IBHS

Homeschooling On The Down Days {Homeschooling} {Epilepsy Awareness}

April 19, 2017 by Dana

5 Days of Homeschooling With Epilepsy and Other Issues:
Homeschooling On The Down Days

Some days we wake up and lead a normal life. We do normal things like eat breakfast together, read books, watch a movie. We feel like a normal family.

Some days we wake up and our life is far from normal. We are accosted by migraines. Children don’t feel like eating breakfast. We need a little more sleep before we get out of bed. Cuddles are a must. We are far from normal.

These are the down days. The days when it feels like life is barely holding it together. The days when the Seizure Monsters strikes before we’re even functioning good. The days when snuggles are a must and extra sleep is needed to fight a monster we cannot see. The down days happen more often than any of us like.

On these days, homeschooling is hard. There’s no time to think through what’s on a schedule. There’s no plan because you simply cannot plan on the days when life is in full chaos.

Over time, we’ve developed our own way of life and doing things, since Epilepsy and Involuntary Breath Holding Spells, ADHD and Sensory Issues leave us incapacitated and unable to complete even the simplest tasks. Still learning must happen and life much continue as needed.

Every day when I awake, I check on each of my children. I evaluate who needs what done. Does my daughter with Epilepsy need just a bit more sleep? Does my oldest need to take his allergy med or need a few minutes to figure out his plan for the day? Does my older daughter need a few minutes to wake up before she dives into her daily schedule? Does the baby need a little cuddle time before he has breakfast? The list goes on and is different for each child.

Sometimes cuddling tops the list of things to do. Sometimes a seizure happens and I must rush to the ER and leave the bigger kids to care for the littlest one. Sometimes there’s just a seizure lurking which can be fought by resting and cuddling and napping with one another.

After we get through our first hour after waking, I usually know how my day will go. If it’s a down day, we will relax, watch educational movies, read quiet books, draw, color and do minimal activity. And this is okay because what’s important is getting better and getting back to what’s normal.

Some down days allow for a little more activity. We can play, do small activities, and learn but still be ready if we just need a break. It’s a lot of watching and having patience for all of us.

Some of our favorite activities when we are down are:
Movies, Reading, Math games, Playing, playdoh, baking together, listening to audio stories, chalk drawing, and just being together relaxing.

All of these allow us to learn while not overdoing it and we can break as we need to.

Each day I go through the same evaluations and make decisions based on what our morning holds. This is how we’ve been able to homeschool from the beginning with multiple special needs children. This is why we homeschool year round, so we can have more days to fit learning in even when we are down.

Homeschooling when you have down days is feasible if you make it work for you. Having a relaxed homeschooling day or sometimes even week is never a bad thing. Learning is inevitable if you provide the materials for your child to do so and can happen even on the worst day. It’s also okay to just stop and take the day off from learning all together. You must do what’s best for you and your family.

God bless,
Dana Lambert-Hodge

This post is part of the 5 Days Of Homeschooling… Blog Hop from
the Homeschool Review Crew!

5 Days of Homeschool Annual Blog Hop - 2017

To Read more…

Welcome to April {Thoughts From Me}

April 5, 2017 by Dana

Welcome to April!

Our April began with the Devil shining her ugly face at us. Petty spite and anger from another at our wonderful life became the focus for a few days. The law has been contacted and shall be handling that as necessary. I refuse to be bullied, stalked, or slandered any more. Mama has always said I should have been a lawyer. Maybe one of these days I’ll listen.

The other month, I posted that I was having writer’s block. Well, the good Lord has seen fit to allow thing to happen that have given me lots to talk about! Talk I will with His guidance.

It was brought to my attention that some of you assume my blog is a “homeschooling” blog. It’s not. It’s a family-life blog that I write as a journal, to share with others who are like us and to spread the word for Epilepsy Awareness, Involuntary Breath Holding Spells Awareness and the other health issues we face. This includes my recent battles for my own health with undetermined female bleeding issues. Homeschooling is a just a part of the mix and always will be.

It was also brought to my attention that some of you don’t know how to pronounce my children’s names.

Winston is pretty simple. He was named for his Papa, my Dad. Win-ston. It’s an easy name.

Emmalee is NOT Emily. It is Emma Lee pronounced all together, though she was named for one of my dear friends Emily. I just really dislike the “ILY” spelling of that name so I changed it to something I liked much better. She’s also named for her Great-Grandmother Elma and the Lee for her bio-Dad’s family name. Her Great Great Grandmother’s name was Emma as well.

Laycie is pronounced the same as Lacy though her spelling is different. “Lay-cee”. I wanted her to be different so I gave her a unique spelling like her sister.

Jackson is just that: Jack-son. Simple like his big brother’s name.

Each of these names were chosen for unique reasons for my children after I prayed about them for a long time. Some of y’all know the story of how I chose Jack’s name when I was unsure about it. I had a photo shoot that day and when I arrived his name was written on a wall. It was then and there I knew it was to be his name. God provides signs everywhere. Just today Jackson was telling me he is Jackson and not any other name. God knows who we are meant to be.

Our life is just that. Our life. I share it for others who are like us that just need someone they can relate to. I know there were many days in my life when I felt like no one understood my life. I know there were others who were like me but I couldn’t find them. Blogs weren’t a thing then and growing up people definitely didn’t talk about Epilepsy. Things have changed now. People are generally more open-minded though there are still many who are not.

