Sunday, April 30, 2006

What's That Buzzing Sound?

Just came back from watching hubby's band play in a show. Consumed first alcohol in 12 months. Got quite a happening buzz going on...yeah baby! Managed to not "break the seal" until I home, so now I've gone pee 3 times in 10 minutes. Kripes. I'm gonna be in the bathroom all night. Can't type. Too drunk. Bye.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Oh Keegan, My Keegan!

Keegan and I have been working very hard this past week. We have been playing games giving to us by his language therapist to help him to learn to follow simple one step, two step and three step directions, and complex one and two step directions. He has no problem with the one step directions (Please pick up the toy) and is pretty good with the two step (pick up the toy and put it in the box). Three step directions (pick up the toy, put it in the box, and bring me your cup) leaves him bewildered. At present, he can only hold two directions in his mind at a time. Or if I ask him to do two things, he will do them out of order, which we are also trying to correct (show me the blue block and THEN show me the red block-he'll show me the red one first).

I have also been working on the concept of NOT. I'll have three red blocks and one blue one, and I will ask him to show me the one that is NOT red. Invariably he'll point to a red one, because he is still not grasping the concept of NOT. However, we made some headway today, and he was able to point out the "NOT" object 3/10, which is great compared to his 0/10 of last week. So, slow progress, but any progress is awesome, so I am happy and he is so excited when I give him praise for following directions correctly.

He seems to have grasped the concept of in and on. We are now working on beside and behind and in front. It is working well, because we play these games when Phoenix is at school, and Ty is sleeping so it is just "Mom and Keegs time".

He was exhibiting a bit of jealousy this morning when I was playing with Ty. I was encouraging Ty to take a few steps to me, and when he did, of course I was all "Great job Tyger! Good walking!" and Keegan would say "My turn!" and walk over to me and expect similar praise. It was cute, I did it, but was also careful to explain that he is older than Ty, and is already great at walking and running, and it is our job to teach Ty how to do it correctly. So after that, he was trying to get Ty to walk to him too. What a doll.

Well, I am "starvin Marvin!" as Phoenix would say, so I'm going to grab a late breakfast while Keegan is playing with his puppets. And keep those names coming! I have had some non-blog suggestions and I have decided on two names already, but I still need a third, so think FISH and come up with a great moniker for my third telescope goldfish.

Friday, April 21, 2006

I Need Some Names...

Okay blog readers, I need some names...no! I'm not pregnant! Just the owner of three new fish that need cool names...

They are telescope goldfish, which basically means that they are white with black and orange splotches and huge, bulgy black eyes that look like they've gone 12 rounds with a bad-ass boxer-fish. So, step up to the plate, creative ones, and give me some ideas...winning names will be posted with photos of the fish!

Felt like we spent the whole day shopping today! This morning, while Keegs was at school, Mark, Bun, Ty and I headed off to Costco, did a bit of wallet-damage there, and then headed over to Pet-Smart, where we picked up a fresh load of goldfish for our pond (or should I say raccoon food, since it is a popular late-night dining spot for them...), and my three new fishies. Then we headed home to pick up Keegs, had some lunch and then went on a field trip to Toys R Us, where I did a bit more damage. Managed to pick up some items that the kids didn't notice for the boys' upcoming birthdays, so that was cool. Also, slid over to Babies R Us, and got a new "manly-looking" diaper bag, and some jammies for Tiggs.

Upside, we spent a nice family day. Downside, missed naps for Ty and Keegs, so we had a few crankos in the house around dinner time. Upside, Ty got the giggles during dessert and had us all falling over in our chairs with hysteria as we all joined in. Pretty damned cute, let me tell you.

Now that Easter is over, it is my turn to host some sort of family event, so it's batter up for Keegs 4th birthday and Ty's first. As their b-days are only 6 days apart, we'll be celebrating them together, as we will until Keegs is old enough to bitch about wanting his own day;) .

