Scoping it out...

My dad bought the kids a microscope and they love it! We got it in the mail today and it's really cool. I am obviously really old school because I pictured a microscope that looked like this:

And it actually looks like this:

Sort of looks like a miniature hairdryer right? You hook it up to your USB port in your computer, put something up to the lens and it comes up on your computer screen. It's amazing. We spent at least an hour viewing some really cool things like our skin, leaves, the computer desk, and our hair and some really gross things like our fingernails, toenails, ears, up our noses, etc.

Let's just say that when your hands LOOK clean they are not. Don't be deceived. I was really grossed out by what I saw underneath my fingernails that was not visible to the naked eye.

Blech.

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Anyway, I think we'll have lots of fun with it and it was most of our "school" today. Although we did read a story about two cats that was so confusing to me I'm sure Kylie couldn't have followed along. We also talked about the letter "D" and drew a picture of some things that started with "D". We also watched a show on PBS that explained how Washington D.C. came to be and some other interesting things about Presidents.

School is going well. Really we don't do much in the way of formal stuff. I'm still mostly following my initial schedule although even I don't realize it most of the time because I just follow Kylie's lead and half the time she doesn't realize we're "doing school". Which is exactly how I want it! :)

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I've been spending a lot of time following this election. I feel like it's my responsibility to actually know why I'm voting for who I'm voting for and to know what's going on in our country so I've mostly been watching the news. No, not FOX news either! :) I AM smart enough to realize the bias on specific news stations! Typically in the local elections I don't vote for most of the judges and that kind of thing because I never know who any of them are. I won't vote strictly along party lines just because.

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The Early Intervention Supervisor was out today and brought some information on drooling and some other stuff to do with Emeric to try to help with it. She also brought out a really cool chart that goes from birth-age 3 and tells you what a child should be doing in all areas at a specific age. The ranges are broad which makes it more accurate. There areas are: Cognition, Language, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Social Skills, Self Help.

Emeric has actually jumped quite a bit with Social Skills and Self Help. Those areas were around12-18 months. His Gross motor was around 14- 18 months. It would be higher but he can't run yet and can't walk up or downstairs holding a handrail. Fine Motor was between 16-20 months. Speech is still around 10-15 months and Cognitive development is between 12-14 months.

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I'm going tomorrow with a few friends to do some shopping! I've got someone to watch all kids and we're just going to take a day away. I'm so excited!

Not Me Monday

I did not skip church because I have a cold and then repaint and redecorate my entire bathroom instead. (Pictures to come)

I did not buy my 2 year old a pacifier to chew on in hopes that it might help him stop drooling.

I did not let my kids go four days without a bath.

I did not try really hard to convince my 5 year old to cut her hair a certain way because really I always wanted my hair cut that way and mine's too curly to do anything with.

I did not turn on Sesame street after only 10 minutes of school so I could write this post.

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As promised, the pictures of my bathroom... I don't have any before pictures but it was never painted and I had purple decor. I still have a picture I want to get for the one wall, a clock, and another rug. I also really don't like the shower curtain so I might look for a different one but for now I'm just glad it's painted! I was worried about the brown. I didn't want to it be bowel movementish looking but I think it turned out well! ;)

We woke up this morning to find that yet ANOTHER tire on our van went flat. This makes 3 in the last few months. So I guess I'll be going in and getting another new tire put on. Ugh.

Did anyone follow the Presidential Debates? I watched and I have to say that both candidates did the same IMO and really they both irritate me. I was pointed to http://www.factcheck.com/ and it's nice because they give you the facts whereas both candidates tend to well, lie. Check it out, it's very informative!

And I stayed home with Emeric this morning because I'm not feeling great and I got some pictures of him. See if you can guess what's going on here...

And some other cute pictures just because! :)

Cuteness...

I love my kids. They're so cute. I don't have a picture of Kylie because I've only taken a couple of her since the last pics I posted and she has red eyes. And well, I'm lazy and I don't feel like fixing them.

"Yup, my bangs are crooked. Talk to my mom."

(Thankfully this was a month or so ago and they've grown out.)

Kaydence's Goofy Grin

"Seriously, another picture?"

