So much... maybe too much.

Okay so Ben's eyes are going wonky again. "Pesticide" eye drops for him... that were originally developed over 100 years ago. More Dr.'s appointments for that of course... and more to come for that... of course.

Bad appointment at the Pedi Endo for Ben. Lots more testing and about a million tons of worry over that one. Had some blood and x-rays so far. Waiting on results from those and then we decide what tests we have to do NEXT. The fun never ends.

Found out yesterday Patch has to have his tonsils out next week. His tonsils are so bad that his lymph nodes are all swollen. Blech. So next week, in addition to whatever additional testing Ben will need we have Patch's surgery.

Of course nobody to help out with the kids. Naturally. That's not really surprising, just continues to be disappointing... and difficult. Not sure how we're going to manage for the next two weeks but I guess we'll find a way. We always do.

In good news Ben is very happily enjoying art camp this week at the studio. TYPICAL kid art camp. Wow. That's big. It was a really big step for the Big Daddy and me but not so much for Ben... and my God how I love that about him. It was huge for Ed and I and it wrung our hearts but he just stepped into it and shone and is loving it. He was so excited this morning getting dressed for day #2 of art camp.

Tessa is LOVING volunteering at the studio with the little kid camp and is doing a great job we're told. One of the co-owners was raving to us about what an amazing job Tessa is doing and what a huge help she is. We are incredibly proud of her. Also it must be said that without Tessa volunteering at the little kid camp Ben wouldn't be able to go because he's still in diapers and they don't take kids in diapers. However since Tessa is his sister and she's there and said she'd be willing to change diapers they made an exception for Ben. It also needs to be said that Tessa, in her amazing "beyond her years" wisdom, is the one that pushed so hard for Ben to go to camp. She was the one telling us that we had to get over our own fears and just send him because it would be good for BEN! She was right, credit where it is due. She amazes me sometimes.

Gregory had pneumonia the first week and a half of summer break. He's doing fine now, thank God. He's now spending his summer (this cold rainy summer thus far) playing video games and mowing the lawn. I know once we get some nicer weather he will spend the majority of every day swimming in the pool with Patch so I'm letting that go for now.

Emi is being her usual moody kind of gothish self lately. No change. She's having more moments of being okay so I'm hoping that maybe this phase is ending. Em is spending most of her summer hanging over Gregory's shoulder watching him play video games... a little weird to me but whatever. She's also doing her fair share of lawn mowing too. She's already got a good start on her summer reading book, so I'm not complaining. Next week she will be volunteering at the studio and I know she's looking forward to that.

Oh Kit... Kit is fine. She's just happy go lucky girl that she is. Wildly independent and determined. She's anxious to get outside more too. Hopefully the weather will turn soon and everyone will get more outside time.

School's OUT!!!

Finally. School is out for summer. Gregory is now a sophomore in HS!! Emi is an 8th grader, and an "upperclassman" at her school. Tessa is also an upperclassman now and a 6th grader. Patch is going into the 2nd grade and is much excited. Ben is going to be in the 4 y/o Excel program next year. Everyone is moving up and up and up. We got Patch and Tessa's report cards yesterday -- they both did very well. Patch is having a little trouble with his organizational abilities but other than that got an excellent report card, and got highest marks for his behavior. Tessa got all A's and one B+ on her report card! We are VERY proud of her!!! Well, we're very proud of both of them of course :) Gregory and Emi's report cards will be mailed and we should get them within the next two weeks.

So we begin our summer break... well, the KIDS summer break anyway! I'm hoping we'll be able to do a few things close to home and have some fun. We got "Big Six" passes to Six Flags for the three oldest kids and Ed and I in hope we can take them a few times. We're hoping to hit a few fun events and fairs and hopefully this rain will stop and we'll get the pool up eventually. The girls have plans to volunteer at the art studio and Gregory says he wants to spend the summer just relaxing after a pretty hard year of school where he was inundated with insane amounts of homework. I'm thinking we'll do at least one trip to the Bronx Zoo and maybe one to our local zoo too. I think it's gonna be a good summer :)

Injuries on the field

Or, well... the street. Our street is very gravelly... it's not a gravel road, it's just a road... with lots of gravel on it. Yeah I know, weird right?

Anyway, today the second wave was up at the top of the driveway waiting for their buses and running a muck... like kids do. Patch was chasing Kit telling her he was going to kiss her and Kit was running away squealing with delight... when the gravel got the best of her and she went down like a stone... on her face!! OUCH!! Poor little bunny-boo Princess. She got a very swollen lip and abrasions all over her face. She was NOT a happy baby girl. We gave her Motrin and cleaned her boo-boo's and gave her love and kisses and she was okay.

She didn't nap so well but I think she was sleeping on the ouchie side of her face and it was hurting. I climbed into bed with her and she did sleep another two hours though... so not too bad all in all. She's acting fine tonight but I have to admit every time I see her face it just LOOKS painful.

So here you have it... our Kitten with the boo-boo face.

Water fun

My favorite part of summer and nice weather is letting the kids play in water. The Lil 'Uns just love it and it keeps them cool and happy. What's not to like about that right?

Today was a warm sunny humid day, perfect for some water play. They had a great time. Kit did that completely "manic happy" laugh that she does. She splashed and got soaking wet and just had a fabulous time. Ben had fun too but he's not quite as water-crazy as Kit tends to be. He likes to play and get wet... he just prefers that OTHER people get splashed... not so much him getting splashed.

So just an excuse really to share a great pic I got of the children today. After water playtime was over and it was time to go in for lunch Gregory found a great way to get rid of the water left over in the tubby.... they kids were all laughing and having a great time... Patch wasn't all that sure about water on his face but he did okay. Gregory is just way to skinny huh? Yeah I think so too... still he's so handsome :) Yeah I know I'm biased... so what?

baby love... oh baby love... & the baba club

The inspiration for this post is a crappy picture I took with Ed's phone camera. It was one of those moments I wished I had my real camera on me but no such luck. Here's the photo I refer too...
It was taken this past week. Ben had yet another specialist appointment to go to, fortunately this one was what we consider "local" and only 30 minutes away. This meant that Kit got a very short nap and Ben no nap at all. Ben does okay without nap to be honest, he can power through the rest of the day but it inevitably does mean an early bedtime. We saw the specialist and the children were little monkeys getting into things faster than we could stop them. All in all though it was a good appointment with mostly good news (to read more about that go HERE). The children got pops from Mami (thank heavens I keep some in the diaper bags at all times) and off we were.

