It's a Musical!

The 2nd & 3rd graders put on a musical last week for all of us to enjoy and if you weren't able to attend I thought I would show you a 4 minute snip-it of what you missed. They practiced every day.  It was actually pretty cute.  I wasn't informed by her teacher about anything so Madison told us she had to wear white or black.  As we arrived it was clearly a white shirt and black pants were the uniform of choice. Well, at least we can pick her out of the crowd.

The kids are off-track and they made their lists of what they want to do.  It looks like we're going to be pretty busy.

I have been hookin' up with friends on Facebook; high school, even elementary school, cousins, old friends I haven't talk to in years, and current friends who I talk to daily.  Lance is on it but mostly for playing Mafia Wars.  I'm not much for computer games.  Facebook is addicting so I'm trying to limit my time on it.  So far that idea hasn't worked but I'll keep trying. 

Please mute the playlist below before viewing this video:

Changes

I've been busy getting nothing done. Madison is doing good. It was simple diet changes that we made and now there is no more every day tantrums (just the 8-year old girl stuff) and no more responding in anger when I simple ask her to brush her teeth. She's developing a sense of humor and talking to other adults more often using some eye contact. Her nightmares are back though. I don't know why she seems to have them so often. She's always being chased by something. Last night it was dogs. Her oral excessiveness has increased. She's constantly biting or sucking on her fingers & hands. Poor thing...her hands are raw. I bought her a chew toy to help her at school and when she's at home. As soon as she's idle her hands go in the mouth. All-in-all we are very happy with her progress.

Odd-n-Ends

Okay, Facebook is addicting and I don't even have that many friends.  I had to dig out my yearbook just to remind myself what we all used to look like.

Madison is really doing great.  After coming off a 4-day cupcake sugar high a few weeks ago we finally got her back on track.  She knows that Dr. Tim has really helped her.  The other day she told me that if she knows anyone that has nightmares that Dr. Tim can help them.  She's sleeping through the night, no more nightmares, limited arguments; she's just doing really great.  The kids give their stuffed animals "adjustments".  It's so funny to watch.  On one adjustment she said, "Now for the butt squeeze".  I told her that Dr. Tim doesn't do butt squeezes.  She said, "Yes, he does." so today she had to show him which one it was.  Well, she's got such a tiny butt that when he does this one adjustment on her low low back that his hands cover her butt - hence, the butt squeeze.  She was pretty funny.

Ethan starts t-ball in a few weeks.  Lance is coaching again and we have 2 kids coming back from the team last summer.  Go Sharks!

OMG!

I just told her to brush her hair. Lance took Ethan to Rocky Mountain Urgent Care and I was running around getting both of us ready to meet them. Ethan came down with a sore throat, fever and then he was having trouble breathing. Every time he would go to sleep he would wake up in a panic because he couldn't breathe. He's okay. The doctor said he has laryngitis and inflammation in his nasal cavity. His lungs are fine, his oxygen level was good but at five years old he can't figure out how to breathe through his mouth. He finally figured it out. I thought he learned that in the NICU - suck, swallow, breathe. I guess he'll be one of those kids who as soon as he learns something out the brain it goes. Anyway, back to, I just told her to brush her hair. Gobs of hair came out of her head and I had to cut out the rest.

Ki-Hap!

Madison earned her yellow belt in Taekwondo. Yeah for her!

Tony the Tiger G-R-E-A-T!

I have to say since I last blogged on Monday morning Madison is doing so good. She hasn't yelled at me or anyone this week, she's getting up for school in the mornings with no problem and happy too, no more tantrums and she was able to get 2 stripes on her belt on Tuesday night for a total of 4 stripes to show that she’s ready for testing to get her yellow karate belt next Friday night. No more stomachaches or nightmares either. It's a miracle! What a testimonial Dr. Tim Cummins @ Infinity Wellness Center will get from us.

Medicate or Not to Medicate

I have a kid who's not all there and I say that in the most loving way. In preschool we knew something wasn't right but no one would listen. She was our first born so we didn't have any other kids to compare her to until her little brother's personality came out. I know you shouldn't compare your kids but we kept thinking; he doesn't do that, he doesn't act like that, and who in the world does things like that? Things that make you go hmmmm.

One day Madison's Kindergarten teacher told us that she would recommend we get her tested. She wouldn't say for what, so not to offend, just that she was "different" than the other kids. A friend of mine mentioned that she might have Aspergers Syndrome. What the hell is that? I went home and Googled it. Autism? Are you kidding me? My daughter may have autism? No way, uh-huh, not my daughter. I did the Aspergers checklist. Check, Check, Check-Check. I called her pediatrician and we made an appointment with Children's Hospital. That was in the Spring of 2007. She was diagnosed with ADHD, sensory processing issues with tactile defensiveness, oral excessiveness with the need for motor input. What do we do with that information?

Medicate. We took the easy way. My husband told the pediatrician, "One of us is walking out of here with medication, either her or me". After using her as a test mouse, adjusting her medication to find the right dose; if she turned into a zombie we over medicated, if she didn't keep her attention longer during the day we under medicated. We hated it. Dealing with the side effects, stomachaches and nightmares. It was awful.

Recently, we met with a chiropractor (our son's best buddy's dad) and he explained the reasons why she shouldn't be medicated and to go a more "natural" way. We see his point and we're willing to try. After talking to us, he feels that she does have some autistic traits. We agree. There's just more to her than what Children's Hospital evaluation states. Being medicated has it's pros and cons and last week we took her off her meds and we remembered all the pros. She is driving me friggin' nuts. Yes, we did take the easy way out with one pill. Now, she's being adjusted three times a week, we changed her diet, and she takes 19 vitamins & minerals daily. Part of those capsules are detoxing her body.

Dad needs medication now. LOL. Which brings us back to our original problem. I'll keep you updated on her progress while I go insane.