Fun!

We didn't take a vacation this year.  Everyone decided they needed a recovery year from Korea last year and well, after the money we spent to take that trip, we needed a down year or more.  But, the girls had earned Six Flags tickets, so we decided to spend a day there.  Cole was 'too grown up' to go, so it was a little cheaper.  Kaelin and Chase mostly wandered together and everyone once in awhile we'd all 6 be together or a parent with each set of kids.  We got a lot of rides in in the morning.  Hardly any wait at all.  Jaemin LOVED Thunder River.  He could not get enough.  He loved getting soaked and he did get soaked 2 of the 3 times we road.  He loved Looney Tunes of course.  All of the rides are his size.  I took him on Tony Hawk's roller coaster and that was enough of those for him.  We got Chelsi on a roller coaster and she even threw her hands in the air.  I road Batman with Chase and Kaelin. Kaelin closes her eyes as tight as humanly possible on all rides, but she WILL ride them.  Chase talks her into doing everything with him.  We went back to our car to eat our packed lunch.  We brought lawn chairs and the little kids' table, chairs and umbrella for them to eat in the shade and then it was onto the water park.  It was alright, but way over crowded, so a couple hours later we went back to riding rides.  It really wasn't too bad as far as lines go until after lunch.  The kids did so good, but were SO tired as are we.  It's way more fun now that they can all ride bigger rides.

First ride was the ferris wheel...totally had Jaemin and Chelsi happy while Brian and the big kids wandered to the bigger rides.

This was them getting brave enough to raise their hands on the little buccaneer ride.

And learning to wait in line patiently.

More rides and Jaemin attempting to wave at me while riding.

And I guess Brian attempted to take a picture of the big kids.....and yep....that's Chase actually smiling!  He's such a teenager lately.

Really great day with the family!

So Tiring

Every day that Jaemin stays home with Kaelin he ends up exhausted.  He fell asleep on the couch, shortly after I got home from work.  He was just lying down watching videos (he says legos) on his iPod and he was out!  So sweet he is.

For the boys

Cole got a replacement vehicle tonight.  Only problem is that it started smoking 10 miles from the dealership and they had to come back and get it.  There was a leak under it causing it, so we're thinking it could be the cooler line.  But, since it was a dealership, they paid for the towing and are keeping it a couple of days to fix.  I'm planning on asking for an invoice in case it doesn't get fixed properly.  I hope it was just bad timing.  We got a good deal on it and it was adult owned and looked well cared for inside and out, so I don't think there was any malice, just bad timing.  He's a little disappointed he doesn't have it yet, but hopefully it will be worth it in the end.  We're hoping this will be his vehicle for awhile and are putting full coverage on it.  He's helping pay for it so he has some ownership in taking care of it.  Then, when he's older and insurance is cheaper we'll transfer it to him.

Jaemin was told to go to bed tonight at 8:30.  Same time as usual when he stays home the next day, but he was in the middle of Ice Age, so I, as usual, gave into my little man and told him he could watch it a bit longer from his bed.  So spoiled my man is.  But school will start soon and he'll be introduced to the real world soon enough.

No Cats!

I think cats are fine.....as long as they're not too close to Jaemin.  Apparently, he had been outside playing and was holding Cuddles for awhile.  Kaelin brought him into Brian and Brian said his eyes were almost swelled shut and his body was covered in small hives.  Poor boy.  I came home about 45 minutes later and the hives were gone, but his eyes were still pretty swollen even after benedryl.  We told him no more cuddling with the cats.  He promptly told me that holding kitties make him sick.  At least I think he gets it.

On a good note, we sold Cole's car last night and today the podiatrist released him to work again.  So at least he got a few work hours in for the day.  Onto look at another truck tomorrow night.  Not sure if it will work out.  It's not extended cab and we're not sure if his 6'2" body will fit okay, so we'll find out.  The, back to looking!

Longest Week EVER!