The drive home was nice... warm and sunny day the sun shining through the new leaves on the trees. Ed and I talked about the appointment and just life in general when I looked back and saw... well... what's in that picture. Ben nodding off to sleep and hand in hand with Kit. We hadn't told them to hold hands... they just did. I cursed the fact that I didn't have my camera and Ed handed me his phone and told me to use that... so I did. Crap picture but it does capture the moment.

It just struck a deep chord in me. They love each other. They really do. They may fight over toys and occasionally knock each other over... but they ADORE each other. Deeply. It's at the point now where Ben and Kit are really at the same level more or less. Ben with his delays and Kit with her precociousness -- they're neck and neck these days. They are, as we so often refer to them lately, Frick & Frack.... as thick as thieves. It's such an intense bond they share, it moves me.

As for "The Baba Club" that's another facet to this relationship they. They are our two "baba" (pacifier) babies. They love and adore their baba's and they both find great comfort in them when they are sad or hurt. They treasure their baba's and cling mightily to them. One will steal a baba from the others mouth and pop it in their own if they are feeling the urge. However one thing that surprises me is the "brotherhood" (for lack of a more gender neutral term) of the Baba club. If Kit sees Ben hurt and crying she will go over to him and take the baba out of her own mouth and give it to Ben to comfort him. He does the same for her. If there is none around to be had they will scream for a baba for the other so that they can give it to them. It's this bond and this shared understanding of the comfort and peace of the baba. It makes me laugh while at the same time amazing me. They WANT to give each other comfort. It's just so sweet.

I love the relationship between my two babies. Sometimes I worry how that relationship will change as Kit passes Ben up developmentally... but mostly I just have this inner sense that they will always be okay those two. They will always carry some of this bond and closeness with them for the rest of their lives. Thank you God for that. Thank you.

More stuff on Patch

This week we went in for a special P/T conference with Patch's teacher. We like her a lot and we know that she really likes Patch, he's had a really good first grade year and he's happy. In the past we have discussed Patch's issues with concentration and organization and it was something we were all aware of. So we went in and we talked some more, and Patch's issues with focus are only getting worse and not better . The entire conversation was like a weird deja-vu of when Gregory was in the 2nd grade and we heard all the same things from his teacher.... extremely intelligent, very good child, never a disruption or problem in class... and a complete inability to stay on task, focus on his work and a serious penchant toward daydreaming. We'd heard it all before and we know what it means. Still it kind of left me with a slightly heavier heart. It wasn't like I was surprised... just a little bit sad I guess.

So today we went and saw the pediatrician and filled out their questionnaire and talked about Patch's issues and decided to at least try him on medication... much like we did with Gregory was he was only slightly older. So here we start on this journey of ADD and medication with Patch. Like I said, not surprising... just very slightly disheartening.

On the upside we continue to hear what a wonderful and happy child is... how Patch has many close friends and is very popular and plays with a whole crew of kids out on the playground, very much UNlike Gregory at the same age. So it's not all bad.

So here we go!!! I'm ready for it because the fact is that Patch is a really great kid and I know we'll find our way. Just like we did with Gregory.

Patch-man

Patch lost another tooth!! YAY!! He's been complaining about it for 4 or 5 days, that it was so loose it was hard for him to eat and it was bothering him... you know the routine. So for days now we've been trying to pull it out for him and finally today I was able to pull it. He gave a little squeal when it came out but it was done and over. I think he's kind of proud to be honest. He ran to look in the mirror and see how he looks now.

I have to say he looks SO different now. Well, just lately he's looking different and now with the missing tooth only more so. He shot up several inches over the last few months and now his tooth is gone and his big teeth are coming in on the bottom. He's not my little fella anymore... he's definitely into big boy territory now. Still loves his jim-jams and his Spider-man... but he's not Mami's baby anymore.

Kitten

Oh our little baby is growing up so fast, it all seems to be happening in the blink of an eye. When did our tiny little Kit-Kat become this high energy, on the go, whirling dervish of physical prowess that she is today? When did she start talking so well and expressing herself to us so well? When did she stop being a baby and become a full blown toddler?

Today, dressed in a cute smocked short sleeve shirt and jeans, she looked like such a big girl. Maybe it was the jeans. Maybe it was those sweet little arms in that cute shirt. Maybe it's just that she's not a baby anymore and sometimes it hits you in the face like a brick. She's a walking talking little person with her own unique personality and likes and dislikes and definite opinions... and she wants to make sure YOU know what they are.

I am madly in love with that baby of mine... and lets be frank... she's ALWAYS going to be my baby. I admit there are times I feel torn and I find myself wishing for the easier days that her getting older will afford me. A little downtime. A little quiet time. The ability to shower EVERY day if I want to (oh and I will want to!). More freedom to spend time alone with Ed. So I look forward to it. I think of a time that our car will have no car seats or boosters and I think what an amazing time of life that will be for me.

Then other times, as she sleeps between me and Ed at night in our bed, I just stare at her little peaceful face and I stroke her soft cheek and I think that I want THIS to last forever. I want her to call me Mama and want to be close to me and have that cute baby giggle and those sweet little baby clothes and that round little face with those huge grey eyes FOREVER. I want to stay with her just the way she is right now always. I love scooping her up and holding her close and that she loves it too. I love that she believes that if I kiss the boo-boo it stops hurting immediately. I love that just being close to me is enough to calm her and quiet her.... even if her sleep. I love that when she has fever and feels icky ONLY Mami will do. I love her babyness and I'm never going to do this again so I want to enjoy each and every precious moment of it.

Kit is perfect... horns and all... I love every little bit of her with every little bit of me.

Long update on everyone....

