Adios amigo! It's time for you to hide...and not just long enough to let the clouds drip their humidity down to our level and then reappear to warm up the sauna.
It's time for fall again.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Bye Bye Mr. Sun
Adios amigo! It's time for you to hide...and not just long enough to let the clouds drip their humidity down to our level and then reappear to warm up the sauna.
It's time for fall again.
Lego sets...the highly sought motivator?
With William's recent obsession with Lego sets, specifically getting more, more, MORE, we figured we might be able to cash in on this bit of motivation and encourage him to work hard at staying dry all night.
He dons a Pull-Up each night before bed "just in case," but with his heavy sleep and sleep walking, he struggles to even make it past 11pm before finding himself a bit soggy. Tonight, we suggested that in addition to the money he is saving for a Lego set, Mom and Dad would happily buy him a brand new set if he can stay dry at night for 4 nights. He tried to negotiate on the duration of the "dry spell," but we ultimately agreed that 4 days is, in fact, fair.
So, I asked him, "William, what's your plan for staying dry at night?"
W: I dunno, I don't have a plan.
Mom: It's a good idea to have a plan to follow to reach your goal.
W: Hmm. Well, I guess I'll get a Star Wars Lego set.
M: I really meant more of a plan of HOW to stay dry, not what you wanted to buy.
W: Oh, well maybe a Star Wars game then.
M: Right, well on that note, Good night William.
W: Well, I need a drink before I go upstairs. <... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... the sound of water flowing from the fridge... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...>
Dad: I think that's enough buddy, you just need a sip before you go to bed.
W: Well, I AM thirsty.
M: Oh goodness, is that your 32 ounce water bottle?
W: I didn't fill it all the way up.
Good night little buddy. I hope he dreams of new creative ways to build the legos he already has...
He dons a Pull-Up each night before bed "just in case," but with his heavy sleep and sleep walking, he struggles to even make it past 11pm before finding himself a bit soggy. Tonight, we suggested that in addition to the money he is saving for a Lego set, Mom and Dad would happily buy him a brand new set if he can stay dry at night for 4 nights. He tried to negotiate on the duration of the "dry spell," but we ultimately agreed that 4 days is, in fact, fair.
So, I asked him, "William, what's your plan for staying dry at night?"
W: I dunno, I don't have a plan.
Mom: It's a good idea to have a plan to follow to reach your goal.
W: Hmm. Well, I guess I'll get a Star Wars Lego set.
M:
W: Oh, well maybe a Star Wars game then.
M: Right, well on that note, Good night William.
W: Well, I need a drink before I go upstairs. <... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... the sound of water flowing from the fridge... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...>
Dad: I think that's enough buddy, you just need a sip before you go to bed.
W: Well, I AM thirsty.
M: Oh goodness, is that your 32 ounce water bottle?
W: I didn't fill it all the way up.
Good night little buddy. I hope he dreams of new creative ways to build the legos he already has...
Our big kids...
Our kids grew up a little yesterday.
Mary Carol lost her first tooth (naturally - you will recall the dentist removed her two upper teeth after a face-first fall) while eating a granola bar. She swallowed it. She's looking extra gappy now, but it's cute. She's so proud.
William completed his first job for money. He's been asking for ways to earn money so he can buy more Lego sets, but when I suggest the job, he fizzles quite quickly and chooses to remain poor. Today, he asked for a job and I told him he could earn a whole dollar by gathering, washing, drying, folding and putting away a load of laundry. He did it well and smiled the whole time. He completed the job and I asked him how he would like to take his money, in change or in one crisp bill? He chose the change, the more the better. I gave him 50 pennies and 10 nickels. His eyes were huge and he took great pride in dropping each coin into the Cow Bank we purchased just the other day at the store. He's already asking for a second chance at cleaning out the car to earn more money. He fizzled the first time, but perhaps with a little experience of getting paid, he may finish the job this time.
Mary Carol lost her first tooth (naturally - you will recall the dentist removed her two upper teeth after a face-first fall) while eating a granola bar. She swallowed it. She's looking extra gappy now, but it's cute. She's so proud.