It's only Wednesday.  I just realized that while bringing Chelsi home from gymnastics.   Chase did manage to sell his last football card when he and Brian went to moms to take care of the garden.  YAY!  One thing accomplished this week.  I have accomplished NOTHING at work all week.  Cognos has had glitches all week, making my reporting very slow and cumbersome.  Cole's off work all week with his toe and is getting grouchy.  We're STILL trying to look for a truck for him and possibly sell his car while trying to convince him he needs to be more appreciative of being spoiled rotten.  Which he is.  I know our kids do not believe it now because so  many America kids are so spoiled and get their way and get things they want on whims, but they are spoiled too.  Not as bad as many, but spoiled far more than we were growing  up.  We're trying our best to pull in the reins to remind them nothing comes without work and effort and rarely for free.

We got another email from Kaelin's agency.  Kaelin is now expecting a letter and gifts from her foster mother.  They said this will be the only time they will forward for them and it will be directly between us from now on.  How great is it that it will be here in time for her birthday.  She'll really love that.  I'm so happy for her and hope she can have a long distance relationship with her.  Her foster mother really loves kids....so does her husband.

Next week is a full week with no football.  No practice, no cards to sell, nothing.  Hopefully, it will just be a better week all together.  I'm hoping we can get good enough weather and talk the family into taking off work to go to Six Flags one day next week.  We'll see if I can talk the older men into it.  I don't know about taking them all by myself in the waterpark.

Please bring on a better week.

Has it really been....

a couple of weeks?  It's been so busy, literally, life is passing before my eyes.  We're almost to the 1 1/2 week football break.  That will be better.  My birthday is over, not that that was anything time consuming.  Dad was visiting for a few days.  Chelsi's still in gymnastics.  Trying to take off every, warm, Friday to take the kids swimming at Lois'.  School is almost here!  Whew.  Maybe then I can breathe.

High school football is somewhat consuming, but not as bad as I really had it worked out in my head.  Brian gets him there at 6am 4 days/week and goes to work.  Either I pick him up a little after 7:30 or sometimes another mom does for us and get the other 3 younger ones wherever they need to go and get back to work.  Kaelin's been doing pretty good babysitting Jaemin 2 days/week.  Jaemin likes staying home with her.  Chase has to sell discount cards to help with football and at $20 a pop they're not that easy to sell.  But, he's trying.  Last night was mom's night and parent meeting for football.  All about the expectations for the boys, the program, etc.  They wanted moms to understand what their sons did, so we had to go through our son's position's drills.  I didn't fall, so though I'm very uncoordinated, I'll call it a success!

Cole's car is still out.  We're trying to sell as is.  He wants a truck to haul fishing poles in, so we decided it wasn't worth sticking money into it that we wouldn't get back out of it, but so far no bites.  We've had to put limits on his driving since he's driving our gas hog truck.  He's not liking it, but that's life.  Better save some money if you want to pick out your own vehicle!

We got an email from Kaelin's agency today.  Korea has received the letters we mailed a couple of weeks ago and her foster mother has asked for direct communication.  We're hoping this is a good thing.  We're really excited and hoping for communication.  We do not know how much it will be or if they just really wanted to be able to check the blog.  I'm hoping for emails, Facebook, anything.  I know it makes Kaelin happy.  She knows Mrs. Kim loves her.

Gotta go.  It's my only rest night!

Snorkel Tests and No Posts

The last 2 weeks have been a total blur.  We had two weeks of swim lessons 4 times per week, plus gymnastics on Wednesdays, plus summer school, plus my birthday, plus some of us getting sick.

Kaelin's poison ivy is totally gone, but they have her on so many steroids, she is still on them.  Just a few more days.  Found out she and a few other kids all got it at school of all places.....bad teacher.  Tsk, tsk.  Jaemin had a stomach virus which Brian and I got, but not as bad.  Then as soon as he started feeling well, we had to take him to the ER to find out the reason he could barely talk was because he had strep and his tonsils were touching his uvula completely.  Poor boy!  Found out strep was going around summer school.  Needless to say, summer school was not a hit.

My birthday was pretty good.  Though I think people forgot (which is normal with it being in the summer), Brian went to a lot of trouble to make reservations at this far out (far away) winery I kept seeing and wanted to try.  It just looked so pretty.  He called my sister and brother-in-law and got them together with us without me knowing.  He tried to get my cousin and her husband, but they had plans.  40 is fine.  Just another day and another number.  Jaemin did say, Sunday, though that my birthday was not over because there was no cake and ice cream.  I agree buddy!

