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blogging here today...

The last few days...

So christmas has come and gone yet the aftermath is still here...lol. Knowing my family..the aftermath will still be present until the first or second week in January..lol. Thank you everyone for the wonderful gifts... to GiGi and GreatGrandma these are the boots im purchasing with my christmas cash..thank you!!!!! I've always wanted a pair of cowgirl boots!

I attempted to get a shot of Max today where he was making somewhat of a normal face.. this was an attempt.. I am working on him. We are also working on putting some fat on this boy... any ideas??????

Got this of Loodledoodle in the bathtub caption. "Get that camera out of my face or I will sooo hit you with this dolphin!"..lol.

twas the night before christmas and..the kids were in bed by 8:30..whooo hooo!

a family photo!!!

We had a visit the other day from my mother, brother and sister in law the other day for a small christmas dinner and to spend some time for the holidays.. it was a blast and so nice to see them. My sister in law brought stuff to do ginger bread houses and Max did a ginger bread train. So much fun!! Santa is going to get a ginger bread house this year.. Lucky santa!!

My parents and grandmother are coming out Christmas morning to have breakfast and open presents with the kids. Im really excited about this possibly being a new tradition.. we have really played up the santa clause deal this year and the kids are just old enough where its getting to be a lot of fun.

Lucy was very pleased with herself if you can't tell.. thought she was sneaking candy..but we all knew what she was doing..lol.

I know... holy cow! Its the 5 of us together!!

I've updated here..

http://www.rgonzalezphotography.blogspot.com

my new photography blog!!

Its a wrap...

I'm feeling like work is starting to level out a bit as the holidays approach. I've meet so many wonderful families over the last 4 months... and I could have never guessed that a photography business could have bloomed the way it did in such a short amount of time. I am slowly learning how to balance life with a growing business...my illness has forced me to control the levels of stress in my life. There are few things that will cause a flair up.. and stress level is a major factor in staying healthy. Its amazing how God works... and the unique ways he forces his hand so that you make necessary changes. Otherwise I just might have run myself right into the ground.

These are just a few photos from Halloween this year.. I haven't the chance to edit until recently.
Max is still doing wonderful and continues to make excellent progress in school. His immediate relationships have improved drastically and the stress level in the house has dropped. Now that he is in control of himself we can work on reward systems. (before recently this would have never worked... he hadn't the impulse control to care about the consequences). I have started a marble jar for him. Each day that he does well and shows intention to do well..he gets marbles for his jar. When he does things to intentionally defy the rules...he gets marbles taken out of his jar. After the goal is met.. he will get to go and play games at a local arcade for 2 hours. This was his choice and is very excited about doing well.

total bday weekend...my journey with Crohns treatment week 5

Ok.. so is this not totally katy ro? Who created this diva? She had a blast at a classmates princess party at the mall... where each little girl was treated like a princess. She got her hair done..nails and make up done...drank lemonade out of china tea cups and at cupcakes on there little thones. It was sooooo stinkin cute. I just remember being this girly... where'd she get it from??

So this is my 5th week since being diagnosed with Crohns disease. Since i've not been blogging much I'll update you. Lab results, biopsies and colonoscopy confirmed that I have the auto immune disease called crohns. Its a disease where my over active immune system attacks my digestive tract...causing serious inflammation, bleeding, ulcers and degeneration. The disease can also attack other areas.. in my case it is also attacking my joints in the form of swelling, pain and bruising...and my skin...in the form of plaque psoriasis. I know those who have followed me for the last year know that i've been doing my best to change my lifestyle...IE: exercise, eating habits...unknowing what what ailing me. There isn't a cure for this disease... the goal is to achieve remission thru treatments.. and keep a lifestyle that prevents flareups. The first treatment regimen for me has been highdose steriods. I have a love hate relationship with
prednisone... although I haven't had abdominal pain or problems since week 3 (praise the lord).. the side effects are not pretty. Some side effects I have been experiencing are ... mood swings, extreme night sweats, increased appetite, swelling of my face and feet, sleeplessness, palpitations, hot flashes...did I mention mood swings...dry skin...mood swings... and most recently i've noticed the skin on my feet is so paper thin that i have tear and stretch marks on the tops of them... freaky!! Anyway.. this is supposed to be my last week on the roids... I started 10mg of prednisone yesterday.. and Im disappointed that i've started to feel pain and swelling in my joints again. I've also started an oral medication called Lialda..which is supposed to take over the steroids.. but I don't think this is going to work since im feeling the flair up again.

The next step for me if the Liada doesn't control this.. remecade (IV infusions) or Humara (weekly self injections)... people.. I can't even put a contact in my eye without wincing. Anyone have experience with this please speak up.. I'd love to hear your feedback.

birthday party..

Sat at the table like a big kid...

playing with the parachute....

Playing Duck Duck Goose...

Today was most relaxing... I took the kids to a classmates birthday party. 4 year olds are so stinkin cute. Lucy got in on the action too.. :)

"Hi Katy!"

Ok so its a little frigid this morning. Normally on M-W-F we walk to Katy's school with is just a few blocks away.. today the air was so chilly it stung the tips of my nose and ears the second I walked out the door. Yep.. no thanks.. I'll drive my warm car the two blocks to school.

