You have got to be kidding?!?!

So tonight wasn't too bad. Although after a couple of weeks of non-stop outbursts around here, I'm still left tiptoeing and exhausted.

My mind is running at crazy speeds lately that I can't even think straight, so maybe browsing the web about SPD and other parent blogs for tips and just to feel a sense of 'normal because we're not the only one' probably wasn't such a bright idea at this hour.

I came across a link to this article on another SPD blog (I can't think which one at the moment because I was reading a few tonight):

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/lifestyles/relationships-and-special-occasions/article_9ac24f88-68fe-11df-bdb0-001cc4c002e0.html

It's by Dr. John Rosemond. This article has left me totally speechless (not to mention angry)! You have got to be kidding! I WISH our struggles with Enzo was as simple as taking everything out of his room. I WISH it were that simple because I'd be tossing everything out of his bedroom right now instead of writing this blog.

I'm exhausted and drained...

Aha moment!

Oh where to even begin...the last 2-3 weeks at home have been crazy...even that is an understatement. The anxiety, the tantrums, the frustration, the overload....

To start...we finally got an appointment to see a Developmental Pediatrician but of course the process is long and tedious. The first part of the process before we can even start the 'process' of anything, we had to meet with one of the workers and do a basic interview about our family and child and why we needed to be there...well well well...we were told pretty bluntly that they don't 'acknowledge' SPD because there are no scientic research and that SPD doesn't come and go...duh I know that! (Clearly this lady hasn't ever lived with a child with SPD.)

She was surprised that my child sat through the entire interview and was able to play with the legos and answer questions...AGAIN this lady really has never lived with SPD. My child was able to sit there because I made sure that we really did ALOT of sensory work and spinning (we do the astronaut spinning program) and it really helps his sensory alot!

But by the end of the appointment I felt like a failure and felt like all this work was useless and that any progress was all in my head and that my child was merely a behavior issue.

Well here were are a couple of weeks later at the peak of Enzo's overload and meltdowns. I'm racking my brain trying to figure out where I've gone wrong or what we've missed. I know part of my hang up is that stupid appointment. But tonight after another sleepless night, I had an 'Aha! Moment'.

His sensory goes in overdrive anytime there is change...the anxiety in him is so unbelievable high and makes it all go down hill.

I think our culprit is the anxiety about moving on to the 1st grade. I can't believe I'm even excited that he's anxious about it but I think I'm just excited to know what may bugging Enzo.

I'll have to probe and see but hopefully I'm right...so for now my excitement will have to wait until the little guy gets up.

Poor kid, I've been sooooooo rotten to him too! I can't even begin to imagine what is running through his head....

Gremlin or Vampire?

He doesn't like the sun (or any bright light esp flashing/moving lights).

Butterfly Chaser

When Enzo is wound up and his sensory is out of sorts, he chases bugs. He screams and hollers both out of excitement and fright but regardless, he only gets like that about bugs when his sensory isn't in check.

He's doing a lot of bug chasing and hollering today =)  Crazy thing is, he's not even outside. He notices all the creepy crawlies that are outside his window.

Do other SPD kids do that? My friend's son is that way too...it is kind of funny when you step back but when all I've heard all day is the hoots and hollers, ummm yeah, I'm not seeing the humor in it right this minute.  =}

Really?? We walk in a restaurant (any place really that has a lot of random unorganized noise) and it's too loud for him. It's really not all that loud but too loud for him nonetheless. He looks funny, still cute tho (Thank you Lord for such a cute face!). But hey I'm not complaining, especially when it keeps him still and focused on what's in front of him. I mean really...funky head accessory or a spazzed out Enzo??

Yes, I choose the funky fashion too. =)

An Appeal

Dear Confused Florida Weather,

The chill in the air you are so graciously providing is turning my Enzo into a sensory mess. Please make up your mind - cold or warm?

Better yet, how about leaving us with consistently beautiful, yet breezy, spring weather...one that will leave Enzo focusing his sensory energies elsewhere. =)

Love,
Me

PS. Please reconsider your cold wet days too. The sound of your raindrops, along with the chill in the air, keeps the yoga ball occupied...A LOT! I'm sure Mr. Yoga Ball would appreciate a break, as would my arms and back. Feel free to use the picture below as inspiration for your decision. Thanks.

Save the Forest!

