*
So here is a short report on the cruise.......
We got to the terminal at Port Everglades at 10:30 on sail date. They had a small area set up to check in those of us who arrived early, and we got to sit in a special area to board first since we are high enough up in Royal Caribbeans "Crown and Anchor Society" to garner such treatment. You know a child travelling with you attains the level you are at whether or not they have travelled as much as required to attain such status. That means that Shyanne will get special treatment on her next cruise as though she had been on ten cruises with Royal Caribbean, even though she has only been on one.
Anyway....We waited for the main terminal to open up and to get let on the ship. While we waited, we noticed our new friends from Cape Cod come in the door. We went over and said hello to them and told then we would see them on board. As it turned out, we saw a lot of them on board the ship and enjoyed our time together. They are really great people and fun to be with.
So....very shortly after 11:00am they led us into the main terminal and through the door to the gangway. Of course we had to stop to get our "All Aboard" picture taken and then we made our way onto the ship. Shy got a special green bracelet that showed where her muster station was in the event of an emergency. That way, if she wasn't with us, a crew member would know exactly where to take her to be with us.
We looked around the ship for a little while, but then Shy wanted to go into the pool. We headed up that way and we spent some time in the pool, in the hot tubs, and just enjoying the Florida sun. Shy participated in the festivities at sail-away and enjoyed dancing with everyone on the deck. It was then time to go to the cabin to get ready for our first dinner and see if our luggage had arrived.
We thought that since we had gotten there early and they had taken our luggage early, we would get it early. Well, we were just about the last ones on our deck to get our luggage. Shy was getting very anxious and concerned about it as the outfit we had carried on for dinner was not the one she really wanted to wear. This falls in the category of "a women's prerogative". Anyway, the luggage finally came and we went off to dinner.
Lucky us!!!! There was another little girl just a year younger than Shyanne at the table with us. She was a little girl from New York, and she was absolutely adorable. The two of them sat together at evening meals and had a wonderful time together..
Day two started the "Adventure Ocean" camp that Royal Caribbean runs on their ships. It was absolutely wonderful Shyanne loved it and wanted to spend as much time as possible with that group. There were times we had to literally pull her away so that we could spend some family time together. What a great program and a great reason for families to go on cruises. At least with Royal Caribbean.
We did do a couple of excursions while on the cruise. We did one on Saint Martin to the butterfly farm and then to Orient Beach. Shy loved both. We also did an excursion on St. Kitts that included a plantation, a fort, and a beach. It was absolutely wonderful. Shyanne had a great time and we all enjoyed just being together.
We can't wait to take another cruise. It was certainly something we all needed after such a long period without a good vacation trip like that. I will write more about the cruise and different little things that happened along the way, but I just wanted to let everyone know how wonderful our 8 days at sea were, and to recommend it to anyone who wants to have a great time!!
A few little tips for travelling with children that we were aware of, but can lead to problems if you don't heed them:...
Make sure you have current passports for everyone!!!
If your child does not have the same last name as both parents, make sure you have a birth certificate that shows that.
If you are a divorced parent make sure you have a letter from the other parent authorizing you to take the child on board the ship and out of the country.
In any of the above cases, and as far as I am concerned, anytime you are travelling with children, a birth certificate to go along with that other information is always a good thing to have.
Make sure you have copies of all of the above documentation to take with you when you go ashore on any islands. IF there is a problem on the island, it can help make things move quicker if you have all the numbers with you.
All of the above can be a problem especially for adoptive families, so please make sure you check everything in advance so you don't have a problem at the pier that could ruin your vacation.
Foster Families typically have to have special permission to take children out of the country. When Shyanne was in foster care with us, we were unable to take her out of the country and it just about took an act of congress to take her out of the State of Maine, so be sure to check with your case worker before you plan any travel with a foster child.
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Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Good News from the Eye Doctor
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Shyanne had an eye doctor appointment yesterday morning and the news was pretty good. As long as she keeps wearing her glasses 24/7 (except of course when swimming or showering) then she probably won't have to go back to wearing a patch. This is super news for us.
Shyanne despised the patch. It affected her so bad that DW and I hated to put it on. It required one of us to hold her down while the other put it on. Then whoever held her down, had to continue to hold her for up to an hour before she would totally calm down and be relaxed enough to go about her business with the patch in place.
We are not sure why it was so traumatic for her. She is super sensitive about a lot of things, but that has been mostly related to sight and sound, and usually not touch. We don't think this is part of a sensory type thing in that regard, but of course we have no idea what it could be from.
