My other lover...

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

A Loosey Toothy!!

My son has his first loose tooth. When he showed me tonight he was crying and then my enthusiastic reaction got him laughing again. I was SOOOO excited!! I didn't think he would be getting any loose teeth until well into his 6th year because he got his baby teeth quite late (almost 1 yr!) But low and behold it is loose. Right where it should be...bottom front center...text book. I gave him a refresher on the tooth fairy and he was just as excited as I was! Also, his teacher has a poster on the wall for each month and who looses a tooth. He really wants to get on that list BAD!

In other news his birthday is coming up in May and he is already picking out his present of choice. Let me first tell you that last year he got a trampoline (a la Costco) from my parents for his birthday so he is thinking ALOT bigger this year. No Spiderman action figures or GI Joes..no no no...he wants the $1,500.00 Tree fort swing set from Costco! YIKES!! He better start saving his twoonies or start batting his eyeballs at my parents cause there is NO way he is getting it from this address. I do agree that it would be awesome for the kids to play on and playdates would have more options but it's just too expensive for our budget. It's a hard line between teaching him the value of money and silently REALLY wanting this for our backyard. I can't refuse it if it's a gift....right??

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

I'll take a side of yogurt with those antibiotics!!

Well the lovely cold turned into a chest cough and then into a sinus infection which is what I am dealing with now. I knew it was upon me when my sinuses ached and that pressure..OH the PRESSURE in my head. So I trucked myself down to the doctor this morning while the kids were still in school and got some antibiotics. "Do you normally get yeast infections with antibiotics?" Well no, not normally but I'm gonna take whatever you give me cause I have to get this pressure out of my head!!

So I opened my first container of probiotic yogurt and gulped it up and said a silent prayer. A prayer to the Yeasty God that he is kind to me and doesn't have me searching around my basement for a chimney brush to shove into my neither regions. I don't know which is worse...a yeast infection or a bladder infection. Both have their definite CONS and zero pros. One has you scratching your crotch like a dog burying a bone and the other has you running to the toilet with the feeling that you could fill the bowl and then some only to have a few drops piddle out. Not fun, either one.

So wish me luck in my anti-yeast quest. I may really NEED it.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Calling in sick used to be fun...

I am sick. I could feel it trying to grab hold over the weekend and all of yesterday and finally, as of this morning I am officially sick. My head is pounding, my back is KILLING just to touch (wtf?) and I am stuffed up and coughing till my ears ache. Not fun and as I am following my daughter from room to room telling her to clean up the messes she makes and to talk nicely, I am realizing that maybe work would have been the better option. This is not relaxing or helping me get better, in fact it is irritating me more to the point I want to scream. She is now drawing happy faces in the dust mounting up on my gas fireplace..nice reminder to clean once feeling better. Thanks dear daughter. ACHOOOO!! That dust is not helping.

The husband is here home sick as well but has chosen to choose the time to stress over our mounting bills and money owed around the globe. I can't go there or my head will pop off like a dandelion (remember that game?) I always feel guilty when I call in sick like I could have somehow crawled in and made an effort but as I sit here sneezing and sounding like a raccoon has taken up in my throat, maybe I made the right decision today. Nothing like wearing a mask and having the warm air from your breath get the mucous running down your face as you try and maintain your composure through eye contact knowing full well you have the snot river flowing down your chin. Ahh memories..

So if you are well, EMBRACE it and don't take it for granted. This totally sucks being housebound and being a mucous factory. One last word...thank god for Advil Cold and Sinus Plus...peace OUT.

Friday, February 29, 2008

New beginnings...

So my husband and I went last Friday to meet with the psychologist about our daughter's "diagnosis". I was nervous and weirdly excited to find out after all this time what he had to say. I just really wanted to get on with things and move in a positive direction instead of the unpredictable path we were on.

So he sits us down and goes over her IQ tests. We were absolutely THRILLED to find out that she is smart! I mean we knew that she had brains but to find out that she tests higher than the average 4 year old was wonderful news!! He said she would have scored even higher but because she could not focus on the rest of the question, she got many wrong just from lack of attention. He spent about 30 mins going over her IQ tests and behavioural tests and then pulled out the ADHD test. The defining moment. I was on the edge of my chair.

He starts pointing at graphs and pie charts and I am still wondering wth he is saying. He is saying she is rating higher in symptoms than other kids. Other kids with what? It was kind of confusing. My husband then said "Is this meaning that she is scoring higher than the average child WITH ADHD?" Yes, that is what he was trying to say.

