Goodbye Speech Therapy!

I know my last post was all about Zack driving me nuts with his constant talking but today I am here to tell you how proud I am of him.

Six months ago he started speech therapy for a severe lack of speech. His therapist came to the house once a week and started out slowly. Just trying to get sounds out of him, any sounds would do to start.

It was slow going but once he picked up a few sounds he was able to put those sounds together to start saying words. Although they were not quite words that anyone could understand they were to him.
With a lot of work he started getting out some real words. Once he got the first few words out there was no stopping him. He has amazed us, his speech therapist and his service coordinator with how quickly the words were coming.

He had so much to say after not saying things for so long that he quickly started putting words together only he never actually formed sentences. He just went directly to paragraphs.

After having his evaluation done 2 weeks ago, everything is now scored and on Friday I met with his service coordinator and signed the papers.

He no longer qualifies for the program!

Not only am I overjoyed that he has done so well in such a short period of time but his service coordinator just kept saying "I never would have thought he would be where he is today with his speech when I met him 6 months ago". How cool is that? According to her they don't have many kids that are signed out of there program for being over qualified.

I know Zack will really miss his therapist coming each week but she is needed else where. I really think she did wonders with Zack.

Ear plugs anyone?

Before I go any further I think I need to ask for forgiveness for my 'bad' thoughts.

Before Zack was even awake this morning he woke me up with his talking. He must have been dreaming again because he was asking someone not to take his trains.

I should have known at that point that it was going to be one of those days.

When he woke up he was instantly chattering. I heard loud and clear over the monitor "Mommy come up, Mommy I play trains, Mommy, Mommy Mommy". I convinced him to come down stairs instead of playing trains (that has been his thing to play trains before going down for breakfast). I should have let him stay up there by himself and play.

He has talked non stop since he woke up. When I say non stop I mean it. I don't think he has taken a breath since he woke up! Trying to get anything done or talk to anyone today has been awfully hard.

I asked nicely at one point for him to just give me 5 minutes...
"Mommy why you need 5 minutes?"
I begged just please stop talking for a few minutes...
"Mommy why I need stop talking?"
I told him to hush...
"Mommy why you say that to me?"
I pleaded for him to just be quiet because I needed to think...
"Mommy why you tell me be quiet?"

Not once, never ever did he stop talking.

I have thought bad thoughts today.
I thought maybe I could lock myself in the bathroom to get away for a few minutes.
He found me.
I thought maybe I could leave him in the playroom and go downstairs to get him his cup (and take a few minutes to myself).
He stood at the top of the stairs asking me if I am done yet.
I thought maybe I maybe I could go outside and check the mail to get away from the questions.
He stood at the window banging on it, yelling "Mommy what you doing?"
I considered ear plugs but I am sure he would notice and pull them out.

If you would have ever asked me 6 months ago if this day would have come I probably would have laughed at you. At that time he was only saying 6 or 7 words.

Oh those were the days.

PT

Potty Training, two of the worst words a stubborn boy of 2 years 10 months old can hear.


I started the other day putting Zack in big boy underpants while at home. He proceeded to tell me to take them off he did not like them. Nope not going to happen. Mom is a little stronger willed than he thinks.

Lets just say he did not do well at all that day.
I spent practically the whole day with on my hands and knees cleaning my carpets! Oxy Clean became my constant companion that day. I still was not about to give up.

The next day went a little better, which gave me some encouragement.

Each day is getting a bit better so with any hope he will continue with this and I can finally get out of changing diapers. (knocking on wood)

While getting him dressed this morning he tells me "Mom these Thomas underpants are snazzy".
He also informed me that he wants Wonder Pets underpants and Wow Wow Wubzy underpants and... the list went on from there.

In the world of Internet mommies PT is an abbreviation for potty training.

That is a lie.

PT does not mean potty training it is more like physical training. All the exercise I got that first day was rough on this old body. Run and lift the child then run to the bathroom, Run to the cabinet, reach for the Oxy Clean, spray, scrub. Repeat every 25 minutes. Who needs to pay for a gym membership just volunteer to potty train all the kids in your neighborhood.

Clothing and growth.