There is so much that we know went on in her first 2 1/2 years, but the scary part is that we know we don't know everything that went on. This leads us to start thinking about what possibly could have happened that would cause this reaction.
When we start thinking it is never a good thing. So while we try not to think too much about it, there are times when we can't help ourselves. Putting on the patch was obviously some of those times. So, news that she won't have to wear it at least until September, and that if she follows the Doctor's instructions, she probably won't have to wear it at all, is great news for all of us.
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Shyanne had an eye doctor appointment yesterday morning and the news was pretty good. As long as she keeps wearing her glasses 24/7 (except of course when swimming or showering) then she probably won't have to go back to wearing a patch. This is super news for us.
Shyanne despised the patch. It affected her so bad that DW and I hated to put it on. It required one of us to hold her down while the other put it on. Then whoever held her down, had to continue to hold her for up to an hour before she would totally calm down and be relaxed enough to go about her business with the patch in place.
We are not sure why it was so traumatic for her. She is super sensitive about a lot of things, but that has been mostly related to sight and sound, and usually not touch. We don't think this is part of a sensory type thing in that regard, but of course we have no idea what it could be from.
There is so much that we know went on in her first 2 1/2 years, but the scary part is that we know we don't know everything that went on. This leads us to start thinking about what possibly could have happened that would cause this reaction.
When we start thinking it is never a good thing. So while we try not to think too much about it, there are times when we can't help ourselves. Putting on the patch was obviously some of those times. So, news that she won't have to wear it at least until September, and that if she follows the Doctor's instructions, she probably won't have to wear it at all, is great news for all of us.
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Friday, March 9, 2012
I'm Tired Already
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the weekend isn't even here and I am already tired from it. No, I am not tired from the particularly long week at work, although that doesn't help. On this Friday, I am wondering if I will make it through the weekend.
Tonight after work is the family service at temple. It starts with dinner and then the service. We will be home by 8:30 or so. The tomorrow morning it is up early as Shyanne has another Girl Scout event. This one at the Heritage Plantation in Sandwich, MA. It is supposed to be a wonderful place for children. I haven't been there yet, but we are planning on taking a trip there this summer anyway, so I will see it then.
While Shy is doing that, DW and I are going to have a day to ourselves. Maybe do a little shopping up in Plymouth, go out to lunch and just enjoy ourselves.
Then on Sunday we are up bright and early again and off to Sunday School. There is some kind of family thing going on there, so we will be staying for that. We do have to leave immediately after that and be on the road by 11:30 to head up to Beverly, MA. There the high school is putting on "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and we are going to see it. Our niece (Shy's cousin) is in it, so we thought it would be nice to go see.
We won't be able to get home in time for dinner, so it will be dinner on the road somewhere and then home again late on Sunday evening just in time to get into bed and do another week at work.
The good thing is that shy does so much better when she is busy. She absolutely does not like having nothing to do. I like that about her. She always has to be doing something. While sitting in front of the television can keep her entertained for a little bit of time, as she grows, she seems to enjoy that less and less......good for her...
If I make it through the weekend, I am sure I will have something to write about on Monday....see you then
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the weekend isn't even here and I am already tired from it. No, I am not tired from the particularly long week at work, although that doesn't help. On this Friday, I am wondering if I will make it through the weekend.
Tonight after work is the family service at temple. It starts with dinner and then the service. We will be home by 8:30 or so. The tomorrow morning it is up early as Shyanne has another Girl Scout event. This one at the Heritage Plantation in Sandwich, MA. It is supposed to be a wonderful place for children. I haven't been there yet, but we are planning on taking a trip there this summer anyway, so I will see it then.
While Shy is doing that, DW and I are going to have a day to ourselves. Maybe do a little shopping up in Plymouth, go out to lunch and just enjoy ourselves.
Then on Sunday we are up bright and early again and off to Sunday School. There is some kind of family thing going on there, so we will be staying for that. We do have to leave immediately after that and be on the road by 11:30 to head up to Beverly, MA. There the high school is putting on "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and we are going to see it. Our niece (Shy's cousin) is in it, so we thought it would be nice to go see.
We won't be able to get home in time for dinner, so it will be dinner on the road somewhere and then home again late on Sunday evening just in time to get into bed and do another week at work.
The good thing is that shy does so much better when she is busy. She absolutely does not like having nothing to do. I like that about her. She always has to be doing something. While sitting in front of the television can keep her entertained for a little bit of time, as she grows, she seems to enjoy that less and less......good for her...