Gregory - Figure I'll start with the oldest first. Not much new with G really. He picked his classes for next year and that was a bit of a fiasco. Trying to decide what to do and which classes were really important and how he could do the most while not becoming completely overwhelmed. I'm not sure we really accomplished that to be honest. He did decide to drop band next year because of his completely insane Nazi-like teacher. I can't blame him, the band director is a complete nut job and expects too much of the kids and pushes them too hard IMO... when you regularly have 4 or 5 kinds passing out at summer rehearsals that should tell you something. So that will be gone next year along with the pressure of practices, rehearsals, competitions, football games, and mid-term and final exam solo pieces. He will be taking two honors math classes which I'm really not sure is a good idea but we have been assured that it will look good on Gregory's college applications and help him get into a good school. I hope so. Mostly I hope that the boy doesn't have a nervous breakdown with almost all honors classes including two high level maths.

Emi - Not much going on with Emi lately I think. Her grades are not what they should be and I need to talk to her teachers about that. Her history and english grades have dropped quite a bit so I need to find out what the story is with that. I'm mostly surprised about her english grade because Emi loves that class as well as her teacher for that class. I'm thinking that with her disorganization she misplaced some assignments or something, because I know she does the reading and the assignments. I'll have to investigate further. Other than that she's the same as always. She's volunteering a lot at the art studio and loving that. She even took Tessa in with her last week to "train her" as a volunteer, that was pretty cool. I thought Em wouldn't want T "invading her space" but she seemed happy and excited about it. So that's all good.

Tessa - Our Tessa turned 11 on this past Thursday. Gosh, eleven... ya know? It just seems a lot older than ten. She's always been my one and only child with her feet planted firmly on the ground. She's smart but she's also amazingly clever and so I think sometimes I treat her as if she's older than she is because she ACTS that way. So then when she turns around and enjoys something particularly "childish" but also in reality completely age appropriate it kind of surprises me. I swear that little girl is now 11 going on 30 sometimes. She's doing great in school and loving it. We had her P/T conference a week ago and got to sit and listen to her teacher rave about her for 20 minutes... that was actually a lot of fun! LOL! You know the irony is that I really appreciate Tessa and her level-headedness and concrete nature, but I also have to admit she can be the most trouble at times! LOL! I told Tessa after the P/T Conf. that her teacher says she has to stop fighting with Patch!! LOL! I'm so mean. So far it hasn't worked.

Patch - Our little Ricochet Rabbit is the same. He'll be turning 7 at the end of the month.... another WOW moment for me. In the past 2 months or so he has just shot up in height, I had to go buy new pants for him and then even the new ones I bought for him are getting short already! He's going through a major growth spurt, it's incredible. Suddenly he looks like a kid and not so much the very little boy I've always seen him as. We also had a P/T conference with his teacher. Much like his older sibs he's in all the highest levels in the different subjects at school and he learns easily and does well. Like Gregory he also works VERY slowly which is slightly problematic but not a major issue really. His one big problem is that he's completely unorganized. So Ed and I along with his teacher are working on checklists for him to help him remember exactly what he needs to do and when. We'll see how that works out. All in all though his teacher said he is a joy to have in class and he's very popular with the kids and has lots of friends :) I'm happy with that.

Ben - There's never a shortage of things to say about Ben. I guess that's why he has his own blog. Just to sum up, Ben is doing great really. We had his annual IEP meeting and he will be receiving services over the summer and will be in the 4 y/o program next year. He is WAY behind in his motor development and cognition but he's making great strides in his speech which we are all completely thrilled about. He met pretty much all of his ST goals and while he missed a lot of his PT and OT goals we were reminded that in part that's due to the fact that Ben is very very small for his age. So things like getting in and out of the bus are hard for him because he's tiny, and he can't reach the knobs to turn the water on himself to wash his hands and that sort of thing. His teachers and his therapists ALL simply adore him, it's obvious when you see them with him or hear them talk about him how loved he is. I am so happy we have him where we do and that he is getting the help he needs. It's such a huge relief to me. He is an extremely happy boy and he's moving forward, slowly but he always moves forward. I think the best thing to hear was how his teachers and all his therapists ALL said that one thing about Ben is that he is always game. He is ALWAYS willing to try. He is ALWAYS willing to give it his all. He NEVER says no and he does the very best he can. He's amazing. That is what makes Ben my hero.

Kit - OMG that little girl is a whirling dervish of activity and destruction. She is into everything. She is ON TOP of everything. She is just amazing. Really, she just blows me away with her physical prowess in addition to her incredible understanding. She's talking a blue streak lately and every day comes out with new words she's learning. She's starting to put words together to make two word phrases (like "go car" or "hi Mom/Dad/Ben/etc). She is just doing great and I adore her... at the same time that she drives me crazy because I can't take my eyes off of her for a single second. Still after everything with Ben I admit, I can't help but smile when I see the mischief she gets into and how great she's doing.

So there ya have it. I'll try to post more often... same old story though... so much to do and so little time.

Just a Quickie

I'm supposed to be taking a "computer vacation" this weekend BUT all the big kids are in bed and Ed is curled up in our bed with a very sick little Kitten. She had 103.5 last night and worried me pretty good and I slept with her in the recliner for half the night and with her pushed up against me as much as she could get the other half of the night.... it was like sleeping holding on to a space heater! She's better today but still with fever, about 101, and feeling noticeably better but still wanting that comfort of Mami or Daddy next to her.

Anyway, just wanted to give a quickie update since the house is quiet and I find myself with just a little bit of free time.... although admittedly I should be cleaning the kitchen but I don't want to.

Pretty much immediately following my last post Kit quickly learned another two signs and came out with 3 new words on Thursday! She's now regularly saying Mama again and saying car and shoe. She also learned how to sign "more cookie please".... Nope, NOT kidding!!! LOL! So I'm not as worried and I swear to you that she's learning it from Ben. On Friday Ben was walking around saying "Mama" over and over again and Kit was walking two steps behind him doing everything he was doing and repeating "Mama" every time after Ben said it! It was so cute. She's into this new thing of wanting to be just like him... it's so sweet. So I'm thinking that she's really going to start talking more at this point.

