OMG . . .

Dustin had a rough afternoon. I had the kids upstairs and was cleaning toilets. Needless to say I was in a bad mood. I came downstairs all grumpy and Robert was cracking up on the computer. Well, that just pissed me off even more. He said I had to watch this video. I told him to give me a minute and I would. Begrudingly I sat down an few minutes ago and watched it.

Oh my gosh I laughed my butt off. Humor me and click play . . you MUST watch it. (By the way . . . I wouldn't get up so Robert couldn't blog about it first!)

Rest In Peace Aunt Mary . . .

I received word yesterday that my paternal great aunt passed away. Mary was a surgical nurse on the origianl heart transplant team at Lutheran and was a wonderful woman. My dad's entire family battles with cancer and she is the latest casuality. I believe this was her 5th round of cancer. Brain cancer finally took her life.

I have this avoidance issue when it comes to check ups. I am so fearful that they will find cancer that I avoid visits. I know that sounds foolish, but with so much cancer in my family, I hate going to the doctor. I know they say it isn't hereditary, but I think maybe the predisposition to cancer is hereditary due to weak systems or something.

So rest in peace Mary . . .

I'm a momma . . .

Our home has sometimes been called a zoo. . . sometimes due to the kids, but mostly due to the amount of animals in our home. The animals have decreased over the years, that's why I laugh when someones says, "You have all of that?" becuse we used to have much more.

Currently we have :

Boomer - a blue and gold Macaw
Caesar - an African Grey Parrot
Max - a Toy Fox terrier and Pomeranian mix
Cayenne - our hurricane dog - a Chow-Sheperd mix
Cotton & Setzer - what's left of our Cockatiel flock (a pearl and a pied)
Osborne (Ozzy) - a lovable cat who thinks he is a dog

This week we have added to the menagerie in our house once again. Meet our teeny-tiny rat babies. The girls are yet unnamed. I think we are calling one Freeway . . . the one who has a "center-line" down her back. I know, I know RATS! But they are so cute I couldn't let them become snake food ( which by the way we had one named Cleo at one point) and after much research found they are quite clean, smart and loveable.

I love strep . . .

Not too long ago when Robert was in Texas, I had Harrison into the emergency room with Scarlet Fever. Scarlet fever is a strep related illness, my family has issues with strep. I thought I had avoided it this time, however last weekend I began getting sores in my mouth. I did this about 10 years ago and ended up having to get a portion of the inside of my mouth cauterized. It sucked. I didn't get rid of all the strep virus and about a month later ended up with horrific boil, then about a month later my kidneys began to shut down and a puffed up like a balloon. After 2 hefty rounds of antibiotics, I was strep free. I have missed work yesterday and today. I can't remember when I last missed 2 days of work in a row.

I am feeling better tonight. I slept on the couch most of the day and hope I get to return to work tomorrow. My kids are whacko from having their routine disturbed.

Wowsers . . .

Once again I was single for the weekend. My hubby left on Saturday to attend a family funeral in Kentucky. I had the kids by myself until early Monday morning. (Refer to previous post about not wanting to be a single mom.) Props (did I just use that word) to all you single moms, and stay-at-home moms too for your patience.

My neighbor did stop over on Saturday night to ask if they could use my firepit. We sat out in the backyard for about 6 hours and talked and laughed and had a great time. I've blogged before about my kids and their sleep habits. They simply do NOT sleep. We cannot get them to sleep early for anything. Now, I know what Supernanny would say, "It's a control thing." It's not a control thing because I've fought the fight. . . for weeks straight. It never changed. They don't yell and scream after about 3 hours, but my daughter has vomited from screaming for us. Even when they quiet down, they don't sleep. They go to sleep with us, or right before us on a bed downstairs, and wake up with us. Every now and then Harrison will sleep in past the time we get up. They typically go to sleep about 10:00 and get up at 8:00 so it's not like I deprive them . . . But I digress . . .

Anyway we were outside until about 1:30 in the morning roasting marshmallows and having a grand ole time. Harrison fell asleep about 12:00 since he hadn't napped. McCartney on the other hand was the freakin' energizer bunny. She was swinging on the swings, running around and carrying on with everyone else. We went inside took a shower, and she was still talking when I fell asleep at 2:15 am. That girl can TALK. Dustin did pretty good this weekend, as good as he does when Robert's gone.

Thank goodness it was a short trip this time.

It 's only a potion. . .

