Finally Starting To Feel Better

It has been a long three weeks, but I am finally starting to feel better. My raspy voice and cough are almost gone. Last night was the first night since it began that I got more than just a total of a couple hours sleep. I think I could have slept for days! But I heard my son calling for me bright and early this morning.

I finally was able to get the doctor to change my medicines to more aggressive ones to get this thing knocked out. Actually, it was my husband who convinced the doctor I needed something different. He has more experience with respiratory illnesses than I do. The original meds just weren’t working.

Being sick that long takes a lot of out of you though, especially when you have a little one to take care of. It may take me awhile to get up to par, but hopefully soon I’ll be back to my regular routine. I am not used to being sick so this really has thrown me for a loop.

So I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I just didn’t think I had enough working brain cells to come up with anything worth reading.

Here’s hoping your all’s health is good and your illnesses few and far between.

Quote: "A Man Stands at His Tallest..."

“A man stands at his tallest when he stoops down to take the hand of a child.”

Quack In a Box

I have heard the term, “Quack In a Box” as a reference to the doctors in urgent care type places. This insulting reference is commonplace around here. Not sure if it’s just typical to this area or is a widespread problem. Many people have shared with me some bad stories of ending up at these places. Now, I have my own.

I ended up at an urgent care place because my doctor is out of town and has left no backup doctor. I couldn’t get in to see any other doctor this week and being very ill, I needed some help badly. I didn’t want to go to an urgent care type place because I had heard many stories about the bad care others had received, but I felt I didn’t have much choice. I have been sick for 5 days and feel I am getting worse.

When I went in, the facility was new and nice looking. The staff was courteous and I was seen in a relatively short time. The doctor was nice and friendly. That is where the positives stop.

The doctor came in, asked how long I was sick and what my symptoms were and then asked an unbelievable question. He asked me what medicines I wanted. I was like, huh? He asked me again what I thought I needed. I was like, “I just want to feel better. I want help with relief of the cough and other symptoms.” He said, do you want cough syrup or antibiotics? I was like, “Do you even want to look at my throat to check for strep or listen to my lungs?” He said he didn’t think it could be strep unless I was around someone who had it. “How do I know if I was or not?” I asked. “Don’t you think you should at least look at my throat since I have swelling?” He sighed and looked for a nano second without a tongue depressor and said, “Nope, no problem.” He did listen to my lungs and heart for a few seconds, but I wasn’t able to take any deep breaths. When I told him that, he shrugged.

He then said, “If you want, I can give you some cough syrup and antibiotics if you want.” I was like, “Will the cough syrup make me really drowsy?” He said he didn’t know and to try it out and see. I was, “Look, I just need help to feel better so I can take care of my son and work.” He said, “Well, you can see how you feel in a few days and then take the antibiotic if you feel you need it.”

I was speechless. I was so dumbfounded with the lack of proper care. I’m no medical expert, but even I know when you have the kind of symptoms I have, you may need some kind of steroid or something for the inflammation and help for the cough. And you need to examine the patient, not ask them what they think they need! The medical expert needs to make a decision on what care and what medicines are needed, not leave it up to the patient!

I remember sitting there waiting for him to come back with my prescription and wondering if I had a heart attack and stopped breathing would he ask me what form of CPR I wanted. I should have complained, but feeling so bad and just wanting to get home I was willing to take what he was willing to give me. I should have told him my back hurt and requested Oxy Contin, Vicodin, Percasets and whatever else sells good on the street.

I should have been told as well the high cost of the cough syrup, though I doubt he knew. The syrup was $50 and that was with insurance! Add the $50 co-pay I had to pay for going to an urgent care facility and I’m $100 poorer with very little to show for it. Sheesh! I should have asked for some Preparation-H to go with all that!

I would report my experience, but I’m not sure where or to whom. I doubt it would do any good anyway. Now, unfortunately I have my own “Quack In a Box” story to tell.

My Doctor is Out of Town - Grrreeaatt!

I am very sick now. Last night was a nightmare with very little sleep.
You know how it is when you cough so hard you feel like a lung is coming up and your head is going to explode? That is me. I can barely talk, my throat is swollen, my chest hurts and breathing is hard.

