Manasquan Water Taxi

This weekend we went rode the Manasquan Water Taxi. They usually are open for business in the summer and you can ride the taxi between several bars/restaurants on the water. I had done it years ago and it was a lot of fun. This year they tried a Pirate Cruise. (nothing like the Pirate cruise we went on for the boys birthday) You ride the boat (adult beverages are served if wanted)to Treasure Island. Once on the Island you go on a nature hike/treasure hunt. You "find" a treasure chest as well as a pumpkin patch. Such a cute idea. It was a little cold on Sunday but still worth it. The kids had a blast and Frank enjoyed the adult beverages :)

The Island we went to brought back lots of memories because when I was in my twenties we used to go to the same island by boat for the day and enjoy way too many cocktails with lots of good friends.

Something I also noticed and was even surprised by. We were sitting on the back of the boat. We were going pretty fast and it was very windy. There was also music playing. I was able to have a normal conversation with Cormac who was sitting two people away from me. I didn't need to yell. I could just talk to him. Even with all that background noise he was able to have a conversation. Pretty darn amamzing.

We will be back again next year for sure. If nothing else, we go so wonderful pictures!

Some quotes worth keeping and Happy Halloween!

The kids have come out with some good things lately. I put some on Facebook so if I duplicate sorry. I just want to be able to remember these things.

Colin: I am pretty sure Evelyn is in love with me. Me: How do you know? Colin: I asked her and she said yes Me: Oh, that's nice. Colin: Yeah, but I am in love with Reese. (And so it begins) Then Cormac chimes in "Well, that's ok cause I am in love with Evelyn" Ciaran says "dont worry mom, I am in love with you"
2135Boys are all playing in Calleigh's room. Colin and Ciaran are "whispering" so Cormac can't hear them. I say "He can hear you. He is not deaf. He is in the same room as you". From across the room Cormac says "Well, actually I am deaf but I heard them anyway"

Driving up from our house to my Mom's house on Halloween Colin says all to himself in the car "Wait, I must be dreaming. Is that snow. I must be dreaming because it doesn't snow at Halloween."

Ciaran has been "quoting" me in and doing impressions of my voice. To hear him say things I know I say all the time is outright hilarious!

Everything now has "smurf" in front of it since wee were the smurfs for Halloween. "Smurftastic" "Smurfilicious" "Smurftaculuar"

My Mom got dressed as a witch for a Halloween party and texted me a picture to show the boys. When I showed them here is what they said :
Colin: You look good and pretty and have a spooktacular day.
Ciaran: You look bootiful.
Cormac: You look like a very friendly witch and I don't care if you are scary and have a green face.

They say so many things I can't possibly remember them all but I really am trying to document as much as I can.

On the Calleigh front...she is doing marvelous! She has really started chatting away! She never would repeat what you said to her but now she is like a little parrot. We know she can hear so we weren't sure why she wasn't talking. But then again, Calleigh is really a medical mystery. With all her issues she doesn't have any neurological or cognitive issues (thank goodness). She is still delayed in speech but making HUGE progress. Her favorite word right now is "purple". She says it so cute. SHe is also getting better wth her gross motor and more steady on her feet. If you can imagine we are already starting to talk about preschool! Since she is in early intervention they start the process 6 months ahead of her third birthday. So, that would put us in December! If her speech and gross motor skilss are still delayed she will qualify for preschool in district. Our (new) district has a great program because it's has typical kids and delayed kids together. We are not sure this is where she will go but we will see. If she catches up she will go to the same school as the boys do now. I am BEYOND thrilled with her therapists since we moved. I think a change was good for her and different techniques are a plus. Her PT really has her working hard. She brings things and set up mini obstacle coureses in the house.

And now to leave you with some serious cuteness. We were the Smurfs for Halloween. Cormac was brainy, Colin was Papa, Ciaran was grouchy (check out his eyebrows). Frank was Gargamel, I was Smurfette and Calleigh was Azriel the cat.

Evaluations

Cormac and Ciaran had their evaluations last week by the Psychologist which is part of the IEP process.  The purpose is to "assess cognitive, social and emotional and adaptive functioning"

The report on each of them was three pages long and very interesting.  Both of the reports were very similar. 

Below is a bit of what he said about Cormac.  Not the sentence in italics.  Could this make me any happier?  All the years of hard work have paid off...
He was easily engaged in and took great interest in testing items.  He was very curious and verbal throughout.  He talked a lot about his brothers, his school, and his family with great excitement.  He impressed me as a happy, inquisitive youngster who really enjoys his school and home experiences. Cormac is a happy child who verbalized a lot during evaluation. Cormac demonstrates equally well-developed itellectual ability on both verbal tasks which involve use of language and on non -verbal tasks which involove non-verbal spatial and sequential congitive ability.


