Monday, 23 December 2013

Christmas & A Bad Parrot

Well what a year! It's only two sleeps until Santa visits and my Cheeky Girl has been counting down the days for the last month! Looking forward to the countdown to end :-)

 
Yesterday we were privileged to go and see some extremely talented performers for a Christmas concert hosted by Guy and Jules Sebastian. We could not take the Cheeky Boy as he does not yet have the desire to stay in one place for any length of time and he does not yet have the understanding of what Christmas is all about. So we took the Cheeky Girl and she absolutely had a grand time (so did I!). Guy and Jules Sebastian have started a charity called the Sebastian Foundation and as our Cheeky Boy is a frequent visitor the Sydney Children's Hospital we were blessed to be given tickets by the Sebastian Foundation to go to the concert. The Cheeky Girl was so excited to see her favourite singer Samantha Jade (so beautiful and so talented!) and was absolutely tickled pink when Guy Sebastian waved and smiled to us at the end of the concert :-)
 
We send a huge thanks to Guy and Jules as we would not be able to see such talent and have such a wonderful time as we did without their generous donation of tickets for the event :-)

I would like to now send out a huge THANK YOU to all of you who have supported me throughout the year by reading this blog, by supporting my RozArt business and helping me raise money for the Friends of Brain Injured Children ACT Inc. It has been an extremely hectic and tiring year for me but
  • I will continue to bring people jewellery that they love, for themselves, loved one and their pets. 
  • I shall continue to bring forward the message of the incredible strength and journeys of my little boy with all his trials and triumphs :-) and how getting this message out helps to empower all people who have so much to give, yet can not express it all themselves :-)
Here's hoping to have a less traumatic 2014 for the Cheeky Boy. Over the past month his seizures have increased once again and we have had to make some adjustments in his medication over the last week. He is still staying on the Ketogenic diet as it has decrease his large seizures down to five minutes, hence I have not had to call an ambulance in the past five months! which is the longest time ever for him :-) we have also been blessed to stay out of hospital so far this Christmas period as last year he had a four and a half hour seizure five days before Christmas day and had to be transported to Sydney. We were lucky enough to make it out for Christmas day. Fingers crossed for this year as we are going to travel to visit family we haven't been able to visit with him in four years as his seizures limit our travel plans.
 
On a more positive note:
 
Here's a picture to make you smile :-) perhaps cat lovers may smile a little more?!?

 
 
and to finish this last entry for me this year here's a story that will make you smile:

BAD PARROT

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary.

Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to 'clean up' the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot.
The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even more rude. John, in desperation, threw up his hand, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed.

Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute.

Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions.
I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."

John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.

As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird spoke-up, very softly, "May I ask what the turkey did?"

Happy Christmas

Keep Smiling and we hope 2014 brings much joy and laughs to all in your lives :-)

Sunday, 17 November 2013

A Busy Few Months and Horses

Hi All, it's been a while!!! I have been extremely busy with having my Cheeky Boy on his new Ketogenic diet, having RozArt's new look and connections in social media turn 1, having two Cheeky Children have their birthdays and of course coping with all the everyday runnings of a house, business, school activities and the numerous therapy sessions for the Cheeky Boy each week! So do you feel exhausted reading this??? I have been exhausted coping with cooking twice as many meals a week and having the Cheeky Boy adjust to eating the food has me kept extra busy and needing to funnel my left over energy into his needs and of course my family is ultimately my priority so the Blog has had to wait.


Let me tell you a little of how things have been with starting his new diet... we arrive at the hospital with him acquiring a viral cold from screaming his lungs out the night before when he had a hair cut. He unfortunately he doesn't like having his hair touched for any extended periods of time so he doesn't have haircuts often. So before going to hospital I have help to cut his hair as it was too long and lucky we did do it as he had an EEG at hospital which is easier to do and easier to get all the goo out of the hair (from were they attach the electrodes) after the procedure is complete. As you may also guess, EEG's can be a trauma, as they evolve touching his scalp... this time he didn't struggle too much :-) 
 
Anyhow, after a couple of days in hospital a gastro bug breaks out in the ward and the Cheeky Boy is effected :-( no food staying down and thank goodness the vomiting only went for three hours. Unfortunately for him however is the fact that the start of the new diet causes their glucose levels to drop and for him, it was at its lowest when the gastro hit. So his glucose levels were tested every hour and he ended up on a drip to keep him hydrated and on a gastro nasal tube to feed him liquid meals to keep his ketone levels up.
 
For most of you who do not know what a Ketogenic diet does, here's a simple explanation: by eating certain foods that are high in fat (good fats like olive oil) and protein, with reduction of carbohydrate foods (breads, pasta etc) to very low levels the body produces ketones instead of insulin to give the body fuel. This change in processing energy by the brain can enable people with epileptic seizures to have a reduction in seizure activity and in some cases no seizures at all. So the Cheeky Boy is on a three month trial of the diet and could be on it for a couple of years. The diet needs to be monitored carefully by Doctors and Dieticians as it is not a diet that can be just started at home and a person on the diet can only do it for a couple of years at the most.
 
