to be at the office for a bio dad visit, which I made it to 4 minutes late ( bite me)

After the visit we flew home, both boys fell asleep, but an early developmental interventionist was coming. L slept while we chatted, Oscar took Sebastian to Wal-mart for the promised Bagukan (the kid is obsessed with Bagukan's, not the game or the series, just the mechanics of these little balls that pop open LOL)

Dinnertime....................Alex was invited for dinner at a neighbor, we ordered pizza..............................second one free..................

My voice started getting scratchy late afternoon, it has gotten progressively worse, my voice now is almost gone...............................GREAT !!!!!!!!!!!
No sore throat though.............let me not jinx anything LOL

Update on the diet

Because yes, I'm still going strong !! Finally under the 200 and 40 lbs gone, unbelievable. To pick up Sebastian, who is not anywhere near 40 lbs and know that was weight that I was carrying around ! I have given away my first load of clothes that were hanging off of me.

Papa left, we're sad

Whirlwind couple of days. Yesterday we went to church, came home, L went for his visit and as soon as he came back we left for Tampa to visit Kim. She looks a 100% better, can make a fist, can not quite release the fist, but what great progress !!!!

We visited, actually went to the patio area and sat and chatted, went over some financial stuff, hugged, shed some tears, laughed...........what a relief to see her so much better !

On the way home we dropped papa off at his truck, he had to squeeze one last load in, responsible til the last minute ! While L was on his visit, we had already packed some of his clothes and a suitcase full of clothes and shoes to give away.

He slept in the truck, this morning drove over to Venice, where the truck is going to stay parked at a neighbor's job site, while Papa is gone, this neighbor is going to do some work on his truck. After L's OT/PT, I drove over to pick Papa up, L slept the whole way, he was tired of working so hard at therapy !

We finished packing, ate lunch, I ran to Wal-mart for last minute stuff, and as the day went on I fekt more and more anxious. It has been a long time since Papa has been gone this long. The kids don't even remember...................we'll be fine. Just absolutely hate saying goodbye !!!

We decided Oscar and Alex were going to take Papa to the airport and after that swing by Kim to visit. So all the kids gave their kisses, we showed them a calendar where we will cross off the days. All kids got a musical toothbrush (it plays music while you brush for 2 minutes) trying to keep it all light................

Sofia refused to come outside to see him of. Lili would not go of my hand and kept saying that she felt really sad. Max stopped playing and said, I really don't like papa to go that long, I want him to stay here. Sebastian has not said a whole lot yet. Lili keeps walking around and has big shiny eyes, tears will probably start soon, the poor thing.

I'm good now.............it's the goodbye thing. I tucked a card in his carry-on...........................................hopefully time will go fast.

I have to focus on the rest of the week, holy cow, macaroni&cheese (as Sebastian likes to say)

Tomorrow morning, EEG Sebastian, labwork afterwards, blood and stool. After we'll fly over to the Coalition where L will have a supervised visit, then we'll fly home where an Early Steps therapist will meet us for therapy for L. ( when oh when will they start selling diet cokes with optional extra shots of caffeine !! )

Wednesday, specialist appointment for L, about 1 hr drive away. Half day school for the kids ( I can smell a movie afternoon coming !)Licensing coming for quarterly visit ( so the house has to look halfway presentable LOL )

Thursday, Guardian ad litem, caseworker are coming early afternoon. Originally I planned to pick up kids from school and start driving to Orlando to go pick up Oma. Oscar offered yesterday to go with Alex, which starts to make more and more sense.

I thought about just taking 2 (besides L) but then I feel bad for the other ones, driving with all 5.....................mmmmmmmmmmm, maybe it would be better for Oscar to go, and I'll wait for Oma here, with a glass of wine and some good rice !
I feel bad, but I shouldn't feel bad, I know that mom will understand.

We're back...........

The past days have been weird, just weird. Saturday, I just really felt I needed to make my blog private..............apparently it's pretty easy to find a blog and the thought of bio's reading my blog...................creeps me out. I don't mind strangers, LOL, God knows I read some blogs of people that do not know me.

BUT, I read blogs for inspiration, other foster or adoptive families, families with special needs kids, etc.

I had actually written a blog about L, but was smart enough to save it as a draft. Then I thought maybe I should go private......................

For right now I have decided to make it accessible like it was, but I will not post anything about L, other than maybe that we have an appointment, or how he is in general.

Wiggling fingers............

Kim is able to wiggle her fingers and lift her leg a tiny bit, awesome news !

This week has been an adjustment for everyone..............Oscar driving his friend to the hospital ( 1.5 hr one way) leaving him less time for girlfiend/band/youthgroup
and stuff. Papa and myself trying to get the finances in order/paid, at times frustrating. Papa a bit anxious about his upcoming trip to Peru...............

A friend called him yesterday, to go diving this morning, I convinced him to go. I know he'll come back relaxed, he's worrying too much....................

LOL, as I was typing this, he called, his friend stopped at Wal-mart, buying all kinds of stuff, getting a fishing license, looking at nets...............papa can NOT stand shopping, and definitely not Wal-mart on a Saturday. Told him to breathe and relax LOL LOL

The boys are playing outside, sometimes I wish we lived on 5 acres, with trees and mud and adventures for them. Max is such an outside child..............but they are happy, going from the trampoline, to riding bikes on the sidewalk, to playing on the swingset....................it has been wonderful weather, not too hot, so the outside play is in full swing !!!!!!!!!

Sofie is playing with her littlest pets. She already had quite the collection, and
last week we stopped at a garage sale where we picked up 36 of them for 10 cents each!! What a find !

Lili is hanging around, she has a cough and stuffy nose. L is swinging, taking a rest after crawling all over the place all morning. The girls had put pillows on the floor that he was crawling over, wonderful physical therapy !! Getting him stronger, less frustrated, he is doing so well, and the kids are doing great with him !

appointments, appointments........

We have been so very busy, our lives are always busy ofcourse, between work, the kids, the house, etc.......but whew.......

