Back to School and More

The kids have been back to school for a couple of weeks now -trying to get back into the routine of things. It's been kinda of tough the waking up earlier and everything. Also the week before school started my son had a really bad ear infection and when I say bad I mean like nothing I've seen before bad ... blood and other drainage came from his ear on a Sunday so took him to the minor care. Even though I was kinda freaking out they seemed somewhat nonchalant about it saying that it happens sometimes. They prescribed him ear drops and an antibiotic. He was pretty out of it most of that week -at times he did say some pretty funny things in his delirium though - he rested most of the time-it was really hard when he would wake up crying in pain at night we did give him med. for the pain and even took turns sleeping on an air mattress in his room -we gave him medicine, tried to get him to eat a little and pushed fluids since he didn't eat much. To our relief he finally started to get around more and get better by Thurs. But, then I kept noticing something didn't seem quite right -it wasn't all the time but sometimes when he'd talk he'd kind of talk out of the corner of his mouth I had looked up complications of ear infections which kind of helped but, of course can have you thinking the worst also - there was mention of the infection spreading like to the brain and stuff -I had also came across how when one side of the face doesn't move it could be Bell's Palsy we had him close his eyes and sure enough the left eye would squeeze shut all the way but, the right eye could only close to a little slit. I was sure we would definitely need to get it checked out by his Dr. -of course that Friday in preparation for school starting Monday I was to help get all the PTA stuff situated -my husband already had taken the day off to help -he took my son to the Dr. then I helped out at the school but, I was a bit of an emotional wreck. I found out the news by phone call- my family came up to the school later to meet my son's teacher and we explained the situation to her. By then I was ready to go home with my family -so I did- luckily there were a few other people handling the PTA stuff as I hoped they'd understand why I left early. I wanted to know more detail about what the Dr. had said -basically inside my son's ear was so swollen that it was affecting the nerves on that side of his face -we also setup an appt. with his E.N.T. -he currently already has tubes in as well. So my son missed some of the 1st day of school for that appt. we have seen the E.N.T. 3 times over the last couple of weeks and we have another appt. in a couple more weeks -hopefully by then everything will be back to normal *crossing fingers*.  So there's all that and of course getting all my daughter's school supplies and everything (Ugh -Teenagers a whole other issue). Anyways it seems we are finally starting to get into the swing of everything -my son is improving and now we're looking forward to a leisurely Labor Day weekend. Here's hoping to a good weekend -Happy Labor Day to you too!

What's going on in my neck of the woods

Around here of course we're still doing things to pass the summer by -Like this:

Outside water play -and might as well give the dog a bath too -Right?!

We've also been busy with other things -We celebrated my daughter's birthday!:

Officially a teenager now!

We also celebrated Father's day -by taking my dad out to eat after the Bday party -etc. too.

And it seems when we weren't busy with all of that stuff we had Dr's appts and more Dr's appts -My son actually had surgery yesterday to get ear tubes in and adenoids out:

This is after he got the goofy medicine and was a little loopy. Now he's recovering just fine -in fact we've been trying to remind him to take it easy.

So, yep been pretty busy around here - Be sure to join in with the RHOK's Your neck of the woods and let us know how it's going for you!

A roller-coaster

It's been a bit of a roller-coaster around here lately. Ups and downs -some tense moments- even prompting a family talk-Too much to go into here. One thing I'll say I know I'm not a Supermom -I'd be the 1st to admit that if there was a contest for being a Supermom with a high-paying career and a super clean/organized home and gourmet meals 3 times a day -I'd lose -But, just because I'd lose -doesn't mean I fail -Right?! I know that I do contribute and I am not worthless! I like most people do what I can. Like a quote something like -"Trying to keep a clean house with little ones running around is like shoveling snow in a snowstorm." That is what it feels like a lot of times. Especially with my son and his issues -I pick my battles -I don't constantly make him pick up his toys -they're his toys -I'd rather him mess up his toys than other things. Even if it might look like this, or this, or this most of the time. That's not to say there can't be improvement on mine and other family members parts -Which is what we discussed.

