Keepin' up with the Joneses

Happy New Year 2012

2012-02-01T20:07:00.000-08:00

It's already February 1st, so just a few more months of winter. How will I get through winter? It's been an unusually mild winter so far this season. Ice fishermen are unhappy, but I'm not. I think I've only shoveled snow a handful of times. Last Sunday Mason and I went on a sleigh ride. It was a sunny and cold day! We enjoyed a clear blue sky and beautiful scenery. Mason was good until his hands and feet got cold. I remember that feeling as a kid when my feet would thaw out after an afternoon of sledding. It hurts! Anyway, we enjoyed being with friends, seeing the horses, and having hot chocolate in the little cabin in the woods.

Our big event for January was attending Sesame Street Live at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Our friend Amy went with us. Elmo Makes Music was a great show. I'd enjoy it even if I didn't have a kid-but thankfully, I do! There was a fun preshow, so Mason got to see some of the life-size characters singing and dancing before the show began. We bought the program, which gave him something to hold during the show. Then during intermission, they brought out about a thousand Elmo balloons. Mason couldn't believe what he was seeing. We were one of the first people in line for our balloon. It was so hard for Mason to keep it under his seat the rest of the show. Kids were talking and crying during the show, so it was a comfortable environment for us. All in all it was a very fun day. Mason fell asleep on the way home-dreaming of Elmo, I'm sure.

A Few More Holiday Pictures

2011-12-28T09:26:00.000-08:00

Holiday Wrap Up

2011-12-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

We had a really beautiful holiday season this year. Mason had a very cute program with his pre school class at Wakanda Elementary. I enjoyed a nice birthday dinner in Eau Claire with Mason and our friend Susan Weston

, and we finally saw Santa Clause on our second try (this is a popular Santa). Little Christmas Eve was fun at Wendy Dittmann's home, and the Christmas Eve Service at First Congregational UCC was really beautiful. Mason and I went out and looked for "HoHO" in the sky, and he was sure the bright star was HoHo. Mason enjoyed playing with his toys on Christmas Day, and we had a nice dinner with friends at Mercil's home. Things are getting back to normal now. I'm preparing for new spring classes, and Mason is back to daycare (though he'd rather be home with me). We are looking forward to better days in 2012!

Slide Show of 2011 Pictures

2011-12-28T08:53:00.000-08:00

Personalize a picture slideshow

Season's Greetings 2011

2011-11-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-18T20:48:00.000-08:00

Mason and I are thankful for so many wonderful people who bless our lives! Just when I think life can’t move any faster, it seems like it does. I presented at the ISSOTL conference in Milwaukee, and we had a fun time spending the day with Suejung Han’s family. Kids and conferences don’t always mix, but we try to make the best of the time by doing some fun kid things. Then we fast forward to Halloween. May May, as he likes to be called, really enjoyed being Elmo. Trick or Treating was a little stressful, but he wanted the candy. He started repeating, “Hi-Thank You” before we would even get to the door. Then fast forward to last week when we went to Atlanta for the National Women’s Studies Association Conference. Mason did great on the plane, and he actually enjoyed the two days he spent in the hotel daycare. Mason’s doing new funny things every day. On Tuesday, I saw him open a puzzle box, put it on his little play table, and pretend he was a cat eating the puzzle. He moved his head just like one of our cats does. Then he looked up at me to see if I would laugh-and I did. He makes a good cat!

The Best of Summer 2011

2011-09-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend at Como Park. One of the nicest days all summer!

Three cute kids! Enjoying the zoo with Rachel and Henry.

Gravel and trucks: the boys best friends.

Waiting for the bus. First day of pre-school. Yes, he's crying. But the day got better. He loves the bus now.

Sporting a new outfit from Aunt Luci.

Happy to go night night with Elmo. He's Elmo's biggest fan!

Boots, hat, no horse (yet).

Three years together as a family

2011-08-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

Ready for the fries!

Posing at the Children's Museum

Hanging with his mom

He certainly is a Phoenix!

Looking at the ducks and contemplating the long road ahead!

Today was our special family day. We did all of our favorite things together. We ate fries at Culver's, went to the Eau Claire Children's Museum, took a stroll on the Riverwalk, went to Target (Mason always squeals for joy when he sees Target), and then came home, watched Elmo videos, and walked to Phelan Park. I usually plan the day around Mason's nap time, but I took a chance on skipping the nap. He did fine. He did better than fine. He was happy and smiling all day. He had me doing phrase completion all day. He says, "I", and I say, "love you". He says, "Cookie," and I say "Monster". We do this hundreds of times each day, and he laughs every time. Love, Love, Love my MayMay!

I have a little boy!

2011-07-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

Mason turned three on July 26th. We had a great pirate-themed birthday party at Wakanda Park. Mason’s little friends Shade, Sahlma, Laith, and Henry were there. And most importantly my friends who help create a family for Mason and me were there to celebrate with both of us. For me, counting off the birthdays of a growing child is different than counting off my own. I think of all the things we’ve been through in the past three years, and still it seems that it happened in the blink of an eye.

Last weekend, Mason and I spent two nights at the Pilgrim Center in Green Lake, WI at the Single-Parent Family Camp. This will be a family tradition (until Mason is old enough to go without me). I grew up camping and really loved it. This camp wasn’t a real “camp” because it had all the benefits of home with beds and showers, yet we were able to spend time outside doing planned activities, and we made many new friends. There were lots of pre-teen mother hens to help with Mason. On the second night, the kids performed a program where each of them read a line describing what he/she loved most about his/her mother. The older kids helped Mason, and I laughed when one of them read, “What Mason loves most about his mom is that she is patient.” On Sunday morning I told Mason that we would be going home. He said, "no." I guess he thought we'd moved and had a better life at camp.

Mason and I are enjoying the summer together. We just got back from the Dunn County Fair tonight with our friend Susan. We go outside a lot, but it’s been a real scorcher this year. I do not like the combination of heat and humidity. I appreciate the dry air of the west and the cool mountain breezes. I’d stay in a lot more, but Mason wants to play outside even when it’s hot. Yesterday we got our backyard fenced. What a relief it was to be outside today and not worry about him running into the street. The fence also adds shade to the back area. Now it’s on to getting the roof repaired before winter comes!

Baby Daddy

Woody at the Circus Parade

Children at camp

Sunset at the Pilgrim Center

Happy Birthday, Mason!

Elmo!

Birthday Party

August 1st update: M is 31.5lbs and 39.5" long. He's is in the 90th percentile for height and 42 percentile for weight. The pediatrician expects him to follow the same trajectory throughout his life and continue to be tall and thin. Lucky him!

The joy of riding

2011-07-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

Elmo's Riding

Evel Knievel and the three inch drop

Mason is stacking!

2011-06-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks have been quite an adjustment for me. I try to plan a physical activity each evening, and we do lots of riding/pushing the trike around the yard. One of my neighbors, who also works at UW-Stout, just came over with her two little boys and told me she was going stir crazy. We are planning some backyard play dates. The problem is Mason’s high-pitched scream is so annoying, even kids can’t be around it very long. I’ve tried everything to get rid of that scream including time-out, but everything I do seems to make it worse. Just giving it any attention at all makes it escalate. I’m trying the “extinction” model the autism therapists use. When something annoying is happening, you turn away and don’t give it any attention. Last night in the tub Mason took the pitch up so high I wondered if the neighbors wouldn’t come over to see if someone was being attacked. Anyway, I sat there with my head down and ears plugged until he finally stopped screaming. He likes bath time, and he loves water, but the whole bath routine usually means the end of the day, and transitions to naptime and bedtime are really hard.

I have not enjoyed the autism therapists being in my home, and Mason has a lot of anger issues with them. In the mornings when they come over, he throws things at them before they even get through the door. But I can’t deny that some of the things they are doing are helping. Mason is stacking now. He’s been stacking for about three months, but now he initiates it and enjoys it. This is a relief to me because stacking is always one of the first things on any developmental test (and he’s had a lot of tests). Mason also asked two questions this week. On Tuesday night we went to the Ludington Guard Band Concert in Menomonie, and Mason had popcorn for the first time. He was running crazy through the crowd (people sitting in lawn chairs and on blankets). He found grandmas and grandpas who would give him food (they sell cake, pie, and popcorn at the concert). To keep him from being a pest to the friendly feeders, I bought him some popcorn. He was eating it while I was talking to one of my departmental colleagues. I wasn’t paying attention to him, and he asked, “What is it?” I wouldn’t have even noticed if my colleague hadn’t had stopped and answered him. Then yesterday he was playing with his cars and one disappeared under the couch. He was looking for it, and he asked, “Where did it go?” Even though he only articulates a few words really well like cookie and water, I can understand what he’s trying to say. The biggest issue right now is getting that NUK out of his mouth. I had it completely gone for several months, but then a few things happened that caused a setback. By setback I mean he was getting out of his crib and wouldn’t go to bed. I found that by giving him his NUK, he would go to bed, but then he wouldn’t give it up in the morning. He would rather miss out on breakfast than give it back to me. When we went to Utah, I travelled with a pocket full of NUKS. He got used to having one 24/7 during our trip, now it’s hard to go back to just using one at night. He asks for it all day long. Yesterday in Target, he saw a boy with a NUK. After that, he had a meltdown in the store and wouldn’t sit in the cart any longer. Sometimes I regret the day that I ever bought one in the first place.

Video of Mason stacking

Mason and JW, one the the autism therapists who comes to our home. This was afternoon "fun with pipe cleaners".

Go Outside!

2011-06-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

The last week in May, Mason and I flew to Utah to visit my family. We had so much fun visiting all our relatives and going to places I haven’t been in many years. I was worried about how Mason would do on the flight since he has problems being overwhelmed by new situations, but he seemed to do better on the flight than I could have imagined. I think having the extra seat helped. Sleeping and napping were an issue in a new place, but he was really worn out from all the fun by the end of each day. On Sunday evening, we had a party with my Jones cousins. Since it was close to my Grandma Jones’s birthday (May 24th) we told our favorite stories and memories of her. Grandma loved everyone, but she especially loved her three granddaughters. I feel lucky to have had her as a grandma, and even though she’s been gone twenty years, I still miss her. I look around at all her great grandchildren and think how much she would enjoy seeing them. Sadly, she passed away a few months before Tanner was born.