Below is a bit of what he said about Ciaran.
Ciaran "was curious about many of the test items as we worked together. Ciaran greatly enjoyed the evaluation process and frequently wanted to interact with and talk with the examiner.  He impressed me as a very happy youngster who is interested in exploring his home and school environment. Ciaran demonstrates higher level  of intellectual ability on verbal tasks which involove the use of language than he does on non-verbal tasks which involve non verbal visual spatial and sequential cognitive ability.  It is important to note that his non verbal abilities are still in the High Average Range.

So both of my children with hearing loss are testing in the 96% for VERBAL IQ.  That means only 4% of children their age (HEARING CHILDREN) would score higher than them.  I am pretty thrilled with these results.

Cormac's results kind of go along with what his TOD for over 3 years said about him.  She felt he was a verbal learned but just happened to be deaf.  So, his brain adjusted to be a visual learner during the year he couldn't hear.  When we gave him the ability to hear he was suddenly a verbal and visual learner.  Most people are one or the other.

They have another evauation on Friday. One down, two to go!

Ten on Tuesday

1.  This weekend was an awesome family filled fall weekend. On Saturday the boys' BFF from Cedar Grove  and her family came to visit.  We did the farm/pumpkin picking/hayride thing and it was so much fun.  That evening Frank and I went out with some cousins for some coctails and to see a relatives band.  Sunday we went bike riding and hiking on the beach nature trail.  We didn't even realize we had been gone for 3 hours.  It was a perfect day with Frank and the kids.

2.  Monday didnt go as well.  Colin was sent home from school with a fever. Calleigh is also sick.  By the end of the night all 4 were not feeling well and running slight fevers.  We will be heading to pediatrnician tomorrow if they can see us all.

3.  Parent teacher conferences were a big success.  Their teacher said all the boys are doing great and she has no concerns about them at all.  I did have to explain why they each have their own color and city.  Ciaran is really advocating for himself when he misses things in class.  This makes me so proud.  Cormac appears to "not really miss anything".  Smile.

4.  We are working on getting rid of training wheels on the bikes.  Well, we are discussing it.  I am thinking this weekend we will take off the wheels and see how it goes.

5.  Soccer continues.  Ciaran seems to really be taking to soccer.  Colin and Cormac enjoy it but not like Ciaran.

6.  Calleigh has started talking so much lately.  It's like all of a sudden she is blossoming.  She said "please", "thank you".  Any word that starts with /m/ she can't say without saying mmmmmmmm first.  It's adorable.  She continues to make huge strides in all areas.  She is still quite wobbly when she walks but is getting better.  She now calls Ciaran "Ciar Ciar".

7.  IEP's are still in the works.  Both had their evaluations by the psychologist and we are waiting for the rest of the evaluations.  It takes forever. 

8.  A grandparent of one of the boys' classmates has a cochlear implant...what are the odds of that??  I spoke with her and she said she does really well and has had it for 11 years.

9.  I love how even though the boys are in the same class they come home and tell such different stories about their day.  They don't sit together (there are three tables: red angels, blue angels and green angels) so they each tell me about everything their friends at their table talk about.

10.  I need a professional organizer.  Just saying.....

Kindergarten Pictures :)

You never know what you will get when you aren't there when pictures are taken.  I was thrilled when these came home today.  I just love the school uniforms.  Makes them look like little men!

THe Cost of a Child

I received this last year at the boys' Pre K 4 graduation. Kept meaning to blog it but kept forgetting. Came across it during the move. It is very true.

A few years ago the government calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about a shocker. That doesnt even touch college tutition. That figure leads to wild fantasies about all the money we could have saved if not for the birth of our child. But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It tranlates to $8896.66 a year or $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That is a mere $24.44 a day! Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advisor might say don't have children if you want to be rich. It is just the opposite.
What do you get for $160,140?
Naming rights. First, middle and last.
Glimpses of God every day. Giggles unser the covers every night.
More love than your heart cold hold. Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds and warm cookies.
A hand to hold usually covered with jelly.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, builiding sandcastles and skipping down the sidewalk inthe pouring rain.
Someone to laugh yourself sill with-no matter what the boss said or how you stocks performed that day.
For $160,140 you never have to grow up.
You get to finger paint, carve pumpkins, play hide and seek, catch lightening bugs and never stop believeing in Santa.
You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Sunday morning cartoons, and wishin on stars.
You get to fram rainbows, hearts and flowers under refridgerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreathc for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day and card with backward letter for Father's Day.
You get to be a hero for retreiving a Frisbee off the garage roof, removing a splinter, filling the wading pool and coaching a baseball team that never winds but gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, the first word, first bra, first date and first time behind the wheel.
You got to be immortal. you get another branch added to your family tree and if you lucky, a long list of limbs called grandchildren.
You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, and communications that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.
You have all the power to heal a boo-boo-, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever and love them without limits SO one day they will, like you, love without counting cost.

