One of Those Days...

It is one of those days... where GB's attention span maxes out at 30 seconds. She got a hold of what I thought was a juice box- and was really ice tea. She is moving at warp speed and her brain is either off or on bypass. Caffeine does it every time.We have been home from church for 4 hours and I feel like I'm stuck in quick sand. As fast as I stop her from one thing, she is into four more. She is so unable to sit still, 3 minutes in the time out chair broke it. She is so loud you can hear her from any room in the house- and we have a BIG house. She has had her manic laugh for 2 hours and counting. It will be better when my husband is back- tag team is the only thing that works when she is like this.

I hear my mother's voice in my head, saying "Patience is a virtue."  Maybe God is trying to get me to work on my patience. I also plan on buying a lot of 100% juice boxes for church and sending the ice tea home with people whose kids can drink it.

What to Do When It's Cold

 

GB and Ellie Dressed to the Nines

Today the temperature hit a high of 16 degrees. It was difficult to get Ellie outside to pee. We spent 30 minutes trying to teach Ellie and GB to play  follow the leader. They started to get the idea, but GB lost focus.  They went to cuddle in front of the TV. I was laying in front of the fire, working on an article, when GB came over to show me their fashion show. GB was having a blast and Ellie didn't seem to mind. They went through 4 or 5 outfits and GB started to spiral out of control. I told them they had a photo session and then the show was over. GB bought into this. A short cuddle to settle back down, and now they are both ready to eat. I am longing for weather that will let them go out and run for an hour- I need it.

CSE- Short and Sweet

We brought Ellie to the CSE. She was very well behaved and very well received. As usual, the classroom teacher was useless. Everything I was concerned about was something she as seen in lots of kids over the last 25 years. She said, in general her class was not treating each other well. Didn't seem like she felt responsible for trying to change the atmosphere of her classroom. Surprisingly, the social worker was much more cooperative and is going to start working with GB and some of her classmates in small groups. Everybody (except for the classroom teacher) was interested in the FASD material I emailed before the meeting and David Boulding's lawyer brief on FASD I brought to the meeting. The OT and speech are going to try to teach GB coping strategies. I am going to spend time sitting in the 2nd grade inclusion class before the next meeting. Then I will decide if we need to go back to a 1-1 aide. GB came into school Wednesday and told all her classmates that she was being adopted. I think that is a good sign.

Ellie and I went home and Ellie ran after squirrels for 5 minutes. I had thought Ellie and I would work on boundaries, but it was 16 degrees out, so Ellie wanted to go back  in. We worked on extending our stay(we are at 4 minutes now), so that I would have an excuse to give Ellie some treats.
Friendly's tonight and then a nice warm  bed. I don't like the cold anymore than Ellie does.

Can't Have It All

GB came home after daycare, bouncing. She wound Ellie up. She was unable to get involved with any activity for more than a moment. She finally decided to have a tea party, and with relief I worked on dinner and the kitchen. The tea party seemed to have her involved. I even made a cup of tea for myself. Several minutes later, our two Maine Coons and Ellie were having a free for all. Apparently, GB had put dog treats in her tea cups and dishes and had invited the animals to the party. Ellie was the first one I got under control, then Gadget, then Sasha. That just left GB with an out-of-control laugh. It took some time to pull her back. During dinner, she spilled her drink three different times. Before dinner was over, she managed to turn over her dinner plates and spill the dogs water. I gave up on the night, she took her medicine and I helped with pajamas. We climbed into bed and read some fairy tales and ended with "Good Night, Moon". Her and Ellie were in by 7:15, and after some more reading, they were asleep. The night was much more tiring, then the last two nights. Yet we still enjoyed our books in bed.

Just Us

Last night was a good night. GB and I were the only people home. We had chicken soup and french bread, and made rice krispie treats for dessert. The rest of my crew would turn their noses up at that! We trained with Ellie for 15 minutes, playing find GB. Then GB, Ellie, Gadget and I curled up in the family room and watched Wizards of Waverly Place- a show GB is too frightened of to watch unless she is surrounded by protection. She went to bed easily.

This morning she woke up at 5:30 to find unexpected  snow.  Two hours later, it is still snowing and she is wound. There are no delays, so I expect them to keep the kids two hours and send them before the white starts. I would love to know who makes these crazy decisions.

After GB get on the bus, MK and I are going to get fingerprinting, the next step on the road to adoption. It is slowly creeping forward. We are 3  letters of recommendation, two physicals, and an updated home study away from a court date. I feel like the tortoise. We still haven't heard from the birth mother- it has been 20 months and counting.

A Better Night

We started talking to her about adoption today, in very general terms, and she was excited by the idea. I thought she was doing pretty well following what we were saying, until she asked if we would adopt her a husband, too. I guess it is enough, at this point, for her to know we are working on it.

After dinner tonight, my husband and I, along with Ellie and our biggest Maine Coon, Gadget, lay on the rug with GB and her hundreds board and worked on one more, one less, and in between. The animals were cooperative and cuddly, GB was focused and enjoying herself. Bed came and GB still wanted more. It was the best night in a while.

Another Week Begins

Back to a school day. GB woke up this morning, complaining of her chest, her nose, and not feeling well enough to go to school. I asked her if she felt worse than she had on Saturday or Sunday and she looked puzzled and said "no". After a minute she sighed and said" Then I guess I feel well enough to go to school".  She did a perfect imitation of my tone, and I almost laughed. Then she said," When is the meeting Mommy? You need to fix things".  I told her the meeting was on Friday and we got on with our morning.