Ben is doing great, talking more himself and just doing wonderfully. He had croup this week and was home sick most of the week along with Patch who had strep. They were both feeling really awful for about 2 days but then started on the upswing and while they probably could have both gone to school on Friday we kept them home one extra day to rest up some extra (the rule here is that if you stay home sick from school you MUST nap). Patch is doing much better and is back to being Ricochet Rabbit like always but is STILL complaining of sore throat every day so I'm thinking I may take him back to the Peds on Monday to get checked out again.

Gregory is in a state lately. His very first mid-terms ever are really freaking him out completely. Although I think he's a little bit calmer now that his history and Spanish mid-terms are behind him. Hopefully on Wednesday when they're all over he'll be doing better with that huge stressor being relieved. I really hope so.

We got a call from the middle school on Thursday morning. It was the nurse at Emi's school calling to tell us that she had hurt her knee pretty badly in gym and was in her office and we should come get her. I stayed home with sick babies and Ed took her to the Peds and then over to the orthopedic for x-rays. Nothing broken or torn... YAY!! She had some swelling and some strained ligaments so she came home on crutches and a full leg brace. We've been giving her Advil for pain and icing her knee and she's doing okay. She was in a good amount of pain this afternoon but some Advil helped and she's resting comfortably now. The needs crutches for another two days, and then the leg brace for another 3 or 4 after that and she goes back in for a recheck and we'll decide what to do from there. She has a note for no gym (as a "knee sprain") and she has an elevator key (which she thinks is totally cool) and I'm sure she'll be fine in no time at all.

All is well with Tessa as far as I can tell. She had a party in school on Friday and was over the moon about that. She was seeming like she may be getting sick to me today, she was really lethargic and complaining of being tired a lot (and in fairness was acting VERY tired and worn out). She has no fever and no complaints of anything so I'm just going to keep a close eye on her and see what happens. Nothing going on with her outside of that. All is well in school, she's happy, likes her teacher (except for one) and no issues. Thank God for that huh?

So there you have it. The latest news here. I'm hoping that the sickies will pass quickly and all will be well again here. We've actually had a really good winter here as far as sickness goes. With 5 kids in 5 different schools we usually have major issues with kids being sick ALL the time but this winter it's actually been really great. Gregory and Emi both still have perfect attendance and they're hoping to maintain that through the end of the year! I guess we'll see, I have my fingers crossed for them.

and even more concerns... Kit this time

Okay so since I've been blogging about things that are worrying me, why not continue with that thread.

There's our little Kitten. She is truly amazing and just this little powerhouse dynamo that never stops. She is a physical force to be reckoned with... truly, just mind blowing. She is so strong and she is so strong willed and she has a one track mind and singular focus on doing something once she sets her mind to it. Seriously, out of the six kids I don't remember any of them running me quite so ragged as this little whirling dervish of ours.

It's also obvious that she's clever. She understands what we say to her, she can follow two step instructions, she knows exactly what we're saying and responds appropriately. She's seems on top of things and she gets the whole family dynamic... and lets face it with five older brothers and sisters that a BIG dynamic to get a grip on and understand at only 17 mos. old.

The thing is... she doesn't talk... and it's starting to freak me out a little bit. Just a little bit. She says Mama... but only when it suits her. Today she was actually saying Mama quite a bit, much more than I've been hearing her do it for a long time now. I've heard her say Dada maybe a handful of times. I've heard her say up just twice I think, and not very recently. She HAS learned... let me think... four signs in the last week. I guess she sees us doing it with Ben and just kind of picked it up. She can do the signs for more, please, eat, and candy (why doesn't THAT one surprise me!). So she gets the whole communicating thing, I just can't get her to TALK. I try to get her to all the time and practice words with her, but she doesn't say them. I'm a bit concerned and wondering what the story is.

The thing is that back when she had just turned 11 mos. old she was talking. She was saying probably 6 to 8 words. She was saying (with some regularity) Mama, Dada, up, dat, no, my (meaning mine), and I'm sure a few others I have forgotten at this point. Then a week after she turned 11 mos. she started walking... really walking, not just taking steps here and there and she just stopped talking all together. I remembered from some of the older kids that with a huge new milestone sometimes other things fall by the wayside and told myself not to worry. We know she CAN talk but she was focusing on walking so much that talking just kind fell off the priority list for her. Well, a month went by... then two... then four... now it's been 6 mos. since she started walking and she's still not really talking again and it's starting to really worry me.

Kit is seeing the Ped on Feb. 6th for her 18 mos. check-up so I figure I'll talk to him about it then, but I wonder if I should bring her in sooner. These kids, always something to worry about and me being a natural born worrier doesn't help much does it?

So I guess we'll see. I know she hears us. I know she understands us. I know she's got a firm grip on the world around her and she's self assured and very independent... she's smart I know that. She's doing great and growing well and eats great. So I should just count my blessings and shut up I suppose... but I'm a mom... I worry.

Concerns about Patch

With six kids I guess there's always something right?

Patch has always been a very sharp kid. Even as a little tiny guy he had an amazing vocabulary and ability to communicate in a really expressive way. Something that endlessly amazed both his father and I. He was quick and sharp and so very clever... and we love that here.

Over the years we've noticed a hesitancy in Patch's speech though. He doesn't speak as quickly or easily as he used to. He pauses, he repeats himself... it's as if he doesn't trust what will come out of his mouth so he speaks haltingly and with great care, perhaps overly careful even. It's something we've been noticing probably for a year or a year and a half now. We didn't think much of it really. I mean there are six kids here and it can be hard to gather your thoughts in the every day din we have here.

