Justins Wish trip :) Pre trip report...

[hey_jude]

Those are beautiful. Are hoping to get one made for Callie this time?

Judy

 

[loveappletrees]

Those are beautiful. Are hoping to get one made for Callie this time?

Judy

Yes Judy I'd love to get one for Callie if we can find a stand. At DL they also had them where the characters spelled an entire word like "princess" made out of the Disney princesses! I wish I had taken Photos.


So today we are off to the dentist to see if Callie will need any of the 3 teeth she knocked loose (did i mention this yet? About 3 weeks ago she was so excited Dad got home she ran full tilt into his back, bounced off and hopped a couple times and kissed the floor. We took her to an emerg. Appt with the dentist and this is our follow up) so we see if any need to be removed all but one has firmed up. And Justin is off to the orthodontist we were Lucky to get a cancellation apt. Otherwise we'd be waiting until mid August! The only downside is we need to divide and conquer because both appointment times are close but the offices aren't! So luckily dad was able to get the day off. I think poor Hayden felt ripped off having to go to school while the other two are heading into the city!

Tonight R & I are heading in for the parent group session for Justins social group that starts next week. Really hoping the group is helpful. It's been a hard year socially for J. He is really feeling his limitations and difficulties.
He wrote in one of his assignments that he's always alone and he worries his classmates need to know that he's a person and has feelings too *sniff* this having your child feel alone and friendless is almost worse than all of the medical stuff. At least with the medical side you schedule appointments, see specialists give medications & treatments etc.. With the social other than this social group and the social speech therapy he has done in the past, I'm at a loss as to what to do to help... Anyone have any ideas?

Well I'm typing on my phone so I'll wish everyone a good day and update you tomorrow!

 

[VBAndrea]

VBAndrea Any time you want to talk parties.... : 0 ) PS that is Callie's best friend Olive on the invites!!

I'm worried about the BBB interruping Our MK day too, I'm also worried about if it's worth it to do it so late in the day especially when we leave right after to have a break.....I love to do hair etc. anyways but I want her to have the pixie dust experience too. If we could do it first thing it just makes more sense or possibly before 1900 park fare but that is the Epcot day *sigh* what to do? I'll keep calling!

I think I've seen the dress you're talking about both on Etsy and here with the cute little Lady Tremaine and stepsisters etc? LOVE IT!! Do you have a TR or photos posted?

We have already started the process to foster to adopt another little girl. We have told them about J's wish trip and so we will get all of our ducks in a row and paperwork submitted but won't accept placement until late June or July.

That is sad that your dreams of adopting from Russia were stopped.
You have likely heard this before and I don't want to step on toes but, Have you looked into domestic adoption where you are at? There is lots of "waiting children" and quite often if there are special needs I have heard in some states that adoption costs can be waived and sometimes there are post adoption supports etc.

Here in Alberta we have been lucky and there are post adoption supports for all domestically (publicly) adopted kids, as they are all considered to have special needs because they have been unable to stay with their bio families and almost all have degrees of prenatal exposure to drugs and alcohol.

I'm off to call Callie's sis "j's" SW to plan the next visit & then I'll try the BBB again....Keep you posted!

Olive is a cutie! I have to laugh b/c looking at your other dog pic it looks like there is teeny tiny Olive and a BIG sibling!

We very briefly looked into domestic adoption -- we were in our young 40's at the time so our chances were slim at being selected. Now we're just too old! And if my dd makes good on her promise that she made at age 3, she will have a baby when she is 15 and I will be a GM in 7 years.

Hmmmm....Should I try to do a little send off party for Justin's wish trip?

Ever since J has seen Plush Puffs "the big one" on the show Unwrapped he has wanted one.

(Actually he wanted a copy of every episode of unwrapped and to be on an episode with Marc Jacobs as one of his wish choices he used to be obsessed with that show I think its now off the air J is watching Kid in a candy store and You gotta eat here now, he loves watching the food channel)

Back to Plush Puffs I love that they use all natural ingredients and for anyone that hasn't heard of "the big one" it is an 2lb cake sized marshmallow!!

http://blog.plushpuffs.com/so-you-h...serving-suggestions-for-the-big-one/#more-857

So what do you think....am I insane to consider doing a mini send off? am I going to be up to my armpits in last min. packing etc?

What do you think?

Oh my you and I are way too much alike. I would totally do a send off party and be going insane with all the last minute trip things at the same time. I would plan on doing a little something, but do make it minor.

Y

So today we are off to the dentist to see if Callie will need any of the 3 teeth she knocked loose (did i mention this yet? About 3 weeks ago she was so excited Dad got home she ran full tilt into his back, bounced off and hopped a couple times and kissed the floor. We took her to an emerg. Appt with the dentist and this is our follow up) so we see if any need to be removed all but one has firmed up. And Justin is off to the orthodontist we were Lucky to get a cancellation apt. Otherwise we'd be waiting until mid August! The only downside is we need to divide and conquer because both appointment times are close but the offices aren't! So luckily dad was able to get the day off. I think poor Hayden felt ripped off having to go to school while the other two are heading into the city!

