This was meant to be!

WOW! I love it! Buy the house just for the sink! That is seriously cool. It's wonderful that they didn't rip it out or anything. The condition is incredible for a house that old, you are certain it's original?

I remember the old sink discussion. Copper sink on mahogany countertop. I loved it. You may not ahve seen it, Igloo, becuase it was actually going to be sent to ME. As to actually receiving it...I refuse to answer on the grounds that my home may be raided in order to grab a hold of it. (I wouldn't put it past some folks, they are so TKO they just might forget they have scruples!)

Emmie

Wait a minute......you mean you're going to buy house #3????

i-chic, if it is house number three, we might have to change your name to reno-fan 2!!!!!

Are you sure that would be a good house for you - that pantry looks pretty cool - in less you gut it to gut it... not much to do there but clean it up? That is very cool.

This house is a total change for me. It would be all about restoration verses demo, and it's an exciting idea. It's over 6,000 sq ft, french rennissance and the current owners have been in it for over 50 years, and they didn't ruin it! Some wallpaper needs to go, some clean up, but really, they've maintained it like the gem it is. It's a rare find with the original carpets still with their little carpet hooks on the floor to keep them in place :) Built in ice boxes, etc. The little updating it has had done are new appliances, and we'll change the range, but really, it's fabulous. The carriage house had the power and water cut off in the 70s so it needs work, but even under the piles even it is original.

It's an amazing place. We're trying to figure out if this is crazy or not ;) But it's an opportunity to own a gem, a real gem! And I don't mind being compared to reno at all LOL

Oh and just in case....(it is the original butlers sink by the way) Emmie honey...what's your address??? :oP

Igloochic - that's so cool! The house itself sounds amazing! Am I correct that you are leaving Alaska? I seem to remember reading that in another thread... In any event, if you buy, this house sounds very neat and definitely will provide you with another new remodeling challenge (restoration). SO FUN! Keep us posted!!!

We'll leave Alaska some day socal. If we do pick up this place we'll most likely rent it out (there is a large transient medical profession in the area who would want it). Then when we're ready to move it will be waiting for us :) We love this house. We'll see what happens. I suppose I should finish one of the other places first LOL

I was sure we'd have Christmas in our newly remodeled house this year...dag nabbit! And at least in the rental remodel...double dag nabbit....oh well, maybe next year!

Did you ever decide which knobs you are using in your current "dream kitchen" house??? I was also wondering which one you brought with you to Md (that tidbit gave me such a chuckle!)? I hope all went (is going?) well!!! The weather sounds a bit crazy in the NE, but since you're from Alaska you're probably the only one that can actually handle it! I used to live in Md and snow completely freaks out alot of Marylanders (and DC people in general). Maybe it will make you feel at home. :)

Don't you say you love all the houses :) - so what does your husband say about all this or is he like half of ours on here who probably just agree so they don't have to be bothered as we'll do what ever we want anyway.

socalthreems - I love that snow freaks people out here... when it snows people stay home and it makes it nice and easy for those of us who have to go to work or want to get out.

Igloo, honey, you can come visit any time...just give me 48 hours advance notice so I can hide all my valuable salvage stuff! :-P

I think, since you so love gutting and re-doing, that it is really neat you found a house that you could restore. With the attention you pay to detail, and the standards you set, you would have a beautiful home there. Show us more pictures! (And please tell us how your time there is going; how is the little guy?)

Igloo, That butler's pantry is to die for. The pass-thru into the next room (I assume dining room) is great! If you buy that house, please please please do not gut it. Leaving it as is is preserving your investment.

There is a wide web world out here for those of us who own and are restoring old homes. Restore is the key word and it's alot different than rehab or renovate! But it sounds like you already know that. Good luck with this one!

Is this house in MD? Where???? I assumed when I saw the pic of the woman in snow that it was in Alaska!

No snow (or ice) in MD....kids were SO disappointed that the storm was a dud....at least here! My brother in East Aurora, NY, (south of Buffalo) OTOH, called yesterday and told me they were expecting 20+ inches! Some people are so lucky!

I wasn't around for the original thread, but that sink does look cool! Are those individual faucets for hot & cold water?

How are things going Igloochic?

Igloo- you're killing me - ANOTHER house? I pray that this one is much more fun than the other two! That sink is to die for and reminds me of a house we saw here in MA when we were looking but nothing in the rest of the house was worth working on, it had been ruined.

