Ok. Where to start.
THE MOVE
Mike got official approval for time off at Christmas! He gave them three options - they chose option B, which has him off from December 18-28. He's flying here the night of the 17th, then we'll spend the 18 and 19 packing up, then he and John are heading to Dryden in the U-haul. Joan and I have a flight booked for the 20th into Winnipeg - grandparents on the receiving end have been e-mailed our itinerary. If we can finish loading the truck in one day, Mike will head out the 19th, then we'll both arrive in Dryden the same day. Joan and I will be there until the 27th, when we fly out of Winnipeg, but Mike has to leave on the 26th. I was originally supposed to take the train with Joan, but the prices for everything had changed since we looked last time - they actually dropped for the plane. We're not sure how that happened - maybe they switched up to a bigger plane. No idea. It means no stop in Geraldton, which is unfortunate. But it's less travel time overall, which will be nice. For Joan and I, anyway. I know there are some concerns about John in the U-haul, but we think it will be OK. It's split into two legs, and if it's really that bad, we'll get him a plane ticket with me for the second leg. But we think it would be good for him to spend some "quality" one-on-one time with dad and a big truck is a pretty cool place to do that. John has been fluctuating between sad and mad when it comes to dad being gone. It has hit him pretty hard. But we'll play it all by ear.
We had looked into moving with a mover. We got lots of online quotes, and one in-home quote. They were all too high to justify it. The lowest one was $1400, which would have made it cheaper, but it was an estimate of 2,000 pounds. The in-home guy, who actually saw everything, estimated it at 4,000 pounds, with a quote of $4500. And with everything that Vicki just went through, we decided moving ourselves was probably the better plan.
JOAN
Joan had her second physio appointment on Thursday. They were really impressed with her progress, especially considering she had a flu, so we couldn't spend much time on the exercises. They gave me a whole bunch of new stuff to focus on. Lots of tipping her over onto her right side, and forcing her to prop herself up. She doesn't like it - she cries. But they noted that she can actually get herself up from a semi-reclining position on her right, which tells them she has good strength. They said in that case, she isn't crying from pain or discomfort - she's crying out of fear. They compared it to asking someone to get on a bike and ride it for the first time - it's a new thing, with new movements, and it feels very scary at first. But as she gets used to it, she'll start initiating it on her own.
They also showed me how to stimulate her tummy muscles so that she'll pop up on all fours. They told me to keep her up on all fours for as long as she can hack it each day, because it builds tons of muscle, and the "pushing" action is critical for mobility down the road, like getting up off the floor. And if we do it enough, there's actually a chance she will crawl, which is the ideal scenario. They said there are a lot of people walking around that never crawled as babies. But for kids like Joan, it's worth the effort to teach her how, because it builds upper body strength and coordination, which she's lacking. There's still a chance she never will, though. She may just use the strength from these exercises to pull up and walk.
They talked about the braces she'll need. They showed me the hand brace, which is just a soft foam glove, designed to hold her thumb out, because now it's always tucked in. And the harder she works, the tigher she balls her fist, which works counter to the therapy. We may not have enough time ot get one - she didn't have one we could take, because they need to be custom made and fitted to her. But she's going to see what she can do.
The really big news was her foot. She doesn't hold her foot flat, so it's going to be hard for her to bear weight on it. So the physio guy said she's going to need a special orthotic brace. It's a custom-made plastic cast type of a thing, which will hold her leg and foot in perfect allignmnet, therefore forcing the muscles to grow and stretch in the proper way for walking.
The catch? They cost $1,000 each, and because they're form fitted, she needs to get a new one every time she grows. In Ontario, the government will pay 2/3 of the cost. At the time, we weren't sure what Alberta did, if anything, so he rushed around to get us some appointments, but the soonest she could be fitted was January 11. I took it, because at the time, we weren't sure if Mike was able to get the time off over Christmas. If he couldn't, we'd just stay for the fitting. But Mike did get the time off, so I'll have to cancel the whole thing, and have it made in Calgary. Fortunately, we did some looking, and they have a similar program there - the province will pay 75 per cent of the cost, and the cost to individuals is capped at $500/year/family. So it will never cost us more than $500/year, no matter how many of these little braces she goes through. I'll probably do some phoning around to make sure that's really the case. But it seemed pretty clear, so I don't think we have to worry too much. Physio guy said her physio will be covered there, too. They'll set her up through a similar clinic at the Calgary Children's Hospital, so Alberta Health and Wellness pays the tab, which is good to know. The government isn't run entirely by heartless blue robots after all. It sucks that we're moving to the only province in Canada where we even have to wonder if things are covered. But so far, it looks like everything will be OK.