One Flaw In Women
Author Unknown

By the time the Lord made woman,
He was into his sixth day of working overtime.
An angel appeared and said,
"Why are you spending so much time on this one?"
And the Lord answered, "Have you seen my spec sheet on her?
She has to be completely washable, but not plastic,
have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable
and able to run on diet coke and leftovers,
have a lap that can hold four children at one time,
have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart
-and she will do everything
with only two hands."
The angel was astounded at the requirements.
"Only two hands!? No way!
And that's just on the standard model?
That's too much work for one day.
Wait until tomorrow to finish."
But I won't," the Lord protested.
"I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart.
She already heals herself when she is sick
AND can work 18 hour days."
The angel moved closer and touched the woman.
"But you have made her so soft, Lord."
"She is soft," the Lord agreed,
"but I have also made her tough.
You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."
"Will she be able to think?", asked the angel.
The Lord replied,
"Not only will she be able to think,
she will be able to reason and negotiate."
The angel then noticed something,
and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek.
"Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model.
I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."
"That's not a leak,"
the Lord corrected,
"that's a tear!"
"What's the tear for?" the angel asked.
The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy,
her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love,
her loneliness, her grief and her pride."
The angel was impressed.
"You are a genius, Lord.
You thought of everything!
Woman is truly amazing."
And she is!
Women have strengths that amaze men.
They bear hardships and they carry burdens,
but they hold happiness,
love and joy.
They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy
and laugh when they are nervous.
They fight for what they believe in.
They stand up to injustice.
They don't take "no" for an answer
when they believe there is a better solution.
They go without so their family can have.
They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
They love unconditionally.
They cry when their children excel
and cheer when their friends get awards.
They are happy when they hear about
a birth or a wedding.
Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member,
yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.
They know that a hug and a kiss
can heal a broken heart.
Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you
to show how much they care about you.
The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.
They bring joy, hope and love.
They have compassion and ideals.
They give moral support to their family and friends.
Women have vital things to say and everything to give.
However, If There Is One Flaw In Women,
It Is That They Forget Their Worth.

Wordless Wednesday

Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week

Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week

September 21-27, 2008

Mitochondrial Disease affects 1 in every 4000 people. Mitochondria are tiny “engines” that live inside our cells and they are responsible for converting food and oxygen into energy. When the mitochondria aren’t working properly the cells don’t get enough energy to live, and they begin to die. Many parts of the body can be affected by deficient Mitochondria including the liver, kidneys, eyes, digestive system, brain, and the heart. Mitochondrial disease is not a simple disease, it can affect any organ, it is progressive, and to date has no cure, but with awareness comes power, and a cure.

I have come to know many, many families whose kids have Mitochondrial Disease in the last year. At least 10 of them have died in the last year. It's a horrible disease because there is no cure, no good treatment, and no prognosis. It's a huge spectrum and if you had 2,000 in a room that all had Mitochondrial Disease you'd probably never find 2 that were affected the same. Some people are affected very mildly and others die from the disease at a young age.

Out of everything we've ruled out for Emeric this is one thing that has not been able to be ruled out. His urine and blood tests show signs of Mitochondrial Dysfunction but the "gold standard" in terms of diagnosis is a positive muscle biopsy. Emeric's was normal. Some doctors would diagnose him with Mitochondrial Disease based on symptoms and lab abnormalities and other doctors will only diagnose Mitochondrial Disease if you have a positive biopsy or a blood DNA mutation. The blood DNA is what Emeric recently had done and we have not received the results. Most people with confirmed Mitochondrial Diseases do not ever find a DNA mutation so it's a stretch that Emeric's will show up anything.

We've been told that despite a normal muscle biopsy Emeric could still have the disease. In fact, our specialist told us that if this had been a few years ago he'd have just diagnosed Emeric with Mitochondrial Disease but now they know more and they've found that there are other conditions that can cause mitochondrial dysfunction so if they just label it as Mitochondrial Disease they might miss the primary condition. If that makes sense. The problem in Emeric's case is that most primary conditions have been ruled out.

We do know that Emeric has signs that the mitochondria aren't healthy. However, even if we were to get an "official" diagnosis of Mitochondrial Disease nothing would change. He's already on what's called the "mito cocktail" which are supplements that are thought to possibly slow down the progression of the disease. At the same time having a diagnosis is beneficial because there are specific protocols that need to be followed if a child with Mito is sick.So, whether Emeric has this disease or not it doesn't matter because I have come to know so many families who struggle with the unknowns of this disease daily.