If I make it through the weekend, I am sure I will have something to write about on Monday....see you then
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Thursday, March 8, 2012
Look at How Far I have Come!!
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Last evening was the Purim "service" at Temple. Now I put service in quotes because the annual Purim celebration is just about anything but a service. To give you a rough idea of why I say that, let me just say that the Rabbi was dressed as Elvis, and the ceremony consisted of many Elvis tunes that had little different wording to them
To those of you who are not Jewish, I will explain. This is a celebration of that comes from the Biblical book of "Esther" To make a long story short...(not at all the tradition) Esther became Queen of Persia, but had never revealed to King Ahashverus that she was Jewish. An edict was issued to kill all the Jews by a man named Hamen. Esther revealed she was Jewish and the Jews were allowed to defend themselves which they did and Hamen was hung and his ten sons were killed during battle.
One might like to say that the Jews and the Persians lived happily ever after, but that is certainly not the case. Let's just say they lived happily together for many years after that.
In any event, the celebration includes wearing of masks and costumes and the service is always a lot of fun. Noise makers are sounded by everyone in the congregation anytime the name "Hamen" is read during the service.
So, to get back to the point of the this blog entry......Three years ago we started Shy at dance classes. She watched Olivia on television and wanted to take ballet classes. We started her in a dance program that included both ballet and tap. Naturally, they had a recital at the end of the year where all the kids get up on the stage and perform for the audience.....well, not quite all of the kids. In Shyanne's class there were two kids that just stood there the whole time and looked out into the auditorium. Yes, one of them was Shyanne.
HOWEVER, Shyanne did take a bow at the end of the dance she did not perform.
The following year, she was a little more active, but not quite totally performing the dance and still kind of just looking out at the audience.
Last night, as the ceremony was taking place, every time there was an Elvis song played, there were a lot of older kids dancing across the bima (stage). It didn't take long for Shy to find her way up there and start dancing as well. Every time she went across the stage performing her little dance, she had a HUGE smile on her face.
The smile seemed to say "Look at how far I have come!!!"
She was so happy and so delighted to be up there and dancing. It was a real joy to see.
She has come such a long way in a few short years. I can't wait to see this year's dance class recital. She has added Jazz Dance to her classes as well this year. It should be a great time.
*
Last evening was the Purim "service" at Temple. Now I put service in quotes because the annual Purim celebration is just about anything but a service. To give you a rough idea of why I say that, let me just say that the Rabbi was dressed as Elvis, and the ceremony consisted of many Elvis tunes that had little different wording to them
To those of you who are not Jewish, I will explain. This is a celebration of that comes from the Biblical book of "Esther" To make a long story short...(not at all the tradition) Esther became Queen of Persia, but had never revealed to King Ahashverus that she was Jewish. An edict was issued to kill all the Jews by a man named Hamen. Esther revealed she was Jewish and the Jews were allowed to defend themselves which they did and Hamen was hung and his ten sons were killed during battle.
One might like to say that the Jews and the Persians lived happily ever after, but that is certainly not the case. Let's just say they lived happily together for many years after that.
In any event, the celebration includes wearing of masks and costumes and the service is always a lot of fun. Noise makers are sounded by everyone in the congregation anytime the name "Hamen" is read during the service.
So, to get back to the point of the this blog entry......Three years ago we started Shy at dance classes. She watched Olivia on television and wanted to take ballet classes. We started her in a dance program that included both ballet and tap. Naturally, they had a recital at the end of the year where all the kids get up on the stage and perform for the audience.....well, not quite all of the kids. In Shyanne's class there were two kids that just stood there the whole time and looked out into the auditorium. Yes, one of them was Shyanne.
HOWEVER, Shyanne did take a bow at the end of the dance she did not perform.
The following year, she was a little more active, but not quite totally performing the dance and still kind of just looking out at the audience.
Last night, as the ceremony was taking place, every time there was an Elvis song played, there were a lot of older kids dancing across the bima (stage). It didn't take long for Shy to find her way up there and start dancing as well. Every time she went across the stage performing her little dance, she had a HUGE smile on her face.
The smile seemed to say "Look at how far I have come!!!"
She was so happy and so delighted to be up there and dancing. It was a real joy to see.
She has come such a long way in a few short years. I can't wait to see this year's dance class recital. She has added Jazz Dance to her classes as well this year. It should be a great time.
*
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
One of Those Wonderful Mornings!
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I got up today and did the usual get washed, get dressed and get ready for work. When I was in the kitchen putting my morning banana in my briefcase and pouring my coffee to bring for the ride, I heard Shyanne calling from her bedroom. I poured my juice so I could take my pills and vitamins.
