The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read these completely out of order reading the last one first...this one on the middle. I enjoyed them anyway, and I was able to follow the English monarchies easily enough. Interesting, but sad...so much bloodshed......




View all my reviews

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I am on a English History kick...Philippa Gregory brings this time period to life. Really enjoying this series of books about the "Cousin's War".



View all my reviews

The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Sweet. Life told from the perspective of a dog. Strangely insightful...full of life lessons.



View all my reviews

Mom of the Year: NOT

I am not feeling like the Mom of the Year....in fact, I Amy not be in the running for quite a while.
Today, Elvis went in for his annual eye exam... 2 years past due....with a complaint that he could not focus well...and he was seeing in duplicate and quadruplicate( is that a word?). Doctor H gave him a good exam, knowing that Elvis had/has Lyme Disease.
His exam shows Neurological Palsy and optical nerve damage. Prognosis...?????
This was probably caused by Lyme...you know that disease...which isn't really real....which only needs some doxycycline and you become in the class known as "adequately treated".

So, I am sending his pediatrician...who decided he was " adequately treated", his report while I do some research and try and find a doctor who can REALLY adequately treat him.

So, here we are, almost 3 years into this battle....with some wins and other losses...
So far or wins are good....he is out of bed and doing something daily, he has gained some weight, he is not depressed anymore....

Our losses: he is still in pain in his joints ....especially his elbow and wrists....he is having sleep issues, wired but tired....he has no appetite.....he still can't study, and he has lost a good portion of what he already learned in high school.

So, the bad mom award goes to me...for not being aggressive enough in his treatment, for not being forceful enough to insist on IV antibiotic treatments earlier, for believing his body would fight to get well if I gave him enough good food and vitamins...for not listening to the little voice in my head that said we should treat more aggressively.

And now, We go on to the fight of our lives....to live Lyme Free and healthy....2012 is our year to get well....
Faithe

Carl's Quest: To Beat Lyme Disease

I am serious about not being able to get ANYONE to treat ds further inside what insurance will allow. All other doctors are NOT covered, and unfortunately...who knows then who you are getting. It is like the insurance company is sending us back to charlatans.
Thank God my ds is getting better.....through vitamin and nutritional therapies I kind of designed myself through research. He was diagnosed 5 years after his first exposure. He spent 6 months in bed...not able to stay awake longer than 15 minutes at a pop. His doctor thought he was "depressed". I was livid! Depression does not make you run fever every day, it does not give you brochitis and pnemonia repeatedly, it does not make your elbows swell......I insisted on a Lyme test, which came back falsely negative.......then he got infected AGAIN!!!! He must be a tick magnet. He finally had a tell tale bullseye in his armpit. jerk doctor said he had chafing because he wasn't washing.
I asked him to humor me....and run a western blot. I had just read about them.....it came back with a romping active Lyme and the evidence of long term Lyme.
He gave him the Doxy for 21 days...I insisted on 28... Then on the zithromax.

I took him to the head of infectious diseases in Kingston....he said he was adequately treated ( that is the phrase they use to tell you it is all on your head and they are not treating you any further.). He gave him a long talk about aids....and sent him on his way.

Then I took him up to the head of pediatric infectious diseases at Albany med. After a 2 hour consultation...which happened the day of my mother's funeral.....she recited basically the same verbiage.....it seems like the doctors have been handed a script and damn well better recite it well.

Anyway.....that was a year ago. Since then he has had good days and bad days. He is having more good days ...these days. As I continue on my research, I am looking for alternatives to anti biotics, mostly because he thought he was going to die the whole time he was on them. He ended up with systemic yeast....and the fun that goes with that. He has outright refused to go the IV route....if I could find a doctor to do that for him.

You would think that with the number of Lyme patients in this area SOMEONE would be willing to treat...or research their heinie off, if for no other reason than financial gain.....but, as we know it seems the research is blocked off, the insurance companies are in
Cahoots with the research labs...and in the meantime...Lyme has become endemic.

I am incredibly frustrated.

Faithe

My blogging plans for 2012

I have been thinking about what I want to blog about for the next year....and maybe try and be a bit consistent. A few things have been going on that definitely need a place for me to vent, and revisit....and maybe make some order out of chaos.

So, these are the topics at hand:

1: homeschooling during all of the following:
2: home business
3: Lyme disease
4: Hashimoto's and Auto-immune disease....but you don't look sick...
5: BOOKS
6: Marriage and family...keeping it all together and having some fun too
7: anything else that strikes my fancy .


So, in the midst of trying to keep everything moving...and everyone happy, I am going to try to use my blog as my working memory....because the one in my brain isn't working so hot.

~~Faithe

Climbing out of the Disorganization Hole...Homeschooling in Chaos.

Today, on the WTM forums we have been talking about homeschooling when life is nutsy...and even coming back when things are calming down.

I have btdt...too often to say...except the unemployment thing, which I am sure adds tons of stress on top of it all.
My advice in a nutshell:


Burn the MOTH schedule....Burn anything that demands perfection and makes you feel like a failure. Having a failing attitude and constant reminder of how behind you are makes no one peaceful or happy.

Make a list of your own routine...and try to tweak as you go...be specific...but not chained.
I put EVERYTHING in there....and then put it in my cell phone until it became habit. My phone would ding.....and remind me that I needed to change gears. My kids got used to the singing...and would yell...Hey Mom...YOU DINGED!!!!!!

I put in wake up time for me...then the kids...
Breakfast...
Chores

School subjects...medications....sport schedule....extra class schedules...meals etc.
Everything I could think of...went into the phone....lol.

As I got into my new habits, my day began to have more flow. I didn't constantly have to check my schedule because it would ding...lol.