Wordless Wednesday

Here is why I don't have many words to write...I am too busy enjoying an amazing fall!!!

Stuff

I feel like I have neglecting my blog lately.  The final move took way more time and energy and boxes and trips up north than we anticipated.  I feel like every time we thought we were done we found something else.  We are officially out of the house and it is totally empty.  I have lots to say and more to share.  Now, I just have to organize our "stuff" here.  It's one box at a time.

We are still working on IEP's for Ciaran and Colin.  We had our elegibility meeting and they started evaluations today just like they said they would.  I am more concerned about Ciaran at this point. He is still not on the FM system and his teacher told me he raises his hand alot to ask her to repeat herself before he will do his work.  This makes me happy because he is advocating for himself but of course I don't want him struggling.  His classroom has a soundfield system but I want him on the personal FM.  I think he will do much better.  Hopefully, it will all be resolved in the next month.  I am so happy I have the FM system for Cormac.

We attended the Walk 4 Hearing in NJ.  I was there as a volunteer for Advanced Bionics.  I got to meet some great people.  I got to see some people I haven't seen in a while.  I have to say I just love going to these events.  So many great people.  So many people who are friends for life who share a common bond.  I just love it.

Still moving

Even though we have already moved we never finished moving all of our belongings out of our old house.  The official date is October 15th.  Of course, I kept thinking we really didn't have much left to do.  I have no idea why I thought we didn't have much left to do.  Maybe denial??  Anyway, we have been scrambling all week to try and finish.  I have been so out of touch with people and have been begging for babysitters.  We don't want to bring the boys back to the house and confuse them.  They are loving living at the beach and have adjusted well.  I don't want them to go back and see the old house and get upset.

If you don't hear from me by Friday send in the rescue team to search for me.  I will be buried under a pile....We have PURGED so much.  It feels really good to get rid of so much stuff.  We were in our house for almost 8 years to the day.  Eight years and four kids later we have accumulated massives amounts of stuff.  We are promising to never aquire so much stuff again.  Any annual purge will take place and we will not have so much.  The clothes donations alone is astromomical.  I am not exaggerating when I say we have at LEAST 20 bags of clothing being picked up by the veterans.  It might be more and already donated lots before this week.

We have a guy coming to haul away all the garbage and stuff we no longer use.  We could have filled a dumpster.  For those that know what our garage looked like....IT IS EMPTY!!!  Can you imagine it's actually empty?  I don't think we have seen the back 10 feet of it since we moved in!  Now we just have to organize the new house.  The strange part is we were already living here 4 days a week in the summer so the boys bedroom was already set up.  We just repainted it.  Calleigh already had her own room here but we redid it to look like her old room.  Our biggest project will be getting the basement set up as the family room.  It will take some time but we will do it.

I NEVER WANT TO MOVE AGAIN.....but I know we will...

Wordless Wednesday (a little late)

NYC Walk 4 Hearing

What a success today was for the Hearing Loss Association of America!!  I was so excited to be there with my family.  The NYC walk alone raised close $150,000 and the final total is not in yet.  I love connecting with others who have walked in our shoes with a child with cochlear implants or hearing aids.  I also love meeting those who are new to this journey and are still navigating their way through. 
To look around and see so many people with hearing aids and cochlear implants is amazing to me.  From babies to seniors.  Cormac is pretty used to seeing others with implants but to Ciaran his hearing aids are still pretty new.  He was amazed to see so many other children with hearing aids and loved it.  He decided his ear molds are not nearly colorful enough (he has clear molds).  He decided he wants swirly green ear molds next time.  I think it's awesome he wants to show them off.

Seeing some of our Advanced Bionics family is always a pleasure.  I always learn something new each time I see someone from Advanced Bionics. I am so happy i am a mentor for them.  I look forward to connecting with some of the moms I met today. 

I am looking forward to the NJ walk in two weeks!

We were finally able to meet up with some friends from Summit Speech School.  The adorable little girl between Cormac and Colin is the same age as Cormac and also has bilateral implants.  It was so nice to see her again and great to catch up with her Mom.  It's nice to talk to someone who really understands and gets it.  No need for explanations. 

The kids has a blast playing together.  They were making a pile out of driftwood.  They were great at teamwork.  Colin thought it was great to see someone else who has implants.  He ran up to my friend and said "she has cochlear implants. My brother has them too".  We got caught in the rain and had to wait it out at Dunkin Donuts.  Their were two kids missing in the above picture.  A total of seven kids and all their names started with the letter "C" except for one whose name started with a "K". (Sounds the same though! LOL)

We now only live very close and will be able to meet lots more.  When Cormac was little I brought him to Summit Speech School on Wednesdays to a group class for infants.  We started with a group of kids and to see how far they have come in 4 years is amazing!  I have said it before but our experience with Summit Speech School from the start was the foundation for Cormac's success.  While Cormac was in group class the parents were able to sit together and learn from each other and professionals who came to speak to us. 