Here's a good link(I've probably posted it before!) from the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation's website with some FAQ's:

http://www.umdf.org/site/c.dnJEKLNqFoG/b.3558759/k.8256/Frequently_Asked_Questions.htm

Some children have very extensive multi system involvement and another little boy I know was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease and his only symptom was migraines that started at 2.5. So there is a huge range which makes it so hard to diagnose!

IEP(I'm Ever so Pooped) & The Poison Ivy Update

Ok, I am pooped and have been really tired all day but really IEP stands for Individualized Education Plan. :)


We had an IEP meeting today for Emeric with all his therapists. We updated the goals and talked about what we'll focus on for this next year developmentally. His biggest delay is still language and the Speech Therapist agrees with the Speech Language Pathologist that his language is in the 10-15 month range. We set quite a few new goals for that area.

He had met all his previous goals for Physical Therapy so we updated those as well.

The biggest concerns are his vision, drooling, and speech. The therapists all agree that something is going on with his vision but none of them are sure what. A vision therapist will be coming out next week to give us her opinion. The assumption(at least on my part) is that either his seizure medications are making his eyes blurry or that his brain isn't processing his vision correctly. That's likely what's going on as his neurologist said he had "eye dysfunction" because of the way his eyes move when his body moves a certain way. So, hard to know what they'll be able to do for the vision but it's worth seeing someone about it.

The other big concern is his drooling. It's pretty normal for kids with low tone to drool. The part that's concerning is that he didn't used to drool. He actually only really started drooling within the last 6-9 months and it's progressively gotten worse instead of better. When he was teething he didn't even really drool! They have said he has low oral motor awareness but that more or less just describes the problem, it doesn't tell us why he has it. Since he hasn't always been drooling so much it isn't likely related to his tone. It could be that since he prefers softer foods he isn't exercising his mouth enough and the muscles are weak because of that. These are the better options. Another reason he could be drooling is that he could be regressing some. That's always been my biggest fear so I'll try not to let my mind go there too much but there's some signs of regression in his language, sometimes in his gross motor skills, and then the drooling. He is cognitively delayed but they said Speech and Cognition are closely related and it's hard to say at his age.

Really in all of that the drooling concerns me the most. Again not necessarily because he's doing it but because it's something that he didn't do when he should've been doing it and it's continuing to get worse. The therapists are getting him some different things to try to get his mouth moving more. Some things to chew on, bite on, etc.

Overall he's made quite a bit of progress in terms of gross motor skills. I know kids typically work on one skill at a time so now that he's walking I'm hoping he'll catch up a bit in other areas.

The PT is ordering him a helmet. He's had one for a while but it isn't ours and it's a bit too big. He hasn't ever needed it much but in the last few weeks he's had a couple episodes of not being able to walk for a while and then once he can stand he falls down quite a bit and can't walk without holding on. Mostly the helmet will be for times like that. And hopefully they'll remain few and far between.

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Oh, and for those wondering if the Poison Ivy spread....








It did NOT.

I knowing it's still "Not Me" Monday but it really didn't spread.

Poison Ivy is sooooo overrated.

Not Me Monday

Visit http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ She's the mastermind behind Not Me Monday's! :)

This will be my first edition of "Not Me Monday". (
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I did not smell my shirt before I put it on this morning.

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I did not drive a friend's 4-wheeler with the front wheel titled sideways and off the axle.
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I did not pick a piece of a rice cake off Emeric's shirt and eat it.
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I did not scratch my spot of Poison Ivy and then touch another spot on my leg to see if it would really spread.
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I did not step on a Cheerios to grind it into the carpet so I couldn't see it anymore.
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I did not wash a matchbox car with at least 4 loads of laundry because I was too lazy to take it out.
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Eat, drink and be merry!

It's getting closer to October and I'm getting nervous. If you didn't see my post a few days ago I'm planning on buying nothing in the month of October. As the month quickly approaches I'm finding it hard not to stock up on necessities. Like Coke in a can for instance. It isn't feasible to have a caffeine headache for the entire month if I'm out of Coke is it? Which is why it was obviously an answer to prayer that they had an awesome deal at the grocery store today on pop! And on Jones soda no less! I drank Jones soda in college but that was back when I had no responsibilites and all my hard earned Taco Johns money could go towards spending the extra money on it. But, today they had 12 packs for $2.00!! That's a way better deal than regular Coke and without the HFCS! :)

*I have rotated this picture numerous times and it will not rotate!!!

I was also blessed by a neighbor this morning with these:

Straight from Washington.

