Wow, it's been a while!  You would think that means I have nothing new to blog about, but truth is, I just haven't had the time.  What a busy school year this has been so far.  Since last time I blogged I feel like so much has happened.  Where to begin?

A few weeks ago, Jerry's obsessiveness started rearing its ugly head big time again.  We went to Dr. Rao and he increased his Zoloft by just half a pill a day.  Results were immediate, thank God!  It turns out that, depending on which manufacturer makes the medication for the pharmacy that month or who they got that batch from, it could vary in effectiveness.  Let me explain.  With name brand medications, the FDA says that all manufacturers have to be within 4% accuracy in the amount of the active ingredient in each dosage.  Not so with generics, which we use.  The FDA says they can be off by up to 20%!!  Amazing, isn't it?  Anyway, a lot of manufacturers intentionally push it to the 20% mark, leaving out just that much of the active ingredient in their drugs to shave costs. 

That's ok when you're talking about antibiotics, but mental health medications are a different story.  Any differential could be traumatic.  And so it seemed for Jerry.  So we simply increased his dosage by that 20% and he was right back to normal...for Jerry anyway.  Peace was restored in our home and we were all very grateful, especially Jerry who just hates when he can't control his emotions and habits.  He knows what it's like to have that peace in his little brain now and he doesn't like it to not be there.  Amen!!

School during that week and a half was impossible though we did manage to finish up our creation unit study with Jerry making a giant replica of himself.  We traced his body on butcher paper and he decorated himself.  Jerry #2 has been hanging on our bedroom wall for the last few weeks now.

That was fun.  Isn't he just the cutest?  We're back on a better schedule now, but a little more relaxed.  Some days, Jerry just wakes up and says he wants to play and can sit for hours with his Legos or K'Nex.  And so that's school that day.  I do try to incorporate something in there.  I ask him what colors are in his project he built or how many of the small K'Nex pieces he had to use to build that car.  He doesn't even seem to notice we're doing school then.  It's stealth schooling.  I've been learning it from Kim and I love it!

This last week, Jeremiah fell off his scooter and hit face first into the pavement.  He has a nice big fat upper lip and his gum above his top front right tooth is black.  He went to the dentist yesterday and he says he'll be lucky not to lose the tooth.  It's very loose from the fall and, even if it doesn't fall out now, he's likely killed it.  We should know in about two weeks if it turns black.  That'll be lovely!  For now, he's supposed to not bite with the tooth or eat with it if he can help it.  Poor guy.  It's hindered his appetite a little.  He loves pretzels and popsicles and those are difficult to eat without biting into them with your front teeth.  We go back to the dentist in a few weeks to have it looked at.

Speech is going well.  Three early mornings a week is taking its toll on all of us, but we've got a new system worked out with Jerry's little friend Zachary who goes to speech with him too.  We take Zach on Tuesdays and they pick up Jerry on Thursdays.  That way, we're each down to only two days a week...well, except for Jerry and Zachary, but they don't seem to mind too much, especially on Thursdays which is treasure box day.

Next week John has off and so we're going to relax and have some family fun.  Busch Gardens, Sea World, and possibly a trip to Stone Mountain.  That was the original plan, but now with the gas thing In Georgia, we're just going to play it by ear.  If not Georgia, then we'll just find a place near here to hang out for a few days, maybe the beach.  Guess that's the good thing about living in Florida, huh?