-
A step forward, a step back…
I was quite pleased when my suggestion of trying a robotics class (for homeschoolers) was receptively met by Lego Lover a few months ago. We booked into the class and the Scientist organized to go along and work with him. He was still keen before we left today and all seemed to be fine. Unfortunately, the way the class was organized didn’t suit Lego Lover and he found it too overwhelming. There are three more lessons planned but I suspect that we may not see it through to the end after the disaster that occurred this afternoon. A rather expensive lesson in the end…
-
Hot and bothered
The psychologist asked how I was when we arrived at the appointment this afternoon and the best I could come up with was “Hot and bothered.” I was mostly referring to the major increase in temperature today after fairly cool temperatures for October so far. The day had gone mostly fine with just a few little hiccups. Lego Lover was in an okay mood and Game Fanatic was okay…The scene as we left the appointment seemed to accentuate the bothered part and continued the next forty-five minutes or so as we travelled home with a rather volatile Lego Lover in the back seat.
I arrived home, feeling quite frazzled from the journey and discovered the new signed Augie March cd I had ordered in the mailbox. (I obviously had forgotten its impending arrival despite it being posted on Thurday from Melbourne…an advantage since I had missed out on the impatience of waiting for mail from the east coast!) Lego Lover changed moods to something far more positive within minutes. Bliss! Well, sort of bliss…
I had a quick shower, which went a long way towards relieving the hot part and a little ways towards the bothered part. Then the Scientist and I went off to buy a birthday present for my niece (which I somehow hadn’t quite managed to get before then for a number of reasons) before going for a short visit this evening without the boys.
Watched Two on the Top End on ABC1 HD which continues to amaze me each week, mostly with the gorgeous photography of the natural wonders of the top end of Australia. Then watched Packed to the Rafters on Channel 7. We really enjoyed the program and yet found it infuriating the way the network advertises its programs during the ad breaks, overdramatising what are often minor parts of episodes. Also found the whole concept of all those ads just plain tiresome and tedious. Reminded me of why we watch far less commercial television these days.
Have all the windows open tonight as it’s a warm night, finally! Currently on the second listen of the new Augie March album. Oddly enough, still feeling a bit tense from the day despite a return to normal. Maybe I just need to sleep now.
-
Pulled muscle?
I seem to have pulled a muscle or I’ve redeveloped some sciatica pain. I’m not quite clear which it is but I do know there’s some cramping of certain back muscles and there’s also sciatic like pain…maybe a bit of both? Anyway, spent much of the day in bed after taking medication for that. Obviously once I’d taken something, my attention and driving skills were needed. The second part wasn’t at all possible so alternate arrangements had to be made.
So I set up in bed with my laptop and played Civilization IV, which I had only just got working for the first time on Vista this weekend (long story with little success until my recent endeavors). I played a full game on my desktop computer yesterday but had more fun with the current game as I get back into the gameplay again. Civilization is probably one of my favorite computer games ever so it’s been good to be able to play it without the hassle of running XP . The medication (just one tablet) pretty much knocked me out within an hour so I slept off and on much of the rest of the afternoon. I’m feeling a bit better tonight so will just take half a tablet for bedtime and get to sleep. I think I might need the drowsiness effect after so much sleep this afternoon.
-
A spectrum of emotion
On Monday afternoon, there was a bit of a meltdown happening with Lego Lover about an issue that he’d been unable to resolve. It was the end of the world for him at that point and it was not only his fault but also mine and his brother’s fault. I managed to point him in the right direction to solve the problem and from that point he just was happier by the minute. He kept telling me he couldn’t thank me enough to the point I asked him not to do so any more. In the past, these meltdowns might have taken hours of my time but this really only lasted a very short while and before long, life returned to our concept of normal.
-
Confused
Game Fanatic spent almost all afternoon playing Dungeons and Dragons and we ended up returning home during rush hour. Oddly enough, our trip back was shorter than the trip there (during lunch hour). Anyway, I stopped at the supermarket to a get a few things and left the Game Fanatic in the car. While I was walking in, I found I wasn’t quite sure what day it was. I knew it was either Friday afternoon and nearly the weekend or it was Monday. The brain fog did settle in a few seconds but it was a strange feeling of disorientation for a moment. A possible contributing factor is the fact that they don’t normally have D&D on Mondays but it’s school holidays and a somewhat different group was meeting to do the latest version of the game. We will be back for the normal session tomorrow. There are some in the group who will have played three days in a row as they have a fortnightly group that meets on Sundays. Game Fanatic used to go to that one but became overwhelmed with the number of people and hasn’t been for a while.
