Dingoes Marching into Spring! - Page 8

[doctorjen]

ND - ah, I'm waiting to hear advice for you that might help my crazy-eating kids too! And I don't think I've said congrats on dinglet #4! 4 is a good number.

Jo - I've been reading and thinking of you lots, but did inpatient medicine last week and barely came up for air all week. I agree with everyone that your strength and patience is obvious, although I'm sorry it gets tried so much!

Nic - I think of you often, mama. We're always here if you need to unload.

UP trip. Sounds fabulous - especially if our house in IL sells and we can reasonably afford to travel this summer. We have accepted an offer on the house (for 22K less than we paid for it ) but it's contingent on sale of the buyer's house and they can't sell theirs either. Even though we'd like to sell it for more, after a year on the market we don't think we'll ever get more for it and frankly we like these buyers. I delivered both their babies - mama went into labor with the first one just as I was pulling out of Hocking Hills campground from the dingo camping trip! Poor thing had a long miserable labor and was still just 5 cms when I pulled in to town many hours later, so I made it in plenty of time. Her last baby was a quick, easy labor after a successful external version to turn her breech boy head down. He was just shy of 9 lbs and had a great big head but an Ob colleague was able to turn him and this labor was like a quarter of the time of her first! Anyway, if some house selling vibes could be sent their way, that'd be great!

In other NRR news, Catherine received an acceptance letter to the College of Wooster today! She's already been accepted to Drake, and hasn't heard yet from 4 other schools, but Wooster is pretty high on her dream school list, so it's exciting. We are still debating financial stuff. College is expensive these days!

RR - the last week has been a big flop. Inpatient medicine about killed me last week and I'm struggling to catch up sleep and good nutrition and get going again!

[kerc]

on food:  I serve up a plate for kids -- my kids adore salads, my husband adores carbs and I adore protein.  So....we each get a balanced plate and then (we eat in the dining room) we walk back to the kitchen to refill. Also: we talk out loud about how when we are SUPER hungry, eating a bit of protein (PB on bread vs. just bread, beans and rice vs. just rice) fills us up better.

and much more, but no time since I ran 4 today at lunch!

[Geofizz]

Another strategy on the food is just to make her aware of how far from balanced she is. Have her fill in a kid's version of a food pyramid to see what she's not getting.

Congrats to Catherine on Wooster!!!!! She's welcome here as a pit stop in and out of town of course.

[MelW]

Geo, I'm at your best camping trip ever, fever and tent puking aside...

Nic and jo, thinking so much of both of you. Be kind and gentle with yourselves as you navigate the challenging days

My oldest will eat three or more bowls of cereal in a row for if allowed, and I use the "talking loudly about how protein fills us up" strategy, too.Our compromise is usually one serving of carby food followed by the protein, then more carbs if she wants it. I don't put absolute limits on portions, but don't let the kids go on a single-food binge, either.

Dr. Jen, congrats to Catherine and fingers crossed for your house sale!!

Happy belated birthday, Sparkle!!

Plady, way to go with the first aid

It was a tough end to the weekend/start of the week here. I had a brilliant plan to actually run(!) on Monday. This was thwarted by my youngest having an asthma attack in the middle of the night. I should have taken her to the ER for a nebulizer since the ventolin wasn't helping quite enough, but there was wet snow and over 100 km/h winds outside. Dragging both kids out in the car at 4 or 5 am in that weather seemed harder than dealing with the wheezing until morning. School was canceled Monday because of power outages around the district (though not at our house or our school), and we spent the morning at the doctors and the pharmacist sorting out meds. By the time we left the pharmacy she had spiked a big fever, making it obvious that the asthma was probably triggered by a viral infection. She was too sick for daycare today, so my friend very kindly stepped in and came over with her 2 1/2 year old at 6 am so I could go to work. She's breathing better and fever gone as of this morning, but we skipped bootcamp tonight to catch up on cuddles and early bedtime.

[Realrellim]

JayGee--congrats on finishing the Whole30!
And ditto on the 23-day cycle. I could definitely do without that.

DrJen--congrats to your daughter, and many on selling your house. Sorry to hear about the loss, but I think you're wise to do that rather than hang on to it longer.

kerc--woot for 4!

RR: 6.5 with the stroller.

