What ever happened to a free evening?

So....our lives are turning into a wild and crazy circus. I think that Thursday nights are our only evening where all of us are here togethor with no place to go.....although Keith won't be back until late tomorrow night so that counts this weeks family free night null and void :0).
It's ok when you just have to get kids to preschool/school/therapy during a week but now we've added dance class for the girls, Wednesday night church for Gid...Tuesday night therapy for me, and Wednesday nights I go to work on a quiet book I'm making for Christmas for Lucy with a seamstress who is generous enought to work with a not so great sew-person like me :0).
The therapy is an hour away....an hour there and an hour back....the sewing is from 700-1100pm. Crazy....anyway with Keith traveling a lot our lives seem fairly chaotic....and with the holiday season approaching I can't see much relief soon.
Lucy's appointment in Cincinnati went great. This doctor is the polar opposite to our one here. He is helpful, kind, asks questions, listens to our answers and wants to make sure we are satisfied with instructions and care before we leave. He explained several things to us that Dr Haseeb NEVER did...lik a siezure under 5 minutes doesn't cause brain damage...so we don't have to worry too much about those. Also....if a siezure does last more than 5 or if she gets several in one night...he gave us a suppository for Lucy to stop the seizures. It's $400 a syringe but since we have met our medical out of pocket this year...we're getting it free...along with Keith's vasectomy red0, Lucy's high tech more intense MRI scheduled, her 3 day hospital stay for Video EEG, all my therapy appointment and all of Lucy's and anything else medically that may come along in the next 2 months...WOO HOO!!
Anyway so we are feeling better about Lucy. We switched her medication. He was not happy that her personality was changing so much on the Keppra and that her siezures had returned on it. He stated that ...."we don't want her to live like that and we don't want you guys to have to live like that"....Finally a doc who hears us....so we are now on a new med....hopefully it will work and we can quit the Keppra and be done with this.
So that's what's happening....until next week :0)

Lucy

For all of you who are not on Facebook. Things with Lucy in the last few months have gotten difficult. Her therapists are concerned because one day she can do everything they want and more and the next she is totally spaced out and can't do anything. We spoke to her neurologist at the beginning of September about this and he wanted to up her medication and then schedule her for a Video EEG in December. I told him that we had already done this and seen no improvement but he wanted to try it again. So we up'd the meds and I was to check back with him in 6 weeks to see how she was doing and maybe up the time for the EEG. I called him last Wednesday and told them that where we had not seen much of the spacing out....we HAD seen a change in Lucy's behavior. She turned into a very irritable angry girl with numerous fits during the day where she is screaming and crying at the top of her lungs for 1/2- 1 hour at a time. They stated that those were just side-affects of the meds and that they didn't have an opening any sooner for the EEG. The next day Thursday...Lucy was again spaced out in therapy and couldn't complete her tasks and the next few days...we saw the spacing out occuring more often. On Saturday night Lucy had a siezure which hadn't happened since last February. On Monday morning I called her neurologist and told them what happened and again...as they had in February...they doubted my word that this was a siezure. They called me back at the end of the day and told me that the Doctor wanted us to up the med's again. I said..."we just up'd them and she had a siezure...doesn't he want to see her?"...the nurse responded with "well she has a video EEG scheduled for Dec 6th." Needless to say....I hung up the phone and decided I was done with that Doctor and I needed to get Lucy better care...to a physician who both remembered and cared about her case....to someone who wouldn't want Lucy's brain cells to burn for 8 more weeks....someone who cared if the medicine was really working or not....so I did some research and came across Cincinnati Childrens. They are a highly accredited hospital with a division of Ped's neurology at the cutting edge. THey have 15-20 Pediatric Neurology Physicians all specializing in different aspects of neurology. We have an appointment with them on Monday morning. We are seeing a Pediatric Neurologist specializing in Epilepsy. PRAISE GOD!!!! I feel like I can hope again!!! Please pray for us as we work on making arrangements for the kids..and that God gives us the wisdom we need....and the physicians an interest in Lucy's case and most of all pray for answers and healing!!! Thank you!!

It's been a Chaotic Life.....