They were out in Washington and brought home a ton of fruit and apparently couldn't use these up so she called and asked if I'd like them! Why yes I would! So, does anyone have any ideas on what I could do with all the apples other than apple pie or applesauce? I don't know that I want to make applesauce with them. I thought about making apple butter though. I'm going to can the peaches. If I don't eat them all first.

I could use lots of ideas! Just in case we end up living off peaches, apples, and Jones soda all month.

Pull up a chair...

I suppose you've already done that though. This will be long.

I always wonder if something on my blog will offend someone or if they'll be annoyed, mad, whatever by it but then, like someone else said on their blog, "It's MY blog. It's like my diary!" So true... So, there are LOTS of things I talk about on here that I do not talk about IRL(In Real Life). Or sometimes I do and maybe I make people IRL annoyed/mad/whatever too! :)

Anyway, after my post last night I sat down and read the entire book of Job. I don't know that I've read it fully before. To be honest I'm not even really sure how to articulate what I thought after reading through it because my mind is jumbled with a million different thoughts. So maybe I'll come back to that later.

This happens to me EVERY.SINGLE.TIME that we start new testing with Emeric. I'm finally realizing that. Emeric had blood work done on Monday to test for a bunch of X-linked genetic conditions, conditions for mental retardation, Autism, genetic mutations for Mitochondrial Diseases, and a slew of random, genetic mutations. Each time that we test for something I start feeling really anxious and usually the feeling lasts for a long time. I think this time what hit me was that there is nothing we're testing for that's treatable. Treatable is much, much different than curable. Even if he had something that wasn't curable if we could treat it then we'd be doing something. But when you're left with something that isn't treatable you're left feeling like you can do nothing. And I realize that whatever he does have *might* be treatable despite what the doctors say so that's obviously why we continue testing.

Emeric's seizures have been very well controlled in the last month. Much, much more controlled than they've ever been. This has made me question doing anymore testing. But, then I'm not totally convinced his seizures will remain controlled and I also know they're only controlled because he's on three seizure medications. That isn't ideal by any means. Ideally he'd be off all seizure meds. So, yes I'm happy his seizures are controlled but this doesn't mean he's "cured". It just means the meds are doing their job.

I'm sure I could go back a few months(maybe not even that long ago) and dig up an old post and just copy and paste it here because it's probably the same thoughts I'm having now. It usually is. It's just hard. Despite not having seizures there are still things, "little" things, that go on that are subtle reminders that something isn't right. And then you wonder if he's doing these things because of the medications, because of whatever is going on, etc.

Last week there were two days during the week where for a couple hour period of time his balance was very, very off. To the point where he couldn't stand for quite a while at all. Then he could stand but couldn't walk without falling, then he could walk but he'd hold on to cupboards or whatever he could grab for fear of falling. Now, he's been on seizure meds for a long time so when something like that happens I'd like to blame it on the meds but I know it isn't likely the cause.

Then, on Monday his nurse said he had a very strange "episode" that she did NOT think was a seizure but that scared her. She said he started shaking his head back and forth and his eyes were jerking but he was looking at her. She said it almost seemed like he was trying to see, like his eyes were maybe blurry or something and he was trying to better his vision. Just another one of those things you shrug your shoulders about and brush off.

Or do you?

I mean, how do you decide what to brush off and what's important. Ya know? Is it normal for a 2 year old to not be able to stand? Well, obviously not but at the same time what do you do about it? Anything?

Another issue is Emeric's blood sugars. They've been slightly high nearly each time I check them for the last few months. I don't check them often but the pediatrician encouraged me to keep record for a few months so maybe 1 or 2x a week I'll check. And they're always a bit high. So, is it a big deal or not? There's a norm for a reason but I've learned that slight abnormalities aren't really abnormalities. At least not to most doctors. Most doctors don't do anything much about something until it's pretty drastically abnormal. So, just another one of those things to keep an eye on and hope it's nothing.

It is a constant balancing act. Sure seems appropriate that our Bible study is on "Living a Life of Balance." It's a balance between knowing how much therapy to push for vs. just accepting his delays and who he is. Sometimes I want to push for lots of speech therapy knowing he's so behind and other times I want to quit it all and just say forget it, let him be. Who cares if he doesn't talk. I know what he needs. That's all that really matters.

Sometimes I think about just not giving him his seizure meds and seeing what would happen( don't worry, I won't really do this) and seeing if maybe, just maybe he's "cured".