My dad, now known as Grandpa, bought Mason some new cowboy boots. This is part of the Jones family tradition. For years as a child, I wore cowboy boots all summer. I even wore them with shorts. Mason wore his boots to the Dunn County Dairy Breakfast last Saturday. He shows off in those boots and runs around hoping people will look at him.

While in Utah we also got to spend special time with my aunt, Luci. Mason and I enjoyed driving up to Park City with her. We ate spaghetti on Main Street and took a drive to the Stein Erickson Lodge. Luci has promised to save her money and take us all out to eat there next year! We had a fun barbeque with Luci’s family on Friday night. We miss everyone so much.

It was a letdown to come back home after all the fun. Last week was our first week of having the autism therapists come to our home for morning and afternoon sessions. Mason didn’t like them coming, and we had a bad week. He would cry when he saw them at the door, and he would hit, kick, and scratch me. By Thursday I was about ready to throw in the towel, but every night I’ve had to recommit to trying it one more day. We’ve made some modifications to his schedule, trying to make things fun and educational. We have also officially started potty training. Neither of us are ready for an intensive three day stay in the bathroom, but every time Mason sits on the potty, he get a Dum Dum sucker. Right now, the suckers are a good enough reinforcement to keep him sitting there for two minutes.

Mason wants to go “outside.” He has learned to pedal his big wheel. I was cleaning off Luci’s deck in Utah, and she had Mason out in front playing with neighborhood children. When I went out to see what he was doing, he was riding on a big wheel. He’s been afraid of sitting on a big wheel or trike of any kind. I guess he felt unstable and was afraid of motion being imposed on him. These last two weeks, he’s gradually gotten over that to the point where he now wants to live outside. He’s even used the “go outside” request to trick his therapists. Yesterday three of them were overlapping for an hour. Mason said, “Go Outside.” They all got their shoes on and went out on the porch. Instead of going out with them, he slammed the door on them. He tried it again later with John, his afternoon therapist. Now, Mason has to go on the porch first, or we know what trick he’s up to. He’s also using the phrase “I want help” to manipulate me into playing with him. If I don’t give him full attention, he’ll yell, “I want help.” When I ask him what he wants help with, he just grins.

Mason is out of the crib now. He’s been getting out for a while, so I lowered the front rail and made it into a day bed. This morning I heard him running around in his room about 5:30a.m. I’m not about to get up at that time, so I keep a gate closed to his room. When I went to get him at 7:30, I found him asleep on the floor with one rain boot and lying on top of a big stuffed teddy bear. I guess he was trying on rain boots at 5:30a.m. There is no rain here today only heat and humidity. When he wakes up from his nap, we are going to go swimming.

Mason and my niece, Nicole

Elizabeth, Claudia, Glade, Glenda, Brian, Marvell

Liz and Tim's family plus one

Britain and Mason

Tanner, Mason, Lisa, Glenda, Zachary

Mason

Bliss. Now he throws himself down in front of every donut counter to be sure to get one or two.

Nicole, Zach, Tanner, and Mason

Glenda and Mason in front of Stein Erickson Lodge, Park City

Mason pedaling forward!

Mason at Sundance Resort

Bridal Veil Falls

Mason at Sundance

Mason and Grandpa sporting their "Western Wear."

My mother, Naomi Vance Jones

Jackson Thorne, Mason Jones, Logan Thorne

Mason and Cookie in the SLC International Airport

Mother's Day, my favorite day!

2011-05-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day, May 9, 2010

May 8, 2010 (Tour of the Mayo One Helicopter)

Mason this morning 5/8/11

Mason on the move

Mason on Easter morning 2011

Elmo Bunny

Naomi Vance Jones holding Glenda Jones

No Mother's Day will ever pass again without me thinking of Mason being released from St. Mary's hospital at Mayo Clinic last year on Mother's Day. I desperately wanted to go home, but I was so afraid to take him home for fear of relapse. My little Mason bird was weighing just 18lbs. You wouldn't guess it today, since he weighs nearly twice that much. He has the cutest little voice. He asks for help, says please and thank you, and he's now added "sorry" to his vocabulary (you can tell he's spent some time in "time out"). I'm thankful for Mother's Day to help me remember just how much Mason brings to my life. He has made my life better in every way. I'm posting some pictures from last year and this year, and one picture in honor of my mother, Naomi Jones. I think this is the first picture of me.

Dancing Feet

2011-04-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Cookie!

2011-04-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

More, More, More

2011-04-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

Mason and I just got back from the We Are One Commemorative Rally for Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Our friend Susan was the organizer (thanks, Susan). We’ve been so busy these past few weeks, it’s a blur. I need to check my calendar to see what we did. We just wrapped up Women’s History Month. I drove to Madison and back three days in a row for the Women’s Studies conference. Mason and Janet (thanks, Janet!) went with me last Saturday.

I was invited by the UW Madison Center for Research on Gender and Women to be a guest speaker on Round Table discussion on the effects Gov. Walker’s Budget Repair Bill will have on women. I collaboratively wrote a statement on the effects of the BRB with two other WGS directors, and our writing has received a lot of local and national attention. I’ve been on three radio programs, been cited in The Nation, and found out it will be published in Feminist Studies.

We live in tumultuous times in Wisconsin. We are fighting to keep a middle class. It’s disheartening personally and professionally to hear people say such negative things about public servants. Public servants are not the cause of economic crisis in this nation.

Mason continues to go to therapy every morning. He’s happy and excited to be communicating better. Tonight we were signing I Love You. He’s getting very good at imitation, and every time I would make the sign, he would say, “more.” More is Mason’s favorite word .More cookie, more eat, more tickle, more, more, more. He also says “more please.” He’s still working on thank you.

Spring Thaw

2011-02-15T15:07:00.000-08:00

The good news: we’ve had a thaw in Wisconsin. It might be temporary, but a 70 degree swing from -34 to above freezing feels like you can go outside without a coat. I’m actually seeing people outside. From my office I can see people ice fishing on Lake Menomin. That’s a part of the culture that I don’t understand, but hey- I haven’t tried it, so I won’t knock it.

The civil servants of Wisconsin, me included, are currently embroiled in a huge fight to save the UW-System and our careers. The new Governor announced his “budget repair bill”. His plan is to “ask state workers to tighten their belts.” This, on top of the 16 furlough days we already absorbed. He wants us to pay more for insurance, pay more of our own contributions to retirement, and do more with less. He said he was prepared to call on the National Guard to enforce his policies. He’s taking away the right for collective bargaining except for police officers and firemen. This would mean about one month’s loss in wages for me. Last year I made 2,000 less than the year before.UW-System employees only make 70% of what our peer institutions make, so this will be quite devastating if it passes. Right now thousands of state employees are picketing the capital in Madison. I’d like to be there with them, but I couldn’t figure out what to do with Mason. Yesterday morning I thought I’d drive to Madison and take him with me; then I spent the day in the car with him going to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and I decided that I couldn’t possibly take him to Madison.

Mason hates to be confined in the car seat, and he cried most of the two hour ride to Rochester. Our first appointment was to see Dr. M, who did Mason’s eye surgeries. He had no explanation for why Mason squints his eyes. Mason seems to be light sensitive. Dr. M decided to dilate Mason’s eyes to see if Mason needs glasses. It took four people to hold him down just to put the drops in. Thirty minutes later, it took four people to hold him down while Dr. M looked in Mason’s eyes. Perhaps Mason was scared or the light was hurting his eyes, but he had the mother of all break downs; nothing in my life could have prepared me to figure out what to do in that moment.

As we left the Doctor’s office, Mason was screaming, kicking, and unable to catch his breath. There must have been 100 people staring at me in the huge waiting room, and I wasn’t feeling the love. I tried to move him into a hallway, but I couldn’t put him in the stroller or on the floor because he was banging his head. Probably five minutes went by when an angel in the form of a nurse came out to help me. She asked me if Mason had fallen. I said no: he has autism, and he’s scared. Saying autism is still foreign to me, and I’m not sure it even sounds right, but in the moment-it helped her and maybe others to understand why Mason was out of control. It took twenty minutes to get him calmed down. I was literally sweating, and when the nurse asked me how I was doing, I broke into tears. When she left us, she said, “He’s a beautiful babe, and you’re doing a beautiful job with him.” Her encouragement meant so much in that moment. I’m really thankful for her kindness and understanding. Mason finally dozed off for a few minutes, and we were able to get to the genetics appointment. Honestly, I thought going to genetics would be a waste of time, and it was. The doctor said he didn’t have anything to offer that neurology hadn’t done a year ago. Last year they ran a chromosome analysis that tested for 44,000 abnormalities. None were found. He said we could redo the test because now they can test for 180,000; but even if they find something, they don’t know what to do with the information. It always comes back to questions I can’t answer about prenatal care, family history, and learning disabilities. The Geneticist was obviously a very smart man, but he said, why don’t you try flash cards with him? I don’t even respond to these stupid questions. People have no idea what kind of intensive education Mason has been receiving.

Mason cried all the way home, so I cranked up India Arie to help give me some positive thoughts.

Today I had lunch with a colleague in the psychology department. She said she did her clinical work in development psychology. She told me that she does not believe Mason is autistic. She said she has seen over 500 children with autism, and he doesn’t act like them. My colleague in psychology has a son who is two months older than Mason. She said her son is just starting to use sentences. She doesn’t think Mason is far behind. I feel confused when I talk to people because everyone has a different opinion. I tried to explain to her some of the reasons why people have labeled him with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She said she worked under a clinician who completely disagreed with labeling so many children with ASD. The geneticist told me that the autism diet is just a theory that he personally doesn’t believe in. I feel that I should do something, so we’ll continue the OT, PT, and SLP. Mason, why didn’t you come with a manual?

