The Latest Happens for Christopher

Christopher seemed to be having decreased hearing about 2wks ago. I called to make an appointment with his Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. The soonest they could see him is October 5th. Last week, at bedtime, I noticed he was having drainage from his left ear. I took him to see our family doctor the next day, he had an ear infection. So that is why he was having a decreased hearing.

Christopher has tubes in his ears,his third set actually, to promote the function of his eustaision tubes. This is why his ear drained so freely when infected. Children with Down syndrome tend to have problems with fluid in the middle ear, as do children with a cleft palate, which Christopher has both. Children with Down syndrome also have a decreased perceptoin of pain, and I felt bad when I realized he had probably had some pain for a while before I noticed something was wrong. He had acted grumpier than usual, but I thought it was just a phase, as all little ones go through from time to time.
He is on an antibiotic and seems to be happier. He is back to playing with Trinity, his baby sister, instead of taking all the toys from her and hoarding them for himself. (funny how that was how he acted while sick.)

One evening, Christopher has bloody saliva streaming from his mouth. We thought maybe he had bumped his mouth. Upon further investigation, we realized he had been chewing the inside of his mouth. He had the inside of his cheek open and bleeding. I was so concerned this would turn into an ugly habit and wanted to do something to prevent continued chewing.
This is how we nipped this one in the bus, well, hopefully, we nipped it in the bud. One of my older children and I took turns sitting with him as he played that evening. Everytime he would egin biting inside his mouth, we would gently squeeze his cheeks. Then we would point out his toys, and he was, in this way distracted.
We also began using his battery operated toothbrush more frequently. We are using it several times a day now, to brush his teeth, gums, inside his cheeks, and tongue. He loves it! Our thinking is, maybe he needed more stimulation in his mouth, so we wanted to provide that for him. We are also using a soft brush and brushing the outside of his mouth and cheeks. He is very ticklish, so he is having a lot of fun.
I am pleased, so far, that our work is paying off. I will try to remember to update again about his progress in this area.

Grace Like Rain

I'm not sure who sings the song, I'm not even certain the name of the song. As I was driving home in a downpour today, courtesy of Hurricane Earl, the song was on our local Christian radio station.
The rain was coming down so heavy at times I had difficulty seeing. I was concerned that certain areas would be flooded and I would need to detour.
Then, *that song* came on and I found myself singing along, "hallelujah, grace like rain, falling down on me".

Usually, when I hear that song, I think of a gentle spring rain. Soft, refreshing. Not the gully-washer we had today. Now I have a different perspective. Maybe this heavy, soaking, drenching rain is really what the song is talking about. So heavy, we can't see much else but God. So drenching, we are fully saturated by his grace.

I felt very blessed during my drive home. I didn't start out feeling blessed. I had not planned to go out in such extreme weather, but my 18yo daughter's car would not start, so I took her to beauty school. If she missed today, they would have added three weeks to her schooling. I had most of my children with me, and part of the way home, I feared I had been foolish. Then *that song* came on, and I felt very much at peace, and began to praise God for pouring out his grace like rain!

The streams were flooded and had spilled over their banks, but none had flooded the roads I needed to take!

How warm, dry and inviting my house appeared as I pulled into my driveway!

My husband is picking up Allura after he gets done work, another reason to rejoice!

Home Alone

My husband took the older children to Hershey Park for the day. I am home "alone" with five children 9yo and younger.
This morning, when I got up, I did not think it a daunting thing, to be home with my five little ones. But as the day wore on, my feelings changed. Now, I am wondering how did I ever manage back in the days when my older children where my little ones and I had no one to help me. I don't remember feeling so busy.

Christopher has an ear infection, so that has made him more clingy. It has also made him irritable and he does not want anyone "in his space". Suddenly, all the toys in the house belong to him, or he is not happy. I will be glad when the antibiotic makes him feel better.
Trinity has been fussy, also. I think Christopher shared her toys just long enough for her to catch the grouchy bug, which includes a runny nose. No nap for her today, that would be too easy.

Seth, my 9yo, has been a big helper. He emptied the dishwasher all on his own this morning. That was a huge help, now it is ready to fill as the day progresses.

I have been trying to make a dent in the laundry pile today. This is usually a chore that belongs to one of my older girls. But I will often get them caught up if we have had a busy week and they are behind.
I also realized the apples were starting to go bad, so I baked an apple crisp. When my husband called at lunch-time, I told him not to count on any left-overs. It turned out esp. good this time.

I still have hopes of working on the diapers that I am making as a baby gift for a mom-to-be at our church. I have them all cut out, it is just a matter of having a few minutes at the machine. I love making diapers, I find it addicting and relaxing at the same time.
Before my husband left this morning, Sarah begged to stay home. She was afraid I would need her help. I reminded her that I took care of babies long before she was old enough to help me. However, I think I will be very tired by the end of this day.


Recipe for Apple Crisp *adapted for a large family

approx 12 baking apples
3/4c water

crumbs:
2 3/4c brown sugar
2 3/4 c oatmeal
3/4c flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4c butter

Preheat over to 375. Peel and slice apples into a greased 11x15 pan. Add water. Combine dry ingredients, and cut in butter til crumbley and spread evenly over apples. Bake 40-45min.
You can serve it with milk or icecream, but we like ours just as it is, while it is still nice and warm.
I always add an extra apple to accomodate the slices the children swipe out of the pan as I am peeling:)

If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out!

A Fair is a Veritable Smorgasborg, Orgasborg.....

Can anyone else remember the words to the song in Charlotte's Web that is sung by Templeton the rat??
Last week was our local fair. I sang that song over and over 'til my children begged me to stop. LOL! It was great!
I can understand why Templeton thought a fair to be such a smorgasborg. Everywhere we went was candy, candy and more candy. We filled our bags with it, as well as pencils, pens and note pads. We bought cotton candy, icecream, and the most wonderful thing of all....fair fries. Our local fair makes the best fries!

