Wow I am behind.  I am behind on my reader, it’s mocking me I swear!  I am hoping to go get caught up here in just a few!  Things have been really good here but really busy.  Well, fairly good and really busy!

Joey is doing well on his Guanficine.  He is on 2 mg a day as of yesterday.  He started out on one a day and then moved up.  We haven’t had anything burned or stabbed in over a week so we are hopeful.  He gets a bit mouthy, no scratch that he gets REALLY mouthy when he’s tired so we’ve seen a LOT of that the past week.  The meds kind of knock him out and he is still resisting naps so we’ve had a few talks about his mouth.  He’s been spending the days at my mom’s house but he’s taking a golf class in the mornings so he’s only there from noon to 3 or 4 when Joe or I get home.  At times his tics are completely gone and at other times they are really diminished.  When he’s tired you see them but otherwise you don’t.  You can also tell when he’s tired because he just looks like he hasn’t slept in a month.  I am hoping that levels out before school starts.  I have had no luck finding a psychologist our counselor in our area.  The closest is two hours away.  My mom offered to drive him back and forth for appointments when he got really bad, but now that he seems to be leveling off we’re going to wait and see how it goes when he starts school.  If he struggles in school we’ll go ahead and find one in Casper but if he does OK we’ll just manage as best we can.  One of the drawbacks to a small town.  Even if we got a child psychologist on staff here we’d be hesitant to use them because they tend to not stay here.  There’s just not enough to keep them busy.  For now his pediatrician is managing his ADHD and Dr. Ross from Denver is managing the Tourettes.  Dr. Ross comes to Gillette every other month and to Casper every month and he’s always available by phone so we think we have a pretty good system in place right now.  Unfortunately his school doesn’t have a counselor they have a “social worker” and there’s a HUGE difference between the two in our district.  His first school this year had a counselor and if I could bottle her up and keep her in my house I would.  She was amazing with Joey.  She was very, very good and he really connected with her.  The schools that have “social workers” don’t allow them to focus on counseling the kids.  They’re more for helping with situations like low test scores, problems in the home, etc… I think his counselor said it best when she said “we are the touchy, feely, huggy ones and they’re the let’s get down to business ones”.  They’re not uncaring or unprofessional, they just have different job duties.  We want the counselor back please!  Other than his mouth we’ve seen an improvement in his impulse control which was our goal with this medication so we are happy.  We’ll see how long it lasts before we have to move up the ladder.  He is very happy the tic is diminished.  Socially he was really struggling with it and that didn’t help with his impulse control problems and his acting out.  My mom has been really good for him.  She’s able to deal with him in a calm and reasonable manner which is something I was starting to really struggle with after months of his outrageous behavior.  She’s going to Colorado for two weeks sometime around the 1st of August and I am nervous.  I deal with him every day so it’s not like I’m worried I can’t!  It’s just that she’s such a calming presence for him!  We are keeping him very busy.  I told my brother the other day, part of the reason I actually went back to work is to supplement his activities.  They are expensive but they keep him busy so he doesn’t have time to get in to trouble.  He has golf again next week and then football starts very shortly followed by hockey and school starts in the middle of all of that.  Hopefully he’ll be so busy with the things he loves, he won’t have time to get in to trouble.

Elizabeth is LOVING me being back to work.  Some friends have a 14 year old daughter who is sitting with her during the day.  I was a little nervous at first because she can be a ball of fire and she’s used to being the center of my attention.  She didn’t love when Joey was out of school and home all day!  Apparently I worry too much because Elizabeth is having an absolute blast.  From what I can gather this girl pushes Elizabeth on the swing ALL DAY LONG.  I have offered to adopt her.  They have so much fun together and it’s been really good for Elizabeth to be away from me during the day.  My friends won’t let me have their kid (party poopers) but we are planning to use her a bit more once my office is moved over here.  Maybe go out to dinner more as a couple and things like that.  The last teenager I hired was when Joey was Elizabeth’s age and that didn’t go well.  I was really nervous about this whole scenario but this girl is SUPER responsible and just all around great and Elizabeth loves her.  I even hooked her up with my niece who is the same age and she was a good influence on my niece who can be a bit spacey.    Elizabeth is going to be really crushed next week when I move my office home and I don’t need her sitter anymore, but they’re taking a trip home to Michigan and then school is starting so we’re just going to have to make sure she gets to babysit on some Friday evenings or something.  Elizabeth is starting pre-school and dance in the Fall so hopefully she’ll be busy herself.

