Courtney

Courtney - Has taken up running over the past year. Last Spring she finished out middle school enjoying Track & Field in May. This first year of high school, she decided to do Indoor Track for the winter until Spring comes along to do Track & Field again. She even thinks she'll do Cross Country in the Fall.

I Couldn't be more proud of her. I wish I could upload the picture that was in the Depew/Lancaster Bee, but it won't let me. At the beginning of the season she made the sports section of this community paper! There is an awesome picture of her, but alas, I can't scan it in! :(

These 2 pictures are pretty awesome anyway. They are great action shots, showing how hard she is working. I love her form, her arms bent, fingers relaxed and the way her hair is swinging behind her. I LOVE that she is loving running, and honestly, maybe one of these days, I'll lace up my running shoes again and get out there with her.  

Great Job Courtney!!

**I obviously copied these pictures from facebook, its seems that section 6 runs needs to get credit for them! Thanks for the memories!

Out of the Darkness

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a parent forum on Teenage Depression & Suicide Awareness. It was beyond informative. Actually, not just in the teenage aspect of it. They had numerous vendors set up out side of the auditorium for about 30 minutes prior to the start of the forum. I was able to get LOTS of good reading material, for all things. Drug & Alcohol abuse in teens etc. I was also able to speak to a few different mental health agencies about Colin, and care for his future. Colin by all means has a mental illness. Not just Aspergers, or ADHD, Colin has anxiety. Anxiety is partially stemmed from Depression. When someone asks me to explain Colin’s mood, I say depressed. It’s the best way to describe him most of the time. Depression is a mental illness. Mental illness is a disease of the Brain. Much like diabetes being a disease of your blood.

On the Panel of those speaking to us were, A couple, the parents of a teenage child who completed suicide just under 2 years ago. There was also Eric Weaver, who was representing the foundation of suicide prevention, and someone representing the office of mental health in WNY. It was quite interesting, listening to each person tell their stories. The parents of course quite interesting. They obviously had no inclination that their son was suicidal, or depressed. It was brought up that we all go about talking to our children about all the important talks in life. Drugs, alcohol, sex, teen pregnancy, bullying etc etc, but we never touch on the subject of depression. Which is odd, since it’s *usually* depression which drives our loved ones towards these other bad behaviors to begin with. Joe, who was the child of Phil & Linda, was 17, a middle child & a successful student at Williamsville North High school. No one had any idea that he was depressed, had they known just a little bit of information, this may have been prevented. He would have been directed to help. He left an older brother, younger brother and his parents behind with nothing, not even a note. They shared their story so we would understand that sometimes it’s not obvious.

Eric Weaver speaking was the one who I enjoyed the absolute most. He threw facts/figures at us that blew my mind. He was just amazing. He started off by telling us that Mental Illness is NOTHING to be ashamed about. He has 4 diagnosable mental illnesses. He has Bipolar disorder, Depression, Anxiety with OCD, and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) He’s been hospitalized 7 times from 1996 through 2008. He’s on medication, in therapy and always will be. He also has a teenage daughter who has depression as well as borderline personality disorder. This stuff is not new to him, not as a person, a professional or a Dad. He couldn’t stress enough how no one should be ashamed of any mental illness. It’s not something we triggered. It’s a chemical imbalance in the brain.