What is going on here?
The last week of November I remember talking to my SIL on the phone telling her Zack was just getting into a size 4T shirt. I kept thinking man that is huge for a child who won't be 3 years old until March. Some of the size 4T shirts I bought him are already getting a bit snug. Some are just right. Some of his 4T pants are a bit long , some are just right, while the other name brand ones I purchased are so darn tight I can not get them on him. (Idiot me lost the receipt)
I am really tired of having to buy two sets of winter clothes in 2 different sizes every year, this kid is costing me twice as much as he should be. I think I am in for some major clothing problems as he gets older.

Another haircut.

Last night after dropping off my vehicle at the repair shop again we decided that Zack and Kris both needed another haircut. After they tell us it will be a 10 minute wait we sat down and waited. Zack did pretty well waiting except he kept asking for a lollipop. You would think as many times as this kid has had a haircut he would remember no lollipop until the hair is cut and swept from the floor. They called Kris' name first but he asked them to do Zack first. I told Zack to follow daddy with that Zack turns and says to me "I don't think so, I think daddy go first and I wait." It took a bit of urging but he finally went back there and did well sitting on Kris' lap. No sooner was he done when he ran to the front counter and was trying to take a lollipop. By the time he finished eating it Kris was done getting his haircut and we were ready to go home. I turned around to see Zack over at the counter taking a second lollipop!
The little sneak.

Oh yeah I wish I could have gotten a picture of the sign they had taped to a television.
It said:

The TV was donated by Rent A Center, please don't toutch it.

Apparently they didn't spell check before they printed it.

Snow Day

I was going to post some pictures of Zack playing in the snow yesterday but that isn't going to happen. This darn computer mysteriously lost the cd and the dvd drives back in August so I can not install the software needed to get the pictures off my new camera. I can not pop the camera disk into my old camera because it is a different kind. So you will just have to trust me when I tell you he had a blast!
We walked out the door and the first thing he did was make "snow tracks". I kid you not it looked just like the cartoon Family Circus. After he made snow tracks he tried his best to make a snow ball, although he was not successful at it, he just wound up throwing snow at me. Yes, I did throw snow back at him. He wasn't crazy about it being on his face but he laughed it off. A while later I asked him why he was laying in the snow and he told me he was making snow angels. He did a pretty good job too, once he got the hang of moving his arms and legs at the same time.
At one point some neighbors were walking by with their sleds. Zack asked me what they were and when I told him, he tried inviting himself to go sledding with them. LOL
After about an hour and a half of being out in that freezing cold snow the only way I could get him back indoors was to promise him a cup of hot chocolate. It took him less time to drink the hot chocolate than it did for me to make it!
I think if we lived up north he would love all the snow and want to be out in it all the time.

Prayers

I was going to post about taking Zack outside in the snow today but that can wait until tomorrow.

Tonight I want to ask that you say a prayer for a little boy who isn't feeling so well lately. Donovan is the son of my on-line friend Kristin and he needs some prayers right now. Thank you.

Testing

Zack had his evaluation done this morning to see if he is still in need of speech therapy and at what level he is at with his responsive and expressive levels. Julie his speech therapist was the one to do the testing and she had already warned me based on her sessions with him that she was starting at a higher level...and she did. She started the testing out at a four year old level (otherwise we would have been doing it all day LOL).
We need to wait until she scores up the test and write a report so next week we will know where he is at and if he still needs any therapy. I was pretty pleased with how things went today even if he was a bit hyper. I think if he doesn't need therapy anymore he sure is going to miss having Julie come every week. He looks forward to her coming.

Little Stinker

This morning Zack was eating breakfast and making a mess. I told him several times to eat nicely. Apparently all he heard was BLAH BLAH BLAH because he continued making a mess. After a while he said he was done and I got up to get a paper towel to wash him off. While getting the paper towel he decided that last little piece of toast would look better if it were in a million little crumbs on the table! When I saw that I yelled at him and started cleaning him up. He starts to walk away from the table and he says to Kris "Daddy, Mommy being ridiculous". What the?
Had I not been so annoyed at cleaning up the mess I probably would have bust into uncontrollable laughter. He is much to wise for such a young child.

Check it out.