As far as school goes...if you still have babies and preschoolers....you will often hear "school while the babies nap.". Well, I was blessed with kids who never slept...so, schooling during naps never worked....

I lap schooled...lol. I always had a baby or toddler in my lap. I confined us all to one section of the house...and gated off the kitchen...so I didn't have to worry about kids climbing on chairs...counters...refrigerators etc. I also kept them out of the bathroom with potty breaks every half hour or so for the potty training crowd. Bigger kids could hop the gate when need be.

I would school my 11 year ....or my middle one first. I know some start with the oldest...some with the youngest....I found my 10-13 year olds easiest to work with. They were semi- independent, yet needed instruction and assistance. I try to use all open and go for skill subjects. Reading, Math and LA are workbook programs that we can just do the next thing in. If we finish the major 3, I feel we accomplished the meat of the day. Figure out your meat...make sure you get that done. I always schooled my teens in the evening AFTER babies, toddlers and little ones were in bed. It was quiet here and we could focus on Algebra, or formulas, or Dante:D. My teens seem more focused at night....I would give them their next day's assignments and when they got up in the morning, they could get busy on assignments.
My muddles would get up, eat and then have lessons....my littles would get up, have breakfast, and play....until middlies break time.

While my middle guys ate...and took a play break, I would do phonics or math with my little guys...then call everyone back for family reading time.

We would do Bible, Poetry, read aloud and History....then eat lunch. Then Middle kids would have assignments....teens would be finishing theirs from the previous day and doing chores...little guys would have math.

If I couldn't fit all our family read alouds into our morning ( which happened a lot). I would just save them for bedtime reading.

I made myself check lists for each kid...for each subject...rather than a daily schedule containing all subjects...this helped me see our progress....and feel like we were accomplishing something....lol. I also wrote a daily flow chart....using my lists as the guide. My whole planning took a weekend at the pool in the summer while the kids played. Over planning made me feel overwhelmed...and any changes made me feel like a failure.

Make your schooling as simplified as possible. Stay on one topic for Bible, History, Science, Poetry, Literature, or any other content subjects you can. Make use of videos and online resources for your older kids...especially your teens. If you can't afford online classes, use the free stuff on YouTube. A little research will go a long way. We used YouTube for so many subjects! We loved it especially for biology and Chemistry. Watching the experiment demonstrations and videos were so awesome and added so much to our teens studies. Kids can be on the same topic....for us right now, for example, we are doing a one year World History. I tried using 3 separate programs....I should have known better!! So, I dropped 2 of them....decided on Sonlight Core W...and just use 2 age appropriate textbooks for my 13 & 17 year olds. Everything else fits across the ages.

For science, we are all studying Life Science....using a topic a week from Lyrical Life Science...and age appropriate library books.

Basically, if we can stay on the same topic, we can have something to chat about...whether we are doing dishes together, riding in the car, stacking wood....etc.

As far as chores....I write them out on the dry erase board in my kitchen. We all work at them until they are all done....if I notice someone NOT doing their fair share....I assume they need some mommy instruction in that chore. That child becomes my partner...and learns to WORK. Seriously...in this way, being MY partner is not a desired position...lol.

~~~Post it notes are your friend.
Let me say it again....post it notes are your friend...
So is the yellow note feature in your phone..
Use them for everything. Don't nag....write it down and stick it on the kid. Write errands and stick them on the dashboard of your car....as you get them finished, stick them in your notebook to show you have finished your chore. Makes you feel accomplished. Same with kid assignments. Write them on post it's...stick them as place marks in your kids books with any extra assignment...or words to focus on...or essay prompt....etc. Hen they are finished...you get the post it and slap it in your plan book...instant record of work achieved.

Drop any outside activities which cause stress if you can....BUT don't drop everything. It is important to get out and have a change of scenery. I have instituted a chore day in town. We all look forward to it. It is the day we go into town, Do our shopping, get our supplies, go to the library, etc. In nice weather we pack a picnic and go to the playground. During the winter, I take them to either Panera Bread and buy them some soup...or to a pizza shop for a slice. Very inexpensive....but they love it and feel so special. I try to sign the kids up for short term obligation sports or outside classes...6 weeks is perfect! Swim team in the summer...soccer in the fall....looking for something in the winter.....and golf in the spring. Dd 13 does a 1 hour a week drama class which is inexpensive and nearby. The library also has lots of inexpensive, but interesting programs. We are going to try Awanas...it is free, and the kids need some social time...and it is after school hours.

Check out Flylady....I don't follow her plan to a tee...but I have gotten so many cool ideas...and encouragement from her site.
I have found minimal stuff helps keep peace. Too much junk makes me uncomfortable and stressed out. If in doubt, throw it out. If you don't love it...get rid of it. Toys can be packed into rubbermaid containers and stored to be used one at a time. A closet with a padlock is a moms best friend. Pretend you are moving. If you wouldn't take it with you...you really don't want it....out it goes.

Try to stay in the NOW. Don't worry about tomorrow's mess....or yesterday's mistakes. Give yourself to today and making it the best today you can.

Be kind to yourself. Be forgiving of yourself. Be an encouragement to yourself. If you can be those things to you....you become those things to your husband and children. I am not talking about syrupy, made up sweetness...but being the real person you want to be. Striving for a perfection which doesn't exist, is futile. Striving to love and nurture your family with peace in your heart, despite circumstances, can be attained....and enjoyed.

Our daily life is busy...crazy....I am often distracted by our business phones and some emergency that crops up....but, that is life. We move on.

Coming back from stressful situations is stressful in itself. Adding homeschooling, unemployment, sick parents, sick kids, chronic mommy illness, etc.....makes all those issues multiply....but...Through it all...My Lord and My savior walks with me...hand in hand....His strength shall be my strength....

~~~~Faithe