MRI anyone?

So, I took the boys to the ball pits (Galaxy Games & Golf) on Monday.  I felt like I had pulled a muscle in my leg.  As the week went on, it got worse.  My left thigh was totally achey and the back of my leg was numb and felt like it would give out at anytime.  I went to the doctor on Monday.  The doctor said he wanted to do some x-rays on my back.  I quickly corrected him and told him it was my leg and not my back.  My back feels fine!  But he explained that the pain I am describing usually means there is something going on in my back.  Great.  Turns out, he was right.  I have a bulging disk in my back.   I have to have an MRI on Wednesday to see how bad it is.  The good news is that they gave me a steroid shot and I feel much better today.  

Next week is crazy and will be very emotional.  

Monday--Ella & Si will be back from vaca.  Yay!  Then we have Ethan's open house at his school.  He will get to see his classroom and meet his teacher.

Tuesday--Ryan has camp.

Wednesday--Ryan has camp and Ethan has his first day of Kindergarten.  They do a staggered start so only a third of the kids will be there.  Then I have my MRI.

Thursday--Ryan's last day of camp and then Greg and I see the neuropsychologist for her results from all of the tests she did with Ryan.

Friday--Ethan has school--the first day with all of the kids and Ryan has speech therapy.

My biggest boy is starting Kindergarten and Ryan is having his last week at camp.  His teachers have been wonderful with him and he just loves them and the best thing is that I know they love him too.  

Some updates

I can't believe summer is almost ever.  Ethan is very excited to start Kindergarten but I think he is most excited about riding the bus with his friends.  I just hope the first days go smoothly.  He can be very shy so I am afraid I am going to have to push him on the bus.

Ryan will also start riding the bus this year.  We were very relieved to hear he did get a spot at Easter Seals (through Franklin County MRDD) starting in September.  This will be at the same place he is now and he may even have the same teacher.  The only draw back is that he got an afternoon spot so we will have to rearrange his schedule.  If we gave up this spot we weren't guaranteed another one so we will just make do.  I imagine the first few weeks are going to be hard on him (and us) but we will just figure it out as we go. 

We have also been visiting with Dr. P, his new neuropsychologist.  He loves her.  She describes him as "inconsistent".    The first day he saw her, she thought maybe Children's was right with their first diagnosis but throughout the appointment he started showing more and more signs of Autism.  The second visit, he was perfect.  Then last night, was more like the first.  Showing little signs.  She did lots of testing as well as giving his teacher and I some paperwork to fill out.  She will look over everything and score the testing that she did and Greg and I meet with her in two weeks to go over the results.  Of course, I am dreading it.  We know Ry is far behind (Autism or not) and that is never an easy thing to hear.   It is nice to see so much improvement in him though.  The therapies & summer camp have been worth every penny.

Saturday is my birthday!  The big 3-2 (shh, don't say it too loud).  Greg and I, along with Justin & Leigh are going out for dinner and hopefully to see some 80s music.   Thanks to Grandma (with the kitty cats) for agreeing to babysit.

And poor Ethan.  Ella (his bestest girlfriend) is on vacation.  She has been gone all of 24 hours and he is already missing her and asked to call her during their 12 hour car ride.  Good thing we have lots of fun things planned next week.

And Happy Birthday today to my oldest nephew, Matt!  Everyone stay off the roads.  He turns 16 today!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Jersey Shore Girls Weekend

I went away with some girlfriends for the weekend. We had the absolute best time. I just love them. Lots of smiling, laughing, fun times, a little too much drinking and lots of tears at the end. It was so nice to get away for a while and spend some time with a few of my best friends. We can't wait to do it again!

Here are a few pics from our weekend:

Ryann, Steph & me


Lauren--such a gorgeous pic of her
All of us, Steph, Melissa (our photographer), me, Ryann & Lauren
Lobster anyone?
Lauren & I
Ryann & I
Steph & Melissa
Lauren--our virgin gambler
We had a gorgeous beach!

Update on Ryan's first visit with the new psychologist

I took Ryan to meet Dr. P last night.  He did great.  He played with blocks, trains & puzzles.   He was very good but she saw some of the things that we see in Ryan.  He showed her how his mind goes a mile a minute and how he doesn't adapt to change.  She pulled out a testing book with pictures that Ryan had to point to when she named them.  Each page had 4 pictures on it, each with a very small number below it, labeled 1-4.  Ryan was so fixated on the numbers that he couldn't point to what she was saying.  She would turn the page and he would point to the number 3 and say three, instead of pointing to the ear that she said.  She tried another book where he had to say what was on the picture.  Horse, zebra, house, etc.  All very easy things that Ryan knows.  Again, he found the very small number on the page and couldn't concentrate on the task.  

At the end of the session, she said words that I have been waiting to hear from a psychologist.  "I see your concerns"  Huge sigh of relief and maybe a few tears.  That is all we ever wanted.   I don't care what the diagnosis is (well, I do but it doesn't matter at this point).  I just want someone to see what we see and to listen to our concerns.  Other then our wonderful pediatrician, we have never felt like our concerns were being heard.  Finally, we have found someone who will listen.

Another doctor to the list

But I think we might have found a good match.  We started the process for a second opinion on Ryan.  The psychologist met with Greg and I to go over Ryan's history and our family medical history.  I think I love her, hopefully Ryan will too.  We go back next Thursday so Ryan can meet her and she will start the process.  She said it could take 4 sessions or up to 12 and it will just depend on how cooperative Ryan is during each one.

I am relieved to have found a psychologist that actually sat down and listened to everything we said and really understood where we, as his parents, are coming from.

And my kids see way too many doctors & therapists.  I think between the 2 of them, we now have 12.  No wonder our flexible spending money is gone!

So long to the Still family....

Or more like see ya later. I hate goodbyes! Our good friends, Steve and Faith, are moving to Illinois so Steve can go back to school.Greg and Steve have known each other since high school and little Steven has become another member of our family. The boys and I are going to miss him so much.
We threw a party for them, complete with a Luau theme. They had lots of family and friends come and wish them well in their new endeavor.
The guests of honor:

The cake:

The cupcakes--Thanks Leigh for helping with them!


Before the big party, some of them decided to go play paintball. They came back and said they had fun but don't think they will be doing it again anytime soon. Here is Greg's best battle wound. Ouch!

Memory Lane Blog Game

Memory Lane...the tag that gets everyone involved


1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!*

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

*I reserve the right to delete any offensive, mean, untrue, embarrassing, incriminating, unflattering, humiliating, this makes me look like a dork/a$$/b*tch/lush comments ;)