Then when he started first grade this year he started having to read out loud to his Dad or I every day. Just little beginner reader books, that truthfully Patch finds VERY easy to read and breezes through with no difficulty at all. He has to read us his one or two books that he brings home each day and we sign the little paper saying he read them and it takes all of maybe 10 minutes. Well, with this new reading aloud assignment we noticed Patch started to mumble... a lot. He would read in a monotone running all his words together and not speaking succinctly and often making it hard for us to understand what he was saying. Which of course in turn lead to us asking him to repeat himself fairly often. We figured it was just his rush to get through the book so he could mark it as done and be finished with his homework and didn't think much of it. Then within just a few weeks of the start of school and these reading assignments Patch started mumbling ALL the time. Now he mumbles more than he speaks clearly and truly... it's maddening. We have to ask him to repeat himself very often, and always kindly, and we can SEE that it annoys him (as well as us). What else can we do though? He runs his words together and we can't understand a word he says at times.

So we're left wondering WHAT in the world is going on with him? First the hesitating and now the mumbling. Ed says he thinks that it's like Patch has no self confidence or the belief that anyone cares what he's going to say so that he hesitates and mumbles. I don't know... maybe that's it. I'm not really sure to be honest. I can see the argument for Patch having taken a hit to his self esteem (we have issues that we have been trying to deal with for a long time about Tessa cutting him off at the knees WAY too often). I just don't know.

At this point I've put a call in to the school. I'm going to discuss this with his teacher and possibly see about getting him tested by the speech therapist at his school. Maybe they can do something to help him. Can't hurt to ask right? So we'll see where this leads us.

Patch is just such a joy. I really hope we can figure out what's going on with him and help him along to gain back his wonderful ability to talk and communicate so effectively. I know that he knows that we love and adore him, maybe we just need to find a little one on one time with him to build up his self esteem again and help him correct his speech issues with kindness and love.

More food allergies :(

Okay so two nights ago... it had been a crazy day here, no time for shopping, no food in the house. We figured we'd get take out. We were going to get pizza when I remembered Kit's tomato allergy and that she can't eat pizza... and she WOULD want to. So I figured lets just avoid that entire situation and make Patch very happy at the same time and get Chinese. Brilliant right? Yeah... not so much.

Kit ate a little bit of everything - some chicken with broccoli in garlic sauce (mild), some pork lo mien, a little bit of a dumpling, some french fries (yeah, not very Chinese I know but it makes the kids happy), and some chicken from sweet & sour chicken. The place we go to uses no MSG and they are vigilant about it. That's actually the whole reason we started going there a few years ago when I was pregnant. Also Kit eats PB&J probably 5 times a week for lunch so she doesn't have a peanut allergy.

By the end of dinner she had small hives on her face and it was all red again. Another obvious allergic reaction... once more unto the almighty Benadryl. Blech. So off to bed with my bumpy little rashy girl. She slept pretty well and woke up looking mostly better, still some mild red marks on her face but better.

I can't for the life of me figure out what it was she could be allergic to though. Near as I can figure it must be something in one of the sauces or something because she's eaten all the single ingredients in the past before without any problem at all.... chicken, pork, beef, egg, rice, noodles.... so it must be something in one of the sauces :( Argh.

So... now no pizza and no Chinese in our house for a while. Oh and no pic this time, sorry.

Santa Day and the childhood joy of it all

So we're still on cloud 9 because of Ben and his first sentence this week. It was truly just an awe inspiring moment. It's been such a completely insane time prepping for the holidays but we're working on it and taking it as it comes.

Yesterday with Daddy not working and the little 3 kids home with us we decided to wash everyone and run out to the mall to see if there was any chance at all of seeing Santa. We've been talking to Ben about Santa quite a bit and I think he gets the whole concept at this point. So off we raced on a very tight time schedule since the kids had half-day at school and picking up would be an all afternoon event with kids coming home from 3 different schools (only not 4 because Patch decided he really wanted to stay home so I said what the heck and let him -- which worked out well for the Santa photo thing as it turns out.). So off we went all bundled up because it was truly just FRIGID cold here yesterday and we were on our way. We didn't say a word to the kids about Santa, just in case the line was too long and we didn't have time to wait, but we hoped.

We arrived and discovered that Santa had moved! EEEK! So we found Santa and much to our complete amazement there was NOBODY in line. NOBODY at all!! WOW! So we got everyone's coats off and flattened down as much fly-away hair as we could and they sat with Santa. Patch was very excited but... ya know he's six now, not a little baby anymore, so he played it cool and very calmly told Santa exactly what he wanted for Christmas (in our house Santa only brings ONE present). Then Ben, but Ben was so beside himself with excitement and joy that he was literally speechless! He couldn't talk, he couldn't even think... he just kept looking into Santa's face with this huge smile and joy obviously written across his little face. Santa asked him if maybe he wanted a train and Daddy said "Ben LOVES trains! How did you know?" Well OF COURSE Santa knew what Ben likes... he's Santa after all :) We told Santa that Kitten would like a dolly please and he said okay. Kit was a little uncertain about all this. She IS "Dangergirl 2.0" so she didn't cry or even fuss but she did look quite concerned the whole time sitting on Santa's lap. She's so funny that little Kitten of ours. So the mall folks took some pics, I took a few pics and Santa gave them little Santa Claus notepads. We got our pics and were off.

After we left Ben was just... I don't know... star struck maybe? He kept pointing back at Santa and saying "Danta!!!! DANTA!!!!" and seemed amazed that he had gotten to sit in his lap. It was seriously just the sweetest thing ever. I am SO glad we took him because I didn't know he would make the connection so clearly and he was obviously so impressed and so overwhelmed and just filled with joy. It was one of those great Mommy moments where you can pat yourself on the back and really say "I did a good job" and mean it.

We went to the fountain where the kids all threw pennies in and thought that was about the coolest thing ever. Kit had an absolute blast just walking around and looking into the fountain and holding on to her penny as if her very life depended on it -- despite the efforts of her two older brothers to convince her to give THEM her penny so they could throw it in. We let them wander and play for a bit and they had a lot of fun. Who knew a mall fountain could be so entertaining? It was time then so we got a little bag of M&M's for the kids to share for being so good and once more out into the frigid air to head home in hopes of getting there in time to get Emi off the bus (we were on time thank heavens!). I am just so glad we made it out there and the kids got to sit on Santa's lap. It made the boys day.

