State Fair 2017 and the entire rest of the SUMMER!

HELLO! Oh my gosh, it's been sooooo long since I've signed on. My deepest apologies (if anyone is still here!), but we've been busy enjoying summer. It has been one amazing summer filled with tons of fun things. Tomorrow we leave for our 7th vacation since May. We feel super blessed and we are grateful beyond words that we're able to squeeze so much in. 

This summer we: traveled to DC, visited my dad/stepmom in Charlotte, swam a lot in our pool and played a lot in our yard, went on a 2.5-week RV trip to S. Dakota/Montana, met my dad and stepmom at Wisconsin Dells for a fun little waterpark vacation, sent each boy up to northern MN to spend SOLO time with my parents, RVed down to Iowa for our yearly family reunion and thoroughly enjoyed another year at the MN state fair. The boys completed two rounds of swim lessons at an amazing local swim school and progressed hugely for the first time ever. We've been enjoying our house every chance we get and using our RV whenever we can. Elijah has enjoyed time with his horse Trixie every Friday this summer through the amazing autism/hard-of-hearing program at Haven Acres.

Our summer in a nutshell! Today we ventured to the state fair for our annual adventure. We experienced probably the most crowded day we've ever seen (yuck), but the boys didn't seem to notice. State Fair Day is Sammy's third favorite day of the entire year (so he informed us this morning), which explains the genuine smiles you see in the following photos. When I put him to bed tonight, he was sad. So so sad because his third-favorite day of the year is over. He is SO much like his mama.

Every year I have the boys don Oink Booth crowns and pose for a photo. These pics were taken five years apart. Sooo sweet!

Pronto pups!

I cannot believe we squeezed the boys into a stroller again this year, but there really is no other way. Elijah (understandably) walks at a snail's pace and I have no idea what we'll do in the years to come.

Sammy was so happy to meet Cowwy's "family." He loves his cows!

We take this photo every year, too. I love these sweet, smiley boys so much!

One of the things I love so much about Elijah is his sense of adventure. He is always willing to try new things, despite having a medical diagnosis of "severe anxiety." He hopped onto this fast kiddie ride by himself and even threw his arms up in the air!

Squished, but smiling!

This is my favorite photo from the entire day. Sammy does not like anything that is remotely fast, so he hugged Elijah tightly from behind for a splash of comfort.

On the menu for the next few days: time up north with my sisters (back in the RV, woo!), both boys starting a NEW school (yikes!) and time for me to get work done! This next week will bring enormous change for all of us, so please pray for smooth sailing. Thanks for peeking in! IF there's anyone peeking in. Now that fall is just around the corner, I'll be here more often. Promise.

June update!

Well hello! It's been a while (again)! Sammy saw Dr. J for a well visit today, so I thought I'd stop in and record his stats. He is in perfect health, 53rd percentile for weight and 64th percentile for height!

Since my last post we traveled to Washington DC and North Carolina. It was a blast! It was one of the all-around most fun and most stress-free trips we've had in a while. Dan toured us around DC for a few days and the boys did GREAT with all of the walking. We rode a double-decker bus to Charlotte (minus Dan, sadly) and spent a few days with my dad and stepmom. We spent time in the pool, went to the drive-thru zoo (a favorite!) and hung out at their house.

We also celebrated this beautiful boy's seventh birthday (a couple times)! I cannot believe Sammy is 7! I'd swear he was born just a couple years ago. He's turning into such a fun, smart, kind, clever little person. I absolutely love spending time with him. He makes us all laugh constantly and I can't imagine our family without his cute smile. We love you, Sammy-Jammy!

We have been LOVING our house and yard as we approach summer. Our backyard is amazing and we constantly feel so blessed and grateful to call it ours. It's honestly been a huge pain maintaining the pool and I haven't got it down quite yet, but we're getting there. The boys love it, so it's worth the hassle. We get in it every day that the weather cooperates!