THE HOUSE
Not sure if it's just my experience, or if the entire real estate industry is completely crazy. It's filled with spazy people. We had one showing that our agent didn't even tell us about. I went outside to go pick up John from school, to two men on the porch expecting to be let in. They had an appointment. I didn't know, so the beds weren't made, and the dishes weren't done. It was very embarrassing. We've had agents come so late, that I've left for the showing, then come back, and THEN they arrive. My favourite one was the agent who arrived half an hour early to let me know he couldn't make it, but his client was still coming, so could I please stick around. He even picked out things that I was to point out to his client. I did the whole showing. If he buys it, I expect part of the commission. Hopefully, it will sell very, very soon, because this really, really sucks. We're having an open house next weekend - maybe something will come from that.
Anyway, John wants to play, so I'd better get going!
A note from John:
ssffffhkkl;;'[ihgffdffhhuk;;;;;;;;;;ppouuuuuu;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;////////;;;;;;;/////////;;;;/////////
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
a three household household...
We've been apartment hunting in Calgary on and off for the last little while. It was a little early to really start, but Mike found a gem. So he toured it, applied for it, and won it, all in one day. Boy, things move fast out there!
We had originally planned to hunt together, but this place looks like a real find, so we kind of had to nab it. It means having a house and two apartments for a month, but that's life, I guess.
It's half of a little teeny bungalow duplex, but it comes with the full basement underneath it, so lots of storage, a spare bedroom, bringing it to a three bedroom, and a washer and dryer of our own - a big plus with kids. Lots of storage space down there, plus half a double garage. The extra bedroom n the basement can be used if anyone wants to visit - you can have your own room down there. On a daily basis, we might use it as an "escape" room - when the kids start to drive us nuts, we can leave them with the other, and go down there to read. Or just sit in glorious silence. It has a little yard, too. But we don't need that, because there are three parks within a block! One is a shady little kid's playground. The other is a leash-free dog park, but it has a playground inside it, and a big hill, that people use as a toboggan hill in the winter, and a walking type park around a community centre, which is the hub of the neighbourhood association (EVERY neighbourhood in Calgary has a centre and an active association - we're a block from ours.) It has tennis courts and little programs and stuff. It's also near a school. It has full day kindergarten, which might be good, when the time comes, if we're still there. It's $900/month. With utilities, it works out to $100 or so more than we wanted to spend on housing, but it sounds like a better quality of life. Everything else we were looking at were yucky basement apartments. This is soooo perfect for us, and it sounds like a great place for kids. Oh, and they actually have no problem with the kids, or the cats. Most places won't take either. That's right - they can afford to be so picky about tenants in Calgary that most refuse to take families.
The company that manages it posted a video - here's a copy, so you can all see. It's a bit buggy in this format - you might have to keep bumping it along manually, but you get the idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWIgm0ZqM7Y
Much, much more to update, but I've got to get dinner and bedtime moving. Joan had a physio appointment yesterday, and I'll try to post about it very soon.
We had originally planned to hunt together, but this place looks like a real find, so we kind of had to nab it. It means having a house and two apartments for a month, but that's life, I guess.
It's half of a little teeny bungalow duplex, but it comes with the full basement underneath it, so lots of storage, a spare bedroom, bringing it to a three bedroom, and a washer and dryer of our own - a big plus with kids. Lots of storage space down there, plus half a double garage. The extra bedroom n the basement can be used if anyone wants to visit - you can have your own room down there. On a daily basis, we might use it as an "escape" room - when the kids start to drive us nuts, we can leave them with the other, and go down there to read. Or just sit in glorious silence. It has a little yard, too. But we don't need that, because there are three parks within a block! One is a shady little kid's playground. The other is a leash-free dog park, but it has a playground inside it, and a big hill, that people use as a toboggan hill in the winter, and a walking type park around a community centre, which is the hub of the neighbourhood association (EVERY neighbourhood in Calgary has a centre and an active association - we're a block from ours.) It has tennis courts and little programs and stuff. It's also near a school. It has full day kindergarten, which might be good, when the time comes, if we're still there. It's $900/month. With utilities, it works out to $100 or so more than we wanted to spend on housing, but it sounds like a better quality of life. Everything else we were looking at were yucky basement apartments. This is soooo perfect for us, and it sounds like a great place for kids. Oh, and they actually have no problem with the kids, or the cats. Most places won't take either. That's right - they can afford to be so picky about tenants in Calgary that most refuse to take families.
