Potty. Err not.

I feel like Payton has been potty training forever. She has done so good with it and is so ready to make the big move to panties. Granted, we still have to take her to the potty and remind her to go, but what kid in training doesn't need that? And ... this is a kid that has special needs and can't talk well ... we need to just take her!

Prior to starting school ... and when she is home full days with us ... she stays dry. Sometimes we remind her to go potty, sometimes she tells us she has to go ... we have a happy medium. However, since starting school, I have noticed she has been coming home wet ... which is odd since she is rarely wet at home.

So, I asked her teacher how often they are taking her potty at school. Once ... right after snack, which is 3 hours after she leaves home. Mind you, she is gone for a little over 4 1/2 hours total ... and when she gets on her bus, she has just finished eating lunch and drinking a full cup of liquid. So I'm pretty sure she hasn't been making it to potty time at school ... wouldn't they pick up on the fact that she is wet every time they take her?

Hello, that means take her earlier! They know she is potty training ... I just don't get it.

Two weeks ago, when I asked how often she was being taken potty, I told Payton's teacher that she needed to be taken at least twice. The first time fairly soon after school starts ... perhaps after opening circle ... and the second time, perhaps again after snack or maybe a half hour before it is time to go get on the bus. I felt like her teacher sort of blew me off and I told her that if they didn't work with me on this, then I would call an IEP meeting to add it as a goal. Of course then she piped up.

But fast forward two weeks and I hadn't seen any changes.

So I brought it up again ... and got a little more stern with her. I told her I didn't mean to sound rude, but that helping her to potty train while she is at school is not an option. I again threatened to have it added to her IEP, at which her teacher again balked.

Of course she doesn't want it added to her IEP, because then she HAS to do it.

She then explained to me that they have a busy classroom and they have lots of kids with behavioral problems and blah blah blah. I told her I didn't know what any of that had to do with Payton and that Payton won't be suffering because of the issues the other kids have. This is not about them. Urgh. I also told her if she didn't start taking her potty more than once, then I would start sending her in panties and having them deal with wet pants everyday when they don't help her get to the potty. I bet that would get them moving.

So anyway, that day I marked Payton's pull up with a red X. Sure enough, she came home with the same pull up on, dry as a bone. Wow, imagine that! Her teacher also had come up with a little sheet noting two potty times, stating that Payton was dry and used the potty both times.

Okay, this is what I've been telling them ... I guess they finally believed me.

I am giving it two weeks and then sending her in panties. That is it. I'm taking the day time pantie plunge and praying I don't end up with a mess on my hands.

Updating my blogroll ...

As you can see, my blog is going through a transformation. I am doing a lot of tweaking for something sort of exciting that is about to come. :)

That said, I need to update my blogroll ... badly. Please check my blogroll to see if you are listed. If you are not, leave a comment here to be added. Or ... if you are listed and your URL is non-functional, please let me know that too. Or ... if you know of a great blog that should be listed, let me know that too!

Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday: Cheesy Monkey

Mason: Up, Down and All Around

I had my first real school conference today with Mason's kindergarten teacher. He continues to do amazing in school ... behaviorally and academically, which is such a relief. After having problems in both areas in preschool, I was really nervous to see how he would do in kindergarten.

Based on my observations, I think the biggest thing that has helped him ... honestly ... is his teacher. His teacher is someone who has two sides ... the strict side and the endearing side. I liken her to me. Ha. Mason adores her, however he also knows that she means business.

Another thing that has helped him is the reward system that his elementary school has. They are huge on having the kids be quality students ... and that term is thrown around a lot in school. Every day Mason gets either a smiley face, straight face or sad face based on his behavior in the classroom. He has received a smiley face everyday so far, with the exception of one day that he received a straight face ... not sure what his deal was that day. In addition to this behavior chart, the kids can get a Mini Paw (their mascot is the Westies) for doing something extra good ... or a Mega Paw for doing something extraordinary. Err something like that. Mason has received a lot of Mini Paws and even one Mega Paw so far.

I actually was just reading through the October newsletter and saw Mason featured in a list of 43 kindergartners ... out of about 175 total ... that got Mega Paws that month ... so proud of him!

Right now in school, they are working hard on learning letters by sight and knowing the sound each letter makes. They also are working on rhyming and identifying words that start with the same sound. I was telling Mason's teacher that he is constantly sounding out words and telling us rhymes ... which made her very happy! He is just so academically involved right now and I love it.