I've only been hit-or-miss here lately due to moving into our new space and unpacking boxes (then had company, knee surgery and threw DH a surprise 40th but don't we all have that much on our plates these days??) SO I'd love to hear how you're doing and what's new (other than satiating your house addiction....)

Yes, but did anyone notice the drain in this sink?

That's a german silver sink. I'm posting a link to a company that has revived the alloy and styles. They were in a lot of 1900-1915ish East Coast butlers pantries, but they're rarer now and very valuable.

Good luck with the house!

Here is a link that might be useful: sink

Let's see if I can remember all the questions heh heh

First, I'm still in MD. We are doing pretesting for the hospital admission, which is most likely to take place on Wednesday or Thursday. They want to keep DS in for two months. So right now we're just being tourists and enjoying ourselfs. It's really quite lovely here...mid 40's, no snow, but sheesh a bit windy! We go for long walks every day and just love it.

Socal...I narrowed it down to 26 knobs :oP And I'm using them all. They're antique pewter finish and just gorgeous!
{{gwi:1442812}}
{{gwi:1442814}}
{{gwi:1442816}}
{{gwi:1721493}}
And honestly the pig head has been in my purse for so long I'd forgotten it was there....thus it went on the trip with us.

pcjs...this was DH's idea. He has been dragging me all over MN looking at homes (all historic) for us to buy. I'd say he loves this house more than I do. He's lived in modern homes most of his life and was a bit horrified at the condition of many of the places we looked at (everything before 1920). I am used to what old homes can look like, and knew we'd see some horrible remuddling, and cracking plaster. He likes this house more than me, probably because it's in such fabulous shape. I have a hard time getting him to see what's in my brain when I talk about working on a house LOL

Emmie I'm not giving advance notice...I want to catch you with your pant....ummm sink down (on the back porch perhaps so I can snatch it up without bothering you) :oP

Ok a few pictures :) Inside only because the house isn't actually for sale yet (It will be after the first of the year). We have an inside connection :oP
The parlor:
{{gwi:1993427}}

The rest of the butlers pantry:
{{gwi:1799287}}

The fabulous dining room:
{{gwi:1532964}}

Kec, I firmly believe in gutting.....1980's condo's :oP I grew up in Port Townsend WA (historic home capital of the world...or they like to think so) and studied architectural history in college. I have a deep love of history and architecture. I wouldn't even consider gutting this place. Part of it's huge appeal to us is that the family who is in it has loved it, and left it alone for over half of it's life. In the maids quarters there are some terrible wallpapers which aren't period appropriate (on the third floor) so those will go, but in general, this place needs to be shined up, but not remuddled :) Even the kitchen is lovely and quite large since it was a house that had servents. It matches the butlers pantry, with white cabinets, etc. There's a hood that appears to be quite 1950's which we'll change out to something more fittiing the age of the home, and the range is a small electric and very modern. We'll probably put in either a Lacanche or Molteni range in the space (there's plenty of room) which are both quite historical looking (they haven't changed their build styles since the late 1800's).

Our only big change would be to open up the house to show her glory to others. The lady in it isn't strong and hasn't been able to entertain in a large way (her parents both recently died and she cared for them in the house) for many years. We want to let the house shine again :) We plan on loving it (if we get it) just as much as her family did, and leaving it alone, aside from upkeep and some restoration of original features. Even the bathrooms are original. The showers are FABULOUS! It's a very very cool home. We may have to buy it so no one else remuddles it!

Buehl, it's actually in Minnesota. When we saw the house the first time it was covered in snow. It actually is colder there than in Alaska right now oddly enough. It's near a large lake and they get quite a bit of winter. (I didn't want to say where since it's the only house like itself in town and it's not listed yet LOL but that might help narrow it down).