The company that manages it posted a video - here's a copy, so you can all see. It's a bit buggy in this format - you might have to keep bumping it along manually, but you get the idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWIgm0ZqM7Y
Much, much more to update, but I've got to get dinner and bedtime moving. Joan had a physio appointment yesterday, and I'll try to post about it very soon.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
busy weekend
Just some of the pictures from the Steel City Safari on Sunday - definitely the highlight of a busy weekend. Even though John insisted he didn't want to go, I dragged him anyway, and boy, am I glad I did! The second we walked in, he was in his own little world, darting from display to display, then back here, then over there, and back around again. Notice him not looking into the camera in any of the shots - I may as well have not been there. I actually lost him in the crowds a couple times. Thankfully, he had a few favourite displays he kept returning to again and again, so I just checked them, and found him every time.
It was a big charity event, where all the local little zoos and conservation type groups - as well as the local reptile store - brought in animals to the convention centre for an afternoon. I expected John to want to stay maybe an hour or two. Almost four hours later, they were shooing us out. I think it was the Hamilton Conservation Authority who brought a hay infusion, and set up a "microscopic safari" with various little swamp crawlies under microscopes. John really liked that one. So much, that when he saw they had packed their equipment, he ran over, threw his body across the bins and pronounced "You can't take them away!" The guy running the station seemed to appreciate his enthusiasm, but he still had to take his crawlies home to the lake. He loved the turtles too. He spent more time there than anywhere else. He enjoyed petting the big snakes, too. He kept following the anaconda around. There was a display of scorpions, which he called lobsters. He looooved the goat petting zoo. I must have spent $8 on little handfulls of food for these goats, who'd probably never eaten so much in their lives. The picture above is John trying to feed a very overfed goat, which was falling asleep. He was also very big on the pony rides. I think he took 5 pony rides by the time it was all said and done. He kept slipping through the gate. He was so excited about the whole thing, I think he missed the part where I had to pay $4 every time. But, it made him so happy, and it all went to charity, so it was $20 well spent. There were birds too. He wasn't too big on the parrots, but he liked the ducks. I was surprised he wasn't excited to see an owl, because he loves owls, but he was a kind of blah about it. But he wouldn't have anything to do with anything furry. Probably because almost everything furry was something big and scary, like wolves and lions. No interest in those at all. But frogs and snakes and turtles and bugs? They were awesome! All in all, a really fun time. I'm glad was able to take him to that. Just wish dad was there!
On that note, the cat is out of the bag. I resigned form my job at the Review on Friday, so now it's public knowledge that we're on our way to Calgary. It was a sad thing. As much as being a working mom was tough, I'm going to miss my job a lot. My paper was in this kooky little town that reminds me so much of Dryden. It was like being home. I'm not going to miss the gruelling slog of day-to-day life with little kids and a full-time job, and the futile hunt for the perfect work-life balance. But I'll miss the people and the personalities and all the politics of small town life.
On the house front, it's still not sold. I think we're at the one month mark now, with our first open house either this Sunday or next Sunday. We're hoping it will sell before we move, which should be around Christmas, if all goes as planned.
As for Joan, she has John's stomach flu. Fever, vomiting, the whole thing. She seemed overly crabby, though. She wasn't eating or sleeping for couple days and I'd caught her picking at her ear, so I scooted her up to the Doc on Monday morning, while I still had a car, to have her checked out. She did have an ear infection, so it was a good call. She's on her first round of banada-flavoured antibiotics. I'm glad I took the flavoured kind, because even with all the sugar, she hates it. Even John says it smells yucky. But she seems to be getting better. She's sleeping better, at least, and she's not so pale.
While I was there, the doc mentioned the stroke. He said he was completely floored when he read the letter from the pediatrician. He said that never even crossed his mind. It's things like that that make me glad I live in a city - our doctors aren't any better than northern doctors - they just have more resources to draw from.
Anyway, better go! Mike should be home from work by now, so I should give him a call. They have him on this horrible noon-8 shift. It'll be fine when we're all there, but the two hour time difference means he's getting home very late for me. It's no fun.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Joan's physio
Sorry for the late update, everyone. I started writing this last night, but Joan woke up, and one thing led to another, and it got put off.
Yesterday was Joan's physio day. It was, in a word, awesome! What a cool little facility! It's an entire little building devoted to kids with problems like Joan's, filled with therapists who specialize in babies and kids. It was very, very cool.