Sometimes(ok, a lot of times) I wish would just stop worrying so much about it all and just take it one day at a time. And you know, I do that a lot of the time but like I said, anytime we start a new round of tests I'm drug back into the cycle of worrying. It's hard not to worry. It's very, very hard to take one day at a time and to trust God with the situation. There are still days I'm angry with God because I know he could just tell us what is going on with Emeric and he chooses not to. Some days I am ok with it and other days it makes me mad. Some days I can think, but this IS Emeric and would I really want him another way?

I don't know. And that's the struggle.

But, you know, I don't have answers to any of my questions. One thing I do know is that God does have the answers and the only thing I can do is put my trust in him. And that's hard. And I don't always do a good job.

But, I know that if you tell yourself something over and over again you'll eventually start really believing it. So, when I find myself doubting that God still has control I remind myself of this verse:

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you whose thoughts are fixed on You.

Isaiah 26:3

"I'm a Hooker"

The girls were playing with trucks earlier and they had a bunch of trailers and Kylie said to Kaydence, "Do you want the pullers or the hookers?" and Kaydence said she wanted a hooker so Kylie proudly said, "I'm a hooker!"

Here's to hoping the girls grow up to be pullers(whatever that is) vs. hookers.

Recent ponderings...

We had Bible study this morning and the lesson was on living a life of balance. Seeing as how my life is completely balanced already and I'm 100% efficient in juggling each and every task brought my way I got absolutely nothing from the study.

Don't you just hate sarcastic people?

Actually, it was nice to meet some new women and in our lesson we were talking about balancing day to day things and how worry keeps us from living a life of balance. I happened to stumble upon a verse that I hadn't really noticed before and since I've been struggling alot lately wondering why God allows so much suffering it made me stop and think. With the death of my friend's little girl and the deaths of many children whose parents I've gotten to know online in the last year I often fail to see the purpose. I know there's a purpose but God doesn't always reveal it to us. But, then I came upon this verse:

Romans 8:17:
And since we are His children, we will share His treasures-- for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.

We must also share His suffering.

As Christians don't we tend to assume that if God loves us we'll just cruise along easily in life without any struggles?

The thing is though, we rely on people to meet our needs. Our friends, family, a doctor, etc. These people all meet our needs in some way or another. In order to rely on God we have to need him. So, it's when I'm suffering that I need peace. It's when I'm suffering that I need comfort, strength, hope. I don't need peace, comfort, strength, or hope if I'm always doing well. If my needs are always met and I'm happy and everything is going well I don't need these things. At least not nearly as much as I do when I'm hurting.

God allows us to suffer to teach us to rely on him. Seems like such a simple thing to say!

Stay tuned for more thoughts on the matter! Or don't stay tuned, I don't claim to be a preacher! LOL

Is there still a full moon?

I'm assuming that's why my kids have been atrocious today. Between the screaming, crying, whining and every other utterly annoying and irritating I'm ready to pull out my hair. And I don't have much hair to begin with.

Seriously.

On a good note we got a lot accomplished for school today. We found a pattern online to print some ice cream scoops and we colored them, glued numbers to each one, and laminated them all. We did some simple addition for quite a while using them and the abacus. Kaydence is starting to recognize her numbers which is fun.

Kylie has been enjoying working on her letters and has started being able to read simple sentences like, "The fat cat ran" with help from me. She enjoys it and I just let her work on it until she is tired of it.

The kids have parents' night at Awana's tonight. The girls are in separate groups now and they've got parents night for each one so we're going to split it up and try to be there for each of the girls game times.

Jake is leaving tonight to drive truck tomorrow and I'm begging and pleading with him to please take one of them. Just one. That's all I need. Kaydence has been missing him so she seems like a good option!

RIP Swiper/Stripey/Jack

Our beloved cat was killed by our dog. The dog so lovingly drug it out into the middle of the lawn as if it were his prize. The poor girls saw it when they were going out to the swingset and Kylie is really upset. She said she is going to tell everyone that her cat died and if they aren't home when she comes to tell them that she'll wait at their doors until they are home. She also told me in painstaking detail what she saw of the cat's decomposing body and how she knew when she saw it that it was our cat because of the stripe on the tail. Awww.... As much as I'm not a cat lover I feel bad. Mostly because the girls are so upset at seeing it. Kylie also said she wants to write a letter to her aunt Jill telling her the cat died and then she'll write, "We loved our cat" and put a heart underneath.