Lots of phonecalls, trying to sort out financial stuff for Kim, mainly what's due, what do we pay first, etc. Getting disability payments started, or rather the process. Some people are hugely helpful and others are complete a$$es. The mortgage company was wonderful, after we explained what was going on, and really all we needed to know was if the payments were automatic. Verizon, however was unbendable. Lifestyle fitness said no at first and then were very helpful, we froze her account for now, saving $75 a month and right now everything helps !!

This afternoon I had an appointment with dr H for Sofia, we went over a bunch of stuff and Sofie did great with verbalizing her feelings. Looking back, Sofia has changed a lot over the past year. She has always been a happy and smiling. Over the past year she has changed to a little girl that constantly swings from being happy (life is wonderful, everyone is great, I just love the world) to a child that picks fights, is vindictive, mean, tantrums. This swinging back and forth happens several times a day and its' exhausting ! I can't even imagine what it must feel like for her !
In her own words, she feels weird, feels angry and wants to break stuff, people won't/don't like her, etc, etc

Dr H said she scored a 10 out of a 10 basically...........it makes me sad, but at least we are ahead of the game, instead of waiting for major things to happen. She will start taking Ailify to try and even out her moods, very low dose. I am praying it works ! I want my happy little cholita back !!

Lili is sitting next to me, she has been coughing and her ear feels icky, so I need to check that out. Tomorrow we have OT/PT, afterwards L goes for his visit. he has been doing great and such a blessing !! i'll have to make a separate blog about him. His well baby check up, he weighed 16.13 lbs...............he needs to gain weight !!!

update

It has been quite the week ! Very, very busy, between everything that's going on with Kim and the kids and little L. Y'all, I don't even know where to start.............

Kim was transferred to Tampa, late Thursday night, had surgery on Friday. A large brain tumor was removed, the surgeons were able to get the whole tumor out !
The bad news...................the tumor was melanoma..................so the next day a whole body scan was done and thank God nothing else was found. PG !!

Ofcourse a lot of things have had to be figured out, plans made, etc.............about the kids, place of rehab, paying bills, etc, etc

The youngest son is going with his dad to KY, the oldest will be staying here with us..................not a problem, other than space wise............where do we "stack" all these kids ??

LOL, Alex will be sleeping at home and Oscar will "move in " temporarily, to sleep there as well, so Alex won't be by himself. Days will be spend here.

I am going to be added or authorized on Kim's account, so we can pay bills and keep things current.....................we'll also are going to do a mini extreme home make over...................organizing a very disorganized closet and a garage that's stacked to the roof.................I received "carte blanche" from grandma to get rid of all the junk LOL

So, right now, just lots of prayers for some good things to be happening in rehab !!

This definitely has thrown everyone involved a huge curveball and an even bigger wake up call...........................things happen just like that.........

Papa was very close to cancelling his trip next week, but I convinced him we'll be fine...........................Oma is coming, plenty of help.

So, now I have 7 kids LOL

Just like that............

Just like that...............things change.............

I am shaking as I'm typing, we are all in shock. Yesterday all was "normal" in our little neighborhood. We, in this little corner, have been neighbors for 12 years, gone through all kinds of "life stuff", babies, divorces, cancer scares..........but also birthday bashes, parties, midnight swim meets, etc

My neighbor across the street, Kim, collapsed last night around 12.30 am, we all just found out this morning. The news is not good, she has a deep tumor in her brain, there is bleeding, her speech is affected and she is paralyzed on one side.

She will have surgery later today at a hospital about 90 minutes from here. Right now she is still here in the hospital. Our neighbor Lisa, re scheduled her work for today and went straight there. Oscar and Joseph ( other neighbors son ) went to support Alex, Kim's oldest son. These 3 boys have been friends since they were 4 years old. Zach , Kim's youngest is at home, he did not want to come over here, he's watching movies ( and has kind of disconnected himself, maybe not a bad thing)

I'm going to check on him in a minute, take him for some food to Mc Donalds.

I called their father, who lives in a different state. I talked to Guillermo and he agreed, Mike needs to come down and be here for the boys, we don't know what is going to happen............Mike had only talked to Alex and was not completely aware of how bad things were.

We need lots of prayers...........................

the catch

Papa just came home with mostly everything the kids had asked him for; a starfish, a puffer fish, 2 little crabs, a shell with like a snail in it, and some fish that I forgot the name, but they're purple and yellow, very pretty.

The boys will be so excited when they wake up !

Sofia's temp was up to 103.4, despite the Tylenol. She's complaining about headaches and her back hurting. Sounds familiar ! ( Max)

Halloween pics

What a night........................it is HOT and humid and miserable !

But the kids got dressed up and off we went, trick-or-treating ! L in the stroller, Sebastian in the front ( at least he was getting in and out by himself !)

About the 4th house down, Sebastian tripped and fell, Max was running ahead, Sofia was miserable, but did not want to stay home......................

We did a very, VERY quick round of the block. I told the kids that we were only going to the houses where the neighbors were outside LOL, made it even faster.

Right before finally seeing the end ( my garage wahoooooooooo) Sebastian tripped again (getting tired) and dropped all of his candy.........................

"could I have a triple Margarita now please !"

Anyhoo, we're home. Sofia is laying on the couch, Max and Lili are manning the door, handing out candy (which by the way I am ready to turn off the light, by now it's all kids that are just being dropped off by their parents to go get "good candy"
There is no Happy Halloween, trick or treat or thank you, just a blank stare while they open their pillowcases ( yup pillow cases, they hold more )

L was good as gold the whole time, just sitting in the stroller. We tried on his Mickey Mouse costume, very cute, but hot and bare legs, not good with the invasion of mosquitos we are having ! So he wore a Halloween PJ (silly me thought he might fall asleep....yeah right !)

Lili and Max posed with a neigbor, Sebastian would NOT get out of the stroller, too scary ! LOL

Oscar is at a concert, but he will be home later with some friends, they're going to watch scary movies and all sleep in the family room.

