Difficult Days

Yesterday was one....a difficult day.

We had plans to go to a hot air balloon festival in a town a couple hours away.  Mother Nature had other ideas.  It was rainy and wet so they cancelled everything early on in the morning.  We hung around the house for a bit and then decided to hit the cheap seats for Toy Story 3. 

We put the littles down for a nap so that they were reasonably rested before the movie.  That went ok.  They took their naps and we woke them a little early so we could get going.  We got to the movie just at start time so we could avoid sitting in the theater for too long beforehand.  We got popcorn and drinks and headed on in.  Got seats and sat to get watching.  The movie was awesome, I cried like a baby at the end, and the kids all did pretty well.  The littles got up some and wandered in between Brad and I but overall they were awesome.  I had some pretty bad times at movies with Josey when she was little so I was terribly apprehensive about taking all three kids.  It really was a great experience though.

Afterwards we had a couple of errands to run.  Needed to get new trailer lights for the boat trailer, a few gluten free things from the store and also stopped to look at getting a battery for the kids ride on John Deere play tractor.  Here is where things went wrong.

We got in the van after the movie and all was ok.  The kids had run around the lobby of the movie theater a little afterwards and each got to ride one machine ride.  We walked to the van talking about the movie and how we all enjoyed it. 

We stopped at a local hardware store to see if they carried the lights that Brad needed.  They were a no-go.  Kids were ok so far.  Then on the way out Brady saw a car-cart that he had to get into.  We let him sit in it and then told him it was time to go.  Ok.  crisis averted.  he was ok with that.  We get outside and I tell him he has to hold my hand to cross the street and get to the van and that was not ok with him.  Screaming and kicking, doing the limp thing while I am holding his hand, we make our way to the car.  I let go of his hand and let him walk the rest of the safe way to the car.  He refuses to get in on my side of the van, where his seat is, and walks to the other side.  ok.  fine.  I go to put him in his seat and he loses it.  screaming and hitting and yelling.  I get him in his seat, trying to calmly talk to him and let him know that his behavior is not acceptable but he does have to be buckled into his seat. 

We head to the next place.  He is saying something that sounds like "outside" but we are not 100% sure that is the case.  Again with the talking calmly letting him know that we will go outside when we stop again but it is just not cutting it.  He is screaming a scream that defies explanation.  There are no words to do the noise justice.  It is painful to the ears and grates on the nerves horrifically.  We get to the battery store and take everyone in.  He sits down outside the van to refuse to go in but has stopped screaming.  I give him a bear hug, something I know can sometimes calm him, and then we go in to the store.  He calms briefly to  wander the store.  We find out what we need to know and head on out.

We get back in the van and again he begins screaming the death scream.  He is pissed off about something.  I am not sure what. This happens all the way to the next location.  We needed to hit the grocery store so that I could get some gluten free things.  Things went ok at the store.  Brad followed the kids around so that they could walk and not be put in the cart.  Brady does not tolerate the cart well anyway.  I shopped to get some specific chewy things.  Natural gum that comes in very small pieces, think square peas, some fruit leather and some gummy bears.  All gluten free with natural sweeteners and colors.  We try to corral the kids and again things go wrong.  It was about here that my memory gets fuzzy because I too began to melt down. 

We got back to the van and gave the kids a pack of the gummy bears.  Brady settles down and goes to chewing like a mad man.  Obviously all the kids got quiet with their snacks but his seemed different.  We ran the other errand we had and then made it home ok.  All in one piece and with little to no upset due to having the chewy items.  Brady got a piece of the gum on the way home too.  and chewed and chewed and chewed it all the way home.  I suppose one could pose the argument that he was quiet and calm since he had something in his mouth but I disagree that it was just because his mouth was occupied.  I cannot quite articulate it but I think it is different for him.

After we got home things got a little crazy.  Josey and Lucey were tired and hungry too.  Josey threw a fit once we got home but settled reasonably quickly once reasoned with.  I made the kids dinner.  Josey and Lucey sat down and ate.  They were able to transition to eating with no problems.  Brady could not sit still.  He would eat a bite then get up and run around.  Then he would run to where Brad was sitting and would mess with him.  He would go back and sit down, take a bite and then get right back up and run around like his pants were on fire messing with everyone and everything.  He could not settle.

