Today, Kevin Gave Himself Whiplash... I Wish I Was Making That Up....

I got a phone call right as the physical therapist drives up to my house. Kevin is hysterical. Kevin is never hysterical, especially at school... In front of other kids... (unless needles are involved, then he screams like a girl...anyway...) He is begging me to come get him, his neck hurts like he can't explain, I asked him if he was injured or what. He just keeps telling me to come get him. I throw on my Super cape, toss the therapist (lovingly) out of my house and corral the little ones into the car while calling Billy. What does Mr. Level-headed say?

"What did the nurse say? Did she tell you what she thought it was?"

Me: "Ummm, I didn't talk to her, he.was.hysterical. What kind of heartless man are you?! I have an appt with the pediatrician at 3. You have to call the nurse, I'm driving. Tell her I'll be there in 5 minutes." (Emi yelling in the background "PARTY CITY!!!!" As we pass that darn store, she cannot help herself...) My phone rings again and Billy says that the nurse says whatever it is, it's his neck muscle just locked up. I don't even know what that means...

I get to school, maneuver around with curious 2 year olds and get to my 11 year old baby, still with tears streaming down his face.In.school.where.he.has.friends. His neck is crooked to the side and we leave.

By the time I got him to the doctor and they do all their examinations, she tells me that Kevin basically gave himself whiplash. Apparently that's possible?!?! A severe dose of prescription Tylenol and we went home to the rest of the crew that Daddy was patrolling expertly. Two kids were doing homework, 2 kids were out back chasing the dog... That's teamwork. I'm lucky that Billy works for himself and can just pick up and come home. I could have done it with all the kids in tow. But he makes it so I don't have to. :)

Tomorrow we are taking family pictures. Pray for me. I am totally psyched. I am the only one. :) There has to be one good shot, right????

She Wants To Make Her Own Halloween Costume?! Doesn't She Know That The Stores Have Them?!?

My lovely 10 year old daughter informed me yesterday after a fruitless trip for a costume that she will be making her own. I am nauseous. The last thing I am is creative and artsy. The good news is that she didn't want the trashy costumes that seem to be more and more prevalent these days for 10 year old girls. I think I was a clown when I was 10. I'm not that old. It depresses me when we go to Party City or the Spirit store and the costumes all involve fishnets and short skirts or corsets.

She came up with a Diva Angel, which I totally don't grasp, but it's kind of a hip angel. White tutu, sunglasses, wings. We should be able to get it done this week. I had originally ordered a Wonder Woman costume, but when it came in, the fit was so strange, I had to return it.

Everyone else is doing well, the older boys got haircuts and I am almost ready for the family pictures next weekend. My eyebrows are begging me for a wax and Emi needs tights, then I am set. Then I have to focus on the shorties birthday in November. I can't believe they are almost 3. It's tough because they are in such a small class (2 other kids) that a party would be kind of silly. We'll probably just have friends and family over for tamales and cake or something like we did last year. Next year they'll be in a larger class and we can do a "real" birthday party.

I should probably be doing something productive right now, but Sundays just feel like you should be moving in slow motion, don't they???

And Now We Have Time To Sit And Have Coffee....

Whew... What a week! It's the end of the grading period at school, so I have been after Aaron to get all late work turned in. I was hoping he would take the wheel by now, no such luck.... He ended up passing everything, but that's not good enough for me. The boys had to be at school this morning by 7:15, instruments ready to play, so Billy took them and the shorties and I had to take Olivia. We did it in full style, pjs and hoodies. :) They loved it, it was still dark out and they love going to Olivia's school...

We saw my mom this morning, I noticed that her wedding band was gone. I am so upset. The nursing home states EVERYWHERE on the contract not to wear jewelry. I mean, you're a sitting duck. But when she went in last year, she cried and cried to my dad about her ring not being on. I told him to buy her a plain gold band, but God bless him, he just wanted her happy, and he was already drowning in guilt about having her admitted to a nursing home. My mom wears 3 bands, (or used to) her engagement, the wedding band, and one of my grandmother's bands. I am very sentimental and I am still so upset that one is gone. How can someone take something from a helpless elderly, sick person??

We just finished up physical therapy with Simon and Emi, so now I can look forward to the weekend, Olivia has 2 birthday parties to go to, and we have to get her a different costume. I hope the weather stays beautiful....

It's Amazing What Covering The Gray Can Do...