Well, Mark's in the studio practicing for his upcoming show with his band, the kiddies are sleeping, and the fish are all fed, so, I am going to settle down on the couch with a cup of tea, and watch several episodes of season 3 of Degrassi: The Next Generation.

PS. Congrats to Dianna and Jon, who welcomed their first baby into the world last week, William Henry (Will). He's a doll! Good job, guys!

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

A Long Road Ahead

I took Keegan this morning for his speech and language assessment. Although he does pronounce individual words quite well, it is when he speaks in sentences that he becomes difficult to understand. This is due to his delay in receptive language, or how he understands language. For example, he does not understand some simple concepts such as in, on, under, in front, behind etc., so he fills in with "jargon" (da da da) to complete his sentences. So instead of saying, "The toy is under the chair", he may say "the toy da da da the chair".

In terms of how extensive his delay is, it has been classified as severe. A child his age usually falls in the 40-60 percentile. Keegan is in the 1st percentile. Yeah, I know. We have a tough row to hoe, as they say. He also has difficulty with negatives, such as "not". So if I tell him, "We're NOT going to Grandpa's house today," he'll go get his coat and shoes on. He just "hears" the part about going to his Grandpa's. Makes sense now that when I say, "Poo does NOT go in your underwear", that we still have toileting issues.

So what next? Well, Mark and I have to go to 2 two-hour parenting workshops to help us learn strategies to help Keegan at home. Once we have completed the workshops, we will have a follow-up appointment with the language therapist.

Once he begins to understand the concepts of in, on, under, over, behind, in front and so on, he will start to use them in his sentences, and thus will become much more coherent in his language. So if you are speaking with Keegan, and have a hard time understanding him, please be patient, and know that he is working hard to gain these important skills.

Speaking of the devil, I am being summoned, so I'll chat later. And if there are any readers out there with similiar circumstances, I would love to hear from you!

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Happy Easter!!!



Happy Easter everyone! XOXO

Shann, Mark, Keegs, Tyger and Bun

PS. Happy Birthday to my cousin Sam!

Monday, April 10, 2006

Wowzers!

First of all, a big "WOWZERS!" and congrats to my cyber-pal Jenny, who just announced her pregnancy!!! The wowzer bit is that, in addition to a kindergardener, she also has a baby of less than a year...yeah, I know. Bit of a surprise, I think. But, my mom had Tommy and Paul 18 months apart, and still had the guts to have two more kids, so power to ya, Jenns!

I am having an extremely bad hand day. I am typing with my left hand only, because bending the fingers on my right hand would cause a tidal wave of blood to sweep the keyboard "Y" through "?". Ouchie. It was bad when I woke up, but made considerably worse by doing two loads of dishes, and washing and folding 6 loads of laundry and bathing three kids. Man, I swear, I keep band-aid brand in business these days. I should take out stock...

To top off my stellar day, I had a dental appointment and was told that I have not one, but two cavities, plus a chipped tooth that "really should be repaired...". Yeah. So, between my check-up and Phoenix's, that bill was $220, and that's not including my fillings and repair work scheduled for Thursday. Kripes. Crappy time to not have dental insurance, let me tell ya!

Mark went on a whirlwind of house chores this weekend. The first thing we tackled was rearranging the boys' room. We had bunk beds set up, with Phoenix on the bottom, and Keegan was in a toddler bed. We were going to move Phoenix to the top bunk, but then thought that the bigger worry was Keegs + a ladder, so we opted to lift and separate. So now they have side by side Bert and Ernie style furniture. Of course, after this was done, their old dressers (which we had planned to replace since they don't match anything anyway) didn't fit back into the room. So, Mark went out and bought a beautiful pine 8-drawer dresser. Which he had to assemble. So after all that was done, they boys were very happy with their new bedroom situation, and Keegs now sleeps in his OWN bed, instead of crawling into Phoenix's or ours.

Then he decided to tackle the overflow of Rubbermaid containers full of clothes in the closets. He went out and bought 4 closet organizers with drawers, so now everything is neat and organized in the bedrooms.

