Kindergarten Transition

Well, we have almost three days under our belt. Kindergarten is going great. Landon is making new friends and his teachers are falling in love with him. To me, that's all worth it. I am so proud of this transition that he has made. It's huge. I was telling a friend yesterday that I feel like I never see him anymore! By the time we get home from school, it's 4:00. I basically have him for four hours until bedtime. I want to make the most of those four hours and really spend quality time with him. I understand now when people guard their family time on the evenings and weekends. We will need to gain a new balance for this. I am so thankful we have had family and friends praying for us. It has been felt.

Yesterday was also a new transition for Landon. He went into the new Kindergarten room at church. It was promotion Sunday. He got to stay with all of his friends but got new teachers. We walked in at the right time. His friend Emily was there to greet him. He loves her. She likes to be a mother hen to him and he wouldn't have it any other way. So thankful for her.

Any new transitions for you this week? I pray they go smoothly.

Landon's first day of Kindergarten

Landon and Liam

Kindergarten Eve

Kindergarten Eve? I can't believe it. Landon is starting Kindergarten tomorrow. I am very calm but very anxious. Can I be that way? I don't know if that makes sense, but it does in my mind. I have his outfit ironed, his lunch packed, and his backpack ready to go. I am so excited for him. It's a new chapter for him and for us. He is ready to learn. He loves it and craves it. I pray it stays that way.

I was talking to a friend the other day over lunch about what I am most anxious about. Landon has been with me for five years. Yes, he has gone to preschool for three hours a day, but that's all. I know what he is doing, I am controlling what he sees, I am controlling what he hears, etc. My prayer this summer has been that the Lord would protect him for evil. I pray that the Lord puts people in Landon's life that love the Lord and follow Him. We have been so blessed with fantastic teachers. I know we are going to see that continue. Nate and I have a peace about all of this. As much as I want to keep him home and protect his eyes, ears, and heart, I realize that's not the best for him. He needs socialization, he needs to learn, he needs friends. Oh, and Mommy needs some down time! Ha!

This evening I went and celebrated my friend Katie's 30th birthday! We went to Touch Restaurant. The food was wonderful but the service was not so wonderful. I will just say you had to be there to enjoy the humor behind the remarks the server was making. He didn't receive a good tip from any of us. We still had a blast in the midst of bad service.

Enjoy your "eve!"

Katie's friends

The Birthday girl

Meet the Teacher

We had the opportunity to meet Landon's Kindergarten teacher today! Her name is Ms. Robinson and she has been teaching Kindergarten for four years. It was such a relief to me to put a face with a name. She is young and fun and a great fit for Landon. Landon warmed up to her right away and was very sweet to give her a hug. Melted my heart.

I ended up making a folder for all of Landon's teachers, therapist, etc. It's an "All About Me" folder that explains Landon in full detail. His likes, dislikes, learning ability, successes, needs, wants, etc. It turned out very well and I hope it helps everyone to understand Landon and to help him grow in his education.

I realized this morning as I was getting ready to head out the door to meet the teacher that this was going to be a lot harder than I originally thought. I know it's very cliche to say that they grow up so fast, but it's so true. I think the thing that is the hardest for me is not knowing who Landon will come into contact with every minute of his school day and if he gets made fun of, or if he misses his Mom, Dad, or brother. I just worry. I don't need to worry. It's all going to be just fine. God has shown us over and over why he has chosen this school and this teacher just for Landon. It gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.

While Landon is at school, I will still have Liam home with me. On Mondays and Tuesdays I have the opportunity to watch Liam's little friend, Derrick. We are excited for that! Liam will have a built-in playmate for two days out of the week. I am looking forward to the one on one time with my little guy but will be anxiously awaiting to pick Landon up from school everyday.

Front cover of the "All About Me" folder

Cover page

Ms. Robinson

Ms. Robinson and Landon (Not good of Landon but oh well!)

STL or Bust!

We had a great weekend in St. Louis with our family! After having a stressful week, it was good to be with our family. We were going to St. Louis for several reasons. We had a Fragile X seminar, my Grandpa's 90th birthday party, and a BBQ with our St. Louis Fragile X chapter.

We got to St. Louis on Friday afternoon. The kids did great traveling. I went to the store to grab a few things for dinner and we got them fed. Later that evening my parents kept the boys so we could meet our mentors, Tom and Rhonda Hufty. Tom just left a position at our alma mater to be a pastor right outside of St. Louis. He married us and has been a great influence to Nate while in ministry. Rhonda has been that for me as well. She is one great gal! She has tact, spunk, and organization to her. They have served in larger ministries and understand it. We went to this little chinese place and enjoyed a nice dinner. Afterwards we went back to their house and had cupcakes from The Cup. I failed to bring my camera. Grr!! We finally made it back to my parents house at 1:00 a.m. We were exhausted!

On Saturday I attended a Fragile X seminar. The seminar was taught by Dr. Marcia Braden, Dr. Ave Lachiewicz, and Mrs. Cindi Rogers. It was so encouraging and helpful. The thing that I took away from this seminar is that we are doing things right. The topic was "Behavior from Three Perspectives." I got to see a lot of my friends from the St. Louis chapter as well as Eric and Kristie Meyer from Ohio! That was a nice surprise. We met at the Fragile X conference several years back and it was nice to see her again!