We entered our handcrafts, flowers and baked goods and won many ribbons.
Sarah 13yo won 6 ribbons. She won 2nd place on her baked zuccini bread. She used her grandmother's recipe, so that made it even more special. She won 1st place on her embroidered pillow cases that she made to give to a friend as a wedding gift. She won ribbons on her flowers, and knitted hat.
Beth 15yo won 5 ribbons. She got 1st place on her jewelry, sculpey clay flower, and a knitted hat. She also won 2nd on a clay doll mask and sweater.
Aaron 11yo won 5 ribbons, too. He made a leather wallet, which got him a 2nd place ribbon and various ribbons on his flowers.
Seth 9yo, Jesse 7yo and Josh 5yo all entered pumpkins, but did not get any prizes. They were ok with that, they were just excited about going and getting candy.

I entered a knitted wool soaker, which did not win any ribbons. I don't think the judges even knew what it was. When I took it down, the ladies who register the knitted items did not know what it was, did not have a catagory for it, they put it with "useful items". An older lady saw it as we were discussing where to enter it, and knew what it was, commented it had been a very long time since she had seen one. The little hat I knitted for Trinity won a blue ribbon, even though I did not think the work was my best. I also entered a PUL diaper wrap, made of Thomas the Tank print.

It was fun visiting all the booths and animals. Our favorite was the alpacas. They had a 3wk old alpaca baby, so pretty and soft!

All in all, it was a good year for the fair.

Typical Day in the Shoe

People often assume I am very regimented and organized. They will often ask me what my typical day is like.
There is no such thing as a typical day. I have goals and ideals, but these are often laid aside to meet the needs of my children.

Ideally, I like for my older children to get up at 7:30am. But there are times their bodies need more sleep.
It is my goal for breakfast to be over and cleaned up by 9am. But this is not always the case. Sometimes, I will have a little one that sleeps in and will need to eat a later breakfast. Or, I will be up throughout the night with a fussy baby and need a few extra minutes of sleep.

We generally begin our school work between 9-9:30. We do our math 1st. My husband likes us to start with the subject that is least enjoyable to the children, and that is math. Once it is done and out of the way, the day goes more smoothly. Another plus, they get to do their most difficult subject while their minds are still fresh from a good night's rest.
We work until lunch time, taking breaks to throw loads of laundry into the washer, or into the dryer, or hang them on the clothes line.
We do our basics in the morning, this includes math, reading, grammar, spelling, writing, handwriting, depending on the child. We also work with Christopher during this time, which consists of playing with toys and games, and singing songs.

We break for lunch at noon. We eat a light lunch, which usually consists of snadwiches. I have called a halt to making other foods for lunch, as it is too time consuming. On occasion, I will allow soup or macaroni and cheese.

At about 1:30 Christopher goes upstairs for a nap. This is when we do our other subjects. This is also when I do some one on one work with my early learners.
Currently, we are using The Prairie Primer. This includes our science/history/crafts/nutrition and more.

Now for the non-typical. I have needed to be flexible for doctor/specialist appointments. Unfortunately, specialists do not have evening and weekend hours.
Also, I cannot plan when one of the children will be feeling extra needy, or need extra help with certain subjects, or is just being uncooperative. So, even though it is our goal to be done with our school work by 3pm, it can be extended til much later.
The beauty of homeschooling is being able to be flexible. To take a day to go to the park for nature walks, go to the county fairs, local attractions, run up to see Daddy at work and take a train ride. It also means we can take a trip to the library and research subjects of interest, learn new crafts. We can make popcorn and watch a classic movie. Or we can curl up and read a book together on rainy days. Or count snow days as PE.

So, what does your typical day look like?

Different is Good.

I recieved a notice from the school district last week. They are having an evaluation clinic for 3 and 4 year old children. I recieved one of these each time one of my children were 3-4 years old. In the past, I threw them away, without bothering to read them. This time, I opened it and read over the skills checklists.

With my other children, I had no concerns about their skills. Even if they were not doing something on the checklists, I knew they would be able to learn, without any intervention. But Christopher is not exactly like my other children. He has an extra chromosome, and extra 21 chromosome, to be exact. He has Trisomy 21, commonly referred to as Down syndrome.
Most days, I can happily go about my busniess without thinking about Christopher's extra chromosome. It is just a part of him, like his blue eyes and blonde hair. I really do not think about him in terms of skills he can or cannot perform. He developes at the rate that is appropriate for him.

But the Evaluation Clinic was a reminder that Christopher is different. Different in ways that many people are not comfortable with. His biggest area of delay is with language skills. He has quite a vocabulary list. But does not put the words together to form phrases and sentences. But I am confident he will. He understands so much more than he can say at this point. He can express his likes and dislikes, joy and sadness, and is quite opinionated, all with a limited vocabulary.

Some of the things on the list are just rediculous, in my opinion. Whose child, at 3-4 years old, "will ask permission to use a toy a peer is using"? None that I have ever seen. And who lets their 3-4 year old answer the phone and talk to adults on the phone? That sounds a bit risky to me and I have never allowed my young children to answer the phone.

There are so many things that Christopher does that is the same as other children, as opposed to different.
He goes to Sunday School and sits in the little chairs during story time. He clangs the little cymbals together while they are singing songs to Jesus. He greets others, adults and children, with a smile, and waves to everyone who passes the sliding glass doors of his Sunday school classroom.
He knows when others are sad and is quick to offer his comfort to them.
Actually, maybe these things are different in a good way. Maybe different is a good thing. Wouldn't it be a boring world if we were all the exactly the same?