Few more pics to share... this is one of my pics of the kids sitting with Santa. I just absolutely love the looks on the boys faces - they are SO happy to be with Santa... child joy.... is there anything more beautiful? Kit looks a little concerned and unsure here, but she's holding her own. She didn't even fuss at all which was nice... now she wasn't showing us any of her big huge smiles with dimples, but she did okay I think.


Then this one pic of Kit at the fountain. I took LOTS of pics but they were either blurry from kids running or they were blocking each other so I got this one of just Kit. She LOVES new places and seeing new things and being out and about. She is so much like Emi in that way. It just makes her happy.

So.... ON WITH CHRISTMAS!!!!!

My GORGEOUS son

Not my "little boy" anymore huh? Today this gorgeous and together looking young man strode, with his long legs, into my kitchen and took my breath away. How could this handsome young man be MY son? That little tiny boy that they first put in my arms years ago?

How is it we are so incredibly blessed to have THIS young man as our own? Honestly, I sometimes feel like it's an embarassment of riches. My cup seriously runneth over.

I'm being overly shmoopy today. No apologies. I just adore this young man of ours.

My First Born Son

Gregory is 15 years old today. My God, how is that possible? It doesn't feel possible. I remember his birth like it happened a week ago, not 15 years ago. I often tell people that the day Gregory was born was the day I came completely to life. He is so special to me in so many ways, I wish I could enumerate them, but I can't.

I remember his birth and think of it so often. The day before we had been putting up our Christmas tree, with the help of my mother, as I sat and called out contractions that were still being sporadic. We went to bed and ended up getting up about 2 hours later as the contractions were 5 minutes apart and off to the hospital we went. They gave me some sedative and told me that the contractions would stop if it was false labor but also that I would get some much needed sleep since it was after 1am. I woke up around 6am as the nurse was checking on me and said "Oh I guess I'm going home huh?" still groggy and in a fog from the drugs. She smiled at me and said "Oh no, I don't think so" as she showed me the strip with all the contractions on it... so the game was afoot!

We did pit and I took a long shower to help with the back labor I was having as Ed massaged and put counter pressure on my back to alleviate some of the pain. Later Ed slept some and my mom came and went throughout the day. The pit dose went up and up and up and up but things weren't going well. I had gotten to 3cm fairly quickly and was stuck there and Gregory wasn't moving past +1 station. Finally I got an epidural just so I could ge some rest because my fear was that once I was dilated I would be too exhausted to push effectively. I remember they said "He has to leave now" motioning to Ed and I said "LIKE HELL!!!!" Aaaaah codependence thy name is Patti and Ed. So I got the epi and did manage to sleep a little bit.

Labor continued with no progress until it was 7pm and the Dr. said that Gregory was having some minor heart decels (nothing major or worrisome really) but that with my lack of progress she was thinking of doing a C-section. After what was at that point more than 26 hours of labor I said "Can you do it RIGHT NOW?" So the prep began. We had to redo my epidural because it had slipped, they had to prep the OR and all that medical stuff they do. Then Ed, white as a sheet and seriously looking like he was going to pass out at any moment, said "I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can go in there." and the nurses all rushed to him cause I swear he was WHITE... seriously white.... and kind of swaying a little bit (yes, NOW all these years later I'm laughing as I type this). I told him "You were there when this started and dammit you're not leaving me now... get him a CHAIR!!" So Ed was there, sitting by my head in a chair.... with the nurses asking every 2 minutes "You okay there Dad?" ROFLMAO! He did just fine... my man... he's something and it was frightening for him I know but he stayed with me.

The Dr. gave us the blow by blow during the surgery and was telling us what she was doing. She told us that she could see his head and was going to pull him out, and then announced that this cord was around his neck THREE times and that was probably why labor didn't go well and thank God we did the C-sec (my brother Mike has CP for the same reason). She told us she had taken him out and we waited, what seemed like an eternity, for that first cry holding our breaths. Then it happened, I heard the quietest little mewling cry and it was my son making that sound and it was like every cell in my body had been hit with lightening... literally I felt this tingling charge all over when I heard that sound. It was an incredible and truly indescribable feeling, I can't do it justice in words. It was just unreal... that was my son. I asked the Dr., trying very hard not to cry, "is it still a boy" and she laughed and said "Yes, he's still a boy."

They cleaned him off and as the nurse was handing him to Ed for the very first time I said to him "I made this for you for Christmas, it's a little early. I hope you like it." and that was it... we were both a puddle of tears and happiness and completely unencumbered joy. Ed just cried and nodded his head. He brought Gregory over to me and I got to see him and, of course, he was absolutely beautiful.

The next few hours were not good for me but that's not a story for now. When things got on track and I finally got to my room about 4 hours later I got to hold him for the first time and I did what all new mothers do I suppose. I unwrapped him and checked him out from head to foot, counting all the tiny toes and fingers, checking him over completely and he was perfect. Absolutely and completely perfect.

The first weeks with our first born child, our son, were magic. Nothing in the world seemed to matter... we had this little tiny miracle living with us. Ed's car was wrecked (without him in it, just parked on the street) because of a snowstorm and I heard Ed talking to the police officer on the phone about it. Ed laughed and said "we have a brand new son" and I wondered what that was all about. Ed said that the officer had said that Ed didn't seem very upset by this news and Ed told him that we had a brand new baby and the officer said "Oooooh I get it" and chuckled. It was just euphoria for us, the three of us. We were a family. Gregory turned us from a couple into a family and he has been a blessing and a joy to us every day since.

By Gregory's 2nd birthday he was already a big brother, telling me how loud this new little intruder into our quiet peaceful lives was. His 4th birthday found Mommy on bed rest, pregnant again with yet another little sister much to Gregory's disappointment (he was really pulling for a brother). Gregory's 9th birthday found him having been recently diagnosed with ADD and his parents and teachers pulling together to find strategies to help him AND with that little brother he'd been wanting for so long. His 12th birthday found him in Jr. High School on honor roll and with another new brother, with obvious glee at now out numbering the girls. Fourteen found him with a new little sister. Then 15, his first year of High School, new responsibilities, new freedoms, new life in oh so many ways. He's not the same little boy he used to be, he's quickly becoming a young man. We are truly LOVING having a teenager and the new relationship that comes with that, it's amazing and so powerful. Our boy, he has strong opinions and strong beliefs and he likes to share them. He has strong political leanings and has that passion that the young, especially, have about them. His father and I couldn't be more proud of the man he's turning into.

