How things are going!

I can't believe I am actually connected to the Internet right now. It is amazing how attached we become to such things. Thankfully, I can still Facebook on my phone and do email but I find it too difficult to attempt to update my blog from there. I am currently sitting at a coffee place enjoying the smell but not the taste...caffeine at this time would have me up all night. So get ready for my update because I am sure it will be long.

Well before I start that I just want to say that I have been keeping up with blog reading. I just can't comment from my phone.

There are quite a few of the families with bipolar kids that I follow that are going through really rough times, including one little girl who is Jada's age that was just hospitalized and another younger boy who is close to it. You all are on my mind. If you need the extra support or someone to talk to feel free to email me or connect through Facebook which is easy for me to do on my phone.

And a shout out to all my D-moms out there! I miss the Sunday night chats! Of course the last few weeks, I've been a bit busy *wink, wink*.

Me

I am doing very well. Things have been better for me since my last couple of doom and gloom posts. So what is different? Summer plans for the girls fell through for a few reasons: money, procrastination, and diabetes. Last summer Jada went to YMCA camp and enjoyed it. They would accommodate her insulin needs and they were the only ones. They usually have scholarship money available to help with the weekly fees but I waited too long to register them and missed out on it. Of course, I had to wait for the money for registration so you know a vicious circle. The weekly fees weren't more expensive than anywhere else but you also have an activity fee of two hundred dollars per child so with two kids I just couldn't do it. So now what? I quit one of my jobs. I still have my job at the psych hospital and have officially been made an employee as of yesterday. Until then I was PRN (as needed) which means as census (number of patients) drops so did my hours. Census has been low so I have not actually worked for the last two weeks. I am unsure about what my new hours will be and when they start. My mom, who works at a school, finishes her year this Friday. After that, she has agreed to keep Jada since no one will accommodate her D care. I will have to find things for them to do such as story time at the library or cheap stuff but it will work out. Erin will attend a daycare which I can get financial assistance for during the day. That will work great to give the two of them a break from each other. Erin is excited since she should be two of her friends there.

Jada

Jada has had at least one (if not more) anger meltdowns per day where she resorts to screaming or hitting or threatening to hit someone. Her evening manic behavior has been about the same which is good since she is taking the Abilify at 3 pm and Intuniv at 5 pm.

Some concerns are her anxiety, appetite, and boredom. She is becoming more anxious about stuff again. She is afraid to be in a room by herself. She is completely afraid of bugs again. She saw a spider in her room the other day and refused to go back in there. I told her that I saw the spider run out into the bathroom. She had to be assured several times. But then when it was bath time, she said she couldn't go there because of the spider. I then told her that I killed the spider. But because she didn't see me do (because I actually hadn't) it took quite a bit of convincing. One night in the bath tub, she caught a glimpse of her hair out the corner of her eye and darn near jumped straight out of the tub. It has been difficult. Her appetite. I don't know about your D kids, but Jada has always had a big appetite. Starting the Abilify was like putting her appetite on steroids. She is never full. She can out eat me and I like to eat. All I hear all day is that she is hungry. She has gained 11 pounds since April 1 when she started the Abilify and is now in the 90th percentile for her weight. She doesn't look overweight, just solid and she always has. I really didn't notice the last five pounds until we were shopping for a swimsuit and she had to go up a size. I grew up overweight so I certainly don't want her to have to deal with all of that. As far as boredom goes, she is bored! She is attached to me all the time. She has not played with toys in over a week. I have to force her to go do something besides being stuck to me.

We saw Dr. O this morning. She is not concerned with the boredom at this point thinking it may have something to do with summer and being home with me for the last two weeks. So I let it go for now. Although I read that boredom can be a sign of depression in children. Who knows??? Dr. O is concerned about her weight gain and her anxiety. I was left to make a decision of which I wanted to address. Dr. O will not make two changes at a time which I believe to be a good rule of thumb but I want her stable NOW. Jada was once on a med for anxiety but was taken off when she started the Strattera. I chose to change her Abilify. Since it isn't the perfect one (don't know if there is) and she is still having anger issues daily maybe the next med might be the one. Suckiest thing about mental health issues is the med trials. You have to give it time and see if it works. Dr. O switched her to Geodon right away and said we should know rather quickly whether or not it will work for her. Summer is a good time for this since Dr. O said it could get rough. We shall see. Then of course Dr. O is heading out of the country for three weeks after next week so we will update her later this week and see her next week before she heads out. Another consideration with the switch is that the Abilify had effects of Jada's blood sugar causing me to double her basal rates. I am not sure how the Geodon will affect that yet. Another wait and see thing. Another reason I am glad I am home with her.

Jada and Erin are both attending Vacation Bible School this week and enjoying every minute of it. I love that Jada can be social right now. I love that she is able to be with other kids her age and just be a kid. And even better is that they have a nurse there to attend to her D needs!

Next week, Jada may be at another church camp for the week. It depends on if we get financial assistance from the church. They will also have a nurse there.

Erin

Erin is doing well. She graduated Pre-K and is ready to head to kindergarten. She will be starting at a daycare for the summer that will work with her to continue her skills. She is such a smart girl! She seems okay most of the time. I am sure I won't know until later the effects everything else has on her.

The House

Our six month contract with the realtor has expired which means...the house is not sold. We will be listing it with another realtor and I am in the process of decluttering again. I don't know why people want to buy a house with nothing in it since no one lives that freaking neat and clean anyway! All I know is that it needs to sell.