We met her little team for a two hour assessment. (Man, was I glad John had a sitter for that!) She has a physio student, a physiotherapist, and an occupational therapist. They asked a lot of questions, took a lot of notes, talked to each other in physio-ese, which I didn't understand, and sent us on our way with a few more appointment dates, and a bunch of things to do with her in the meantime.
It was very neat watching them work. It looked to me like they were just goofing around and playing with her, but they were actually testing for very specific things. At one point, the physio guy was swinging her back and forth, singing her a song, and I thought he was just trying to cheer her up, because she was getting tired and crabby. But then he "sang" to his student to make note of a certain thing one of her legs was doing as he swung her. As they went, they pointed things out to me. Some of it was quite technical. I got a bit of a crash course in anatomy, and how muscles and ligaments work together - all well beyond the scope of my OAC biology - but they dumbed it down fairly well for me.
So, what did they say? In a nutshell, she's going to be OK. She's way, way more mobile than most kids they see with this condition. They said most never open their fists, and can't physically move their arms - they just keep them clamped up to their sides. So it's like we're starting with a huge head start, which is very good news. They said she has good range, and good function- they just need to get it to the next level. The goal isn't to make her right-handed, because that isn't realistic or necessary, but to make her right hand a useful supporting hand. And they said by watching her, that's entirely possible. Physio guy said he sees great things in her future, and thinks that with therapy, she'll be able to lead a completely normal life.
The stroke DID affect her right leg, but less dramatically than her arm. It displays "toning" I think they called it, which is caused by a stroke - when her good side is working hard, she tenses her bad side - she curls her toes and balls her fist. It's one of the things they have to work on. That's where the hand brace comes into play.
In terms of time, we're looking at years. They said it's about goals - both our goals for her and her own goals for herself, as she gets older. Right now, the goal is to get her using her right arm, and get her to bear weight on it, to build up the muscle. Then, the goal will be to get her mobile - she'll probably need extra help learning how to walk. Maybe climbing will be another goal. Later down the road, maybe it will be writing, or sports. She'll keep running into limitations as she grows, and her body is expected to accomplish more, so as those expectations crop up, she may need more therapy. They said it's slow, and often frustrating, especially at this age, when they don't understand the end goal. But they were all confident she'll get where she needs to be.
They said mentally, she's a "smart cookie." And they said she has a great attitude and temperament - she's happy and easy going, and they were impressed by her drive - that she tries so hard to accomplish, even though it's hard for her. They were very impressed that she's progressed from having a gimpy hand flopping behind her to being able to get up on all fours, all by herself.
This was just an assessment - her first actual appointment isn't for a couple more weeks, then we go every couple weeks as long as we can. That's when they get into the nitty gritty of specific games and exercises. But because we're all eager to get a jump start, they gave me a few things to concentrate on in the meantime. They suggested little games, like putting a sock on her left hand - it forces her to try to get it off with her right hand. He said sometimes, pediatric stroke patients adapt by using their mouths as their second hand, so to make sure she's not pulling it off with her teeth instead. Putting toys in hard-to-reach places is another fun game. She really, REALLY doesn't like that one, but it forces her to stretch her muscles out, and it will force her to bear weight on her right arm, or else she'll fall. She needs to do lots of stretching out, or else the muscles will shorten, and therapy will become even harder. And I'm supposed to position her in such a way that she's forced to support herself with her left hand, so that she has to reach for a toy with her right - that's another exercise. They also told me to keep her from turning her wrists a certain way that she does, because that also lets her muscles shorten. And it's important to turn off all of my mommy instincts to do these things, they said, because she's really not going to like it. They said she's found a happy place - she can sit up and play with stuff, and she does that very well. The stretching is going to be challenging for her, but I can't let her wimp out. She's going to get mad and frustrated. But she needs to get through this to progress to the next step, which is the all-important goal of mobility - she needs to be able to bear weight on her arm to get up off the floor. Sigh. But they also suggested I bring the Jolly Jumper back out, so she'll like that.
I asked if she'll have her good arm put in a sling, like people have been telling me will happen. They said it's actually a splint, and perhaps down the road a ways, but not anytime soon - she's too young and too early in the process for that. And the goal is to have her hands work together like a team, each with its own purpose, so it's a form of therapy they use sparingly, if it's even needed at all.
There were several interesting things she did there that I'd never noticed. She's a good spinner - she can pivot around both on her bum and on her belly. But they discovered she can only spin counter-clockwise. They put toys on her right side, to try to get her to pivot clockwise; she couldn't do it, so she actually spun all the way around to get to the toys. Also, she can't actually change positions, which is something I'd never even really thought about. If she's sitting, she can't get down on her belly - I have to put her there. She's almost able to sit up from belly, but not 100 per cent. Helping her get down on her belly is one of their goals with the stretching exercises - eventually she'll be able to stretch far enough that she'll flop right over.
