Surviving the First Week Back

It's been an interesting week! Bright and early Monday morning, i got ready for work and left Maelin and Baba to fend for themselves (Baba wakes her up at 8am, gets her ready for the day, and drops her off at Aunt Laura's house around 9:15am). On my way to work, i heard a sappy country song and started crying ... thankfully, Leslie was sitting next to me, so i had to choke back the tears and kept driving. When i arrived at school, i cried in front of the first person to ask me how i was doing! But the rest of the day was busy and happy, and before i knew it, it was 3:30 and i was jumping in my car and heading off to pick up Miss Maelin! Truly, it is nice to be back at work. I love my job, and i'm happy to be back :) It's hard to know that Maelin is not with Jim and/or i all day, but she's doing just fine at Aunt Laura's house with Jacob and Lucas. She really enjoys having playmates every day. I can hardly blame her -- i'm not nearly as fun as Jacob ;)

Maelin and i have enjoyed spending the long weekend together. It was raining on Friday morning, so we got ready and went to the post office and the grocery store. Baba called us while we were still in Lapeer, so we swung by his work and picked him up for a family lunch :) On Saturday, Stacey (my good friend and MSD co-worker) and her 8-month-old daughter, Josie, came to visit us for a few hours. We had such a nice time visiting with them and playing with the baby!

Funny story: earlier this week, Maelin pointed to bird poop on her swing, and i told her what it was. We cleaned it off and went on with our lives. The next day, she found some on the ladder to her slide, and we identified it as 'bird poop' again. Then a couple of days ago, i was trying to wipe the gunk out of the corners of her eyes, and she called it bird poop!! I had to laugh at that one!

In the top picture, Maelin is wearing a cape and hat that was hand-made by Ellen, who is the great-grandmother of one of my students, Jason. Even though Jason moved to kindergarten this year, Ellen still stops to visit me in my classroom :) If you can see in the picture, Maelin's baby doll is wearing a matching hand-made cape and hat ... thank you so much, Ellen!!

That's all for now. Hope you're all enjoying the long weekend :)

Shonda

The Weekly Update

It's Sunday morning, and Baba is having breakfast with Maelin, so i thought i'd jump on here and post a few of the more recent pictures of our cutie-pie :) We have been together almost seven weeks as a family. Each week gets better and better as we get to know each other more. She has become a bit of a Mama's girl at night time -- won't let Baba lay down with her at bed time any more! I think it hurts Baba's feelings a little, but it seems logical that she would want Mama when it's 'comfort' time. Baba's expertise lies in the areas of 'fun' and 'outside' :)

Last Monday we finished up Maelin's hearing testing at the audiologist in Flint. When we were done, we ordered hearing aids (our insurance covers most of the cost!!) and made impressions for earmolds. We're hoping to slowly get her used to the hearing aids during the summer months so that, when she starts school in fall, she'll be wearing them full time.

We've also had several 'assessment' appointments with our local school district, in preparation for her IEP. So far, we've met with the teacher consultant for the hearing impaired (sorry, their title, not mine!), the audiologist, a speech/language pathologist, and an early childhood teacher. We have two more left -- another early childhood teacher and one more appointment with the speech/language pathologist. I am hoooooooping that we'll get the IEP scheduled before this school year ends, so that we can get all of the arrangements made before school starts in the fall. Cross your fingers for us!

I am going back to work on Monday (tomorrow) with very mixed emotions. I miss my students and i love my job, so there is some excitement in getting back to work and into that routine. But i have a sick feeling in my stomach at leaving Maelin every day for four weeks. The upside: she'll be staying with my sister-in-law Laura, and if i have to leave her to anyone, i'm glad it's her. Jim is planning to stay home each morning so Maelin doesn't have to get up quite to early. He'll get breakfast for her, get her all ready, and then drop her off at Laura's around 9am or 10am. I'll take off right after work each day and be there by 4pm. And after June 15th, we'll have the whole summer together :)

Leslie is at Desales (in Brooklyn, MI) for an Art Workshop weekend with other deaf and hard of hearing kids. Thankfully, she rode down with one of the houseparents (it's two hours each way!), and she'll ride part-way back with the same woman. We'll pick her up at Great Lakes Crossing this afternoon. Maelin will be happy to see her :)

Take care-

xoxoxo,

Shonda

Mother's Day musings

We've been so busy over the past several days! If we're not grocery shopping or going to appointments, we're playing in the sand box and feeding the fish in the pond :)