I tried to get a hold of my doc, but he is out till the middle of July! And he has no backup. I like my doctor, but hate the fact he has no backup doctor for when his patients are sick.

I called my husband's doctor and asked if they would see me and they refused. Nice of them, huh?

My husband and I had our own respective doctors before we met and since both are in our insurance's network, we decided to keep them. Not a problem till now.

I was informed I would have to go to an Urgent Care or ER. Not something I want to do.

Around here Urgent Care doctors are called, "Quack in a box". They are not known for their great care. Not sure why, if it's just the ones around here or if it's a problem everywhere. ER visits costs $150 co-pay. Too pricey for us.

Either way, I won't take my toddler to an Urgent Care or ER with me as it can be a very long wait and it's not the most sterile environment if you know what I mean. I don't want him picking up an even nastier bug there. So I will have to wait till my husband can come home and take myself.

My son has his first dentist appointment today as well and I don't want to miss that. I'm sure they are just going to love having me there. The pediatric dentist is right next door to my son's pediatrician. Oh how I wish he could see me and help me out. Gone are the days of the family doc who did everything and saw every member of the family I guess. Oh well.

My house is a wreck, my son is watching way too much TV and I get overheated just typing this. Not my definition of a good mom. Hopefully I can get some relief from somewhere soon.

It Got Momma, too

Well, the sickness finally took down big Momma.

My little gearhead had a fever for 5 days and though it responded well to acetaminophen, I thought 5 days was too long to have a fever and I took him to the doc. He was also putting his fingers in his ears and I thought that maybe he was getting an ear infection. He also said that his head hurt sometimes.

Though his fever was low, he had a raspy cough and very runny nose. He had a light ear infection in one ear which the doctor on call thought Amoxicillin was what he needed. She agreed with me the other stuff was viral. Though I hate having to put him on antibiotics for a small ear infection, I guess it’s better than waiting till it gets to be a big ear infection.

I remember reading though, that studies have shown it’s best to see if ear infections dry up on their own and that doctors shouldn’t be so quick to give out antibiotics. I am giving the antibiotic to him, but doing so reluctantly. I’m torn because I believe in medicine, but am against the overuse of antibiotics. I just want what’s best for my son. I’m just not sure what that is.

To add to the fun, the nasty bug has taken me down. The fever, body aches, cough, etc. has a grip on me and won’t let go. My fatigue is getting worse at about the same rate as my little one is getting better….and more energy.

Keeping up with a toddler when you are sick is definitely no fun. Short of playing with fire I am pretty much letting him do what he wants. Want to watch TV? No problem, though I am selective on what he watches. Want to put stickers all over the couch and me, OK by me.

So, I may or may not have the presence of mind in the next few days, let alone enough energy to come up with something worth reading. Check out the labels or the blog archive for articles you may have missed.

I’m sure I’ll be up and running on all 8 soon.
Till then….

I Love Time Outs! And They Aren’t Just for Kids

I never dreamed I would be the type of mom that issues time outs. Before my son came along, I thought I would be able to handle any wrongdoing by my children the old fashioned way. They would follow my every direction and I believed with my no nonsense, authoritative type of parenting they would never give me any trouble.

Can you believe I even thought that way?! How hilarious.

Now that reality has set in, I realize things aren’t that simple. While I do exert some sense of authority and do demand a certain level of cooperation, I am nowhere near the type of prison warden I thought I would be.

My son is considered well behaved by others. At least so far. One of the nicest compliments you can give a parent is to say their children are well behaved and a pleasure to be around. I sure hope I continue to hear that. It makes you feel you are being validated for a hard job well done.

My son does have his moments however, especially at home. What I have found to be very helpful in getting him to either do something I would like him to do or stop doing something I do not want him to do is the method of counting to 3 and then using time out as the punishment. The length of time out is 1 minute for every year of age.

When I first heard parents doing this years ago, I rolled my eyes and muttered, “Yeah, right.” I remember thinking what kind of discipline is this? I felt like lecturing them about how “real” parents do it. Even though I wasn’t one, I had in my head how I thought that this method of counting and time outs was a joke and would never work. Well, I’m here to tell you that it can work very well if done properly.

