So day four of the sickness and we are finally without a fever! Isn't it just like a gifted kid to get sick first and best? I have to say, it is fabulous not to have to monitor which drug we have to administer when, and to be rid of the constant taking of the temperature. A return to normalcy, halleluia!
We went to the Dr. yesterday. I have to say yet again how much I love Dr. Gary. I always feel more reassured and sane after a visit with him. He was not concerned about the high fever so much. He said there had been lots of it going around this year. No signs of Strep; just a virus; drink fluids; possible school on Wednesday. And it looks like he was right: Hayes will be back in school tomorrow. Big sigh of relief here.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Sunday, September 10, 2006
The Time To Panic
It's hard to know when to panic, at least in my world. I will say that Hayes is certainly fighting a virus of some sort. He's been a bit lethargic today, which is really unusual. When he finally decided to take a nap this afternoon, I did too. I think I mentioned that we didn't sleep real well last night.
When I woke up, I found that Hayes had moved from his sleeping bag on the couch to his bed. He wasn't really asleep, he was cold. Upon taking his temperature, I decided it was time to panic. It initially read 107 -- I've never had that happen before. I decided to panic. I gave him more motrin and took it again. It registered 105.3. This seemed less upsetting and more managable. However, this is still unacceptable. I called our friend Earlene; she's an OB nurse. We got Hayes into a bath (much to his dismay) and onto a regimen of Tylenol and Motrin (I didn't know you could do this). This got his temp down to 103. I called the Dr. on call, whose pager message said to go to the Urgent Care or call 911. Nice. I did take the time to figure out where our Urgent Care facility is, just in case.
Hayes is doing much better; at last check he was at 100.5. We haven't seen that number in at least a day. And oddly, armed with the idea that I can go to Urgent Care, not the ER, is comforting. So, I suppose I am still keeping my fingers crossed, although this time, I am not even worried about the behavior. We just have to get this little body all better.
When I woke up, I found that Hayes had moved from his sleeping bag on the couch to his bed. He wasn't really asleep, he was cold. Upon taking his temperature, I decided it was time to panic. It initially read 107 -- I've never had that happen before. I decided to panic. I gave him more motrin and took it again. It registered 105.3. This seemed less upsetting and more managable. However, this is still unacceptable. I called our friend Earlene; she's an OB nurse. We got Hayes into a bath (much to his dismay) and onto a regimen of Tylenol and Motrin (I didn't know you could do this). This got his temp down to 103. I called the Dr. on call, whose pager message said to go to the Urgent Care or call 911. Nice. I did take the time to figure out where our Urgent Care facility is, just in case.
Hayes is doing much better; at last check he was at 100.5. We haven't seen that number in at least a day. And oddly, armed with the idea that I can go to Urgent Care, not the ER, is comforting. So, I suppose I am still keeping my fingers crossed, although this time, I am not even worried about the behavior. We just have to get this little body all better.
Keeping My Fingers Crossed
Friday was somewhat better in the land of Hayes and Saturday was even better than that; although I realize I curse myself by even mentioning that things are going relatively smoothly. And Saturday, when I got back from Penrod, I got a full body hug from Hayes -- who was extremely hot. I took his temp and it was a ripe 103.7. Could this be another piece to the crappy week puzzle? Probably. We are taking it easy today and hopefully, going to nap this afternoon.
The crazy thing about parenting (and possibly about parenting a kid like Hayes) is that you never quite know what sets him off and if you have found a solution to the maddness. It is often like walking on egg-shells, and then, suddenly, you realize that the egg-shells are gone and you hope they don't come back for a while.
Suffice it to say, we both need some cuddle time together and perhaps today will provide this opportunity. He is still very feverish (all night waking up cold and thirsty); I am dubious about school tomorrow.
The crazy thing about parenting (and possibly about parenting a kid like Hayes) is that you never quite know what sets him off and if you have found a solution to the maddness. It is often like walking on egg-shells, and then, suddenly, you realize that the egg-shells are gone and you hope they don't come back for a while.
Suffice it to say, we both need some cuddle time together and perhaps today will provide this opportunity. He is still very feverish (all night waking up cold and thirsty); I am dubious about school tomorrow.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Or Is It A War?
The saga never ends...I have been battling with Hayes for two full days now. Last night there was a spanking - the tell-tale sign of last resort. And today I got a note from the teacher. Apparently Hayes had a "difficult" day, which translated means he spit on and shoved some of the other children. Nice. This morning was better, but not stellar. I feel that we may be in this for a while yet. Can you hear the clinking of my armor?