I told them that she seems to have abandoned crawling altogether - even when she is on her belly, she doesn't even try anymore. Physio guy said that's totally normal. She wants to walk now, so she's concentrating on that. She'll definitely need help, though. If I prop her against furniture, she tries to cruise, but can't get her legs to do their thing yet. I think the Jolly Jumper is supposed to help with that.
That's about it, in a nutshell. It was very informative, and they were very positive and uplifting, and despite a few frustrating games, Joan had a great time playing. It was a very active two hours for her. She was pooped when we left - she fell asleep in her stroller even before we got to the edge of the parking lot!
Other than that, things are chugging along. John is back in school today. I wish he'd gotten more rest yesterday. He stayed home from school, but the sitter was with him for four hours in the afternoon, and she took him from his cozy blanket in front of the TV, and made him walk around the neighbourhood, and go for a drink at a restaurant, and then rake leaves, and play with the neighbours. By the time I got home, he was completely toast, even though I asked her to take it easy on him, because he's just getting over a bad flu. I felt bad dropping him off at school today. He looked pale, and still has a bad cough. But I'm not allowed to miss three days in a row without a doctor's note, because it's a taxpayer funded program, and he's not sick enough to warrant a trip to the doc. So off he went, hacking and spluttering away.
Speaking of John, it's time to head out to pick him up. I'll try to keep you all updated as things go. The next few days are going to be busy, with Jer moving out. I'm stopping by the paper on Friday for a visit, too. That should be an exciting field trip. There's a Steel City Safari event I want to take the kids to this weekend, as well. It looks like a lot of fun - lions and tigers and snakes and things. I think John would enjoy that a lot! I'll take the camera!
Yesterday was Joan's physio day. It was, in a word, awesome! What a cool little facility! It's an entire little building devoted to kids with problems like Joan's, filled with therapists who specialize in babies and kids. It was very, very cool.
We met her little team for a two hour assessment. (Man, was I glad John had a sitter for that!) She has a physio student, a physiotherapist, and an occupational therapist. They asked a lot of questions, took a lot of notes, talked to each other in physio-ese, which I didn't understand, and sent us on our way with a few more appointment dates, and a bunch of things to do with her in the meantime.
It was very neat watching them work. It looked to me like they were just goofing around and playing with her, but they were actually testing for very specific things. At one point, the physio guy was swinging her back and forth, singing her a song, and I thought he was just trying to cheer her up, because she was getting tired and crabby. But then he "sang" to his student to make note of a certain thing one of her legs was doing as he swung her. As they went, they pointed things out to me. Some of it was quite technical. I got a bit of a crash course in anatomy, and how muscles and ligaments work together - all well beyond the scope of my OAC biology - but they dumbed it down fairly well for me.
So, what did they say? In a nutshell, she's going to be OK. She's way, way more mobile than most kids they see with this condition. They said most never open their fists, and can't physically move their arms - they just keep them clamped up to their sides. So it's like we're starting with a huge head start, which is very good news. They said she has good range, and good function- they just need to get it to the next level. The goal isn't to make her right-handed, because that isn't realistic or necessary, but to make her right hand a useful supporting hand. And they said by watching her, that's entirely possible. Physio guy said he sees great things in her future, and thinks that with therapy, she'll be able to lead a completely normal life.
The stroke DID affect her right leg, but less dramatically than her arm. It displays "toning" I think they called it, which is caused by a stroke - when her good side is working hard, she tenses her bad side - she curls her toes and balls her fist. It's one of the things they have to work on. That's where the hand brace comes into play.
In terms of time, we're looking at years. They said it's about goals - both our goals for her and her own goals for herself, as she gets older. Right now, the goal is to get her using her right arm, and get her to bear weight on it, to build up the muscle. Then, the goal will be to get her mobile - she'll probably need extra help learning how to walk. Maybe climbing will be another goal. Later down the road, maybe it will be writing, or sports. She'll keep running into limitations as she grows, and her body is expected to accomplish more, so as those expectations crop up, she may need more therapy. They said it's slow, and often frustrating, especially at this age, when they don't understand the end goal. But they were all confident she'll get where she needs to be.
They said mentally, she's a "smart cookie." And they said she has a great attitude and temperament - she's happy and easy going, and they were impressed by her drive - that she tries so hard to accomplish, even though it's hard for her. They were very impressed that she's progressed from having a gimpy hand flopping behind her to being able to get up on all fours, all by herself.