While Kylie was mourning the feline loss Kaydence stated that when she grows up she's going to go live with Karri. Kylie told her she wouldn't have any girls to play with, only boys, so she changed her mind. Kylie said she wanted to live with grandma when she grew up.

I see how I rate.

The best thing about a trip to the Cities!

Emeric had blood work today that needed to be done in St. Paul so his nurse and I drove down and had that done. It went fine. They only had to poke him twice.

The best part was getting to stop at Trader Joe's on the way home! I've made it a tradition to stop there everytime I'm in Minneapolis now. The next time however I need to remember to bring a cooler so I can actually buy frozen stuff! I did get all of this however:



That's 2 quarts of Almond Milk(yes, Emeric will actually drink it), a bag of ground flaxseed, because my other bag is expired, cookies, mini, whole wheat pita pockets, toothpaste, bowtie pasta, and 3 loaves of bread. We tried Ezekiel bread once from the grocery store but it was insanely expensive. This loaf was only $2.99!! Trader Joe's is awesome. If I'd have bought this all from the health food section of our local grocery store I would've paid nearly 3x as much!

And then, inspired by My Charming Kids and the meals she makes her kids I decided to give it a try. Jake is gone after all and I didn't feel like making dinner:



The kids were absolutely thrilled at the idea of having a bunch of HEALTHY choices to choose from. Ha ha.

Upon putting their plates on the table Kaydence took one look at it and said, "YUCK!" and then, "RANCH, woohoo!!" A few minutes later after the two carrot sticks and the ranch were gone she said she was full. I'm sure that will last a good 10 minutes and she'll be begging for a peanut butter sandwich.

So far the kids aren't enjoying the fruits of my inspiration.

I'm Nesting.

Does that happen when you aren't pregnant? Because I'm not. Let me reiterate, I am NOT pregnant. But I do think I've been nesting. Maybe it's because with homeschool comes the need for organization or maybe it's that I'm reaching 30(ok, I've got a few years) and still have yet to keep a clean room. And I'm no shining example to the girls in trying to teach them to keep theirs clean! There's no mom to yell at me anymore about keeping a clean room because I am the mom.

With organization comes decluttering. It's amazing how much better you feel when there isn't clutter EVERYWHERE! I just cleaned out our walk in closet and there were things in there I haven't even seen in a year! How spoiled are we in America that we have things that we don't even use in an entire year? And more importantly that we've never even missed!


So, along those lines, I was inspired yesterday while reading an article in the Reader's Digest of a family who spent nothing for an entire month. They bought bread, milk, or fresh fruit(perishable things) but nothing else. They didn't stock up in order to have enough food for the month either. They wanted to use up what they had. They gave themselves $100 and I don't know what they used it for but they promised not to buy anything all month long. I think even their gas came out of that $100. Anyway, I decided we're going to do this starting October 1st. I made the decision on a whim, didn't think about it. What's there to think about? There are plenty of people that don't get to choose whether or not they spend money each month. I can run to Walmart to pick up a gallon of milk and walk out with a gallon of milk, a pack of pop, a frozen pizza, a t-shirt for Kylie that she liked and was on sale, shampoo...

So, I figured in order to keep myself accountable I'd list my goals for the month:

1. Buy nothing.
Ha, sounds so easy. I will buy bread, bananas, grapes and milk because those things might last a month but probably wouldn't taste very good.

2. Limit gas to $120 for the van(which is 3x a week to town for Awana's, Bible Study, and swim lessons) and $100 for Jake's long, long Ford that he uses for work.

3. Buy(before October 1st, lol) a $10 phone card to use for long distance calls and limit long distance calls to doctors/clinic only. My long distance bill every month is around $70 so if I spend $10 on a phone card that's a big savings. And it might last me more than a month, who knows!!

We'll see how it goes. I'm thinking of more goals as I go. Maybe I'll do a "No tv" month sometime too! That will of course have to wait until the next season of Grey's Anatomy is over. :)

It seems like corn growers & the FDA aren't making enough money lately and they're worried that if everyone stops eating foods made with HFCS that they're going to be broke. So they've launched a site called "Sweet Surprise" which gives you the "facts" about High Fructose Corn Syrup.