I seriously need to start using reusable grocery bags. I am tired of being over run by the plastic ones from the store. They accumulate in the hall closet until you can no longer find anything in there. Don't tell anyone but quite frankly we are slackers when it comes to returning them to the store for recycling.
If you are like me you can go here and try to win some reusable ones that will help de clutter your closet.
I do have some reusable bags but they are very large and really not good for taking to the grocery store. Last year a hardware store was giving them away so of course I snagged some but they don't really get used often enough. I need to work on that.

Random Stuff

Oh why don't I live in Charlotte anymore where there is a Krispy Kreme donuts close by? Krispy Kreme is offering a donut of your choice to every customer on Inauguration Day. No purchase is necessary.
I can not even remember the last time I went to a Krispy Kreme much less when that lovely "Hot Now" sign was on. *Sigh*

I printed out some coupons the other day for Kashi Bars. Now anyone that knows me knows I rarely if ever eat anything that is slightly, remotely or even somewhat healthy for me. Seriously I think my body would go into shock if something healthy were digested. Anyway I like the Kashi bars! There I said it. It was good.

If you have a minute could you possibly go here to help a friend out? She is trying to win some stuff to give to an after school program. On the right side of the page there are some recipes to vote for, please vote for the Thai Style Spring Rolls. She would really appreciate all your help. Thanks.

What eye sight!

After today I know there is nothing wrong with Zacks eyesight.
This morning we headed over to Target to check out the deals on clothes. I picked up some great deals on shirts for Zack. As I was looking at a rack that had a bunch of clothes on it, I hear a gasp coming from my childs mouth. I turned to see what was wrong and he says "Mommy, Thomas jammies". I couldn't see them so I asked him where. He pointed to the over crowded rack next to me and he says "Right there" Sure enough you could just barely see the sleeve. How the heck did he know it was Thomas Pajamas I will never know.
A few hours later we were in Wally World and I decided to see if they had any slip on shoes in Zacks size. I rounded the corner to come to an aisle with boys shoes and again with the gasp. I asked him what was wrong, he excitedly says "Mommy, Thomas shoes". I think he must be one with Thomas because those shoes were at the other end of the aisle! How he saw them that quickly is beyond me. Needless to say we bought them.
Tonight he tried them on to show Kris and he was jumping all over the place because as he says "they bouncy".

Free Shampoo

If you haven't already heard today Suave is giving out a coupon for free Shampoo so go here and sign up. It is today only so don't put it off.

Manners

Today at lunch Zack was trying to tell K something and she was just not listening. She was just not really being cooperative with him and apparently didn't feel the need to answer him. He kept repeating himself and she continued to ignore the fact that he was talking to her even though he kept saying her name.
Finally a frustrate Zack turns to me and says "Mommy teach K some manners". I started to chuckle.

Does it really have to be that hard.

I know that many items in stores get ripped open and pieces come up missing because of people wanting to check things out before they purchase something BUT do the manufactures really need to go to the lengths they do to keep us from getting the product out of the packaging when we get it home?
Ever since Christmas we have been opening gifts every few days for Zack to play with. I opened something the other night that took more time trying to get it out of the box than it did driving to the store to buy it! Did it really need 12 ties that were all at least a foot long? I don't think so.
Zack receive a interactive DVD so last night I was trying to get the remote control off the book. I am thinking to myself 'piece of cake'. It had only 1 tie on it, how hard could it be. By the time the remote was off the book I was looking like I should be admitted to a psychiatric ward! My thumb has a nice half inch slice in it and my wrist looks as if I tried to slit it! Nothing should be that hard to remove from the packaging.
***Kris if you read the blog today this is your warning, any birthday presents, gifts of any kind through out the year and any Christmas gifts that Zack receives you will be removing them from the packaging.

Know it all.

