Dingos chasing the March hare - Page 6

[JayGee]

Originally Posted by MelW 

I met a woman who tried giving up worry for lent one year and said it was the hardest thing that she had ever done...

Hmmmm... that would be REALLY hard!  I remember a sermon I once heard about worry being based in fear and fear not coming from God.  It helps me to remind myself of that when I start worrying about things.  Good luck to your DH with his Lenten sacrifice.  That sounds pretty difficult too.  Not that I'm a vengeful person usually, but my anger can spiral out of control pretty quickly.

I'm hopping on the trainer for an hour in a little bit.  The weather here is gross.
 

[Geofizz]

I think if I tried to give up worrying for 40 (?) days straight, I'd find myself worrying about whether my thoughts were worrying or not.  Trying to control ones thoughts sounds like a tough one.  Controlling ones responses to the thoughts (vengeance) sounds like a tough but real target.

Last night's running was a *group*.  We had 4 people together for a great run.  Half of it was two of the moms talking about the various strategies they've used to help their kids recognize bullying situations between other kids and practice coming to the defense of those kids getting picked on.  It gives me confidence for the future to know that there are parents out there paying attention and parenting proactively.

The hives continue.  How long of giving up a medication before deciding it's not the cause? 

[JayGee]

RR ~ 55 minutes on the trainer.  I tried to make it an hour but my bike saddle is SO not comfy.

[Nickarolaberry]

Hi everyone. Got prelim blood test results back which show elevated CRP (not sure what that is precisely) that the doctor says is an indicator for inflammation. Still waiting on the Celiac results but because of this the doctor feels confident that we're on the right track, especially since I"m starting to feel a bit better (could be placebo? who knows) since going off the gluten. I'm not 100% free and haven't tackled cross-contamination yet but I can definitely see a difference.

And I don't crave it anymore actually. Not since the first couple days. In fact I'm not very hungry at all but I don't have the same constant nauseated/have to get to the bathroom stomach cramps either. So that's an improvement.

Just trying to eat as clean as possible.

On the up side, I did have to make a big change to my pre long-run routine (was eating a pb sandwich) and substituted a lara bar on Sunday which worked fine. Also I bought some rice cakes so that should also be a fine substitute. Hoping I don't have a problem this Sunday.

How do you check for gluten in things like jam, etc. that shouldn't contain it but might?

[mommajb]

Wendy, what is the half life on the drug you think might be causing the hives? I could look it up in Hale's if you want even though this isn't nursing related or perhaps you still have the insert on it?

I can say that working isn't working for me.

I consider myself smart (enough), organized (in theory), I have a long and short term plan that I follow (better than my husband), and I am an experienced mother (though I have a few new situtions we have been trying out this school year). Why is it all so hard? Why does nothig ever work? I am not the only one so what are we all doing wrong? I am worn out, burnt out, frazzled, anxious and angry all the time. We have simple routines that we have followed for a time and I have them written and posted but I have to nag to get things done. Nothing happens when I am gone (unless you count upset tummies at school when I am an hour from school and without phone reception not that they tried to call dh). One day and things don't fall apart but two...

Then to top it all off a teacher drove ds1 and dd1 home again. They had to stay after school for math bowl and track. I had to go to piano with dd2 and dd3 so I told the big kids to walk home. It is about a mile but she "couldn't let them walk." I feel like she thinks I am neglectful. I had everthing all worked out.

I have it all worked out but just barely and I feel judged yet when I talk to others I am assured that my life is nothing special that we all live this way. Why? Clearly this is a bigger issue than how hard I think I have it getting everyone out of the house in the morning and then back before bedtime with a few meals thrown in for good measure. It feels so unsustainable in the long run but I don't know what to change or how to change.

[Motivated Mama]

nemesis, kerc, and others discussing the macbook - we just went to the Apple store today, I kinda suckered DH into it We almost bought an iMac, but I was so torn between portability and just a family computer that I couldn't decide. That, and raging PMS hormones. Anyway, we got nothing and now I'm thinking the iMac is the way to go. We have 2 ancient working iBook G4s and then 2 dead computers (Sony Vaio PC and Acer laptop). There is no question that I will choose a Mac and I'm pretty sure I want an iMac, but I'm scared to make the commitment...I think my kids might ruin it. They're really out of control sometimes.

memiles - really funny about the glasses I think I've finally gotten my own "losing everything" under control, but now I'm starting to have to deal with the kids losing everything.

