Holy super crazy summer Batman!

Can you believe that one month of summer vacation is GONE?! I can't.....I'm in denial.

In just one and a half short months my kiddos will go back to school. I'm sure I'll be happy when the time comes, but I feel a little panicky when I think about it right now.

So what have you been up to this summer? Have you been as crazy as we are? Have you done anything fun and exciting?

We have done a little bit of everything. Camping. Waterpark. Family time. Swimming. TeeBall. Dance. Helping friends.

We haven't taken any major trips, but it seems like we've been doing a lot of driving. My poor van is proof. I need the van cleaning fairy to pay a visit to my house! Not to mention it needs a trip to the body shop to repair the damage from getting side swiped by a semi truck. Those semi drivers are crazy sometimes! When they want to get in your lane you better watch out!

Here's a little "our summer so far - in pictures"! Enjoy. (not in any particular order, btw :) )

watching fireworks at Bear Creek Lodge Waterpark.....

enjoying the waterpark......

my kids with their cousins.......

loving the waves......

park fun with friends......

family fun.....

swimming fun.....

goofing off at O'hare while waiting for their cousin's plane......

new haircut...

perfect summer weather.......

sprinkler!!!

Hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are!! :)

hot summer nights

I love nights like this.

The kids and I are all feeling a little crispy from the day's sun. We went swimming today so we are all a little tired. The A/C feels great compared to the 95+ degrees outside. Everyone is just hanging out.

The oldest one is watching Food Network. Her favorite channel. She is only 8 but she has decided she wants to be a chef when she grows up. I believe her.

The youngest is downstairs with daddy play the playstation or a game on the computer. He just came up and asked me for a snack. A regular occurrence around here. He is the skinniest member of our family and he eats non stop.

The middle one just came out with his whale blankie and a pillow. Looks like he's going to snuggle up with the dog if she will allow it. He's probably extra tired today.....he used A LOT of self control not having a major meltdown when swim time was over. Usually anytime he has to separate himself from water there is a meltdown. Not today! He was mad....but there was no crying, yelling, throwing or flopping involved! woohoo Yeah for self control!

I'm loving it! Everyone is chillin'. Nobody is fighting. We are all pleasantly tired and will be heading to bed soon.

Easy.

I survived!!

Well I made it!

6 days

27 jr high kids

3 of my own kids

2 dogs

4 adults

1.2 million bugs and spiders

1 mouse in my cabin

...all that and I made it home alive! Tired, sunburnt, covered with poison ivy.....but alive!!

It was actually a great time! Spending the week with a bunch of kiddos teaching them about God and being surrounded by all He has created....totally awesome!

Give me about a week to sleep and I'd be happy to go right back!

I can't wait until next year!

...and we're off....

Adios everyone!
We are leaving tomorrow for our week in the woods!!
Should be fun.
I'm sure I'll have some great stories when I get back!

commencing meltdown in 5..4..3..2......1

Holy bawling, crying, drooling, snotting, screaming boy Batman!

We are day 4 of no more Prozac.

OMG

I may be crying just as much as he is before this is all over with.

summer summer summer time!

So far so good! Last Friday was our first official day of summer break. The kids got haircuts, I got a pedicure. We went to a friends house for lunch and then after making them clean house for an hour I rewarded them with some time playing in the sprinkler! Then when hubby got home from work I headed off for some overdue scrapbooking time. It was a good day!



This morning has been pretty good too. Cartoons. Legos. DSes. We have running around to do later so right now we are just hanging out.



I started to input some of our summer plans and appointments into the computer's calender the other day and I was a bit overwhelmed. Summer is supposed to be fun and relaxing, right? I feel like we're all booked up already, and we don't even have a big vacation planned in there anywhere.



We're going to take a couple small trips I think.....St. Louis and Chicago. It should be fun. Brookfield Zoo has a dino exhibit this year....St. Louis had it last year. We always have to hit up anything dino for the middle one. We may also head to the Field Museum to check out Sue the T-rex.



Next week I'm helping out at a week of camp with my mom's husband. I will be sleeping the in woods with over 25 jr. high aged kids. Spiders, insects and hormones.....OH MY!! I think I'm a little frightened! LOL



It should be pretty fun. My mom is coming up also. She will be cooking for us all and keeping an eye on my three kiddos. I think she's a little frightened too! I don't blame her. My middle one.....in the woods.....endless supply of insects, dirt and water......could be interesting. I'll just put it out there right now that I bet we lose him at least 3 times.........and I'm not even gonna think about him and the outhouses. Oy



I love the camp. It's Rock River Christian Camp in Polo IL. I went there as a kid and my family actually worked there for a couple summers. I knocked a few of my teeth out there playing a crazy game of capture the flag in the dark when I was in the 4th grade. Good times. Good times.

My nephew is also traveling down from Alaska next week. We will be leaving the camp for a bit to run to the airport and pick him up. We are all super excited about that. He is coming all by himself for the first time! We can't wait.

So I'm super excited summer is here.....just feeling a little bummed already that it's so full.
I hope we manage to find the time to just hang out and have fun. I'm pretty sure the middle one will stage a revolt if we don't!

what to do...what to do........

"I get to play legos ALL day today if I want!"

This was the middles one's thoughts on his first day of summer vacation today. He was super excited to not have to get up and get ready for school. He pretty much laid around all morning and did nothing until it was time to get ready to go to his psychologist appointment. Also known as the "feelings doctor" at our house.

Today's appointment was a little discouraging. She told me that she's not so sure she's doing much to help us out. I agree with her, but I don't really think it's her fault. I think my guy is just not willing to do the work she is asking him to do. Not willing? Not capable? Who knows.....definitely not me. I sure wish I did though.

This feelings dr is the first person that we found who seemed to know exactly what we were talking about when it came to our little guy. We suspected something long long ago, but had a hard time getting anyone to pay attention to us. He had great behaviour at preschool and saved all of his issues for those of us at home. Everyone kept telling us that he was super smart and just had a quirky personality.

We eventually went through our pediatrician and were referred to a children's hospital to have him tested and we came away with the diagnosis of PDD-NOS. We later got the additional diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder from the psychiatrist we were referred to for medication.

He started taking meds this past winter after some rough times in Kind. He was crying all the time and the teacher felt he was withdrawing and she was getting really concerned about it. He was also crying and tantrumming non stop at home...but to be honest we were pretty used to it. However for the school this was something new, he used to be able to control himself there and wold lose it the moment he stepped off the bus.

So...long story short....he's been on meds. The are not going well. They have made him very defiant and kind of cold. He was getting into big trouble at school before it let out and the teacher pretty much told me she preferred the "before med" child. Now the counselor tells me she doesn't think what she is doing is working either. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

We go see the psychiatrist Monday to talk meds. I'm thinking of just going back to nothing and see how the summer goes.....then what for the fall?? He totally hates school and I think it's one of his major stressors so we could probably make it through the summer ok, but first grade is just going to be tougher than Kind, so then what?

The feelings dr also suggested a "sensory diet". She said maybe some sensory stuff is causing some of the anxiety. I'm sure he has some sensory issues......but I've tried once before to find an OT that is covered by our insurance and didn't have any luck. I guess I'm going to need to try harder.

All I can say is that I'm glad it's summer break! That gives me 2 1/2 months to try to get this figured out. We'll see what the psychiatrist says Monday, and we have one more appointment with the feelings dr scheduled too. She's not actually kicking us out or anything, I think she just feels bad that she's not getting through to him.

I am one frustrated mama today.