Doesn't Leslie look beautiful?!? The above picture of her is from MSD's Prom, which took place this past Thursday night. Leslie asked me to meet her at the dorm before the prom and drive her there, so i did. (Baba stayed home with Maelin, which gave me some much-needed one-on-one time with Leslie, and a dinner out with my friend, Shelly!) After school that day, Leslie's sister Brandi went to the dorm to fix Leslie's hair and make-up ... WOW!! By the time i arrived, she was all dolled up and ready to go :) We drove to the Prom (which was held at the Flint Association of the Deaf), and i went in with her for a few mintues, before leaving her to hang out with her friends. I haven't talked to her since then, so i'm anxious to hear an update on how things went! :)

We've had an eventful last several days. One day last week, we went to lunch with Kaleb (a former student of mine) and his mom, Barb (the second picture is Maelin with the Wendy's happy meal bag on her head!). Last Saturday, we had a visit from Mama's friend Maureen and her son Adam, who is ten days younger than Maelin. We've been down to visit Jacob and Lucas a couple of times (the bottom picture was taken while playing with sidewalk chalk at their house). On Tuesday, we had a play date with Erin and Ryan and their mom, Cindy (Erin was a student of mine at MSD last year). The third picture was taken last weekend at the kitchen table. I was writing out my bills, and Maelin had to be sitting there with me. The calculator kept her busy for a while, and then we added some stickers, just for fun!

As Mother's Day draws near, i reflect on the happiness that Maelin has brought into our lives in such a short amount of time. But i also think of the two other mommies that she had before me. One of them gave her life -- and we can judge her for abandoning that baby girl, but we don't know what things were like for her. We don't know what a difficult decision it was, or what circumstances surrounded it. We DO know that she placed her baby, bundled and warm, on the steps of the orphanage, with the obvious intention for that baby to be adopted by a loving family and given a better life. I also think of her foster mother, who cared for her for more than two years. I know that she must still be grieving for this beautiful little girl. We've only had her in our lives for six short weeks, and i already can't imagine life without her...

Happy Mother's Day to all you fabulous moms out there ;)

Mama

Tutu Time!

We loved the sunny days this past weekend and spent lots of time outside enjoying them! On Saturday, Maelin and i went to Great Grandma Schmidt's house to visit with her and to meet Uncle Tom and Aunt Chris for the first time. We had a really nice visit, and Aunt Chris won Maelin over with "This Little Piggy Went to Market" :) Afterwards, we went to Aunt Shelli's house and played outside with Drew and Adrienne (poor Adrienne doesn't have a namesign yet, so Maelin calls her 'baby' - ha!). Maelin had SUCH a great time playing with all the cool stuff ... when it was time to go home, she threw a major fit! But she was asleep in the carseat about two miles down the road :)

On Sunday morning, the three of us did the grocery shopping and ran a few errands. When we got home, Maelin napped and Baba mowed the lawn. That evening, we had a wonderful time when Uncle Jon, Aunt Laura, Jacob, Lucas, and Popa/Nana Gleeson all came over for a cook-out and some family time. Fun! Uncle Jon gave Maelin a golf cart ride (top picture), which is always appreciated! We also went for a walk in the woods looking for morrels, but we didn't find any. (Baba is ITCHING to get up north for some proper 'shrooming!)

So far this week, Maelin and i have balanced our week with some venturing out and some staying home. I find that Maelin really enjoys the times that we go out. When we're home for too long, she gets whiny. Maybe it's because she's such a social person? I'm not sure. I still think it's important to spend lots of time at home, but i'm glad she enjoys our time out.

On Wednesday morning, we went to an audiologist in Flint for Maelin's first hearing test. They were only able to do part of the testing (most children need more than one sitting for a complete hearing test due to the time it requires). So far it looks like she has a moderate hearing loss (50-60 dB) in both ears, with the right ear being worse than the left. The audiologist was concerned that Maelin's tympanogram (which measures movement of the eardrum and can signal an ear infection, and therefore, an inaccurate hearing test) showed a possible ear infection, so we went to the pediatrician that same afternoon. He also did a tympanogram (with the same results) and looked carefully at her ears. He does not believe that she has an ear infection, but rather some significant scarring on her eardrums -- which can affect the typmanogram measurement (i think) and contribute to hearing loss. He referred us to an ENT in Flint, so we'll make an appointment and follow up with him soon. We'll also go back to the audiologist again in a couple of weeks to complete the hearing testing.

I forgot to mention that Maelin and i visited Baba at work this morning (see picture above). She loved seeing him in the middle of the day, and he loved showing her off to his coworkers :) Maelin was much less delighted at leaving Baba at work when we left...again, we had a screaming-crying-fit (until Mama drove up to a park and Maelin got a glimpse of the play equipment - then suddenly the tears disappeared!).

Isn't the tutu picture a hoot?! This afternoon, Maelin and i pulled out the dress-up box (thank you, Aunt Jeanie and Amy!), and she has worn the tutu ever since, except for bath time. She insisted in putting it back on after bath, over top of her pajamas! I'm guessing we'll wear it to bed tonight...!