I bring this up, because as we all know, I suffered from PPD after Caden’s birth. (And Colin 2 years later) Was I ashamed? YES! Did I want anyone to know what was wrong with me? NO! That is of course, once I figured it out. Well, Mike figured it out actually. 7 years ago, I would never have told anyone that I suffer from anxiety. After going through what I did, I am MORE then willing to tell others that I suffer from a mental illness. IN actuality, 3 people, out of the 5 in our home, suffer from Anxiety, and are all treated with meds, some with therapy. I have no problem calling my doctor up and saying I have panic attacks, what can I do? Or my medicine isn’t working anymore, can we tweak the dosages? I know what works for me, and am not afraid to ask for it. I know too, what coping tools that I’ve learned over the years will help me get through whatever is bringing me down at that moment. We live in a very stressful house in general. We have 2 special needs children, who require A LOT of attention. We have a teenage daughter who is involved into lots of school activates/sports, on top of just being a teenager. School is always a struggle as well. Not to mention, she has these 2 brothers who require most of mom & dad’s time, and I am SURE that is not an easy thing to deal with. We have a mom who is working full time, and a dad who is currently laid off, creating obvious financial hardships. Add in doctors’ appointments, religious and other actives and meetings and our days are filled typically until pretty late in the evening, with out a second to stop and breathe and enjoy what life has given us. I hope that someday I can look at Colin and not see the sad look in his eyes. To say that he’s not depressed any longer. I think as he gets older, and can better understand what is going on with his body, he too can figure out the coping skills that he needs to overcome this. I know he will, it just takes time. He is so delayed developmentally right now, that understanding why he feels the way he does, is not something that we can work with him on right now. I hope one day when Courtney feels like she isn’t happy, or may be depressed that she knows she can come to us and talk to us. I am not afraid to tell others that I am medication. She knows I take meds and for what I take them for. I hope having this open relationship with her now; will help her to trust us, or another adult in the future.

So now, I’d like to share with you some facts/figures that that I learned last night. Depression and Suicide are real illnesses, which NEED to be addressed.

*Did you know that every 15 minutes a person completes suicide?

*Did you know that every minute (yes that is 1 minute), a suicide attempt is made?

*1 out of every 20 people has or has had suicide thoughts.

*1 out of every 5 people has a diagnosed mental illness. Think about that one for a second. Look around you right now. Think of where you live, or where you work. Look at my family! I have 3 of 5 people with a diagnosed mental illness. As you stand in line at the bank with 5 tellers and 4 people in line with you. 2 of the 10 of you have a diagnosed mental illness.

*Some other signs of depression that you may not think about? Constant complaining of headache/stomachache (Colin always talks about headaches)

*Did you know Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for 19-24 year olds, and it is the 2nd leading Cause of death in 15-19 year olds?

*Depression is NOT the leading indicator for suicide. The highest indicators are hopelessness & helplessness. Listen for these cues in your children.

I realize this post might not be proper to be putting on our family blog. Nor is it a subject that most adults or families like to speak about. We are a very open family. We talk willingly and openly to Courtney about a variety of things. I posted this more as a reference and to let others know, you’re not alone. And DO NOT be ashamed if you too are or have suffered.

More Fun with the boys

Of course, another thing I saw on Pinterest. Grabbed the $1 pack of glow sticks when were at target the other day.

Get em glowing, then through them in the bathtub with the kids and turn off the lights!

The kids thought it was the best thing in the world. They played "fireworks" with them, and just enjoyed the Glow of it all.

I'll for sure be buying more when I go back to the store. How fun it would be too, in the bottom of the pond on a summer night, when we are having a party!

Mya

Just love this picture SO Much of our Mya Pya girl

Animals need attention too.

It's not often that I do any posts on the animals, so I thought I would share the love with the furry Beyer's. Lately, we've found the cats in some way odd positions/spots. Since they are, after all, like our "other" children, the first thing we do is run and grab the camera! 

Here's Mya sporting her cozy, warm, hooded sweater. And Yes, she is a girl, but the girly sweaters, were really girly, with bling and all, and I wasn't for all of that. Personally, I like the cute puff ball on top of her head anyway :-) It keeps her warm anyway when we take her for walks on cool nights. And she sits right down  for you so you can put it on her!

Here we have Oreo & Bobbers. If you can't find Bob anywhere in the house, look for Oreo, he's never far behind. They are the best of pals.

And Momma - Oh Momma. this cat LOVES the kitchen counter. It's so weird. He sleeps on top of anything he can find. If you have a paper towel folded in half, he'll get RIGHT on top of it and lay down. Caden's lunch box? He'll sit on it and fall asleep. It's so odd. This day, he found a tiny spot between the wall, and the clean dishes drying on the counter. Plopped himself there and was curled into this tiny ball, out like a light for a good hour or more.