[babybugmama]

The eating talk is fascinating.  For a long time that's all dd would eat (carbs), but now I struggle to get enough grains in her...She eats all.the.time.  It is insane.  She's skinny as a rail, and eats tons of fruits and veggies, and protein because I push it (she went vegetarian about 2 years ago)...she knows to check herself to see if she's getting enough protein.  She would eat crap carbs - crackers and the like...but we work on oatmeal, sprouted grain breads, etc.  But seriously, she eats triple what I eat, at least that's what it seems like.  She will routinely eat a huge bowl of oatmeal (made with whole raw milk), immediately ask for a snack plate on which could be the following: apple, grapefruit, almonds, crackers, carrots/cantaloupe, cheese.  Lunch could be grilled cheese or quesadilla with beans and cheese or smart dogs (blech)...no sandwiches for her. Afternoon she slows down, probably has another piece of fruit or carrots (her favorite)...and then dinner.  I fear the teen years. Fear.

Dh is having the work week from he!!.  Meaning working late every day, working all day Saturday, etc.  He's working with me though and gave up his morning workouts so that I could run in the morning before he leaves.  Hello 5:00am running.  It was really nice out this morning.  I run a lot slower in the dark, I'm guessing not being able to see my feet has something to do with it.  Once upon a time this was more routine, now I'm out of the habit.  But I'm thrilled that I'm getting any running at all this week.

Have people begun their reveal packages yet?  I have some things and ideas for others, but was wondering if I was jumping the gun.

ND - so so lovely! Congratulations.  

DrJen - what a neat story, the idea of selling a house to someone you helped catch their baby (after leaving a dingo camp out no less!).

Jo - what everyone else has said.   I say again as I have many times.  This is a group of women that awes and inspires me.  You show me what sisterhood is and can be, you remind me to share this idea with the women I meet every day.  That it is possible to have strong women relationships that are loving, supportive, forgiving, and ever present.  Thanks dingo mamas.

[babybugmama]

Oh and I'm the peri, 25 day cycle...with a little anxiety thrown on top to sprinkle some liveliness into my life 

[bec]

Oh!  The anxiety is a perimenopause symptom?!  Really?!  I have a 25ish day cycle the last few years (if I'm lucky), and in the last year, the anxiety comes and goes.  I've never had it before, so have been wondering where it came from!

[babybugmama]

That's my theory Bec. I noticed it about a year ago that 3 days before my cycle I would have a day of generalized anxiety.  It was like clockwork.  I found this free app, period tracker, that I'm using on my phone to start trying to track it more carefully because I suspect that I am having higher levels of anxiety around the time I should be ovulating.

[Geofizz]

ND, the other thing we do for the carb feind is to require that the carbs be topped with protein. Toast is ok with peanut butter. Pasta or crackers get topped with cheese. I know for myself that I struggle to see that the carbs aren't filling me up, so I just eat more. This approach seems to be helping with my super-restrictive eater.

[Mel38]

Originally Posted by babybugmama 

That's my theory Bec. I noticed it about a year ago that 3 days before my cycle I would have a day of generalized anxiety.  It was like clockwork.  I found this free app, period tracker, that I'm using on my phone to start trying to track it more carefully because I suspect that I am having higher levels of anxiety around the time I should be ovulating.

Hm, this is interesting. I have never really had anything like PMS, I just never felt anything coming except maybe some physical symptoms. But out of the blue I had the absolute worst day last week, about 4-ish days before day 1. I was a basket case, the world looked so bleak and hopeless! The next day felt like an anxiety hangover - numb and apathetic, and then it was all over. I figured that it had to have been hormonal... it was just so sudden. Interesting.
I have actually stopped even tracking my period lately - it has been very regular. In the future, though, but I would like to have a little heads-up about that next anxiety attack, and maybe go pitch a tent out in the woods for a few days. By myself.

[Shantimama]

I have no words of wisdom about picky-carbs-only eaters. Mine is now 14 and I am about ready to throw up my hands in surrender and just let her figure out her own nutritional problems and needs when she is ready - probably 15 years from now  This child LOVES simple carbs and is incredibly picky about everything else. She lives pretty much on a white foods only diet with the exception of chocolate and once in awhile, Caesar salad, but if even one piece of lettuce looks "off" she pushes the whole thing away. She loves potatoes, bread and crackers. I bake almost all of our bread and even though she won't eat anything visibly whole grain any more, I just load up the dough with eggs, whey powder, chick pea flour and so on. Sometimes she will eat cheese on whole grain crackers. She used to eat hummus. Not any more. She will let me make her smoothies loaded with mangoes and blueberries but it is so frustrating. She has been given lots of information - at school , from the doctor, from me, she has experienced the consequences of not eating well - but nothing makes her budge. Now that she has a part time job she uses some of her money to buy herself chips, cornflakes and crackers. 

bbm - all of my kids have gone through phases of eating like that, some of them longer than others. Then all of a sudden they seem to eat nothing at all for a while. I won't lie to you - my kids are 12, 14 and 15 and our grocery bill is much higher than it ever used to be but we still manage 

[1jooj]

Dingoes, I think you may have saved my life.  We are through the worst. I am now confident. The horse is not just dead, it has been beaten beyond recognition. Over. The rest is...well, you know where you can find me. The news is good.