What has happened to time? I feel like the entire summer flew by and now we're into October and I missed it!! So what has happened in our lives the last 3-4 months? TONS!!! Our summer started with a trip to PA and it ended with a trip to PA :-)....actually it was offically fall when I went to PA the second time....but it still felt like summer there...which was great..except that I in one day, drove from 70's to 40's.....Ella I got some weird looks in the Ohio service plaza's wearing a skirt and short sleeve shirt and Ella in a dress with no sleeves....Anyway it was a great trip....along with the trips we had in between. The trip to California was great too as well as the trip up north with Keith's family....
So what have we been up to since the end of August then?? Well, I totally lost the entire month to a horrendous thing called a Kidney Stone....yes and a big one at that...7 millimeters...had to have a surgury and stent...well the whole process and recovery was about 2 1/2 weeks long...I laid in bed for 2 1/2 weeks...let me tell you...there is only so much of watching tv and reading books I can do before I get a little crazy. Anyway it's over and I had one week to recoup before going out to see my great friend Traci and her new baby for a week in PA....it was suppose to be a 6 day trip ....it ended up being a 7 day trip because we had problems with the van...$600 dollars later and not a fixed vehicle made it a little more frustrating trip than I thought it was going to be...however....the company is working on a reimbursment for us after I reported to corporate about their corrupt store :0)....anyway it was a great trip seeing Traci and Jason and baby Colin....and as a bonus I got to see Grace and Susan and Dany too! Well...now life has returned to as normal as it's going to get for awhile...we are throwing a Golden Birthday for Keith's mom this weekend and the kids currently have Hand Foot and Mouth again so that may be a little tricky .....but we're trying to manage.
Gideon is loving 1st grade still....reading and amazing us more everyday with his learning skills...he reads Dr Suess books to the girls in the evenings...crazy...he's also playing soccer and in God's Club so he's a busy boy
Lucy is currently on a up'd dose of her med's because the neurlogist doesn't think the abnormal brain activity is gone...we are scheduled for a Video EEG in December....this is where we stay in the hospital with her for 3 days and she's hooked to an EEG machine and camera the whole time and we have a button to push when she has "seizure like" episodes...anyway hopefully it will give us the answers we need but in the mean time the medicine is making her into a crazy mean little girl and it's frustrating for me and Keith...our sweet little Lucy is not showing her face very much these days....She's in Preschool and LOVES her class...she also is taking dance class and can't wait to go every week.
Ella is talking a mile a minute and getting a little better with her stubborness but she's still awefully set in her ways and hormonal for a two year old. She is also taking dance class and looks so cute singing baby face and squeezing her cheeks together....
Hope everyone is doing well...Sorry for the long delay in posting.....

Way too long....

Gideon posing it up with his spiked hair...he thinks he's hot stuff with his new do...... :0)

How cute are these cheeser's....they love eachother...sometimes.....

This pic was taken at sunset at Warren Dunes...it was absolutely beautiful...the kids LOVED it! The trip was a big success. Other than the fact that 60% of Warren Dunes folige is poisen ivy the atmosphere was perfect. There was plenty of dune climbing...tons of floatin and swimmin in the waves...taking walks...on cement paths (all wooded paths were covered with the infamous ivy)....an astronomy lesson....lots of good food...good fires and a smores extravaganza.....we had regular smores...smores with monstorous marshmellows....strawberry smores....smores with fudge shop cookies and cookies and cream chocolate bars...and smores with Reeses cups....delicious...other than the loud neighbors and an annoying baby praying mantis that settled itself between our tent roof and canopy..we slept amazingly well. The kids were thouroughly worn out when we came home but very happy too! I think we all want to do it over again next year.

Since then our lives have been crazy. I was sick for almost two weeks with what they thought was a possible kidney stone....but ended up being a combo of the new birth control pill I'm on, a nasty UTI, and an adverse reaction to the antibiotic combo'ed with my newly diagnosed IBS...that made me feel like crap for awhile...things are evening out a bit now though....(if you don't know what the pneumonics for the above mentioned things are ...you don't want too :0)..) Anyway so I've been out of service. However...still busy.....we've been running around doing all sorts of thngs to prepare for the start of school...because Gideon starts in just 2 weeks...can you believe it....I'm so not ready for summer to be over....luckily they get out May 20th and don't go back in next fall until Sept 7th....just need time to finish the school for the move in 2011...and Lucy's debute Kindergarten year....anyway...this summer stinks because it's so short but we're dealing.