If Wishes Were Horses

2011-01-22T13:24:00.000-08:00

Is it spring yet? Spring semester starts on Monday. It’s a bit of a misnomer to call it spring semester in Wisconsin. Perhaps deep, dark, frozen semester would be better. If I sound a bit cynical in this post, it’s because yesterday morning it was -34 degrees plus wind chill. Every January since I’ve lived here, I’ve had to have my car towed due to the freezing temperatures. Yesterday I got a bill for $282 to replace a frozen power steering hose and spark plugs. A few minutes after my van was towed, I looked outside and saw the same tow truck pulling up in front of my house. Apparently my neighbor’s car was being towed. It must have been a great day for the towing business. Anyway, I had to miss work. I hate that because I wanted to be there for the professional development workshop.

Did I mention I live in a house built in 1890? Every winter I’ve had boiler problems. Prior to moving into this house, I had no idea what a boiler was. For those of you with nice forced air heating systems, a boiler is a big technological beast that heats water that is pushed through copper piping that heats base boards in old homes. This year the boiler stopped working after a major power outage in Menomonie. (Of course this was an after-hours call.) The heating expert showed me all the things that needed to be repaired on the boiler and the plumbing to keep everything working through the winter. I decided to have the work done, so a few weeks ago, two guys showed up for most of the day to work on this thing. I have a silo basement. It’s a small round, brick, basement barely big enough for a water heater, boiler, and a few crawl spaces. I asked the guys if I have the worst basement in Menomonie. They gave me a resounding NO. There are numerous repairs that need to be made to this house, but since the housing market has dropped, it doesn’t seem that making any major changes would be worth it, and I really don’t plan to live here the rest of my life (I know, I know). Anyway, the quote of the day came from the plumber when I asked about moving the tub and replacing it with something from this century. He said, “I wouldn’t. No matter what you do to this place, at the end of the day, you still have a house that’s 120 years old.”

You live and learn. In the future, I want a simple ranch style house with a relatively simple pitched roof and attached garage. The roof on my house is 1680 square feet of Victorian architecture complete with gables (and ice dams). There is more square footage on the roof than the house. I got a bid to have a metal roof put on since I’ve noticed that most of my neighbors have metal roofs on their homes. The bid was 13K. Unless Publisher’s Clearing comes knocking on my door, there will not be a metal roof in my future.

One problem I need to solve is what to do with my van in the winter. Right now I’m parking it as close as I can to the side door. But it’s not in a covered space. There is a “garage” kind of thing on the back of the property. I’d call it more of a shed. It opens like a shed since there is no overhead garage door. The beams are very low in it, so like the house, it’s mostly roof. It’s not insulated, and to top it off, my neighbor blew all the snow from his drive way right in front of the shed doors, so even if I wanted to, I couldn’t shovel all that snow to open the doors. I hope someday my neighbor will get what’s coming to him, but that’s another story.

Mason is doing well. He stayed healthy through the holidays. A month ago, we switched from a family practice doctor to a pediatrician. His pediatrician put him on antibiotics and Flonaise to try to clear up his chronic nasal discharge. The drugs didn’t work, so maybe he’ll have his tonsils and adenoids removed. I think he has allergies, but he hasn’t had any allergy testing. The pediatrician also advised us to see a geneticist at Mayo. I questioned what more genetics could test for that neurology didn’t test for last year, but she said that medicine changes at light speed now. She thinks perhaps if Mason is tested every few years, they’ll find something that might benefit from a specific treatment. Since we have to see the eye surgeon for our six month follow up, we’ll have another long day at Mayo Clinic on February 14th. Unfortunately his eyes are not aligned. I don’t know what the doctor will say. Right after the last surgery Dr. M thought the eyes looked perfect. He told us that if the muscles loosened, he would do another surgery when Mason was five. He said the surgery would be more to keep people from making fun of him. The important training of the eyes and brain take place in the first few years of life. I know that Mason can see small objects because he can pick black beans out of a salad, but he’s also doing a lot of squinting; he seems to be sensitive to light; and he covers one eye and then the other apparently to see what’s different.

The world of special needs is all new to me. For a year now, I’ve hardly had the language to even talk about it. I don’t have any friends who have children with special needs, so it’s been somewhat isolating. I’ve had to rely on advice from therapists in the Dunn County Birth to 3 programs. Mason’s behavior and needs at daycare have been challenging. The speech therapist has tried to get the teacher in the 2T room to use some gestures and sign language. She refuses, and she told the speech therapist that she wasn’t going to do it because Mason wouldn’t learn words if he was taught sign language. Finding the right daycare placement for Mason has caused me so much concern. Mason has to be in daycare fulltime, and he’s been in the same daycare since he was 8 weeks old. Honestly, I’ve gone rounds with them. The university has a great daycare (more of lab for students studying early childhood education, OT, PT, etc) but it’s only open on days that students have class, so even if we could get in there, I don’t have a back up for all the days I have to work when class is not in session. Since I have no family in this area, I have to have a daycare situation that is always available.

Mason’s rocking, especially at night, and his lack of speech is very concerning to me. Mason was recently diagnosed with Autism by the Wisconsin Early Autism Project, Inc. For months my friends and even the therapists from Birth to 3 have been telling me that they just didn’t think Mason was Autistic. He seems social to them, and engaged with life. Yes, he is. He’s very attached to me, and he does look people in the eyes. I’ve even had people tell me that their children didn’t talk at all until they were three or four, and they are fine. But combined with the sensory seeking behaviors Mason has, I wondered if there wasn’t more. WEAP did two hours of testing on Mason and the score he got was even shocking to me. The Early Learning Measure is a behavioral measure that assesses compliance, imitation, receptive language and expressive language skills. Mason completed 1 out of 10 Receptive Commands. He was able to “come” on request. He completed 2 out of 10 items of the Verbal imitation subtest, imitating “mama” and “ah.” On the Nonverbal Imitation subtest he scored 1 out of 10, imitating touch nose. Mason scored 0 out of 10 on the Expressive Objects Labels subtest. Mason responded to his name 2 out of 10 times. Mason received a score of 38.5 on the CARS, placing him in the Severe Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder range. If there is any pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, it’s that Wisconsin is one of the most progressive states in treating Autism. In my opinion labels only work for people if they receive services and treatment because of them. Every morning next week we have appointments for evaluations with physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy at the Red Cedar Medical Center. This therapy will be in addition to the Birth to 3 program. I’m still lost in the maze of figuring out what therapies my insurance will cover. I have excellent insurance, but they do not cover services related to global developmental delay. With a diagnosis of Autism, they will be required to cover some of these services. If they do not cover the intensive treatments, I will have to wait nearly a year for the state Medicaid waiver. In-home intensive programs paid for by the state won’t work for us anyway because I’m not in the home. The state requires a parent to be in the home and work with the therapists for 36 hours a week. I’m currently looking into options where Mason can get one-on-one therapy in the daycare and some therapy at home. There are programs in surrounding communities, but my full-time job prevents me from driving him to these therapies. My career has to move forward to keep our lives moving forward, so I’m learning how to blend getting special help for Mason while succeeding in my career. There is no balancing anything. It’s all blending at this point. I’m going to an Autism conference on Friday at UW-River Falls. I’ve learned that there is an active group of professional parents of children with Autism, and they have frequent conferences and workshops. Hopefully, I can network with this group and get some ideas from them. At least I’ll learn more about what Autism is and some of the latest treatments. We also have an appointment at the end of February with a pediatrician who specializes in behavioral health. I think it is a good idea to get a second opinion or even third opinion. This is a crucial time for Mason. Mason is smart. Last week a social worker asked me what my long-range plans are for Mason. My answer: to graduate from college and get a job.

Photo Review of 2010. Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T22:03:00.001-08:00

This digital scrapbook generated with Smilebox

Happy Birthday to Me-I'm 39 again!

2010-12-16T20:16:00.000-08:00

Last year on my birthday, Mason and I went to Santa's Workshop at Macy's in Minneapolis. This year we spotted Santa at the Oakwood Mall in Eau Claire. I think the Santa at Oakwood is the real deal. He's the same Santa I remember as a kid being right outside the ZCMI store in the Cottonwood Mall.

Happy Holidays 2010

2010-12-05T20:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Holidays!

What happened this year? Mason and I started the New Year dealing with his emerging medical issues. A few days before Christmas 2009, Mason had tubes put in his ears, and the surgeon found that Mason had moderate hearing loss. This compounded with the fact that the esotropia in Mason’s eyes appeared to be getting worse (his eyes turned out rather than the more common type of strabismus where the eyes turn in or are crossed) led our family doctor to refer us to Mayo Clinic for a battery of tests and visits to specialists to determine if Mason had a genetic or metabolic disorder. These tests showed us a lot about Mason and may prove to be a valuable resource for him as he gets older since we do not have any information about his family history. After the tubes were put in Mason’s ears, his hearing began to improve and is now within the normal range. He also had two eye surgeries done by the best pediatric eye surgeon in the world. Mason had been experiencing developmental delay that really started to show up around the age of 12 months. His brain was not seeing images in 3D, and he was probably seeing two different images. The vision problems, combined with the fact that he couldn’t hear well, caused him to fall behind the normal benchmarks for a 12 month old. Then, right before Easter, Mason became extremely ill with GI troubles. He was so sick that he was taken by ambulance to Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, MN. After they released him, he continued to decompensate. Various doctors tried to figure out what was wrong, and he was finally admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital. We spent three weeks in the hospital, and Mason’s condition was mysterious to the doctors at Mayo Clinic. They finally took him off of all liquids and solids, put a picc line in, and did a TPN feeding. Mason’s colonoscopy showed that he had severe colitis. He was down to only 19 pounds, and I was so afraid that he was slipping away. It was obvious when Mason was only a few months old that he could not tolerate dairy, but he also developed intolerance to soy. Mason is a fighter, and he rallied back. He was released from St. Mary’s on Mother’s Day, and by his birthday on July 26th, he weighed 28lbs. This is the first time that Mason has been in the 50th percentile for weight. Since his second eye surgery in August, Mason has really blossomed. He is so strong and active; you’d never know that he had all those issues. He loves to climb stairs, do pull ups on the railing, bounce on the trampoline, jump on the couch, and play hide and go seek with me. He’s such a character. He needs to stay busy! He loves books, especially books with Elmo. He loves computers, especially mine. He loves eating hotdogs with spicy mustard. He’s delayed in speech, but he loves to say eat, more, Momma, doggie, wookie (for cookie), and he pretends to “talk” on the phone. He’s asked Santa to bring him an iphone for Christmas.

