Illness has been running rampant through our neck of the woods and our family has been hit repeatedly by her forces over the last few weeks. My five year old Drakey boy is the latest victim and here is a glimpse of our past day:
*Yesterday afternoon, Drake started in with a croupy cough.
*He went to bed at eight and woke up around nine due to an inability to stop coughing and breathe well.
*Ty got him calmed down and back to sleep.
*An hour later, he was back up and then fell asleep in my bed.
*2:30-4:00 am: We were awake because he couldn't stop coughing.
*4:00-5:30 am: Asleep
*5:30 am: Awake for the day due to more coughing
*8:30 am: Bri pees her pants so she and Drake are now getting a bath.
*9:00 am: Lydi is off to school.
*9:45 am: I take Ty his forgotten cell phone
*10:00 am: Go to our local instacare for Drake's croup because our pediatrician is 45 minutes away and I am not up for that today. I am told that the wait will be at least two hours, but a doctor at the affiliated medical group can see him in one hour.
*10:10 am: Back in the car to waste an hour. Bri falls asleep, ruining her nap for the day.
*10:55 am: Check in to the doctor's office.
*11:30 am: Finally get called back to see the doctor.
*12:05 pm: Finally actually see the new, very nice, very young doctor
*12:15 pm: Leave EMPTY HANDED from the doctor's office! Even after I kindly explain to said doctor about the one-time oral medication that has helped Drake tremendously for his croup in the past {prescribed by two different doctors in an adjoining state}, she says she can't do anything because during her pediatric rotation she only saw that medication administered in the ER and she herself has never prescribed it before. And besides, "his cough doesn't sound croupy right now." No disrespect ma'am, but of course it doesn't! I will be sure and call you back in the middle of the night tonight when his symptoms reappear. Now, I obviously don't want a doctor to ever do something they feel wrong about, but I was so frustrated to have just wasted the last two and a half hours for no reason! It was a big reminder to me that kids are really best seen by pediatricians. And the ironic thing - it would have taken me less time to see the pediatrician that is 45 minutes away!!
*12:17 pm: A sad mommy is fulfilling her promise to her well behaved son by getting him a Happy Meal from McDonalds. But alas, in the spirit of the day, they get our order wrong. Twice. sigh...
*12:25 pm: Mommy walks into her house, greeted by the many piles of dishes and clutter that await her attention. And let's not forget that her dear daughter will not be having a nap today.
It is definitely one of those days!!
Thank goodness for the phone sympathy of a mom, hubby, and good friend. And the bag of Easter candy is offering some nice therapy too. ;)
***Bright spot of the day. When we were waiting in the doctor's office, Drake turned to me and said, "Maybe she's taking so long because she's watching a basketball game." That made me laugh out loud. Son, I love you! The unexpected and undesired pitstops in the road of motherhood are all worth it and give us appreciation for the abundance of smooth days. I wouldn't trade this for anything.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wrecking Ball
So I had to place a child proof lock on my bathroom door this week.
Why? To prevent the continued "creative" behavior of my beloved two-year old.
{Perhaps I should just rename this blog to "Chronicles of a Two-Year Old!}
My make-up drawer draws her like a magnet and holds her new favorite art materials.
And at this time, I feel the need to forewarn her future husband about her apparently expensive taste.
See, I have a drawer full of products ranging in value from dollar store, to drug store, to department store.
And out of all of her choices, what items did she "re-purpose" this week while I was helping her siblings get ready for school?
-My half full MAC powder foundation was dropped, then dumped to become a nice new floor covering.
-My almost full Clinique facial moisturizer tub was enjoyed as a full body moisturizer.
-My two tubes of Burt's Bees lip color paired nicely with my favorite eyeshadow brush to paint the white fur on one of her sister's favorite stuffed animals.
-And in an unrelated incident this week, she decided to bite and therefore scratch my prescription eyeglasses!
Who knew that creativity could cost so much??
Even with all of this, Bri is still one of the cutest two-year-olds around.
Such a sweetheart who is wrapped up in every one of my heartstrings.
I'm pretty sure I know why God made two-year-olds so unbelievably adorable, funny, & lovable.
Because they would get in a lot more trouble if they weren't!
post script
So, older sister just discovered the lipstick based disfigurement of her stuffed animal. Let's just say that she won't be describing her little sister as anything close to 'adorable' any time soon!
