News

So I have a piece of exciting news... I'm going to be a contributor to another blog. For a wonderful person whom I just happen to love! I love their blog too, so it's win-win! I'm going to be filling in the role of "free printables" so I can't wait to show you all what I've been working on. I'm really excited for it. As soon as it's up I'll let you guys know so that you can go check it out for yourselves.

Anyway, today is Link's first parent-teacher conference. I can't wait to get some feedback. I know that he's been learning a lot (colors, shapes, numbers, etc.) but I want to know more. Since he doesn't have all the words to tell me, our typical ride home consists of me asking how his day was, "Good," and what he did, "Um...play...paint."

Yesterday, for the first time I think, he used an adverb. We were snuggling on the couch watching Polar Express (that movie creeps me out, anyone else?) and it was snowing. He turned to me and said, "I really want snow." I was blown away! This kid hardly ever forms complete sentences and hardly ever uses I and then even threw in an adverb. If it had been within my power I would have made it snow right there and then for the kid! I'm excited to see all of his progress.

Back into the Fray

So a lot, and I mean A LOT, has happened these past few months. I've been incredibly busy and preoccupied but here's a rundown of things:

1. I quit my daytime job so I can devote more time to my family, including my son who has speech dysarthria and has numerous doctors / therapy appointments

2. My dysarthric son had ear tubes in/adenoids and tonsils out. They seem to be working wonders. I know some people are on the fence about tonsillectomies, but this child no longer has sleep apnea nor snoring. It's improved the quality of the sounds he can produce as well. Win-win!

3. We went to Disneyland Paris and Legoland Deutschland. They. Were. Amazing. Love the memories that we created and maybe one of these days I'll post some information/tips/photos.

4. I realized that I'm frustrated by the lack of information out there about children with speech dysarthria (if you google it you'll find it's mostly in older patients, particularly stroke patients, who have had some sort of head trauma). I'm frustrated that we're not sure what we're in for, nor how far Lincoln can go, and that there's just NO ONE out there. Then I realized, hey, I can blog about it. I can be the start. There might some other mother out there that's just getting the dysarthric diagnosis for her child and she might want to find some answers (I have none) or atleast some camaraderie (I have plenty). So if I start rambling about my child and his speech / motor delays, you know why. :)

Well, those are the main points, I think. I do plan on becoming more active in my blog. I really enjoy reading other blogs, reading comments, etc. so I hope that I can get back into it. Like everything else in life, I think I'll just have to make time for it.

Long Time Gone

Wow, I can't believe that the last time that I wrote was in May. Well, actually I can. I've been super busy. My youngest, who has been diagnosed with dysarthia (a motor speech disorder) has three appointments a week. I'm thankful that he's getting the help he needs, but I find that I'm doing a lot of running back and forth. It doesn't help that the hospital where he goes has very few parking spaces. I once spent 20 minutes trying to find a spot...but that's another story.

We also went on vacation back to the States to see my family and the hubby's family. IT. WAS. AWESOME. I didn't want to come back, truth be told. It's a good thing we have things to look forward to over here, or else I would have wanted to just stay put. I'll try to post some photos of our month long vacation (since I took over two thousand) but I make no promises.

I really do hope to start writing on a more consistent basis and providing even some more free printables. I love designing and creating items that I know get used, so if you have any suggestions for what ot make, just let me know! Thanks for hanging around and not giving up on me. <3

Long Time, No Talk

I've been terrible about updating my blog. It's not that I haven't wanted to. It's just that I'm going through a bit of a rough patch. That and the crazy busy schedule that my life is currently subjected to is overwhelming me at the moment. It's not a bad busy, just busy.

My youngest son has been preliminarily diagnosed with dysarthria, a motor speech disorder. I say preliminary because it's not an official diagnosis yet, though the speech therapist is pretty sure that's what we're dealing with. For a long time I didn't think Lincoln looked, acted, or spoke like his age. I hate to be right in this case. As a mother, I want what's best for my children, and I'm constantly berating myself lately. Was that fall down the stairs what caused the problem? Was it because I chose to do my graphics business or dishes instead of sitting on the floor playing with him? Was it something I did during my pregnancy? I hate the what ifs. Right now they're tearing me apart. I could have been a better mother to him, I should have gotten him the help sooner, I shouldn't have taken the doctor's assertions that he was fine at face value. I've got to pull myself together and be better for him. He deserves it.