Apparently, that wasn't enough work for him. He then decided to take on the backyard, and trimmed back the trees and shrubbery, mowed and edged the lawns, turned over and composted the gardens, and cleaned the gutters. Finished? Hell, no! Then he gets it into his head to move the fish pond from one part of the yard to the other. Mud city! But, when all was said and done, it all looked great, and he felt he could relax in chores (outdoors at least) for the next few weekends. And with all of that dirt and mud to play in, the boys were as happy as pigs in the proverbial.

Oh yeah, then he made dinner. I love my husband! He makes a great wife...

On the Tyger front, he is the proud owner of a new tooth (bottom right) to bring his running tooth total up to 5. And he took 3 three unassisted steps to me today!!! Damn, he's just too cute! I love that kid!

Keegan is still loving school, and his teachers report back to me daily about how well he shares, and how polite he is! (Excuse me? Where is my son, and what have you done to him?) Nice to know that my manners and sharing drills are taking effect somewhere, if not at home. Actually, I shouldn't say that. His manners are quite exemplary for his age. It's the sharing at home that he sucks at...

Well, I guess I should wrap things up before carpal tunnel syndrome sets in. TTFN!

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

It's Not My Name!

My Dad came over the other day to pick something up, and had his co-worker with him. He introduced her as Margaret. She said, "Michelle!" I laughed at Dad, and said, "Hey, I'm the Margaret, remember?" Michelle said, "I thought your name was Shannon?" I said, "Yes, it is..."

Flashback to the summer of 1991, when I was working in the same office building as my Dad. I had stopped into his office to say hi before my shift, and a woman tapped me on the shoulder. She said, "I say hello to you every day, and you never acknowledge me!" I was quite embarrassed and apologised. She said, "I always say, Hi Margaret! But you keep on walking." I just smiled at her and said, "Well, no wonder! My name isn't Margaret!" She said that she always heard my Dad call me Margaret. "Well, he's the only one who does. Anyone else calls me that, I just figure he's talking to someone else!"

If you haven't figured it out yet, my middle name is Margaret. Dad has always called my that, and has, throughout my life, caused confusion to all of my friends...I guess some things never change!
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I bought a new vacuum a few weeks ago. This thing is awesome. It's one of those cyclone bagless jobs, that shows you all of the disgusting stuff that lives in your carpet. I read somewhere recently that the average vacuum picks up 40 pounds of dust per year! Eww! No wonder we have such allergies! But no more. This sucker is being put to the test around here...after all, I've stated before that I am a crappy housekeeper, and tend to dust only when the kids start practicing writing their letters in the tabletops. Today I went on a dusting frenzy and actually ran out of Swiffer sheets, so the top floor will have to wait until I buy more. Note to self: take a Benedryl soon...
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Keegs finally got picked up for speech therapy and goes for his initial assessment on April 18th. Yay! Jeez, only been on the waiting list for seven months for that one! Poor kid seems to always be going to one doctor's appointment or the other. It's at the point now where we get dressed to go in the car, and he says, "We're going to the doctor, Mommy?" Sadly, more often than not, I've been saying, "Yes, sweetie!"
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Tim Horton's update: so far in this Roll Up The Rim To Win season, I have won 6 coffees and 4 doughnuts. It's no car, tv, bbq or cash, but it is also more than I have won any other year!
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I ran away from home last night and went to the mall. You would be proud! For once, I actually bought myself something! A skirt, 4 tops, a pair of capri pants and two pairs of pantyhose. Oh, and a black, knee-length belted trench coat. (I'm still suffering from shopper guilt though...so I did buy a shirt for Mark and 3 pairs of pyjamas for Ty. Plus a cartload of Easter crap for all of the cousins. This Easter is at my sister-in-law's house, and she's expecting 30 people. What's worse than that, is that next year it's here!!!!
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Well, I guess I'd better go and clean something while Keegs is still at school and Ty is still sleeping...c ya.

PS A very Happy Birthday to my nephew LUCAS!!!!