Tonight R & I are heading in for the parent group session for Justins social group that starts next week. Really hoping the group is helpful. It's been a hard year socially for J. He is really feeling his limitations and difficulties.
He wrote in one of his assignments that he's always alone and he worries his classmates need to know that he's a person and has feelings too *sniff* this having your child feel alone and friendless is almost worse than all of the medical stuff. At least with the medical side you schedule appointments, see specialists give medications & treatments etc.. With the social other than this social group and the social speech therapy he has done in the past, I'm at a loss as to what to do to help... Anyone have any ideas?

Well I'm typing on my phone so I'll wish everyone a good day and update you tomorrow!

Good luck at the dentist and orthodontist.

My kids go to a small, private school and my ds, who is 10, has a classmate that clearly has some developmental delays. It'a a class of 4th graders to 6th graders and the kids treat this child like a sibling. I think the small class size really helps and our school does do a lot of education on manners and respect as well, so I really think that helps this boy. My ds has nervous tics and a neurologist we saw said that if it ever becomes a major problem he should do a speech for his class on it. Could you elicit the help of Justin's teacher and see if she would be willing to let him do a presentation on what it's like to be legally blind or some of his other deficits? It might help his peers know he has feelings just them and that he really is no different in them in the respect of wanting good friends and caring for one another. I really feel for Justin -- I was a pretty run of the mill normal kid and I always hated how cliquey and evil other children could be -- and sadly, many people seem to carry that into adulthood as well.

 

[loveappletrees]

Hi Andrea : )

We laugh at the picture of the dogs together too I compare the 2 of them to Arnold and DiVito in the movie twins!

I hope she waits at least a little longer than 15 for you!

Thanks, kids sure can be mean/ thoughtless.
I have talked to the special needs co-ordinator about doing a talk for all of the kids about how everyone has their differences and wants to belong etc. One of my friends daughters (who's in the same class) was feeling left out and her mom told her "you know how you are feeling this week, that's how J feels all of the time" So hopefully she will keep that in mind...

For the send off, I talked to his EA (who's going to pass the message on to his teacher) about the possibility of doing some cupcakes or (cauldron cakes? and butterbeer) and the HP movie and have the class write a letter to themselves that we can mail at the owlery at WWoHP when we get there. we will see if we can span it over lunch and maybe an hour or so of class time if possible... Might be good for his social?

The orthodontist went soooo well today! They related to him really well ( even commented on how he was a great kid!)
Justin was such a trooper, he let them do photos, x-rays, a scan I can't remember what it's called but it did an image of his skull (apparently we will be able to view it online in the next couple days) they also did measurements and impressions. We were there a really long time 10:15-12:20!! (BTW if he asks, the new appliance is like something from Star Wars)

We found out that not only will the orthodontics help his teeth & Jaw (ability to close his mouth, eat, speech, cosmetically..) But also his airway, apparently its impacted by the way his facial structure is growing (not cool on top of the asthma and allergies)! They asked us to see his Dr. and get a referral to an ENT specialist. Called right away and they fit him into a spot next Friday (super lucky 2 days in a row to grab an cancellation appointment!)

The only concern now is finding out when he goes for his MRI because he needs to have it first (no metal in the MRI machine, they would have to remove the appliance and braces before). so the MRI should be towards the end of June, hopefully by July we will be on the way! Pretty good considering that his appt. was going to be mid Aug. originally.

The only bad thing about the appointment was the $495 that we had to pay at the end of it yuk. (Thank you master card), at least 1/2 will come back from insurance but I'm afraid to see the Grand total for his full treatment once they work it out


Oh and we worked it out 41 days! EEEP!

 

[5dwarves]

Justin's wish trip will be from June 5th to 12th so he is super excited to be able to go to star wars weekends.

So if anyone is still here, thanks for sticking around
and I look forward to sharing plans (and getting opinions!) with you.

-Melissa

Melissa, we will be there for our do-over trip on June 1 - June 8. We have got to meet up somewhere....your crew, my crew, WDW....sounds like a party to me!

 

[loveappletrees]

Melissa, we will be there for our do-over trip on June 1 - June 8. We have got to meet up somewhere....your crew, my crew, WDW....sounds like a party to me!

Woot!!

Sounds good to me! Have you Checked? Do any of our PTR plans match up with yours?

so exciting!!!

 

[loveappletrees]

Well I was thinking, who loves pictures? ME! and since this is my thread I thought we could look at a few oldies but favorites.....These first few are film photos that have been scanned in...


