Category: Family

  • Reflections of a Year: 2019

    Skimming through my posts from 2019, I realized it was a lot more eventful than I thought. No wonder I’m exhausted every single day! Exactly one year ago, I was reminiscing about 2018, which was an awful year. Awful may actually be too nice. We lost several family members in 2018, and we continued to…

  • Chances

    The past two weeks have been really tough. Greyson has barely slept, which means nobody in the Martin house is resting well, causing lots of grumpy kids. A new nightly ritual is that while we are eating dinner, G will impulsively throw his entire plate of food on the floor and scream bloody murder. He…

  • King Size

    King Size

    Greyson has gone from 3 seizure meds, down to 2 in the past month. This transition has caused him to act out, become extremely impulsive, aggressive and nocturnal, though he doesn’t really sleep during the day either. Derek and I can deal with the lack of sleep, but the aggression is the worst of it.…

  • Keeping the Faith

    I have officially turned into an antisocial hermit! Despite my flaws in responding to texts, calls and emails from friends and family, I have become a pro at running on 3-4 hours of sleep per night, juggling a full-time job, managing appointments and services AND (trying) to keep it all together, (which is hard for…

  • “Uh-Duhhhhhhhh”!

    “Uh-Duhhhhhhhh”!

    Derek and I have begun to decipher Greyson’s vocal stims. Luckily, this informs us if he’s happy, sad, angry, or that a tantrum is about to start. He has 3 distinct sounds he typically makes: “Digdigdigdig a digdigdooo”- he’s happy and wants to play. “Duka duka duka takaduka”- he is getting upset or needs something.…

  • A Bounce to Remember

    A Bounce to Remember

    Derek and I wanted to have a birthday party for Greyson, but had very little time to plan one. We searched around places in the Lancaster area that would host a small party (just immediate family), where Derek and I would have little responsibility to set up or clean up. We knew it would also…

  • 639/1095

    639/1095

    Hard to believe that exactly three years ago, my amazingly special little boy was born. 5:03 pm, Greyson graced us with his tiny body and big personality. My birth experience with Greyson was actually peaceful and calm. I had gone into labor naturally exactly 1 week before my scheduled cesarean section and because I didn’t…

  • Motherly Instinct

    Whenever I get the chance to speak with other moms who have kids with special needs, I always ask if they knew something was different about their child while they were pregnant. The connection between mother and child, from the first heartbeat, is indescribable. Interesting enough, most mothers day no, that they didn’t feel that…

  • One Day More!

    The first full week back to work after vacation, proved to be a busy one. By the time Thursday came, the daily coffee and espresso consumption was barely managing my fatigue. The previous weekend was difficult, with Greyson having a long weekend of crying, headbanging and aggression. Because of the stressful weekend, Monday morning was…

  • Travel Plans

    Travel Plans

    Now that we have been back from South Carolina for a few days, I finally have a moment to post about our trip, and the days leading up to it. My family typically schedules our vacations far in advance, which worked out well in this instance, since I needed time to do some research about…