This week, we're trying to get some estimates.  And the girls did snorkel tests with the snorkel gear I found with our swim stuff.  One set was totally broken, but the other 2 work!  Yay!  Brian has a choice of Florida or Mexico if we go somewhere and wants Mexico, so we have a smaller town in mind and have found a place and Lois is all ready to be nanny for a week.  Cole even gets to wait until he turns 18 next year to apply for his own renewal of passport and it will last 10 years this time.  I'll work on the little kids soon.

Next on the list or agenda

We're trying to figure out what do do, if anything, next year, so after a friend of ours went to Mexico with another mutual friend we are thinking about that.  Jane raved about it and has been twice now.  The logistics for our family are a little different since there are only 3 of them and we have to talk Cole into the flying part.  But, with the help and a couple of other adoptive family friends, they're walking us through where to stay and what we want.  We're hoping for Akumal or Tulum and thinking since this will most definitely be our last vacation with all 5 kids, since Cole turns  18 next year and graduates, and this year is our 20th wedding anniversary, this will be worth spending extra on.  We can normally vacation, even at the beach , for $2,000 or less including everything.  This will be closer to $6,000 (not quite) by the time we get plane tickets, etc., but we can stay for an entire week and do so much and eat so much cheaper.  The stay isn't quite as expensive as the states.  We didn't go anywhere this year or do anything and may not as easily as Chase gets a little older and more into the football things he needs to.  Next year will probably be it for a couple more years.  I'm still a little unsure, but if we save what I hope to, I think we'll take the plunge.  The kids can swim in a cenote, swim and snorkel with turtles, rays and dolphins, zipline, jump from bluffs and the best part is my friend Lois offered to pay her own way and entrances if she can stay with us in return for watching the kids so we can have some alone time.  See, we haven't been away overnight and alone in almost 13 years.  This will really allow us to combine a vacation into a couple get away and  I've been wanting to do that with Brian for so long, but just haven't been able to get myself to leave the needs the kids have in us; especially Jaemin.  This is  the perfect way to do that in one plane ticket and stay!  I'd love to just do one night on the beach eating dinner alone with Brian.  How awesome would that be!!  Everyone keeps telling us we need to get away.  It's good for us as a couple.  This is my way of being able to do it without having all the anxiety.  Hoping it works out.

Still broken out

This poor girl of mine is still broken out.  It's even in new places.  The backs of her legs looks so bad.  Her face isn't awful, but you would think after 3 full days of steroids it would be better.  I was reading online and I'm kind of wondering if it's not systemic and it's kind of attacking her whole system. It can actually, in worst cases, damage nerves.

She's been doing benedryl and steroids for 3 full days and I slathered her in some cream tonight.  I'm going to see if I can get her in to OUR doctor tomorrow if I don't feel it's any better by morning.

No hands

This is from a couple of weeks ago, but I forgot to get it off my phone.  No hands for a round off single back handspring.  Now he has her adding a tuck to it.

Poor girl!

It used to be Chase who always got poison ivy outside, now it's Kaelin too.  She had it on her legs and a touch on her face.  Gave her benefit last night, but it was a lot worse this morning.  Went to the doctor to get a steroid dose pack today.  Poor girl.

1st day for Jaemin

It's not the first official day of school, but it's his first day of summer school and being with others outside the family.  Our school does it as enrichment and especially for kindergartners to ease them into this new world. 

I walked him to the library and spoke to the teacher for a moment and let him know I had to go.  His sisters are in the school too, but not with him.  He looked at me, a little scared, and went to sit down on the rug with the others as his backpack stayed tight to his back. I teared up, but he didn't see.  I've never walked any of the other four in.  He's my baby boy and growing up.

It's Only Wednesday

and it's been a long and busy week.  Last week was different.  I think that's the best I can say.  A friend lied to me through email and lied to Brian's face, they said to save feelings, but it really made things so much worse. Just not sure if or when I can forgive. It was the least likely person of anyone we really knew and so hard to accept the lie and it wasn't for a good reason at all.  Too much to go into.  Just know that I made some decisions for my life and some people and on the fence about others.

