Independence

Independence reared it's ugly head today in the form of a little boy who refused to hold his mommy's hand as we went to meet the teacher night. : ( I know, I know we pray for them to grow and learn blah, blah, blah... But I thought of all nights meet the teacher night -Cooper would need just a little mommy touch as he felt a little uneasy- nope not a bit! He saw a little boy that was in his class last year in the parking lot and pointed him out. That little boy was holding both his mom and his dad's hand - Cooper had his hands in his pockets and was talking non stop about all kinds of things. I put my hand out and was denied. I said, "are you nervous at all?" His response, "nah what for I went to Kinder here so it's no big deal." What a guy! He then proceeded to tell me about this girl that asked him every day if they could get married and he said it was very annoying. He said girls were completely annoying because all they ever want to do is buy clothes and look good- oh really mr. can I have this that and the other as we shopped for school clothes. The boy got a jean jacket from the G*P the other day (it was the first thing he picked out in the store) 100 degrees outside but he wants a jean jacket because he would "look good" in it. His words not mine. He walked right in to the classroom, shook hands with the teacher and proceeded to play with a little boy that was in his class last year. When we went to the cafeteria to put some money in his food account the cafeteria ladies remembered him as the kid who kept giving his bus number instead of his cafeteria number. He just gave him a little sideways grin and said, "well they gave me food." Looks like it is gonna be a great year!

Not bad at all

School shopping was not bad at all! I thought it would be tough shopping with four, but my Mother in Law had done some pre-shopping and price comparisons and we were able to get in done by just going to three stores. She had an awesome 20% of complete purchase from The G*P and their tee- shirts were buy one get one free (cha ching). After lunch and a stop at Gymb*ree's sale rack for another 20% of purchase we are clothed and ready to start school. We had a lovely lunch in the mall food court and it was a lot of fun to watch Jaxon be amazed at the stuff in the mall. It is obvious I don't shop much or go to the mall for that matter - he had no idea what to do with himself or what to look at. It was funny! My mother in law can shop I tell you and I was all out of breath by the time we were done. We all had a good time and I am very grateful to the Babcock's for their generosity! 1st and 3rd grade... bring it on!

Obsess Much?!

If you've seen Ace Venture Pet Detective then you can hear how he says, "Obsess Much?!" when he goes to the house of Ray Finkel- the kicker that missed the super bowl field goal (ok a movie that I have seen many many times : ) Anywhoo- I digress- Cooper has been on medication for 4 days now and here is what I have noticed... He is very obsessed with organizing things. He has said several times that he needed to "clean up the toy room" and I have found him lining up the trains and cars in their containers. He has asked to clean up the laundry room and pick up his clothes. It is like his eyes are suddenly open to what is going on around the house. But he is most obsessed with lining up the trains and cars again. Meltdowns.... we had one today but it didn't last long and he went straight to his room on his own. Eating... so far so good although I have noticed a desire to drink more that eat. Oh and he is drawing a lot again. He had stopped for a while but now is drawing and coloring again. These are just some of the observations I have noticed. We will see how this week goes with getting ready for school to begin.

ADHD

Usually I post on things going on around our Babcock world and they tend to have a bit of humor in them. Today, however, I am asking for your prayers as we begin a journey that many have traveled, but it is new to us. Several years ago we started Occupational Therapy with Cooper and a wonderful friend Mrs. Robbie Dunn. She has done wonders with Cooper and with us regarding some of the special needs that Cooper has. In the beginning I was learning about Cooper and why he was so driven in everything he did. If it was something he liked he strove for perfection. If it was something he disliked, he disliked it with enormous amounts of passion. When he was forced to do something he disliked, or when he made a mistake on something while striving for perfection, he would meltdown. I don't mean just throw a fit- we are talking 30-45 min of wailing, screaming, crying, stomping, running, hiding, destructive behavior that was hard to deal with much less understand. Since seeing Mrs. Robbie, most of the time he is able to tell us what he needs in order to not meltdown and stay in balance. He is a textbook case for Sensory Integration Disorder. After learning more and more about it, I have learned that the apple doesn't fall far from this tree. (me) We recently had him tested by an educational psychologist to see what the realms of his issues were. Those results showed that he also suffers from ADHD. As a teacher, I had many students who struggled with adhd but having one of my own was not what I was prepared for. Now we come to the question of what to do. We are not opposed to medication. If he had a problem with his heart and medication were the best route -he would get it. If he had kidney problems the same thing. As Dr. Chappell explained to us those who suffer from adhd do not have the same amount of neurotransmitters that non adhd children have in order to stay focused. So the medication helps with that. Still we know that things in the house will have to change as well. A steady routine is crucial. Sleep is crucial. I guess what we need is the support of our friends and family as we help Cooper learn to cope with his diagnosis. We want him to be comfortable and well informed enough to be able to talk about it and at the same time we don't want him to use it as a crutch. We want him to feel loved and wanted as he always has been. We covet your prayers and ask that you pray for strength and wisdom for all who are involved. We know that God chose us to be parents to Cooper and I wouldn't trade that for anything in this world. We are thankful that he is our Cooper!

