Sooo we have been busy! We currently have 11 children living in our home on top of our new roof getting put on and the skylights getting ripped out, and did I mention I got tired of the linoleum in the kitchen, well I ripped that stuff out after my kids made it into a ramp with duplo blocks for their hotwheels and I tripped over it in the middle of the night going to the bathroom! I have actually gotten a few thing accomplished during all this. I have been going through the kids clothing and passing on what my kids just don't ever wear and things they have outgrown. I have purged some decorating things that I just am not in love with anymore and am tired of dusting. I also finished painting the kitchen and then realized the other night that behind the microwave is still yellow and behind the fridge is um well its never been painted guess we have just been too lazy to move that appliance in 10 years.
So needless to say when we lay flooring this weekend we will be moving that sucker and painting back there. My sweet husband has started putting the shelves up over the freezer for my frequently used jars and serving platters as well as installing a hot water heater after ours went out and installed the water filtration unit that has been sitting around for(kinda embarrassed about this one) 3 years! I know we had a very good excuse called Isaac but that should have been our motivation to get it installed faster. So I started writing this post today to let you all know I am taking pictures around the house to give you all a photo tour of our house and all the work I have been telling you all about over the past year. It will take time since I have to move the luggage and ballet costumes that are cluttering about from our house guests (more on the 11 children when I can) and make sure you can see all the lovely changes that we have done. I promise you will see said pictures this week it will not be another week or month from now!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Happy New Year
Ok Here we GO...
A new year and some new commitments. First I am and have been in the process of uncluttering our lives.
we have streamlined out electronics by getting down to an iphone each instead of an electronic organizer(old smart phone) and a cell phone to call and text. It also streamlined some of our bills and we did it on a budget by looking for used phones from people that were upgrading.
I have gone through everyone's clothing and stored away what the little one could grow into and am giving away or consigning the other stuff. I still need to make a list of the kids clothing Needs like jeans with no holes and a proper coat for one of them and another needs new socks and so forth.
We super cleaned the bedrooms by moving furniture and dusted and vacuumed. then we sorted the toys and removed the ones they no longer wanted or needed.
We are now having the roof replaced and ripping out the skylights that have leaked and molded and YUCK I am going to miss the sunlight but not the mess and the sickness the mold causes. We will all be healthier for it! I still need to finish painting the kitchen cabinets that needed the face lift and finish the walls that were left unpainted so the insurance inspector could see where there was damage from the leaky roof.
So as soon as those major things are completed we will finish what we started with the flooring and replace the now ripped up linoleum with some snack together laminate stuff. We will also finish building shelving over the deep freeze and install the water filter for the whole house so we can stop lugging water home in those giant bottles.
As far as Isaac and all his medical stuff is going we are attempting to get in with a couple new neurologists because his current Dr is just not working with us and I honestly get the feeling that he doesn't want us as patients. We have been doing an electrical acupuncture treatment that is similar to the NAET therapy for all of Isaac's food allergies and some outdoor allergies as well and he seems to be making good progress. He is not as sensitive to many of the foods that would cause his tummy to bloat and be rock hard or would just give him diarrhea. Right now our biggest problem is with gluten so please continue praying as we stumble through this mess and try to get the seizures and growth problems under control.
He has speech and Occupational therapy twice a week and he is loving it and learning soooo much he now speaks whole sentences (somewhat understandable) and he recognizes most letters and can count to 20. colors he is not so good at but we are working on that one.
I have personally decided to commit to P90X again doing workouts at least 3 times a week to stay lean and tone up a little more. Over the last year I lost 6 inches in my waist and went from a size 14/16 down to an 8/10 just by cutting out most gluten and fake sugars. I have been eating more raw foods and really only eating meat with dinner. Oh and making sure I stay hydrated by drinking AT LEAST a GALLON of water a day.
So here's to a new year full of opportunity.
A new year and some new commitments. First I am and have been in the process of uncluttering our lives.
we have streamlined out electronics by getting down to an iphone each instead of an electronic organizer(old smart phone) and a cell phone to call and text. It also streamlined some of our bills and we did it on a budget by looking for used phones from people that were upgrading.
I have gone through everyone's clothing and stored away what the little one could grow into and am giving away or consigning the other stuff. I still need to make a list of the kids clothing Needs like jeans with no holes and a proper coat for one of them and another needs new socks and so forth.
We super cleaned the bedrooms by moving furniture and dusted and vacuumed. then we sorted the toys and removed the ones they no longer wanted or needed.
