Me & The Boys

Happy Birthday, Randall

2009-04-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

My brother, Randall, would be 44 years old today. He died in a motorcycle accident when he was 25. I can't believe he's been gone so long. Sean was only 2 years old when he died. Neither Clayton nor my nieces were even born. At the time, and for a long time after, we didn't see how life could go on. But, eventually, with the births of babies and the healing of time, it did. It wasn't the same life, but we learned to live a new normal. Even after all these years, I cry as I type this. I miss him. I wonder what he would be like at this time of his life. Would he have married his girlfriend? Would he have kids? Would he be happy? One thing I do know is we have a guardian Angel in heaven looking over us and we will see him again one day.

Until then, Happy Birthday Randall. I love you.

Happy 21st Birthday, Sean

2009-02-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

It was Sunday, February 14, 1988, Valentine’s Day. I was 36 weeks pregnant and eagerly awaiting the arrival of my first child. Just four more weeks and my precious baby would be here. My sister-in-law had me a baby shower on Saturday. I had already had one baby shower in Marion thrown by my best friend. The nursery was ready – it had been for a couple of months. We had started our Lamaze classes. At that time the “natural, no drug” approach was big. I could hardly wait until the baby arrived. Turns out, I wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

My mom and dad had planned to come up on Saturday for my baby shower but my dad was not feeling well so they didn’t come on Saturday but did get to come on Sunday. My mom had baby things to bring me and she wanted to see what I got at my shower. I didn’t sleep well Saturday night. I kinda had some stomach cramps and my back was hurting. I didn’t think that much about it. My mom and dad got to our house and I was in the shower. Carl had already told my mom how I was feeling and she barged in on me in the shower. She knew that I was in labor. I insisted I was not but she insisted I call the doctor. I called and when I told them how I was feeling they thought I should go to the hospital and be checked out. Well, a little before noon off we went to the hospital. We lived 30 minutes away from the hospital so we all rode in the same car. All the way to the hospital I said I couldn’t be in labor, I wasn’t due for four more weeks. And, it was Valentine’s Day, I couldn’t have a baby on Valentine’s Day. I got to the hospital and they put me in a room. They hooked me up to a monitor and said I was having contractions. My mom was in the room with me and Carl and my dad were in the waiting room. A doctor came in and examined me. His eyes got big and he said “You’re dilated to 5 cm. You’re going to have this baby today.” I turned to my mom and said “Go get Carl NOW.” I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe my baby was coming early. I wasn’t worried by that. I was excited. I didn’t have to wait any longer to see if it was a girl or a boy. We didn’t find out ahead of time because we wanted to be surprised. We had a girl’s name picked out and a boy’s name – Kathryn Elizabeth or Sean Michael. It wouldn’t be much longer before I would find out. I progressed quickly. The doctor that was on call wasn’t my regular doctor, who was a male. The doctor on call was female. She was very calm and very caring. She came in a few times to check on me and would hold my hand through the contractions. I didn’t want to take any kind of medicine because I didn’t want to look like a wimp. I would breathe through the contractions and it did help a little. Everything went pretty fast so I didn’t really have time to think about it. It soon came time to push and they wanted to take me to an operating room in case there were any problems. They gave Carl a pair of scrubs to put on and we had quite a laugh about those. They were huge. Carl isn’t real tall and they had given him scrubs that would have fit the Jolly Green Giant!! I think we were laughing so we wouldn’t be so nervous. I was nervous about spitting out a baby, not about anything being wrong. That thought hadn’t even occurred to me.

My pregnancy had been normal. I had all the prenatal care, including sonograms. There was never any mention of him being small or anything else. I wasn’t sick at all and I loved being pregnant. I loved feeling that life inside of me. Looking back, I am so glad that I didn’t know anything ahead of time because I was blissfully unaware of how my life was about to change and the journey I was about to embark upon.

It was about 4:00 p.m. by now. We went to the operating room and I was finally able to push. That actually felt good. I didn’t have to push too much and the head started coming. I remember the doctor saying “It’s a good thing he’s got a small head or he wouldn’t be coming out this way.” I ended up having to have quite a few stitches afterwards. At 4:27 p.m. we heard “It’s a boy.” I, of course, cried. Carl did, too. It was very overwhelming. Unfortunately, we didn’t hear much else. There was a very weak cry. Carl said he knew something was wrong right away. I didn’t. All I wanted to do was see my baby. All I got was a quick peek. They immediately took him over to a table and started working on him. He wasn’t crying and wasn’t breathing well. They said they had to get him to the nursery right away. They took him to the regular nursery to give him oxygen and warm him up. He weighed 5 lb., 4 oz. and was 18 inches long. I did see that he had a head full of black hair. It was parted on the side. He was so tiny but so adorable.

I was taken back to my room and we were not told a whole lot. My mom and dad left to go home because my mom had to work the next day. We really didn’t think there was anything wrong. At that time it was not a big deal to breast feed and I had already decided before he was born that I didn’t want to try it. They gave me a pill to dry up my milk. It was really a good thing because he would have never been able to breast feed anyway. Also at that time you didn’t really keep the babies in your room. They were in the nursery except for feeding time. Sean didn’t get to come back to my room at all because they were having trouble getting him to eat. Every time he would suck he would quit breathing and turn blue. Carl went down to the nursery to see him but couldn’t hold him or touch him. We still didn’t know what was going on. We both slept that night and Sean stayed in the nursery. The next morning he still wasn’t able to eat without turning blue and the decision was made to send him to the NICU. The pediatrician came in to tell me that they were transferring him to the NICU to see if they could figure out what was going on. Soon two nurses wheeled him in for me to see him before going to the NICU. I was upset at that time and wanted to hold him. One nurse asked the other one if I could hold him before they took him but she said no, they wanted him to go right then. It was only two floors away in the same hospital but at that time it felt like they were taking him to the moon. I just wanted to hold my baby and know that everything was going to be okay.

Once he was in the NICU they started running all kinds of tests. We still didn’t know what was going on or if something was wrong. We suspected that something was wrong but we just thought he was sick. I was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday morning without my baby. That was, at that time of my life, the hardest thing I had ever had to do. Little did I know the challenges that were on the horizon.

Sean was in the hospital for 9 days. He was discharged on February 23, Carl’s birthday. He was discharged without any diagnosis or explanation for why he was so small. We brought him home and began the next chapter of our lives. We were finally a family and it didn’t matter what we had to face, we could do it together.

Happy 21st Birthday, Sean. I love you. You have shown me what true love is. I am so proud to be your mom.

CdLS Blog Challenge

2009-02-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

Today's CdLS blog challenge is:
What kind of jerry-rigging or child-proofing have you done at home to meet the needs of your child with CdLS? This could be a serious or comical post.

We have certainly Sean-proofed our house.

When Sean was little he could run like the wind so we have fences in our front yard and our back yard. There are locks on the gates so that he can't open them. Now that he is older, he moves much slower and that has helped alot.

We have locks and chains on all of our doors. When people come to our house and then try to leave they say it's like trying to get out of Fort Knox.

We don't have end tables because when we did have them Sean would clear them off. He broke many a lamp until we got smart and got the kind that attach to the wall.

