Hello again...

It's been a while. Over a year in fact, but here I am again. Coming back to my place to share my thoughts, a place to let it out. So much has changed in the last year, but where do I begin?  I'll give a brief update I guess before diving into the chaos that has been our last few months.

Jonathan is three now and started preschool this fall. He is such an adventure for us! He's outgoing, funny, and social, not at all like his big brother! He's so smart, yet sneaky...but that IS like his brother haha!

Carson is eight and in third grade. I have so much I want to talk about with regard to him and our past year. He's so smart and caring for his family. He loves reading and riding his bike, like most kids do!

I've got a promotion since I last blogged but still work as a Care Coordinator for Medicaid recipients. I love what I do, even on the toughest days.

We've traveled quite a few places and enjoyed many adventures as a family this past year. From Michigan to Ohio, Indiana to Colorado...we've been all over! Many laughs, tears, and smiles along the way.

Anyhow, that's  probably enough for one day.....I'm going to try my hardest to blog at least weekly, so watch for updates!

It's been a while

It's been a while since I last was able to sit down and share life with you all. Life with two boys is incredibly more busy than I expected it to be at this point. Cub Scouts, baseball, speech therapy, developmental therapy, and so much more keep us constantly on the go!

Jonathan turned two at the end of May. In late May/early June, he started speech and developmental therapy for a speech delay. Twice a week he works on learning to communicate more effectively. He has really made leaps and bounds in the past two months. He has gone from saying 12 words, to putting two and three word sentences together now!

Carson finished 1st grade with excellent straight A's. He played travel baseball this summer and really enjoyed it. He is excited to start second grade next week!

Chris has been busy beyond belief with work. He has managed to squeeze a few triathlons and a half marathon in there as well.

I'm still at the Care Coordinator job and really enjoy what I do.

I'll sit down soon and fill you in more on each of our lives, but right now I'm being attacked by a crazy toddler!

One Year Later: Childhood Anxiety and ADHD

It's been one year since we started down the road of diagnosis and treatment for Carson's anxiety and ADHD. I can't believe how far we have come. (If you are new, or don't remember what we went through, you can read about it here.)  Fro struggling and violent outbursts, to the best reader in his class! He loves to learn and especially loves reading, plus, the kid is a math whiz! It is such a change from last year. I really think I owe a lot of it to his teacher.

Mrs. J is amazing with Carson. She has the structure he needs, but allows the kids to have fun in her class as well. By December she figured out that if you let Carson "work for you" he will do his work too. By that I mean, he gets his schoolwork done, he gets to complete a special task to "help" her. Things like clean the white board, wipe down desks, or organize the books are his "rewards" for good behavior.

Life at home has improved too. There are far fewer fights in the home. The amount of love and affection that now flows from Carson is so heartwarming. He loves his brother and family so much. He has even made himself physically sick worrying about his brother having surgery to put tubes in his ears! He likes to snuggle and have family reading time at bed almost every night, which is something for a 6 1/2 year old!

Carson is still on medication for ADHD and for the anxiety, but he seems to be doing very well. Our only concern is his weight. He's very skinny, to the point his bones stick out everywhere. We have a follow up appointment next week to address that with his doctor.

Friday Free for All!

Today I am one week post surgery. I am finally able to wipe my own butt and put my own socks on! I still can only wear pajama pants though, so going to tomorrow's 1st grade basketball game may be entertaining!

Carson got a purple card this week. A purple card is given out for exceptional behavior. This was something that never happened last year! He's got several this year, but it had been a couple weeks since he last got one. Mama was very happy about it!

JP is still at mom and dads, but tonight we are bringing him home for the weekend since Chris will be here to help with him.

It's a little over a week until Valentine's day, I have no clue what I am getting Chris or the boys.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Don't freeze out there!