This week and early next week we are preparing for our summer RV trip! It's not nearly as epic as last year's, but we are super excited about it. We plan to head to Deadwood, SD (a favorite spot from last year) and then onto Montana for a couple weeks. We all loved Montana and are excited to explore it a bit more. Departure date is next Thursday! Woooo!

I have some updates to catch up on regarding Mr. E but that will have to happen another time. Nothing urgent is going on, but a few things may be brewing. He is currently receiving AMAZING support through a local organization that sends therapists into the home. His therapist has done incredible things in a short time. More later! I'll try to update once more before we hit the road! Adios!

The End of an Era!

Today marks the end of an era! The boys walked out of their amazing school for the last time. Elijah has attended this school for five years and Sammy for two. The teachers and staff at this school have POURED love, energy, time, encouragement and teaching into our boys. The Porta boys are well-known at school and leaving all of those wonderful people has made for an emotional day. Sammy and I are having the hardest time of all, no surprise there. Tonight at bedtime Sammy cried sweet little tears. He's going to miss his classmates, especially since they have all been together for two consecutive years. It's a good lesson to learn, but it kills me to see him so sad. Elijah on the other hand is much more excited about new adventures and seems much less sad.

Mother's Day was amazing this year! My boys spoiled me rotten. Dan's and my 11th anniversary was the day before, so we got out for dinner to celebrate. It's been a month filled with tons of good, fun things, including field trips and track and field days and time in our backyard.

Earlier this week Elijah had a check-up with ENT. The hearing in his left ear is declining in higher decibels. My heart sank when I saw the change from the last test six months ago, but Dr. L assured me that there's nothing to worry about yet. He peeked in his ear and saw that the prosthesis is rubbing up against the eardrum a bit, probably causing the decline in hearing. We'll have him checked again in six months and go from there! My mind has wandered to sad places this week, but I keep reminding myself that Elijah's amazing story isn't going to change the more I worry. His story is his story and it will play out JUST as the script is written.

About a week ago we ended a week-long streak of verrrrrry challenging behavior with E. I saw things that I hadn't seen in years. He has been affected by seasonal allergies off and on again this spring and at its worst, it has severely affected sleep. And we all know what happens when his sleep is affected. Thankfully things seem to be getting better and behavior has normalized. Aside from his CONSTANT fighting with his brother, that is.

We have a TON of exciting summer plans to look forward to! Dan is guiding a DC tour this weekend and on Monday the boys and I will fly out to meet him. We will explore DC as a family for a few days and then we (minus Dan) will head to North Carolina to visit my dad and stepmom for a few days. So many more fun things are in store and we can't wait for the summer to unfold and for the end-of-era sadness to fade.

Thanks for checking in! Have a great holiday weekend!

Our Buddy!

Meet the newest, softest member of our family...Buddy! This has been in the works for about a month. Dan's dad found an amazing yellow lab breeder in Northern MN who happened to have ONE puppy left in her most recent litter. He mentioned it to us and we both felt like we should jump on the opportunity. It is a small miracle that it was on MY heart to get a dog because I have felt so opposed to it up until now. The timing just seemed right for our family!

Dan and his dad picked Buddy up today! He is 12 weeks old. He is super soft and sweet. He very curiously explored every corner of our house and Sammy diligently followed him with the bitter apple spray while spraying everything Buddy should not be nibbling on. :) He has peed on our carpet six times, but we are working on showing him the proper place to go. Buddy plays HARD but then rests very easily (a lot like us, ha!). We know this first day must be hard on him, so we are giving him tons of love. We are so excited to bond with our new pup! Life with a dog is completely foreign to me, so this will be a huge learning experience.

We are all recovering a bit from vacation still. Dan and I had the most PERFECT vacation ever. It was honestly just plain perfection. It was such a needed time away together that happened to be at an amazing and beautiful resort. We made some unforgettable memories. The boys had tons of fun with their Auntie and cousins while we were away.

