round and round

Erin loves the Carousel horses.  

And usually that is where she and I end up when we go to Six Flags with the family.  

We're not big fans of roller coasters.  

We rode the carousel three times...in a row!  

The last time she wanted to find the tallest highest horse she could see.  She had been a little disappointed in the first two she chose.  Wimpy trotters, I guess. 

She found a "georgous" black beauty that I had to lift her up pretty high to get on. 

She LOVED it.  

Until it started slowing down and her horse ended up as high as it possibly could be when the ride stopped.  

It didn't help that I sat on the other horse snapping pictures and chuckling.

I told her to hold on while I got down.  When I got off my horse I started checking the pictures on my camera and slowly walking toward the exit.  

Not very nice, I know.  And I debated doing it.  

But I did it and she hollered at me something fierce.  

I was only a few steps away, of course.  Just a couple steps.  

I went back and helped her down.  She just shook her head at me.

She still loves me.  My little companion.

Phew!

step it up!

At our school festival they had a hair painting booth.

I served my 1/2 hour assignment and really shook things up a bit.

Normally you pick a color and get it sprayed on your head.

Super easy and not that exciting, but the kids like it.

I figured that anything worth doing is worth doing well.

I should go the distance.

The extra mile.

So I got creative.

We had stripes, grids and polka dots.

WAAAAAY more fun.

I'm tellin you,

I can paint some hair.

BTW- Brian and Carter are on their way home from the EEG.  The Dr. only kept them one night.  Carter had NO seizures and there was no abnormal brain activity found by the 24 wires attatched to his head.  That means the medicine is working and we just have to check in with the neurologist every 6 months.  After 2 years we will start to take him off the medicine and hope everything worked itself out.  
Good news.  

Flying south!

They just couldn't take it anymore!  The snow and coldness of the glorious northern country of Canada.

I was so excited when my aunt said she would come to visit and bring her daughter!

Aunt Terry and cousin Anna came for a short and SUH-WEEEET visit last week.  It was so fun to have them here.  Aunt Terry was so impressed with the green and trees.  (Which I love, too.)

I really wish it was easier and cheaper to visit family where ever they may be living.

Thank you so much for taking the time to come see us.  We LOVED having you here.

And we LOVE LOVE LOVE you!

ON WITH THE SHOW!

I finally got over to my camera bag and got the cable cord things out to get pictures off my various apparati.  So hang on to your pants!  I am photo laden and ready to share!


First I need to show you some pictures from our enlightening time in the hospital with Carter last month.  


He doesn't look so chipper here!  He had a hard time getting used to that thing in his nose.  It went up his nose and down his throat into his stomach.  Every time he swallowed it kind of pulled a bit and that drove him nutters.  He might even say that was the worst part of the whole sleep study/pH probe ordeal.  Even given after a few hours of just nose wire his whole head looked like he'd been treated for some disastrous head wound! 

I wondered how he would EVER be able to get to sleep like this.  But he also had wires stuck to his legs and two more wires over his face measuring air output from his mouth and his nose.  What a mess.
He fell asleep right away though.  Then the show began with all the seizures.  Crazy night.


We have been increasing his medication slowly and I think we have finally got a dosage that has stopped the seizures.  So he is sleeping all night and some.  I cannot get him up very easily.  I have to literally swing his legs over the edge of the bed and stand him up. 


Yea for and stink eye to medication.





As I was getting all the pictures off my phone I found a bunch of this:

That is my hand after the removal of my little hand bump.  Norma got me home and to the couch and had to leave to pick up her son from school.  I was still a little drugged.  I took a lot of pictures of this hand.  I don't remember doing that. 


*

I skipped #3, but this is hilarious. Behold! Kid History #4!

It's been a while.
I have some stuff to share.
This video reminded me of the blog.

I JUST have to get the cord for my camera out of the bag!  It's just over there.  To my left.
I can't quuuiiiiiite reach it.

more tests and another one to make you smile

The sleep study was quite an ordeal! Whoa. Poor Carter had wires hooked and taped all over. His head was wired up and bandaged so he looked like he had had brain surgery. I wondered how they could possibly get anyone to fall asleep under those conditions. It was also crazy cold in the room because they didn't want him to sweat and have all the probes and junk fall off.

I was asked to record the time every time he burped, coughed, or had one of his episodes we were attributing to reflux. I didn't get a lot of sleep either.

Come to find out he is not having reflux at all. Well, that's what the pulmonologist said who watched the taped and deciphered all the recordings. I still have to hear back from the GI Dr. to see what she read on the ph probe test. I am guessing there will again be no sign of reflux.

So, okay. He isn't having reflux. He is having seizures. Every hour all night long.

And a few during the day, but not every day.

Tomorrow we are going in for an MRI and then we have an appointment with a Neurologist and epilepsy specialist guy. We have an appointment for a "sleep deprived EEG" in April which I am hoping for another miracle to get that pushed up.

They already started him on seizure medication but he is still having them. In fact Erin just came down and told me Carter was having 'reflux'. I just put them to bed twenty minutes ago.

sigh.

I am so glad we are on a track, though. I hope the MRI is clear as a bell tomorrow. But it will be good to have that picture.

Now, go watch the Kid History video.

You wont be sorry.

good things on a cloudy day

My kids and I have been watching and quoting from these videos for the last few weeks.
You should check them out.  Really.  You should.  (there are two more episodes I can post here or you can just go find them on you tube.  Kid history episode 1, 2 and 3.  Two is my favorite, I think.)

Here is the biggest awesome miracle though.

Today I got a call from the sleep study center and they said there was a cancellation and could we be there Thursday night!  Duh!  We WILL be there thursday night for the probe thing!!  She called the GI clinic and they thought we already had a sleep study set up for Thursday night which is why they told us we'd be staying over night.  Apparently the probe thing is an outpatient deal.  Did not know that...
SO they said we could come in and get the probe placed and then take our stuff to the sleep center room and then we could leave and go to the zoo or the movies or whatever until 6:30 when we'd come back and get all hunkered down for the night with all the sensors we will need to monitor Carter's night time crazy happenings.  Awesome!

"We DO believe in miracles don't we?!"  I said to the receptionist.
"Yes, we sure do."  She said.  Then she said, "You know, you're name was the last one on the waiting list to fill in any openings.  I just felt I should start from the bottom of the list today."

Answer to prayers.

Thank you for listening to those promptings.

We are on the path to answers and a good nights sleep.

Yay!