ER Visit for Mom

I spent Friday night and Saturday in an incredible amount of pain. It was in my lower right abdomen and it reminded me of ovarian cyst pain I had a couple years ago. My goal was to make it until Monday morning before seeking medical attention. However, the pain became unbearable Sunday night so the kids and Andrew drove me to the hospital.
I spent 9 hours at the hospital and I was finally discharged at 4:40 am. I didn't get any sleep but I was able to get decent pain medication to feel better. I had an ultrasound, CAT scan (that included gross contrast with Gatorade), blood work, and a urinalysis to determine what was going on with me. The nurse told me that she thought it was my gall bladder until I reminded her that I no longer have a gall bladder. Then she determined that I had a UTI even though I knew it wasn't that type of pain. I know my body well and it ended up being a 6x8 cm ovarian cyst. Holy hell does it hurt.
When the nurse gave me an IV, I became an emotional mess. I've also been a compliment, easy going patient but after our hellish summer, the tears exploded. I couldn't help but think about all of the times Gabriel did a "push" of medication as I watched her inject medication into my line. The emotional wounds are far from healed from this summer.
I am feeling better and I think the cyst is gone without complications. I vote for no more hospital visits for a while for Mai family!

Halloween 2014

The winter holidays are here! We started off with a busy Halloween that was a lot of fun and extremely busy.
Our first activity involved Oktoberfest on the other side of Orlando. Gabriel liked the German music a lot and commented on the beautiful young women in their German outfits. Lane enjoyed dancing with her friend and Alex was happy once we found a cool art project for him. The food, activities, and company made it a great few hours together as a family.
We went to Sea World's Spooktacular. The kids dressed up and got lots of candy while trick-or-treating around the park. They received far too much candy that we used to give out to kids at our door on Halloween. The kids enjoyed the characters as they collected their candy.

The Thursday prior to Halloween, the school had a Kindergarten pumpkin patch. The PTO donates large pumpkins for families to carve together. I honestly think it was the only time I've enjoyed caring a pumpkin. It was a lot of fun to watch kids run around playing while eating treats. Parents carved pumpkins while the kids scooped out the inside of the pumpkin. There were fun photo opportunities as well.

Halloween was a busy, active day for all of us. I spent the morning with Lane's classroom helping with the fall festival rotations. The Kindergarten rooms switched classrooms every few minutes and completed a new activity in each classroom. It was wonderful watching Lane's interactions with her peers while doing the fun activities.
After Lane's fall festival, Gabriel and I joined Alex's class. Alex's class had a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory party while watching the movie. The teacher has a chocolate fountain and I set up other things for the kids. I had Wonka goggles and golden eggs for the kids. I also made an Oompa Loompa poster and a contract from the movie for the kids to sign. It was a really cute party.

We were supposed to join our community in a Halloween party I helped plan but it became too complicated to join. We got the kids dressed to trick-or-treat and went out together as a family.
The kids did well but Gabriel's behavior was odd at points. He asked for three pieces of candy at each home. At one door, he told the owner that he wanted to be the first to receive his candy. She told him that he would have to wait because he was the biggest kid and she enjoyed giving the candy out to kids. Gabriel demanded his candy while surrounded by six other kids. She denied his request and Gabriel proceeded to meltdown. It was at this point that I could see a change in her expression, that "ah ha" moment, that "light bulb" went off. Even though he looks like any other ten year old, he's not. He has challenges and something outside of his routine is difficult for him. She apologized and of course, I said that it was fine and really it was fine but it is just another moment when I get slapped in the face and the stink hurts. He isn't like every other kid. He wants to do things like other kids and he has a tough time processing his environment.

The kids seem to enjoy passing out candy more than getting candy. (as long a it isn't a favorite candy) It took a while for Gabriel and Alex to understand that every person wasn't at our home to talk to them. We had hundreds of kids at our house and it was so much fun to feel the excitement. Alex became obsessed with scaring people. It took several trials for him to understand that it's unacceptable to scare younger children.
He wore his creepy devil costume and found the best spot to hide was in our yard. He sat still like a lawn ornament and people didn't see him. He would move slightly or walk up behind someone and scare the jeebies out of them. He mastered the art of scaring strangers by the end of the evening.
Halloween is over and we are now gearing up for Gabriel's tenth birthday and Thanksgiving. We have an enormous amount of sugar from our holiday and look forward to the coming months of celebrations.

