Hello? Is This Thing On?

January 16, 2012. Wow. Well, a few things have changed since my last blog post. 

PJ was 4, now he's 11. 

Rebecca was 14 and a half, and in high school. She's now 22, an assistant manager at a Sheetz store, a graduate, a fiance, a home-owner, and mommy to 2 cats. (and lives less than 5 miles from me)

Danyse, my oldest was already out on her own, mom to 3 children. That hasn't changed, but a lot of changes in her life too. 

So, because life brings changes, and I'm going to see about blogging again, and Down Syndrome is just a thing, but not a huge thing, I'm going to talk about whatever I want to, and it wont always be about PJ. Sometimes it will.  Hopefully it will be something that you can use for yourself, or pass on to someone else. Some little tidbit of information that you didn't previously have. 

You all know about Amazon, that used to be the best place to buy books online, and now is the best place to buy just about anything online. But, do you know about Zappos? Zappos is SHOES. But much more. I've only bought shoes from them, and only shoes for PJ. Know why? They have the biggest selection in one place of DOUBLE WIDE shoes for boys that I've ever seen. I can't tell you they are the cheapest. They might be, but I really don't know. What I DO know is they have the best customer service, and free shipping, and it's fast, fast, fast. I have bought at least one pair of shoes for PJ for the past several years in a row, and am always delighted with them. If you don't have size problems, like extra narrow, or extra wide, or double extra wide, then you may not think it's any big deal. But Zappos is my first go to when looking to get PJ some new shoes. I don't know if this helps you at all, but pass it on! It's sure to help somebody. 

Welcome 2012.

Well, life continues on as normal. Christmas has come and gone, New Years has past. It's winter time, (I hate the cold) the kids are in school (except for today, as it's MLK day). Rebecca is doing great in school, working hard all the time to get good grades, knowing that this will be her ticket to higher education. The school Becca goes to is a magnet school, an early college that crams 6-7 years of education into 4-5 years. When it's over, Rebecca will have completed high school and be halfway through her bachelors curriculum in the health sciences field of study. Now, this means that her school is 100% academics. No sports, no music, no art. Rebecca is artistic, and we've been trying to figure out how she can continue to feed this part of herself, since she isn't getting it at school. Well, she figured it out. Hopefully she will become a popular and successful vlogger, raising awareness, promoting acceptance and inclusion. I love this girl!

Trigger Thumb

PJ has a condition called Trigger Thumb. We first noticed it a few months ago, and although it freaked us parents out, it didn't seem to bother PJ, so we waited until his next pediatrician appointment to mention it to his dr. After describing his locking thumb to her, she named it trigger thumb, and said surgery is the answer, and said when we were ready, she'd set us up an appointment with an ortho dr. That visit was today. Over the past few weeks, each episode has become more uncomfortable for him, so we've scheduled surgery for Thursday, October 20. Its a 10 minute procedure, or less, and the dr. said the biggest struggle would be to keep the dressing on the surgery site. My biggest worry is how he will handle the whole surgery set up, remembering how traumatized he was after the tonsillectomy. Anyway, that's it for now.

Chicken Nuggets (aka eating habits)

PJ is a "pretty good" eater. At least, when he's hungry and when he's being given something he likes. I know "our" kids can be picky eaters, and stubborn, so I guess I should be happy there is more than one thing he will eat for dinner.

Currently his favorite food is chicken nuggets. (Tyson) He will also eat a grilled cheese sandwich, pizza, french fries, and spaghetti. He likes broccoli, and raw carrot sticks with ranch dressing, but not many other vege's. He LOVES ice cream. He loves pretzel sticks. He'll eat corned beef hash and eggs, if I smother it with ketchup.

He HATES rice of any kind, beans of any kind, and macaroni and cheese. Really? Yes, really. for breakfast it's either a smoothie, fresh fruit (he loves fruit) and pretzel sticks, or pancakes.