We are now having the roof replaced and ripping out the skylights that have leaked and molded and YUCK I am going to miss the sunlight but not the mess and the sickness the mold causes. We will all be healthier for it! I still need to finish painting the kitchen cabinets that needed the face lift and finish the walls that were left unpainted so the insurance inspector could see where there was damage from the leaky roof.
As far as Isaac and all his medical stuff is going we are attempting to get in with a couple new neurologists because his current Dr is just not working with us and I honestly get the feeling that he doesn't want us as patients. We have been doing an electrical acupuncture treatment that is similar to the NAET therapy for all of Isaac's food allergies and some outdoor allergies as well and he seems to be making good progress. He is not as sensitive to many of the foods that would cause his tummy to bloat and be rock hard or would just give him diarrhea. Right now our biggest problem is with gluten so please continue praying as we stumble through this mess and try to get the seizures and growth problems under control.
He has speech and Occupational therapy twice a week and he is loving it and learning soooo much he now speaks whole sentences (somewhat understandable) and he recognizes most letters and can count to 20. colors he is not so good at but we are working on that one.
I have personally decided to commit to P90X again doing workouts at least 3 times a week to stay lean and tone up a little more. Over the last year I lost 6 inches in my waist and went from a size 14/16 down to an 8/10 just by cutting out most gluten and fake sugars. I have been eating more raw foods and really only eating meat with dinner. Oh and making sure I stay hydrated by drinking AT LEAST a GALLON of water a day.
So here's to a new year full of opportunity.
Friday, September 21, 2012
A Very Productive Day!
So we had a very fun day full of learning and fellowship. We started off with a trip to our favorite dairy Lucky Layla Farms Plano location and because of the chaos of the annual balloon festival we got our milk for just over half price hurrah! We started out by getting the yogurt started in the crock pot and then turned our attention to baking bread which was lovely with the fresh butter we picked up. Then we got our mozzarella cheese going. We got a little worried because we could not find rennet anywhere in Dallas and thankfully one Kroger had a type that was for custards and puddings and we figured we would give it a try. it did not look like the pictures on all the pinned blogs but we figured we would at least finish the batch and see what it tasted like. In the end it turned out better by NOT MICROWAVING it but putting it into the 200 degree whey which we were heating up anyway to make ricotta! It turned out delish and I can't wait to eat some on the fresh bread! The ricotta looks good but I did not get as much as I thought i would so I have to alter my plans for dinner tomorrow (no lasagna for me :( ). The yogurt looks just like store bought and I can't wait till breakfast to try it, the question is what to flavor it with? there are sooo many options to choose from. After our long, productive day we took the kids to the splash park to run off energy and then home to make ice cream. Soooo yummy and yes there were left overs! I will add pictures soon pinky promise.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
August Rush
Ok so I got the itch for a place of our own after helping several people look for property and places to rent, and well I looked around and just never could find anything that would make me completely happy let alone that would fit in our budget. After praying and just being patient I heard a wonderful sermon and then some advise given to someone in a similar situation on the radio. We have made up our hearts and minds to put our money into repairing the house we are renting form the in-laws and just stay put since we will eventually inherit this property it doesn't make sense to move somewhere else since we are needed here. It may not be perfect but it is a place to live that we can be happy in. So all that led to the kitchen makeover that I will be posting a bit later when I have finished up a few little things.
School has started back and we have a whole new list of Dr appointments to make it through and Nutcracker casting has started. I am teaching piano and have 3 custom sewing projects in the works.
School has started back and we have a whole new list of Dr appointments to make it through and Nutcracker casting has started. I am teaching piano and have 3 custom sewing projects in the works.
Isaac and the Neurologist
Tuesday we went to the neurologist that was scheduled back in June and well now I totally understand why it took so long. God was working in the background as we have all prayed to match us up with just the right doctors. This guy is a great match for us since all he does is treat seizures (big fat period here).
So after looking over Isaac's extensive file he asked a few questions having me describe the seizures and explain to me why certain ones had been labeled febrile and then told me that Isaac fits in the definition of epileptic. Why you ask? well there were several seizures that did not have a fever before or after them and well were just "normal seizures". and having two or more of these "normal seizures" classifies a person as epileptic. So Isaac now has a Valium for emergencies if a seizure lasts more than 5 min and it will calm him till we can get him to a hospital. He will also be on Keppra again along with a B6 to counteract the aggressive behavior that is a side effect of the Keppra. If after 3 weeks the aggression is too much that we cannot safely leave him unattended( Not hurting someone or himself) then we will try something else. If two years go by with no seizures they will take him off all medication and just call it childhood epilepsy if they continue we will have to rethink everything. I will continue the chiropractic care and be ordering an anti-spasmodic herbal tincture to be giving him as well as a tincture for nerve damage and repair that might help a well. For now this is the new norm and we would appreciate all your prayers.
