What I Learned This Week

I am fighting a cold, and I think I just might be losing this battle. Ugh! This week was jam packed to the hilt! We had so much going on, and it will now only get worse.

- Sleeping in the hospital is not fun, it is even worse sleeping right next to the PICU. Whoever planned that made a HUGE mistake. Not good sleep for me!

- Hubby's hours are changing at work, sleeping in the same bed 7 days a week after almost 4 years of not is going to be interesting.

- Finding out that your "home away from home" of your youth is closing is heartbreaking. Finding out that a HUGE PARTY is in the works helps a bit...just a little.

- I signed my LIFE away to our Fastpitch association on Thursday…let it begin.

- Ball players have to wear masks on the front of their helmets now…that's dumb. I get the safety of it but duck faster! I only broke my nose once…

- Catchers need to learn to catch the correct way, not with what I like to call "wussy pads" on the back of their knees.

- I am not a fan of all the changes in softbal, but one thing hasn't changed. I saw a shirt that I had as a kid on a teen "Friends don't let friends play slowpitch". Made my day.

- Yes, if Boo likes to play ball I will be one of THOSE moms. Just like MY mom. I can't wait.

- On Friday I met with two different principals from two different schools. I am now more confused about what to do with Boo. It will work out, but man it stinks.

For more What I Learned This Week posts head on over to Musings of a Housewife!

*I will write about Boo's sleep study this week, after we have our next appointment. Thanks for all your fabulous support!*

What I Learned This Week

The past two weeks have been filled to the brim, with a quieter weekend this past one. Between Boo having the stomach bug, Hubby and I passing a nasty cold bug back and forth and Hunter ROCKING his bowling tournament there has been little time. BUT, lots to learn!

- When your son is bowling in a tournament, you will need to hide behind your husband when said son gets 4 strikes in a row. Holding your breathe is not enough.

- Having a cold that will knock you over is not fun, but having it at the same time as your husband makes for some hilarious conversations!

Me: honey...honey..HONEY
H: What?
Me: Can you get this for me?
H : What?
Me: CAN YOU GET THIS FOR ME?
H: mumble mumble mumble
Me: WHAT?
H: mumble mumble mumble
Me: WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU
H: Here you go shorty

Hilarious I tell you! Hearing is so overrated!

- It is possible for a child that weighs a total of 58 pounds to throw up 22 time in 8 hours...important information...or just plain nasty which ever way you want to look at it.

- When said child does this, a trip to the local Children's Hospital will be in order and they will take ONE look at your child and bring you back right away.

- An IV is NOT a needle once it is in your hand, but a straw that your "veins drink from"

- Child Life Specialist are FABULOUS!

- Pandora is the best thing ever...EVER

- The chance of major snow is fun, but could cause some MAJOR problems over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...planning for the possibilities makes my head hurt.

- Even though I said I would wrap presents last night, it didn't happen. And I am not surprised.

- When your dog eats half a tray of hand-made truffles your head might explode because you have to remake them for co-workers who will LOVE them!

- Trying to figure out why my blog layout is all jacked up is driving me nuts.

For more What I Learned This Week posts, head on over to Musings of a Housewife!

Nastiness

I was all ready to write about Cooking Baking Day 2009, but I can't.

I was all ready to show you the pictures Hubby took of me and Boo last week, but I can't.

I wanted to write about my Christmas Tunes, can't on that either.

The stomach flu bug has hit our house and Boo is miserable. We are waiting for Hubby to get home from the store, but then it will be couch and movie time. We are thinking a Zac-A-Thon, HSM, HSM2, HSM3 and 17 Again.

We'll see.

Wish me luck!

Some Closure

I realized this week that I have left a TON of things open lately, so sorry. So in effort to close some thing out, I give you this post. lol

Boo's Foot:
Boo foot was NOT broken, but she did have two inflamed ligaments and a strained tendon. You could feel the heat coming off her foot. The surgical shoe wasn't needed, but she was ace wrapped for over a week, and was not allowed to participate in gym or regular recess. All is better now, with some slight discomfort only every once in a while.

Hubby's Grandma:
Being the over-achiever that Grandma is, she is already back in Iowa resting in a smaller hospital. She spent a total of 4 days in the big hospital when they deemed her well enough to not be a high risk patient. This woman is a rockstar!

The Bathroom:
We are slowly working on the bathroom. To get it framed in we used gift cards only, so now we are slowing down. Small steps! It should be done by the time I turn 80 or so! lol

Hunter's Mad Skills!:
I can't say enough about Hunter's Mad Skills right, I am still a bit in disbelief of how his day at the tournament went. He spent some time this morning focusing on what he wanted to happen today, and how he wanted to bowl. Warm-ups were good, he adjusted where he needed and read the lanes pretty well. His first game, 154. His second game, 158. His third game, Oh My Lanta, 188!! I was amazed and so very proud of him, still am. There is a good chance that he will once again make it to state, but we won't know for sure until after the 30th, and state is on the 9th or 10th. Good thing he is here that weekend!