Papa is scuba diving (night dive) hopefully he will bring back some pretty fish for the aquarium !

Look at these tiny feet

Obviously I can not put pics of L on this blog, only non identifying pics. Look at those tiny feet....................................only a bit bigger than a newborn.

Sofia has a fever...........

She told me last night she was feeling icky, this morning she got up early, we took her temp and sure enough, 102.2 F at 9.30 am !

Waiting on the dr's office to call me back, I am buying stock in Tylenol and Motrin !

having a ball

Y'all should see me, I am siiting next to the bathtub on a little cube chair (think OT)with the laptop, watching L splashing in the bathtub. He LOVES his bath !!

He has been getting up pretty early, 6 ish, and between 6 and 7.30 he finished a 5 oz bottle, no bolus, how good was that ! It took him 4 "sittings" to do it, but hey...........

He is ALL smiles, for everybody. His CW came yesterday, she is awesome and a fighter, we'll get along just great !! She said he is always pushing bio mom away, which is telling, because he loves to snuggle and love on people. When you ask him for a kiss, he will lean his forehead against yours, so sweet.

All the kids just left for school, dressed up in their costumes.
MMM..MMM, you didn't think I just sat down and fed L and that was it............nooooooooooooooooooooooo

I dressed a scarecrow, a superman, a cheerleader and a spanish dancer, averted a breakdown (Lili) because she really wanted to be Cinderella and we couldn't find the dress (which she probably stuffed under her bed and forgot all about, where is that darn dress ????) Anyway,, she looks much cuter as a spanish dancer. Then Sofia started melting down, because her outfit was itching ( and we can NOT just tell mama, we have to start falling apart, before she half screamed " I need a "hemd" " LOL LOL it shows how there are some dutch words that are so woven into our lives !!!

Or how about Sebastian, sitting in the tub with L, and starts singing "spetta spetta spa" (spetter spetter spat, wie zit er in het bad)

I have to be at the office at noon for feeding instruction for bio mom with the medical fostercare nurse, should be interesting !
After that he will go with bio mom and grandpa, for a 2 hr visit.

All new territory, I have heard from everyone involved that grandpa is a sweetheart, who just loves on L, so that's good to know. he trasnports and supervises the visit.

Off to take L out of the tub, he's got monkey hands by now !

Settling in

L is doing so good ! He is just a little snugglebug, loves to snuggle and hug, very affectionate ! He had a great first night, slept all the way through and woke up with a smile ! Tuesday night I had my first board meeting, so he came with me, fell asleep on the way home and never woke up when I took him from the car to his crib !

At night he is on continuous feeds, just like Sebastian, but after about 4 hrs, he will start coughing and coughing, which makes me think he's refluxing and the rate might be too fast (30 ml/hr)

Last night he was sitting with us as we were all watching Funny video's and he would laugh any time the kids would laugh, which would then make the kids laugh again LOL
I put him in bed at 7.25 pm, I could tell his eyes were starting to close, and sure enough, he was sound asleep in 5 minutes ! When I hooked him up I had lowered the rate, but again, same coughing spells, so I stopped the pump again. He woke up pretty early this morning, he was hungry ! Took about 2 oz by mouth, we bolused the rest.

During the day he just loves to crawl around and explore, loves to play. Right now he is sleeping a little nap. He is so tiny............:(

I still had a pair of Robeez, size 2 and he fits them easily, he's in 6-9 mos clothing.......................................

Part of settling in is reading his paperwork...............I already knew part of his story, because unfortunately, it was horrible enough to have made it to the frontpage of the newspaper here. To read the whole thing is nauseating..............
There are some evil, evil people in this world !

Hopefully today........................

The placement person that needed to sign was not there yesterday either, so Lalo is not here yet..............He did get to visit yesterday and play with the kids, after we all went to the office for me to get training on a feeding tube (still rolling my eyes)

He came home with us, slept a nap in his crib, played, explored and was just very cute ! He has these little curls on the back of his head, blond hair, the best smile (where he just crinkles his nose, half closes his eyes and shows off his teeth)
He drank some of his bottle and we bolused the rest, after his nap we tried fruit, but he did not want to open his mouth, we'll work on that !

I'm off to Goodwill, everything is 50%off today ( I had forgotten about that, but Polly reminded me, thanks ! now I "have" to go)

Oh and last night I steam cleaned all the carpet.............we'll have a crawler in the house !

I will be able to post some pics soon, since my sweet mama left me a message that I could go and buy one, she was happy she finally knew something to gift me, thank you mam, dankjewel, dankjewel (duizend maal dank) Ik bel je straks !

Little Lalo

That will be his nickname, all because of privacy, etc, ofcourse. He is precious ! and tiny !Still not here, hopefully today !! Yesterday we went to his foster parents, to pick up some of his stuff.................some of it.................mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, my Suburban was FULL !! Holy cow, enough clothes for 10 kids, diapers for a month, feeding supplies, 20 blankets (almost), etc, etc

I have put most of it away, the crib is up and ready, it looks cute in the boys room and I would post a picture if it weren't for my camera not working anymore, I feel seriously handicapped ! I already told hubby that Christmas is coming up, but that's a long time without taking pictures !

Carseat is clean, still need to put it in the car...................

The kids just fell in love with him and had so much fun playing with him. Sebastian wanted to see his MicKey button, LOL, ofcourse, a tummy like him, makes sense !
He was a little upset when we left, because he "really, really wanted to take that baby home now !" AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Max and Sofia helped me wipe the crib down and put it together. Max did the bottom screws and Sofie the top ones. All I had to do was tighten them, awesome teamwork !

Praying that the necessary paperwork will be signed today (overcap waiver mainly)
Shouldn't be a problem. Around 11 am we are going to the office to do a child specific training, I will have to show that I know how to take care of a feeding tube and know what to do when the button comes out. Really............rolling my eyes. As the medical foster care nurse said, I could probably train everybody else, BUT those are the rules.