Geo - I think I would worry about not worrying too.

RR: I went 5.2 miles yesterday outdoors! It was really nice because I passed a lot of runners heading the other direction and runners are so friendly We live practically next door to Bates College, so there's always lots of runners out and about. Today, I biked in my house for about 20 minutes before my anxiety peaked and I had to get off and start cleaning my house. More reason to always head to the gym or outside for exercise. Plus, I just don't burn nearly as much biking as I do running and I also don't enjoy it nearly as much. That said, DH is nearly done my bike and I am excited to start biking to and from work.

NRR: On another note, I don't know how much longer I'm going to stay at my current job. DH mentioned today that he will be full-time for longer than expected and it looks like even after this period, he will be able to pick up full-time hours. Between that and my feeling that I am not valued at my current job along with my lack of monetary gains, I think I will be done. I'm not sure how to phrase it to the office manager...I think I will just tell her I am needed more at home, but we'll see.

[Geofizz]

PM sent mommajb - medication is totally anti MDC but necessary.  Thanks

Under sick kid 102F and ear infection that made the doc wince.  We found us a new Urgent Care.  From call from the nanny calling me at work to first dose of abx in 90 minutes.  C'mon Zpack, do your stuff.

Rain all day.  So gloomy.

[zubeldia]

Hi Dingoes!

I'm so out of the loop but wanted to drop by to say hello. I don't know how life got to be so crazy, but being chair of a department is the absolute pits. I am utterly overwhelmed. And how is it that my 20 month old still has yet to sleep through the night! He waked up a lot still, and it's a lot of manage.

All that said, I'm getting in a lot of training - using very early mornings and evenings when DS is still in bed with DH.

Would love some advice (mommajb, you are, I think a bit of an expert): is it normal for a 20 month old to really intensify nursing sessions? It's like he's a newborn!! He's not teething, I don't think. I did wonder if me being at work a litle more might be having an impact.

Miss you women.

[JenLove]

Originally Posted by zubeldia 

Hi Dingoes!

I'm so out of the loop but wanted to drop by to say hello. I don't know how life got to be so crazy, but being chair of a department is the absolute pits. I am utterly overwhelmed. And how is it that my 20 month old still has yet to sleep through the night! He waked up a lot still, and it's a lot of manage.

All that said, I'm getting in a lot of training - using very early mornings and evenings when DS is still in bed with DH.

Would love some advice (mommajb, you are, I think a bit of an expert): is it normal for a 20 month old to really intensify nursing sessions? It's like he's a newborn!! He's not teething, I don't think. I did wonder if me being at work a litle more might be having an impact.

Miss you women.

Zub ~ It was right around then (I think it started around 18 months) that V nursed like every 2 hours throughout the day and about every 3-4 hours at night still.  I was ready to throw in the towel, but from what I gathered from other mamas it was not uncommon.  I managed through it.  Now at 2 years she is nursing only for sleeps/wakes and if there are the occasional nurses in between it's literally for like 5 minutes.  And... she has been sleeping all night.  I'm about to jinx myself.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel, it's not easy now, and it's completely normal and you aren't alone.  ((hugs))  You are amazing though - super nursling, super runner, super working mama!

[bec]

Hey, Zub!!!  Yes, it is totally normal for a 20 month old to become a newborn again...with teeth.  I'm sorry.  I know it's intense, but it does pass.  Hang in there!

Had tri class tonight.  Strength, run a mile, more strength!

[Plady]

memiles - It's super gorgeous and sunny now, here at least1  It's hard to believe today started with that insane downpour! 

RR: Yesterday I did a strength class at the gym.  I haven't taken a gym class in ages but this was good.  No cardio to speak of but I could feel it.  I can not believe how weak I have become.  It is terribly humbling.  I'm seriously like convalescent center weak.  But, I do feel like I might be on to something to answer the constant hip pain.  It still hurts today but maybe a tiny bit less. 

Gaye - That xh.

MM - Happy belated Birthday!  I hope you had a great day.

Jo - Sending warm weather vibes your way for the weekend. 

Nic - Whatever the situation is I hope you find a way to move through it peacefully.