And yes, one faucet is hot, the other cold, and that wierd thing in the middle is the drain. You can leave the water running and it drains from the top kind of like a bathtub, so the hot water can always be fresh when washing china or glassware.

mnhockey, LOL yes another house. This would be our retirement home and the place we'd like to raise DS. There are good schools, golf courses, and reasonable shopping and restaurants near this place, so it made the final cut for places to live. We also looked in Saint Paul and still would consider that if this falls through, but we really liked this town. Not too stuffy and quite lovely. (Grand avenue can get a bit stuffy...but the homes are FABULOUS)

From the start of this thread you can tell we're heading to the hospital for the holidays MN. My little guy was accepted into the top feeding program in the nation (Kennedy Krieger Clinic) We expected the normal five month wait after approval but they had a cancellation so we droped everything, including our remodels, and flew to Maryland. And now here we sit waiting to get in. DS has been losing weight again and droped off the growth charts once more, so they want to hospitalize him for the program (which really sucks as I was hoping we could stay in a suite/hotel for the two months instead of sharing a hospital room with someone) but it doesn't matter how we get there, just that we do. We hope to leave with him progressing towards a cure.

LOL sounds like you're not doing much...heh heh just hobbeling around throwing parties and packing peanuts :oP I hope your knee is healing well!

For all that asked, we're in the honeymoon phase of the program so all is going well for DS and I (although DH and DS are having separation anxiety). The really hard stuff will start next week...and it's going to suck, but we'll just have to look for the light at the end of the tunnel....(and hope it's not a train coming at us).

Oh my goodness: that house makes me feel so weak in the knees! Whoa!!!

Please, please can I see the bathrooms and kitchen?

I was wondering what that sink was made of. Silver?? Holy cow! But I still can't figure out how the drain works. Can someone explain it to me? If it drains at the top, then how do you get all the water out of the bottom? I'm confused! (And it is just too crazy that your found another one of those sinks in the same year! Clearly, you are meant to have that house. Sometimes we have to pay attention to these little signs...)

I was just thinking about that old sink thread recently. Whatever happened to it? I figured the original owner kept it...

Francy

Igloo - you've got me dying from curiosity but I will respect your privacy and wait until you reveal what wonderful town you found that house in (I have a couple of strong hunches but I'll keep my lips zipped until later) - there are so many wonderful spots in MN so I'm sure I'm going to be green with envy when you share!!

As for that light at the end of the tunnel - it is NOT a train! The tunnel may grow longer some days and the light may appear to dim but you and your son WILL reach the end and it will be bright, beautiful sunshine waiting to wash you in its glow! I'm sure you remember some of my son's history and yet last week, 5 years to the day of one of our darkest days, he was officially *discharged* from the neurology group at Children's. We went for our regular neuro consult and check-up and at the end his doctor got tears in his eyes and said to me "Well, we've reached the day. There's no need to schedule any more appointments unless something new comes along and you need me." I was so shaky driving home that I didn't know what to do with myself. We had a big rowdy family dinner that night and toasted Nicklas' health - NEVER did we expect this day to come. ANYWAY, your day is coming and, yes, it sucks that oftentimes things will get *worse* before you climb to that new plateau, but they WILL get better. I had forgotten about the new feeding program but once you mentioned it I remembered - to be in there this quickly is proof positive that *someone* is on your side and good things are coming!!!

Igloo - so glad you're "back"!! I'm sitting at my desk, chuckling. I don't post much, but thoroughly enjoy your remodeling adventures. (I've been here for 5 years, and I still haven't completed our first one!)

Your third house looks wonderful! The big question - which one will be finished first? VBG

igloo-- I also agree that it's nice to hear from you again; your posts are always entertaining. I posted on the "conversations" side asking about your son, but you've been kind enough to describe what your family it doing now. We all wish your son the best of success. And that house!!!!!!!!! Wow, what a dreamboat of a house.

Francy I'm having trouble getting all the pictures off of AOL but here's a couple more. I love this shower:

{{gwi:1993428}}

And this is the only picture of the kitchen we have. The agent took the pictures and I want more, but DH will get in after the 1st and he'll take more. One thing I do love is that on the servents floor (3rd) there's a little kitchenette up there, with a built in ice box that's gorgeous :)

You can see here that the hood isn't great, but otherwise if all the cabinets in the kitchen are like these, we're set.
{{gwi:1918995}}

I don't know what that darned sink is made of...maybe someone who is more up on butlers sinks can help. Stainless steel had just been invented, so it's unlikely it's stainless, but it appears to have too much shine to be zinc. There is of course a high chance that it was changed out at some point, but I believe that sink style went "out" of fashion before the 30's. And the one we saw in Eau Claire (another home we looked at had one...crazy huh?) had two ways to drain. The top works like a bathtub drain, always open, so when you run water it just flows out the top portion, but it had a pull piece that lifted up another piece in the bottom of that collum that drained when all your work was finished. Nifty huh?

