I hand Joshua his cup and say, "Joshua, say thank you." And immediately Joshua says, "Gah".
Was he being rude? Disrespectful? No, Joshua was speaking what we've come to call, Joshua-ese. Probably his first "word" was gah. And it has always been an immediate response. To him, thank you is pronounced gah.
We knew he was a bit delayed in speech. When, at 2 years old, he wasn't saying mommy or daddy with any regularity, that was a clue. He has said it so I know he is capable of saying the sounds, but its almost as if he chooses not to say it. As if, in his little brain he is saying, "you want me to say it??? Haha f%#k you, I'm not gonna and you can't make me."
We had him evaluated through the state early intervention program, and can you believe it, he qualified. Hmmm, now comes the big question do we go ahead with the therapy. Well, here's the kicker, its a sliding scale based on income, plus, they decided he needed a little cognitive therapy too. During the evaluation, he didn't always listen. I told them that he is the type of kid who, if he doesn't want to stack blocks, you can't make him. If he doesn't want to show you inside the circle versus outside of the circle, he's not gonna. Well, he showed them, and they decided he was a little challenged.
Well, because of his ... challenges they want to charge an arm and a leg for all of the therapies. So there were a few factors to consider at the time that some people just didn't agree with us. First of all, we were still paying for the last few months of preschool for #2. Our basement flooded and we were in the midst of fighting our town for reimbursement. (more on that in another post). There were other financial obligations but not to mention, he wasn't going to go to Kindergarten saying Gah instead of Thank you. We strongly believed that his speech would improve over time just on its own. Not to mention, have I mentioned he's strong willed. I could imagine paying for speech therapy and he wouldn't talk. Yeah, he's that kind of kid. (I'm not sure where he got that stubborn-ness from. Certainly not me...)
So, we elected to receive services and over the summer we all made a concerted effort to make him talk. Make him tell us what he wanted. Sometimes it pushed him and us over the edge, but here we are the end of September and he asked me "where's daddy?" When I told him at work, he grabbed his shoes and ran to the door. (I guess daddy is more fun than mommy) Last night, he said "watch Boov" He wanted to watch the movie Home, (the aliens are the Boov). He can say Kelly and Amelia. Is it the clearest words? No, but give him time and I believe he'll be reciting the Gettysburg Address, (but only if he wants too).
Monday, September 21, 2015
Friday, September 18, 2015
Mommy Wars
The Mommy Wars. We have all engaged in them at one point or another. You post how your child will ask if the snack is organic or you post a FB picture of a Pinterest project that is fit for a magazine.
Why? Why do you do it? Why do we ALL do it? Is to show the world how crafty your are? Is it to prove that you love your child so much you will only give them organic food?
I think people do all of this to try to prove to the world that they are a good parent. There is a growing sense of insecurity among mothers these days and to allay that feeling, they have this need to prove that yes, indeed they are a good parent, and here is the proof.
NO ONE NEEDS PROOF. Being a parent isn't about being better than another, its just about being the best you can be to your child(ren). They don't need a Pinterest project everyday. They don't need homemade organic treats for afterschool. They just need some good quality time with you. They don't care if the world sees you sewing a Halloween costume. Yes, they will want the costume and they will love it because it came from you, but they don't see the need to brag about it to EVERYONE they know. Make the costume, project, yummy organic treats, but don't feel the need to share with everyone you have ever known.
I can guarantee you, that your elementary school friend (who you still don't know why you friend-ed anyway) doesn't care what you made for dinner last night.
We have all been guilty of doing this, but we need to stop the mommy wars. We need to support each other and be there for each other and cheer each other on, but we need to stop competing.
Kids don't compete, why should moms?
Why? Why do you do it? Why do we ALL do it? Is to show the world how crafty your are? Is it to prove that you love your child so much you will only give them organic food?
I think people do all of this to try to prove to the world that they are a good parent. There is a growing sense of insecurity among mothers these days and to allay that feeling, they have this need to prove that yes, indeed they are a good parent, and here is the proof.
