Our hard worker

Mason has done so much these past few weeks that make Chris and I proud! Since school ended in early June, we enrolled Mason in therapies through Aspirus in Wausau. Our insurance only approved 2 visits per week for both OT and PT, but along with our already existing Speech therapy, 5 visits per week has really proven to be a schedule nightmare. Luckily, Chris has been able to flex his work schedule, as have I, to share responsibilities. So far, I've only attended one day of the newtherapies. Mason does not perform as well when I'm there. He arches at me, gives me the pleading Mason face, and looks at me and cries until I "rescue" him from the therapist. When Chris is there, he works very hard. I think he knows I'll give in and let him cuddle. So Thursday is my turn again (finally) and if needed, Mommy will have to wait in the waiting room so real work can be done.

With Daddy there, he's done lots of stretching, propping up on all fours, work in his gait trainer and fine motor work. Today's appointment, he worked extremely hard with both Daddy and Auntie Michelle present. As Daddy put it "he was like a sack of potatoes afterwards". All stretched out and completely exhausted.

If its not too much distraction, I'll try to catch a pic or two of him this week during his Gait Trainer therapy.

Besides working very hard in therapies, Mason has been sleeping great. His full days with his cousins, fresh air, and night walks really get him tired out. A few months ago, we would be up 3-4 times with him at night, sometimes 2-4 hours at a time. Well, the past few weeks he awakes maybe once, and usually just because he needs to flip sides, or fart or something, cuz then he's right back to sleep. He's got a good routine of consistently sleeping until 6 am, taking a 1-2 hour nap, and going to bed around 8:30 pm. If he has a particularly exhausting day, he'll fall asleep at 6:30 and wake up around 4:30. We'll take it. ;)

Health-wise, all is good. He seems to have plateaued a bit in the weight category, but we have a weight check in a few weeks to really evaluate that. We've added vitamins to his diet recently to make sure he's getting all his nutrition but will need to add Omega 3's at some point too, to make sure he gets some oils/fats in his diet. He's a strong, fit little boy!

Besides carrying around 32 lbs of Mrdutt boy each day, things are going pretty smooth. It makes us forget we have a special needs child. We're really enjoying the summer, taking in all that summer has to offer.

For other news...the house is still for sale. The last showing we had was the family's 3rd visit, for a total of 4 hours between the 3 visits. They were obviously VERY interested. It's been 8 days since the last showing, which isn't a super good sign, but we're still crossing our fingers. The closer we get to selling, the more we think about our new house: the way it will look, the amenities we want, all the handicap accessibility needs. It gets overwhelming. Chris and I have never worked well together when it comes to house projects...I can't imagine how hard it will be to build a house together. All I keep reminding myself is...it's for Mason. It's worth the effort.

We're looking forward to a nice 5 day mini vacation for the 4th. Lots of time for fishing, swimming, grilling & relaxation. Mason could use a break in routine as much as we could.

Now I'm going to go enjoy a nice sirloin that my babe grilled for me. Ahhh, the joys of summer.

My Busy Life (and how it makes me crazy)

I am jealous of superman. I am jealous of his super human speed. These days have been so jam-packed with "to-do's" that my brain is starting to spin out of control. Thank God that people can't read eachother's minds, because if anyone could read my mind, they would never think the same of me again. I try to keep myself composed for the most part (so people don't think I have completely lost it) but I have turned into quite the scatter-brain. I hope that conversations I have with people these days seem normal to them, because in my brain, I'm multi-tasking and thinking of my next thought, or what else I should be doing, or repeating my "don't forget that" list. I really do value my friends, coworkers and family and I swear I'm not trying to give a half-ass effort to our conversations so I blame my brain. Scattered brain.

I think it's a mixture of busyness at work, Mason's ever-changing-oh-so-challenging-schedule, and my ability to get all that accomplished and still have fun everyday. Who knew fun had to be scheduled into my day?!

So...while I should be cleaning my house for our house showing this Friday, or filling out Mason's paperwork to get him approved another year for back-up insurance, or writing thank-you cards to Mason's teachers (thanks Michelle for reminding me of this new parent task, haha), or planting my tomato plants, or paying bills, or the countless list of other things that need to be done soon, I'm blogging.

I'm not sure if I lack skills in prioritizing, or if I truly can't keep up with everything expected of me as a mom, or if I just don't give a shit...it's just not all getting done.

I think I should hire an assistant. Scratch that - can't afford one. Maybe I should take a personal day and catch up at home. Scratch that - those should be saved for purposes other than "house work". Maybe I should say "screw it all" and see what happens. HA! Anyone that knows me knows I wouldn't do that.

So now I'm going to go form a real to-do list. You know, one of those that you put on paper? My brain can't hold it all. I'm going to make one and take great pleasure in every dark black line I draw through the list. My house might not look perfect by Friday, but this house will sell when God says its gonna sell. My laundry might pile up for a week but at least my underwear will be clean. My bills might get in mail a little close to the due date, but at least I have money to pay them. My son and husband and our family time may take precedence over every other thing on my list, but at least I have them to love and they deserve all the time I give them.

However, if anyone finds a way to get super human speed like Superman - let me know.