It appears that spring has finally arrived. It took an extra bit of patience on all of our parts this year. But the past few days have been wonderful. Sam was immediately back outside playing with the water bottles and the hose. Driving down the street after work, I could see Sam playing in the yard. Joy was radiating off of him, which just made me so happy. I got out of the car and he greeted me with, "It's just gorgeous out today, isn't it?"
TJ commented to me that he thought today was going to be a long day. Mondays often are. But today, he was so busy playing and doing homework that the day flew right by. At bedtime, he was excited to see that I had laid out lighter-weight pajamas (short sleeves but still long pants). He excitedly got ready for bed.
But once he was in bed, he asked me if I knew what the main problem with short sleeves was. I (of course) didn't know, so he enlightened me. He said it really stinks when you sneeze into your arm and you don't have a shirt to wipe your nose off with. Then snot just gets all over the crook of your arm.
And now you know!
Monday, April 29, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Well...
This evening at dinner time, Sam informed Bill and I that his brain is organized like a schema.
It was one of those statements where after he says it, both Bill and I sat in silence, wondering if we truly just heard what we thought we heard.
We did. My six-year-old knows the word schema. He was was very pleased with himself. Bill was both proud and amused. I think I'm proud, yet a little worried.
In case you are curious, here is the definition of schema (courtesy of Wikipedia):
In psychology and cognitive science, a schema (plural schemata or schemas), describes an organized pattern of thought or behavior. It can also be described as a mental structure of preconceived ideas, a framework representing some aspect of the world, or a system of organizing and perceiving new information.
It was one of those statements where after he says it, both Bill and I sat in silence, wondering if we truly just heard what we thought we heard.
We did. My six-year-old knows the word schema. He was was very pleased with himself. Bill was both proud and amused. I think I'm proud, yet a little worried.
In case you are curious, here is the definition of schema (courtesy of Wikipedia):
In psychology and cognitive science, a schema (plural schemata or schemas), describes an organized pattern of thought or behavior. It can also be described as a mental structure of preconceived ideas, a framework representing some aspect of the world, or a system of organizing and perceiving new information.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Family Matters
On Sunday, the boys got a new cousin. Bill's step-brother Ryan and his wife Jamie, had their first. My boys were excited to hear about Carter and enjoyed looking at the pictures that Bill's dad and Ryan sent over. He is a very cute baby.
TJ, however, can't remember his name. He was watching me pack up a baby gift to ship to Carter in Oregon and he seemed to be lost in thought. He finally said, "What's my new cousin's name?" I said, "Carter Daniel." TJ responded with, "Oh yeah. With 18 cousins, it's really getting hard to remember everybody." I smiled and nodded, but awhile later got to thinking. And counting. And counting again. I was only coming up with 15 cousins. I went to TJ and asked him where he came up with 18 cousins. He said, "Well, that's what Dad told me." Bill looked sheepish. He apparently counted our own three children in that total.
After dinner, Bill told TJ that he was going to call his mother. He asked TJ if he knew which grandmother was Bill's mom. TJ nodded and said, "Grandma Ellen." Then he commented, "You know, it does get confusing sometimes, because I have a bonus grandma. I'm pretty lucky with that." Yes, you are!
But he doesn't have it all figured out. Bill was entertaining the boys with stories of his childhood the other day and he said something about Aunt Mandy. TJ looked completely stumped. He asked why in the world Aunt Mandy was at Dad's house.
Some day it will all make sense. Some day, we all might agree on how many cousins, nieces, and nephews there are....
TJ, however, can't remember his name. He was watching me pack up a baby gift to ship to Carter in Oregon and he seemed to be lost in thought. He finally said, "What's my new cousin's name?" I said, "Carter Daniel." TJ responded with, "Oh yeah. With 18 cousins, it's really getting hard to remember everybody." I smiled and nodded, but awhile later got to thinking. And counting. And counting again. I was only coming up with 15 cousins. I went to TJ and asked him where he came up with 18 cousins. He said, "Well, that's what Dad told me." Bill looked sheepish. He apparently counted our own three children in that total.
After dinner, Bill told TJ that he was going to call his mother. He asked TJ if he knew which grandmother was Bill's mom. TJ nodded and said, "Grandma Ellen." Then he commented, "You know, it does get confusing sometimes, because I have a bonus grandma. I'm pretty lucky with that." Yes, you are!
But he doesn't have it all figured out. Bill was entertaining the boys with stories of his childhood the other day and he said something about Aunt Mandy. TJ looked completely stumped. He asked why in the world Aunt Mandy was at Dad's house.
Some day it will all make sense. Some day, we all might agree on how many cousins, nieces, and nephews there are....
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Angry Birds
Nolan really, really loves Angry Birds. He has stuffed ones, big ones, little ones...my house is overrun with them. The lucky little boy had not one, but two Angry birds birthday cakes. He got a new shirt, a puzzle, sunglasses, and a sleeping bag all in line with his obsession.
Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. I love the sleeping bag picture. He told me to take the picture when he was sleeping. He then closed his eyes and told me he was asleep. Ha!
Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. I love the sleeping bag picture. He told me to take the picture when he was sleeping. He then closed his eyes and told me he was asleep. Ha!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Good guy vs. Bad guy
TJ and I got our hair cut tonight right after work. We got home just as Bill was putting dinner on the table (I made up the meatloaf yesterday, he baked it and made scalloped potatoes and biscuits). Because he was the one who was in the kitchen, he had music playing (I usually have the news on). I wasn't crazy about his choice of music, but I kept my mouth shut since he had been kind enough to make dinner.
But the music kept getting stranger. I finally stopped eating and just stared at Bill. He was busy talking, but he was also smiling because he knew exactly what I was thinking. Eventually I made a comment about the music. Immediately, TJ shot out of his chair, ran over to Bill's iPad, and changed the station on Bill's Pandora app. Bill protested and asked why TJ always takes my side.
TJ didn't even hesitate. He said, "Cuz Mom is the good guy!" We all burst out laughing. I immediately pictured the old Spy vs Spy from Mad Magazine. In case you were wondering, the white spy is the good spy. Cuz I said so.
But the music kept getting stranger. I finally stopped eating and just stared at Bill. He was busy talking, but he was also smiling because he knew exactly what I was thinking. Eventually I made a comment about the music. Immediately, TJ shot out of his chair, ran over to Bill's iPad, and changed the station on Bill's Pandora app. Bill protested and asked why TJ always takes my side.
TJ didn't even hesitate. He said, "Cuz Mom is the good guy!" We all burst out laughing. I immediately pictured the old Spy vs Spy from Mad Magazine. In case you were wondering, the white spy is the good spy. Cuz I said so.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Frog in your throat?
Nolan had something in his throat tonight after dinner. He kept clearing his throat, but he still was having trouble and sounded funny. He finally got frustrated and exclaimed to Bill, "I sound like a jerk!"
We have some more details on Nolan's MRI. There is an abnormality in his brain. His doctor called it a 'partial migrational abnormality'. He explained to me that in a developing baby, the nerves start out in a clump and spread out as development progresses. In Nolan's case, some of the nerves didn't do quite what they were supposed to do, or go where they were supposed to go. The problem is in his corpus callosum. The physical results have been Nolan's stiffness, leg pain, and low stamina, along with his speech problems. Now we need to do some neuropsychological tests to see if Nolan's cognitive development was affected. Dr. Rush thinks Nolan is bright, but that he might process things more slowly than other kids. He said Nolan's nerves might be more likely to take the back roads and side streets, while other kids' nerves use the freeway. He wants to see exactly how Nolan processes things, so that his future teachers don't think of him as slow or dumb.
Because this happened to Nolan during his development, it falls under the umbrella of cerebral palsy. It isn't CP in the classical sense, but for 'labeling' purposes, Nolan has CP. This is important when it comes to getting him assistance in school and hopefully, getting us some financial assistance with his physical therapy. He really needs therapy twice a week, but I've only been sending him once a week, due to the expense. Someone is supposed to be calling me to walk me through the process of applying for Children's Special Services.
If there is a bright side, it's that this is not degenerative. Nolan isn't getting worse. But on the down side, we can't fix this. We can only help him learn to cope.
And he doesn't sound like a jerk. :-)
We have some more details on Nolan's MRI. There is an abnormality in his brain. His doctor called it a 'partial migrational abnormality'. He explained to me that in a developing baby, the nerves start out in a clump and spread out as development progresses. In Nolan's case, some of the nerves didn't do quite what they were supposed to do, or go where they were supposed to go. The problem is in his corpus callosum. The physical results have been Nolan's stiffness, leg pain, and low stamina, along with his speech problems. Now we need to do some neuropsychological tests to see if Nolan's cognitive development was affected. Dr. Rush thinks Nolan is bright, but that he might process things more slowly than other kids. He said Nolan's nerves might be more likely to take the back roads and side streets, while other kids' nerves use the freeway. He wants to see exactly how Nolan processes things, so that his future teachers don't think of him as slow or dumb.
Because this happened to Nolan during his development, it falls under the umbrella of cerebral palsy. It isn't CP in the classical sense, but for 'labeling' purposes, Nolan has CP. This is important when it comes to getting him assistance in school and hopefully, getting us some financial assistance with his physical therapy. He really needs therapy twice a week, but I've only been sending him once a week, due to the expense. Someone is supposed to be calling me to walk me through the process of applying for Children's Special Services.
If there is a bright side, it's that this is not degenerative. Nolan isn't getting worse. But on the down side, we can't fix this. We can only help him learn to cope.
And he doesn't sound like a jerk. :-)
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