He goes through periods of liking something, and then all of a sudden, doesn't ever want to see it again. He's at this point with oatmeal, and mini ravioli.

I would love to know about your kids, their likes and dislikes, and how you get around it.

Hi there (a year later) I'm coming back!

Well, Im back, or going to TRY to be. Sorry for the hiatus, no excuses, just wanted to "be alone", if you know what I mean.

Here's where we are today: PJ had tonsils and majority of adenoids removed about 3 weeks ago. The recovery was bad. Up most nights, trying to stay ahead of the pain, worried about him dehydrating. But as bad as it was, I've heard of much worse, like kids going to hospital for IV fluids, so, thankfully, it wasn't all THAT bad for us. He's recovered quite well now, getting over the narcotics dependency quickly, and no longer needing even Motrin. He's sleeping beautifully, laying down all night, not having apnea episodes at all that I've been able to detect, so it was worth it. Hopefully we'll see after school restarts if he continues to get sick every week. I sure hope not.

He made it thru his first year of preschool, with flying colors. He's jabbering all the time, knows many many words, although they are still not very clear. He knows many signs. Not enough to converse with, but still they help to convey some basic wants, or ideas.

Rebecca is fabulous, she was accepted into our county's early college high school in the health science area. School starts August 8th for her, she's very excited, and we are all very very very proud of her.

Everything else is as it has been, Daniel still has his full time job, and we are squeaking by. I am still unemployed and trying to learn how to be a big time couponer. We'll see how I do.

Anyway, glad to be back. :o)

What would You do? (Iron deficiency)

I don't have the numbers, but if you could consider the post without actual stats and comment, I'd be grateful.

We've been battling a low iron problem with PJ for the past few months, and by a mis-communication between dr's office and myself, I had him on multi vitamins, but no iron for a month, which is why it's taken so long to begin to address the issue. Here's the thing. Pediatrician just recommended 4 times 100% (FOUR TIMES) the daily amount of iron, for a month, and then a recheck. Seems really extreme to me. I was thinking maybe 100% of the daily recommended amount for a month with a recheck then. I think I'm cautious because I've heard that high iron is very abrasive in our kids systems, because of the extra chromosome. (or something like that) I've voiced this concern to the Ped. She's not the easiest person to get on the phone, her guard dog nurse is always the one to call me back. I'm not unhappy with his care there overall, I just would love some opinions on what would YOU do?

Easter time

Grandma bought PJ a cute shorts and top from target several weeks ago, before it was really warm enough to wear, so he wore them yesterday (Easter Sunday) and when his sister got home from church with her Grandma, she ran and changed into an outfit that she had really outgrown from last summer, but she stayed in it long enough for me to get a few pics, how cute is this?








In other news, Daddy ran off to work in the carnival. He recently made contact with one of his best friends from childhood days, whom he hadn't seen in nearly 20 years, and he happens to life the life of traveling carnie. Contrary to my preconceived notions, Joe is good people, not a junkie, not a thief, just a really nice guy with a huge heart. He and his wife are really nice, normal people, and Joe got Daniel the chance to work at the fair, slinging french fries and corndogs for a few days while the carnival was in a nearby town. Daniel was gone from Thursday to Monday morning, brought home a little cash, and now knows what it's like to be a carnival worker.

I just canceled my Myspace account. I NEVER used it anymore, I'm always on Facebook.

PJ has been battling low iron, and when we get his levels up, we see great strides in his cognitive development, and when it drops, he regresses, so we're working on that and other issues, but life is good.

That's about it for now, thanks for checking in.