This week has been go, go, go.  Haven't had time to hardly complete anything.  And now all this rain is driving the ants in.  Thank goodness they seem to be the Terro loving kind right now, so we'll see if I need to pay someone or not.  Last night was good though.  I spent the whole evening with a friend who was home from Florida.  It never takes us long to open up and catch up and that's how friends are supposed to feel and be.  Too bad she's so far away otherwise.  I've spent my time working on laptops.  We have 3 broken laptops in the house.  One is 8 years old (plus) and they've been pretty hard on it the last year.  They can keep using it for games as long as they want.  It keeps them tethered to the wall since the battery is dead and I'm not spending the money on a new one for an old piece of junk.  Cole's Make a Wish laptop died in April.  It had had issues the whole time and Toshiba doesn't just lack in customer service they have zero.  I had told them there were incident reports on it and because it was restorable each time they just allowed it to be bandaided together this whole time so that when it was out of warranty by a week it would crash and they would lose responsibility.  When I googled the "no bootable device" it was giving me it seems the C855 models did this a lot.  Really smart.  They just put a crappy hard drive in (no it's not restorable, I tried) that crashes and loses everything then Toshiba can charge you $39.95 for a USB.  Note that the software is free since you purchases on your laptop in the first place, but they the shipping and handling is $39.95.  What a RACKET Toshiba has going by not backing up their product and putting bad devices out there on purpose.

Make a Wish was AWESOME!  I contacted them hoping they had purchased it with a credit card that had warranty extensions.  I don't know if they did or not.  They just asked for the specs Cole wanted on a laptop and ordered a new one.  He's back up and running and it's NOT a Toshiba. I will never get one again.  I hate waste.  Anyone who knows me knows I hate waste.  So, I ordered a new hard drive and the media restore USB for about $80 total.  The kids could always use a decent laptop and a different, better brand hard drive should do the trick.  I'm going to attempt putting it in myself.  I took the back off and found it, so not really too worried.  In two weeks, they should have a good laptop that will only be used for homework.  Then, Brian informed me last night that Chase had dropped my 3 year old laptop and broke the lcd screen.  I mean killed it!  Great!  I had a spill and drop warranty on it that expired last summer.  I googled replacing the lcd and it's $200 at best.  $300 if I pay someone else.  I only paid $400 for my laptop.  Not happening!  I still had my old Dell monitor in the closet for photography.  I ordered a $6 usb keyboard and a $16 cooling stand for the laptop, found out how to set it to close the lid and stay on.  The laptop will now serve as a processor only and be totally usable.  Fixed it for $22!  In the end, I got 2 laptops fixed and working again for $102.

But, now I am exhausted.  All the reading I've done and learning how to do all this stuff, making sure I have all my ducks in a row.  I'm tired and I just wanted to spend some time with Jaemin because tomorrow's his  first day of summer school and I'm nervous.  I told him I'll walk him in and be home when he gets off the bus.  I know he's pretty excited, but I just want my baby to have a great day!  Tomorrow night my friend is stopping back by one last time before she goes home and then I will have breathing time Friday.

Cole's working 40 hours this week in 2 jobs.  They seem to like him in the one he started last week quite a bit.  They've all told us how hard of a worker he is and he'll probably get a raise.  The other job has just been orientation so far, so I don't think he quite knows what to think.  One is just a summer job.  The other could last into the school year, which will be great!

Out for dinner

Grabbed some Little Caesars pizza, a cooler of sodas, life jackets, swimsuits, graham crackers, chocolate chips and marshmallows and headed down to the.river.  About 80 degrees on the river is perfect.  Kids swam, ate pizza and roasted marshmallows for s'mores.

Moms of Special Needs Children

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-lin/special-needs-parenting_b_1314348.html

This is such a great article. I realize that a lot of my kids' needs (the ones that have them) are probably not to the degree of this mom, but I have so felt all the things she listed.....almost weekly at least. You do feel alone. You feel like most don't understand or wouldn't. You feel happy and sad all in the same day. You feel overwhelmed and content all at the same time. You can feel truly blessed and jealous within minutes of each other. It's really, really exhausting and really, really difficult.

