EEG Results and More - The Walnut Acre Daily July 22, 2013

WORDS TO LIVE BY

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 91:1-2

WORKING, LEARNING AND PLAYING TOGETHER

IN THE KITCHEN

Breakfast this morning was simple -  cereal with milk, and juice. Austin fixed Pizza, fries and lima beans (his favorite vegetable) for lunch. For dinner I made chicken chow mein over rice and we had peas and fresh peaches with it. 

OTHER

Last week Michael had a 24 hour EEG. We decided to do this because I am seeing a lot of things at night while he's asleep that don't look right to me. We went to the hospital Wednesday afternoon and had it put on and then were able to come home and let it record during his normal routine. Then on Thursday afternoon we went back and had it taken off.  

This afternoon the neurologist called with the results. She said she didn't see any seizures during that 24 hour recording but that it was abnormal, showing "spike discharges coming from the right side." I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that means. From what I understand that area of his brain is "irritable" and prone to seizures and is probably where the seizures that we have seen are coming from. These spikes occur night and day although there are more of them at night. Since he is maxed out on the medication he is taking now (Zonisamide) for seizures and we are still seeing activity she wants to add a new medication (Trileptal) and see if it helps any. I am willing to try it but if it doesn't work I am not hesitant to take him back off of it. The neurologist said to give the medicine least three weeks, maybe a few more to see if it will work because we are going to start out on a low dose and slowly increase to the target dosage over three weeks. I don't really like adding another medication to the cocktail of meds he already takes, but my hope is that if we successfully treat the true underlying problem maybe some of the other medications can be taken away. Here's hoping!

ON MY MIND

I know that I wrote these Walnut Acre Daily posts before and then quit because of the time they took, but each time I quit I really, really miss writing them. There's just something special to me about the way the little details of each day weave together to create a full life. And writing this each day helps me to see all those things. So here I am again, writing the Walnut Acre Daily posts. It feels really good!

TODAY'S QUOTE

Dreams are free, so free your dreams. ~ Terri Guillemets

Scenes From an Afternoon Outdoors

I love the views from my backyard . . .

. . . the trees and plants growing in my yard . . .

. . . and my outdoor workspace. . .

. . . but most of all . . .

. . . I love all the people (and animals), big and small, who bring the love and laughter to this place.

~ Linking up here ~

Musing and Meanderings

Warning!

This will be a meandering post containing a hodge podge of tidbits from my day and whatever other random thoughts happen to wander through my mind in the process.

Here are a couple pictures I took today just because I was amused at the way D. was playing with these cards. She was having a great time.

Today was the first nice warm day in about a week. This afternoon I took the little kids out to play. Amanda came out with us and we walked around the yard looking for signs of Spring. The trees are starting to bud, there are tiny white flowers growing in some places, and some of the little bushes are showing new growth. I always looking for and finding the first signs of Spring each year.

Austin spent most of the day at Grandma's house. He decided he would like to spend the night tonight and come home some time tomorrow. It's nice that he can just walk down and back when he decides he wants to. As long as he checks with me first to make sure he's needed here to help with the kids I think it's wonderful for him. Amanda has the same privilege and does often go down but not as often as Austin.  She's more of a homebody, and she likes to have her free time to do whatever she wants by herself. She's always been that way.

I was looking through the pictures on my phone this evening and discovered that someone besides me has been taking pictures with it. It must have been yesterday evening when we were all sitting around the living room after the little ones went to bed. Two of Amanda's friends were here and I'm sure it was one of them who took these pictures. We all look pitifully preoccupied and grumpy even though we really weren't. It was a pretty good evening. For the most part everyone was just quietly watching tv or doing something on the laptop.



Doug, Amanda and Michael went to Wal-mart to do our weekly shopping and Amanda came back with a Webkinz frog. She now has 37 Webkinz. A friend of mine told Amanda yesterday that she thinks we need to do a Webkinz intervention.

After the last of the daycare kids left this evening we took Amanda and Michael to Dairy Queen. Michael loves to play in the kids play area there, Doug and Amanda were craving ice cream, and I was just glad to get out of the house for a little while.

Michael finally truly got the hang of peddling his bicycle today and was so proud of himself. We are very proud of him too. This is the little boy we were told may not be able to hear or see, and may never be able to walk. He has come so far.

And now I am very tired because even though he has come a long way, he still hasn't mastered the art of sleeping peacefully all night every night. And last night was one of his restless nights. Hopefully tonight will be better because I am exhausted. Plus with time change I will be losing an hour of sleep tonight.

So good night everybody.

Don't forget to set your clocks forward an hour before you go to sleep tonight.

