Psychiatrist Appointments And Kittens, Never A Dull Moment!

    This morning Joseph had his intake appointment with the psychiatrist. These appointments always make me a little nervous. For one, I never know what Joseph will say nor how the doctor will take his answers. This morning the psychiatrist, in an attempt to put Joseph at ease and learn to know him better, asked him questions like, "What do you like to do at home, where do you go to school etc. One of the questions was, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Without hesitation Joseph replied, "A butcher!" His answer made the doctor hesitate for a few seconds before he turned to me and asked some questions about Joseph, his safety and self harm. Thankfully he soon realized that Joseph had no ulterior motives, he was simply answering the doctors question!

Lia and Kobi waiting for Dean to come home from work.

Daddy's home! Dean usually receives a royal welcome

Kiana found  nest of kittens in the woods below the house

Lia wants to bottle feed the kittens so badly but I told her the mama cat is taking good care of her babies and doesn't need our help. This afternoon she came running to me all excited, "Marshmallow (the mama cat) isn't with her baby's, now we have to do something! I have two solutions," she said holding up two fingers, "Pick a solution (finger) mom!" I picked one and she said, "Goody, goody that solution is bottle feeding the kittens!" Nice try, Lia!

Children with FASD often love to pick at things like string, thread, paper, their skin, clothing and bedding, Joseph has ruined many things doing this. A mom shared this idea with me, make a ball with paper and tape, then have your child pick that apart rather than destroy things. I had a cheap roll of tape that I bought for a project but never used so I wrap a Hershey's Kiss inside some paper, tore short pieces of tape and started wrapping, until I used up the whole roll of duct tape. Joseph  spent half an hour peeling off bits of tape and paper before he had a meltdown because he wanted to know what was inside, RIGHT NOW! That is how life has been around here lately, I try to divert one behavior and ending up creating a whole new problem.

We are waiting for a permit for our pool. We bought a used one and I cannot wait until Joseph can swim his frustration away. Joseph loves the pool, other years he spent hours swimming and splashing. Water play meets his sensory needs while working on his motor skills, plus it alleviates his frustration, what more could we want?