Friday, March 11, 2011

Daddy Day!

Actually its been Daddy Day all winter but Alistair and I helped Jason celebrate his birthday at the beginnng of the month.
As I got the cake in the oven the boys enjoyed the best part of the cake....well this cake anyhow! LOL
Yes here is what was supposedly the "best pound cake ever". I happened to leave it in the oven a tad too long and then when I tried to get it out of the pan the whole top ripped off......AND THEN in a rush to eat I threw the candles in the cake and they melted into the whole thing! Hence the different sized candles. Anyhow, even after all that he said "well its the thought that counts" Now thats an understanding husband. Basically, I had too much on the go that weekend and well I have a habit of forgeting what I left in the oven. SO yes I tend to use a timer on these things but it just didn't look like it was quite ready and then I forgot to reset the timer. OOOPS.
Ah yes here is Alistair's new buddy BOB. I picked him up at Granville Island in Vancouver. I actually went there specifically to get a puppet. The reason being is my friend Lisa bought a puppet and her son Rocco loves the thing. So I thought it may be a super way to get Alistair to interact as little people seem to be his favorites. And yeppers it worked. He follows BOB all over the room, HUGS him, and chats with him. So good times. So if youre ever heading to Granville and want a puppet they have a great puppet store in the kids market.
Well little Mr Alistair is still suprising us. I was getting my brain wrapped around the fact that he may never walk as we can dangle him over the floor and he just pulls his legs right up to his bum. BUT this little munchkin decided to put his feet on the floor about a week ago. Now he isn't getting his heels right down but he does at times. Just the fact that he considers it regularly is great in my books. In addition, he just seems to be a lot more alert and oriented to his surroundings overall. So of course these are all wonderful bday presents for his dad and of course it just makes this mama happy. : D

Friday, February 25, 2011

Balance with a CAPITAL "B"

Wow is he cute or what hey! Mind you if i had a sugar cookie that large with my name on it right beside my head I would be lookin that cute too....or at least attempting to look that cute! LOL
This month has been a little crazy busy....actually the last few months have been so needless to say my goal for the spring/summer is to find a nice balance. We've just had so many things going on. Jason and I decided it was best if I picked up to full time and he be a stay at home Dad during these next couple of months as carpentry work is few and far between at this time of year and when summer hits he's working 16 hour days/ 7 days a week. So its worked out great and the big and little men seem to be enjoying themselves immensely. Jason is truly great with Alistair though. He's consistently doing physio with him and feeding him scrummy meals. For instance, the other day for supper Alistair some squished up avocado on one side of the dish and on the other was cream, mashed potatoes and PEANUT BUTTER all smushed together! LOL To be fair I have to tell the rest of the story...alistair has had a nasty snotty head cold prevent him or making him very disinterested in food. So to no surprise he lost a shwack load of weight. So we've been making power meals to get those pounds packed back on as he really isn't the biggest child on the block AND it seems to be working. Anyhow...so yes this mama's workin a bunch in the Emerg here in town and there rarely seems to be a mellow day in that place. If anything we're lucky if we get all our breaks. But in the same breath I do like working there.... so yippee for me. But its been a bit of a shocker for my bod and brain to go to full time from a nice mellow part time schedule. Anyhooo then on top of it early in the month it was time again for Alistair and I to head on south to Vancouver for more checkups. Thankfully, Alistair and I were welcomed in to Kim and Grady & Don's home once again. I say thankfully as it is a bit of a medical overload of information, tests and specialists and even though i attempt to brush it off Jason does say it always takes me a week to get back to my old self. I just get a lot of worst case scenario, investigations, and of course it all gets the brain going and i don't think the specialists really realize how we as parents hang on every word uttered out of their mouths! First of all we saw the opthamologist, the plastic surgeon, the occupational therapist, the neonatology team, the neurologist, and the geneticist all in ONE day. Generally it has gone ok in the past but I think with Alistair being a little older he's more aware and not so content to be disrupted out of his normal daily routine. PLUS to top it off we started with the opthamologist and he stuck drops in Alistairs eyes to dialate them and WHAM Alistair went into overstimulation mode and then of course thats what all the specialists got to assess was Alistair hyperextending his limbs constantly, being irritable, and blah blah blah. So ya and what Mom likes to see their kidlets in a overstimed and irritable mood? So and then I was REALLy hoping to find out some information from genetics this time as we would like to extend the family at some point in time in the not too too distant future. But that started off with the geneticist not having results from the blood work and basically it looks like it got lost, then he proceeds to tell me that we have a %25 chance of having another kidlets with similar issues, and then he says that he doesn't really know what syndrome alistair has but the closest he can figure is one that only three kids have in the world but they all have a small upper lip and a drop (hypotonic jaw) jaw which Alistair doesn't have....anyhow I guess the syndrome remains nameless...but the geneticist finalizes it by saying but we won't go there at the moment because the outcome of this syndrome isn't good.! ACK well then WHY THE FLYING FLIP would you tell a mom that. RRRRRRRRR Sorry but you know I actually like this geneticist BUT they don't get what that does to a mom. I honestly nearly puked. geeezeeee...... Anyhow so thats why it was soooo good i wasn't staying in some hotel room to stew over that. Instead I got to go back and hangout down town Vancouver in my friends apartment looking over the ocean and eatting incredible dinners and drinking scrummy red wine! So ya it took me a bit to normalize and that just takes a bit to get that out of your brain or at least not on the forefront. I have to admit it still bothers me but what do you do? well i know what i do...i just work at "normalizing". Anyhow thankfully for my brain mechanic, Jason, he seems to be able to talk me into a better place and keep me level and well realistic. So as i've said a many a time if it weren't for his level headedness I wouldn't beable to cope as well as I do. yahhhh Jason! : D
Ooo here is a picture of Alistair eatting one of Mummies lazy suppers : a piece of bread slathered in peanut butter and soaked in cream.....Mmmmm