William completed his first job for money. He's been asking for ways to earn money so he can buy more Lego sets, but when I suggest the job, he fizzles quite quickly and chooses to remain poor. Today, he asked for a job and I told him he could earn a whole dollar by gathering, washing, drying, folding and putting away a load of laundry. He did it well and smiled the whole time. He completed the job and I asked him how he would like to take his money, in change or in one crisp bill? He chose the change, the more the better. I gave him 50 pennies and 10 nickels. His eyes were huge and he took great pride in dropping each coin into the Cow Bank we purchased just the other day at the store. He's already asking for a second chance at cleaning out the car to earn more money. He fizzled the first time, but perhaps with a little experience of getting paid, he may finish the job this time.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
How's William? - Another Successful Infusion
Many people ask about William and the report is typically the same. Here's the latest, though not much has changed in a few months.
William is doing well. He has infusions of IVIG every 3 weeks at a doctors office. Yesterday was his day. It takes 7 hours to administer the whole dose, but they make it pretty comfortable there and we come prepared. He doesn't really experience any bad side effects, just a short-lived headache 1-2 days later. It all keeps him from weakening. By doing it every 3 weeks we keep his immune system out of the loop completely so it doesn't have a chance to attack the nerves again. He relies on the perfected cocktail of donated antibodies to keep him from getting sick and to trick his immune system into submission. The upside is that he hasn't been ill since all of this started. He can not have further immunizations (though he is up to date for now), lest we trigger his immune system to attack, but he's covered for all of those illnesses with the IVIG. He's got better immunity than I do right now. He fights everything off within a day or less. He regained all his prior strength in physical therapy, so he's back to his normal self. He is weaker when he is tired and is still uncoordinated at times, but he's able to enjoy a lot of activities still.
After finishing 90 days of anti-biotic treatment for Lyme Disease, we have increased the dose and will continue, hoping to see signs of improvement. He tolerates the medicine well, so we'll continue with patience and perseverance.
The next thing people ask, and even William asked today, is how long will we continue these infusions? The short answer is that we don't know. They are working for now and we won't rock the boat until he has been symptom-free for 6 months.
He's learning to read and can read simple sentences and books now. He's a good kid and gives us a run for our money everyday. The report is good overall.
William is doing well. He has infusions of IVIG every 3 weeks at a doctors office. Yesterday was his day. It takes 7 hours to administer the whole dose, but they make it pretty comfortable there and we come prepared. He doesn't really experience any bad side effects, just a short-lived headache 1-2 days later. It all keeps him from weakening. By doing it every 3 weeks we keep his immune system out of the loop completely so it doesn't have a chance to attack the nerves again. He relies on the perfected cocktail of donated antibodies to keep him from getting sick and to trick his immune system into submission. The upside is that he hasn't been ill since all of this started. He can not have further immunizations (though he is up to date for now), lest we trigger his immune system to attack, but he's covered for all of those illnesses with the IVIG. He's got better immunity than I do right now. He fights everything off within a day or less. He regained all his prior strength in physical therapy, so he's back to his normal self. He is weaker when he is tired and is still uncoordinated at times, but he's able to enjoy a lot of activities still.
After finishing 90 days of anti-biotic treatment for Lyme Disease, we have increased the dose and will continue, hoping to see signs of improvement. He tolerates the medicine well, so we'll continue with patience and perseverance.
The next thing people ask, and even William asked today, is how long will we continue these infusions? The short answer is that we don't know. They are working for now and we won't rock the boat until he has been symptom-free for 6 months.
He's learning to read and can read simple sentences and books now. He's a good kid and gives us a run for our money everyday. The report is good overall.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
Please shine down on me!!
I'm tired of these overcast, humid days.
They are absolutely wrecking the beautiful, natural light thing we had going in our house. Not to mention how crabby I get when it's so muggy outside. It's time to stop hiding and come on out to play!!
Mr. Sun, these little children are asking you, to please come out so we can play with you!
I'm tired of these overcast, humid days.