This was just an assessment - her first actual appointment isn't for a couple more weeks, then we go every couple weeks as long as we can. That's when they get into the nitty gritty of specific games and exercises. But because we're all eager to get a jump start, they gave me a few things to concentrate on in the meantime. They suggested little games, like putting a sock on her left hand - it forces her to try to get it off with her right hand. He said sometimes, pediatric stroke patients adapt by using their mouths as their second hand, so to make sure she's not pulling it off with her teeth instead. Putting toys in hard-to-reach places is another fun game. She really, REALLY doesn't like that one, but it forces her to stretch her muscles out, and it will force her to bear weight on her right arm, or else she'll fall. She needs to do lots of stretching out, or else the muscles will shorten, and therapy will become even harder. And I'm supposed to position her in such a way that she's forced to support herself with her left hand, so that she has to reach for a toy with her right - that's another exercise. They also told me to keep her from turning her wrists a certain way that she does, because that also lets her muscles shorten. And it's important to turn off all of my mommy instincts to do these things, they said, because she's really not going to like it. They said she's found a happy place - she can sit up and play with stuff, and she does that very well. The stretching is going to be challenging for her, but I can't let her wimp out. She's going to get mad and frustrated. But she needs to get through this to progress to the next step, which is the all-important goal of mobility - she needs to be able to bear weight on her arm to get up off the floor. Sigh. But they also suggested I bring the Jolly Jumper back out, so she'll like that.
I asked if she'll have her good arm put in a sling, like people have been telling me will happen. They said it's actually a splint, and perhaps down the road a ways, but not anytime soon - she's too young and too early in the process for that. And the goal is to have her hands work together like a team, each with its own purpose, so it's a form of therapy they use sparingly, if it's even needed at all.
There were several interesting things she did there that I'd never noticed. She's a good spinner - she can pivot around both on her bum and on her belly. But they discovered she can only spin counter-clockwise. They put toys on her right side, to try to get her to pivot clockwise; she couldn't do it, so she actually spun all the way around to get to the toys. Also, she can't actually change positions, which is something I'd never even really thought about. If she's sitting, she can't get down on her belly - I have to put her there. She's almost able to sit up from belly, but not 100 per cent. Helping her get down on her belly is one of their goals with the stretching exercises - eventually she'll be able to stretch far enough that she'll flop right over.
I told them that she seems to have abandoned crawling altogether - even when she is on her belly, she doesn't even try anymore. Physio guy said that's totally normal. She wants to walk now, so she's concentrating on that. She'll definitely need help, though. If I prop her against furniture, she tries to cruise, but can't get her legs to do their thing yet. I think the Jolly Jumper is supposed to help with that.
That's about it, in a nutshell. It was very informative, and they were very positive and uplifting, and despite a few frustrating games, Joan had a great time playing. It was a very active two hours for her. She was pooped when we left - she fell asleep in her stroller even before we got to the edge of the parking lot!
Other than that, things are chugging along. John is back in school today. I wish he'd gotten more rest yesterday. He stayed home from school, but the sitter was with him for four hours in the afternoon, and she took him from his cozy blanket in front of the TV, and made him walk around the neighbourhood, and go for a drink at a restaurant, and then rake leaves, and play with the neighbours. By the time I got home, he was completely toast, even though I asked her to take it easy on him, because he's just getting over a bad flu. I felt bad dropping him off at school today. He looked pale, and still has a bad cough. But I'm not allowed to miss three days in a row without a doctor's note, because it's a taxpayer funded program, and he's not sick enough to warrant a trip to the doc. So off he went, hacking and spluttering away.
Speaking of John, it's time to head out to pick him up. I'll try to keep you all updated as things go. The next few days are going to be busy, with Jer moving out. I'm stopping by the paper on Friday for a visit, too. That should be an exciting field trip. There's a Steel City Safari event I want to take the kids to this weekend, as well. It looks like a lot of fun - lions and tigers and snakes and things. I think John would enjoy that a lot! I'll take the camera!
Thursday, November 08, 2007
that time of year...