My adoptive son with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome yesterday made a "cocktail" to drink. he found 3 bottle of medicine that I mistakenly (stupidly) left out in my bedroom after treating Harrison's bout with Scarlet Fever. He took the bottle of liquid Tylenol, liquid Ibuprofen, and generic Psuedophed and dumped them into a bottle of water. There was evidence of the concoction all the way down the hall as he was apparently pouring it as he walked to the bathroom. Ususally I lock all the medicine up, however, we have been locking all the doors upstairs so I felt comfortable leaving it out in my room. Poor decision as he found the key and unlocked all the upstairs doors. Impulsivity at his finest then helped him "decide" to make a cocktail. When I found the sticky bottle I asked what had been in it. After repeating the questions 5 times I finally got a response. . . "I made a potion, It's only a potion." No more Harry Potter movies . . . LOL

Not only did I loose about $15.00 worth of medicine, but I have no idea how much he drank. Apparently enough because he didn't sleep at all Sunday night and Monday at school he was quite difficult. Pseudophed and FAS . . . NOT a good combo.

Sometime if I don't laugh, I will simply cry!

I'll never forget that sound . . .

Sunday we received a phone call from our wonderful neighbors that our dogs had gotten out of the fence. Our neighbor got Max (our little terrier mix) and I started to call for Cayenne. I was coming off the front porch when I heard . . . squeal . . .thunk thunk thunk . . . and then yelping. By the time I got to the street, Cayenne was running out from under a car. When I picked her up, she seemed ok . .. at this time she was still in shock. When I laid her on the porch, you could see a tire mark across the back side of her abdomen. Apparently she had been rolled completely over. I was HYSTERICAL. I was screaming and crying. Not very mom-like behavior.

My neighbor took us to the Emergency Animal Hospital. She came home with a probable fracture in her driver side front leg (LOL), several broken ribs, and very traumatized psyche. We choose to take her home with pain medication and antibiotics and let her rest there. About 12 hours later I was back at the hospital, I thought we were going to loose her. We had to admit her with fluid in her lungs. She was struggling the breathe and was shaking uncontrollably. Once again I was a mess.

When I picked her up Monday morning to transfer her to our vet's office, she was amazing. She actually walked in to the exam room and began jumping up on me. It is amazing how resilient animals can be after a night of pain meds and oxygen. I took her to my vet and they removed her IV line and sent her home to rest.

This morning she is doing well! She is using her front leg and acting completely normal. I am so glad she is okay. She is our hurricane Katrina dog, the best dog ever and I would've missed her terribly.

Mothers . . . .

Oh my. . . what a week. Robert returned from Texas on Monday. You can read all about his trip on his blog. I won't take the time or his thunder. . .

I've talked before about my mom being my boss. This next week we have our annual Week of the Young Child celebration at our daycare. It is a huge week with a different family event each day. On Friday, we have a huge Spring Program. The kids have been working on songs to perform as well as artwork and the like. It is a BIG undertaking with 269 kids. We have about 650 people come for the program on Friday.

You'd think after doing this for so many years, you could relax and enjoy it. Not my mother, she micro-manages everything. Actually she had been doing really well. She was pretty mellow and had been enjoyable to be around. Then last night IT hit . . . the panic. You see, I definitely get my OCD from somewhere. I thought she was going to explode. Everything is under control, everything has been going smoothly. That's the problem, she thought it was too smooth. In her mind it couldn't be the fact that she has compotent staff that things are under control, it must be that she's forgotten something really important.

To add insult to her injury, Robert got a callyesterday about his uncle. Uncle Junior has been struggling with cancer for about 2 years now. He was put in the hospital last week to have a feeding tube put in, and he isn't doing well. There's not much else the doctors can do. He isn't expected to live through the weekend. I know that if Junior dies next week I will not be able to go to Kentucky for the funeral due to Week of the Young Child. It is a BIG part of my job. Yesterday I told my mom about Junior. She heard "possible funeral" and turned me off. She thought I would be leaving and not be here sometime next week. So, I guess I was part of the freak out. Today when she grumpily called me in her office to give me list as long as my arm to do for the celebration she said "Since you're prabably not going to be here, I'm gonna have to do even more." I had to set her straight, I said, "Had you listened to me yesterday you wouldn't be so freaked out."

Working with your mom is *super* . . . she says rollign her eyes. . .

I'm not cut out for this . . .