For science today Enzo picked the sloth to learn about. The sloth is one of his favorite animals because it's "his daddy's" favorite. We did our usual - sit on the couch, mom reads from a book that we picked out from the library while discussing interesting facts about the animal, and of course looking at pictures. Lizzie always seem to gravitate to the pictures of the animals with their babies while Enzo looks for the biggest (and fastest). So while flipping pages and discussing facts about the sloth, Enzo came across the giant ground sloth and was excitedly letting us know he wanted to draw it for our narration assignment. We continue through the book and get towards the end of the book where it talks about how some sloths are extinct and others are 'endangered species' and why it's important to save tropical forests (sloths live there you know!). which then brought us back to the 'giant ground sloth' and why they are extinct.

Why didn't I see what was coming next?! OH SAVE THE FOREST MELTDOWN!

Enzo was so upset that people are so mean to cut down the forest because the giant sloth lost his home and starved to death. Not to mention the mean momma sloth that doesn't go back to rescue a dropped baby. (Momma sloths carry their baby on their belly for months, if the baby loses grip and falls off, they don't go back to rescue their baby in fear of their predators. Did you know that??) So by this time Enzo is frantically pacing the house and trying to figure out how to save the baby and how long it would take him to get to South America since he was just a kid and I wouldn't take him right this minute. MELTDOWN. Lizzie was lost, she had no clue what Enzo was talking about because she was still glued to picture of the momma sloth carrying a baby sloth.

So we talked about how some people help by letting others know about the importance of saving the rainforest. Enzo's drama finale went down like this:

Enzo is pacing and crying in between, visibly upset (and frustrated, because he said so himself)
Enzo runs to the sliding door: "Wait we have a forest! We need to save that maybe the sloth lives there!" (We have a preservation behind our house, no sloth lives there)
But of course I had to point out they don't live there so he was still upset.
Enzo walks past Lizzie and me shouting: "SAVE THE FOREST! SAVE THE FOREST!"
Enzo: "See I only told 2 people, now I'm tired of yelling SAVE THE FOREST, how am I gonna tell EVERYBODY??? I just CAN'T!"

?!?!?!? I was soooo OVER saving the forest! We eventually calmed down after lots of talking and brainstorming ways to help save the rainforest, at least until someone else brings up that sloth again!

Educational? VERY, maybe more so for me than Lizzie and Enzo. Will I do it again??? OH PLEASE LORD HELP ME! Why didn't I think to stick with this giant ground sloth? Maybe he wouldn't have caused such a ruckus!

The Prey

Enzo said the predator got the squirrel so we needed to help it. Then he asked if the prey can eat the predator because he was mad at the neighborhood cat (the predator) for trying to eat the squirrel. Well, we didn't see the culprit, we're just assuming the mean neighborhood cat did it.

Enzo was so sad that we couldn't help the squirrel. So Ethan pointed out the squirrels are wild and might have rabies. We watched this little guy for almost 30 minutes. He looked like he was gasping for air and he really didn't move very much. We had to leave for an appointment and were hoping the squirrel would still be perched on the fence. When we got back, Enzo and Lizzie immediately ran to the kitchen window but he was gone. He wasn't laying dead in our yard, although we haven't peeked on the other side of the fence. Poor squirrel. Mean cats...

For science, we've been talking about different mammals - the predators and the prey. The kids love animals, so each week we head out to the library and before they can pick out their 'fun books', they have to pick out a couple of animal books that they want to learn about. Well at least I know Enzo is learning something in science, even if he is into the gruesome predators and mangled preys!

2nd Annual Back 2 School Bash

Remember last year when we decided to have a Back 2 School Bash for the kids?? Well it's that time of year again, and this Ormeo Family tradition is here to stay. Just like last year, we didn't tell the kids what we were up to or that it was even time for another Bash, we wanted to keep it a surprise.

So after a slow start (another post for another day), we were headed to the beach! Fun in the sun always turns that frown upside down right?? RIGHT except Mr. Sun wasn't making his appearance!

By the time we headed out to St. Augustine, it was time for another Florida afternoon storm. After driving around for while, we decided to park to figure out our next step. We didn't want to waste the not-so-short drive out there! But God is good and He knew exactly what we needed to cheer us up and put us back in the mood to party! We ended up at Ripley's Believe It or Not! where they had a 2 for 1 special for admission, plus a free Enzo, so we decided to drop in!

Our kids are at a really great age right now to do 'stuff' and we don't have to chase anyone down or have to haul a stroller (although once in a while Enzo still opts for it and I don't blame him, I would too if I could!). PLUS everyone is potty trained! The kids even got to commemorate our Back 2 School Bash with a waxed hand. Each one got a mold of their hand so we can all look back and remember how small and little everyone was!

First they lather lotion all over your hand and have you dip your hand in ice for 20 seconds. Then they repeatedly dip your hand in 140 degree wax until they get the thickness just right. Oh the kids loved it! I haven't taken a picture of the finished product but Enzo did a peace sign, Lizzie signed 'I love you', and Ethan did 'Rock on!'