Time for American Idol and some ice cream for The Three of Us :)

XOXO,

Mama, Baba, and Maelin

Venturing Out

Maelin and i have had a good week :) We've been venturing out in small ways, but it's been good for Mama.

Monday: we went to the grocery store in the morning (who would have thought that i'd ever think going to the grocery store was a special treat?!), and Grandma Pam was there, so we got to do a bit of our shopping with her :)

Tuesday: we stayed home all day, but it was a really nice day, so we played outside a lot. In the evening, Maelin and i buzzed to MSD so that i could pick up some paperwork for an IEP meeting.

Wednesday: in the morning, we drove over to Grandma Pam and Grandpa Les's house and played there for a few hours. Maelin played really well with Adrienne (my sister's youngest; she's 18 months old). In the afternoon, Shelly, Amanda and Sarah visited us from MSD...it was really nice to have visitors!!

Today (Thursday): i had an IEP at MSD in the morning, so Baba stayed home with Maelin for a few hours. In the afternoon, Maelin and i drove to Flint to pick up Leslie from the dorm. She's been wanting to come home one night this week, so i was glad we were able to do it. Baba had sign class tonight, so Leslie and Maelin and i went to Burger King in Lapeer for dinner (yes, i'm still on the french fry ban ... Maelin had chicken tenders, applesauce and milk :) and the playland. I'm pretty sure that she had never been in a playland like that before, and she really enjoyed it. NO FEAR at all, and it was one of those really tall, large play structures. Mama was a bit nervous, but Leslie went up inside with her, and that made me feel better! When it was time to go, she refused to put on her shoes or coat, so i carried her out (crying, of course!) without them.

As you can see from the first picture, the swing set is done...and it didn't take six weeks - ha! When it was done, Maelin and Baba took the tractor to get a couple of bucket-loads of sand for the little sandbox under the play structure. It has rained a lot since Tuesday, so we haven't had much time to play outside. We're looking forward to more sunny days!

Love,

Mama, Baba, Leslie and Maelin

The Future's So Bright...

...I gotta wear shades! (Sorry, i couldn't resist!) We have been loving the beautiful weather these past few days. It feels so good to get outside and run around. Jim bought a swing set on Friday, and he's been tinkering with it for most of the weekend. (There are about six billion pieces to it ... look for pictures of Maelin actually using it about six weeks from now - ha!) Grandpa Les, Grandma Pam, and cousin Lauren came over on Sunday morning to help us work on it. Grandma Pam put together a 'radio flyer' wagon (given to Maelin from Popa and Nana Gleeson), and we girls (Mama, Grandma, Leslie, Lauren and Maelin) went for a long walk and took turns pulling Maelin in it :)

Sunday afternoon, we went over to Uncle Jon and Aunt Laura's house for lasagna dinner. They gave Maelin a few birthday presents -- you can see from the picture above that she really liked the Dora sleeping bag! Maelin and cousin Jacob drove his 'gator' around the yard (it's a battery-powered tractor-looking thing). Maelin looooooved it ... so much that when it was time to go home, she screeeeeeeamed, and continued crying in the truck the entire way home!

Baba got to go golfing yesterday (we won't mention that he was gone five hours...), so Mama and Maelin are officially free to cautiously branch out in our visiting and visitors! I think we'll still wait til next week to visit MSD, since there are soooo many people to meet there, but we're looking forward to having friends over for short visits this week. Call and let me know if you'd like to come :)

Love and sunny days-

Mama, Baba, Leslie and Maelin

The Weekend is Here!

Last night, Popa and Nana Gleeson came over to visit, and they brought a little wagon that holds blocks. Maelin was pretty sure that SHE was supposed to be pulled around in the wagon instead of the blocks :)

Yesterday afternoon, Maelin and i got ready and drove to MSD to pick up Leslie. Maelin was happy to see Leslie again, and Mama is happy that Leslie gets to spend the weekend with us! This morning, Leslie and Baba engaged in a challenging game of chess (we bought her the chess set while we were in China). Baba won, but it was a close match. Leslie is getting better and better the more she plays.

Nana and Popa Gleeson also brought over one of Baba's old toys -- a Fischer Price school house, full of all the goodies that go with it. Maelin has had fun pulling everything out, playing with it, and trying to fit it all back in...over and over and over!

This morning, Baba and Maelin are making a trip to Home Depot so that Mama can post to the blog :) and take a shower (a veritable luxury these days!).

I'm hoping that next week we'll be able to have a few visitors and do some visiting of our own. Baba wants to go golfing tomorrow, but i told him that we needed to talk about Mama and Maelin's house arrest before HE gets to go anywhere!!

xoxox,

Shonda (and Jim, Leslie and Maelin)