It might look like a little too much insulation, but she loved it. It was -1 this morning, so thought I'd better break out the heavy duty winter gear. She's been so fussy in the carriage the past couple days, but fell asleep today - guess she was just cold! Ooops! John's been in hats and mitts and winter coat for some time, because they play outside at school. But he'll need a new pair of boots - the ones from last year are at least two sizes too small.The teacher pulled me aside again today. They're trying to find ways to motivate John to walk while on little voyages through the neighbourhood. Apparently, he tends to sit on the pavement and refuse to move - so they wind up carrying him, which is of course exactly what he's after. I gave them a couple of ideas of things that I do to keep him moving, and remembered a few more later - I'll have to pass them on tomorrow. Mostly, I suggested to keep dangling carrots in front of him, like "Hey, let's go check out that cool thing over there!" I do a lot of that. It's been easy with Halloween, because we've been hunting for decorations. But Halloween was a while back, now. It's hard to keep a kid motivated to move when there's nothing to see but decaying pumpkins. Some of my tactics wouldn't work - sometimes, we go "choose your own adventure" style, where John gets to choose the path home. He has a very good sense of direction. He always gets us home. We often play hide and seek on the way home. Probably not the greatest idea with nine three-year-olds. But he's made up a game which is essentially red light, green light, which all the kids might find fun, and he likes to pretend to be different animals out for a walk, which they might like, too. I also just leave him behind sometimes. It's a great motivator. But again, probably not the greatest plan with nine kids. And actually, not the greatest plan with John for much longer, either, I think. He's started calling my bluff. We have a sub shop on our way home, and sometimes he likes to stop in, and split a meatball sub and a chocolate milk. He calls it the meatball sandwich store. I let him order, and pay, and then we sit down and have lunch, while we talk about his morning at school. It has big windows, so we can watch diggers and buses and garbage trucks and ambulances and stuff go by, and it's a hopping place, so he gets to watch all of the people coming and going, too. It's cheap, so a lot of workers and cabbies stop there for lunch, so he talks about their cabs and tool belts and big trucks, and lots of them wear boots like dad's. He thinks it's a lot of fun. Well, one day, he wanted to go, but it was raining and cold, so I wanted to go home. So, I said no. Well, he pulled a tantrum, so I kept walking, thinking he would follow me, as usual, only to find him heading the opposite direction, towards the meatball sandwich store! He was totally prepared to go by himself. But it was across the busiest street in town, and I had visions of him getting schmucked. So, I'm ashamed to say, I gave in, and we had lunch at the meatball sandwich store.
Every now and then, he likes to go to convenience stores, too. But I think he goes less for the stuff, and more for the interaction. He's allowed to pick one little treat, like a sucker - if he wants two things, he has to choose between them - and I always get him to go through the sale himself. He puts it on the counter, and pays the money, and takes the change, and says than you, and carries the little bag. John really enjoys it, and the clerks get a kick out of it, too. He never asks for very much - it's always gum, or a chocolate bar or something small, so I don't mind giving in now and then. I think it's a valuable life experience type thing. If both Mike and I drop dead one day, he'll know how to buy chocolate bars all by himself.
His teacher said he's very intelligent and creative and also a very independent thinker, which are all excellent traits, she said. And she said he learns very well, because while the other kids are rushing to try something new, he's hanging back. But it's not that he's shy or nervous - he's actually listening to the instructions. Then he'll go ahead, and know exactly what to do, while the other kids flounder a bit, because he took that time to learn first. She said it's an amazing thing to see. I find that at home too. If we find a new game, I just have to play it once in front of him, and he's got it down. She said he reminds her a lot of her own son, who was very much his own little person. "He's a kid after my own heart," she said. She said the other kids are her little "yes men" and do everything they're told, which is nice and cute, but she loves kids like John who have minds of their own, and aren't afraid to use them. It was a nice conversation. I can tell by watching him with the rest of the class that he's different from his peers, but it was nice to be told that that difference is actually a good quality. It made me feel a lot better.
Here's a few John anecdotes from the last few days, for your amusement:
The tooth fairy is a predominant figure in preschool TV and books. But John doesn't quite understand the full meaning, beyond the knowlwdge that money and the taking of things is involved when you lose a tooth. Last night, he pulled some piece of food goo out of his mouth. He assumed that must be a tooth, and put it under his pillow, pronouncing that it would change into coin overnight, and then the tooth fairy would come and take the coin, and "put it with all her other shiny things; gold, coins, diamonds, everything! away in her tunnel." I didn't correct him. This could save me a lot of money down the road.
Joan is of course still in that stage where everything goes in her mouth, which is running parallel to a phone obsession. As a result, phones are winding up in her mouth. John saw her do this yesterday, and promptly took the phone away, pronouncing "That not food, Baby! That's a telephone!" I told him that when he was Joan's age, he used to eat telephones, too, to which he folded his arms, stuck his nose in the air and replied "No, Mom. I eat lunch."
