Soap Monster

Many of you may already know about Nate's obsession with anything water. This infatuation has been going on for a few years now, and it's resulted in some pretty hefty water bills.

Well it turns out that this past weekend has resulted in a brand new, and just as messy obsession. Soap. Yes, soap. Hand soap to be precise. Who on earth becomes infatuated with soap?? Oh yeah, that's right, my son.

I have absolutely no clue how or why this started, all I know is that its annoying and totally messy.

Nate's a pretty smart kid when it comes to causing trouble. It's almost like he gets a master plan in his head when he wakes up and works through the day to carry it out. He starts by doing something that he knows we will say no to like playing in the sink, dumping out the cat food, or spitting on stuff in the house. As we are cleaning up his first mess, he moves on to something else.  Right now it's the soap. I've found puddles of it in the bathroom, on the kitchen counter, behind the bar in the basement, all over the bathroom rug, and on the living room floor.

The newest location (which he came up with while I was cleaning up all the wine glasses he took off of the shelves in the bar) is his bedroom. I walked up the stairs to see the typical 'I swallowed a canary' look on his face. I instantly knew that he did something and he was proud enough of his mess to show me.

I walked into his room to find a trail of liquid hand soap all over the floor. It was like friggin Hansel and Gretel but instead of bread crumbs, it was Method soap. I had no idea where to even begin, because cleaning up spilled soap is no easy task. Let's just say it took 5 bath towels, a wet hand towel, and my Swiffer Wet-Jet to get everything back to normal.

Nate's room now smells like cucumber melon and his floor is cleaner than its been in weeks.  Not only do we have all the water off (except in the kitchen and the upstairs bathroom), there is no soap left out on the counters.  It's all hidden, and it's a pain in the ass.

It's come to this...

My monster has made such a mess out of my house, that we've resorted to making his room look like this:

Just kidding :-)

In June we decided to take apart Nate's full sized bed and put bunk beds in his room.  He loves being up high, and we thought that a little change in his room might be fun for him.  When my brother was a kid, my dad built these amazing bunk beds for him.  Fortunately, they were still sitting in my parents' basement and were still in great shape.  Matt and I went out, got Nate 2 mattresses, and up went the bunks! 

Nate was really excited about them, and being up so high in is room.  He loves looking out the window and sleeping on the top bunk.  Evan also loves hanging out on the top bunk.  For the first few weeks, they would spend time up there with books and toys and I was actually able to get some things done around the house!

Here's what Nate's room looks like with his new bunks

A HUGE thank you to my dad for building such great beds for my brother, to Nick for letting us put his beds in Nate's room, and to my mom who had the brilliant idea to put the bunks in Nate's room :-)

Birthday Presents

For Nate's 7th birthday we took him on a train ride through the Cuyahoga Valley.  We sprung for the first class Emerson Car which has a glass domed ceiling.  What an amazing ride for Nate's birthday!  The entire trip was about 3 hours, and he sat for almost the entire thing.  We brought snacks, books and the iPad to keep him occupied, and it turned out that we didn't need most of the stuff we brought.  He wanted some juice and snacks, but for the most part he sat and looked out the window the entire ride.  Matt and I couldn't believe how GOOD he was.  We actually felt like a "normal" family doing a "normal" thing.  Thanks Nate for surprising us with your good behavior :-)

Outside of the train

Looking up the stairs to the Emerson domed car

SOOOO happy!

Nate had such a great birthday this year.  He not only went on an amazing train ride through the valley, he got a trampoline!  Now, if you know Nate, you know that a trampoline is the PERFECT gift for him.  He bounces off the walls on a regular basis, and now he can jump to his heart's content anytime he wants.  The first time he saw the trampoline, his face lit up and he started giggling with excitement.  He immediately asked (in his own words) if he could go on.  He jumped and jumped and jumped some more.  We have had so much fun on the trampoline this summer. 

First Grade!