Speaking of attached to the wall, most of our furniture is attached to the wall. He has on more than one occasion knocked over large pieces of furniture. He still tries but doesn't seem very interested when he sees they aren't going to go anywhere.

All he has in his room is his bed and a dresser. It's long enough that he can't get it turned over. We got Clayton a chest of drawers a few weeks ago and put it in Sean's room until we could get it up to Clayton's room. Guess what? Sean knocked it over. It had only been in his room for about 10 minutes.

When he was small we could have things on the kitchen counter but not anymore. We call him Stretch Armstrong because it is amazing how far he can reach.

I have a wooden tray that we keep the salt, pepper, toothpicks and napkins on. We can't leave it on the table while we're eating because he pushes it off (actually, he pushes it into his brother's plate which doesn't make him happy).

The bathroom door has to be kept shut and we have the childproof covers on the knobs. If he finds it open, he will get in the bathtub and turn on the water. Luckily, the few times that it's happened it's been the cold water.

We have a gate permanently attached to the wall between our kitchen and front room so that we can keep him out of the kitchen when we're cooking. He doesn't bother the trash in the house but we had to get a trash can with a lid that snaps on in the motorhome because he was constantly turning it over.

And, don't even think about leaving a pen or marker within his reach. I learned that the hard way - twice. (I'm not a quick study) Once we had brand new carpeting in the front room and I turned my head for 2 seconds. When I came back, he had found a black magic marker and performed his magic on the floor and TV cabinet. Luckily because the carpet was new and had the stain resistant stuff on it, it came out. Most of the marks came off the TV cabinet but there are still a few there. He also found one in our motorhome once and colored from one end of the motorhome to the other on the cabinets, fridge, stove, everything in sight.

I'm sure there are other things that I can't even think of, like others have said, this is just normal for us. You do what you have to do to keep everyone safe.

Blog Challenge - 2008 In Review

2008-12-31T11:13:00.000-08:00

As 2008 comes to a close, take some time to reflect on the past year. Tell us about acomplishments and triumphs, good times and bad times. What will be most memorable for you about 2008?

We have had a good 2008. Lots of things have changed in our lives.

First, we added to our family in the form of a pet. We got our dog, Rascal, in April. He is a cute little guy and he loves to go camping with us. He is part beagle but we don't know who the daddy is. Everyone swears he looks like a rotweiler. He's almost a year old and bigger than we expected him to be so who knows what he is mixed with.

We also did some room rearranging and it's been the best thing we could have ever done. I got into a bad habit years ago because of Sean's reflux and sleeping habits. I started sleeping with him to make sure that he didn't get choked from throwing up and to keep him in bed at night instead of roaming (and tearing up) the house. Well, 20 years passed by very quickly and I was still sleeping in his room. He got to the point where he didn't want me in there and started some behaviors (like slapping) which were his way of letting me know, I guess. So, we moved Clayton upstairs to a room I would have killed for when I was growing up. That gave Sean his own room and me and Carl our own room. We put very little in Sean's room - a bed and dresser - and soft toys and lots of pillows. He can be in there and we don't have to worry about him hurting himself. I'm sure at some point he'll figure out how to do some damage to himself or something else but he hasn't so far. He goes in there himself and I think he really enjoys his alone time. Clayton really enjoys his alone time. We barely see him. Our house is a 1-1/2 story and the upstairs is one big room. His bed is on one side and his TV and computer are on the other side. He can have friends over and they have their own area and it is really nice. He's had a sleepover and is about to have another one. He also became a teenager this year. No signs of raging hormones yet but I'm sure they'll be here soon. God, please give me strength!

Another big change is that Carl retired this spring. He is older than I am so I am still working (for about 20 more years. Yuck.) Anyway, he had worked at the same place for 40 years so he felt he had paid his dues. He thought he was retiring to relax but, oh, was he wrong. With him being home and me still working, he is now Mr. Mom. He does the housework and, for the first time in 20 years, takes care of Sean. He sees now what I had to do for the past 20 years, except I still had to work, too. He is doing a great job and I am so totally grateful. It has given me some much needed rest and I feel like such a weight has been taken off of me.

Carl's help has given me time to stretch my creative wings. Well, they're not really wings, and I'm not really that creative, but I've been trying. Several months ago I told you about key ring clips I was making. I still make them and I have started making spoon bracelets, too. I had never heard of a spoon bracelet (I had heard of rings). I had made some key ring clips out of old forks and someone saw them and asked if I could make a spoon bracelet. I said I had never heard of them but I would see what I could come up with. Well, after some internet research, we created our first one. It is a collaborative effort between Carl and I. He does the physical work and I do the decorating. He cuts them and bends them and then I put beads on them. I will have to post pictures of some because you probably can't picture what I'm talking about. I had one friend say "Aren't those dangerous since you use forks?" She thought we were using the tines of the forks - we are not. We cut them off. She is such a goofball! Love you, Bonita!!

Another exciting thing was that a new Wal-Mart Supercenter opened about three minutes from my house. I am in heaven. I used to have to travel about 20 minutes and while that may not seem like much of a trip, when you consider I only went once a week and had to do all my shopping, it made for about a two or three hour trip weekly. Now, with it so close, I can make small runs and don't have to load down the cart and my car. I LOVE IT!!! Thank you, Wal-Mart, for making my life easier. Now, could I please have a Target?

One thing that was not so good this year was that Sean was diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus. The pediatric GI doc. that we went to in St. Louis diagnosed him and was not very encouraging with the news. He admitted that he didn't have any knowledge really because it normally isn't a pediatric condition. We have since seen an adult GI doc. and he was more encouraging. He said that there are stages that it progresses through and he normally doesn't see it progess to cancer. He said that Sean being young doesn't give him any greater of a chance of developing cancer than anyone else. We have to meet with him again when he has seen all of Sean's records and he will do a scope in July of next year and we will go from there. I hope he is right in his thoughts. Sean's reflux is finally under control and he has had a good year healthwise. (Great, now I've probably jinxed us.) I am trusting in God and trying not to worry too much about the diagnosis. Keep Sean in your prayers, though.

Another biggy for me this year is joining the blogging world. I didn't even know what a blog was a year ago. I started reading one family's blog and from there "met" other people and then started my own blog and have "met" many more. It is so amazing to be able to connect with people like this. It is so nice to know that I am not alone. Even though Sean is one of the older CdLS kids, I can so relate to what everyone else is going through. It is such a great tool for everyone. I only wish I would have had access to something like this when Sean was born. Besides being able to connect with CdLS moms, it is so amazing to see other people and read their stories and see the support and love that comes from complete strangers. So many times we only hear the horror stories of the world but when you see some of the acts of kindness, you know there is still good in the world. Thank you, blogging world, for sharing your humor, sarcasm, good times, bad times, and all the other stuff. I look forward to another year of connecting.

We, of course, camped this year but I won't bore you with those stories again. I hope the gas prices stay down so we can go a little more next year. Maybe we'll even venture out of Illinois. Okay, we probably won't, but if we did, where would we go? I would like to go see the ocean again. I have only seen it once. We went to Florida when Clayton was about 5. I would like to go to Virginia Beach. That sounds like a fun place.

