Many of you may remember that Rowan has been treated for ADHD for the past several months. It’s been going really well, but we’re learning that things will need to be tweaked here and there to learn the ideal setup for Rowan. Recently, we went forward with some change, and its been a beautiful shift. For him, and for all of us.
Rowan is expressing himself in SUCH clear language. About his “engine.” About his “sparks.” About the bell in his brain! I will have to talk more about these things in detail soon, because they are SO cool and come SO unprompted! But for now, I just want to share some cute things that make me happy that pertain to Rowan 💜
Yesterday, Ro came home from school happy and energized! He had made a craft at school – a little paper bunny – and he was insistent that I make one with him. He wanted to teach me. So, we got to it!
Colouring next to a leftie, tho! *click click click*
The result was pretty cute. This is Rowan and the one he brought home from school.
I loved that he had it in him to do his reading and a craft after school! He did beautifully!! And then before bed, he asked to read part of our devotional. Leave it to him to get stuck with the one that is teaching us Spanish! 😆
He rolled with it and giggled and struggled and didn’t get upset. It was funny, and he didn’t get flustered! We could all just enjoy it.
Yesterday ended peacefully, with everyone happy and friendly. The kids slept well and were in good spirits in the morning! I, however, had another wakeful night! Ack! I’m so ready for bed 😅 And to sleep IN!! Because Brady has the stat off!!! Thank you, Lord!! 💜
Since Brady worked this last weekend, he has a couple of earned days off to take advantage of, and one of those happened to be today! It is ALWAYS nice to have him home in the morning 💜
There is a lot going on around here these days, so the day off hasn’t exactly been a deeply restful one. I had a meeting at the school first thing, and then he and I had a meeting for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon.
I took Wavy to and from a babysitter’s place, and we lunched her and put her down for a shorty nap.
At that point, it was about 1:30 and we still hadn’t eaten. I texted Cher, and she hadn’t either, so we invited her over and we all enjoyed some leftover honey chicken on rice. It was really nice, despite the fact that we were all somewhat dead on our feet. Or, our wheels. You get it.
We parted ways shortly after we finished eating. Brady headed straight for the shower, and I’m here, in my bed, pants-free, getting the blog up. I am completely beat, but I’m also somewhat energized in my brain after all the busyness this morning. I feel some motivation, anyway. So I’m going to try to roll with that once the kids are home.
Yesterday was a very challenging day for me. I don’t feel like blogging in the slightest. So rather that pouting, I’ll share a few good moments from the day 💜 Hopefully that counts.
The top three wins.
Win number one. Making granola bars with RapunzelDraculaZorro Waverly.
We whipped up a super fast batch after naps but before everyone got home. She likes to help measure the dry ingredients, and she does a good job 💜 And yes, she uses her hands, lol! Its just us. We know where she’s been.
Win number two. I took a bubble bath.
I’m very grateful that Brady is happy for me to take breaks when I need them. And I’m grateful for my big bathtub.
Win number three was a nice laugh 💜 Vulnerability alert 🚨 Brady is in his gitch and our room is messy, lol! We know.
Brady uses FES (functional electrical stimulation) as part of his maintenance. He hooks it up to multiple spots on his legs, and it contracts his muscles so they continue to work, even though he can’t make them work himself. Remember, if muscles aren’t used, they disappear. So this is an important exercise. He does this most evenings. Last night, while all wired up to his FES, he had a contact malfunction and fold in his eye. Contact wearers get it. It just happens out of the blue sometimes, and it hurts like crazy. You can barely open your eye, yet you need it open to take out that contact. So that moment hitting Brady is like the perfect storm because (in case you missed it) he doesn’t walk especially well anymore, and needs his eyes to be open for him to successfully move about. Add to that the fact that he was legit tied to an electrical device, and there were just WAY too many moving parts. So while I went to our bathroom to retrieve his contact stuff, I definitely had to take a picture along the way.
Don’t worry, he was laughing, not crying.