So, I'm sorry there were no blog posts or updates the summer (like I promised).  By the end of each night, I was completely and utterly exhausted.  We had such a busy summer and Nate was out of control for most of it.  I'll be sure to post some pictures and updates from Nate's summer soon!

Today was the first day of school.  I have been looking forward to this day since the last day of kindergarten.  No joke.  For the past week, we've been talking to Nate about going back to school and everyone that he is going to see.  When we mentioned names like Mr. Frederick, and Mr. E, he always smiled and looked super excited.  He loves those guys so much, and they treat him so well.  Last year I couldn't have asked for better people in his academic life, especially since it was his first year at a new school. 

Things have changed a bit for the current school year, and I would be lying if I said I was happy about it.  On Thursday the 16th, I got a bomb dropped on me.  I was taken by such surprise, that I didn't even know what to say.  At our beginning of the year PTA meeting, I was talking to Nate's principal.  He mentioned that there was a new intervention specialist hired into the building, and that Nate would be working with her instead of Mr. Frederick.  How I felt--shocked, confused, disappointed, depressed, irritated.  I went home to tell Matt the news, and we were both dumbfounded.  Last year, Nate advanced so much, why would they want to change that dynamic?  I'm sure that the new teacher is awesome and a great person, I'm just so confused as to why there was a change. It just makes me really sad since Nate thinks so highly of Mr. Frederick.  I guess we'll just have to see what the year brings...

Anyways- Nate was super ridiculously excited to go back to school.  This morning he got up at 7:45 and wolfed down his breakfast.  He was waiting in the bathroom for me to brush his teeth and fix his hair.  As soon as his shoes were on, he grabbed his backpack and paced around the house waiting for me to give the OK to go out to the bus stop.  I'm so glad that he loves school so much.

We went to open house this evening, and being in a first grade classroom made me so nervous for Nate.  He's sooooo different from other kids, and sooner than later, they are going to start realizing his differences.  I hope that they're accepting of him and don't make fun of the fact that he doesn't talk and has a harder time with things than typical kids.  

Nate had an awesome year in kindergarten, and I really hope that this year goes just as smoothly and he has just as many academic accomplishments. 

Lucky # 7? Let's hope so

I can't believe that it's been one month since my last blog post.  I've literally spent every waking hour putting lamps back on tables and pictures back on shelves.  I've pulled countless items out of the toilet (and so have the plumbers) and tried my best not to absolutely lose my mind.  Summer vacation is a hit or miss in our house.  I'm glad that Nate has some time off from school to relax and be a kid, but the time off totally screws with him and he becomes an anxious mess because he doesn't know what to do with himself.  This results in a stressed out mom who can't even take a shower without wondering what's going to be broken when she's done.

So much has happened this past month (both good and bad).  I'll work on some updates soon!

Today seems like an appropriate day to post about Nate.  It's his 7th birthday.  How the heck am I old enough to have a 7 year old!?!?  I remember the day he was born and the months that followed.  I was completely blissed out, I was proud of my little family, and I was naive.  I had no idea that our lives with go down this type of path.  Although I still continue to go through the stages of grief, I have somewhat learned to accept the fact that I have a child who will most likely need special attention/services/therapies, etc for the rest of his life.  This is something I did not sign up for, but know I have to accept.  I still continue to get jealous of all my friends with typical children (yes, I know I have 1 typical child - shut up) and I still get angry about my situation.  I still get depressed when thinking about Nate's future, and still cry when I think about the fact that my child had a difficult time answering a simple yes or no question.  I still sometimes slip back into denial and think that he will eventually be "normal", and I still get very very very (extremely pissed off don't talk to me) angry.  Those feelings are all normal, and if I have learned to accept them as the stages of grief.  I am extremely thankful for my biggest monster.  He has taught me so much about life, patience, and acceptance.  He has brought an immense amount of joy to my life.

