I recently had two very interesting medical tests done. Both very fascinating and enlightening. I tend to geek out over medical stuff and enjoy it probably more than I should. Jeremy said I should go to nursing school.
The first was a bladder test. In the interest of modesty and discretion, I won't explain some of the gory details here. If you want to know though, I am totally open to talking about it privately. Let's just say I pee my pants sometimes, and the bladder test was one of the stranger things I've ever done.
I do have some permanent damage 'down there' but thankfully nothing major. It was that 10lb baby I had with no drugs. That crazy baby, screwing me up forever. Should I ever choose to, I am a candidate for an implantation that will help me but I'll leave those gory details out as well. Use your imagination...or don't, actually.
Yesterday I had an allergy test. I've had sinus issues for years, and had two surgeries in 1998 to fix some structural problems. Even so I still get sick with sinus infections VERY easily. As in, I mow the grass one day and the next day I have a sinus infection.
The test was amazing. I'm still in shock as I think about it, and then realize how long I've lived with these issues. Basically I am allergic to every single allergen they applied on my arm, in varying degrees. Some of them such as ragweed and dust mites caused a huge reaction, and measured to the maximum hive size almost instantaneously.
I was blessed to have a really great lady working on me, who is actually the head of the allergy department for all seven offices of Indy Otolaryngology. She doesn't normally work out of that office, but she had been called in because of a staff illness, which was much to my good fortune.
The test took about 3 hours and we talked the whole time. I learned SO much from her about how allergies work and how they can affect your whole life...your sleep, mental stability, digestion, energy level. How certain foods can make allergies worst. How if someone with a ragweed allergy as severe as mine ate watermelon at a Labor Day picnic, I could go into anaphylactic shock. She helped me to connect some links with my general health that she believes are directly related to allergies.
And I had no idea. I am stunned.
I feel like I just learned something amazing, like the secret of life.
When I was telling Mom and Dad about it, they could see connections to my childhood and the reasons I went for sinus surgery in the first place. Dad said he has always thought I was 'somewhat sickly' in general. I don't take that as an insult because he's right. I asked Jeremy if he thought the same thing and he said that he's always known me to get tired easily, even back in our early 20's.
The most amazing thing of all is that I left the office with a script for an Epi pen. When I've gone for years never knowing that I needed one.
So in two weeks I will start weekly allergy injections for a year. Then after a year I will do 2 years of 'maintenance injections'. And I am SOOOO excited to start this. I would start today if I could. I'd take 5 shots a week if I had to.
I'm so happy I could cry.
Or laugh hysterically.
But I won't for fear of peeing my pants.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Thursday, February 09, 2012
It's Good to Be Conehead
Cause you get to have a special cone, pimped out with Dora and Elmo stickers. This is the life.
BTW- don't be worrying about Hayden. He just had a little spot removed from his foot and has to wear this to keep from chewing on the stitches.
On a side note...Hayden turns 10 years old this spring. We should have our first doggy birthday party.
Anyone Need Some Cheese?
If their are two opinions my husband likes to offer regarding food shopping, it's that he likes natural products (preferably organic when available), and he likes to buy in bulk. He likes to buy like Armageddon is coming. In which case truthfully this much organic cheese wouldn't come in handy anyway. Twinkies would be a better bet to survive a nuclear blast.
It was to our fortune then, that recently a company selling bulk organic products started delivering to Greenwood and Jeremy and I were drafted to be the drop managers for our city. Probably because it was a friend of ours who had arranged for them to begin delivering here, and she knew that our patronage was a sure bet.
So once a month a semi truck comes to our church parking lots and unload things like Barbara's puffin cereal, Amy's organic frozen pizza, and chocolate milk boxes for the kids lunchboxes. Oh and cheese lots of cheese.
It's been pretty fun so far but I'm ashamed to admit to the amount of olives we have in our garage.
If you add this to the produce delivery company we've used for the past 5 years, and the place Jeremy has been ordering our local meat from....there is little need left for the grocery store nowadays. But sometimes mama still needs to go to Target forretail therapy a gallon of milk.
It was to our fortune then, that recently a company selling bulk organic products started delivering to Greenwood and Jeremy and I were drafted to be the drop managers for our city. Probably because it was a friend of ours who had arranged for them to begin delivering here, and she knew that our patronage was a sure bet.
So once a month a semi truck comes to our church parking lots and unload things like Barbara's puffin cereal, Amy's organic frozen pizza, and chocolate milk boxes for the kids lunchboxes. Oh and cheese lots of cheese.
It's been pretty fun so far but I'm ashamed to admit to the amount of olives we have in our garage.
