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Happy September: Life Update

First day of Kindergarten to the first day of High School!

After homeschooling for a little over 2yrs, Adonis has returned to the public school system, with starting High School last Thursday. He pleaded his case by writing a paper explaining the reasons why he should go, and he did such a good job it had me in tears. It shows how much he has grown and matured— making us so proud of him.

He is enjoying it so far while adjusting to not being able to sleep in anymore 😅

As for Luca, now 12, and Leo, now 8, they are continuing homeschooling in their “new” classroom. A couple weeks ago we rearranged the bed rooms upstairs so we can have a bigger space for homeschool. The small designated room we had before wasn’t cutting it and most of the time we ended up using the dining room most of the time.

We are 4 days into using this new space and I can already feel the difference of school. It’s been so nice, and I pray that we can stay consistent this year. Last year, was so much inconsistency.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this school year, as it is a big change with Adonis returning back to public school. While apart of me is nervous about a variety of what if’s, but also have a little bit of a sense of relief for a variety of reasons. We shall see how this year goes 🙌🏽💙

In other news, a month ago I had a fall and injured my knee. My doctor thinks it’s an ACL injury and wants me to get an MRI to see the level of injury I sustained during my fall, but haven’t yet because my insurance has denied the MRI claim twice. It’s been an incredibly frustrating process. Currently I am just powering through with a knee brace and limping around through life.

That’s it for our life update.

Xoxo,

Mama Webster

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Autism & ADHD

I don’t even know where to begin, but I guess I’ll start with yesterday.

Yesterday, I had Leo’s feedback session after being evaluated last month for autism, ADHD, and dyslexia (unofficial evaluation- will explain more.). Leo is our youngest son and third to have a diagnosis. Leo has been diagnosed with ADHD and is on the cusp of dyslexia. It is recommended that he has outpatient therapy for his ADHD and an intensive therapy with a reading interventionist.

Leo has always been this fun, quick whit, energetic kid, but deep down I knew there was something more. I love this kid so much and yet every day it feels like I am in a battle with him. The constant playing referee between him and his brothers, constantly having to keep him busy, constantly feeling like a broken record because he does not listen at all. I AM EXHAUSTED.

Yet, these traits aren’t the only reason why I decided it was best to get him evaluated, it was actually his oldest brother, Adonis, that was the catalyst of having his younger brothers evaluated.

Adonis is our oldest, and the reason why I started this blog (Raising Baby Boy) 15 years ago when I was pregnant with him. Wow, typing that really made me gasp aloud. Yikes.

Anyhow, Adonis was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in June of 2023. After years of fighting and advocating for him, I finally was able to get answers, but getting my answer wasn’t the relief I had I hoped for. Adonis struggles with his diagnosis, and we have been struggling with navigating his diagnosis as well as navigating teenage hormones. Adonis struggled a lot with getting along with his brothers— more so with Leo and that’s been the case since Leo was a toddler. Adonis is sensitive to noise, doesn’t like music with lyrics, sometimes has a hard time with non verbal cues and socializing. He loves to build with Legos, play Geometry Dash, and adores cats. Adonis is a smart kid who sees the world black and white so sometimes navigating the gray area of life pose as a challenge for him. He’s still figuring it all out, as he should as an almost 14 year old boy though. I love him and although this journey is difficult right now, I have faith he will grow to accept this special part of him, and come to some understanding of his challenges so he may grow to advocate for himself.

After going through the evaluation with Adonis though, some of the questions in the evaluation made me think of Luca and after talking with a few close friends about Luca’s history of developmental delays and other signs I requested he be evaluated. In February of this year, Luca was evaluated and diagnosed with Level 1 Autism Spectrum disorder. I actually kind of took Luca’s diagnosis a bit hard because during the evaluation process I was second guessing myself, and I guess subconsciously prepared myself to hear that he wasn’t on the spectrum, so when I was presented with the results it felt like a punch in the gut. Not because of the diagnosis, because I questioned my gut feeling. I felt guilty for missing some of the signs and what I could’ve done better to be more attentive to his needs.

Luca is going to be 12 this year. I really don’t have anyone around me who’s had their children diagnosed with Autism in the preteen/teen stage, and in the grand scheme of things it’s not that big of deal but this feels hard navigating three new diagnosis at once. I have been playing referee with three very different personalities for such a long time without context that I feel like I need to start from scratch. I have lost my patience over the years and as much as my husband tries, I feel like I’m navigating this alone for the most part.

I love my boys so much- their quirks and all. I wouldn’t change them in the slightest; they are each special in their own right. I just don’t want to fail them as their mother. I want to parent more with patience and understanding. Meet them where they’re at.

So here we go, my journey as a Mama who struggles with ADHD herself parenting three awesome kids with their unique set of challenges.

Xoxo,

Mama Webster

[websteradventures]

Wow! Can’t believe it’s been 6 years since I tried to revamp this blog. Well I’m back again. The boys are a lot bigger, we homeschool now, we accepted Jesus as our savior, and more to update on. For now, I just wanna see who of my followers are still active and maybe even make some new friends.

The purpose of this blog though ultimately is to record our journey of parenting, motherhood, homeschooling, and our faith. These last to four years especially have proven to us how much we need to cherish the time we have with our children before Nico and I launch them into the world.

Feel free to say hello!

Xoxo,

Mama Webster

Photo: Taken by Laura Fratkin - November 2023

[websteradventures]

In two weeks we will be at one of the happiest places on earth! #Disneyland!!! We are beyond excited! I'm trying to plan the day to day experiences now through the Disneyland app and oh boy my head is spinning! 🤦🏽‍♀️#familyvacation #christmassurprise #thewebsterboys

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Halloween festivities all weekend long 🎃👻 #websterhalloween2017

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😍😍😍😍

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We learned a new word today 💩💩💩 #sirleodeclan #sirleodeclanpoops

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Didn't think I would get emotional but I am. We officially have a 2nd grader and a Kindergartner 😭 Happy first day of school boys❤️ #backtoschool #firstdayofschool #kindergarten #secondgrade #elementaryschool

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"It's been a long day, hunny can you grab me a bottle?" 😏 #sirleodeclan

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Opening his gifts in 7 seconds! Happiest birthday's my love❤️ I still can't believe you are FIVE😱 | #lucabazookaturns5 #timelaspe #openingpresents #birthday #thebigfive #superhero #lucabazooka #themiddlechild

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Luca turns FIVE tomorrow. Holy crap.

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I still can't believe he's going to be FIVE next week. #lucabazooka

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We went to the Mystic Aquarium yesterday with friends. The kiddos had a blast!

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This little boy is obsessed with helmets and bikes. #sirleodeclan

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Back from Cali and it's so nice to wake up next to this cutie. He's fighting a cold right now, but the extra snuggles make it bearable.

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Our trip to Spain so far has been nothing short of amazing. Leo slept the entire flight! We arrived to the beautiful city of Bilbao safely, ate some awesome food, drank some sangria, visited the Museo de Guggenheim Bilbao, and ate some more amazing food and drank some more wine. Now on to day TWO! XOXO