There is a video out there called, “1,2,3 Magic”. I recommend you watch it. They have managed to take this concept and simplify it. Sometimes when teaching, which is what this is, the best method is the simplest. The children learn very quickly that they are given warnings, and then the consequence is always the same when the warnings aren’t heeded.

My son usually will start to cooperate if I start counting and will do so by the count of 1 or 2. On occasion he will take it to 3 and will end up then in time out. He has learned over time that if he is in time out for not doing something I told him to do, he does the time out and still has to do the chore I originally asked him to do. He is learning it is easier to comply and just do what I ask. Again, he occasionally tests me and is always offered the same consequence.

As in any teaching method, consistency and simplicity are the keys. Because my son understands this simple strategy, he knows what the consequence is for not complying and he knows the punishment is always the same. He can relax in the knowing what to expect. What’s nice about this concept is you can continue to use it as they get older and adapt the consequences as the child changes and matures.

Though we sometimes still have our setbacks, his tantrums are less frequent than others’ I believe and often times are shorter when he does have them. But, being the toddler that he is, there are still times where my patience has been pushed to the brink.

A toddler has many jobs in this world. He is learning so many new things and learning how to push the boundaries is one of them. They are supposed to! That’s how they learn. Unfortunately though, that pushing the boundaries thing can really wear on you. Though I sometimes screw up and end up not following my own advice, I have found that when things reach the boiling point that the timeout I send him to is really a time out for me. Those 2 minutes will allow me time to cool down and collect myself so the problem at hand can be corrected more sanely. The great part is, the older they get the longer the time out is!

When things get really bad, which thankfully isn’t too often, I look at my husband and say, “Momma needs a time out.” That is his cue to take over and let me have about 15 minutes or so to myself where I can go exercise really hard, meditate or lock myself in the bathroom and just paint my nails if that is what I want to do. As the primary caregiver who is on call 24/7 I sometimes need these short time out breaks to gather back in my sanity. If I don’t then I am a ticking time bomb and if I explode I will end up causing more damage in the long run.

When I don’t have anyone around to help me that is when I use other distractions like a video, play dough, coloring, etc. Whatever works. Try and have in the back of your mind what you know works as a great distraction and pull it out of your arsenal when you see the mushroom cloud starting to build in your head.

I am teaching my son about life. He is closely watching and picking up on how I handle things thrown at me. He is monitoring my reaction to when he does something wrong, when I get overwhelmed with stress, even how I handle my own tantrums is being observed. He is watching literally every move I make.

My job that I am privileged to have, is to show him there are consequences in life for doing wrong and rewards for doing right. I prefer to reward the right behavior whenever I see it and often and calmly handle the bad behavior with predictability and without anger if I can.

Again, give “1,2,3 Magic” a try and keep an open mind when you research it. Give it a try, it couldn’t hurt any. I wish you all the luck in your teachings.

For the DVD 1-2-3 Magic (DVD): Managing Difficult Behavior in Children 2-12
For the book 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12

Quote: When You Are a Mother....

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.
A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her
child.
~ Sophia Loren

Sleeping to the Sounds of Drag Racing

Thank you Speed TV!!

Because of the drag racing shows like Pass Time and Pinks All Out, my little sick gearhead has been able to sleep some.

He's been around the racing his whole life (a whopping 2 years) and loves the cars. He'll fall asleep in the stroller while in the staging lanes. His lullabies are thumping cams and shifting gears.

I normally don't let him watch much TV, but when you are sick, there isn't much you feel like doing.

So last night while trying to get him to sleep and now today to get him to rest, I turned on Speed Channel and the racing going on is working as good as the meds.

So I thank God for racing on TV. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Finally, Sleep

Nothing sweeter than a sleeping little one. If you have ever had a sick child then you know what I mean.

