Figuring it out in Here

I still have NO idea how this site really works but I have found several of my friends from the other place and at least feel relieved that all is not lost.

I keep feeling like I should write and entry because 1) this is a new space and 2) it has been forever since I last wrote anything but I can't think of anything exciting. I will ramble for a bit and see if anything comes out of it.

Our move in Sept went amazingly well and we have all settled in. I was a little nervous about how much chaos would be caused by uprooting everyone and then starting the kids in kindergarten two days later but it was a smooth transition. We all love being so close to every one and everything. It is so convenient being back in town. My mom lives about a half a mile from us and it has been great having her so close. She comes to dinner at our house at least twice a week. The kids have gotten spoiled and now any time we are in the car for more than fifteen minutes they complain that it is taking forever. Funny since it took us at least a half hour to get most places and we were on the go all the time.

Alyssa and Cooper are doing well in school. I swear I am still adjusting to them being gone all day. I miss them like crazy when they are gone and then want to pull my hair out when they are home! Cooper has his days but he is exceeding our expectations. It was hard at first, he struggles most with transition and so leaving me to go to school has been an adjustment. Once he is there he settles in nicely. He loves the routine so much and knows each day what is expected of him so he actually does better during the week than when he is home on the weekend with no idea what the day holds. Drop off was rough for about a month. I drove away from school crying more days than not. He has the most amazing teacher and counselor along with principle though that truly want to see him succeed. We developed a plan where I would drop him off in the parent drop off instead of going into the school. The first day was rough for both of us but after that it became easier each day. I joked that it was like dropping off the president. When they would see me pull up radios would go flying, people would come from every direction and they would escort my crying boy inside. I cried then and I cried the first time he happily went in without needing any help. It is always a roller coaster with him. I love watching him progress and succeed though. Makes the days that we are really struggling with issues a little easier to take.

Bella is doing great in pre-school too. In the beginning of the year we had a choice because her birthday was in Oct to either put her in the four year old class or the pre-k class where all the kids were 5 before Dec. They REALLY pushed the academic aspect of the pre-k class and because Bella has excelled past the requirements of what is expected in Kindergarten and we were really just looking for social integration (she is immature for her age) we opted for the four year old class. At first she did ok in there but then we noticed she was starting to regress socially and eventually not interacting with any one at all. She started having anxiety about me leaving and spent her whole time next to the teachers. She was by far the oldest kid with the next birthday not coming until the end of March and we found there was even a three year old in the class. We made the decision to move her up to the pre-k class and I have never been happier with a decision I have made as a parent. She is thriving and making friends and happily going to school again. The teacher is all about independent thinking and social interaction. Just what we need for Bella.

Sawyer is ridiculous. He is two in every aspect. He can be such a monster, not wanting to share and bulling others when they have something he wants and then being the sweetest most loving kid ever. We call him a sour patch kid...first he is sour...then he is sweet. He says the funniest things and has a pretty extensive vocabulary for his age. His sentences and the thoughts he can relay to words are impressive (at least I think my kids is a genius....kidding I know it is all normal I am just always amazed by language skills as they develop). His new favorite thing to do is to bump into things and then say "I'm ok" or "I'm fine" and crack himself up. Today in the car I took an off ramp that went around a corner and I heard him in the back saying "whoa, whoa, whoa I am going to fall off the road. Oh wait, I am ok". He is such a goof.

Have I written about the fact that we found out he has Hemophilia? I can't remember. He has had several LARGE goose eggs in his life. They are not a normal little bump but instead grow over at least a weeks time and get HUGE and take about a month to dissipate. The first couple were explainable because he had hit his head on the hard wood floors when learning to crawl, or fell out of a chair and hit his head against a concrete planter outside. The fourth one though happened out of no where, he fell against the soft side of the couch and it appeared. We took him in really to have it documented and to see if he had a weak spot or previous fracture that would cause it to keep happening in the same spot. The doctor decided to do some blood work just to rule out anything and it came back abnormal. After some more testing we got the diagnosis and now have a specialist we have seen and have on speed dial. The good news is that it is mild and in my unknowing of anything hemophilia state I thought that meant it wasn't a big deal. I got quite the shock when we saw the specialist and found out just how serious it is/could be. How it was explained was the in the Hemophilia world mild is what you want but in the real world anything Hemophilia related is not good. The good news is that because he is mild he doesn't have to take daily medicine or have any type of daily maintenance, instead we are more reactive. If he gets injured, minor cuts, surgeries or dental procedures he has to take medicine to help it stop or keep it stabilized. We have to watch for joint bleeds also. He is to wear a medical bracelet at all times and we have specific instructions to where he can be transported if ever there is an emergency or major accident. Not all hospitals carry the factor he needs, actually we found that no hospitals around us have it and if we need it in an emergency we have to go to the ER attached to the Children's Hospital the he sees the specialist at. The only reason they carry it is because the Doctor has requested it be kept. Apparently it is so expensive and rare that most places won't stock it. We have a medicine we carry with us to stop bleeding and we have a medicine on hand that is taken every four hours to stabilize the clot until he heals. Medicines to the tune of $1400.00. Thank goodness for insurance. His doctor has to be consulted for anything, and I do mean anything. The other day he bit his tongue and I couldn't get the bleeding to stop so we had to call him and let him know, he had to tell us what medicine to take and how long and then had to do a follow up. It took almost four days to get the bleeding under control. It was crazy. The good news is that for the most part he is just fine and is able to live a very normal life, he just has to be a little more careful about things. So thankful for medicine and the power it has to help him heal.

Ok, enough is enough. I knew my rambling would lead to a long update!

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