I probably haven't stated this yet, but Alex has behavioral problems, problems with his impulse control, and has a tendency to get physical when he is angry, upset, or overly excited. We have him on medication, which I fought for a long time, but gave in as he got older and bigger, and started him on it about a year ago. It seems to help for the most part, but still I struggle daily with episodes, not to mention the side effects of the drug (weight gain, tired and cranky, etc.). I have always said that when Alex is good, I would have 10 kids like him, and when he is not, he feels like 10 kids at once.

It is these behaviors and my fear of his "episodes" that make planning or doing things with the kids tough. We have 2 different sets of plans today and I am already stressing about how they are going to go - I hate that. I want so much for him to benefit from everything we do and it just sucks when his behavior gets in the way. Now, things could go great and we will all end the day happily, but not knowing keeps me stressed before and during any type of activity or gathering and that's what I am feeling already!! AAGGHH - and as I write this he has decided to dump an entire container of baby powder in the office, the hallway and the kitchen. Why, you ask? Well, I asked him too, and this was his answer, "I just wanted to see what the floors would look like white." And there you have it........

Last night Alex was at my mom's house and was playing with a round brass disc that is on her coffee table, about the size of a quarter, while he was watching tv. He told us he threw it up in the air and it landed on his tongue and he accidentally swallowed it. What? Sometimes, and I am not trying to sound like a mean mom, but sometimes he does make things up. So, did he really do it? Well, he started grabbing his throat and saying it was stuck, so we made plans to take him to the hospital for an x-ray. That did not go over well - Alex goes into panic mode when we mention a hospital because he has had to be there so many times for surgeries.

He then told us it was gone, not in his throat anymore and that it would "go into my stomach, then my butt, then it will be gone!" Against my better judgement we waited and he really did seem fine - we had dinner, family basketball game, showers, and stories before bed - and he seemed fine.

This morning, the first thing he did was feel his throat, and when I asked him what was wrong he said, "Ah, nothing, it's gone mom." Hmmm, do I believe him and hope he passes it, or suffer through dragging him in for an x-ray? My husband just told me this morning that he started watching a show on Discovery last night which ironically enough was about kids who swallowed things and ended up needing emergency surgery or even worse, not making it. Guess I will take my chances with the hospital......

Do you ever have those days where every step of the way is a struggle with your kids? Yeah, I pretty much have one every day - anything I ask of Alex, big or small, is usually a struggle. Needed to have both girls at birthday parties tonight at 5, and couldn't get him to get in the truck with us. After finally agreeing, he stands up and tells me he went the bathroom in his pants and needed to be changed.

Get into the car and he melts down because the seat he wants to sit in is already taken (girls and a friend had been waiting!) and agrees to get in only after promising him he could pick the CD to listen to. Now he wants to pick the song too, doesn't want to buckle, then wants to buckle himself, then wants help, etc. One of the reasons I am usually late!!

Once I dropped Bella and her friend at Jump Zone, I couldn't get him to leave - he wanted to stay and jump and didn't "care what the rules are, the rules here are stupid." Soooo, I had to tell him I would bring him in tomorrow to jump during free time, knowing that there is no free time Sat. and Sun., that only birthday parties are held on the weekends. I got him out and back home, but what will tomorrow bring once he remembers ? I think I will prepare myself tonight with some snuggle time with my bubby, lots of kisses on his cute cheeks, and a couple glasses of wine.....

Happy Friday! This morning Alex closed his door (first suspicious sign) and when I entered his room, was dressed in a button down dress shirt, tie, long pants, hat and jacket. He told me he was going on a date with his friend (actually Bella's friend) Lizzie. I tried to explain that he was too young for dating, being only 10, that he needed to wait until he was a teenager, but he insisted he was old enough. "Where would you go?" I asked. "Bowling and to Chuck E. Cheese! That would be my date!" he answered. "And you can drive us, but don't stay too close when we get there, let me have my date" he added.

Great! It took me about 30 minutes to talk him out of it, at least for today. Who knows what tomorrow morning will bring!!!

