Field Day!

Today was KayTar's first field day! She's been in school for 3 years now, but she has only participated at the indoor Special Olympics athletic events. Josh and I were both nervous about it. KayTar fatigues easily when she is active AND/OR when she is in the heat. Since Field Day is active AND the heat here is actual 90's and 100's with the heat index, we were doubly worried. But I don't like to keep her from fun opportunities if I don't have to...so we decided to give it a shot, especially since I was able to be with her all day.

We packed her chilly pad, umbrella, a cold water spritzer bottle, and plenty of drinking water...and it went well! The part in the morning was totally fine, she just sat out of the sack race because it is beyond her physical abilities, and the afternoon was mostly okay, though she had to come in a bit earlier than her class because she was feeling too hot (she picked a chapter book from the library to read while we waited), and we opted out of going back outside for popsicles later. She didn't feel like she missed anything, so I'm glad we let her try and allowed her to set her own limits. On to the photos!

  

These next two are part of a series of KayTar and her best buddy from Kindergarten cracking up during one of the relays. They were passing a sponge down the line and after KayTar passed it to M, she would wipe her hands on his shirt and get it soaking wet. They were both being SO silly. I just LOVE these!

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A-nevada-versary! Anni-vegas-ry!

We arrived in Vegas around 5:30 Thursday evening...slightly later than planned because our plane arrived late and needed a part fixed after we boarded. We settled in at the Aria, wandered around the casino a bit and then went out for a walk.

We caught part of the show at the Bellagio while we were out and then explored the inside a bit.

After that, we headed back to our hotel to freshen up for our 8:30 reservation at Craftsteak. When we made the reservation, we didn't take the time change into account, so it was a SUPER late dinner for us...10:30pm our time. It was super late AND super expensive. Holy COW. Literally, because it was a steakhouse. ;) It was also super delicious. But the price...it was roughly the equivalent of 2 weeks of groceries! I don't know that we will EVER spend that much on a meal again, but it was definitely an experience. I had a ceasar salad (with three little anchovies on top, which I had to set aside while their headless bodies quietly judged me) and diver sea scallops with a Craft colada to drink. Josh has a warm frisee salad with bacon, poached egg, and blue cheese dressing, a ribeye, and a pineapple upside down cake cocktail. We shared fingerling potatoes and honey sautéed carrots. It was delicious and EXTRAVAGANT. We made a pact not to eat anywhere we have eaten before or that we could get at home while on vacation, so this fit the bill for sure. We played a few slots on the long waaaaalk back to Aria. We went to sleep around 11:30...which was 1:30 for us. A late night for us old married folks with kids!

We started the next day with coffee and pastries from the coffee shop and phone calls home to check on the kids. It was KayTar's kinder graduation morning and we were missing it (our trip was scheduled before the date was set)! My parents went so she had special people there who took photos and video for us. The school librarian sent me photos via text, how sweet is she? And I talked to KayTar after the ceremony, too. She was a little sad that some of the kids had balloons and flowers and she didn't, but my mom told her she would get something special at pick-up time. Wasn't she a beautiful graduate?!

After that was over, we headed out for the day. We walked back over the the MGM and took the monorail down to Harrah's and the Imperial Palace and wasted some time gambling before lunch at Hash House a Go-Go. Josh saw it on Man VS Food and he likes to plan vacations around at least one MVF meal. We had the sage fried chicken eggs benedict. It was YUM!

After lunch, we walked a LOT. We went to the Venetian and Mirage and back to Harrah's to grab the train back. We stopped at Bally's/Paris on the ride back and went back to Aria that way. I loved Paris...it was so cool inside. I was so tired and my knee was hurting so much that I didn't really take any photos inside. We crossed over to Bellagio and took the tram back to our hotel.