I desperately needed to take care of my hair, I had at least an inch and a half of gray. But I've been putting it off because we're doing family pictures at the end of the month. I can't have THE family portrait include a gray mom, can I?? Same reason why all of my boys look like hippies at the moment. :) We rarely do family portrait style pics, so I have been planning this one for awhile. The shorties are old enough to sit and look (and hopefully smile), the older kids can help, and I should be able to make it through without tension... Right??? Even if I am racked with tension, my hair color will be fabulous... And it's how you look, right???

Things around here are a bit bumpy. Aaron is struggling in school... Still... We just don't know how to make him want to work harder. To do his job. It is beyond frustrating. The boy has no enjoyment in his life right now. No electronics, no tv, no Legos. I cannot comprehend how he doesn't want to put in the effort to get his life back...

The woman that lived in the suite with my mom at the nursing home (they have separate rooms, share the living room and bathroom) passed away Monday night. While I didn't know her beyond saying hello and asking how she was doing, it still brought us sadness. She was 95 yeards old and had the best attitude towards life. I wish my mom had the same attitude. Miss Tillie lived to the fullest, I hope I do the same....

Our physical therapist is stepping up Simon's therapy, now that he has this new diagnosis. She had him running outside so she can watch his gate, his left arm tends to curl up, kinda like Bob Dole. :) She's going to try a wrist weight this week. I'm trying to just go with the flow for now until the MRI in late November. We'll deal with any results then, but for now, we'll work in therapy and I'll do things at home. And my sweet boy will be ok. Isn't he beautiful? I couldn't love him more....

And Life Goes On, Carry On....

So I bought myself that t-shirt that says, "Keep Calm and Carry On". I felt I needed it as my mantra. :) After talking to Simon's physical therapist and really taking a deep breath and stepping back for a few days, I am at peace. We will get another opinion, the MRI is also scheduled. Through the last few days of working through my sweet boy's diagnosis, I can only say with certainty that he is exactly where he is supposed to be. He was meant to be my child, raised by Billy and I. His biological mother was a heroin addict that had already had 3 kids removed from her custody. I cannot even imagine where my baby would be, he's had to wear a helmet to correct the shape of his head, tons of physical therapy to correct his torticollis, speech therapy to get him to talk, and now this new path. God put him where he is supposed to be. :) So I hug and kiss him more now, if possible, and we "carry on".

We carry on to Aaron and his sinking ship that is 6th grade. I have dragged him through the first 9 weeks of school, sent him to morning tutoring to only find out today that he didn't do the missing assignments and will fail English. I cried. Over dramatic? Yes. Crushed, absolutely. I keep trying to get through to him, to will him to give a damn. I'm not giving up, but I am deflated. Billy cleared his room. There is nothing but furniture and books. This is where we are right now and what we have to do. Sigh... Kids are hard.... :(

This week, I have 3 kids getting school pictures, I need to get some clothes for that, Olivia has an orthodontist appointment and then the regular therapy/piano lesson schedule. Busy October, better get off of here and get on it. Have a great Fall weekend!

Not News I Was Expecting Or Wanted To Hear...

This morning I took the shorties to their neurologist, Emi for a recheck, Simon was going to get his first Botox shot for his torticollis. He gets the once over from the doctor and I mentioned that Simon's left foot seems to turn in sometimes. I was planning on telling the pediatrician on their next appointment, I figure we'd discuss a shoe or more PT or whatever. He does a bunch of physical tests on my sweet baby and then tells me he may have mild cerebral palsy. I'm sorry, WHAT?! Then he shows me that Simon's left hand is curled up while his right hand does everything, that the reflexes on the left are quite slower than the right. He wants an MRI done to see if it has affected his brain.... I'm sitting in the room trying to process and corral these two kiddos and all I want is to call Billy. I really like the neurologist, I can tell he loves the kids, loves his job, he has great bedside manner for the moms.

15 minutes later I'm in the car with Billy (he drops us off for appointments there, parking downtown sucks) and I am trying to be calm and I turn my head and tears are streaming down his face. WTF?! Hey, man of steel, I can't keep it together when you CRY IN FRONT OF ME!!!!!!!! Now is NOT the time to find emotions, do that in secret, thankyouverymuch....

So now it's been a few hours, I have scoured the Internet and am beginning to calm down. While I don't know what is going on in his brain, I know that we can handle difficulty in coordination, frustration when your body won't do what you want. There are  so many more terrible things that he could have, I'm feeling pretty lucky. Thanks for the vent time....

Frazzled, I Needed That Day Off....