To help contain the gastro with in the ward, the ward was put into lockdown so we were kept in our room and no physical contact with the outside world until discharge. I was only able to go and use a designated toilet and shower and touch nothing else. We were lucky, we had a bed near the window so at least we could see what was going on outside. So what we thought would be about a five day stay in the hospital became a ten day stay.
 
As he diet had changed, it had become less yummy to him, especially when you are in lockdown in a room and you can not even heat his food without waiting a very long time for a nurse to be able to do it for you. So you do what you can and as time progresses, you have to fight to get every mouthful in him, if he would eat it at all! So the decision was made easily to release us from hospital and have me cook him appropriate meals to get him to eat.
 
Over the first few weeks out of hospital were quite difficult in terms of convincing him the food wasn't hospital food and now I am limited to cooking him each meal as he won't eat any of the meals that are easy to prepare!! so hopefully as time passes he may be a little more agreeable to different varieties of meals. Fingers crossed!!
 
On the good news front we have seen a reduction in the severity of his drop seizures for the most part. So that is definitely a step in the right direction. The past week has not been a good week for seizures but we have had a slight adjustment in the amount of calories (increase) in his meals so that may help. We shall just have to wait and see.
 
One great thing that the Cheeky Boy has been able to do is go and have a visit to Pegasus, where they have riding for the disabled. He has never been near a horse before and I told the instructors that he will not be afraid as he trusts that I will not put him anywhere that is not safe. He of course was not at all scared of the pony that was much bigger than him and he even sat of her back :-) As usual he charmed all that met him :-) He was however more interested in wanting to play with the sawdust on the arenas floor than staying of the pony!
 
Pegasus does such wonderful work with people with disabilities and the influence that an animal can have on a person with disabilities is incredible. So if you would like to see what great work they do or even perhaps sponsor a horse please click on the following link:  http://www.pegasusact.com.au/


As for RozArt, I have been busy making pieces for happy clients and here's a photo of Harry, a gorgeous westie who is wearing one of my Four leaf clover ID Tags :-)


Well I hope you have an enjoyable week :-) I will look at making a new entry every couple of weeks now as you can understand I am even more time poor than ever :-/

Saturday, 28 September 2013

Goodbye Garlic Bread & Celebrations to Come

So two weeks has passed since my last entry... busy times trying to get things done before the Cheeky Boy heads into hospital on Monday. Here's hoping for a nice week ahead and I hope that we all adjust to his Ketogenic diet without too much upset. It's going to be a challenge in the sense that he loves his pasta, garlic bread and carbohydrates in general so we will have to cut down on these things ourselves to help keep him from wanting them. If he sees garlic bread coming out of the oven, he will literally drop anything he is eating to have the garlic bread. See the problem we have is that he will not understand why he can not have these foods anymore, as I said he really does LOVE them.
 
Who could really blame him for loving such foods as we all love fresh made garlic bread :-)

 
so the best thing for us to do for now is to eat it after he is asleep!
 

Please keep your fingers and toes crossed for this diet helping him reduce his seizures and making his life just that little more easier everyday.

As for the business end of things for me, with October just around the corner, my RozArt website is going to have a front page facelift and with RozArt on Facebook, I am going to be running a few competitions to celebrate the 1 Year Birthday of their launch!! Oh there's fun to be had!!!! So please keep a look out and join us all there for the fun :-)

And to finish off:

Sunday, 15 September 2013

A Moment of Quiet

I don't know about you but I feel that sometimes you feel like you have accomplished nothing in a day, but when you stop and have a look at all the small things that you have done, it actually adds up to a lot. I have also realised once I have stopped for a moment that my mind is so busy that I forget what I was actually trying to do at that moment in time...sound familiar??
 
I have had an afternoon where the hubby had taken the two cheeky children out to a birthday party, as I was working out of home for the morning I could not go. Anyhow, a house with no one else in it is a true delight and is calming when you have a moment to be still in it. I had friend post this following statement on Facebook and if you have children, you will know exactly how to relate to this :-)


I am of course writing this Blog entry now that the children are asleep!

Yet asleep, I have been thinking of what shall I write? not feeling too inspired... then I decided to take a moment to open an email from a good friend who is much older and wiser than me and inspires me from a distance. The email I opened is of Zen music with beautiful pictures of nature that inspire a restful mind and a clearness of thought, hence I have now been able to write and feel inspired :-) always a nice thing :-)

We all have so much chaos in our lives it's nice to have a moment like this just to be. 

I have been feeling an increase of stress when thinking of dealing with the Cheeky Boy going into hospital for a week to start his Ketogenic diet, only two weeks to go until this stay. Any parent who has had a child in hospital understands that when sharing a room with up to three other families is hard at anytime, especially when your child is unwell or in my case,  I have a little monkey who likes to start his mornings at 5.30am or earlier. At home I can sometimes convince him to have more sleep but I am not looking forward to him having to settle in a shared room and turning a TV or entertaining him with toys at that hour in a hospital is not really easy to do...so not looking forward to the early mornings there. Walking around the ward isn't a good idea either as all the other kids tend to be sleeping... I will have to get creative with things... two weeks to figure it out!
 