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
The Battle
As a parent, I know there will be those days when Hayes and I go head to head. He picked today. I wish there was a magic formula for the morning. I know my mom thinks there is: no TV, up on time, to the breakfast table, up to do the clothes, teeth and hair and out the door. If only it were so simple.
Hayes just doesn't want to wake up. I don't mean to say he's groggy or moody in the morning. No; I mean to say that Hayes can sleep through just about anything. Just ask Caroline and Grace Brenner. I can get him fully dressed and he is not yet awake. It takes a full 10 minutes to get him to groggy in the morning. And you can forget all that good advice about eating a healthy breakfast. Nine times out of ten we are bolting down a Clif Bar and a juice box in the van on the way to school.
I keep thinking to myself that if we just get him to bed on time he will be some much better in the mornings. The thing is, I can get him into the bed, fully washed and pajamaed at 7:30 and he is still rooting around in his bed, wide awake at 10 when I go to check on him. Sometimes the music helps, sometimes not. Sometimes sleeping in our bed helps, sometimes not. Sometimes we rough-house before bedtime, sometimes not. Sometimes a story works, sometimes not. We even invented a golf game to play at bedtime to get to sleep. Sometimes it helps...
So this morning, after doing my utmost to get him out of bed and to the bathroom, (which was, in all, a failure), and after watching him mosey through his breakfast (I should have insisted on a Clif Bar), Hayes decided to pick a fight. He was not, hear me, NOT, going to brush his teeth. Come to think of it, he didn't really want to go to school today either, so he would just sit on the couch and refuse. Cajoling, which had worked to get his shoes on, was no longer an option, and making it a race did nothing to sway him. He simply wouldn't do it. Experience has proven to me that taking the toothbrush into my own hands (literally) is not a good solution, and that not brushing the teeth just perpetuates his idea that he doesn't really have to do it (not to mention how crazy it makes his dad). So I waited him out. I finally, as much as I hate to, threatened to spank him, and this was motivation enough.
A full hour and a half of battling and we were FINALLY on our way to school. He was 20 minutes late and missed all of show and tell, for which he was not presenting today, but damn it, we got to school. Good luck to Miss George today. As fate will have it, I am sure he'll be quite an angel for her.
Hayes just doesn't want to wake up. I don't mean to say he's groggy or moody in the morning. No; I mean to say that Hayes can sleep through just about anything. Just ask Caroline and Grace Brenner. I can get him fully dressed and he is not yet awake. It takes a full 10 minutes to get him to groggy in the morning. And you can forget all that good advice about eating a healthy breakfast. Nine times out of ten we are bolting down a Clif Bar and a juice box in the van on the way to school.
I keep thinking to myself that if we just get him to bed on time he will be some much better in the mornings. The thing is, I can get him into the bed, fully washed and pajamaed at 7:30 and he is still rooting around in his bed, wide awake at 10 when I go to check on him. Sometimes the music helps, sometimes not. Sometimes sleeping in our bed helps, sometimes not. Sometimes we rough-house before bedtime, sometimes not. Sometimes a story works, sometimes not. We even invented a golf game to play at bedtime to get to sleep. Sometimes it helps...
So this morning, after doing my utmost to get him out of bed and to the bathroom, (which was, in all, a failure), and after watching him mosey through his breakfast (I should have insisted on a Clif Bar), Hayes decided to pick a fight. He was not, hear me, NOT, going to brush his teeth. Come to think of it, he didn't really want to go to school today either, so he would just sit on the couch and refuse. Cajoling, which had worked to get his shoes on, was no longer an option, and making it a race did nothing to sway him. He simply wouldn't do it. Experience has proven to me that taking the toothbrush into my own hands (literally) is not a good solution, and that not brushing the teeth just perpetuates his idea that he doesn't really have to do it (not to mention how crazy it makes his dad). So I waited him out. I finally, as much as I hate to, threatened to spank him, and this was motivation enough.
A full hour and a half of battling and we were FINALLY on our way to school. He was 20 minutes late and missed all of show and tell, for which he was not presenting today, but damn it, we got to school. Good luck to Miss George today. As fate will have it, I am sure he'll be quite an angel for her.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Feeling Older
I am definitely feeling older. It's not so much my approaching birthday and the random hot flashes as the world around me -- especially Hayes' world.
He is finally in all-day Kindergarten. Every day he takes his lunch and his matching backpack to school and I see him again 7 hours later and he won't breathe a word to me of what went on at school. Not that I blame him. I'd keep my world private too if I lived with four prying and curious adults.