Ultimately, I know I am so blessed by the things my kids have accomplished and though they're not the top at anything they are the top for themselves. A lot of special needs are invisible to others. You don't know why that kid can't play football because you can't see the scar under their shirt. You don't know why that 5 year old is small and doesn't talk like other 5 year olds.....you just think they're not bright. They are special!

This specifically really resonated with me as a mom to my kids. I love the things Jaemin does that are so typical for a 3 year old and he is almost 6. Because it's progress and it's great! I love watching Cole wrestle because we never thought he could....but he did. He's not the best, but as long as he tries and he's proving that kids with determination can do it.

"Raising a child with any disorder, condition or special need, is both a blessing and a challenge. A challenge for the obvious reasons, and a blessing because you don't know the depths of victory and joy until you see your child overcoming some of those challenges (sometimes while smiling like a goofy bear)."

More Grant's Farm and Magic House

I think they had a good time.  They fed llamas, birds and goats.  The girls road the camels.  The boys went into a cage thing to hold parakeets and feed them.  They saw the Clydesdales.  I think Jaemin was a little surprised at how large they were.  Jaemin got to see his favorite turtles, but was mesmerized by the elephants for some reason.

We thought about the zoo, but thought Grant's Farm may be less crowded, plus it's cheaper.  At least it was cool outside.  Cole's too 'big' for family outings, so he stayed home.  The Magic House is always fun.  Us adults were getting tired.  Otherwise, I think they could have stayed for awhile.  

 I took this of Chase, so he swiped my camera and took one of me.

 The goats ate everything including trying to eat our shorts, shirts and Chelsi's shirt ties.

 I was too slow, but Jaemin and Chelsi touched the snake too.  It was pretty big!

 Chelsi didn't want to do it by herself and Kaelin was supposed to.  Our theory is Kaelin just didn't get on so that Chelsi would have to do it by herself.  She liked it though.

 The boys didn't want to ride the camels, but did want to go into the bird cage.  Jaemin did hold one and did feed a few, but didn't love it.  They loved Chase.  One crawled from his finger, up his arm, around his neck and onto his hat.

 And there he decided that hat was junk just like we keep telling Chase.

 Magic House!

 The girls get static.  They were told to shake it out first....that's what they're doing.

 Jaemin's hair did not go up, but I'm shocked Chase's did.  The boys shaking.

 Results.

 Jaemin liked the 3 story slide.

 I told Chelsi she looked like a natural in scrubs with a stethoscope.  Her and Jaemin would make great medical partners.

 She's laughing because too little girls next to Chase cracked the safe, but Chase couldn't.

Grants Farm

Some guy was nice enough to take a picture after he saw us trying the group selfie.

School's OUT! Next year, K, 3, 6, 9 and 12! How's that for a fun year!

They're all done.  We left school a little after 10 or right at, went for some ice cream and took the youngest 4 to the movies to see Blended (their choice).  Next year's probably going to be tough with all 5 in school and Jaemin's adjustment, so I'm just going to enjoy this while I can.

Cole had gotten an award this year, Chase got an award this year and Chelsi got 3 awards this year.  5th & 6th grades do not give awards, so no awards for Kaelin, but I'm sure she would have.  Cole had no Cs this quarter!!  He did so much better and considering  the quarter started with his heart surgery he did awesome!  He may even keep his 3.0 for the semester since he brought this quarter's grades up so much (just 1 more final to be graded).  3rd quarter was really rough for him while he was getting more tired and stressed about the surgery, so it was a welcomed change.  Chase finished on the B honor roll for quarter and semester.  This quarter seemed a little more rough for him.  Hopefully freshman year will be great!  Kaelin finished this quarter on the B honor roll, but kept A honor roll for the semester.  Chelsi doesn't get grades yet, but had all pluses and 90%+ on things that did somewhat grade.  I'm looking forward and hopeful for a successful year next year for all and Cole will graduate!!

Big brother is fishing with friends since school is out, but we're having pizza outside tonight and hopefully the zoo tomorrow.  Came home to a get well card from Jaemin's nurse at the hospital and more Ninja Turtle stickers enclosed.  So sweet to think of him like that since it's his favorite ever.  You should have seen his face when they showed a preview for their movie before Blended today.  He yelled "It's a movie!".  