If you are interested in reading more on the Ketogenic diet for helping people with epilepsy here is a link for you:

http://www.charliefoundation.org/

The lovely Meryl Streep does an introduction to what the diet is about :-)

If you would like to feel a little more relaxed and calm of mind... this link is for you:

Zen Garden Music

I hope you all have a lovely and relaxed week ahead :-)

Sunday, 8 September 2013

A Year On... & Ketogenic Diets

So for my regular readers... yes I missed a week for an entry...

A year has passed since I started putting my online business together and having it launched in October 2012! So much has happened - not much sleep has been had between the Cheeky Boys seizures, numerous hospital visits and making pieces for my RozArt website (well over two hundred items put on my site so far and counting!!), doing courses, starting up stalls in various local markets, shows and community events. Opening RozArt on FacebookYouTube, Twitter and of course this Blog, I felt a week off from a blog entry was justified... a wee bit tired and needing a rest :-) I have to add raising a Cheeky Girl in the mix and running a household and of course we can't forget the hubby in there too :-)
 
 
I have spent the last week at my parents place but that hasn't stopped me from attending a few events including the Furry Fun Day for the Animal Welfare League of NSW yesterday which was a lot of fun of course and a nice warm day (even for the locals!). I have of course had the privilege of falling asleep next to my son around 8PM and not have to get out of bed until the morning :-) A rare treat indeed!!! 
 
Over the past year I have of course have many moments of fun, laughter and the meeting of many great people (between the exhaustion ;-) 
 
 
I believe that despite the many challenges put forward in life, one needs to always find something to smile about and laugh about, these things are the gifts we can give ourselves :-)

It has been wonderful to watch the Cheeky Boy laughing, getting up to mischief and discovering things in his world that he hasn't noticed before. He is of course still going through random drop seizures throughout the day and continuous bouts of them when he wakes up from a nap but to watch him get into fits of laughter of the Bananas In Pyjamas falling over is a joy indeed :-) (never mind his fits of laughter when he burps from either end of his body!!! )

We have been informed that he will be starting his Ketogenic diet at the end of the month so we will be spending a week in hospital in Sydney so that he can be monitored closely. The aim of the diet is to reduce or perhaps eventually eliminate his seizures. We will have to see how he goes, it will require measuring every amount of food going into his mouth and making high protein, high (good)fat foods and eliminating carbohydrates from his diet (goodbye garlic bread...)

If you would like to have a look at how the Ketogenic diet can assist people with epilepsy please click on the following link: www.matthewsfriends.org

Well it's time to go and indulge in a little chocolate ice cream  :-) I hope you all have a lovely week :-)

Sunday, 25 August 2013

The Generosity of Strangers & Boys Toys

Amazingly another week has flown by at the blink of an eye! I should somehow be getting use to it! not enough hours in a day...not enough days in a week... this has been a big week here really in the sense that the generosity of strangers has enabled me to have my car air conditioning fixed finally!!! and to top it of there has been the tinting of the car windows with a little bit of a discount to also help us out as the Cheeky Boy is sensitive to light and the pull-over window covers that provide some protection consistently wear out and rip and ultimately are expensive to keep on replacing. I was driving my car today and couldn't really believe the sense of relief I had within me knowing that the Cheeky Boy would now be safe to travel in the car without having an increase risk of seizures...this is making me tear up even now...

So to those very special people, my words can not express the gratitude I have for your help, it's amazing.
THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART
 
 
Now that I have wiped the tears from my eyes... I have also come to the realisation the Fathers Day is on it's way!!! So to help sort out things for the Daddy of the House here... I have bought him a gift that will be of assistance for making life easier in the garden... what you may be thinking??? I believe most boys like to play with motorise toys so as our yard isn't big enough to have a ride on mower (a dream of his!!) but we do have a hedge that is a good 3 meters or more tall... I got him a rechargeable hedge trimmer :-) sooo many times I wish I could get up to trim the top as it grows like a wild childs hair but alas I can't reach it easily even with a ladder and I figure that the only way to motivate the man of the house to get up there (having asked for it to be trimmed on more than one occasion) is to buy him a toy he can't resist to try out!! the only problem being is that I will be heading to Sydney for a week for the Furry Fun Day on the 7th of September so this means he has a week to 'play' with this toy unsupervised... previous experience leads me to believe that parts of the garden may be trimmed that don't even need it!!! just for him to give the hedger a good 'test' run :-/
 
Also on Fathers Day I will once again have my RozArt stall open for business at the monthly Hartley Hall Markets. This will be my third time there and I am looking forward to providing a few of the dads out for the day a present of two :-)
 
Here's one example of a piece I have made dedicated to dads:
 
 
Well I best be off, so much yet to do :-) I hope you all have a happy week with much laughter :-)
 
 

Sunday, 18 August 2013

Twelve Rules and Dentists

A friend sent me these following twelve rules and I thought they would be good to share. Whether you believe in a God or Gods or no God at all, there are some very wise words worth having a think about, there are rules we could all learn a little more from and not all the rules have any spiritual slant, they just make sense!!
 
So please have a read and see what I mean....
 
Twelve Rules of Spiritual Wisdom

  1. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

  2. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.

  3. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

  4. Dear God, I have a problem, it's me.

  5. Laugh every day, it's like inner jogging.

  6. Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape.

  7. The most important things in your home are the people.

  8. As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home.

  9. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

  10. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.