Katy is the little social butterfly in her class.. its halarious to see her greet each and everyone of her friends everyday. She loves people and loves to learn ...I have a feeling that this little girl will do very well making a happy life for herself. She has been my big helper in the kitchen recently... I am trying to convince her that doing dishes is fun... so far so good.. we'll see how long it lasts.

christmas

Spending the last few days recovering a bit... slowly getting the editing done from this weekend. Im really getting excited for christmas.. for the kids sake. Its fun to see them talk about it ... makes me remember what christmas meant to me as a kid. Were going to keep it simple this year... Andy and I are decorating the house... Katy will help me make cookies...and we are having family over for breakfast christmas morning...usually christmas is spent other places...which is fun also but I think its time to set some of our own family traditions. Now off to edit photos :)

Quick summary of this weekends shoot off...pheuf!

Of course I have to show the babies... they are my fav!! This is just a glimpse into this weekends 6 photoshoots. Red seems to be the theme :) Saturday morning was a bit challenging because of the weather... infact there will have to be a re-shoot.. but as the snow slowed down saturday afternoon it became kind of romantic and fun. So now that this weekend is out of the way.. im going to hybernate for 2 weeks.. :) good night everyone!!

Christmas wishes...

Last year the kids did a "video to santa" and Max asked if he could do that again this year.. so here they are :)

more on ADHD before and after...

BEFORE (1 week before adhd treatment)

AFTER (1 day after adhd treatment) Its snowing like crazy outside right now... and this mornings photo session didn't workout despite trying ... it was just coming down too hard. So I'm sitting here sipping on my coffee beaming at how proud my son son has come with his behavior in less than a week. Its been an amazing transformation to see him go from (see his before picture above) frustrated, un-organized, too hyper and impulsive to even focus on drawing a picture..(the above he also tore the corner and crumbled it up he was so annoyed with himself)...to...(see after) discovering a new talent in drawing and writing... he has been drawing non-stop since he discovered he could only a few days ago... Andy helped with the spelling of these words but this is HIS handwriting. People, Max couldn't consistently draw in the lines or hold a pencil correctly less than a week ago!!!

I couldn't be happier for him!!

and so it begins...

Two down...4 more to go. Kids are so much fun!!!!

Wacky Weekends

Untitled-1, originally uploaded by RGonzalezPHOTOGRAPHY.

Mornings are pretty early for me right now.. still adjusting to getting up at 6am everymorning to get Max ready and off to school. The plus side to this is the little bit of quiet lull time between when Max leaves for school and when the girls get up. Coffee, email, SHOWER.... did I mention ...SHOWER?? This morning I got Katy up with me and we made homemade gingerbread cookies for her preschool class. The house smells devine....much like its occupated by a mother who normally does these kinds of things.. LOL!! (IE: baking at 6am in the morning) .. no seriously I've really enjoyed spending that one on one time with Katy. She has really started to become my big helper.

This weekend is a full one... two photoshoots each day this weekend.. including a trip to NJ (for photos)...its a long day in the car (10 hours) but I will be nice to change the scenery a bit. AND I get to meet a blogging friend Danielle and her sweet family on the way home!!

Day 3 on Max's new meds... doing better with the side effects. No belly pain and yesterday he ate more than he did the first day. Still positive words back from his teacher.. and he is still very excited to return to school. Slightly agitated around 4-6.. not half as bad as he was the first day.

off to get Katy dressed.. hugs everyone!

Max and ADHD

Wow its been a long time since I paid my own blog a visit! We've been pretty busy at the gonzadino house of craziness. Since I've blogged last we've moved to a new home in Winchester city, Max changed schools, I've been diagnosed with Crohns Disease and my photog. business is booming!

I've previously mentioned struggles with my 5 year old son Max. God bless him he was cursed with the family's ADHD predisposition. For years I've been struggling to help him with diet changes, positive discipline methods... routine stability... and sometimes just plain ignoring the behavior. I didn't realize how much he struggled with this until family intervened and I could see him in a social setting with his other peers. It was then pretty obvious that no amount of preservative and dye removal from his diet..vitamin B... or encouragement was going to help this child who clearly has a chemical imbalance. I've struggled with the idea of giving my child an adhd medication. Knowing that doing so would pretty much be a school age commitment.. as I too was on ADHD meds for most of my young life. (but as a child with a diagnosed adhd chemical imbalance.. meds were the right answer for me and I believe I survived the rigors of school, home and social aspects of life because of the meds that were prescribed for my childhood adhd)

I agree that many children are thrown onto the medications because it seems like the simplest and easiest answer to handling an overactive or unruly child. When many times the best course of action should have been..diet, routine, environment or parenting changes. I can honestly say that i've done my best over the last 36 months in all aspects and attempts and improving Max's quality of life outside of medicinal changes. With that said....

After many days of Max being singled out at school.. and the obvious and difficult frustrations Max is facing at home we have finally decided to proceed with Medicinal treatments. Max started an ADHD medication called Vyvanse yesterday and before the teacher even had a chance to read my letter to her informing her of the new treatment plan for Max.. I received a phone call from a VERY pleased teacher about how well Max was doing at school yesterday!! She stated that he was calmer, organized, followed directions easily and quickly (in the past its taken us up to 10 times more often than not to get Max to do Simple tasks such as put your shoes on or brush your teeth) Max came home from school a little irritable.. and with a belly ache (poss. side effect of meds) but overall happier about school and excited to return the next day. (never has he wanted to be at school until now).

this morning he woke up quickly and eager to get ready to start his day... in the past it was a battle to get him moving and out of bed. Over all I'm seeing very positive results!!! I am a tad concerned about the immediate side effects:

late afternoon crankiness
stomach upset
NO appetite
tough time going to bed

Hopefully we can work thru these. Anyone else have experiences with a young child being treated with meds for ADHD?