A few new pics

This one is a little different

I know that most if not all of my posts here center around my youngest child, PJ. This will be a little different in that it's all about Rebecca, my middle child. She is 13 years old, in the 7th grade, which is year 2 of middle school. She goes to a magnet school, not because we applied, but because it's the assigned school for where we live. She's been Honor Roll for as long as I can remember, but specifically she's not missed an honor roll award since starting middle school. This last grading period, she also got an award for behavior. Recently one of her teachers nominated her for inclusion into the 2010 United States Achievement Academy National Yearbook, which allows her, and other recipients of this honor the opportunity to apply for 400 different grants awarded annually that are only available to those honored in this yearbook. While filling out her bio, she realized the importance of extra-curricular activities for her future acceptance into college. She is trying out for track this week. On Monday, she was so beaten that she wanted to quit. They worked those girls hard. I told her I wouldn't be mad at her if she decided to quit, but after a hot bath and a motrin and a good nights sleep, she said they could cut her, but she wouldn't quit. Today (after day 2 of tryouts) she's limping around like an old lady, but not going to quit. Poor thing. I take ZERO credit for how this beautiful girl is turning out, but I'm so very proud of her. Yes, she displays 13 year old attitude at times, but gosh darn it she is an amazing child. She is terrific with children, I mean gifted with them, little ones come to her, even if they don't know her. I love all of my babies, and am proud of each of them. They all work hard and bring me joy. I just needed to brag on Becca, she is a truly beautiful person, and I can't think of a thing she could do that would make me more proud of her than I already am. I love u Becca!

What?! A Post??!! HERE? No way!

Wow, ok, no apologies, I just suck.

PJ is now 28 months old. He was low on iron and I resisted putting him on extra because I'd heard that iron and DS dont mix well, that our kids don't process it well and it can be dangerous. Well, I got the ok from the DS clinic, put him on a very low dose for a month, and his iron came up 2 points and is right at "normal". Well, in that month we've seen some strides, including saying "bye bye" appropriately, signing "thank you" and playing/pretending to talk on a toy phone in a mirror. Little advances that make a mommies heart soar.

I got "let go" last week, no reason that makes any sense, so daddy is now looking and I'm trying to stay home. We'll see how that goes. I'll try to get some current pics of PJ up soon.

Thanks for stopping by.

omgosh! has it really been 3 months?

Wow. Its been 3 months since last post. Time is flying by and I haven't been keeping up with it at all well. I don't really have any photos organized to show updates, but I was lovingly reminded today it was time to be heard from again. *sheepish grin*

OK. PJ is now 21 months old. He's wonderful and amazing. He's stubborn, spoiled and demanding. And he's mine all mine. He walks perfectly, we bought a little ladder and ball pit (blow up baby pool with 300 balls) He learned how to climb the ladder in one PT session, and now does it for fun, even when no one's looking. 300 balls might have been a little excessive, since he loves throwing them all over the house, hiding them under furniture, in the couch cushions, wherever. And as soon as he sees us start collecting them to return them to the pool, well, that's his cue to start emptying the pool again. Oh, its so cute. (ahem)

His vocabulary is still pretty minimal, words recognized are, momma, daddy, becca, banana, ball, diaper, hey, kitty and woof woof. WE recognize them most of the time, you might not. example his word for diaper sounds a lot like bopper. I know the understanding is there, because when I tell him "come on, PJ, lets go change your diaper, he races me to his room, where the changing table and diapers are.

In a 3 month period, he gained approx 3 pounds, and about an inch and a half, hes still a short little chubster, and he will likely always be, and thats just perfect.

He also has lately tried breathing under water in the tub! Not good. You'd think he would have figured THAT out after the first try. He came up choking and panicked and puking water, oh it was scary, and the very next bath, he tried again. Dear Lord. I was RIGHT THERE. He was sitting nicely, splashing, playing with toys. and then boom, from a seated position, in like zero seconds, his face is in the water, and then he's scrambling to get out, scared and choking. And this has happened twice. Jiminy Christmas! My nerves! He's still alive.

Becca got her final report card, she stayed AB honor roll all year. It's late, and we're all good, sorry for the length of time between posts, I'll try to be better.

Hugs all around.