You know how they say "You don't know what you've got until it's gone"? Well . . . I knew my husband did a lot for me and the kids, he is their primary caregiver and I knew I relied on him for a ton of help with the kids when we were together, but WOW! He's been gone for 4 days now and I'm ready to pull out my hair. I don't think I am cut out to be a single mom. His return on Tuesday couldn't come soon enough.

You see, Dustin is very compartmental when it comes to obediance. When he is alone with dad he does great. He is respectful and pretty obediant. They rarely have difficulty. When he is with me and Robert he only listens to me. He is rude and horribly disrespectful to Robert. When he is alone with me, he is awful. Today was BAD! I haven't seen that very defiant look in his eyes for a LONG time. I thought I would lose my mind. An extra dose of halodal did help to take the edge off his defiance finally. We got to enjoy the outdoors a little this afternoon without many problems. Thankfully we have understanding and caring neighbors whose children play quite well with Dustin.

When we went inside for baths, I noticed Harrison, my 3 year old, had a really red rash in his groin area. He has been very grumpy and whiny since daddy has been in Texas and I thought he was just missing daddy. He got in the bath and he immediately broke out in a red sand-papery rash from the top of his head to his knees. After a call to the pediatrician we were off to the ER. The nighbors watched McCartney, the 2 year old, and we headed across town with Dustin in tow.

We are home. All the kids are asleep. Harrison has a serious case of Scarletina ( caused by a strep virus) . Robert owes me BIG TIME. I think a trip to the day spa may be in order, that is of course after I get over the case of Strep that I will certainly get from Harrison.

IEP time again . . .

Today we had an IEP meeting for Dustin. For all you non-special education parents, an IEP is an Individualized Education Plan that outlines Dustin's goals and objectives for the next schoolyear. It also encompasses what he is capable of and what his disablilites are at school. They have been typically traumatic things for us as Dustin's behavior has always been a sticking subject for the school system. Dustin is in a moderately handicapped program. This is due to his low IQ and how far behind he is in school as well as his behavior. He reads at a pre-kindergarten level. He is capable of doing addition and subtraction, telling time, discriminating money, making change and is very good at spelling. Next year he goes to middle school. Middle School! Argh! That scares the bahooties out of me! (that's one of my favorite words . . . bahooties)

However, today, I had a wonderful IEP meeting. For the first time we didn't have 8 billion people there. It was just me and the teacher. (Robert was at another appointment with the "littles") She was quite kind and happy about Dustin's progress. His behavior has much improved and he is making steady progress in dealing with peer relations, they will never be perfect, but he is learning how to interact better with MANY reminders and MUCH praise. (and a good comibination of drugs) It is nice to finally stop hearing about his whining since I have continually reminded his teacher that it will NOT get any better with nagging, we have to ignore and deal with it.

It is nice to have some positive comments after such a difficult winter. Sometimes with special needs children, especially those with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, you get so down after hearing negatives all the time. It is so refreshing to have those times when people are actually positive about your child's progress. I am trying to hold on to those times and remember them during the hard times. I have learned in my 5 years with Dustin that I cannot always be so negative, I have to take the bad times and laugh when I get frustrated. It is the only way not to go crazy. I also have to remember that his behavior is not a reflection on my parenting skills, he is damaged! (that may sound harsh, but it is a reality) I can only be supportive and loving. He is better off having a loving home and stable environment. Hopefully that will get us all through. Right now, I'm going to go home and hug my boy!

Spring has sprung . . .

I love spring. I hate being too hot and sweaty so spring is definately for me. I love being in my backyard. We don't have the greatest backyard in the world, but we enjoy it. You see, we own a duplex. Our renters are AWESOME people and also have 3 kids. Between the 6 kids, 3 dogs and the four of us, we have a blast in the yard. Our yard gets used well. Tonight I am putting up our new gazebo. I hope this weather holds out for the weekend, I'm looking orward to enjoying the outdoors!

Stormy . . .

Coming home from the funeral we ran into a horrible storm. Thank goodness it was short lived. It gave me the creeps though, it looked like it had some rotation. When we got home we found out it had indeed spawned 4 tornadoes. I took this cool picture just at dusk.

Family . . .

