Last Sunday, it was a few days before SJ's actual 13th birthday. We had scheduled four boys to come over for his birthday party. He invited Willie, Topher, Hal and Brennan. SJ had been complaining of a belly ache that morning and had a very slight fever. I really wasn't sure what to do. We were going to take all six boys (SJ and Bob were in the total) to SkyZone and I already had the tickets purchased. SJ said he was feeling better shortly before his friends arrived at our house. I piled four of the boys in my car and my husband took two.
We were about 1/3 of the way to SkyZone when SJ said, "I am not feeling good, Mom." Oh no, I thought. I calmly asked the boys in the back seat to reach into the rear of my car and grab me a plastic grocery store bag. I handed it to SJ and sure enough he threw up in the bag. Great, now what was I going to do. Hal said, "Did he just throw up? I am going to be sick too." I reassured him that he would be fine and told him to put his window down a crack.
I called my husband and told him that SJ got sick. We decided that we would have to turn around. SJ was very upset about this, but I couldn't have him getting sick at a trampoline park. "I'm fine, I'm fine now Mom," he said. I told him we would reschedule and explained to the boys. I called SkyZone and after speaking to a manager, I was able to reschedule for Wednesday (the day after SJ's actual birthday).
I called all the boys' parents and told them what was going on. I told them they could retrieve their boys early if they wanted, but I still wanted to sing to SJ, have them eat the cupcakes and open the cards. All the moms seemed fine with them staying, so I had them pick up at 6 instead of 7:30.
SJ perked up when we got home. They were playing video games and went outside to play tag and soccer. I ordered pizza while they were having fun hanging out. We ate and sang to SJ (I just took one cupcake off the platter, so he wouldn't infect the others.) He opened their cards and they were back outside. Hal made a comment that made me smile. He said, "I like how SJ is keeping positive to make himself feel better so he can have fun with us." I was sure to tell his mom that he said that.
After all the boys were picked up, SJ started to feel poorly again. He was back on the couch and his fever returned. This virus lasted all the way through Wednesday afternoon. SJ missed school Monday through Wednesday and SJ was very sad on his "real' birthday. He kept telling me that "it was the worst birthday ever". I am sure it felt that way to him. My husband and I felt very bad for him. He spent his birthday on the couch only perking up an hour after his medicine doses kicked in.
As I said earlier, he was still not 100% on Wednesday, so we kept him home from school. I had my dad come over to sit with him. While I was at work, I wasn't sure if I should cancel the rescheduled SkyZone day. He looked much better when I returned home, so we didn't cancel. My husband retrieved all the boys (except Willie and Bob due to soccer practice and Willie's sister Ami's birthday) and took them out to the trampoline park. They had a great time. There were very few people there, so they practically had the place to themselves.
On the way home, my husband picked them up food at two different fast food spots (Subway and McDonalds) and returned the boys. When SJ walked in the door, he looked exhausted. I asked him if he was feeling bad again and he just smiled at me and said, "No, Mom. That was awesome!" I was so glad that he was back to himself. Happy Birthday to my newest teenager!
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Sunday, March 15, 2015
after school speech 9 and 10
Still playing catch up, so I am going to combine these two speech therapy posts into one. At speech session 9, SJ was very upset on his way there and during the session. Apparently, he realized that he would be having speech therapy on his birthday (which was over a month away at that point). He complained for 10 of the 30 minutes of the session that he didn't want to come to speech on his birthday. He told his therapist that "he just wanted a normal day" on his birthday. She assured him that she would talk to me and then she got him back on task. They worked on Fact and Opinion for the remaining session. She said he was struggling some with the topic. She gave him prompts and he did somewhat better when prompted.
When his session was done, she told me about the "birthday problem". I told her I would let her know at the next session. I asked her if he told her about the Snowflake Dance or our ski trip. She said he didn't, but she made a note to ask him about it at the next session.
Last Tuesday was the next session. I told him in the car that I was going to cancel the appointment that fell on his birthday. That made him so happy, so I was hoping he would work much harder for his therapist. I am happy to report that he did. She told me that they again worked on Fact and Opinion. She used the topics of the dance and the ski trip for the exercise. She said he did much better than the last session. Maybe having a topic he is familiar with made the exercise easier for him. She also did some Idioms with him. There are still many idioms that he is not familiar with, but once he knows them he tries to use them in his conversational speech. He enjoys the fact that they are humorous. She wished him a happy birthday and a nice Easter and told him she would see him in April.