  11. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out it's neck.

  12. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

This is how one should feel about Dentists!
As for things around here, I have landed myself a new cold as things have been a little more stressful this week. Early in the week, the Cheeky Girl, had very bad ear aches all stemming from a large hole in one of her baby molars. So this is how the week pans out...
 
MONDAY: Cheeky Girl stays home from school due to the pain. So I get an appointment organised for lunch time. The dentist we saw looked at it and said yes she has a hole (smart indeed you could see it from the moon!) so within 5 minutes the Dentist sent us on our way with NO WORK DONE!!!
 
So least to say one child still with a bad ear ache and a mum who wasn't exactly happy and a call to another dentist for the next day...
 
TUESDAY: (After another night of pain) Dentist number two cost a fortune to fill the hole with a temporary filling and discovers that there are seven other holes forming between her teeth due to over crowding. He suggests a course of treatment that ultimately would cost over $1500!! on a 5 year old!!and when I tell him about our circumstances with me being a full time carer and if there was any room to give some discount he proclaims..."DENTISTS DON'T GIVE DISCOUNTS" (in a nice way!)
 
As you can understand I was taken back by this statement! Not even $10 a visit could he spare!!
 
So now a visit to another dentist is made...
 
FRIDAY: This dentist checked the new temporary filling, placed fluoride between her teeth and organised another appointment to fill a small hole on another molar. This dentist did not charge because my Cheeky Girl was only five and said "PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN FILLINGS".
 
So can you guess which dentist we are happy to see again...
 
As for my Cheeky Girl... I am very proud of how brave she has been :-) especially to see three dentists in a week!! and each time she said "I will be brave Mummy" and she was :-)

Now to another cause that I will be helping with in a couple of weeks :-) My RozArt stall shall be going to a Furry Fun Day going to be held by the Animal Welfare League of NSW so I am getting excited about that and all the fun to be had :-) but before we get that far Fathers day is just around the corner...

I hope you all have a great week :-)

Saturday, 10 August 2013

A Cause Close to My Heart

This is a blog entry with a special cause close to my heart. This coming week is "Bang on a Beanie" for people with acquired brain injuries. As many of you know my Cheeky Boy has an acquired brain injury which he has had since he was four days old. For those who are not familiar with his struggle for survival and the determination of my beautiful boy, if you wish you can have a read of 'My Sons Story' which I have shared with all those who visit my RozArt website to view my Dog Tags for People and Pet ID Tag Range of products.
 
So if you would like to purchase a beanie or perhaps even "Bang on a Barbie" for the cause you may do so through the following website: https://bangonabeanie.com.au/

A cause close to my heart
 
As for my Cheeky Boys progress this week, he has had a good week where he has had fewer seizures as he isn't sleeping as often during the day and a night he isn't waking up as often so he is having less seizures during the night :-) He is feeling he needs to be very close to me throughout the day which can make it quite difficult to get things done at times but I must say I quite enjoy the cuddling up on the lounge for naps because it means I get a little rest too :-)
 
I can only hope this reduced seizure routine can continue so that he can have a good chance to improve and grow and reach his milestones. There are words that he is beginning to use again that we haven't heard in over six months :-) Fingers crossed that the effects of this new regime of drugs doesn't wear off and we go backwards, which is what we have had to go through with so many of the other medications he has been on previously.
 
Well it's time for me to head off and feed the hungry mouths here. I hope you all have a happy week with much laughter :-)

Sunday, 4 August 2013

Market Day

Here I am exhausted, suffering wind burn and my eyes look I have been smoking something I shouldn't... all because I had my RozArt stall at the Hartley Hall Markets. I was up to all hours getting  things ready for the markets last night. So after a couple of hours of sleep, I managed to get myself out of bed and got to the markets in time to set up in the chilling wind an sleeting rain. I had my Cheeky Girl wanting to help set up but that didn't last long - it was nicer to be in the car :-)

Anyhow, the weather did improve over the morning and nature showed it's beauty...

A rainbow amongst the morning showers
 
The afternoon did bring more showers, cold winds and a desire to be sitting some place warmer. Nature was just reminding us that winter isn't over yet after giving us a milder July that pervious years.
 
Despite the weather there was many people and their four legged friends (of the dog variety!) out for a stroll and a look around. There were those very few who were out wearing shorts!! never can quite figure out how they don't feel the cold. I couldn't feel my feet for part of my day and I had several layers of clothes on!
 
As some of you may realise, I am a little late with this blog entry, the reason, I was away on Friday night, met a lovely group of people related to creating some fund raising for my Cheeky Boy by which money will can be raised for him and at the same time provide vital nutrition to children in third world countries. A win win really. As things haven't been finalised as yet I will tell you more about this once it has :-)
 
As for now, I shall part to rest my eyes and body :-) have a great week ahead :-)

Saturday, 27 July 2013

Mobile Phones

This morning is a morning I somehow feel that a bed would be my best friend. I of course had a day of relaxation when I went to my parents last week and because I put my guard down so to speak I have now got a cold and the underlying feeling that a chest infection is on its way :-(
 
So shortly I will go back to bed for a little more sleep.
 
