AHHHHHHH :)

that is my big huge sigh of relief.

We finally have an open house date.

April 22 - thursday - from 4 to 6 pm.

A little about Thomas

I can't sleep tonight because I cannot stop coughing... and I cannot shut my brain off. It has been thinking alot on Thomas today.
In a few weeks we will be moving, as you know. While it's going to be a great new experience, I hope the boys will be able to adjust well. A little while ago, someone mentioned that the primary is already aware that Thomas will be coming. Without going into detail, lets just say that this gives me a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
On facebook this week, there is a status update going around that reads:

People need to understand that special needs children don't have an illness, they are not looking for a cure only acceptance. 93% of you probably won't copy and paste this~will you be in the 7% that will and leave it on your status for at least an hour. Special Education week March 22nd to the 26th. Go on copy and paste. Please!!!!!

I am not one to repost such status updates - mostly because I think the 93% and 7% thing is super annoying and incorrect, making the statement as a whole a lot less effective. But I do think that it's important for others to be sensitive to children that are different.

It has taken us a lot of time to find ways to help Thomas. Mostly because we don't know exactly what is "wrong" - making it impossible to get the help that we need - for him, and for us to know what to do for him. One Dr. we talked to said that we didn't need to "LABLE" him (we were talking with him about ADHD) and I agree that I don't want him to be prejudged, but I DO want to have a solution for us and for others on how to handle him and help him. The school he goes to is for early intervention, and it has been a life saver. He still struggles, even there, of course, but we have seen a major improvement.

I just wanted to share with all of you what we do know as of right now, so that maybe you can understand him a little better too.

Symptoms of sensory disorders in children
Sensory disorders may influence one, some, or all of the physical senses. There are 7 categories encompassing our sensory functions. These groups are: Tactile (touch), Auditory (hearing), Visual (sight), Taste, Olfactory (smell), Vestibular (movement and gravity), and Proprioceptive (body awareness, muscles, and joints). Most people experiencing sensory disorders are either hypersensitive (over stimulated) or hypo sensitive (under stimulated).
One defective sense influences several different bodily functions. If one or more senses are disturbed, the sensory messages sent to the brain are incorrect. These messages become disarranged, causing the individual afflicted to perceive their environment in a different way. Reality is misinterpreted, leading to faulty judgments and replies.

I believe Thomas has the Proprioceptive hypo sensitivity
(edited to add that we also know that he has some auditory issues as well - but I am happy that we have seen him grow out of many of them)

Proprioceptive: Trouble with fine motor dexterity (grasping tiny objects, drawing, writing, coloring, pouring, etc.), poor coordination, prefers rough play, often breaking toys and other items, positions body in strange stances, gets pleasure from falling down, dangling by arms, and/or jumping, has trouble using silverware correctly: prefers hands, and has a tendency to support self by clinging to other people, furniture, and other secure items.


Our physical senses are intended to assist us. Deficiencies in these areas encourage a variety of visible behavioral difficulties. Identifying these distinctions early allows the necessary actions to be implemented. Sensory issues may be altered with treatment. The capacity to understand the world would become less complicated for those affected. Realistic encounters within their environments would become more productive and less confusing.

Of course, all children usually undergo a variety of sensory issues while exploring and interacting within their environments. However, if these concerns were to continue or escalate, your child’s ability to learn or function appropriately would be hindered. Sensory disorders have many causes and are incorporated within many other medical diagnoses. Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Delay are a few examples in which sensory challenges play a significant role. Gaining knowledge of the symptoms sensory issues present would be of great value. Early identification frequently leads to earlier diagnosis and proper treatment for the individual concerned.

and then when I found this checklist I was really sure:

Signs Of Proprioceptive Dysfunction:


1. Sensory Seeking Behaviors:

__ seeks out jumping, bumping, and crashing activities

__ stomps feet when walking

__ kicks his/her feet on floor or chair while sitting at desk/table

__ loves to be tightly wrapped in many or weighted blankets, especially at bedtime

__ loves/seeks out "squishing" activities

__ enjoys bear hugs

__ excessive banging on/with toys and objects

__ loves "roughhousing" and tackling/wrestling games

__ frequently falls on floor intentionally

__ would jump on a trampoline for hours on end

__ grinds his/her teeth throughout the day

__ loves pushing/pulling/dragging objects

__ loves jumping off furniture or from high places

__ frequently hits, bumps or pushes other children

__ chews on pens, straws, shirt sleeves etc.

SO since I wasn't sleeping, I just wanted to share all this with someone "out there" - because I wish that others understood what he is going thru. He is a wonderful sweet fun little boy, and I am scared that people won't see passed his wiggling and inability to pay attention and write him off as a bad kid.