When his session was done, she told me about the "birthday problem". I told her I would let her know at the next session. I asked her if he told her about the Snowflake Dance or our ski trip. She said he didn't, but she made a note to ask him about it at the next session.
Last Tuesday was the next session. I told him in the car that I was going to cancel the appointment that fell on his birthday. That made him so happy, so I was hoping he would work much harder for his therapist. I am happy to report that he did. She told me that they again worked on Fact and Opinion. She used the topics of the dance and the ski trip for the exercise. She said he did much better than the last session. Maybe having a topic he is familiar with made the exercise easier for him. She also did some Idioms with him. There are still many idioms that he is not familiar with, but once he knows them he tries to use them in his conversational speech. He enjoys the fact that they are humorous. She wished him a happy birthday and a nice Easter and told him she would see him in April.
after school reading tutoring part 10
So we missed a few sessions to sickness (Mrs. Banks, not SJ) and many school delays. Two Mondays ago, SJ had a reading tutoring session with Mrs. Banks. They continued to read Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. They had started reading it at the last session and SJ and I had read a couple of chapters when Mrs. Banks cancelled.
It is a book set in 1936. It is about a ten-year-old boy whose mother has died and who lives in a foster home. He doesn't know who his dad is, but he thinks he is famous bandleader. He decides to run away from the Home and make the trek from Flint, Michigan to Grand Rapids.
I thought the content of the book may have been too heavy for SJ, but he seems to be enjoying it. When they are having their reading sessions, I can hear SJ's laughter through the basement door. That is always a sound that I love to hear.
Mrs. Banks said he has been doing very well during the sessions. He has even been volunteering to read more than just a paragraph at a time. Plus, he enjoys the fact that the book's chapters are fairly short (he gets overwhelmed by very long chapters).
He is going to use this book as his 3rd nine weeks book report. He has many different options for book reports. This nine weeks, he has selected making a test up from the book. Mrs. Banks offered to help him with this project, but due to the cancellations that wasn't able to be started yet. He still has nine chapters to read, so I am planning on reading a lot of them with him before Mrs. Banks is due at our house again. I always plan on this, but sometimes the week gets away from me. I am going to have to make this a priority. Wish me luck!
It is a book set in 1936. It is about a ten-year-old boy whose mother has died and who lives in a foster home. He doesn't know who his dad is, but he thinks he is famous bandleader. He decides to run away from the Home and make the trek from Flint, Michigan to Grand Rapids.
I thought the content of the book may have been too heavy for SJ, but he seems to be enjoying it. When they are having their reading sessions, I can hear SJ's laughter through the basement door. That is always a sound that I love to hear.
Mrs. Banks said he has been doing very well during the sessions. He has even been volunteering to read more than just a paragraph at a time. Plus, he enjoys the fact that the book's chapters are fairly short (he gets overwhelmed by very long chapters).
He is going to use this book as his 3rd nine weeks book report. He has many different options for book reports. This nine weeks, he has selected making a test up from the book. Mrs. Banks offered to help him with this project, but due to the cancellations that wasn't able to be started yet. He still has nine chapters to read, so I am planning on reading a lot of them with him before Mrs. Banks is due at our house again. I always plan on this, but sometimes the week gets away from me. I am going to have to make this a priority. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
holiday valley 2014
My oh my, I am so behind on this blog. Today is catch up day. Here goes...a few weeks ago, we made our annual trip to Ellicottville, NY for a family/friend ski trip to Holiday Valley. We go with Topher, Willie and Meryl's families. We left on a Friday shortly after the boys got home from school. Bob wasn't wanting to go (he hates skiing), but it is a family trip. He was being very difficult getting in the car and at the gas station where we met our friends. SJ opted to ride with Willie's family to avoid Bob's drama.
We stopped in Clarion for dinner at Wendy's. SJ ate inside with our friends while my husband and I were still dealing with Bob's anxious moment. After dinner, we continued the drive to Ellicottville. Once we got to the house, the kids explored the rental house and the adults could finally relax (and believe me, I needed to relax after Bob's behavior).
The next day, we left for the slopes right after breakfast. My husband and I decided to leave Bob at the house (he is 14 1/2) and the rest of us skied. We had a great time. The slopes were a little crowded, but the snow was great. SJ hung out with Topher and Willie most of the day. They like to do the terrain parks and the more advanced hills than I can handle. We ate lunch at the lodge and then continued to ski until 5:00. We returned to the house and tried to decide what we were going to do for dinner. We wanted to eat at the Brewery again (it was great last year), but there was a huge wait. Instead, we got ordered pizza and ate at the house. SJ had a great time hanging out with Bob and the other boys.