I am LOVING my job.  It’s such a laid back atmosphere.  It’s a small company run out of my boss’s home.  There are 6 or 7 pumpers who I never see, my boss, and myself.  At first when I was looking at maybe going back to work it was to get out of the house around adults and get some space from being home all of the time with a really challenging kid.  It was also to help with my PTSD, just by getting me out of the house and having to work through the feelings that come with that for me.  When this fell in my lap it was not what I was looking for but it was perfect.  No daycare expenses which is a HUGE deal.  The jobs in my field are hard to just walk in to and just don’t pay well enough to afford to put a kid in daycare full time.  This one pays extremely well and I don’t have to have daycare because I will be working from home.  It turns out I didn’t need the time out of the house around other adults as much as I just needed something else I could focus on besides my sick child.  We are moving my office over here this week and I’ll just go in to the main office once a week or so to drop off files.  It’s a 3-4 hour a day job when done correctly so I will be able to do everything I need to do while the kids are in school and some in the evenings after dinner and baths if I have to.  My boss thinks I should take on a 2nd set of books for someone else but I just want to live through his first!  It’s much different than anything I’ve ever done.  I’m a fast learner and I have most of it down but there are still things I have to ask him about!  Thankfully my husband does the exact same job for another company so once we move it here if I get stumped I can enlist his help.  Today I am getting my office all cleaned and sorted out so my personal stuff is put away and I have room to work out of there.  It’s really all around the perfect scenario and I’m so glad I said yes!

Because I am not interacting with adults at work and getting over that hump with my PTSD, I have been spending more time with friends.  We have dinner, or drinks, or a bbq, etc… just so I am out around people.  It’s been really good.  I feel really well right now mentally.  I had a rough couple of weeks when the basement flooded and the roof leaked (stupid Wyoming weather) but even that isn’t getting me down so much right now.

It’s not been all roses.  There is a bit of a family issue I may or may not write about.  I haven’t decided yet.  I’m not sure who all in my family reads my blog.  I know my grandma does but I’m not sure if the other person does or not.  Part of me thinks it would be therapeutic to write it out and another part says it’s a bad idea so I just haven’t decided.  Also I am sick.  I have some weird virus I picked up in Denver.  I get sick EVERY time I go to Denver.  They thought I had strep because I have big blisters on my tonsils and tongue but the culture was negative so now they’re thinking viral.  I have heard of a few other people with the same symptoms so I am hoping they’re right and it will go away soon.  Mostly I just get really tired around about 3 or 4 PM and my neck, head, and shoulders ache and my mouth and throat hurt.  It’s an odd thing.  Leave it to me to pick up some obscure virus!

I think that’s about all!  I will try to keep more up to date now that I’m settling in to our routine with work!  Now I’m off to catch up on my reader that’s seriously mocking me!!

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I am exhausted.  I have 10 minutes to get in the shower or I won’t be to work at the time I want to be there.  I am not moving yet.  I am e.x.h.a.u.s.t.e.d.  Also, it just took me like 3 of those ten minutes to punctuate that word.  That’s how tired I truly am.

I haven’t slept more than 2 hours at a time in 8 days.  I can’t sleep.  I am a wreck.  There are things here I can’t talk about that have me stressed to the max and then there are the things I CAN talk about that have me pushed beyond what anyone’s maximum is.

The frickin insurance company won’t cover our basement flood.  They say it’s ground water and that’s not covered.  This is Wyoming not a wet state.  I didn’t buy a house built on a swamp, the beach, or a river.  It’s on grass not a river for cripes sakes.  The water actually came from the ROOF.  Which last I checked was NOT on the ground!!  This is the driest state in the entire United States.  Why they have a flood exemption is beyond me but it didn’t flood that way anyway so they’re asses are sucking canal water and they ARE going to cover it.  The water rolled off the roof in to the window wells because the idiot who remodeled our house left gutters off the addition he put in.  Yeah, he’s a rocket scientist.

