Epilepsy Awareness Month

Did you know that November is Epilepsy Awareness Month?  No?  It seems like everything has its own "month" but we should be aware of these things not just during its particular month, but all the time.

I have epilepsy.  I have been plagued with it for 12+ years.  In fact, today, twelve years ago was my first grand mal.  I scared the crap out of my mother, dropped my new baby girl and terrified my husband.  I might also add that it was my birthday!

Last night at a CERT Meeting we went around the table and said what we were thankful for.  Each year when they get to me I am on the verge of tears.  When my seizures were at their worst and I had to step out of my comfort zone and ask for help, these fantastic men and women stepped up to the plate to help.  They were my chauffeurs, my supporters, but overall my friends.

I went through some really dark times.  Times that I just wanted to give up.  I saw how it effected my husband but mostly my daughter.  My seizures terrified them.  Scared them.  Scared me!  The doctors had me on some pretty strong medication and I was a zombie.  My doctor spent more time talking to my husband than he did me.  I just wasn't there.  The new concoction has resulted in me being seizure free for four years!

Although I have been seizure free for four years, I have horrible migraines.  You've probably seen some of those "problem" memes.  Well, here is mine...

Sometimes I wish I had one just so I can say my brain rebooted and maybe, just maybe it will work again.  My family thinks I am crazy but sometimes the migraines hurt worse than the results after a seizure.  I can handle a chewed up tongue or a couple of bruises, heck even a broken nose, but migraines are a whole different critter.  THEY HURT!  

So my comment for the day is...

- BUT -

I read a quote yesterday (or maybe heard it, I don't remember) but it said "Dark days don't always mean rain."  I don't know why, but I thought that summed up my time with seizures.  I'm glad I have family and friends who are there for me.  They may not understand - heck we don't understand, but they are there to support me.  

Please look at the pictures below.  It's so important to know what to do if you happen upon someone who is having a seizure or just coming out of one.  

November Teen/Tween Challenge

On Friday, Kira participated in our monthly homeschool group's Teen/Tween Challenge.  This month the challenge was to make a paper table out of eight sheets of newspaper.  It didn't go exactly as planned...for Kira at least.  Before we got there she was super excited about going and seeing all her friends again.  Attendance was extremely low so instead of working in teams they worked individually.

I didn't get many pictures because Kira was having a really bad day.  

The winners!

Kira began working on her table and just seemed to get more and more frustrated.  They had a time limit of one hour and time limits are an anxiety trigger for her.  Needless to say she didn't get done in time to compete.  I was working on one myself, and we just used mine and added to it.  We "competed" against the other kids that were making additions to their tables and she didn't do bad, but we definitely could have made out design better!

Adding the load...

Starting to buckle...

 

Down she goes!

It did hold quite a bit.  

Another contestant...

The Contents of this Room... (Part 2)

Over the weekend I started working on "cleaning" my daughter's bedroom.  Since she was spending the weekend with some friends I decided this would be the perfect opportunity for me to "purge" some of her things.

On Friday, together we went through all of her clothes.  If you read the previous post you will discover that we found out she had a lot more clothes than she thought - quite a few outfits she completely forgot about!  I have a remedy for that, but that's for another post.

Saturday, I decided to tackle the beast.  When I walked in I decided to sit in her chair and make a game plan.  As I looked around the room, I have to admit it really wasn't in disarray but just full of stuff.  I hear all these horror stories of teen bedrooms and the disaster that they turn into...I don't think I will go through that with her.  I did babysit for a family that their children weren't even in school (or maybe they were just in school) but I would find moldy apples, sippy cups with mold or curdled milk, and just disgusting things.  The only complaint I really had was that her bed was being used as a hamper.

My first project was her "TV" area.  It has a nook that is big enough for a small tv, as well as, some books, and any other small odds and ends she decides need to go there.  Underneath there is the "Game Cabinet".  It houses most of our board games.  I didn't touch this area as the doors to the cabinet are in need of some major TLC.  Next there are 3 drawers that seem to have been a catch-all.  They are smallish in size but when I dumped the contents onto the floor I wash shocked at how much they actually held!  I think I threw away 75% but was able to put most of what was left in other locations.

I continued on to the area between her bed and her closet.  We can call it "organized chaos."  Most of the things in this area are in boxes or are contained - Legos, Barbies, the keyboard.  She also has some things that aren't but I discovered why they were still there.  A couple of months (or maybe more) we decided to go through her room again.  There is a rather large U-haul moving box that has games, puzzles, and books for our nephews that she has out grown.  I moved it to the middle of the room and decided to add to the box.

Next the bed area.  Her bed is a trundle and underneath are three drawers.  Those drawers I did not touch and here is the reason (s).  There are stuffed animals, jewelry, and electronic learning toys in them.  I wanted to make sure that she was here to go through them either with me or on her own.
 
The next area was the biggest problem area.  We bought a stair step storage unit from IKEA in hopes that it would help organize her toys.  Instead I think it has caused more problems.  Why?  Because it seems to be a catch-all for everything - clothes, stuffed animals, more clothes, and books.

Somehow I filled one trash bag of trash or broken toys, three shopping bags full of clothes for donation and one large box full of items to take on our vacation for family.  Although the room still has that way-too-full look,