SNOW DAYS & Sick CHILDREN! UGH!

Since LAST THURSDAY, I have had either both children home or at least one child home due to illnesses and/or snow days. Understand that here in Virginia Beach, SNOW is very rare! We are definitely not equipped to deal with snow on our secondary roads putting buses at risk for skidding in our rural areas and neighborhoods. Today is the FIRST day back since Tuesday and it was SUPPOSE to be their day off for Teacher planning. So the schedule is all messed up as they also put Monday as a half day! And a previously scheduled day off now a day of school. Now if I worked a normal 9-5 job, it would totally screw up a schedule and probably make bosses mad. Good thing I'm my own boss right? Anyway, carrying on.... I still have a child home sick! Poor kiddo has Hyper-Mobility Joint Syndrome and complains of wide-spread pain very often. SO I'm STILL not KID free! And did I mention hubby is TRAVELING? Overall, my children are pretty self sufficient and do their own thing when they are home. But what I complain about is NOT GETTING out of my HOUSE!

I do have a MILLION things to do at home, you know... cleaning, prepare taxes, process pictures.... but it's that I just don't FEEL Like doing it! How many times do YOU put off what you NEED to do just because you don't want to do it?

Things I COULD BE DOING:

1. Removing border in kid's bathroom
2. Preparing my documents for taxes
3. Process client pictures as it's going on a month!
4. Clean my house AGAIN! Never ending battle here right?
5. FOLD Laundry! 

So who wants to do all that when you can just blog about it instead?

I was SUPPOSE to meet up with a friend and eat lunch, but can't take a child that hurts out into this cold weather.

Back to Kiddo who has pain ~ 

At 18 months old the kid stopped walking and went back to crawling and just complained that he "HURT". So many tests later and specialists they said he just had inflammation in his joints even though no bone scans were done. Okay sure, it went away over time using tylenol when he did complain and that seemed to hold him over or he forgot about it after being introduced to a toy. Short attention span in kids :)  Fast forward a few years later, around age 5 he started complaining his arms and legs and body just "ached". Asking him where it hurt, he would just show me all down his arms and legs. Okay I shrugged it off as growing pains and didn't think anything of it as his daddy had told me he had bad ones growing up too. It progressively got more persistent and complaints were frequent. So I had begged the pediatrician to refer him to Rheumatologist. MANY months wait as there were only two in our area (now just 1 :( ). They diagnosed him with just having over extended joints. No specific name just joints and ligaments can extend beyond the normal 180 degrees. I wasn't happy with this answer and wanted a second opinion. Off to Duke Medical to the Children's hospital to get 2nd opinion. The specialists here said the exact same thing and said our doctor is on track, but did give us an actual NAME for the issue at hand. Hyper Mobility Joint Syndrome is the magical name. So NOW I can research and find out how to help him. 

Armed with medications for his pain (Naproxen Sodium liquid) at school and at home we are all set right? Wrong! A child can't work through his pain and also pay attention at school! So we have had a few flare ups. One time it was an entire week he couldn't walk it hurt every step! Went to Rheummy, did X-rays, blood work...etc... Nothing abnormal! This also included a bone scan to see if any of his growth plates and joints were inflamed. NOTHING showed up at all! Ugh! Frustrating to have a silent and undetectable illness. Each time he complains I have to pray that it's not a flare up where we have to go back through all those tests. Know how hard it is to HOLD a 70lb child down while they do blood work?

So now this child is home today complaining of pain all over. No sense in sending him to school  when he will just be coming home a few hours later. 

I just want him to enjoy life and not one in pain. Not many parents facing this issue, so no one to really chat with about the outcome.

Overall, he's a happy little boy and makes me proud on many levels. 

Thanks for listening to my rambles as I know there is no rhyme or reason for the order my rambles go in :)

~ Brandi

Ugh! Children!

Why do my children HAVE to chase after each other and/or annoy one another? If anyone finds the answer, please let me know! I can't take more of the screaming and chasing! Ugh! LOL

Busy Wednesday!

Whew! So glad that Wednesday is over. My friend Stephanie called my mom and said that Children's Place is having a HUGE sale! Everything is 3.99 or LESS! Children's place is in Williamsburg or the Mall in Norfolk. We wanted to see a few other stores in Williamsburg so we packed up the kids from school and drove to Williamsburg.

We SERIOUSLY hit the jackpot! I got over 30 pieces of clothing including a HEAVY jacket for my son next year at the low price of.... $129.00! THAT is all!

Then I hit Kirklands Home Store and got a few things that were needed for my kitchen. My goodness! I only spent 68.00 and decorated the kitchen! Not bad!

A little tip: Find a coupon here: Children's Place 15% off and then go! I saved $60.00 using the coupon!


Enjoy your Thursday! Stay inside, it's COLD!

Fisher Price Matchin' Middles

Today is a holiday for our school system. Which means no school for our children. Mine are in Pre-K4 and Pre-K2, so it really doesn't matter. But I didn't want them to miss out on a day of learning!

I grabbed a workbook for Aryan (purchased at DollarTree) and brought out a new game for Rheanna called Matchin' Middles by Fisher Price.

I purchased this game during the Christmas season as Aryan had played this with a counselor during a session. I knew it'd be a HUGE hit! And for 9.00 it teaches shapes, memory & Fine motor skills! Perfect for a two year old that has a brain that's a sponge right now.

When Aryan was playing with it in sessions, the counselor stated that she had purchased a LONG time ago, so she wasn't sure if they were available anymore. I was bummed, as the children seemed to really like that game. Great game for LISTENING too! So you could imagine my surprise and excitement when I found the game at Target . I quickly put it in my buggy and ran for the nearest checkout line! :)

If you have a toddler at home or are needing some beginning preschool games in the house, this is the PERFECT game/learning tool!

No Instruction Manuals

So hubby and I are friends with a couple who just had a baby boy. They named him Smit (Eastern Indian name). I was thinking yesterday about how this couple has NEVER changed a diaper in their life, yet the state/government allows them to have children and bring him/her HOME.

The thought of them being so confused and NEW at this makes me remember what my brother, Ronnie, used to say when their son Ethan was born: "Sheesh Doc, didn't this little baby come with an instruction manual?"

Still to this day I laugh at the thought of him saying that and having this newborn baby and feeling helpless as to why he's crying. Then I sit and think of the couple with the new baby boy and us calling them and hearing baby Smit cry on the phone and the daddy frantically saying "I gotta go! Sorry!" Oh boy do we remember those days. Hubby and I just looked at each other and we both got this huge grin on our faces.

The couple is the first friends of ours; besides the ones we've met WITH children already, that have had a new baby. They (this couple) would never understand WHY we had to be home by 8pm to put the kids to bath and bed. Oh boy, is their world going to change and flip upside down. When you get that child on a schedule and he KNOWS that it's sleepy time, you don't want to mess with it. That is of course if you're traveling and it's BEYOND your control.
Many of times we've had to tell them we can't make dinner at their home because it's late and close to the children's bedtimes. (Indian food usually is served about 9pm or later) We thank them for the invite and tell them we'll have to do it at our house sometime because the children can then go to bed and we could mingle downstairs.

Our world has turned upside down with children, but now it's a sort of organized upside down chaos. It's just NICE to know that for a change, these people who have NEVER understood what a world of children has over parents...finally joins the "parental" role.

~ Brandi ~