Luckily, we had some time to calm down before going to take my daughter to her Dr's appt. for her Hashimoto's . After the endocrinologist checked her out ; she got lab work done -to see if the medicine is working(I got a call yesterday -her levels are still abnormal and we'll try increasing her dosage and get checked out again in a few weeks)
After the appt. I planned to have an outing anyways-We went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner-I love that place! I let my son play -he's not the most social person -But, there was 1 boy that he actually started to play with! They introduced themselves and my son actually asked if he wanted to be best friends-It was so cute! Then the other boy burped and they thought that was hysterical- leave it to boys to bond over burping ;) Unfortunately that little boy did say a few "bad" words -Not directed at my son-But, he said things like -"Stupid poopy head" and I think I heard him say -"Damn" I tried to discourage it by saying that's not nice and luckily my son followed my lead on that. Then after a few minutes his mom came in and he had to leave - I guess It was nice while it lasted . Reminded me of this video I saw -Except for in my son's case it might go like -Chick-Fil-A -Where I met my best friend today. We only got to play for a few minutes -before he had to go away -Oh Chick-Fil-A-Aaaa.

I guess I'll end this roller-coaster rambling with the video I'm referring to -It's hilarious!

Wordless Wednesday -The eyes have it

Monday all the sudden my eyelid got swollen -It's a little hard to tell in this pic -Maybe if you could compare it to my other eye: A little bit of a weird angle but,there you have it -Can you tell the difference now?
So,yeah I was just sitting here and it got swollen -It didn't really hurt or itch. I tried a few things...1st things 1st I took my contacts out,flushed out my eye,put in some Visine,thinking it was maybe some allergic reaction I even took some Claritin. And then I waited -and waited- it was still like that after a few hours. After my husband and daughter got home I debated if I should get it checked out? It wasn't anything I'd experienced before I've had styes before and knew it wasn't that-Could it be related to my other illness- cough ;congestion? I decided to get it checked out at minor care-I know they have to go through their own diagnosis process -yada,yada. I don't think they really knew what it was either- the conclusion -probably some kind of bug bite or something-Ugh. But they did prescribe some kind of steriod pill to help with the swelling and also my cough;congestion! Tuesday it was gone and I do feel better on all accounts -Still not at 100% -but almost!
Oh and BTW this pic could totally be my blogger without makeup pic -Since I had no makeup on either :)

Sicky- Poo

Last week I was ready (kinda) to get back into the grind after spring break. All started well my daughter went back to school and everything Monday. Then Tuesday when I went to wake her up for school she said she wasn't feeling well. I let her stay home- she did have a little fever and said her head;throat hurt. Also later in the day my son started getting sick too. Wednesday again they were sick -I made a Dr's appt to get them checked out since they still both had fevers and all. They got all checked out for strep and everything -but they didn't have that. Since my daughter's school was out Friday I was glad she was doing better to go back to school Thursday- and get a couple of days in for the week. At least I thought she was doing better- she was fine until Thursday night when she woke me up complaining about how her ear hurt. Friday my son also said how his ear hurt-They went back to the Dr. and yep sure enough -ear infections!

My son had it worse even though initially he complained less about his ear. My daughter is doing fine now. My son is still getting better-a lot of drainage and general yuckiness (snot,diarrhea,-etc.)-Yuck -I know -sorry!

Well, at least we finally got it all figured out and everything -after 2 Dr's visits and 4 expensive co-pays later-Ugh- Such as the life in the Mom Mayhem! Just hope everyone will fully recover soon!