[Realrellim]

mommajb--it is hard to work and have a family. There's really no way around that. It tends to go in cycles of really hard and normal hard around here, if it's any comfort.

zub--My oldest nursed a lot all the time. Most kids, however, have a period where they nurse a bunch and then everything levels off again for a while. I'd guess that you being at work more might be affecting it, but it's equally likely that some of it is a stage he's going through. If it's any comfort, R didn't sleep through the night until she was 3 or 4, and J has yet to do it. J, who turns 1 on Friday, still wakes up every 30 min - 2 hours overnight to nurse. It makes it hard because that's my prime work time, and it still is interrupted frequently.

Wise Dingos, I have a kindergarten-related question. There's a kid in R's class who appears to be slowly driving the entire class crazy. R has been complaining about him for weeks. He's very disruptive, is in trouble every day, and goes out of his way to annoy the kids. One of the moms who gets to school pick-up really early watches them come in from recess. The kids will line up and instead of getting in line he'll walk along the line bothering people. He's quite tall and R is not, so the mom said he'll walk over to her and put his arms on the wall so that he's looming over her. R told me he's been doing this in other situations too. As I said, he does stuff to everyone. The kids ignore him (the mom told me that R either moves away from him or ignores him and he tries to get a reaction out of someone else) but all of the kids are complaining about him to their parents too. He got sent to the principal's office twice last week, and from what I've heard from other parents and R, no one wants to sit near him anymore because he's always in trouble or trying to annoy someone. This is the kid who punched me for no reason when I was volunteering last fall, and it seems like his behavior has only escalated since. (I'm also pretty sure he has Asperger's because he could be my nephew's identical twin: very sensory seeking, OCD streak, etc, though at least my nephew doesn't go around hitting strangers.)

R complains about him not behaving on a daily basis these days and it's reached the point where she hopes he'll be sick so he won't be in class, or worse, where she doesn't want to go because she doesn't want to have to deal with him. I'm running out of ideas beyond continuing to tell her that if he's bothering her, she can tell an adult and other than that, she needs to worry about herself and the boy can worry about himself. The situation really seems to be stressing her (and everyone) out. Any ideas for helping her cope and to redirect her thinking about stuff she can control?

[LaLaLaLa]

mommajb--I'm so sorry that things are so overwhelming.  It's so hard to feel judged!  I hope the teacher who drove your kids doesn't think of you as neglectful, but is just trying to do a good deed.  I'd offer a couple of kids a ride if I knew they were going to walk a mile, not because it's unfathomable for kids to walk that far or I'd think poorly of their parents, but just to do a minor favor for a couple of people.  I'm not really working (I wait tables a couple of nights a week, but nothing more than that), but I still find myself frazzled and too easily angered.  I'd love to be carefree and playful all the time, but I often find it really hard to live in the moment.

nic--I hope that whatever you're wrestling with works out to your satisfaction.  I'm sorry you're struggling.

MM--Happy belated birthday!  Here's to another year of happiness and peace and running!

zubeldia--It's nice to see you here!  You have a lot on your plate; I admire your strength and I hope that things will settle down in your life.

I'm finding all of the discussion about Lent very interesting.  My best friend growing up was Catholic, and I was always intrigued by her family and the things they chose to give up.  For her mom it was always swearing, which I thought was funny since I'd never heard her swear.  My friend usually gave up candy or something.  My little cousin gave up Facebook, which is a bummer.  A good choice, though, I think, if you're in high school and want to make a real, day-to-day sacrifice.

Things are going well here; I'm working on eating better and working out more consistently.  It's made a difference in my energy levels the past couple of days, and has given me a sense of satisfaction about my current whereabouts.  I ran yesterday on the treadmill and did a solid 6.2 miles in an hour.  Today I forgot my knee brace and didn't want to tempt fate so I rowed for twenty minutes, then did twenty minutes of weight machines, then went home and hula hooped for twenty minutes.  It was a nice bit of variety.    Tomorrow I'll probably run again.

[tjsmama]

geo~If mommajb can't look it up in Hale's, lmk. I'm sure it's in my drug book.

nic~CRP= c-reactive protein. It's an inflammatory mediator, so increased levels indicate inflammation. It's pretty non-specific, but definitely means that there's inflammation somewhere.