Justin BIG YAWN one month old:

One of the only pictures that include me that I like This was taken the same day as the above pic so hes one month-ish can you believe that is a preemie diaper covering 1/2 of his little body?! :

And here he is at 8 months wearing his first pair of glasses(mickey themed!!)Can you believe we used to have people come up to us at the mall and ask (snarkily) Why do you put glasses on your baby! My answer Ummm...so he can see?

 

[5dwarves]

Woot!!

Sounds good to me! Have you Checked? Do any of our PTR plans match up with yours?

so exciting!!!

Nope, they dont, but that can be remedied. We arrive a week earlier. Our schedule is arrive Friday night, DHS Saturday, AK Sunday, Epcot Monday, MK Tuesday when you are flying in, then the pool and DTD on Wednesday (we are going to Cirque that night). Thursday is our make up day - go back to the things we missed or the things we want to do a second time. Friday we head home. We are flying this trip (last time we drove), and we may be at Disney the whole time(we haven't gotten a rental). I am thinking of checking with the airlines to find out what it would take to extend a couple days. If I don't have to give up my first born in exchange for new tickets, we may bump out our trip a little bit. My former wish kid loves Marvel characters though, so we might not be able to stay away from Universal. Somehow or another, we will make our plans maleable and find a way to connect with you all (where I am from we say y'all) and say hello.

I haven't started a PTR, but I am thinking about it. Adam was so over stimulated on our wish trip 5 years ago that we didn't do everthing we wanted to do...this is our second time around trip. We did 2 days at Universal and felt we hit all the things we wanted to do there, but the 3 days we had at Disney weren't enough...we had to rush through several of the parks, and Adam had a melt down in MK, so we left at about 2. I think all we got to was Dumbo, Small World, Pirates and lunch before we had to head back to GKTW.

 

[loveappletrees]

Nope, they dont, but that can be remedied. We arrive a week earlier. Our schedule is arrive Friday night, DHS Saturday, AK Sunday, Epcot Monday, MK Tuesday when you are flying in, then the pool and DTD on Wednesday (we are going to Cirque that night). Thursday is our make up day - go back to the things we missed or the things we want to do a second time. Friday we head home. We are flying this trip (last time we drove), and we may be at Disney the whole time(we haven't gotten a rental). I am thinking of checking with the airlines to find out what it would take to extend a couple days. If I don't have to give up my first born in exchange for new tickets, we may bump out our trip a little bit. My former wish kid loves Marvel characters though, so we might not be able to stay away from Universal. Somehow or another, we will make our plans maleable and find a way to connect with you all (where I am from we say y'all) and say hello.
I haven't started a PTR, but I am thinking about it. Adam was so over stimulated on our wish trip 5 years ago that we didn't do everthing we wanted to do...this is our second time around trip. We did 2 days at Universal and felt we hit all the things we wanted to do there, but the 3 days we had at Disney weren't enough...we had to rush through several of the parks, and Adam had a melt down in MK, so we left at about 2. I think all we got to was Dumbo, Small World, Pirates and lunch before we had to head back to GKTW.

I think Wednesday is when we have the weird BBB apt a DTD, maybe we haven't been able to change it for a reason? We will be having lunch (no ADR) and then Miss. C & I will do BBB while the boys and Dad go make their own lightsabers... maybe we could meet for lunch?

I'll PM you my contact info.
-m

 

[MaeB]

Hi there! I just found your PTR and wanted to say hi from another fellow Canadian. I'm living in Ottawa now but I grew up in Cornwall, just and hour down the 401 from Brockville.

Your plans look great! You all must be getting so excited!

 

[loveappletrees]

Hi there! I just found your PTR and wanted to say hi from another fellow Canadian. I'm living in Ottawa now but I grew up in Cornwall, just and hour down the 401 from Brockville.

Your plans look great! You all must be getting so excited!

Hi MaeB!!! We are all so getting excited!!

I know Cornwall! When I was pregnant with Justin, R was sent to Cornwall for his ATC training. (At the time I was in Vancouver working as a nanny.)

At one point during the 7 months he was away we scraped together enough air miles and pennies that I was able to visit him... My clearest memory of that visit was on the way we had amazingly cheap $0.50 hotdogs from this random place (Billy K's Restaurant) and you could choose if they were toasted hotdogs or steamies..... mmmm....steamies so good!

Anyways (sorry for the ramble my only excuse is I'm a foodie.) welcome to our PTR I hope you choose to continue on with us

A warning to everyone else more of the photographic trip down memory lane in a bit!

 

[loveappletrees]

Ok so to keep busy while we wait 40 more days!! till WDW Here are more pics...I don't have many of the first year because we didn't have digital back then.

So here is Justin around 7 mo

Finally sat up at 1 year!!