Week 30

Rumor has it that on Saturday at noon, we are going to discuss our OPEN HOUSE DATE!!!

just thinking about it makes me cry (tears of joy!) - oh, I am soooooo ready to bed done.

There is so much going on in our houses. All homes are painted, have cabinets and vinyl floors.
House #1 Got their plumbing work done. They were putting in their laminte floor tonight. Painting the garage is next.
House #2 got their cabinets done just this afternoon, they still need the electric finished - the lights are hung, but no switches to turn them on yet. Their interior doors are painted. I guess the garage and laminate floors are next - not sure what else they are working on.

House #3 (ours) we got the angle of the counter changed! the plumber brought all the stuff to do the job, but we need the countertops put in.

Our electric is done - only issue is that one of the glass covers from our chandelier was broken - so it will look silly until we can get over to Logan's Lowes and get a replacement. (you can see it in the pic above) Oh, and for some reason the electrician didn't install the remote sensor inside of our ceiling fans. I can't control the speed without it, there are no pull strings or anything on the fan. I am still waiting to find out if he is going to fix that, or if I will have to have someone else come do it later (because I am having a hard time explaining to Norm that it's not an add-on, and was supposed to be installed in the first place - the electrician has gone awol for the last few days)


They let us put up our cabinet we bought for the laundry room!


Tonight I did a dark stain on our rock, because when we put the rock on, I was not careful enough with the morter, and it made big messes, that I did not see until it dried. It dried a lighter color than the rock. So the idea for the stain was to cover that up. We really like the darker color - it makes a much better statement with our black trim!

First I had to tape it all off so I didn't get any stain on our siding or windows or door. I also had to protect the concrete and the foundation. That took me about an hour.


Norm got me a paint sprayer and compressor. That made the job so much easier. Last night to test out the stain, he had me trying to scrub it on with a big brush and a small broom thingy. I did the test on that right corner of the garage. It looked good - but today the sprayer did a much better job, and it took way less time than all that brushing would have. he said it was one of those middle of the night revelation things, when he thought of using the sprayer. I told him I was very grateful.

TaDa!


Next for us is cleaning out the garage, getting it and our interior doors painted. Then next sat. we will be putting in the laminate floor with some helpers!!!!

House #4 - the farthest along - has countertops and has his plumbing stuff installed (sinks, toilets, etc.), finished his laminate floor tonight, and all the electric was done.
House #5 - have their countertops, the plumber started at their house tonight. Still need electric. They have their interior doors ready to be painted, then the garage.
House #6 their siding is just about finished. They have cabinets, and still need countertops too. They will need to get their garage cleared out, and get their doors ready to paint.

In more rumored news - there is talk that the city will work on putting in our sidewalks the beginning of next week, and then the yard guy can get the fronts graded in the middle of the week, and the sprinkler guy can then do his job after that. I sure hope it works out that way, because that sure is a lot of guys to be waiting on, before we can move in.

We have someone coming to paint our front doors in a little over a week. He is going to use auto paint so that it's really weatherproof or something.

Now you are up to date on the craziness of our project - and stay tuned.... I hope my next house update will include the beginning of the end - with an open house date.