Mason and I took a few trips together this year. We went to Louisville, KY for a conference in March. It was a beautiful city, and we found a wonderful children’s museum and zoo there. We visited Churchill Downs. We also visited my family in Colorado and Utah in June. We were able to celebrate my dad’s 77th birthday with a family party. It was fun to spend time with my cousins on both sides of my family, my Aunt Luci, and my niece and nephews. Traveling with a toddler wore me out, but we did venture to the Wisconsin Dells in August where we had fun playing at the water park and site seeing on the boat tours of the beautiful Dells. Then we travelled to Chicago for Thanksgiving. This trip to Chicago was the first one I’d made with Mason. The last time I was in Chicago was for my graduation in May of 2008. We were able to visit friends, enjoy the Children’s Museum at Navy Pier and see the Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo. Mason enjoyed Millennium Park and seeing himself in the Bean. I enjoyed being back in the city and remembering all the good times I had while living there.

I’m looking forward to a quiet holiday season at home in Wisconsin. This has been a stressful year full of sorrows and joys. Fortunately my work is going well. To borrow a line from the Lion King, “There is more to do than can ever be done.” This year I became the director of the Women and Gender Studies program. I’m really enjoying directing this program in addition to the writing courses I teach in the English Department. I’m finding new opportunities for scholarship, more opportunities to network with colleagues outside my department, and more opportunities to meet people in the University of Wisconsin System. I applied for promotion from assistant to associate professor, and I’ll know in the spring if I’ve been promoted. I started teaching in 1989; it’s hard to believe I started my first job as a teacher twenty one years ago, but every semester I notice the students getting younger and younger. Now, I’m starting to imagine a future for myself in higher education leadership and will be seeking opportunities in administration in the coming years.

I wish you all health and happiness. Be well, and thank you for all your love and prayers this year. All the emotional support, calls, emails, and notes on Facebook meant so much.

Love,

Glenda and Mason

http://keepinupwiththejoneses-jonesgl.blogspot.com/

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

Mason's teachers at daycare asked me to bring pictures, to go on the Thanksgiving bulleting board at school, of things Mason is most thanksful for. I put this collage together of things we are both thankful for.

Mason had two costumes for Halloween. He was a skeleton for the party at daycare, and a cowboy at other parties. I got this portrait taken for my dad. Mason wasn't too happy to sit down for a picture, but he seemed to enjoy Halloween. By the actual day of Halloween arrived, I was tired of dress-up and candy. We did not go trick-or-treating.

The End of Summer

2010-09-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

We had a follow-up appointment yesterday to the eye surgery. Dr. M. thinks Mason’s eyes look perfect. I see the right eye turning in more, but he believes that the muscles will straighten over time. He also said that there is still swelling that will go down, and as Mason gets older, the bridge of his nose will thin out. To me, the way the eyes look is not as important as whether Mason can see. I think Mason is interacting with the word in a different way. I see him pick up small things, play ball, (he’s yet to catch a ball) and he dunks the ball in the Little Tikes hoop. Dr. M said he will do more surgery if either eye starts to turn out again. We are hoping that Mason gains 3D vision. Apparently 3D vision doesn’t happen right after a surgery. It comes in slowly as the brain is retrained.
Mason is also starting to talk. “More” is his favorite word. He uses more affirmatively for almost everything. There are times when his language is really good, and the next day he mostly babbles. He’s making different sounds though, and he will act like he’s having a conversation with me. Reportedly, the children at daycare get up in his face and talk to him. Yesterday I saw him point out the eyes and nose on a stuffed animal. This made be happy that he can now identify them on something other than himself.
Mason got hurt at daycare last Friday. People tell me that kids are going to get hurt, but it still made me mad. I expect them to supervise him better, and I think the director makes poor staffing decisions. Unfortunately, most daycare workers have very little education and training, and they only make minimum wage. One of Mason’s fulltime teachers has been doing daycare for 16 years, and she only makes $8.00 an hour. She’s really burned out, and I don’t blame her. On Friday, the daycare provider went to change another child’s diaper, and Mason got up on a table and fell off. He had a goose egg the size of a walnut on the back of his head. I took him to the emergency room. His eyes are dark, so I wanted a professional to check his pupils. Since he doesn’t speak clearly anyway, there was no way to tell if he had slurred speech.
The good news is that Mason now weighs over 28 lbs. The hospital staff remembered seeing him (repeatedly) in April when he was so sick, and his weight was down to 19 lbs. This boy eats now. Last night he had two adult portions of stew and then ate a hot dog. He “goes shopping” in the fridge when he’s still hungry. He usually pulls out a hotdog, but sometimes he comes out with a stick of butter or another odd item that no one would or should eat.

I’m hoping for an Indian summer this fall. We’ve had a lot of rain and weird weather this year. The humidity has been stifling. I’ve kept dehumidifiers going constantly in the house. I’m just trying to breath. Wisconsin is at sea level, and I grew up in the Rocky Mountains. I liked the weather in New Mexico the best. I feel better in the high desert area of Santa Fe and Taos. Academic jobs are hard to get, and I’m getting more and more entrenched in my job and community here, so I can’t think of moving, but I do look forward to the days when Mason is old enough to enjoy traveling out West.

The pictures in this post were taken the last two weekends. The Bob Marley hat was purchased at the International Fair in Eau Claire. I love street fairs and there was great music and food. The pumpkin patch pictures were taken last Sunday at Govin's pumpkin farm.

Family Day 8/27/2010

2010-08-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today, I held beautiful Baby Mason in my arms for the first time. I spent the day driving from Perryville, Missouri to Baton Rouge. My mind was so preoccupied with thoughts of being a mother, I couldn't listen to the radio. I only heard of the impending hurricane from my own mother who heard the national news. When I finally got close to Baton Rouge, I pulled over and rented a room at a Day's Inn in Denham Springs. I asked the attendant at the front desk for directions to a grocery store. He directed me to some small neighborhood store, and I remember that the drinking water was already gone from the shelves. I bought some Gatorade and some canned food. It seemed like the time passed so slowly waiting for the call to pick up Mason. I was concerned that I would not have a place to stay since all the rooms had been previously booked by people driving up from New Orleans to get away from the impending hurricane. My cousin Krista and I checked all the Internet websites like Hotels.com. We couldn't find a single room available in the entire state. By the time I got the call to pick up Mason, I was frantic. Margie from Beacon House asked me why I was crying. "I'm going to be homeless with a baby," I said. I remember her telling me that this was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. It didn't feel that way right then. I had a hard time finding Beacon House. When I finally arrived, we had paper work to do before Mason showed up. Then Melissa who had been taking care of him brought him in. He was so tiny. I almost felt scared to hold him. Margie said, "you can hold the baby". He looked so cute in his little white outfit. By the time I left Beacon House, Mason was crying. We had a hard time getting him to fit securely in the car seat. I drove off into the dark, stormy night. I got lost, and I almost hit a deer. Mason was hungry and screaming. I finally found a gas station and pulled over to get my wits about me. I remember asking myself: if it never gets any better than this, can you do it? I could and would. I finally got my bearings straight, made it back to the motel, and realized I was a mom.
Mason cried all night. I didn't know it at the time, but he was allergic to formulas made from milk. A few days went by, and we finally moved over to Pam and Jim's house. They were (are) professors at LSU. They are some of the kindest "strangers" I've ever met. I weathered the hurricane at their home. After it was over, I went outside with Mason. We looked at all the destruction and broken trees. LSU had generators, so the next day, we made our way over to Jim's office. We were able to weather the heat and humidity by staying in classrooms at LSU. Their cafeteria was operating, too. After a few days I got the call that Wisconsin had accepted the ICPC, and I started making my way north. I cried when I waved goodbye to Pam and Jim. I followed the storm north and passed a caravan of rescue and power trucks heading south. My experience adopting Mason was one that I never could have imagined. There are times that it feels like the hurricane has continued for the past two years, but he's worth it. He's added a twirl to his dance moves. His choreography gets better every day.

Feed a Giraffe (oh yes he did!)

2010-08-18T18:55:00.000-07:00

Swimming at Wisconsin Dells

2010-08-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

Kyla told him not to throw food on the floor. Love this girl!

2010-08-18T18:51:00.001-07:00

The Dawg Days of Summer, Mason and Kyla

2010-08-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

Mason in 3D

2010-08-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

On Friday August 13th, Mason had a second eye surgery to attempt to straighten his eyes. After the surgery, Dr. M. came out and told me that the surgery went well. He said that Mason’s eyes would appear overcorrected (turned in), but that the surgery had gone well. When I finally saw Mason open his eyes, I was horrified. They were swollen, and he looked cross-eyed. I had a hard time believing that they would straighten out. Each day since the surgery his eyes have looked a little straighter. Sometimes I can see that he is using only one eye, and other times I see him looking straight with both eyes. Dr. M. believes that Mason will start to see in 3D and gain depth perception. It’s hard to imagine the world the way Mason was seeing it. He could not see distance, and his brain probably saw two overlapping images. We won’t know exactly what Mason sees until he’s old enough to articulate it. However, I’ve already noticed him doing things he didn’t do before. He runs with his arms down. He bounces a ball and chases it. He dunks the basketball in the Little Tykes Hoop, he moves his hips more, and he isn’t afraid of toys like his rocking horse that he formerly avoided. I’m happy for Mason and hope he can have the vision to pursue the activities he wants to in life. He’s always liked to dance, and now he’s imitating tap dancing. As soon as he can follow instructions of a dance teacher, he’ll be in class.

Mason’s occupational therapist suggested that Mason has a sensory integration dysfunction. I’ve been doing some reading on the different types of dysfunctions, and one category fits Mason to a T. Mason is a sensory seeking child who is jumping and crashing into anything he can. He is an excessive risk taker. Because of his eye sight, he cannot do puzzles, write with a crayon, or ride a bike. Mason likes to be spun around, and he likes to put his head on the ground and do somersaults. He has meltdowns when he cannot get enough sensory input like when he is confined in a car or shopping with me in a store. I am trying to help him learn adaptive coping techniques. His behavior sometimes appears naughty to others, and he does have to learn to fit in to society, but I’m learning that whispering to him helps more than yelling at him.

