steph's stuff

Much needed therapy

This has not been a fun week. At all. The stove blew up on Monday night as I was cooking dinner. And I'm totally not kidding - one of the burners blew up, shorted out, sparks flying everywhere. And that was the end of the stove. So, we ate out of the crockpot or microwave all week. And take out food.

Wednesday was Elizabeth's neurologist appointment that left me in disbelief. That this was happening to our family again. Still don't quite believe it. When I told dh that the school nurse wanted her to wear a medic alert bracelet, he said, well, now 2 kids have them. Wonder what Andrew's is eventually going to say? Sigh. That's about how we're feeling right now. And then to have to stay up all night Wednesday and keep Libby up for her sleep deprivation EEG on Thursday afternoon was absolute torture. And then some.

Followed by three meetings with the school nurse and others, two girl scout meetings, planning for a photo shoot, and meeting with the teacher on Friday. Then Em had a sleepover birthday party last night - to be picked up at noon today and Libby had to get to a party across town at 2 and picked back up at 4:30. When we dropped her off, I was just done. Totally done. Emily and I were exhausted and decided not to drive home only to have to turn around an hour later and get her.

So, totally on the spur of the moment, she and I popped into Old Navy. And filled our arms with clothes for her and tried them all on and laughed and talked and had a ball! We were having so much fun, we went to Claire's and got her new earrings and baubles and some for Libby, too. And then on our way to PetSmart to get some new bird toys, we started laughing and joking and ran into DSW shoes. And spent more money! And on and on! It was so much fun to spend time with Emily one-on-one. It's not often that I get to do that and it was awesome! I found out some very interesting things that I probably wouldn't have otherwise - like some of the girls in her class have crushes on boys. In 3rd grade! And that some of the girls are already wearing bras! Whoa! And that she wants to wear undershirts now so she doesn't feel uncomfortable. So, we stocked up on those. All good stuff - stuff that was really good for both of us - laughing, sharing secrets and information, and some good old-fashioned retail therapy. Good times.

now for something fun

I'm the Guest Designer at Scrapologie this month. :)

This kit was too much fun to play with - I've been a subscriber since the beginning and if you are looking for a kit club to join, this is it!  Ranjini is so incredibly welcoming and talented and you'll have lots of fun drooling over the goodies while you wait for your sub.

You can see my layouts in the Scrapologie Gallery . :)

one foot in front of the other

We had Elizabeth's neurologist appointment this morning. The neuro seems fairly certain that Libby has a seizure disorder. :(  She thinks that, besides the grand mal seizure (I didn't realize that her seizure in August was classified as such, but it was) that she had, that she's also been having partial seizures. Which are different and a bit more serious than the absence seizures that the pediatrician had mentioned. I have a whole lot of research to do because I truly don't understand the implications of partial seizures. Either way, she needs to be medicated. Starting tonight. The neurologist also feels that the migraines are totally unrelated and are not triggering seizures. So, we have two unrelated issues that need to be treated. The good news is that there is one medication that can treat both, so we're going to try that first. The bad news is that Libby is just starting to read and this medication has sometimes interfered (in adult patients) with their ability to read. :(  So, I have to meet with her teacher later on today and we have to keep a very close eye on how well she's doing in school and if the medication is affecting her ability to learn.  Sigh.

And, Elizabeth has to have another EEG tomorrow afternoon. Which is no big deal. Except that Libby needs to be sleep deprived for it - she can only sleep for 5 hours the night before. Ugh. So, she and I will be sleeping from 10 pm - 3 am tonight and, somehow, I'll have to keep her awake until 2 pm. I think I may keep her home from school because I can't imagine how she could handle school without any sleep.

And I'm behind on everything right now - cleaning house, doing laundry, buying a new stove (ours died Monday night and we're eating out of the micro and the crockpot), proofing pics for a client, printing pics, buying fall clothes for my kids (poor things are freezing and I'm layering them in sweaters), replying to emails, and about 10 other things. I've been telling myself all week long to just put one foot in front of the other and keep going - the things that really matter will get done. And I guess that's really all I can do.

Scrappy Saturday

It's chilly, rainy, and dreary outside. College football is on, I'm about to make a pot of coffee, and the kids are playing UNO. It's just about perfect. 

Oh, and I'm scrapping. Just for me. :)

Journaling reads: I can't wait for Boo to learn how to play her violin. My dream is that 10 years from now, the house will be filled with the sounds of my children making music. I don't want to pressure her, but I can't wait!

On.....off.......on.......off......on.....

Sigh.

I wish my internet provider would make up its mind. It was on. Then it was off. Then it was on. Then it was off. For 48+ hours that time. I had just gotten into a groove with no computer - getting other stuff done, volunteering at the kids' school, cleaning house, and then it came back on. And I was getting into another new groove - uploading pictures, replying to emails, doing some research, and then it went off again. And now it's on.......

I think I'm going to turn it back off. Just so I have a sense of control over things. :p

soooo much fun!!!

I had a photo shoot on Saturday - my first with a teen. Soooo much fun!!!

Amazing how much more fun it is when your subject doesn't run away from you or need M&Ms as a bribe. :)

Isn't she adorable?

My nutcase

Andrew has figured out that if he acts like a nutcase when I want to take some photos, I will bribe him with M&Ms to get him to stop acting like a nutcase.

So, of course, the minute I start taking photos, he pulls this on me.

Sigh.

He totally has my number.

Spinning my wheels

Ever have one of those weeks where you have ten million things to do, fifteen different To Do lists going at the same time, and you can't sleep at night because you're afraid you're going to forget something important? That's me this week. And I'm about to give up. Seriously, not everything is going to get done. Just not gonna happen. Sigh.

A 9-11 survivor

Today is for my younger brother, Jeff. A day to be incredibly thankful that he is here.

This is a picture taken this summer in Maine - he was playing with his daughter and my son.

Andy Roo

This is one of those blink-and-they-grow-older-right-before-your-eyes photos.

I think I'm in shock that he's in preschool.

He's not a baby anymore. :(