And they said that he would never walk...

Who wants to walk when you can run!

Go Blaze Go!

How do you like that CMV???

What you got to say now CP???

You can't stop my little 

SUPERHERO!

Update on Blaze...

Blaze has been having a tough few days. As I mentioned, he had a pretty bad seizure the other day and he has had a couple more since that post. He is fighting his meds and I am having a hard time getting them down him (even the seizure meds). He throws them up frequently. His GERD has gotten so much worse over the last few weeks. He has actually been waking up in vomit almost every morning and vomiting several times a day now. Our Autism doctor contacted a GI (ours is out on med leave) and got us in last week. The new doctor is recommending surgery for Blaze. She wants Blaze to have a fundoplication and a button for meds. I've been fighting the med button from birth but that's no longer an option. In order for Blaze to get better we are going to most likely have to do the surgeries. The good thing is they can both be done at the same time. She wants them done asap. We have an apt with the surgeon on March 7th. Please keep our little man in your prayers.

* Update on 3-4-17 The surgeon will not be in town on the 7th so they moved us to a new doctor and we have an apt on the 9th...grrrr However, I am happy to share that Blaze has actually been doing better this week! Please keep him in your prayers.

Child Proof Medicines for Travel...

Having a child with epilepsy, a feeding tube, as well as food allergies means I have to always be ready in case of an emergency. That means his EpiPen, Diastat pen, and the G-tube foley must always be close by. However, I was concerned that I might turn my back one minute and have a different kind of emergency. I want to be ready in case my son has an emergency, but I have to protect my other little ones from his meds. Since I can't watch them every second of the day, I started looking for ways to keep the little ones safe as well as the meds close by. I wanted to find a bag or case that could be left down, but child proof, and yet small enough to travel. Here is what I have found so far.

1. Allermate Bag

I bought this one and then purchased small zip ties to lock it. I slipped the zip tie through the zipper and then through the hole the strap is attached to. I also liked the bright red color because it is easy to see down in a diaper bag. It worked great! I highly recommend this one!

2. The SafetySack 

3.Juno ChildSafe Bag

4. NefCase

5. Health Care Logistics Bags

Just an update...

Just stopping by with an update. I have been such a slacker at keeping this blog updated. I have just been so very busy. I have so much on my plate right now. 2017 has started off tough. Since Christmas we have had one sick after another. I think since Christmas we have had the flu, RSV, tummy bug, ear infections, and  viral infections pass between all of the kids. It seems they just keep passing germs back and forth. Oh the joys of a BIG family. I've had to take Ada Grace 2 times to the ER and 2 times to the doctor to get her asthma under control and it runs in her family. I've also had to take Blaze to get his meds in him because he was so sick he kept throwing them up. I sure wish Spring would hurry up. Germs please go away!

We are just waiting on DFCS to give us the OK and we will be contacting our lawyer to request an adoption court date!!! Z is so close to being ours!!!!!

We were suppose to be having our second TPR trial on our baby foster daughter this month. We won our last one but it got threw out and now we have to go back and re-do it at a higher court because we were unaware mom was a native american (she didn't tell us). I truly believe this will be my very last case. I'm tired. I just don't have time for this anymore. I love my foster kids but it's all of the extra headaches like constant visits, meetings, court dates, ball dropping, etc It's just to much. I'm not sure what is going to happen with our baby. Most likely they will be removing her from us and placing her in another state with a native american foster family. It's going to turn her world upside down. I got her at 5 months and she turned 2 in Dec, so she is very attached. *Update on 3-4-17 Court moved to June. :( 

Blaze started another therapy at the autism center. Another weekly apt...grrrrrr It will put us there for an extra hour every week. I'm not happy about it but I will just about do anything to help him. The new one is for feeding also. He is still having such a hard time eating. It's so frustrating. He is very selective on what he eats. If he likes a food he will eat it until he gets sick. It's like he doesn't have a limit on favorites but he refuses most foods and all new foods. 

Besides that, he is in PT, OT, SLP, oral motor, and communication device training. At school he is also doing therapies. He has a deaf teacher and a vision teacher that comes in to see him. The deaf teacher comes every day that he attends school. Right now, due to all of his appointments he can only go 3 days a week. I'm not sure how we will do it once he starts kindergarten. We have an IEP coming up in March. I'm not sure if they are going to keep him in prek one more year because of his appointments or move him up. 

Blaze had a bad seizure last weekend. It was the longest one that he has had. He scared us so bad. It's been awhile since he has had one and I was hoping he had outgrew them. He has put on weight so they think that he had just outgrew his dose of keppra. His balance was off for a couple days from it but he is back to himself today! 

Blaze had an eye apt this week. It didn't go well. His eyes have got worse since they saw us 3 months ago. :( His pressures are almost 3 times higher than normal. Both eyes are now wandering even with glasses. The doctor wants to do surgery. We are going to wait until school gets out to schedule it so that he won't miss more days. Between now and then she is just going to monitor him. We are thinking June.

I know I talk a lot about Blaze on my blog. You may wonder why I do that. It's because he requires so much more of my time and attention. I often use my blog to keep up with notes, important events, and dates. It also helps me reflect on his progress!!!! Which is always a good thing.

Well, I've got to run. BUT!!!!!! I do have some GOOD NEWS!!!!! I saved the BEST for last!!!!!

I'm going to be a MeMe again!!!!! Samantha is expecting a BABY BOY in August!!!!!! Little Carter has been praying a long time for a sibling! He is going to be a great big brother!!! I'm so excited for them!!!

Have a great weekend!!!!!

Homemade Meat Loaf

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 bell pepper
• 1 tbl garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbl ketchup
• 1 15-ounce can tomato soup, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F rack in the middle.
2. In a large bowl add the oats and milk and gently mix.
3. Set aside for 15 minutes to allow the oats to soak in the milk.
4. After 15 minutes strain out the milk into a separate container but do not discard.
5. In the bowl the oats are in add the ground beef, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, steak seasoning, garlic, onions, ketchup, and 3 Tbl of tomato soup.
6. Just combine but try not to overwork it as it will get tough. If the mixture is too wet, add in 1-2 more Tbl of oats (don’t worry if they aren’t soaked). If too dry, add in the milk 1-2 Tbl at a time. You want the mixture to be pretty moist but firm enough to hold a shape.
7. In the bowl gently press together.
8. Transfer the mixture to a baking sheet and using your hands, form a loaf that is about 12 inches long, 6 inches wide, and about 2 1/2 inches tall. The loaf should be smooth and have rounded edges. This will help the loaf stay together when serving.
9. Bake for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and spread the remaining tomato soup on top of the meatloaf.
10. Continue baking for another 30 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.