The boys have a few more days of school this week before spring break begins. We have a few fun things planned while they are off school next week. Thanks for peeking in. I'm going to go snuggle on our Budster before bed!

Happy 2016!

We got home last night from our week in southern Indiana. The boys did GREAT in the car. They are such great travelers and I'm thankful for that, considering how much I enjoy galavanting around the country. Time with family was good. I have photos to share, but I've been too lazy to retrieve my camera. Or...too busy. We have been unpacking, packing, cleaning and doing more organizing since we have been home. Our Christmas tree is sadly gone, as are all of our decorations. This took a toll on Sammy. He has a tough time with this every year. He sat on the couch for 30 minutes today, sucking his thumb and processing the end of Christmas 2015. Eventually he picked himself back up and helped to pack up the decorations. He even helped to label the boxes.

Sammy has spent most of the past week sick. He has had a fever off and on, a goopy nose and a cough that kept him up for a few nights on our trip. Dan and I brought him to urgent care in Indiana because his fever and cough worried us enough. The doctor started him on antibiotics and ever since he has slowly been getting better. We got up to head back home yesterday morning and I knew I had caught Sammy's sickness. I have mostly pushed through it, but tonight I am feeling an ear infection invading the right side of my head. Dan is feeding me garlic and rubbing Thieves on my back, so hopefully those things help.

We all came home from vacation EXHAUSTED. It wasn't the restful reprieve we had hoped for, but we are glad we went. It was nice spending time with my dad, stepmom, brother and bro's girlfriend. The boys had such a good time and they (especially Sammy) fell in love with my brother's dog. When I asked Sammy what he missed the most from vacation he said, "The puppy, technology and eating SUGAR!" :)

Christmas is done, the new year is here and tomorrow we will mentally prepare for school and work on Monday. I pray that you all had a wonderful past few weeks being with friends and family! Happy 2016! May this year bring MANY blessings for you all!

Butterflies, sickness, camp, cousins, vacation and water...phew!

Since my last post, we have been busy! We have raised a few caterpillars who have transformed into beautiful butterflies. In this photo Elijah is holding Mr. Juicy! We set him free yesterday. I sat next to him until his wings were ready to fly. Watching the entire process from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly is incredible. It's a miracle!

I think Mr. Juicy flew back to our house for a visit today! I never see monarch butterflies in our yard, but one sat right on one of our bushes for a while this morning. 

We spent a few days last week in Iowa for our annual family reunion. The boys had more fun than ever this year, playing with their second cousins and splashing in the lake.

They got tons of snuggles.

We enjoyed a campfire by the lake one evening. This is the FIRST time Elijah has ever been able to participate in anything past 7:00pm (thank you, Straterra, for helping to expand his threshold!). We are still having some issues with behavior, but overall things are better. We are seeing fewer incidents and they are overall less dramatic. We do still have rough days and moments, but we are finding that he can bounce back from poor sleep or overstimulation MUCH more quickly than before. We are praying this trend continues.

The boys got a couple boat rides, which is always a treat!

They had so much fun in the lake this year! If we would have let him, Elijah literally would have spent every waking moment swimming. Being in the water is calming for him. It is definitely his happy place!

Silly green faces with cousin Cate!

We spent tons of time sitting on the dock and gazing out over the beautiful lake.

The boys got a to have a fun popcorn-movie night with their awesome second cousins (seriously, this bunch of kiddos is incredible...love them all!).

Literally two minutes after we got home from our Iowa adventure, Sammy dropped onto the couch. He spent the following 48 hours with a fever and a sore throat. He felt crummy. It was sad seeing him out of sorts, but it made for a good photo op! Sleeping on Gramps' lap during story time.. :)

The day after Sammy healed up, Elijah got the virus! :( Sammy thankfully was feeling good enough to go with my dad and stepmom up to northern Minnesota to spend some time with family. Elijah stayed back because this is heart camp week. We have been bummed that he's had to miss a few days of camp due to his fever, but he is looking forward to going tomorrow for the last day. Tonight we will be prepping for joke-telling at the talent show!