Don’t worry, I helped him when he lost his contact in the blankets.
Don’t worry, I asked before I posted this.
Fun fact about this picture, also. It contains so many things to assist us, haha! Its mess that we try to tidy before we take pictures. Meds. Melatonin. Zoltaren (pain reliever) that Brady is always afraid people will think is lube. Glasses. Brady’s FES case and wires. His indoor shoes that hold his right leg brace. Popcorn. Lol! What a mess. Still a good laugh, though.
I’ll admit I’m still having a bit of a hard time this morning. I’ll coffee with Cher this morning and try to let down a little. I’m sure there are more laughs to come 💜
It was good that we stayed home yesterday. Not because the kids were SO bad or anything like that, but we had a really nice day at home. The kids played outside for most of the morning, and then a few of them even went for a walk during quiet time. ‘Twas a success! Kids got clean. Boys got buzzed. Many of the things I wanted to accomplish got accomplished. Not everything, of course, because that would’ve been too perfect. But, lots.
Today, at the very least, I need to make play-doh. I’m on the calendar for preschool play-doh this month, and I’ve never made it before! So, I’ve got a recipe and I’m gonna do that this morning with Wavy. Wish me luck!
I’m grateful that next week is looking like a warm one. Talks of camp are in the air. So much excitement for the upcoming season for our family! Though apparently some still appreciate winter a little…
Snuggling with a Christmas tree like a boss 😎
Happy Monday, friends. I hope your day isn’t chaotic, but that it doesn’t move painfully slowly either. I’m basically wishing you perfection. You’re welcome.
We’ve had a series of challenging days over here with the kids. Has anyone else been feeling especially full moony recently? Its tough here! So unfortunately, with Brady working this weekend, I didn’t feel up to the challenge of taking the kids to church on my own. Normally, it would be no problem. But after so many days like we’ve had, I opted for a home day. I felt bad, because they all really wanted to go. But they accepted the change pretty smoothly. Everyone likes a jammie day!
Solly is a pretty nervous little guy, but he excitedly poured cereal today, even though he was unsure about amounts and scared to spill. He said over and over again “I will just try it!” And he did a great job! Look at that little tongue!
Once kids had eaten, they went outside to play. Some of them were even happy about it! Lol!
While they played outside, Cher and I coffeed and got supper prepped. It was very relaxed and peaceful until a certain middlest kid whacked himself in the forehead with a croquet mallet. He came in bawling, understandably. He cried some very crooked nipples onto my shirt, which helped morale a lot! 😂🤣
Auntie and Rowan ducked out for an errand after this point, and I finished up supper stuff.
Now, kids are lunching and chatting. The Frozen II soundtrack is going. Cher is working on some stuff, and I’m blogging beside her. Its very relaxed at the moment.
The afternoon will hold fresh buzzes for the boys, baths for all the kids, and hopefully not a whole lot else! The week ahead is another full one, though not even half as bonkers as both February and March were. April feels like it might be a little bit slower. *knocks on forehead* We’ll seeeee!
Yes. I know how March is spelled, but I wanted to sneak “art” in there. You know how I like to combine stuff. We’re all just going with it.
So in our local artsy fartsy Facebook group, we proposed an art challenge and ended the month on a virtual art show! So now that its gone forward, I want to post what I made!
Ta-daaaaa! 🙌
To be clear here, this is not a pattern I created. It is called “Enchanted Garden,” and it was designed by Abi McIntyre. The link to the pattern is here if you want to take that plunge!!
I had every intention of keeping track of my hours on this but my goodness I have no idea 😅 So so many. Thats about as accurate as I can get. Tons. But it paid off!
I feel like, whether you’re outside on the deck in denial of the season, or you’re inside losing your battle with turning off the furnace, this blanket is cozy and also springy.
Basically. Its perfect. It definitely isn’t, but its close.