The Sleep Clinic:
This is really a post within itself, but because we don't KNOW a ton, I will trim it down a bit. We spent almost two hours with the doctor for her appointment. He told me first off, that I was doing everything that I possibly could right (woohoo!) and that he wished all his patients parents filled out the forms as well as I had.

Right now we are working on the Quality of her sleep, and once we figure out why that is all goofy we will work on the Quantity of her sleep. He told me that every time she gets up during the night, it takes close to a hour to get back into good sleep. So, if Boo sleeps total 10 hours, but gets up three or four times she is really getting six or seven good hours of sleep. Not much for her. We are working to clear up a couple issues first, see if they impact her sleep at all and so far they have. She is still getting up, but some other "while sleep" issues are getting better. She still has a hard time going to sleep at night, but that will be worked on once this stuff is fixed.

She will have a sleep study, but not until February or so. They want to give her treatment now a chance to work before we go that route. After the sleep study, she will most likely pay a visit to ENT and Allergy as they both seem to play a part.

Did you know that they "grade" tonsils on a score of 0-4? Boo is at a 2, not bad but not great either. Also, did you know that bags under your eyes is NOT from lack of sleep but sinus and/or nasal congestion. Strange facts I learned at the sleep clinic!

I think that's it. I have to start getting this house ready for The Great Cookie Bake Off 2009! We are all gathering tomorrow to bake the day away, and I can't stinking wait!

Sleep Clinic here we come!

Today is the day we have been waiting for.

Boo's consult with the Pediatric Sleep Clinic.

OH HAPPY DAY!!!

In preparation for this appointment I have:

• Filled out a 11 page questionnaire
• Observed Boo's sleep each night and taken detailed notes
• Had many sleepless nights, as she needed to be observed without her sleeping meds.
• Held a very tied, overly emotional 7 year old who just WANTS SLEEP.

Hopefully today we will figure out what steps need to be taken to ensure that Boo gets the 10-12 hours of sleep she needs to function on a better level.

Keep your fingers crossed!!

Why I didn't get to meet Pioneer Woman

I was so hoping that once Boo got her cast off, we would be good for a while. Yeah, she has her sleep thing going on, but she has been injury free for over 3 months. Woohoo!

That has come to an end, and I am not impressed. Why? Because this one makes no sense whatsoever! I am still scratching my head, trying to see how it works.

Here's what happened. Last Saturday Boo was at her friends house for a few hours. It was her first time there, and I warned the mom that Boo has no fear and will try ANYTHING at least once. They jumped on the trampoline, played, and watched a movie. I honestly worried about her on the trampoline, even said "You watch America's Funniest Home Video's right? Don't do that!"

They were starting to play a dancing HSM game when it happened...

Boo was dancing around, and kicked the door to the entertainment center with the top left side of her left foot. She didn't hit a corner, just the bottom of the door. J, the mom, iced her foot and called me. Told me she was walking okay, had a slight limp but she wacked it pretty hard so we both figured that was why. She was running around later that night, and has for about 70% of the week so I didn't think anything of it.

Fast forward to Tuesday. She was headed to the doctor to follow up on the sleep issues and all the fun stuff that goes along with it. Her foot was still bugging her, still hurting after she got home from school and if she spent to much time walking around. I chocked it up to just being sore. Didn't think to bring it up to her doctor while we were there.

Now, Friday. Boo came home from school and complained to me over the phone that her foot hurt really bad, there were tears. I told her to ice it, lay on the couch and I would look at it when I got home. I didn't think any more of it the rest of the afternoon, or until about 6:30 pm when she complained about it again. We took off her sock, and there was swelling. No bruising or anything, and only a small portion was swollen, but swollen it was.

I knew that we would end up going in at some point over the weekend, but I hoped it would be Sunday over Saturday because The Pioneer Woman was at the Mall of America and I WANTED TO GO! I had been planning it for weeks, and didn't want to miss it. And really, let's fit these things into MY schedule why don't we!

But, Saturday came and the swelling was actually a bit worse. I asked her if she would be able to make it through bowling, because it is her sliding foot. She said she wanted to try, and I told her that she could stop at any point if it hurt to bad.

About half way through her second game she started complaining that it was really bugging her. She didn't want to stop though, so we let her keep going. One of her coaches (my old coach) came up to me at the end and asked me about Boo's foot. I guess she complained to him twice about her foot hurting, and this shocked me.