WDSD

Today is World Down Syndrome Day. *(thanks to Ecki and Meredith for the reminders!) Today, March 21 was chosen for this day because Down syndrome means to have a 3rd copy of the 21st chromosome. 3/21. As did Ecki (www.oppositekids.blogspot.com) about Kayla, I'm giving you 21 things about PJ.

1. He is 18 months old, and still takes a bottle to go to sleep. (It's our cuddle time - is my excuse, truthfully, he's just not ready to have it taken from him)

2. He has the most beautiful blue eyes. They are almond shaped. He lucked out with some recessive blue eyed gene and is the only one in our immediate family with them.

3. He saw me snap my fingers a few weeks ago, and now often tries to snap his fingers.

4. He doesn't seem to have any problem with sensory issues, especially when it comes to food. He loves everything, except hes not too high on vegetables.

5. He started walking at 16 months, but will not keep shoes on. Anytime we go anywhere the moment he's in his car seat, shoes AND socks are off. I'm sure I get judged for having my barefoot boy out in all kinds of weather, but he will not keep them on.

6. He usually has 1 two hour nap, and goes to bed by 8pm, and sleeps until 6-8 am.

7. He says "bah!" which sometimes means bath, other times it means ball. He says nana, for banana, mama, dada, behbah (becca). I'm thinking speech is where his biggest delays are.

8. He is now waiving and saying "hey" which for those of you who don't live in the south, "hey" means "hi". He waives and says hey to anybody who'll look at him in the grocery store, at wall-mart, wherever he happens to be.

9. His favorite television show is "Jacks Big Music Show". 2nd place is the Wiggles.

10. On 3.16.09 he weighed in at 23 lbs 4 oz, and measured 29 inches long. (He's a shorty, even on the DS growth chart.)

11. He recently got to have Wendy's chicken nuggets for the first time, and he definitely wants them again.

12. PJ loves music, and loves to dance. It's a funny sight, watching him dance, I'll try to get a video of it one of these days to share.

13. He has a mouth full of teeth, he's probably missing 4 to 6 still, but I think more are coming in now, because he's drooling. The bottom teeth are crooked, but the top look pretty straight.

14. He's finally taking an interest in books.

15. One of his favorite "games" is throwing toys over the baby gate into the kitchen. He also likes to take small items and push them under his sister's door, or the bathroom door, if that's where she happens to be.

16. PJ is obsessed with (ok, less than obsessed, but has a strong interest in) electrical cords. He will struggle to get behind the entertainment stand or behind the computer desk to yank on the cords. We finally gave him an extension cord to play with, which seems to have helped.

17. He has become afraid of the vacuum, but is still fascinated by the sound the bathtub makes when the water is draining.

18. Bath-time is one of his favorite times of the evening, even if he's tired and grumpy, I can count on bathtime chearing him up, at least while he's in the tub. Once he's out, he's grumpy again.

19. PJ loves animal crackers, but I have to break them up, and give him one piece at a time, or he'll shove the whole thing in his mouth and end up choking. He doesn't quite get the idea of moderation, or bite sized.

20. He adds more to our family than I could ever explain or describe, and I'm honored to be his mom.

21. He's definitely NOT happy all the time, that's a misconception. He's happy alot, but he has his mean, angry, pouty, defiant times, too. But then again, he's his daddys boy, right?

A death in the family

A death in the family…

My mother-in-law passed away on Monday. Heaven has a new angel, one that can now run, and breathe, and play. The whole family is so sad. She was only 51 years old. She’d been sick for a long time, but was still very much a part of the family. She loved her family so much. She was such a loving and kind woman. She was patient and generous with her time, she did not speak badly of people. She did not push her opinion. She had learned lessons in life that I still struggle with, and had such a peace. She loved Jesus and prayed without ceasing. In my presence she was never judgmental or critical of others. She looked for and found the best qualities in a person and focused on those, rather than seeing one’s shortcomings. She loved her children and grandchildren, her husband, her mother and her siblings. I am proud to have known her. I feel as if she helped me to become a better person, a better wife, a better mother. I wish that I had spent more time learning from her. Why is it that we often get so busy in life that we fail to realize how special someone is until we are left without them? Or is it only me?