And then, there's the matter of his teacher. I am sure that the school would (and has) choose a wonderful teacher who is qualified and actually has a bachelor's degree like her bio suggests - but is it possible that she is actually old enough to have gone through college!? I mean, it is a school for the gifted and perhaps she is like Doogie Houser and graduated at the ripe old age of 15. Perhaps she is a child bride and her family believes in arranged marriages for their pre-teenaged daughters. Because if she really is in her 20s and married, then I am having another of those days where I am sure wrinkles are popping out around my zits and I am going through premature menopause. I only hope I treat her as an adult. My temptation is to see her as one of my students. I'm so glad I was oblivious to the way I looked at her age. Ignorance really is bliss.
He is finally in all-day Kindergarten. Every day he takes his lunch and his matching backpack to school and I see him again 7 hours later and he won't breathe a word to me of what went on at school. Not that I blame him. I'd keep my world private too if I lived with four prying and curious adults.
And then, there's the matter of his teacher. I am sure that the school would (and has) choose a wonderful teacher who is qualified and actually has a bachelor's degree like her bio suggests - but is it possible that she is actually old enough to have gone through college!? I mean, it is a school for the gifted and perhaps she is like Doogie Houser and graduated at the ripe old age of 15. Perhaps she is a child bride and her family believes in arranged marriages for their pre-teenaged daughters. Because if she really is in her 20s and married, then I am having another of those days where I am sure wrinkles are popping out around my zits and I am going through premature menopause. I only hope I treat her as an adult. My temptation is to see her as one of my students. I'm so glad I was oblivious to the way I looked at her age. Ignorance really is bliss.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Party Mania
I have always been a little leary of doing a party for Hayes somewhere other than home. I just am not about the big production. I eloped for crying out loud so I wouldn't HAVE to be involved with a big production. Hayes, clearly, does not feel the same way.
So I caved for this particular birthday and we went to Just-4-Fun: a mini golf and arcade extravaganza! Really, if heaven on earth existed for Hayes, this would be it. They got tokens and tickets and prizes and a round of putt-putt in the sweltering heat. What could be more fun? Ok, we had cupcakes and presents too. The whole she-bang!
And I have to say, it was far less painful than I would have imagined. The chaos happened in a relatively contained area, with plenty of adult supervision and lots of food. And I didn't have to clean up my house afterward. All told, I'd say it was a very happy birthday.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Tech-NO
I am an artist. ARTIST. I realize that computers are a very useful and even enjoyable thing to have around. I use them all the time. They are my friends. But today, I have had it. I designed a beautiful website this weekend -- really. You can see it at www.monamidesigns.com. And then, I couldn't get it to publish. So I spent about an hour at the Genius Bar yesterday in the Apple store, having them help me upload and learn to upload myself. Love them there.
So I get home and I have made my adjustments and lo and hold, the damn email program isn't working. Can I notify anyone of this fabulous accomplishment? No. So I try to solve this problem without asking for help and I inadvertently DELETE my entire address book. No, I didn't move it. No, it was not recoverable. Yes, I had to re-import the whole thing and then proceed to add the addresses I have collected this summer and reorgainze my mailing lists! Good Times! This is when a person is supposed to have a Tom Collins and stop worrying about it. Instead, I put everything in my address book and went to bed.
So when the damn email program didn't want to recognize me this morning, and the digital camera wouldn't allow me to put my files where I wanted them, I was ready to do some violence. My very wonderful and techno savvy husband came to my rescue this morning and I was able to complete the e-mail sending and photo editing. Where will the madness end?! So I am off to do some art -- with REAL tools, like paper and paint and scissors. That's right, I am an ARTIST.
So I get home and I have made my adjustments and lo and hold, the damn email program isn't working. Can I notify anyone of this fabulous accomplishment? No. So I try to solve this problem without asking for help and I inadvertently DELETE my entire address book. No, I didn't move it. No, it was not recoverable. Yes, I had to re-import the whole thing and then proceed to add the addresses I have collected this summer and reorgainze my mailing lists! Good Times! This is when a person is supposed to have a Tom Collins and stop worrying about it. Instead, I put everything in my address book and went to bed.
So when the damn email program didn't want to recognize me this morning, and the digital camera wouldn't allow me to put my files where I wanted them, I was ready to do some violence. My very wonderful and techno savvy husband came to my rescue this morning and I was able to complete the e-mail sending and photo editing. Where will the madness end?! So I am off to do some art -- with REAL tools, like paper and paint and scissors. That's right, I am an ARTIST.
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