Boo will complain to me without a care, Hubby too. But someone that is not in the family, she will suck it up and not whine. She likes doing stuff, and is always afraid that they will tell her to stop. I guess Coach T told her she could stop, and she looked him like he was crazy. Yeah...she gets that from Hubby for sure.

I knew then that The Pioneer Woman would have to wait, and that I would NOT be heading out to meet a TON of bloggers that were waiting in line for the chance to sit by her for 2 minutes. I was bummed.

So, after lunch and after we made her pick up the dog poop in the yard we headed off to urgent care. Yes, we made her finish her chore, but we honestly did NOT think there was anything wrong with her foot. I thought going to the doctor would show that and she MOVE ON.

You have no idea how much I wish we hadn't had her do that.

So, at the clinic she was sent to X-ray after the doctor took a look at her. She said she was swollen, but no bruising (see!!) but wanted to make sure with a picture. Boo SKIPPED TO X-RAY and waited our turn. After, we went back to the room and waited. She kept asking what they x-ray would show as she JUMPED OFF THE EXAM TABLE over and over again.

The doctor comes in and says "Sooooo..." my head fell. That is NEVER good. Never! Every time something has been going on, it starts that way. She sits down and looks at Boo jumping all over the place (because I SWEAR she knows how to act in public) and shakes her head.

Here is what we found out, Boo has a possible Buckle Fracture of her left foot, involving not one but TWO bones. They say possible because these fractures HAVE to be confirmed by a Radiologist every time. So, right now they are calling it a buckle of two bones, meaning they have shifted a bit and that is what is causing the pain. The location of the bones is what is causing her the biggest problem, because her shoe hits right there.

The doctor said that the pain would come and go, which is WHY Boo could act like a crazy person. It would kill later from all the jumping around she was doing and we had the limit that.

I laughed out loud.

So, where does that leave us? In limbo until tomorrow morning at 9 am.

We are heading back to the doctor tomorrow (because three times in 6 days just ISN'T ENOUGH it seems.) for her to be fitted for either a Surgical Shoe or a Boot depending on what the radiologist report says tomorrow. If it is a fracture she will be booted for at least two weeks. If it is just a buckle without fracture she will have to wear the Surgical Shoe for at least a week and then wear some extra support for a week after that.

After we got home I had to call J, Boo's friend's mom. She was as shocked as I was. She had seen Boo at school that week running around like normal. Her daughter had told her that Boo said her foot still hurt, and she figured that it was just bruised. When I told her, it was silence on the phone. I had to laugh, because that was my same reaction. We told her that we didn't blame her, that it could have happened anywhere and Boo was just that talented.

We are setting up another play-date for very soon, at both houses.

What did we learn...

No clue yet...still thinking that one out.

Oh, and this afternoon while I was making her doctor appointment for tomorrow, she came outside and started JUMPING ROPE right in front of me. I about lost it. Ma was there, and I think she laughed a bit...but she hid it pretty well. Right now, she is crying over the pain that has hit HARD and that the ice and Motrin isn't helping.

Fun fun

Boo's Sleep

I have been AWOL the past week...again.

Not intentional at all. I haven't been feeling the greatest, was drained from the meeting at Hunter's school and trying to reclaim my disaster of a house. Oh, and Boo isn't sleeping...again. That is my favorite thing EVER (insert sarcasm/tears/head banging here).

We are heading back to the doctor next week sometime to follow up with Boo's doctor about her sleeping "issues", we are the max end of her sleeping meds. I am close to wits end, and had a mini-melt down on Tuesday. I thought, at that point, that I was going crazy, that her sleeping problems were all in my head. I cried to Hubby, talking about it made me feel even worse. Let's set the scene...

Tuesday night I was talking to a friend about our upcoming trip to Chicago. We were planning a "planning meeting" (where we sit for two hours and make plans for MAYBE 20 minutes...). We had to plan food, schedule and so much more. It was about half way through our expected phone call when I heard a door open. This is when I almost hit my head on the wall, so exhausted at this point. Boo came out, swaying side to side. Here is the conversation (it makes me giggle a little bit, it's funny).
Me: What are you doing?

Boo: Sleeping

Me: Why are you out of bed?

Boo: I'm in bed (sways some more)! I am sleeping!

Me: Crap...gotta go, she is sleep walking again

How fun was that...made me laugh because she was swaying side to side like nobodies business.

After I got her back into bed, I called Hubby to let him know that she had been up, and the conversation. After we laughed, we got serious. She is not getting enough sleep, and the sleep she is getting just plain sucks.