Monday,Monday

Monday back to the grind-I've been a bit out of it since I've been sick :( My son started to get a cold on his actual birthday luckily he got over it but, then I started feeling sick a few days later. I hate when you don't know for sure if it's a cold or something else. Since I had been feeling bad for over a week and all I finally went to the Dr. Friday. Turns out I had Bronchitis -again -Ugh! Apparently I must have the lungs of a smoker even though I don't smoke. I've had Bronchitis a few times over the past couple of years. It seems I've always had problems like that-I used to get pharyngitis or tonsilits all the time(still have my tonsils though) and sometimes I have asthma type problems-like excercise induced-So, I try to use an inhaler before I do things like Zumba I mentioned that I've been doing latley(didn't go last week since sick).
Anyways yeah my husband stayed home Friday so I could go to the Dr. and we could get other things done. My daughter went to a B-day party the past couple of weekends and I took her/picked her up even though I wasn't feeling that great-the 1 this past weekend was a sleep-over. Oh and she also needed to have a friend over here to finish a school project they were working on. Ugh- I tried to have them clean the house while I rested Sat. but, of course it was not that clean and organized so I had to help get that finished and then my daughter's friend came over yesterday. I know the house was cleaner but, just so much clutter -We really need to do a garage sale or something soon! Well,that's what's been going on here now it's monday again -Back to the grind...

Hashimoto's...

Do you know what Hashimoto's is ? I know it could sound like some Japanese restaurant or something-Huh? But, I'm talking about Hashimoto's Thyrioditis -or Hypothyriodism. We have found out my daughter has this.
Awhile ago she went to the Dr. and ending up having the H1N1-I talked about that here. As the Dr. was checking her out he noticed some swelling in her neck-A goiter. I never really noticed it too much before and after she was well enough to get a blood test we got that done at the Dr's request. Once we got the results back it was found that her TSH levels were high and she was referred to a pediatric endocrinologist. Which actually wasn't new for us -we've been there for my son. And if anyone has been referred to an endocrinologist or other type specialist you probably know that it can take months to get an appt. So,that's how it went we waited to hear back about an appt.-the endocrinologist actually called 1st for a follow-up appt. for my son-I tried to see about getting my daughter's appt. but, I guess they didn't have her paperwork yet. Once I finally heard back about my daughter I got it worked out for both of the kids to be seen the same day/time-Which was just this week! My son checked out fine and the Dr. said she doesn't have to see him anymore-But, now she'll have to see my daughter for an on-going basis. She did another blood test to be sure and I just heard back yesterday it's confirmed Hashimoto's Thyrioditis- She will have to take a pill everyday -probaably for the rest of her life. The Dr. says she should be fine as long as she takes her med's-Everyday. So,that's that-Luckily it seems we caught it pretty early-there hasn't been a lot of other symptoms so,I'm glad the Dr. noticed it. Now hoping the med's work out fine and everything. I of course did a lot of googling about it yesterday-If you want more info here's one of things I read about it.

The Swine Flu has hit!

Well, it appears the swine flu,the piggy flu, the H1N1,the Heiny flu- whatever you want to call it is going strong. There's been many people everywhere getting it-Including my daughter. But, before you try to click off -Don't worry I'm sure the germys won't get to you through the internet ;)

