Now A Family of *gulp* Six.

I've had some pretty bad days in my life, but this afternoon may rank in the top 10. On the drive after work to get Roman, I got a flat tire on the highway. Suspect something metal that was covered by the snow that wasn't supposed to fall today, and then the forecast was quickly changed to 2-4". So I pulled off & into a parking lot, called a neighbor to come get me (and thanked her with some Girl Scout Cookies) & she thoughtfully got me to pick up Ro and then took us home. I'm home not 5 minutes when the phone rang. Charlie's daycare. Shit. He bit someone yesterday but was provoked; today he was unprovoked, bit a staff member's kid, & not only broke skin but drew blood. They asked that we please come get him and he is removed from daycare for the next two days. Great. So while Doug is trying to put my spare on the Aztek (did I mention we were getting 2-4" of snow?) I am driving on slush-ice roads to go get Charlie. Roman thankfully was invited ...

I don't mention my brother very often - we lead such different lives in different cities -but I can't help but sing his praises today! He's featured in his local paper . He's pursuing his passion and you've got to applaud him for that!

While in the basement doing catch-up on my computer, right NOW, I hear birds chirping outside. So as soon as I'm done with this post I'm heading upstairs to read or do a little scrapbooking in the SUN! I love the first appearances of Spring, even though it's still February. While I could tell you how great my trip was to DC or tell you that Roman continues to make huge strides and is FABULOUS to be with, today it's about Charlie. Charlie loves music but we've had a hard time finding videos that he likes. We've put in Laurie Berkner Band with just a passing interest, tried the Thomas the Tank Engine songs , and Charlie's just not interested. On an off chance last week, Doug grabbed our Volume 10 "Signing Time " video. It not only is sign language but has fun songs on it. We bought it for Roman awhile ago but it has languished on the shelf the past year or so. Oh my gosh... Charlie is hooked! Not only is he doing some signing, but Roman loves watch...

Today starts a whole week of vacation. Our district gives a whole week for "mid-winter break," something I never grew up with on the west side of the state but apparently is quite common here on the east side. I have volunteered to chaperone a group of 80-some kids to DC (well, there's only 8 in my group) for a whirlwind tour. We report to the buses at 6am Sunday morning, do 2.5 days full of fun, and drive back all night Tuesday night to arrive home crack of dawn Wedn. morning. Pros and cons of this is I miss Roman's 2 days of break, but at the same time I will truly enjoy having W, T, & F to myself. And exploring the capital with kids seeing it for the first time will be fun. Speaking of... we took a field trip to Henry Ford Museum on Thursday. The kids say the funniest things, such as when we were looking at a camp bed used by Washington during the Revolution. We were looking through the glass and I said, "can you believe GW actually slept on that? Amazing...

So we got Roman's official psych. report on Tuesday. There weren't any real surprises in store there, but it was something to see it in writing. After describing all the tests and giving many examples of his behavior or answers, it came down to these diagnoses: 1. Insecure attachment. Sure, since the minute we brought him home. Officially, she states: due to "...multiple placements with multiple caregivers within the first 10 months, lacks stranger anxiety, is clingy & anxious about sleep but does go to his parents for comfort. Testing suggested his internal model of caregivers was harsh & unreasonable with perceptual distortions." More on that in a minute. 2. Post traumatic stress disorder with perceptual distortions. This one surprised us although it's probably where the anxiety stems from. She states: "Fears are often ingrained, deep seeded, and come from a place the child does not recognize. There is a tendency for him to fear the worst. Roman has...

Wanted to check in as it's been so busy I haven't had time to update much. Last weekend Doug went ice fishing and so I packed up the kids and visited my parents. Had a good time, went on the new carousel down by the beach & the new Curious Kids area as well. Charlie was pretty amazed with the carousel. He was very serious about it. Roman got a "girly" horse (with butterflies) but dealt with it quite well. :) We have started physical therapy on Roman's leg/knee as well. He is so hesitant to bend it because it might hurt, that he's causing more problems - he walks stiff-legged. We have been to the office twice and done exercises at home. It's hard work for him, but that's the point! In social news, he's going home with a friend on Friday on the BUS. This is a huge deal for him, he loves it. Charlie, well, I miss him. I've been so busy with a couple meetings this week, and taking Roman to PT, that I see him only about an hour or so a day. It ...