So she has elevated symptoms in the emotional and impulsivity sections of ADHD. She was officially diagnosed with ADHD and he will send the results to our doctor, preschool and to us. It has answered many questions for me and has put my mind to rest oddly. I was thinking that I was failing her somewhere in my discipline. Was I not being consistent? Do I let things slide? I mean yes, I probably do. I am not perfect. But I am quick with consequences and do not let her get away with attitudes or bad behaviour. The psychologist explained that she is all over the map with her emotions. Could be crying and laughing at the same time. She is unsure what emotion to use in situations and sometimes it will be an inappropriate one. He also told me that ADHD kids, because of this emotion confusion, will get angry when you get angry, mirroring your emotion back to you. Point taken.

So onward we go, googling and reading as much information as we can get our hands on to help us help our daughter. We want her to have a fulfilling life and we know there will be many challenges along the way. He figured that she would do fine until Grade One or Two where she would have to sit for entire days. We are going the no medication route for as long as possible but will not close the door on that option if it will ultimately help her focus and succeed. Only time will tell.

She had her first playdate today with a girl from her class and it went VERY well. Both had a ball and I think she will be back soon. Warms your heart to see your child developing friendships and learning how important it is in this world to have true friends. They are hard to find but worth the wait. :)

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Where to start..

So ok, it's more than a day but here I am!! lol

Where to begin. I guess the main thing to start with is that we have finally narrowed in on what is going on with our four year old daughter and there are STRONG indications that she has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). We go on Friday to find out what our child psychologist is suggesting but I would be shocked with any other diagnoses. When I did the written test for her, I circled "most of the time" too many times to count. She doesn't have some of the more major symptoms but exhibits many of them..too many to ignore. Can't wait in lines...just doesn't understand them AT all. Transitions are brutal..many meltdowns in a day over the slightest things. A tight jacket or seat belt will send her into a tantrum that would send anyone running for the nearest alcohol containing beverage. Nail polish remover..whatever. The trick is to figure out what will send her into a tailspin and counter it before you get there...thing is she changes her triggers whenever she feels like it. If you do lose your temper with her and yell she will yell RIGHT back and get VERY defiant and angry. Not like my son or "normal" child who would probably know that Mom meant business and maybe I should be quiet and listen now. No, this is very different and quite unsettling and confusing to deal with on a daily basis.

I am past the denial, shock and sadness and just want to get on with the dealing with it part. We have already started her on an Omega supplement and I am starting 2 naturopathic medicines tomorrow (Focus and BrightSpark) to see if they help her calm down, focus and control her impulses better. She has no impulse control. She thinks, she does. Give her ketchup with her chicken nuggets and she will spread it all over the table as soon as you turn away. Give her a bowl of popcorn and she may go spread it under her brother's bed. I tell her every bath to not put water on the floor and EVERY TIME she will spill water on the floor, even with me just standing there watching. She wants to see me lose it.

I have tried to go into this almost catatonic state of calm in dealing with her outbursts. She was trying to bait me to get angry and that only cycled into us both yelling and not resolving anything. I now remove her from the situation and place her in her room and tell her she cannot come out until she has calmed down and can be a nice girl again. This has been working and sometimes she will stay in for a few minutes until coming out. Usually she is calmed and ready to move on from the undesirable behaviour. Other times it just starts a series of room visits to the point where I almost want to bang my head on the wall.

So stay tuned to see what the psychologist comes down with on Friday. I am looking forward to see what he suggests and move on from there. If he tells me nothing is wrong I may point the car in the direction of the closest assylum and call it a day.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

MIA


Ya I let the old blog S L I D E for a few months. Bad me. Been 2 months of crazy Christmas stuff and then back to school stuff. No excuse still but I do need to update this or let it RIP..lol.


Give me a day to collect my thoughts and I will get back to this here bloggin..it is sooo DARNED much fun!!


Friday, November 9, 2007

MORE SHOPPING!!!!!




Well paint me red and green and slap me merry!! I am going shopping for 3 DAYS with my Mom to Vancouver!! I am VERY excited for the R & R and being able to actually look around at my surroundings without having to answer to kids chanting "Can we have this?" and hiding in the clothing racks (ok who didn't do this as a kid?) will be VERY refreshing!!

So we are staying at a HILTON Hotel. Maybe I will run into Paris shopping at Toys R Us for Britney's crew!! At any rate there will be lots of lattes, appies and bevies happening as my Mom always is a "good time". We will do over Ikea and a bunch of the bigger malls in the area.




I can feel the shoppers high already.......




I just hope DH can hold down the fort with the kids for the 3 days. The last time I went on this trip with my Mom (Ikea) the kids were 1 and 3 and it WASN'T pretty. Let's hope the extra 4 years has seasoned him into a Daddy veteran. Oh please let it be better...my shopping Chi depends on it!!