2008 was a good year. I am looking forward to 2009 and all the fun that comes with it. See ya next year!! (I love saying that.)

Christmas

2008-12-27T11:59:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. We did. The kids opened presents in the morning. I even got one this year. Carl and I normally don't exchange presents because we never know what to get each other. I had gotten him a laptop when Wal-Mart had them real cheap a couple of months ago. It was supposed to be for Christmas but he saw it before I could hide it. He wanted to start learning how to use a computer and I didn't want him messing mine up so that's why I got him one. It's just a basic one but he can surf the net and that's all he wanted to do. Our anniversary is today - 22 years. So, for Christmas and our anniversary, he got me a ring. It is one I had looked at and wished for but never thought I would get it. He totally surprised me. It was great.

After opening presents, I started cooking. Our friends came over for Christmas dinner. We had turkey and all the trimmings. It was quite tasty. After we stuffed ourselves we sat down to play Buzz. It's a Playstation game and it's like a game show. It's pretty fun. While we were playing we noticed that Russ's top lip had started to swell. He said it felt like he was getting a fever blister. Not wanting to miss any fun, we kept playing. About 30 minutes later we noticed his bottom lip was swelling. That's when we got worried. Dianne called the nurse hotline and they said to take him to the ER. We were worried that his throat would swell shut. After two hours in the ER on Christmas night, two shots (which he was not too happy about), and prescriptions to take home, he's fine. They said it was an allergic reaction to something. I thought I might have poisoned him but since no one else got sick, I don't think it was me! It was pretty weird. He probably won't be coming to our house to eat anymore!

Here's a couple of pictures of the boys on Christmas morning. I didn't take too many pictures and, sadly, I didn't get one of Russ's plumped up lips!

Clayton got Guitar Hero World Tour which includes drums and a guitar and Sean got electronic drum sticks and a harmonica so it's been very musical (loud) around here the last couple of days. But, I wouldn't change it for anything.

Happy New Year!

Where have I been?

2008-12-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

Well, in case anyone has been wondering where I've been, I can now tell you.

I have been working on a special project that's near and dear to my heart. I worry about all the small animals in the wintertime and how they keep warm. Well, I have created a safe, warm haven for them this winter. Here's where several of them will be spending the next few months!!!!

Don't ask me how, but this is how I woke up looking yesterday. The weird thing is that when I sleep, I don't move. I sleep on my back and wake up in the same position I fall asleep in. My mom has always said I didn't move as a child and Carl says I don't move now. So, can someone please explain the above picture? I'm afraid I might be living a second life at night!

More Birthday Fun

2008-11-03T18:35:00.001-08:00

Our family doesn't just have one birthday celebration. We always have one at home and then we have one at Grandma's. We went to Marion this weekend for Clayton's second party. It was just my family but it was fun. We got down there Friday evening which was Halloween. My mom's church had "Trunk or Treat". They take their cars to the church parking lot and decorate the trunks of them and hand out candy to the kids. It's a safe way of trick or treating. I had never seen it before and it was actually pretty cool. There were lots of cars and the people dressed up too. My nieces dressed up and so did I and we went to Trunk or Treat. Here are some pics.

On Saturday we had lunch and then Clayton got to open his presents. He is at the stage where he wants money so he got $50 and some boxers in a Guitar Hero tin. My dad had surgery a couple of weeks ago and had to have his hair cut and the nurse brought the hair back in a bag and gave it to my mom. No idea why they would have done that but since they did we thought it would be funny to wrap it up and give it to Clayton. He opened it and thought it was funny.

Some have said our family is weird. I wonder why! I tease Clayton about loving Sponge Bob. He watches the show but always says he doesn't really like him. It's kind of a running joke now so we got him a Sponge Bob cake.

After cake we wrote wishes on paper and attached them to balloons and went outside and let them go. I wonder where they went. I was hoping maybe they would have flown up to Springfield but we haven't found any yet!! Who knows where they could be.

Then it was time for some silly string fun. It was a fun weekend and I think the boys had a good time. Here's some more pics.

Funny faces in the car.

Sean & PawPaw.

Clayton's 13!

2008-10-19T15:36:00.000-07:00

Well, he made it. Clayton is now a teenager. He started celebrating on Thursday night. He had a couple of friends come over for pizza and a cookie cake. Here they are enjoying the pizza.On Friday we went back to the campground in Havana. We had agreed to go before we realized it was Clayton's birthday. There was a big group of people that went and someone else made the reservations. Clayton wasn't thrilled about spending his birthday at the campground but he managed to have a good time. Here he is lounging in the motorhome. It was the last picture of him as a 12 year old!
Here he is as a teenager. Doesn't he look older?

He had to open his presents as soon as he got out of bed.

He got an iPod, some accessories to go with it, some Qik N Ez gift cards, and some cold hard cash. I think he made out pretty good. That afternoon we had cake for him.

The campground had Halloween festivities and in the afternoon there was also a costume contest. No one in my family wanted to dress up so I hadn't planned to. On Friday me and Carl went to Wal-Mart and found a hilarious costume and, much to my disbelief, he agreed to wear it. I then had to find one and all I could find was a witch. Some people may say that is appropriate! Anyway, here we are.

Anybody need a plumber! His company was called "McKrackin Plumbing". Their motto is "We're number 1 when it comes to number 2". He actually ended up having a good time. He was strutting his stuff. He ended up being the only male grownup that dressed up so they put him in the category with the women. He got second place. But, he's first place in my book.

SOOC Saturday

2008-10-04T07:13:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite pictures of the boys. Clayton was around 4 and Sean 11. They were playing outside and I found them together under a tree. Cute, cute, cute.

I won! I won!

2008-09-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it but I actually won something and I wasn't even trying.

Rachelle at Take a Walk with the Riedmiller Family gave me my very first blog award. First, I would like to thank my parents, without them I would be nothing. I also need to thank my husband for being there with me from the beginning, laughing at my jokes and encouraging me. Then, of course, I can't forget my boys. Without them, what would my life be like. My life would be so boring, nothing to do but relax, watch TV, go out to eat, sleep!! And, I also would like to thank all the people who knew me when - before I had a blog and GOT AN AWARD!!!

Okay, enough groveling. Thank you, Rachelle, for giving me this award. I haven't been doing this for long but I have gotten so much out of this. I love being able to take a peek into the lives of others and see how they handle the challenges that have been given to them. It is so encouraging and uplifting. I look forward checking on my new friends daily.

Here are the rules (I didn't come up with these:)

1. The winner can (and should, really) put the logo on his/her blog
2. The winner must link to the person from whom they received their award.
3. The winner must nominate at least 7 other blogs for an award.
4. The winner must place links to those blogs on their own blog.
5. The winner must leave a message on the blogs of the people they’ve nominated.

Now come the problems. First, I can't figure out how to get the logo from Rachelle's blog to mine. Then, I'm not completely sure about the linking thing. I have everyone on my blog list so hopefully that works. The big problem is that I don't know 7 other blogs besides the ones that Rachelle nominated! But, here's who I do give awards to:

Sean, Natalie and Evan at The deMello's. Evan deMello is the little boy that introduced me to the blogging world. He is from my hometown and was born with a heart defect which required him to have a heart transplant. His parents had a COTA site to keep everyone updated on his condition. He had the transplant at the end of June last year and, sadly, lost his battle in October. His parents were so brave and inspiring throughout his fight and have continued their story about their brave little warrior and their lives without him. Evan never ceased to amaze me and neither do they.