At this point, I was a mess. I felt (no more) that I was going nuts because I didn't think he ever saw it, and that HE thought I might be loosing it. I don't really remember her doing it when he is home his three nights off, but then he reminded me that she did 3 times on Saturday, 1 on Friday and 3 on Thursday. It made me feel better, I am not crazy (well...no more than normal at least).

Look at the bags under her eyes...my poor girl

So, off we go again to follow up, and see what the next steps are to help my little girl sleep better at night. She is still very pale all the time, always tired and actually fell asleep on the bus twice now.

Hopefully we can get this figured out and fast!

What I learned this Week

I am waiting to make sure Boo stays alseep tonight, she has done pretty well since last Wednesday. So, since I am up that means I have more time to write, fabulous!

This week was jam packed, and exhausting at the same time. We have had so much going on that I feel like I am constantly moving, not much down time. It gets old, but still very good to have the energy going through the house. So, without further ado...

- Boo's doctor was very concerned about her sleeping, but also very concerned about me. Another reminder why we stay with her, even though another dr is closer.

- Boo's is sleeping, and going to sleep closer to on-time. It is amazing the change in her over this past week. My little girl is back!

- Having an undefeated team lose, when we could have won that game is hard. But knowing that this Sunday's game is going to be tough is even worse. GO VIKES!! Man...I love football.

- The Marketing Mama was on the news again today, she did outstanding (didn't really learn that, but go sign up for her contest anyway! lol).

- It was blogger day on tv today, we were everywhere! It was great to watch (even if on my computer.).

- I downloaded FireFox on my home computer, so Jo-Lynne and Andrea will be proud of me. Haven't had time to mess with it but like it so far (you can say "Told you so" Jo-Lynne and Andrea).

- Chopping off almost 6 inches of hair will throw people for a loop. It's fun to mess with them "Did you get a hair cut...?" "Nope". Makes me laugh everytime.

That's about it, things are moving right along towards Halloween. Do you buy Allergy Safe treats? You should! Here are some of the many reason's why (article also by The Marketing Mama, she was all over the place today!)

For more What I Learned this Week posts, head on over to Musings of a Housewife.

Boo Needs Sleep

I was all prepared to write about our mini-cation...but the pictures are not cooperating and neither in my computer. So, when I have more time to edit that will come...I promise...maybe this weekend it will happen.

We saw the doctor about Boo's sleep issues this afternoon. She is very concerned, so that made me feel better about it. The fact that she is running on roughly 7-8 hours a sleep a night when she should get 10 is not good. Especially in cold/flu season. I told her doctor that I was amazed (knock on wood when you read this) that Boo hasn't had anything yet. She is normally the first to get everything, so it is a bit of a shock.

We did decide to try Melatonin, a natural supplement, to help her sleep. Tonight is the first night, and as of 8:57 she is asleep. As I left the bedroom I did a little happy dance. We will use this consistently for two weeks, and then do two nights off in a row without it. Her doctors hope is that her own Melatonin levels will figure out what they are supposed to do and kick in again.

If at that time she is still having issues, can't fall asleep or stay asleep, we will either have a sleep study or go to Neurology. This scares me, but I am hoping it won't come to that.

The girl simply needs sleep. She is ghostly pale, has huge puffy bags under her eyes and almost every day ASKS to take a nap after school (um...no). I am so hopeful this works, I can't imagine her handling much more of this without a breakdown, she is worn out.

Check yourself!

When I was 20 years old, I went through something that was bone chilling terrifying. Something that shook me, that made me take a look at how I did certain things and changed them.

I found a lump in my breast.

I was living at home, and went to my mom, asking her what I should do. She felt it, and agreed that a call to the doctor was in order.

During the next week I would start to dial, and hang up again. I didn't want to know that something was wrong with me, that there was anything beside a fabulous life ahead of me.

I finally called the doctor, and they saw me right away. At this time, it was becoming more common for younger women to develop breast cancer, especially when their family history has signs like mine did.

The doctor checked it out, and an ultra sound was ordered. I spent the next week waiting for that appointment, waiting for them to tell me that I was either sick or okay.

After the ultra sound appointment, they still were not 100% sure, so they didn't want to give me a firm diagnosis. They had a pretty good idea what it was, but didn't want to be wrong.

A Breast Biopsy was scheduled. My mom would take me, and I would be under a local medicine that would keep me loopy but not completely out of it. They would make a small incision and remove the lump, test it and let me know 100% what it was.

Hubby and I were just starting to date at this point, but he was freaked. He spent the night before sitting on the couch asking me 900 billion questions, including when I would be home so he could come over. He didn't want to leave that night, but sleep beckoned me.

The next day, Ma took me for my Breast Biopsy. My nerves were a tangled mess, my emotions were running on high...until they gave me the wonderful loopy meds. That is when I told the doctor the same story about Big Sis a few (10) times.