I did have the chance to enjoy my afternoon out last Saturday, which was great :-)
 
There was one thing that really did surprise me when I was out, the reliance people have on socialising on their mobile phones whilst they are out with friends. I am one for always having a mobile phone on where ever I go as I have to be in phones reach if my Cheeky Boy goes into having a seizure whilst other people are looking after him but I was taken back by the desire people have to be of their phones checking and chatting on Facebook etc. instead of actually talking to the people right in front of them... I saw a couple out for lunch and the young lady instead of actually talking to the gentleman in front of her, she had her fingers working faster on her phone!

Perhaps I am a little old fashion about this...

As for the Cheeky Boy and his hospital visit, he has had some improvements in his readings for his EEG but of course there is the side effects of his drugs that is of still major concern for me and our family. Amongst these, he has been suffering from laboured breathing and is still irritable and not quite sure what he wants - this makes it difficult not only for him but for those around him trying to help him...
 
We are now in the process of reducing one of his medications gradually, lets hope he's seizures don't increase. Fingers and toes crossed that all goes well and we can see a reduction of his side effects.
 
Can you believe another month has almost gone! Next weekend I shall be taking my RozArt work to the Hartley Lifecare Hall Markets again. I hope I am feeling well enough and the day isn't too cold :-)
 
Time for me to find my bed... I hope you all have a happy week with much laughter :-)

Saturday, 20 July 2013

Dr Seuss

Today I am going to have a day out with some friends on a rare time-out for some fun :-) Sometimes it is needed to give one a chance to remember what it's like to be yourself, especially when so much of ones time is dedicated to others both day and night.

Here's a little wisdom from Dr Seuss that I think is so true...



The past week has been quite hard for the Cheeky Boy with the latest change in his medication and it has been hard to watch him go through it. He has spent the majority of the week walking around like a little zombie as the medication slows his brain waves down to stop the seizures. The end part of the week he has been restless, not wanting his favourite foods and wanting to lay down for a sleep and not being able to settle. It has not only been heartbreaking for me to watch him over the week but also for those who know him well have been upset by his zombie state :-(
 
Fortunately this has improved over the past couple of days but he is still going through side effects, at least he is becoming more his usual cheeky self. We shall see his neurologist in Sydney on Tuesday for another EEG, so lets see what comes from all of this.
 
As for my RozArt work work, I have been finishing off orders from last week and I have had the unfortunate closure of my website for a few days as there has been an virus attached to it, if only the people who came up with these things used their brains and energy for good!

Well I best be off, I hope you all have a great week ahead :-)

Saturday, 13 July 2013

Joys and Worries

It's been a week of much work and my RozArt stall at the Hall Markets was a great success for my first time there :-) I have a few creative orders to fill which I enjoy as it gives me a chance to create something new and ultimately something that the client loves :-) The weather was lovely when the sun was out but when it hid behind the clouds and the wind picked up, it was a little chilly to say the least!

 
The nice thing about doing markets is that you meet lovely people and stall owners who enjoy being there and enjoy what they are doing. It's always nice to go to a new place and feel welcomed by all of those around you :-)

On the home front, my beautiful Cheeky Boy has had another trip to hospital after a group of seizures. We were able to come home that night but he has had an increase in his medication once again and unfortunately he has been extremely tired and is still having absent seizures mixed in with his 'nods'. It is heart breaking watching your child go through these things especially when you know he is not his normal cheery and cheeky self... I am hoping after a few more days of being on this increase of medication his body will settle enough to let him get into his usual level of mischief.
 
If this medication increase doesn't help him we will be putting him back on steroids for a period of time just to help give his little body and brain a bit of a break, we hope! The problem with the steroids is that they make him extremely thirsty and hungry. With this comes the huge number of nappies we go through (at least 10 a day) and the poor boy gets quite demanding when the food doesn't come fast enough because of the increase in appetite. The steroid they use is the same one they use for children who have an asthma attach, the only difference is that he will be on the drug for a longer period of time.
 
We are on the waiting list to do a very special diet which can help some people with bad seizures control them to a point where some do not have them anymore. I will talk more about this diet at another time.
 
Now for a mention of a book called the "The Woman Who Changed Her Brain" by Barbara Arrowsmith-Young. This is an inspiring book and worth a read if you have an interest in or know someone with a brain injury. I have read the book and seen Barbara speak when she come to Australia for the first time last year. For those of you here in Australia and New Zealand she is coming back once more and if you wish to she her speak her upcoming events from August please click on the follow link: http://www.barbaraarrowsmithyoung.com/events/
 
Well on this positive note, I shall be off :-) Have a beautiful week ahead.
 

Saturday, 6 July 2013

New Adventures

With the cold of Winter here, I am hoping tomorrow is going to be a nice day in Canberra as I am to be doing my first ever RozArt stall at the Hall Markets which for those of you who are not familiar with these markets, they are the largest outdoor markets in the Canberra Region. The Hall Markets are run by Hartley Lifecare who work and provide support for persons with disabilities. So I am hoping to work up a client base leading up to Christmas and have a great deal of fun whilst I am at it :-) So if you are in the Canberra Region, please come and say hi :-)

A picture I took last week of a 'beautiful' foggy morning in Canberra
(it's about 11am and 3 degrees Celsius)
 
I don't mind a cold winters day here when the sun is shining but the foggy days do chill you and those days when the wind is blowing from the Snowy Mountains... brrrrrrr
 
Lets see what tomorrow brings!
 
