My Son Dominic

I have had a few people ask me about my children and I thought I would share alittle bit of there story with you my readers.
Dominic was our first foster child back in 2000. We got him directly from the hospital at two months of age. He was born addicted to Crack Cocaine and Heroin and had to go through a rough withdrawal. He had almost died and had to be resuscitated. When we got him at 2 months he was pretty much over the withdrawal except for some minor tremors. He had hypertonic muscles especially in his hip region. We got him into early intervention and he started Physical therapy right away.
Dominic has always been a pretty happy child and was developing a little ahead of schedule, which was a blessings despite his challenges at birth. When he was around two he started to show a lot of aggression and a lot of repetitive behaviors. We was obsessed with light switches and shutting cabinet doors and drawers. He also started lining up cars and other toys. He would throw temper tantrums quite often and wanted this his way. At first we had thought it was because we had taken in another child who was younger than him and also the terrible twos. His aggression became very scary because it was all focused on our middle child, Reynaldo. We was hit and bit and almost pushed down the stairs. After going through some evals we were given a diagnosis on PDD-NOS which later was changed to Aspergers. Life was rough with him for a few years but after therapy with Dr.'s and through a preschool disabled program and many meds, he is doing wonderful. He is a lot more social then he was but still prefers to be by himself. He loves for things to be quiet and on his terms. He hates change and it is hard for him to have to change anything. He is an extremely picky eater and for a while there he was living on P,B&J only.
He started Kindergarten last fall in a mainstream class with a fulltime aid. After a few months of that we removed the aide. He was doing wonderful on is own. He is extremely bright and loves school. I am so proud of how far he has come. He also has issues with ADHD & sensory integration disorder and we do a brushing technique on him. I haven't done it that much this summer because he has been going to camp and gets a lot of sensory input from outside play.
I have seen some instances where his social skills are lacking. He has a hard time reading social cues from others and doesn't seem to notice when other children are mad at him. He likes things his way too so I am sure that doesn't help. We really need to work on those things more. My Dominic is now 6 1/2 and getting ready to start 1st grade. We had adopted him in Nov of 2003 along with our other son Reynaldo. His birthmother gave birth to him and walked out of the hospital and was never heard from or seen again. A birthfather was never named. The adoption had taken quite awhile because the caseworker had to keep searching for the birthmother. She never was located.

I am Crabby

I am soooo crabby. I can't stand this heat!! Ok now I feel better! I managed to clean my daughters toy chest and closet out today and have 1 bag of stuff to donate and I had a lot to throw out. I had to be slick though because she kept trying to look in the bag. I can't imagine how much worst this will get as she gets older.
I need to get some storage bins for the boys toys. All relatives reading this.. Please do not buy my kids toys for Christmas that have a zillion pieces. They are so hard to keep sorted.

I had thrown out a dirty old tennis ball that Reynaldo had found and he just about had a fit. He is a true pack rat. My mother would say he takes after me but I have changed my ways since I got my children. The less you have, the easier it is to keep your house clean.
Back to my cleaning I must go..

Can you feel the cool air?

AWWWWWW...... Air Conditioning! What would we do without it. I have been complaining lately that I wish we had central air. It has been so hot and the heat has really been getting to me. No wonder I love Fall and Winter. I guess I should be thankful and feel blessed for that fact that we own an air conditioner.
I decided to stay home from church today. It is going to be a scorcher of a day and I can't imagine being in a hot building, trying to keep my kids with me while I hobble on my leg and the driving there. I am really not supposed to be driving anyway.
I am going to clean my house. I need to give some stuff away and get organized. When my house is a mess, I feel so out of control. I am going to play some uplifting music and get to work.