Through Evan's blog I met Sara at ThinkPinkalicious. She is a mommy to the sweetest little girl, Maddie. Maddie has a rare form of dwarfism. Sara and Maddie had a wonderful summer and I was able to share in their fun through Sara's wonderful descriptions of their capers.

Sara found a jewelry website and was looking at it and noticed that the owner of the website had a little boy with CdLS. She e-mailed me and that is how I met Lisa Leonard at It's the Little Things. Lisa's son is David and he is 6 years old. She has another boy named Matty. She is very creative and a great photographer. I always enjoy checking in on her.

From these three, I have met all the other bloggers on my list and then some. I have truly enjoyed the time I've spent with each of you and thank you again for letting me peek into your lives. I look forward to much more.

Have a great week.

CdLS Blog Challenge - Public Scrutiny

2008-09-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

The challenge this week is to write about our experiences with public scrutiny. We have always gotten lots of looks when we're out and much more so now that Sean has gotten older. He is about the size of an 11 year old but now sports a pretty nice mustache which can get some double takes. I am holding off as long as possible before I start shaving him because it's quite a chore just getting through his hair cuts.

I do remember one time when he was around 10. My mom and sister were here visiting. Clayton was about 3 and my niece was just a baby. We all went to the mall. Sean was still small and was in a regular stroller. After shopping for a while we went to a restaurant in the mall to eat. While Sean loves riding in a stroller, he doesn't like it when it stops moving. I took him out of the stroller and was holding him and feeding him crackers while we waited for our food. I had noticed a man and woman looking our way a few times, but with three little ones we were putting on quite a show so I didn't think a whole lot about it. As that couple got up to leave they came over to us and applauded me for bringing Sean with us . The man commented how lots of parents don't take their kids out and it was very good that I was doing that. The man had worked with special needs kids and that's why he had noticed Sean. They asked about his syndrome and then went on their way. I thought it was very nice of them to have stopped to make their comments.

Another time, only a few years ago, I took Sean in to Dollar General to pick up something real quick. He had been at school all day and wasn't in much of a shopping mood (come to think of it, he never is!). We went in, I went directly to get what I needed, and then got in the checkout line. There were several people in line so we had to wait a little bit. Sean has the patience of a gnat so didn't like having to wait. He was starting to get antsy and a little loud. I was singing to him and clapping with him (things he loves) to try to keep him occupied. I looked up and saw a man and we made eye contact. He said "Good for you, good for you." I just smiled and turned my attention back to Sean. I'm not sure exactly what I was getting kudos for but I took it as a compliment.

I know people aren't trying to hurt my feelings or Sean's when they say stuff or ask questions. I try to always look at it as showing people that these kids have lives just like everyone else. There are so many people that are never exposed to these kids and if I can show just one that they are just people, too, then maybe they can show someone else. I would much rather someone ask me a question than just stare and go on by.

And, like Maddy's mom said, maybe there will come a day when we won't have to explain why our kids look different. They will just be kids like every other one.

And the Countdown Begins...

2008-09-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it's actually been going on for a while but one month from today my baby will turn 13. I don't know where the time has gone. Thirteen years ago I was waddling around the office with elephant ankles wondering how I was going to make it two more months (my due date was two more months). Anyway, Clayton is so thrilled that he's going to be a teenager. He's been taunting me with that fact for several months now but I'm sure it will be more constant now that he's this close. When you're young you can't wait to get older and then we you do get older you wonder where the time went. I wouldn't want to necessarily go back in time just to be young again but there are a few things I wouldn't mind getting another chance at. Okay, now I'm rambling. I tend to do that when my boys have birthdays. I don't know why. Stay tuned as the countdown proceeds.

CdLS Blog Challenge

2008-09-16T18:17:00.000-07:00

Well, as usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short. Actually, I'm two days late. Here goes anyway. My simple pleasures are

Sitting by the campfire with friends & family.

Having lunch with an old friend.

Logging on to check on new friends.

Fixing my son a smoothie and
getting a hair combing in return.

Garage sales on Saturday morning.

Watching Sean carry his lunch tray at school.

The challenge also asked if pleasures are drawn from more simple things because I have a child with special needs. I have always been happy with just being home and not needing to be entertained so I don't think that changed. I appreciate the simple things more. I will always remember when Sean learned to drink out of a straw - he was about 5. We celebrated like he had just won a gold medal in the Olympics. When I saw him carrying his lunch tray at 19 years old, I cried. Those were simple pleasures that I would not have thought about otherwise. So, I guess the answer is I do appreciate the simple things more.

Now, I'm going to enjoy another simple thing - sleep. Good night.

Look what I've been doing

2008-09-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

I have been experimenting making bracelets. I used my sister and one of my blog friends as guinea pigs. My sister has two kids so I made her a bracelet with both of her girls' names on it. My blog friend has one daughter so hers had one name.

My nieces liked my sister's bracelet so they wanted one of their own. So, guess what one of their Christmas presents is! When I took theirs to work one of my co-workers wanted one for her niece so I made one for her.

I had one made for myself many years ago and paid big bucks for it. It is gold and I am more into silver lately so, of course, I had to make myself one.

I now have a request to make two more for another co-worker. My key ring making is on hold until I can find some more key rings so I guess I'll be making bracelets for a while. I just thought I would show you the ones I have made. I think they turned out pretty cute.

Looking Back Sunday - Birthdays

2008-09-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

Sandi, Jessica's mom, did this and I thought it would be fun. Looking for these pictures (in boxes) I realized how badly I need to make some albums. I've never done scrapbooking but that is going to be my next project. It's 20 years of stuff so hopefully I'll be able to get it done before the next 20 years fly by. Anyway, here's Sean on his first birthday. He looks so cute. He didn't much like getting into the cake, though. He didn't like the feel of it. Hope you enjoy these.

Why did they put this goofy hat on me?

Now, what am I supposed to do?

Oops, I think I lost something!

SOOC Saturday

2008-09-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

This is what the toys looked like when Sean went to bed.

This is what they looked like the next morning. He had some fun during the night!

Thanks to Melody at Slurping Life for this fun Saturday meme. If you’d like to play along and share your “straight out of the camera” (SOOC) shot, click here for details.

Stroller

2008-09-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

I have had pictures of Sean in his stroller on here and have had an inquiry regarding it. We have had it for several years. Sean was small for so long that we used a regular stroller for him for quite some time. Then, when he took his growth spurt I still wanted one for him so we could go on walks. He can walk but you never know when he'll just decide he doesn't want to go any further and stop, so it's easier for him to be in a stroller. And, he loves it. Of course, I would love it too if someone would push me around in one! Anyway, I starting looking for a stroller and couldn't find anything. I asked our two home health care stores and they didn't even know where I could find one. They only had access to wheelchairs. So, I started looking on line and found some strollers. They were quite expensive - some being $1,000-$1,200. Since Sean doesn't require any special restraints or support systems I didn't want to have to spend that much money on a stroller. I found this one and it is a Kool Stop Special Use stroller. It holds up to 150 pounds. We have had it for about 3 or 4 years and it is still holding up quite well. I checked with the company and they still have them and they are now selling for $650.00 (they have went up alot since we got ours). But, I still think that would be a good price. The stroller can be found at http://www.koolstop.com/. It is under the jogging stroller tab and then it is the special use stroller. Let me know if you have any questions.