After the procedure I was ready to go home pretty quick, the perk of being on loopy and not knocked out. I rode home with an ice pack stuffed in my sports bra, bandages and mild pain meds.

Hubby came over that afternoon, along with my friend Krystal. Ice packs, pain meds and laughter filled the house as they took my mind off what I was waiting for.

A couple days later we found out 100% what the lump in my breast was.

Breast Fibroids, non-cancerous but left untreated can increase the chances of breast cancer later on.

I also found out that when I had my first exam the fibroid was the size of a dime, but when they removed it it was the size of a silver dollar. It had more than doubled in size in a matter of weeks. This fact was scary, but made me very aware of what I needed to do.

Weekly breast exams. While the best time is around your cycle, there are things that are more evident during non-cycle times. They think mine grew so quickly because my cycle was all screwy, so it was good that I found it when I did. I remember the episode of 90210 when Brenda finds the lump in her breast, doing a regular home exam. It pays to do it!

I also make sure to have my yearly exam at the clinic. Doctors and Midwifes are trained to find these things, and know when something is not right. I actually get checked twice a year, once when I have that lovely exam and once when I see my primary doctor. They are always so impressed that someone of my age is this concerned.

Having been through something so scary, and knowing that my family has at least one person that survived breast cancer makes it doubly important to take these precautions.

I make donations each year to help fund research, help cancer survivors and their families. I do my part so that some family someday won't have to go through the sort of pain so many are going through right now. I was in the clear, but so many each day are not.

As my favorite t-shirt says...Save the Ta-tas! Check yourself, and remind your sisters, mothers and friends to check themselves too.

I have a cold

I am not sure what is worse, the cold I have or the way people treated me at the office today.

I have a cold, cough and congestion. No Fever.

I went to work.

I was treated like I had the plague all day long. I heard someone who sits across the "hallway" from me talking about how I should have stayed home. Why? Because I have a cough?

I have no fever.

If I had a fever, and wasn't feeling well I would have stayed home. Trust me on that.

I understand that people are in a PANIC about the H1N1 virus. I get that, don't agree with it, but get it. That does not mean that every time I, or anyone in my family, have the sniffles we are staying home. It is a cold.

Boo has had a runny nose for a few days, it comes and goes. I am not keeping her home because of it. Sorry, she needs to be in school not sitting at home driving everyone banana's because nothing is wrong besides the sniffles. If she gets a fever she will stay home.

Believe me, I dislike the parents that send their kids to school with a fever, strep and pink eye. I don't understand the parents that would want their child to spread their illness to their classmates, it takes away from classroom learning as a whole.

I have even had some friends ask me if I was in a panic about Boo and Hunter bowling. "Don't they share bowling balls and shoes", yeah...what's your point? Illness is spread no matter what you do, sharing a bowling ball is not a make it or break it thing for me. My kids have activities and lives. I have a live. My husband has a life.

Illness will not rule our lives, we have learned that if you take things as they come it will all come out okay.

I will not stress about H1N1.

If anything we will live life as normal.

Oh Boo...

My Boo...she is a rough and tumble, fall and bounce right back, no fear, jump from her swing at the highest point kinda girl.

She always has been.

It isn't that she is clumsy.

She is active, outside all the time, finding new games to play with her brother and finding new ways to give her mom a heart attack. She loves to do tricks on her bike, standing on the pegs while rolling down the street. She likes to (try to) do tricks on the skateboard, and throw a basketball as she rolls by the hoop.

She LOVES to climb. Both her and Hunter are my Monkeys, can climb anything, even street signs (and no I am not kidding). She will climb a tree, a swing set, even scale the couch. And then jump of course...

She has no fear.

Nothing holds her down.

Not even this.

Wednesday night Boo was riding down the street, and hit the curb. Our road the curbs are not level yet, so she clipped it just right and down she went. I watched it happen, Hunter watched is happen. It didn't look pretty.

No blood, a new bruise (or three) and her thumb was BRIGHT red. All the way down to her wrist.

Not good.

We iced it down, and waited. I didn't know if the redness was just because she whacked it hard, or something else. She kept the ice on for about 20 minutes, and I looked. It wasn't pretty.

It was swollen, and starting to turn purple.

Not a good sign.

We ate dinner, and she kept icing it. I think at that point I already knew, we were heading in. How did I know? Experience...with myself. We will leave it at that.

We headed out, after Ma got there to hang with Hunter. Since it was minor, I sent Hubby on his way to work. I tweeted the time in the ER...so much fun.

To bad I can't spell...

We spent a mere two hours in the ER on Wednesday, the shortest time ever in our family. We were roomed right away, had x-ray within 30 minutes and were ready to go. She got ice, juice, Motrin and some lovely Animal Planet time.

