And A Lightbulb Went On!

For anyone that has followed our blog for a while, you are well aware of the many issues we have struggled with on a daily basis...first with Bruiser and then with Sassy.  They both started out with Early Intervention through an amazing facility in our local area.  Meeting Street School has provided us with endless resources, guided us through numerous evaluations and transitions, and provided support to each and every member of our family.  Our service coordinator, who has since switched positions within the school, has kept our family on her service list because she is so amazing!  This fall will be be the end of our third year with Meeting Street...and i honestly have no idea how we would have survived without them!  Sassy will age out of EI at the end of October but Bruiser will continue with out-patient therapy so we'll still be able to enjoy all our amazing friends!

But, I digress...

Back to those issues...while both children had a speech/language delay that qualified them for EI, other issues emerged as they continued to develop.  Just as Bruiser was turning 3, and aging out of EI, we discovered some concerns with sensory related problems.  Even with 10 years of teaching early childhood, I had never heard of "sensory processing" and immediately began to panic.  Luckily I had such amazing people to guide me through the next steps!  Through an out-patient evaluation, Bruiser was diagnosed with mild Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)...and I immediately began searching for anything and everything about this disorder.  I have been keeping Amazon and Google very busy for the past two years!  I ordered many books.  I read numerous blogs and websites.  I talked with endless therapists.

But here's the problem - SPD is fairly new in the educational and medical worlds.  It's also a huge area of development with very broad borders.  Each child with SPD can look so different.  This became even clearer to us when Sassy earned a similar diagnosis this past year...and she's nothing like Bruiser!  Oh, and then try to explain it all to someone else - whether it is the grandparents, the babysitter, the neighbor, or the sweet older lady at church.  Trust me, we've heard it all!  Bottom line is that much of what Bruiser presents with looks an awful lot like a behavior problem.  So you can imagine how this has affected my self-esteem as a mother!  It's been hard, really hard...and it seems to be getting harder as Bruiser grows and develops more issues.

So during one of my down moments, I revisited my bookshelf to see what I needed to reread.  That's when I found this book:

I had ordered it back when he was diagnosed and never opened it...other books (and life!) took precedent.  Well, I sat down and read it in an afternoon on Saturday.  It was a great read...easy with lots of personal accounts of other families living the same life we are.  But the best part was the first chapter that explained and defined SPD.  It was the best explanation I have ever read of the disorder.  AND there was a chart that explained the differences that Sassy and Bruiser have within the same disorder.  AMAZING!  I am looking forward to sharing it with family and close friends...if a light bulb went on for me (and I'm living it everyday!), then I can't wait to help others that love my kids understand them better too!

Merry Christmas (a few days early!)

Because we travel for the holidays, we have discovered that it is impossible to bring all the children's gifts with us. Some are just too large! So today we had an early Christmas where the kids got their presents from Mommy and Daddy (since Santa doesn't come until the 25th!) and Daddy and I exchanged our gifts.

The before shot

Tater exploring her "vet station" (and Bruiser having meltdown #2 for the day!)

Sassy "washing" her hands at the play sink Daddy built.

Sassy opening her dolls to go with her wooden doll house

Bruiser playing with his wooden castle

Sassy and Bruiser opening their gifts from Tater (that she picked out herself!)

(Oh, and Bruiser recovering from meltdown #3)

Daddy opening his gift from me

Daddy and Tater trying to figure out what the gift is!
(Daddy, who is a huge Monty Python fan, will be going to see Spamalot in April!)

I should have taken a picture of how the living room looks now! I can only imagine Christmas morning...today ended with only one bag of trash! But there was lots of great playing, a bit of trouble with sharing, but some amazing imaginative play!

It was especially interesting to watch Bruiser experience the event. He really struggled with others opening gifts and it not being all about him. We need to have LOTS of conversations about taking turns and sharing between now and Christmas day...or the whole day might result in tons of tears (well, it might anyway, but at least we'll have tried!).

SPD Winter Obstacle Course!

On cold wintry days, we are in true meltdown stage by dinner time if we don't find a way to move and release some energy! Enter in the basement playroom and the outdoor toys we have now moved in. Tonight Daddy and the kids set up an obstacle course and below is the fun that followed!