MN you give me hope and make me cry. I can't wait to have that celebration at our house. I was looking at him today in the bathtub and thinking that he'd make a great model in the tabloid "who's too skinny" section. He's not been eating well again and his ribs stick out something awful, as well as all of the bones in his back. He's just far too thin for a little guy. It makes me want to call the stupid insurance people and send them the pictures via email to show why we need to do this...but they probably won't answer my calls either since they're avoiding making the decision to let us admit.

VBG...dang I don't know which house would be done first LOL I'd actually probably have to finish our "real" house (number one) and then do a quick re-do on the rental and we'd sell it most likely so we don't have to eat up all our cash for the down...so I guess it gets to be done second...but if our dream house is purchased...heck it's pretty much done...so it might win LOL

sj I try to visit when I can, purely for relief from the real world heh heh although all these new finished kitchens (before the holidays lucky ducks) are kind of peeving me off LOL (Not really, it's fun to see all the kitchens we talk about actually get done!)

I have to keep buying houses so I have a reason to visit heh heh It's a sickness....TKO :oP

igloo, I would die for that shower! It's awesome. Did it always have the partial walls around it or were they added later. We lived in St. Paul for a little over 9 years and, yes, there are some super homes there. I've been in a couple with showers like that but they were stand alone in the corners of the bathrooms. The globes on the kitchen chandelier are pretty cool, too. I'd bet that the butler's pantry sink is an add-on. Most homes that I've been in in St. Paul of that era just had either a porcelain sink or porcelain with built in drainboard. I'd bet this one is stainless. I'm not so keen on the faucet - I could picture a wall hung faucet more easily. When we lived up there, we were a block off Grand Ave in one house, and much closer to the St. Paul Cathedral in the other. The area isn't as stuffy as you might think. As transplants, we fit in very easily. One thing that St. Paul is big on is neighborhood associations. It's such a great way to meet a variety of people

Most importantly, though, hope all goes well with your son. Illness is never fun and especially not during the holidays. Getting into a good program quickly is a blessing. And yes things might look worse before they look better, but they will look better.

igloo - there will be a day when you look back at pictures and say "Remember when..." and your heart will break all over again but know that as he gets older, his body's constitution will get stronger and he/it will persevere better than right now. Also, he knows nothing other than this existence and so he doesn't suffer the way you do just watching him - that was the biggest lesson I've learned, these chronic kids don't know anything else 'cuz they have nothing to compare it to so they push on - ironically, it becomes us who they have to drag through to the finish line! Still, I feel your pain - in fact, our oldest, 12, just fell off the growth charts weight-wise (he started slipping off last year) and now we're going in for genetic testing -- supposedly, some of these things just sit and wait until puberty and then POW! they rear their ugly heads - it sucks, but then again because of all this crap, we're going to have incredibly *strong* kids (and I think you know what I mean).

In the meantime, enjoy those houses - you deserve to have them as outlets for yourself!!

Hi Igloo, yes it's good to hear from you again. I've been whining over in "old houses" and "buying and selling" because I too have dealt with TKO by finding another potential obsession. It's a 123 yr. old victorian with high ceilings and great bones. It has a back stairway to a rental unit that was likely the servant quarters. It also has a heated workshop and a studio apartment on the property. It is a mile from our home in a coastal village. It needs quite a bit of work however. The only original details are the windows, staircase, fireplace and layout. We got really serious about it for about two months and I could think of nothing else but restoring and improving. Turns out it just may be more than we want to take on right now, but OH it got the juices flowing. OTOH, its been nice to indulge in my Christmas Cookie obsession in my reno'ed and finished kitchen.
On a more important note........Warm thoughts and the abosolute best of wishes to you and your family. Know that hockeymom is giving you a great gift............the voice from the other end of the tunnel that urges you to keep on coming through. Feel free to yell out any time you feel the need to know there are others up ahead.

And BTW, As I remember it, I was supposed to get that copper sink........remember?......... part of my sordid family's estate.

Igloo, I think you missed my post. Look above your first set of pics. It's german silver, an alloy of nickel and copper. It's very valuable these days.

