the pendulum swingeth

Lars has spent Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday alternating between unable to stay awake, crashing headlong into pain, sobbing, and feeling okay-ish. The nights have been particularly brutal, with long inconsolable sobbing spells. I don't think it's as bad as the same situation would have been before the neurontin, venting, and g-tube. At least he's alternating & not screaming for eleven hours straight like he once did. Actually right now he's happily playing in his little room.

Lots of folks thought "Cruella DeVille" probably referred to a new doctor, & were pleasantly surprised at the happy musical content. Have to say I'm thrilled not to have named a doctor after Cruella. Yet.

Andey's been rearranging furniture & working wonders here on ash street. Such a sweet little house; suits us well. Looking forward to the end of mud season.

Had fun in the Worcestr St. Patrick's Day parade on Sunday. We were there with Mercy Centre, the special needs school where I've worked for six years.

They've been incredibly wonderful & understanding through all our trials, and are astoundingly strong supporters of & believers in music therapy.

Cruella deVille

Went through a couple of rough hours this evening, and after Lars came out the other side we were listening to random songs on his ipod. Cruella deVille came on. Lars had never heard it & he immediately started laughing. We played it over & over & he continued to get a huge kick out of it, singing along & laughing. I don't think he'd ever heard ragtime piano before. I have a bunch of Scott Joplin, but it's all on vinal.

I recorded some of Lars singing with Cruella, for your listening pleasure. What a funny boy.

such an amazing boy

Lars is still feeling great. Incredible. A few rough hours here & there, the last couple nights were rotten, but overall feeling so much better. Neurontin + venting + steady hydration & nutrition? This morning he tolerated being scrubbed by BigGrandmaHelpful & then was pleased as punch to be playing with Suzie, who knows him oh-so-well & plays Just Exactly Right, according to Sir Larsalot. Suzie came bearing gifts so wonderful he's been playing with them ever since.

One is a couple of round shakers connected with braided string. I've seen them called simpatika knockers or seed shakers, though Lars' are a wonderful textured wood, not seeds. Here he is today sitting & playing with them:

In case you missed that, they're both a big deal these days:
sitting
and
playing.

Other gifts handmade especially for him & involve the bath section of home depot: rings & elastic & suction. Extraordinarily cool. Suzie says his hand skills have improved; he's working on his pincer, hands are more open & he's using both of them more. Even after all his hospital experiences with hand trauma via IVs. He's been playing in his little room again, too, and doing some good eating, a little self-feeding, and some supported standing.

While I'm still afraid the other shoe will drop & Lars'll be back in pain, I'm thoroughly enjoying having my happy, interactive, snugly guy back. Learned recently to put his arms around a neck & give a proper hug. Heart-melting.

Now that I can, I've been falling apart a bit. Last week was all about sleep. Sleep was at the forefront of my mind, which is not typical of me, even when I'm exhausted.

Oh, bad times (hopefully short) have come again. Gotta go-