A couple of days ago, there was a bit of construction going on along our path home. A couple of guys and a digger were taking down an old bus shelter. John was transfixed, and wanted to watch for a while, so we did. One of the guys took a real shine to John, and kept coming up to talk to him, explaining step-by-step what they were doing and why, which was a really nice thing for him to do, I thought. After a while, John turned to me and said "I want to be a construction worker when I grow up! I want to drive a digger and be really dirty."
"You do?" I asked.
"Why not?" said John, shrugging his shoulders.
The worker was close enough to hear John say it. He started to laugh, and said "Kid, you should try to be something better than this."
John has not been put off, however. It's been two days, and he STILL wants to be a construction worker when he grows up. (Why not?)
Anyway, better go. I think Joan just pooped.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Joan update
Sorry - this is going to be short.
Finally, finally got a call from the "children's developmental rehabilitation program" - doesn't that sound serious - that Joan is scheduled for an assessment, November 13. She and I will be meeting both the physiotherapist and the occupational therapist - yes, two therapists - assigned to her. They'll be spending about an hour putting her through a series of tests, to figure out how they need to progress. Very good news - I was worried they'd forgotten about us. Not sure what to do about John. My instinct is to get a sitter, so I can focus on Joan. The last thing I need is a bored, grumpy preschooler having a meltdown during something as important as Joan's physio.
She's doing great, by the way. She's working herself so hard, trying to pull up! She is coming close, but it's hard for her. But she's making so much progress all by herself. The other day, she wanted to grab a shiny piece of foil, but had a cracker in her hand. So, instead of dropping the cracker, she passed it to her right hand, then picked up the foil with her left. She did it again when she wanted the phone - she dropped the cracker, then passed the foil to her right hand, and picked up the phone with her left. Yesterday, she was playing with a noisy wrapper. She held it steady with her left hand, while she wiggled it around with her right to make a crinkle noise. She sure thought that was funny! And this morning, the most exciting thing of all - she grasped one of my fingers in her right hand! She even had a choice of what hand to use. It was really cute, actually - she held my hand steady with her left, them grasped a finger with her right.
John's doing well, too. His teacher was helping me get him dressed in the cloak room, and said. "I don't know how you handle this guy. He's as smart as a whip, but he's soooo stubborn!" She said he really keeps her thinking, because he's wise to all of her tricks to divert and distract him. But, she says, she loves teaching "challenging kids," because they force her to be creative. Yup, my kid is "challenging". Sigh. I just hope he has teachers in real school as great as her, or he may run into some trouble.
He had a cool Dad dream last night. They worked together to catch a ghost, by luring it into a net with cherries, then they scared it out of the house.
Anyway, better go.
Finally, finally got a call from the "children's developmental rehabilitation program" - doesn't that sound serious - that Joan is scheduled for an assessment, November 13. She and I will be meeting both the physiotherapist and the occupational therapist - yes, two therapists - assigned to her. They'll be spending about an hour putting her through a series of tests, to figure out how they need to progress. Very good news - I was worried they'd forgotten about us. Not sure what to do about John. My instinct is to get a sitter, so I can focus on Joan. The last thing I need is a bored, grumpy preschooler having a meltdown during something as important as Joan's physio.
She's doing great, by the way. She's working herself so hard, trying to pull up! She is coming close, but it's hard for her. But she's making so much progress all by herself. The other day, she wanted to grab a shiny piece of foil, but had a cracker in her hand. So, instead of dropping the cracker, she passed it to her right hand, then picked up the foil with her left. She did it again when she wanted the phone - she dropped the cracker, then passed the foil to her right hand, and picked up the phone with her left. Yesterday, she was playing with a noisy wrapper. She held it steady with her left hand, while she wiggled it around with her right to make a crinkle noise. She sure thought that was funny! And this morning, the most exciting thing of all - she grasped one of my fingers in her right hand! She even had a choice of what hand to use. It was really cute, actually - she held my hand steady with her left, them grasped a finger with her right.
John's doing well, too. His teacher was helping me get him dressed in the cloak room, and said. "I don't know how you handle this guy. He's as smart as a whip, but he's soooo stubborn!" She said he really keeps her thinking, because he's wise to all of her tricks to divert and distract him. But, she says, she loves teaching "challenging kids," because they force her to be creative. Yup, my kid is "challenging". Sigh. I just hope he has teachers in real school as great as her, or he may run into some trouble.
He had a cool Dad dream last night. They worked together to catch a ghost, by luring it into a net with cherries, then they scared it out of the house.
Anyway, better go.
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