You can see he is quite comfortable. There is also a shoulder harness to keep him in.

He's about 4'9" and you can see how he fills it out.

9/11/01

2008-09-11T06:23:00.000-07:00

In Remembrance of the lives lost on this day 7 years ago. We will never forget.

You might be a redneck if...

2008-09-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

You have an old motorhome in your pasture that hasn't been moved in years...

And, you have to put a sign on it that says...

"NOT FOR SALE"!

What this must mean is that people have actually inquired about purchasing the motorhome and for some reason, known only to the people that own it, they don't want to sell it. They would much rather it just rot out in their pasture. Maybe they plan on using it for fertilizer!

This motorhome has been in the same spot - unmoved - for at least three years. The "Not for Sale" sign appeared this year. I just thought this was hilarious. I don't know why people would want to hold onto something like this and just let it fall apart. And, they only live about 2 miles from a campground. I say fire that baby up and get thy self to a campground!

Smiles

2008-09-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

Sean is not big on smiling. He never has been. But, boy, can he light up your day when he does smile. I was greeted by nothing but smiles last night when I came home from work. We took advantage and had a quick photo shoot. Here are the results. Hope these bring a smile to your face today.

Prayer Request

2008-09-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

The son of an attorney I used to work with was killed in a bicycle accident Friday night. He was hit by a car. He was only 13. They were not able to have children of their own and adopted 2 babies from the Phillipines. He was their oldest. I am so very, very sad for them. They are going to need lots of support and prayers to get through this. Please, if you can, say a little prayer for them. Thank you.

And the Winner is......

2008-09-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

Sunny.

The drawing was done randomly by placing 6 numbers in a hat and pulling one out. The numbers corresponded with the number of the post. Thank you all for your stories. I loved them all. They were quite entertaining.

Sunny, e-mail me at rharter@wbllawyers.com and we'll see which one you want.

Giveaway!!!

2008-09-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I've seen other people do this so I thought it would be fun, too. I have been working on some "creations" lately. That's what I called them one time and now Clayton is giving me a hard time about my "creations".

I have several purses (okay, more than several) and most of them don't have pockets for keys. Therefore, I am always digging to the bottom of my cavernous pit to locate my keys when I am ready to use them. Well, I have came up with what I believe to be a good solution. These are key rings and they clip to the top of your purse and then you have immediate access to your keys. I have several designs I have created to decorate them. I have one to match each of my purses! I also have made some holiday ones - I have Halloween and Christmas ones. I think I'll show you some and the winner can pick the one they want. I am putting a time limit on this of Sunday at 7:00 p.m. I will draw a winner at that time. I will let you know on Monday who wins and you can e-mail me with your address.

I will pick randomly from comments that I get to this post. I would like to hear a story that you may have about keys - locking them in the car, dropping them in the potty, losing them, etc. Anything that may have to do with keys.

When Clayton was about 2 I was loading both kids in the car to go to daycare. It was about 15 degrees outside. I had started the car to warm it up and when I brought the kids out I started strapping Sean into his carseat. Clayton was standing right beside me but turned to run off. We live on a busy street so my reaction was to close Sean's door and go after Clayton. Well, I had a feature on my car where the doors locked automatically when the car was started. So, you know what happened next. I was locked out of the car and my house and Sean was locked inside the car. My purse, with my cell phone & the extra key I had used to open the car after warming it up, were in the car. Luckily, our neighbor's dad was at their house babysitting their son so Clayton and I went there to call Carl to come and open the car. Needless to say, Carl wasn't too happy. He just didn't understand how I could have done that. That was easy for him to say because all he had to do was walk out to his car and get in it - no kids to worry about. He came and opened the car and Sean was just sitting in his carseat like nothing had even happened. Thank heavens I had the heat on. Of course, I was freezing because I stayed outside by the car while Clayton was at the neighbor's house until Carl got there.

Now, let me hear any story you might have.

Here's what I will be giving away.

These are the holiday ones - the one on the far left is a Dalmation - not holiday but fun.

These are kind of hard to see. The far right one is a flag. The second from right is a cross. I can show individual pictures to the winner.

Here's one on my purse. It's hard to tell what it looks like. I'm no photographer. You can see how it hangs inside the purse. They are even decorated on the back!

Good Luck!

P.S. My friend, Pinkalicious, is having a giveaway, too. Check hers out. You can link her from my blog. She is very sweet and she has the cutest little girl you will ever see.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-03T07:15:00.001-07:00

Sean catching up on some reading in the car while I stopped at a friend's house.

Sean catching some zzz's.

Holiday Weekend

2008-09-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't believe it but summer is almost over. Labor Day Weekend is the official end although we stretch it out as long as we can. We went to a new campground this weekend. It is about an hour from home and it was really nice. The weather was perfect. We went with some friends so we enjoyed sitting around the campfire visiting with them. We met some new friends, too, and hope to stay in touch. Their son has Down's Syndrome. He is 18 and they are facing some of the same challenges we are as far as what happens when they are no longer in school.

The campground was very kid friendly. They had a pool which Clayton enjoyed. They also had tie dying and though Clayton thought he was too big to do it, he ended up actually having fun. There was a basketball court and Clayton and his friend took on several others and, as they told it, beat the best kid in the campground!! Clayton is really good at basketball so I'm sure they did well.

They had a DJ on Saturday and Sunday night. We went to listen to the music on Saturday night and Sean had a great time. He was in his stroller and he was boogying so much at one point he almost tipped it over! You can't see it in this picture but he really had a good time. Some people came up and "Pimped his Ride". They put glow sticks all over his stroller. That is one thing that we have found at campgrounds - people are open to Sean. They don't just gawk at him, they come up and ask questions and are genuinely interested in finding out about his syndrome. Camping has been good for all of us as a family.

I don't want to write too much because I've been told it takes too long for some people to catch up (you know who you are)!! So, I'll just put lots of pictures.

Have a Great Week!

Clayton enjoying one of his favorite things.

Carl doing one of our least favorite parts of camping - dumping. At least he wasn't covered in fecal matter!! If you haven't seen the movie RV, you have to watch it. It's hilarious.

Sean getting one of his favorite things - a foot rub. I can't believe he suckered Bob into doing this, but he did. Thanks, Bob.

Our campsite. There's Rascal, too. He is starting to like camping.

Tie-dying extravaganza.

Clayton perfecting his backstroke.

They had this old firetruck that they gave rides on. We didn't get to go on a ride - too loud - but we got a picture of it sitting still.

Oh, look, there's Mom in a picture. I'm always taking the pictures so usually am not in any, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But, I had Carl take this one of me and Sean.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-27T10:58:00.001-07:00

Sean with his real mustache & an orange soda one!

Nature shots from camping.

