Cold, Cold and More Cold

It is cold here and I mean COLD. This is not March weather....I am not sure this is even NY weather. I feel like I am in Northern Canada. Not that I have ever been to Northern Canada, but I imagine this is what it's like. The wind chills are hovering at about 20-30 below 0. This is not fun! I can only imagine my heating bill next month...much less gas for my truck. Someone tell me how the price at the tanks can rise 3 TIMES in one day.

Anyway, I met with the CPSE board for Austin yesterday. They feel additional services are not necessary right now. The lowest marks he received on his Speech and Psych tests were in adaptive behaviors (self help) skills. Toileting and dressing were holding him way back. In the month since we have had those tests, he is nearly day potty trained (YIPPEE!) and more willing to dress himself. I was truly beginning to think that he would go to kindergarten in a pull up. So the board felt that the OT can just add some self help skills to her therapy for now. I am content with that. We did also talk about attention issues. I still feel this all ties into his night time awakenings. I am going to look into having a sleep study done for him. The parent rep for the board mentioned there is a Professor at the local college studying kids, but when I called I was told the child has to have an Autism Spectrum Disorder to qualify. Oh well, at least we have a sleep center locally. Austin's ped is going to do some research also.

I am still working on scheduling an ERG for Austin. As I had said, Boston can't fit him onto their schedule until October. At that point it'll have been 17 months since the previous test. A LOT can happen to his vision in 18 months. I spoke with someone at the TS Alliance who got me information about Sick Children's in Toronto. As much as I want to see Niagara Falls, I don't want the hassle of an 8+ hour trip to Canada. Then I looked into Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. CHOP is only 4.5 hours away. They can fit him into the schedule in 2-3 months. Finally, someone in my IS Support group mentioned Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital in NYC. They can fit him into the schedule in early APRIL! They pulled the tech out of a procedure to talk to me. She is going to call me back later with a firm date.

The relief is palpable! Now I can go back to my cubicle and huddle in front of my heater for warmth.

To Be a Kid Again

Mema and Bepa took Austin out to play in the snow. It was one of those days that it wasn't too frigid...meaning temps near 30 and little wind...unlike today, and tomorrow and Wednesday and Thursday. I WANT SPRING!

Snow Angels

With his snowman, er, snow bear, or cat...maybe it's a dog.

What is with the ears??

A Hint of Spring

What a pleasure to awake to temperatures of 35 this morning....and we are supposed to get to nearly 40 today. What a welcome relief from the subzero wind chills we've been having!

Barbara is doing good in Costa Rica.

My Dad is home and doing well.

Nothing else new.

Snowy Days

As much as I don't like snow, I know we are going to get it and I respect it and the danger it presents. I mean, after all, I do live in the North East. And this is our first real snowfall of the season, for us anyway, so I can't complain, BUT you'd think the plows would know what to do with it. We had plenty of warning, yet 36 hours post storm and the roads are a MESS. There is no excuse for it either. Just another example of our tax dollars hard at work.

It took Jeff over an hour to get home from the hospital. he expected another hour or two of snowblowing, but our neighbor was kind enough to do it for us.

Locally we got about 20 inches. Not the worst ever, but it is the most we have seen in a single day since Feb 14, 1914. Ironic, huh?


Poor Karat couldn't even squat. We...well Jeff...had to dig a spot in the yard for him. And he's a golden retreiver. He's not a small dog!


Here's a peek at our front yard. It could be and has been worse.

EEG and Lots of Snow

Austin's EEG is scheduled to begin tomorrow morning. We need to be at the hospital at 8am. Unfortunately this will coincide with the snowstorm we are expecting. The last report I heard says 24+ inches. Considering we have only had about 7 inches so far this season, we are due...but why does it have to be tomorrow???

Dentist

Austin did great yesterday. I was so surprised. Of course they have a tv right above the dentist chair so it helps take their mind off everything. He has one 'soft spot' on a molar and his front bottom teeth are slightly loose, but other than that, he did great.

And just because I am so crazy, I scheduled an appointment for the twins this morning. They happened to have a cancellation. I am a glutton for punishment. I hope they do as well as Austin. Of course they didn't have the bad dental experience to taint them like Austin did. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Winter has finally arrived. We are in a deep freeze...below zero wind chill. I really don't enjoy this aspect of the Northeast. Here are some pics of my bushes after Monday's freezing rain. Looks pretty but really not good for the plants. And then this morning I was out with the dog and I hear this huge crack. So loud it woke the neighbors up. I know it emanated from my deck, but I didn't see anything happen. I can only assume the boards were heaving due to the extreme cold.

Date Check

This is January right??

Sat January 6th it was 71 degrees in Albany, NY.

Not that I am complaining, mind you...but it's almost surreal.

Of course on Sunday night when they shut the power down for 6 hours, the 40's felt mighty chilly.