-
Dragging along
It’s been rather a chilly start to spring around here and I’ve been lacking energy lately. I’m not getting much exercise and I’m struggling to keep from going overboard on carbohydrates (my big weakness, food-wise). I can’t help feeling that if it warms up and turns into spring proper, I might come back alive.
Meanwhile, I’ve been battling a blocked left ear for a couple weeks now. I had a reprieve for a few days but it’s back now. I’m also having regular stomach pains and haven’t been able to figure out the reason. The Scientist keeps saying I need to see the doctor but I figure it will suddenly disappear about the time I do that. I think the ear problem is likely related to reflux…maybe the stomach problem is also related.
Slightly-related, I’ve been considering going dairy-free for a while to see if it helps with some of the troublesome symptoms I have. While most don’t keep me in bed, they are rather disruptive to everyday life. I’ve not done this as yet because I’ve not been able to find a satisfactory alternative to milk. My previous attempts to drink soy milk have not gone very well. I just haven’t liked the taste at all. But I did try some with chocolate flavoring added this weekend and it was actually pretty decent. So maybe I should revisit soy milk as an alternative.
-
Too close
I’ve written in the past about our trials of medications to help Lego Lover feel better about the world. He has always tended towards extreme shifts of moods, although I must admit he has far more of a middle ground now than when he was a toddler and preschooler. Still, his moods shifts can be really alarming and we’ve had incidents that motivated me to take action. Last year we started medication to help with sleep issues and that has been mostly effective aside from the fact he has become resistant to its effects. Still he is better taking it than without it.
A trial of meds to help with anxiety earlier this year didn’t go well. It didn’t go badly either, but we found there was no real improvement and moved on to a different medication near the middle of the year. The current medication has been increased twice now and we feel that there has been some improvement but question whether it’s enough to warrant continuing with it. What has been interesting is that we’ve had positive feedback from two family members and a friend who all agree that he is much better than he’s been in the past. I think the Scientist and I have been too close to him to see any dramatic effect because it’s been gradual for us. But for those who seem him infrequently, it’s been rather significant.
I’ve had to make certain adjustments on the dosing of his medication to avoid the side effect of sleeplessness (which is less common than the drowsiness experienced by most users). We also had to put the previous sleeping medication back into the mix or he would be awake until 2am or later each night. But I think we are on to a good thing right now.
I’ve been attempting to reintroduce Lego Lover into some regular social outings and I think my attempts are going far better than they have in the past. I keep the situations fairly controlled but he is becoming more open to the idea of spending time with similar-aged peers that we often come into contact with. I’m hoping to create some relationships with other children so that he can share his passions with them instead of relying on me or other immediate family members for that role.
At our last pediatrician appointment, I must say I felt totally unsure whether it was worth continuing but the doctor suggested we might stick with it a bit longer and I think this turned out to be the right choice. I can’t help feeling that when we look back in four or five months, we will realize the benefits of sticking it out.
-
Missing
Last week I took Lego Lover to have a dental x-ray so that we get an idea of what the future holds for him, dentally speaking. There was a bit of chaos getting these to the dentist. I was told by him to just come by (no appointment required) with them on a Monday afternoon and he would see me about them for a few minutes. I suspect his wasn’t a practical solution. When I arrived it was packed and I ended up being sent away and leaving them at the office. It would have been easier to have the radiology service send them directly and save me a long trip (it wasn’t that long because I was reasonably close but it was still well out of my way).
-
Lost
Last month when we left for our short holiday, I took my menstrual cup in anticipation of my impending period. I put it into a bag with other personal items belonging to myself and the family. Unfortunately I didn’t take the step of finally putting it in my purse so that when the time came, we were out and I was unprepared. So I purchased an alternative and went on my merry way. I continued to use the alternative until we returned home and when I finally got around getting the cup, it was gone. I have no idea what might have happened to it since I never removed it from the bag. I don’t really like the think of the possibilities although the only one I can imagine is it fell out at some point. It’s now a month and a cycle later and I still haven’t found it so I have resigned myself to purchasing a replacement.
-
Hard work in the garden
Thirteen or so years ago when we moved into this house, we did a lot of planting of shrubs and whatnot…one of the plants was an orange honeysuckle plant. The flowers looked really nice. The thing is, I know that it’s not an ideal plant. I remember very well how my parents spent weeks clearing the honeysuckle from along the creek bed that ran behind our house. It was literally choking trees. I’m not quite sure how closely related this variety is, but the flowers are quite similar, aside from the color. We planted two of these shrubs and one of them has turned into a monster while the other one has had rather modest growth over the years.