Other things they are doing in school are mixing colors to make other colors and using laptop computers to learn. They also has been working on counting, which I can tell. Clearly the way we were trying to teach him wasn't working. When he started school about two months ago, we couldn't even get him through the teens without getting confused. Now he can get to 29 no problem, he just has not grasped the concept that next comes 30 ... he tries to go to 20 again. He cracks me up.

Friends and Support

We are very lucky to have a great local Down syndrome support group in my area. Unfortunately, not everyone has that. I am even more lucky to have a close group of friends within our local support group, with whom I maintain frequent contact.

I love all of my friends to death ... whether or not they have a kid with Down syndrome. That said, there is something about the connection I have with my friends that have kids with Down syndrome. We have to deal with a lot of the same things and we just understand each other in ways that others do not ... or cannot ... understand us.

Since there is no school today, a bunch of us had a play date at a local park ... so much fun! It is actually kind of funny to watch people's expressions as a huge group of kids with Down syndrome invade the park. Not exactly something you see everyday. But, I love to watch their reactions and see how they react to all of our kids ... you can really learn a lot about someone that way.

Some pictures of some of our kiddos ... unfortunately I did not get shots of everyone ...

Ms. Nika ...

Ms. Ashley ...

... and her sister, Olivia ...

Ms. Payton ...

Mr. Riley ...

Ms. Lila ...

Ms. Nika ...

Mr. Mason ...

Ms. Payton ...

31 for 21: Day 30 {Prayer and Support}

I know I have mentioned before how overwhelmed I am ... in a good way ... by the power of the internet, the blogging world and the Down syndrome community as a whole. Along the way, I have met some of my best friends, made acquaintances and maintained resources.

And I want to highlight two of them here today.

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I met Gillian several years ago on Downsyn, an online forum for parents of kids with Down syndrome. I remember when she joined so clearly ... she, her husband, Sergei, and their three girls had just moved back to the United States from Ukraine. Their youngest daughter, Polly, has Down syndrome and she is close in age to Payton. For some reason I was just totally intrigued by their family.

Fast forward to 2008, when we were trying to decide whether or not to adopt Nika. We had some Russian medical documents that we wanted translated and Sergei did that for us. We were so thankful to have him as a resource! Fast forward several months later and I found out that Gillian and Sergei had decided to adopt a little girl with Down syndrome from Ukraine ... a little girl that is just six days younger than Nika.

Sounds weird, but we are connected in more ways than one. Their little girl from Ukraine, Evie, has been home now for a couple months and they have been spending this time trying to adjust to their new little one.

A couple weeks ago, their world was rocked when Polly was diagnosed with Moyamoya Disease.

"The Doctor explained that it had to do with blood vessels in Polly’s brain progressively narrowing, resulting in strokes. The disease worsens with age. And the only way to combat it is brain surgery."

Grab This Button

Please pray with me as Polly and her family go through this difficult time. Polly will ultimately need two brain surgeries ... one for each side of her brain. I know Gillian and her family would appreciate all the support that we can give them.

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I also met Renee several years ago on Downsyn ... popular place, I know! Okay, okay ... we have even met in person twice, I believe? Ha.

Renee and her husband have four children, one of which has Down syndrome ... that would be Kennedy. And now ... they are getting ready to leave ... as in today ... for Eastern Europe to adopt Kellsey, a little girl with Down syndrome.

Kellsey sort of holds a special place in my heart. Before we had learned about Nika on Reece's Rainbow, I always had my eye on Kellsey. She was such a cute little girl and I wanted her! Unfortunately, at that time, another family was committed to her and had planned to adopt her. And either way we ended up finding out about Nika and adopting her ... obviously.

The family that was committed to Kellsey ended up not being able to adopt her ... so now Kellsey is being adopted by Renee and her family! I could not be more ecstatic and I can't wait to meet this little princess.

As I mentioned, Renee and her husband are leaving today! Having been in their shoes, I know how ridiculously expensive adoption is, so I wanted to try to help them spread the word about their fundraising efforts.

Click here to make a tax-deductible donation. I know Renee and her family are so appreciative of your support!

31 for 21: Day 29 {Pumpkin Carving}

Mason came home from school earlier this week and told me he wanted to carve his pumpkin. While I normally want him to wait for a time that we can do it as a family, I told him he could since family time seems to be a rarity these days ... we have been so busy!