Praying for a smooth transition for little Lalo !

Big news !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are getting a placement !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Little boy, 11 mos old, sweet, sweet little thing, has to be moved from his current foster home where he's been for the past 8 mos. I know his foster parents, they are good friends of mine.

Little one has a feeding tube ( we have a little experience with that LOL) and the regular line up of therapies. He sits independently, starting to crawl.

The kids will be so excited to have a baby that they can "play" with ! Today the social workers are going to get the paperwork together, over the weekend we will pick him up for a couple of hours every afternoon and hopefully on Monday it's a go !

Medical kids involve a lot more paperwork and people involved, so that's why things tend to move a bit slower.

Now I know saying no last week, was the right thing to do. This little one is a perfect fit for this family !

I am excited !!!!!!!!!!! Oma, now we will have a stroller when going to the mall !
Oma and I still fight over who gets to push the stroller, LOL

Off to hunt down a crib (gave mine away) and set it up !

Board member

I guess that's what I am now and I have been keeping busy with it. Our county's foster/adoptive association was for years ( I am not exaggerating ! years !) run by the same people, who were quite content running it the way they had been.

When we first became foster parents, what feels like "ages ago", I maybe went 2x and that was it. It was not a very welcoming place.................to say it nicely.

Last December, one of my fellow FP and friend, decided it was time to shake things up a little and she was voted in as our new president, together with some other great girls as secretary, treasurer, etc.

They managed to turn this thing around, meetings were positive, upbeat, a place of support and friendship. Every month we have a speaker, so we get 2 hrs of training for re-licensing and learn more about all the fun and not so fun stuff, anything from reactive attachment disorders to IEP's in school.

Last month all this came to a screeching halt, the whole thing was ridiculous and it basically came down to "the old guard" being really unhappy and feeling threatened with all the changes. The whole thing blew up faster then you can say Amen and boy it was ugly !! The ringleader of the "old guard" happen to be the vice president, oy

It's a long, long story, but it basically boils down to honesty and integrity. It would seem to be a no brainer that when it's time for the Christmas wishlists that go out to the community, you DO NOT put names of adopted kids/grand kids or ficticious kids on there, that's unethical !! That was just one of the issues......................

They wanted the president removed, bla bla bla. It basically was at a point where "the girls" could have said " you know what, I am doing this in my spare time, I don't need al this BS, see ya"

Instead, they stayed, tried to work things out, with help of the regional association and decided to continue.

One of the girls could not continue, she has 4 kids and just started working full time, so me and my big mouth volunteered to jump in and fill the position........

All kidding aside,I really felt it was time to step up and do something, help these girls who have been doing so much good in the past year.

A foster/adoptive association needs to be a place where people can go for support and friendship, to learn from eachother and lean on eachother. Being a foster/adoptive parent is a very rewarding job, but it can be the hardest job in the world, with a lot of heartaches and headaches.

New foster parents need to be able to come to these meetings and feel welcome.

My "position" is recruitment and membership. One of the things I feel strongly about and it's something we have talked about before, we need to go talk to the new fosterparents and follow up with them. They don't always have time for the meetings, but a phonecall to see how they're doing and if they need anything, sure would be appreciated. "Did you get a placement yet, how is it going"
There are some wonderful respite programs going on that they need to know about.
Adoptive parents, after the adoption they sorta vanish and a lot of them don't realize we are there for them as well.

I have my work cut out for me..................but I am ready !

Semi sick kids

Yesterday I got a call from Sebastian's school that he could not stop coughing, so I went and picked him up. The little bandit was sitting with the school nurse, happy as a clam, chattering away. He told me that he felt "all better" being with mommy...

We made a quick detour to check out Goodwill, where he found a brand new Scooby Doo pillow and a singing Scooby Doo, they charged him 50 cents for it. He would not stop singing "it's a lucky, lucky day" which he "sings" often, just the same sentence over and over again, until it drives you nuts ! He has been getting stuck on repeating the same sentence or word for hours at the time, don't know what that is all about................and when he's not doing that, oy, he has to make noises with his mouth, just noise, constantly, he drives the other kids crazy. After we came home he refused to sleep a nap, he was just piddling around with lego's, right behind the couch. I went to take a peek at him since he was so quiet and he was sound asleep, wrapped up in my jacket.

Oscar stayed home this morning, the big kid, he has a sore throat, coughs a little and needs some mommy time..............he asked last night if he could stay home and we could do lunch and get him a haircut, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, a haircut, sure you can stay home LOL. His hair is looooooooooooooong, and the girls love it, but I miss seeing my son's beautiful face, it's always covered...............so heck yeah, we'll go get a haircut !!

Sunday catch up

There have been so many things happening that I haven't blogged about, just random things, but never the less.

This morning we woke up to a cold house !! And the A/C was turned off last night ! Now cold for us means the house was about 74 F, which would be what...........18 C ??

Outside it was 50/60 F, the kids wanted their jackets and hats, they are so funny, it always makes me smile, these kiddo's don't even know what cold is/means !
It's nice though, they are all riding bikes and playing outside, enjoying NOT being hot and sweaty in 2 seconds !

Diet update, I have reached a magic mark of 30 lbs lost ! There are several pants I can not wear anymore, they are super baggy on me, there's a change LOL

We will mark one week tomorrow with no watching TV for the kids. It's something I had been thinking about and decided last Monday just to do it. I was tired of the TV, the stupid programs (has anyone ever really listened to SpongeBob........I had been wondering why my kids had been calling eachother "you idiot", or what about Hannah Montana, mwah)

There was a lot of complaining from Sebastian and Liliana ( the 2 that watch the most, especially Lili is a TV junkie, no matter what's on, she's glued) But by wednesday...not a peep.

The boys have a TV with a DVD in their room, so after dinner and showers, they could all watch, if they wanted, a short DVD (that I have picked out at the library, or Signing Time DVD's). On wednesday, when they have a half day of school and the boys miss their naptime at school, they have quiet time and can watch a Disney movie.