Totally OT:

Igloo,

1) I LOVE that house! Houses like that are very rare and hard to find these days. I hope you go for it if it makes sense for you.

2) After reading the references to your son (Jesse) above, I searched the forums and read your other posts about him. I know you're active on this thread right now so I thought I would just post my two cents here. When you describe your son, I feel like I am reading about my daughter when she was younger (she turned 15 yesterday). Just wanted to share my journey with you -- because it has a happy ending. Katie was diagnosed with FTT at 9 months and actually lost weight between 9 and 18 months (i.e. she was lighter at 18 months than she was at 9 months). She was tested for everything under the sun -- intestinal blockages, ulcerative colitis and its offshoots, cystic fybrosis, the list goes on and on. We had her on a gluten free diet (incredibly restrictive) for a year to no avail. She was not on a feeding tube and we had to feed her Pediasure and this very expensive prescription "juice" that was orange in color, was supposed to taste like peach (in fact was yucky) and was ultra-high calorie. We also had a child psychologist come into our house and watch everything that we did with Katie to see if there was anything we were doing wrong (like I said, anything and everything).

Katie was chronically below the 5th percentile (usually even way off the chart) at every single dr. appointment after her 6 month old one (she was born at the 25th percentile for weight). She was a very fussy/colicy infant. Throughout her childhood, she hated to eat -- even ice cream. Every meal was one long coaching session trying to get her to eat anything. You could see every rib of her and she always had dark circles under her eyes. Every time she even had a cold or small flu, the doctor wanted to see her right away because she had no room to lose any more weight due to illness. Eventually her height starting falling off too (she started at 75% and went as low as 15% for height). We were told she would never reach 5 feet tall.

Today she is 15, is 5 feet 3 inches tall (1/4 inch taller than I am) and weighs a little over 100 pounds (in the normal range)! They never did figure out what was wrong. At age 12 she started developing a bit of an appetite. She is perfectly healthy, very bright and doing great (in school and in life). We no longer worry.

I tell you this for three reasons: 1) have all those tests done to make sure; 2) know that you are a great mom and parent (even if the process makes you feel anything but that), and 3) if they still find no source and yet the weight continues to be a struggle for many years, some kids (like my Katie) are just different and it all works out fine in the end.

Sorry about the long OT post. Just wanted to let you know there were other people out there who have walked a similar road, experienced the frustration of finding no answers and found out that the road can still lead to a good place in the end.

Thanks for those pictures!

A standing rib cage shower????

Catch me...I'm falling! *faint*

*regaining consciousness* Buy that house!!!!!!!

Francy

kitchens in America are very large and beautiful...
In Italy it's very difficult have kitchens so big!

Here is a link that might be useful: purolino.it

Igloochic - I'm so sorry to hear about your son. One of my very best friends (who lives in Va) has 2 daughters with eating disorders. One went to KKC (I don't think the other did). They were both tube fed for quite a while. In any event, I think it was harder on my friend than on the girls (so take care of yourself too!) - she was consumed with trying to get them to eat. Now, miraculously, they are both fine. I honestly don't think there was ever a diagnosis with a name attached to it, but they are thriving. They are about 9 and 6 now - beautiful girls. They probably won't believe it when she tells them about their tube-fed days. KIDS! Good luck!

Kec, thanks for sharing your experience in St Paul, maybe we would fit in there after all (although I've now been told I have to buy the house...so that won't work will it?)

MN gad girlfriend, I hope this is just a temporary thing with your DS :o( Growth spurt or something crazy, verses well...something crazy! I also hope it's easier with a 12 year old than with a small child. At least he can help when they're asking questions. We often say we should see a vet, since they're used to working with patients who can't speak! Genetic testing is amazing now a days though. 20 years ago you wouldn't even have an option to have that explored. I'll be keeping you (and DS) in my prayers!

histokitch, I did miss your post! We were typing at the same time I guess. Thank you so much for telling me what that sink is! Dang between the rare tile and the silver sink...well I guess I have to buy the danged house :) Anyone want to rent a home in a mystery location until we're ready to occupy it ourselfs? Silver...geeze that must have a beautiful finish when you see it in person. Silver has such a lovely color to it. DH is going to be excited to hear this :) He particularly loves the house because it's "Kind of like living in a museaum". Now we have to put the sink on the tour heh heh

