Maryland Science Center

Back in the early part of August my neighbor and I took the kids to the Maryland Science Center. My mother-in-law watched AJ for me all day to make it a little easier for the older kids to have fun without dealing with a toddler. In fact, I saw a little girl about his age throwing an all out tantrum a little after noon. I thought to myself that's exactly what AJ would like right about that time when he started getting tired. So we were able to stay all day and the kids had a wonderful time. I just love the Maryland Science Ctr and wish we lived closer-it's about 1.5 hrs from here.

So, here are some pictures from that outing.

Here's Paige, Ryan, and Sarah "discovering fossils". Very cute how much Ryan is concentrating on it.

This was such a neat part of the Science Ctr. Children 8 and older were able to perform a REAL experiment. Lindsey, Kaeli, and Sarah did an experiment to determine which household cleaners were most effective at killing germs. I don't think they got a clearcut answer, but they all gave a different answer when I asked. But, the sure had fun acting like real scientists!
Notice the look on Paige's face here. She's sulking because she couldn't do the science experiment since she's only 6. She and Ryan got to look at prepared slides under a microscope instead. She did finally come around when I started showing her cool stuff like human blood.

Our future scientists: Lindsey, Sarah, Kaeli, and Paige

Ryan, Kaeli, and Paige

Here's Kaeli in her space gear

Paige and Ryan standing next to a mannequin in a real space suit.

What an adorable astronaut!

Sleepwalking

I talked to our pediatrician today and he's pretty certain Paige's "waking" episodes are actually sleepwalking episodes. Tonight seemed to prove that theory. At bedtime Paige's stomach was hurting as usual. We did all our usual "calming" activities and then she asked for the heating pad. I had forgotten about that one. So, when she fell asleep she had the heating bad laying on her tummy. About an hour after she went to sleep we saw her in the hall upstairs. She was carrying the heating pad with her. We tried to ask her what she was doing and she didn't really respond. That is the part that was always confusing me.....she always *appeared* awake but didn't necessarily respond. The responses I did get were often just confusing and didn't make sense. So, I was aware that she was probably sleepwalking everything made more sense. I guided her back to bed and put the heating pad on her.

Now, why I never thought about sleepwalking is beyond me! She has definitely been wrought with sleep issues for most of her life. Up until about a year ago she had night terrors. Talk about SCARY! Well, night terrors and sleepwalking are all related. Also, sleepwalking has a genetic component and I've heard enough stories about my sleepwalking and talking antics to know exactly where those genes are coming from. I still talk out in my sleep from time to time when I'm overtired.

So, the reason for an increase in this sleepwalking is probably related to the stress of starting school. Stress and anxiety can trigger these episodes. So, while it is still related to her anxiety, at least I know she's not having nightmares all night long about school. Also, if it's sleepwalking she's not losing as much sleep as I originally thought.

As soon as I can get to the store I'm going to buy her some calming herbal tea for kids that a friend told me about. I'm also going to have her take a bath every night in my whirlpool tub with some calming bath bubbles. We'll continue with the relaxation/positive imagery techniques and heating pad at bed time. In the meantime, the pediatrician is going to get in touch with a child psychiatrist that he sometimes gets advice from. He's going to see if there's anything more we should be doing. If things don't start improving within the next couple of weeks I will have to start taking her to weekly therapy appts again.

On a good note, Kaeli's evening was MUCH better. No crying episodes or emotional outbursts. She was much more pleasant tonight. WHEW!

The school blues!

The adjustment to returning to school has been pretty rough on the kids so far. I'm sure it also has a lot to do with the fact that things inherently change at home as well. I know I am stricter with routines and chores during the school year than I am during the summer. So, I think I'm seeing the fallout from transitioning to new routines and changes in general.

Kaeli isn't terrible. She does cry alot more during the afternoons and she's just much more emotional in general. She has said at least once a day this week "why is everyone stressing me out".