She has a fracture of the thumb.

While they don't normally cast fingers, the thumb is a different story. You need your thumb for everything...everything. Boo struggles now with buttoning her pants, opening stuff and even brushing her teeth.

Good thing she isn't left handed.

BUT, the cool thing...her cast is waterproof. She can swim, take showers and be a normal kid even with her cast. She has already figured out how to play basket ball, swing and do pretty much everything with her cast. She hasn't ridden her bike yet, because of rain and mass chaos.

Having a cast the end of summer stinks.

But, having one the first week of school "I will be the coolest 2nd grader EVER".

Not my Child Monday!

My kids were gone most of the week, so I don't have much on them. BUT, I figured a flashback would be fabulous...

It was not my child that stuck toilet paper up her nose.

Of course not.

She would never do that.

And she definitely would NOT stink to high noon, because she would never stick things up her nose to stop her nose from running.

Her daycare provider would certainly not comment on the lovely odor that is for sure not coming from my daughter.

I would not proceed to take my daughter to my sisters where we would ponder the odor that is not coming from my daughter. That would be ludicrous!

We would not look up Boo's nose to see if she stuck something up there, because of course she wouldn't.

We wouldn't see the MOUNDS of toilet paper stuck up there, that wouldn't come out. She would never do that.

The next day we wouldn't be at the drs. office, we don't live there enough. Her dr of course wouldn't believe that Boo would ever stick something up her nose.

She wouldn't take one look, and tell me the FLY downtown, she would call the ENT on the way. Of course this never happened...of course not on a Thursday...in Rush Hour...During CONSTRUCTION SEASON.

Two hours later we would not be strapping Boo down onto a table.

And I wouldn't be holding her hand trying not to show her that I was just as terrified as she was that they were going to stick these LONG POINTY PLIERS UP MY BABY'S NOSE.

Of course not.

And we wouldn't sit and snuggle after as the dr tells us that he almost couldn't get it, and that if he hadn't she would have had to have surgery.

To get Toilet Paper out of her nose.

Because of course my child would NEVER do that.


For more Not My Child posts, head on over to My Charming Kids.

The Second Opinion (also titled the stupid clinic that didn't listen to the mom)

(this is the longest post I have ever writen, but so worth it.)

Mom's know when something is wrong, they just do. Don't ask how, don't ask why just trust us. We know our kids better than anyone else possibly could.

Boo gets sick, she has had strep twice since January and the stomach flu twice as well. BUT she never-ever get SICK. You know the SICK I am talking about, raging fever, chills, no appetite, and no wanting to drink anything.

Boo would eat until the end of time if we let her. She loves food, so when she won't eat we know something is going on.

Let's go back to...midnight on Wednesday/Thursday. Boo comes into my room, snuggles under the covers and falls asleep. She is coughing, but so am I, so I wasn't really worried about that. At least I wasn't until she shimmied up next to me, and I felt like I was melting.

She was burning up, about a 102 fever at midnight. Not good.

The fever lasted for most of the night, and dropped down to the low 100's by morning. She tried to eat so she could go to school, but it wasn't happening. After a couple bites she new she was staying home, and burst into tears.

Did I mention that Thursday was the last day of school. Poor Boo.

So, because of the fever and cough I new we were in for something. But, not sure what. Boo is never SICK so I was not prepared for what was to come.

I called the clinic to get her in, with her history of respiratory issues it is standard. Her primary was not in clinic that day, so we settled for a Family Practise Doctor at another clinic.

Never again.

When we got to the clinic, Boo left them a very nice present all over the floor of the lobby, I will let you draw your own conclusion on that one!

That was another sign that things were just not right. The receptionist was wonderful, gave us a cool little bag for Boo to use, and we sat to wait.

The nurse that called us back was wonderful, patient with the slow moving Boo. Even offered to get her height so we could see how much she had grown since February. She even did a strep test without me prompting, which I thought was a good start to the visit.

Once we got in the room and were alone Boo started crying again. Her cheeks were bright pink, her lips the color of cherries and her ears glowed in the dark. Her Ibuprofen was wearing off and she was not happy.

Shortly after the dr came in. The strep test was negative, so they would run the 24 hour, but she thought it looked like strep. Boo neck was hurting at that point, her everything was hurting. She was cold, but burning up. She had stomach cramps but didn't want any water. She was miserable.

I asked the dr to check her lungs, "Please do a chest x-ray, her colds travel there 90% of the time".

What did she do? Listened to her lungs and said "That won't be needed, her lungs sound clear".

Did I push? No, because Boo just wanted to go home. She wanted to get her Gatorade and go home to bed.