My little one has a fever. Last night his daddy called me and asked where the infant Tylenol was and my heart sank. I disposed of the recalled Tylenol and Motrin and hadn't replaced it yet. (Read my story on getting my refund here: Infant Tylenol Refund)

I rushed home and stopped at the drugstore to get some. Imagine my horror when I found the shelves bare with a sign stating there are shortages due to the company having problems with their products and quality control. I normally don't buy store brand children medications as I have a quality control concerns for generic children's meds. I buy them for myself, but hesitate for my child. I know they are supposed to be just as good and with the latest scare with name brand Tylenol I am now more open to trying store brands. So, to my relief they had plenty of the store brand.

Not sure what’s going on in his little body, but hopefully we can nip this fast. He has a great immune system that has protected him in the past. Evidence shows that to be true as I can count on one hand the times he has been sick.

His daddy is starting to feel bad now. Wonderful.

I know myself that I flat do not have time to be sick. It’s just not an option. So I’m pumping in our Shaklee vitamins and fluids and praying for the best.

Shaklee Kids - Supersmart. Supersafe. Supernutritious.

Adventures in Potty Training Part 5 – The End in Sight

To read about our potty training along the way you can start with the first in our series of Adventures in Potty Training.

I think there may be a light at the end of this potty training tunnel.

So far there have been very few accidents while out and about and he usually tells me when we are out that he has to go. He also is staying dry through most naps and sometimes even all night! He has even got me up in the middle of the night a few times to tell me he had to go! Wow!!

I still put a pull up on him when we go out most times and while sleeping. Mainly, because I am too chicken to go cold turkey and sometimes when he is playing hard, he forgets. But I think if he keeps this up I will try doing without. I think I will wait a few more weeks though. I know, I’m chicken.

Still, I am very proud of my 28 month old. At this rate I hope to be totally done and out of diapers permanently say by the end of summer? I hope that isn’t being too unrealistic.

I stocked up on pull ups when I could get them for $5 so I have some to get me through for awhile. It is so nice going to the store and not having to buy diapers! Yea!!

Hopefully my next post on this subject is stating we are done with diapers permanently!

I will let you know if there is an Adventures in Potty Training Part 6. Wait and see.

(Note - There is! - The Adventures in Potty Training Last Part (I hope)

Bad at the Sport, but Great at Life

Here is a short, but sweet article on a NBA athlete that may not be the star of the game, but became a star in life by doing something very nice for someone he did not know.

Though I am not a NBA fan, I like reporting these stories as they so often do not get the exposure that they deserve. Read here: NBA’s Player’s Touching Move

Jamaal Maglorie helped a 7 year old with cerebral palsy who was orphaned when his mother died last week. He paid for her funeral and set up a trust fund for her son.

They make fun of Maglorie for not being the star player they think he should be, but it sounds like he is the kind of man that the other NBA “stars” should be more like.

Being a former good competitor in sports and currently a mediocre, hoping to become better drag racer, I know how important it is to be “good” at what you do. However, as much as I want to be known as a good racer, I much rather be known as good person.

I think the “Pros” in all sports need to consider being more like that. As fans, we need to support those athletes that show they care, live their lives clean and stay out of trouble and not support those athletes who do not seem to care, who do not live right and are always in trouble. If your kids look up to these athletes as someone they would like be like, then who would you want your kid’s role model to be?

Something to think about.

What Equals a Big Tip?

Take 1 screaming mad toddler + 1 haircut + 1 exasperated hair stylist + 1 embarrassed mom = 1 big, fat tip.

Not the Race Weekend I Had Planned

Sometimes things just don’t go as planned. Sometimes they just flat turn out wrong. This weekend was one of them.

We were entered into a 3 day race, plus I decided to enroll in Scotty Richardson’s Drag Racing School to see if he could help me with improving my finish line driving. Scotty had come to the track for the race and to teach a class. I was also looking for ideas on how to set my car up better. Running on 9” slicks with a stock frame often times is a handicap because of the possibility of spinning. But, I have to learn to race with what I can afford to have.

I learned some good lessons from Scotty, thought he was a likeable guy and found him easy to talk to. He definitely knows his stuff when it comes to racing. I’m sure I drove him crazy with the thousand and one questions I had, but I came to learn and I didn’t want to leave without trying to understand all I could.

Learning how to figure split times was helpful, as knowing what your car would have ran if you “got out of it” at the stripe is essential. Also knowing what to do at certain points on the track is also very useful.