So, it started Sun. night when she said she felt kinda dizzy before bed, but I tucked her in and told her to get a good night's sleep. Then monday morning she came in to wake me up and also waking up my son who sometimes slips into our bed late at night. So, she woke us up before the alarm was set to go off to say she didn't feel good. I took her temp -no temp. She had developed a cough and headache though -I gave her some over the counter kid's medicine and told her to go back to bed. And I'd call her school later ( it still wasn't going to open for another 1-2 hrs) So, then I attempted to lay down again with my son but, he was too restless then. After about 30mins we got up and started the day. And since we were going to be home I used up the rest of the pancake batter in the fridge from the weekend. After I made pancakes I woke my daughter up and we all ate. Not that the kids really appreciated that I'd cooked -I begged my son to eat a little bit before I got him the cereal that apparently he really wanted to eat. I called her school then showered and we continued our day. Occasionally checking my daughter's temp. and giving her medicine. We just chillaxed,ate microwave popcorn,watched TV. Once my hubby was home we ate soup and grilled cheese for dinner. Tuesday she still wasn't feeling good and this time my husband was waking me up to tell me this before he left for work -again before the alarm was set to go off- Urgh! Luckily this time my son went back to sleep for a little while. Once we got up about 7:15am I checked her temp. -she did have a little fever. Once we got settled for breakfast I called her school again. I also called the Dr. -I know for me 1 day of not feeling well,no school is ok to chillax but second day -Your going to the Dr. The Dr. had an afternoon appt. we took. Once we were at the Dr's they did a flu test which came back positive -Yeah that was Um -Interesting - The nurse told my daughter -Make some snot! LOL Anyways the Dr. later explained that 98% of the "flu" they're seeing is the H1N1-So most likely what she has-Ugh. We knew she was to stay home Wednesday also so luckily no interruptions in my sleep-Yay! And once we were up (about 7:30am) did the normal breakfast-yada,yada. Called her school again and got their fax #, called the Dr's to fax over something to the school. Then again I gave her over the counter medicine,checked her temp-it was gone -yay!,kept her hydrated,and tried to quarantine her somewhat.

For us the swine flu was not all that much worse than the regular flu -etc. Today she's back to school. And I'm hoping that the rest of the household doesn't get it. Especially while my hubby will be out of town starting Sunday. So that's our swine flu story :)

Urgh!

Warning!- A cranky rant: There's so many things-1st of all clothes-Urgh! I hate trying to find things that fit just right. And I don't know about you but, I don't have a lot of bras -I have a few but there's my favorite one that fits just right,an older one that's a little tight, a newer one but after awhile it just bugs. But, now my favorite one -the underwire starting poking out-ouch! I just recently bought that other one but I don't like it that well-And bras can be kinda expensive-Urgh! But, I guess I'm gonna have to go shopping again soon. Which sucks cause the finances have been low since having to get new tires on my hubby's car last week(see post here)- Urgh!

And another Urgh! -How do all you other moms -especially SAHMs get things done like going to the Dr? I usually have to ask my hubby to take off work. I tried to go last week when he took time off to get tires on his car-etc. But, my Dr. seems to hardly have open appts. So,I went today for my knee that's been hurting and other stuff that's TMI ;) My hubby was able to take a few hours off without using his paid time off. But, I knew it would be hard to squeeze it in within in that time. I got to the Dr.'s a little early in hopes they would see me sooner but, no they got to me about 20mins after my appt. time. I then waited in the room about another 30mins after the nurse came in -for the Dr. And then of course the Dr. takes about 15min or so to actually see me. So I was finally done about an hour and a half later! I called my hubby to see if we were going to pick up something for lunch and if I should go to the pharmacy now or later. I was kinda hoping we could all grab something for lunch (maybe while we were waiting on the prescriptions or something) But, alas it was already past time for him to go back to work. I rushed home -they already ate some sandwiches. It was kinda late-we usually eat lunch about 11-11:30 and it was almost 12:30. So, I had my hubby warm up some leftovers for me and then he was gone-Before I could even sit down to eat! I tried to get my son to sit in the kitchen and share my food-but, he didn't go for that. I just scarfed it down since he was running around-causing trouble. (which isn't too much different that any other day I suppose ;)
I guess I just feel kinda Urgh-Oh! the Mom Mayhem :) So that's my rant -Thanks for listening -Er,Um- reading.

My day yesterday...