Apparently Brady is moving up in the world! In the way that he has a lot more sales meetings these days, and the staff decided he needed his own office space. Staffing positions have shuffled a bit recently, and a man who used to have his own office moved to a much more mobile position, so he no longer needed all that space for himself. So he has a desk in a different office for when he is in the store, and Brady got his office for himself!!
I only just popped in on him the other day for a second, but the kids really wanted to see it! And that turned out to be a possibility today!
The kids have today off school, I believe in lieu of interviews. Did anyone else entirely forget to book their kids interviews? 😳 Me neither. Cool cool cool… But because of that, school is out today, and Laela and Solomon’s new lenses came to our eye care clinic yesterday, so I booked them in to have their lenses switched this morning. It was only a ten-ish minute wait for their glasses before we were out the door, so we jogged over to Zak’s to see Brady’s new office.
It was a pretty sweet scene.
Brady had been working on a HUGE house design project on his computer, and the kids were enthralled with the layers and details. Rowan exclaimed that it was such a CUTE house, and Brady laughed so hard, because its a monstrous mansion and nothing about it is “cute” but very grand!!
We didn’t stay for long, because unfortunately, the kids were just not on their best behaviour and listening was proving to be a fun challenge. So we left and went home, and the kids went outside to play.
Lunch time and rest time is next! Enjoy your Friday, friends!
*Firstly, I just want to thank you guys for laughing with us yesterday when I talked about Brady taking drug bags of laxative to work. Not a single person made either of us feel any semblance of regret for sharing these things about our life, and that says a lot. Thanks for being in our corner, guys. Its pretty awesome. And in case you were wondering, it was a good setup for him! I will be loading a lot more baggies up!*
Onto todays blog!
Yesterday I made a Costco run with Waverly! I have this grand idea in my head where I want to be someone who makes a big grocery run once a month, and Brady hits coop once in a while to restock our fresh stuff. But man. I think yesterday was the day I gave up on that dream, haha!
Not in a big bad way though, I promise!
My first reason is based on the fact that Wavy LOVES grocery shopping.
She does SO well and is VERY cute and obedient. She stays close to me, and loves to help and chat and dance through aisles (I’m not kidding) so she gets a bunch of attention from strangers and she positively lives for it, haha!
The biggest part of the reason for the change, though, is that it is a BIG cart full when I’m on my own. I know I can organize to bring someone with me. I definitely have willing participants! But I also want to have a system that works for me if I am without help, and I think going more often would just be helpful. For instance, yesterday, I got some bagels out of the bakery, a stack of fruit and veggies, toilet paper, and milk, and my cart was quite full. I hadn’t touched the coolers, aisles, or toiletries yet. I actually had to leave things behind that were on the list because my cart was too full.
If you remember, right before covid, we confidently became a two-cart family. Brady actually grocery shopped a couple of times with the big orange flat deck cart, and that worked amazing! However, I don’t if I’m just inept but I cannot push those things to save my life. They NEVER go where I want them to! What is the trick?!
Anyway. Wavy and I got the most important stuff, and we’ll probably try to fill in the gaps another time at Coop. I’m not worried.
Right before we reached the checkout area, we passed ONE sample stand. Jelly Bellys. A person cannot pass up such a great treat! So we didn’t.
It was really the best way to wrap up a successful shopping morning.
We got home and Wavy helped me unload the van until it was completely done. She was AWESOME.
I don’t need a babysitter, but if anyone wants a cute little shopping buddy, I’ve got your girl!
Here is my disclaimer. I’m going to mention *gasp* POOP in this blog. Beware if you don’t want to hear about it. Please feel free to skip it. Also, this post is about Brady, and I have his confident approval to talk about this. Because its a) not taboo, and b) hilarious, in part. So. Consider yourself warned.
Education time!
Most people who are paralyzed don’t have as much use of their muscles as the rest of us. This is all pretty logical, right? But you maybe haven’t thought about it in this way, so I’m going to take you there.
