A Little Fish

"It's a little fish swimming around looking for the food."  Liam - describing his poop.

At least he's still got that ability.

(you'll thank me for no picture to go along with this post.)

Busy

I so wish I could have caught a quick nap in the car today.

I've never been the type to over-schedule my kids, or myself.  When choosing activities I'm always careful of making sure we don't try to do too much.  It seems that I just can't avoid this right now.  Between therapy appointments, doctor appointments, tests, and then the normal every day stuff that we signed up for months ago - the month of August is booked solid.

Today was one of those days. 

The boys and I left the house this morning with a picnic lunch packed - and returned briefly to leave Quinn at home with Mike while Liam and I finished up the day.

Come to think of it - we only had three things "to do" - but boy did it take a lot out of me (and Liam).

First - therapy - today was an easy day - just speech, so Quinn came along.  I'm beyond happy to report that Liam's speech therapist reported that he's making "quick progress" and she's already had to readjust a goal she just wrote for him last week.  Good news.  Very good news, in fact. 

I'm also happy to report that Quinn is content (and even happy) to have a solid hour to just sit and read a book - though he doesn't just sit - he's quite possibly the antsiest reader I've seen - but he's happy to have the time to just read and the book must have been good today because he was laughing out loud and sharing the funny stuff with me.

Then, we had a break in the day, but not enough of a break to make going home worth it, so we headed to a new-to-us park for some playtime and a picnic lunch.  (The benefits of packing a picnic lunch always outweigh the dread I have of making lunches - much cheaper than buying lunch AND much healthier than anything I could just "pick up".) 

After our picnic lunch we headed over to Chess Camp for Quinn (one of the normal things we signed up for months ago).  Liam and I made a quick trip to the grocery store and then spent the rest of the time playing at the park.

Finally, we headed home where the boys were able to veg for a bit in front of the TV until Liam and I had to leave for his doctor's appointment.

This one was with his pediatrician and was very interesting.  She shared with me that she's done a lot of research on what has happened with Liam and she truly believes the stroke was caused by the chicken pox vaccine.  We talked about a delayed schedule for this next baby.  She also told me about her own son's reaction to a vaccine just a few months ago.  He had just turned five and a week after having his vaccines started having accidents.  They did an EEG and found him to be having seizures.  These went away after about six weeks and she's traced it back to the MMR he had.  Crazy.  But nice to know she will understand our fear and cautiousness of moving forward with other vaccines.

That being said, Mike and I have also discussed looking for a different doctor.  Our doctor has always been open to our suggestions for postponing vaccines and offering natural remedies before drugs, but has never been the one to suggest anything like that.  When I saw a friend of mine the day Liam had his vaccines (four vaccines) she said, "Four!?  My pediatrician would never do four at once."  I would like a doctor that suggests things like waiting and natural remedies first.  I've been happy with a doctor that agrees with my suggestions, but I might like to have a doctor suggest things to me first.  Things I might not have thought of.

Of course now that I know the history of our doctor and she knows our history - the two of us might be able to better work together.  I think I will ask my friend for her pediatrician's number and interview him/her... just to see what's out there.

I didn't intend for this post to become one about vaccines, but I couldn't mention the doctor's appointment without mentioning what was discussed.  I am sure I will be posting more in the future about vaccines and what we've done in the past and what we'll be doing in the future.

Anyway... after the doctor's appointment Liam and I finally had some dinner and made it home in time for a bath, books, and bedtime. 

(Coming up tomorrow - Liam has an EEG to rule out any seizure activity - something that happens in some kids after a stroke.)

Great America (on a budget)

Taking a trip to Six Flags can really eat at your bank account.  Every year Quinn's school does a reading incentive program - read for six hours and earn a free ticket to Great America.  With regular ticket prices costing $62, parking $20, and kid prices at $42 - the cost to take your student to use his free ticket can really add up.
Luckily, being a teacher, I also usually earn a free ticket (for entering in the data required for my students to earn a ticket).  But still, to go I'd have to pay for parking and a ticket for Liam.  Also, this year, since I'm pregnant I knew I wouldn't be able to go on many of the rides with the boys - so we waited for a time when Mike could come with.

It could have cost us $124 just to get into the park! 

I searched online for "discount great america tickets" and found a promo code that allowed me to pay only $30 each for Liam and Mike - so it only cost us $80 to get into the park.

That's still a lot of money, but much better than over a hundred.

Anyone who has ever been to Six Flags knows that the most costly portion of the trip might not necessarily be getting into the park.  Once you're in you are bombarded with food, treats, souvenirs, drinks, games, and rides/attractions that cost extra.

The most important thing to remember when going to Great America is this - decide ahead of time that you will not be purchasing any of these items in the park.  Pack a lunch to leave in the car, snacks for a backpack, and water bottles.  This plan will only work if you explain ahead of time to the children (and the husband) that you will  not be purchasing any of the extra items in the park.

We took the boys this past Sunday and enjoyed beautiful weather.  The park got very crowded as the day went on, but we were able to hit some of our favorite rides in the first two hours with little waits.  I did break my "not buying anything" by surprising the boys with cotton candy (a very rare treat for my kids) and only because cotton candy from the zoo was promised to Liam after his angiogram, but every kiosk in the zoo was closed by the time we got there!

Liam's favorite ride was the "Scenic train" around the park and Quinn absolutely loved the Whizzer!  Both boys enjoyed the two water rides...

after Logger's run

Normal

Between doctors' appointments and therapy - it seems that every day the past month has been consumed by Liam's stroke.  Even the days that could be considered normal, the days when all that's on the calendar is day camp and swim lessons, I usually get a call from someone or I need to call someone regarding something to do with Liam and the aftermath of the stroke.

I've come to love Saturdays.

Today was a perfectly normal day.  We started out slow - declaring it a "Movie Morning" - and then Mike and I divided and conquered - he took Quinn and I took Liam - each of us getting some shopping accomplished.  I actually returned more things than I purchased.  Liam reminded me he had a Toys R Us gift card and so we browsed the store for awhile until he happily picked out a chainsaw.

Lunch time.