Here is a cute video of Sammy running to Elijah Monday when we picked him up from camp. He has done this SAME exact thing every year. It's so precious. "BUUUDDDDDDDYYYYY!"

With Sammy up north, the boys have been missing each other like crazy this week. I've had to limit Elijah's phone calls to 1/day. He tells me how much he misses Sammy about 100 times an hour. Their phone conversations are ridiculously adorable. The first time they spoke Elijah excitedly said, "SAMMY?! Is it really YOU???" :)

Thanks for peeking in!

On Straterra (month 1)

Maybe it's all of the driving I've been doing. I have had lots of time to ponder and I've pondered a lot. I'm thinking I should drive around the Cities for an hour every day just so I force myself to take a break and think! I have a handful of topics I'd like to explore through writing. Somehow writing helps me sort things out.

First topic...Straterra for anxiety for Elijah (month 1)!

Straterra is typically an ADHD med, but can also be used to treat anxiety. Since we have tried a handful of "true" anxiety meds with no success, Dr. M thought this would be a good "family" to explore. I was hesitant because of E's history with having adverse reactions to meds. June was a rough month behaviorally...really rough at times. We were kind of at the end of our ropes and felt like we were becoming stretched again (almost to the point we were at this past winter) and we were doing everything humanly possible to make Elijah happy/rested/peaceful, but to no avail. None of us were sleeping and we were all feeling anxious and impatient, so we decided to give these new meds a try.

Within 24 hours of giving Elijah Straterra we noticed a significant change for the better. His behavior was WAY improved. He was handling stress better, wasn't as agitated with little things and was obeying without a fight when we asked him to complete tasks. After almost a week on 10 mg, things weren't AS good. Still better, but not as good as those first few days. I called Dr. M and he suggested upping the dose to 20 mg. This coincided with the dawn of our road trip, which worried me, but I did it anyway. After a few days on the new dose, Elijah was seeming more agitated and he was also complaining of arm/shoulder/muscle pains. I consulted with Dr. M again and he suggested going back down to 10 mg. Sometimes it takes kids a while to adjust, he said.

We went back down to the low dosage and really, ever since he has been MOSTLY even-keeled. We have our episodes for sure (and when they happen my head usually spins), but they are SO much less extreme and they happen WAY less often. It has to be the meds.

I believe that without the meds, this road trip would not have been as happy/successful. We visited the same exact people on last year's trip and all of them told me that Elijah was much much much different this year (for the better). 

Before Straterra, one night of poor sleep put Elijah (and therefore the rest of us) out for an entire week. He does still have poor nights of sleep, and the next day is still rough behaviorally. But now, he rebounds much more quickly. The day after a poor night of sleep stinks, but the next day he is back to his happy self. Yesterday was ROUGH on our ride home because he didn't sleep well the night before. He got a decent night of sleep last night, and today was...AWESOME! Aside from potty talk, I did not have to correct a single thing ALL. DAY. LONG. That is a miracle!

He has also been much more affectionate with me since starting these meds. He wants to be physically close to me a lot...hugging, snuggling, talking about how much we love each other, etc. This is how things used to be back when he was, ohhh, three! His desire to be close to me has strengthened our bond, which has sadly negatively affected my relationship with Sammy. He sees this new change and acts out. I'm hoping he will adjust and our bond will grow again.

On good days like today, Elijah's patience with Sammy is stellar. Before meds, when Sam upset him, he would either head butt him or scream at him...or both. Today after Sam yanked a toy out of his hands I heard E patiently say, "Do you want that toy? How long will you have it?" !!!

From what I've read, Straterra (just like any med) does different things for different people. Whatever this medication does to Elijah's brain seems to be very good. Side effects are minimal at this dose. We may eventually want to increase the dosage again, but for now things are good. I am so happy I stepped out into the scary unknown and gave it a try.

To be continued! Pray with us for continued GOODness! 