I was beat when we got back and my bum knee was being VERY bummy, so I elevated it (the only use for all those extraneous hotel bed pillows) and watched Law and Order while Josh went to get coffee for us. After recuperating, we went down to the casino for a while and then headed to NYNY for dinner, which we also loved! It was very cool inside. We ate at Broadway Burgers that night and it was good. Josh had a chicken burger with tomato, white cheddar, and a fried egg on it. I had a chicken burger with mozzarella, bruschetta, arugala, and a parmesan crisp on it.

 After dinner, we gambled a little, mostly at our Munny slot, and then rode the roller coaster once our dinner settled. It was AWESOME! Great, great ride. Then we went down to Bellagio for the fountain show, and back to Aria, gambled a bit, and headed upstairs to soak my knee in the amazing bath.

On Saturday, we had coffee, got ready, and went to Monte Carlo for brunch. It was yummy! Then we gambled a bit and I won $55 at roulette, another $55 at the Munny slots, and then another $38 at the Munny slots before going up to pack and leave.

It was a fabulous trip and we are already ready to go back! It was great to spend some time together without all the busyness of normal family life, but I think next time, we may stay somewhere kid friendly and bring the kid's along...and maybe my parents so we have an evening sitter! :) Although, we've got a lot of saving to do before that happens!

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It has been an entire decade...

Since these two kids got married. I was 17 and he was 18. We met on the Internet when we were 13! I'm sure a lot of people thought we were crazy and wouldn't make it, but here we are a decade later, still happy and even more in love...with 2 kids, a house, a dog, a cat, a guinea pig, a snake to show for it! 

Today we are flying to Vegas to celebrate! WOOHOO! :)

S-s-snakes.

BubTar's snake, Sticky, died on Friday (the 13th). I don't know if I even mentioned his snake here, but Josh and BubTar found him in our yard one evening and decided to keep him. He was a wild rough earth snake and was never very friendly. His only defense was defecation, so naturally we didn't handle him too much because...SNAKE POO. BubTar liked him, though, and took good care of him...right up until he found him dead on Friday. We aren't sure what happened, he might have been old, or maybe captivity didn't agree with him. We never SAW him eat, so we don't know if he was eating or not. Whatever the reason, BubTar was very, very sad. It was our first real encounter with death here, but the kids handled it well enough. KayTar didn't seem broken up about it, but she did say, "Wasn't it so horrible to hear BubTar cry like that?!" I don't know if horrible meant sad or annoying in that context...with KayTar, it could have gone either way. At the funeral, BubTar said, "I'm sad that you died, but glad that you taught me I could be responsible for a pet all on my own. You were my first pet and I'll miss you." We buried him in the fenced-in area near the garden, so no other animals will mess with the little grave, that was BubTar's idea.

He decided he wanted to spend his birthday money on a pet store snake and the additional care items, so we did our research and some comparison shopping on Saturday. He got quite a haul for his birthday and I had no idea what he would end up spending it on (because we surely don't need more toys!), so this was an amicable and responsible choice! From what we read, the best bet for kids was a corn snake, so that is what we went looking for. We made sure BubTar realized a snake was a VERY long term pet (about 20 years!), he might still be around when BubTar moves out of the house, and he assured us that he was in it for the long haul. At the pet stores, both kids held a few different snakes and the snakes were so friendly and docile! He ended up choosing an albino corn snake, who still doesn't have a set name...he's trying out a few names before settling on the winner. He (or she, we can't tell until the snake gets much bigger) is very social and seems to like being handled. I've even held him and I don't think of myself as a snake person. BubTar said that the new snake already likes him more than Sticky ever did.

ARD, mateys!

I should be working on my Powerpoint presentation on retinoblastoma and chemotherapeutics that I have to present in the recording studio tomorrow morning , but I wanted to write a quick summary of KayTar's ARD meeting and plan for next year while it is still fresh.

*She will be in a mainstream classroom for 1st grade, as she was for Kinder.

*She has still qualifies as OHI (other health impairment), AI (audiotory impairment), and SI (speech impairment, but only in articulation). Funny how she has retained the same labels that she entered the district with 3 years ago, but she is a completely different child!