Alex decided at 7 a.m. that he wanted to be a newspaper reporter. He started asking my husband and I questions to write in his newspaper, then wanted to make some phone calls. I was able to hold him off for a short bit, explaining that it was still early to call people, but he started with Auntie at work, got her voicemail, and moved on to Gramma and Papa. Next he wanted to go door to door in our neighborhood - are you kidding? I give him an A+ for creativity, but way to make enemies with your neighbors on the last few mornings to sleep in before school starts!

Alex has been going through this phase where he needs to know where I am at all times. He will be in the kitchen playing and I will be in there cleaning up and the minute he doesn't hear me it's, "mom? Mom, where are you?" I tell him I will be walking from room to room putting things away for the next few minutes and he still asks every 60 seconds, "mom, where are you?" If I don't answer quickly enough, he jumps up to go look for me - he has even darted out the front door to make sure our car was still in the driveway and that I didn't leave without him! What is that about?

I must hear "Mom where are you?" about a thousand times a day. I am wondering if he is having trouble seeing again - he has already gone thtough 9 eye surgeries - maybe that is making him uncomfortable. Or maybe I am just so fantastic that he can't bear to not be in the same room without me...(hmm, that would be nice)!

So, after packing to move this morning, Alex told me he wasn't moving out of the house, just into the family room. His reasoning? He doesn't like his bed anymore and is basically boycotting his room until we put bunk beds in there for him. Pretty smart, but pretty annoying!

It is 6:00 a.m. and Alex has decided to "move out" - which basically means he has packed up EVERYTHING in his room, things off his furniture, pictures off the walls, toothbrush, toothpaste, towels from the bathroom, all clothes hanging in the closet - you get the idea. It will probably take about 2 hours to put everything back after he decides he'll stay here with us! Never a dull moment with my bubby.......

Sunday night I realize that we are out of Alex's meds and call for a refill only to be told we need Dr. authorization. Great, seeing his first dose is supposed to be at 7:30 a.m. When I called the Dr.'s office this morning, I was told she wouldn't be in until 9ish - WHAT? She is always in at 7:30. So while Alex is going nuts, I wait for the Dr. to call. At 9 the call comes telling me I need to bring him in for a new script for the meds, but not until this afternoon.

Ok, I am usually very kind to the numerous Doctor's offices I have contact with, but today, knowing his doses are due at 7:30 and 1:30,while watching him throw play-dough around the kitchen while chasing his sisters trying to spit in their hair, I got a bit bitchy. No way was I waiting until this afternoon, I needed to be seen now! Well, be careful what you wish for......

After telling her it would take me a good 50 minutes to get there, she gave me an appt. for 40 minutes later. I took 5 minutes to get myself and the kids dressed and out the door - we were going to make it! As I am pulling down the street the "low fuel" light comes on, no time to stop for gas, just crossing our fingers. About halfway there, I remember that this is the office that no longer takes debit cards (insane, I know) and I don't have cash or checks on me. Then all 3 kids inform me that they need to go the bathroom and can't hold it, and Alex gets so annoyed he opens his window on the highway and threatens to throw his new Croc flip flops out.

Oh, I had to make a call from the road and Alex decided to write me a ticket since it is against the law to drive and talk on the phone. He shoved this in my face the rest of the day. Happy Monday.......

Bed Time

So I told Alex it was time for bed, and he put his pj's on - he wasn't happy about it, but he did it. The whole time he kept telling me he wasn't going to bed, he wasn't ready and he just wasn't getting in bed. I went to put a couple of things away and when I came back to his room (all of 3 minutes later) there was a rocking horse in front of his closed and locked bedroom door.

He popped out of Bella's room and said, "see, I told you I wasn't going to bed!" So after locking us out of his room, and putting a big horse in front of the door, he told me there was more. I picked the lock and saw that he had put all of the things from the floor in his room on top of his bed, obviously making it impossible for him to get into it. The beanbag, a guitar, books, etc. all on top of his bed.

Pretty clever, but more cleaning at the end of the day wasn't what I was looking for!