If you add this to the produce delivery company we've used for the past 5 years, and the place Jeremy has been ordering our local meat from....there is little need left for the grocery store nowadays. But sometimes mama still needs to go to Target for
Papaw Puppy Eyes
When we were down in North Vernon last weekend, Tessa batted her eyelashes and told Papaw she wished she had an outfit to match her Bitty Baby that they had bought her for Christmas. And wouldn't you know what magically appeared in the mail today...
For the record, this kind of approach would never ever have worked on Papaw back when I was a kid. Interesting what happens to dads in their old age.
Tessa is now carefully studying the American Girl catalogue that came in her package, plotting what to beg for next.
For the record, this kind of approach would never ever have worked on Papaw back when I was a kid. Interesting what happens to dads in their old age.
Tessa is now carefully studying the American Girl catalogue that came in her package, plotting what to beg for next.
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Charley at 3- Lean Mean Hugging Machine
Yesterday we had Charley's 3rd year well-child exam.
He is 32lbs and I can't remember how many inches, but doc said he was 55th %tile for weight and 95 %tile for heighth. Same proportions that his sister always gets. I'm actually kinda surprised that the weight %tage isn't lower cause he's such a skinny guy.
I also talked to the doc about his speech and he wants me to take him to a speech therapist to do an evaluation. He talks alot but is still pretty hard to understand, especially to those who don't speak Charley quite as fluently as Jeremy and I.
Without a doubt he hears, understands things well and talk alot...but his pronunciation is still pretty rough. The doc said that non-parent people should be able to understand 75% of what he says. Uh, no.
So we'll see how that goes. I'm not worried about it. I would love to see him be able to talk to us more clearly instead of getting frustrated and throwing himself on the ground. Love.
Some other awesome things about the new 3 year old..
---Even when his speech can't be understood, there's no doubt that he's social. He makes friends with people in stores and restaurants all the time by just blurting out 'hi, I Charley!'. He's especially friendly with the waitress at our Mexican restaurant, stroking her hair and sometimes...ahem, her bosoms!
---His ethusiasm for physical things like riding bikes and playing on the playground is borderline unbridled. He loves to run and play and run.
---When Tessabosses him around acts as leader during playtime, he usually complies and follows along. He loves his big sister and wants to do whatever she is doing. That's not to say that his toy sharing skills couldn't use some work.
--- He loves to pray at mealtimes and bedtimes. Usually we pray and then he takes a turn and its sounds something like 'Fank you my Mom and my Dad and my Mom and my Dad and my Tessa and my Mom and my Dad and my cheese and no!...I no finish yet!'
---He likes to have privacy in the bathroom but it usually sounds like 'I need piracy!! Give my piracy!!"
---Unlike big sis (the kid who would eat anything), he is usually more cautious with new food. He'll almost always say he doesn't like it, we almost always press the issue until he tries some, and he almost always decides that he does like it.
---He likes going to preschool and especially playing with his friend Mason, whose name he can't pronounce. Every time I pick him up and ask how his day was he says "Great! I pay with E-som!"
---He loves guitars, Superman, and anything to do with Dora the Explorer.
---He went through a short phase of only wanting to the do the tap portion of dance class and not the ballet portion, because it's a little more slow and boring. He's figured at that if he doesn't do both he doesn't get the sucker at the end, so he complies. Usually he spends the ballet portion goofing off with Rachel and Tessa...but I do love to see his jumps and spins!
---He's been in full time underpants since last May, but still wears cloth diapers to nap and bedtime. Since he doesn't like to pee in them anymore, he is almost always the first person awake between 5-6am shouting 'I need go potty!'. We take him and he then asks 'is it mernin' yet?'. If it's before 7am the answer is no, it's not mernin..go back to bed!
---The kid could eat his weight in yogurt. He'll go through 3 bowls in one morning, and we often have to make him stop and eat something else like toast. He's not a big meat eater, so I'd say alot of his protein intake is yogurt, milk and cheese. Good thing he's not lactose intolerant!
---At bedtime we read a couple of books and then he likes to cuddle and sing. His favorite song is Hosanna (Praises Rising), a song that we sing in the worship band. He sings along everytime.
---He's a pretty great kid.
He is 32lbs and I can't remember how many inches, but doc said he was 55th %tile for weight and 95 %tile for heighth. Same proportions that his sister always gets. I'm actually kinda surprised that the weight %tage isn't lower cause he's such a skinny guy.
I also talked to the doc about his speech and he wants me to take him to a speech therapist to do an evaluation. He talks alot but is still pretty hard to understand, especially to those who don't speak Charley quite as fluently as Jeremy and I.
