Category: health

health, kids, life in pictures, mommyhood, self-discovery

Clean Socks

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little Frick and his Legos

The life of a stay-at-home Mom is pretty exciting. I mean between the laundry, the cleaning up and food preparation it’s a wonder I have any time left in my day to blog. Take today for instance. It was action packed (insert sarcasm here). First, I played Legos with little T.Puzzle  (this actually was fun because he was super-giggly) and then in the afternoon I took him to the allergist (this actually was not fun). I told you my life was exciting.

little T.Puzzle snacks while waiting for the doc

Lately I am forgetting that my ‘job’ really is a sum of all its parts. Every sock I wash and put away and every frozen waffle I prepare (I know I am a culinary genius!) are all leading up to something greater. I’m raising children to become what I hope are kind, caring and self-fulfilled adults. When I say it like that, then who am I to defy the laundry gods another round of clean socks?

I don’t struggle with the value of what my job means overall. I do struggle with the seemingly mundane tasks that it sometimes entails. I know at the end of the motherhood trail the journey will be worth it; I’m just not in the mood to vacuum my way there.

children, gratitude, happiness, health

Pancakes and Cookies

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My day with T.Puzzle has been very exciting. First of all, Mad Dog came home late last night (a nice surprise) and was able to make pancakes for breakfast. I couldn’t believe that little T.Puzzle ate his pancakes without one allergy symptom. He even said, “Pancakes are good, Daddy.”

I then took him to Publix and he got his first ever cookie there. I was so excited I wanted to cry. Up to this point he has been a good sport as Full Speed chomped away on his Publix cookie and waited until we reached the deli for his sample. Somehow a turkey slice isn’t nearly as interesting as a cookie with sprinkles.

It was surreal to wander the isles and realize that nothing is going to be off limits. I still can’t believe he didn’t have one hive or any indicator of his previous egg allergy. He is free and clear. I even bought a bag of frozen corn dogs, not because they are healthy, but because I could.

Another great day, indeed!

children, health, life in pictures, mommyhood

Quite an Eggperience

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I was feeling so sad. I couldn’t put my finger on it until I realized that little T.Puzzle’s allergy skin tests were bumming me out. First of all, I wasn’t looking forward to holding him down while he was pricked repeatedly with needles and secondly, I wasn’t in the mood to hear confirmation that my dog will never be able to live with us (which turned out to be true).

Little T.Puzze was surprisingly cooperative. He handled everything like a champ. He had to face me while seated on my lap as the tech pricked him over and over. You should have seen his little face. He couldn’t believe she kept coming at him, but he sat there and he took it. He recovered emotionally in about two seconds (of course a snack helped the process tremendously). As for my emotional recovery, I’ll let you know as soon as it happens (if ever).

We had to sit for fifteen minutes and he was not allowed to scratch his back. Of course the hives were popping out like Christmas lights. Instantaneously, I could tell his dog allergy would be off the charts as well as a couple others (turned out to be pollen and live oaks). I noticed his egg allergy hardly caused a blip but did not get my hopes up. I don’t pretend to know medically what is going on and it wasn’t helping that the nurse came in, took one look at his back and made ‘the face’. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this ‘face’ from medical professionals. When I see the shocked eyes and sad shaking of the head I know that whatever follows usually isn’t, “Your child is completely healthy with 20/20 vision.”

Hey, it can’t be changed so we do our best to accept it. We’ve adapted to quite a lot and so long as my children are functional, happy and active (oh-so-active), I’m good.

A few minutes later the doc returns. Good news! Little T.Puzzle tested negative for his egg allergy. Yippee!! We had to follow-up with a blood test (you should have seen his face as he was duped into being pricked again; he refused their sticker he was so mad) that will hopefully confirm this result. We will know for sure in a few days.

If it turns out to be true, that will be amazing. Look out ice cream, here we come!

children, health

Updates

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Full Speed’s frames are irreparable. New ones have been ordered and we are back to waiting. He should have his new glasses by the time he leaves for college (hopefully).

And, I took T.Puzzle to the doc to have that bulge on the side of his neck evaluated. I tried to let it go but that thing kept staring at me.

I had to take both boys so you know it was absolute insanity. There were karate moves, climbing contests and fights over the scale to see who weighed the most (Full Speed did but only by seven pounds).

The doctor was kind and efficient, not to mention extraordinarily patient. My heart stuck in my throat as I watchfully observed him examine other regions of little T.Puzzle’s body for signs of inflammation. It took maybe thirty seconds but felt like a lifetime.

T.Puzzle got the all clear for now. I was so relieved I wanted to hug the doctor. Sure, his nodes are inflammed and swollen all up and down his neck but since that’s all the doctor could find, that’s normal for now.  T.Puzzle tested negative for strep and we were sent on our way. All I have to do is keep an eye on the node (which could stay that way indefinitely), and if I don’t see any changes like in skin color and size, he should be fine.

I do what I can to keep my boys healthy and then I have to let go of the things I cannot control. This is my challenge. This is motherhood.