Struggling...

...not because I don't think we can handle this. The reality is that I know we can handle this...God doesn't give us more than we can handle. I'm struggling because there is so little known about this condition and no two cases are exactly a like. Even within families that have two kids that have it one can have the same exact episode every single time while the other's episodes are always different and get progressively more severe.

So, it's a huge puzzle that we have to research, research, research and then began to sift thru the information to see where AG is. It's also hard because of AG's age he can't communicate his symptoms/how he is feeling the way an 8 year old can.

His sleeping this week has been out of whack this week so now I'm wondering if that is a warning sign for us...sleep can be a factor in an episode happening. Processing lots. Reading anything I can. I have notes scribbled on several post-its. The reality is I need to get a spiral nb to take notes in and "work out" what happens in AG's episodes to compare with my notes. I just haven't been able to get out the house to acquire said nb. Till then the jumbo post-its will have to do.

Today I read about a child that missed 24 days of school last year due to this condition. The thought dawned on me that I'm glad we were already serious about putting our kids in private school. If this continues to affect AG that will be something we have to deal with. As a former teacher, who has spent time in both public and private classrooms, I know that a private school will be a better fit for something like this. Right now I'm praying that we can get a firm grasp on what triggers him and what his warning signs are before he starts preschool in January.

It's late. This is jumbled. It's been one of those days. I'm off to bed...

A short update...

I'm slowly getting the blog caught up and I've been working on something else that I look forward to sharing soon. Anyways, here's an update on AG...

For the last year we've dealt with what we thought were parasite attacks or episodes if you will. Anyways, after this last one three weeks ago I made an appointment to see Dr. Saripkin in Atlanta. (We saw him last August when all of this started.) Well, it looks like AG doesn't have a parasite, rather, he has something known as Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS). At the moment we are going to sit tight and wait for AG's next episode (which could be tonight or 5 months from now...you just never know.) and in the mean time I'm to research it and see how AG fits in to it. Then we'll re-evaluate and go from there. I'm grateful that it isn't a parasite. I'm grateful that we know what it is for certain.

Tonight I came home and started looking stuff up. From what I can tell what we've experienced with AG is pretty mild in comparison to what some people deal with. For now I'm going to sit on all of this, research, and pray. Tonight I'm finding peace in the following lyrics...

"when you walk through the water
i will be with you
when you pass through the river
those waves they will not overtake you
when you walk on the fire
those flames they will not touch you
you are mine
you are mine..." ~Enter the Worship Circle

We are ready to see...

...the Mouse and his friends. This morning Avi-Kate was playing on our bed her Piglet we bought at Disney last Christmas. She was chomping away on his arms and playing with his ears...we looked over and realized that she had fallen asleep like this...

I then went down the hall and discovered that AG was watching his new favorite movie of the week, The Little Mermaid, and sitting with his best pal...

Yes, I would say we are in need of a good dose of Disney...thank heavens we'll be there in a little under four weeks to celebrate my birthday! I'm looking forward to telling AG, "Today! AG goes to Disney today!" (He asks almost daily to go to Disney.) We decided to take a long weekend and go back on our annual passes. We got a ridiculous deal on a room on site and so off we go. We are looking forward to experiencing the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot and taking in a little trick-or-treating Disney style at Mickey's Not-So-Scary-Halloween at the Magic Kingdom. AG wants to be Peter Pan. With his bright red hair he'll be the spitting image! I think we are going to dress Avi-Kate up as a tiny Tinker Bell. I've planned it all out and all we have left to do is pack. Hooray! I don't know what it is but we love being down there with our kids. It really is the most magical place on earth.

Wordless Wednesday...Paul Revere Edition...

I promise I have a good reason for...

my absence the last three weeks. Let's just say we've had a THIRD parasite attack (AG) along with two bouts of hand, foot, mouth disease. I've had my hands full...a back log of posts coming right up...

Chore time...

...okay so not true chores, yet. (All in due time as they get older!) For now we ask AG to help and most of the time he offers to do things to help Momma or Daddy. His favorite being to 'help Sammy' aka feed Samson. If Samson is good and eats his dinner AG will offer up a treat to him! (Bones, Greenies, dog biscuit, etc.) One evening Andy was taking out the trash and AG asked to help so I gave him a bag of trash out of one of the bathroom garbage cans. And away the boys went with Samson leading the way outside.

A few days later I was folding laundry during AG's nap and Avi-Cakes was helping me. She enjoyed being plopped down in the middle of a warm load of laundry...

...she also enjoyed waving a pair of AG's big boy underwear around in the air. Big boy underwear? Yes, big boy underwear. A post forthcoming on our adventures in potty training!

So, here's to laying the foundation at a young age that we all live together in this house and we must all help out. To quote G-Daddy, "it's just part of being in a family!" Yep, and as they get older we will delve further in to that concept but for now we are learning simple skills.

Wordless Wednesday...Fresh Cut Wood Edition...

Ron Potter does it bigger and better...

Last month I posted about AG building his own bowling alley. Well, we have kicked it up a notch or should I say Ron Potter kicked it up a notch. A few weeks ago Avi-Kate's new Britax carseat arrived via Amazon. The box that the seat shipped in is now AG's favorite toy. That night before I could even cart it outside to be recycled he flipped it over and created a bigger and better bowling alley. The way his mind works floors Andy and I sometimes. He is constantly analyzing and engineering things. Since then he has also gone back and colored the box with his crayons, personalized it if you will. Again, unprompted. He's a mess and I just love to see how his mind works...

Wordless Wednesday...Yo-ho-ho Edition.

Face-lift on the house...sneak peek.

When you live in an old house it is inevitable that things are going to need to be repaired, fixed, and or restored at some point. In the case of our front steps that has been a need since we moved in but we are finally at point where we can focus on it. I plan to do a complete before/after post when Andy has everything just the way he likes it. Till then here is a sneak peek at some of the work that has taken place...

I've come to the conclusion that there are very few things that my husband and father can not do. The front of the house is a prime example of that and it amazes me! Looking forward to showing you all the details, soon.

The Adventures of Ron Potter...

You can find him in the kitchen...

You can find him on the front porch helping rebuild...

You can find him with the Muffin Man in the bakery on Drury Lane...

You can also find him being patriotic while doing his endeavors...