We are looking forward to The Walk 4 Hearing in NYC on Sunday morning.  Again, if you want to join us or make a donation please click here.

Walk 4 Hearing

My family will be walking in the Walk for Hearing in NYC on Sunday.  If possible please make a donation to our team.  Any little bit can help. If you are not busy join our team and come out and walk with us.  It will be a great day. Visit our team page by clicking here. Thank you in advance for all your donations!

Fun at Forty!

My 40th birthday started at 5:45am when Cormac woke up.  He climbed into bed with me and very excitedly yelled "Happy Birthday, Mommy.  Today is your birthday and the first day of fall.  You are forty today!"  I would have preferred it was about an hour later but it made my morning start off nicely.

It followed up by Ciaran and Colin climbing into bed to wish me the same.  Last night before bed Colin said he couldn't sleep because he was so excited for my birthday.  Honestly, they are so cute about it.  They couldn't wait to go to school and tell their teacher.  They are waiting patiently to give me my presents when Frank gets home. 

We went for a bike ride on the boardwalk for a while after school but got caught in the rain.  It was a mad dash back to the house.  Basically, I was trying to push Calleigh in the stroller while attempting to pull two of the boys faster on their bikes.  Luckily, Kristen (our new friend on the block who is in sixth grade) happened to see us an she gave me an assist back to the house.  She is the sweetest llittle thing and the boys might have their first crush....

Ciaran (who LOVES to go a restaurant )is beyond thrilled he is going out to dinner.  We really don't go out very often so it's nice.  I will get the boys "fancy" as they like to say. 

I am really not caring about turning 40.  I am exactly where I want to be.  I am happily married to an awesome husband and father and have four amazing children. I am healthy and still relatively sane....(LOL)  What more could I want?  Forty is the new 30, right?? 

I am looking forward to celebrating this weekend with lot of family and friends.  Hopefully, the party will be a success.  I think with food, beer, family and friends it has to be a success.

We had a nice dinner and now it's 8pm and all the kiddos are asleep.  Time to relax and enjoy the evening.

Phone Conversations

I am rarely away from my children long enough to have to speak to them on the telephone. I  can't even remember the last time I had to talk to them.  This weekend my mother in law was kind enough to keep the kids over night while Frank and I stayed up at the old house and got some packing done.  It's hard to pack with the kids around. 

Sunday morning I called to see how everyone was doing.  First I talked to Ciaran who woke up in the night and was crying for me.  My kids NEVER wake up in the night.  The next thing I know I was talking to Cormac.  When I tell you his speech on the phone was crystal clear.  I could understand every word he said.  He didn't even sound like a child on the other end.  I was surprised at how surprised I was at listening to him.  At one point he said "Ciaran, can you quiet down I am trying to talk on the phone and I can't hear with all your talking"  LOL  It sounded so familiar.....But good for him for speaking up for himself!

Still after all this while I am amazed by certain little things that most people take for granted.

This makes me sad.

I was waiting for the boys to come out of school today and a lady came up to me and asked me if I was the mom of the triplets. I said yes and she said "oh, I saw one has the implants". I said yes. She tells me she has a nephew who is nine years old who is deaf and the family just moved to another state so he could be at one of the best schools for the deaf. I asked "does he have an implant?" She says no. His Mom (her sister in law) won't do it. She doesn't think he needs it. She says "did it change his whole personality when you got him implants? That is what my sister in law is afraid of".

At that moment, Cormac comes barreling out of the building yelling "hi, mommy, I missed you today. I had so much fun at school. Guess what we did today? We got to go outside for recess and play with the other class and I saw my friend Kristen" (she is in sixth grade LOL). The look on her face made me so sad. She had obviously never met a child with implants and had no expectations of it actually working because of what she had been told by her sister in law. I asked her if they sign and she said she really doesn't know much and feels like most of the family can't communicate with him and feel very detached. Her sister in law and brother both fully sign at this point.

She explained her sister in law's parents are both deaf but the sister in law is not deaf.

I realized it's a personal choice for everyone. But to see this woman look so sad when I guess she realized her nephew could be hearing her voice broke my heart.

And this makes me happy...I will leave you with the cute quote of the week. This week it comes from Colin. Here is the back story to why he said it.

While the boys were at school I made it my mission to get there room organized. Since we aren't fully moved out of our house yet and not fully moved in the new house it has been very chaotic. Their room was very unorganized and was starting to make me crazy. Keep in mind, the boys have had this room since they were babies but only used it in the summer. I got all the clothes put away. I hung their pirate hooks, I put their rug in. I made the beds with their stuff. When they came home it was all done. They went upstairs to get changed out of their uniforms and Colin says "Hey, Mom, our room looks so good. Thank you for making it so beautiful and now it feels like our home with all our stuff" I love that kid. He is so sensitive and notices everything.