Can you tell I’m pissy?  I actually passed pissy 3 days ago.  I swear the next person who gives me any kind of news other than good is going to get bitch slapped.

Joey is a disaster and I am terrified.  Seriously.  He was spending a few days with Joe’s mom while I worked.  I can’t leave him here with the teenager who’s keeping Elizabeth.  She just can’t handle him.  Joe’s mom works from home and we thought she could keep him.  She called me last night to tell me he took a knife or SOMETHING to her furniture.  Seriously.  He cut up her love seat in two places and her recliner has a hole in it.  Joe went to get him and I guess when she said “your dad is coming to get you” he thought he was going to be in HUGE trouble because by the time Joe got there Joey was hysterical.  He bashed his head on the table and he was hyperventilating and scared the life out of Joe.  He was still upset when he got home despite Joe’s best efforts to calm him down.  At that point he said “I should just shoot myself”.  I am not kidding guys.  My baby said that.  I am crying just typing it out.  He said he was “so stupid” and “I don’t know what I was thinking”.  That right there is a true statement.  He can’t resist his impulses.  It’s dangerous and terrifying and what if that next impulse is to honestly find a gun??  I made Joe take his guns out to the shop and lock them in and take the key to work.  They have special trigger locks from the sheriff’s department on them but I don’t feel better about that so they’re locked up tight.

Obviously Joey can’t go to his grandma’s while she tries to work and he can’t come to work with me so he’s going to my mom’s house.  She’s the only one who can watch him every single second.  I told him no playing at other kid’s houses or sleepovers away from home a while ago.  Of course he thinks he’s being punished which he’s totally not.  How can you punish something he can’t help??  He’s sick he’s not a troublemaker.  It’s not even that I don’t trust his friends’ parents because I 100% do.  It’s just that they’re all 10 years old.  You don’t normally have to watch 10 year olds every second of every day.  You do mine.  He doesn’t understand and he doesn’t understand why he can’t stay here and help Mercedes watch Elizabeth.  My baby is sick ya’ll.  He is VERY sick and he is broken and I don’t know if I have the tools to fix him.  What am I going to do?  I honestly don’t know.  My heart is in my stomach and I am completely at a loss and I am SO tired.  I feel like a total failure.

Also?  We have no child psychologist here.  Fracking Wyoming.  I am calling the two towns closest to us today after the hospital here suggested I try that.  The state mental hospital is in Casper and the receptionist at the hospital’s clinic here thinks they might have on there.  My mom offered to drive him there and back for counseling.  4 hours round trip.  We may have no other choice.

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Tags: ADHD, Mental Illness in Kids, Tourettes

I am way behind.  My reader is mocking me and I haven’t read a celebrity gossip magazine in like 4 days.  I didn’t know about Bristol Palin until just now!  That’s how far behind I am!

I am hoping to get caught up some this weekend. 

Saturday we had a  big party for my birthday.  We had about 25 people over and had a blast!  The kids played so well we ended up having two extra kids sleep over that night and they had so much fun!  Joey was really exhausted on Sunday and Monday so in hindsight maybe I should have said no to the sleepover but they were having so much fun I just didn’t have the heart.  It was SO good to just see him being a worry free kid for a change!!

On Friday Joe came home and told me a friend of his was out a bookkeeper.  He runs a pumping service from his home and his bookkeeper just wasn’t cutting it.  He was looking for someone to do his books that might be able to do it from their home.  I jumped off the couch and said “I’LL DO IT PLEASE!  CALL HIM RIGHT NOW!”  So he texted him (UGH @ these oil guys and their texting) and by 9 PM I pretty well had the job!  Saturday morning we went over and talked to him and he very excitedly hired me.  I told him I’d start on Wednesday (yesterday) since we had to be in Denver Monday and Tuesday.