The slide...

The swing ...

The teeter-totter...

More swing time!

Through the tunnel...

Another swing...

Weighted medicine ball...

Some giggles!

And back through the tunnel!

And everyone calmed down for a holiday movie and bed...which is where we are headed right now!

Breakfast With Sassy!

Part of Sassy's sensory issues revolves around her not being able to sit at the table. So, she chooses to sit...or stand on the table! We know it's not safe...and we're working on it...but, rest assured, we are never far away when she's up there! Friday morning I was home from working because of a sick little boy, so we enjoyed some quiet, cuddly jammie time and I snapped a few shots of Sassy being silly while she ate her breakfast in her "spot"!

Don't you love the nightgown on the little princess?

Love the eyes!

The shot I missed while I was getting the camera was of her laying on her stomach across the island with her feet crossed in the air behind her...just too. stinkin'. cute.

A Relaxing Long Weekend!

As I said before, we chose not to travel this weekend and spend the four days at home with just the five of us...and it has been wonderful!

Bruiser is in the midst of potty training and staying close has made it a bit less challenging...as much as that can be with a sensory child...who never knows when he has to "go"! I love how he wears his underwear...backwards so he can see the pictures! I mean, really! Whoever thought to put the picture on the back?

Daddy and Tater made a homemade pumpkin pie...crust and all!

Here's our T-Day turkey! Daddy did a great job!

And here are a few shots of the meal!

We spent the actual holiday at home and in jammies until the middle of the afternoon. Friday we did a bit of shopping (because we are crazy like that!) and Saturday ended up being another lazy day. We did venture out to lunch and Target...where Bruiser had a screaming meltdown and had to be removed from the store by Daddy...not that we were surprised! Today we all headed to the Y for a break...Mommy centered herself with a bit of yoga, Daddy strengthened those muscles with some weights, and the kids played in the play area. Amazingly we are all a bit calmer today! After a quick haircut for Tater, I came home to continue on with my Christmas preparations.

And now...for a last burst of holiday cheer before we return to work and school...we are heading out on a chilly mystery trip! Pictures and details tomorrow!

A Little Touch With Celebrity!

Our children are the most wonderful amazing things that have ever come into our lives. We treasure each moment of our "long days and short years." That said, as I have shared before, our children do present challenges and hurdles we have had to jump over and adapt our lives to. Bruiser was diagnosed over the summer with a mild sensory processing disorder (SPD) with a focus on the vestibular area. And, now this past week, Sassy received her diagnosis for SPD, but with a focus on the proprioceptive area. Where Bruiser's issues focus on movement (tipping of the head, spinning, inner ear related things, etc.) and tactile and noise related things, Sassy's has more to do with body awareness and balance. This past week was hard. As hard as it was, I accepted having one child with SPD and dove head first into helping him. Then we got the blow about Sassy... and I may have reached a breaking point. It's so challenging to meet their daily, moment-to-moment needs as well as scheduling and getting them to therapies and additional group sessions. But, don't get me wrong, no matter how hard it is, I will do whatever I have to help them and give them the most normal life possible. (Just say a little prayer for my sanity once in a while!)

So as I was diving head-first into this whole new realm of our life, I pulled out all my SPD reference books and began to review all that I had read with Bruiser. And sitting next to my computer is the book "The Out-of-Sync Child" by Carol Kranowitz. And today, when I returned from a particularly difficult day of shopping with all the kids, I found this comment for my blog in my inbox:

"Mommy and Bruiser, it's so nice to see my book, "The Out-of-Sync Child," on your bookshelf! You may also be interested in a new book I just co-authored with Joye Newman. The new book is "Growing an In-Sync Child: Simple, Fun Activities to Help Every Child Develop, Learn and Grow" (Perigee, 2010). We include fun and functional activities that help strengthen sensory, perceptual-motor, and visual processing skills. They're great fun for kids and parents. I think you'll like it. Check out our website at www.in-sync-child.com

Blessings to you and your family,
-Carol Kranowitz "


I can only hope Carol knows how much her message meant to me! A comment from an "expert" on my little blog! Amazing! She turned my day right around!