Why? To prevent the continued "creative" behavior of my beloved two-year old.
{Perhaps I should just rename this blog to "Chronicles of a Two-Year Old!}
My make-up drawer draws her like a magnet and holds her new favorite art materials.
And at this time, I feel the need to forewarn her future husband about her apparently expensive taste.
See, I have a drawer full of products ranging in value from dollar store, to drug store, to department store.
And out of all of her choices, what items did she "re-purpose" this week while I was helping her siblings get ready for school?
-My half full MAC powder foundation was dropped, then dumped to become a nice new floor covering.
-My almost full Clinique facial moisturizer tub was enjoyed as a full body moisturizer.
-My two tubes of Burt's Bees lip color paired nicely with my favorite eyeshadow brush to paint the white fur on one of her sister's favorite stuffed animals.
-And in an unrelated incident this week, she decided to bite and therefore scratch my prescription eyeglasses!
Who knew that creativity could cost so much??
Even with all of this, Bri is still one of the cutest two-year-olds around.
Such a sweetheart who is wrapped up in every one of my heartstrings.
I'm pretty sure I know why God made two-year-olds so unbelievably adorable, funny, & lovable.
Because they would get in a lot more trouble if they weren't!
post script
So, older sister just discovered the lipstick based disfigurement of her stuffed animal. Let's just say that she won't be describing her little sister as anything close to 'adorable' any time soon!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Make Me Equal to the Task
{BACKGROUND: Our third child Bri, a beautiful two-year old, has an inherited metabolic disorder, PKU. Her liver is deficient in an enzyme needed to properly metabolize one of the amino acids in protein. If she ate the same food as the rest of us, it would cause severe mental disability and a whole slew of other problems. Thankfully, these can be avoided through the implentation of a diet that is naturally low in protein. This requires us to meticulously measure, calculate, and document her daily consumption of appropriate foods, many of which must be made from scratch or purchased online from specialty stores.}
After getting past the initial shock of Bri's diagnosis, I can honestly count on one hand the times I have had a "meltdown" over the reality of her health difference. I have generally been able to take it in stride and just do what needs to be done. I know the Lord has blessed me with the ability to do this and I am so grateful for that. Well, tonight I got to chalk another mini meltdown onto the list.
Bri does so well with her PKU. The challenges with the diet will increase as she gets older and becomes more aware that she isn't eating the same as everyone else. She is already starting to notice it a little bit but never fusses when I tell her a food is a food is "too high phe" {short for phenylalanine} and get her something else. She doesn't cry when we have to prick her big toe for her blood tests each week. She loves her "protein shake" that she drinks three times a day to meet her protein needs. She is such a good girl about it all.
My goal from the start has always been to make sure that she has good food options available, even if it is different from the rest of us. The older she gets, the more I am realizing that to truely accomplish this will require increased planning and ability on my part.
This was illustrated acutely to me tonight at dinner. We were having Navajo tacos and scones with honey butter {yum!}, which were delicious, but required a lot of multi-tasking and constant work from start to finish to get the dough made, fryer ready, condiments prepared, honey butter mixed, scones fried, etc. {My husband pitched in well.}
By the time it was all ready, the older two kids were 'starving' and complaining at the table. Bri was also seated at the table, and it was at this point that I realized that I didn't have anything prepared for her to eat. She was being so happy and telling me, "Thanks, Mom!" - even as she sat there with an empty plate in front of her. She didn't have enough of her allotted daily protein allowance left to eat some of her usual quick dinner options, so she ended up with a plate of lettuce and ranch {and a tangelo, but she didn't want that. "Too sour."}
As we were eating, I watched her across the table, and my mother heart broke just a little bit.
Which was weird - because she was as happy as can be! She was downing that lettuce like it was the best thing she had ever eaten and even happily humming as she did it. She gave me no reason to feel sad for her.
But oh, how I did! Luckily, the tears didn't come until I was cleaning up, but I was aching for two reasons. First, as the rest of us were eating our assortment of yummy foods that had been carefully planned and prepared, she was eating - lettuce. And second, I knew it was a lack of thought and planning ahead on my part that caused it.