In hindsight I should have waited to start until next week because I am just exhausted, but he needed the help.

I have been kind of half looking for a job but I have a pretty specific skill set that takes years to learn and master.  Because of that those types of jobs are hard to just step in to.  Most people work their way up to them and are there for years.  To step in to a job doing someone’s books is just more difficult than it sounds.  I can do secretarial things but my forte is more in the whole of running a business.  I do payroll, taxes, money management, state and federal reports, sales tax reports, payroll tax reports and deposits, etc…  It took me about 7 years to learn to do what I do.  I’m not bragging or trying to bolster myself at all, I’m just saying it’s a job you learn to do over time and so that makes it hard to just walk in somewhere and take that job.  Someone’s been working there a LONG time to learn to do it all.  OR they have a college degree and walk in to a job in a big company.  I am self taught and learned it all hands on.  I can do most of what an HR person for a big company does but those big companies want that degree. I actually considered going back to school to get the degree in HR just so I’d be more marketable but it would be SO tedious to sit in a classroom and learn to do what I already know how to do.

Also?  I really like finance, not just finance but consumer lending.  REALLY.  I was looking for a job in that sector but they don’t pay well.  When you have daycare expenses you have to make a certain amount to make it worth it.  You’d think banks would be golden but they’re just not.  Not until you hit VP level which takes a LONG time.  You have to start out in the retail loan department working LONG hours for minimal pay and I just can’t afford that with Elizabeth in daycare. Also consumer lending is a tough place to be right now because banks are so tight with their money and so cautious.  It would be hard to learn to say no to everyone who walked in the door and not write that paper! So I had kind of given up and figured I’d wait until she started school.  Honestly though?  I needed something.  The extra money is nice but really I just need something to break up the stress that is my life.  Something else to concentrate on besides Joey’s illness or my flooded house.  Plus the extra money will help cover hockey expenses for Joey and Elizabeth’s pre-school expenses.  But I wanted something where I could kind of set my own hours.  So all in all I wanted the “perfect job” and don’t we all?  But those just don’t exist.

Obviously someone knew this was coming and would be perfect.  I had toyed with the idea of starting a bookkeeping service from my home.  I just didn’t know if there would be a demand for it.  I know a lot of the guys in Joe’s line of work need someone to do their books, I just didn’t know if it would fly.  Apparently it would have!  Honestly though this just works better.  It’s good pay and one set of books.

I have to learn the oil books.  They’re a lot different than other types but so far they don’t seem that complicated as long as I can remember there are 12 inches in a foot and not 10.  I swear I’m not an idiot, you just automatically want to go to 10 as the whole, end number!    Plus Joe is looking at getting in to consulting himself and this will teach me to do his books.

A lot of it is daily monotony, just moving numbers from the pumper’s tickets to my logs and being sure not to transpose a number.  Some of it is on the computer and has given them some trouble because the company is picky but we’ll get it fixed.

Then I had to find someone to keep Elizabeth while I worked at his house to learn to do the job.  Thankfully our friends have a very sweet, very responsible 14 year old daughter that my daughter just loves and my house is close to their house, my mom’s, and my boss’s house so if there’s a problem we just run home.  Yesterday they did AWESOME.  She wore Elizabeth out pushing her on the swing and they had a good time.  I didn’t want to leave Joey with her because he’s such a hand full so he’s spending some time with his grandma.  That’s been a challenge and it’s only day two so I might have to re-work that, but otherwise it’s going well so far!

I think I’ll have the books moved by the end of next week and then I can work around my schedule and Elizabeth’s, be home, make money and relieve my stress with some good old fashioned math!  So all in all I am happy, busy, and all around this seems to be the perfect ending!

Stay tuned to see if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew!    Also?  Tomorrow I’ll share our flood insurance woes because my life wouldn’t be complete if I wasn’t fighting with some insurance company!

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Tags: Bookkeeping, Finance, Kids, Work

I feel kind of like that title should be in ALL caps.

I know I said I’d update on Monday night but truly I was just exhausted and the same last night so please forgive me!