So we left. Went to Walgreens, where Boo left them a present as well, only this time contained to the cool bag I snagged from the clinic.

We got home, took some more Ibuprofen and she crashed for three hours.

That night things got worse. Boo's fever wouldn't stay down, no matter what I did. She never went above 101, but it wouldn't stay down. She was quarantined to our bedroom, then snuggled with me on the couch. Koda was crazy, and I had to call Hubby home. It was not a good night.

Finally, about 10 she crashed hard. Until about midnight. Then she came into our room with her chest hurting from all the coughing (uh-oh) and her temp going back to that 101 mark. She was in pain, and we couldn't stop it.

We gave her some meds, snuggled her down and went back to sleep.

This happened three times Thursday/Friday night.

At 7 am Friday morning I was on the phone to the clinic. If her dr was in that day, she was being seen. Something was not right. Her cheeks were still bright pink, her lips that color of cherries and her poor throat was raw from all the coughing. Her chest hurt when she sneezed, and she had no appetite. It was a battle to get her to drink anything.

That afternoon we went to see the wonderful Dr. T. Oh Dr. T...the only reason we still go to that clinic. She is so fabulous, always willing to listen, and doesn't not give that "crazy mom" look that so many doctors are known to give.

She took one look at Boo, and knew something was wrong. She looked at her chart and saw that she has lost almost two pounds since her last visit to the clinic, and 4 since the day before (different scale though, so we can't trust that number). I showed her how much she had drank all day (less than half of a standard water bottle) and that she hadn't eaten yet that day.

First thing she did...GOT A CHEST X-RAY! Look at that...I love when doctors know the child's history and LISTEN TO THE PARENT.

She also checked her ears (clear), checked her throat again (still clear) and had a Whopping Cough and Influenza test done (negative and negative).

The x-ray came back and GUESS WHAT! Pneumonia. Shocking right. I was not surprised. It was a moderate case, but it explained the fever that wouldn't go down, the lack of appetite and the lack of wanting to drink. Hubby had it last year, and it was not a fast recovery.

They gave her an inhaler treatment, and she perked up pretty quick. Dr. T. gave Boo the talk about drinking. She wasn't worried about eating as much. She told her about the needle in the arm and all that fun stuff.

Boo drank what was left of her water bottle while we were there. HA-HA!

So we left there with antibiotics, an inhaler and some steroids. That night, Boo slept 14 hours straight and woke up in a much better mood. She is still tired, but on the mend.

We actually ended up having to go back on Monday for hives that kept popping up and a re-x-ray because something was goofy on hers and the Radiologist wanted another film. The result...still something goofy but they are adding another inhaler with steroids to (hopefully) take care of it. We will go back in a month for another x-ray and if that isn't take care of we will go from there.

The moral of this story???

Listen To Your Instincts!! You know your child better than anyone. You know what is normal for them, and what is above and beyond. Don't let any doctor tell you that you are wrong, because a lot of the times you aren't.

Also, find a doctor that you trust, and that trusts your instincts. Dr. T. has always been that for us, and I don't see us leaving anytime soon. She listens, acts and follows up. She even e-mails me at work to check on Boo.

Boo's doctor left me with this on Monday "Mom(s) know when something is wrong, so I know you will call if she (is) not better. Trust yourself, you are your child's best weapon" (she has really broken English sometimes, and I wrote it down as she said it...love her).

Today is the day

It is weigh-in time at Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. I wasn't going to blog about it, but accountability people! That is key for me!!

Let's get the nasty stuff over with okay...

Last week: 184.8
This week: 183.9
Total loss - -.9

Goal - undecided. Any loss is wonderful.

That is great! I couldn't be happier! It was not an easy week to stay on task, Easter dinner three times in one weekend. Not easy!

My main problem is portion control. I have to be careful not to eat to much, I have been working hard this past week to make sure I get what I need, and not more. Yes, I had seconds of of the cheesy potatoes at my in-laws...they are so good. But, I also didn't have as much of the other things so I could swing it. I planned it that way!

This past week, our grocery store had green beans on sale for $.77/lbs. I got three pounds, and have been using them as my morning snack. They are filling, but not so much I don't eat my lunch. They are one of my favorite veggies. I also have brought some berries that were also on sale last week as part of my lunch. These are Florida Strawberries, and they are HUGE. Two of them fills 1/4 of my fruits and veggies goal each day. It is great!

For Easter with my Mom, I was in charge of desert. I took a Trifle recipe and made it lower in calories by using low-fat ingredients. It was wonderful, and all the fruit made it even better! Plus, instead of pound cake, I used Vanilla Wafers, which are lower in fat.