I don't want you to get worried about me. I usually do a better job at making sure she has yummy food to eat. And I know that her success in life and her ability to deal with her health difference will not be aided by me feeling pitiful about it. But oh, tonight, I just wanted that beautiful little face to not have those challenges! But I know that the Lord will make her equal to them, just as He can increase my abilities to properly care for her.
It will be interesting to find out if our new little baby has PKU as well. Scientists would tell me that he has a 25% chance of having it. But I know that really, the outcome is up to the Lord. When I think about the possibility of him having PKU, a wide array of thoughts run through my mind. Ultimately though, I have come to realize through this journey with PKU that I must just have faith and trust in God and His plan for my children.
Mothering has taught me a great lesson about what faith is. The faith I have in God is not faith that He will remove the challenges. The faith that sustains me is trusting that God has an intentional plan for each of us. That He has a plan for each of my children and He has a plan for me. And that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, He can make us each equal to the challenges and blessings we are given. And I am so grateful that I know this is true. So that tonight I can have my moment and cry, and tomorrow, He can make me better.
After getting past the initial shock of Bri's diagnosis, I can honestly count on one hand the times I have had a "meltdown" over the reality of her health difference. I have generally been able to take it in stride and just do what needs to be done. I know the Lord has blessed me with the ability to do this and I am so grateful for that. Well, tonight I got to chalk another mini meltdown onto the list.
Bri does so well with her PKU. The challenges with the diet will increase as she gets older and becomes more aware that she isn't eating the same as everyone else. She is already starting to notice it a little bit but never fusses when I tell her a food is a food is "too high phe" {short for phenylalanine} and get her something else. She doesn't cry when we have to prick her big toe for her blood tests each week. She loves her "protein shake" that she drinks three times a day to meet her protein needs. She is such a good girl about it all.
My goal from the start has always been to make sure that she has good food options available, even if it is different from the rest of us. The older she gets, the more I am realizing that to truely accomplish this will require increased planning and ability on my part.
This was illustrated acutely to me tonight at dinner. We were having Navajo tacos and scones with honey butter {yum!}, which were delicious, but required a lot of multi-tasking and constant work from start to finish to get the dough made, fryer ready, condiments prepared, honey butter mixed, scones fried, etc. {My husband pitched in well.}
By the time it was all ready, the older two kids were 'starving' and complaining at the table. Bri was also seated at the table, and it was at this point that I realized that I didn't have anything prepared for her to eat. She was being so happy and telling me, "Thanks, Mom!" - even as she sat there with an empty plate in front of her. She didn't have enough of her allotted daily protein allowance left to eat some of her usual quick dinner options, so she ended up with a plate of lettuce and ranch {and a tangelo, but she didn't want that. "Too sour."}
As we were eating, I watched her across the table, and my mother heart broke just a little bit.
Which was weird - because she was as happy as can be! She was downing that lettuce like it was the best thing she had ever eaten and even happily humming as she did it. She gave me no reason to feel sad for her.
But oh, how I did! Luckily, the tears didn't come until I was cleaning up, but I was aching for two reasons. First, as the rest of us were eating our assortment of yummy foods that had been carefully planned and prepared, she was eating - lettuce. And second, I knew it was a lack of thought and planning ahead on my part that caused it.
I don't want you to get worried about me. I usually do a better job at making sure she has yummy food to eat. And I know that her success in life and her ability to deal with her health difference will not be aided by me feeling pitiful about it. But oh, tonight, I just wanted that beautiful little face to not have those challenges! But I know that the Lord will make her equal to them, just as He can increase my abilities to properly care for her.
It will be interesting to find out if our new little baby has PKU as well. Scientists would tell me that he has a 25% chance of having it. But I know that really, the outcome is up to the Lord. When I think about the possibility of him having PKU, a wide array of thoughts run through my mind. Ultimately though, I have come to realize through this journey with PKU that I must just have faith and trust in God and His plan for my children.
Mothering has taught me a great lesson about what faith is. The faith I have in God is not faith that He will remove the challenges. The faith that sustains me is trusting that God has an intentional plan for each of us. That He has a plan for each of my children and He has a plan for me. And that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, He can make us each equal to the challenges and blessings we are given. And I am so grateful that I know this is true. So that tonight I can have my moment and cry, and tomorrow, He can make me better.
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