eSpecially Ben

I had a leisurely after school time with Ben because Ryan was home and stress free having finished a couple of exams and feeling caught up on school work. He picked up Logan and Sean from school while I took Ben to physical therapy. As I was getting Ben out of the car and chatting with the PT, I noticed that I could not see one of Ben's front teeth, the cute adult one that had grown in over the last year. I lifted his lip and 3/4 of it was missing. (I originally reported 1/2, but after Ryan's official inspection he reports the higher number). Yikes! (I used a different choice word at the time, but "yikes" suffices for now.) We have a dentist appointment for this coming week to discuss a plan. It seems that this happens often with kids. How come it is the first time I have heard of it? I am sure everyone will come out of the woodwork now with stories of broken teeth. After speaking with Ben's teacher, she did say he fell on the playground while trying to go

On Easter Sunday, I asked Mr. Terry, the boys' Sunday School teacher and the church's photographer extraordinaire, to take a family portrait. To no fault of his own, these are the results of that session: Finally one without funny faces, hair pulling, kicking or hiding, but not nearly as fun.

I lost 4% of my body weight in 28 days through D ietBet  and won $43.  I started another one on April 3. Care to join me? Now that I have played I can share what I have learned: 1. A blogger named Beth started the March  DietBet  game. She set the bet at $25 - meaning if you wanted to join, you had to pay $25 into the pot. Everyone put in the same amount. It was open access, meaning anyone could join. 2. Everyone had the opportunity to win. If you lost 4% of your body weight in the 28 days, you received an equal share of the pot, minus D ietBet's fee (5-15% depending on size of bet). For this DietBet, 199 people met their goal, that is almost 50% success rate. Over 2500 pounds were shed between 405 people over 28 days. 3. Dietbet has a simple way to keep participants honest. Send in 2 photos in the beginning of the contest and 2 photos at the end. Both photos are on the scale, one a closeup of the actual reading on the scale, the other a full body of you on the sca

You know that age old saying about be careful what you ask for...because you just might get it. I have been talking about building an accessible bathroom for Ben for a few years. Finally, it looks like it will happen. And now I am saying, ugh! It is a lot of work to make decisions that will have an impact now and for the future. Currently, we have a 6'x8' bathroom with little to no room to maneuver. As Ben has grown taller and heavier, it has become increasingly hard for me to lift him onto his special toilet seat and get him in and out of the bathtub safely. We knew something would have to change, but we were unsure how it would. Then, our state implemented a program that provides services and support for individuals like Ben. I heard that we would be eligible for financial assistance to modify a bathroom, but I truly did not believe it would ever happen. Alas, it has! In the past two weeks, I have met with two state-approved contractors. I gave them the big picture - my v

My business partner has a saying that he uses often in our team building and leadership activities with groups, "Trust the Process." Tracy usually shares this tidbit when the group is struggling through an activity or wondering how solving a puzzle will help the group form a more cohesive bond. I am trying to keep this philosophy as we go through more tests to figure out what Ben's actual diagnosis may be. In my post, The Allusive Diagnosis , I mentioned that Ben's tests revealed a strange discovery - they located an abnormality on the X chromosome, one usually connected with Retts Syndrome . Last month at the geneticist's office, we learned that Ben's gene abnormality has never been seen before. I don't thing they mean, just in their office. I think they mean ever, anywhere. This week, I was tested to see if I have the same abnormality. If I do, then "the waters are muddied," according to the doctor. It could mean that it is just an abnorma

Sean turned five this week. Birthday boys and girls are treated like royalty at our house. On the morning of Sean's birthday, Ryan woke him early and took him out for breakfast before school. Ryan is ridiculously busy with his own school and any alone time with him is treasured. Next was my turn to treat the little king to birthday bliss. I spent the entire morning with Sean at school. I participated in a celebratory birthday ceremony in true Montessori style. After setting up the sun and calendar months in the center of a circle of classmates, Sean walked around five times while holding a globe. At the same time, I talked about his favorite things and showed baby photos he had chosen. For these few minutes he was the center of the universe. That night, Sean chose Domino's Pizza for dinner. We sang "Happy Birthday" and ate cupcakes. At some point during dinner, I asked him what was the best thing that happened to him that day. Ryan and I amusingly glared at ea

Logan was sure not to get pinched with this green face. A family friend, BOB, invited us to a party held by the Irish Society of Charlotte. Ben loves him some BOB. I think they hugged for 10 minutes. Or maybe Ben wanted some beer.  As usual, Ben became a celebrity at the party and got to choose the winning raffle ticket. A young girl won $106! They taught us a jig - that's me with the jeans on. It was a fast paced dance, and it was fun. Ben was invited up with the band to help keep the beat. They under-estimated him and he almost took down the mics, speakers and music in one swift pull. Luckily I am fast on my feet while doing the jig. The band. The real dancers. Unbelievable. We visited the US National Whitewater Center to see if the water really did turn green on St. Patty's Day.  We saw a giant Leprechaun and I swear I saw a tiny one riding a moped...but no photo to prove it. LUCKY MEETING YOU At the Irish party, two different sets