I have THREE more hours in my thirties! Tomorrow is a big one. I think I'll handle it well but for three more hours I will wonder about it possibly being tough. We'll see! Thanks for peeking in!

Back from Summer 2015 road trip!

The boys and I are home! We drove 11.5 hours from Louisville today. We made two QUICK stops and we were so happy to be home. We hugged Dan a bunch and the boys ran around and released pent-up energy. We had such a memorable trip, both in Kentucky and North Carolina. I have SO MUCH to report.. about things we did and memories we made and also about things I have realized about Elijah in the past two weeks. 

In a nutshell.. We miss my dad and stepmom and the Karrs so much. We made some unforgettable memories! Elijah, Sammy and I are feeling sad tonight but also happy to be reunited with Dan and to sleep in our own beds.

The boys and Gramps dressed up as cows our first morning in Charlotte to get a free breakfast from Chick-Fil-A. Aren't they cute?!

We have been continuing on a low dose of Straterra for Elijah's anxiety and thankfully, he is still responding well. Overall, he did SO great on vacation. We had a few incidents but nothing catastrophic. While we were at my dad's, E slept in a very dark and cozy walk-in closet and I think that helped him get a few great nights of sleep in a row. Depending on how the next few nights go, I may think about putting a bed together in our closet. Anything to help!

More later! Must sleep!

Medication roller coaster and impending road trip!

The past week has been an interesting one. Elijah went from really struggling to being his super-sweet and kind little self (thank you, meds) and gradually back to struggling yesterday and today. As Dr. M suggested, we increased the dosage of meds today.  

In standard fashion, we're living on the edge here in the Porta family...testing the waters with medication before and during a big vacation. The little boys and I leave for Kentucky bright and early tomorrow morning. Sammy was especially excited today and kept asking why we can't leave for our road trip NOW?!

We decided to keep both boys up for fireworks this year. It's always a debate. Keeping Elijah up that late usually sets him back for a solid week. After only getting 5-6 hours of sleep Saturday night, he was very tired on Sunday but held himself together SO well, considering. It was kind of incredible, actually! It was fun to experience our first true 4th of July fireworks together as a family, but Elijah didn't even seem to enjoy it very much. The noise made him super anxious and he asked during the entire show when we could leave. The boys DID love the color wands that Grandma bought for them! Lucky boys.

The medication we have been giving to Elijah, for those who are curious, is Strattera (atomoxetine). Typically it is given to help with ADD/ADHD, but it can also help with anxiety. A few days into giving it to Elijah, I realized that I had not officially cleared it with Dr. G (cardiologist). He knows E's heart function better than anyone, so I always like to hear straight from him that any med is going to be ok for his heart. It took him a while to get back, so in the meantime I very stupidly googled "straterra and children with congenital heart disease." Please don't google that! UGH! I hate google sometimes and this is the reason I haven't done that since Elijah was a baby. The things I read were horrifying! We called Dr. G again to confirm whether or not we should continue this med. Everything is good. NO more googling medical concerns. EVER. Again. Find trusted doctors and TRUST THEM, people!

I don't know if today's dosage increase will be a good or bad thing, but we will find out...on the road...in the next day or so. Please pray with us that it is good! I want my boys to always feel peaceful and happy and rested.

We will be on the road for 10-11 hours tomorrow and we'll spend 4 full days with our favorite heart family who lives in Louisville. We LOVE the Karrs and look forward to spending time with them every summer. Then we'll drive onto Charlotte where we will spend a full week with my dad and stepmom. Eeeeek! Super excited! PLEASE, if it is on your heart, pray for Elijah's meds to work and for our trip to go smoothly. THANK YOU!

Waterpark Adventure 2015

I'm feeling a need to get this post done tonight because tomorrow I will be writing about a certain 8-year-old's birthday!

Our fifth annual waterpark trip was a smashing success. Dan and I both agreed that we managed our time better than ever before and we ALL enjoyed ourselves, even more than in past years. This was the first year that Sammy truly enjoyed himself. It was fun to see.