My Cheeky Boy has had a mixed week of health. He has had more random drop seizures which has caused him some superficial injuries to his face. The one thing that has had to be changed is the handles on the kitchen cupboards and draws. These would be fine if my little boy wasn't prone to hitting his head on things by accident. The handles have sharp corners on them so they have had to go.
 
I had a visitor come this week and they said something that is true for us: "it's the things that we take for granted and we would never think of causing problems, you need to think of"
 
The 'small' things that are often taken for granted are not here, even the good things :-) This week the Cheeky Boy noticed for the first time ever what the other kids in his Gymbaroo class were doing and he stopped what he was doing to do the same thing as them! That was to come back and lay on the mat on the floor. This may sound like 'not much' but to me it was a celebration as taking notice of his surroundings and then following others is something he hasn't done before, so exciting!!!
 
So here's a picture to finish my entry to make you smile and think at the same time...nothing like multi tasking :-)
 

Have a nice week :-)
 
 
 

Saturday, 29 June 2013

A Little Time Out

It's not as cold here this morning :-) which is nice. I have been able to have a night out with a few friends last night which is was great. It is a rare treat for me to get a few hours time out to have a chat with others about anything and nothing much all the same :-)
 
One thing that makes me laugh is the thought that once upon a time going out meant seeing the rise of the sun in the morning. Now with friends it's amazing to watch them ready to call it a night when the clock reaches 10pm!! Oh to the days when going out for a night out started at 10pm!! I'm not sure when that transition happens between starting a night at 10pm and finishing a night at 10pm happens but I'm pretty sure having young kids has some part to play in it!
 
I also had a chance to go to the National Arboretum on a rare lunchtime outing with my Cheeky Boy. It was lovely to share with him a new environment and what a beautiful view over Canberra! They also have a fantastic new playground which I'm sure my Cheeky Girl will love to play in :-)

Views over Canberra from the National Arboretum

This week I also stopped to have a read of a Oprah piece I received and found a great section on '20 Ways to Find Joy In Your Lives' so I thought I would share with you today Number 9 titled: 'Appreciate the Little Stuff'. I hope you fine a little time to have a read :-)
 
As for the Cheeky Boy and his health, he is finding it hard to stay awake for long periods of time due to another increase in his medication. Hopefully things will settle down for the good when the increases stop :-)
 
Well I must go, things to do, things to do! I hope you all have a chance to appreciate some of the little things in life this week :-)

Saturday, 22 June 2013

Cold Mornings

Oh it's a bit cold!!!! Nothing like frost over everything in the mornings!!! I can say that the best thing about this time of year for us in the Southern Hemisphere is the days can now only get longer!!! Can't say they will get any warmer here for a few months yet but at least there will be a little more daylight each day :-) (sorry to those in the Northern Hemisphere...your days are going to get shorter...) To get me through these chilly mornings and days I am keeping good thoughts that each day is a day closer to warmer weather :-)

 
Another great thing is when someone buys you an electric throw blanket!!! so do you think I have it over my legs right now??? of course! :-)
 
This week has passed by quickly. The Cheeky Boy has been trying to cope with the adjustment in his medications which of course cause him to become quite tired but this morning he is looking and acting more like the Cheeky Boy we adore :-) he will of course be going through another adjustment of his meds in a few days so the roller coaster for his energy levels will start again. All we can do is hope things stay well for him and his body lets him have a break from his big seizures.
 
I as I have a few things  to get on with (surprise, surprise) I shall finish now with a picture I took of here in Canberra on a frosty morning, it's a lovely picture with a hot air balloon as there is always a balloon or two around in the early mornings here.
 

I think it would be a lovely way to see the city and definitely a warmer place to be in the balloon basket than on the ground!
 
For those of you who would like to see Canberra in a great way here's a link for Balloons Aloft Canberra: http://canberraballoons.com.au/
 
I hope you all have a lovely week :-)
 

Saturday, 15 June 2013

Snoring...

The week that has just been has started not so good and has improved as the week has progressed. I have even had to take our beautiful puppy dog to the vet with a cold :-( I felt guilty for letting him get sick but I have been otherwise occupied with the Cheeky Boy's health over the past month. I do have a hubby here to look after the dog but as he is not quite in tune with picking up the signs of sickness, it was missed by him. Least to say, I am now typing away with a snoring dog next to me!!! and my Cheeky Girl is having a giggle about having a snoring Daddy and a snoring dog :-)
 
A picture of one of my sleeping beauties!
 
As for the Cheeky Boy, he has not had any other big seizures :-) I have been a bit stressed waiting to hear from his Doctor in Sydney as to what changes we needed to make to his medications. As it was a long weekend here last weekend all his Doctors were having the weekend off and we had to play the waiting game as to the next steps to take... we have now added another medication to the mix, so we shall have to see what happens, fingers and toes crossed!
 
As for my RozArt business, between all of the other chaos, I have been pleased and excited by the return of customers for further purchases :-) It's always nice to know that the pieces you make are appreciated by others and my desire to bring them a quality and unique piece is bringing them back for more :-)
 
Finally I shall end with a picture of how the onset of Canberra's winter weather is making me feel...
 