None of the old mother in law jokes ever applied. I was always good enough for her son, and she never stopped telling me. I love you Suzie. I will miss you terribly.

Yes, for those who might've been wondering....

I'm still alive. It's been quite some time since I took the time to sit down and post. And I apologize if that's an issue for anybody but me. I doubt that it is, but in case, it really wasn't meant to leave you out in the cold, it's just taking me this long to get it all together. I started my new full time job about 5 weeks ago. I work Monday - Friday, 8am to 5pm, but I'm gone from the house from 7am to 6pm. PJ's usually wanting to go to bed between 7 and 8, so all of a sudden I have precious little time to spend with my very favorite little boy. It's a real bummer, but honestly I don't see any way to "fix" it. Daddy works in HVAC installation for new construction. The economy in NC is as bad if not worse than anywhere else in the country and there's absolutely NO new construction going on here, so, no job for daddy. His new job is the stay at home parent. He's doing a pretty good job of it, although many days I come home and PJ is still in the pajamas he woke up in. ugh. Well, hopefully the weather will start allowing them to go outside and play in the yard, and clothes will be more important to them.

PJ is doing so well gross motor wise, he's walking all around, he loves to squat down, pick up a toy, then stand back up without any support and go on his merry way. His last check up at the DS clinic at duke gave me these stats on him:

50th percentile on the DS growth chart for height, 75th percentile for weight, and 90th percentile for head. (big brains, need more room!)

He's got many teeth, they look pretty straight on the top, but crooked on the bottom. Theyre just baby teeth, so whatever. He waives hi and bye, claps, signs "more", gives big wet kisses (when HE chooses) Says mama, dada, baba (for Becca) nana (for banana, and according to Daddy, walked over to him the other day saying "hey" "hey" with a stinky diaper, as if to let daddy know it was time to change him. Pretty neat, huh?

Becca's doing wonderfully, she has a few good friends at school, she goes to church every Sunday with her grandma, and this past quarter was an all A honor roll student. I'm very proud of her.

That's about it for us, and now PJ is awake and I must go hang out with my little guy, I LOVE the weekends! Oh, and please don't think I'm not reading your blogs, even when I don't comment, I'm reading, trying to stay caught up.

Take care, my friends!

Look Who's Walkin'!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, at 16 months of age, my amazingly brilliant little man is taking steps!  His PT got him to walk across the room a week ago, him wailing and mad the whole time, but she told me when she left, that before she comes back in 2 weeks, he'd start practicing on his own, and guess what? She knows her stuff! Yesterday he started, and today Daddy was able to catch a bit of what we're excited about around here.  Yay PJ!!

 

I've started a new job, and Daddy is being Mr. Mom. It's very difficult for each and every one of us in the family. The job is from 3pm to 12midnight, which I've never done before, so it's real hard getting the required sleep for a number of reasons.  It's hard to wind down and go to bed, PJ is not LOVING the new arrangements, since I've always been the one to put him to bed AND he's getting a few teeth, so he's being fussy. I ALMOST NEVER get to see my daughter Rebecca because she leaves the house at 7am for the school bus, and I can't get up by then if I only fell asleep at like 3. I'm gone by the time she gets home from school. I miss her. And she misses me. Daddy's doing a great job, and getting all the quality time he could ask for with PJ and Becca. She's a big help to him, playing with her brother and giving Daddy a break.

Financially things are at an all time low. My first paycheck isn't until the 30th, and I'm not sure I'll have enough gas to get back and forth to work.  I had to borrow $20.00 from mom last week for diapers.