Here is the photo I take every year upon first entering the hotel/waterpark. The boys love to run to the windows to peek into the waterpark and get a glimpse of the "big bucket" and all of the action. This year we found that the windows had been frosted, so the boys had to peek through the cracks.

The first few minutes in our room are always SO EXCITING!!!!

Annual photo with Mama and boys in the top bunk!

Followed by....JUMPING ON THE BED! This year we talked Dan into joining us.

We spent an hour at the waterpark our first night. Both boys had a blast! Sammy willingly got into the water for the first time EVER!

I'm so proud of him. He stuck to a very specific area, but he went down the same slide about 100 times over the course of the weekend. Progress! A few times I tried to get him to extend his territory, but he resisted. I'll take it.

I always get photos of the post-waterpark bathers. It'll be so sad when they don't take baths together anymore! 

 I LOVE this cutie! Yikes, look at his tired mama..

Posing with the waterpark guys.

On our second day, Elijah literally RAN around the waterpark at full speed for hours on end. Dan and I could do nothing to get him to slow down, short of making him leave the place. Literally...he ran from the slides in the kiddie area to the big tube slide to the wave pool to the lazy river (with one of us following close behind)....repeat repeat repeat...without taking a breath. Toward the end of the day, Dan handed Elijah off to me and said, "Watch him!" I took one look at E and knew what he meant. He had worn himself out. He was totally exhausted and even felt sick to his stomach. He literally could hardly stand. I hadn't gotten many photos of him yet (and I always snap a few!), so I asked him to smile and pose since I knew these were our last moments there. After a dozen attempts, I got a smile..

Then he sat down in another area on the way out and after another dozen photos, I got another smile..

Then I realized I was being selfish and had Dan scoop him up and take him back to the hotel room. He was draped over Dan's shoulder like an exhausted baby! Poor guy. I got a partial smile..

We had dinner in our hotel room (a second-night tradition) and by that time Elijah was feeling much better. We headed down to the arcade for a bit of gaming fun! Both boys had a blast. Sammy keeps telling me that the 30 minutes we spent in that arcade were his favorite moments of the entire trip.

Elijah threw a ball into the teeny-tiny 1,000-point bucket in the tossing game (impossible feat), hence the celebrating..

Look! It's Sammy! Participating in games and not hiding behind a Pac-Man machine (yes, he really did that)!

We won BIG at Deal or No Deal! Hundreds of tickets, which earned us.. toy handcuffs (you can imagine how much we've loved THIS) and ring pops (which Sammy calls "Rain Pops").

A few more notable things about our adventure..

It was so much fun to watch Sammy (Elijah wasn't so interested in this) RUNNING through the hallways to get to the elevator, push the button and accomplish absolutely everything before his brother could.

I loved our family nap on our second day. It was a revitalizing intermission when Sammy watched a movie by himself while the rest of us slept like we were dead.

Trips to the ice machine! Who knew this could be sooo exciting?!

Elijah and I made a few trips down the "blue-tube-slide" together and WOW was it fast! I cannot believe how much that boy loves speed. It was a ton of fun, and each sliding experience was followed by a trip around the lazy river and then a jaunt in the wave pool.

Sammy insisted on wearing his goggles in his own Sammy way (of course). The straps folded his ears in half and hung at the bottom-back of his head. He swiped our hands away any time we tried to fix them and refused to take them off, even when they were completely fogged over.

As always, I LOVED our first hour in our hotel room. It was pure happiness and excitement for all of us. Elijah kept asking me, "Is this a dream?!" We all cherish this trip so much every year. On our way home, both boys whimpered constantly.. "I MISS OUR TRIP!" Me too, boys.. can't wait till next year!

Back-up dancer Elijah!

Here is a super cute video of Elijah being another boy's back-up dancer at the Heart Camp Talent Show on Friday. :) I saw him walk out with the wig-hat-clocknecklace ensemble and smiled. That is our oldest boy for sure. I love it.