We spent an hour and a half with the neurologist.  It was SO much information.  I’m going to try to condense it down and make it understandable.  People keep saying “what did he say?” and I keep saying “lots of things!”  It’s really hard to explain what all was said.  Every question we had he answered in great detail.  There were no “yes” or “no” answers to any single question quite honestly.  It was all very involved but I’ll do my best.

First and foremost he upheld the diagnosis of Tourettes.  I didn’t really think he wouldn’t but you can always hope.  He was sure to explain however that a tic disorder is a tic disorder and Tourettes was really just a diagnostic tool more than anything.  He said some people have one tic and some have several and some have simple gross motor tics and some have complex.  What makes it Tourettes is the number of tics, the duration of the tics, accompanying other symptoms, and that it forms in childhood.

Joey has no impulse control.  None.  He thinks it he says it.  He wants to do it he does it.  This is the most terrifying thing in the world for me.  He has no concept of “I shouldn’t do this it’s dangerous”.  He’s also a compulsive liar.  It’s the only form of OCD he shows but it’s a big one.  He lies to everyone about everything.  You can have evidence in your hand and he will still lie.  He’s also been known to pocket things that don’t belong to him.  Not a lot and he shows remorse (thank God) but he has done it more than once.  I have to really watch him.

Two examples of the kinds of behavior I deal with:

• A couple of weeks ago I laid down to get his sister to sleep.  I told him to stay in the house and read his book or play PSP.  When I got up an hour later he was gone.  I looked everywhere for him.  Somewhere in the process of looking Joe came home.  He went down to the culverts behind our house and looked for him because the last conversation he had with anyone was with his Nana and he told her he was going “frog hunting” that afternoon.  We were frantic and about to call the police when we decided to call his best friend’s dad.  He was with him feeding cows.  We were relieved and pissed all at once.  We asked that he drop  him off on his way home from the pastures.  Then an hour later Joey calls and wants to spend the night!  He has NO concept of what he’d done or how big a deal this was.  I said “not tonight, get home” and he whined a bit and then said OK.  A few minutes later the friend’s dad calls to make sure we said it was OK for him to spend the night?!  What?!  NO!  Also?  When he first got to their house his friend’s mom asked if we knew he was there and he said “oh yes they do”.  Here’s the biggest issue… the friend lives over a mile away across two busy highways.  There’s no way in Hell I would have let him WALK over there alone.  I’m sure his friend’s parents now think the world of us.  I have a note written to myself to call her this week and try to explain.  When Joey did get home he tried to lie his way out of things.  He said I said he could go.  I surely did not.  He said I said he could spend the night.  I did not.  He was adamant he didn’t do anything wrong.  Thankfully he came home with a simple blister on his foot and didn’t get killed crossing one of those roads.  I realized that day that I can’t leave him alone for even 5 minutes.
• The second issue was this last weekend.  We took he, 3 of his friends, Elizabeth, the sister of one of his friends and her friend all to the local rec center pool.  About an hour and a half in he said the boys were bored and could they go play basketball.  I said “no, because I have 6 kids to keep track of and if you’re not all in one place I can’t do that”.  He whined a bit and then said “OK”.  About 10 minutes later we are scanning the pool for all of the kids and the boys are gone.  We walked the entirety of both pool complexes (they’re huge) and checked the patio at the pool to be certain they weren’t there.  We had just decided they weren’t when my niece who was there with friends came in and said they were playing basketball.  UGH!!  So Joe goes to get them and when he gets to their locker he realizes Joey has left Joe’s wallet, cell phone, and the car keys laying in the bottom of the locker all exposed.  We find the boys and they get the requisite butt chewing while I call parents to let them know the boys are in trouble and we are all leaving but what to do with the girls because they were NOT in trouble.  After I get off the phone with the one mom the other boys tell me Joey said they could go.  He told them I said “yes”.  *SIGH*  So now I’ve told the other boy’s moms that they were in trouble and they aren’t.  THEN Joe goes to get Elizabeth some water and a snack and his wallet is cleaned out of all but ones and fives.  When he left it in the locker it had two twenties and the fives and ones.  Both twenties are gone.  He knew right away Joey took them because if someone had seen it in the locker they would have taken the whole wallet with credit cards, a gas card, all of the cash, etc… in it.  Joey’s friends say “oh yeah we went to the snack bar” and Joey right away starts lying saying he only took a $5 and not the $20 bills.  His friends say that’s not true and eventually he produces the other $20 bill and the change from the first.  Even after that?  He continues to deny having taken both $20 bills.  About then one boy’s mom showed up so I quickly told her he was NOT in trouble.  She knows what’s going on with Joey because we are good friends so she hugs me and takes her kids home.  We take the other boy home and are on our way home and Joey is now saying “Mom said we  could, I heard her” then he said “It was loud in there I couldn’t hear her answer” and he’s still denying the other $20.  When we got home, rather than ground him AGAIN which does NO good.  I sat him down and told him how disappointed I was in his behavior and how dangerous the situation was with him and the other boys leaving the pool area.  I laid it on really thick and that seemed to have some effect.  We’ll see just how much next time he gets in trouble or is told “no”.