A day to remember

I went to talk to the boys class today about Cochlear Implants and Hearing Aids. After posting on Facebook for suggestions on what information to share I decided to follow Melanie's advice and let Cormac and Ciaran speak for themselves. This morning now goes down in the books as one of those moments you always want to remember.

Ciaran went first and said he wears hearing aids "to help him hear better". He wanted to show his class how the battery door opened and what the battery looked like. He walked around the carpet and made sure everyone saw it. He told them "when it beeps once it's working and lots of beeps means it's time for a new battery". He could not have said it better and was so very excited.

Cormac went next and stood up next to me and said "I have Cochler Implants because I am deaf. See, these are them. (pointing to his ears). When I was born I couldn't hear but now I can hear. When my magnets are on I can hear when they are off I can't." (He was demonstrating) He also showed how the processors blink green when they are working and he said "if you see red I can't hear you". Then pointed to my necklace (It a spiral that looks like a cochlea)
and said "this is what the inside of your ear looks like and that is what doesn't work in my ears"

Cormac also explained that lots of noise makes it harder for him to hear so being quiet when the teacher talks is helpful and that is why he wears the FM system.

Colin said "my ears work just fine but it's cool my brothers have cool stuff on their ears"

The kids asked a few questions and checked out all the "cool" equipment.

To have such well adjusted, proud and happy kids was always my goal. Today, I think I realized they are just that. They were PROUD to show everyone why they were "different" and don't think of it as something to be upset by but choose to share it. I could not have explained things better myself. I love those kids more than anything. It's overwhelming how much emotion I feel when they are making me so proud.

I, of course, left the class and called Frank and was crying like a baby. But they were tears of joy so it's all good. Frank was so happy to know it went so well and he said "they weren't born that way. They learned that from you". Frank scored some brownie points...

Could it really be?

KINDERGARTEN!!!! Yep. The time arrived. My babies are now full time students. It's like I know it's real but can't believe this day has come. It seems the last five years have flown by but have taken forever. Does that make sense? I guess the days are long but the years are short.

The unexpected move sort of threw a monkey wrench into our long thought out plan of Kindergarten. It sent me into a frenzy. We are not just a family that shows up in your school. We are first triplets. Can they fit all three in one class? Will they try and force me to break them up? I had this all worked out at their original school. Oh, and let's not forget...two IEP's. So we don't just blend in when we arrive. THere are going to be some delays in getting services started but luckily I have possession of an FM system so Cormac was able to use it today with no issues. His teacher was totally awesome and had no problem using it even though it's not required since his IEP is not finalized. Ciaran will have to wait because we don't have the shoes for his hearing aids yet. They should be paid for by the county who is responsible for his IEP. He is just starting the evaluation process since he is newly diagnosed with hearing loss.

Nothing is simple. Our day to day lives aren't really different than anyone else but trust me, nothing is simple when it comes to school. Being in private school complicates matters more than being in public school. We made the choice to do private school and feel strongly we want our children to attend private school. So the added pressure is self inflicted :)

It all about your resources. Having Summit Speech School as a constant and consistent support system is priceless. Their knowledge and experience cannot be matched by anyone else. I feel truly blessed to have so much love and support from them. Our new principal is an amazing man. He not only welcomed our family into his school but he rearranged other students so my three could be together. He has already made the calls necessary and has promised to rearrange his schedule to be available to attend any and all meetings with the county. That is not required of him.

Hours of phone calls, countless time organizing folders and reports has seemed to pay off. It looks like we will be able to get the services required. It is not set in stone yet but things are looking good. My best advice to any parent is to be prepared and educated. A well educated parent is a districs worse nightmare. Know your rights, understand your rights, know what you want and WHY you want it and have the reports from people WHO KNOW YOUR CHILD ready and waiting.

Ok, enough of all the boring details. Let's get to the cuteness of Kindergarten. Their class was adorable. Their teacher was sweet as can be. They went in to school with no problem. Hung up their backpacks and joined the class on the rug. They signed "I love you" to me and that was it. I was better than I thought. Seeing them so happy made it much easier. I only cried for a second after we left.

They came out of school just as happy. They were very excited to see me and Calleigh. They came out telling me all kinds of stories. Colin said he made a new friend named Ryan. Ciaran said he made friends with a girl but he forgot her name and Cormac said his girlfriend is Mary. They attended music class and thought it was awesome. They were teaching me what they learned. I just love how they love to learn. Their brains just absorb everything. It was a great day for them. Such a milestone for our family. Seems like yesterday they were born. I will cherish the years I stayed home with them. It's kind of scary to hand your children off to someone else for so much time.

