Thursday, January 31, 2013

How to take Tobey Jude to the dentist.....

Because of the endless appointments that is our life I have found that it is a lot easier on us to do these mega appointment weeks, or sometimes days. For example I have taken all seven for flu shots, eye Dr's , and etc. But there is one thing I have found that we can't do this with and it is the freaking Dentist!

So, there is a local place which is an offshoot of South Bend's Dental Center right here in the merry town of Plymouth. I made Alison an appointment and scoped the place out for the rest of the crew. Tiny office, but it is able to handle almost everything that the bigger office could so I inquired about the Tobey Jude. And it was a no.... I asked about South Bend, they were not sure if they could handle him.

So, then I asked our Pediatrician, and they sent me to Small Smiles in Mishawaka. They assured me on the phone that they were up for the task, and I was leery...but decided to try. So here is how it went down...

We got there and there was a ton of people in pajama pants, huge pet peeve of mine....going on. I filled out about 15 pieces of paperwork with the extra stuff explaining Tobey's medical background. They called us back and I was put in this tiny room with Tobey and we went through all of his meds, they are going through all of his medical history and asked me for tips on how to take care of him. I am now feeling confident, and we head back to the room. Within a few minuted the hygienist comes in and sees my sweet and for once mellow child...goes through his history, again and I thought that this was going to happen! The boy was going to get his teeth cleaned and I can mark another kids dental care done for 6 more months. And then, well they saw the power of Tobey Jude! And it got real!  I once saw the Incredible Hawk tie a rifle into a bow tie, if Tobey knew the proper etiquette for tying his shoes he would have done so with the paperwork ladies arms...It took me, the hygienist, a dentist and the paperwork woman holding him down to brush his teeth!

I then got this look, this look that people give me when they don't know what to tell me about Tobey...she held my hand and told me not to give up. I knew then that we were looking at another thousand appointments. She then told me that we would have to put him under to even get x rays and that he is looking at some serious dental work. I asked her where I need to go for that and she said a surgery center in Elkhart...if they would take him. I then gave her the medical history and she said they would not even try. Next step, the hospital in Elkhart....and they said no.

So, finally today I got a letter from the dentist, and they are sending Tobey Jude to an entirely new practice in South Bend. I called them, and Tobey will get in for his initial appointment on April 8th. I hope they are staffed for it.....

So the next time you hear a special needs child's parent say that they are getting ready to take their kid to the dentist, give them a hug, a few Hail Mary's and a strong drink. Don't even get me started on what it takes to get a haircut done....

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Happy Birthday Tobey Jude!!!!!

My precious, beautiful boy is 8 years old today. How did that even happen? Because it sometimes seems like yesterday that I remember seeing his face for the first time, I was being wheeled out of surgery and a nurse said "There is your boy."And there was this little guy with tons on black hair and huge eyes, and I fell in love with him at first sight.

Having a kid like Tobey Jude, birthdays are different. First off the emotional.."Why me?" starts creeping in. You start thinking about what he should be doing right now. At 8, Tobey Jude should be obsessed with Lego's and battling me on doing homework. And then you realize that he is obsessed with vacuums and he will never battle me on homework...he never has any. I wish as a Mom I could stop doing those comparisons, but I can't.

But, Tobey did do some great things for the celebration of him. He actually blew out the candles on his cake, and when people told him Happy Birthday he clapped a few times! He was quiet today, I think because he was so outgoing yesterday he needed to chill a little.

Sometimes, when you have a kid like Tobey Jude you just want people to know him and love him. And today we had that. It just happened to be on his Birthday (I don't really believe in coincidence, this was a God thing) some leaders and members of our Church along with some dear friends laid hands and prayed for our family but especially for Tobey Jude. I can't explain the love that was in that room, and feeling God in that room. I am eternally grateful for the family we have found, and there are not enough words to ever express that. We are so blessed.

As you know I am what you would call a fan of The Beatles, and sometimes before Tobey goes to sleep I sing and sign this song to Tobey. On our way to Church today it was played on the radio, again not a coincidence....





Happy Birthday, Beautiful Boy! There are days that I don't know if I am going to make it through with you, you can wear a Mama down. But there is not a single day that I don't thank God for you, you amaze me, make me laugh, make me cry. Mama loves you....



Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Hello, Hello.....

I am pretty sure I have done that blog title before...if I have just add a 2013 to it. Ok, now we can all get on with our lives, and the blog.

I haven't blogged since the gun blog, besides the holidays and the raising of the children we have been swamped. And there is a lot, so this is probably going to be a very random blog, sorry. :)

The kids enjoyed Christmas, even though that isn't really any real news...EVERY kid enjoys Christmas (unless they are Jewish and rocking the menorah). We didn't do all of our traditional stuff but we were able to fit some in. The kids events at clubs and school stuff what getting a little out of hand. For New Years, the kids ate junk food and fell asleep, I ate junk food and fell asleep...by 10:30.