Happy Birthday my first born, my son. Do you remember when you were little? "As deep as the ocean. As high as the sky. That's how much I love my guy."

Gregory at 3 days old in the hospital...

Gregory, about 3 weeks ago

AAAAAH! ALLERGIES!

The new thing we learned in the adventure of parenting this week is that Kitten has a HORRIBLE tomato allergy. Not anaphalactic or anything like that, but still not a good thing. Here... let me show you... this is the Kitten's "squinky" face as we call it... she only shows it to us when she's really mad. I guess she didn't feel this picture would be flattering ;)

This is Kitten two days after eating pizza and successfully covering her face in tomato sauce. She ate and was happy, becuase God bless that girl one thing that I adore about her is that she will eat anything you put in front of her. I cleaned off her face after dinner and there was this awful raised, raw blood red rash . I immediately saw it was a bad allergic reaction and went in search of the trusty old Benadryl. I actually had to call the Dr. but just to get dosing information cause our little Kitten is such a peanut I wanted to double check the dose since the Benadryl bottle starts it's dosing information at age 6.

So now we know... Kit has a tomato allergy. No more shmeering pizza for her. I guess it's a good thing that I've been giving her pasta with butter on it still instead of sauce. Never a dull moment! LOL!

Mostly Emi stuff

Hey. Just thought it was time for another update. It's been crazy here, but that's nothing new. Nana and Grandpa came to visit and that was nice but also difficult at the same time. Honestly it was a joy to see them arrive and an absolute relief to see them go... for the 6-pack as well I think.

We had Emi's parent-teacher conference yesterday. Good and bad news I guess. She's getting C's in most of her classes which we're not thrilled with, she's getting an A in science (which we ARE thrilled with), and a B in Spanish (lovely). All her teachers simply adore her and think she is wonderful and brilliant and has the best sense of humor imaginable for a 12 (almost 13!) y/o girl. They all just love her, they really do. Yet she's struggling academically.... again. She's smart, she's very smart but academics don't come easy for her like they do for her older brother and younger sister. It's not just like falling off a log for her like it is for them... and I think she resents that a little bit. We tell her every day that she's gifted and special and she has her own unique God-given talents... and she KNOWS that she is very talented artistically. It just doesn't make up for what SHE feels she is lacking academically. I stress "she" because WE, her father, her teachers, and I, all feel she is very capable of so much more than what she shows us.

Emi is a mystery to me still in oh so many ways. I wish I knew what made her tick. I wish I had a greater understanding of her. She goes way out of her way to be VERY different from everyone else -- all the other girls. She does it on purpose... it's almost like she tries TOO hard to be different. It's what she lives for though. Every conference we hear the same thing "she beats to the sound of a different drummer" or something like that. We KNOW that, we accept that, we even love that about her. She is not a child that will succumb to peer pressure some day... because in reality she doesn't seem to care at all what her peers think or are doing and will pull with all her might in the exact opposite direction. However I am left with this feeling that I can't quite figure out how to give Emi what it is she needs.

On the outside Emi appears impervious and strong, but in reality she's so gentle and frail on the inside. Yesterday I described her to her teachers as a "sheep in wolves clothing" and I think that may be the most right on description of her I've ever found. She looks so tough and independent and strong from the outside, but she's not. When she is scolded or does something wrong or does poorly in school it wounds her deeply and she feels it deeply. It scars her gentle sheep's soul, deeper than most realize I think.

Gregory is brilliant and is ruled by science and math -- with the soul of a writer. He loves to be "one of us" now that he's older instead of "one of them." He is growing up very quickly lately. Tessa is brilliant and is more "typical girl" and has a ton of friends and worries about what ALL of them think and likes boys and wants to wear nail polish and go out with her friends and do all that typical young girl stuff. Patch is brilliant and hyper and active and crazy and sometimes annoying as little brothers can be... but typical little boy stuff. Ben is special and different and sees lots of Dr.'s and has lots of surgeries and life may never be normal and typical for him. Kit is a physical BEAST. Seriously, she's just an animal. There is nothing she can't climb or get into. Every day there are new interesting ways she can find to endanger herself, knowing Mami will always come to the rescue. Then there's Emi... who I just can't seem to figure out completely. I GET her... I think... but I just don't know what to do with her.

Well, next week we have Ben, Tessa, and Patch's parent-teacher conferences. Wish us luck!

Halloween Hijinks!

So Halloween at the home of the Six Pack was hectic but fun. Kit didn't nap nearly long enough and I knew that going in but not really much I could do about it... oh well. Ben did nap and was very much looking forward to going out at NIGHT in the dark and trick or treating. We even practiced with him saying it... which sounded kind of like "Ti - eet" but hey, not bad eh?

We had an exceptionally early dinner and sent Gregory off to the football team for his performance (marching band) at 4:40 and then started getting the kids ready to go. Even though the weather was lovely, in the low 60's, I made the three little ones wear several layers and told the big girls that they could decide for themselves - and I think they did well deciding what to wear. Ben and Kit each wore PJ's, then sweats, then their costume and that worked out really well. Ben, as you can see in the picture insisted on starting out wearing an old Harry Potter hat from the costume box but he gave up on that pretty quick! LOL!

The evening went well and Kit LOVED being out and walking around and exploring on her own. She was VERY impressed when at the first house they put candy in her little cat bag. She was just amazed and gave me this look like "Did you see that? They just gave me candy!!" and was very happy. As we tried to leave that first house Kit kept bolting on us and trying to go back! I swear she was thinking "they had CANDY at that house!! Didn't you see it? A big HUGE bucket full of candy! I'm going back there!" She caught on after about the 3rd or 4th house that ALL the houses were giving out free candy and then was pretty content to just walk along and go from house to house with the big kids. LOL! She was really cracking me up. Around the 5th house we couldn't get her to stop whining and we weren't sure what the problem was... then I figured it out as she grabbed a candy out of her bag and thrust it at me with great impatience. Here she was getting all this awesome candy and DUH we weren't EATING it! LOL! So I opened a little bag of M&M's and just gave her one every few minutes and that made her VERY happy! LOL!