And then there's Mason... Good Old Mason. I am not sure if he thinks he's a dog, or what, but he's not any ordinary cat, that's for sure.  here he is, sitting at the dinner table with us. He loves to eat your leftovers. Only he isn't usually this patient. If you turn your head, He'll come right up and grab your food and RUN. It's Funny and annoying all at the same time. When Colin is eating, he'll be surrounded by Mason & Mya, since they know he won't fight them back like we do. It's terrible. Mason is ALWAYS sneaking a piece of sausage from his plate. And Mya waits patiently until Colin is done, then will take what he didn't finish. This day, Mason got tired of us putting him on the floor and telling him no, So he took up residence in the booster seat, and waited.... It was funny though, because he kept falling asleep sitting up. He'd close his eyes and start swaying. Then he'd open them again really quick, not wanting to miss any tiny scrap of leftovers.

Gotta love the animals. They all have some of the best personality's and the kids love them. Mason sleeps with Caden every night. During the day, Oreo and Bobbers sleep in Caden's bed. Blackberry spends her days and nights in Courtney's room. And Momma... just look for the papers on the floor or counter, he'll be sleeping there for sure!

Colin's EEG

Part of getting a diagnosis, brings along all the "further" testing to rule any medical problems out. First Up: The EEG. :-( We had to keep Colin up as late as we could the night prior and wake him early. In order to try to get the worst night sleep possible, I figured I'd have him sleep on the couch, and he would be up later too, since we'd be up,watching TV and moving around. keep in mind, bedtime for these two guys is typically 7:30 on a rough behavior day and 8:00 on a typical day. So we let Caden set up the DVD player and they sat together to watch {titanic} of course.

Around 9 Colin kept asking if he could put his head down. I said Ok, but do what you have to stay awake! 9:15 the movie ended, so we took our turns laying down with Caden. By the time we were done and back in the living room (10 minutes) Colin was OUT cold :( I was bummed. I tried to wake him, but it was a no go.

He ended up in bed with us around 2am. We had our alarm set for 3:30/4:00 to get him up and keep him up, however, being tired Mom & dad, we slept through that too, and didn't wake until 5:00! So, Colin ended up with a typical full night sleep anyway :( Which didn't help the test process at all.

We knew he wouldn't take this well. First we got there, and there were about 7 people in waiting room. He wouldn't even go in the waiting room because of the amount of people. Poor guy. Once they finally called him, they took us the back way. Opening a back door, and having us walk around the hall, so he wouldn't have to walk by the people in the waiting room. Nice of them, but so sad that he gets that anxious that he can't go into a full room. My poor kiddo. They take us to a room, that is smaller then my tiny cube at work.

Then, along comes the battle of getting him onto the hospital bed. *whew* It took a good 10 minutes, and I finally went up there and laid down first and had Mike hand him to me. Kicking. Screaming. Crying. Yelling. Poor Colin!

Then he had to lay down! More fighting. THEN they had to swab his head with the sticky stuff to make the wire stick. OMG. End of the world. My heart was breaking. You have NO idea the fighting we had to do. In the end, we had to wrap him in a sheet, up to his neck. Hold it tight around around him, so he couldn't move his body. I was practically laying on the upper 1/2 of his body (remember, I am BIG and heavy) and Mike had to hold his legs down. I had to hold his head (by the chin) down so the wires could reach. Nothing consoled this poor boy. 35 or so mins later I was sweating, my shirt was ripped at the seem from him pulling and I was ready for a nap, the wires were in place. Here's the kicker. The new way they do this, is the test is only 30 minutes long. They expect this child, who is now SO worked up and anxious to relax enough to go to sleep and get a good reading. Are you kidding me? Needless to say, he never fell asleep. He for sure would have, had we had another 30 minutes. He was JUST calming down, as you'll see in the picture below.

These were taken AFTER the test. We couldn't take any before the end. After the 3 minutes of light flashing in his eyes. (which is why the eyes are closed in the one) you can see how red, and sweaty is was from fighting us.