Well wow did I ever go on a tangent. I started about balance and never really finished that convo! LOL But basically I also have a lot of time and effort that I put into the Northern BC Children & Families Hearing Society which empowers deaf and hard of hearing children and families. We're putting on a mini immersion weekend here March 4 &5. It'll have parallel activities for both parents and children with all sorts of good stuff in there. If your keen and in town you can always E-mail pgdeaf@telus.net for more info!
In addition, to that we've been moving nice and casually into our home in town. It really is nice and like Christmas all over again. I'm going through boxes Jason packed 2 years ago and its just fun to unpack and see what we own that I totally forgot about!

Anyhow, last but not least I just want to make a shout out to a family that wrote a little note on my blog and has just headed down to Vancouver to have their little girl who has also been diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia.......
So you know I always hated the word "journey" in nursing school but truthfully it really fits in so many circumstances and I think this word fits for you and your family. You've embarked on a journey and you don't know which roads your going to go down, who your going to meet, and what experiences your going to have. Sometimes not knowing EVERYTHING all at once is a good thing. It allows you to cope in stages and gain strength along the way. But one thing forsure is you'll know your supports and others will come out of the woodwork that you least expect. So during this challenging time of unknowns this is when you hold those supports close. Lean on them with ALL your weight when need be. Allow yourself to laugh, cry, and just be in the moment. I wish I could tell you exactly how its all going to turn out but I can't. Just remember to take care of your mental and physical self as you will be in turn be taking care of your little girl.

Take Care and if at anytime you would like to banter back and forth through E-mail I would love to hear how you and your little girl are doing and I'd be happy to be a support! jj_juels@hotmail.com (((HUGS))) Julie

Saturday, February 5, 2011

The Proof is in the Pictures!

