February 13-19, 2023
It seems that the more birthdays we have the faster the year goes. I feel like I am in a constant whirlwind of appointments, meetings, and activities that the kids or I need to attend. Days and weeks often go by in a blur with only occasional moments to catch my breath, gain some clarity, and to re-group before starting again.
Aiden has been in juvenile detention since Feb. 10th. Long story short he got another students debit card, had it in his possession, and used it in the vending machine at school. That was the final act in a string of thefts he had committed that week and were in violation of his probation. As most of you know we have been trying to figure this kid out his entire life. As young as 6/7 months old he craved constant attention and did not do well at entertaining himself. If I had to write an e-mail for 5 minutes he would be there crying and trying to get to me through the baby gate. There have been many moments over the years where Brandon and I just shake our head and wonder incredulously why he has made the choices that he makes. Thankfully Idaho Falls has a very robust and fabulous Department of Health and Welfare with many programs that Aiden is eligible for. I still feel like we are flailing, and even with his newest psych testing and addition of extroverted autism as a new diagnosis, I wonder if we are on the correct path to wellness. When you have a kid that has as much going on as Aiden and symptoms/behaviors that could be a variety of diagnoses it is tough to figure out just exactly what is going on. My only hope is that we are getting closer. We have a pretty good team now and I am hoping that as we work together we can come up with a solid plan going forward.
Monday the 13th the kids went to school. They were supposed to go to 4-H that evening but we completely spaced it. It wasn’t the only thing I spaced this week either.
Tuesday was Valentine’s day. I had gotten the kiddos each a bath bomb, Hot Wheels car, something for their hair, and a card. My sweetheart got me a card, flowers, and some candy, I got him a free chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-a and a card that I haven’t written in and given to him yet. The boys went to 4-H at 5:00 to make chocolate covered strawberries and then we went to Noodles & Co. for our annual “romantic for the whole family” Valentine’s tradition. It was delicious.
Wednesday Zoey had speech therapy, she is learning new words and stringing them together more and more. That evening I was feeling to unwell to go visit Aiden at juvenile detention. This made it easier because then I could stay at home with the kids while Brandon went out to visit Aiden. He missed seeing me but I just felt so icky.
Thursday I had a meeting at Aiden’s school to discuss strategies, changes to his IEP, and other alternatives for his schooling. In the end it was decided to update the IEP to reflect the changes but that since we weren’t really sure where Aiden will end up we would have to wait and see. I then had a phone meeting with Lucas’ DD case manager to discuss his needs so that she could write up a plan for him. That evening I forgot about Isaac’s parent teacher conference. I looked at the clock at 5:15ish and thought oh that conference is in an hour. Next thing I know it’s 7:40 and I realized that I had missed it. Kids are distracting, can I blame it on them? On top of distracting kids I have been congested and under the weather for far too long. That messes with your brains ability to think and remember things.
I do not know what we did Friday. I am sure that it was epic! NOT. 😛 Because Brandon and I have been feeling unwell for several weeks we opted to have many fix it yourself dinner nights this go around. Mon-Fri the boys get to choose from one of like 15 dinner options and make it themselves. This has been things like nachos, bean burritos, breakfast burritos, pepperoni/cheese/crackers, pizza rolls, etc. Saturday and Sunday Brandon makes a more intensive dinner. It’s been nice to have them just fend for themselves.
Saturday Isaac had a friend over 11-2 and Lucas had a friend over 1-4. After they left we ran some errands. First we went to Deseret Industries to get Brandon some pants that don’t have holes in the knees. While there I grabbed a couple of cute skirts for myself and shoes and a dress for Zoey. After Deseret Industries we picked up a slush for Brandon and I at Sonic. We then went to Dollar Tree where I went in with Lucas and Isaac so that they could pick something fun. I needed flashlights for my primary class but was not impressed with what they had. By this time I was beyond ready to be home but we had to stop at Harbor Freight. Thankfully they had flashlights that would work for me.
Sunday we went to church. I ended up having only one kid in my primary class. Generally there are three or four. I had prepared a fun activity and a flashlight hand out for all of them. Oh well, it was ok anyway. My co-teacher and I had a nice chat while our one student worked on a heart for each member of her family. I think things worked out as they were supposed to.
In the afternoon we went to visit Aiden again. Our ministering brother Ian, came to watch the kids, they enjoy his company because he plays board games with them. When we arrived at juvenile detention we learned that we would be waiting about 50 minutes for our turn to visit with Aiden. Brandon called to make sure that it was ok with Ian and then we sat and waited. We had a good visit. Aiden seemed to be in better spirits because he has a little bit more freedom and can participate in rec activities as well as entertainment. He passed his test to move up a level as well. He gets to have TWO books in his room now. He has also been getting school work done during school time at the detention center. I think it’s good for him to not have a million distractions. I love that kid. I would have chosen a much different life for him than he has chosen for himself but I’d like to think that his insatiable appetite for learning and sense of humor help lighten his struggles.
We ended our week with homemade alfredo over fettucine noodles or spaghetti squash. It was yummy. I also got our taxes filed. Any bets on whether our 2021 taxes will come first or our 2022 taxes? I am betting it will be the 2022 taxes since we got a note from the IRS stating that they would need x number more weeks to look into the information from our 2021 tax return. *eye roll* Thanks for reading!