Now you can judge me on every single word I post here. You can bash me. You can nitpick all I have to say. But really what good is it going to do? I’m still going to write what I feel. I’m still going to say what I think. I’m still going to be me and keep being me. After all, opinions are like assholes, every one has one.

I, personally, try to keep my opinions on others and their lives to myself for the most part. I am not here to judge and condemn anyone. There is a bigger presence for that and we will all face the truth one day. I’m not the one you need to be worried about because I’m just a little insignificant person on this Earth trying to make it through life just like the rest of you.

So here’s the thing. You live your life and we will keep living ours. We are happy, in love, high on life and there isn’t a soul in this world taking that away from me this time. My children are the light of my life. They bring me indescribable joy. As does my husband.

No one’s spite or jealousy or negative remarks will change that. I know his heart and he has never lied to me. He has changed from the person of his past and he is becoming the person he’s always longed to be with my help and his determination. I’ve done my medical research and I will stand beside him and not give up because I know the truth of it all.

“Sometimes the love of your life come after the mistakes of your life.” (I know mine and Don’s both have.)

We all have mistakes in our past. Every single one of us. There is no one better than another. It’s how we choose to live after these mistakes that make a difference.

I have personally chosen to learn from the mistakes of my past and move forward but some people chose to dwell on these mistakes and allow them to destroy them inside instead of embracing what God has blessed them with. They become so wrapped up in the “wrongs” they fail to find the “rights”. They feel owed. But let me tell you. None of us are owed anything from one another. None of us are owed anything in this life.

We all start from nothing and we are hear to learn God’s Love, Mercy, Grace, Faith, Hope and all the things He wishes us to know. But even He doesn’t owe us anything because we were given the greatest gift we could ever receive: Life upon the Death of God’s Son.

God Forgives. God Loves. God gives Grace in our mistakes. God gives Mercy even to those who we feel do not deserve it and He expects us to do the same. Not an easy thing, I know but it can be done. I personally live my life trying to do just these things.

It’s easy to hold a grudge. It’s easy to let the hatred we develop when we feel wronged overtake us. It’s hard to follow God’s guidance and allow ourselves to let go, lay it as His feet and Forgive others.
Life is a learning process. We come in this world to learn, to develop, to follow the things He is teaching us. Sometimes we fail. Sometimes we succeed. But no matter we continue to live.

Being consumed with the life of others does us no good because we are here to live our own lives. Being upset because someone has gotten the better of you and acting out does no good because that person is still going to get the best of you in the future and their words really should not matter. We are all just people. Just here living. Make the best of it and let go of the rest.

God bless all of you,

Dana Lambert – Hodge

September Update {Epilepsy Awareness}

September 30, 2014 by Dana

Life is been full of doctor’s appointments for us lately. It’s not leaving a lot of time for other things to be done. Being on the road is definitely time consuming but of course, my children’s healthcare is more than worth it.

Jackson started Parent Child Interactive Therapy a few weeks ago. We are doing great with this therapy and have already passed through the first part of the series after 2 weeks of sessions with our therapist. We are now moving on to the next step which is to give Jackson demands and work on his temper issues, as well as building discipline. We hope this will help both us and him learn to better deal with our day to day and also help with his breath holding spells. Time will show us if it does or not.

Emma sees the neurologist this week as well. It will be our first visit. We hope he will be able to tell us why she is toe-walking since no one can tell us that. Once this is done, we will move on to repairing her toe-walking.

Last week we ordered Jack a helmet. Hopefully, it will be done soon and we will be able to use this for both of his therapies. It will be great for his headbanging as well.

Laycie and Winston are doing great right now. No issues for them which is wonderful.

That’s it for a current update and where we are at with our day to day issues.

Balancing Life {Epilepsy Awareness}

July 14, 2014 by Dana

It has been a year since Jackson’s battle with Severe Involuntary Breath Holder Spells with Epilepsy began. Time has passed quickly, yet there are days when I still feel suspended in time. This year has been hard on our family but we are still moving forward.

It’s hard for me to believe that a year has passed since this journey began for us. I can tell you that each time you find out your child has some disorder, it sucker punches you deep in the gut. Having multiple children with health issues doesn’t make it easier and you genuinely hope with each child that they will be healthy and “normal” like children should be.

We are finally at a point in our lives where we are able to breath again and are finding balance. Jackson’s last medicine increase has his breath holding spells controlled for the most part and seizures have decreased with the decrease of IBHS episodes. I could not be more thankful for this reprieve no matter how short it may be.

When you have children with disabling health issues, it becomes hard to function and plan your day to day activities because you do not know what to expect or even how to plan since you cannot guess when a seizure or spell will happen to them. Events get cancelled, schoolwork is put off, living becomes second to surviving. This has been our life for the last year.

At this stage, I’ve learned that seasons are short and each quiet period must be packed with catching up on the things we’ve had to put off. Housekeeping is done in these time periods, restoring balance to the home so that we are ready for the next unsteady path. Schoolwork is also done during these times so that when needed breaks come we do not fall behind. Life and living come first for a while and surviving does become second even for a brief time.

After living this year surviving, we are ready to live life again and move forward, hoping the days remain balanced and settled for a while. Whatever happens, I will take what I can get and enjoy these moments while we have them for they are gone all too quickly.