We have been ...

enjoying snow days.

the kids' charlie brown christmas trees they each decorated

yup, hay bales still left sitting from nika's birthday bash

taking time to enjoy real breakfasts.







doing science experiments.





cleaning and purging.

left over garage sale stuff being donated to a local adoptive family ... makes my heart happy

cuddling.



contemplating ... and designing.



playing.







drummin' (him) and strummin' (me).



sharing love.



eating too much left over candy.



potty training.





wholesaling out inventory ... everything 50% off ... email me with your wish list for details.



wishing it hadn't taken me four days to write just this measly little post that is getting published incomplete. Ha.

Little Brownie Bites

Other than wearing pull ups at night for any potential accidents, Payton is completely potty trained. She is now taking herself to the potty, wiping herself and washing her hands.

One problem.

She often forgets to flush. Which is fine, really.

Except ... when she goes #2, I really prefer that she flush. And I really, really prefer that she flush after going #2 when we have guests.

Because having guests announce that they found something similar to little brownie bites floating in the toilet ... well, ya know.

But I still can't help but be so proud of her.

Even when I find a pot full of #2 ... with an entire roll of toilet paper laying on top of it.

Dear Baby Girl ...

Do you see that little, silver knob on the side of the toilet? Use it next time, kay? I appreciate that you want to save your little brownie bites to show me, but really ... I'm good. And I really appreciate that you are wiping yourself ... but please believe me when I say you do not need an entire roll of toilet paper to accomplish that. Kay?

Love,
Your Mama

Housekeeping

A few housekeeping items ...

I have created a new section of my blog for Fun Finds! When I have time, I get sort of obsessed with searching the internet for fun craft projects, great coupon deals or even free stuff. In order to not clutter our family blog with all this stuff that I am constantly wanting to tell you about, I now have a place for it.

So click on over to check it out ... and if your child has a Leapster, you might really want to click on over to see what I just posted. Also, if you come across any Fun Finds that I should include, please let me know and we'll get it up there.

Housekeeping ... I had to create a new blog for Fun Finds, so if you want notification of these posts into your google reader, then you'll have to follow it separately.

*************

Speaking of following blogs, I never added that Follow widget to my blogs until a few days ago. I never really saw the point of it and just was not understanding the purpose. I also did not follow anyone else, because I just added everyone I wanted to follow to my google reader and didn't want to clutter the sides of my blog with all the posts showing up. Err something.

Until the other day I clicked to follow someone else ... and then in my google reader I realized that blog automatically showed up there for me to read. Genius!

Who knew? Ha ... clearly not me. And I just thought I'd share that with ya'll ... unless I am the only one who did not know this?

Very well could be.

*************

Speaking of housekeeping, if the spammers of blog land do not stop spamming my post about My Hotel Guest, I am going to close the comments. For whatever reason, the URL to that one post must be hanging out somewhere that spammers hang out and I get several comments a day about Cialis ... stop, please! I do not want your Cialis!

*************

And speaking of the hotel we are running around here ... does anyone know if hotels typically have a dressing service ... err something like that?

If not, I think I need to invent one. One of my hotel guests has gone n*dist since she graduated to undies. Obsessively n*dist.

Speaking of undies, Payton has successfully been out of pull ups for about two weeks now. She goes accident free most days, however accidents are still lurking around. Regardless, I am so proud of her!

Now ... if we could just get her to keep her clothes on!

Snotty noses. Toys. And the potty.

I have given it several days, however the snot is overwhelming our house. The girls' noses are running like faucets ... no fever, just snot. I took them to the pediatrician this morning, since their schools seem to think they should not be in school, even with just a runny nose.

Umm ... I'm pretty sure it is going to be a long winter if a runny nose keeps kids from school.

Final diagnosis ... Nika - ear infection and sinus infection, Payton - a cold.

A cold? While that may very well be, I got a script for an antibiotic anyway. Payton's teeny tiny nasal passages make it hard for her to kick a cold like the average kid, thus eventually causing infection.

So antibiotics it is. Thank the Lord. Come to us clear noses ... come to us.

Please.

*************

While I was waiting for the girls' prescriptions to be filled at Target, we walked through the toy aisles to see what is out there this year. I'm so flustered at what to get the kids for Christmas.

Will there ever be a toy that they love so much that is doesn't end up separated into 14 different pieces and spread throughout all three levels of our house?

I know I'm getting Mason this and I really want to get the girls a doll house ... but which one? I like the wooden ones, but I'm not sure what to get. Something without tons of little pieces would be fantastic. Ha.

Mason has circled every toy in the Toys R Us book, that I can't even use it as a guide. Any suggestions? What are your kids getting for Christmas this year ... or what are they asking for? Help!

*************

Potty training Payton has been one really, long drawn out process. She has stayed dry in her pull up during the day for a really long time ... I just have been nervous to take the plunge.

I did it.

I have had her in undies all week, during the day. She has done great, with me pulling her to the bathroom to make sure she goes. We can't wait for the day that she tells us every time she has to go ... that day might not come soon.

So it is on us.