Here he is scooping out his pumpkin ... all by himself!

After Kyle got home, he helped Mason carve his pumpkin into a wolf ... ROAR!

31 for 21: Day 28 {Molluscum}

Uh ... Mason has Molluscum.

Seriously, my typical kid (ya know, versus my kids with special needs ... verbiage people, verbiage) isn't allowed to have anything wrong. Not that Molluscum really ranks up there in the serious department, but ... ya know. I just am so not used to dealing with medical issues with him ... I don't have that hard core for him that I have for the girls.

Anyway.

A couple months ago, I started noticing these small, little zit type, blistery bumps on him. A nurse at our ENT office told me she thought it was Molluscum. I had never heard of it, but after asking about it on Facebook, I found out it is pretty common. I called the dermatologist and they said, "Sure, we can see him in October."

Seriously? We have to wait that long? I had read that the bumps will eventually disappear, so I was secretly hoping that would happen. Yeah, not so much. His bumps were also pretty much only on his back (which is strange, since they are typically known to be on the stomach), so they were covered by his shirt and not a contagious threat to anyone. His sisters have not even come down with it ... and they have close contact. I think Mason got it at the pool, but that is my own little theory. I mean, where else would he have been without a shirt on in order for his back to be infected, so to speak? Ugh.

Fast forward to this week, it was time for his dermatologist appointment. The bumps have grown in number and in size, so I'm glad it was finally time to see the doctor. She applied Canthacur to each bump, which causes them to blister and then go away.

Poor Mason was either really scared or embarrassed ... I'm not sure which. He was standing in a room with three women, practically naked. And he knew the doctor was about to apply the stuff to each bump, so I think he was afraid it would hurt.

He cried. I almost cried because I felt so bad. I mean, I can go through so much more with the girls and not even blink because I am so hardened with them ... I am used to it and I am prepared for it. With Mason? Not so much.

Once they started applying the stuff, Mason realized it did not hurt. He just couldn't wait to get the heck out of there and get to Target to get his toy I promised him. Ha.

Fast forward about 24 hours later, the bumps are a mess. Some are blistering, some have the skin torn off ... poor kid. I really hope it all heals quickly and goes away!

31 for 21: Day 27 {Preventing Swine Flu}

The swine flu is all over the place right now ... and all over the media. In my opinion, they are hyping it up in a ridiculous way ... in the end, it makes the pharmaceutical companies more money by scaring more people into vaccinating.

Anyway. Not to get sidetracked in any way.

Tips for preventing the swine flu ...

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications). I am making my kids also wash their hands when they come home from school, which we do not normally do. Also carrying anti-bacterial hand wash in my purse, which I do not normally do.

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe). No fingers in the mouth!

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population. Sinus rinse kits are available at the drug store and relatively inexpensive ... we use the NeilMed kits on the kids twice a day.

5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. Drink as much warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

7. Take your Vitamin D3! A good reference for dosing information is 2000 IU for kids per day and 5000 IU for adults per day.

31 for 21: Day 21 {Nika's 3rd Birthday}

Dear Nika ...

Three years ago today, October 21, 2006, you were born at 36 weeks gestation in a hospital somewhere in the middle of St. Petersburg, Russia. You weighed 4 pounds 3 ounces and were 18.1 inches long. At birth, you were classified as being in serious condition and you were also diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Your birth parents were married and you had a four year old sister. After finding out that you have Down syndrome, your birth parents deserted you at the hospital and relinquished their rights to you.

When you were four days old, you were transferred to the Pediatric Medical Academy, where you remained for the next couple months. On December 12, 2006, you entered a baby home in St. Petersburg, where you were classified as an orphan. Although nobody from your birth family ever visited you, you had lots of caregivers and friends that loved you very much.

On September 24, 2008, just one month shy of your 2nd birthday, your dad and I met you for the first time. To say it was love at first sight is an understatement. You were perfect in every stretch of the word and we could not wait to show you how much you deserved to be loved.

On November 13, 2008, you left your baby home forever. Six days later, you arrived home and met your brother and sister. Trying to imagine now what you were like at that time boggles my mind. You have grown in so many ways ... it is amazing.

With that, I would like to wish you a very happy 3rd birthday ... your first birthday here at home. You have blessed our family a million times over. I hope your day is as special as you are, because you deserve nothing less!

With love,
Mommy