Enjoy your week ahead :-)
 

Monday, 10 June 2013

More Seizures...

Today's Blog entry is to be brief and to those who are my regular readers, I have not been this last with a entry before but I'm sure you are all understanding/empathetic as to the reasons why... my Cheeky Boy has been in and out of hospital three times since Friday with increasingly large seizures so everything else is naturally put aside to look after him and my family.
I feel blessed to have the kind thoughts and prayers of family and friends to help us through this time and I thank all :-) I can only hope that the week ahead can be one that will end with increasingly good news.
 
For those of you who have only recently joined me here... this is the 'game' we unfortunately have to play with the Cheeky Boy and his complex epilepsy - a consequence of his acquired brain injury when he was four days old. He is only 3 years old and has many challenges ahead but he has a spirit and a strength that can only inspire those around him and ultimately his charm and his cheekiness are something that no one can ever forget  :-)
 
Here's a website that lets you get some information of brain injuries if you wish to learn a little more about them in general:
 
 
I hope you all have a lovely week ahead with much love and laughter :-)

Sunday, 2 June 2013

Little Helpers

Some people wonder why I sometimes have Blog entries that have a time of publishing in the early hours of the morning (like this one will!) it is quite simple really, the early hours of the morning are the best hours for me to get work done with out any interruptions and without any little 'helpers'. I know you other mothers out there can relate to this :-) little 'helpers' are sometimes not so helpful! Sometimes my Cheeky Girl comes to 'help' by working on sample pieces at my work bench, she only stated yesterday how good her work is going and that I can use it for display with the pieces I am getting ready for display at Gymbaroo :-) She was so proud of herself, so you can't do any more than smile and give praise :-)
 
Once again I can not tell you how great the Gymbaroo program is for the development of a child, whether they have challenges in life or not :-) and I must give a special thanks to Kristie at Gymbaroo Canberra for enabling me to bring my RozArt work to all those who pass through the doors there :-)
There is also another reason that these hours work well for me at times... the Cheeky Boy mostly wakes with his night seizures in the early hours of the morning so my sleep is totally interrupted. So sometimes it works out easier to be awake than constantly being woken up just when I'm heading into a deep sleep. For those who may be wondering how he has been going over the past week, he is having less drop seizures but their intensity is increasing once again... so lets see what this next week goes. He is also still suffering from his chest infection :-( but it has improved with him waking less :-)
 
I will finish now with putting a picture here to make you smile as something to smile about always lifts the spirits :-)


I hope you all have a good week with much laughter :-)


Sunday, 26 May 2013

Lessons Learnt From a Child

What a week it has been. The Cheeky Boy has been through a lot with him being attached to an EEG monitor for almost 24 hours to having a MRI. In between all of this he has also managed to acquire a fever and a large seizure to go with it. Despite the tears and the discomfort, he has managed to work his charm with the Doctors and Nurses and found moments to be quite cheeky and have bouts of giggles :-) He is a very brave little boy and so forgiving of those who cause him pain and discomfort. There is so much we can learn for children, we just need to take the time to watch them closely and see the lesson they are trying to give us :-)

 
I must of course thank all those who have kept us in their prayers over the last week.
 
To the fun of the RSPCA Million Paws Walk, it was a fun day with the largest variety of dogs I have ever seen! Every one enjoyed themselves and the dogs did to :-) The morning started out frosty at -4 degrees Celsius but the sun was shining which made for a pleasant morning. However the afternoon had a fresh breeze blowing which kept all the stalls in the shade a bit chilled!! My RozArt stall did quite well, ironically it was from selling items that were not dog related :-)
 
Here's a picture of some of the happy dogs and their owners who were out for the day:


Well I hope you all have a good week ahead with much smiles and laughter :-)

Saturday, 18 May 2013

A Million Paws & A Few Kind Thoughts

Here's to a fantastic day ahead tomorrow with the RSPCA Million Paws Walk taking place across the Nation. I have been spending my nights awake preparing all my RozArt goods for the day and I am truly looking forward to the specticle of so many dogs in one place at one time, all of which are extremely excited and what fun is to be had! :-)
 
The one down side to it all is the fact that tomorrow is going to be frosty!!! So several layers of clothes will be required and a thermas of warm beverage is waiting to be made :-)
 
There is one thing that is going to be on my mind even more throughout the day and that is my little Cheely Boy. Unfortunately he had a large seizure which involved a trip to hospital via an Ambulance (thanks to the wonderful Ambos once again :-) on Mothers Day. We did make it home for tea which was nice. The problem since has been the increase of drop seizures so we are going to spend a week in Sydney with a team of Peadiatric Neurologists trying to find the best solution for my precious little boys increasing seizure activity. It is going to be a long week and quite difficult for him and of course me at times... but it needs to be done. There is nothing more heart breaking to a Mother than to watch her child suffer and know there is nothing she can do about it. I can offer comfort but I can not take away his pain or his afflictions.
 
There is alway comfort in a pet which is wonderful. I ask the powers above to treat my boy kindly as he doesn't deserve to go through this. I can only hope that my words will be answered in kind.
 