Ladies, I am bummed and irritated. I got my clinical placement for Med-Surg II, and get this...it's on SUNDAY. Now, most of the time, this really wouldn't bother me that much, but this placement, during this specific block means that I am going to miss: a) my good friend's wedding in Paris b) my marathon and c) Mother's Day. I had actually been kind of resigned to missing the wedding, but I think I jinxed myself last night by looking at flights and realizing that even if I had a Monday assignment, I could still get back to Denver by late afternoon on Sunday to get my patient assignment and be ready for clinical. Not even considering the possibility of Sunday. Sigh. And they don't give a crap. I emailed the instructor, just in case since if I *didn't* ask if there was a possibility for a make-up and found out later, I would kick myself. And of course, I got shot down brutally just for asking if it was a possibility to do a make-up shift. Grr. And of course, no transfers/refunds on the marathon, so I guess I bought myself a very expensive tech shirt for a race I won't be running. Sigh. Oh, and did I mention that the way they have it arranged means that our last shift falls two days AFTER our final? I'm not even sure how they can do that, given that our pharm instructor had to give us a take-home final, since we were having class on Saturday and he wasn't allowed to hold the final after the official end of the semester. Anyway, enough whining, let it suffice to say that I am NOT a happy camper right now.

rr~Track this morning. 4 x 800 with 200 recoveries. Let me just say that these were NOT fast.

What the heck am I training for now? Too early to start real tri training, but don't want to give up what little distance I've built up to this point. Thank goodness I had only gotten up to a 12 mile long run, or I would really be pissed at the wasted training.

[Geofizz]

Originally Posted by Realrellim 

Wise Dingos, I have a kindergarten-related question. There's a kid in R's class who appears to be slowly driving the entire class crazy. R has been complaining about him for weeks. He's very disruptive, is in trouble every day, and goes out of his way to annoy the kids. One of the moms who gets to school pick-up really early watches them come in from recess. The kids will line up and instead of getting in line he'll walk along the line bothering people. He's quite tall and R is not, so the mom said he'll walk over to her and put his arms on the wall so that he's looming over her. R told me he's been doing this in other situations too. As I said, he does stuff to everyone. The kids ignore him (the mom told me that R either moves away from him or ignores him and he tries to get a reaction out of someone else) but all of the kids are complaining about him to their parents too. He got sent to the principal's office twice last week, and from what I've heard from other parents and R, no one wants to sit near him anymore because he's always in trouble or trying to annoy someone. This is the kid who punched me for no reason when I was volunteering last fall, and it seems like his behavior has only escalated since. (I'm also pretty sure he has Asperger's because he could be my nephew's identical twin: very sensory seeking, OCD streak, etc, though at least my nephew doesn't go around hitting strangers.)
 

Start with the teacher in person and talk about your child and be specific, including the time period over which you've been hearing comments.  Leave what you hear from other parents out of it.  "My  kid is complaining about this kid doing X, Y, and Z to her.  She's been commenting on this since Month.  I'm concerned because R is now wishing this kid ill, which is not something I've ever heard from her before, and this situation is now affecting her perspective of school and learning."  Don't expect much response from the teacher.  She can't tell you much legally about what she's doing with him or even how she will manage it.  However, you're giving her ammunition for her higher ups who (if your school is anything like ours) tends to be resistant to viewing such behavior problems as anything but minor annoyances.

Know that the teacher is in a tight spot.  Know that kindergarten is where these things start to get diagnosed and it takes time to get services into place.  The teacher is supposed to do everything she can for the kid in the class before referring him out.  Sending him to the principal is probably the initial stages of documenting a systematic behavior pattern, so your timing is good. 

After a cordial conversation with the teacher and no resolution in a week (and from your suspicions, the only resolution here that could be in place quickly would be an aid for the boy), talk to the principal.  Make sure you start off with "I spoke to the teacher last week, and I wanted to let you know of continuing problems my daughter is having in the classroom.  <describe behaviors and duration> and it is affecting her perspective of school and her learning."  And then write a letter requesting that the two kids not be placed together next year.

Good luck.  These are tough to navigate, especially when you suspect there is a significantly greater need than can be accomplished by exemplary classroom management.

[Penelope]

<sticking my head into the dingo thread>

Got my new tattoo. I'll post some pictures when I have some. It hurt so, so much more than I had prepared myself for but it is really beautiful and I'm very happy. (Dh was not especially pleased with the image and refused to help me do the initial care beyond dabbing some gore off my back. Which, I understand he's "grossed out" but the tattoo is on my back, so caring for it myself is going to be tricky... maybe I can bribe him!) And a presentation of research I did yesteday to my faculty went well, and my dean now wants to talk research with me (what this will entail, I cannot imagine). I'm about three steps closer to being not-behind.

Hoping to run tomorrow, and then I have spring break so I can sleep some more and run every day. And catch up on the dingo thread!