We were extremely proud of Ben and he did a TON of walking, in his "Mo's" no less, and did just great. Last year he had to be carried pretty much the entire time but this year he walked the first two blocks we did all on his own (and then was carried for the last two blocks). Patch also did great and didn't complain once about wanting to be picked up or that his feet hurt or anything like that... I think that was a first. He's really getting to be big now, not a little guy anymore but definitely more one of the bigger kids now. Kit actually did quite a bit of walking herself... and a wee bit of "running away" but fortunately we're still just a little bit faster than she is :) LOL!

Emi had a TON of fun playing at "Emilio" and was really playing it for all it was worth. She spent the entire night referring to her Dad and I as "Eddie" and "Patti" and insisted that we call her "Leo"... because "Emi" is a girls name. She made calls on her "stone phone" and carried her briefcase (that she used as a "candy bag") all night. She would walk up to people's doors and after getting her candy would say "You have been served" and everyone found that very funny. Tessa was a peach and was actually a big help with Patch and Ben both :)

We got home fairly early, which was okay with the kids because they made out like bandits, and everyone got off costumes and went through their candy bags and much fun was had by all. Kit was completely overwhelmed with CANDY (which she really hasn't had very much of in her short little life) and everyone was happy. Patch was so happy but very true to form for him he actually told US after a fashion that he was really tired and ready to go to bed! He's just like that, he knows when he's tired and he doesn't make a big deal and just tells us "I'm tired and ready for bed" and goes up and that's it. We go up and tuck him in but sometimes with getting waylaid along the way we get up to his room to find him already alseep. I can't figure out if this picture of him is more just sheer exhaustion or completely candy coma! LOL! Oh and please do take note of the alma mater sweatshirt Patch is wearing... Daddy was so proud.

All in all everyone was happy, everyone had a good night and it went off without a hitch. Even Gregory got home fairly early and was able to join in on some of the fun. We let him raid Kit's bag and take out all the candy she's not allowed to eat and that made him really happy. This was Gregory's first year of not trick or treating so I think that getting some candy anyway helped to ease the transition for him! LOL! Oh and in new Ben things to add... whenever one of the big kids has been out doing something Ben now announced that his sibling has come back by announcing repeatedly "egg HOME!" (or "Mimi home" or "Tesh home") and Ben was VERY happy to see Gregory back at home since he wasn't ToT'ing with us this year. It was very sweet.

I will also add this small downer in that today we had very tired and somewhat difficult kids to deal with. I think everyone was dealing with sugar withdrawal after yesterday and worn out from being out walking for so long and a late night and so we had some CRANKY kiddo's today. Thankfully it's just one day and I'm sure tomorrow they'll be back to normal again... well... with the exception of begging for candy every minute until it's finally all gone. LOL! Aaaah, Halloween... gotta love it!

Oh and wanted to add just a few more pics from the evening.

Happy Ben post Trick or Treating -- big happy smile on his little face.

The Little Sisters together :)

The Three Boys

And sadly this blurry pic of the girls is the only picture I got of Emi that was any good! Still, I had to post it because blurry or not I thought it was cute.

So there ya have it. Halloween Hijinks with the six pack :)

Patch & Emi Halloween fun

Patch and Emi had big fun yesterday in the lead up to Halloween. Of course it was recorded for posterity on film... as always.

Patch had his "book character parade" at school yesterday. The new thing is that they can't just WEAR Halloween costumes, they have to be a book character. Having avid Harry Potter fans in this house (parents included) and many many many variations of HP costumes in our "Halloween boxes" where we have saved every single costume ever worn by any of our children Patch figured he'd be Harry Potter. Dad got the boxes down from the attic, now number four very large boxes filled to the brim with Halloween goodness and fun, and Patch began rifling through them with his big sis Tessa with wild abandon. In the boxes he found our totally cool VERY awesome dragon costume that each of the older kids has now worn at least once, and decided that this costume was WAY too cool to pass up. Patch asked us, in his very sincere and endearing way, if that could be considered a book character. So I reassured him and said "of course it can! Puff the Magic Dragon!" and he was content with this... up until one of his brilliant older sibs also mentioned that he could also be "Norbert," Hagrid's pet dragon from "The Sorcerer's Stone"... or even the Hungarian Horntail that Harry had to fight in "The Goblet of Fire." Of course those sounded WAY cooler to a 6 y/o boy than a silly old dragon named "Puff" of all things! LOL! So we were set. Patch had his costume. The day of the parade was upon us and Patch was very excited. Due to scheduling conflints only one of us could go to the parade so Ed was sent to do that while Mom stayed behind and played livery service for the two oldest children picking them up and dropping them off. Dad got some cute pics though, as you can see. The first pic is from the back because apparently the camera batteries were dying and Ed wasn't quick enough... ooops, sorry! The second pic is inside his classroom showing his "scary dragon face." Still.... way cool costume huh? It's lasted for about 9 years now!

Then, yesterday as well, Emi volunteered at the local art studio to help out with an activity Miss Sharon, most wonderful art teacher, had planned... face painting and other Halloween activities! Emi was thrilled to be able to help out so I picked her up at the bus and promptly delivered her to the studio. We delivered her dinner and she had a blast. Ed took Ben to the studio at 7:30 for pick-up, Sharon having said she would love to paint his face for him, but Ben got one look at Emi and decided... thanks but not thanks! He was terrified!! Still they hung out while the children finished up and Emi helped to clean up and came home... where Kit was also scared half to death upon seeing her sisters face! Ah, nothing like Halloween to scare the life out of little ones! I think it looked pretty good and I'm sorry I didn't get a better picture, but you get the idea. I'm just glad Emi had such a good time.

Today we're getting ready for Nana & Grandpa's visit so there will be more photo's and stories to follow I'm sure!