Wednesday, December 22, 2010

The real Reason for the Season

This year I braved the mall with three kids alone. Not totally alone as I went with Jonelle and her two boys, but I was a little nervous to venter the crowds without Jeff as a back-up. Nonetheless, the line wasn't too bad at Rivertown Mall this year and the kids surely didn't mind waiting! They were all so well-behaved and it couldn't have gone any better.

While I love the idea of the jolly ole' elf himself, Jeff and I are sure not to dismiss the real reason for the season. Each year the kids get a present or two from Santa and they know the rest are paid for with dad and mom's hard earned dough. We take the time to make sure that the kids understand that Christmas is not about all the presents, pretty lights and Santa. It is the day of Christ's birth and the real reason we celebrate. This Christmas, we wish you all a very blessed Christmas and the happiest of New Years!



Caedyn was mesmorized with Santa's beard. I am just thankful she didn't scream!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Motherhood = Multi-tasking

I'd like to think I am a master at multi-tasking. However, just when I seem to get the hang of a schedule and doing everything a working mother of three does, I get a nice little reminder to slow down. That is pretty much how I am feeling about this feeding therapy at Mary Free Bed. Juggling therapy was okay at first. I was able to get the 2-3 daily exercises done on a regular basis at home, but now, add about 10 more exercises at repititions of 3-5 times daily, I am having a hard time keeping up. While I find therapy to be very helpful, it is just becoming annoying. I won't sugar coat it. It is. Mondays and Wednesdays are days I dread. I used to enjoy my Wednesday off. Now, it is filled with PT and OT and feeding therapy. Sick of it. I have tons of holiday stuff to do, including making Christmas cookies with the kids, and don't even feel like I have time to do that! I am running all over town on my day off, how fun is that? I never thought I would be wishing for more time to clean my house and get chores done that so desperately need my attention. To top it all off, we just added another hour of physical therapy at MFB every Wednesday. Excellent. I think I am in dire need of some therapy myself! :)

Okay. Okay. Enough of my whining. Despite all of the inconveniences of therapy and my busy life, MFB has really helped Caedyn. She is finally self-feeding but oh so picky. Cam and Case will eat just about anything in sight so having a picky eater is new to me. Quite frustrating if you have never had the pleasure (insert sarcasm) of dealing with a fussy eater. Caedyn loves PB & J, mac and cheese and of course, her Gerber baby oatmeal. She will occasionally eat chicken in small bites, pizza and mashed potatoes. It is still taking her a long time to eat but we try to keep our meal times to around 20-30 minutes. Caedyn finally has four more teeth and I think that is also helping feeding therapy to stay on the right track. We have missed the last couple sessions due to fever, snotty nose and an ear infection but plan to get right back on the horse next week.

I am hopeful that therapy continues to steer Caedyn on the right path and hopeful that February will come quickly. Not only will feeding therapy be complete but we also have our appointment with the Neurodevelopmental Clinic at HDVCH to get some answers in regards to the cerebral palsy diagnosis.
Continue to pray for Caedyn and that there will be no more seizures despite her current illness, that she continues to thrive well at therapy and that I can find more time in the day! :) Thanks for all your continued support..my next post will include pictures. I promise!