I ALWAYS trust the FDA, don't you? Because they surely have your best interest at heart. They don't want your money they just want you to understand how truly good for you High Fructose Corn Syrup is. Screw nutritionists, they know nothing. They just want you to be bored with your food.

So, for anyone that's just been dying to debate about HFCS here's your challenge...

Find out who's lying.

Oh, and here's a good article to get you started. Biased? Yes, but isn't everything?

http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/cornsyrup.html

I had lost my memory card for my camera about a week ago so I haven't been able to get any pictures on here for a while. Those stupid memory cards are so small that I can't imagine how even an organized person would find it if it were lost. I just so happened to be picking up the garbage underneath the computer desk and spotted it! I also came across a q-tip, a sippy cup, a stuffed Elmo doll, a pen, and Emeric's insurance card! Luckily the sippy cup had water in it and not milk. I think if you're a parent you've likely found a sippy cup full of milk more than once that had been long lost. Not a pretty smell.

Anyway, random pictures again... We spent two days freezing corn and I threw in a few pictures of that and some other ones of Kylie's "school days".

Kaydence told Jake today that she learned in Little Lambs(class for the kids during Bible study) that, "Jesus cried on the cross."

Yes, I'm certain he did. But I think what she meant to say was that he DIED on the cross. :)

The girls had Awana's last night. Kaydence was in Cubbies for the first time and cried at first but then when I came to pick her up they said she did fine. Kylie was in Sparks which is what you start when you "graduate" out of Cubbies. She enjoyed it but cried because she wore sandals and couldn't run during the games and they wouldn't let her take her shoes off and then she cried because she didn't get a snack. So Kaydence, being the compassionate sister that she is chimed in immediately with, "WE got snacks. We had rice krispie bars..." Approximately 2 seconds later she adds, "With sprinkles." At this point Kylie is bawling and asking why they don't get snacks and Kaydence did. I explained that since she was older she probably wouldn't get snacks now. That answer didn't really satisfy her and she went to bed upset.

This morning we got in the van and we're on our way to town and Kylie says, "Kaydence did you guys have rice krispie BARS or rice krispies in a bowl?" Kaydence very matter a factly lets her know they were indeed bars and reiterates there were also sprinkles. And then for added measure she lets her know that it also made her sticky.

Poor Kylie. It's a tough world. You better enjoy snacks while you can because once you turn 5 it's over. There are no more treats. And definitely not treats with sprinkles.

The two biggest annoyances of today...

#1- When I get an answering machine message that says, "Hi, Audrey Johnson here 522-5785". (no, not real name or #)

I guess if I knew who Audrey Johnson was maybe the message wouldn't have been so strangely brief but I didn't. So, I called 522-5785.

Me: Hi, is Audrey there?

Audrey: Yes, this is her.

Me: This is Nicole S. calling, I was returning your call.

Audrey: Who?

Me: Nicole S.

Audrey: Hmmm.....(long pause) Oh, you're that girl from Waubun?

Me: Um, no.

Audrey: Oh, from Detroit Lakes, that's right.

Me: Yes.

Audrey: (at this point excited) I have some very important information for you regarding seizures!

Me: Oh...

Audrey: Oh but I have piano students here right now, why don't you call back tonight.

Me: Um, ok.

Ok, let me just preface this by saying that I am not at all opposed to someone giving me important information regarding seizures. I am however opposed to random strangers calling my house without telling me who they are or why they're calling and then telling me to call them because they have information that I never asked for and might or might not want.

I realize she does not know if we've already gotten the information she had or if we wanted the information and she doesn't know that he has an underlying condition causing seizures not that he has Epilepsy like someone who just has seizures has Epilepsy. No, she didn't know because she didn't ask.

And I already know what information she likely has. You know why? Because I've had COUNTLESS people give me their "cure" to seizures. I'm sure they mean well but do they not think that the THREE neurologists we've seen in THREE different states haven't already possibly covered all these "cures".

People will tell me that if I took him off all wheat products he WOULD stop having seizures. Not he "might" stop, he WILL stop. Or dairy, or corn, or soy, or maybe I should take him off goldfish crackers!

Or if I just took him to a chiropractor they would fix him. Because someone knew someone else's cousin who went to a chiropractor and they never had seizures again.

Or if I had people lay hands on him or prayed hard enough or had enough faith then God would heal him.

Yes, I've really been told all of those things. Well, all but taking him off the Goldfish crackers! :)

So, I'm sure this lady means well but I don't want her information. I might have if I wasn't in such a bad mood. But I am and she rubbed me the wrong way. You know, some people do that.




