Bathing Beauty

 

The Drama Continues...

In the last month, Charlie has had two more seizures. I absolutely HATE them. No matter how accustomed you become to them, it never fails to scare the "you-know-what" out of you. It is all you can do to keep yourself from dialing 911. Unfortunately, the doctors can't really "fix" it. They can only put him on anti-seizure medication and the side-effects are far worse than the seizure itself. I guess it is just another piece of Charlie that we are going to have to learn to love, although, I seriously doubt that will happen.

Grandma Rocks

Yes, our kids have Grandma's that rock! Who else do you know who could take care of five kids and smile the entire time? Kid's t-shirts are just too cute....

That's How We Roll

I love these t-shirts. Yes, this is how we roll, runny noses and all...

Molly's New Hair Cut

Molly is growing up so fast. She changes a little each and everyday. Where did my baby go?

The Twins Are Headed To School This Fall!

Our visit to the Meyer Center For Special Children went extremely well today. The school and the people we spoke to exceeded my expectations. They actually spent time with the twins, as well as Brian and myself, getting to know us and attempting to spot weaknesses and strengths in the boys. At the end of the visit, we collectively decided that the boys would benefit from attending and they have been enrolled to start next fall. Having said that, they must complete the testing we started yesterday at CDS to determine their eligibility status, but all indications are that they will require special education. The Meyer Center works with children with all kinds of disabilities. These disabilities range from mild to severe in some cases. They have children with Downs Syndrome, children with physical and mental disabilities and some with autistic tendencies. If Matthew were to be officially diagnosed with Autism, he would not be able to attend the Meyer Center, the school district would find another place for him. Happily, during our visit yesterday, the school officials felt strongly that he did NOT have autism, but autistic tendencies and that made me feel much better. The best part of the visit is that Cheryl, the Occupational Therapist the twins had from birth, now works at the Meyer Center. I trust her judgement completely and would feel at ease knowing they were in an environment where she was involved.

My Fantasy World

Today was our visit with CDS to evaluate the twins and to see if there was enough discrepancy between their chronological age and the age-level they are functioning at now. Imagine my surprise when both twins, not just Matthew, failed these screenings. The screenings determined that both boys are from 10 to 18 months behind in the following categories: physical age, self-help age, social age and academic age. Now, the good news is that both boys passed their hearing screening and Charlie, of course, passed the speech and language screening (Matthew did not). We won't know the results of the eye/vision screening for at least two weeks, so we are keeping our fingers crossed on this one. Preemies tend to have more vision problems than full-term babies. So, now what? Well, based on the evaluation today they have determined that both boys need further evaluations in order to determine (1) if they have a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, (2) present levels of performance and educational needs, and (3) if they require special education and related services. Both boys will be scheduled for comprehensive development evaluations and Matthew will require further speech evaluations. From there, I don't know what happens next. We are visiting the Meyer Center tomorrow and must seriously consider placing the boys in it's program. Apparently, I've been living in a fantasy world. I look at the twins and I see normal 3 year olds, doing normal, 3 year old things. Maybe I have been secretly hoping that if I pretended there weren't problems with the boys that everything would work itself out. I am afraid for the twins and their futures. I'm scared to death of how Charlie's peers will react to him, I'm scared silly that he won't always be the picture of health that he is today, I could go on and on. For Matthew, I'm afraid they are going to diagnose him with Autism, or some other neurological condition and we won't know how to help him. As it is now, we struggle with Matthew every minute of everyday and it breaks my heart. As his mother, I know something is wrong, and that is really hard to admit. My greatest fear is that the doctors were right in the beginning. Here's the thing, they can't be right. Not even a little bit right. I need them to be really, really wrong......

Happy Mother's Day!

Everything I learned about being a mom, I learned from my mother. If I can be 1/2 as good as my mom, then I am happy.

Evil Twin Update

It's been a while since I've posted about the boys. Luckily for all of us, we haven't had anything to post, like emergency visits, hospital stays, etc. Needless to say, the boys are doing great health wise. Charlie just had a visit with his neurosurgeon and received a clean bill of health. Barring any unforseen shunt issues, we don't have to see Dr. Johnson for another year! Both of the twins are being screened by the Child Find Initiative of Greenville County on Tuesday. Child Find is a component of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that requires states to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities. I, personally, hate the "children with disabilities" part of that statement, because I simply don't think of my boys as disabled. Challenged, but not disabled. Having said that, the twins will be screened in areas such as: communication skills, cognitive skills, motor skills, daily living skills, social/emotional skills, vision, hearing and orthopedic needs. The screenings are a series of tests and professional observations in various developmental areas. Children who demonstrate moderate delays in two or more areas, or significant delays in one or more areas in the screening process are asked to move on to receive an in-depth evaluation. Luckily, we will know the results of these screenings on Tuesday and whether or not there is reason to send one or both boys for more comprehensive tests. Sadly, Brian and I feel strongly that Matthew will be sent for more in-depth evaluations as we see several areas in which we believe he is delayed. On Wednesday, we will be visiting the Meyer Center as it has been recommended to us more times than I can count for possible schooling for both boys. I have been dragging my feet, because I didn't want to put the boys in a school for children with disabilities. As you can tell, I have a issue with this. Maybe I need help. Maybe I'm in denial, I don't know. We will just have to see how the visit goes Wednesday. The upside is that the boys occupational therapist that they had now works at the Meyer Center and that makes me feel better because we love Cheryl and know that she has their best interest in mind, no matter how I crazy I am.

Pretty Girl.....

Sometimes you just have to show off, and this is one of those times. Just look at our new neice, doesn't it make you want one....

Thank Heaven For Little Girls....

Welcome Ashlynn Grace Capell!

Our new neice is here! Ashlynn Grace Capell was born on May 1, 2007 at 11:24am to proud parents, Scott and Jennifer Capell. Ashlynn weighed 8lbs 5ozs and was 20 1/4 inches long and has a head full of hair! Garrett is officially a big brother and apparently he has decided that Ashlynn is just too cute not to keep. Congratulations guys!