If you are looking to improve on your driving or want to learn from a guy who has won a lot of big races then I highly recommend his class. He is also starting a racing series called, Grassroots Bracket Series which sounds interesting.

This weekend though I was very “off” my game. Trying a new transbrake button and having it in a very different spot along with learning a new driving style did not help matters any. Add in a long, exhausting weekend with very little sleep, a husband who was also driving and working on cars, a very active 2 year old who is not content to just sit and watch all adds up to a very bad weekend of racing. I was so bad on the tree and my last race I went so far under my dial due to weather changes and misjudging the other car that I was certainly no threat to anyone. I am usually not that bad of a racer and I was so disappointed in myself.

I guess I just don’t have the stamina to do a 3 day race at this time in my life. Most who do don’t have a little one to look after 24/7 and also have the funds to have more of the creature comforts in the form of fancy rigs, etc. Friday my back and neck were hurting and I thought I broke my foot when I kicked the generator out of frustration when it wouldn’t start (real mature of me wasn’t it?) which made the day long and miserable. Limping around was so embarrassing.

Saturday my back and neck still hurt, but my foot was better. Then during my last time run my sugar dropped and when I mean it dropped, it fell through the floor. It came on so fast and happened right before my run. Stupid me, instead of pulling my car off to the side and getting some help I thought I could make it to the end of the run. I was just afraid they would make me forfeit my run. Still, I should know that safety always comes first.

I am hypoglycemic which means I can get bouts of low blood sugar, just like when a diabetic gets too much insulin. When you don’t have enough sugar or too much insulin in your body your brain starts to “misfire”. I start to shake all over and feel very ill. By the time I had done my burnout and was trying to stage I was a mess. The tree was looking like it was jumping up and down. Somehow I managed to make a decent run and did it without incident, but it was a very unsafe thing for me to do. By the time I had made it back to the trailer it was all I could do to crawl out of the car. I managed to make it to a friend’s motor home nearby as I knew he would have some type of sugary food or drink. I found some orange juice which is really good for getting sugar in your system fast. I managed to get some in me but ended up spilling most on me and the floor. The shaking can be so violent that pouring and drinking liquids can be difficult.

I usually don’t let my sugar get that low, but I was stressing out that day over some of the ways the racers were being treated on top of being very tired and not eating right. All that contributed to a very bad sugar crash. The bad part is it brings me to tears and I find it extremely embarrassing. Friends were able to find my husband who came flying back to the trailer to help. He knows what needs to be done. The bad part is you feel so exhausted afterwards, like you ran a marathon. I did make it three rounds though before losing by breaking out a thousandth of a second to a very good racer.

By the time Sunday rolled around I was almost too tired to care. My brain was in such a fog from fatigue and not eating good food all weekend. Scotty Richardson had to leave and I wasn’t able to figure out from the one time run they let us have what my car might run. We weren’t due to race till two hours later and the weather conditions had changed. I was also trying to keep up with my two year old as my husband was working on a friend’s car. So I had to guess for myself and guessed all wrong.

Though I love having my family with me, I certainly do much better when I am by myself. It’s a catch 22. I love them there, but when they are, I have so many distractions and it is so much more exhausting, it throws off my driving. As much as I love racing though, family comes first. Instead of spending the time watching and studying the cars and other racers, I often times end up taking care of my family. Though it is the right thing for your family, it is not very good for your racing. But being a mom is all about sacrifices and I do the best that I can.

Oh well. I was able to use the weekend as a good learning experience both on the race front and health front. If you want to do your best you have to take care of yourself. That simple. I didn’t follow that simple rule and it came back to bite me.

So make sure when you are at the track and you are the one racing, that you take care of yourself first. Get plenty of rest, eat right, drink plenty of fluids and if you can afford or know of a good babysitter then bring them with you!

For more information on Scotty Richardson’s Drag Racing School, check out his website at: http://scottyrichardsonsdragracingschool.com/

My Boss

I've worked for some pretty demanding bosses in my time, but by far the most demanding is my 2 year old.
Though he's tough to please, my performance reviews from him have been great and unlike other bosses, I'll accept his kisses as payment. :)