3 Boys and a Mom - Diary of a Tagteam

Well Deven's appt w/the pdoc went ok yesterday... I went in to doc yesterday armed with a list of his behaviors and of course Deven decided he wasn't gonna go in to talk to doc and hid in a corner which showed the doc some of what we have been dealing with for 2 wks... We talked about what's going on, we talked about how well Deven had done on 40mg of Strattera and how it's really hard to know much of anything about the drug since it's just over a yr old and all the clinical studies were for only 9 wks or less, we double checked the Strattera formula for dosage (25mg is what Dev's weight says to use but we had great success w/40) and we went over a list of alternative drugs... My 1st suggestion was perhaps thinking about Risperdal, the doc agreed that would be his choice as well either that or Zxpera (sp?) to which I voiced my concern about weight gain although my skinny little man could use a few pounds... But we have decided that I will get the 40mg script filled and start that in the next week and half and then we will see how things are going when we go back in a month... Deven also has a spring break coming which might just be what he needs right now as well.... I am also going to call the doc w/the list of psychologists that the health ins and school suggest and see which the doc feels would be the best match for Deven and start him with a psychologist.... If we are still having troubles in a month the doc will probably be adding a titch of Risperdal to the mix... We were both in agreement that adding a stimulant such as Concerta is most likely not gonna happen based on Dev's reaction to the Adderall... I have to say that I really like the doc - he listens to me and we work as a team regarding Deven... So I will keep you updated and just ride things out the next 2 wks while we finish the 25mg of Strattera and start the 40mg...

This morning they are not picking up their toys and making bigger messes sooooo mean momma that I am I have told them either they pick them up now or when they get home tomorrow the toys will be gone in the trash... I am not picking up their messes anymore and they don't need all the toys they have anyway.... Ok so I won't throw them all away but I will be going thru the toys and getting rid of the broken ones, the baby ones and the ones that are just junky happy meal toys.... Will give me something to do tonight and tomorrow morning while they are at their Dad's... I still have a major sinus headache/pain and I am congested as all ...... but I am trooping along.... Going to pick up my mom today and she will be able to help me get the house back under control as it's gotten a little cluttered this week as I have been just tooo darn drained to do much.... Well it's off to get everyone ready to go... Til next time...

Well I guess I have kept most of my friends in suspense long enough... SOOOO the news is that I got a job offer Weds afternoon and I accepted... I will be working from 8:30-5 Thurs-Mon starting on April 18th..... While I am a bit miffed I won't have weekends I will have my nights free!! FINALLY after 2.5+ yrs of midnights I am gonna be home by 5:30 and free to do what I wish each night... And while I won't get too many weekends off w/my friends to do fun stuff I am sure I will find that Tues/Weds at 6 Flags will be a bit less crowded then Sat/Sun.... And I will get the occassional Sat off now and again so it won't be too bad adn I will still get the extra pay for Sundays... Soo there is the scoop.... The second job I interviewed for won't be making a decision til Mid to Late April as he has one more interview but we shall see how things go..... Well it's off to get Dilen to school and do a few errands... Til next time...

So I had a meeting about Deven today w/the teacher and school psychologist and I learned something very interesting about Strattera.... The meeting was regarding his regression this year and the psychologist said she had heard that after a year Strattera sometimes will stop working and it will be as if the child is not on anything all.... Interesting since Deven is now on the meds a year and he's suddenly acting once again like he did before we medicated him.... Well not the major temper tantrums but he's chewing his fingers again, easily frustrated, doing little OCD things like erasing what he writes because the letters aren't just right, taking 30-40 min to write his morning sentence which is longer then the Kindi students in class take.... ARGGGGGG just NOT what I needed to hear.... We have an appt w/the Pdoc on Friday and I am going to ask him but wondering if anyone else has heard anything along these lines??? I don't what we will do if it is the case because he's not just ADHD, he's Bipolar and we really have to be careful w/the stimulants as they cause him to go into a manic cycle and he will rage.... *sigh* The school psychologist is gonna contact the friend that told her that info and get me copies of the articles he has.... OH JOY!!!! She is also going to get me a list of local child psychologists that I can take Deven to... Overall they seem concerned about his behavior but it seems that they are really leaving it ALL up to me to do something.... I don't know what to do!!!! BUT I did learn he will be passed up to 2nd grade provided he doesn't have a major problem scholastically which he probably won't since he's a very bright child... Now while I am happy to hear my child won't be held back I am not sure if I like hearing that the general rule is children in special ed classes seem to almost automatically get passed forward.... Well it's off to try to find some info about Strattera and then head to bed... Til next time....

PS... This is NOT the info I am withholding from you all! NANNER NANNER!

SOOOOO aren't ya just dying to know???

Hmmmm do I tell ya or do I make ya guess??? Decisions decisions!!!!

Well it's been a long weekend for me.... so much going on... 1st is that I had a date on Friday night - well it was a non-romantic date but still a date... Had to run a few things over to a guy that's here visiting from Korea for some meetings... Soo since the guy is a friend of my Dad I started asking him a few questions about my Dad and we were talking about this and that and he invited me to dinner... It was really nice... I had a real dinner with another adult and we talked about adult things!!!! There was no chasing the kids or even really talking about them that much.... we talked politics, world affairs, living in Korea and work type things... man it was wonderful!!! I felt so grown up! *L*

Next is that I had a real romantic date yesterday afternoon.... man I had a FABULOUS time!!!! I look forward to more of them in the future - which will hopefully be this Friday!!!!