They are absolutely wrecking the beautiful, natural light thing we had going in our house. Not to mention how crabby I get when it's so muggy outside. It's time to stop hiding and come on out to play!! Mr. Sun, these little children are asking you, to please come out so we can play with you!
Monday, April 27, 2009
It was bound to happen one day...
...and I'm surprised it took 5 1/2 years to finally occur.
I did some laundry last night (ha ha, very funny...it hasn't quite been 5.5 years since I washed last) and pulled the second load out of the dryer. It was a darks load, which included my brand new dark-wash jeans. I was very careful, turned them inside out and meticulously sorted the laundry to prevent bleed problems, even caught and removed the lone white sock that snuck in the machine. Everything looked good when I put it in the dryer. When I opened it up afterward, there was a broken green crayon on top of the lint trap, but still solid! Whew. Then I found a yellow crayon jammed in a groove near the lint trap, also miraculously unmelted! Thank goodness! Yellow and green wax all over our clothes could have been a nightmare!
So, I dropped the next load (whites) in the dryer and went to bed. I opened it up this morning to fold and found green smears all over the dryer insides. The missing piece of the broken green crayon had hidden out somewhere in the dryer. Judging from the piece I removed, it was a maximum of 1/2 inch of green wax, but it sure spread far!! Of course, the crayons remained whole in the dark load, no signs of melting or smearing there, but once I put in the white load, the crayon nub tumbled itself to melty oblivion all over our clothes. Mostly, it's the underwear that were affected. A few white t-shirts have some green smears on the sleeves. What are the odds? Why didn't the crayon melt in the dark load, but reached it's breaking point with the whites?
I did some laundry last night (ha ha, very funny...it hasn't quite been 5.5 years since I washed last) and pulled the second load out of the dryer. It was a darks load, which included my brand new dark-wash jeans. I was very careful, turned them inside out and meticulously sorted the laundry to prevent bleed problems, even caught and removed the lone white sock that snuck in the machine. Everything looked good when I put it in the dryer. When I opened it up afterward, there was a broken green crayon on top of the lint trap, but still solid! Whew. Then I found a yellow crayon jammed in a groove near the lint trap, also miraculously unmelted! Thank goodness! Yellow and green wax all over our clothes could have been a nightmare!
So, I dropped the next load (whites) in the dryer and went to bed. I opened it up this morning to fold and found green smears all over the dryer insides. The missing piece of the broken green crayon had hidden out somewhere in the dryer. Judging from the piece I removed, it was a maximum of 1/2 inch of green wax, but it sure spread far!! Of course, the crayons remained whole in the dark load, no signs of melting or smearing there, but once I put in the white load, the crayon nub tumbled itself to melty oblivion all over our clothes. Mostly, it's the underwear that were affected. A few white t-shirts have some green smears on the sleeves. What are the odds? Why didn't the crayon melt in the dark load, but reached it's breaking point with the whites?
Thursday, April 23, 2009
William - the Riddler
Note that this conversation occurred in the car, where all deep thought happens for our kids and immediately followed our conversation about the boxes of toys we were driving to the church to donate. I have no idea how his brain leapt from one to the other.
W: "Mom, what would you do if you 'digged' a deep, deep hole and you were at the bottom and you didn't have a ladder to get out? You couldn't jump that high."
Mom: "I suppose I would call for help."
W: "Well, what if no one heard you, could you get out then?"
M: "I don't know William, what would you do?"
W: "I guess you could just actually dig more dirt in the hole and climb on top of it. And when you dig the dirt just fills up the hole and you could walk out."
My mind immediately returned to the riddle about a tennis ball down a deep hole. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff and how he thinks these things up so quickly.
W: "Mom, what would you do if you 'digged' a deep, deep hole and you were at the bottom and you didn't have a ladder to get out? You couldn't jump that high."
Mom: "I suppose I would call for help."
W: "Well, what if no one heard you, could you get out then?"
M: "I don't know William, what would you do?"
W: "I guess you could just actually dig more dirt in the hole and climb on top of it. And when you dig the dirt just fills up the hole and you could walk out."
My mind immediately returned to the riddle about a tennis ball down a deep hole. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff and how he thinks these things up so quickly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)