We finished the day with soccer practice. The boys were asleep before their heads hit the pillows. All day at school and soccer sure must be tiring!

Why I love waking up in the morning....

For moments like this! Sure the whole day isn't filled with all moments like this but there are plenty of them. They make it all worth it!


 

 

 

 

3 days and counting....

Three more days. That's it. The start of a new chapter in our lives. They will head to Kindergarten on Wednesday. Tuesday is the meet and greet but I get to go the that :) We enjoyed a long day at the beach today. We head back up North to our house tomorrow to pack up some more stuff and prepare for the final move.

In the meantime, enjoy some pics...

I didn't ask them to pose for this. They asked me to take a picture...

The "unofficial" last Friday of Summer

The Friday of Labor Day weekend usually signifies the last weekend of Summer since everyone goes to school the following week. We do start Kindergarten next week. BUT since we now live at the beach.....well, I guess it doesn't end! We can still go to the beach after school, we can still go on the weekends. This is just hitting me and I am so thrilled. Even if we have soccer on Saturdays we have the beach after.

September is the most beautiful month of the year at The Jersey Shore. Not many visitors. Very quiet. Warm temps in the day with the cool ocean breeze at night. I am so looking forward to sitting on the front porch, reading to the kids and enjoying my favorite smell of the ocean. The first day you need to put on a long sleeve shirt in the evening is my favorite feeling.

Starting on Wednesday I will have six hours a day with just Calleigh while the boys are at school. It is so bizarre I can't even comprehend it. Calleigh and I are going to start enjoying some real girl time. What's my goal? I like to jog. Always have. This summer I was actually able to maintain a little bit of a routine and got in about 3-4 days a week. (Thanks to my mother in law who doesn't go to work until 1pm and I got to sneak out early in morning. I usually do about 3 to 3/12 miles. There is one straight path along the water. When I get up to the beach if I go left it winds up in the 3 mile range to the end and back. If I go to the right it will be 5 miles there and back. That is my goal. I want to do the five miles. Of course I will be doing it while pushing Calleigh but that is ok. I don't think it will be so hard. I don't have much trouble with 3 1/2 miles but I will work on my time and try and reduce it.

So, I hope you all have a fun and safe Labor Day Weekend. We will be relaxing on the beach....

Ten on Tuesday

1. The boys go to Kindergarten Orientation on Thursday. I will be with them. I am terribly upset. Their first official day is Tuesday.

2. Since we are moving I won't know any of the other parents. At their old school I knew most of the moms of the soon to be Kindergarteners. I think that will make it a little harder.


3. I can't believe we are actually moving. I am sad we are moving. I will miss a lot about where we live now. Mostly my Mom who will be an hour away.


4. Calleigh's only mode of transportation now is WALKING. Yes, she looks like I did back in the day after a drink too many, but she gets better every day.


5. I have to transfer her services to another county which will hopefully go smoothly.


6. We survived Hurricane Irene unscathed. We were prepared for the worst and our area got lucky. Two towns away the entire town is evacuated and there is devastation everywhere. It seems you either got off easy or you were devestated. No inbetween.


7. Frank is back at work but working on their old contract. He did not agree with this but it is what it is.....my feeling is they will go out again when the 30 days is up.


8. Preparing for two IEP's in a new district sucks. (Well, sucks worse than your average IEP prep)


9. The boys started their first soccer in our new location. They loved it. I thought it was cute and hysterical. What's not so funny is they play their games at 8am on Saturday mornings....


10. Oh, yeah, I still have to pack my entire house. Haven't even started.....

A whole new journey for our family....

The Lawrence Family is making a move....we will be relocating to the beach. It is all happening very fast and was all last minute but things seem to be falling into place. We are sad to leave but happy to see what is ahead of us. We have to leave St Catherine's which is difficult but the boys are enrolled in St Rose. St. Rose is an amazing school. The Principal was very helpful and understanding. Of course, we have to get two IEP's written in the next few weeks which will prove to be a challenge.

It will mean a new Teacher of the Deaf for Cormac and he loves his current teacher. He hasn't seen her all summer so I think it will be easier. Ciaran will have his first IEP ever. I am not really sure what services he should receive. I do know I will only let Summit Speech School provide any of the services. I want consistency and I know they go to Monmouth County.

The boys will start school after Labor Day at St Rose. I can't believe I will have three Kindergarteners. I can't believe I have to pack up my entire house in the next few weeks. We sure have a lot of stuff. It's time to purge ourselves of EVERYTHING we don't need or use. I am going back to simplicity :)

I am thankful for my blog and facebook to be able to keep in touch with so many people! But it's only an hour away!

