I find so many other blogs much more interesting and I don't know if I have the heart or interest to keep this up.
I will try an update on the kids and our life. We had a wonderful spring this year. The kids have all been doing well in school (mostly the girls). Nicholas is sharp but has other issues which we haven't totally pinned down, I mean we have only known him for 2 years!
His counselor diagnosed him ADHD and an OT (occupational therapist) 'diagnosed' him with SPD (sensory processing disorder). I put that last one in quotes because it is not an official diagnosis in the diagnostic manual. He finished a social skills class called 'Dinosaur school' through the guidance clinic we go to and it was wonderful, it was based on 'The Incredible Years'. It made a huge difference for him in public situations, at home and at school. We also did a few sessions of OT which has helped us to figure out tools to help him. I have since read 'The Out of Sync Child' and similar books...great resources! To be truthful, we are missing a huge chunk of time with him and his early experiences were clearly deprived and not nurturing. We just can't put him in a box and we hope that he will not fall through the cracks in school.
Summer is here and with it, summer camps, dance rehearsals (and recitals), piano recitals and our BIG trip to Texas. I must be insane! The day after the girls' dance performance, we are hitting the road. We are driving to Texas for a 4 week vacation. You can see why I am insane, what am I thinking?! It will take us 3 days of easy driving (read 8 hours of driving while the kids ask 'how much longer' every 20 minutes) to reach Texas. Hubby will drive with us there...whew, thank goodness! He will spend part of the time with us but will have to fly back and work. He will fly back to drive with us back home.
Truly the kids are excellent travelers and it sure helps that we can have movies, games, snacks in the car. Our plan is to spend about a week in the Dallas area, then the kids and I will caravan down to Austin with friends where we will spend about 5 days. We will then return to Dallas for the 4th of July weekend, spend more time in Dallas and Fort Worth, then off to Houston for a long weekend. We will finish off the rest of our trip in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I will let you know if I survive!
After our BIG trip, the kids will start right away with VBS (Olivia), guitar camp(Claire) and summer preschool (Nicholas-3 weeks). Olivia will also be going to church camp for a week, exciting and nerve-wracking for me. Then it will just be a few more weeks till school starts.
Stay tuned...
