S-E-C-R-E-T-S

We gave up the whole "trying to hide things from the kids by spelling them" gig a few years ago when Sydney began to read.  In fact, I was kind of irritated when our pediatrician said at Sydney's last check-up, "She doesn't need any S-H-O-T-S this time around."  Really?  Has she come across a seven year old who can't spell the word shots?

Anyway, we've decided to go to DisneyWorld next summer (hurray!) and out of sheer excitement, Ryan and I discussed it at dinner last night.  Not wanting to spill the beans on the big trip, we reverted back to our old spelling tricks.  Knowing that most of the words we were spelling were unfamiliar to Sydney, it wasn't too hard to sneak things past her.  If there was a critical word that I knew she knew how to spell, I spelled it out super-fast.

Me:  So I was chatting with some friends today and they said we really need to plan out any D-I-S-N-E-Y L-U-N-C-H-E-S or M-E-A-L-S that we're going to have with C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R-S in the next couple of weeks.

Ryan:  Like which ones?

Me:  There isn't a T-O-Y-S-T-O-R-Y one, but there is a P-I-R-A-T-E one and a P-R-I-N-C-E-S-S one.  There is a T-O-Y-S-T-O-R-Y pizza place that we could do for lunch one day.

Ryan:  OK.

Sydney:  What are you talking about?  Where are we going?

Me:  And I heard that at E-P-C-O-T you can go to F-R-A-N-C-E and eat.  R-E-M-Y might be your server.

Ryan:  Who?

Me:  R-E-M-Y.  The one from R-A-T-A-T-O-U-I-L-L-E.

Ryan:  Oh.  That sounds like fun.

Me:  And we definitely have to go the M-O-V-I-E park.  They have a really awesome T-O-Y-S-T-O-R-Y R-I-D-E that I heard all three of them will like.

All the while poor Sydney was moving her lips and trying to sound out all the things I was spelling.  I don't think she caught any of them.

We'll eventually tell them what's going on, but with the trip still many months away, I don't want to hear about it non-stop from now until then.  So for now we'll keep spelling - at least until Sydney's spelling skills reach the point of no return.

Here We Go Again

Last week was such an awesome week.  Liam got into the new speech program, Sydney found out her new best little friend from school lives in our neighborhood, I had my teeth cleaned and the dentist found no other problems (this, in itself, is a miracle), my Bible study was lots of fun, Sydney brought home a fabulous report card and the weather was beautiful all week long (hence the lack of posts).

It was seriously one of the best weeks I've had in a really long time.  And then....

...Ryan had another seizure early Friday morning.  He didn't fall out of bed like last time; he just had a seizure at 4:30 in the morning.  Because he didn't hit his head, I didn't call 911 this time, but I did watch him carefully until his neurologist's office opened up and then I gave her a call.

Per her instructions, he spent the weekend resting and I spent the weekend playing chauffeur since he wasn't cleared to drive.

We went to see her yesterday and she lined up a couple of tests and handed him a prescription for some hoity-toity anit-seizure medication that, even with insurance, is going to cost us an arm and a leg.  Seriously, is there such a thing as a doctor who knows how much tests and medications actually cost?

But you know what?  I'm willing to do whatever it takes to never have to watch him have another seizure again.  He doesn't remember them, but I sure do and they are some of the scariest things I've witnessed.

We're doing everything we can to solve this mystery.  And by everything, I mean everything.  We're researching.  We're looking into generic medications.  We're looking into dietary changes and exercise regimens.  Ryan's co-worker has him looking into acupuncture.  Vitamins, minerals, nothing's out of the question at this point.

It may take us a while to find the solution, but we're determined to find it.  If nothing else, his seizures have reinforced for us that life is short and we're going to find a way to get him healthy so that we can enjoy life to the fullest.

An Answered Prayer

Liam has now been in speech therapy through the local school district for six months.  Granted, he missed a couple of months during the summer, but I worked with him all summer practicing the exercises his therapist gave him.  He's made some progress, but he still has a long way to go.  In fact, his therapist pulled me aside after his session the other day and asked me how I thought it was going.  I replied that he's slowly getting better and she replied that he's not getting better fast enough.  In fact, she thinks he's regressing on a few things.

I honestly think he was having an "off" day, but she got me worried.

I started looking into putting him in private lessons again (in addition to the ones through the school) and just got overwhelmed at the cost of it.  I got all hand-wringy (my usual response when these sorts of things occur) and I honestly had no idea what to do.  So, I did what I usually do - I prayed about it.

And then, the speech therapist called me and said that the speech program at another school in the district was trying to fill a couple of openings.  Instead of two 30 minute sessions a week, it's two 2 hour sessions a week.  Four hours a week vs. one!  "Sign him up!" I practically shouted at her.

I'm going to fill out all the paperwork today and meet the other therapist to make sure he's a good fit for the program (ensure that he's potty trained and has only articulation problems), but I think it's going to work.  It's perfect for him, actually.  It'll be on two days that he's not in Mother's Day Out and one of the little boys who is currently in therapy with him now is switching, too, so he'll know someone.  And it gets even better!  The mom of his therapy buddy approached me about carpooling so she's going to drop them off and I'm going to pick them up.   Evan will still get his afternoon nap and I will have a bit of free time, too.  And, since it's through the school district, it's free (well, our taxes pay for it, but at least it doesn't cost us anything extra).