First Day of School

2008-08-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

The boys started school yesterday. Here they are looking their school day finest.

Clayton is in 7th grade. I can't believe it. They have to wear uniforms so at least it's easy for him to get ready. He really didn't want me taking a picture of him but of course I had to. Sean is now riding the bus and daddy took this picture when he put him on the bus. He seemed to be excited about riding the bus again.

They made it through their first day and hopefully the rest of the year will go as smoothly. Clayton was excited when he got home and said he thinks school is going to be fun. They are trying something new at his school - gender specific classes. There have been good things said about this program. We have signed him up and hopefully it will work out well. At least he can still see girls at lunchtime!!! Those are his words, not mine. He's really starting to notice girls more so I think our fun is just beginning.

Have a Great Week.

CdLS-KIDS Blog Challenge

2008-08-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

The blog challenge this week is to write about a special memory of our child with CdLS and another family member. The first thing that pops into my head is not one certain memory but lots of memories of my youngest son helping his "big" brother do things. It is the times that he does the things without being asked that are the most precious. Like when he washed Sean's face because he had some eye crud. Like when he got Sean some "juice" because he asked for some and I was downstairs doing laundry. Sean is the older brother and I can only imagine how he would be tormenting his "little" brother now if things had turned out differently with him. But, witnessing the love a "little" brother has for his "big" brother is amazing. I will always cherish those times.

What will I do now?

2008-08-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

Well, we have reached another milestone. After 20 years I am finally through taking kids to daycare. I'm not sure I will even know how to get to work straight from my house!

I have always worked. I went back to work when Sean was 8 weeks old but he got sick and was hospitalized so I had to quit my job. When he was 9 months old I had to go back to work. That's when I got the job that I have now. Through the years we have had many daycare providers. We have had 6 individual providers, one daycare facility, and a before & after school program through the school district. Since 2002 both kids were in the before & after school program. It is called SCOPE (Serving Children Of Parents Employed). Sean has gone to the same school since he was 5 years old. He started school when he was 3 but went to a different school for the first 2 years. The school he goes to now is a K-5 school for regular education and a 3-21 school for special education students. Because of Sean's needs he would go to this school no matter where we lived but it was also our home school for Clayton so they both went to the same school for 4 years. They both went to the before & after school program - they have one program for both regular ed. & special needs. The special needs program is only at that school. I always had to take them because there are no buses for this program. Of course, I always had to take them to the other daycares too. Until Clayton was 4 they went to different daycares so we had to leave very early to get everybody where they were going. Then, after work I would begin my trek to collect everyone from daycare. Even though we lived in town, it took me longer to get home than people who lived out of town! I know there are lots of people out there who do this but I never thought I would be doing it 20 years later! Along with giving baths, brushing teeth, changing diapers, etc. But, what else would I have to do?

Sean can still go to school until May 2010. That is when he will "graduate". We no longer have to use daycare now because Carl recently retired and he is going on full-time daddy duty. FYI-We did not win the Lotto - Carl is 18 years older than me. He always had to be at work at 7:00 a.m. so he was never able to help during the morning rush to get ready. Now that he is home, guess who's getting Sean ready now? Yep, Carl. It is so nice. I can actually sleep in - at least until 5:30! When I don't have to take Sean to daycare I can probably sleep until 6:00. Oh my. Of course, I won't really be sleeping - Sean usually likes to wake up about 4:00 - but at least I can still lay in bed and maybe, just maybe, Sean will fall back asleep, too!

Sean is going to be riding the bus to school now. It will pick him up right at our house. He rode it when he was very small. He liked it then and hopefully will like it now. He always says "Bus" when he sees one so I've been telling him he will be riding one again. He used to get good behavior awards because he always slept. I hope it goes as well this time around.

So, this is another transition that moves us closer to the big transition - when Sean will no longer be in school. We are looking into a couple of options and hopefully can find something that will work for everyone. But, for now, I'm going to enjoy my peaceful, short ride to work.

Have a Great Weekend.

WARNING!

2008-08-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

If you see these people, do not - under any circumstances - approach them. They are considered armed and dangerous.

Well, okay, they are not armed but they could be dangerous. Who are they, you ask? They are my parents and they live in their own little world. I only recently told them about my blog. I guess I should provide some background. They live in a small town, which will remain nameless. They also shall remain nameless. They don't have cable (they have access to it, they just don't have it), they still have telephones that you have to dial (anyone remember those), and they only go to town on Saturdays. Okay, maybe I'm being a little rough on them but this was way too good not to pass on.

When I told my mom that I had posted on my blog about my sister's visit and she found out I put pictures of my nieces on "the internet" she freaked out. She said that "they" would be able to find them. I told her I didn't put their names on the blog and she said that didn't matter. She said to NEVER put a picture of her on the blog. I told her I had already put one of my dad on and she said to take it off right this minute. "They" might find him, too. I'm not sure who "they" are but "they" must be the dangerous ones. I said it was too late, that it had been on for a few weeks so "they" had already seen it. I then heard my dad in the background telling her to tell me to take it off. I was cracking up. I know the world is not a safe place anymore and that there are people out there who will do things that most of us can't even think up. But, as long as I keep it generic, I think we'll all be okay.

So, if you should happen to see these people, just turn and go the other way. I don't want to be blamed for exposing them to "the internet".

Have a Great Day!!!

P.S. They don't have a computer either so they will never know about this :)

P.S.S. Just in case "they" find them and show them this, I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

Wordless Wednesday (with words)

2008-08-13T06:19:00.001-07:00

Sorry. I tried to get ahead of the game and put my pictures for today on yesterday. I saved them as a draft but when I went to post them today they showed up after my Weekend Fun post. Still not sure what I'm doing! If you want to see them, look at the post before Weekend Fun. Have a great Wednesday.

Weekend Fun

2008-08-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

My sister and two nieces came to visit us over the weekend. They live in my hometown which is 3-1/2 hours from us. They usually come up a couple of times a year and we always have a good time. The State Fair began on August 7 and we had tickets to go see Fergie on August 8. My nieces love her. I didn't really know anything about her and when I think of Fergie, I think of the Duchess of York. Anyway, they got here Friday afternoon. My oldest niece had a birthday in July and I hadn't given her her presents. So, we had a mini birthday party. She wanted brownies (instead of cake) and ice cream and who was I to argue, so I made brownies. My youngest niece had requested Scroodles so I fixed those for dinner. For her birthday I got her a Little Pet Shop set and a DS game. She had asked specifically for each of those so wasn't really surprised but did like them. I also had a couple of "prizes" for both of them. A blogger friend of mine made them pendants with their names on them. They have unusual spellings of their names so can't find anything with their names on them. At my sister's request, I am not using their names on here but here's a picture of them with their pendants.

After we ate off we went to the fair. We only went in time to go to the concert. Clayton went with us, too, but Sean stayed home with Daddy. Sean is not a fan of big crowds so he and Daddy had a play date. We had already decided to go back to the fair the next day so the kids could ride rides then. Sean stayed with Daddy again. Thanks, Dad. It was nice to have some time off with just Clayton and the girls. The kids enjoyed the concert after a rough start. They didn't understand why their was an opening act. They wanted Fergie! So, finally, Fergie came out. They were thrilled. It wasn't exactly my kind of music but I enjoyed it because of the company. Here we are.

