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Look into my eyes

Posted on November 15, 2008 5:51 pm by TheAngelForever

As a former teacher, I know it is never good when the school nurse has to send home a letter to parents. Thursday afternoon we received our first one home this year with the kindergarten kid. The note that NHL had in his backpack was telling parents that the room had a large number of cases of pinkeye. I called the nurse to ask about it. I was concerned since NHL had pinkeye less than a month ago and it was what started the illness that ended up with JSL in the hospital for four days in February. According to the nurse, several kids had come to school only to be sent home with it, and others were coming in with antibiotics on their own.

Care to guess what happened to me when I woke up Friday morning?

Sure enough when I tried to open my right eye is was all crusted over and did not want to open. Ugh! I wanted to wait and see what was going to happen. Since the weekend was coming and I did not want to get stuck going to Urgent Care, I called our doctors office. I left a message that I had been helping in my son’s kindergarten class where an outbreak of pinkeye was going on and I had it.

I stayed in waiting for the call all Friday morning and early afternoon. Sure enough they called 10 minutes after I left to get NHL from school. They called in a tube of ointment for me (not thrilled about it, but it is better than nothing). I opted not to pick it up yesterday just in case I was rushing into this. Here is my eye as it looked earlier this morning.

After a nap this morning with JSL I got dressed and went to the pharmacy for my ointment, clearly it was time. For some reason I am quite susceptable to pinkeye, no matter how careful I am washing my hands. Hopefully I can keep this to myself like NHL did a few weeks back.

Remember, you can not catch pinkeye from just looking at this photo!

Categories:
doctor me moments NaBloPoMo nasty things photos school sickness weekend

Always trust your instinct

Posted on September 25, 2008 8:38 am by TheAngelForever

Ever have one of those moments where you just want to slap yourself in the head? Yesterday was one of those days and I should have stopped it long ago.

NHL was diagnosed with seasonal allergies in the spring. He was put on a pediatric dose of Singular. I had been on it as an adult and had wonderful results. Of course at the same time NHL was put on it there was a lot of controversy with the medication and use with children. Our allergist noted the recent studies and told us to watch and see if there were any behavior changes.

Back in April/May NHL’s teachers mentioned to me that he was acting different. He was more emotional, bothered by things more, and just not himself. When we went back to the allergist in August I told the doctor about this. I told him that it was hard for me to guess if it was the medicine or changes in his life. NHL was just finishing up at a school he loved and getting anxious about kindergarten already, so I had a hard time knowing.

The truth is things really started to fall apart in mid-August, just after our appointment. NHL cried for several days that he did not want to turn five years old. A huge red flag should have gone off in my head, but I was not thinking straight. I thought it was thanks to NHL being nervous about kindergarten. NHL never seemed happy, he was always tired, moped, emotions were high and low, and he was extremely impulsive. For the first time we were also having defiance issues.

When NHL started kindergarten things really blew up in our face. Since he started almost a month ago I have only had two days of slightly decent behavior reports. Yesterday was by far the worst. My son actually colored on his chair at school and when told to stop simply switched colors.

I was beyond mortified and frustrated. I did not know who this five year old child was anymore and talking to him was useless. I went home cried, put in calls for all of his doctors and went to my trusty Google friend and started to search about Singular behavior reactions in pediatric patients.

I quickly found this website and forwarded it on to my husband. JL honestly thought that I had written the June 1st entry since it was SO similar to NHL (just a few subtle differences). The allergists office called back within 10 minutes. He asked questions about the behavior. He did note that I had mentioned concern in August. I told him how things had intensified and I was frightened for my child. He asked if NHL was depressed. I told him about the birthday crying and how he hardly smiled these days, except for the smirk after doing something inappropriate. They called back again 10 minutes after the initial call and told me to STOP the Singular immediately and see if we note any changes in behavior over the next 2-3 weeks.

After that I e-mailed NHL’s teacher with the article and asked her to confirm if what was noted by the one parent sounded like my son. She agreed and thought we were onto something.

Most of the night I kept beating myself up. Why didn’t I stop this months ago? How could I do this to my baby? Why was easy breathing and allergy relief clouding my eyes from seeing the true problem at hand? Could this truly be the problem and wil it make things better so the new school can believe me that my child is not like what they have seen all this time?

Please, please, please learn from my stupid mistake. Always trust your instinct. You know your child best and need to be their advocate. Thank goodness I finally saw the light and hope that my sweet little five year old boy will be back in our life soon.

