An International Adoption

As I mentioned in the previous post, we have a new member of the family. A 6 month old import from Germany. And his name his Hans. Hans von Schnauzer.

Yes, another dog.

Christmas Card Outtakes

The time of year has come upon me again. To attempt to get Aiden to sit still long enough to take the yearly Christmas card pictures. Instead of pictures in front of the tree ( we've decided to forgo the tree this year entirely - an active 3 year old who loves to climb everything + a 7 foot tree = one scared Momma. LOL! Not to mention our newest member of the family, Hans von Schnauzer. ), we just did presents as props.

Here are 25 pictures we will not be using this year.

Happy Thanksgiving

Boys Will Be Boys

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here

A Sad Farewell

If you have befriended me on Facebook, you know that I made sort of an announcement on my status today. For those of you who are not on Facebook, a decision has been made regarding Aiden's education.

Sadly, after 2 1/2 years of being a student of the Little Light House, Aiden will no longer attend school there. The decision was not an easy one to make and took lots of thought, consideration, prayer and advice. We did not come to this decision lightly either.

Due to the stress of traveling in heavy rush hour traffic ( and avoiding several accidents to and from school ), financial stress ( honestly I love my V8 SUV, but dang try feeding one twice a week with the cost of gas going up. And yes, due to Aiden's "mode of transportation" - the gait trainer - a SUV is required ), trying to find a way to schedule another hour a week of physical therapy (which was made impossible due to scheduling conflicts between Aiden's schedule and the private PT, though Aiden so desperately needs more therapy as he is so close to standing independently and walking - but that is for another post) and circumstances beyond control of either the faculty of the school or myself, the school is no longer a safe place to send Aiden.

Earlier this year, during Aiden's SAP, I voiced concern over Aiden's safety with one of the other children in his class. However, this child has not really been the culprit of Aiden's safety issues as I had feared. Instead, another child has taken it upon herself to physically attack Aiden several times this year and Aiden has suffered major scratches to his face. The last scratching attack was deep enough that, while most of the scratches have healed, he has scabs on his face and we are not able to do our Christmas pictures this weekend as intended.  Unfortunately, due to class room size restrictions, there is not an "age appropriate" class in which Aiden can transfer to. Sadly, the only way I can find to keep Aiden safe is to remove him from the proximity of the other child.

I in no way, shape or form place any blame upon the school or the faculty. This child, in my opinion, has some behavioural issues that need to be corrected by the child's parents. I don't think the parents have disciplined the child in a way that a child with special needs has to be disciplined in order to fit into society. Not only that, but I also don't think that they consider her safety much either. I mean seriously, who would give gum to a 2 year old child? I see some serious safety issues there. Just my opinion. You may think that is fine, but Aiden is 3 years old and um, he has never been given a piece of gum, much less seen a piece of gum. I see choking hazards occurring.

Aiden's teacher, Miss Heather, feels responsible and that she has let us down as a teacher. I do not feel this way. She has been a wonderful teacher and Aiden has learned much from her this year. I know that the attacks are occurring when Miss Heather looks away for even a fraction of a second. I also know that it is not possible to keep "an eye out" every second of the day. As a parent, I know that it is impossible to watch out for any little thing every second. I have one child and that is impossible. There is no way I would expect anyone to be able to do that with 8 children ages 2 - 3 years old. Things happen. That is just a fact of life when dealing with children.

However the last 2 attacks on Aiden ( both attacks occurred this week ) were deliberate and directed in the vicinity of his eyes and mouth. This poses serious health issues towards Aiden. Bacteria is involved. If the bacteria were to get into his blood stream, it could affect his heart and the hardware involved in keeping his heart beating. I, personally, do not want to spend any more time in the hospital than necessary.

So, what about Aiden's continuing education? Several weeks ago, I talked to the teacher at the public school which Aiden attends. During the amended IEP meeting, it was discussed about having Aiden in class whenever the LLH was out for student breaks and extended days off. Aiden needed to be around these children and teachers more in order for Aiden to get used to the idea of making a full transition.

More recently, I had discussed with Miss Jennifer, the possibility of transitioning Aiden to the public school after the Christmas break. The school agreed and the wheels were sent into motion of getting Aiden evaluated by both the school's physical and occupational therapists. We wanted everything in place before Aiden transitioned full time in January. ( Have you noticed, I am comfortable enough saying "transition" and no longer need to use the phrase **insert banned word here** ? It's amazing what stress will do to a person's mind - not to mention that I have lost 25 pounds in the process LOL! )

The original plan was to have Aiden attend both schools until December 16th, the last day of school at the LLH before Christmas Break. Aiden would then attend a few days at public school before their Christmas Break. Aiden would spend 2 weeks at home and resume next semester attending public school Monday thru Friday until 11am. This would open Aiden's schedule up for more private therapy, put less mileage on the truck and save me hundreds of dollars a month.However, now Aiden will be at home, receiving the therapies he needs until we can re-amend the IEP and begin the semester in January.

For everything the Little Light House has done for Aiden and the support they have given to us as a family, we will be eternally grateful and appreciative. We will continue to show support for the school as many families before us has done. Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to the faculty and staff of this little school who has been a beacon of light and hope for children with special needs.

Macy's, Make-A-Wish and Letters to Santa

For every stamped letter dropped off at the special Santa mailbox, Macy's will donate $1, up to $1,000,000,  to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. For a Macy's Store near you, click here.

The Newest Acquisition

Today, Aiden had an appointment with the Out-Patient Non-Invasive Cardiac Clinic at the hospital. We received information and training on the Medtronic Carelink Monitor.

This monitor will stay at home with us and every few months, I will hold a little reader over Aiden's pacemaker. It pulls the information from Aiden's pacemaker and sends the information via the telephone line to the clinic. It reads battery information, lead wire information and heart rate information.

Basically, it's going to replace the telephone checks every 3 months and Aiden will only have his pacemaker checked in office once a year. He'll still have to go to Dr. Pediatric Cardiologist every 6 months though.

Oh, and for those who have ever wondered... I looked up Aiden's pacemaker on the Medtronic website. This is what it looks like.

The Apple Tree

The Apple Tree is a great educational resource store which has a lot of great toys, books and educational materials. If you choose to do your Christmas shopping at the Apple Tree, The Little Lighthouse will receive a gift certificate totaling 10% of your purchase. Just let Apple Tree know that you would like TLLH to be the recipient of your 10%. The Apple Tree is located on the south side of 41st street between Sheridan and Memorial in Tulsa.

And the even better news, if you purchase from the Apple Tree's online store, the promotion still is in effect. All you have to do is call the store with the amount purchased and let them know that you want the 10% to go to the LLH, they will keep track of the purchases!

Sneeze and Bless You

We've been teaching Aiden how to blow his nose in a tissue. And to sneeze in a tissue. However, it has now been made into a game....

Another Mystery Solved

Would you ever imagine that this child

would hide these highly prized (and expensive) balls

or these balls

 

 

or these balls

in this hole

 

for over 6 months?

Yes, this child of mine

put those balls into this speaker

 

 

and they remained there hidden from view until last night.

Eat More Chikin

During Mini Laps, one of the Tulsa area Chick-Fil-A restaurants sponsored a classroom contest. The class that raised the most money for Mini Laps, got a Chick-Fil-A party for the kids and their families, up to 50 guests.

Aiden's class, the Yellow Class won with a grand total of over $37,000. And the party was held yesterday. The kids were treated to chicken nuggets, chips and a brownie. Along with the Chick-Fil-A cow (a stuffed cow of course).

Oh, and a certain little boy ate 4 pieces of chicken, half a bag of sun chips and half a brownie!

The Make-A-Wish Experience

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Would You Say Something.... (Part 1)

Let's say that you are shopping in a major retail store. And you have a question about something. Say the sales person who was helping you said something was "retarded" and did not mean it in the medical terminology.

Do you, as a parent to a special needs child, say something?

The Whys of Having a Toddler

Why must the contents of my purse be emptied and placed on the floor on a daily basis?

Why must the toddler decide the middle of dinner is the best time to have a massive diaper blowout?

Why does the toddler think pants are not necessary and the diaper is sufficient enough for butt scooting on carpeting?

Why must the toddler throw everything located on the end tables into the trash can?

Why does the toddler think kicking the wall is the best way to inform Mommy that he is awake from his nap?

Speaking of naps... why does the toddler think that directly after taking a 2 hour nap, he must lay in the floor and alternate between whining and laughing for an hour?

Why does the toddler automatically think that just because you used one of his toys as a step stool, he must follow suit?

Why must the toddler wake up before the sun the entire week, then the last day of school, I have to drag him out of bed?

Why does the toddler think that just because he has a gait trainer, that is permission to walk around a busy parking lot?

A Wish Granted

Aiden's Make-A-Wish install has been completed. He was so happy to see the play set, once he realized what it was. He even "supervised" during construction making sure all the parts worked to his specifications.

To view more pictures from today (you seriously didn't think I only took 28 pictures! LOL), click here.

Construction Begins

The Make-A-Wish Grant Day is here! The construction crew called shortly after 9am to get directions to the house.

They arrived about 15 minutes ago.

A Few Pictures

Thursday at the Little Light House was Fall Festival. I wasn't able to get a whole lot of pictures as Aiden is undergoing his separation anxiety though.

 

 

Aiden was not about to do anything that didn't require him literally sitting on my lap.

I picked up a few DSAT calendars to sell. If you are interested, you can email me for information. The price is $12 plus $3 for shipping via snail mail.

Also on Thursday, Aiden had an appointment with the shot nurse. Aiden was due for his seasonal flu vaccine and the pneumovax. While we were there, I asked when the N1H1 vaccination would be available for patients. Our only option was to stand in line at a public vaccination area to receive the nasal mist, which ummm, is NOT an option for Aiden. The nurse called the woman in charge of the vaccinations and Aiden received one that was set aside for staff. He'll have to go back in 30 days for his booster shot. We spent Thursday night cuddled. Now to get the rest of us vaccinated against the N1H1 virus....

On Friday, we went to Dr. ENT because Aiden's last hearing test showed that Aiden had fluid in his left ear. Dr. ENT took a quick look, said that Aiden did not have fluid in his ear and let me look in the otoscope to see Aiden's tube.  Dr. ENT is the only doctor who is even able to locate the tubes.

Then we went to Dr. Pediatric Cardiologist for trick-or-treating. Aiden apparently didn't like seeing his doctors and nurses in costumes. He was so not happy and cried the entire time. I dressed Aiden in his OU doctor scrubs again this year ; it was way too cold and windy for him to wear his kilt. Maybe next year.

Aiden's Make-A-Wish will be granted on Tuesday. I spent a few hours mulching the million leaves in the yard. We only have two trees, but I think all the leaves from the neighbours' yards end up in our yard.