By the time we were done, the rain had stopped. Outside the museum, they had a radio station with a few vendors with fun kid stuff. The kids were so excited to get goodies and balloons and they even got to play with djembes!

Mr. Sun eventually made his appearance so off to the beach we went! And the kids were so excited!

This day which started out so grumpy turned out way better than we planned! The kids had a blast, now we're ready for a new school year. Till next year...

PS. Click here for more pictures from our 2nd Annual Back 2 School Bash.

What were we thinking??

We spent the day at home and we got bored, so we decided to rearrange Ethan and E's rooms because they're both getting new beds.  Well, we finally finished Ethan's room after pulling hair and teeth.  But his really wasn't too hard but E's room is never a quick fix to rearrange.  She just has too many machines and cords everywhere that it really does take planning, a lot of planning.

You'd think that I would have learned my lesson from the last few shuffles we did, but NOOOOOOOOOO so here I am at 9pm...E is hooked up to her machine on the couch in the living room, 2 hrs before the nurse shows up, all medical supplies all over the floor, dresser, shelf and couch (the one that is in her room).

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH

I don't wanna finish...I hate restringing power cords and surge protectors (how many can one room have??) Ok, next time I get a bright idea to rearrange another room in this house, somebody PLEASE stop me!

I'll post pix later, if I can find my camera.  

PS.  We'll be finalizing E's adoption soon! *yay* Oh, but E has told a Dr. and a nurse, and myself, that she doesn't want her name to be "what it currently is"....that's another post for another day....but really, it's sad and her reasoning makes sense in a 6 year old's world.

He doesn't like hair

Enzo doesn't like hair near him.  When I tuck him in bed at night and lean down to kiss him, he freaks out when my hair hangs too close to him.  If my hair is hanging in my face, he's quick to point it out and if I don't move it then he'll try to do it for me.

So this morning he's in the bathroom washing his hands and I walked in to help.  He quickly scans me up and down then bends down to look at my legs.

Here's our short conversation:

Enzo: It's like mine.
me: What's like yours?
Enzo: Your hair is like mine. *cringes*

If you've never check out Enzo's legs, he has hairy legs like Kuya TJ.  So what's the lesson in all this??

You know your hairy legs are bad if Enzo has to point them out...thanks Enzo, thanks!

Calm before the storm

or maybe it's the calm after the storm? Well either way, the past few weeks with Enzo has been very, very trying.  The last week has esp been really testing my last nerves! haha ok so I can sort of giggle about it now but if you could have seen (or heard) our household, you'd wanna taser someone.

Well yesterday Enzo woke up and decided he was done with his 'tornado'.  The house has been peaceful and fairly quiet except for the occasional sibling rivalry.

Hopefully its here to stay for a while at least.  Then again, we've had one less child the last 2 days because Ethan has been at a friends house.  I pick him up in an hour or so, so we'll see how it goes...

Chinese Fire Drill

So we've decided that in order to keep our sanity (and our hair), we needed to shuffle kids around and give them each their own space and room.  So how do you fit 3 kids in a 3 bedroom house?? Ha!  You play chinese fire drill with the rooms!

Enzo doesn't do well with transition and changes. Ok I lied, he doesn't do changes and transitions period. So when we moved him out of his room (the "beach room" as he likes to call it) and into Ethan's room for them to share, that was more than enough to mess him up and the boy has only slept 2-3 hrs a night since (when we're lucky!)

We have a a separate dining room that we turned into a play/tv room last year for Ethan and Enzo.  We never used it as a dining room because we have an eat in kitchen.  And as a play/tv room, they never really used it either!  Ethan would sit in there to play on the computer once in a while, but not enough to justify keeping the space as is.

So figured we can turn it into an extra bedroom.  We'll eventually close it off with a door but for what we need right now, it actually worked out perfect! (God is good right??)

Ethan needed his own space that the 2 little kids really wouldn't go into.  Enzo just wanted his 'beach room' back and E need her room to be more 'nurse'-friendly and less Enzo-friendly.  Besides, E only plays wherever Enzo is and doesn't care to be in her room.

So, when we played chinese fire drill, Enzo got his 'beach room' back and he slept in it without a fight last night!  Ethan got his pre-teen space back without his little siblings in his business, and the nurse was so thrilled that we moved E to her new room!  She said she wanted to suggest it when she first came, but didn't want to intrude.

Plus, E's room is much closer to my room, which really is better for her and us.    No more Enzo around her medical equipment!