She has had less than one accident per day ... and the one accident was totally my fault. I knew she probably needed to go, but we got to dancing in the basement and well, you know what comes next.

The true test will be seeing how she does at school. They are now taking her twice during the time she is at school, and this has worked for her. I haven't sent her to school at all this week ... ya know, because of her runny nose. So we will see.

Fingers crossed!

Potty. Err not.

I feel like Payton has been potty training forever. She has done so good with it and is so ready to make the big move to panties. Granted, we still have to take her to the potty and remind her to go, but what kid in training doesn't need that? And ... this is a kid that has special needs and can't talk well ... we need to just take her!

Prior to starting school ... and when she is home full days with us ... she stays dry. Sometimes we remind her to go potty, sometimes she tells us she has to go ... we have a happy medium. However, since starting school, I have noticed she has been coming home wet ... which is odd since she is rarely wet at home.

So, I asked her teacher how often they are taking her potty at school. Once ... right after snack, which is 3 hours after she leaves home. Mind you, she is gone for a little over 4 1/2 hours total ... and when she gets on her bus, she has just finished eating lunch and drinking a full cup of liquid. So I'm pretty sure she hasn't been making it to potty time at school ... wouldn't they pick up on the fact that she is wet every time they take her?

Hello, that means take her earlier! They know she is potty training ... I just don't get it.

Two weeks ago, when I asked how often she was being taken potty, I told Payton's teacher that she needed to be taken at least twice. The first time fairly soon after school starts ... perhaps after opening circle ... and the second time, perhaps again after snack or maybe a half hour before it is time to go get on the bus. I felt like her teacher sort of blew me off and I told her that if they didn't work with me on this, then I would call an IEP meeting to add it as a goal. Of course then she piped up.

But fast forward two weeks and I hadn't seen any changes.

So I brought it up again ... and got a little more stern with her. I told her I didn't mean to sound rude, but that helping her to potty train while she is at school is not an option. I again threatened to have it added to her IEP, at which her teacher again balked.

Of course she doesn't want it added to her IEP, because then she HAS to do it.

She then explained to me that they have a busy classroom and they have lots of kids with behavioral problems and blah blah blah. I told her I didn't know what any of that had to do with Payton and that Payton won't be suffering because of the issues the other kids have. This is not about them. Urgh. I also told her if she didn't start taking her potty more than once, then I would start sending her in panties and having them deal with wet pants everyday when they don't help her get to the potty. I bet that would get them moving.

So anyway, that day I marked Payton's pull up with a red X. Sure enough, she came home with the same pull up on, dry as a bone. Wow, imagine that! Her teacher also had come up with a little sheet noting two potty times, stating that Payton was dry and used the potty both times.

Okay, this is what I've been telling them ... I guess they finally believed me.

I am giving it two weeks and then sending her in panties. That is it. I'm taking the day time pantie plunge and praying I don't end up with a mess on my hands.

Potty. Gingko. And an ABR or two.

Payton and Nika waiting for Nika's bus

Payton has been doing so good with her potty training. I'm still really nervous to put her in panties, but she does remain dry pretty much all day. And the best part is that she is finally telling us more and more that she has to go.

Nika has definitely been showing an interest in potty training ... I assume because she has been seeing Payton doing it. She often will sit down on the little potty chair ... fully clothed ... grunt a little, stand up, cheer and then "pour" the potty insert into the big toilet. Crack me up.

So this morning when she was still dry from last night, I sat her on the big potty. She tooted a few times, so I wonder if she associates the big potty with going #2. LOL ... TMI, I know. So I went to get the little potty, sat her on it and she went pee. OMG, she was so excited. She stood up really fast, clapped and said, "Yay!"

***********

Disclaimer ... I am not bringing this up for people to come on here and bash me for using TNI. I know it is controversial and this is simply what is best for our family. So please refrain from bashing. Thank.you.very.much.

So if you have read my blog for long, you may know that we give the girls a targeted nutritional intervention called Nutrivene-D. Basically in so many words, it is a compound that is specifically formulated to help the body of a person with Down syndrome ... which means less DNA damage, less oxidation and a healthier lifestyle for my girls.

When Payton was younger, we used to give her DHA oil ... which is Omega-3. For some reason, we never were good about giving it to her and it has sat in our fridge. Fast forward to now, I have made a pact with myself to make sure that both girls are getting their DHA every.single.day.

And ... we have started giving each of them Gingko Biloba Extract in liquid form. I have read a lot lately about the use of Gingko helping kids with Down syndrome with improved speech and cognition overall. So we have been giving it to the girls for a few days now. I'm not sure if this statement is premature, but I have already noticed a difference in both of them.

*knock on wood*

***********

After continuous failed behavioral hearing tests and flat lined tympanograms, we decided that it would be best to have an ABR ... a sedated hearing test ... done on both girls. Given their speech delays, I wanted to be proactive just in case there was hearing loss involved.
Nika's ABR was smooth sailing. The child is so chill ... almost too chill sometimes. They were able to place her IV without as much as a whimper. She woke up very quickly from her anesthesia and was very happy.

