My Purpose in Life

OK so after I get you all caught up on the end of summer/beginning of school, I think I have finally decided on the direction I am going to take this blog. Don't get me wrong I will still sprinkle it with my wit and wisdom on all things dating, couponing, and whatever else I come aross.
The last couple weeks of summer were rough with Jake, we went through 2 sitters and work was missed (well I wouldn't say it was missed HA HA.. sorry, had to!!) . But then school started ( the heavens opened up and the Angels rejoiced). We love the new school and the new teachers and he has not spent any time in the ED room yet. I know that I should not get to excited and that I am still looking at this on a day to day basis but.. we also had a whole solid week of NO disasters. No major blow ups, no one was hurt, nothing was destroyed!!! WOO HOO! We did start some new meds recently and I think they are working so far!!! Are they the miracle drug we have been waiting for? Doubt it but hey, it works for now so lets roll with it, right?

Now on to ME- my least favorite subject and the one I will rarely ever talk about. Still single and have almost decided it may be best. I don't have the time or energy to search for it, and am still over the whole online thing. Still refuse to pay for a membership or a dating service. I know it's a new era in dating and it's worked for many people but I still prefer the old fashioned way.. even though that really hasn't worked out so well for me either! So here I sit.. the last single girl on earth (ok yeah I know I am not but in my world it feels like it when I am in the minority amongst friends). I love that they are all "happily" married or involved with Mr Perfect that there lives are sooo wonderful and all things are sunshine and roses for them. Bitter much? Nah!
But hey when you have a pick up line like this.. Hey baby, how about you come meet my Bipolar Kid.. he's really awesome but you might get injured and if you have anything valuable it might get broken.. oh and if you do anything to my kid or disagree with how I raise him, you're out! So when do you want to go out? Wait, what? Your busy that night? Oh ok I get it. Moving On!!!!

So now for the focus of todays blog.. and many more to come.. My epiphany finally hit me.
After reading coutless numbers of Childhood Bipolar books, it hit me. Most of them all say something very similar, cover the same topics and are all written by Doctors doing case studies!
Here is my case study- Jacob age 10 raised by a single mother with limited means. Child has been removed from every type of daycare, afterschool & summer program he has been involved in for unacceptable behaviors towards his peers. He has been arrested twice, and once was for assulting a family member, the other was a teacher. Before he was 8 years old, he spent 10 days in a psych hospital. He has a very small circle of friends and his social skills are lacking. He has been through 6 doctors and I can't even remember how many medicine changes we have made since he was 4 years old.
His story started out when he was 4, we finally had a Daycare Teacher step up and talk to us about what might be wrong with my child who never really stopped being the terrible 2s. It took us awhile to get him evaluated and then over the next 2-3 years, we were given several different diagnosis and it changed everytime we changed doctors. Finally at 8 years old, we had him reevaluated again after his time in the hospital and thats when we got the Dx- Bipolar, ADHD, Anxiety & Rage.
What did we learn next? Well, the meds! We learned that for most of the time between the ages of 4-8 he was given the wrong combination of drugs which was actually making him worse, not better!!! Apparently, mixing a Bipolar/behavior drug with an ADHD drug is a BAD thing.
His time at school from 1-4th grade was a disaster, he was constantly suspended, refused to do homework, and was always on isolation. We moved away from this school and moved to a new district and so far we love it. The program is totally different and the teacher and I are on the same page as to what we both feel could work best for Jacob and in turn improve some of his social skills in the process!!! I am praying every day this continues to work.

So here is my plan, a Bipolar blog. I will decipher the medical books and and jargon and apply them to personal experiences. I will blog about our personal goals, our downfalls, and whatever else comes up along our long road! If you have questions, if you have concerns, please add them and I will make sure to research them and add them to the blog. We can discuss meds, types of therapies/treatments. What works best in schools, and also the big one for all of us, How to Parent a Bipolar Child. If you don't have a Bipolar Child then please feel free to read this to have a better understanding of what it's like. We always here, I can't imagine what you go through or I don't know how you do it. Well here's a hint.. We don't have a choice. We learn how to move on, we learn what works and when that stops, we learn something new. Am I an expert on this? Hell No. But I feel like the experiences I do have and the pain I have endured qualify me just enough to be able to handle this blog, maintain it and provide to you the most informed and educated information on the subject that I can. I don't what to be one of those parents who swears by a medicine or a treatment because I know that not everything works the same way for everyone and especially with kids. So stay tuned! I will try to start my first one later today but first I guess I better work for a while! :)
Oh and I am also working on a clever sign off/signature for my blogs so stay tuned for that as well.