yes life has been more than hectic to say the least but heres our little munchkin snoozin away with no care in the world!
O Yes and here he is again SNOOZIN! Actually it seems to be a bit of a habit for him. He gets through half his breaky or half is dinner and suddenly he's in snooze mode! Its quite cute actually as the eyes are closed but the mouth keeps going.
So heres the proof of why I haven't been on the blog bloggin! Yikarooey hey. This plastic was for all the stipling Jason was doing on the ceiling. Looks like we're prepping for a haunted house but no sireeeee!
Here's the kitchen with me cuttin in. I did the whole upstairs : priming, and two coats on EVERYTHING up stairs....ceilings and all in ONE week. I hate to admit it but my shoulders were sore. Jason took time some well deserved time off from the house and watched Alistair at
Mom's while I painted frantically. I think I got a little toxic from the vino and fumes i took in over the week! : D (Just a little tip...painting is a lot more enjoyable with a glass of Shiraz!)
To my surprise floors have to be leveled prior to applying flooring so heres Jason as a busy body prepping prepping prepping!
A little grin for you all! The kitchen was the first room and thanks to my buddy Lise and her mom Margaret Dahlstrom I ended up painting my house the following colors which look FAB: sancturay, swiss coffee, baked biscotti, artic ocean, terra cotta, and seashore pebble.
I LOVE my kitchen...we're going to wait till next year for the cupboards but we have put together a very doable kitchen! To be seen in the near future
Jason couldn't get over how many floors we had under the floor if you get what I mean. When he dug deep enough he found a beautiful fir floor but unfortunately it didn't go through the whole house and wouldn't have worked to make it part of our new home so its still hiding under our new floor!
Jason every so jolly doing more stippling
A little R & R time for daddy and Alistair. Alistairs doning his new touque crocheted by Auntie Bonita
To top it off we got a tad of snow to keep us busy as well!
I was the shoveler while Jason prepped the house. Great work out for the biceps.
It was pretty exciting when we got to this stage. Especially for Jason as he's put so many hours into this house. ~ Our cherry birch flooring
Daddy watching some Baby Eienstein videos. Which I thought were a load of #$&* to start but actually they are quite good and Alistair seems quite intrigued by the whole thing.
Jason has been amazing at getting Alistair to do a lot of sitting and its so neat to see him actually want to sit rather than having to force him to.
Jason also enjoys getting Alistair to "fake crawl" and Alistair gets some giggles out of it. Well I hope all of you are having a fab start to 2011. One thing I learned forsure in 2010 is your support system if the key to keep you going in the right direction and staying mentally and physically healthy. So keep those supports close to you or reach out and be a support as you never know until you really need to be supported how import being a support is! (did that make sense?) Cheers peps! ~ Julie
your

Friday, December 31, 2010

Family, Friends, & Food

What a wonderful Christmas Holiday season we have had to date! The best part is that Alistair decided it was time to move forward on his progress. Yeppers best Christmas present ever. The last week Alistair has not stopped talking, plus he is just that much more alert to his surroundings.
It made Christmas that much more enjoyable for us just to beable to snuggle up to him and have a giggle come out of him or to have him chirp away at us. I bought these balls on MasterMind Toys and he just loves them. I highly recommend them. O yes and as you can see I "tormented" Alistair (as Jason would say) by putting him in these little felt elf shoes i found at a local store.
This is one of our most common sites around the house now. Alistair still needs assistance but its minimal in regards to sitting. As you can see i'm just applying a tad of pressure with my leg to his hip and it gives him enough reassurance to stay upright. Over the holidays he sat for at least 2 minutes totally unsupported. Another happy moment for us.
My buddy Colleen came back from Calgary for the holidays. Alistair got a ton of attention from everyone that stopped by and were thinking this helped his progression as well.
Hayley "Bailey" came down with her parents from Taylor, B.C. as well and had fun educating my mom on paper dolls.

Checking out the sites on Christmas Day
Hangin out with Nana's elephant

Having a crokinole tournament with close family friends
Alistair's Muscle Shirt from Nana. I did a 11pm to 7 am shift in Emerg and came home and got people motivated for Christmas. The motivation lady had a noon snooze later on.

O Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree
The Lady of the House! (Crazy Lady of the Valley! : D)
Pops loving being a Pop
So there you have it! Christmas in a nut shell was all about family friends and food. I'm sure we've all put on a good five pounds but happily did so. I did have great intentions of sending out Christmas Cards as I absolutely love receiving them. However, the cards are still nicely packaged ready to be used for next year! LOL So thank you all for the wonderful pictures and cards. All the pics are plastered all over the fridge door. Have a wonderful and safe New Years and we'll chat again soon.
Love Julie, Jason & Alistair

Enjoy the two videos! Unfortunately the are a little on the dark side but cute all the same! : D




Wednesday, December 15, 2010

How to....

Hello hello!

So I've heard from a few peps that they have difficulty posting a note to my blog and its always fun for me to get your posts SOOOOO here is a how to session. At the bottom of my latest post you'll see the word "comments" or "5 comments" in a yellowish color. You click on that and you'll see everyones comments. Scroll to the bottom of the comments and you'll see "Post a comment" Write your little diddy in there AND finish it off with your name. Then there will be a drop down menu and pick "anonymous" and then click "post comment! Easy peasy!