[JayGee]

Real ~ DD had two such children in her Kindergarten class last year.  One was very oppositional-defiant (ie. being bad for the sake of being bad) and the other came from a home situation where he had NEVER dealt with his peers before (single Mom worked all day, kid stayed with grandma who let him do whatever he wanted; he just didn't get the idea the he wasn't always going to be first in line, or get the most treats).  The teacher was very upfront with me since a lot of the kid #1's behavior was directed at my DD.  He was on a behavior modification plan with the school social worker which helped a lot over the course of the year.  Talk to the teacher.  I'm sure she's aware, but maybe the social worker needs to be called in if she hasn't been already.

Penelope ~ yippie on the new Tat!  Can't wait to see it.  Sorry your DH is being a tool about helping you though.

mommajb ~  I'm certain that allowing your two oldest kids walk a mile home is in no way neglectful.  I'm sorry you're so overwhelmed right now.  I'm thinking of you.

tjsmama ~ oh that sucks!  Sunday????  Thank goodness you hadn't booked your ticket to Paris yet though.  I don't think it's too early for tri training, especially for the 1/2 IM.  Get thee to the pool!!!!

Lalalala ~ eating right makes a huge difference, doesn't it?  About 4 weeks ago I started "Eating Clean" (mostly) and it's made a huge difference in my energy level and general mood.  As a bonus, I got on the scale this morning and I've lost 6 pounds!  I knew my jeans were fitting better. 

I'm off to the YMCA this morning with DD2 for a run, and then the commissary for some much needed grocery shopping.  Amazingly, my leg feels almost 100% better after only 3 ART treatments.  Guess it was mostly scar tissue and adhesions trapping the nerves, because ART and Graston have made me almost entirely pain free!  The chiro said I should come back one more time, he'll ART the entire leg (wincing in pain imagining that !) and my treatment will be done!  After 21 months, countless doctors, compartment testing, EMG testing, nerve conduction testing, 2 MRIs, and 5 months of physical therapy.  Needless to say, I'm happy to be on my way back.

[bec]

Awesome news, Kristina!!!! 

Real - I agree with every word Geo said!  We have had an occasional problem with kids throughout the years.  In our district, they consider this kind of behavior bullying and take it very seriously.  With that said, as Geo said, Kindy is a tricky year.  But, getting it reported is the quickest way to get this kid help.  It truly sucks when it comes at the expense of your kid, though, and that is what you need to focus on with the teacher.  As an aside, J and Katie have the same birthday!  Except, she's going to be 10 on Friday!!!

Tri class last night was good.  We did some strength, then ran a mile on the track, and then some core strength.  It was hard running yesterday.  It felt like the air was thick.  Hard to breathe.  I'm taking a cardio/core class today, so we'll see how that goes!  It's been an age since I have taken a class, so it will be something different.

[JayGee]

RR ~ ran 4.5 miles at the YMCA.  Am about to do my PT to strengthen my wimpy gluteus medius.  Good times.

[MelW]

geofizz- Hope the antibiotics kick in soon!

Real, I'm also in agreement with geo. Following the "steps" for reporting is essential, and can also be helpful for the bully in terms of documentation to get the support they ultimately need.

Penelope, can't wait to see that tattoo!

tjsmama, sorry about the Sunday clinical :( We had some weekend clinicals in nursing school, but they always tried to get volunteers first to reduce the impact on people's lives. And yours is a triple whammy!

mommajb- Sorry things are so tough right now. I'm kind of shocked that the teacher decided to drive the kids home- doesn't that seem like a pretty major boundary issue, not to mention a liability issue. Your kids, your decision, and a one mile walk?! Grrr!!

RR- 17km today! Officially my longest run ever, and I had enough energy left at the end (though I was completely out of time and had to rush to make an appointment) that I'm convinced that I can do the 1/2 marathon. I'll probably be last to the finish line, and just under the 2 1/2 hour limit, but can definitely do it.

NRR- I gave notice to my daycare today that we're going to cut down to just one day a week for my youngest (and none for the oldest) starting in May. My husband doesn't have any classes over the summer, and other than a little bit of freelance work is going to be a stay-at-home dad. I'm a little nervous about it all, since it's a decision made more out of financial/logistical pragmatics than passion for being at home with the kids. But it will be summer with the river and the beach and the park and bikes and all of the other things that generally make parenting easier for us, so fingers crossed.

My house is a disaster and I need get going for a full afternoon and evening of clinical skills testing...