In Brady’s case, much of his feeling is lost, but he has lots of strength left. Many of his muscles below his ribcage still have lots of strength. Thank you Lord!! However, he has completely lost his lower abs. Completely. They will atrophy and disappear, if they haven’t already. He cannot physically do a sit-up anymore. They’re just gone. And as you can imagine, that affects his intestines and some of the inner workings!
Just about every person we’ve encountered in the world of spinal cord injury has a “bowel program.” This sounds very official, but it isn’t. It just means they have a system to make sure they poop. Everyone’s program is different. Some are very difficult and complex. But they have to be done. We are incredibly fortunate that Brady’s bowel program is not complicated at all!
Brady’s bowel program consists of a daily stool softener, and a dose of laxative. Because, I’m sure you can imagine, his muscles don’t really “push” as much as they used to. So there needs to be very little work involved in making things move in there. You get it. We all get it.
Recently, instead of carting his water bottle back and forth, Brady leaves a bottle at work and has his bottle at home. He used to drink his laxative powder in his water bottle, but not anymore, because he doesn’t bring it in his bottle. He tries to remember to drink it in a glass of water when he gets home, but it doesn’t often happen. So we were thinking he needs to take it at work. Because he’s missing it. And he’s not pooping regularly anymore.
But no one wants to bring a giant bottle of laxative to work. It would be ok. He would live. But it would be a little extra vulnerable, and he’s already vulnerable in enough ways, so we tried to find an alternative.
We discovered you can buy single doses, but they are OVER A DOLLAR A DOSE!!! This is absolutely bananas, and there is simply no way we could justify it. So we opted to order a million little ziploc bags off of amazon and make our own single doses!
The bags arrived yesterday and I set to work making a handful of doses. Not a ton, just in case the system doesn’t work well and we try something else. As I worked, I realized what exactly I was preparing for Brady.
Sketchy little drug bags of suspicious white powder 😂 Whoops!! We had a good laugh, and he is definitely still taking them to work, lol!
He’s giving it a go today! Hopefully this helps things get a bit more consistent in the coming days!
Thanks for being a comfortable enough group to talk about this stuff with 🙂 I like knowing no one will be judging us. Nothing about this is taboo. Its just the way of life over here, and Brady is making it work! We are SO fortunate.
And the (not so) itsy bitsy transit, drove in the cold again! 🎶
How bonkers is it that this morning it was -30 (with wind) yet it got too hot in the van when I drove to Warman today?? Because the SUN is out!!! Its blasting beautiful warmth, and greenhousing the heck of of my vehicle. I am so happy to have more sunshine these days! Can you tell?
I accomplished the bulk of what I was aiming to do yesterday, which feels pretty good 🙂 I’ve done a couple of the things I didn’t complete yesterday already this morning, and some will have to wait until this evening or another day. And thats so ok. I got the biggest stuff done. I need Bradys help for one of the things. I keep saying I need to make granola bars, because I really do, but on our recent Walmart trip, I bought a schwack of off-brand nutrigrain-ish bars, so no one is missing out on food or anything.
This mornings errands are done enough, and I am spending the crafternoon with Cher! We both committed to doing a spring craft this month, so we have a good excuse to make time to craft and watch true crime together. I’m very much looking forward to that!
I will leave you with this incredibly cute picture of Dekker and Laela.
These two both have jobs in the upcoming school musical, Laela as an actor and Dekker as stage crew. As I added their latest schedule into our calendar, I felt such pride for my children 💜 Laela has been doing lots of practices already up to this point, but Dekker will join in very soon, and he will be there for long stretches, working hard. And best of all, he is excited about it!! He did not get the position he wanted, and while he was disappointed, he took it incredibly well, and he has maintained a really good attitude! It is evident that he is not harbouring bad feelings, and I am so happy for that. His life will be so much easier if he learns to do that young 💜 These kids are hard workers, and I am so impressed. Their April and early May will be LOADED with Frozen, and they are HERE for it!!
As am I. I think a big part of me missed this busyness 💜 I’m happy I can hack it again. Thank you Lord!