Hope all is going superb your way. We are loving some mild weather mind you i'd love a tad more snow just to make it a winterwonderland!

Cheers for now!
Julie

Monday, December 6, 2010

Tis the season!

Alistair & Santa's First Meeting! Gorgeous day up on Cranbrook Hill
Surprise attack from Santa Claus : D
One of the two sleighs full of members with the
Northern BC Children and Families Hearing Society
Jason loves getting out the outdoor Christmas lights
and what a great tree to decorate! I'll tell you what though
that was a challenge. Lets just say PVC pipe and lots of luck! LOL
Enjoy the videos & pics ~ Cheers Julie



Wednesday, November 3, 2010

CDC Seating Clinic

Wow another humbling/crazy busy day yesterday. We started by heading to the audiology clinic to get a new fancy smancy bone conductor 1) as his last one died on us and 2) the new version BAHA is in! This one is actually going to be his loner after the one we order comes in...and then we will actually have our very own and it won't be a loner anymore....makes me nervous as the bloomin things are $4000.00! Yeppers nuts hey. Luckily through the BC Early Hearing Program our parts, maintenance and even one replacement is available until April 2013. Then we're on our own. So ya I've already started a little hearing aid fund that I add to here and there so the shock of having to buy hearing aids won't be so financially drastic when the time comes along.
Our next stop was the Child Development Center (CDC) where a team of people who came up from Vancouver to fit about 16 kidlets over two days with various contraptions to help them sit, stand, and mobilize better. K this was the humbling part! Look at all those people ALL working together to make the PERFECT fit. You wouldn't believe how much they focus on the details. Move this an couple millimeters here and that a few there....Just amazing. The neat part to is this is the stander which which will hold Alistair into position so that he gets the sensation of standing through his bones and joints which also helps immensely with development. I'm sure the more I understand it the more I'll share with you. Anyhow to my utter surprise after a good melt down session to start with I think Alistair ended up playing with some toys on his little stander table for about 15-20min. The last time we did this with Alistair I think we made 5 min!
But look at the contraption hey. Its like something out of the movie Matrix or I Robot! Anyhow it was just beautiful to see my little man stand and actually get to a point of enjoyment as I have been wondering if he has pain with standing as he just doesn't put his feet down and has been super teary about the whole process.

This is pretty cool too. Unfortunately I can't remember the mans name but this fella built this whole blue chair with the straps right there as we waited. When we arrived all the chair was was some plywood and foam thats it! Amazing hey! AND Alistair loves this too. Plus I can put it right into our stroller So he can sit up nice and straight and see the world go by. Prior to this he had to lay right down due to his floppy torso!

Ya i love this picture too...Look at these people. So dedicated to these little helpless people that wouldn't go nearly as far without their fantastic abilitities to create such wonderful support. YAAAAA Seating Clinic People! LOL
ANYHOW...after this it was back to the audiology clinic for a new ear mold for his air conducting hearing aid and then to the Ministry of Children and Families to meet up with our Social Worker. Unfortunately there was miss communication as she was away on holiday when I came for our appointment but still they are there to support. So why do we have a social worker? Well from what I gather Alistair was assessed to be a part of the "At Home Program" which is followed by the MCFD. Basically (and I'm sure I'll write more about this as I get to understand it more ) they are going to pay for the equipment Alistair needs as above as some of these contraptions ie the green one I was told was around $4000.00. So ya another phenomenol service for little munchkins like Alistair. Again without it we'd struggle LOTS financially but he'd have the equipment and this way we don't struggle. We can continue to live in our normal lives! Yahoo At Home Program!
SO thats why I think I'm a bit of an emotional basket case today. Ya FINALLY I get to stay home for the first time in 10 days. So brain break time for Julie. I'm a little bit on the overload side of things: new job (caotic but friendly staff), not playing soccer (crazy late schedules 930 and 10pm games) which is unfortunate as it was so good for my mental health!, house renos that I can't help the poor hubby with BUT its coming and looking so sweet!, physio, speech therapy, courses as I'm new to the hosptial and blah blah blah blah. SO I'm trying to get the good ol ZEN back and get things D-cluttered at home and perhaps get the man to bring me home a bottle of Shiraz! Mmmm K peps thanks for listening! : D J