So, Nate's birthday is today.  We are taking him on a train ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.  He absolutely loves trains, and has never been on one.  Matt thought it would be a great idea to give him a train ride for his birthday.  I really hope that he does well on the 3 hour train ride (update to follow!).

Thank you to all of you who have supported us through these past 7 years.  Thank you to all of you who have donated to Nate's Mates (http://www.apraxia-kids.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1012293) and thank you to all of you who continue to be our friends even though I push you away at my worst times.  I love you all!

Let's hope that year 7 goes better than the rest.

Happy Birthday Nathan, I love you with all my heart!!!

Kindergarten is over

Well, Nate is officially a 1st grader!  Today was his last day of Kindergarten.  I can't believe that this school year has gone so fast.  It seems like just yesterday that it was his first day of school.  Matt and I were able to take the bus to school with him for orientation.  Nate was so crazy, running up and down the driveway while waiting for the bus to come.  I thought to myself "there is no way he is ever going to stay in one place and wait for the bus to come."  Matt and I were totally freaking out because he wasn't in preschool anymore.

Nate has come so far in 180 school days.  He has gone form running around the neighborhood while waiting for the bus, to either sitting or standing at the end of the driveway waiting in anticipation for the bus to arrive.  He absolutely loves school, and would walk around the house in the morning wearing his backpack as soon as he finished breakfast. 

Nate took the first 2 weeks to explore the entire school building, keeping his teachers on their toes while racing from his classroom to other rooms in the building.  They didn't know where he would end up once he took off.  Now he navigates the school with ease.  His teachers know that if it's time to go to art, gym, or speech, Nate will take off and wait at the door for everyone else to join him.

He is spelling, he recognizes words, does homework, has learned his math facts, and is using an amazing program on the iPad to communicate with his teachers.  He's settled down in the classroom.  At the beginning of the year he spent about 1/2 hour in the mainstream classroom with his peers.  By the end of the year he was in the room for the entire kindergarten day.   I'm so proud of all of his accomplishments and so excited that he kicked butt in mastering his IEP goals.

This past school year has been good for me.  I've learned to let go (a little) of my biggest monster.  I had such a hard time with him going to kindergarten.  Nate was going from a school of about 65 students, a school where he spent 3 years, a school where everyone knew him; to a school where everything was the complete opposite.  Surrarrer is not a school of 65 students, it is a K-6 building with hundreds of students.  He was entering his first year at a "huge" school and I was stressed.  No one at Surrarrer knew him, his quirks, his need to explore, or his issues.  I tried to prepare myself and his teachers as best as I could, but knew that there was only so much that I could do.  I had to let go, and I did.  Nate thrived. 

My baby is a first grader now, and I am one proud mommy.

 

How Can I Help?

In the past many wonderful people have asked me "how can I help?"  I don't have much of an answer when that question is posed.  My dream answer would consist of several things:

"You can help my child speak"

"You can pay for his speech therapy"

"You can come over a few times a week help me out by watching my boys so that I can have 10 minutes of peace and quiet"

I know that these aren't feasible responses, so here's what I'm answering now.

Each year CASANA (Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America) has walks and 5Ks to raise money for research, grants, programs, webinars, and other incidentals that help out families who have children with Apraxia.  

My family and a few close friends participated in the walk/5K last year, and I would love to have a bigger and better team this year.  The walk is on Sunday, September 30 in Huron.  It's a very uplifting and inspiring walk/run.  I have met so many families who have shared the challenges and successes of having a child with Apraxia.  

What I'm asking of all of you wonderful and caring people that I know is to come and participate in the walk/run on September 30.  Join our team- Nate's Mates, and show your support for Nate and all of the other children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech.

If you aren't able to participate, and would like to make a donation, that would also be very much appreciated.  The link to the walk/run website is

http://www.apraxia-kids.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1012293

Our team name is Nate's Mates.  When you join our team you'll not only get the satisfaction of helping children to find their voices, but you'll also get an adorable Nate's Mates t-shirt to wear during the walk.

Thank you so much for your love and support.