Perception

I had someone tell me the other day my kids were lucky to have me because not everyone could handle children with needs. (It was a total compliment and I was not upset) But you know what?? I was taken aback. I don't think of myself as a parent of a child with special needs. Don't get me wrong, I realize Cormac is deaf and wears implants. I am perfectly aware Ciaran has hearing loss. I am more than understand Calleigh is delayed in her gross motor skills. I realize I have two children with IEP's starting Kindergarten . I have had Early Intervention in my life for 5 years now. To me they are just my kids. I guess it's all about perception. My children just think of themselves like any other kid in the world. I think of them as just your typical kids.

So, now I have been thinking. Is that how people perceive me? Are people looking at me all day with pity because they see I have one kid with Cochlear Implants and another with hearing aids? I hope not. I honestly don't get that feeling from people. Sure, lots of people have it easier but lots of people have a much harder life.

My question to you is do you think your perception of yourself is different than how other perceive you?

What a day....

My day started by getting all the kids up, fed, dressed and to my Mom's house by 9am so I could get into NYC with Cormac for his mapping. (Remember two weeks ago he wouldn't get a map?) I made it to the city at exactly 10:30am for his appointment. He was a rock star and did awesome. He happily went along with his mapping even with a different audiologist and assistant. He was totally cute too.

I leave the city and head back to pick up the kids at my Mom's house. I scheduled an appointment for Calleigh at the pediatrician. Tuesday night she had a slight fever (not even 100). She didn't have any other symptoms. Wednesday she was very cranky most of the day and continued with a low fever. Wednesday evening her fever was a little higher. The highest was 101 but with tylenol it went down. I decided she needed to see the pediatrian and make sure she didn't have something else going on.

We go to the doctor at 2pm. They took us in and the doctor had finished her exam. No ear infection, rapid strep was negative. She had a bit of a red throat so I was to continue tylenol if she had a fever and keep an eye on her. Bring her back if anything changed or the fever continued. The doctor left the room. Calleigh was in my arms. I was waiting for him to come back to give me a script (for a cream for diaper rash). She looked like she wanted to go to sleep. Her head was resting in the crook of my arm. All of a sudden I just knew something was wrong. She went limp, her eyes rolled in her head and she was blue/gray. I yelled for the doctor who came running in.

They brought in the Oxygen but it wasn't needed. ( I thought maybe he should have given it to me at that point). He was listening to her heart and lungs and he said she was OK and would come around. I thought at this point she was literally dying. She looked that bad. I am NOT an alarmist. I have SEEN and lived through lots with my kids already. I have SEEN Calleigh not breathing at 8 weeks old and given her rescue breaths. I have seen her stop breathing in the hospital after her colostomy surgery and watched them bring her back. I was pretty sure this was the same thing.

It took her a long time to come around. It was a slow process. She was in a deep sleep for a while. She was very groggy. My pediatrican wanted us to go to the hospital to get bloodwork and cultures. With her medical history he doesn't ever like to take any chances.

He called Frank and asked him to come meet us at the office. (Frank is on strike so he was home which worked out. About the only good thing about the strike) Luckily, my Mom was around and she came up to stay with the boys. We headed to the ER and got there around 3. The ER was ridiculous. It was so busy. It was 5:30 before they even took the blood and urine samples. (Horrible experience. The poor girl has not veins) We stumped the entire staff with her medical history because no one knew what Duane Syndrome was and we had to tell them. (It wasn't critical to her care so I wasn't upset).

After many hours the results were in and they couldn't find anything. All tests came back negative. They are assuming it was a Febrile seizure. She really never had a high fever but it went from 99 to 102 in a very short amount of time. She never actually seized. She just went limp so it seems weird.

We finally got home about 8:45pm. (yep, I was out of the house for 12 hours and never had food or a drink!) Calleigh is sleeping in her crib. I am afraid to leave her alone. The doctors assured my they are harmless. My doctor told me three times. If it happens again she will come out of it. He kept reminding me he did NOTHING and she was ok. That is easier said than done. And I am not a doctor. He also said if I was scared to always call 911 and have them come. We follow up with him tomorrow morning.

My heart breaks for Calleigh. She just cant seem to catch a break. She is the sweetest girl ever. Why does she have to go through so much? She just started walking this week. She looks like a drunken sailor but she is walking. She worked so hard and now this?

They really get it..

Spending the summer on the beach means extra time for Cormac without his implants. He doesn't really mind being without them when it involves water. I let him where them when he is just playing in the sand away from the breaking waves. What I have witnessed is such a wonderful sight to see. Ciaran and Colin have become his "ears". I have overheard Colin telling a friend they met "we are triplets. His name is Cormac and he is deaf but has cochlear implants. Make sure he is looking at you when you talk to him so he can read your lips and then he will just answer you." So cute to hear them explain it to other children.