This week we learned that Robert's Aunt Ann died. She struggled with cancer for several years. Robert moved in with his Mammie (grandmother) and Papa when he was 8. Ann was grown but still lived at home for a short time. We had to travel to the funeral with the kids since my mom and step-dad are still in Florida. What fun! (she says sarcastically) Actually the kids were pretty good, the funeral home ad a fabulous play room with a TV. The family had tons of food, so that kept Dustin busy. We got to see Robert's dad and sister. We also visited Mammie pictured above with Harrison at the nursing home. Mammie suffers from Alzheimers so she wasn't able to attend the funeral. She did have moments of calrity where she told us Ann had died. Oddly enough Ann had been at the same hursing home for 2 weeks prior to her death as Mammie. She passed away there as Mammie slept in another wing. Robert has thought Mammie would die "soon" for about 15 years. She seems to be outliving everyone. What a strong woman. We hope to bring her to Fort Wayne since Ann is no longer in Greenfield.

Old times . . .

Wow. I was sent an email from an old friend that I recently found on the internet a month or so ago. We caught up, she showed me pictures of her family. She has a photography business and all is well with her. She always had a passion for taking pictures, and I have several dozen copies of pics she took long ago. Yesterday I received and email from her saying that she had received and email about some pictures that were posted at yahoo photos. They were of us and our friends 20 years ago. We don't know who posted these pictures and the crazy part is that most of the pictures were taken by my friend. It was so FUN to see all these and rememebr all these old friends. This picture has always been one of my favorites.

My friend is going to dig through some old stuff and post others. I'm going to do the same. I'm so excited. Back then I wasn't so concerned about capturing the memories on film. Today, I would love to have those photos. . . the interent is a fantastic tool.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow . . .

Not only is tomorrow FRIDAY, but my son Dustin is going on his first overnighter. He is going to be gone from 6:30 Friday to Saturday about 3:00. Dang! Dustin has never been able to do this before. His behavior would not allow him to spend the night away. This time it is with a large group of children at our church. Dustin will have 2 adults assigned to him to make certain he is being appropriate and most importantly enjoying himself. I am so excited for him, and I'm embarrassed to admit it, but also for us. Sometimes it's nice not to have the trauma if possible. Actually he has been doing fantastically since the doctor up'ed his Serroquel and added Haloperidol to take the "edge" off. We haven't had ANY reports of difficulties at school for 9 days! That is awesome for Dustin. Hopefully he will behave and enjoy his time this weekend.

Now o the post I have been hinting about for a while now. My issues with DFC . . . Department of Family & Children. While we were foster parenting we had a child placed with us who was 12. This child was a bi-racial child and was quiet and mellow when we first met him He had been in a group home placement since he had been removed from his biological home about 8 months previous to our placement. We were told he was doing well at the group home, still had lots of visits with his birth mom and dad serperately and was able to spend the weekend at dad's home often. We had never dealt with so much parental involvement before, but decided to give this placement a try since we felt close to this child since we first met him. Our agency had just received the referral for this child and had never worked with him before. We had a meeting in our home (this will be important later) with the county case worker and our case manager from our agency. We discussed this child's anger issues (since Harrison was only 5 months old this was a concern) and spoke about strategies and emergency placement options if we needed a break. The county case worker went upstairs, checked out the room this child would share (also important) with Dustin for whom we had already put in a petition for adoption. We talked at length about Dustin and how this child would deal with and interact with him in our home. The caseworker said since we had some really successful visits and this child was appropriate with everyone involved she would place him in our home.

Months go by. We have some blow ups, we have some emergency respite. All in all things are going well! I get pregnant. We still make a commitment to helping this child. The time comes for court and low and behold his parents who have been fighting the termination of their parental rights agree to termination because they like us and hope that we will adopt the child. They were also told by the case worker IN MY PRESENCE and in the presence of our case manager, that visitation can continue and should continue at least every other weekend with his father if it continues to go well. We make no commitment to adopt at this time; in fact the child does not want to be adopted. He wants to simply be a ward of the county until he ages out, in Indiana a 14 year old can make that decision. We attend counseling; we do everything that will help this child. We continue visitation with dad.

Catholic Charities came to our home to do an assessment for putting this child up for adoption. We told her about the visitation. She blew a gasket. It seems the county caseworker lied. There was to be NO visitation. This was specified in the court order. She lied to us! One night in therapy this child broke down and told me he loved us and wanted to be adopted. We spoke with Catholic Charities and she put in an intent to adopt. The following week is Easter, the child starts saying things I'm not comfortable with, he complains that Dustin had been talking about sex. For a week or so Dustin had been saying really inappropriate things. We were frustrated; we thought it was due to the pregnancy. (We should've seen that the child was grooming Dustin, I feel really guilty about this.). I promised this child I would talk to Dustin after school. He starts "backpedaling" saying "NO! Don't make him mad", and "Promise you won't tell him I said anything" My husband mentions it to Dustin that night after therapy. He says "----- had sex with me"