For JL’s view of things you can check it out here.

Categories:
allergies bad news decisions doctor health awareness looking back nhl school

My kindergarten kid

Posted on September 4, 2008 12:05 am by TheAngelForever

It is official, I am the mom of a kid in kindergarten. I thought I would feel different, but I do not. Eventually it will probably hit me, but for now it just seems like any other day. The best part, my kindergarten kid is happy. He likes school and is excited to go back. What a huge difference a year of maturity from the start of PreK at a different school makes. No less the addition of an amazing teacher who cares.

This morning NHL woke up and was ready to go. He hopped out of bed, got dressed, ate breakfast and grabbed his backpack. When we went outside we took a few quick photos before heading out to take him to school.

He was all smiles and so happy to be on his way to school.

This photo makes me realize that my little boy is growing up. Before my eyes he is changing and turning into a big boy. When did this happen?

When we arrived at school the kindergarten kids are assigned to tables in the cafeteria to wait for their teachers to come and get them at about 8:00. When his teacher came into the room NHL’s face lit up. He was eager to get on the line going to his class with the rest of the kids.

Outside the classroom the kids arrived to see their names on a display with the theme for the start of the year. "I Think I Can" is being used to inspire the kids to gain confidence and see that they can do things, especially with some practice.

NHL quickly went into his room, grabbed his name for the attendance chart, put his backpack in his cubby, and took his place on the rug.

Daddy was quite impressed with the beautiful new classroom. It is really large and has amazing items in it. Here are a few photos that he took.

Then the teacher nicely said goodbye to the parents that were in the back and reminded us of where to pick up the kids at the end of the day.

No tears were shed by anyone. . . except one little 15 month old. JSL was quite upset that his big brother (his entertainment system) was not coming home with us. He chanted for him the entire way home. Nap time was off since he was lonely. Mommy never shed a tear. I think this was anti-climatic after the things that happened at the start of last year. That was rough and hard to handle. I just wish I had stopped the craziness earlier and listened to my child. *sigh* I guess you live and learn.

At 2:30 when NHL came out of school he said he had a great day and was excited to go back tomorrow. Of course he was also quite anxious to go home since he needed to use the bathroom. He apparently did not have to go all day and held it in from 7:30 to 2:30 . . . he has the making of a teacher bladder like mommy (pre-kids) already!

We hope that this is just the beginning of many wonderful days ahead this year.

Categories:
milestone nhl school

Kindergarten kid reality check

Posted on August 26, 2008 12:05 am by TheAngelForever

Denial is a fabulous thing, but it does not last. It seemed like it was just yesterday that NHL was born and now in just over a week he will start kindergarten. After last year’s fiasco with the start of the school year I have been quite nervous. NHL has been having a nightmare each and every evening. None of the dreams seem to be about school in particular, but I believe they may be caused from the anxiety NHL is experiencing.

Last night NHL was up several times. At one point he was calling for help. When JL went into the room to check on him he was covered in sweat and close to tears. He pleaded with his daddy to let us keep his little brother. He explained to JL that someone in his dream that was a stranger and looked like Uncle I said he was coming to get JSL because he could not be a part of our family anymore. Very strange if you ask me.

This morning I e-mailed NHL’s kindergarten teacher with a question about the possibility of busing and also about suggestions on the nightmares. She volunteered to meet us at school this week to ease his fears. She said she would see him and show him the classroom and around the school. In addition to this she also gave me news that sent me WAY off the deep end. Nothing that should impact NHL, but brings back someone who was H-E Double Hockey Sticks from last year back into our lives.

So I asked NHL if he was interested in going to the school (he has never been there before) to meet his teacher. His face lit up and he got so excited. I knew that I had my answer. I called his teacher up and told her what NHL’s reaction was. To my surprise she asked if we could meet her there in an hour.

Thankfully my grandmother watched JSL so I could take NHL alone. NHL was nervous to meet his teacher, but I reassured him that that was perfectly fine and I would be there with him. Once we got inside he eased up. Mrs (I shall call her that) showed NHL the office, the library, gym, cafetorium, art/music room, nurses office, where the attendance goes, and the kindergarten room he will be in. When we went in he found his cubby, looked around the room and fell in love with what was in one corner.

