Good McLean Fun

The ADOS-2, in a nutshell: We (one twin on one day, the other on the next) went into an unremarkable room with a small table and two chairs. The child psychologist and speech pathologist administered the test. The twins 35 months, two weeks old, at the time of eval. They brought out various objects and waited to see how he would interact with them.  They asked him to point to his shoes, show where his hair is, point to his nose, etc. For the most part neither boy complied with these requests. They called the name from across the room but neither boy turned to ever recognize the person calling their name. They asked ME to call their names, and they looked immediately. They brought out a balloon, blew it up, let it go, and clapped. They waited to see if he would request for the balloon to be blown up again, but both boys just stared and waited for them to blow it up. They did not say "more", or "again", or "balloon", or anything to indicate what they wan...

9.12.14 I am writing just to write. I have to get my thoughts out of my head and onto "paper". I realize it will be a little while before I actually bring myself to sharing this post. Jack & Link are just 24 hours from turning 3! Is that possible?! I don't know why I feel like I have to update the www when our family has any developments. I think it's because motherhood is isolating, and it's like the tree that falls in the middle of the forest. If no one knows what's going on in my world, maybe it's so insignificant it isn't worth knowing about. But when others know, when you know what's happening with me, with us, it somehow brings a little validity to it all. And I think it's because I've been so forthcoming with so much of my heart on my blog, it feels odd to carry any substantial news to myself without blogging about it. So the update is that the twins are almost 3, and they are delayed in their language by about 1.5 years. ...

I've never been one for too many details. I hope I'm known as a go-with-the-flow type of woman, friend, wife, mom...one who rolls with the punches. (I'm working on my epitaph, so far I've got "Danielle McLean, proven pelvis, rolled with the punches.) Truth is it's easy for me because compared to some, I haven't really had a lot of punches to roll with. As I've said many times, my life is beautiful. So I don't take a lot of effort in the planning of minor details. That is not how I've been wired which, it turns out, is fantastic, because I have a bunch of kids now and details get lost in the mess.  Sure, I have some general and unambitious "plans" for my life, such as: 1. Get my own bedroom.  Check. (freshman year of college, first time having my own room) 2. Graduate from college. Check. (UCF, c/o 2005) 3. Marry my high school sweetheart  a humble, funny, handsome, strong, kind, honest, pre-screened and pre-selected by God, most pat...

Being a mom is the most amazing job out there, and yet the pressure and daily self-induced guilt that you are just not good enough can be so heavy and unrelenting , it can break even the strongest woman. Like, say, um...I dunno...me.  The twins at 2.5 are showing some progress in their "expressive language", but haven't reached a vocabulary explosion I was hoping to see by now.  They say more now than ever before, but never sentences, not even stringing 2 words together. There's still a WHOLE lot of grunting and whining going on, and it's been slowly eating away at my heart. I see other two year olds, or ONE year olds, speaking more than the boys, and it is hard not to compare. In my gut I know they will be fine, every child is different, but by this age both Luke and Juliette were much more vocal.  But their limited communication isn't the only area I find myself questioning my parenting skills. I find myself expecting less of the twins because they don...

Baby Levi is due on April 22, which doesn't mean much since none of my babies came on their own, even the twins were induced at 37 weeks 1 day, (considered full term for twins). Either way, the time of being pregnant is near its end, and I'm going to be totally honest, this reality is bittersweet for me. Lots of emotions and thoughts run through my brain when I bring myself to recognize this is it.  Ryan and I always talked about having 4 as our aspiration.  So when I came to him with the desire to have another, he did well to conceal his shock.  Now that we're approaching 5, we both feel we have reached our desired max.  That's a pretty personal topic, but I share a lot of personal things on my blog, so I figure I'll just clear the air for those of you who were wondering. I have no problem sharing this with you.  I understand your curiousity. Many people, complete strangers even, want to know if we are "done." But really...how awkward that some woul...

Times they are a changin. I'm 29 for only about another month, and then I'll be that other age. Sometimes I think about that other age and really have no qualms with it.  All of my friends have hit that number or are right behind me. I don't want to be associated with those who don't know who Urkel is anyway-- those who never knew the thrill of playing Oregon Trail on the only computer in the classroom .   Sorry, you have lost all your cattle in the river and will soon die of dysentery. T hose kids who don't know what a Popple or Wuzzle is. How sad for them. But on the other hand I am having a really hard time letting go of some things, and I don't enjoy being shocked into being old.  For example. I heard on the radio a new coffee place was opening, and the young adult scene was welcome to come hang out specifically on a certain night and time. How fun! I keep listening for the details. "...so come on out all you young adults, ages 18-23, Friday nights...

When I look in the mirror I see the me I've always seen, perhaps altered by a few more smile lines than I remember when last I looked, and the debut of crows feet that have stamped their way onto my face when I wasn't paying attention.  But I don't look so different from 23 do I?  Am I in denial?  I know I'm dangerously close to 30, and to me, that IS old. I still am shocked that last summer I attended my 10 year high school reunion.  I am flabbergasted that the girls who are now pledging my sorority were born in 1995.  My baby sisters are done with college, one with her masters, and they're getting married. My parents (who don't look any different to me than they did 10 years ago, except maybe improved)  are grandparents 7x over.  I have 4 kids people. FOUR. Granted, I cheated a little and got a 2-4-1 deal, but still. I'm a grown up, a mother and a wife. I'm an adult. (I have to tell myself that regularly because I sometimes don't belie...