I sometimes ask Zack questions I don't expect to him to know the answers to. I find it is a way I can teach him little things without it seeming like he is being forced to learn something new.
He wanted to do something and I said "no sir-ree Bob". He came back with "don't call me Bob", so me being the brat I am I said ok Fred. We went round and round for a bit and he finally told me to call him Zack. I said ok Zack. Then I asked him what letter does Zack start with. He looked at me like I was an idiot and said "ZEE". I haven't even tried to teach him how to spell his name yet so he totally through me off guard. I have no clue where he learned that but I guess I need to run with it.
I am just amazed by how much little ones now-a-days know compared to when I was a kid. When I went to kindergarten I didn't need to know the alphabet or numbers, that's what they taught us. Now they know it all by the ripe old age of 3. I fear that by the time Zack becomes a teenager I will be in trouble because he really will know it all. LOL

Kansas

Sorry I didn't post yesterday but I think I became Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.
It was very windy here and I had to go outside many times yesterday to pick up trash and various things blowing into the yard and out of the yard.
At one point I jumped out of my skin. It was quiet the kids were playing nicely for a change and I hear this loud crashing sound. I did a quick check around the inside of the house, then thought maybe the satellite blew off the roof. I went out back to see a trampoline about 3 feet from my door. It damaged a few boards on my fence, the side of my house, the downspout in several areas and my grill. At this point I hear my neighbor outside her place and I walk over to see it had also hit her house.
She helped me move the trampoline over a few feet because if it would have blown around anymore it would have done more damage to my house. One of the pipes that was still attached was very close to the living room window. I am amazed that one of the pipes that had already broken off didn't go through my window.
Last night Kris tried to go see the owner of the new but now mangled contraption but there was no one home. So as far as I know they still have no clue as to what happened.
So I guess I won't be grilling out for a while and I am really grateful that no one was hurt. One funny thing about the whole situation was Zack. When he saw the Trampoline out the window he got all happy and said "mom we go jump?" 1. I didn't even know he knew what a trampoline was. 2. He obviously didn't get that it is bent all to heck and I don't think anyone will be jumping on it.

Silly boy

This morning I asked Zack what he wants for breakfast. He opened the pantry door and told me he wanted apple o's (apple cinnamon cheerios). I was pouring his cup of milk so I told him I would get it in a second. He wasn't happy with that response and said "no, me get it". I turn around to watch him trying his hardest to jump up and get it from the top shelf. After trying a few times he looked at me and said "um, maybe not. You can get it Mom". LOL
I have to give him some credit for trying.

Oh and I don't know why but in the past few days I have gone from being Mommy to just Mom.

Enter to win

Since I plan on being a bit more frugal this year I will occasionally be letting you know about some deals that I find on the net. So here goes.

If you have a Kroger grocery store near you go here
to enter a contest for a $25 gift card.

Zack 1, Daddy 0

The other day when I was out shopping, I left Zack home with Kris. In other words I had some quiet and Kris was bombarded with the never ending sounds of a nearly 3 year old who has so much to say he is never quiet for more than 2 seconds.
I guess it was getting to Kris because he decided to play the quiet game with Zack. You know that game...the one where you see who can stay quiet the longest. A few seconds into the quiet game Daddy must have made a sound or said something (football was on) and Zack told him "Daddy SHH we are playing the quiet game...YOU LOOSE!"
So today's lesson is never try to outwit a nearly 3 year old, they will win every time.

I love a bargain

Once every few months a store in our area does triple coupons. I went yesterday to see if I could get some good deals. I could not believe that at 10 am they were already out of some stuff I had coupons for. Sometimes I wonder if they don't stock the items that have recently had coupons in the paper.
Anyway I was able to get a nice stash of things we use. Before discounts the total bill was $73.97
minus $7.99 for the store card discount, minus $48.50 for the coupons and I paid $17.48. Not a bad way to start the new year.
A very rare thing happened yesterday, I went out by myself for a couple hours. I left Kris and Zack at home while I went walking around a few stores. I was able to get next years Christmas wrapping paper at $.74 per roll for 100 sq feet. I also found a great bargain on the silicone baking sheet I have been wanting. So I snagged one of those.
I don't ever make resolutions but I do think this year I am going to try to be even more frugal that I have been in the past.

Happy New Year

Oh what a New Years Eve we had in this house!
Zack was in bed by 8:30. Kris did not get home from work until 10:30 then we had something to eat (yes I know I should not eat that late but I did). After that I watched the TV downstairs and Kris watched the one upstairs. Insert Sarcastic voice here... Aw such togetherness.
At 11:56 I yelled upstairs to see if he was coming down to be with me when the new year hit. By fifteen minutes after midnight he was in bed and already sleeping.
When did we get to be so old?

Anyway I hope you all have a wonderful New Year.