Friday, December 19, 2008

It's The Giving Season

Ok so a couple of updates here for me on a Friday snow day.

First, I got a call from school yesterday at about 8:30 to say that school would be canceled today. This was after my work sent out a note at 2pm telling people to start heading home because of the weather. Since I was working at home at the time, I actually asked people if it was snowing there but no it was still sunny. And while I appreciate getting a call at night, can we at least wait until the first flake starts falling? Snow didn't start until after 11 last night. Granted, it was a lot and school would have been canceled, but it still seemed weird.

Second, we went to the dentist on Wednesday and yay - no one has any cavities. Little Miss has some pitting in two teeth, but they aren't soft, so we'll just keep brushing well and monitoring them. Unfortunately, they both announced that they never want to go to the dentist again.

Third, Little Miss is on more meds, and I'm not real comfortable with that. Her pediatrician wants her on steroids twice a day for the next few weeks and once a day until summer. When I look at the side effects of Pulmicort -- including a weakened immune system -- I just don't feel like this is a good idea. How do I tell this to my pediatrician? Little Miss is also on antibiotic ear drops for her first post tube removal ear infection. We lasted three weeks after the tubes came out; this isn't looking good. Interestingly, I also read that many ear and lung issues are caused by a dairy allergy that can be taken care of by eliminating all dairy from the diet. I'm debating trying this, but when I start looking at all the foods that have cassein and whey in them, this is a major change for my milk, yogurt and cheese girl. Has anyone had any experience with this?

And lastly, it's Christmas, and it's a rough Christmas for a lot of people. Then there are those who are trying to make the world a brighter and better place. Who are these people? They're everywhere. They're helping out at schools and nursing homes. They're adopting families and helping them for Christmas. They're shoveling neighbors' walks. There are all sorts of neat and great things people are doing.

And it doesn't stop there. I've found all sorts of bloggers that I read regularly who are working on brightening the holidays for their readers. Who are these people, you ask?

First up, we have Jaci, who's giving away Fiestaware. A whole place setting of it even. That stuff is so cool (and yes, it comes in purple - plum, technically). You've got until Christmas Eve to pop in over there.

Kat at Sunshine and Lemonade is giving away three prizes this week! She has the coolest scrapbooking Disney album sets. As an added bonus, she shows us all how she made some great photo books from her own Disney trip. You've got until Saturday!

The SITS girls - one of my favorite sites out there - is giving away a $40 gift certificate to LaLa Baby Boutique. Again, you have until tomorrow to go visit the boutique and let them know how you'd spend the $40. It wasn't hard for me to find a way to spend umm just a touch over the $40. A lot of bloggers are trying to figure out how to get more readers and commenters, etc. This is a great site to network on to gain more of both.

Dawn at her Because I Said So Reviews is giving away Word World Moon Sand. The wee ones saw this show's "people" last winter at an event we went to and fell in love with them. Again, you've got until Saturday (tomorrow) to enter. And Dawn is also giving away a grocery list electronic gadget that I am absolutely drooling over. It's called the SmartShopper Grocery List Organizer, and you have until Monday to enter. She has another one (c'mon, Dawn, you're making everyone else look bad!) for Dunkin' Donuts that also ends on Monday. You can get a pound of coffee and a travel mug.

And Outnumbered2to1 is giving away a four pack of Disney on Ice tickets in Milwaukee for Thursday February 5 at 7pm. You've got until January 23, but ... only enter if you or a loved one can make it, deal?

Good luck, and I promise tomorrow I'll be more together. These snow day things really throw me! And no, I didn't send the teacher gifts to school yesterday. That would have been too easy!

10 comments:

Anonymous December 19, 2008 at 6:09 PM  

If you are uncomfortable with what the pediatrician wants, TELL him/her. She is your Little Miss. Sometimes Doctors see symptoms in one child that they have seen in many others and prescribe medications automatically. Ask NO TELL the Pediatrician you would like a referral to an allergy specialist before you start you child on medication you do not feel comfortable with. Be firm. And don’t let the Doctor talk down to.