I have been shredding for a week now, sort of. Due to injury I am half-ing it, not doing the impact portion, but still working on the core exercises. My leg is feeling much better, so I think by Saturday I will be ready to go again. I can't wait. After shredding for a full week, being a bit more low-key is not working for me. But, my stomach muscles don't hurt as much, and the push-ups are getting MUCH easier.

Still going

I broke Jillian Michaels number 1 rule...I got hurt.

Shin splints are painful.

Very.

After a lunch time run to the clinic, I have been banned for 5 days. No shred, no nothing.

I am not impressed.

Saturday morning I woke up with the worst pain running up my legs. It felt like needles. I knew instantly what it was, but didn't want to believe it. I ace wrapped an ice pack to my leg and shredded away.

Yesterday, I could hardly put weight on it without cringing, and screaming inside. I knew I had to make sure nothing else was wrong.

They did x-rays to make sure I didn't have any chips, but the doctor sat down and looked very serious. Give it until Sunday, or be in pain for a long time.

So, I made a choice. I will be sort of shredding...sort of.

Push up, check.

Arm curls, check.

Sit-ups - all of them, check.

All low-impact, but still very important.

So, I am sort of shredding.

The Battle Wound competition continues!

Yesterday the kids were playing some driveway baseball. They love to play this with the neighborhood kids, everyone has such a great time.

We always warn the kids, watch what you are doing...

be careful of the ball and the swinging bat...

don't throw the bat after you hit...

make sure the person is looking at you when you throw the ball.

Yesterday, one didn't listen to the warnings.

Yesterday someone got cracked in the knee with the aluminum baseball bat.

It swelled.

It freaked me out a bit.

It almost was a trip to the ER.

But they were fine after a while of ice and Motrin.

And it wasn't Boo this time around.

Hunter has some wicked cool bruises on his knee.

Lesson learned.

Hopefully.

Today I shredded!

I can not feel my legs.

Or my arms.

Jillian Michaels just kicked my butt.

It was wonderful.

I was hoping to get home in time to do my first day of the 30 Day Shred before Boo got home, but the drive home always seems to take so much longer than the drive there.

So I got home, got my stuff put away and then Boo was home. After some much needed "I missed you" snuggle time, it was dinner time.

So, once Hubby left for work and Boo was down for the count, I put in the DVD.

She scares me.

Every time I told myself I couldn't do it, I had to stop she was there telling me not to stop and to push through it.

So I did.

I really did love it.

Tomorrow I will do it again.

A Memo to me...

Note to self...

When you KNOW you have a strained muscle in your back that has been causing you SO MUCH PAIN all week long, DO NOT go to Wal-Mart and promise Boo that we can "take our time" and look at all the fun spring stuff.

AND DO NOT then go to Target where they have what you are actually looking for after Wal-Mart did not.

Lastly, DO NOT stop at Subway after you promised Boo 5 times we could have it tonight. Especially when you know that this was their busiest time of day.

Why you might ask?

Because by the time you get home, you will be in so much pain that your pain medication will NOT EVEN BEGIN to touch it, and you will take a muscle relaxer too.

Now, I am heading to bed to lay on the heating pad and will my back to heal before Monday.

What I learned this week - Hunter

When you child gets braces, they will loose weight.

Well, when your child gets two teeth pulled, spacers put in and braces put on they will for sure loose weight, even if they have no weight to loose.

For the past...well forever we have been trying to put some weight on Hunter. He will gain like a mad man in the winter and it slows to a crawl in the summer time. Not only do we have regular weight, but Hunter is adding muscle weight all the time. The kid is bulking up like crazy.

So, when we find out that Hunter lost 1/2 a pound since December you would think it is not a huge deal, except Hunter weighed himself in February and it is really 5 pounds since December...or more likely since the end of February when his teeth were pulled.

So, this weekend after much research I found some ideas to bulk him up a bit, or try to at least.

One idea that we had been doing I learned from An Iowa Mom long ago. Her kids deal with the same issues as Hunter, and she got a great piece of advice:

Eat a peanut butter sandwich every night right before you go to bed

The "right before you go to bed" part is key. You don't want the kids to burn it off, so they eat, brush teeth and hit the hay.

It works, trust me on that one. Hunter gained like crazy when we did this.

But no more peanut butter for Hunter, at least not for two years.

So I am on the hunt. I started adding butter to everything for the kid, having pasta more and forcing yogurt in his handsome face. We are adding cheese to as much as we can and making snacks that have a bit more bulk to them.

The kid has always been a twig, but we are working to get something on him. He is 12, and weighs the same as his 9 year old sister (at his mom's).

His doctor wants to see some bounce back come May, so we have a month.

For more What I Learned this Week posts head on over to Musings of a Housewife.