PJ's stomach seems to be getting better. I almost hate to write about it, for fear of jinxing the whole situation. I'm not sure if it's the Prevacid in higher doses, or if it's just that his muscles are finally getting the strength they need to move the food down, instead of up and out.  He was seen last Monday at the pediatrician, and he had gained 10 ounces from his check up on 12/15, so that's terrific. His vomiting is much less, for the past few weeks. We are thankful.

New Year News

I finally got the results of the biopsies from PJ's endoscopy. As suspected, the only thing that came back was mild esophagitis, and he switched PJ from prilosec to prevacid, and doubled the dosage from the previous rx that PJ's pediatrician had prescribed. (was 7.5mg daily, now is 15 mg daily.) I also told the nurse I spoke with that I had decided to withhold the Reglan from PJ until we had tried other "fixes" as I was not comfortable giving it to him at this time. He's actually been vomiting a little less for the past few days, and I've been giving him pediasure mixed with cereal at night before bed (when he normally doesn't vomit) to try to help him gain weight. We'll see the Ped. GI in a month and see how he's doing, and if necessary, see what else we can do.

I got a job!!!! I start training this coming Monday. Thank you to everybody who prayed and sent positive wishes.   Now please don't get me wrong. I am happy to have a job. I will work hard and enjoy my work, and be a valued employee.  BUT... It's really NOT the ideal job, or at least I don't see it as such at this time. My hours will be from 2:30 pm to 11:00 pm, And I will have Wednesday and Sunday off. I've never worked a shift like this and have always had 2 consecutive days off, always the weekends, so It's going to be different, and PJ will definitely miss me at bedtime. It's our cuddle time, and daddy is great, but he's not me. Becca will miss my homework help in the afternoons, too. But, it will be nice to have a weekday off, and I've already started trying to reschedule PJ's future Dr appointments to Wednesdays.  When the economy picks up, and Daniel can once again have a good job, we'll re-evaluate who needs to be home.  (I'm hoping it's going to be me :o) 

Anyway, I wanted to leave you with some PJ. The videos are poor quality (cheap little no name digital camera), but it's still my darling boy!

mmm, sgetti.

New Year

Has GOT to be better, please?

PJ had his endoscopy the other day, and did just fine, he did NOT cry all the way to the hospital because he was starving, which was something I really worried about. He actually fell asleep on the way, even though he slept all night. Sweet! The Dr. said that everything LOOKS normal, but got biopsies and we'll have those results early next week.

In the mean-time, I met a lady in the waiting room who's little 2 month old baby girl was having OHS. I encouraged her, telling her that I "know" (in the online community) a bunch of little ones who had to have ohs and they do SO well. During our wait for PJ's procedure she mentioned to me that her baby's doctors had her on Reglan. A drug used to move food through the stomach faster, in order to gain some weight. I hadn't ever heard about it. So...

The day after the scoping, as PJ was vomiting everywhere, which is what he does after EVERY meal, I called the GI and asked why couldn't PJ be on Reglan while we waited for the biopsy results, just to keep SOME calories in him, he's lost a pound in the last 2 weeks!! (That's 5% of his body). So, he said ok, but I was to call him immediately if I saw any side effects. So, I began to look up Reglan and the effects that can occur, and spoke with Leah on the phone who told me about 2 kids that she knew of that had seizures because of Reglan, (Thanks again, Leah!) and I decided to just wait and see what GI recommends after biopsy comes back. I called the pharmacy and told them never mind. I really don't want to put PJ on a medicine that can have horrible side effects just to keep a cleaner house. It would be different if he were in pain, or if he were dehydrated. I know, I AM worried about the weight loss, but a few more days isn't going to make that big of a difference, I hope. It's hard to know always, the right things to do for a baby.

On another topic, now that the holidays are over, we are hoping and expecting to be able to find a job. One of us. Please God. Things are pretty scary for us right now. I won't go on and on, but believe me.

So, I hope that 2009 is a better year for everyone. I don't love money, I just hate not having ANY. And that's where we are. Please God.