Nika's ABR results ---> No hearing loss ... good to go!

Payton on the other hand, not quite as easy. We warned them that placing her IV was going to be a fight, so they brought three nurses to try. In total, with the audiologist, there were five of us holding her down, while the sixth person tried to get a successful IV line. The poor nurse was so nervous, that the shake in her hand was making it a little hard.

It is sort of comical to me that people never believe me when I tell them how strong Payton is. She will fight, and she will fight hard. Even with the five of us trying to hold her down, she still gets loose. Crazy kid.

It took two nurses and two tries to get the IV line placed in her hand.

Fast forward an hour when they are finally ready to sedate her ...

They started giving Payton the anesthesia through her IV ... and nothing was happening. We knew from doing this with Nika that it should only take a couple seconds before she should have been out. Yeah, not so much. Payton is fighting like a horse and everyone is sort of panicking because the anesthesia is not working and Payton is just getting more and more pissed. We know the anesthesia is going in because it burns, hence the reason Payton is getting pissed ... we know she can feel it. I'm basically laying on her trying to hold her down ... I'm pretty sure my adrenaline has never pumped so fast in my life. It was ridiculous.

All of a sudden I hear one of the nurses say, "It infiltrated."

Are you fricking kidding me?! By this point, I thought Kyle was going to lose it on them and I was so ready to tell them to forget it, that we were leaving. Ugh!

So they pull the IV out and give Payton a dose of Valium to try to calm her down. Then they tell us they want to try to get a line in her foot. Ugh. By then, the Valium had taken effect and they were able to get a line in her foot on the first try. Phew. They then successfully sedated her and started the test.

I seriously have never felt so exhausted in my life after all that. I had pain in my chest from all the stress I endured ... it was crazy! I told Kyle that after all that, they had better be giving me good news after the test! LOL.

Payton's ABR results ---> No hearing loss ... good to go!

Potty, Potty and More Potty

They always say you can potty train girls easier than boys, right?

I guess I have found that to be true since Payton has picked up on it so easily ... the only problem is that we have not been persistent enough. I hang my head in shame.

We introduced her to the potty several months ago. She has used the potty. She has signed for the potty. But not consistently. I guess it would have helped if we had been persistent.

But she did just turn 3 years old.

After we found out that Payton had Down syndrome, I guess I just expected that she would be potty trained later than a typical child. And I do still think that is true. I dunno ... I also think sometimes I don't give her the credit she deserves because I constantly have the words "developmental delay" coming at me from outside sources.

But I know she can do it. Even though she can't verbally tell me, she can tell me by patting her diaper, which is her sign for "potty". I think it sort of hit me this past week when I saw her diaper ... hanging essentially to her knees. She is a big girl now and big girls produce a higher volume of urine. We gotta get this girl potty trained!

So this weekend I set off to do just that.

I dragged her little potty into the kitchen and put her in a pair of her brother's barely worn undies that no longer fit him. Note to self: go to Target and buy some princess undies. We set the timer and took Payton to the potty every 30 minutes. She did great ... peed and even pooped in her potty ... but she also peed through two pair of underwear. Sigh.

So off with the underwear and back to the pull ups. I guess I figured we should get through our two days of 30 minute potty breaks before we needed to pull out the undies. She has really done awesome and has been signing "potty" in between potty breaks when she has had to go. She pooped three or four times this weekend and each time has been on the potty. Too much information, I know ... but whatever, this is a story about potty training. There was also one point that she was upstairs with Kyle and she got up on the big potty all by herself to do her thing. The only problem was she couldn't get off the potty ... but whatever, I think the fact that she took herself to the potty is amazing!

I'm sort of nervous about how this week will go since she'll be in school four mornings. I know her special needs school will be on this, but her typical preschool ... umm, perhaps not so much. We shall see. Persistence is key, after all.

So tomorrow I'm off to Target to buy some princess undies ... how exciting is that?!

Poo poo on the potty! Poo poo on the potty!

Woo hoo! Payton just went poo poo on the potty! I had her sitting on the toilet a few minutes ago and she did nothing. So we went to the kitchen and she signed that she needed to go potty ... her sign is pointing to her diaper. I asked her if she had to go and she nodded yes. So we ran to the potty and as soon as I sat her down, she pooped and peed! We sang and clapped and cheered ... woo hoo! :)

I hate to beat a dead horse ...

... but Payton is doing so well with potty training! This morning we were in my bathroom, where her potty is. Her potty was sort of covered with a pair of my pants, which were draped over the tub. She walked over to the potty, pulled my pants off and pulled at her diaper {which was dry}. I took her lead and took her diaper off. She sat down and peed! She is so stinkin smart, I can't get over it!

Also, a funny story ... after she pees, she knows that we remove the little potty insert and pour the contents into the toilet. So today I did that after she went pee and then put the insert back in the potty after rinsing it. She sat back down, but didn't go any more. She stood up, removed the insert and went and shook it over the toilet as if she were emptying it. Too funny.

******************************

Updated: Twice more today Payton has approached me tugging at her diaper as if telling me she needs to pee. Sure enough, she did. Yay baby girl!