Today while they were in the water I had to keep getting them to move back over in front of me since they kept drifting. I must have kept saying "Ciaran, Colin come back over here." A lady sitting next to us says "What is the thirds one's name? I only hear you calling two" I never even realized I didn't call him. His brothers automatically tap him in the shoulder and tell him. I don't even have to ask them. I explained to the lady he was deaf in the water without his implants.

It's never great when you child cannot hear when it involves a large body of water but we really seem to have a nice rhythm. I am so blessed Ciaran and Colin are just such awesome, caring and loving brothers. When they find something on the beach they never leave him out if he is missed something. They run over to him and get his attention and show him what they found. If a plane or helicopter flies over they always point it out to him so he can see it.

To say I am proud of them does not do it justice. Time and again I realize his brothers are his greatest teachers, his best friends and such amazing little people.

Belmar's Treasure Trail leads to different side of the Jersey Shore

Belmar's Treasure Trail leads to different side of the Jersey Shore NJ.com: ", the Belmar Treasure Trail, a nature walk located across from 1st Avenue next to the Belmar Fishing Club, offers visitors a nice change of scenery, without leaving the beach.
Essentially, the Treasure Trail presents a peek at what the Jersey Shore looked like before it was overrun by bulldozers, boardwalks. Though short, the trail includes sweeping dunes covered with native vegetation. You might also catch a glimpse of some of the animals that live on the shore, like seashore grasshoppers, common terns, and white-footed mice.The Treasure Trail is great for kids as well. There are educational signs posted throughout the trail, teaching children and adults alike about the importance of dunes and how they provide homes to the various plants and wildlife. Kids can also go online and answer questions about the Treasure Trail to win some 'treasure' of their own"

Me and Grandma packed up the boys and cousin Corinne while Aunt Juanita watched Gavin and Calleigh. My boys have been asking to go here since Memorial Day Weekend. Anything involving a "treasure hunt" peaks their interest. We followed the trail and read the signs of what to look for along the walk. The kids were thrilled to find almost all of the "treasures" we were searching for along with some extras. We found an entire flock of the special bird we were looking for (white bellied something or other), lots of flowers on the list, grasshoppers. I was very happy we didn't find the giant eared mice but the kids nearly lost their minds when Ciaran found the cottontail rabbit! Ciaran said he just knew he could find one in this "special bush". And he was right! We saw it two more times.

We brought home a collection of shells, rocks, driftwood and the "best" ever we found the skeleton of a bat or some other small animal and we rought it home.

It was such a wonderful way to spend some time. We watched some boats in the inlet go under the draw bridge. The kids were thrilled we got to see the bridge go up. We waved to some boats goinng out of the inlet. Lots of talking and vocabulary. Lots of fun.

We are having a great summe so far.....

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things I hope to teach my children: (in no particular order of importance)



1. Love


2. Compassion


3. Understanding


4. Acceptance


5. Independence


6. Hard Work Pays Off


7. To Embrace differences


8. Empathy


9. Value of friendship


10. Family is forever

All about Ciaran!

Ciaran lost his FIRST TOOTH today! He is the first of the boys to lose a tooth. It was very wiggly all weekend. Today we went to the beach and he came out of the water and started talking. All of a sudden Colin says "Ciaran, what the heck happened to your tooth?" (I know not the best of things to say) Ciaran had no clue it had come out in the ocean. So, our first tooth is lost at sea. He said he would write her a note but I took a hint from a blogger friend and we sent the Tooth Fairy a text telling her he lost his tooth!

He asked for Hot Tamales and a dollar. Frank just ran out to get him the candy.

Here is a classic Ciaran story from the weekend. Sunday we were up at the beach. Frank had built some structure with them involving a tunnel and a bridge. Nothing fancy but pretty cool. There were two boys sitting near us. They started playing around and one of them purposely destroyed their structure. My kids didn't really get upset. They said it wasn't nice he did it but I said "no big deal. We can rebuild". These boys were about 7 I would say. Well, one of the boys had built an "arena". Ciaran knew it was his. Ciaran NEVER said a word. Ciaran was nice as pie when we rebuilt the ruined structure. Ciaran acted like it was no big deal. Fast forward about an hour. I am watching Ciaran. He is walking ever so slowly along the beach (I WISH I had it on video!) and he casually gets closer to this kids "arena". Without missing a beat and almost stealth like his little foot knocked down the "arena" in one quick stomp of the foot. If you know Ciaran this is Classic Ciaran. No one gets over on him. Ever. The big kid through himself on the ground and started screaming crying like he was a two year old. The father says to him "well, really, what did you expect? You knocked theirs down." I told Ciaran it was not nice to do it but man was I so secretly proud of him! I always say Ciaran is the kid you do not want to mess with. He thinks and plots his plan of action. I love that little toothless boy!