As summer comes to a close, I am gearing up to be back on campus full time, and Mason will return to daycare five days a week. This will be a big adjustment for both of us. Last year Mason got every illness that came along including the H1N1 virus. I really hope things are better this year. I’ll miss our days together, but I look forward to spending cool fall evenings together outside on the deck.

Birthday at Como Zoo

2010-07-27T10:40:00.001-07:00

Birthday Pictures

2010-07-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

New, One, Two

2010-07-27T10:28:00.000-07:00

Mason is a very loving little boy. He likes to snuggle and give kisses. He’s very active! He loves to run and play chase. He pokes the dog and laughs when she snarls at him. He’s interested in how things work. He has figured out how to open all the locks on the baby gates. He loves toys with flashing lights and music. Music and dance seem to be his biggest interests. He received a Bob Marley CD and a ukulele for his birthday. He goes to music class on Monday nights, and he loves it. The teacher lets him sit on her lap and play the piano.

We went to the zoo for his second birthday. It was so cute to see him waving at the animals. He hates to be confined, so he stands up in the stroller and scares me to death. He enjoyed riding the children’s train, he stuffed his face with mini doughnuts, and he played in the water park.

Everything is wondrous to him. He even finds the water coming from the bathtub tap to be delightful. He has the cutest laugh. When he’s not laughing, he’s talking or more like babbling. He’s loud! He only has one volume: high. It’s so funny to hear him say words. He has a great sense of humor and loves to be surprised. Once he finds something to be funny, he’ll repeat it over, and over, and over. He still loves to pull a blanket over his head and play Where’s Mason.

Mason is strong willed. He wants his own way. He wants to play with the computer, the cell phone, my wallet, and my keys. If something is important to me, it’s important to him. He throws a fit when he doesn’t get his own way. He likes to have an audience for his tantrums, so I walk away while he’s crying, and he follows me. He recovers quickly though. One minute he’ll be upset, the next minute he’ll be smiling and laughing.

He’s moving up to the two year old room at baby school. His teachers at daycare love him. He plays nicely with other children. He’s a very social child and has no problem making friends of all ages. He’s beautiful inside and out, and people are attracted to him. He brings light and love to this earth and his presence blesses everyone in his life, especially mine.

Almost Two

2010-07-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

Mason is almost two. He’s looking more like a little boy now than a baby. He never had any baby fat, so he always looked like a little old man. He’s still a NUK addict. He’s still teething, and he uses his NUK to chew on, but it does inhibit his speech. He’s been in speech therapy for a few months, and we will continue speech therapy until he is up to age level. He’s starting to say some words: Nu-Nuk, ni-night, dog-doggie, go, and he shakes his head for no. He even shakes no when he means yes because he likes to be contrary. He’s been learning sign language, and he can sign for help, more, eat, drink, all done, and play. He can also identify pictures and retrieve objects such as dog, Elmo, bubbles, NUK, and snack. He waves bye-bye, blows kisses, and plugs his nose for P.U. Speaking of P.U., we were looking at books in Borders last week when the woman next to us bent over and farted. Mason burst out laughing. He loves fart humor. He’s obsessed with being in control. He wants keys that make the car door open, cell phones that work, and remotes that make the television turn on. Look- a-likes just won’t do. His vision is improving, and he has one more eye surgery at Mayo on August 13th. I’m so hoping that will be the end of serious medical care for Mason. These last 8 months have been emotionally and physically exhausting for both of us.
As usual, we’ve had a busy summer. I’ve been teaching classes online; trying to make improvements to the yard and the house; and Mason and I go to a play group on Fridays and music class on Monday nights. We spend time outside when it’s not too hot and humid, and Mason likes to climb the porch steps. Our yard is not yet fenced, so he easily gets away from me. Just when I think I can sit down and relax, he looks at me and runs toward the front yard. I’m looking into fencing materials this week.
I’m not sure I’m up for the terrible twos, but they’ve started. Mason is very strong, and he loves to get away from me when I’m changing his diaper. He’s always liked to rock as a sensory seeking behavior, and now he likes to throw the back of his head into my face when he’s frustrated. I hope my nose and teeth stay intact! He hates to be restrained in his car seat, and he holds his body prostrate as I try to put him in the car. The pinching has started, but fortunately the scratching has stopped. No biting (yet). He still loves to get in the tub, he’s very good about going night night, and he’s still crazy about soy yogurt. He’s cuter than ever!

Happy Birthday Marvell Jones

2010-06-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from my dad's 77th birthday party. My Jones cousins, Liz, Becky, Glade, and Brian, were there with their families, and my aunt Claudia and her sister were there. I love these people!

More pictures of Colorado and Utah

2010-06-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

Trip to Colorado and Utah

2010-06-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

On May 29th, Mason and I set off for a 12 day trip to visit our family out West. We flew from MSP to Denver. We rented a car and drove to my cousin Krista’s home in Gypsum (between Vail and Glenwood Springs). The drive from Denver to Gypsum was exquisite. The vistas were incredible, and being there made me realize how much I miss the West. As we came out of the Eisenhower tunnel we could see snow. Our family did a lot of camping in Colorado when I was a kid, but it’s been a long time since I’ve traveled there except for the Four Corners area. Mason was difficult on the trip. He was still getting over his illness, and we’d been to the Ophthalmologist at Mayo the day before. Mason has to have another corrective eye surgery on August 13th. Not only is Mason at a difficult age to take places because he’s in to everything, he couldn’t eat everything that other people could eat. He is also developmentally delayed in speech, so he screams when he’s frustrated, tired, or bored. When he’s out of his routine, he screams a lot. If there was anything I could do about the screaming I would. I’ve asked a number of professionals for advice, and it’s difficult to know what to do with a child that is developmentally delayed. He is not ready for time out, and he doesn’t understand consequences or punishment. After spending 12 days traveling with him, I felt like I needed a vacation. He acts a lot better at home, and he really needs to have his own crib. All the bad behavior aside, it was great to see my family. We were fortunate to spend time on both ends of the trip with my cousin’s family in Colorado. Krista and Gerry have four fabulous boys, and they just adopted a beautiful baby girl from Taiwan. They waited over three years to adopt their baby, and I thought I had a long wait! It was fun seeing these kids together and to realize all the joy they have brought to our families. After spending a few days in Colorado, we headed to Utah. Since my niece, Nicole, and her husband Lorenzo are now staying with my mom and dad, I decided to stay with my aunt Luci. Luci’s house is quiet, and it worked out well for us to stay there and let Mason get some rest. While we were in Utah, my dad and I took Mason to our favorite petting zoo at Gardner Village, and Lisa, Nicole, Tanner, Zach, my dad, Mason, and I all went to Thanksgiving Point. Mason doesn’t quite understand the concept of the pony ride, but he’ll have to catch on, because in our family, we all ride horses! Another highlight of the trip was having a party for my dad’s 77th birthday. It’s been a while since we got together with all our Jones cousins, so we had a potluck birthday party and served homemade ice cream. We roasted my dad with funny stories and memories, and the next day he told me that he wants my cousins to tell those stories about him at his funeral. It’s hard to hear my parents talk about their funerals, but both of them are in poor health, especially my mother. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone in Utah, but the next day, my aunt Luci and I drove back to Krista’s home in Colorado. Krista’s son Ian was baptized and her daughter was given a special ceremony to give her a name and a blessing. Krista and Gerry own a beautiful log home in Gypsum. They have been renting the home out as a vacation lodge. It was fun staying there, but the best part was spending time with my Thorne cousins. Living in Wisconsin means that we cannot see our family more than a few times a year. I regret that Mason will not grow up with the same sense of close family that I did, but right now this is the best place for us. My job has good insurance, and Mason’s medical bills this year have already been more than twice my annual salary. We’ll try to make it out to Utah again in the fall. Sometimes I am fortunate enough to find a conference in Utah that I can attend while I’m visiting family.

Mother's Day 5/9/10

2010-05-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

Mason was released from St. Mary's on Mother's Day. What a wonderful present to have him back at home. He was released with a PICC line in case he had a relapse, but we had that removed yesterday 5/12 because he's doing fine at home.
I already knew that he had a dairy intolerance, but the doctors decided to test that on their own. Turns out I was right. They diagnosed him with colitis, esophagitis, and gastritis. His colon looks like it's filled with canker sores. Why? Either a virus did this to him (unknown virus since none was detected after all these weeks) or he has soy colitis. He's off soy for now. He has a biological sister with a metabolic disorder preventing her body from breaking down protein, and he probably has a variant of that. His amino acids were wacky. The doctors call him an enigma. He's been undergoing extensive tests at Mayo since January. They told me that researchers will be looking at all his samples for a long time. He might get a rare diagnosis or maybe we'll never know.

Mason at Mayo update 5/5

2010-05-05T11:32:00.001-07:00

We are still in the hospital, but Mason is improving. Yesterday was a rough day because Mason could not eat or drink for 24 hours due to the fact that he was having an upper GI exam and a picc line put in. Mason was fed barium through a feeding tube, and then x-rayed throughout the day to see if the barium moved properly through his GI system. It does! Due to the insertion of the picc line, they are now able to draw Mason’s blood without hurting him, and he was fed two solutions through the picc last night, one fat solution, and one vitamin and mineral solution. He is like a new guy this morning. His bowels are working again, though he cries from the pain of the colitis. He is smiling at everyone and flirting with strangers. He expects to be adored by all, and of course, he is. He’s turned into a total monster. He wants to be held by me constantly. We were taken off isolation and allowed to go to the play room. Mason enjoyed seeing the other babies, but he wouldn’t play independently. He sat on my lap and would play with anything he could reach without losing his grip on me. His appetite is coming back. Right now he only wants to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He still won’t drink very much, and he’s a long way from taking in 24 ounces of fluid a day. The GI doc confirmed what I already knew, Mason cannot have dairy. Unfortunately, it seems that he’s now built up intolerance to soy, which was his main source of protein. We will try rice milk again. I tried it once, but I’ll try it again. I asked Dr. Y what to give Mason to drink since he won’t drink juice either. Dr. Y said to give Mason decaf coffee. Okay. Mason is having a sweat test today to test for cystic fibrosis. Apparently colon problems are associated with cystic fibrosis. I don’t believe that Mason has CF, so I’m staying positive. I’m learning that I have strengths that I didn’t know I had, and if Mason has a chronic condition, I’ll be sad, but I will deal with it. We hope to be released by the weekend. I’m very thankful to Susan Weston and Wendy Dittman for taking care of my pets. I’m thankful to my neighbors Steve and John for taking care of my yard, and I’m thankful to Lopa Basu, Mike Levy, Bob Horan, and Bob Schuler for taking my classes. I’m very thankful to my friend Diane who has visited us in the hospital almost every day. Thanks to all of you who have called, visited, and prayed for Mason’s recovery.

