Friday's Favorite

Who needs words when actions actions can speak volumes?  

Brett has been at basketball camp this week.  

Can you tell Little Brother has missed him?

Appointment Day!

It was a 5:15 wake-up for Kacy this morning!  He had an appointment in Moscow at the Palouse Surgeons' Surgery Center.  

It sounds very serious, but it was just a dental appointment- no surgeon required, only Kacy's dentist and a hygienist . Kacy actually had a cavity that needed to be filled and due to his severe objection to anyone looking in his mouth, he needed to be put under anesthesia.  While he was under, Doctor Dusty and his hygienist were going to give everything a good look, clean and floss his teeth, give him a good dose of fluoride, and take some x-rays.  Kacy has undergone several outpatient procedures in his ten years, and this certainly won't be the last, so "putting him under" really doesn't cause much anxiety on our behalf.  There are so many things about Kacy that we can't fix that we are adamant about fixing the things we can- and his teeth fall in that category of "fixable problems!"  We have actually been requesting this for several years- I mean, really.  Nearly 10 years without a teeth cleaning- yuk-o! We brush his teeth, but still... everybody's pearly whites need a good scrub a couple times a year.  So today was the first of many more "sedated" dentist appointments.  Thankfully, everything went as expected!  

Teeth polished & flossed! 

Cavity filled!

Fluoride applied!

X-rays taken!

And a bonus!  -A loose tooth pulled (rather than swallowed!) and ready for the Tooth Fairy!

My Instagram pic of Kacy post-Versed .  We have learned a hearty dose of this medication prior to leaving me relaxes him to sleep, making IV insertion a million times easier. 

An hour later, he was sleeping soundly in Recovery.  Kacy was blessed with our friend, Benay, as his nurse.  It's always nice to get some extra-special TLC.  (Instagram pic)

We were home by 9:00 am.   I took full advantage of this opportunity and  we headed to my room, closed the blinds, snuggled under a favorite blanket and took a nap.  By 11:00, Kacy was up and going- hungry, thirsty, and wanting to play.  ...He refuses to let me see his filling or the spot where his missing tooth used to be, of course. But I am thankful because the whole thing was easy, peasy, lemon squeezy!  And we can't say that very often, so we'll take it today!

Blessings~J.

Breaking Habits

Turning the calendar to August today meant it was also time to start breaking and changing some habits that Kacy has ingrained in his daily life. We started with two biggies today:  

1.  No more iPad at your fingertips.  

2.  Food and drink can be enjoyed only while seated in the kitchen. 

Allowing Kacy to use his iPad for entertainment purposes is something he enjoys more than anything!  He has his favorite shows, movies, and music at his fingertips and it's extremely portable so it goes with him everywhere- all around the house, in the car, into gyms, into restaurants - everywhere.  He is amazing at navigating it, too, and it's fun to watch him be good at something.  I knew I should be setting some boundaries with it early this spring as it became the first thing he wanted in the morning and it was pried out of his fingertips before bed. But the luxury of it  was hard to give up, and the happiness it brought him made it even more difficult.  However, anticipating being home with him this fall and attempting potty training, I am thinking it is the perfect motivation for him, so I need to start teaching him the idea of the iPad being a reward for certain behavior.  Also, the educational possibilities with the iPad are endless, and I need to make sure we are using it more for that purpose and less for watching Lightening McQueen's life changing experiences in Radiator Springs. 


As for the to-go-cups Kacy has been enjoying for 9 years, it is time to change that habit before my carpet needs replacing due to the stench of sour milk and sticky orange juice stains!  Handing Kacy a cup of chocolate milk and watching him walk out of the room to enjoy it while playing with this toys has gifted me an extra half hour here and there to get other things done- like laundry, dinner, make a phone call, etc.  However, it has also resulted in sticky everything as the cups we are using with him don't seem to be 100% spill-proof, and he has only a vague concept of setting a cup in an upright position. Yesterday, I had a head ache so I laid down for a bit and admittedly, fell asleep for an hour.  When I awoke- my bathroom was a swamp of chocolate milk with floating Cheez-Its.  Yes-- Kacy had helped himself to his cup from the fridge and a box from the pantry and I spent the next half hour cleaning up a cheezy, milky mess in the bathroom. Thank goodness he didn't create this mess in the living room!  No one else is allowed to take food or drinks out of the kitchen (for the most part) so now, it is time for the rule to apply to him as well.


So how did we do on Day 1?  Pretty good!  He took me to the fridge, grunted, and pointed to the iPad that was sitting on top roughly 2,568 times.  I took him to a chair at the kitchen island roughly 472 times in attempt to get him to drink and eat something.  He has eaten and he has drank- but not very much!  Most of my attempts were met with a shake of his head while turning on his heel and walking out of the room.  He's also sneakier than I had given him credit for.... Today, the phone rang and it was Brett checking in from basketball camp.  While listening to him explain something about his guide hand making the difference between whether he's shooting or throwing the ball at the hoop when he drives to the basket (huh?)... Kacy opened the fridge, got out his cup of juice, and quietly left the kitchen to drink it in the comfort of his bedroom.  *sigh    I wasn't expecting sneaky in addition to stubborn!  This may be more difficult than I had expected.  I'll keep you posted!

Friday's Favorites....

I take a lot of pictures and, when I say a lot, I mean A LOT - gobs on a daily basis, actually.  In four years, the only repair that has been needed on my SLR was a problem with the card reader - popping that tiny blue chip in and out so frequently to upload the pics to my computer finally took its toll and the reader had to be replaced. So while all those pictures simmer on my hard drive, waiting to be digitally scrapped or printed at Costco, I have decided to follow along with several of my favorite bloggers and take one day where I post my favorites from the week.  Here we go... my first "Friday's Favorites!"

The Tractor Factor

If Kacy could, he would tell you all kinds of things about this tractor and bank out wagon.  It is one of his favorite things to ride in!  This morning, when he saw that it had been parked on the pad in front of the shop, he put on his shoes and pulled me by the hand to the door!  I love this picture... The tractor has his complete attention - while he is holding the complete attention of Pistol (the dog) and Dennis.

On his tippy toes to get a better look.

It would be easier (and certainly faster!) to pack him up the ladder, but Tyler is patiently helping him learn to do it on his own.  Kacy has been blessed with amazing brothers.

The reward of climbing that ladder all by himself?  Why, a quick ride in the tractor, of course!

Welcome to my blog!

At the request and suggestion of several friends and family members, I have decided to share with you bits and pieces of our journey as we travel through this world with our family's most special gift, Kacy (bottom right).  


Kacy was born in August of 2002.    Within 10 days, we learned that our perfect little baby had an imperfectly formed brain, and today, we know that "he is who he is" due to a disorder of his corpus callosum.  I will likely get into explaining all of this in great detail later, but for now, this is enough. 


Our family is going strong!  Oh- we have our weak moments and have each found ourselves in a fetal position, crying over spilt milk more than once, but mostly, we feel blessed.  I plan to share with you the good-- the bad-- and the ugly-- with my only intent being to inform and maybe, along the way, teach a bit of understanding & compassion for others.  We do not want sympathy or pats on the back any more than we are asking for ridicule or criticism. So instead of sending an email or leaving a comment, just say a quick prayer for our boy or my family.  That would be most appreciated!  And by the way... most of my posts will lack editing and spell checks, and the photography may be fuzzy.  So if you choose to follow us, consider yourself warned.  


Blessings~J.