Speaking of firsts

Our lives are filled with firsts. There are first words, first steps, first dates, first kiss etc... Today I experienced a first because I turned 40 this year- I had my first mammogram today. I was very nervous. Nay, I was scared. I had heard horror stories from women about them. I had even heard them compared to slamming your "girls" in a freezer door and then allowing a mac truck to back up into it to attempt to make them as flat as possible to get a good picture. I was stressed because they ask you not to shower or wear deodorant, powder or perfume before you go. In this weather- wow!!! When I went in the lady said, "hello, Mrs. Babcock how are you today?" My response, "My pits are sweaty because I am very nervous but other than that I am doing great." Laughter is very important to me in stressful situations. The two ladies had a good chuckle over my response and reassured me that things are not like they used to be. Not only are they not like they used to be, but I am pretty sure that they are not even close. The place was quiet and pretty - the temp was perfect. I was ushered back to a room with little curtains and asked to put on a gown front first. I even got to choose between blue or pink. The wait was short and let me just say that breastfeeding hurt 100 times worse than getting this taken care of. In fact there was not one part of it that was painful! All those years of freaking out for nothing. The greatest part about the whole experience was that I allowed myself to relax enough to notice my surroundings and get a chuckle out of several things. The funniest thing I saw made me chuckle for quiet some time- just in case you forget the whole no deo, powder, perfume rule, they have cleansing wipes for you to use. The name of the wipes "mammowipes" yep that is what you read "mammowipes". Even now I am laughing- who thinks of that- seriously - someone said, hey, I have got a great marketing idea and we will sell them only to mammogram places : ) Awesome!!!! Why can't I come up with stuff like that to help the world out?! They also provide spray deodorant for you to use when you are finished so you come out of the place smelling good! The whole thing took 25 mins from beginning to end. I walked in at 10:20 and was in my car before 10:50. I hope that this post will encourage you that have been putting things off to suck it up and just go! You can do it! Your health depends on it! On a serious note, breast health is very important to me. I want breast cancer to be eradicated before Zoe has a chance to hear "I am sorry to tell you, but you have breast cancer." I will be walking again in the 3Day and will let you know in a later post how you can help! Good luck and go forth to get yours done soon!

It was one of those days

I have been working in little bits for the last few weeks on organizing and redistributing all the stuff in the house. I feel very much like I am nesting although it is like what a year and a half later. Anyhoo, today was one of those days where I didn't feel like I got much accomplished at all because I spent the day corralling the children and holding Miss Zoe. I actually had a child say to me today "I don't have to if I don't want to." In case you are wondering - that child is still alive and he doesn't have a bruise on him : ) But, I don't think he will ever do that again! I waited until Jeff got home and then quietly slipped out for a little shopping therapy. Of course it was to Wally world and I really just needed cat food and diapers but just a little quiet time always refreshes my spirit. I was reminded again as I drove with my windows down, drinking my Dr. drink for everyones favorite drive through, listening to my choice of praise hymns, how truly blessed I am. Even if it was a rough day- I have kids who are healthy and mostly happy, I have a home to take care of, I have clothes to wash (too many), and I have a God who made a plan and it was fulfilled through His Son. "Love soo Amazing" I am thankful tonight that all are sleeping safe and sound in their beds and I am thankful that it was able to have "one of those days!" God Bless!

Precious moments

I was taking a moment to rock Zoe this evening as the older two boys were taking their night time shower. I could hear them talking and heard Cooper say he thought whatever Mason used smelled good. Mason said, "oh here I used this conditioner, but you only need a little." Very sweet moment caught by mommy ears. Well, I continued to rock Zoe who was singing herself to sleep as I was kissing her little eyes closed and I saw Mason get out of the shower, towel off, and put on his undies. He then picked up his brush, styled his hair, put down the brush and then - the precious moment that I didn't even tell him I saw- He had given himself a mohawk doo and proceeded to play his air guitar in the mirror with head banging and everything. Then he flexed his muscles a few times both from the front and the sides. I guess he was pleased with what he saw because he brushed his hair down and then left the bathroom. Oh my eyes and my heart were full this evening! I thank God for my precious moments tonight!!