Since Wed. I had a sharp pain in what I would describe maybe in my right lung? Cause it hurt when I breathed especially a deep breath. I figured it would get better once I got a good nights sleep. But, it seemed to hurt even more when I was laying down and tried to switch sides-etc. I woke up in excruciating pain about 2 or 3 am. When my hubby said he would see about staying home the next day if needed. I eventually got more sleep and once I woke up yesterday and got all ready I called my Dr. unfortunately there wasn't any open appts. I went to the minor care place then.
I described my pain and pointed to where it hurt. They said that wouldn't be the lung but,more around the abdomen. Well whatever -I just know it hurt!! After they checked me out a bit-they said it could be the gall-bladder. They were really starting to worry me asking if someone was with me or if I could call someone to take me to the hospital /E.R. I called my hubby who had stayed home with the kids. Before we were on our way to the E.R. they gave me a shot that made me a bit woozy. The E.R. took awhile of course even though the minor care said they'd call ahead to make it faster-Yeah right!
Once I finally got seen I layed in a bed they talked with me and took my blood. Then they said ok time to get an ultra-sound. I was getting up to go-When they said N0- just lay down and they proceeded to wheel the whole bed with me in it to get an ultrasound. Then took me back to the room. Later they again wheeled me to get an x-ray. I kept thinking it's not everyday I travel by bed! =D After awhile they came back with all the results and said everything looks fine with my gallbladder. And said it's probably just a pulled muscle in the abdomen wall they gave me some pain-killers and sent me on my way. So after about 5 hrs. that was it ?! Geesh! So that was my day. Now, it may take a few weeks to fully recover. I still don't really know what happened to cause it. I just know I told my husband even though he thinks I don't work hard-I must be to pull a muscle like that ;)

About my son...

After becoming pregnant with my 2nd child I decided to be a Stay-at-home-mom. I knew it would be a transition. And I know each kid is different but there have been some difficult times. I've probably mentioned that ever since my son was a newborn we've dealt with his milk/dairy allergy. There have been other things that stuck out as "different" to me like when my grandma visited us and said my son "is different -he's very wiggly"-This from a woman who had 4 boys of her own. So, often times I would think I know my son is active but that's pretty normal for a little boy-Right? But could he be too hyper?
I think as much as we don't want to admit we go over in our heads "evaluating" our kids -Are they "normal" ? Of course I know some of it is the transition of being a stay-at-home-mom. So this has been a constant round and round in my head -Maybe he's normal and I'm just not used to being around and dealing with it all day. He's just a rowdy little boy that does different things or is there something else ??
So, just to be sure we went to the Dr. last week-They evaluated his speech/behavior. It was interesting the Dr. gave my son chalk to draw on the chalkboard. Then he threw down some blocks to see what my son would do...At 1st my son just ignored them. Then he picked them up and put them on the little kids table and proceeded to line them up. The Dr. asked if he lines things up a lot?- "He does" I answered. (I had always wondered about that too). The Dr. would just observe and talk with me -It was kinda difficult cause my son tried to leave the room a few times and sometimes I would stroke my son's hair. And the Dr. kept reminding me to not "interrupt". The Dr. would say as a mom I'm trying to protect him and our roles are different in that way -But really try not to interfere-So, I tried not to.

So what all came of this Dr's appt? Well the Dr. said that obviously he is intelligent like when he started counting the blocks. And he's not too bad on his speech. But, his brain does work a little differently. The Dr. compared him to Bill Gates(obviously he's smart but, Bill didn't talk until he was 4 and was a bit "different")
My son does exhibit some ADHD behaviors and some Autistic behaviors but,would not be fully considered that. So he falls into the category of PDD or PDD-NOS. I still don't know much about it but of course have researched it some. I have found this website informative. At this point there's not really any treatment just another evaluation in 6mo's to see his progress. I think it will be 1 of those things that we'll have to see if this affects him at school or not too. The Dr. did say a few other "tips" like when my son kept trying to get into my purse even after saying not to. The Dr. said I should move my purse -That it could fall into his "repetitive behaviors" so it may not be him disobeying on purpose and that we should move him or the object away. Another thing that was interesting is that my son has always been "underweight" part of it is not being able to utilize milk,creamy sauces,etc. Some is also his picky eating/behaviors. The Dr. said that my son probably does have a bad association with food since his allergy experience-Causing pick eating behaviors. Which does make sense-I never thought of it that way. So, it was all interesting and at least I know more. As they say knowing is half the battle-And we will continue on.