Now all I need to do is move our medical supply store to her new room...Yikes! just when I got majority of it organized and labeled!

I'm drowning in my zoo!

Ok I have to keep this short because my zoo is calling...

This is E's 2nd day home...E is starting to come down with a cold or something, but simple illnesses are always more complicated for children with a ventilator and a trach.  Enzo is flipping out because of the change in routine and workers/nurses that are in and out of our home and just not having more time for him.  Ethan's legs and ankles have cramped up again where he can barely walk (he gets like this once to twice a year).  Toots has been sick so he's jumped ship for a little while.

Toots started with a bad toothache that spread to his face and neck. Meds weren't working and he couldn't handle it anymore so he went to the ER at 215am only to been seen by a Dr at 730am for 5 mins and gave him meds without looking at anything else.  But by this afternoon he's been super dizzy and nauseous (not sure if it's the meds or not)

My zoo is outta control!  I'm out numbered by kids that all need and want attention...so pray quick!

ps....all this with an hour and a half of sleep.  i thought having an overnight nurse meant sleep for me??

Crunch Time!

So we are leaving in a couple of hours for the airport and we're still packing.  Can't wait to just get on the plane and take a nap! Well hopefully Enzo will take a nap because he has been so upset with all the packing and excitement to ride the big plane.  He doesn't do too well with change and transition.  Last time he was this upset was when we went camping and he thought I packed his bag to go "back home".  I think he's still a little bit confused this time, because he keeps asking if I'm going to use the spongebob bag for his clothes (That's a whole other post!)

Talk to you guys later and pray for Enzo!!! (Well all of us really, but Enzo especially)

Battle of the wills

it's more like 'Battle of the Ormeos'.  sheesh when will it end...being a mommy to two kids is really kicking my butt....well hmmm being a mommy to a STRONG WILLED and 'walk the edge coz i feel like it' toddler is really pushing my buttons...it doesn't help that we're all so strong willed...ahah God really has a sense of humor...

Camping

oops time flew by and i forgot to update on our camping trip...we had a blast...considering it was a first for all of us, we didn't do bad at all...

we borrowed camping gear from a friend of ours...we didn't want to invest in gear and only to realize we don't like it...so a friend of ours equipped us with EVERYTHING!!  it was awesome tho, and made the trip so much easier and so much more pleasant.

well let's see, bugs are nasty and my kids HATE bugs...and bug spray doesn't keep bugs from harrassing you, if anything bug spray always seem to attrack more bugs.  Sort of like when you tell a toddler not to touch, it makes them want to since it's more attractive when mom makes something off limits. 

the dirt didn't bother them much because it's beach sand so it comes right off...although i think it bothered enzo more than it bothered ethan, but then again he was also the one sitting in sand and pouring down his neck and every once in a while he'll throw a handful in his own face just for the kicks...

It's comical to think how we looked to other ppl...It's hard work to set up a tent while trying to keep enzo (our 2 yr old) from running into the street and ethan from climbing and playing in the sand dunes (which here in Jax, is illegal).  Not to mention, we didn't even know what the tent was supposed to look like when set up.  Then in the midst of laughing and repremanding the boys, we decide that we needed to take pictures!!!  well yeah, i guess because we were so busy packing the van with stuff (which btw, could have lasted us a little over a week), we forgot to bring a camera!  so yeah, no pictures...we did try to take a picture with our cell phone but it's a cell phone haha...

we got to the campsite around 630pm, and by the time we had set the tent up and unloaded sleeping bags, playpen (can't trust enzo to stay in the tent at night) and food/drinks...it was 10pm...the boys were exhausted...

but then nature it NOISY!  and huegonot park (where we went beach camping) is also a bird watchers travel spot...birds birds birds everywhere...so 4:30am birds were squawking everywhere, often times, sounding like they were doing it right next to our tent...and it's not the soft chirping you hear on tv or cartoons!  so by 6:30am everyone was up...the sun was up and bright and it was a really nice weekend with really nice weather....

long story short...beach camping is what it is...there's nothing to do other than the beach (well at least at this one)...so all we had to keep ethan and enzo entertained was the beach...we played in the surf/sand from 7:30am till 6pm?  something like that...we had no where else to go since we were staying another night.  Ethan is now VERY toasted!  Enzo is even darker...the boys LOVE the beach though and would stay forever given the chance...

Needless to say we all had a good time...and we would definitely go camping again with the boys...although i think next time we'll wait till the weather is a little bit cooler (less bugs and less humidity).  We even started collecting our own camping gear...

wish i had pictures to show but uhhh yeah, we'll blame Toots for that one