He wouldn't even turn his head, for fear that she would have to touch it again. It makes me upset that we go through all of that, for just 30 mins.

After we get the wrapping off, he is able to sit up, so she can take the rest of the wires off. He did great for this part.

then she went to get water to wash the gunk out of his hair, and he said, That was fun!

WHAT???!!!

LOL

So for being such a brave boy, Colin got to pick a new animal from the hospital gift shop.

Next up? He still needs an EKG and blood work. :-( Anyone want to volunteer to take him? I am not scheduling them anytime soon. This little guy needs a break.

I am however, super proud of him. These 2 boys of ours have gone though more testing in their short years, then some adults have ever had to. In the end, It can only make them stronger.

Science Experiment with Soap!

I found this fun experiement on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago, so thought I would try it with the kids on our day off on Monday!

You take a bar of Ivory Soap - it MUST be Ivory Soap

Cut it in quarters.

Here's Colin showing you his quarter.

Caden getting in on the soap action (Colin wouldn't hold it, hense the need for the plate above)

Put it in the mircrowave.

Set it for 3 mintues and WATCH it!!

{As in, do NOT walk away}

The light in our microwave is broken, so we couldn't see much, it's much much more fun to watch the process, but we had to guess.

Because we had to guess {and I was nervous} I stopped it just after about 1.15 mintues. We also have a high powered microwave. So a lower power, you may want to use the full time, or close to it.

Look at our end product! becuase of the air bubbles in Ivory Soap, the heat makes it expand, and once it cools down, it stays like this!

So much fun! It's still usable as well, just break off the chunks as you need them! We actually put the whole plate in the shower with Caden, so he could use it as he wanted or needed, then when he was done, took it out to let it dry out again, and it holds it's shape!

On a side note, Look at Col's eyelashes in that last picture, God I LOVE them!

Loving Therapy Toys

Colin met with his new Counselor last week, During the visit, and after learning of his diagnosis, Darsh (the counselor) pulled out this toy from his desk, and told Mike, see if he'll play with this, it's designed for Children with Autism/sensory problems. Colin LOVED it. Mike took a picture of it for him with his cell phone, so we could order one for home. The next morning I started some online searching with the help of my friend Heather. We found a couple different ones, but they weren't exact. I KNEW Colin would need exact color, size, texture in order to even want to play with it. And those ones were around $20!! Finally I did a search that brought up the EXACT product, for $4.99! By the time we add in shipping and taxes, it come to around $8, but I couldn't have been happier. It shipped super super quick and we had it just 3 days. It just happened to be on Saturday, while Colin was having a rough weekend. We had some running around to do with the new car and to the store for some much need storage solutions. Colin of course, was NOT happy to leave the comforts of home, so it worked well that I checked the mail, before we headed out. The kids were already in the car. I opened the box and put it in my pocket.

Went into the car, and told him I have something for him. This is the IMMEDIATE response he gave when he saw it. You can see we were still in the garage too. He was SO happy about it.

He's played with it quite a bit since as well. We have too actually. I am ever so thankful that people think of these great toys to use as therapeutic tools for our kiddos!

Please take the time to Understand Special Needs Families.

I found this amazing blog post posted on lifeunexpected.com. HUGE credit goes to the Author Marianne Russo, who wrote what most of us special needs parents feel at LEAST once during our trials.  Our Children are amazing and wonderful, and SO many others are missing out on getting to know them, and us, because they only see the cover of the book..... Thank YOU Marianne for allowing us to share your writing and showing others that every person, is just as important as the next.

To Whom it May Concern,

I am the parent of a special needs child.  I was overwhelmed, confused, heart broken and struggling to unravel the complexities before me.

Please do not pass judgement of me without knowing why I did not attend the school PTA breakfasts or community picnics.  Please take a few minutes to understand why I did not take you up on your offer to have lunch or grab a cup of coffee.  Although we see each other in the supermarket or at school functions, I don’t think you really ever knew me, actually, I can guarantee that you did not know me because just as my child was different, so was I.

