Togetherness - Day 5

{Day 5}

Today I am thankful that Brian was able to drive back from Virginia a little earlier than he originally thought. We were able to have family movie night tonight instead of tomorrow night, complete with Toy Story 3 and pizza. The boys were surprised when he walked in the door before dinner since I had told them that it would probably be after they were supposed to be in bed that he would be home.

I won't lie. The last week has been a challenge, but not too terribly bad. I think the one thing I am gonna have to readjust for the long deployment is the time that I get to bed. I won't be able to function for too long, going to bed at midnight or later and then getting up to feed Aiden and then again to get Austin ready for school. Even if I don't have to feed Aiden, it's still not enough sleep for me to be the best mom I can be. I get cranky when I don't get sleep and that's not a good thing to be when there's 3 kids hanging on you. :-)

This weekend is just going to be a weekend for us to relax and be together. We have no plans for Saturday, but I am going to get out with just Aiden and two friends and go to a craft fair. I feel I deserve a little me time. Plus, it will give Brian some time with Austin while I am gone and while Colten is down for his nap.

Staying Warm

{Day 4}

There are some days when the littlest things brighten your day. Today, after my last appointment at the off-post OB that I saw for Aiden, I went to Old Navy. I was looking for a fleece jacket for Colten since he needs something a little warmer than the jacket that he has, but I didn't want something too bulky for his carseat. They didn't have their performance fleece jackets in yet (hello...it's November, why not???), but all the outerwear they did have was on sale.

I found this wool blend coat and just loved it. I like that it looks really nice but is still functional with the hood. It's not too bulky like the coat I have, so I'll be warm, but still be able to move and have my diaper bag on my shoulder without it falling off. Very important stuff, you know!

I also splurged and got a red scarf to go with it. I had a couple of scarves at home, but they're looking a little worn and there's just something about a really great, long, red scarf.

So, today I am thankful for finding a great coat and actually buying it for myself! I know, nothing profound or special, but something that brightened my day and there are just days when you need that!

Eating on Day 3

{Day 3}

Today I am thankful for dinner with a friend. I don't think people realize the importance of adult interaction for a stay at home mom. Having two children crying, whining, needing diaper changes, making messes as soon as you get done cleaning up the previous mess, wanting to eat all.the.time and basically pulling you in all directions is just a blast all day long, but adults need other adults. Even if it's just to talk about our kids!

Laura invited us to dinner tonight and I always jump at the chance to go over there. Laura is an excellent cook and an even better baker. I told Brian that I probably shouldn't eat over there too often because she always has dessert and between that and her yummy dinner, I am eating WAY too many calories.

Between our two families, we have 5 kids all under the age of 5. Things can get pretty loud over there, but the conversation we get to have in between correcting the kids or getting them something to drink or play with is a welcome respite to the "kid-talk" I listen to the rest of the time.

So, thanks Laura for the dinner tonight. More important, thanks for being my friend.

Family of Steele - Day 2

{Day 2}

Today was a day off of school for Austin. I didn't realize that until Monday night when I went to check the lunch menu to figure out if he wanted to bring or buy his lunch. "Great," I thought, "now I get to bring 3 kids to the doctor office. That sounds like a ton of fun." I'm sure you can hear the sarcasm, right?

Cue in Paula.

Paula is my sister-in-law. Brian's brother's wife. More than that, she's a sister and friend given to me by marriage. I may have grown up with just one sister, but I get to spend the adult portion of my life with two.

Anyway, Paula steps right in and says that she'll take Austin for me while I take Colten to the doctor. She had another girl coming over for some FRG stuff (Family Readiness Group - an Army thing) and she had a little boy he could play with. She said she would even change the time of her meeting and meet me somewhere to pick him up (we live a little further apart than last time we were stationed together). I didn't want her to change her plans, but definitely took her up on her offer to keep him and dropped him off at her house. It was a win-win for me and Austin...I had one less stressor at the doctor's and he got to play with a friend.

While I'm thankful for Paula's kindness in this instance, I'm thankful for the relationship that we have. I'm also thankful for Matt and the kids as well. It's awesome to be near them again and have family close by. When Austin had his first seizure, they were ready to do whatever they needed to do for us. When he had his 2nd seizure, Matt drove the 40 minutes to our house in the middle of the night to stay with Colten so I could go to the hospital. They've watched Colten when we needed and even kept our dogs for a weekend. I know that family is typically known to be helpful, but that doesn't take away the need to let them know you are appreciative.