A Normal Church Day

GB and I left with the first car to church and were early enough for her to have a snack and get acclimated to the people (Necessary, even though she has know all these people since birth). She chose to sit with me and color today and was very good for the whole service. Lunch and socialization after church wasn't much fun, since GB and her friend decided that today they couldn't stand each other. Eventually I just sat GB next to me and told her she couldn't get up until she was finished eating (hunger is a big trigger with her).  We are home now, but GB is still all over the place. She did manage to feed Ellie and the two of them are watching Disney channel and cuddling, with me occasionally slipping Ellie a treat. After the two of them go in for the night, I have to start working on Friday's CSE meeting. I am trying to find my neutral, matter-of-fact state of mind. I am much more effective when I can bring it to these meetings. If I can't, we may end up spending $5000 on a lawyer again. I am considering bringing Ellie to the meeting with us. If nothing else, she will be an  ice breaker.

Friends

Social relationships  are tough for GB. Today she had a friend and her younger brother come over for 2 1/2 hours. Before they came, GB and I went over all the rules of having a guest- where they could play, what they could play with. making sure guests had first choice, compromise, not being a control freak. The two play areas adjoin each other, and Ellie and I parked ourselves in a corner, out of the way, but with a view of all the activities. The set up worked well, as GB needed frequent (not quite constant) reminders of the rules that she already knows. Overall, the play date was one of the successes. Both children left smiling and saying see you soon. I am tired, but Joe took GB rollerskating. Hopefully some of hyperness will burn off as opposed to revving her up more.

The School System, Again

GB is still giving us a hard to about going to school every morning. It seems to be a two part problem- she is having a great deal of difficulty functioning socially in the class and the math is unbelievably hard for her. I insisted on a CSE meeting (again), because what they are doing is not working. GB is thrilled to see Ellie when she comes home, but she is so loud and scattered, it has to be watched closely- Ellie hasn't figured out how to deal with her when she is like that. They still fall asleep very quickly and are entwined by the morning, so I think I just haven't figured out how to make the connection for Ellie when GB is wound. Hopefully, we can get school settled down, and there won't be so much bouncing when GB first comes home.

Progress

Tonight, GB and Ellie spent almost an hour played tug with the new toy GB picked at for Ellie. They enjoyed it and got wilder and wilder. After I felt they were getting close to out of control, they agreeably settled down in Ellie's bed to watch Hannah Montana before bed. The are doing better.

GB the Gymnast

A backbend!

a cartwheel.

Gymnastics is important to GB, because it is one of the few things that she can do better than most of her peers.

A Quiet Saturday at Home

Early Saturday morning tv. They slept until seven, then GB fed Ellie and they watched Sesame Street.

We have already done a training session, working on come, sit, stay, and leave it. "up" Ellie has mastered already. Ellie went for a long walk with Malissa, then ran in the yard for a while, chasing squirrels (her favorite pass time). Slow progress in the bonding department- but at least it is progress.

An Ordinary Morning

I came down this morning and GB was already dressed, she had eaten the cereal her dad had given her, and her and Ellie were curled up in one big ball in Ellie's bed, cuddling. I got in touch with a local trainer today. We are a lot more on our own then I expected, and I am going to need reinforcements.

Hugs and Leave it!

GB had another rough day at school and as soon as she walked in the door, she was calling for Ellie and Ellie came running. They enjoyed cuddling. As far as training went, today I scattered little pieces of treats on the floor, and worked on leave it. Ellie picked up on what I wanted quickly and with an occassional wistful look, she left them along.

Ellie and GB are doing fine- I needed to change.

Joe and GB took Ellie out to play with her kong ball this afternoon. Boy, can Ellie run. When Ellie first came home, she was a one sport dog- tennis ball. Now she plays with her squeeky green bone, her blue rope tug, and her kong ball. The kong ball gives her much better exercise, as it can be thrown a lot further.

Ellie and GB's training sessions had slowed down to a crawl, until I realized what was missing was Becca. Not that we need Becca herself, but we need 2 adults for these training sessions- one for Ellie and one to support GB's efforts. GB couldn't keep the commands straight or reward at the right time, which confused Ellie to no end. Once Joe supported GB, by making sure which command she was working on and prompting her to give the reward as soon as Ellie complied, the training went much smoother and GB felt much more successful. She looks so normal, it is much too easy to ignore her limitations.

Hard at Work

Ellie is doing well with her public access work and following my commands, but we are still along way from GB being Ellie's girl. Last night I got out the hot dogs and we played "find GB". It took Ellie a while to figure out that GB was the ONLY source of hot dogs, but once she did, it went very well.

This morning, after GB fed Ellie and Joe took Ellie out, GB and Ellie watched TV and snuggled before school.

 

We are making progress!

Our First Scary Moment

Just after dinner, Ellie was curled up in her bed, sleeping. GB put her nose right on Ellie's nose and yelled loudly. Ellie startled, scared GB, who then jumped back and it looks like she bit her lip in the process. GB also scared one of our Maine Coons, Sasha, this morning. The bleeding only lasted five minutes, and we spent a lot of time talking to GB about how it is not only unkind to scare animals, but can be dangerous. I was right next to GB and Ellie, but wasn't ready. From now on I will be ready.

Back to School

GB went back to school. Ellie and I took advantage of the empty, quiet house. We worked on stay and were 90% successful (18/ 20  times) at 10 feet for three minutes. We spent 3 hours doing public access work and after resting in front of the fire, went outside to play with her Kong ball. GB came home with 4 sheets , both sides, for homework. My email to her teacher went unanswered, as she was ill today  and there was a sub. Time to set up a CSE meeting again. Meanwhile, I am trying to figure out how Ellie can help GB get her math done.