Paige is the real problem for now. She isn't outwardly emotional, but she never has been. I think she keeps it in and that's why we see most of her issues appear at night. Before bed she gets bad stomach aches. Then she wakes up several times a night just crying out in her sleep. Monday night she was only up 3-4 times. Last night she was up 3 times before 10:30. I don't know exactly how many more times she got out of bed after that, but it seemed like a lot. She says she had a bad dream, but then she can't remember the bad dream. My concern is that she must be exhausted during the day. I did call the Dr's office today to discuss it with him and I'm waiting for a call back. I don't know what options we have, but we really need to do something for her. At least she hasn't had a pee accident yet. Maybe we have at least worked through that one!

Ryan is doing fine. He's crying at drop off, but I know he gets over it quickly. He has been somewhat difficult, but really not much more than usual.

First day pictures

First day of school approaches

Tomorrow will be the first day of school for Kaeli, Paige, and Ryan. Kaeli is going into 3rd grade, Paige will be in 1st and Ryan will be starting his first full year of preschool. I'm very excited--looking forward to things being a little quieter during the day. I'm guessing AJ will be lost for a while.

Kaeli is very apprehensive. She's heard many stories about 3rd grade and is very concerned that it will be too difficult. I do believe she'll have to work harder, but I doubt it'll be too much for her. Fortunately there will be plenty of familiar faces in her class this year. There are 4 kids in our neighborhood (within 2 blocks of us) that will be in her class--2 girls and 2 boys. The 2 boys are twins and were in her class last year. A few times this summer she rode her bike down to their house to play. As a side note, I forgot about the one time last weekend that was so cute. She walked into the door for the day and I saw only one of the boys walking down the driveway away from our house. He had walked her home and I thought that was so sweet! It's also funny because they get into alot of friendly competitions at school--it's a good, healthy academic rivalry that keeps them both motivated to do their best.

Paige is incredibly excited about starting school! In fact, she came downstairs this morning fully dressed and ready for her 1st day! Steve asked her if she was practicing for her 1st day of school tomorrow and she said "that's TOMORROW?!" So, she turned around with her head hung low and proceeded to change into something else. I sure hope her day goes well. She seems to have a very nice teacher. At this point we don't know any of the other kids in her class. I did just find out that our future girl scouts leader's daughter is in the class. So, while they don't know each other yet, I know they'll probably becomes friends since they'll be seeing each other outside of school as well. I'm looking forward to her becoming even more competent in reading. She's doing well, but I know she'll do even better with some direct teaching of more advanced decoding skills.

I know Ryan is going to dazzle his speech therapist with his new skills! I tried to warn her that she's going to be completley amazed by him, but I don't think she has any idea just how amazed she will be. I just wrote her a long note explaining where he is right now and what areas she might want to address. I'm certain that he will make progress in even bigger leaps and bounds once she starts working with him. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't qualify for services at the end of this year.

I will post their "first day of school" pictures when I get a chance tomorrow.

Excited to need deodorant?

YIKES! Strangely enough, Kaeli has been asking to wear deodorant for the past few months. I always told her she didn't need it yet and not to rush things. Well, a few minutes ago she put her arm around me and much to my huge surprise--she does indeed need deodorant now. I verified that it was her armpits I was smelling and not my own...lol. Then I informed her that she does indeed need to start wearing deodorant. She proceeded to jump up and down and celebrate. Then ran into the next room where our two neighbors were (they are over playing) and announced the news to them. Sarah said "you're GLAD to need deodorant?" When she's a teenager I'm sure she'll enjoy hearing all about her initial reaction to having stinky armpits. ;)

I yub you, mommy

Last night as I was taking Ryan upstairs for bed I told him to tell daddy "goodnight, I love you". He did exactly that. At that moment I realized how amazing it was for him to be able to repeat that phrase with such ease. I remembered not too long ago (maybe 6 mos ago) sitting next to his bed as I tucked him in saying "I love you" several times hoping he might try to repeat the phrase. But, all I ever got was a big grin. I waited so long for him to be able to say "I love you" back to me. I mentioned this memory out loud...... so Steve said "tell mommy you love her". With absolute ease Ryan said "I yub you, mommy" and gave me a gigantic hug!! You can better believe my eyes were full of water as the tears welled up.