This is not something a child lies about. Dustin was a liar, however, he would have no idea how to even lie about this. Robert called me on the cell and asked me to come out to the van. Dustin told me what he had said. I asked questions, he gave very real answers. I walked into my home called our case manager and said "Come get him now." I never said another word to this child. They came, I packed his bag and he was gone. The first call I made was to his therapist. She said something I will NEVER forget as long as I live, and I quote "I was afraid this would happen" WHAT! She then informed me that this had been an issue in this child's past. And that even after he had been placed in my home there had been an allegation of sexual abuse on another child in the group home who told after this one left. WHAT!

Back to what I said earlier . . . We had a meeting in our home with the county case worker and our case manager from our agency. . . . and this one . . . The county case worker went upstairs checked out the room this child would share. She knew full well this child could and probably would perpetrate on my son.

There are a couple of good things. This happened when Dustin was really having a difficult time with his medications. He was in a psychotic state for most of the time around when he was abused. He was extremely distraught and usually delusional during this time. Even though he remembered vividly what occurred that night and later told it on video to police and the prosecutors, he wasn't truly affected by the abuse. He will not speak this child's name and does not talk about it by choice. When asked to visit this issue in therapy, he will answer any questions asked in a very matter of fact way. I believe he looks at it as simply another crappy thing that happened to him in his short life. His therapist believes that it will not be an issue at a later time either. We are however cautious about the situations we put him in. We are cautious to not ever be too trusting.

My husband and I attended this child's court sentencing. He admitted to our faces that the abuse occurred. There was no doubt in my mind. I made him look at me as he was made by the judge to read a letter I wrote about the disappointment we had experienced due to his actions. and how his actions had affected Dustin right after the abuse. I saw in his eyes regret more so than I have ever seen before. It was a very sad day.

My anger is with the system. This case worker lied to my face. We had asked specifically about sexual issues. She KNEW the boys shared a room. She knew this was an issue for this child. She threw this child to the wolves . . . she knew he would be tempted. Her only priority was placement. My other children were not her priority. She was sworn to protect children and in the process of this placement SHE herself put mine at risk. If I as a parent would've knowingly put my children in that situation she would've taken them from my home saying I was negligent. ARGH! I GET SO ANGRY TALKING ABOUT THIS!

So, that's off my chest. If you email me, I'd be glad to give you real names of those involved. I will not do that in this public forum. I will however caution foster parents who accept everything DFC says at face value. We did, it was detrimental to my child. Do your homework! Please be careful!

Forgotten treasure . . .

I have found some forgotten treasures in my own home. I suppose if I worked at a radio station I would call them Sheri's Lost Classics. You see, I did some work around the house for a friend's mom after the holdiays. In return, I was given an iPod (shout out to CoffeeBigPlz). Actually it was for my husband. I know it will become a battle especially this summer. . .

Over the past few weeks we have been uploaded our tunage into the wonderful little miracle device. I am rediscovering my music! I love it! My husband and I are 15 years apart. When he came into my life, my music got put on the back burner for music we agreed on. He would be more than happy to "deal with" my music, but I didn't mind his favorties at all. You must understand that my parents are only 4 and 5 years older than my husband, and were hippies. My dad, especially, was a huge music lover, and I often wonder if he are Robert would be close friends if he had not passed away before I met Robert. I think they would be. Anyway, Robert's favorites were staples in my home. (All except for Pink Floyd which I loved but my dad had a strong aversion toward I think it may have been the soundtrack to a bad trip long ago.) So, I already enjoyed clssic rock and we chose to listen to that when we were together. My music was for "me" time which became fewer and farther between after 3 children.

Anyway. . . while uploading to the iPod I rediscovered all my old favorites. Robert is now being tortured by my scary eclectic mix of Jane's Addiction, Squeeze, Erasure, Tori Amos, The Replacements, fIREHOSE, and Operation Ivy. (I told you it was scary) There are many more including some old local bands like The Hush and The Jury. I also re-found a band from Milwaukee called the Gufs that I truly love! I found some old bar bands: one from East Lansing called the Hannibals, one from Detroit called the Holy Cows and one from Lima called The Indoorfins. I guess it's not that I had forgotten these bands really, but I had forgotten how much I have loved listening to them. Robert is being a trooper, and like he says, "There's always ear plugs".