On the first day of the New Year, Eddie and I were feeling more optimistic then we ever had. And we both decided that we were going to live more for the day and try to simplify things. We were about a week in when we realized there is nothing simple about our lives. We have 7 kids that are all unique, 5 different schools to contend with, and we have more appointments than anyone I know. So since I can't change any of those things, except next year only 4 schools (Holla!), we need to change some other things.

One thing that Eddie and I truly lack in is being more assertive, and stepping out of our comfort zone for fear of either failure, or being rejected. I have decided that I have had enough, and had enough of being such a victim. There are times that we get so overwhelmed with the boys we just give up certain battles. We also just kinda go with the pace of where life takes us, instead of controlling it. We are done feeling guilty about things in the past, and just going to keep moving forward

One thing that we are doing is Eddie is starting a DJ business. If you don't know my husband he is insanely funny and outgoing. He is also uber talented at music and knows his stuff. He has a dear friend that is loaning him the equipment and today he already got confirmation of his first paying gig!!!! We are so excited about starting this, and maybe bring in some extra money! Because as I have found out, I am not able to work and handle the kids....even though Lord knows I tried!

We are also moving!!! We are staying in Plymouth, because it just seems to be such a great fit for us. But we had the chance to get our dream home, and we jumped on it! It is an old Church that has been converted into a home, and perfect! I mean PERFECT! It is huge, and has a ton of bathrooms, large kitchen, formal dining...but the best part of the house? Are you ready for it? It has a gym with a stage!!!!! I mean really, how great is that going to be for the Tobey? He will have room for a sensory room, and room to run without being outside! He will be safe. Just awesome. And the stage! Oh my word people....I totally see us doing some dancing at night on there before bed! And the kids can do their talent shows...it's too much! It is also closer to our Dr's and Tobey's school...huge blessing! On a side note, this was our miracle at Church...I will go in depth on that in another blog this week.

So, in the spirit of being random, here is the update on the kids.

Lena, well she is still a teenager with an attitude. But, we are getting along better. She showed me here report card yesterday and she got honor roll...including an A in Chinease! What?!?!?! That is like crazy smart!

Alison, you know the graceful child is off of crutches now, and only wearing a brace for sports. The final verdict was she bruised her actual knee cap? I don't know...just relieved to be done with that one. I say this with L O V E (you are supposed to spell that) but she is such a drama queen!

Edwin, so less than an hour after we find out that Alison doesn't need surgery, we get a call from the Boys and Girls Club saying that Edwin is having a fit. Edwin doesn't have meltdowns, that is Tobey's domain. So we rush over there and there he is on a room with the club director, barely breathing and screaming of chest pain. I tried to be calm, but his heart (rheumatic heart disease last year) had me freaking worried. We rushed him to the Dr and they thought he may have cracked a rib in his meltdown. They sent me for X rays, they gave me directions which I thought was hilarious, and he was fine. But taking a step back we realized that his behavior has worsened and he is becoming more withdrawn than usual. Also, the dude was having panic attacks. So we got a referral for a new Psychiatrist that doesn't practice in a mental hospital or insane asylum. Which brings me to today....I was in hopes that I was being overly cautious with Edwin and the gun thing, and his fantasy world. I was secretly wishing that they were going to tell me that he is as "normal" as he can be. They did not, we are looking at getting the boy into some serious care, or as I refer to it "a crap load more appointments". We are going back on the 24th to review his case with a specialist, and change up the meds....fun.

Olivia turned 10!!!! Her big gift is going to be a turtle, which she will get in the new house. So she ended up with some Barbie stuff, fashion design stuff and a bunch of knotting supplies! She is still on a winning Basketball team at the Club and will defiantly be in the finals! Not only have they never lost, but when they win it is by like 40 points.

Tobey Jude, well to be honest he is getting harder to handle. And since that would be such a long update with all the appointments, I will give you a funny story. Tobey is a fan of chicken, which he has had a lot of lately. His weight is not where it should be, so I am trying to fatten the kid up a little....going on. Well Tobey figured out that if he said "Deep fried chicken" that if possible I will get that boy some chicken. Also with Tobey being his Autistic self, once he figures out a phrase he will repeat it 9,000 times. So we are now having hours of him saying "Deep fried chicken", I am woke up at 5 in the morning with his mantra of "Deep fried chicken", I hear it when I go to sleep, in my dreams and it has made it's way to my soul. I know that I should be thankful for anything the boy says...it is a miracle, thank you God that he is talking some...yadda, yadda. But can't he say deep fried shrimp just to change it up a little?

Emily is amazing! This kid blows my mind! She has her gifted testing next month, I have no idea how different that must be from the other thousands of tests my kids have done...should be interesting!

And Miss Melody, well speaking of testing we are sending in her first test for ADHD today....and so it begins.

So, that is all today, have a blessed one!