DD

Being a Parent: First Cast Countdown

Apr 23, 2013

Yes, the title is broad and vague. I often wonder is there such a person- a “perfect” parent? Realistically, none of us are perfect despite some of our egos saying otherwise. However, as a parent I feel it my responsibility is to have a clue on what is in my children’s best interest. The day DD returned home and I asked her to remove her sweat jacket , a swollen elbow! I told her it is either a fracture or sprain. First stop was the kitchen cabinet for the children’s acetaminophine, it felt like the only natural thing to do with a child in discomfort, right? Then I made an ice pack for our trip to the ER. After 4 1/2 hours in one emergency room, transport by ambulance to CHOP and an additional 3 hours in emergency room at CHOP we left with a cast for the DD.

How can I perfectly chronicle a full week with DD in a cast? After clear directions of not getting the cast wet, my first thought was the bathing dilemma, how? and then I wondered how will this cast fit into clothing. Then on top of it all it was her right hand, the writing hand so this introduces an issue at school with getting her work completed. Guess, who was the designated homework completer in the evening, that’s right- M-O-M-M-Y! There was a day off from school on the Monday after Easter which gave us a day to get acclimated to this major change. Then another day with the biggest hurdle trying to make her comfortable at bedtime. Another concern was the fact for a whole week we were unable to wash the right hand so being the germophobe I am I resorted to wiping the cast hand with sanitizer.

Also I forewarned her teacher before DD went back to school. It is amazing how much we take for granted with full function of all of our limbs. All in all kids are very resilient as they take blips on the radar in stride!

One week later a follow up appointment, xray and then evaluation with pediatric orthopedic doctor. After our follow up meeting with the pediatric orthopedic doctor, we left the hospital with another cast at a more flexible angle. A visit to the cast room where a technician cuts off the first cast while DD wears headset to protect ears from the buzzing noise. DD is tickled pink because as the cast is being removed the buzzing vibration tickles her arm. Prognosis, 2 more weeks in the new cast….I’m thinking yay me! Back home to endure 2 more weeks in a cast for DD. One thing we did learn is that it was easy to take a bath as long as the cast arm was hanging outside of the tub, well of course DD forgets and brings arm down and gets the cast wet. I immediately was off to call CHOP and the orthopedic doctor on call. When I received the call back he instructed me to use a blow dryer to dry the wet section. He also said as long as the integrity of the cast material was not compromised we were good. Lucky for us the cast was slightly wet on the surface and we were saved from another trip to emergency! Countdown to the 22ndl of Apri! Three weeks of acetamin0phen, ibuprofen(best for inflammation) and anti-histamines(for the itchy skin)

Yesterday was officially the last day with a cast, it was removal of cast and then xray.

After the cast was removed, DD’s skin was extremely chafed and her arm was stiff from being confined for 3 weeks. The doctor said she needs to slowly straighten her arm without any need for rehabilitation. She also has a note for school which limits her physical activity for the next month, no monkey bars, trampolines, bike riding, roller skating, etc. I told her the only thing she can and will do is SIT! She actually had the nerve to ask me No Monkey Bars? *******blank stare******* SCREAMING in my Head!

The first thing DD wanted to do was take a nice warm bubble bath and I am a big fan of Aveeno products. Oatmeal is very soothing for chafed skin however I already made 4 trips to Target in the past 5 days so I needed to bypass Target and find something in the local supermarket.

Another Johnson & Johnson product, reasonably priced Vanilla Oatmeal wash with a nice scent. I learned long ago that body wash makes nice makes a tub of fluffy bubbles and smells wonderful. She enjoyed submerging the cast arm and it worked so well on her skin. I will definitely buy this again!

Now we have a month of light activity, I’ll keep you posted!

Parenting: How to Maintain a Sense of Security?

Dec 20, 2012

After hearing about the shootings in Connecticut, I felt numb. I can recall exactly where I was when September 11, 2001 occurred. It was a weekday so I was at office. I remember the group going into the conference room to watch the news. The VP suggested we take a moment of silence. My tween turned one, 6 days before. He was extremely young so fortunately I did not have to explain the details. When he started school the questions began with questions on what happened. It was difficult to avoid the discussion because each year the anniversary is marked with memorials.

In the past year there were the shootings in Wisconsin at the Sikh temple, the shooting at the movie theater in Aurora, CO and most recently the shootings at the Newtown, Connecticut elementary school. The Newtown story hit hard around the country because the majority of the victims were children. When this hit the news it was difficult to digest something of this nature occurring at an elementary school. I distinctly remember the story at Columbine so how could I fathom young and innocent lives just gone. As a parent I never thought twice about dropping one child off and now I have two children at two different schools. It never crossed my mind that at any given time during the day I could freely walk into my son’s school. The only requirement was reporting to the office to sign in as a visitor and pick up a name tag. It was just NORMAL.

My first thought was for the parents of the children who lost their lives. How could any law enforcement officer or administrator forge enough courage to make that call? The news highlighted the first responders because they had the arduous task of being the first on the scene and the horrific evidence they witnessed. When I watched the news yesterday I saw the town had prepared for two funerals and as the news reported there were more to follow. I wonder how does a small town recover from the severity of these events and how as a parent can you convince a child that school is a safe haven? The town plans to reopen an unused middle school to replace Sandy Hook elementary school.