PJ updates

Hi all, time for an update on the development of my son. PJ was seen on 12/15 for his 15 month check up. He weighed in at 20 lbs, 4 oz (just under the 50th percentile on the Down syndrome growth chart) and measured 28" long (just over the 10th percentile on the same chart) What does this mean? It means he's a shorty, and his weight gain has slowed down a lot.

The reason for the slow weight gain is because he's been spitting up/vomiting since July. At first I thought it was just baby reflux, and his Dr. put him on zantac, and all the advice I got pretty much said, well, as he gets more mobile, more upright, you'll likely see this lessen. OK, I patiently waited. (right, not so patiently) He became more mobile, and more upright, the spitting up continued. We switched him to prevacid and his pediatrician had a swallow study and an upper GI done. Results? Mild and infrequent aspiration, no thin liquids. OK. We also had a referral to see a pediatric gastroenterologist, but the first appointment they could get me was for November. OK, while waiting for that to happen, we switched from Prevacid to Prilosec. No change. A few people said that maybe at one year, when he changed from formula to whole milk things would get better. Well, they did not. In fact, it was worse in that the milk would come up curdled, and talk about STINK? ugh. So, I'm thinking, lactose intolerance? I switched him to soy milk. A day or two of relief, but then the spitting up started right back up. I gave up on the reflux meds and eventually the spitting up became acidic. You know, VOMIT. Stinky vomit. (ok, sorry) So, he's back on the prilosec, it doesn't stop the vomit, but it will at least keep the acid down to avoid damaging the esophogus.

We saw the Ped. GI in November and his thought is Celiac Disease. (intolerance to gluten, found in wheat) The way to treat? Gluten free diet for life. He drew blood, BUT, (says the Dr.) the blood test is often inconclusive, can give false positive, so the REAL test for Celiac is an endoscopy. It's scheduled for 12/31. It was scheduled earlier, but we had to postpone because PJ got congested, and they wont do it while there's congestion. So, the throwing up continues, laundry for PJ happens all the time. I really don't think it's Celiac disease. There's a few OTHER things it can be, and they are all taken care of with surgery. I don't look forward to any of it. Whatever the problem, I'm just not happy about it.

I spoke with the Nurse at the Ped GI Yesterday (12/17), and she indicated that it is NOT Celiac, and that false positives sometimes occur, but not so much false negatives. Yay)I also spoke with Leah on the phone the other day, and she gave me a lot of ideas about what could it be, and helped me to make a list of questions to ask the Dr for further diagnostic tests and questions. (Thank you so much, Leah!)

On the other hand, PJ is a mostly happy baby, crawling all over the place, pulling to stand, and now standing up without assistance. He can stand 30 seconds or so without holding onto anything, and any minute now he's going to start walking. (*fingers crossed*) He babbles a lot, different sounds, yells a lot, loves his big sister Rebecca, claps his hands, gives high fives, plays peek-a-boo, puts his hands up for "so big", and is really "on the go"

I'll update again after the endoscopy. Or before if something else happens.

One other thing - a question for anyone - you know the little things we put on our blogs that show the our kids ages? The tickers? I would sure love a ticker that I could update with weight and height growth, for keeping track purposes. Anybody familiar with that? Or anybody smart enough to create one? I can't be the only person who would be interested in one, right?

Fa la la la la la la la la la.

Hi folks and Merry Christmas. I know I've been a bit scarce of late, and I think it must be a personality trait of mine, when I get stressed out, I become silent. Sometimes it's a good thing, and sometimes not so good. I'm going to be asking you for help, so a brief rundown is called for:

Daniel's unemployment ran out 3 weeks ago. We continued to file for benefits, because that's how you access the emergency unemployment. Well, a week or so later he got a letter in the mail that he had not paid in enough to qualify for the emergency unemployment benefits. Normal unemployment here in NC is 26 weeks. Daniel got 13 weeks. I guess because of the amount of time he worked here in NC, or maybe the dollar amount. I don't know, I can't figure out the "ever changing to not help out those in need" rules from day to day. Sorry, I don't mean to sound bitter, in fact, I'm a happy person even with no money. The problem is, My landlord isn't of the mind that just because we lost our income that we get a "pass". The Electric company, same thing. The house we live in is all electric, and we've had an unseasonably cold Autumn, so the heat has been running, and the light bill is $180.00 this month. My mom has made sure that the kids have a Christmas. It will be lighter than the norm, but that's ok, my kids are loved and don't need much. I know I should ask my church for help, but to be honest, I haven't gone to church. I will, I need to, I want to, BUT... How hypocritical to start going just to ask for help? I can't do it. That's why I'm here, laying it on the line to you. Those of you who "know" me because we've been "e-friends" for awhile, know that this is not something I do on a regular basis, nor have I ever done. I just hope that some of you are in a position to help. I'm looking for work, have been to two staffing agencies and on one interview, which that company is looking to interview a few more people next week and make a decision the week after that. I'm told I'm in the running for that one, and I certainly hope for the best, but if they haven't already decided on me, who says they will?? I look everyday for work, send off my resume whenever I see something I can do, but I know that I'm not anywhere near the only person in the same boat, and I don't know how long it will be before there's actually an income. Daniel installs HVAC units in new construction homes. New construction does not exist in NC right now due to the economy. One of us needs to stay home with PJ, because we don't have, nor can we afford daycare. It SHOULD be easier for me to find work than Daniel; he looks everyday, but there's nothing out there for him right now.
My mom, on a very limited income, will of course let us move back in with her, if it comes to that. Let me just say that I will do that if it comes to that, but NONE of us want to move, and especially into her little house. There's really no room for us. I just think that with another month or two, one of the two of us can land a job so that we can remain independent.
So that's where we are. In my profile there are a few different ways to get a hold of me, or you can comment here and I'll send you my address, If you are in a position to help. This is not easy, but we really need a hand. If you've made it to the end of this post, thank you for reading. Thank you for caring.

This - that and the other

Time for an update, since it's been nearly a month. PJ started getting teeth, a bunch at once, and in the wrong order. He's not been the happiest of campers, as it seems that all 4 molars are making an appearance. At last look/feel, he has two front(ish) bottom teeth, both bottom molars, and a bottom side tooth, all broke thru our just about. On top the 2 front teeth are showing thru the gum, but haven't broken thru yet, but one of the molars has, and the other one is swollen and red, but not thru. Needless to say, I'm sleepy. :o) PJ's throwing up has diminished greatly since putting him on soy, but NOT completely gone away. Yesterday was his initial visit (finally) with the Pediatric gastroenterologist out at Duke. We got to stop by and see Ethan and his mom, Kristen for a few minutes, but PJ had totally missed all naps yesterday, and was having a spitty day, so we didn't stay long, but Ethan looks GREAT! Kristin, it was really nice seeing you!

On to PJ's appt. They took blood, specifically to test for Celiac. I'm not very familiar with this, but according to the dr, it does affect kids with DS at a higher rate. He went on to tell me that at PJ's age, the blood test may have a false positive or a false negative, so we scheduled an endoscopy to know for sure. This will happen next week, Wednesday. Daniel was scratching his head, "why take blood if the results are inconclusive????!!!!" My only guess is that it's a required step in the protocol? Whatever. I just want to know that my little guy is healthy, and get him to a point where we aren't dealing with puke ALL THE TIME!

Rebecca got her first quarter end report card last week, and she's on the A/B Honor roll, and if it weren't for Science (which she says is REALLY HARD), it would have been "A" honor roll. She's taking her education seriously, and I'm very proud of her.

Daniel is still unemployed, and his unemployment will be running out in about a month. I'm looking for full time work, one of us HAS to bring in something to live on, we have no savings. Hopefully the economy will turn around soon so that construction will start up again, so HE can work. Wish me luck!!

That's about it for now.

Hugs to all.