Everything is looking good for school!!

I have been eagerly waiting to find out what Ryan's schedule would look like this year and I finally got the letter today. For the 3 yr old program there were lots of options--2 days/wk, 3 days/wk, morning, afternoon. I really, really wanted 3 days/wk in the morning and guess what???? That's what he got!!! YAY!! I could only put in my request, but space and other kids' needs were the first consideration before requests. I was a little concerned that they would cut him back to only 2 days a week since he's made so much progress in his speech. So, now I know he'll still get 3 days a week of speech therapy and that is awesome! While he's come a LONG way I know the more help he gets the more quickly we'll see MORE improvement. At this rate he just may be completely caught up by Kindergarten--that would be awesome!!

The other reason this schedule is so perfect is because Kaeli, Paige, and Ryan will all be dropped off at exactly the same time. They are all in the same building, so the girls can go in with me and just keep walking to their classroom when I stop to drop off Ryan. Then I just go back to get Ryan at 11:15. I'm so excited that I will have a FULL 3 hour window of time to do whatever needs to be done. Last year I dropped the girls off at 8:15 and then Ryan got dropped off at 8:45 (in another building) and then I had to be back to pick him up at 11:15.

Everything's looking good......all 3 have orientation on Aug 22 and then classes start Aug 25.

Ryan is lost.....

without his sisters! Every single day this week he has asked when Kaeli and Paige will be home. He doesn't understand days yet, so it's been hard to explain to him that it's going to be quite a while yet. But, it's been kind of neat to watch Ryan and AJ learn to play together without the girls running the show. Boys sure are different than girls. I'm SURE to find trouble any time these boys are on their own for a few minutes. Let's see....today I discovered toothpaste ALL over the bathroom. It's obviously pretty cool to paint the bathroom with toothpaste. Another time I was putting away clothes.....I hear Ryan saying "drop it, AJ". I heard this phrase a few more times before deciding to intervene. Ryan was downstairs in the family room encouraging AJ to drop anything he could find down from the balcony. At one point, AJ crawled into a chair with a book and proceeded to flip through the pages acting like he's reading. You know you're in trouble when the older of the two says "what is AJ doing?" The sad truth of the matter is that AJ is the one that gets "shafted" when it comes to having a book read to him at night. Being the bottom of the'food chain' means sometimes mom and dad just don't have the energy left to read another book at the end of the day. Besides, he doesn't complain.....YET!!

I talked to the girls today. Sounds like they are having a great time. Grampa signed Paige up for 2-- 1 hour private swimming lessons. She had her first lesson yesterday and is already diving into the deep end of the pool. This morning she said to me "I can swim in 9ft of water now, mom!" I'm so happy for her. She often gets left behind by the older kids in our neighbor's pool. Kaeli learned to swim this year, so she hangs with the bigger kids in the deep end. Paige usually just occupies herself in the shallow end. And, just like Paige--she never makes a single complaint about it, although I think it bothers her deep down. So, now she won't be left behind anymore.

Just us and the boys this week

Kaeli and Paige are staying the whole week with their grampa and grammy in North Carolina. I met my dad halfway (about 3 hrs) between his house and my house. The girls are incredibly excited because my brother's family will also be there. I think it's been 4 yrs since the girls got to spend time with their cousins. This is also a big milestone because they have NEVER been away from us for more than a day or two at most. I even found myself tearing up as I walked back to my car without them. Of course, I didn't let them see my tears. They were all smiles and weren't the least bit upset. I know they'll have a great time.

Steve and I didn't waste any time taking advantage of having only 2 kids. We already had a babysitter lined up for tonight. Normally, I have the babysitter come over after Ryan and AJ go to bed. But, since it was just the two of them we decided to have her come earlier. I was so proud of Ryan!! About an hour before Kailyn came over I told him what would happen. His only response was "how long you take?" When it was time for us to leave Ryan just waved and went back to playing with Kailyn. Even Kailyn was surprised because he normally screams and tantrums when we leave. Steve and I had a nice dinner all alone.

It should be an interesting week. I'm guessing it'll be a lot quieter!