Without a doubt he hears, understands things well and talk alot...but his pronunciation is still pretty rough. The doc said that non-parent people should be able to understand 75% of what he says. Uh, no.
So we'll see how that goes. I'm not worried about it. I would love to see him be able to talk to us more clearly instead of getting frustrated and throwing himself on the ground. Love.
---Even when his speech can't be understood, there's no doubt that he's social. He makes friends with people in stores and restaurants all the time by just blurting out 'hi, I Charley!'. He's especially friendly with the waitress at our Mexican restaurant, stroking her hair and sometimes...ahem, her bosoms!
---His ethusiasm for physical things like riding bikes and playing on the playground is borderline unbridled. He loves to run and play and run.
---When Tessa
--- He loves to pray at mealtimes and bedtimes. Usually we pray and then he takes a turn and its sounds something like 'Fank you my Mom and my Dad and my Mom and my Dad and my Tessa and my Mom and my Dad and my cheese and no!...I no finish yet!'
---He likes to have privacy in the bathroom but it usually sounds like 'I need piracy!! Give my piracy!!"
---Unlike big sis (the kid who would eat anything), he is usually more cautious with new food. He'll almost always say he doesn't like it, we almost always press the issue until he tries some, and he almost always decides that he does like it.
---He likes going to preschool and especially playing with his friend Mason, whose name he can't pronounce. Every time I pick him up and ask how his day was he says "Great! I pay with E-som!"
---He loves guitars, Superman, and anything to do with Dora the Explorer.
---He went through a short phase of only wanting to the do the tap portion of dance class and not the ballet portion, because it's a little more slow and boring. He's figured at that if he doesn't do both he doesn't get the sucker at the end, so he complies. Usually he spends the ballet portion goofing off with Rachel and Tessa...but I do love to see his jumps and spins!
---He's been in full time underpants since last May, but still wears cloth diapers to nap and bedtime. Since he doesn't like to pee in them anymore, he is almost always the first person awake between 5-6am shouting 'I need go potty!'. We take him and he then asks 'is it mernin' yet?'. If it's before 7am the answer is no, it's not mernin..go back to bed!
---The kid could eat his weight in yogurt. He'll go through 3 bowls in one morning, and we often have to make him stop and eat something else like toast. He's not a big meat eater, so I'd say alot of his protein intake is yogurt, milk and cheese. Good thing he's not lactose intolerant!
---At bedtime we read a couple of books and then he likes to cuddle and sing. His favorite song is Hosanna (Praises Rising), a song that we sing in the worship band. He sings along everytime.
---He's a pretty great kid.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Revelation
I had a revelation today.
Like some people, I've been complaining about this crazy warm weather. It's Feb 1st and we've had less that 4 inches of snow all winter. The people flooding into our city for the Superbowl this week are wearing shorts and sandals and basking in the 50-60 degree weather. So much for all those blizzard and ice contingency plans. I'm pretty sure the Superbowl committee didn't have a 'freakishly warm and delightful' contingency.
My complaints stem from the fact that I actually really like snow, and also that there's some sort of freaky end-of-days feeling that comes along with long term maniacal weather patterns. Also I like the days where we are snowed in, can have extended snuggles in our pjs, watch movies and enjoy indoor activities.
Then I had my revelation. I already had that. LOT AND LOTS of that following my foot surgery and extensive recovery. We snuggled and watched movies until we were bleary eyed. My winter has come and gone. I don't need any more winter. I need spring, or a fall do-over. I need to go outside with the kids and play and enjoy the benefits of some Vitamin D on my skin.
So I have vowed to re-live the fall that I missed when I was either physically trapped inside, or too stoned on narcotics to notice. If winter never comes, I won't complain. You will find the kids and I spending hours at the park like we did today...
We have two pie pumpkins still alive and well in our garage food stockpile. I threatened to carve them into jack-o-laterns since we missed that October activity as well. That's when Jeremy wondered about my mental stabilty. Long live spring (or fall do-over).
Like some people, I've been complaining about this crazy warm weather. It's Feb 1st and we've had less that 4 inches of snow all winter. The people flooding into our city for the Superbowl this week are wearing shorts and sandals and basking in the 50-60 degree weather. So much for all those blizzard and ice contingency plans. I'm pretty sure the Superbowl committee didn't have a 'freakishly warm and delightful' contingency.
My complaints stem from the fact that I actually really like snow, and also that there's some sort of freaky end-of-days feeling that comes along with long term maniacal weather patterns. Also I like the days where we are snowed in, can have extended snuggles in our pjs, watch movies and enjoy indoor activities.