Kitchen Cabinets

well, the plan was that we would get our cabinets put in tomorrow (wed) - but for some unknown reason, the cabinet subcontractor put ours in on Monday (skipping our neighbors house that was supposed to get them on Mon.). And now he has decided to take a week off, and won't be back til next monday.
I really like them, but he did a few things wrong, so when he does come back to work, he had better fix them. (the cabinets above the fridge are too low for the 70" upgraded fridge I got, several of the doors open backwards, and the "island" counter area is at a horrible angle - if I put stools there to sit on, the people would be sitting right in the walk way area, and looking right down both hallways to the bedrooms)

Week 29

Well, let's see, this saturday was the start of week 29 for our house building project.... I am soooo ready to be done. We are getting close, and I am still mad that they wouldn't set an open house date for us. It would be such a relief to have an expectation for completion. I think it would keep me motivated.. all this detail work is dull and takes forever, but if I knew when it would end, I could keep up hope. LOL

closet

CAULKING< caulking, caulking, and MORE caulking....



All the houses are painted (well #6 needs to finish still, but they will be done midweek).



It looks good all painted

but I can't wait to paint a color on the front room walls - the white is just WAY too stark. It is going to look awesome, though, with our blue carpet!

house 1, 4, 5 have cabinets and vinyl floors put in - 2 & 3(ours) will get them this week. I am so excited to see my kitchen put together! I will have pictures by Thursday.
next on the "to-do" list is for each house to get their laminate wood floors down. other odds and ends jobs include putting up blinds, hanging the closets rods, and putting the door hinges back on. The doors are still unpainted, because we will paint them in the garage once we get our cabinets out of there, and get it all cleaned out, then we'll paint the garage walls as well.
we have been cleaning up our front yards. Norm got burn permits, so all the cardboard and wood got cleaned up in the fires :) We still have rock left over, so we will have to find somewhere to put it. And we still have 5 things of shingles, and I wanted to return them for credit, but apparently it isn't worth the effort, I don't know.
(Thomas just erased what I wrote, I don't know where he learned the backspace button, but while I put Grayson down for a nap, he took a turn on the computer and backspaced whatever it was I was talking about).

After the floors go down, we have to put the baseboards down over those spots, and putty and caulk there (I told you the caulking never ends).

to add to my misery

if bad things happen in 3's - it had better be by household, because today was just one bad thing after another....

Tyson came home after midnight, and tells me he had a bit of a fenderbender. It was totally NO big deal (kinda funny actually) - but still - the front licence plate is going to fall off.

Then the whole flat tire incident this morning.

Then this afternoon, we were outside enjoying the sunshine (it was still bitter cold, but the boys insisted on playing outside) ... I was taking pictures (as usual)... and dropped my camera, and now it's completely busted. :(

and also to make my mood even worse... we had a meeting today, but NNHC wouldn't set an open house date for us... we were all expecting a date... but they refused. GRRRRRR. We should be done with all the work in 5 weeks, but that doesn't mean that we can move in. We have to get our certificate of occupancy, and have our open house... and the excuse we got was that the USDA determines if we can move in before the front yard is complete - meaning if the weather stays good - the yard has to be done - if the weather is bad, they will let us move in, and then require the yard to be finished ASAP. That was the excuse - it will depend on the weather, and whether the subcontractors get that part of the job finished in time.

some morning

so my morning didn't pan out as planned today... I had loaded up all the recycles to take to the center, and then needed to stop and get diapers at Walmart (we were down to one in the house and 3 in the diaper bag), then take a quick stop at the scrapbook store (I am supposed to pick up our boxes of girl scout cookies I ordered from the one gals daughter there).

well, I loaded Grayson into the suv, leaving Thomas home with Daddy. Backing out of the driveway, I just knew something was wrong with something, so I jumped out, and found my tire was flat :(

so we called grandma to come downstairs to watch the boys and it took both Tyson and I over 30 minutes to find the jack and the handle pieces (which included taking the kids carseats out of the car because they are stored under the seat...) get the spare tire off the back of the suv (it was VERY rusted in place.. break out the WD-40) and get everything changed over.

I am just very happy that we had this experience in our driveway, and not off on the side of some highway or something.... you should have seen all the crap we pulled out of the back of the suv to get the tire put in there... all the recycles, all our tools we have been using at the house building, including a big ol' compressor and nail gun LOL...and even stuff from our trip to the beach (last AUG).

I am also happy to say that we had a warrenty on the tire, so the flat got fixed for free - the culprit was a big screw (probably from the house building stuff).