Mason at Mayo

2010-05-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

On Saturday April 24th I took Mason back to Children’s Hospital in St. Paul. He was so dehydrated, it took several teams three hours to get an IV started on him. Mason was so skinny he looked like an alien. His face was thin, skin tight, and he didn’t even cry when they poked him. The doctors continued to insist that Mason was still getting over a virus. Each time we went to the hospital his recovery time was slower, and he was less and less animated. On Tuesday April 27th they released us. His colon was sluggish, and they gave him Miralax before they released him. He’s been on Miralax since January, so that’s nothing new. Mason had terrible diarrhea on the way home. I got him cleaned up, put him down for a nap and a few hours later, he had explosive diarrhea again. I stood him up to change his clothes, and he vomited all over me. The rest of the night he continued to vomit. I stayed up all night putting drops of water in his mouth. He hates pedialyte and refuses to drink it. The next morning I called Dr. A at Mayo. I told him that I thought Mason was dying. He told me to bring him in at 4:00. By now my rusty van knows the way. I grabbed a few things and took off to Rochester. Dr. A admitted us straight to the floor at St. Mary’s. They ordered all kinds of blood tests that night, but no one, and I mean no one in this hospital could start an IV or draw more than a tiny bit of blood from Mason. He’d been poked so many times in the last month and had such prominent edema that they could not get much blood. They decided to go with an NG tube to hydrate him with pedialyte. On Friday April 30th, Mason had surgery. They did four different procedures that end with oscopy. They took tissue samples from his colon and are still waiting on the result of those, which won’t come back until Monday or Tuesday. The GI doc told me that the left side of Mason’s colon is not working. The right side does its job of moving the food through the colon, then when the food hits the left side, everything stops. The food builds up like concrete on that side. Eventually, the water goes around the blockage, and Mason ends up with diarrhea. When enough food goes in, the body rejects it, and Mason vomits. That’s why the food comes back undigested. Mason’s got to the point where he doesn’t want to eat. They consider him to have failure to thrive. By Tuesday, the blood and tissue results should paint a picture of the cause of the problem. Either Mason has an infection due to a virus, an allergy, or a metabolic disorder where the endocrine glands don’t secrete the fluids to break down the food. They think by Tuesday they will know how to treat the disease either through surgery or other means. I’m really thankful for the people and machines keeping Mason alive. I love Mason more than words can describe. He’s a very special person.

Bump in the Road

2010-04-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

Mason has been vomiting and had diarrhea for three weeks. He was hospitalized for four days after numerous trips to urgent care and the E.R. Finally, we were sent by ambulance to Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, MN. After 4 days he was stabilized, and they sent us home. He has acute gastroenteritis. No one knows what caused it. He probably had a virus that rebounded. Doctors tell me they see other children who are sick this long. It’s hard to keep him hydrated. He’s on an anti nausea medication, but there is nothing to stop the endless diarrhea. He refuses food and water much of the time. He’s lost 3lbs. The pediatrician told me that Mason is not a sickly person, just a guy going through a bad patch. These last 5 months we’ve been to countless doctor and hospital visits. Mason’s had two surgeries and all the other tests and follow up exams at Mayo. Both of us are weary. Yesterday the pediatrician suggested that Mason come in for a colonoscopy. I was hoping he’d be better today so he wouldn’t have to go through that. He’s not lethargic today, but he just wants to be held. He seems to be too weak to walk. I’m going to put off my decision about the colonoscopy one more day. Mason’s visits to Mayo were due to developmental delays, but compounded with the regular illnesses going around, it seems like we should just rent a hospital room. On a positive note, Mason’s eye surgery went well, and he’s doing better developmentally. Both of the eyes are working together. He’s starting speech therapy in two weeks. He says a few words, but he prefers to grunt and gesture or just has a plain old toddler fit when he doesn’t get what he wants. He does know how to communicate because somehow I’ve figured out all his little signs, sounds, and gestures. We finally got closure to our adoption this week when we got his birth certificate from Louisiana. On the way home from the hospital, I had the thought flash into my mind that the birth certificate was in the mail box and sure enough it was. Finally, I can get a social security number for Mason. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to tell people that he doesn’t have a social security number. It just feels better with everything complete.

Happy Easter 2010

2010-04-04T18:49:00.001-07:00

The Easter Bunny was good to Mason this year. Unfortunately, Mason had the flu and didn't feel like eating any of his goodies. Mason had eye surgery on Friday March 26th. While he was in recovery, the eye surgeon came out and told me that the surgery went well. He said that 1 out of 8 kids have to have a second surgery, but it will be a few month before we know if Mason's eyes will straighten out on their own. Even though Mason's eyes were bloody and swollen, I could see a difference right away. Mason is left eye dominant, but both eyes are tracking. That means that Mason's brain is using both eyes to see. I've already noticed a bump in his development. At daycare they reported that Mason is using his pincer grip to pick up pieces of corn. Now, I've got to work on getting him to eat with a spoon! Mason recovered quickly from the surgery. His eyes are still a little red, but he was in generally good spirits all week. It was windy here, so he didn't get to spend a lot of time outside. It was a beautiful day today though, so he played on his new slide.

Spring Break in Louisville, KY

2010-03-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

Last week Mason and I attended the Conference on College Composition and Communication in Louisville, Kentucky. I read a paper that I wrote on the problematic of defining rigor in freshman composition courses, and Mason went to the conference daycare and played with two other toddlers. Each afternoon, Mason and I went exploring the beautiful city of Louisville. We walked along Market Street and Main Street. We went to the Science Museum, a glass blowing studio, the zoo, the Muhammad Ali Museum, great restaurants, and a St. Patrick's Day street festival. One of the things I enjoyed the most was attending the Bedford/St. Martin's reception at Churchill Downs. It was wonderful to see our friends that we only see at conferences. I particularly like going to the C's conference because I get reenergized with new ideas for research and ways to improve my own teaching.
This has been a difficult few months for both of us since we've been making weekly trips to Mayo Clinic. The extra time away from preparation and grading has taken its toll on me, and I'm now spending spring break getting caught up. I've been putting in 8-10 hours every day just grading midterm exams and papers. Mason's eye surgery for extropia is tomorrow morning (3/26, his 20th month mark) at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester (next to the Mayo Clinic). We'll have a follow-up appointment next week, and then we see an ear specialist and the pediatrician again in April. I am three dog tired. I keep telling myself that things will never be this hectic again. One day at a time!