Clayton enjoyed himself a little more so than it looks in this picture. I had already taken 2 of them and then another concert goer offered to take a picture of all of us together. That was a very nice gesture on her part. That meant Clayton had to get out of his seat again and he was not too happy. He's just like a man - he didn't understand why I was taking so many pictures. We were tired after the concert and went straight home.

The next day I got up and went to a garage sale that I had spotted in the neighborhood. I only got a step stool for $1 but went back to get my sister because I thought she would like a couple of things. She ended up getting a coffee table that had been painted like a flag and a stool that had been painted like a sunflower. She also got a wicker basket, some candleholders, and some fluted glasses. She made out like a bandit. She got it all for $20.00. I also gave her some side tables that I had gotten a good deal on at a garage sale but didn't have room for. She is redoing her basement and should have plenty of furniture now.

After that we went back to the fair and the kids got to ride some rides. Then, we went through some of the animal barns and saw some huge cows and horses. After being at the fair for a few hours we were hot and tired and sort of felt like this:

These kids were snoozing big time! It was so cute. The one on the right even had his diaper changed while still in the stroller and he didn't even wake up! We were kind of wiped out, too, so we left. Before going home, however, we HAD to go to Wal-Mart. I refer to it as my Wal-Mart. It just opened in July and it is 5 minutes from my house. I used to have to drive about 20 minutes to get to the Wal-Mart on the other side of town. I am in hog heaven! After picking up some things for dinner - my youngest had also requested hot dogs and mac and cheese - we headed home. My sister was in a hurry and pulled out of the parking spot forward instead of backwards. Someone had decided to open their purchase and discard the box in front of her vehicle. We heard a crunch and then people started laughing and pointing. This is what we found:

We had run over a Weedeater box. We were cracking up. The kids really thought it was funny. Luckily it was only the box and there was no damage. That was about it for the weekend. We had a really good time. Hopefully, they'll come back soon.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

CdLS Blog Challenge - National Lazy Day (A Day Late)

2008-08-11T08:06:00.001-07:00

Well, wouldn't you know it. I missed National Lazy Day. Luckily, I was lazy anyway! Because I was so lazy I didn't take any pictures either. We did go on a ride out to the campground because we haven't been camping in so long we were having withdrawals. Don't worry, we are going camping this next weekend. I am trying to be more diligent in my picture taking and had my camera out to take with us but forgot it. I wish I would have had it because I could have taken a cute picture of Sean on our ride. It was a nice day so I had the windows down - his was only down about 2 inches because you never know when he'll decide to throw a toy out the window! Anyway, I looked back and he was holding both of his hands up to the open window feeling the breeze. It was really cute. It is probably a good thing that I didn't have the camera, though, because I was driving and probably would have wrecked while trying to take the picture. That is about the extent of what I did yesterday. We were tired because my sister and nieces had been here for two days. Stay tuned for that story. Anyway, hopefully I won't miss any more official lazy days - I love the idea of actually having a reason to be lazy!

Bargains

2008-08-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

The only thing I love more than clearance sales are garage sales. You have to be careful but you can get some real bargains. I found this foosball table a couple of weeks ago for $10.00. I don't even try to haggle when the deals are that good. Clayton and his friends have already gotten $10 worth of fun out of it. I got it when he was gone to Grandma's so he was really surprised when he came home and found it.

Here are just a few other bargains I got this year -

A 4-slice toaster - $2.00 (It was a ritzy neighborhood and they had just changed all their appliances to stainless steel.) Now, their old one (which didn't even have crumbs in the bottom) makes toast for us in the motorhome.

A George Forman grill - $10.00 (It is the one with the removable griddles that retails for $75.00.) It had only been used once and didn't even look like it had at all. I have been happily cooking on it for a couple of months now.

Two upholstered HEAVY ottomans - $30.00 (I had just paid $30 for a cheap fake leather one at Wal-Mart-which was quickly returned.) We just got a new couch and chair which are a dark (leather-look) microfiber so I needed something to lighten things up a little. These are a floral upholstery and couldn't compliment the couch better if I had ordered them special. I was really excited about that find.

Brand new, still in the box, mailbox - $15.00 (It's one of the heavy plastic ones which retail for about $65.00.) Actually, I have to give Carl credit for this one. He went with me one morning and he spotted it. I wouldn't have even looked at it because it involved him having to do some work to put it in. I try to stay away from bargains that entail work for him. He's not real keen on my garage sale finds most of the time!! But, he got a good one this time. And, the mailman is happy because he doesn't have to come into our yard through the fence to the porch anymore.

I also got our dog a crate for $10.00. He outgrew the one I originally bought him ($30.00 brand new) in about a month. He is going to be bigger than we thought. So, now I have to look for an even bigger crate - hopefully I can find another garage sale bargain. I was able to sell my original crate to a co-worker for $10.00 so she got a good deal, too, because it had only been used twice.

Anyway, I have gotten some more bargains but won't bore you with anymore. Garage sales are a really good way to recycle. One man's junk is another man's treasure. You just never know what you'll find.

Just a quick story about my boss. I was boasting one morning about my weekend finds and he said to me "Now, how does that work? Is there some kind of guarantee? I mean, can you take the stuff back if it doesn't work? LOL!!! I said, no you can't take it back. That's just a chance you take. He can be such a dork sometimes.

Have a Great Monday!

Memories

2008-08-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

I am not nearly as creative as a lot of people I have came across but I am pretty proud of something I did a couple of months ago. As usual, there is a story. A couple of years ago I found 2 shadow boxes on clearance and as you will soon come to know, I LOVE clearance sales. I went ahead and bought them ($10 each) knowing that I would be redoing our bedroom soon. Well, it took a couple of years but we finally got around to redoing the bedroom. I pulled the shadow boxes out of a corner and put my idea to work. I had kept the boys' outfits that they came home from the hospital in. They were just in a box in a closet. I thought it would be nice to have them out where I could see them and enjoy looking at them. With them both being boys I doubt they will ever want them in the future but who knows. I am certainly enjoying them now. They certainly bring back memories.

Sean's is on top. He only weighed 5 lb. 4 oz. so his outfit was a premie. Clayton's is next. He weighed 6 lb. 1 oz. so his wasn't a premie but still so small. I put their hospital pictures in along with a couple of things I had saved. They are now hanging proudly in our bedroom. I think they turned out great.

WOW!!!

2008-07-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

I am almost speechless right now. Okay, maybe not, but I am quite overwhelmed. With everything we see everytime we turn on the TV - murder, corruption, deception - it sometimes seems that this world is full of nothing but hate. Well, all you need to do is turn on the www and you will see that is simply not true. A year ago I didn't even know what a blog was. Now, here I am linking from one blog to another and I am in awe. The blogs I am reading talk about people's everyday lives. On the surface that may not seem impressive but as you read them you can't help but feel the hope and faith and strength coming through. Sometimes our lives are not what we had envisioned but they are our lives nonetheless. What we make of what we are given is the key. I have always had faith and am a believer in God. I couldn't have made it through these last 20 years without that. But, at the same time, after 20 years of doing this I get discouraged sometimes. It seems at times that I am barely keeping my head above water. These last few weeks have been so uplifting. Pinkalicious, who I met through another blog we were both following, led me to Lisa Leonard. Thanks, Pink. From Lisa's site I have been able to link to so many others. I have been so inspired. So, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone for opening your lives and sharing your stories. Thank you to everyone who I have personally (well, via the web anyway) connected with and thank you to everyone else who has let me take a glimpse at their lives. It is with renewed hope and faith that I go on to face another day and another battle. CHARGE!!!

