It was a long day . . .

It was a long, long, long, did I say long? day in the car.  We drove from North Western Wisconsin (near LaCrosse) to Racine, Wisconsin (which is on Lake Michigan) to see Sister Evelyn again.   


We had a nice drive in the beginning, saw lots of corn fields, some small lakes, stopped for lunch at Wendy's, and then just before we got to Racine we were having some snacks in the car.  After all, what kind of a road trip would this be without snacks.  The kids were eating Veggie Straws (Alexander's snack of choice) and I was also giving them M&Ms.  That was the first mistake!  After about five M&Ms Alexander thought it was a great idea to shove one up his nose.  Yip, our first emergency stop involved an m&m, a nose and tweezers.  Did I mention that m&ms melt in your nose, but not in your hands??  It didn't take long to fix him up and then we were back on the road again!


We went to the Sienna Center and had supper (that's what they call it in the Midwest) with Sister Evelyn.  We had a delightful conversation with her, had supper with her and the other Nuns, a walk along the beach, and then back in the car.  It was nice.  The Sienna Center is located on the lake so we went for a little stroll knowing we'd be back in the car for awhile.  When we got back into the car, it was my turn to drive.


From there it was a big adventure.  Between my two back seat drivers, our TomTom we call Gabby and two children who always need something it was comical.  I only missed our exit twice and had to turn around.  We also drove by the White Sox Stadium (this is where my husband will be disappointed that I don't know the name of the stadium), saw an amazing heat lightning show, drove through a HUGE windmill farm (all with blinking red lights), and saw a few trains.


Our intention was just to drive a little ways but, then we got into Chicago and then we were into Indiana and then why not go all the way? So, at 1:22am Eastern Time we pulled into Shelbyville, Indiana, very small quaint town south of Indianapolis.


We are settled here for a few days visiting with friends, relatives, and friends that are like relatives.  We're also thankful for a great bed, air conditioning, and a very sound night's sleep!

Family and Home

  FAMILY

What makes you appreciate your family?  What defines family for you?  We spent the weekend with about 100 members of our family.  Some young and some not so young.  We ate, swam, talked, laughed, ate, drank beer, danced, and ate some more.  We are from Wisconsin, Texas, Michigan, Washington, New York, Maine, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.  We try to get together yearly and most of the aunts and uncles do, its the rest of us that are hit or miss.

We had a good representation of all of our families!  My cousins who are mostly in their 40's haven't changed much but their children have grown like wild weeds.  Taller, more mature, and moving into different stages of life.  Its fun to hear of their adventures and of the turns their lives are taking.  Two of my cousin's children have graduated college this year and will be teaching in the fall.

After our large family gathering we were invited to "The Farm".  One of my cousin's had been a dairy farmer.  All growing up it was so exciting to see the cows, help milk them and start to understand a little of the process it takes to get milk from the cow in Wisconsin to my breakfast table in Renton.   Several years ago they sold the cows and began leasing the farm land, however they still live in the farm house with the big red barn.  Alexander got a ride on the four-wheeler to the neighbor's berry patch to eat raspberries.  He also pet a horse and saw some cows up close.   Our time on the farm was shorter that I would have liked but, we have other adventures waiting.

HOME

After leaving the farm we went into a more rural area of Wisconsin (if one actually exists) to visit my dad's old buddy and his wife (Rich and Paula).  I was a little anxious because traveling with two children is one thing but imposing them on someone else is a completely different thing.  It turns out I had absolutely nothing to be anxious about.  Paula hasn't met a child she didn't immediately fall in love with and Rich just takes her lead.  Before dinner was served, she had loved on both of my children with the kind of love only Grandmas are able to give. 

Rich and Paula have a house on the corner lot.  They have swings, pool, sand box, they've turned their garage into an air conditioned family/dining/relaxing/tv watching room.  They have spices in the tool box and tools in the refrigerator.  In other words a kids' paradise.  They have seven children, 19 grandchildren, 7 great-grand children.  All of which come and go at all times of the day and night.  Each person is greeted with a big hello and a hug.  Anyone that enters through their door is immediately part of their family.

We have spent two days alternating between the swing, the pool, and driving toy cars on the sidewalk.  Alexander has learned to pump his feet to make the swing keep going, swim using arm floats, and has realized he can trap Dora into the car and push it so that she's not bothering him.  Miss Dora has  learned that swinging is fun, she has to swim with an adult (after much protest from her) and that whatever her brother is doing is worth investigating on her own.  Its been two days with some great people, hearing new stories of my dad's wild days, and encouraging Alexander to fly a little further from the nest. 

Life on vacation has been fantastic so far!  Well, other than the record setting heat we've been having although with a pool and an air conditioned room, the heat is just a slight inconvenience.

I'll leave you with a poem hanging in Paula's kitchen:

HOME
Where you can be silent
    and still be heard . . . .
Where you can ask
    and find out who you are . . .
Where people laugh with you
    about yourself . . .
Where sorrows are divided
    and joys are multiplied . . .
Where we share . .  and we love . . . and we grow.

Where is your home?



Swimming with Grandma



Alexander dancing with Rich





Alexander dancing with his Auntie



Brothers



Cousins



Sisters



Alexander showing Dora the way



Vacation

Relaxation, rejuvenation, carefree, fun, spontaneous.  These are the words I would use to describe what vacation means to me.  This is one of the first vacations we've taken with the children that wasn't completely planned out.  I've been nervous about what things would be like.  How our children would behave without a consistent schedule, or bed to sleep in.  Meeting lots of people for the first time although these people already love our children and can't wait to see them!

After day two I can say that things are going extremely well.  The flight from Seattle to Milwaukee was a little more than four hours.  We watched things out the window, had lunch, took a nap (yes, both children actually slept), listened to music, and read books.

We arrived in Milwaukee and got a rental car with a surprising amount of ease, and then it was off for a short drive.  Eric brought a GPS.  Although I also brought my trusty maps that I confide in when he's not looking! 

We've seen Sister Evelyn (more on her later) and toured the Jelly Belly Factory!  We tasted some yummy samples, and maybe some not so yummy! 

Today its off to Bridget and Scott's wedding which will entail about a two hour car drive, seeing Grandma and Papa for the first time in several months and seeing my sisters and brother-in-laws as well.  Its going to be a full day and hopefully tonight we'll all fall into bed exhausted and happy!

Leaving the Nest

I never thought that parenting would be easy, but I had no idea the challenges and obstacles one faces when being a Mom.  Last Friday was Alexander's last day of Stepping Stones at Kindering Center.  Stepping Stones is a peer model preschool.  Some of the children have delays of various types (such as down syndrome, speech delay, or in Alexander's case low tone) and some of the children are typical children who are models for other students. 


Lets start at the beginning. . . .
When Alexander was an infant we attended a baby class at Valley Medical Center headed up by one of the lactation nurses.  It was a wonderful group of moms with their babies.  We would talk about a topic of the week, but also about our struggles and challenges of being first (and sometimes second) time moms.  It was here that I realized that Alexander wasn't keeping up physically with his peers.  By his nine month Well Baby visit he wasn't able to do many of the physical things that were on the checklist.  And so at 10 months he began Physical Therapy. 


He began Physical Therapy at Valley Children's Center; however, our crazy insurance would only pay for 10 visits a year and when you're going weekly, well that's a lot of money.  So we were referred to the Kindering Center (a nonprofit neurodevelopmental center that works with children with special needs from birth to age three).  I was so nervous changing therapists.  God has a way of just working things out.  Our therapist came to our home and worked with Alexander.  She brought us a walker that Alexander used when he was learning to walk.  He took his first steps Thanksgiving weekend in Dallas, TX during church.  Eric had taken him to the back of the chapel and he walked from a cement column to a bench.  It would be another 6 weeks before he was walking unassisted.

To qualify for therapy Alexander was tested for gross and fine motor skills.  During this process he was diagnosed with hypotonia (low muscle tone).  Typically hypotonia is a symptom of something else.  So instead of waiting for the something else to rear its ugly head we chose to get him tested.  We had a genetic screen done.  They look over his DNA and determine if there's any significant deletions or additions.  In his case, there's a very small deletion, but at this time they don't even know what that specific gene is used for.  That was a relief.  Our Alexander only has Hypotonia.  PRAISE GOD!

Physical Therapy worked well for a while, but there came a point in his therapy when working with a therapist and his mom at home wasn't going to cut it any longer.  He had a mind of his own and he didn't want to play the silly games we wanted him to play.  In September of 2010 Alexander began Stepping Stones.  It was here that I really began to understand and accept that Alexander has a disability.  His Stepping Stones class has a one way window that I could watch him play with his peers, interact with the teachers, and eat his snack without his knowing I was peeking in on him.

It has been fun watching him grow into his little self this year.  He went from standing on the outside and observing everything and everyone very carefully to being a leader and anticipating the next thing to happen.  He also came to an understanding of friends.  He had two friends that he would sit by or seek out to hold hands with.  It was pretty entertaining!

In the mean time, I was able to sit with other parents and talk about our children.  What it means to be a parent of a special needs child, how to make life easier at home, how to help them without hindering their need for doing it themselves...it was true growing and learning experience for me as well. 

And so it is time to close this chapter in our book.  The Kindering Center has done us well.  They have taken us into their little nest, loved on us, pushed us, stretched us, and now it is time for us to fly on our own.  Alexander will always have hypotonia, but he's learned to adapt well and overcome, thanks in large part to Kindering Center.




Alexander using his walker.  Halloween 2009



Alexander's first day of Stepping Stones.  Sept 2010

Last day at Stepping Stones July 2011





Dora and Alexander reading books at the beginning of class.  July 2011

Celebrating Alexander's Birthday.