More pictures of Mayo Clinic

2010-02-07T09:07:00.001-08:00

Pictures of Mayo Clinic

2010-02-07T09:04:00.000-08:00

Mason is 18 months old at Mayo Clinic

2010-02-07T07:25:00.000-08:00

Mason turned 18 months old on January 26th. He passed that milestone by having an MRI done of his brain early that morning at St. Mary's hospital attached to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Needless to say, it was a very stressful day. When Mason turned twelve months old, our family doctor thought Mason was showing some signs of developmental delay. This news came as a surprise to me because I hadn't noticed anything. I had been reading the book What to Expect the First Year, and I knew that he would hit most milestones such as sitting up and standing a little later than some kids, but he still seemed to be within the normal range. I also thought that Mason's first month of life had set him back. He only weighed six pounds at 4 weeks old. He seemed to be malnourished and severely constipated when I adopted him. At the time I adopted him, I only spent a few hours at the adoption agency. I was there for three hours the first night, and I went back the next day for a few hours. What I gleaned in those few hours of conversation with the agency director is all the information I have about Mason and his biological family. I know that Mason was their fourth child, and at least two of the three older siblings were placed for adoption with the same agency. When I asked about family medical history, I was told that neither parent gave a history. The agency director did mention, however that Mason's older sister had been diagnosed with Maple Syrup Urine Disease. I had not heard of this disease before, but I did tell my family doctor when we got back to Wisconsin. I was not given a copy of Mason's Louisiana newborn screening nor a copy of the doctor's report of the visit he had the day before I picked him up. I was so excited about getting him and so anxious about the impending hurricane, that I forgot to press for information that would later be vital.
When we returned to Wisconsin, Mason had a newborn screening test done here. It came back normal. I just assumed at that time that Mason did not have Maple Syrup Urine Disease, and I didn't give it any more thought. Mason had several colds and ear infections his first year. In December we were given a referral to an ENT specialist. An audiologist did a pre-surgical hearing test, and Mason was given another hearing test called a sedated ABR at the time the tubes were placed in his ears. Both of these tests showed that Mason had a moderate hearing loss. This was devastating news, but the surgeon told me that usually this type of hearing loss could be helped with the use of hearing aids.
It was obvious from the time that Mason was a few months old that he had a lazy eye. The problem seemed to be more pronounced as he grew. We saw a local opthomologist in January who told me that Mason was far sighted and had an astigmatism. He thought that Mason's right eye was so weak it had just given up. I told the doctor about the hearing loss, and he thought the two problems might be related. We had already been referred by the ENT to Mayo for further testing, so the opthomologist said he wanted to refer Mason to Mayo as well since this was a complicated case.
It took about three weeks for our Mayo referrals to come through, and during that time, I feared that Mason was progressively losing his hearing and vision. I did some reading about Maple Syrup Urine Disease, and found that Mason has a 1 in 4 chance of having it. It's a serious metabolic disorder that causes the body to have the inability to break down proteins. Proteins in the body become toxic and result in hearing and vision loss and well as other problems. Mason seemed to have all the symptoms of the disease, but his body never emitted the strong odor of Maple Syrup.
We had our first appointment at Mayo Clinic on Thursday 1/21. We saw a pediatrician that day, and he gave us an itinerary for the next few days that would include audiology, opthomology, neurology, and genetics. On Friday 1/22 we received good news from the opthomologist. He said that Mason's eyes are healthy. He said that Mason is not far sighted, and he does not have an astigmatism. Mason has extropia in both eyes, the right eye is worse. It's unusual that the eyes turn out. Most people with strabismus have eyes that turn in. It was not his job to diagnose why Mason's eyes turn out, but he did tell me that Mason's eyes can be corrected with surgery. He will cut the muscles behind the eyes and straighten them. This surgery is scheduled for the end of March. We hope this surgery results in Mason's brain being able to see and take in information the way people with normal vision do. Not being able to focus his eyes has definitely contributed to his developmental delays. The same day, Mason had an appointment with audiology. During the test, I was holding him on my lap and noticed that he was responding to sounds that I could not even hear. Since Mason's surgery in December, his hearing is now borderline normal. He still has an appointment with a ENT specialist, who could not see us before April.
On Monday 1/25, we saw a neurologist who is also a specialist in metabolic disorders. She ordered an MRI, and every kind of DNA and chromosome test possible. She pointed out that Mason has preauricular ear pits, which are a birth defect and can be a sign of hearing loss. These holes look like someone pierced the top of Mason's ears close to his cheek bones. These pits should have closed in the womb during the 8-10th week of development. She also thought Mason's eyes looked dysmorphic. I don't see what she is seeing, but she's trained to look for things that I can't possible see.
I contacted the adoption agency twice just trying to find out how old Mason's sister was when she was diagnosed with Maple Syrup Urine Disease. I did not receive a response. Even though this is a closed adoption, I'm disappointed that we didn't even get a response since this would not violate anyone's privacy. Getting Mason from this agency was a miracle. Getting the paper work finished is like pulling teeth. I'm very frustrated with how long it's taken to get the final paper work done with this agency. It took longer than normal to get the adoption decree filed, and I still have not received the changed birth certificate or final accounting. Without the birth certificate, I cannot apply for a social security number for Mason.
On Friday I received a letter in the mail from the neurologist. Mason's MRI came back normal. This is great news and rules out many disorders that would have shown up in the brain imaging. We will see the neurologist again on 2/18 and find out more about the results of the DNA and chromosome analysis. She told me that only 1 in 3 of the patients she sees get a diagnosis, and less than that have something that is treatable. If Mason has something that is treatable, at least we will know it. If not, I accept that. Either way, I've had the best medical advice in the world.
I'm posting pictures of the Mayo Clinic. It's a beautiful art museum as well as world class clinic.

Photo jouney thru 2009

2009-12-30T21:37:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Mason's adoption was finalized this morning!

2009-11-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

Yes Sir, that's my baby!

Fall pictures

2009-11-02T13:36:00.000-08:00

Fall Fun

2009-11-02T13:22:00.000-08:00

Fall is here again. Last night I had to start parking on the lawn again. Menomonie has calendar parking starting Nov. 1st, so instead of trying to remember which side of the street I can park on, I just park on the lawn by the back door.
Mason and I went to a fun Halloween part at the UCC put on by our friend "Grandma Susie." Susan Weston is a just a few years older than me, but she's okay with Mason calling her grandma. I made Mason a sunflower costume. People tell me he'll be mad about it someday. I doubt it. He's so cute as a sunflower. He embodies the very essence of the big burst of sun with a cute little brown face.
Mason was sick for over a week with the H1N1 virus. He was in the hospital on four occasions. His temp was 104 and nothing would bring it down. I felt so helpless, and it was hard seeing Mason literally tortured by the lab technicians who were starting his IVs. Mason's little veins are hard to find. I hope he's done with serious illness for a while. Poor kid seems like he's sick more than he's well. The doctor assures me that Mason will be the kid in elementary school with perfect attendance because he will have built up an immunity to all the common illnesses. I sure hope so!

Trip to Utah

2009-11-02T13:03:00.000-08:00

Early October we took a trip to Utah. I was able to mix business with pleasure and attend a conference as well as spend time with my family. I missed Nicole's wedding so it was great to see her. Tanner and Zach are big men now. Tanner is a senior and a football star. Zach is finishing middle school and tells me he is passing his English course! Naomi and Marvell and declining. Marvell has memory loss, and Naomi deals with constant pain from her Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus as well as a host of other physical problems. Now that Clay is no longer able to assist them in any way, I have to try to help them long distance. This situation is proving challenging to say the least. Anyway, Mason and I both enjoyed visiting our cousins. We had a blast at the pizza party and Kameron and Jen's, and we also had a great time being treated by Aunt Luci to a delicious steak dinner at Outback. One of the highlights of the trip was spending the afternoon with Mason and Marvell at Gardner Village. Marvell took Mason on his first pony ride!

Twenty five things about me from Wordle

2009-10-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

Stolkholm (WI that is).

2009-09-19T20:07:00.001-07:00

Family Photos

2009-09-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

Too Beautiful for Words

2009-09-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

The leaves are starting to fall here in Wisconsin. The students return to class on Tuesday, and Mason is on his way to back to daycare. I'm going to miss him so much. I've enjoyed our summer routine more than I thought I would. I'm lucky to be a teacher and have time that I can work at home. I spend time at night after Mason is in bed responding to emails, grading papers, and doing my own writing.

Twenty years ago I started my first teaching job in Wendover, Utah. I still remember the 7th-12th grade school, the students, and the little town like it was yesterday. I taught 9th grade geography, 7th grade music and art, band, and fundamentals of art. I wasn't really qualified to teach any of those subjects (if qualification is even something possible). I don't think, back then, I could have ever imagined how my life would be today. I was sure then that teaching was a temporary job for me until I got married, had five kids, and became the neighborhood piano teacher.

If I've learned anything at all, it's that life is full of revisioning. New hopes and dreams have to be aspired to. Not everything works out the way we want it to, but as we get through each day, there are some simple joys along the way, and occassionally a really big joyful surprise like beautiful baby Mason.

One year together

2009-08-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

On Friday August 22, 2008, I first heard of the possibility of adopting little Mason. I waited breathlessly all weekend hoping that his birth parents would indeed bring him to the adoption agency on Monday August 25th. When I was contacted on Friday, the agency wasn't even sure if he was a boy or a girl. They forgot to ask! On Monday, when he finally arrived, I remember calling and hearing him crying in the background. He was hungry! His parents brought him in with no bottles and no diapers, and everyone was scurrying around to buy supplies to care for him. Finally, Melissa showed up and took him home to care for him for two days until I could arrive. Melissa sent me the first picture I have of him from her iphone.

This has been an absolutely wonderful year. Mason was worth the wait! I couldn't have asked for a better baby. He's blessed my life in every way possible. Now it's time to finalize the adoption so we can legally move on in life together. For reasons unknown to me, BH has been slow to send me the final accounting and petition the court. I was told that all this would take place after Mason was in my care for six months. Well, it's been twelve months. The fact that the adoption has not been finalized has been weighing heavily on my heart. I emailed BH frequently hoping to be the squeaky wheel. Yesterday I thought, I really need some emotional support and prayers from my friends and family. I contacted my friends and family on Facebook and asked them to pray that Mason's court date would be set. This morning I received an email from BH that the court date has been set for November 3rd at 9:00AM. Mason and I will need one more homestudy visit and one last report from the doctor. I'm so relieved that this process is coming to a conclusion, and I pray that it will go smoothly through the court.

Birthday Slide Show

2009-08-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Mason's Big First Birthday Bash

2009-08-01T20:15:00.001-07:00

Mason is 11 months old today

2009-06-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

TROUBLE! Mason is pulling himself up on the crib bars. He's sinking his teeth into the dining table. He's tearing pages out of books. He likes animal crackers. He adores soy yogurt, and he loves his mommy. I'm still his favorite toy.

Spring Flowers

2009-06-16T07:23:00.001-07:00

Finally the weather we've been waiting for is here. This is my year for yard improvement. I've been in this home for nearly two years. The first year I dedicated my efforts to the inside of the home. Last summer I worked on the baby's room, and much of my energy was spent on the adoption process. This summer has been and will continue to be all about the yard. It feels a lot like the house did: the more I do, the more I see needs to be done. The purple flowers are Minnesota wild flowers I planted in the back last fall.

Mason is getting more handsome every day. His first little tooth broke through this week. I could see them under his gums, but they've been a long time coming. He's super strong, but he hasn't been motivated to crawl. He'd rather be carried around. He'll only spend time on the floor if I'm right there with him. He's a social baby and would benefit from having a pack of older brothers and sisters to entertain him. As you can see from the picture, he loves mangoes. Mango was his favorite baby food, and now he's graduated to the real thing. It's fun to watch him enjoy "real" food. If he doesn't like something, I end up wearing it. My dog and cat practically live under the high chair. It must be like food falling from heaven for them.

First Haircut

2009-05-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

Mason had his first haircut today. He cried and tossed his head back and forth the entire time. I think it only took the girl about fifteen minutes to shave his head, but it seemed like much longer. He's going to have to have short hair until he's old enough to care for it himself. He's cried every time I've picked his hair. Combing hair should not be child abuse!

On The Move

2009-05-16T06:47:00.000-07:00

These are pictures of Mason doing his two favorite things: bathing in the rubber ducky tub and reading Mommy's books. He wants me to order the New York Times for him. As you can see, he's exceptionally smart, as he can read upside down and backwards. He has many, many books of his own, yet if my books are within reach, he wants them. He's also obsessed with the computer, and I realized it's because I spend so much time on it. Two weeks ago, he had his nine-month doctor checkup. The diagnosis: tall, dark, and handsome. Mason was 19lbs. 1 oz, and still in the 75th percentile for height. He's still got a gorgeous toothless grin, but he spends almost every waking moment working on getting a tooth to break through. He hasn't been one to want to spend time on the floor or on his stomach, so I wasn't sure if or when he was going to crawl, but this morning I put him on the floor to drink his bottle, and when he was done, he made two and a half rolls across the room, got up into the crawling position, and moved forward. I'll be spending the day baby-proofing the house.