Then I had my revelation. I already had that. LOT AND LOTS of that following my foot surgery and extensive recovery. We snuggled and watched movies until we were bleary eyed. My winter has come and gone. I don't need any more winter. I need spring, or a fall do-over. I need to go outside with the kids and play and enjoy the benefits of some Vitamin D on my skin.
So I have vowed to re-live the fall that I missed when I was either physically trapped inside, or too stoned on narcotics to notice. If winter never comes, I won't complain. You will find the kids and I spending hours at the park like we did today...
...okay so I forgot the camera. Pretend this is Tessa and Charley.
We have two pie pumpkins still alive and well in our garage food stockpile. I threatened to carve them into jack-o-laterns since we missed that October activity as well. That's when Jeremy wondered about my mental stabilty. Long live spring (or fall do-over).
Charley's 3rd Birthday Pictures
Saturday we had Charley's 3rd birthday party. I bet with one look at the colors and costumes, you can tell what the theme was. I figured we had the Halloween costumes, might as well capitalize on them. Or at least have another excuse to use them.
I'm hoping everyone has seen our Superman Portraits that we did at the party. That was so fun and such a good idea. I had considered other games, or maybe a superhero obstacle course but instead just put some big toys and games like Twister in the living room. The kids had fun and there was little to no stress on our parts. My kinda party.
I'm hoping everyone has seen our Superman Portraits that we did at the party. That was so fun and such a good idea. I had considered other games, or maybe a superhero obstacle course but instead just put some big toys and games like Twister in the living room. The kids had fun and there was little to no stress on our parts. My kinda party.
Mom and Dad got Charley an Adirondack chair. Ask Mom to say the word Adirondack. It's pretty entertaining. Then ask her to say spanikopita.
When we were opening presents, Charley opened one book, popped a squat and enjoyed it. We had to remind him that he had present opening to do. It was a superman board book, and he got a batman one too with matching plush figures. Pretty darn cute.
I was laid up sick earlier this week and Jeremy downloaded the original Superman from 1970-something, which the kids had never seen. They both really dug it and were flying around the house 'saving' things.
They also love the 'stomp rockets' that Andy's family got him. He keeps calling them his rockbands.
Like the cake and all the Super Charley cupcakes? Totally Erin's cake genius. She is my cake decorating hero, and our annual tradition of staying up late and getting goofy in the kitchen the night before the party is something I've grown to love.
But she doesn't trust me with a piping bag. And she's right.
The fire station was Charley's present from Mom-Mom and Pop and both of Jeremy's sisters. Thanks everyone! He is in LOVE with his fire station. It's like a boy's dollhouse only cooler.
Like my hairbow? Etsy.
Two of Charley's lovely ladies, Michaela and Aviana. Something tells me this kid is going to be a heart breaker. But in all fairness, I did promise him to Avi when she was still in utero. So...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Mini Flynn
Today we got Charley's costume for the spring dance recital. The tap section is Dora The Explorer and Charley will be Diego. The ballet portion of the recital is Rapunzel and can you guess who Charley is going to be a mini version of?
Flynn Rider!
I can't wait to see this cuteness. Charley, ballerino and recital stud. Now if only he would stop picking his nose and pay attention in class.
Flynn Rider!
I can't wait to see this cuteness. Charley, ballerino and recital stud. Now if only he would stop picking his nose and pay attention in class.
Gulp
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Super Party Guests
I can't take credit for this idea. It came from a very creative friend who also knows alot about superheros. The laser toasted chex mix was her idea too.
But how cute is this? We already had a Charley size and Jeremy size "S" shirt, so we just one that was a medium kid size. That plus a couple of dress shirts and some goofy Clark Kent glasses. Voila, great party keepsake!
Not every party guest was into the idea, but hey that's their loss right?
But how cute is this? We already had a Charley size and Jeremy size "S" shirt, so we just one that was a medium kid size. That plus a couple of dress shirts and some goofy Clark Kent glasses. Voila, great party keepsake!
Not every party guest was into the idea, but hey that's their loss right?
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Another Great B-day, Another Great Video
Charley had a great time celebrating his 3rd birthday today. I will surely post many pictures soon, but for now I leave you with these tidbits.
And also, another one of Jeremy's awesome video homages to the past year. Make sure you sound is on, and look for a subtle nod to the Thomas the Train of death at around 5:35. Jeremy thinks he's funny.
CHARLEY THIRD BIRTHDAY from Laura Sargent Bennington on Vimeo.
And also, another one of Jeremy's awesome video homages to the past year. Make sure you sound is on, and look for a subtle nod to the Thomas the Train of death at around 5:35. Jeremy thinks he's funny.
CHARLEY THIRD BIRTHDAY from Laura Sargent Bennington on Vimeo.
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