Tuesday, April 30, 2024

{iPhone Rewind} :: April

Night 1 of building rockets at Boys Brigade!

Superhero of Birds, Superhero of Beauty, and Superhero of Army!

Flowers from my favorite person :)

First day of soccer! I'm helping with Aiden's team again this season, and I love my little soccer buddy!

On the windy days, the planes change their flight pattern and fly really low...

Getting ice cream with this cutie :)

When your church members have cool vehicles :)

Never a dull moment. Not a clue what's happening here, but they're having a grand time :)

Handwriting time! {and I know it's not proper posture...we just needed a change of pace for this day}

Loving our new Kingdom of God Storybook Bible

Movie Night!

We found a fun new park to play at...too bad it was 50 degrees and rainy in April haha. Kids didn't seem to mind.

Drumming brothers :)

Eli made his own guitar!

Bedtime conversations with Maddie :)

Praying for Jesse and Linda after celebrating their engagement

Back to freezing temps...at the end of April

Concentrating hard on his handwriting practice

Game day!

Rocket launch day :)


Saturday, April 20, 2024

One Year Later :: A Migraine Win!

It has been a full year since I first saw my neurologist, and I have been reflecting on my progress. It has definitely been slow and steady, and I haven't always been convinced that the treatment is working, or is even overall beneficial. 

I still struggle with the fact that I am taking a medication to chase a {different} medication side effect. I thought that maybe with time and improvement that I would get over that, but I haven't found that to be the case. I still feel slightly uncomfortable with it. That's probably because I haven't seen massive improvement in my migraines, and I don't necessarily "have my life back," so it's still sitting as this weird question mark on whether or not I made the right decision. 

I also have not loved how I have felt on this medication {migraines aside}. The neurologist had told me that I could experience side effects from it {lovely}, and while it wasn't too pronounced at first, I am starting to feel it more the longer that I am on it. It has been strange things like paresthesia {random numbness and tingling in my arms and legs}, but it has also included things like memory problems or feeling more emotional or agitated. Right now these side effects are manageable, but I have to work at them; meaning, I have to work harder at focusing and remembering what I am doing, or managing my emotions and my irritability, because I can physically feel it. And while I absolutely have control over those things, it's frustrating that I am now fighting a medication that heightens those things, does that make sense? Sigh. So it's just an added piece that makes things harder. And I have to weigh how beneficial it really is.

When I started taking the maintenance medication, I was experiencing 15-20 headache days a month. Almost immediately, that kicked down to 12-15 headache days, which was a big win, but I have still been getting fairly bad migraines at least once a week. While I will absolutely take that over what I was experiencing before {beggars can't be choosers, right?}, it has still been really tough knowing that I am taking medication to chase a medication side effect, that comes with its own side effects. 

Now, having a rescue medication has made a huge difference because my treatment of Tylenol and an ice pack wasn't really cutting it before. But now I can take my rescue med when I feel a migraine coming on, and it usually knocks out the migraine, and I can be pain free! Also a huge win! The downside is that it has taken some time for me to figure out the right timing on the rescue med, since I can only take so many at a time and in a month. In addition, I have found that I will take my rescue med, the migraine will go away, but as soon as the medicine wears off, the migraine comes raging back. If I take a second pill, the migraine goes away again {which is great}, but if that then wears off, and the migraine comes raging back again, then I'm stuck. I can't take another pill. And that has happened fairly often in the last few months, which is a fairly frustrating process. So then I find myself weighing my schedule and what things are most important and what things I can miss and timing out the pills based on that, and it's kind of a balancing act and just a weird mess. 

I have also learned a ton about all of my new fun migraine triggers. The weather is the main one, and I can't really do much about that. I have an app that gives me a heads up about pressure shifts, and it's pretty accurate and 9 times out of 10, I'll get a migraine at the same time I get a notification. So while I can't prevent the migraine, at least I have a heads up it's coming {or at least I have a confirmation of the pressure building up behind my eyeball haha}.  Also, crying. For some reason, the act of crying triggers a migraine, and that's really frustrating, considering that the migraine maintenance medication has a side effect of making me more emotional...which causes me to cry more than I normally would. So I find myself feeling like I want to cry more than I normally would, but I also find myself trying to suppress that crying because I don't want to trigger a migraine. Make it make sense.

Another big one is certain strong smells- all candles, strong perfumes, food scents, and smoke are out. I catch a whiff and I have to immediately get to fresh air or it will trigger a migraine. Even the smell of smoke on Mike's clothes from a bonfire is enough. It's so sad, and he is so gracious to shower and put his clothes in the washer before he comes upstairs. Also, heat and squinting in the sun {??} is an automatic migraine. I have to be sure I have my sunglasses with me at all times, and I have to actively focus on not squinting or frowning while I'm outside haha. I feel so high maintenance about it now, but it's just not worth the migraine later.