Score another one for God.  He definitely answered our prayers on this one.

Friday Funnies

Each of the kids had has laughing last night during or after dinner:

Sydney:  Can I pack my lunch tomorrow?

Me:  OK.

Sydney: 'Cause I want to put a cookie in my lunch.

_________________________

During another conversation with Sydney (who, as a rapid talker can dominate the entire dinner conversation):

Liam:  My turn.......My turn!.......MY turn!.......MY TURN!.......MY TURN!

Ryan:  Ok, your turn.

Liam:  We saw a fire truck and firemen at school today.

_________________________

And last night as I was putting Evan's pj's on him:

Me:  Where did my baby go?

Evan:  I don't know.  Let's go look.  (He looks around his room.)  Oh no.  Where did baby go?

Me:  You're my baby.

Evan:  I not a baby.  I a big boy.

Sad, but true.

Shameless Plug

Thank you to everyone who gave me some ideas to deal with Liam's night-time training.  We've been talking it up to him the last few nights and took away his bedside sippy cup of water so we might just get brave and start working on it within the next week or so.

And now to totally switch gears.....

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OK, I'm going to shamelessly promote a friend of mine who is in the final stages of getting a business started.  If you live in the greater Houston area, please keep reading!  If you live elsewhere, well, you should look into shopping at a franchise of this great store near you.

I met my friend, Sherri, eight years ago at our former church in Houston.  Her daughter, Zoe, and Sydney had the best time playing together and when she (Sherri, not Zoe) started a business selling squeaky shoes, I was so impressed.  In fact, she's the one who inspired me to start my own chocolate business (before we moved to The Land of Fruit).

Now she's onto an even bigger and adventure: she and her husband are opening a consignment store for maternity wear, kids' clothing and baby gear called Kid to Kid.  It's located in the Galleria area (on the corner of San Felipe and Post Oak) and with a great location like that, it's sure to have very high quality clothing and baby equipment.  It's going to be the go-to place for all of those ritzy River Oaks and Memorial area folks when they're ready to part with their kids' outgrown clothes and gear.

From her website:

"We will be opening soon and will be paying you cash up front for your gently used children's clothing, toys and equipment, as well as maternity items. You will also have the option of earning an additional 20% if you choose to take in store credit."


You can't beat a deal like that, especially if you're like me and finally ready to empty your closets and attic of items your family is no longer using.


If you're on Facebook, you can become a fan of their store (if you're my friend, you can look them up through my page) and receive the latest information regarding their opening and any upcoming events.


Be sure to check it out - I know we'll be stopping by to both sell and buy, especially since we've got so many kids on our Christmas list this year.  I'm a sucker for a great deal, I know that her store is bound to have loads of them!


* Sorry about the font size - Blogger does some strange things and I don't know how to fix it!

More Potty Woe

*Clap, clap*

Ok, folks.  Need some advice here.

How do you night (potty) train a boy?

Three months after Sydney day trained, she started waking up with dry diapers and that was the end of that.

Liam?  He day trained nearly nine months ago and wakes up every morning with a completely full diaper.  He turns four in a few weeks and while I know it will be a while before he goes on his first sleep over, it's about time he night trained.

So, here's where you come in...

How in the world do we go about night training the boy?  Wake him up a few times a night to go?  Let him wake up soaking wet a few times till he gets the point?  Make him change his own sheets?

I am clueless, I tell you.  Absolutely clueless.

Fun Fact Friday

1.  There's a guy down the street who is always sitting at a table in his garage when we drive past.  It's Texas, it's hot, and he's sitting in an even hotter garage.  During the spring, he sat there guarding a bunch of tiny plants sitting under heat lamps.  Now he just sits there staring into space.  Anyone wanna take a guess at what kind of plants those were?

2. I am always amazed when someone recognizes me when I'm out and about.  It's usually someone I've met through church or Sydney's school, but I guess I've always assumed that I have one of those boring, forgettable faces that no one would remember.

3. Evan had to stay home from Mother's Day Out this week due to a horrible case of pinkeye.  I realized how spoiled I'd become in just two weeks of having both boys out of the house for two days a week.

4. Sydney had her school pictures taken today.  I felt bad because we didn't order any, but jeez, they are so expensive!  Plus, I find it creepy that you can pay extra to have them "softened" and "retouched."  Kinda takes the fun out of school pictures if you ask me.

5. I signed up to host book club this month and it turned into a baby shower for one of the members.  Now I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get everything pulled together.  How in the world do I get myself into these things?

6.  Sydney informed me of her Christmas wish list:  The Chronicles of Narnia movies and a laptop computer.  A laptop!  Yeah, right....keep dreamin' kid.

7.  The big bosses at The Bank asked Ryan if he wanted to move to NYC.  Are you kidding me?  My parents just moved to The Land of Fruit to be closer to us!  He politely declined and then was told that he'll be traveling a lot more in the coming months.  Oh well, at least he'll build up some airline and hotel points.

8.  It's supposed to cool down next week.  Granted, for us that means highs in the eighties, but I'm already giddy with anticipation.