I finally got him to eat by sitting next to him and holding his hand while he ate.  We got jammies on and put the kids to bed.  He got up about 30 minutes later and laid with Daddy on the couch for a bit then went back to bed.  He got up at 4:30 this morning and told me he was awake.  I said absolutely not and had him crawl into bed with me. 

The thing about Brady is that he does not sleep alone, whether in bed with me or not.  He has his beloved pillow, a moose, a small stuffed chihuahua, a Matchbox truck, a Lightening McQueen and his "chewy".  Yep...pretty extensive list but if it is not all there he will not sleep.  I ended up sleeping with my hand over my head holding onto everything except the pillow and the moose.  We did get a couple more hours though. 

Seems like the nights after the bad days are not good sleeping nights for him.  I wanted to describe our day yesterday for a few reasons.  1.) I needed to decompress from it because I was in tears last night after it was all said and done. 2.) I want a record of these events and days for reference. 3.) I want to be able to share it in general so that others know what I am talking about whenever I do actually talk about it.

It has taken me a while to get this written so I am going to post it and go to the store with the girls.  Brady and Brad are fishing.  He was thrilled to get to go with Daddy today.  Love seeing the smile on his face when he leaves. 

That darn pillow

Ok...so Brady has a pillow and 2 dogs that are "must haves" in his world. He needs them to sleep and when we leave the house. He carts the pillow around everywhere throughout the day. I decided to wash it the other day, I thought it would be done before naptime. It wasn't! SO with much fussing and fretting he did finally fall asleep. I felt like crap.

I decided to make him a cover for this pillow. My thinking was that then I could just wash the cover and he would always have the pillow this way. it would just be "naked" sometimes. So I sit down at naptime and sew him a pillow cover with some Lightening McQueen fabric I had. dude....Lightening McQueen! Brady loves him. The pillow gets dry and the cover gets made. When he gets up from nap he immediately gets up and starts looking for his pillow. I hand it to him in the new awesome cover. He takes the pillow out of the cover and hugs it like there is no tomorrow. I try putting the pillow in the cover again, thinking he just may not "get it", and he again immediately pulls it out and tosses it aside. Apparently he is not keen on the cover. oh well.

So last night before bed we have his pillow and a moose he likes but cannot find the two dogs. Cannot.find.them.anywhere.at.all. Looked down the stairs, in the drawers, in all the rooms and even in the closet. They are completely MIA. We go to look in the van and then it hits me. We had the windows open all day because it was so beautiful outside and one of our screens is pulled loose in the corner. I look to the right of the door right under window with said screen...and yep. There is a small pile of toys with two little stuffed dogs right there. Stinkers had been tossing toys out the window. No telling who actually did it.

Yesterday Brady's eye started getting goopy and nasty so this morning we marched into the doc office to get it checked. Sure enough...pink eye. So far he is doing ok with it. He even let me put the eye drops in. I hope that good run of luck continues. lol

We got home and sat down to do his flash cards. I took a couple of short videos. I did this partly to keep up with his progress and also because I want to show clearly to others what he sounds like. I like to think when I blog that someone might get something from what I write. Maybe just a laugh, maybe an idea and maybe someone struggling with something similar can find solace in not being "alone" with it. Our quest for help came from me reading a blog that I could relate to that has led to a kinship with another momma that has been invaluable to my sanity. Perhaps I can be that for someone else.

Anyhow...here are a couple of videos of our flash cards this morning. He is turning to Josey to show her the card and "tell" her what is on it. You will note that almost all of his "words" sound the same. Also note that he gets a little "woof" in after choosing the dog. You will also notice Josey hamming it up in the back. Lucey was beside me so she is mostly out of frame...not by her choice I assure you.





I am doing what L told me to with him. Offer the pictures up for him to choose. Then regardless of what he chooses push the correct one forward and then congratulate him. Positive reinforcement no matter what. I get that when a kid has words for things and is choosing not to use them you need to work at "making" the kid to use those words. Brady however has no real words at this point in time so he has to just do the best he can and we reward that.