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

Operations in India

Day to day operations in india go on regardless of the weather or what's happening elsewhere in the world. Doesn't matter what job you have, it matters that you HAVE a job and one is happy to travel for it. Everyday shops open around 10am here for the general population. Either you're there at work, or you're just now heading into work. All I know is that the traffic heavily increases on the roads at that time of day. One would see carts on the road carrying their supplies to and from their residence to their own shop in another part of the city. All of this on the main road too!!! Cows, buffalo along with dogs, cats, carts, cars and scooters share the road with nothing but pleasant honking of the horns to let the one in front of you know that you wish to pass and to move over. Strangely, the animals seem to realize this too! No shouting, or pointing of fingers happen here, one kindly moves over with a nod and a smile.

Although honking in America is not heard often, my own two children don't seem to even notice how noisy it is now compared to "home". They don't stare or even bat an eye at the poverty around here. Now they are upset that the toy shop don't open till 10:00am! Haha!

Yesterday, I was granted permission to visit the local private school that my husband attended in his 11th and 12th grade standard. The school does split schooling with the older grades attending in the morning with the younger ones going in the afternoon. This school was used back in the late 1800s to early 1900s as horse stables. Now converted into a school the doors remain the same. Nothing has changed but adding desks and chalk boards to the equation. Seriously the school is OPEN and accessible only by walking outside. Not closed schools like we have in the USA.

During my time of visitation, the grades attending were LKG (lower kindergarten) and SKG (senior kindergarten) through grade 2. What we would call pre-k and kindergarten. Inside these small classrooms sat small two person desks, a small desk for a teacher and a chalkboard. Not the new smartboards that we now put in our public schools. No computers per classroom, no crayons to color. Just pencils and paper. The children were cautious to acknowledge my presence and looked to their teacher for guidance. I observed the classroom from the back and the teacher started to teach. These children were NOT learning Hindi or other regional language. They were learning numbers 1-20 on the chalkboard. On their desks sat a worksheet on the letters H, I, J & K that had previously been used for another lesson and they were using the back of the sheet. (all about recycling here). I had my son Aryan with me. And he also took note at how small these desks were and was shocked to see these children learning with so little. No books for them to open. Just a two person desk and the children excited to learn! But attending this school is a privilege. The entrance fee is 1250 rupees, which is around $25.00 a month. The school is paid on "terms". First term's fee was 6000 rupees, which is around $150.00 for six months. So total yearly is around $325.00 including entrance fee. This school which is called Baroda High School, was one of the most prestigious schools around during my husband's time. Apparently it still is considered the top school in the city. In regards to admissions to this school, they are hard to come by. A school with an excellent reputation often has many applicants. Sometimes children are turned away, but if one knows the right people and has enough money to pay...one can often attend regardless how bad or mischievous the child is! (my husband was one of those children!) It often is who you know and the social status of your family that keeps a family ahead. So it's very difficult to get ahead if you are already poor and uneducated in India. All goes back to the roots of the family.

Getting back to the children.....

Some classes were outside rehearsing for an upcoming performance for their families to see at a later date. They were dancing and singing so joyfully! Others were in classrooms learning in unison on chalkboards. A very simplistic approach goes a long way in India. At the end of their education, these children will walk away with the best education offered in this small local town. Often attending the most prestigious colleges in India.

In India, there ARE public schools, but the quality of the education one receives there isn't the best. If a family has money at all, they will send their child to a private school. Education is VERY important here and school is 6 days a week here as well! Private schools are a thriving business here as many parents of higher society wish to send their kids to the best. A LOT of competition here considering the population. You have to stand out SOMEHOW!

What I did find amazing, was that all these children regardless of their backgrounds, go and play with each other. Fly kites, laugh and just enjoy childhood. Later on in life are they reminded about socialization among their peers. Only thing that separates these children (from what I can see when two children are playing) is their after school clothes.

Stepping outside of this school, one sees poverty in which obviously separates the well off people from the day to day strugglers. Outside is makeshift shacks with dogs and pigs rummaging through trash. Yet there are children playing and enjoying the day with a smile on their face. One has to use the restroom, so he just lifts up his shirt and pees where he is standing and runs off to play. No pants, shoes or underwear on! But to him, it was normal!

I stepped out to take some pictures to document my journey.

(pics to come soon!)