I was in survival mode to keep my family in tact and to give my child the best quality of life possible.

I was presented with parental decisions that have torn me apart and kept me up more nights than I can possibly remember.

I had spent most days of the week at therapy and doctors appointments and most nights up researching treatments and medication options.

I was forced into isolation at times due to the stigma and misconceptions that are epidemic in our society.

I became proficient at prioritizing my life and learning to let the little things go, to look at others with compassion instead of tabloid material and to turn a blind eye to the stares or ignorant comments.

I did the best I could.

I survived.

I am one of the lucky ones, my child has blossomed and has exceeded all our expectations.

I have now become strong, I have become confident and I have become a fierce advocate for parents of special needs children.  The growth did not come without much pain and many tears but it came.

So I ask you, please

The next time you see a parent struggling with a raging child, a child terrified to go into school, a child making odd movements or sounds, a child that seems to be in a world of their own… .Be kind.  Give a smile of recognition for what that parent is going through.  Ask if there is anything you can do to help, give them a pat on the hand or offer for them to go ahead of you on line.

The next time you have a birthday party for your child remember that their child has a hard time with a lot of sensory issues and social situations.  Please send their child that invitation and know that more times than not they will not be able to attend but appreciate being included.  Understand that in order for their child to go to the party they may need to stay for a little while and please make them feel welcome.  When they let you know that their child cannot make the party consider inviting that child for a one on one playdate or an outing at the park.

The next time you are grading homework papers please understand that their child struggles, some with learning disabilities others with the exhaustion of  their disorders or the obsession with perfectionism.  The Perfectionism is not necessarily to have the answers right but to have it “feel” right for them.  They have spent hours doing what most can do in ten minutes. A paper returned with red circles and comments only hurts a child’s self esteem and causes school anxiety. Please understand that when they see the school come up on their caller ID their hearts sink, remember to tell them about all the gains their children are making as well as their deficits.  Take a minute before that call and know that they appreciate all you do and want  a collaborative  relationship in their child’s education.

The next time you are in the teachers lounge, please do not discuss their child.  Please do not make negative comments about their parenting or their child’s behavior, it gets back to them and it gets back to other parents in their community.

The next time you pass the cafeteria and see their child sitting alone please consider inviting that child to eat lunch in your classroom and be your helper that period.  Consider working with a guidance counselor to set up a lunch buddy group in a different area.

The next time they are at the CSE meeting planning their chid’s IEP know that they are educated, informed and confident knowing special education law.  Know that they have found the courage to stand up to conformity and will explore every option to give their child the differentiated educated that will show their gifts and not just their disabilities.  Understand that educating a child with special needs is one of the most difficult tasks a parent can face,  know that the last thing they want is an adversarial relationship.  Please show them the same respect they show you.

The next time you are creating an educational plan please take into consideration that their child may have specific interests or obsessions.  Foster those interests, instead of taking away that art class for a resource class consider adding an art class instead. Think outside the box, these parents do.

The next time you see that child in a wheelchair unable to speak or control their movements, don’t stare, don’t look away, say hello.  Do not assume that because this child is nonverbal that they are not intelligent or do not understand the awkwardness that you feel.  Take a moment out of your day to show kindness, support a parent enduring incredible pain and just give them a smile.

The next time your child comes home telling you how Johnny or Susie is so weird, take the time to teach about differences.  Take the time to talk  about compassion, acceptance and special needs. Please remember that your child learns from you.  Be a role model, mirror respect and discourage gossip.

The next time you hear a comment about how out of style these kids are, educate about tactile sensitivities and the fact that these kids cannot tolerate many textures and fits.  Imagine what it would feel like to have sandpaper in your stilettos or tight elastic holding on your tie.

The next time you see an out of control child do not assume it is bad parenting.  Understand that many of these disorders have an organic basis, are biological and are real illnesses. When you hear the words mental illness, take out the “mental” and remember  ”illness”.

Know that it is this generation that can stomp the stigma and create a world of acceptance.

The next time other parents are talking about “Those Kids” be our heroes, stand up for us.