NO ONE NEEDS PROOF. Being a parent isn't about being better than another, its just about being the best you can be to your child(ren). They don't need a Pinterest project everyday. They don't need homemade organic treats for afterschool. They just need some good quality time with you. They don't care if the world sees you sewing a Halloween costume. Yes, they will want the costume and they will love it because it came from you, but they don't see the need to brag about it to EVERYONE they know. Make the costume, project, yummy organic treats, but don't feel the need to share with everyone you have ever known.
I can guarantee you, that your elementary school friend (who you still don't know why you friend-ed anyway) doesn't care what you made for dinner last night.
We have all been guilty of doing this, but we need to stop the mommy wars. We need to support each other and be there for each other and cheer each other on, but we need to stop competing.
Kids don't compete, why should moms?
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Where is all began
Sometimes you feel like a nut... No I've never felt like an Almond Joy, but I have felt like I live in an insane asylum.
In 2005, Rob and I got married. It was a fantastic day. Life was good. We were both working. He was at Bloomberg and I was teaching music. Then we decided it was time to kick life up a notch. In May of 2007, Amelia was born. She was amazing and perfect all at the same time. Life was easy; Amelia was an easy baby. She didn't stop us from enjoying and living life. We went on vacations and out to dinner. She just was along for the ride.
We decided that it was time to spice things up and ... Kelly Anne burst onto the scene. From the moment she was born she had twinkle in her eye. Little did I know what that twinkle would turn out to be.... It was feisty-ness and assertiveness. Kelly will take over the world one day. She is a take-no-prisoner type person and I couldn't imagine her any other way.
Life was too easy and we decided it was time to just totally throw our sanity and freedom out the window when "The Boy" came. Joshua was born February of 2013. And since he was born, life has never been the same. Our days of a casual meal out -- OVER. Relaxing vacation -- OVER. Things are different, and I knew they would be when he first escaped at 8 months. Yeah, the handwriting was the on the walls, along with crayon and chalk..
And as if I didn't have enough insanity and chaos in my life, we got a dog. The girls and I wanted a dog, while Rob wasn't so onboard. See, when you get married, life becomes a series of compromises. This one? We get a dog, if the dog can be named Daisy. UGHHHHHH, so Daisy joined our family August of 2014. And boy has that been an ... adventure. Yeah, that's it.
Well, there you have it, the family.
Me,
the Hubby,
the three kids,
and the dog.
That's my party of five ... plus the dog.
In 2005, Rob and I got married. It was a fantastic day. Life was good. We were both working. He was at Bloomberg and I was teaching music. Then we decided it was time to kick life up a notch. In May of 2007, Amelia was born. She was amazing and perfect all at the same time. Life was easy; Amelia was an easy baby. She didn't stop us from enjoying and living life. We went on vacations and out to dinner. She just was along for the ride.
We decided that it was time to spice things up and ... Kelly Anne burst onto the scene. From the moment she was born she had twinkle in her eye. Little did I know what that twinkle would turn out to be.... It was feisty-ness and assertiveness. Kelly will take over the world one day. She is a take-no-prisoner type person and I couldn't imagine her any other way.
Life was too easy and we decided it was time to just totally throw our sanity and freedom out the window when "The Boy" came. Joshua was born February of 2013. And since he was born, life has never been the same. Our days of a casual meal out -- OVER. Relaxing vacation -- OVER. Things are different, and I knew they would be when he first escaped at 8 months. Yeah, the handwriting was the on the walls, along with crayon and chalk..
And as if I didn't have enough insanity and chaos in my life, we got a dog. The girls and I wanted a dog, while Rob wasn't so onboard. See, when you get married, life becomes a series of compromises. This one? We get a dog, if the dog can be named Daisy. UGHHHHHH, so Daisy joined our family August of 2014. And boy has that been an ... adventure. Yeah, that's it.
Well, there you have it, the family.
Me,
the Hubby,
the three kids,
and the dog.
That's my party of five ... plus the dog.
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