So after looking over Isaac's extensive file he asked a few questions having me describe the seizures and explain to me why certain ones had been labeled febrile and then told me that Isaac fits in the definition of epileptic. Why you ask? well there were several seizures that did not have a fever before or after them and well were just "normal seizures". and having two or more of these "normal seizures" classifies a person as epileptic. So Isaac now has a Valium for emergencies if a seizure lasts more than 5 min and it will calm him till we can get him to a hospital. He will also be on Keppra again along with a B6 to counteract the aggressive behavior that is a side effect of the Keppra. If after 3 weeks the aggression is too much that we cannot safely leave him unattended( Not hurting someone or himself) then we will try something else. If two years go by with no seizures they will take him off all medication and just call it childhood epilepsy if they continue we will have to rethink everything. I will continue the chiropractic care and be ordering an anti-spasmodic herbal tincture to be giving him as well as a tincture for nerve damage and repair that might help a well. For now this is the new norm and we would appreciate all your prayers.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Endocrinologist for Isaac
So today we woke up with the sun and drove in rush hour traffic to get downtown Dallas, But it was SOOOO worth it we love Dr Sumpter. She explained to me that she is conservative in her practice and believes that ALL medications have side effects and that she didn't want to prescribe or treat someone without proof that they truly needed it. So she agreed with me that we needed to test for celiac disease because it does cause the majority of the symptoms Isaac is showing. She is also testing his kidneys and Liver to make sure they are functioning properly. 20 min later down in the lab the blood was drawn and we were off to lunch after stopping in and talking to the Ped about the dairy allergy testing which will be done on Monday. While on our way to the Ped we got a phone call saying something went wrong with the blood sample and they needed to draw more so we grabbed lunch and back to Dallas we went. Isaac wasn't too happy but tolerated it all with the promise of picking something out of the gift shop, which he chose a baseball.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Isaac update
Ok since February Isaac has been having regular seizures (6 to date) and the last one which we did not witness but saw the signs that he had had one after finding him covered in blood and "asleep" in his bed.
We have been on the war path with 3 Dr.s in tow to figure out what could cause these. So far we have had an EEG, EKG, Sonogram of his heart, and a 24 hour heart monitor, Tested his blood and thyroid lvls, as well as an MRI all of which have not really given us any answers. We praise YHVH that Isaac's heart is perfect there are no palpitations, arrhythmia or murmurs. His Thyroid looks good and although he was on the verge of being anemic we have that under control. The MRI only showed that his cerebellum is underdeveloped and they have told me that that is not the cause of the seizures. A dear friend has done research for me into the medications Isaac was given in the NICU and several of them have the side effect of causing seizures, blindness, hearing loss and several other major health concerns. I was only warned about the hearing loss and we have an amazing ENT that has been down this road with her own son and has a special spot in her heart for our Isaac. We will be seeing the Endocrinologist in July and the Neurologist in August. We appreciate all the prayers and help our friends have sent our way please continue as we cannot do this without the support of our friends and family.
We have been on the war path with 3 Dr.s in tow to figure out what could cause these. So far we have had an EEG, EKG, Sonogram of his heart, and a 24 hour heart monitor, Tested his blood and thyroid lvls, as well as an MRI all of which have not really given us any answers. We praise YHVH that Isaac's heart is perfect there are no palpitations, arrhythmia or murmurs. His Thyroid looks good and although he was on the verge of being anemic we have that under control. The MRI only showed that his cerebellum is underdeveloped and they have told me that that is not the cause of the seizures. A dear friend has done research for me into the medications Isaac was given in the NICU and several of them have the side effect of causing seizures, blindness, hearing loss and several other major health concerns. I was only warned about the hearing loss and we have an amazing ENT that has been down this road with her own son and has a special spot in her heart for our Isaac. We will be seeing the Endocrinologist in July and the Neurologist in August. We appreciate all the prayers and help our friends have sent our way please continue as we cannot do this without the support of our friends and family.
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