The next time you see a special needs child know they are not just special in their needs but in their brilliance as well.

Take the time to meet our children.  Take the time to know us.

AFTER POST:  Thank you for the tremendous response to this writing and requests to post or share on your blogs, websites or educator sites.  Feel free to copy in its exact form and use author credits to comply with copyright.

2011 Survey

I thought it would be fun to get some of the kids perspectives from the past year. I'd like to do this every year, just to see how it changes as they grow up, however, we'll see if that happens or not :-) Here are the answers the kids gave to the following questions:

Courtney Age 14

Past 2011
Hardest Thing in 2011? Had my first ever cavity filled
What you loved most about 2011? Don't know
Favorite 2011 memory? Cruise Vacation
Present
What is your favorite Activity? School Sports (Track, Tennis, Cheer)
Favorite Color? light blue & teal
Favorite Book? The Lying Game Series
Favorite Food? Pizza
Least Favorite Food? Stuffed Green Pepper Soup
Favorite Song? Fly by Nikki Manaj
What do you like best about Mom? She is Nice
Dad? He is funny
Caden? Cute
Colin? Nothing.
Future
Biggest Goal for 2012? Run Faster
What do you want to get better at? Raise Grades
What do you want to be when you grow up? Doctor, Lawyer or Vet.

Caden Age 6
Past 2011
Greatest lesson Learned in 2011? I don't know
Best Part off 2011? Cruise Ship (can I go pee now?)
Present
Favorite Color? Red, Blue & Green
Favorite Food? Strawberries
Favorite Book? Sponge Bob (I laugh at his, we don't even have this book!)
Favorite Activity? I don't know
What do you like about Mom? She Loves me
About Dad? He lets me put wood in the fire place before he lights it
Courtney? She loves the cats
Colin? Nothing
Future
What do you want to get better at? Jobs
What do you want to be when you grow up? A Mailman

Colin Age 4
Past 2011
Best Part of 2011? Ugh, leave me alone I am playing with my cars!
Present
Favorite Color? Blue
Favorite Activity? Playing Trains
Favorite Food? Salami Sandwich
Favorite Book? Cartoons
What do you like best about Mom? I love her
Dad? He's just funny
Courtney? Nothing
Caden? WHAT?!?!
Future
What do you want to be when you grow up? A Train Person. 

Happy New Year!

How did you ring in the new year? For us, it's typically just another day. This year though, While Courtney had a babysiting job down the street, the boys slept and Mike went to work for Designated Driver of Buffalo. I sat at home, played on the computer, relaxed and stayed on the phone with Courtney to watch the ball drop on TV. Courtney came home around 1 and we were all in bed.

Mike however - had a late night. He strolled in around 5:30 :-) As I said earlier, in an effort to make some extra money since he is currently laid off, Mike teamed up with DD of Buffalo to drive home people who had too much to drink and we not able to drive themselves home. A good cause? Of course! He drove the person home, in their own car, and his team member followed behind to pick him up after the drop off. Although the pay off ended up being less then what we would have made on umeployment, Mike had a good time, and did something really good for some people in the WNY area.  Good Job Honey!

Colin Happenings & diagnosis'

Since it's been almost a full year since I actually posted many comings and goings, not many of you would even know all the problems we've delt with Colin. A while back, our pediatrician diagnosed him with a general anxiety disorder. Our days/nights and basically everyday life was affected by How Colin woke up in the morning. If Col wasn't Colin in the happy form, you were doomed. It wasn't worth it to try to make it better, or fix it, Since there was NO "fixing" it. Someday I'll write about our October Dream Cruise Vacation from Hell with the kids. Caden wasn't quite as bad as Colin, but Colin... oh man. Needless to say, Mike and I could NOT wait to get home, and get back to work. Col's sensory issues, OCD, anxiety and over-activeness were too much for this family to handle for 10 days straight out of the house. It was not pretty, and Yes, we did have ugly words with others who commented on our child.