So with the kids home for Columbus day, I floated the idea to Billy to take the day off. Really those ideas are hit or miss, I can claim victory 50% of the time. But when you work for yourself, it's hard to take off the entire day, no one else is in the office picking up the slack. So I was thankful that he could swing it. We kept it simple, he grilled lunch/dinner (made enough for both), we hung out together at home, and the boys and I worked on their book reports.... Basically that's me helping with the printer jams, asking them if they've checked everything over and if they followed the rubric. I am annoying. :) It was a slow moving day, I appreciated the extra hands and he even volunteered to shuttle Olivia to her piano lesson. I am a lucky woman, even if I don't always tell him. :)

This month is going to be so busy. I figure it's because I have scheduled a family picture. Therefore, everything else will pop up. Totally happened. I am knee deep in dr appointments, orthodontist appts, haircuts (for said family picture), physical therapy, office stuff for Billy, and somewhere I will start Christmas shopping and birthday shopping for Simon and Emi... No problem... No wonder I look old.

I have decided that I have really aged in the last few months. Billy won't listen, he's sweet that way, but I see it. I am due for a hair color, eyebrow waxing, and my skin... Lord... I need to find some kind of cosmetic dermatologist or something. (Do those exist??) I need something peeled off or scrubbed down or rubbed on, whatever... I think I have an.... are you ready? An AGE SPOT..... Sigh....There has to be some kind of treatment for all this without looking like a trout face...

The Rain Is Good... The Lethargy That Comes WIth It, Not So Much...

It's really hard to get motivated to attack house chores when it's cloudy and dreary outside. I'd rather nap. My 2 year old daughter would rather not. What 2 year old decides they've outgrown naps??? That is my newest obstacle, no more nap time, no hour and a half of silence, time for phone calls, time to get something accomplished. And she shares a room with Simon, so she gives him about 35 minutes of peace and then wakes him up. Sigh... Things are bumpy at the Ryann household....

Olivia finally hit her final balance total for her itouch. She has been saving for awhile and I am so proud of her for sticking to it. But now she is driving me crazy with the texting and "look at this app". :) And the boys are jealous. They can't save $10, much less $200. Lesson learned, I think...

My October has officially been declared a disaster. The shorties go to school twice a week. I have been trying to work out, see my mom at the nursing home (so much easier to do alone!), and run the errands that are difficult with toddlers in tow. Now next week there are no school days (Columbus Day--everyone is home and Wednesday is Simon's Botox day.) The week after is early release for 3 days, somewhere in there I also have to get Olivia and Kevin to the orthodontist. Did I mention that I have portraits scheduled for the end of the month? Now to get everyone in similar color clothing for that.... I am insane... What was I thinking?! At least costumes have been purchased, now I have to work on Billy's office stuff. As his office manager, (fancy title and all for paper pusher and tax filer) I have to get Christmas cards and gifts ordered for his clients...

Ok, after all that whining, I have to just get it together and get it done. It's not like November is going to get better. That's the shorties' birthday, Thanksgiving, and my dad is going to see his family in NY, so I will have to ramp up visits with my mom for the few days he is gone so she doesn't freak out.

January will be here soon, right?? :) Of course then I spiral into the "I gained how much weight?!?!?" Never ends you know......

Something Is Going To Have To Give....

Ugh.... I am just simply not getting everything done around here. The late afternoon/evenings are spent homework wrangling/begging for a finish line... Then shower, lunch making, baby bedtime, etc. Nothing besides that takes place after 5. During the days that the shorties are home, I can sneak in cleaning and laundry (they "help" you know....), but there is no more nap for Miss Emi, so I am limited in accomplishments. The 2 days they go to preschool are the only times I can get shopping done and appointments. My days with the trainer have been few and far between because, simply, life is in the way. I know, keep yourself healthy benefits the family, blah, blah. I just can't fit in 90 minutes. No, I am not committed enough to get up at 5am nor do I have the energy to go after 8pm. I'm afraid I am just going to have to forgo my membership for now.

Am I removing the easiest roadblock? Absolutely. 90 minutes of travel, work out and then I'm gross all day... I end up running errands in my work out clothes, going to the nursing home dressed like that and I feel like a slob. It's a total cop out. I am going to try and see how often I can get myself there this month (since I already paid for it) and see if I should continue. But I see the writing on the wall and that's ok. My time isn't now, my kids are the priority and I decided to have a family this big. And I do not have Billy's determination to go out there after the shorties go to bed and run 3 miles. This is my Achilles heel, exercise. I hate it. It explains why I was a fat kid. My best friend had to drag me outside. Ride bikes?! Only by necessity....

So that's where I am right now. We'll see what October 31st brings me....