Wednesday, January 09, 2008

So much going on

Whew, it's only Wednesday and I feel like it should be Friday of next week. Chase started his preschool on Monday. This is the preschool thru the school district for kids with delayed learning issues, although there is some controversy with putting children in this, I felt like this was the best place for Chase to learn to behave in a group setting, if he doesn't grasp this concept now, he's going to be a holy terror once he reaches elementary school. He went thru a battery of tests back in November and although the school district psychologist felt like he is a "puzzle" they agreed to place him in the program and focus on not only his behavior and attention issues, but also his speech. He is going 5 days a week for 3 hours a day in the morning; the great thing about this is that he cannot get kicked out! I don't know if I blogged about it, but Chase lasted a whopping 45 minutes in the last private preschool before they called me to come and remove him! I am literally at my wits end with him; he can be so sweet and loving and then the next he is tearing something apart! We so far have been asked to leave stores, he's been asked to leave his first preschool and we got asked to leave church at the Christmas eve children's service. I do know he is better than he was 4 months ago when we first came home, but we have a long way to go. He still goes to occupational therapy twice a week for sensory issues and I honestly don't know if it's working or not, his attention span is about 30 seconds! and does not seem to be improving. He still does ridiculous things like eating dog food. Yesterday I caught him eating it twice and both times he landed in time out, then when I caught him the third time, I swatted him on his backside. I'm not an advocate of spanking, but nothing seems to get thru to him. I don't know if this is just a 4 year old being a rambunctious 4 year old, or is it related to attachment issues or what?? I do hope that a year from now we will be able to laugh about this, but dear Lord he is one rascally kid!

Thank goodness Caroline is doing great. Caroline got invited to her first birthday party for this weekend, she is so excited. The problem that Caroline is having is that she is into "everything is mine" right now. I'm sure this is related to the fact that before me, she never had anything to call her own and now she seems to think "what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine"! She became very upset yesterday when I explained to her that the party this weekend is for her friend, it is not "her" party. She gets over it, but not without a LOT of drama.

We are also having dog issues. The dogs boarded at the vets office while we were on vacation and they all got their physicals and shots while they were there. The vet called me in Chicago to let me know the finding of their physicals. Daisy my golden/Shepard has a tumor on her bottom that may or may not be malignant, she is in surgery today for removal and apparently this will be a very painful recovery and she will be on a fentanyl patch, and oral pain meds as well as anti-inflammatory pills and antibiotics. I am waiting on the vets call right now to let me know how she did in surgery. The path report on the tumor will not be back until Friday, we'll know at that time if it's benign or malignant and what the best treatment plan for her will be. I am so worried about her, she is my "baby" who survived hurricane Katrina and was my first adoption. If you can spare some prayers for her, I would appreciate it. Here is one of my favorite pictures of her:


The other dogs are having issues as well, Rosie my Scottish terrier has elevated liver enzymes and will need to watched for the next few months to see if this is a fluke or if there is indeed a problem. Violet, the Boston terrier has giardia! She probably got it from the kids as they were treated for it shortly after we returned from Russia, so she is on flagyl.

Oy, I need an assistant to keep up with all this!

Jane

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hugs... I hope preschool helps Chase... my Livi is in a similar program.


I hear you about the attention getting swats to the bum... I have always been anti-spanking but there are days that I just don't know what else to do, so I try the old fashioned pat on the butt... not the kind that hurts but more for attention & to get the message across that I mean business.

Hang in there

Hope your beloved pets are well
Lauri

Rachael said...

My heart goes out to you as a single parent. I know I couldn't do it. Well, I probably could, but my sanity would be tenuous at best. Hang in there. Internet hugs to you.

P.S. Have you ever noticed how the extra "naughty" kids are always also extra cute? God must know what he's doing.

Becky and Keith said...

Your blog title doesn't begin to describe what you have going on! You poor thing! This is one of those "Calgon" weeks, isn't it? I hope preschool helps Chase out. The dogs will definitely be in my prayers. My dogs are my babies too so I know what you're going through! Hang in there!

Jane and Jim said...

OK, you've officially scared the hell out of me! What in the world am I getting myself into? Seriously, YIKES.
I will be checking your blog, praying constantly for you and the kids and dogs, and hoping that you have better news on everything.
Best-
Jane