Under Control: An Epilepsy Update

Control is not something I feel I have much of these days. It takes so much for us to just maintain a normal routine, and that’s mostly out of our hands, too. It depends on who is sleeping well and who is hungry and if I don’t get away when Our Princess is sleeping, then how do we juggle things like groceries and making dinner, because she is my shadow. All. The. Time. It’s sweet. I love it so much. Having been away at the office five days a week for so much of her first two years, there was always that worry I wasn’t with her enough. (I think it’s safe to say she’s not holding any grudges.) So I think if you take all of her needs and you throw in our free-style rapping, ninja-loving, super-energetic wild man who never, ever takes a break. Ever. And yeah, it’s kind of just crazy all the time around here.

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And yet, when I start to feel our routine, (ok, so it’s more of a small town’s train schedule that is written on paper, but hardly ever kept, because of the sheep stuck on the tracks or the sleepy old driver. Routine might be a little too strong for us.) Still, when I feel it coming back into focus, I do almost have a sense that we are managing all this crazy.

Continue reading “Under Control: An Epilepsy Update”

Parenting & Playtime

Can’t believe it, but it’s true. We are old and our kids see things in the world that we can’t even open up our minds to understand. They are genius in a way that we just can’t be anymore. So I love that this dad has acknowledged this and is doing something about it. He has a different type of toy company in mind… 

I’ve grabbed my favorite excerpt below. Read the whole article here.

Squelching imagination, on the other hand, is bad for everyone, including grownups. In a recent study, Kudrowitz asked adults to come up with alternative uses for a paper clip. Those who took the test with a playful attitude came up with an average of twice as many ideas as those who approached the test like a work task. “When we’re playing, we’re less inhibited in our thinking, and that’s what leads to discovery,” he says.

 

Get Out Your Pencils!

It’s been a good week. Super hectic. Crazy, really. But, still great progress for Reese, so it’s a winner in my book. 

To be brief, Reese has shown some real mental strength and focus this week. It’s an amazing feeling to witness her little breakthroughs — lots of pointer finger work with the left hand, length of attention has expanded, deep personal connecting, and a little bitty step in advanced reasoning. 

On top of all that, we’ve grown! It’s hard to tell in pictures just how small she is I think. You probably forget, like most people, that she is nearly 2.5 years old. She looks like a small 12 month old.

  • She weighs 21 pounds now, (last summer she was a beefy 26), here’s hoping she plateaus and doesn’t lose any more.
  • We’ve moved up a shoe size, officially in toddler shoes now, and not infant soft-soled ones. 
  • And my favorite!!! After standing at 29 inches tiny for 15 months, she’s tacked on two, TWO, inches! Time to mark the walls. This girl is going to wear out our pencils.

This is presumably because we’re down to a very small dose of steroids allowing her body to start behaving normally and maybe realizing it needs to kick it into gear and start taking care of her. 

And I have to share, we had a super great wrap up to our therapies today. She communicated her need for water using our picture book we have made. She might as well have won a Gold Medal in my mind! Thrilling!! She also is grasping “cause and effect” more and more. She pushed buttons on a book with sound effects. This is an imperative skill to get to understanding things like “NO.”

But above all, she is just connecting and showing her sweet little self to everyone she is with. I know they feel it, too. Her expressions show this amazing appreciation and love in her eyes, and I know we all can’t wait to see what she has to say when she’s ready. 

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Great Game Find

We may have a new family classic here #gameon #nerdfun #puzzles @ravensburger thank you @brilliantskyatx What a great find for my engineers!

(Source: http://instagram.com/)

Hide the Veggies

One of my favorite “hidden” meals. Organic chicken sausage with feta & spinach and organic butternut squash ravioli. Both kids love it! #healthyliving #yum #onthetable #sneakymom #hidetheveggies