Yesterday Keith and I celebrated 10 years married...actually...I celebrated...Keith forgot..hahahaha...I didn't think you were suppose to forget at 10...I thought that came later :) Anyway it doesn't really matter because we leave Sunday for a whirlwind trip of Vegas, L.A., Laguna Beach and San Diego.....I'm so excited...even though it's a work trip for Keith...I can't wait. The kids are staying with mom's and dad's and I even though I want a break from them...I know I'll be incredibly missing them by day two....such a typical mom :0).....

Anyway so that's the scoop...when we get back in a week it's going to be...go school/upper MI shopping....and then vacation/school start....and then on to September...where I'm headed to see Traci and the baby for a week and Keith goes up north on his annual fishing trip....throw in the Fair, preschool, therapy, Lucy's b-day and dance class and we've got a busy fall...hopefully I'll be able to write again soon!!

On your mark...Get set....GOOOOOOO!!!!

And we're almost off.........so we've been planning since about April to go on this camping trip to the dunes with the kiddos...I know...some may say we are completely nuts...taking 3 kids under 7 on a camping trip...but...it's only one night...I'm hoping we can hack it......we shall see....luckily it's camping... and it's only one night...so there really is no need for makeup, shampoo/conditioner and most "body cleaning" products/ lots of clothes....who wants to get all cleaned up only to sweat in a tent and get up the next day and go to the beach....pointless....so that significantly decreases the amount we have to take....food however...is a must and options are also a must...so the majority of things we are taking is food and tent-gear. We are hoping for a successful trip...oh and Jacob is coming with us!! So not only do we get to spend some quality time with our smart, talented and high quality nephew but the extra pair of hands will help too! When we come back from camping our summer will be on the fastforward setting...with Drew, Mel and Walter home next week and swim lessons every night...not to mention a make-up t-ball game...and work for me...it's going to be a busy one....followed by a busy week of Bible School and outings with friends that are in town and coming from out of town...then our trip to Vegas....a week to get ready for school to start....and then......school starts and we skip it to go on vacation in MI....whew......I don't know if I can handle this speed....hopefully I can hit the pause button in there somewhere to actually enjoy the summer :)
Update on Gideon- he hit two home-runs during his t-ball game a few weeks ago and we are currently (on the suggestion of Keith's cousin Kelli) almost done reading The Chronicles of Narnia...which both Gideon and Lucy (because her name is in it) have had their ears glued to the past week....(I did change the beer part to root beer for the kids...gotta make it pg)
Update on Lucy- She's doing great in her PT....she's having more body awareness....able to swing on the stand-up swing without falling off...jumping keeping her arms at her side....coloring a mural while standing on a teeter tottering board (I don't know if I could do that) and riding her bike better every day. She's also excitedly awaiting preschool this fall :) :)
Update on Ella- she's a stinker as always ....her favorite phrases right now are "leave me alone" and "get away"...in her manic state she also says " I loves you mama" and "I need to hold ju" when she wants to be held....Keith and I need to buy her a Ken barbie as she has been making her girl barbies kiss eachother a lot :) :) :)
Keith's keeping busy at work with lots of new responsibilities and projects....he seems to be enjoying it but feels the stress of living up to expectation.
I am doing ok...feeling old and out of sorts but ok :) I've been having some medical issues the last 6-9 months and haven't felt very good most of the summer so far but hoping that the five-million drugs I'm taking and trying to be positive will help all that :)
Hope all are well and having a great summer

A little bit of this...a little bit of that..

