And They Said It Couldn't Be Done.....

Big news in McNabb Land..... Today marked 2 weeks of accident-free living for my little Moosey-girl! That is, accident-free living in big girl panties! My girl has been working hard on potty training and for 2 weeks now she has been going naked except for wearing big girl panties AND going to the potty EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. I am still putting diapers on her at night, but she has also been waking up DRY every morning for 2 weeks. This week we will be working on potty training with clothes on. I am curious to see how she does with remembering to go potty once she is wearing pants.
 
I know what some of you are thinking. She's 4, right? Shouldn't she already be using the potty? Please keep in mind that she's had some serious bowel issues and has been diagnosed with incontinence. They've even gone as far as to say that she doesn't realize that she has to go to the potty, she doesn't get that "gotta go" feeling. This is a BIG accomplishment for our girl and we are SOOOOOO proud of how far she has come.
 
WAY TO GROW MOOSEY!

Genetics....The Blame Game

Sometimes things just don't go according to our plans. That happens to me alot. I could make this all about how much I hate it when things don't go my way. I could whine and complain, but I won't. No, things don't always go according to my plans, but I'm okay with that.

Back in November, I took Delaney to have some genetic testing. I wanted some answers and so did her doctors and therapists. I walked in the doors of that facility hoping to come away with some kind of comfort. I wanted someone to finally be able to explain away all the medical issues and problems. I wanted someone to tell me that the sensory issues and the speech delays, the crooked fingers and the stomach troubles....well, I just wanted someone to look at me and say, "this is not your fault. You didn't cause any of this. This isn't all in your head. We can help."

You know, at first, I never would have even considered pointing blame. Why play the blame game anyway? I never saw anything "wrong" when I looked at her. When I was holding her or rocking her I didn't feel like something was "wrong." She was, is, and always will be my girl. I look at her and still see her, even now that I know what I know now, as this beautiful, wonderful, perfect little gift. My miracle. No, I never would have thought to place blame on anyone, including myself. UNTIL. Until someone said, "well this must be your fault that she's always so sick. WE don't have anything like that in OUR family! She must get it all from YOUR family" And just like that, the seed of guilt was planted in my brain. Over time, it gnawed at me. It ate away at my rational side. I convinced myself that I must have done something. I MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING that would make her developmentally delayed. I must come from a family with a rotten gene pool. Makes sense, right? Well, it did to my MIL.

Well, I took my girl to that appointment with genetics and I told them all about our family histories. Turns out, I'm not the only one with a crummy gene pool! Ha! First thing they told me was, "stop blaming yourself." OK? Can I really do that? Next thing they said was, "it couldn't all be inside your own head because you wouldn't be here with her now if her physician didn't think you needed to be here." Third thing they told "Let it go. Accept her as the blessing she is. Get your answers for your own peace of mind and not someone else's. Take your answers, if we can offer them, and use them to decide what path to take with her health care from here. Some walk away from genetics with no answers at all."

Turns out, you can't really just walk in on your first appointment and walk out with all the right answers. Weeks turns into months. Months, for some, can turn into a year or more. We were fortunate, I think. We only waited a few months. I was given some of the results over the phone and then we scheduled an appointment to come in and have a counseling session.

The appointment was scheduled for yesterday and I REALLY wanted to go. I want more info and I'm sure they will have plenty for me. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the appointment so I will go on waiting. At least until April, when they can fit us on the schedule again. So, I didn't make it to my appointment . But I have one answer. Nothing has changed. I still love her just as much as I did before I went looking for answers. She is still this beautiful, wonderful, perfect little gift. And I wouldn't change her for anything.

No, things don't always turn out according to our plans. Sometimes, they turn out so much better.

A Look Inside (And Outside) Our New McNabb Land

A sunny view from my backyard
Just after sunrise (from the back porch)
I could sit out here all day watching Laney's "moo cows" graze (she thinks the cows came with the house! shh! I'm not telling her that they didn't)
Outside front of house
I'm planning to put some colorful flowers in the beds on both sides of the porch and also on the walkway
From the front porch, looking off to the side toward the back yard (and the girls' swingset)
My bradford pear tree in the front yard. The flowers in the bed are iris' that will bloom (hopefully) in May or June
From the front porch looking toward the driveway
Half of the front porch
This is a 16x20 of Paisley. Just thought I'd throw this picture in because it's one of my favorites that I just hung on the wall in the living room
One corner of our living room. Also, a 16x20 of Destiny :) I LOVE my striped curtains and had these same curtains hanging in our old home. I was very excited to discover they worked in these windows too!
Another picture thrown in just for fun. Laney loving on Sugar in MY chair. And yes, that is a photo blanket draped over my chair....love me some pictures of my babies!
Looking into the kitchen from the living room. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my french doors. This house is so much brighter than the old one! I love my windows and these doors. I only cover the windows and doors at night so we can almost always see outside (on the odd chance that we aren't already sitting outside!)
This one is really similar to the photo above, but I included this one to give you a better idea of the color in the living room and kitchen. The paint color I chose was called "Sandy Pebble" and I think it really brightened those two rooms alot. The color we painted over was a weird brown color and it was really dark in there....even with the curtains open and the lights on. I like this so much better.
More of the living room. I want to hang some more photos on the walls, but I have to wait until I can afford to have some photos of Laney printed. I have tons of printed pics of the sisters, but the only prints I have of Laney is the 16x20 of her yawning and 2 that are already framed on the TV
Destiny's room.
Looking into Destiny's room. Also, a 16x2o of Laney :)
They're playing in there now, but I took this one to show the actual color (aqua) of Destiny's bedroom
A picture just to show the actual color of Paisley and Laney's bedroom
Laney and Paisley's room. Notice that Laney and Sugar have made themselves at home on Paisley's bed.

So there you have it. (Sorry the pics were such bad quality. They were all taken with my phone. I found my camera, but now I can't remember where I hid my charger.) We still have a few things that need to be done, but we're already thrilled with what we've accomplished with it so far. I will eventually get some rugs for the girls' rooms, some new bath towels, wash cloths, and dish towels (I'm in need of some new ones anyway), maybe an area rug for the living room, and I still need to buy the paint for the bathroom that the girls are all sharing. They want it to be pink...lol go figure. It's a work in progress, but it feels like home and I'm just happy to finally live in a place where I feel like I belong.

Laney's Song

Yesterday

Yesterday was super busy for me and I never found the time to post any pictures of Laney:( Today, my pictures won't load. I'll try again a little later when I have more time to mess with it.

We did OT and speech yesterday morning and then came home for a nap (Laney napped-I cleaned!) In the afternoon we went back and did PT and then had an appointment with Orthopedics. They measured Laney's legs from hip to foot and told me that her right hip sits a little over 1cm higher than her left hip. This is causing her to rotate her hips when she walks. I'm going to take her back for some more xrays and to discuss what we need to do to about it. We'll just have to wait and see, but for now, I think this means we won't be doing the braces or AFO's that we were planning. I know that sometimes the bones just grow at a different pace and I've heard of kids outgrowing those differences. Maybe that's what will happen and we won't need to do anything to drastic. Maybe she'll have to wear those shoes that help make up the difference in length? I'll be sure to post what we find out when we take her back:)

I Couldn't Choose Just A Few:)