So that gives you an idea of what I’m dealing with every day around here.  It’s not fun.  It’s exhausting and frustrating.  The biggest issue I am having right now is trying to gauge what is because of his lack of impulse control and his Tourettes and what is just typical adolescence.  I asked the neurologist that exact question and he smiled and said “good luck”.  SHIT!  That was my LEAST favorite answer of the day by far!!

Most of the time spent with the doctor was us asking questions about things we’d read online.  Some of the information was really good and some was a bit off which is par for the course online and didn’t surprise us.  He watched Joey the whole appointment of course and said over and over that he was typical Tourettes.  He was playing with a plastic cup they’d given him for water and each time I asked him to throw it away he ignored me or refused.  If I reached for it he moved it away.  It was embarrassing and annoying, BUT it gave the doctor a really accurate picture of what I deal with every day.

He asked us what our main concerns were and we of course said the behavior issues and him being able to function in school in a normal classroom setting.  He seems to feel rather strongly that as long as the tics aren’t debilitating we shouldn’t move to the strong medications to control the tics.  After looking up the names of drugs he mentioned I am in full agreement with that.  He said down the road Joey may want to control them for social reasons and we all need to be open to that and we agreed with that.  We asked him about Joey’s headaches and fatigue and he seemed to think it was all related to the stress of the diagnosis and the very obvious tics he is displaying and the worry about their social implications.  In the end we asked Joey what exactly he wanted to work to treat.  The tics, his behavior, or his focus in school.  He chose the tics and his behavior.  So we went that way.  He’s starting a low dose of an Alpha blocker to hopefully depress his central nervous system enough that he can sleep soundly, control his impulsive behavior, and hopefully slow the tics so they’re not so obvious.  In a month or so he will probably go back on the Concerta for his ADHD but the doctor wants to see what this covers first so we get an accurate gauge of the drug and its benefits or side effects.  The biggest side effect with this drug is drowsiness and right now that’s OK because he’s not sleeping well and he needs the rest.  The doctor was very clear that it can take a long time to find the right balance of medications for the issues Joey has and that it can be a real challenge.  We may tweak them or go another route but at least we have a starting spot that shouldn’t cause any really severe side effects or permanent issues.  I am trying to be conservative in the drug therapy approach because some of the drugs are really frightening.  I want Joey to feel better all around, mentally, physically, etc… but at the same time I want to be sure he’s safe.  I also am not expecting a “magic bullet” of a medication that’s going to suddenly make Joey a normal 10 year old boy.  I think some family members are, but his dad and I are more realistic and realize he’s been a challenge to parent for 10 years and he’s going to continue to be.

This is getting really long so I am going to bullet list a few key points and then wrap it up.  If I leave anything off that you were wondering about, the chances are really good I have an answer for it (because I had a list and I asked him EVERY freaking thing) so please feel free to leave it in the comments!