Yesterday was a drop off respite for 4 hrs for all the kids (bless project rainbow)
They were all dressed up for the Halloween party and had a great time. Papa worked a little in the morning and while the kids were gone, we went to the beach to get sand and 30 gallons of seawater.....................

Why, you ask ??? Well............papa figured, my crazy wife brings home guinea pigs, I'll bring home a salt water aquarium...................... Lots of his scuba dive friends have one and when they dive they catch all these beautiful fish for their aquarium. When papa showed an interest, he was given a beautiful aquarium and so now we are setting it up. It will have to run for 1-2 weeks to get established and when he goes diving Halloween weekend, hopefully he'll catch lots of pretty fish!

Right now he went surfing with a friend, it's been windy, so hopefully they'll catch some waves. We also needed a bit more water and some shrimp (live ones, not on a ring with cocktail sauce LOL) to put in the aquarium while it gets established.

Last Thursday I got a call for a medical baby boy, newborn, addicted, monitor. I said no, after sleeping on it...............it was hard..........methadone babies are notoriously difficult, or can be. Maybe the next one. At least I have been getting calls for medical babies again, yeah for that !

Max had a birthday

I have been blog lazy these past days...............

Max had a birthday this past Thursday, he is 6 now, can you believe it !!! He had a great day. His teacher had a birthday crown ready for him when he came in the classroom. I had taken him to school, with 24 rainbow cupcakes with "Cars" rings on them.

He was so excited when he woke up ! Papa really got in the spirit of decorating the night before, hanging up "slingers" not just in the familyroom (as we usually do) but in the livingroom, the hallway by the bedrooms AND the boys room. So the moment he opened his eyes that's what he saw.

He loved his presents, he had been asking for "handcups" meaning handcuffs LOL very important when playing good guys/bad guys !!

A set of walkie talkies, also lots of fun ! A rainbow coloring set, since lately he has been actually sitting down and coloring, etc
A diving bomb for the pool, with a timer and sound...........the cool stuff they make nowadays..................Lord, that makes me feel old saying that! (rolling eyes)

Papa had gone to work early, early (like 4 am) to be back, in between loads,for breakfast. He was home again when Max came home and that's when Max got his big birthday present..........a Razor riprider, this tricycle, made by Razor, that can spin 360's, etc

That thing is so cool, when I saw a demo video, I knew Max would love it !!! We have had TONS of people asking what that thing was and where to get it. I think this is going to be the HOT toy for Christmas this year !!

Don 't know how to insert the video, but if you google it it pulls right up !!

Monday morning

Most people hate Monday mornings...................not me. Monday morning means the kids are back in school and I transform into the Monday morning fairy.................you know the fairy that goes around the house and makes everything look nice and picked up, tidy, beds made, no toys laying around, carpets vacuumed, tile mopped, pillows plumped and straight on the couch, patio and pool picked up and sparkly, oh and about 5 loads of laundry done AND put away.

After all that the fairy sits down and gets to enjoy this UNTIL the kids come home and undo everything (shoes everywhere, socks, backpacks, pencils, tissues, etc, etc)
My kids are pigs and I am seriously on their cases about this. I have to say the girls did straighten their beds this morning....................but dirty clothes, including panties, everywhere ! I keep reminding them they are "senoritas" now and have to act accordingly....................they just smile LOL

2 more in the house.......

HAH, got you there for a minute !! 2 more............kids.....................babies................twins again...................................................

Nope, 2 more pets..., guinea pigs to be exact ! A friend of a friend had 2 guinea pigs and was traveling so much more, due to work, that he felt they needed a new home. They are 2 brothers, cute as can be, 2 years old, very sweet. the kids named them Spikey and Bubba....................where did they get that from ???

They came with their cage, food, bedding, everything and it's obvious they have been loved on. The kids held them forever, petted them, they just lay down on their lap and enjoy being petted.

I just can not say no when people call and ask if we "foster/adopt" pets as well..............

They seem like well behaved boys LOL

laid back Sunday

It's pretty quiet here right now. Boys are playing, Lili is sitting next to me, loving on me, smiling as I type this. Sofia is playing, Oscar is in the pool with some friends and Papa is taking a nap. He worked over night, slept a couple of hours in the truck, came home and went to church with us and now after his nap he will go back to work again.

He is basically taking any load that's being offered right now. One of the plant's that he unloads at, is laying off 160 people and will close down completely at the end of the year. So the bad economy is starting to trickle down to transporation as well, slowly but surely. This whole country is going down, but hey...........................pretty soon we'll all have "free healthcare" and Obama got the Nobel price for peace...........( I haven't figured out for what exactly...............)

My eyes are rolling.......................BIG TIME !!!!!

How is all that "hope and change" working out for you ???

I need to get me one of those bumper stickers !!!

New mic-Key button

Sebastian needed a new Mic-Key button, a new size, a whole 3 mm smaller. Seems like nothing but the old one was sticking out, so he constantly was pushing it in.

He has been super protective of his G tube site, we are suspecting there is granulation tissue on the inside. We could do an endoscopy to confirm this, but since there's not a whole lot we can do about it, I told them that thanks but no thanks, we'll skip the endoscopy !! ( another sedation, for what...............)

Anyway, so when I mentioned his new button was delivered and we were going to put the new one in, Sebastian was less than enthusiastic ! He let me take the water out of the valve and then we all cheered him on to pull it out himself. He got a great kick out of that !!! LOL and he did it. Then I squirted the "jelly" on his tummy and told him to spread it out, gave him the new button and told him he could put the new button in himself. I helped him a little bit ( we really need to push it to get it past the granulation tissue, you can feel it "pop") but he was so proud of himself and "it didn't hurt !"