So WoooHooo to my iPod for helping me learn to love my music again, even if it does date me. . .

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's off to work I go . . .

Monday. Blah!

I hate Mondays! I have this problem being on time. It doesn't matter what time I get up, I cannot get to work on time. If I get up early I get sidetracked doing other things, yet if I could I would lay in bed until noon.

I have so much to do at work. My boss is on vacation and I get to do alot of her work. I do like to be busy at work since it helps the day go by so much faster. We have a huge celebration coming up in April and there is so much to do. I am in caharge of gathering and converting all the music for the program and putting together a slide show with pictures of all the kids with music. I also have to do all the graphic art stuff with promos and programs and signs. I love doing this kind of work, but right now I feel a little swamped. I have to practice with the school-agers and get them to learn their song, take pictures, do the promo, start the advertising . . . . ARGH!

I better get to work . . .

Liar, Liar pants on fire . . .

I hate lying! I hope those who lie do have their pants catch on fire. I think I maybe it's because I was brought up in a strict home, but I cannot fathom how a person can lie and not feel guilty. I DETEST lying. I think the only thing I hate more is a poor work ethic. Sometimes I think I am blunt and have very little tact because I can't lie. Thankfully, my husband is not a liar. He can't lie. Even when he tries I know. . .

I struggle with adults who lie more than chidlren. Be a "grown-up" and face up to your misgivings and mistakes. Honesty can cover a multitude of sins. I would much rather you tell me you caught me house on fire, for example, than to lie about it and still be my friend. Don't lie to me one day and be all nicey nice the next. I hate when people lie over the stu[pidest little things. It simply tells me that I can't believe anything you say and calls everything you do into question.

I don't struggle with lying from Dustin so much anymore. I have come to learn that it is simply a part of his disorder, PDD and FAS, and it is not usually intentional. Sometimes he lies because his brain says, "You must have a reason, hurry, make one up." Sometimes he lies becuase he was severely physically abused and lies to cover "sins" that would've earned him pain in his birth-home. Sometimes he lies becuase he can't even remember the offense.

I hope that I instill honesty in my children. I would hate to think that my children missed that valuable part of my upbringing.

Joyous day . . .

Dustin had a gret day at school yesterday. Robert got a call from his teacher saying he was MUCH better. You gotta love that. Those calls are few and far between with a child with FAS. Why is it that when he's being rotten she calls me and when he's good she calls Robert? That is so not fair! :) We took the family out to dinner last night since he had a good day. . . he ate his weight in taco pizza. That in itself is progress, becuase he has been refusing food lately. I need t do some research on food avoidance. I heard that term in my support group last week. If anyone has some info let me know. . .

The saga continues . . .

Wow. What a weekend. My adopted son, who has FASD (Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder) had a horrible weekend. Let's start at the beginning . . .

Last month when Dustin was in a Behavioral Unit, his psychiatrist tried a stimulant medication similar to Ritalin. He had been on this medication before and we were happy to try it. The hospital called about 1 hour after giving the medication and said he had a severe reaction. I thought it was strange since he had been on that medication long term before. They said it made him "crazy". He was over stimulated and had facial tics and his behavior was bonkers. The doc said "Never let anyone put him on a stimulant again, it makes him almost psychotic. His brain chemistry cannot handle a stimulant." We said alright, and filed that away in our brains.

Fast forward to Wednesday last week. We had called the psychiatrist since Dustin's behavior was becoming outrageously bad at school. Robert took him to the doc and he said "I want to try this stimulant." Whoa, hold on. You said . . . The doc assured Robert that it was a different kind of stimulant and he wanted to try it. We gave Dustin ONE pill on Thursday morning. . .

Fast forward to Sunday evening . . . that one pill was still affecting Dustin. He had fought us, spit on us, said hateful angry things, all of which is pretty uncharacteristic - even for Dustin. On Sunday evening Robert answers a call from the neighbor. Here's how the conversation went . .

Robert : Hello
Neighbor: Are you guys upstairs
Robert: No
Neighbor : Well, Dustin his cutting the screen out of your window and climbing onto the roof.

Fast forward to Monday. We had another doctor's appointment today and the doc said, "Okay, no more stimulants ever." We have now increased his dosage of the anti-psychotic medication and added another. Hopefully we will have a good night's sleep. Robert stayed up all night last night to make sure Dustin was asleep safely. Tonight medication should help . . . we can hope.

Au Revoir . . . Fait de beau reves.