So.. our pediatrician (who is wonderful by the way) agreed that Colin needed SOME sort of med to even him out. However she didn't feel comfortable enough to distribute an anxiety med to such a young child. We were given a million referrals, none of which would either take our horrible insurance, Or, those who would take said insurance, did not accept pediatric psychiatric patients. :-( We were put on the waiting list to get into the psychiatric program at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY, but that list is months, almost a year long. Knowing he, and us needed help sooner, we turned to catholic charities, In Buffalo. We met with a counselor a couple of times before being refereed to the dr in the office for a psychiatric eval. And... that day (dec 27th 2011) Colin was his typical usual hyper overactice, anxious self. We were shocked to learn that with all of the things effecting Colin (OCD, anxiety, ADHD, meltdown, tantrums, depression to name only a few) that Colin fell on the Autism Spectrum as well. Colin has Aspergers. Thankfully, we were able to get him not only on one med, but 2. Some pretty strong ones to be honest. We are at the lowest possible dosage we can be at right now, but the one med, is used in adults over the age of 13 (with a different dosage obviously) to treat Bipolar disorder & Schizophrenia. What??!! I freaked when I read this. SO of course, I read the ENTIRE 10 page phamplet that came with it, to find, that it ALSO is used to treat Autism Symptoms in Children under the age of 10 *whew* I felt much better about that. He was also put on a 2nd med to help with his anxiety and Hyperactivity.

1 week later, the meds are doing what they should. Colin is like another child. He can be loving occasionally, he is much more relaxed, and he is much more focused. It's evened him out, and made daily life bearable for all of us involved. He still needs to go for medical testing to rule out anything else, as we had to do with Caden. He is scheduled for his EEG next Tuesday the 10th. Then we need to do an EKG and numerous blood works. I am doing only one at a time, only because remember that horrible insurance I mentioned? Yea, will it covers only 15-20% of all of these tests. Add up the EEG and EKG alone and we are well into the thousands and thousands of dollar range. We'll do it was we can , but for now, I couldn't be happier that we were able to end 2011 on a positive note, with not only meds for Colin, but a diagnosis as well.

Random Picutres

I figured I better get some pictures on here while I have a chance too, or as we all know, I'll never do it. These are only a VERY VERY Few. It's what I have on me at work. Last week we headed out to Olean to Celebrate Christmas with Chris & Melissa while they were in town. GG set up a Horse drawn wagon ride for everyone while were there. It was a super nice day with the temps in the 40's, so it was perfect. All the kids on the wagon to take take turns sitting up front and holding the reins, which they all really loved. Courtney & Aunt Melissa then go to drive the horses back to the barn! How Fun!

Here is Caden, being his silly self.

Caden was one of the 3 king in the Nativity play at our Church on Christmas eve. He did such a good job, but didin't really want to sit near the other kids, so after he handed his gift Joseph, he walked as far as he possibly could away before he sat down. :-) In acutallity, he should have been seated right next to Mary, before that king in the red, since he was King #1 giving the gift of Gold. Good Job Caden!

Here is Colin on the wagon ride. Poor Colin, had just started his new meds the day prior to this, and his little self was just adjusting to them. He was pretty out of it for a while. He didn't eat for the first couple of days, and fall asleep at random times as well. I am glad he's adjusting better now, over a week later.

More Colin resting up on Daddy

Here's our yearly family picture before heading to church on Christmas eve. This was HARD to get this year. We had to lock the dog in the garage, and Colin wanted nothing to do with it at all. As you can tell, he hadn't yet started his meds yet, and this is what Colin "typically" looked like before meds. I may start refering to him before and after meds. There proves to be QUITE a different Colin in there :)

My Babes when they were all happy. Long before the family picture. I am super glad I was able to get this good picture of the 2 of them.

And Christmas eve, setting out Cookies, Milk & Carrots for Santa and the reindeer. of course we all sproting our annual christmas eve pj's as well. It's hard to find courtney 2 pieces that match at her age, so she only bottoms.

And here is my Little Pengiun man and Elf boy. How cute are they!? The PJ's made me laugh my butt off, but oh so adorable.