"Daddy!"... "Daddy!" I did not want to answer across the whole house as DW was still sleeping and if she managed to sleep through Shy yelling, then I wanted her to stay that way.
"Daddy?" I heard again, but this time it was more of a question. That was followed by the pitter-patter of little feet and then I saw Shy coming running into the kitchen. She grabbed me around the waist and looked up at me while I finished drinking my juice. Then she just said:
"kiss?" So naturally I gave her a kiss. Then she said:
"hug" so of course I was more than happy to give her a hug.
Then she asked me to bring her back to my room so she could get into bed with DW until it was time to get up for school. She grasped the index finger on my left hand and I led her into the bedroom. put her into bed. She asked for another hug, which she got.
She then told me to give DW another kiss goodbye, and I was off to work.
Between the coming to me and grabbing me around the waist, asking for hugs and kisses, and then grasping onto my finger as I lead her into the bedroom just make the day start off great. You can't ask for more love and caring from a little girl then what Shyanne gives at moments like that. No matter what happens during the course of the days, weeks and months, it is events like that, that make for absolutely wonderful mornings!
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I got up today and did the usual get washed, get dressed and get ready for work. When I was in the kitchen putting my morning banana in my briefcase and pouring my coffee to bring for the ride, I heard Shyanne calling from her bedroom. I poured my juice so I could take my pills and vitamins.
"Daddy!"... "Daddy!" I did not want to answer across the whole house as DW was still sleeping and if she managed to sleep through Shy yelling, then I wanted her to stay that way.
"Daddy?" I heard again, but this time it was more of a question. That was followed by the pitter-patter of little feet and then I saw Shy coming running into the kitchen. She grabbed me around the waist and looked up at me while I finished drinking my juice. Then she just said:
"kiss?" So naturally I gave her a kiss. Then she said:
"hug" so of course I was more than happy to give her a hug.
Then she asked me to bring her back to my room so she could get into bed with DW until it was time to get up for school. She grasped the index finger on my left hand and I led her into the bedroom. put her into bed. She asked for another hug, which she got.
She then told me to give DW another kiss goodbye, and I was off to work.
Between the coming to me and grabbing me around the waist, asking for hugs and kisses, and then grasping onto my finger as I lead her into the bedroom just make the day start off great. You can't ask for more love and caring from a little girl then what Shyanne gives at moments like that. No matter what happens during the course of the days, weeks and months, it is events like that, that make for absolutely wonderful mornings!
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Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Are They Really Problems?
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Yesterday was Shyanne's busy day. School, followed by Chess club. Dinner as soon as she walks in the door after dance was followed by homework, get washed up and into pajamas and then off to bed.
She still woke up around 10:00pm as we were watching the end of Alcatraz. (I had to DVR it as DW was at a PTA meeting). She didn't like it and covered her face while she sat with us. She then went into bed, but at some time during the night she came into our bedroom and when I awoke this morning, I found her lying in the bed between DW and I.
It has been a long time since that happened, and I am not sure why it did last night. Whether or not Alcatraz caused her some problems or not, I don't know. It just seems to be too easy an excuse to make for kids. "Scary movies or TV shows give them nightmares etc etc."
Today Shy will go to her play therapist after school so maybe she will be able to shed some light on it. Like I said, it hasn't happened since well before we went away on our trip, so I don't think it is a real problem, but I want to be sure we keep it from becoming that.
I think a lot of times the things we see as "problems" for Shyanne are really our own problems. Whether it be coming into our room at night, getting angry over something that is really meaningless, coming crying to us when there is absolutely no reason, or yelling at us when nothing happened. We want to assign every issue a reason, when in reality, we just have to realize she is 6 years old and these things would happen regardless of her past....right???
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Yesterday was Shyanne's busy day. School, followed by Chess club. Dinner as soon as she walks in the door after dance was followed by homework, get washed up and into pajamas and then off to bed.
She still woke up around 10:00pm as we were watching the end of Alcatraz. (I had to DVR it as DW was at a PTA meeting). She didn't like it and covered her face while she sat with us. She then went into bed, but at some time during the night she came into our bedroom and when I awoke this morning, I found her lying in the bed between DW and I.
It has been a long time since that happened, and I am not sure why it did last night. Whether or not Alcatraz caused her some problems or not, I don't know. It just seems to be too easy an excuse to make for kids. "Scary movies or TV shows give them nightmares etc etc."
Today Shy will go to her play therapist after school so maybe she will be able to shed some light on it. Like I said, it hasn't happened since well before we went away on our trip, so I don't think it is a real problem, but I want to be sure we keep it from becoming that.