 
Well I best be off, much to do and only one of me :-) I hope you all have a good week and perhaps if you can spare a word to the powers above, please ask them for a little extra strength for the Cheeky Boy ...THANKS :-)

Saturday, 11 May 2013

Trying Times & Good Friends

There's a point sometimes one reaches when you think things can't possibly get more stressful and then you have another unexpected situation occur and you end up with even more money to pay out... I have been suffering in mind about how the hell we will pay all the bills then two more events over the past weeks are requiring money to be spent. It's like a smack in the face and these new debts are saying "You fool, this isn't as bad as it is to get..."

I must say we have never had to struggle so much to pay bills, let alone the things that are needed for the Cheeky Boy. His requirements need to be met at some point for these things are essential for him as they will help to reduce the risk of him having seizures - like the car that still needs the air conditioning system to be replaced and the dream of having a reverse cycle air conditioning system for his room to keep it at a consistent 'good' temperature - is well and truly a dream. It cost us over a $1000 a quarter last winter to try and keep things warm (using what heating we could afford). Canberra is a place that can be -7 degrees Celsius at night and some days will only reach 8 degrees Celsius on the really bad days the temperature may be 1 degree Celsius for the day. This of course doesn't take into account the wind chill factor as the winds come in from the snow capped mountains...Oh I'm cold just thinking about it!

So this has been one of those weeks where I wish I could just run away... but ultimately this doesn't help the people who rely on me and depend on me... my beautiful and cheeky Children.

One of the good things that has happened this week is that I had a brief visit from a dear friend, she also has a child who has special needs and fights every day to try and get the best for her him as he has a condition that doesn't fit into what is commonly recognised. It was so nice for the brief catch up and to top it off she sent me an email late that night to let me know that she was thinking of me and that I was a strong woman and to keep strong... it brang a tear to my eye because us mothers don't realise what a good job we are really doing sometimes and it is always nice to be reminded of this every now and then :-)

 
Another thing that gives me 'time out' for just a few minutes is listening to some beautiful music. I reminded myself of how beautiful and soulful the voice of Ciaran Gribbin is (the lead singer of INXS). I shall share with you a link to his performance of 'Amazing Grace' when he performed under his stage name of Joe Echo before he joined INXS. Please close your eyes and listen... and let me know if you are also transported away to a more peaceful place for a few moments in time :-)
 
 
Now on a more positive note, the Million Paws Walk is on next Sunday! What fun is to be had by many puppy dogs and their owners. There is over 1000 registered dogs for the walk here in Canberra so if you would like to join in the fun... I will have my RozArt stall up and running so I can take orders and then custom make some fun Dog ID Tags for many of Canberra's pooches :-)
 
And just one more thing... for all those Mother's out there, I hope you have a lovely Mother's Day tomorrow :-) and to every one have a nice week :-)

Saturday, 4 May 2013

Mother's Day is Heading Our Way

Today I am just about ready to pass out with tiredness. The Cheeky Boy had me up 10 times last night and I am starting to feel the lack of rest making my eye lids heavy. Anyhow, just a brief chat today. I am getting a little excited about being involved in the RSPCA Million Paws Walk on the 19 May :-) I hope the weather is going to be nice as things are getting a wee bit chilly here at nights, we had a -2 degrees Celsius the other morning, so I'm hoping that day will not start off so fresh.
 
In the meantime Mother's Day will be celebrated here in Australia next Sunday and I will show you a couple of my RozArt tags (pendants) I have designed especially for Mum's. I hope you like them :-)
Any of the tags can also be made into keyrings and key chains


 
So I must apologise for the briefness of this entry as I must try and find the energy to do many for things.
 
I hope you are all enjoying your weekend and I hope you all find that special something for your Mums as they deserve to be a little spoilt every now and then :-)

Saturday, 27 April 2013

To the Heroes in Our Lives

I have to admit that I am a little late with this entry due to being very tired! It's hard to function when you are woken up five or more times a night by the Cheeky Boy and his restlessness & seizures. I kind of loose count after five as I'm so tired it all becomes a bit of a blur...add to that I have been busy trying to get more of the pieces I have made for customers onto my RozArt website at night when the kids are asleep. Unfortunately for the Cheeky Boy, it would appear that his new medication is not working effectively and a trip to Sydney will happen soon to get more tests done and hopefully a new regime that will reduce his seizures...fingers crossed.
 
This week has been a very special week here in  Australia with ANZAC day on Thursday. My Husband and Cheeky Daughter went to the dawn service at the Australian War Memorial. The Cheeky Boy is not yet able to understand what the day is about so we are hoping to at least make it to the parade next year.
 

As part of my Dog Tag series, I make pieces that celebrate and honour those who are the heroes in our lives including those who serve our Country in the Military, also as Police, Firies, Ambos, Nurses and many more... Here's just one piece I have made in the Dog Tags for the Services on my website for our service men and women:

 
Finally as promised, here are the photos of the Dinosaur cakes I made for the National Dinosaur Museum for their 20th Birthday celebrations last week:
 

 
The cakes went down a treat! some kids came back for thirds!
Definitely a sign that they tasted good too :-)
 
I best be off, still so much to do! I hope you all have a good week ahead :-)