School's out for the summer! I have some grading to do, some workshops to attend, and a summer online class to teach, but Mason will be home with me for three months. We are going to go swimming, swinging in the park, and we can't wait to attend all the summer fairs!

Mason is 9 months old today

2009-04-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

Mason is nine months old today. His favorite toys are mirrors. I guess everyone telling him how handsome he is has gone to his head! He's trying to stand up on his own. He's practicing standing on one leg at a time and shifting his weight. He's also obsessed with faces. He puts his hands in every mouth that comes close enough for him to reach. I think he's interested in teeth. He doesn't have any of his own yet, but he's been "teething" since Thanksgiving. He's also trying a lot of new foods-some with more success than others. He prefers fruits to vegetables, but he loves his bottle of soy formula the most. He even reaches and wines for clean bottles he sees on the counter. He'd drink bottles and forgo the food if I'd let him. He might be the kid who takes his bottle to kindergarten. The obsession with the NUK is a recent development, too. He's a two-fisted NUK addict. He takes one out, and put another in his mouth. I've also noticed his taking his bottle out and looking to see how much formula is left in it. I don't know what he is thinking, but it's funny to watch him do it.

A Little Easter Greeting

2009-04-13T08:16:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Little man moves into his own room

2009-04-11T05:52:00.000-07:00

Mason and I have been sleeping in the same room for the past eight months. He's cute, but he hasn't been the greatest roommate. He wakes up every few hours-wants to eat-poops-wants a new diaper-and the cycle continues. I finally decided it was time to cut the cord. I think all of Menomonie heard him screaming last night. It took an hour for him to go to sleep in his own room. I sat in the room in his rocker so he wouldn't be alone. When he cried at midnight, he got a bottle and a new diaper. But that was it. It was hard listening to him scream at 3:00 a.m., but he made it. When I went into his room at 6:30, he chewed me out.

The pictures were taken last night right before bedtime. The picture with the cat was taken at breakfast this morning. Don't worry, we don't share with the cat until we are done! Mason loves to share with his furry friend.

Mason is

2009-04-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

Eight and a half months old
Learning to feed himself
Dancing and singing all the time
Willful and stubborn
Standing and bouncing more than sitting and lying down
Still waking up every few hours all night long
Making new friends every day
The love of my life

Mason learns to feed himself

2009-04-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

First Trip to Como Zoo

2009-03-19T15:37:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

San Francisco

2009-03-18T19:28:00.001-07:00

March 12-15th Mason and I attended the College Composition and Communication Conference in San Francisco. We had a great time! Mason went to the daycare available at the conference, and I went to conference sessions. Mason stayed on central time and wanted to go to bed at 6:00 p.m. It was weird for me to sit in the room with the lights off waiting for him to go to bed at 6:00 p.m. It wasn’t all the fun that he woke up at 5:00 a.m. either. Taking an infant on a four hour flight was difficult, but he was a trooper. He’s able to find grandmas to interact with on every flight we take. Kevin, Andrea, Terry, Kristin and Frude also made the trip. I enjoyed spending time with my colleagues outside of the work setting. It was wonderful to reunite with Megan, Margaret, Rebecca, Candice, and others from UIC. I think of them as my UIC sisters. We all went through the PhD program at the same time. I realized I have a bond with them that I have with few other people. I was also able to reunite with Marla and Allie, some friends from UNM that I haven’t seen in six years. We had a blast exploring the peer together. We saw the sea lions, took pictures with a leprechaun, and Mason took his first carousel ride on a panda. I don’t want another six years to go by without spending time with them. It was fun to introduce Mason to my friends. I love and miss all my friends so much. On Thursday, just after we arrived, I ran into Andrea Lunsford in the lobby. She looked at Mason and said, “I love you, Mason.” We love you, too, Andrea Lunsford!

Our trip to San Francisco

2009-03-18T18:41:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Mason at 7 months

2009-02-26T15:35:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

Mason is seven months old today.

2009-02-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

Mason is seven months old today 2/26/09. Tomorrow will mark six months of our lives together; I first held Mason in my arms on 8/27/08. We’re experiencing a whopping snow storm this afternoon, but it’s not hard for me to recall my first days with Mason and the experience of being in Baton Rouge during Hurricane Gustov. I hope I do not have to continue to mark the milestones of Mason’s life with major storms!

Being Mason’s mom is truly an experience I treasure. I always wanted to have children, and then for years I thought I might not fulfill that dream. After two failed adoptions, and many months of paperwork and preparation, little Mason finally arrived unexpectedly. Now it seems like he’s always been with me. I literally cannot remember what it felt like to be me before my life started with Mason. When I received the first picture of Mason sent to me the day his birthparents surrendered him, the caption read, “Mommy’s Baby Boy.” I still call him that. Mommy’s baby boy changes every day. Not only does he get cuter, he gets bigger. Mason was small when he was born. I’m not sure of his exact weight, but he only weighed 7lbs when I got him. I took him to the doctor shortly after we were home in Wisconsin, and Mason at six weeks weighed 9 lbs, 1oz. My dad pointed out that I weighed 9 lbs, 1oz. at birth. Because Mason was only in the 10th percentile for height and weight, I thought he might always be a small person. In spite of the fact that he had some rough times with milk allergies, ear infections, and pneumonia, to my surprise, each time we visited the doctor, Mason jumped up to the next percentile for height and weight. On our six-month visit, he was in the 50th percentile for weight, and 75th for height. I can’t believe it, but Mason is starting to wear the 12 month size in clothing.

Mason is truly my prince charming. He has the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen, and a smile that melts my heart. On our last visit to the doctor, she told me how much she had enjoyed seeing Mason grow and develop over the last six months. She commented that not only is he a beautiful person to look at, he really has a beautiful personality. He is such a special person, especially to me.

Last week we had our fourth and final post-placement visit by our social worker, Tracy. Hopefully in the next month, Mason’s adoption will be finalized in Louisiana. I’m looking forward to the day when his birth certificate comes in the mail with the name of Mommy’s baby boy.

Mason and Tracy from Crossroads Adoption Services

2009-02-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

Second to last home visit. Only one more to go.

Happy Valentine's Day from Mason

2009-02-06T18:53:00.000-08:00

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Newspaper article: Through hail and high water, professor rushes to adopt Louisiana baby

2009-01-11T10:03:00.000-08:00

Through hail and high water, professor rushes to adopt Louisiana baby
Collegial networking and kindness of strangers shelters mother and baby from Hurricane Gustav
All adoptive parents encounter obstacles in their efforts to adopt a child. Not all adoptive parents encounter obstacles as large as a major hurricane.
Glenda Jones, an assistant professor of English and philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, had been trying to adopt a baby for more than a year. In August, the call came. The adoption agency asked her to come immediately to Louisiana to pick up a one-month-old infant.
As Jones drove south, she was unaware that Hurricane Gustav was making its way toward the Louisiana coastline. On the second day of her trip, Jones learned of the intense storm and the impending evacuations from her mother.
The desire to be a mother, and her protective instinct for the baby, were strong. Jones pressed onward to Louisiana — to battle Hurricane Gustav and the adoption paperwork.
“The paperwork has to go through the state of Louisiana and then be accepted by the state of Wisconsin,” Jones said. “Then Wisconsin has to notify Louisiana that it has been accepted and, until then, I had to stay in Louisiana,” said Jones.
This meant she was stuck in the hurricane zone for two weeks.
Jones encountered the first wave of the storm — an influx of Louisianans moving inland. She found it nearly impossible to find a vacancy in area hotels. She was able to secure a room only two nights. After that, she had nowhere to stay. She knew she would be virtually homeless — a single mother with her new son in the middle of a hurricane.
“Some really crazy options of staying with strangers at fishing camps and things like that were coming up,” said Jones.
Colleagues across the nation came to the rescue.
Jones e-mailed her fellow professors at UW-Stout, asking if they had any family in the state who would be willing to offer her a room. At this point, Leni Marshall, assistant professor of English and philosophy, started a telephone tree among her colleagues in the National Women’s Studies Association and Modern Language Association.
Marshall called Collette Morrow, professor of English at Purdue University-Calumet and past president of the National Women’s Studies Association. Morrow called Becky Ropers-Huilman, editor of the National Women’s Studies Association Journal and professor of educational policy and administration at the University of Minnesota. Ropers-Huilman, who once worked at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, recommended that Marshall call Michelle Massé, director of Women’s and Gender Studies and professor of English, at LSU. Marshall and Massé knew each other through MLA.
Massé posted Jones’s dilemma on a listserv — the final step that put a roof over the heads of mother and baby.
As a result of the listserv posting, Jones connected with a couple who taught at LSU — Pamela Monroe, professor of social work, and Jim Garand, professor of political science. The couple provided shelter to Jones and the baby as the hurricane swept through the area.
“I bonded with them immediately,” Jones said of the couple who took her in.
Then Jones encountered the next wave of the storm — winds exceeding 88 miles per hour, uprooted trees and a five-day power outage. Sadly, two people in the neighborhood where she stayed lost their lives during the hurricane’s destruction.
The third wave of the storm — the power outage — meant uncomfortable living conditions. Her hosts, fortunately, had access to the LSU campus, which continued to operate on backup generators.
“His office had lights and air conditioning,” said Jones. “We spent the days in the classroom and ate in the cafeteria.”
During this time, the adoption paperwork was rushed through, and Jones was able to leave a few days early.
As Jones headed north, she passed at least 500 vehicles from other states traveling southbound to help with disaster relief.
“I continue to think about them. They felt like family by the time I left,” Jones said of her Louisiana hosts. “I appreciated this couple and all the individuals who led me to them.”
Today, because of collegial networking and the kindness of strangers, mother and baby are safe and sound in their Wisconsin home.

Fa la la 2008

2009-01-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

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Welcome Mason Slide Show

2009-01-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

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Oh Boy

2009-01-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

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