Susie, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. I fear that we'll be much the same as your DD was...since the top docs in the field still can't figure out what his underlying problem is (the diarrhea anyhoo). But if our outcome is as good as your's that's ok for us to live with. We really could deal with his problems easier if we could see steady growth. They worry because he was so small at birth (3lbs 15oz) and they wanted to see more catch up growth by the age of three...all this "stuff" has gotten in the way. But you understand that don't you! Every time he gets sick (cold, etc) he ends up either in the hospital or with a day nurse visiting our home. I just found out today that he has fifth disease, which explains his current weight loss. Once again he's fallen of the charts. I think once we made 3%. It's always a positive thing to hear stories of these kids who made it through like your DD. There have been times when we weren't sure he was going to make it over the last two years.

We did have testing for all of the diseases you mention, as well as others (starvation brings out odd results and inconsistent results in testing, which often point to orphan diseases). We've been told three times that he's unlikely to live to 15 months without a bone marrow transplant, or some other wild cure, and then have come to find out he's not got the disease of the week because the test results all came back differently. That's good mostly, and sometimes bad, since we would love to have a name other than FTT to put to his problem so we can deal with it...oh well, I guess I can't have everything!

Karen I grew up in victorian land :) I absolutely love those structures and all the pomp and circumstance that come with them! DH though as a great love for stone homes, and given that they tend to hold up better I'm ok with his obsession with them. I hope you have the house of your dreams at some point :) Anyone who loves and will value old architecture needs to be taking care of one of those houses!

Francy, isn't that shower wonderful? I had never seen one until we stayed a a bed and breakfast in the same town. Their ribs though had been removed over time (there are actually three shower heads on the cage apparently so it's like a muti jet shower ala 1900). I am told that "no major changes have taken place in the home since it was built, only upkeep and cosmetic changes" so I think the shower walls are also original. I can't wait to get in to see how they look in person. DH and I had a little argumentlast night about who gets what room....Maybe I'll just take the shower....although it's going to be hard to sew in there, and the computer on the machine might go cockeyed on misty shower days...

socal, thanks for sharing your friend's story as well. We got the call with our check in time on Thursday morning (we've been awaiting insurance approval) and I'm ready for the hell that awaits me. I can't even watch the video's about the program without crying, so standing beind that one way glass is going to be really hard on me, but their success record is so good, I just know we have to do it. DH is feeling great guilt about not being here. He had trouble watching the video as well. I expect the first few weeks will be the worst. I'm keeping a blog on a carepage for him so we can share our story with others and with our friends and family. It will be a good test of my supposed ability to smile and type complete happy BS while we're going through all of this.

Maybe if I had a picture of that sink to keep with me...hummmm it might work :oP

Igloo - I'm sure starting the program is bittersweet but keep your eye on what you want the objective to be and remember that everything between now and then is a means to an end - and there will be a wonderful ending!

Keeping the Carepage will be so good for you mentally - I found it to be the most cathartic thing that I did and it went so very far in helping me heal my motherly wounds along the way. At the completion of our many year journey, I asked the carepages staff to send us an electronic file of Nicky's Carepage - they did and my huband printed it out - it's over 6 inches thick and that's before the journal entries from friends and family - when I'm feeling strong, I sometimes read parts of it and I'm always amazed at how intimately I put out there all my thoughts and feelings. I remember how people used to tell me they'd wait by their computers for an update - it really gives you strength to know that folks near and far are keeping your son in their prayers and thoughts each and every day.

Thank you for your kind words about my oldest - funny thing is that he's fighting the blood draw and other tests because they *hurt* - It takes everything I have not to remind him that his middle brother had 15+ lines in his body at once and never complained - geesh!

I'll be praying for you and your son this week - I know you have to be *on the other side of the glass* but if possible, see if you and DH could read some books for Jesse onto recordings and have the staff play them for him. We also had pictures posted above his bed so *if* he awoke from the coma and we weren't right there, then he'd see us (who would've thunk he'd emerge blind, though, ugh.) I'm sure the Child Life specialists or child psychs can give you some great advice too - they are such wonderful people!

Hang in there - I know all of us here will be pulling for you two!!!

