what was lost is now found!!!!

YES!!!! sam's RIDER hat was found!! The museum called me last week to say that they had found it in an area of the museum (that she thought they hadnt been in) and they were holding it for us. So yesterday Dennis and I took Sam in for the last of his Phsyc. Eval. and while he was with the doctor, we went to pick it up. sam is just a "bit" excited on the return of his hat! lol

More good news is that the doctors we saw yesterday aer going to send info on the areas that Sam needs his help in to the schools -- for example... his problem solving (like math) is slightly deficient. (which is due to his organizational skills being low --makes sense...) his vocabulary is high!!!! (i was not surprised at this as the boy uses his words ALL THE TIME! lol) On the serious note tho we also discovered that there was a misunderstanding with the doctor that referred us to the phsyc. eval. told me that we were going to be going to those appt for PTS(post traumatic stress) but they were told to do a regular eval... so no wonder we were all confused and hoping for more!

But none the less Dennis was very happy with what he learned yesterday, but i on the other hand was expecting something different...maybe more(but then we thot it was testing for PTS...). I was hoping for some helpful tools to use with him at home. Dennis pointed out to me on our way home that maybe we need to stop expecting help from the outside and keep doing what i am doing and look on my own and we will continue to work by trial and error with all the kids (like we do with normal parenting skills LOL) He feels that if we stop worrying about when we will get some help maybe the stress in our lives will lessen... so i am going to take the advice of my husband (who usually is good at this sort of thing...) and try to not worry about the whole thing and we will take it as we have been day by day (sometimes hour by hour).

I have been reading "In an Instant" by Lee and Bob Woodruff. It is written by both on thier life together and thier journey with TBI. Bob was an ABC correspondent and while working on a story in Afganhistan his tank was hit by an IED. It is a very moving story and i identify so much with the story but not in a way I thought i would. I find it hard to read somedays without thinking about my dad and what i went thru with his TBI. (for those who dont know my dad was beaten up 12 yrs ago by someone and left a quadripelic and severely brain damaged.) It was because of my dad that when i was in college 4 years ago, doing my Educational Assistant Certification, that my major paper was on TBI and helped me to not only understand what the doctors all were telling us about Sam that first night and days after but on where to start on looking for information about TBI. (I have quite a bit of experience with TBI... too much some days and not enough on others. I have gone from the extreme of paralysis and the mental loss of my father to the next extreme of a walking/talking miracle but people not understanding that there is a deficiency.)

that was quite a ramble...

Other good news with our family is that Joshua, Isaac and Hannah all seem to be settling finally. There are still moments but then when isnt there with kids, right? But as an email from a friend pointed out that they:
"are so competent and pleasant to me and particularly each other. It's obvious that they are accustomed to working around home and they just go ahead and do things with out prompting. Their interaction with each other is so wonderful to see. I'm sure they do have their times but it is so evident that they usually enjoy each other's company"
It was an email that made me cry this morning when i read it. It made me feel good about our kids and that maybe (just maybe) we are on the right track with them and they might just be doing what God gave us families for...to pull together and stick together when times are not the usual.

up and down!

ok sams weight this week is down again! I wish i could lose it as easily as he seems too! Again i offered to give him my extra 10-20 lbs... but said said "no mom, you keep it"...sigh so we are back to square one with his weight! He is going to really need to pack on the pounds and muscle if he intends to even try out for football this year!

APB ALERT!!!!

<-------please be on the look out for a green Saskatchewan RoughRiders hat! It is set to fit Samuels head and it has the autograph of #7 Weston Dressler (This is him signing Sam's hat-------------------------------------->)
on the peak. Last seen at the Manitoba Museum yesterday in the 'school coat check' area. This hat was a special gift to Sam from a dear friend and it only increased in value when we were at the "Banjo Bowl" of 2008 and Sam was able to see his favorite team play AND he got it signed!
(just a side note-- RIDERS WON!!!!!!)
I have called the museum and they have looked for it but apparently it isnt there. Sam is just a bit upset so i might see if i can get a hold of the team and ask if i send my hat if they can sign it for him....they might, you never know...
but in the mean time-- if you happen to see a hat that looks like this... dont snatch it and run, ask if they found it and explain the story of the hat to them... maybe direct them to the blog and the posting of the football game in Sept'08... maybe they will return it!

thank you now back to my usual ranting....

pick pick pick

now i KNOW that siblings pick at each other (I may not have any siblings but after the last 14yrs of kids i have an idea of it) but this afternoon Samuel is picking at everyone for EVERYTHING and i am at the end of my rope... I have once again sent him to his room (after numerous attempts of asking what was wrong and why he was in happy-- all answers are "nothing"...) I guess the good times only last so long! I hate to say it but i hope there is school tomorrow so i can have sometime to myself without feeling like I am always 'picking' at Sam about 'picking' at everyone

changes...

"change is good donkey!" that is my motto! I love change... apparently even if it is for the worse.
well change has occurred once again... i no sooner got my title and first line typed and for lack of a better term "all hell broke loose". I was going to tell of how Sam's attitude and sleeping patterns have changed and how much this past week was so much better than anything we have had in the last month or more... and BAM! He out and lays into Isaac and punches him for asking something about the wii... sigh. so off goes the wii, Sam to his room and my sanity slowly slipping away!

Today is a snow day(they ALWAYS happen on my days off-- i should change my work schedule to Mon-Wed!) so the kids are all home and my husband decided to drive into work today leaving me with the Samuel fallout... again. Mind you if Dennis had have been home it probably wouldnt have happened as Sam tends to leave his tantrums for me and only me.

But as I was going to share before this all happened (back to my previously scheduled posting!)
We moved Samuel up to the main floor last week and he is seeming to sleep better, which is helping his moods (for the most part) and his attitude. We tried a few new things last week so we are unsure as to of what is really the "cure all" or maybe it is all 3 things combined! We moved him upstairs, we are elevating his bed a bit more and we are tying his feet together. I know that last one sounds a bit odd and i am nervous about putting it on here but i have talked to our dr. about it and it seems to be helping with a few areas with Sam's restless sleeping. First let me say that he is able to get out of this! We arent tying him to a bed or using major scary knots. we use his housecoat belt and tie a loose bow around his ankles. this is supposed to help him from contorting into his unusal positions when he sleeps (and it works he says) and it will help him to get a better sleep... we tried it and it works so we will continue to use it until we can find out why his sleep patterns are so goofy!
He is also working out 3 times a week with the bowflex! He drinks his powdered protein chocolate drink then goes and does a simple basic all over body workout for 20-30 minutes downstairs! He had lost some weight last week but this week he is back up and more! 1.3pounds!!!!!! So we will continue with this too! He needs to get some more meat on his bones! He is so frail it scares me to think of him on a football field!

Well changes are happening on my blog too! I am trying hard to make it more "me/us", there will be possibly a new title coming soon and hopefully with more information if anyone is interested in learning more about Brain Injuries. I actually happened into a chat room the other day with TBI survivors and family members! it is nice to know that i can go talk to people who actually understand the brain issues! I am trying to post sites that are informative but also easy to read nad understand. I get a bit "frazzled' when i am reading and trying to take in all that some of the sites are talking about. So if i have posted something a site that is hard to understand or navigate please let me know so i can check it out!