I also want to give a BIG THANK YOU to all of my personal friends who have been with me for the past 20 years. They have had to listen to me whine, cry, moan, groan and complain for a long time but they are still there for me. Thank you and I Love You All!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-30T06:22:00.001-07:00

Biopsy News

2008-07-29T12:12:00.000-07:00

Well, we didn't get the news we had hoped for. Though the doctor couldn't visually see any changes from 3 years ago, the biopsies showed change. As I stated before, Sean's stomach was growing into his esophagus. Now, there is a stomach and intestine mixture in the esophagus. The doctor said this is a progressive change. He now has what is called Barrett's Esophagus which means there are pre-cancerous cells present. The condition only develops into cancer in 5% of cases but usually this is an elderly condition. Because Sean is only 20 who knows what will happen. Our GI doc is a pediatric specialist and because of that hasn't really dealt with this condition. He is going to talk to some of his colleagues and see what they have to say. We may have to go see an adult GI doc. Right now he has said that he will need to be monitored yearly instead of every 3 years. I'm trying not to freak out about this but that's hard right now. I am going to research this and see what else I can find.

My Baby's Back!

2008-07-28T10:45:00.001-07:00

Okay, he hates it when I call him that but he will always be my baby. He went to my mom and dad's for his usual 2 week summer visit. They live 3-1/2 hours away so we don't see them as often as we would like. Clayton has gone down there for the past few summers for 2 weeks and he loves it even though they don't have cable or a computer. He can survive without all the modern amenities - although I can barely get him out of his room when he's home.

My mom watches my 2 nieces so he was there with them for the first week. Then, they went on vacation and he was there all by himself. He really enjoys it because he gets to go to movies and he even got to go to a minor league baseball game. He doesn't get to do alot of that at home because of Sean so I'm glad he can have that special time with Grandma and Grandpa.

I know it was only 2 weeks but I think he grew a foot. He doesn't like it when I take pictures but I managed to snap this one when we were making the trade at McDonald's. My parents drive half way and we meet them at McDonald's. We even ended up going down the road a bit and eating at Ponderosa. We had a nice time. So, here's Clayton (sorry about the trash hopper backdrop).

I also managed to snap this picture of Sean and my dad. My dad has always had a thing for ears. He has rubbed Sean's for so many years I'm surprised they haven't dropped off! As soon as Sean got out of the car, look what Grandpa grabbed!

We had a nice, but short, visit. It was good seeing them.

Have a Great Monday!

Caution - Please avoid if you have an aversion to toes!

2008-07-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, this might be a little too much to put out there but I couldn't resist. Other people have put feet pictures on their blogs, so why can't I. Okay, well, one reason may be the fact that my feet and toes don't look like the normal person's. Anyway, here goes.

There, of course, is a story that goes with this picture. My toenails have a fungus. I have had it for as long as I remember. What this means is that my little piggies don't get to come out to play because they are hideous. Well, guess what? They have fake toenails!!! Who knew? I sure didn't. I was at Wal-Mart the other night and happened across these. They are just like the kind you put on your fingers except they are for toes. I, of course, had to buy some. I put them on and I don't think they are half bad. Of course, who knows what my toes will look like when they come off but at least my little piggies can see the light of day for a few minutes! I had to go buy some cute shoes to show them off. I am so excited!!!!! I am going to wear these shoes all weekend.

I'll take that to go!

2008-07-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

Sean had to have an EGD done on Monday. That's where they put a camera down his throat to look at his esophagus. He has severe reflux and has to have this done every three years to monitor it. He has to be put completely out so has to have an IV and breathing tube. He doesn't like to sit still for the IV stick so they give him Versed to calm him so that they can do what they need to do. Well, here he is after 20 mg. As usual, I asked the Nurse Anesthesist if I could have some to take home. I don't think she thought I was kidding at first because she said "No, I can't do that, I would lose my job. It's a controlled substance." Then, I laughed and she did, too. But, seriously, I would love to have some of that on hand. I wouldn't abuse it. I'd only give it to him when he is hanging from the ceiling!

The doctor said that he didn't see anything new from 3 years ago so hopefully the biopsies will not show anything either. Sean produces way too much acid and his stomach has actually grown up into his esophagus so the acid is right in the esophagus. He is on a large dose (100 mg. daily) of Nexium that is controlling it right now. Because of insurance we may have to change in a few months but hopefully we can get the Nexium approved.

Notice Sean's headphones. They have been a lifesaver. He loves music and we bought him an MP3 player a couple of years ago. It goes everywhere with us.

Hope everyone has a good night.

2008-07-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! Finally. Hope everyone has a great weekend. I am a country music lover and generally don't like other music. I do like the oldies but none of the new stuff like rap or whatever else they call it. I have a new favorite song, though. It's All Summer Long by Kid Rock. I am addicted to it. I even love the video which is strange because I don't normally like men with long hair and excessive tatoos and I can't stand it when a man goes without a shirt. Sorry, I just think everyone should have to wear a shirt. But, in this video Kid is shirtless, has excessive tattoos and long hair but I am kinda liking his look. Maybe I have gone over the deep end!!! Give it a listen if you haven't heard it. Let me know what you think.

Stay tuned!

Welcome to My Blog

2008-07-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well, everyone else is doing this so I thought I'd try, too. I don't know if anything I could post would be of interest to anyone but it could be fun. I've already "met" some great people on other blogs so now I guess I'll share a little bit about our family.

I have been married to the same man for 22 years, I have had the same boss for 20 years, and I have had the same kids for 20 and 12 years. My 20 year old, Sean, has Cornelia deLange Syndrome and oh what a journey that has been. My 12 year old, Clayton, is my baby who is very quickly turning into a young man. Because Sean doesn't like crowded places and can be very loud at times, we don't venture out alot. One thing that we have been doing for the last 6 years that has been a lifesaver is camping. We bought a motorhome and can "get away from real life" every once in a while. We don't go far - we have a State Park 20 minutes from home. Even though it is so close, it seems light years away from the normal day-to-day of the work week. If Sean decides he doesn't want to be in the great outdoors, he can go into the motorhome and have all the comforts of home. There are those that would say that this isn't really camping but it works for us. Last year we bought a fishing boat and have enjoyed that as well.

I am hoping that by starting this blog it will make me take more pictures. I can't believe that 20 years have already flown by and, unfortunately, I don't have a lot of photos to document them. We have the Easter, Christmas, holiday pictures but none of the real pictures that capture real life. I have seen so many interesting pictures that other people have taken and it has inspired me to start clicking away. Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to post them on here!!

Well, I've got to go for now. Please check back and see if I have been able to manage to post anything. See you soon!!!