A Week in the Life of Us

This past week we had two big snow storms.  The two biggest of the year, in fact.  There ended up being over a foot of accumulation which made for a lot of backyard fun-in-the-snow time.  In between storms we've had 60+ degree weather which is great because cabin fever is never a good thing.

Today was a challenging day for our Mister.  He was on a clear liquid diet almost the entire day (which was supposed to continue through tomorrow too) but it became clear around 6:00 pm that he could not make it any longer.  These were doctors orders after we visited with the GI on Thursday.  Blaine's encopresis has continued to be a real problem for him and the only solution was a 1-2 day clear liquid diet plus a GI flush to clear his system, followed by a strict regimen of Miralax and Exlax for the next six months.  Phew!  He had to get through 34 ounces of clear liquid that contained 6 capfuls of Miralax and then operate on a diet of broth, popsicles and lime Jello.  Let's just say that Blaine wasn't having it after about noon today and when I say "he wasn't having it", I mean he literally wasn't having anything.  He was so frustrated and hungry he wouldn't eat anything we offered.  His blood sugar dropped and he was dehydrated and frankly he just wanted "hard food!" (And I can't blame him.) He did awesome getting through about 24 ounces of liquid (with the medicine) and then after a long hard day we all sat down for BBQ, which hit the spot for all of us.  We didn't hit our goal of 2 days, but for a 5 year old, I think he did awesome!  Hoping this helps us jump start his system just a little bit. (And I'm certain he will appreciate this post about his GI system when he's older. :)

Other than that, we've kept extremely busy doing this and that.  Blaine is done with preschool in one month (WOW) and summer begins for us (unless it keeps snowing!)  That means summer camps and our move into a new house at the end of June.  Oh, how I look forward to that!  (NOT.)

Here are some pictures from this week's adventures.

HG and her new mitt.

Mister testing out his new bat.

Ice skating for the first time.  He did great!

"What are these on my feet?"

Happy about her ice skates.

Snow!

Dodge ball on trampolines.  Awesome.

Blaine and Ms. Sara dodging it up.

Blaine = Hamster.

Something silly, I'm sure.

I might be driving in this picture.  Ooops.  But look at that view
that I get to enjoy every day!

Ponytails.  A milestone at the Lyon home.

Blaine's summer camp had an open house on Friday.  We had a
great time and Mister was excited to see where he'll spend
part of his summer.  Right in that marsh :)

Face painting at the open house.  A unicorn for HG...

And a lizard for Mister.

Up close and personal with a Madagascar Cockroach.

On the way to the marsh.

Using nets to catch all kinds of creepy, crawly things.

And here is a video of Blaine hitting the ball.  Please notice the ball-girl, HG.  She rocks.

Monster Mama

Tonight while wrestling (literally) Hannah to bed she screamed at me, "You are a Monster Momma, Go downstairs!"

I had to bite my lip to stop from laughing.

You see, it all started when Hannah moved from a crib to a big girl bed several months ago.  Pre-Big Girl Bed bedtime was a beautiful thing.  Hannah would curl up with her ba-beak and paci and would float off into dream land peacefully.  When she gained freedom we ran into problems. Suddenly she was out of her bed, tearing up her room, dragging everything out of her closet, and drawers and climbing furniture so she could "see what up there."  Lately things have gotten worse.  She now leaves her room and wanders through the upstairs.  Here are just some of the things we've found her doing:

1. Wiping her bear's bottom with an entire roll of toilet paper in the bathroom because "he went poop."
2. Sitting on top of Blaine's bed (with him sleeping in it) stacking books from his shelf all around his body.
3.  "Reading" after taking hundreds (or something like that) books off her own shelf.
4.  Slapping Blaine in the face, while he was just falling asleep.  I can assure you this did not end well for her.