Igloochic I don't really know you but from a mom of a child with a chronic disease that he'll never outgrow, I can tell you that the kids just seem to do much better with it all than we parents do. I also find a lot of support online from other parents who are dealing with the same thing. Its really helps to have another mom say "i know what you're going through" and mean it. I hope you can find a group like that so that you can have the same comfort as I do. Big hugs.

You make my story seem easy ladies. I'm looking forward to getting this "show" on the road this week. Today we pack and try to fit vacation cloths with hospital cloths all in a couple bags :oP I'm going to look like I'm moving in for six months verses two. Gad MN I know you went through hell, but when you share stories of the time, I realize it was so much worse than I could ever imagine. I did have to laugh a bit about the pictures on the wall thing.....see I did bring pictures for the wall, but they are of Winnie the Pooh and Elmo...the poor kid might be confused about his family after that huh? heh heh

When he's behind the glass it's during the feeding times (three a day) and his parents aren't allowed to have any presence at that point because the goal is to take us out of the equation and see if his behaviour changes without us (we all know they know how to work us don't they)! It's optional for me to watch them, but I'm that kind of mom...I'll be there through it all.

Buffettgirl, I do belong to a forum for parents of kids with eating disorders (and other medical issues as well). They are a great support network. And fortunately they'll pair us with another family with a child of similar age when we're in the hospital. I just hope we don't annoy them to death. DS does not sleep much and he's not quiet at night. That going to be a big challenge!

oh I'm so glad that you do have a support system of other parents. I don't know what I'd do without my other parents all with the same thign. Sometimes its just enough for someone to say "I know" an really really mean it. Most of my real life friends can sympathize but they don't really know what I mean when I say I'm totally sleep deprived because I haven't slept through the night in almost 2 years...but my other online parents can...

I definately can understand that thought buffettgirl...I haven't slept more than four hours in a row for two years...and definately not through the night. I have to feed DS every two hours 24/7. One outcome we are hoping for with this program is possibly getting him to sleep through the night because he has enough food in his tummy. We'll see, but that would be a HUGE improvement in our lifes as well you know!

uggh...that's just frustrating. My son has type1 diabetes - and I am "only" up usually once a night to check his blood sugar, so you've definitely got it worse (not that it's a competition I know that lol) but it's that interruption of sleep, no matter how small, that leads to serious sleep D.

I hope that you do get a good night sleep and things go well for him.

My thoughts and prayers are with you. I wish you the best with your DS and hope these holidays bring a solution.

Cameron

Histokitch and Igloo- , when I saw the drain and the house date I thought german silver or vermeil sink too. However, while the dating is in the correct period a few things make me think it's not actually that, but stainless. 1. It is in too good a coindition looking at the pics. Silver sinks dent and scratch very very very easily. If you dropped a quarter into one there would be a dent. Run a teas service or mental pot like in the pic across the top and you've got big scratches. Second , these sinks were/are made around a substrate, usually wood and do not have complex edging. Look at the joint between the counter top and the sink bowl, there is a slight lip or shelf lower thna the counter but not quite into the vertical of the bowl. This is common with stainless but I have never seen it in an silver sink. Without seeing it up close it's too hard to tell. Staff could be polishing it everyday, so, no scratches, but getting dents out of the sinks is next to impossible, especially out of the shop. Also,it's my understanding that silver sinks all have/had a curved divider, which this one doesn't. I'm not up on the histories of these enough to say if that is an absolute, but the softness of the finish I can absoultely attest to.

Well, i certainly remember that sink, and now I'm very curious as to what MN town that gorgeous house is in--I live in Minneapolis. Ah well, I suppose I'll have to wait until you tell us.
Anyway, I just wanted to wish you and your son the best through this period of time and happiness over the holiday.
Danielle

antss, german silver for sinks (unlike flatware) is an alloy of nickel, zinc, and copper. It doesn't have silver in it. It's not really that soft, is from the period when it was in heavy use, and stays in great condition, but does develop a patina over time. There are several bulter's pantries in my town that have original ones that are in equivalent shape. There is no detailing on this sink that could not have been done in this material. To maintain it, occasionally polish with brass polish. I wouldn't set hot pans on it, but other than that, they're pretty sturdy.

Not all German silver sinks have a curved divider. There wasn't only one source in the day, as there is now.

That house is beautiful, but retire in MN? You will be moving in and I will be going somewhere warm. I hope your home #4 is somewhere tropical.

Take care and give your little guy a hug and kiss for me.