This last week has been a whirlwind...but I'm ok with that. I like to keep busy and I like to feel that I have accomplished something once and a while.
The kids and I worked outside almost all last week...weeding and trimming and planting. We don't have much land ...but man it takes a lot to keep it looking nice...and we don't live in one of those neighborhoods where it doesn't matter what your backyard looks like...unfortunetly we are lined by people on all sides and more often than not...welcome neighborhood friends in our backyard rather than our front...so ..there is no slacking off...everything needs to look at least halfway descent....so finally...it is...well almost...I have to weed the kids play area again....note to all who are doing any "play construction" in the future...the black plastic and stones does nothing to keep out the weeds...eventually they make there way through no matter what....
But anyway...we also have planted our own little garden in the back by the shed...I call it my salsa garden...because it only has cilantro, tomatoes, jalapeno's, chives and basil in it...we tried for parsley but the rabbits ate that up pretty quick....and even after catching them....I think the plant is still done for. But, we are excitedly watching our little plants everyday...Even though the kids and I have always gone to my mom's and helped with her massive garden and have always recieved fresh veggies from our neighbors gardens as well..it's kinda fun to have a little plot of our own...now I don't have to go to my mom's for fresh herbs either. :)
We hit a wedding this weekend of a co-worker of Keith's ...it was the first non-church wedding I think I have ever been at...in fact....God was not spoken about nor even mentioned. It was kinda sad and although everyone looked beautiful it was missing something for me. But, the food was amazing and the location was fancy and beautiful so I gotta give them props for that part. On our way home Keith and I surveyed the damage from the tornados...unbelievable that something could hit that close to home and be so severe....it was like a scene out of twister and I was ready to get home and hug my kids when we were done.
This week has begun pretty good. We've been keeping busy and taking bike rides every night to strengthen Lucy's legs and gross motor skills. She's doing pretty good. We've been told it will take awhile for her to learn to ride bike period...much less years before she will be able to ride without training wheels but we figure if we work with her on a daily basis with it...the chances are greater that she will overcome this at a faster rate. We rode all the way to the meat market today and she did really well. Sometimes with Lucy we forget how behind she is until something reminds us...that's usually Ella. At 2 and 1/2 Ella is now dressing herself better than Lucy and she is riding the trike that Lucy just learned to ride last summer at almost 4 years old. It's frustrating to feel that she has come so far but see how far she has to go yet. We just keep helping, hoping and praying.
So that's the scoop on us....more later..

Make'em laugh...

We returned from PA and Maria's Graduation on Monday night. The trip was as always relaxing and great. I LOVE going there...many times Keith and I ask ourselves on the way home why we do not live there...half of our friends (who are in the states) live there and so does a lot of the family. Oh...and it's be-autiful there in the mountainessness.....but we live here..in our little village....how exciting :) :)....no but seriously it was so much fun and had lots of laughs.
I don't know how many times I was introduced to friends of my cousins and they thought I looked like Grace...they could see a family resemblence....so weird...seeing as though she is Greek/Lebenese/American....dark skin/eyes/hair and I am as Caucasion as it gets with my blond hair/pale skin/blue eyes...oh well...the funniest thing that made me laugh was when one of Maria and Grace's friends found out I was their cousin and said...and I quote "That's so cool you're greek"....ahhahahahahah!!! I look soooo greek...obviously this 19 year old has never been to greece...so funny.
Then there was Lucy talking to Traci's belly...saying Hi baby, Hi Baby...I'm Lucy...Hi baby boy...so cute!!! and Keith getting in an accident on his way to Lancaster and the people in the car behind trying to convince him that the guy that hit him was drunk...so Keith calling 911 and keeping them on the line like 10 minutes only to find out the guy was not drunk and there was no damage to the car...
We also had some laughs about Grace calling a local winery a wienery...hahahahah...still laughing about that....and of course Paul scaring the crap out of us when we were sitting in the kitchen at 1130 at night when he reached his hand in the kitchen window with no warning screaming at us to unlock the door....I've never heard Maria scream that loud...:):):) Laughing with my aunts/cousins and grandparents is the best...that's why I love em so much.
Now that we have recovered from the weekend my kids are starting to relax and become their fun selves again...Gideon was talking to Lucy today about heaven...he was telling her how there will be a castle for her in heaven and she'll be a princess and "there might be a boy there in heaven for you that might play with you".....ok????? so confused where he pulled that out of...but funny just the same...and just a few minutes ago when they were playing on the floor Gideon told Lucy in the most seriousness of voices..."Lucy...you can NEVER trust a mermaid"....ok......well I thought it was hilarious!! But I just may be tired... :) Keith comes home tonight from the Ark so relief cometh......oh and fresh strawberries from my mom's may revive me....YUMMY!!!!
More later :) :)