The shops

We went to the shops yesterday - I am always down there - Owen loves the supermarket -it where all his fans are - or at least he thinks so. He waves and throws kisses and cheers for nearly everyone and he has become quite a celebrity with the women that work there. Every morning as I get him dressed he will sign "shops" and "car" over and over or "Mel" his family daycarer - don't know whats wrong with my company and staying home !!! Anyway, so we are down at the supermarket yesterday and we have done our shopping and I am putting Owen back in his car seat when he frantically starts saying "ooo" oooo" and signing something I didn't recognise at the time and then he sayes and signs " Uh oh" and points to something outside of the car and there laying on the ground is one of his shoes ! He was telling me his shoe had come off !!!! I was so proud of him ! I hadn't noticed and would have driven off with out it if he hadn't told me !!!! This kid is growing up !

More Uber biotics

Cy complained of a sore ear yesterday afternoon and then proceeded to throw up everywhere. We took him to a doctor who said his ear drums are very red and he needs antibiotics. He threw up all over me and the bathroom after getting home from the doctors, because it is a public holiday here no chemist was open to get the antibiotic so we had to wait until this morning. We dosed him up with Painstop (a painkiller with codeine) and put him to bed for the night, he slept through till morning.
When he got up he came in to our bedroom and asked me "what's in my ear?" and I said "you have tubes in your ears to let the air in so you can hear better" and he said "no I have juice".... WTH !!!!!!!!Gross, but he has fluid leaking out his left ear, its just kinda oozing out. As soon as the chemist opened this morning we were there for the prescription.

So Cy is now on an antibiotic its not as Uber as Owens but stronger than normal. Urgghhh, we also bought a new bottle of probiotic and an extra large tub of yogurt.

Postive news is that Owen seems to be on the improve and is noticably trying to talk more/clearer !!! (so exciting) and Cy hasn't thrown up since last night. Yahoo.

ENT twice

On Monday we headed to Tamworth about 120kms from home for ENT surgery for both Owen and Cy both got Ear Tubes (grommetts) and Cy also had his adenoids out. It is always so hard handing your child over for surgery and even worse having to do it for 2 children on the same day.

Owen went in first and did so well in his recovery. His ear canals are so tiny that the surgeon traumatised them putting the tubes in, so his left ear had quite a bit of blood coming out of it. He had lots of glue in both ears and infection which needs ear drops for the next 5 days - and to say putting the ear drops in is traumatic is an understatement - the Hulk returns !

But to top it off I get a phone call today saying that a swab taken at the time of surgery shows 3 different types of bacteria (we aren't that grotty are we???) and he needs an Uber strength antibiotic to knock them off, seems my boy has been putting up with a chronic sinus infection. Don't know how I am going to get an antibiotic into him - he HATES any kind of liquid medication and I have to hold him down just to give him paracetamol, Cy on the other hand is no problem with medicines which is lucky because his recovery was exhausting, painful and upsetting. My middle boy is so sensitive and once the drugs from the op wore off - it was on ! He bellowed and screamed and coughed and cried, till I ended up yelling at him, I was terrified that he was going to start haemorraging.

Finally and although we were advised that paracetamol would be enough for pain relief I sent Col out to get something stronger - 30 minutes after taking it Cy was sitting up in bed watching Iceage and giggling away at Sid - quite stoned but whatever ! Crisis averted. We stayed overnight in Tamworth in case of bleeding - so we stayed in a hotel it was a rough night between worrying about the bleeding from Owens ear and worrying Cy might start bleeding and trying to keep the pain medication up to him so that he (we) got some rest. In the morning it seemed everything had settled and we drove home Monday afternoon, exhausted.

Things are settled now -3 days after the surgery and I can tell already that Cy and Owen are hearing better but Cy still sounds like a cigar smoking Tweety Bird.

Next on the list of appointments is a review of the boys orthotics and Cys night splint - a 5.5 hour drive to Brisbane for that one - in 10 days time.

In the meantime there is painting to be done and train lines to build .........

Power Play

It seems like every. single. thing. is a power struggle with O right now. He wants to do so many things for himself and growls and swipes at me if I try to help him.

Most of these power struggles have to do with things that are not negotiable like for instance brushing his teeth. Usually I would take turns with him brushing -my turn to brush properly and then his turn -munching the toothbrush. Lately its become a wrestling match complete with growling and writhing, with my legs wrapped over his legs to hold him still, .... think WWF on the floor of our bathroom. Its all such a put on, because as soon as I am done with doing it properly and offer the brush for his turn he stops instantly, snatches the toothbrush and goes over to the shower screen where he can see his reflection to laugh at himself while munching the toothbrush, while I collapse in exhaustion from wrestling his 14 kg Hulk (Hogan) body, seriously this kid is uber strong. So, with teeth done its onto brushing his hair and getting clothes on, all with variations of the brushing teeth performance.

Hulk, lucky I love you and sometimes you are gentle and thoughtful, like when....you stack blocks !?

Just cause

Cause its my birthdaycooked up a batch of Deadly Choc Cupcakes with cream (of course)

SO GOOD

Potty Saga

Things were going great nearing 3 weeks without a poopy accident. Then O went to his family day carer for the day and each time he went near the kitchen table she thought he was signing toilet and kept taking him and sitting him on the potty with no result, we worked out later he was actually signing yogurt!! Then when he actually did sign toilet she missed it (or ignored it (not sure) and he pooed in his nappy. And the next day he was at home with me and he went in his nappy without telling me (first time for over a month so that was so disappointing).

The following few days at home we got back on track, then back to family day care this Monday and another poopy nappy - and the following day at home 2 pooey nappies. Its like, just because of the confusion at daycare he has lost his groove for toilet training. So to say I am disappointed is an understatement.

So today he signed toilet and I took him along with success, so all is not lost - but later he did another in his nappy - what the ??. With my other kids once they had, had no accidents for a couple weeks they never looked back, so this is a new scenario for me - one step forward and one back.

I feel like with Owen there is alot of pressure to get things right all the time because I think he can get confused or start a habit easily. It seems to me if he starts right, things seem to keep going along right. But all it can take is one accident or unintended action and things go a bit pear shaped, eventually we get back on track but it takes consistency over a long period of time and sometimes some creative thinking to break the habit. Sadly at the moment I feel like I don't have energy for it, and since it is at daycare where the problem starts/is I am not even sure what to do about it. Frustrating.....

Littlest Jedi

You know, the very ordinary, normal, funny, family moments are happening more and more these days.

On the day of diagnosis it was these moments I thought lost, or more like stolen, like we had been robbed of a normal family life.

But we have found our ordinary again, infact we never really lost it at all and its these ordinary family moments that make my heart smile most, its like life and hope are returning to my heart.

After dinner last night Randall dressed up Owen as a Jedi - complete with wooden spoon light saber.

ahhh just another "ordinary" moment to melt a mothers heart