The new button looks much, much better. It's flush against the skin, instead of sticking out. So now we have a brand new set of a Mic-Key gastro button, 14 fr 2.0
Anyone needs this ??? Let me know, I'll ship it out to you !

diet update

Week 5 and I have lost 25 lbs !! Wahoooooooooo, back in size 16 !!! Feeling much, much better !! Skinny jeans here I come...................(in a couple of months LOL)

Max is going to try a full day today. I just spoke to his teacher, apparently he had a little nap this morning, they were doing centers and he just fell asleep, but feeling good now. Specials this afternoon is computerlab and he loves that, so hopefully he'll have a good day.

Sebastian and Lili's school pics came back and they both look funny and sweet. No cramped fake smile. Lili's makes me smile....................I'll have to see if there's a way to post them.

Off to take some stuff to church. We are having yard sale and Fall festival tomorrow. Lots of fun stuff for the kids to do, including the waterslide ( it's Flordia people, HOT )face painting, etc

Papa and Oscar have their last Reefraker dive tomorrow, the weather should be gorgeous.

Is it fall yet ??

Because I really can't tell !!! It is so hot here, it feels like we're in the middle of summer !!!

I am sitting outside with my laptop, fan 5 feet from me at full speed, keeping an eye on the boys, they're splashing around in the pool.

This morning I had a physicl scheduled for Sofia. I always schedule appointments in the morning, if at all possible. Simple reason........that way I can only go with the child that has the appointment and they never have to go back to school that day, it's mommy time.

Just picture and appointment in the afternoon, where i have to take all of them........................no, thank you!!!! LOL

Sofia was a trooper with her flu shot (regular one, not the H1N1, that hasn't come in yet)

Her weight is in the 45% and her height as dropped to the 15%, but we kind of already knew that ! Dr had a little talk with her about sometimes feeling weird/sad/angry, it was all normal, but she has to try to control herself a little..................great advice, now if she would only do it !!

After her appointment she wanted to go to Goodwill, to look for Beanie Babies, so to the bargain barn we went. Found great shorts for Max, several pairs, size 7, so probably for next spring. they have the inside elastic so we can make the waistband smaller.

We are going to make pizza's after the boys are done swimming. Yup homemade pizza. I bought the ready dough at Wal-mart, should be fun!!

What a day !!

I have not had one of these days from he!! for a long time !!

Sebastian had an appointment with GI this morning, he did gain a little bit, but has not grown in length. For the family in Holland......Sebastian (who is almost 4 1/2) now is 100 cm in length and weighs 15 1/2 lbs.................20% percentile here. i think in Holland he wouldn't even be on the chart !

We are adding another bolus feed at naptime, which means he is going to school with a backpack again, sigh.........

We are going to try a button a size down, since the one he has now is sticking out a lot (belly fat has gone down)

The good news is that medicaid is now covering MicKey buttons, which solves the whole problem I was having with CMS.
CMS stands for Children Medical services, a wonderful program that helps medically involved children and their parents. they make appointments with all the specialists and pick up where medicaid drops the ball. In Sebastian's case, CMS paid for his buttons ( $150 per button, some last a couple of months and some last less than a week, typically the balloon on the inside (that keeps the button anchored in the stomach)starts leaking slowly or pops. No fixing it.

Not every pediatrician is connected with CMS and so in order to stay with CMS, we had to change peds, which I really didn't want to do..............................now we don't have to. Sebastian will not be with CMS anymore, which by now really was only for the button situation, shoot, I can make my own appointments......

Anyhoo, Sebastian was a BRAT during the appointment, really testing behaviors. On the way home we picked up Max, who still is doing half days in school. Then came the WIC appointment..........................................................

OH MY GOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had all the RX and papers I needed, there was a new nutritionist.....................who gave me a little sheet of paper that needs to be filled out by the dr.

By the grace of God, she gave me checks for a month of pediasure, her problem was a lack of a diagnosis on the RX.

LADY, the kid has a feeding tube !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
His file is at least 4" thick...................................

The ladies at the checkout even asked me...why in the world she only gave you 1 month ?(I have known these girls for almost 10 years now) Uhm, don't know, power trips, period................take your pick, just get me out of here, before I explode !!!

Max and Sebastian were bouncing off the walls or whining or crying
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH

Bedtime is 7 pm tonight and mine won't be long after that !!!!

Impact

Today after church we were at the playground and I started talking to G. She came up to me the very first time we attended this church, saying; " I remember you, you are the lady with the twin preemies" LOL. That was exactly a year ago when we fostered R&R, little twin girls, the kids had a party at Chuckee Cheese and that's where we met.

Usually we just talk about the kids, like most moms. G is a little spitfire, has 4 kids and homeschools. One of the people that I look at in amazement and really admire for being able to do that !

Today was different, she started telling me she was a foster child herself for 9 years...........................9 years.......and then she turned 18 and was on her own. Thank God we have something called Independent Living now for foster teens, until they are 21.

She told me a little about her family, her siblings, how bad things were, the impact on her life and her siblings.................how some days are fine and how sometimes she just has a really hard time with all this. By now she has tears in her eyes and she has me close to tears, and then she said.............................

" I still just want my mom"

and I saw not the strong, homeschooling mom of 4 beautiful kids.
I saw a vulnerable, young woman, who after all these years and all that she has been through, still just longs for one thing.....................her mom.................for her mom to be there, be proud of her and love her.

G's head knows this is very unlikely to happen, but as she asked me, how do I heal my heart.................................

I didn't know what to say...................other than give her a huge hug........................what do you say..................

I have thought about her all day, I have prayed for her several times, that God will heal her heart, that He will heal that little girl inside of her............................

She is 10 years younger than I am, maybe she'll take me as a big sister, someone she can call when the kids are sick, or when she needs a break, or a laugh, or a cry.

She really made a huge impact one me today and I know there is a purpose to this.........................................