• Dr. Ross does believe a large number of kids outgrow the tics of Tourettes, but not in the way we read about.  He said they tend to see the physical tics diminish but the ADHD, OCD, and impulse control issues sometimes don’t.  He said the numbers spouted on websites are probably not accurate.  Depending on the website you’ll see “1 in 10 kids outgrows their Tourettes” or you’ll see “9 in 10 kids outgrow their Tourettes”.  Apparently that’s not accurate.  First of all, they never outgrow the diagnosis of Tourettes.  Second of all there are a lot of undiagnosed tic disorders out there because a simple tic like eye blinking may be missed by everyone.  So unless every case was diagnosed there’s just no way to give an accurate representation of how many actually outgrow it.
• On a scale of mild to severe tic disorders he places Joey in the moderate range.  His tics are not debilitating but he does have 3 tics at once so that makes them “complex tics” and a bit more rare and heading toward a more severe scale.  Also his behavioral issues factor in there.
• He thinks Joey should go back on the ADHD med.  He doesn’t feel it caused the gross motor tic.  He feels like it was coming one way or the other the next time he was stressed or fatigued.  He feels the benefits of the Concerta for Joey outweigh the possibility it might exacerbate tics.  He doesn’t however, manage those meds.  He can he just doesn’t feel comfortable.  It’s not his specialty.  He said a psychologist or pediatrician that does it all of the time is a better choice.  Since we can’t seem to get a child psychologist to stay put here we’ll go with the pediatrician but we are going to make sure we level out the other med first.  Hopefully before school starts he’ll be back on the Concerta and able to function in school.  Joey was less than thrilled about the possibility of going back on a med that exacerbates tics.
• We asked him if we should be looking for a psychologist or counselor.  He said it would be a great idea but because of where we live it may be impossible.  Historically speaking the good ones who do come here don’t stay which makes it tough because he may open up to someone who’s going to move on to bigger and better towns.  Those we have here tend to specialize in adults and not kids and certainly not Tourettes and he needs someone who knows what they’re doing.  I may have to look at towns close to us like Casper.  *sigh*  We’re going to see how he does and if he starts to really struggle in the mood/depression department we’ll find someone.
• Joey was exacerbating his tics in the doctor’s office.  Considering I’d read most kids hide their tics from the doctors I asked him what in the world we were dealing with.  He said about half hide them and about half exacerbate them for attention.  Joey likes attention!
• We are going to start his meds on Saturday and hopefully they’ll help him sleep, help control his impulse issues, and they may diminish the tics.  Joey has been having really severe headaches and a lot of trouble sleeping.  We thought it was muscle tension from his head twitching.  The doctor feels it’s probably more closely related to the stress of the diagnosis.  Joey is really struggling with it and is really worried about kids at school in the Fall.  Hopefully the meds will help him sleep and settle down some.
• Joey acted like he was completely oblivious to his surroundings, what was being said, the questions we asked, etc…  The doctor asked him if he understood, we asked him if he understood, we asked him if he had questions.  We got “yeah” or “not really” or “I’m not listening”.  BUT, he slept like the dead on the way from the doctor’s office to the hotel, then slept another hour in the hotel, went to dinner, swam for 45 minutes, and then slept quite soundly all night.  He woke up a lot less worried looking so I think he heard everything just fine.
• Joey is a little bummed.  He thought we were getting a pill to stop the tics.  I told him over and over we would just have to see what the doctor thought because I knew the classes of drugs we were looking at and that we just don’t want to go there.  He is very social and very sensitive to kids mocking him.  I am bummed we can’t stop the tics without putting him in danger.  I just don’t want to move to the class of drugs containing Haldol unless we absolutely have to.

I’m sure there’s more but it’s taken me two days and 2700 words to write this so I am gonna stop there.  Seriously though if you have a question shoot it over! 

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Tags: ADHD, Kids behavioral issues, OCD, Tourettes

Saturday I had a barbecue to belatedly celebrate my birthday with my friends and family.  It.was.a.BLAST!  I haven’t had people over in the house yet and I was a little leery of having them over in a flooded house but it went well.  Our yard isn’t done yet but we have a temporary fence up.  There were three 14 year old girls, three 10 year old boys, one 10 year old girl, one nine year old boy, and two 3 year olds.  Sound like a crazy mix?  It so was!  As you can probably guess a couple of the kids felt a little left out and I felt horrible.