Jaemin took this.

Recuperation

This is what adenoid recuperation looks like.  He only took pain meds once yesterday.  My men are tough!

Jaemin's adenoids are out!

My baby did SO well. They were running 1 1/2 hours late on his surgery, so they didn't start until about 1:20. They was out and we were back with him about 25 minutes later. I was worried, about his reaction to our separation because of his issues so I had spoken with the hospital a couple of weeks ago. They were so great. They prepped all of the staff and brought us back to the point that we said goodbye in the room they would start putting him out before going to the OR. They said he said he was happy as he was going out. That's my boy! They came and got us before he had woken up even. They said usually they wait until they're awake, but they wanted to go with our wishes and make sure he awoke to us. He had his eyes closed when we walked in, but as soon as we started talking to each other he opened them like flipping a switch. His pretty little eyes just glanced at us and closed again. He didn't talk because the trach tube made his throat a bit sore, but as soon as he could whisper something he asked me where we were going to take him after we left the doctor (aka what can I eat?). Imagine that? Our kid worrying about food. We left shortly after since he was drinking juice just fine. We promised ice cream, so we left for Wendy's to get him a vanilla frosty and right as we were pulling in he started to cry and then got sick. It was all snot, so I think the anesthesia and the junk that cleared out with surgery had made him sick. He wanted a bath after that and asked for his Frosty in the tub. Yep....we gave in. He took a bath and then I fed him his Frosty in the tub. Jaemin requested macaroni and cheese for supper and said that no one else could eat it. It took awhile to convince him there was plenty for him and someone else. He didn't share much, but he did share. He's pretty much back to normal, running around and playing already tonight. He is now saying he is going to be a doctor and if you ask why he says "why not?". The hospital staff had put a mask and cap and his puppy, so he LOVED seeing Dr. Puppy when he woke up. But, now he is the one wearing the mask. EVERYWHERE HE GOES! Now, we're just hoping the snoring subsides when the swelling does.

Waiting.

Waiting some more and amazed the tv sound comes out of that remote.

Still waiting and getting hungry.  He did stay up until 11pm, but that's 12+ hours without eating.

Just waking up and trying to stick his tongue out for me.  He didn't have a smile for me yet.

My baby has a plan!

We didn't get an IEP, but we do have an IEP/504.

I had the meeting with the school (principal, a kindergarten teacher, the special needs coordinator and speech therapist) and after 3 years of speech, he's 80% where he should be, but they're going to keep him in so he can retain the IEP in kindergarten. He didn't qualify in the other areas for an IEP. He is gross and fine motor skill delayed, but not enough by the state to require IEP. He is low/average IQ, and language skills are low, but low enough based on his IQ level to qualify. However, the principal very much seems to be on my side when I explained that I think the IQ is a little false since he can read at the 2nd grade level, but the test doesn't reflect that, making his language further behind. His sensory isn't bad enough and since he doesn't have enough of a gross/fine motor delay they can't do an IEP by state standards. The coordinator thought his stimming was a habit because he didn't do it at all last May while in Korea, but I told her that my theory is that since he is sensory seeking being in a different country with all of the new sights, smells, etc. was filling his need he had no need to stim. The principal said she agreed with my theory. So, they decided he was delayed and does need help, so they worked out a 504 plan and he will get speech and physical therapy during kindergarten as a disability (just during naptime since he no longer takes them). It's so odd to be so happy, but I've seen the difference speech has made for him and not just in the speech area, so I know this will progress him even further. I really, really feel that his sensory disorder is a lot of the problem and if we can help him there, it will help him in the other areas. If only we could get him to color for more than 3-4 minutes.

Anyone who has known Jaemin since the day he came home knows how far he's come. He has surgery to get his adenoids out Monday and the hospital, though not a children's is being wonderfully sensitive to his needs. They actually called again tonight so they can be totally prepared for him to make this as great for him as possible. They said they would meet us when we got there and do everything he needs to be comfortable and not stressed. I love it when people understand the situation is unique and he is unique and special!

I love this kid!!!!