AutoSysGene December 19, 2008 at 6:44 PM  

I would suggest having a frank conversation with your pedi. I'm sure if you brought up the things that you mentioned above they would either be able to allay your fears or find a different way to treat Little Miss.

Don't feel bad, we blew the teacher's gifts today, too. And the kids missed the holiday party...maybe they can celebrate the new year when they go back to school.

edbteach December 19, 2008 at 8:22 PM  

Both of my children have asthma.
They have allergic asthma - when their allergies act up they cough nonstop.

My pediatrician referred us to a pediatric pulmonologist. See this type of doctor may be something you want to do. Meagan has been on asthma medication for 8 1/2 years now (various ones over the years) and every year she has less and less symptoms.

It can be hard to give your children medicine daily but I saw a dramatic difference for the better once we started asthma meds.

My daughter took Pulimicourt for a while before she was old enough to use an inhaler with a spacer.

She is 10 1/2 now and is on minimum meds for asthma/allergies and is doing great. My son, on the other hand, is the one we can't get a handle on. His allergies are terrible! He takes 4 meds a day. I think they aren't doing any good but when I take him off of them he gets even sicker! Feel free to leave me a comment or e-mail me at edbteach@yahoo.com if you want to talk asthma.

Michelle December 19, 2008 at 11:08 PM  

ElfTea - I do need to. Unfortunately, my mom took Little Miss to the appointment because I was at work. I'll be back on the 6th to check out the ear and will talk then. The good news is that I don't need a referral with my insurance. I've actually been asking around via friends for a good allergist that they respect. That appointment will come soon.

Melissa - I do need to have a conversation with him, I know... the doctors are always hard though because "they know best." Glad I'm not the only one bad on the gifts. And today was supposed to be a special pajama day celebration at school. We did a pajama day at home instead!

edbteach - Thanks. I may take you up on this soon. Unfortunately we're heading out of town tomorrow and then back here for Christmas and then out of town again until New Years... but I'll definitely be reaching out to you. Thanks for the offer!

Anonymous December 19, 2008 at 11:37 PM  

I was a child who had to avoid all milk products after about the age of 6. I know it was a pain reading the ingredients constantly and I HATED when my siblings got ice cream and I got a popsicle. But eventually I got used to it, and it was so worth it for the health effects.

Maybe you could try it short term and see if its worth it/she can adjust.

As an adult my entire family loves cheese and ice cream, and honestly I love the taste, but I have no problem avoiding it 90% of the time, because when I slip it tastes good but I always suffer later. I currently have an ear infection and I swear its because I ate pizza :(

Tabitha Blue December 20, 2008 at 1:59 PM  

Thanks for the links... sounds great!

Hope your girl gets better. Sorry about all she's going through. Glad the dentist trip went well!!! We've only taken our girl once so far, but she's due for another and I'm hoping it's good news as well!!!

Have a great Christmas!!!!

:)
~Tabitha~

freshmommyblog.com

Cookie December 20, 2008 at 7:38 PM  

I don't have any fun giveaways on my blog... but read it anyway! ;)

Michelle December 21, 2008 at 8:48 PM  

Lovely113z - Ouch, that's no fun. Definitely interesting that you have an ear infection now after eating pizza. I am going to try to do it to see if it makes a difference... I'm just trying to figure out how to swap out things she eats regularly because she LOVES all those things.

Tabitha Blue - No problem! The dentist was definitely a happy moment -- especially because I was convinced they were going to tell me that Little Miss has an ear infection. Phew!

Cookie - Of course people should go read your blog, too :) You know I am!

Karen December 22, 2008 at 8:07 AM  

I'm not a fan of steriods (or any meds for that matter) but if the doc prescribed them it's best to give them.

And thanks for sharing all the holiday fun!

Michelle December 22, 2008 at 2:00 PM  

Karen - I'm with you on both sentiments. We go back a week from Tuesday, so I'll definitely be having a chat with him then on the steroids. We've at least weaned her off the Xopanex over the past several days! Glad you liked the sharing :)

  © Blogger template 'Solitude' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP