September Blur

September always seems packed with activities and it still takes me by surprise every year.  Aside from regular therapy appointments, we had so much going on:

1) Arrival of Oma for a long visit

2) Fall Farm Party with our Indiana family

3) Annual Kings Island Day

4) Annual family photo shoot

5) Visit to the zoo

6) A few days of illness for all

7) Haircuts

8) Community outdoor movie night

9) The start of a new season of ballet for Little One

10) A birthday party

11) ETR meeting

12) IEP meeting

Whew!

A New Chapter

This week begins a new chapter for our Middle Kiddo.  After 13 years of participating daily in a specific method of intervention, he made it abundantly clear this summer that he is no longer willing or interested in having this intervention as part of his life.  We have decided to respect his wish and to honor his self-advocacy, leading to a new chapter that includes with a staggered roll in...

1) Trauma-informed in-home OT twice a week for a total of three hours

2) Limited targeted in-home academic intervention with a teacher that prefers to work with a personal/learning profile like Middle Kiddo's for about four hours a week

3) Companion care for about 20 hours per week via qualified providers selected by us specifically for Middle Kiddo.  These providers understand that they work FOR Middle Kiddo (ie he's the boss) and that rather than meeting other people's demands, Middle Kiddo will largely self-determine how these hours are utilized, including community outings and volunteering.

Even though this new chapter is coming sooner than we had planned, we are excited to see what impact these changes will have on our child and family.

Summer Break Week 14

The last week!  And it was a busy one.  Reentry from vacation went as expected amid several planning meetings with teachers and therapists.  Yard work needed to be done as well and we continued with the basement room refresh project.  Add some family walks and swims, peach cobbler and a couple of movies and I'd say summer break finished on a high note.

Summer Break Week 13

 Beach vacation!

Summer Break Week 12

Not a lot going on.  Things are falling into place.  Some corn in the backyard garden should be ready to harvest soon.  A few pumpkins have finally survived the strange hot and wet summer weather and grown beyond the size of a grape.  And I made two sourdough breads (jalapeno cheddar and cranberry white chocolate) using a new baking method which produces a really crispy crust that makes me very happy.

Summer Break Week 11

 Things are looking up just a little bit more.  It was a busy week.

1) Doctor's appointment for Little One

2) Neighborhood block party

3) A birthday pool gathering with auntie and cousins

4) Lots of babysitting hours for Big Girl

5) End of the college summer semester for Big Girl

6) Interview with someone to join Middle Kiddo's staff

7) Cincinnati Ballet Family Dance Day

8) Finished the new flooring in the basement school/therapy room

Summer Break Week 10

This has been a better week and we can just get the tiniest glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel.  We won a big battle which will benefit Middle Kiddo a few months down the road and likely forever, we continued in our search of medical answers for Little One, we had the most colorful summer dinners, we got a new couch and we started into another home improvement project.  Little tasks that had been lingering on the back burner are getting completed to boot.  Onward!