As I type all this out, I realize it sounds ridiculous. Because it is. I know it is, but when you suffer from migraines, you will do anything and everything to avoid them. You will deal with the weird side effects to get some measure of relief...because they are THAT BAD. It's not just a headache. It is so much more than a headache.

So this has been my year. A long, slow journey {not unlike my Crohn's journey, so I guess it's just my overall health journey}. I had been averaging 1 migraine a week, some of them lasting 2-3 days. That seemed to be my new "normal."  

BUT...

My huge migraine win? Is that I went 20 days without a migraine. 20 days! And then on top of that, I took my rescue med, the migraine went away, and it didn't immediately come back! This is a HUGE win! 

Will this repeat? I have no idea. But I just have to pause and recognize this victory for what it is. Because I have not gone that long without a migraine in over 2 years. 2 years. Cue the tears...but not too many ;) 

And that gives me hope, and a little bit of strength to keep fighting the weird and hard side effects. Because that's 20 days of NOT having to manage a migraine. Thank you, Jesus!



Monday, April 8, 2024

{Partial} Solar Eclipse 2024

We were not in the path of totality for the 2024 Solar Eclipse, but we did have 88% coverage, so it was still a pretty cool thing to watch! All of our Texas friends and family were in the path of totality, so we got to see all of their excitement and hear about their experiences. Plus, it was a great way to add a little extra to our homeschool day! #science

We got our official eclipse glasses, and I made sure they were kid-safe {no chance of peeking over the glasses = the paper plate}. We pulled up some camping chairs, and joined our neighbors in the cul-de-sac to watch the show!



It was fun to enjoy the eclipse with our neighbors, and the kids really loved it! Maddie kept saying, "I love this. I love this SO much!" Haha. It was also fun to have Daddy and Mr. David there with us; it was just a fun party, watching the glory of God's creation.





I had also made a pinhole viewer for the eclipse. I didn't get a great photo of the eclipse part, but the viewer itself actually worked. 




It's crazy to think that the kids will be grown the next time there is a total eclipse in the U.S. I pray that we can gather again with them and look back at these photos and see if they remember it.

Until 2044! :)



Saturday, April 6, 2024

All the Planes!

We spent some time at the Udvar-Hazy Center yesterday! It had been awhile since I had been there {Mike has taken the kids a couple of times}, but even then, it has been long enough that we got to see a number of different planes. The kids were very excited to see so many new/different planes, and they kept pointing and exclaiming, "look at that one!" or "mommy, did you see that?" 


We also got there just in time to go up into the observation tower, and it ended up being the perfect time! We were able to see several planes land at Dulles airport, and it was so cool. They flew right by the window.






And because we saw all the planes at the museum, we spent all of this morning building all the planes we saw with LEGOs...naturally.  :)


I love spending time with my museum-loving kiddos, and I love that we have this fun one so close!



Wednesday, April 3, 2024

{Easter 2024} :: He is Risen!

For Easter this year, we started with our Good Friday service. We took the kids this year, and I was able to meet my friend Beatrice there. Mike was teaching, and it was a sweet night, remembering the love and sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf.

Since Sunday is such a busy morning, we decided to make our resurrection rolls on Saturday morning. I decided to use crescent rolls this year, since they take less time {and because so many recipes call for them}, but somehow we ended up with only 1 "empty tomb." None of the other rolls melted the marshmallow...which kind of defeats the purpose of a resurrection roll haha! But despite the fail, the kids had fun making them and they still tasted great :)  {next year, we'll go back to the Rhodes rolls}






Eli drew pictures to create a book of the Easter Story, and he did such a great job!

1. Cover Page
2. Jesus Teaching the Crowds
3. Jesus at the Last Supper/Passover
4. Jesus Praying in the Garden {with sleeping disciples next to a fire and wind gusts}
5. Jesus on the Cross
6. Jesus Buried in the Tomb {with Roman guards and wind gusts}
7. Jesus Risen and the Empty Tomb {with angel who rolled away the stone}
8. Back Cover {Eli and Daddy}


On Sunday, Mike was gone early for the sunrise service, and the kids woke up to their Easter baskets. This year, they each got a Richard Scarry book, flip flops, Yoto cards, jelly beans, and Perler beads. 




I was able to convince the kids to snap a few photos before we left for church, but it was hard to get some serious pictures. So we definitely ended up with some pretty goofy ones in the process ;)





We enjoyed a sweet time of worship with our church family, and I loved having the kids with us in the service {we had a family service, so no kids Sunday School}. And they even cooperated for a family photo :)


The rest of the day was restful, which I am grateful for, since it had been such a long morning for Mike. The kids enjoyed their Easter baskets, rode their bikes, and it was just a good family day. We are thankful for our living hope in Jesus!



He is risen!