On Sunday, we again left for the slopes after breakfast. The only difference was that we stopped at Subway for sandwiches and salads to eat for lunch at the lodge. We skied until lunchtime. It was much less crowded and the snow was much softer. On our way into the lodge for lunch, poor Ami got hurt in the trees. She somehow hit a twiggy branch that made her ski come off the binding and hit her in the face. Her parents had to take her to the ER for stitches, so we kept Willie with us. Around 3:30, SJ and I were getting tired. We made our way back to the lodge. Since we were the only ones there, I purchased two rollercoaster tickets for SJ and I . It is a fun outdoor coaster that you can ride through the woods. We had a blast doing that. Shortly after we finished on the coaster, the rest of our friends returned to the lodge. We finished at a good time, since it had begun to rain. Since we had so much pizza left over from Saturday, we decided to put Bob and Meryl (both in 8th grade) in charge and the adults went out for dinner and drinks. Unfortunately, Ami's parents were stuck in the ER, so they couldn't go with us. We missed them.
On Monday, Willie and Topher's families left for home right after breakfast. My husband, Meryl's dad, Meryl and Goldie decided to do a morning session on the slopes. It was very icy, so Meryl's mom and I passed. SJ said he was too tired to ski a third day in a row. When they finished, we packed up Meryl's car and drove back with her family (my husband and Meryl's dad stayed until Tuesday). I thought SJ was going to complain about driving back with the girls, but he didn't utter a word about it.
We stopped in the Allegheny Forest for lunch and then continued home. SJ and the girls watched The Incredibles in the car. That made the time go by fast for all the kids. It was another great trip (minus Bob's meltdown) and I will look forward to going there again next year.
We stopped in Clarion for dinner at Wendy's. SJ ate inside with our friends while my husband and I were still dealing with Bob's anxious moment. After dinner, we continued the drive to Ellicottville. Once we got to the house, the kids explored the rental house and the adults could finally relax (and believe me, I needed to relax after Bob's behavior).
The next day, we left for the slopes right after breakfast. My husband and I decided to leave Bob at the house (he is 14 1/2) and the rest of us skied. We had a great time. The slopes were a little crowded, but the snow was great. SJ hung out with Topher and Willie most of the day. They like to do the terrain parks and the more advanced hills than I can handle. We ate lunch at the lodge and then continued to ski until 5:00. We returned to the house and tried to decide what we were going to do for dinner. We wanted to eat at the Brewery again (it was great last year), but there was a huge wait. Instead, we got ordered pizza and ate at the house. SJ had a great time hanging out with Bob and the other boys.
On Sunday, we again left for the slopes after breakfast. The only difference was that we stopped at Subway for sandwiches and salads to eat for lunch at the lodge. We skied until lunchtime. It was much less crowded and the snow was much softer. On our way into the lodge for lunch, poor Ami got hurt in the trees. She somehow hit a twiggy branch that made her ski come off the binding and hit her in the face. Her parents had to take her to the ER for stitches, so we kept Willie with us. Around 3:30, SJ and I were getting tired. We made our way back to the lodge. Since we were the only ones there, I purchased two rollercoaster tickets for SJ and I . It is a fun outdoor coaster that you can ride through the woods. We had a blast doing that. Shortly after we finished on the coaster, the rest of our friends returned to the lodge. We finished at a good time, since it had begun to rain. Since we had so much pizza left over from Saturday, we decided to put Bob and Meryl (both in 8th grade) in charge and the adults went out for dinner and drinks. Unfortunately, Ami's parents were stuck in the ER, so they couldn't go with us. We missed them.
On Monday, Willie and Topher's families left for home right after breakfast. My husband, Meryl's dad, Meryl and Goldie decided to do a morning session on the slopes. It was very icy, so Meryl's mom and I passed. SJ said he was too tired to ski a third day in a row. When they finished, we packed up Meryl's car and drove back with her family (my husband and Meryl's dad stayed until Tuesday). I thought SJ was going to complain about driving back with the girls, but he didn't utter a word about it.
We stopped in the Allegheny Forest for lunch and then continued home. SJ and the girls watched The Incredibles in the car. That made the time go by fast for all the kids. It was another great trip (minus Bob's meltdown) and I will look forward to going there again next year.
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