2nd birthday (those of you with SPD kids will recognize the look on his face as "eeeeewwwww! I touched it and now I may puke" Which was better than his first birthday where he actually threw up because he saw the icing... We still had no idea what SPD was *sigh* we learned, boy did we learn!)

This one was from his kidney Biopsy (he named his lion "OW"
OW has been through everything with J, his auntie Mal (who is going with us to WDW) OW looks really nice and clean here!

This little girl is still one of Justin's best friends they don't see each other often but really click when they do.

 

[MaeB]

Hi MaeB!!! We are all so getting excited!!

I know Cornwall! When I was pregnant with Justin, R was sent to Cornwall for his ATC training. (At the time I was in Vancouver working as a nanny.)

At one point during the 7 months he was away we scraped together enough air miles and pennies that I was able to visit him... My clearest memory of that visit was on the way we had amazingly cheap $0.50 hotdogs from this random place (Billy K's Restaurant) and you could choose if they were toasted hotdogs or steamies..... mmmm....steamies so good!

Anyways (sorry for the ramble my only excuse is I'm a foodie.) welcome to our PTR I hope you choose to continue on with us

A warning to everyone else more of the photographic trip down memory lane in a bit!

Mmmmm...steamies. You're right, they are really good! My friends and I used to always laugh at the sign for them- both because they're called steamies and that in itself is hilarious, but also because the sign was always advertising 8 steamies. It just seems like so many steamies! Of course, when you actually think about it, it's not that outrageous because they're so tiny. But yes, steamies are amazing. One thing that I miss about not living there anymore is the random food places like that. I'm sure there are some here in Ottawa but I haven't lived here long enough to find them. Did you or your husband have the pleasure of eating a pizza from Riverside or anything from Sub Bay? Both those places are Cornwall staples and aren't far from where he would have been staying for training.

Wow...I really know how to ramble about steamies.

 

[mommy2mrb]

he was such a little cutie! love the one in the pot!

 

[loveappletrees]

Mmmmm...steamies. You're right, they are really good! My friends and I used to always laugh at the sign for them- both because they're called steamies and that in itself is hilarious, but also because the sign was always advertising 8 steamies. It just seems like so many steamies! Of course, when you actually think about it, it's not that outrageous because they're so tiny. But yes, steamies are amazing. One thing that I miss about not living there anymore is the random food places like that. I'm sure there are some here in Ottawa but I haven't lived here long enough to find them. Did you or your husband have the pleasure of eating a pizza from Riverside or anything from Sub Bay? Both those places are Cornwall staples and aren't far from where he would have been staying for training.

Wow...I really know how to ramble about steamies.

OH! I remember that sign!!! and thinking that was alot too! I make em at home I take a big pot of water and boil the dogs and when they are done I add a cookie rack over the boiling pot and plunk the buns on top and cover with a large lid watch the buns closely though there is a fine line between a steamie and a soggy bun!!

No I asked him and he didn't eat at either of those places, we were super broke with him training for no pay and me making around $800 dollars a month no room for extras! But I think our steamies a shared order of onion rings and a dring was like $5 total.

Have you checked Urban spoon yet? It's my go to resource when I go somewhere new...
http://www.urbanspoon.com/c/250/Ottawa-restaurants.html

 

[loveappletrees]

he was such a little cutie! love the one in the pot!

THANKS!! I love that one too

 

[DisNorth]

Hi, another Canadian joining in! I was born in Alberta, not too far from Edmonton, but it sounds like you don't live in the city?

You kids are too incredibly cute! I’m loving all the photos!

 

[VBAndrea]

I love all your photos! I hope you keep posting more.

I'm glad the orthodontist went well. I had braces as an adult so that meant no insurance coverage -- certainly put a dent in the pocketbook but well worth it.

 

[loveappletrees]

Well despite it being 20 earlier in the week we woke up to snow today and I am not joking.

DisNorth welcome and no, we live 1/2 hr outside the city 15 min from the airport where Hubbs works : )

Thanks for the feedback on the photos Andrea and DisNorth I will keep posting them then

Andrea may I ask how long it took to put the braces on? It was Justin's only question and he asked me on the drive home where I couldn't find out for him!


To continue the photo-show:

At the Vancouver Aquarium:

close up!

halloween:

TBC....

 

[hey_jude]

Sorry for your snow on Friday morning. I think it might have come from Ontario. Earlier this week, I drove through rain/sleet/hail/wet snow on the way to work. I wasn't impressed!

As for Justin's braces question, 2 of my kids had braces on not too many years ago. For them, there were multiple appointments to put them on - first on the top and then on the bottom (or maybe the other way around but you get the idea).

Does he know about the variety of colours of elastics that he can choose from (and change each appointment if he wants)? We'd have orange and black for Halloween and red and green for Christmas and favourite colours at other times. It definitely made it more fun for them (because when they were tightened it wasn't so much fun...)


Judy