Mrs. took him over to the four computers (all new) and set him up to play online. This allowed us some time to talk. She was so sweet and wonderful. It really made me so happy to see the school and know that NHL would not have to wait until the afternoon before his first day. The funny part, he did not want to leave when it was time to go. I so hope that is the worst problem that we encounter in the days to come.

All afternoon he has been telling everyone about his new school, Mrs. and all of the fun things in his classroom. In addition to this he has told everyone that now that he is five he is no longer afraid of auto-flushing toilets (perhaps like the tuna?). Now I just hope to make these last few days of his summer before school memorable. Mommy is still having a hard time believing that her baby is really going to school.

*sigh* They just grow up too quickly.

Categories:
jl jsl my boys nhl photos school

Kindergarten and Mommy’s denial

Posted on June 30, 2008 12:03 am by TheAngelForever

Denial is a hard thing, especially as a parent. As much as we want our children to stay little and innocent, they inevitably grow up. No matter how many times I have asked both of my boys to slow down, they seem to be growing in leaps and bounds.

I admit it, I want my little boys to stay just the way they are. I love that NHL is exploring the world around him, anxious to learn to read and write, talking about video games with Daddy, and learning to love chapter books. What I am in denial about is that my baby, yes he technically will always be my baby, is hardly a little boy anymore. Before my eyes my little boy of four has morphed into an almost five year old boy who will be off to kindergarten this fall. I am in major denial that my little boy, my first born is old enough to be in "real" school.

The reality partially hit Thursday which was NHL’s last day of nursery school.

It came at me quickly and right between the eyes. This is the last summer before my little man goes to school and has homework, before our lives as a family will really change. I feel like I lost so much time with him when I went to work for three precious years of his life . . . time I will never get back. Thanks to this guilt I am going to try to make this a great summer for NHL. I want to make sure he has fun, gets to be a kid, and most importantly does not have time to worry about kindergarten. My poor little guy is a worrier and change of schools is upsetting to him.

Last Wednesday when we were driving home from school NHL and I had the following conversation:

NHL: "Mommy I want it to stay June."

Me: "Why NHL?"

NHL: "I don’t want to leave my school"

That tugged at my heart. I so wish I could have stopped time for my baby and let him stay in the place that helped to make him believe in school again after the horrid start in the fall.Unfortunately, I can not push the pause button and before I know it September will be here. I just pray that things go well. I really fear that another bad start could ruin NHL’s desire to learn and he has so much potential and is thirsty for knowledge.

What I am not going into now is a phone call from NHL’s kindergarten teacher for the fall. I cried on Friday after the conversation and was beyond upset. Heck, I have tears in my eyes now. I really hope that my first impression (over the phone) is wrong and we will not have any issues, but I guess I am quite pessimistic after the start at the other school in the district back in September. I truly hope I am making something out of nothing.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

More on the denial front is that my baby technically is not a baby anymore. JSL is a toddler now, although he will always be my baby like his big brother.

This week JSL has learned so much and had so many milestones. His first molar FINALLY popped up during a nap one afternoon. Now the poor little guy has three more of those and the four canine teeth to work on. Words keep flying from JSL’s mouth. If he wants something he now has words to use for many. A favorite is "Wah-wah" for water. Saturday night while out with family friends and my parents, JSL wanted my mother. He knew that we were all leaving and he said "Nana go bye-bye" while waving to her. Then as he saw her move away from her he started to cry and throw his body to her.

Temper tantrums are another big milestone. When he does not get something he wants JSL has learned to use his voice to show discontent. Not only does the little guy scream, but he will also stomp if standing and jump up and down. JSL will throw his body at the object he wants and hoot and holler hoping to get the item of desire. The other night while NHL and JL were playing Mario Kart on the Wii, JSL decided he wanted to play and/or get NHL’s new hair brush. Neither of these was an option and we had our first real temper tantrum. I sat there watching all of his antics. I was a bad mommy – I laughed so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes. It was just too much seeing such a little person make such a fuss.

JSL is also very close to walking on his own. He lets go of items for long periods of time and is starting to walk holding onto the wall, letting go and thinking about taking more steps. We all are curious to see if those first solo steps may come at Uncle I and Aunt M’s house since that is where NHL finally walked on his own. Perhaps it will be a tradition – update to come soon.

I guess I need to get used to milestones coming and going with both of the boys. I can not imagine how much of a mess I will be in Setpember, no less on JSL’s last day of nursery school in four short years.

Will watching my boys grow and become more independent ever get easier?

BTW – Here is a photo of me the summer before I went to kindergarten.