It’s been a good week. We had a hint of spring that makes me hungry for more. Though it froze again last night, the sun it out and it is so pretty here. The most exciting thing that happened this week is that Curtis invited me to join him in Paris for a business trip… and my mom agreed to watch the kids and the tickets are booked!!! Coming soon. 🙂
Day Twenty-Nine ~ Sleep Specialist Appointment
Last Friday we traveled to Austin to meet with a sleep specialist that Anna’s neurologist referred us to. Anna’s last sleep study was four years ago, and though at that time they said the results weren’t clinically significant, she is still sleeping an excessive amount. She sleeps 11 hours a night on school days and takes a nap at school every day. In the summer and on weekends, she can sleep up to 16+ hours a day… and it’s been that way for over five years. We’ve always assumed it was her medications, or a combination of meds, hormones, and neurological issues. This doctor had her old sleep study results and said that Anna had a lot of hypopneas (under breathing, shallow breaths, interrupted breathing) that caused her to wake completely numerous times. He wasn’t sure why we were told the results weren’t clinically significant because they were. Anna is diagnosed with mild obstructive sleep apnea resulting in multiple hypopneas which cause her to wake. This is caused by the anatomy of her face, jaw, and chest, her hypotonia, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (which causes weak connective tissue), and her weight (which is a little heavy at the moment). He asked if Anna had any sensory issues because he recommends that she wear a CPAP machine at night. Since she does have a fear of masks, we are going to do a daytime desensitization program to get started then work our way up to night-time use. She is worried and scared something is wrong with her breathing, but we need the CPAP to work. It’s affecting her behavior and ability to learn, to focus, and to stay awake during the day. The doc said some kiddos with Anna’s anatomy end up needing surgical intervention to correct their overbite (Anna’s is quite severe, her teeth don’t even touch in front at all). Hopefully it won’t come to that. She is such a sweet, gentle soul… I don’t want her to experience any pain or go through any of the surgeries I’ve had to endure because of EDS. I had braces and orthodontics for over six years starting in middle school to correct my overbite.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2 | 1/320 | ISO 1250
Day Twenty-Nine ~ Backed Up
Since Anna’s appointment in Austin was at 3:00 p.m., traffic leaving the city was awful. We were stopped immediately on IH35 and stayed that way for the next 50 minutes. Ugh! At least it gave me a chance to get a cool sideview mirror shot of the traffic backed up behind me.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/5.6 | 1/500 | ISO 200
Day Thirty ~ We’re Keeping Him
Soo… despite our good intentions to only foster Stuart, he has captured our hearts and we’ve decided to keep him. He gets along so well with Charlie and Lola but it’s how affectionate he is with the Curtis, the kids, and me that did the trick. I mean, come on! Look at him!!! Think we should change his name? We’d love some suggestions!
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/1.4 | 1/125 | ISO 8000
Day Thirty-One ~ Itty Bitty Butterfly
Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day. It was 80-degrees, sunny, and breezy. The dogs were chasing tiny yellow-green butterflies around the yard, so I grabbed my macro to capture the action. I’m so glad spring is on the way!
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/5.6 | 1/250 | ISO 100
Day Thirty-One ~ On Alert
Mom’s cat, Kitty McGee, is happiest outside. She sleeps inside at night, but goes in and out during the day. Since Mystery passed away, she has more territory in mom’s house and is much happier. (Mystery wasn’t very nice to her.) I love watching her observing the world.
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/5.6 | 1/250 | ISO 640
Day Thirty-Two ~ My Boy Scout
Curtis had to have oral surgery Monday, so I took Pickle to Scouts Monday night. I am so proud of the progress he’s making in this troop… he has earned 17 merit badges so far (3 of which are Eagle Scout requirements) and has 7 more in progress. He will be going to the Freeze-o-Ree campout this weekend where most of the Alamo Area Council troops will attend also. It should be a fun time for him.
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/1.8 | 1/125 | ISO 800
Day Thirty-Three ~ Reflecting on Behavior
It was a rough day for my sweet Booski. She wouldn’t get off the bus at school for nearly an hour, then spent the following 30 minutes crying in her classroom. The time on the bus was hard: hitting, cussing, threatening. I got two calls from her teacher and a text and an email. When she got home, daddy had Anna think about four things she could do when she was anxious about going into school… that she could choose to do instead of sitting on the bus. It was a hard exercise for her, but I think it helped her feel more in control of her choices. She had made it 12 days with no issues on the bus prior to today, and I’m hopeful that she can make it even longer this time. Curtis is so good at getting her to be independent in so many ways. <3
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.3 | 1/200 | ISO 1000
Day Thirty-Four ~ Laundry Day
Laundry is a chore that I love to do. I know, I’m weird! I do my mom’s laundry too and wash about 4-6 loads every 4-5 days. I do it all at once. I love the way it smells, I love how crisp a folded t-shirt looks, and it all gets put away when it’s finished. I’m working on having the kids help with sorting, washing, folding, and putting stuff away… but since I actually like doing it, it’s hard to share!
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/1.4 | 1/125 | ISO 1250
Day Thirty-Five ~ Natural Color = No Color
Last year, I made a decision to stop coloring my hair. A Facebook friend, Stacy (hi Stacy!!!), shared a photo showing off her gorgeous silver streak in her hair and I sighed wistfully and wished out loud to her a desire to stop coloring my hair. It’s such a pain and expense to keep up with! She said that gray was a trend (true, look it up!) and I knew with the surgeries I faced last fall, that it would be hard to stay on top of it. So I stopped coloring. Gulp. Granted, the surgeries added a lot more gray and silver than was there before, but I have very little natural color left. This is hard to share, I don’t think it’s obvious in selfies just how gray my hair is, but this is me. All natural.
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/3 | 1/200 | ISO 1000
Can you believe I’ve shot every day for over a month now?!? Thanks for looking!