God bless her heart and heal her spirit !!!

lost post

I had written this long post about max' appointment with neurology and for some reason it didn't post and it wasn't saved either, UGH

the short of it...................Max is doing okay, EEG was good, they suspect there is some swelling on the brain as a result of fighting the flu combined with the reaction to the tamiflu. He was allowed to go back to school, half days only for the next 2 weeks until we go back for a follow up. He has mostly good days, usually sleeps a good nap, this morning he slept in church, out like a light. LOL

We have a hamster MIA

The hamster is missing in action, has been for a couple of days. I have looked everywhere...........not a trace. I am starting to think he made it outside. The first day I saw some poopies, but after that................nothing.

And believe me we have moved everything, couches, furniture, etc

The result is that a whole lot of places that do not get cleaned on a regular basis are spic and span now. When I moved the couches in the family room, holy cow.............popcorn, chips, hairclippies, pieces of toys, hotwheels and dust/doghair, GROSS. Had to clean that before putting the couches back.Not just vacuum, but mop as well, I am getting anal like my mom, that is scary !!!!

LOL, no offense mom !

and sleeping again...............

It's a good thing Max is home this week, he sleeps a LOT. He went with us to the bus stop, came back to the house and went to take Gracie for a walk. We were barely out of the subdivision when he wanted to go back, his feet were dragging. So we turned around and the moment we came home he layed down on the couch.
I went to the restroom and he immediately followed me ( yes, he still does that and the dog does too !) Anyway, when I came out, he was sound asleep on the floor in front of the bathroom door, thankfully our bathroom has carpet LOL

He woke up a while later, asked for Pediasure (his favorite thing in the whole world) and is now laying on the couch. I have to go to Sam's Club, so we'll see if he feels up to that in a little while.......................

Schoolwork

So, Max is home for the rest of the week. His check up on Monday went well, but he has to go see a neurologist since he's still not steady on his feet 100% of the time.

He is still sleeping more than normal and LOVES being at home with mommy !! We're in trouble, he's already said he does not want to go back to school ! Oh boy !!

Right now he is doing some "homework" I bought some Kindergarten workbooks, with workpages and we're working on writing letters. He still has a hard time with a "tripod" pencil grasp, wants to hold it in his fist, fine motor skills !!

This morning we are going to my weigh-in and after we are going to the mall. I have 3 pairs of "Cars" croqs, that have been recalled. I was at the mall with the girls a couple of weeks ago and saw in the shoe store that these shoes have been recalled.............

What ?......................you mean my kids have been wearing these the whole summer nw you are going to give me my money back ???? RIGHT ON !!!!!!!!!!!

So, that's our plan for this morning. Yesterday was very productive, the boys closet is emptied out and last night I tackled my side of the headboard, it has a pretty big storage and my side was full of JUNK (kind of the catch all)

Aren't you proud of me, mama !!!! Goed he !!!

Diet update

So in all the stress of the past days, I have not updated about the whole diet. It is HARD not to turn to food when stress hits !!! But then when I stick to it, it makes me feel a 100 times better !! Last weigh in on Wednesday I had lost another 5 lbs and that was being super bloated from having my period..................

TMI, I know, I know, sorry....................................

Anyway, I am curious to see the next weigh-in, I have not given in to cravings, I just did not drink as much while in the hospital with Max, making up for that today.

I am wearing shorts size 16 today, I decided to try and see if I could pull them up all the way, never even thought I could close them. They pulled up real easy and closed just as easy. ( not the suck in your breath, close it and look like a muffin top with rolls and rolls spilling over)

Wahooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !!

Max is laying next to me, he's crashing again, but fighting not to sleep for a little bit, so time for me to rub his back and play with his hair, it never fails !

We're home

Max is out of the hospital, still has the flu, but was well enough to be discharged. He stopped vomiting, so he didn't need IV fluids anymore. The weakness in his legs and inconsistency of reflexes is something we need to monitor closely. Tomorrow morning we have to go for a check up.

Right now the kids are watching a movie about Joseph, instead of Sunday school that they are missing today. Father Jim just called to check on Max, he also called yesterday, it is so nice to know that people are thinking of him and our family, thanks everyone that has kept Max in their prayers and good thoughts !!!

quick update

Max is in the hospital. about 45 min after his first dose of Tamiflu
he looked to be completely drunk, couldn't walk without falling down. Called the pediatrician, who told me to got to the ER stat.

Left in the car, about 2 miles down the street, Doc called back to check, by now max was hardly responding, so I pulled over in a Shell station and called 911.

DX right now is extreme neurological reaction to the Tamiflu. he is on IV fluids, he has been throwing up and having diarrea. He is able to stand up and walk a couple of steps, but very weak.

Dr's are a bit concerned about his reflexes, they are not there/not consistent in his legs, Guillam Barret (spelling?) was mentioned.

Let's hope and pray he will perk up even more today.Papa is with him right now, we traded off. If he stops throwing up, we might be able to go home tonight, we have to keep a close eye on the weakness in his legs.............

Still sleeping a lot, but no more fever.

Okay, it has sunk in.....................

Had a long talk with the respiratory therapist.......Max has to move and sleep elevated. This flu is a monster once it gets to the lungs.......................now I am getting nervous..............
All my kids, especially the boys have a long history of astma and pneumonia's...................

He just walked around a little ( kind of wobbly) when the kids came home from school, now he just fell asleep again, right next to me on the couch, poor baby, when he's awake he is just so miserable...
It's not like he coughs all the time, or has a massive sore throat, he's just hurting all over.

When Oscar came home from school, I picked up his RX and a case of Gatorade, he needs to drink as much as possible..........

Max has the swine flu

Took him to the doc this morning, they put him on Tamiflu and nebulizer treatments Q4 (every 4 hrs). He is sleeping a LOT ! Probably the best thing. His legs and back are hurting, headaches, fever (controlled with Motrin and Tylenol) croupy nasty cough.

Please keep him in your good thoughts and prayers !

torrential rain &open car windows make......

For a really, really wet and smelly car !!!!!!!!!!!! So after dropping off the kids, I went and shampoo'd the carpet and the seats and then vacuumed a lot of the dampness off. Now it's sitting in the driveway with the doors open. keeping an eagle eye out for more rain........................

