Nothing new and exciting has happened here on this front.
The kids are back at school after their 5 day weekend. THANK GOD!! All the infighting and bickering was driving me crazy. Emily is doing well on her medicine. She is a little easier to deal with and the medicine hasn't taken away her Emily-ness. The little girl who insists on wearing mismatched clothing, writes her name on absolutely everything, dials 911, tosses toys everywhere, and is louder than any other child in the house, is alive and well. Parents of children who behave normally, don't understand what a victory it was to sit and have dinner and spend it actually eating and not chasing and shushing and yelling while dinner sits on the table getting cold. Parents of less hyper children can take their child to a movie without having to worry that their child will disrupt the house resulting in them having to leave and wasting that $10. They can take their child to a store and actually shop and not have to spend their time trying to keep their child from pulling clothes off racks and throwing them on the floor or stopping a hysterical tantrum because their child wanted something and they commit the cardinal sin of saying "NO!" They can take their child to a restaurant without having their child stand on a chair and tip it over, spill their drink, insist on sitting UNDER the table, or play with every conceivable thing on the table thus spilling salt and pepper, toppling water glasses, and throwing food. Save the movie example, Emily has done all of these things. It was to the point where I shuddered every time I had to take her out in public and dreaded it. One recent trip to Chef Paul's for some good German food went well until the very end when Emily ran around and around the table, then grabbed a stack full of to go boxes from the wait stand and screamed when I told her to put them back. After I made her sit in her seat, she kicked the table and toppled her Pepsi spilling it everywhere. That's when we all got up and got our coats and said, "Wouldn't it be nice to go somewhere and not HAVE to leave?"
I took Em out for a test run last Tuesday. We went to the store and then out to eat. I was nervous but Emily was great! She behaved. She ate her dinner. She didn't leave a trail of destruction in the store. It was wonderful! Many of my cohorts in the natural and holistic community recommended treating her ADHD with fish oil and herbs and warned against medicating her. I am glad that I decided to medicate her. It's really made such a huge difference but she is still Little Miss Independent and insists on dressing herself, making her own breakfast (under mom's watchful eye of course)and putting on her own shoes, coat and hat. My theory on healing is to use the best of all worlds and hope for synergy. This child can rule the world if she can just learn to rule herself. She is smart and creative and funny and she does things on her terms. She is a survivor, a fighter, and a great kid. Despite all the difficulties with her behavior, I just can't imagine not having Emily around. Those who focus too much on how loud she is or difficult can be, are missing out on how funny she can be or all the smart things she says. They are missing the big picture by focusing too much on her imperfections. The best thing about Emily is, she likes me. My teenagers, Kris and Cassie, are off in their own little worlds and there isn't room for their embarrassing mom anymore. I seriously don't have to do anything to embarrass them. All I have to do to embarrass them is be seen in their presence amongst the teen set they hang around with. Cassie is currently sitting here yelling at ME because she didn't put her favorite DVD back in the cover and it is now missing.

Yesterday was appointment two at the U of C. It was an easy one. I drove there and it took 90 minutes. I went and got my blood tested, had my BP taken and my temp (BP was a little high but they said this med has a tendency to increase BP). 20 minutes later, I was in the car driving back home which took another 90 minutes. I spent the evening working to make up for the 4 hours I was gone and worked until 10:30. This morning, my back is tense from all the sitting.

Life in the fast lane!