#2-Yes, that was all just my #1 annoyance.

My other annoyance is when a therapist or nurse calls and leaves a message asking if they can come out the next day. They ask you to call if they can come out. They tell you to call by 4:30pm because they won't be in the office the next day and they need to know today.

You do not call. You don't call because you've been out of town and you didn't get home until after 4:30. You don't call because you don't feel like having someone come out. You aren't in the mood for company and you want a break and your house is a mess and so on and so on.

And then the person shows up anyway.

And they tell you they left two messages.

And all you want to say is, "Yes, I got them and you said to call you if it would work out for you to come and it DOESN'T work out which is why I DID NOT call and then you showed up anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

But instead you smile and apologize for the mess and for your dreadful hair that hasn't even been combed yet.



*After I wrote this post I ended up talking to that lady and she wanted to tell me about the Ketogenic Diet. I told her we knew about it but because of his condition he can't be on it. She said she was hoping this would be the answer. Yeah, me too. But anyway, she was nice enough. Just kind of odd in the way she went about it. I admit to being in a bad mood so I'm sure that played a part!

Emeric had an assessment today with the Speech Language Pathologist. He's going to start working with Emeric for 30-45 minutes 1x a week. He said he has low oral motor awareness which is why he drools so much and might be why he can't make some sounds. He placed him at an overall level of 10-15 months for language. I think it will be really good for Emeric and it'll be interesting to see how he is with a man. All of his therapists have been women.

We went swimming today with the homeschool group. The girls had a lot of fun! Kylie was getting a bit more brave and going down the waterslide and under the water a bit. I didn't even see Emeric the whole time. His nurse walked him around the track and he took a good nap.

We're working now on letters and doing some coloring. We didn't do much yesterday so we have to make up for it today.

A friend of mine lost her little girl yesterday in a really tragic accident and I wasn't in the mood to do anything with school. She was 2 years old and I cannot even imagine the pain they're going through. I have a 2 year old and I couldn't imagine something happening so suddenly like that with no time to say goodbye. Her sister and I were best friends growing up and I met their family when I was about 10 years old. I spent a lot of time there and they're all like family to me.

I know God uses things like this for his glory but right now that's really hard to understand. It's hard to imagine why God would take a 2 year old little girl and I just can't wrap my mind around it. I just cannot imagine.

So hold your kids tighter and remember that none of our days are promised. We worry about those that are sick in our lives or I worry about Emeric and his future but this is such a reminder that none of us have tomorrow as a promise.

School has been going well. Today we started at 10:30 which was precisely when Emeric went down for a nap! He's tall enough to open our doors now which means I'll be buying approximately 4 more baby gates tomorrow! LOL We already have THREE! One is 5 feet long! :) I found him earlier perched up in my computer chair sipping a grape pop! HA HA! The grape pop that only I'm allowed to drink because it has so much sugar! :D He doesn't drink pop and he definitely does not know how to drink out of a can but it was more than humorous to find him lounging in my chair. Tomorrow I'll probably find him with his heels kicked up, clicking away with the mouse!

Kylie did ask if we could have recess time for school and Kaydence quickly chimed in with the idea that we should also have cartoon time.

She's smart.

Once I finished laughing I told her that we probably would have cartoon time during Emeric's afternoon nap like we always do for no other reason than I enjoy 30-45 minutes of having to do absolutely nothing. I typically eat lunch then and all my treats that I don't eat in front of the kids! :) I have a horrible diet. Which is why I hide those things. I don't want my kids to have a horrible diet! I try to make them eat healthy and I won't buy things with High Fructose Corn Syrup in them if I can help it but I'll happily sip away at 20 ounces of carbonated water and high fructose corn syrup in a BPA filled bottle!

Poor Kylie...

She wouldn't go to sleep tonight, kept coming out of her room and was crying. I asked her why she was crying but she just kept saying, "because". Is this really engrained into women from this young of an age? To answer "because" when they know darn good and well the reason they're crying!!! I still do this! LOL

It turns out she doesn't want to start school. I did NOT expect this being that we're homeschooling! She's been excited about school for so long but like someone said, the fear of the unknown is strong! I told her that it wouldn't really be much different than any other day and that we'd have lots of fun things to do.

Man I'm glad she isn't going to public school. I don't know who'd be more of a mess, me or her!!