Elijah's talent was joke-telling and he did GREAT! We rehearsed his performance a few times beforehand and I wrote a note card out for him. I can't show you, though, because he decided to tell the jokes while lying on the ground (I'll be more clear next time). I held my camera way over my head to capture the scene, but part of my hand got in the way and I missed it. :( Sad.

Heart camp was awesome this year! I feel like Elijah got much more out of it (comparing to last year) and was way more excited about it. As Sammy and I watched the talent show, I realized that every single heart kid is so special in such an awesome and unique way. These kids are incredible and so spunky and have such personalities!

I want to say a quick "thank you" to the helpful and encouraging comments/emails we have received recently! Thank you to a handful of you who we've never even met, yet who we receive such great insight from. I LOVED the early-morning quiet time thoughts, Lauren! I think you're onto something there. And Maggie, getting the class schedule beforehand is a great suggestion. We'll definitely do this! Thank you!! We are ALWAYS open to new ideas. It's part of the reason I keep up with this blog.

I'm meeting a very old (well, SHE's not very old, but I've known her for a very long time...just to clarify!) friend for lunch on Monday. She has a son with special needs and also has worked in the sp-ed department at a nearby school for years. She has both perspectives, home and school, and has graciously offered to share insight with me. I feel so grateful!

The boys and I are spending a quick night at the dz and will head back home in the am for church and then laundry/packing at home. We will be heading out on Tuesday for an almost-week-long trip to Iowa to spend time with family. We are excited! PLEASE pray for Elijah to feel safe and secure and for good sleep and amazingly awesome behavior while we're away. Thanks for checking in! Have a great weekend!!

Very random post-trip thoughts

Today was weird. I was foggy-brained, exhausted, sore and impatient. Dan worked at the dz while the boys and I wandered aimlessly around our messy home. Dan had the house totally clean when we got home last night and now? It's a disaster and I don't care. Maybe on Sunday I'll care. Tomorrow I'm shooting a wedding and Dan will be working, so the boys will be spending the day at their Auntie Christine's. Please pray for good behavior and a great day! (Gulp..a little worried.)

Some miscellaneous thoughts.. (Have you noticed I like to write in bullet points lately?)

- I have big plans to organize our home! Mainly for Elijah because from what I've read, NLD kids thrive when their surroundings are organized. In the next few days/weeks, I plan to: 1. create an "alone" space in our closet for Elijah and Sammy to retreat to when they want to be alone, 2. organize our disastrous storage closet, 3. organize our garage, 4. get rid of some toys, despite the boys' pleading not to and 5. go through the boys' clothes/closet. 

- Potty issues were very frustrating on our trip, and even at home today. Something with E is still just not clicking. During our long days of driving in the car, I may as well have had a newborn with all of the pulling over for poop clean-up that was going on. This is extremely frustrating, as it is such a regression from 8-9 months ago.

- We were able to spend time with my brother and his girlfriend while we were in North Carolina and we cherished our time with them! The boys also got to go to two days of VBS at my parents' church, which they both loved. We swam in their neighborhood pool a handful of times, and Sammy even got in the water! And he removed his shirt (major improvement from last summer)!

- I am determined to teach both boys to swim within the next year. Also on the agenda is music lessons! In the NLD book I just read, I learned that musical talent tends to come naturally for these kiddos and it is a great outlet for them. And Sammy has always been musically inclined, so...we will pursue this. Violin? Piano? Both? 

- My dad and stepmom brought us to the Lazy 5 Ranch in NC and it was such a cool place! We traveled in a large wagon amidst very large roaming animals, feeding and petting them. If I hadn't been fending off Elijah attacks, it would have been even more enjoyable. For the first 8-10 days of our trip, the meds (I believe) caused E to totally lash out at me, both verbally and physically. It was rough. And sad. But I kept reminding myself it wasn't "him," and that helped.

Here are some fun L5R pics! Thank you so much for peeking in!