Merry Christmas, darlings!

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday!

First and foremost, thank you for all of your encouraging words after my last post.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, you all are the bomb.

We are keeping the appointment with the Developmental Peds clinic of our local children's hospital set for March 10, 2009, and also pursuing having a more extensive assessment done by our local school system.  Hopefully this will happen by the end of January.  I don't think there's an actual developmental delay or problem, but more an issue of figuring out how to redirect his attention and focus.  During his parent/teacher conference in the fall, the teachers mentioned that boys mature at a slower pace than girls do, which I'd heard and read before, so I'm sure that's part of it.  On top of that, I'll be the first to say he's watched way too much television for his young age, and although I don't think he's lapsed into A.D.D. or A.D.H.D or anything like that, it will be good to have someone(s) who is more of an expert give us the scoop.

Initially, of course, I freaked out about all of this, but I have since calmed down.  Can I just say that I find motherhood rather intimidating?  I'm sure this doesn't come as a shock to you.  The responsibility of it weighs on me like...  I don't know... an aircraft carrier sitting on my chest, let's say.  Hopefully I'll be rid of this by the time he's graduating from college and ready to be out on  his own...  but right now I am skeptical...

I'm tired. 

I'm ready for the holidays to be over.

I'm on vacation the week between Christmas and New Year's - hallelujah!  When I leave work on Christmas Eve, I don't have to be back until January 5, 2009.  When I think about that, it makes me happy.

I'm concerned about the boy.  Easter Seals evaluated the kids at the preschool back in November, and they had some concerns about his fine motor skills development (or lack thereof).  We were expecting that.  Kindergarten testing is getting closer and closer, and he has yet to really start writing his letter...  or using a pen/pencil in general.  He shows absolutely no interest in learning this.  He has no interest in coloring or drawing.  For the kindergarten assessment he has to be able to write his name (I thought that was something you learned in kindergarten - silly me), and he's nowhere close. 

We think he's going to be a lefty.  He tends to favor his left hand when we are able to get him focused for 10 or 15 minutes on using the crayon or pencil.  Maybe this makes it harder to learn?  I don't know (although I asked the mother of a friend who's raised both a left and right-handed child, and she didn't remember having any difficulties unique to the left-handed child versus the right-handed child)...  I feel like I'm grasping.

So, our pediatrician, whom we love, took a look at the evaluation and referred us to the developmental pediatrics unit at the local children's hospital.  After several phone calls back and forth and filling out a packet of paperwork, we were advised that their first available appointment is March 10, 2009, which really did not make me happy.  But I took the appointment.  Our other option is having him evaluated through the local school system, which we're now also pursuing.

Why is this stuff so hard?

The nasty, icy weather is here.  I know I have no room to complain, as those of you that live extremely west and north of me have already experienced severe winter weather this year.  I empathize.  I still appreciate the beauty of a neighborhood blanketed with ice and snow...  but as a person who then has to go out and drive in it, it totally irritates me.

Oh the times, they are a changin', in the house of Ruth Speaks Up.  The husband, after what seemed like endless searching, has found a job and started yesterday.  Is he working as a medical coding or billing specialist in a plush doctor's office?   No.   He is, in fact, working as a driver for our area's Regional Transit Authority, for their Project Mobility program.  Folks (or caregiver's of folks) who meet certain qualifications under the American's With Disabilities Act can arrange to be picked up/dropped off by a mini-van, equipped with a wheelchair lift if needed, emblazoned with the RTA logo.  The mini-van's cover the same area that the RTA does with the 'regular' busses, so yes, he'll potentially be going to the bad section of town, he'll potentially be picking up or dropping people off at bars, he'll potentially be dealing with drunk people in his van.   I know...  some of you out there are saying, "But Ruth, wait!  This means he'll have to talk to people, to be social, to interact with people he doesn't know!"  It's true, his track record shows a definite... awkwardness in situations such as this.  In all honesty, though, I think he's very well suited to this kind of job.  He likes to be out and about, driving around.  He really is a friendly, personable person.  And, after taking care of his mother who had MS (while he was a teenager), I think he has the respect for someone with a disability that this kind of job calls for.   It was great having him home with the boy for these almost-3 years, but it's good that he's finally getting back to work.  He is a good father, but not everyone is cut out for stay-at-home parenthood.  The boy will be spending a lot more time in daycare now, which breaks my heart, but it will all be okay.   He gets to wear a cute uniform with a tie (the husband, not the boy), which we thought was going to be a problem, because he doesn't know how to tie a tie, until we found these, which I am just fascinated by.  They warned him that, being the new guy, he'll get the crappy shifts, which could start as early as 4:30 am and end as late as 1:00 am.  He'll also get the overtime, and could potentially be putting in 60+ hour weeks for a while.   Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

Oh yes, Thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws was just as bad this year as it was last year.  When we finally got in the car to go home, the first words out of the husband's mouth were "You're cooking next year."  So, the food was bad, and I'm pretty sure my mother-in-law insulted my son...  but I'll get to that later.

Quick things you should know, since I've been so neglectful here:

• The husband FINALLY has a job, which he started today.  It is not  in the medical
• The boy was evaluated by Easter Seals, who expressed some concerns on his fine motor skills, specifically the writing (or lack thereof).  At their suggestion, and with the help of our pediatrician, we're making arrangements to have him more thoroughly evaluated by an occupational therapist.
• The boy wowed us yesterday by, for the first time, peeing (into the toilet, of course) STANDING UP, instead of sitting on his potty chair.  As gross as it might sound, I almost took a picture, because it was just too precious for words.
• With the husband going back to work, we're all making adjustments in our schedules at the Ruth Speaks Up house.  My boss is not being to agreeable on this, which is pissing me off.

There's my quick-hit for today.  More to come...