Right after the seminar I headed over to my Grandpa's 90th birthday party! My grandparents are still living. My Grandma is not doing very well and they are thinking about going to a nursing home soon. Time will tell. My Grandpa is healthy as a horse with a few minor things. My Grandpa has been a retired pastor for over thirty years. They have been a huge impact on my life and I will always be grateful for the wonderful, close relationship we have. I could write a whole blog post on them sometime. Love them.

On Sunday we got to go to our St. Louis Fragile X chapter's BBQ at Mike and Ari Howard's house. They have a swimming pool so the kiddos got to enjoy that. We had a wonderful time socializing with our friends we don't get to see very often. Liam stayed with my parents and napped while we attended and took Landon. We are so thankful and grateful for these people in our lives.

Beautiful Elise and I. (She has Fragile X)

Landon and Logan...3 weeks apart...both have Fragile X.

Me and Kim

Landon and Nate

Grandpa and Grandma

Grandpa on the portable potty. Yes, he is proud of it!

My Dad and his Dad. Age 60 and 90.

The whole Bales Family.

Grandpa, Gigi, Liam, and Landon

Poor, Neglected Blog

I guess it has been a a crazy week! I have neglected my blog and I don't like it! We have sure had many "documenting" things happen in the past seven days. I think I will start with last week and then leave this past weekend for a separate post.

Oh, what a week. The week started off very well. Liam and I got to enjoy lunch with our friends Abi, Anabelle, and Mya at Lola's Tea Room. Our kids were perfect as usual and it was very peaceful. We had great conversations about parenting and discipline. It's nice to have friends in your life with like-minded ways to raise a family. I love having conversations with other Moms about our season of life. It's always refreshing to hear that you aren't alone in this whole parenting thing. It is seriously one of the hardest things I have ever encountered in my life. I just pray I am doing it right and that my boys see Jesus in me and understand what real life is all about. Not the toys, T.V, vacations, clothes, etc. I want Landon and Liam to know that Jesus loves them above all else and that serving Him and doing things for the Kingdom is the most fruitful and beneficial for their lives.

Then comes Thursday morning. Nate and I were doing our usual morning routine with the boys. Landon was already done eating so he was just relaxing and looking at books. Liam was sitting in his highchair finishing up his breakfast. Nate went ahead and got Landon's medicine out and in his applesauce for him to swallow. As he spooned the applesauce he turned to the wrong boy and gave it to Liam. My heart panicked. I immediately got on the phone to call poison control. Nate gave him a very low dose of anxiety medication and another low dose of attention medicine which is also used for high blood pressure in kids and adults. Nate was a complete mess. In the eleven years we have been married, I have never seen him be so upset. It was such an honest mistake. We were just doing our normal routine and he just wasn't thinking straight. I didn't even have to say anything because I didn't want to make him feel any worse than he did.

After talking with the nurse at poison control, she wanted us to go ahead and take him to the ER so that he could be admitted. My heart sank. She never said that he would be okay or gave me any indication that it would all turn out just fine. Nate rushed out the door with Liam and I stayed back to get Landon ready for summer camp. After dropping Landon off, I rushed on over. Liam was already back in a room and crying. They were hooking him up to an IV and all these heart monitors. It was the worse thing to walk into. After about 5 minutes, I had to leave the room. I just lost it. I was balling and balling. I couldn't be strong. I couldn't do anything. Finally, Liam went on to sleep. The medication was making him very out of it and very drowsy.

After a couple of hours the pediatric doctor came in to speak with us and see Liam. She said words to us that I will never forget. "He is going to be okay!" The first thing out of my mouth was "Thank you Jesus." I meant those three words like I have never meant them before in my entire life. She was very comforting and very encouraging after Nate feeling very stupid and dumb. She told him that she has seen this many times and to not beat himself up so much. She could tell he was very distraught about it all. His face was white as a sheet.

Right after the doctor left, they wanted Liam to drink charcoal. Instead of pumping stomachs anymore they like for patients with overdoses to drink this stuff. It was black and nasty! We diluted it with chocolate milk and Liam drank it right up. It was to absorb anything else that was left of the medication to get in his blood stream.

After the first four hours, it was determined that they wanted to monitor his heart rate and blood pressure even longer. Liam would be staying overnight and hooked up to these monitors for the next 16 hours. We were suppose to leave for St. Louis that evening but obviously plans changed. My Mom ended up coming to help us and I was so thankful she was there. I wanted her to be here. I was scared. A Mom needs her Mom when she feel like this. :-)

Liam did fine and wasn't sick from the medication at all. His blood pressure got a little low but then went back to normal. There will be no lasting effects from this happening. I hope and pray you never have to go through something like this. Very scary for a 15 month old baby to endure. I didn't take any pictures as this was very traumatic for me. I actually don't want to remember this but thought I needed to document anyways.

We left the hospital about 10:00 on Friday morning. I told Nate it felt like I had just had a baby with being in a hospital bed and up every couple of hours. Thank you to everyone that sent texts, came by, and called. We felt the love. Here is my sweet, healthy baby.