Oops school called, max has a fever, have to go pick him up !

Picture day

Today is picture day in school, never used to be a problem..............other than chosing which ridiculously over priced package and background color.

This year however I have 2 girls that all of a sudden want to decide what they are going to wear and they really, really want the purple background.................

PURPLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do not think so !!!!!!!!!!! That was the first fight...................one gave in pretty easily and listened to reason (does purple go with the colors that mommy has in the house...mmmm.....that would be a no) the other one however.......(rolling my eyes here)

I had the clothes all figured out.............and only the top will show, so..............all white tops, my girls have beautiful brown skin, it will look awesome ! With their tops they would get to wear mommy's and Anneke's charm necklaces. Beautiful silver necklaces with charms, they used to be mine and my older sister's. She was sweet enough to pass hers on to my daughter (love you sis !) (mmmmmm, how come my younger sister never had one ?? I will have to find out....mom....Pien...
what happened there ?? Maybe money ran out after 2 daughters....poor
Pientje, I am going to get you a "bedel ketting" )

Anyhoo, Sofia and Liliana had very different ideas !! liliana wanted to wear this dress, it's pretty, but turqoise............not quite what mommy had planned, but with the white top i let her pick whatever she wanted to wear with it, she picked a pink skirt, socks with beads and her pink shoes. She's pretty easy to deal with (most of the time)

Sofia however, I swear the kid chooses to be difficult !! She was ok ish with the white top, for the bottoms, she picked a skirt with shorts underneath (bike shorts) and to complete the outfit..........her hightop sketchers (white, hot pink and turqoise) She kind of reminded me of a hispanic Madonna/Cindy Lauper

Then she insisted she wanted curls for the picture..........so out came the curling iron, what a pain !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This curl wasn't right, that hair is sticking out, my eyebrows are not right.................ARE YOU KIDDING ME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They're in school now, I took 'm all in the car, reminded them to smile pretty, no fake cheese smiles...................now we wait and see how the pics turn out.........................

rain, rain and more rain

We have had tons of rain for the past days, and in between it's super muggy, like a wet warm blanket that slaps your face when you step outside.............................ugh

So, the good thing about the diet, besides losing weight LOL, is that my energy level is way up !!

Yesterday I did 5 loads of laundry, cleaned out the laundry closet (ja, ja Oma, het ziet er weer netjes uit) Sunday the closet of the girls and their room, I ended up bringing 2 huge garbage bags of clothes to a friend. The girls have outgrown a lot of clothes ! Oh and I emptied the whole garage and got rid of a ton of stuff........

I made a run to Goodwill, before kids or husband came home.........shoot there were things that have not been used in years, how much stuff can you save for "just in case"

Guillermo had 2 pairs of skiboots, they're at least 15 years old, i don't even think they use that type of bindings anymore, and don't forget..........WE LIVE IN FLORIDA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SSSSSShhhhhhh, there's just one pair left, shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Tomorrow a neighbor is going to make me some shelves and a rack for the surfboards in the garage, trying to get some organization !

Sofia auditioned for the school choir and today we found out she is IN !!! We knew she could sing, but I didn't think she was going to be able to audition, she is super shy and won't sing in front of anybody, including us !! to hear her sing, I hide in the hallway and listen to her sing with her cd's..............She is going to be in the musical Annie..............so proud of her !!

About time

It's really about time I blogged again, we've had a busy week, a good week though !
Max had green every day last week, WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, go Max !!!

He was so proud of himself, as he should be ! We seem to have fallen into a nice rythm..........first thing in the morning, I wake him up, give meds with his Pediasure (which he loves!) he falls asleep again. I get the rest of the troops ready, get them installed with breakfast. Go back and wake up Max, get him dressed and ready. We walk Gracie, then we take Sofia to the bus stop (she considers herself too old and way too cool to be a car rider LOL)
When we come back, we get the backpacks and go to school. Last few days I have even dropped them off at car riders and that went well !!

In the afternoon, I park and wait for them in the parent garden, which is right across from their building. During the day, Max gets OT/PT and is taken out for remedial teaching (one on one) which is more for the one on one time that he needs.

So far so good !!

Last wednesday was my first weigh in and I had lost 9.2 lbs, YEAH !!! Going strong on the diet !

The girls are doing good in school, Sofia was put in an advanced reading class, she is definitely getting the reading bug (wonder who she's got that from LOL )

Liliana seems to be doing much better with the whole car rider thing as well, no more headaches ! She loves her teacher, who used to be Oscar's Kindergarten teacher.

Oscar is keeping busy, much more studying going on so far...........I guess he's finally hit the point where he actually has to study........
He passed his first All State exam for choir/rhapsody, 2 more to go. He is very serious about wanting to minor in music, as far as major................he still doesn't know, right now it's international business.

He wants to take piano lessons, so I have to look into that. I guess it skipped a generation LOL

I have about 5 loads of laundry to do, it rained pretty much the whole weekend. Took the kids to Ice age dinosaurs this weekend. They all behaved very, very well !
Afterwards we couldn't go home without stopping by Animal Crackers (next door) the pet store with a gazillion animals they can hold and pet....................

No we did not leave with another pet........(whew) I think fish, 2 parakeets, a hamster and a dog is enough, wouldn't you agree ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got a cal from placement, but turned it down. I probably would have said yes, but papa was more like "hell no" Which he was probably right about, too many things going on right now, kids are settling into new school year, etc...................

It remains a hot topic..................enough said...................

all about the diet

With all the stuff going on this week, I have not posted about the new diet I started this past Monday. Starting a diet is never easy and especially with me being a stress eater, the beginning of the week was hard !!

But I stuck with it, so to treat myself for that, this morning I went for a pedicure and a fill.

I will be going every week for a weigh-in and vitamin B-12 injections, so I will keep everyone posted on the progress......

Should I tell y'all the number of the first weigh-in ?................................................................................................................................................................










For the sake of honesty.....................2..............................................................................3....................................................7....................................................................