I think a lot of times the things we see as "problems" for Shyanne are really our own problems. Whether it be coming into our room at night, getting angry over something that is really meaningless, coming crying to us when there is absolutely no reason, or yelling at us when nothing happened. We want to assign every issue a reason, when in reality, we just have to realize she is 6 years old and these things would happen regardless of her past....right???
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Monday, March 5, 2012
Shy is Sooooooooo Polite
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Now that we have been back for a week, we are getting settled back in to the routine of life at home. Mondays is Chess Club, Daisy Scouts, and Dance. Wednesday is swimming and Sunday is Sunday School.
It won't be long before T-Ball starts. We are all signed up for that, but don't know what days that will be. I am guessing a lot of Saturday mornings, but I don't know for sure.
On thing I am sure of is that lovely Shyanne is certainly back into the swing of things, is quite intelligent, and still maintains a great degree of politeness. How do I know this? Well, here is my example for today.
Last Wednesday evening we were coming home from swimming lessons and I needed to stop to get gas in the car. I stopped at a local convenient store run by Hess. It is the closest one to our house, so it really meets the spirit of the name in convenience.
When I pulled in Shyanne asked me : "Daddy can I go in the store with you?"
I told her I wasn't going in the store. I was just there to put gas in the car and then we were going home. She then said to me: "Daddy, I want to go in the store and get something."
I told her, as I got out of the car that since she didn't have any money, there was really no need for her to go in the store, and I was not going in. I then shut the door to the car and proceeded to pump the gas.
Now, in the car I was driving the fuel tank is on the driver's side. Shyanne's car seat is on the passenger side of the vehicle in the back seat. She unbuckled her strap, went over to the driver's side of the car, opened the door and said to me:
"Daddy, would you be so kind as to give me your wallet?"
Now how polite is that for a six year old? Some of you are probably thinking that because Shy has me wrapped around her finger, and I almost always give into her, and she was so polite, that I gave her some money, or the wallet, or actually took her in the store.
Well, I didn't. I maintained my position, filled up with gas, and went home. I can assure you it was tough, but I made it through, and Shy was none the worse for wear. You have to admit though, she is pretty darn polite!!
By the way, we are all signed up for "Forever Families Weekend" This is a camp experience for Jewish families that have been touched by adoption. It is a great time, a great experience, and we loved it so much last year, we have to go back this year. If you are interested, check it out at:
http://njycamps.org/families/html/forever_families.html
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Now that we have been back for a week, we are getting settled back in to the routine of life at home. Mondays is Chess Club, Daisy Scouts, and Dance. Wednesday is swimming and Sunday is Sunday School.
It won't be long before T-Ball starts. We are all signed up for that, but don't know what days that will be. I am guessing a lot of Saturday mornings, but I don't know for sure.
On thing I am sure of is that lovely Shyanne is certainly back into the swing of things, is quite intelligent, and still maintains a great degree of politeness. How do I know this? Well, here is my example for today.
Last Wednesday evening we were coming home from swimming lessons and I needed to stop to get gas in the car. I stopped at a local convenient store run by Hess. It is the closest one to our house, so it really meets the spirit of the name in convenience.
When I pulled in Shyanne asked me : "Daddy can I go in the store with you?"
I told her I wasn't going in the store. I was just there to put gas in the car and then we were going home. She then said to me: "Daddy, I want to go in the store and get something."
I told her, as I got out of the car that since she didn't have any money, there was really no need for her to go in the store, and I was not going in. I then shut the door to the car and proceeded to pump the gas.
Now, in the car I was driving the fuel tank is on the driver's side. Shyanne's car seat is on the passenger side of the vehicle in the back seat. She unbuckled her strap, went over to the driver's side of the car, opened the door and said to me:
"Daddy, would you be so kind as to give me your wallet?"
Now how polite is that for a six year old? Some of you are probably thinking that because Shy has me wrapped around her finger, and I almost always give into her, and she was so polite, that I gave her some money, or the wallet, or actually took her in the store.
Well, I didn't. I maintained my position, filled up with gas, and went home. I can assure you it was tough, but I made it through, and Shy was none the worse for wear. You have to admit though, she is pretty darn polite!!
By the way, we are all signed up for "Forever Families Weekend" This is a camp experience for Jewish families that have been touched by adoption. It is a great time, a great experience, and we loved it so much last year, we have to go back this year. If you are interested, check it out at:
http://njycamps.org/families/html/forever_families.html
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