*She will continue to receive speech services to work on articulation (th, l, r sounds mainly). She has some oral motor issues that make certain sounds tough for her, but she's doing really well. This morning she said "Wheat Thins" and it was spot on!

*She will continue to receive health services from the nurse (who we love to pieces), including meds, glucose checks, tube feeds, and rest when necessary.

*She will have a trial with a word processor to deal with her fine motor fatigue (per the teacher and OT evaluator's recommendations)

*She still doesn't qualify for OT or PT in the district, so we will continue working on those privately, which is fine with me. The PT who evaluated her this year was also the PT who assessed her at intake 3 years ago, and she said she really enjoyed getting to see how far she had come in that time. She's come a looooong way for sure!

*She will have social skills goals/training next year (this is new). I fully agree with the need for these. Her goals will be 1. Listening/obeying authority figures . 2. Interacting with peers successfully. 3. Respecting personal space.

*She scored off the charts for expressive language and above average in all language tests. She scored age appropriate for math, and at a 1st grade level. Her reading comprehension is at a 4th grade level.

*Excessive absences will not count against her.

*She will have preferential seating again, so her functioning right ear will face the teacher. She isn't having any issues with her auditory impairment affecting her in the classroom thus far, so we aren't pushing for the FM system at this point.

I think that about covers it for the ARD! We are so thankful that we have had nothing but GOOD experiences with the special education teams we have worked with. They genuinely care for KayTar and try to provide the appropriate services for her every year.

Two more unrelated medical notes:

1. KayTar is being referred to the headache clinic for her continued headaches (she had another over the weekend).
2. Her anorectal manometry testing is scheduled for the beginning of June. Fun times...or something. ;)

Okay, back to the grind now...tomorrow I will be FREE!!

PS: If you need a good laugh, read these...not appropriate for children. ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

An oldie, but a goodie. KayTar was 2 years and nonverbal in the first clip, 3 years and parroting well in the second clip, and 4 years and reading poetry in the third clip. (Now she is 6 and narrating her life as she walks around the house, for example, "She walked to the fridge and finally found something she would like to eat." Then later, as I hugged her, "She was getting a hug and being patted on the back. It was her mom's special day." She said she is working on a book she will write when she is 29. How far we've come!)

Hope all you mothers (sounds vaguely threatening when phrased that way, eh?) have a wonderful Mother's Day today!

Signs It Might Be Finals Week

1. The house starts to resemble a frat house.

2. Lunchables/cereal become an acceptable dinner food.

3. There is always a pot of coffee brewing.

4. The laundry pile begins to resemble Mt. McKinley...or maybe an active volcano that has recently blown.

5. You can't locate the dinner table under the stacks of textbooks, notebooks, and index cards.

6. You'll gladly pay $2 (and would be willing to pay much more) so the kids can dress out of uniform on Friday, meaning you DON'T have to wash dirty uniforms.

7. The DVR is packed with unwatched shows. Same for Google Reader/blogs.

8. The side of your left hand is permanently blackened from being continually dragged through fresh ink.

9. The only time you talk to your husband is when one of you is in desperate need of a break from the books...usually this takes the form of one of you annoying/picking on the other one as a stress release.

10. The answer to every question your kids ask is either "Yes." (as in: can I play computer/watch TV/go in the backyard?) or "When finals are over." (as in: can we go swimming/can so and so come over/can we go out for dinner?)

Finals are over in Storytelling, PreCal, and Cancer Bio. WHEW! Next week, I have my Govt final and I have to record my final Cancer Bio project in the studio for upload to GEOSET (YouTube for science nerds!).

 We have found a little time for important things this week like doodling love notes on each other's hands, or correcting BubTar's mistaken perception that the Weezer song goes, "Oooh-wee-oooh, I look just like Buddy Holly, oh-oh, and I married Tyler Moore."

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