30 Days of Thanks - Day 1

I had totally forgotten about this...until my friend Jill started it on her blog. If I remember correctly, I actually did all 30 posts last year, but some were done a couple of a days at a time because of Disney World. I don't consider that cheating, do you?

At first, when I saw that Jill was doing this, I thought, "Nope, no way. Not gonna do it this year." There are days right now when it's a little harder to find the positives in the day. There are days when I don't even want to find the positives...I'm too tired. However, it's because of that attitude that I need to do this project. So, here it is. Another year, another month of thanks and hoping that it lifts my spirits and maybe someone else's too.

{Day 1}

Monday was November 1, so I was thinking about that day and what went on. A little hard since I can barely remember what I did yesterday, let alone the day before that! However, I do remember talking to my sister. So, I'll start this by saying that I'm thankful for Amanda and her daughter, Emma.

Amanda is starting on a hard road of single parenthood. I know there are days when it scares her and she worries and wonders what the future holds as far as how she's going to balance Emma and work and the household stuff, etc. She doesn't talk about it much, but I know it's there. I know she's worried about money (there never really is enough no matter how much you bring in each week) and so many other things in life.

All those things blur and fade into the background when Amanda looks at Emma. Instead of the worry, you see the joy and love she has for her daughter. It's all still there, but she knows that Emma is worth it. Emma will, and has, changed Amanda. She's a mom now...an awesome mom who will do whatever she can for her child.

Looking back, I saw that Amanda was what I was thankful for on the last day of this project last year. So funny!

It's Time...

for another Austin update.

Austin's follow-up appointment with his neurologist (saying that is weird) was on Thursday. Since his first visit, they put him on Trileptal. Trileptal is an anti-convulsant and he is on a really low dose as of now (we'll have to increase it a bit when he gains another 2-3 pounds).

Austin had an MRI and we were supposed to talk about that at his appointment. His medication had been put to the test at the beginning of October, with a late night flight and 2 more late nights when we travelled back to Missouri for my brother's wedding.

At the appointment, they seemed happy that his seizures weren't happening with the low dose that he's on. However, they seemed surprised by the increase in moodiness and behavior changes that he seems to be exhibiting (since it's also a mood stabilizer that can be used to treat Bi-Polar Disorder). From what I've read on the internet, there's quite a few parents who deal with the same thing. Every anti-convulsant medication have side effects and some of the worse than others. This one seems like the best of them, so unless this behavior starts to interfere with our family or they see it a lot in school, we'll just stick with this medicine and deal with the behaviors like any other parents deal with them! :-)

The MRI results were not what we wanted to hear. It's not extreme. It's not awful. His brain is actually very healthy. There are just these rare spots on one side of his brain that they think is what is causing his epilepsy. While he could still grow out of the seizures, these spots make it more unlikely since it seems like it could be a physical cause instead of just a developmental one. Only time will tell and for now, the plan is just to keep him on the Trileptal for 1-2 years before we discuss anything else (however, I was told not to try and push it at 1 year since he does have the spots).

While the behavior is frustrating at times, we can handle it. We are glad that it's not bleeding into his school day and causing problems for him there. Austin continues to be a bright boy who loves his friends, family and sometimes school. :-)

Austin's next appointment is in 3 months.

Halloween Wrap-Up

Halloween was so much fun for the kids...well, at least for the older two! Aiden didn't really care much and fell asleep at some point in the night.

Our boys were dressed up as:

a Cardinals baseball player

Iron Man

and our little pumpkin

I didn't get many picture of Austin trick or treating. He was way too quick and was running here and there with his friends (and their parents who could keep up since they weren't pulling a wagon or pushing a stroller). They were usually running away from a house as Colten was walking up to it.

Here's Aiden going along for the ride.

This is how Colten got around ... we knew he'd tire pretty quickly if he walked all night.

One of the first houses.

One of the scariest houses they went to. There was one house we didn't let them go to. People, chain saws are for cutting down trees and for adult haunted houses...not scaring little kids while they trick or treat!

Standing in front of the house that DID produce tears as a guy jumped out from behind the coffin and scared one of the kids. This was the before picture.

Halloween was a blast and they got way too much candy. I'm pretty sure we'll have some well into the Spring if I don't throw it away before then!