School is where my kids go to grow, learn, develop friendships with their peers and there is such a calming spirit within a school when kids are working hard. During recess, you can hear kids running around on the playground, laughing, giggling, games and “outside voices” with kids being care fee.

The first thing I noticed on Monday when I dropped off my son was the news van with the reporter and cameraman waiting to interview parents at drop off. Then I noticed the local police district dropped off an officer at the school. Today, when we arrived at drop off an officer’s car was parked in front. Tonight, there was police car in front of the school. My son’s schools locked the doors after a certain time and all visitors are required to ring the bell to get buzzed inside. Some schools have school police on a full-time basis and others have weekly spot checks by officers. Initially the site of school police inside of the school was intimidating for me because it was unfamiliar in terms of what I called NORMAL. When I picked up my DD on Friday, I walked freely into her school and the impact of Connecticut hit me hard. Today my DD’s school implemented keeping all doors to the building locked and instructed parents to ring the bell or call before pick up.

All of these events have put in me in state of feeling numb. It is a challenge for me to create what I know as NORMAL for my kids to feel secure and safe. I feel like the carefree and innocence of childhood is being stripped with each event. My tween is definitely aware of the details in Newtown and he appears to be fine with his everyday routine. My DD who is only 6yo briefly heard it on the news. She is at that “What happened” stage if I’m watching the news with a reaction. I basically told her some children were harmed without all the details. She moved on to her next thought that was unrelated. I breathed a sigh of relief. The new NORMAL definitely requires a lot of shielding to maintain a strong sense of security.

Have the events in Newtown impacted your NORMAL?

Wordless Wednesday – Easter Sunday

Apr 27, 2011

DS and DD in their Sunday best!

Countdown to Christimas 2010!

Dec 21, 2010

The countdown is on…. I usually never rush to get a tree as there are everywhere on sale. Well this year I get a tree and to my surprise there is a bird’s nest buried inside. After taking the tree outside for fear of possible eggs hatching and chirping in the middle of the night, I pulled out the nest with gloves of course. After shaking the tree multiple times, I dragged the tree back in the house. Oh I forgot after realizing the tree stand was not strong enough to hold this tree I called Tarjay to see if there were any stands left and of course not a week before Christmas. Then we stopped in Lowes to see if just maybe there was one left and of course not. After my daily call with @tomikabryant she suggested I stop in Rite Aid, great suggestion there were plenty of tree stands left. Also signed up for their discount card and the tree stand went from $16 to $9, wow can’t beat that discount. Note to self make sure to sign up for discount cards at other retailers it comes in handy at least one time during the year.

My DD has on her list a beauty salon set and after scanning the internet I found one at Amazon.com with a 5 star rating. In order to get it quickly I signed up for a trial membership to Amazon Prime, so for $3.99 I get one day shipping. (my fingers are crossed). Next, purchase is a netbook for my DS for under $150.

Next, I need to find a pork crown roast. After seeing Paula Deen make this on her Food Network show with cornbread stuffing, I had the bright idea to make something different for Christmas dinner. Also our traditional cookie baking is scheduled and of course my DD wants to make gingerbread cookies(wish me luck). This will be my first time making gingerbread cookies, so we will add our traditional oatmeal raisin, magic cookie bars and an oldie but goodie the M&M cookies. We are skipping the gingerbread house this year and I believe the red velvet cupcakes…. There will be enough goodies to indulge in and feel stuffed.

I always look forward to Christmas because the kids are so excited and happy to receive things from their list. Plus we get to fill ourselves with yummy food and treats..

Blogging Hiatus, My Apologies

Nov 2, 2010

Since the summer ended, I have felt so overwhelmed and super busy. The new school year for my DS has quickly approached in full throttle. He is in a new school which is challenging to say the least. His increase in nightly homework has him glued to a seat for a few more hours a night. In between this we are trying to figure out when to have dinner and back to homework, read, get ready for bed and the next day. Lucky for me my DD has a new preschool which she loves that I discovered at the end of September. Now while it may appear the kids are settled I decided to start graduate school to feel a sense of productivity. In light of my unemployment status I wanted to find a way to challenge my mind. Well, I found it because these two classes are definitely pushing my time management skills to the limit. In between my studying and homework assignments I am trying to find activities for the kids that fit around my class schedule 4 nights a week. Whew, can I take a deep breath? Some highlights of the past few months, my DS is now 10 and pushing to be in the tween category, help me! I celebrated a birthday last month and trying to create a “how to celebrate me” plan for the next year. My DD, forever the princess is looking forward to turning 4 this month and spend the day getting her nails, toes and hair done for her birthday celebration. My new schedule consists of the usual packing lunch, laundry, mealtime, homework, getting to class on time, bedtime, reading for class and studying. This new schedule has made my blogging time very limited.

I did manage to get away for my birthday weekend and enjoyed a wonderful spa day. The Diner is my favorite breakfast place in the Adams Morgan section DC. Now me and the kids are off to our new activities of basketball, swimming and gymnastics. My apologies for the long hiatus but hopefully I can chronicle the next few weeks of busy, busy before the holidays begin…….Sleep deprivation makes me stronger, I think!