Alex's First MRI

Alex has had bad headaches and intense pain in his arms and legs. Alex danced up to four hours a week in class last year and to see him in pain, crying that he can't walk, is heartbreaking. His pain started three years ago when I clearly remember talking to him about growing pains and it has gotten progressively worse. After the nightmare with Gabriel, and noticing that he isn't growing quickly, I asked for an MRI for Alex to check for abnormalities, specifically chiari.
When I mentioned my concern about Alex to the room of specialists who were happily enjoying Gabriel's company during a neurologist's appointment, the room went silent. The first person to speak was the neurosurgeon who said that he would have an MRI done for Alex but it's only a ten percent chance that Alex has chiari as well. I didn't mention that our family tends to deal with rare things.
Chiari is a progressive disorder. Worst case scenario includes fatality, permanent nerve damage, and paralysis. Typical symptoms include leg and arm pain, digestive issues, pressure headaches, and much more. Some people have no symptoms from chiari but when chiari is found on an MRI due to symptoms, it's evident what is causing the pain. There are only a couple medication that can be used to help the headaches but they have strong side effects and don't always work. The cost-benefit analysis often shows that the medications aren't worth the risk, especially in young children.
Alex has never had an MRI. Overall, he has been a healthy 8 year old boy. I explained the machine and showed him pictures. I told Alex that he had three choices in order to get through the MRI. He could do the test without medication, with a little liquid medication, or he could go to sleep with medication.
When we arrived at the hospital, Alex was in a great mood. I noticed that he was extremely talkative. It was much like me when I'm nervous because I get chatty or I laugh in an almost inappropriate way in order to deal with my anxiety.
Alex picked out which movies he wanted to watch during the MRI. The anesthesiologist talked to me about the medication he would use if needed. However, Alex told us that there was no reason for medication. He wanted to remember everything. He also asked me to explain how the machine worked and I couldn't remember enough to explain it to him.
We were called in for the MRI. I sat near his head during the MRI and his eyes darted from me to the movie. He laid still the entire time and didn't need any medication.
It was a neat experience to talk to one of my children about a test and what worked best for him. As much as I didn't want to put Alex through the MRI, it was a neat experience to have with him. I was impressed by his bravery and his interest in knowing what was going on throughout the procedure.

Halloween Costumes 2014

For several years, we've had themed Halloween costumes for the entire family. This year, the boys, ages 9 and 8, have decided to stray from our theme idea. Since they need to wear the costume, it's only fair to give up my theme idea.
Lane has been more disappointed than I was to switch to individual costumes. She has change the boys costumes to fit her theme, in her mind any way. She thought about being Ariel which means Alex's costume idea is really Ursula. Gabriel wants to be a dog so he becomes Prince Eric's sheepdog, Max.

Alex picked out his costume. His choice? A devil. I am unsure why he chose a devil, it isn't something we talk about at home very often. Alex has told me that another third grade student told him that he has to go to church. In response, he said, "I already know about God, so I don't have to go." I asked him if he would like to attend a church meeting and he has no interest.
We do talk about God, religion, and spirituality a lot in our home. Taking all three children to a church would be rather challenging at this stage of the game. I remember asking the pastor at the hospital how in the world we would take Gabriel to church with his current behavior. It didn't take long for the pastor to agree that it would be nearly impossible to find an appropriate congregation for our family.
In any case, I will have a princess, a dog, and a devil this Halloween. Alex has informed me that he wants to dress up like God next year. I'm glad I have a year to figure that costume out! It's clear that God doesn't look like Jesus either because he wants to be Jesus the following year.

Lunch Mystery

Gabriel has become a picky eater since his hospital stay. I would be the same way after his ordeal with food. Poor buddy.
Our week day routine involves me picking up from school at 12:30. I ask him what he would like to eat. If I fail to ask him, he might ask me for something as we near the house. Since we live 15-20 minutes from town, it adds quite a bit of time to our day to turn around to get him what he desires.
Yesterday I asked him what he would like for lunch as part of our usual conversation at 12:34 pm. He told me that he wanted to go to the restaurant that has movies and pizza. Hmmm... a restaurant that has movies and pizza? I asked, "was I there?" "Yes" he replied. "Was Daddy there?" Then he started getting agitated. "Yes! Don't you remember?" he inquired.
Thankfully we drove past the restaurant and he pointed it out. Pizza Hut was our destination of the day! Andrew and I have taken him to the Pizza Hut buffet once and there are three tvs in the eating area.
There is NO way I would have figured out the restaurant that has movies and pizza if we hadn't driven past it. I'm grateful we drove past it or it could have resulted in a meltdown that is medically dangerous. Unfortunately, I drive past Pizza Hut every day if I don't take an alternate route. I need to remember that alternate route home to avoid a daily trip to the pizza buffet.

No More Toddlers

The kids are past the little toddler stage. While their budding independence is incredible, I long for the moments when they needed me in a different way.  

Lane is usually exhausted when she comes home from school. I didn't waste a second when she asked to on my lap.  She quickly fell asleep curled up on my.  

We were content. 

Elsa Pumpkin

The 2014 holiday season has begun. Lane brought home a paper pumpkin project for school. I've helped create many paper jack-o-lanterns but this one was especially fun.  

The typical jack-o-lantern wouldn't do for Lane. No, she wanted a special one. As we looked through templates for pumpkins online, Lane was thrilled to see printable stencils   

She picked a princess Elsa stencil and we set to work. We cut a pumpkin out of orange paper and added our stencil.  She glued the green stem on top and added glitter for a finishing touch. 

Here it is -- our kindergardener's fall creation.