Nearly every night we battle her for a good 30 minutes but most of the time it lasts an hour plus.  We put her in time out, take toys away, and put her back in her bed so many times every night I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

For the last two nights I have had a new strategy. After prayers and kisses and all that sweet stuff I leave her room once and stand outside the door.  The first time she gets out of her bed I put her back in and stand, arms crossed, next to her bed and every time she sits up or attempts to hit or kick me I gently lay her back down on her pillow.  Not only am I standing guard but I don't answer any questions she asks nor do I speak to her.  She doesn't like this... not one bit.  Here are my favorite sayings from the last few nights:

1. HG gets into downward dog position and before I can lay here down she says, "You like this Monster Mama?  Yes or No?  You like this?"
2.  Rolling around her bed, "You like this way?  Yes or No?  Answer me!"
3.  Go downstairs Monster Mama!  GOOO!
4.  Muttering to herself, "Mama is so mean to me.  Daddy holds me down.  Brother hits me.  I get out of my bed."
5.   My feet are cold.  I don't want a blanket.  My feet are cold.  I don't want a blanket.
6.  I hungry.  I need some vanilla yogurt.  No... cereal.  No... a banana.  My feet are cold.

All in all we've had more sucess with this than with anthing else we've tried.  Last night I only had to stand in there for 20 minutes and tonight it was about 25.  Not bad considering most nights we're up there for an hour or longer.  Monster Mama is on a mission... wish us luck :)

And then there is Mister.  Three years ago next week we put Blaine on a Gluten Free diet hoping to get some relief from his sleepless nights and unexplainable aggression.  After just a week on a GF diet Blaine was sleeping through the night and has since that day.  Though he still had his struggles we also noted fewer emotional outbursts and lengthly tantrums.  We've talked several times about introducing gluten back into his diet for a test-run and finally did it this last weekend.

Let's just say that today was Mister's last day on gluten... again.  Gluten free is the way to be for our Mister.

David noticed that his behavior was significantly different (worse) just a short time after consuming gluten but I was in denial mainly because I would love for him to be able to eat like everyone else.  I was looking for changes in his sleep and since we didn't have any problems the first night I was hoping and praying that we were in the clear and then last night I got my answer.  I don't know what time it was but I heard the screams - the same screams we heard so many nights when he was on gluten before.  He screamed our names and I ran to his bedroom.  He was sitting up in his bed, terrified of something but he didn't know what.  He cried and screamed and when I told him I would lay with him he calmed down but then after an hour he was not able to fall asleep so I brought him to our bed.  I thought for sure he would fall fast alseep but he didn't.  He tossed and turned and sat up and just couldn't fall asleep and then after not sleeping in at all, he was a disaster.  Exhausted and full of gluten he was an emotional mess this morning.

He enjoyed eating gluten.  He even said "Gluten is not treating me too bad," so it was hard explaining to him that it would be short lived.  He doesn't see his sleep problems and behavior like we do so he doesn't quite get why he can't eat gluten.  He always thought it was going to make his stomach sick and now he knows it doesn't... so please pray that this next transition goes well and he goes back to GF with no problems.

We have one more family day together before David goes back to work and we all get back to the grind.  And as I write this, it's almost 2013!  I can't stay up that long though so g'night :)

Blaine and his Jumpin' Jordy's card.  (The only
bounce house in our area.)

The next few pictures were taken at the Discovery
Museum in Ft. Collins, CO.

HG and her new baby "Siri"

Happy New Years! 

Seeing STARS

I've spent the last five days trying to write this post.  I wrote it and erased it, wrote more and changed it and now finally I'm just going to write and click "Publish."

D and I have been processing what we learned at the STAR Center last Thursday evening.  Well, processing and thanking God for the relief and joy we have experienced.  The staff at the STAR Center have begun to change our lives.  We are so grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to work with them.  Over four months ago, Dr. Fasci, Blaine's developmental pediatrician in Austin looked at me in her office and said, "You are moving to the best place in the country, if not the world, to help your son.  Get into the STAR Center and I'm sure they can help you."  Here we are after so many hard years, unexplainable frustration, pain, and too many tears to count and she was exactly right. 