Music, Weather and Beef

1. SONGS 4 LIFE: EMBRACE HIS GRACE

As I'm typing this I'm listening to this CD. It's one of my favorites and I listen to it often. Some of my favorite songs are Takin' My Time by Ashton, Becker & Dente and When I Let It Go by Sierra.

2. STRANGE WEATHER

After a nice stretch of warm sunny weather it poured rain all day yestereday and then turned into snow last night. There's a light dusting of snow on the ground this morning. Today it's going to be sunny and in the lower 50s again.

3. BEEF

A friend of ours offered us the chance to buy a quarter of beef. We jumped at the chance and I'm looking forward to having a freezer full of meat sometime this week. We only have a small chest freezer so we can't take more than that but I'm happy with it.

4. MORE MUSIC

Thinking of my favorite music reminded me of Michael's current favorite CD. His is 30 Bible Songs and 30 Bible Stories by Wonder Kids Sing. We listen to this at naptime, at night when he's going to sleep, and a couple time throughout the day. I'm glad he's absorbing these Bible songs and stories although sometimes I wish we could have a little variety.



Free Sunday

Today we had no daycare kids until 8:00PM so after church we went out to Texas Steakhouse for lunch. The food was delicious and it was a nice change of pace. I took some pictures but the light wasn't very good for taking pictures with a phone camera. So they're a little dark.

We were waiting for our food here and I caught them in a good moment.

Michael checked out the wine list while he waited.

And when the food came they all thought it was worth the wait.

When we finished eating we weren't really in the mood to go home yet so we decided to go walk around in the mall. It was pouring rain so the park or any other outdoor activity was out of the question.

Michael was fascinated with the kiddie rides and would play in them but when we put money in them he refused to ride, although he liked to watch them move and look at the lights flashing.

There's a little play area in the middle of the mall for the younger kids and Michael had so much fun there, playing and making friends.

Austin bought a remote control gorilla at Radio Shack. Doug had to help him get it out of the box  because it was fastened so well with all those little twisty wires.

This silly gorilla rolls, stomps, dances, and makes lots of silly noises. The kids loved it although Michael would almost panic if it came to close to him to fast.

Doug was on duty at the rescue squad this evening and Michael and Austin went down to grandma's house. So Amanda and I had a nice quiet evening here at home together.

It was a great Sunday and I feel refreshed and ready for another week.



A Birthday Party for Dr. Seuss

A daycare parent sent me text Sunday reminding me that tomorrow is Dr. Seuss' birthday. She suggested that it would be fun to have a party for the kids and offered to supply cake and balloons. I happily accepted her offer and told her I would check out some resources online for some fun activities for the kids. She suggested a site called Seusville.

Suessville is a fun place full of activities based on Dr. Suess' books. There are printables, online games, ideas for group activities, and arts and crafts. There are also special sections for parents and educators.

I printed some pictures to color and a craft for the kids to do.

When Sarah (the parent who got the party ball rolling with her suggestion) came this evening to pick up her child, she brought the balloons and cake along with a lot of party favors and other fun things.

I'm looking forward to some fun tomorrow and will post pictures. Is anyone else celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday with kids? I'd love to hear about it if you are. 

More Fun Pictures From Today

As if this wasn't enough fun for one day here are some more fun pictures from today. If you click on the pictures you can see a larger version.

Somehow the trailor held a lot of fascination for all the kids today. Maybe because it was in a different place then it usually is. I guess sitting in the very back of the yard is more exciting than sitting in the driveway. Anyway, they enjoyed it.

Amanda brought Little Red, the guinea pig outside for some fresh air. She seemed to really enjoy it and was busy munching on weeds and chewing on small twigs. The kids loved watching her as well.

And of couse, Aaron had to climb a tree. This kid is the closest to having the skills of a monkey as any I've ever seen.

I couldn't resist this smile.

Michael pushing Mykalin on the tricycle. Michael just loves Mykalin and calls her sister. Every day he asks me if Mykalin's mommy has to work today and is Mykalin coming.

It's interesting to watch the attachments and friendships that form among the kids here. Kaleb is happiest when he is hanging out with Austin. And Austin just adores Kaleb so it's a win-win.

This shed has proven irresistible to boys (and girls) who want to show off how well they can kick or throw a ball. The challenge is to get the ball over the roof of the shed.

And while Cayson may not be able to kick the ball over the shed roof, he certainly can kick it all over the yard.

He can also use a stick for a weedeater. Anything is possible with a little imagination.

And now busy little people have turned into tired little people and are all (well, most of them) tucked into their beds and sound asleep.

This post was so full of busy little (and big) boys in motion that I decided to link it up at Home With the Boys as a Boys in Motion entry.