At first it went really well.  My mother-in-law and Joey spent Saturday afternoon finding some outdoor activities they could all do together.  They bought a baseball set, a flag football set, and a bunch of Nerf guns.  My hubby wasn’t all that excited about the pickings because he thought they’d be bored or fight over the guns or whatever.  He was SO wrong.  First all 10 kids played flag football and that was awesome!  Then they played baseball and apparently that’s where my nephew felt left out.  He wanted to pitch and in typical boy fashion the other boys told him no.  My nephew is painfully shy so he just came in rather than confront them.  Then I noticed the 10 year old girl (who I LOVE) was feeling quite left out.  She spends a lot of time with 10 year old boys because one of them is her twin brother, but she didn’t quite fit with the older girls and you can only play with 3 year olds so long.  In hindsight I should have asked the older girls to include her because they totally would have, I just didn’t realize she was afraid to approach them.  Later on all 4 boys were playing together again in the field behind our house and then again a while later my nephew was odd man out.  I am stumped as to what to do with that situation.  I can’t NOT invite my brother and sister in law to things but that’s the third event we’ve had where my nephew ends up feeling left out.  Unfortunately he doesn’t have a lot of friends because he is SO shy.  He goes to a small country school and even at school he’s not fully comfortable with the kids so I can’t even suggest he bring a friend.  His only real friends are Joey and his other cousin who’s the same age as him on his mom’s side.

Joey and my nephew are like oil and water.  The older they get the more you see it.  Joey is outgoing and never shy and he’s very free spirited.  My nephew is calmer, quieter, and very shy.  Oddly enough when we get together with my sister-in-law’s family for my nephews’ events Joey is the one left out.  My nephew and his other cousin are very close and Joey is the 3rd wheel.  The only difference is Joey will try to insert himself over and over where my nephew just won’t.  It’s a dilemma for sure!!

The only non-drama came from the 3-year-olds because Elizabeth and my other nephew LOVE each other and play exceptionally well together.  Joey and my older nephew never played as well as these two do.

As for the adults we had an amazing time!  Both sets of my friends (two married couples) brought me tequila for my birthday!  I SWEAR I’m not a drunk!  Just when we go do something I prefer Sauza Tequila and OJ as a drink rather than beer or other mixed drinks.  I had a partial bottle already and it’s going to take me 3 years to finish all of what I have now!  My husband’s best friend allowed as how I wasn’t drinking enough or fast enough because he says the level in the already open bottle didn’t move!  I swear it did a bit!    The guys had a really good time and we women really enjoyed our visit!  My dad had an absolute blast and it was SO good to see him relax and have fun!!  He’s been really stressed lately but that’s a post for another day.  I was just so thrilled to see him let loose and have fun!

All in all it was a real success despite my only having one floor of my house available.  Also?  ALL of my dogs were well behaved which NEVER happens.  I was afraid they’d jump on someone but not one of them did.  I was so proud of them!!

We ended up with the three 10 year old boys spending the night with us while my friends ended up with all three 14 year old girls.  I think I got the better end of that deal!  At 1:30 I threatened to separate them if they didn’t hush and go to sleep and they were out like a light.  The girls?  I hear they were up until 4:30! 

Today is Joey’s neurologist consult.  Their website says we will get 45-60 minutes with the neurologist.  We’re going to need every second because I have a million things to talk to him about.  Things with Joey are NOT good.  I am exhausted and terrified and he is struggling a lot.  He is hoping for a magic pill today and I am afraid he’s going to be disappointed.  Our appointment is at 3:30 Mountain time.  I’ll post all of the details when we get back to the hotel this evening.  Wish us luck!

Also?  I got a job!  One I am going to do from home!  I’ll share the details on that little adventure tomorrow!  Right now I have to go get in the shower so we can head to Denver.

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Tags: ADHD, Kids, Party, Tourettes, Tween Drama