Thursday afternoon we got -

Answers.
Explanations.
Recommendations.
Reports.
Results.
Conclusions.
Plans.

And best of all -

HOPE!

And God came through in a big way this past week.  For the first time in a long time both David and I actually breathed a sigh of relief and felt that there was someone out there that actually knew what Blaine has been dealing with, what we as a family have been coping with, and not only that but they have a plan to help.  The OT, SLP, Psychologist and Pediatrician we're working with are amazing.  Just amazing.

From here I could go into great detail but I think I'll just hit the most important things we learned.

- Blaine does have Sensory Processing Disorder.  Research shows that a very intensive Occupational Therapy and Listening Therapy program can re-train Blaine's brain and help him immensely.  He will begin with the proposed 30 sessions (3 times per week) in a few weeks.

- The pediatrician diagnosed Blaine with ADHD, Combined Type (Both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms) and recommended medication given the severity of his behavior.  After much prayer and discussion with the doctor we are going to move forward with this recommendation.

- Testing shows that Blaine has a very high IQ - in the High/Gifted range in fact.  I started crying when she told us this not because I was surprised but because it was such a relief to hear that what we've sensed for a long time is actually true.  They told us that much of his frustration and problems come from knowing that he should be functioning at higher level, cognitively, but not being able to access the information. 

There.  I did it.  Not really how I wanted to present this very important information but these are the facts. 

Finally, I just started attending BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) and it just so happens that we're going to be studying Genesis for the next 8 months.  Genesis is a Greek word that means "beginning."  The timing of this study and the new beginnings we're experiencing give me goose bumps.  Since July our family has been experiencing a new beginning here in Colorado and in just one meeting at the STAR center we can see a new beginning for Blaine too.  We're so excited for what's to come.

Thank you for all your prayers!

Give Me The Bird

If you ask any parent what the worst part of parenting is I am pretty sure that 9 out of 10 will say the lack of sleep.  Actually, I think I slept more in the first 28 years of my life than I have in the last 4 years so if you ask me I will definitely tell you that the lack of sleep is brutal.  But they're my kids and I love them to pieces so in the grand scheme of things it's not too terrible.  Don't get me wrong, I'd love to sleep through the night and even sleep in for like a month straight but I know that's not going to happen for a long time, so I'm ok with it (well, kinda ok.) 

But I'll tell you one thing you don't want to experience:  Jessica Lyon in the middle of the night awakened by something other than her sweet, loving, and needy children.  It is not pretty.  And for the last two weeks D. and I have been awakened in the middle of the night by a bird.  A BIRD!  In the middle of the freakin' night!

Around midnight, nearly every single night, a (stupid) bird starts singing right outside our window.  He does his thing for nearly 3 hours. every.  single.  night.

The first night he woke us up I felt bad for him.  I thought maybe it was a baby bird or a hurt bird but then it went on and on and on and on and my feelings of empathy turned to what some might call rage.  He won't stop.  David went out to scare him away (in his whitey tighties) but he only flew off and came back. 

Mimi was here this weekend and also heard the bird so when she was doing some research for us she found this and it is too hilarious to not pass along - I think you'll enjoy it as well.  Click here to read the post.

When the bird wakes me up I go through so many emotions - David is quite entertained by my roller coaster.  I ask the bird questions (like it can hear me/understand me) and I curse (I admit it!) and I yell into my pillow, I breathe and sigh deeply and I plead with David to make it go away.  Perhaps I could just pray about it since I'm pretty sure God could take care of this problem but the bird wakes me up and I just can't handle that.

The really great nights are the ones where my bird friend is calling for a mate, the refrigerator is doing some high-pitched squealing (that is also really happening), and both kids are screaming for us.

I'd better get to bed - only a few more hours until the music begins!