Geographically Gifted

One of Cupcake's unusual gifts is the ability to remember locations. When she first came home, we went to visit the pediatrician. The next time we drove past the hospital where his office is located, she yelled out, "Doctoro!" and pointed to the building.

Wow! That's pretty good.

The same with church.

The same with my friends' houses.

The same with the dentist office, Kohl's, and Wal-Mart, and the church where the boys have Scouts.

The week she came home (late May), Sunshine and Sugar had testing at local foundation for homeschoolers. TE began taking classes there in September. She immediately recognized it as the same place - only TE goes in a different door than the other kids went in.

Whenever we go past familiar intersections, she will recite all the things that are to the right, to the left and straight ahead. And she is dead on...even if you come at the intersection from a different direction. The other day, she gave Daddy directions to take TE to school and back when I was caring for Sugar.

When we back out of the driveway, she wants to know which way we are going. When we get somewhere, she wants to know which way is home.

I think this incredible understanding of the local geography is one of her survival skills. I know that she was often moved with no forewarning. I think she wants to be able to get home if anything happens to her.

I think home is a good thing for her. :-)

But there are drawbacks to having a child with this incredible skill...


...A funny thing happened on the way to the hairdresser...

Several weeks ago, we were on our way to get haircuts (the kids and I). We had had a late lunch and were running late. (We are always running late, but I digress....) Cupcake had a chicken strip left to eat when we needed to head out the door, so she brought it in the car.

About two miles from home, she says, "Mommy, I done. Here..." and she hands me the chicken.

We've got at least a 20 minute drive from this point. I can't really drive and hold this greasy chicken and I can't set it in my car. (It's an old car, but I have my standards.)

So, I made an executive decision. I rolled down the window and tossed it into the grass as we were exiting from one highway to another.

Now, don't jump down my throat. We are not litterers. We have made it a point to teach all of our kids that we keep God's earth as clean as possible. But we also have taught them that biodegradable materials are just that...biodegradable... they will turn back into dirt in a pretty short time.

Cupcake gasped when she saw her chicken sailing through the air. So I explained that some raccoon family would have a special treat for dinner that night.

Fast forward a few days....

We are heading to church on a Wednesday night. It's dark. We pass the very same intersection, but instead of exiting, we go straight on. Cupcake starts yelling and jumping and pointing, "DADDY!!! MY CHICKEN'S ON THE FLOOR!!! RIGHT THERE!!!"

"What?"

"MY CHICKEN! IT'S ON THE FLOOR! MOMMY THREW IT OUT!!! RIGHT THERE, DADDY!!!"

By this time, I'm rolling on the floor with laughter. I have to explain to my baffled husband what in the world she is talking about.

The worst part is...we pass this intersection 20 times a week and, no matter which direction we're coming from, Cupcake makes a point to tell us her chicken is on the floor.

Blessings to you,
Mamita

Turning a Corner

I think we've turned a corner here.

Cupcake has been home a little over 5 months now.

The last three weeks, I've seen a change...a change in her demeanor. She is a secure little girl who is comfortable with our love. She is no longer pushing my buttons and testing the limits 24/7. She accepts correction as correction - not hate. She is beginning to accept the fact that I have 3 other kids to love and she can share my time with them. It's been three weeks since she's had a real knock-down drag-out berinche (tantrum/rage) with me.



I've hesitated to post this for a while now, always expecting to hit a setback as soon as the words were typed. But, in the last few days, I've seen her go to that dark place where she feels unloved, yet she has been able to recover and come back to security before she falls apart. I'm so proud of her. This is hard work...learning to be loved unconditionally. But she's a quick study and her level of trust is astonishing, considering all the people who have hurt or betrayed her in the past. I still expect setbacks, but I believe she will be able to return to this security after each storm.

God is working miracles in this child's life and it is incredible to see His hand at work.

Blessings to you,
Mamita

Fall Fun

Pumpkin Farm/Trick-or Treat

Pumpkin Farm

We went to the Pumpkin Farm Thursday with a friend. Sunshine was an awesome big brother, and took her in and around the whole farm, so I could have a chance to talk with my best friend.

Cupcake had a blast exploring the hay tunnels.

Here is my Mayan Princess and her bodyguard...
My other princess and her best friend at the top of the pyramid...Getting ready for her first hay ride....

Zip-Line Fun...

Cupcake was exhausted after all that fun...


Trick-or Treating


The homeless guy who lives on my porch...

Sugar (I mean Cleopatra) and her friend the cat...

A pretty pink princess...


Rascal dressed as a pampered puppy...

Blessings to you,
Mamita

Evidence of Autumn

I love fall.... the cooler weather... the beautiful trees... the smell of the air.

Everywhere I look, I see evidence that fall is here.

Girls in sweaters....


Our first dinky little leaf pile...It was Cupcake's first time...


Rascal among the fallen leaves...

The pine tree dumping on the trampoline...

Making S'mores in the firepit...About 6 hours worth of sweepings from my kitchen floor :-) ...


Sleeping babies who are exhausted by all the fun...Blessings to you,
Mamita

Can You Hear Me Now?

About a month ago, I took Cupcake down to St. Louis Children's Hospital for a hearing re-test.

Two weeks after she came home, we had her hearing tested. At that time, the results for the right ear were inconclusive. Her left ear tested fine. But the audiologist suspected she had mild to moderate hearing loss in her right ear. Unfortunately, they had tested the left ear first, and she was tired of sitting still for the second half of testing. And she didn't speak English, which complicated matters. And then there was the fact that she is street smart. She can read people. All of her other senses kicked into overdrive, so she could pass this test. She was watching the assistant for any clues as to when she should have heard something. She was watching through the one-way mirror for the finger movements of the audiologist.

So they asked us to come back.

This time, they started with the right ear. They had their most experienced people do the test. They ran several other tests. Everything pointed to the same thing.

Cupcake can not hear in her right ear.

They used the words "moderate to severe hearing loss". They said it appeared to be nerve damage, which is irreversible. They sent us to an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat doctor) to see if he could find the cause and look into treatment.

So, yesterday, we went to the ENT. He peeked in her ears, took one look at her audiogram, and told me she has profound hearing loss in her right ear. He is sending us to an oto-neural (ear nerve) specialist to discuss the options.

I'm still in shock that we've gone from mild to profound hearing loss in a matter of months. After the first test, we started noticing and suspecting a significant loss. But, it still hurts to hear the words.

Cupcake always uses her left ear for the phone, and she will switch if she accidentally puts it to her right ear. She turns her head to talk to soft spoken people. She says "huh?" a lot, especially in the car or in places with a lot of background noise.

On the bright side, she has one good ear. That is so much more than many have. Also, I homeschool, so there is no problem hearing the teacher. And we're a loud family. Nobody in this house is soft-spoken. ;-)

Cupcake is a survivor -- and she will adjust and make up for any loss with sheer will-power. She already has.

Blessings to you,
Mamita

Catching Up

Life just keeps getting crazier and crazier around here. I can't seem to find time to check my email, let alone blog about life. So, today, I'm going to attempt to catch up on some of the many things that I want to blog about. I'll try to do separate posts for each subject. That way, I can eat the elephant one bite at a time. :-)

Blessings to you,
Mamita