Now today I had 2 interviews!! I am sooo excited about this... BOTH went extremely well and I came away from both with a great feeling about them.... The first was for the job that I already do on the night shift and I will know by Thurs afternoon/Friday morning if I am being offered the job... The second was for a position I interviewed for back in Nov and it too was a very light almost informal conversation that left me with a very good feeling.. But that one the guy still has one more interview mid April so I won't know anything til mid to late April - will be my luck to get both offers! *L* Then I will be torn but overall I think both interviews went EXTREMELY well and I now have my fingers crossed for the offers to roll in.... It looks like working days again is gonna be a reality sometime btwn Aprl 4th and 18th if I get the first job.... This alone has my spirits WAY up!!! Sooo everyone cross their fingers and send lots of job offer vibes my way!!!!

And lastly - well I have a meeting w/Dev's IEP team tomorrow afternoon... *sigh* This should be interesting to say the least.... I don't know what's going on with the boy but I do have a call into the health plan to get me a list of child psychologists in the area that take their plan.... And Dilen's first meeting to start the evaluation process for classification, etc with the school system is Monday - it will just be me at this meeting but we will talk about Dilen and get things started to have them run their gambit of tests on him so that when he starts Kindi next year we won't have the rough times we did with Deven... I also faxed the papers today requesting early admission to Kindi in the fall since he misses the cut off by 19 days and he's DYING to go to the big kid school.... Now to just wait things out.... Well not much more going on right now and I am wiped out so I am headed off to bed... Til next time...

Well same crap different week - I am not getting much sleep - although I did manage a few days of 4-5 hrs earlier in the week... According to Deven's teacher he's still having troubles at school and now she says she's worried it's starting to affect his academic progress so I have requested a team meeting... Got the call about Dilen - they are gonna to set up a meeting to discuss the evaluation process before the end of the month so I would imagine I will get a call sometime next week... I am also faxing over the paperwork requesting testing for early admissions this weekend.... Mom is driving me insane - she parent's over me, says negative things either to or within the boys' hearing range and now says she is NOT coming up the week after Easter as she has plans... well isn't that just great!!! What am I supposed to do now???

However I am going to be interviewed next week for the permanent position of the job I am already doing at night and sometime this past week I got a call from one of the other jobs to schedule an interview - have to call the guy back before I leave work today to see what I can set up.... Not much else going on right now.... It's snowing again - we are supposed to be getting 6-8 inches of wet, heavy snow... OH JOY!!!!

Well it's off to finish my reports.... Til next time...

Deven still having troubles in school - now the teacher says she is seeing the ticks from last yr again... he's biting his fingers again, getting frustrated VERY easily, cries at the drop of a hat, throwing tantrums, etc... Of course he says the teacher is wrong and from what I can see he's still doing all his work... *sigh* I am at a loss what to do.... Dilen showing signs of having troubles at school - not really wanting to play w/the other kids, would rather play alone in a corner... No word from school yet about getting him evaluated... Til next time...

Same crap, different day.... not too much else going on otherwise in our lives... Deven is still having a rough time at school emotionally... Dilen is showing more and more signs of being Deven's equal and yet most of his 'reactions' at school are no where near same as Deven's.... he's not prone to throw down fights and fits of screaming and crying that Deven was but in his own quiet way he's showing more and more signs of heading down a similar road... *sigh* Overall we are doing ok though... I tend to feel like I don't even know my own children yet on the same note I just KNOW things about them... if that makes any sense... I am beginning to focus on getting down on the floor w/the kids more in an effort to better know and relate to them... and maybe eleviate some stress as well... (more on all this later)

I have made the "list" for 2 of the three jobs I applied for - still waiting to hear on the last one.... then I wait for the interview calls... Soo let's keep on crossing those fingers for me!! Not too much else happening worth talking about otherwise...

I DO have to comment on the GAY MARRIAGE issue though... ESP since Asbury Park, NJ made the news the other day - that's just 6 miles from me... I lived in that town, went to school there, worked and played there.... ANYWAY!!! I really don't see what the big deal is.... If 2 people are in a committed relationship and want cement the relationship w/the bonds of matrimony then let them... After all they are humans too why shouldn't they be afforded the same benefits that a husband and wife (man and woman) enjoy.... I also don't think they chose to be gay - they are born that way and nothing is going to change that - why not treat them the same as all other humans... They do it in other countries why not here?? And is it only me but all the talk for/against "gay marriage" includes input and comments from religious leaders as well as lawmakers... In fact I read that lawmakers sat down w/group of various religious members to discuss the issue... Umm doesn't this completely violate separation of church and state?? If all the lawmakers are going to veto gay marriages based on religious thoughts and theories then they are completely WRONG!! And using that argument further - there is no reason whatsoever to NOT allow such marriages when performed by a civil servant... The only gay marriages that should be banned using such thought then would any marriage performed in a church by a religious leader - or am I off in left field?? I hope this sounds right cause it took a few days to formulate my thoughts this far but I have been bothered by what I see as a violation of church and state separation and I just had to finally say something.... So what do you all think?? Til next time...