Carb eaters: if I can get the meat into the kids in the first place, we don't have problems with it. I am incredibly lucky, as my kids will try anything, and will eat nearly anything.

Plady, I love that you were able to help the girl with the giant @$$ tattoo.

ND, you will be the best "older mommy" ever. Ever. And you've never looked younger than of late, so maybe you're aging backward.

I had a 20-something day cycle this month too. Was the moon exceptionally close to earth lately? Any chance? At my age, my mom had giant fibroids. She had them removed when I was a sophomore in college...so, when she was (ooh, math) 43. Hm. Guess it's time to investigate.

JayGee, when my friend goes home after her visit, I am going to do the Whole 30. I need it. You've totally inspired me.

Have not been running, but have been doing yoga daily. About to hit the beach for a stroll.

[Geofizz]

Jooj, yum, horse sausage.    Here's to healing and moving forward. 

Off to go observe a 2nd grade math class.  Tomorrow 1st grade.  Good grief.  The hoops....

Long run tonight, hills included.

[Nickarolaberry]

Oh, Jo. So glad. 

On nutrition: yes. Dd1 has a huge carb and sweet tooth. She does however eat produce; since she has become a vegetarian though it is difficult to get protein into her. She doesn't like eggs but likes quiche.  She also does not have a good 'shut off' mechanism and will just keep eating because it tastes good. This is difficult as she takes after me in the morphology department (is that the right word?) and not like her dad, as her siblings. Ds has a metabolism like an elite runner and can keep eating (and does) all the day long without gaining an inch. Dd1 does not think it's 'fair' that he should get as many helpings as he wants and she is reminded to stop eating when she feels full, not just because she likes the way things taste. To add to it, she's 11 and just starting the 'pre puberty' phase. i am working so, so, so very hard not to give her food issues as my mom did to me but I also want her to be healthy and make good choices. 

I have taken to serving from the stove individual plates. Sigh.

Plumber is here replacing the water heater, at these moments I'm glad we rent.

Thanks for all the love, Dingoes.  It helps. I am not in a place where I can say much here or even feel coherent enough to say it on the yahoo list, but I am grateful to know you're here. There is no positive resolution available to me right now. I have to find a way to sit with that and make my peace with it for the time being, and still go along with a (somewhat) happy heart, for my kids' sakes. And mine.

I think the knee thing is chrondolmalacia (sp?) of the patella, runners knee: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_5/194.shtml  Going to do some wall sits, ice, vitamin I. I probably need new shoes too but can't afford them right now.  I will hopefully set aside a little cash from the freelance gig for that. And maybe to back off on the speedwork for the time being. Bummer.

[sparkletruck]

Nic - I was going to suggest wall sits, as most knee things are helped by quad strength. Hang in there

BBM, Bec, Mel38 - Yup. I have run the gamut, from no menstruation at all (hello ammehorhea for 15+ years) with no noticeable symptoms of anything* to textbook cycles with textbook symptoms now, to abrupt cessation for a few months last year with concomitant side effects (hair loss, DRASTIC mood drop) that made me think I had suddenly started menopause (based on my history, it wouldnt surprise me if it was that abrupt). The peri/menopause experience made me FEAR menopause. The moods were AWFUL, scary, Yes Mel, like you said, just like you stepped into a parallel universe.
*The funny, or not so funny thing is, since Ive been having regular cycles the past 4 years, I have found that indeed I was having some kind of symptoms of ammenorhea, which were to be sort of flat; consistent bu flat - flat mood, flat libido. Now, I have a great mood, great libido, and great energy.... until I O, and then its the reverse. I'm Bipolar now The thing is, I'll take the second 2 weeks for those first two. I cant believe I missed out on this libido all my life

[Nickarolaberry]

when do we do the secret sprinter reveal package?

And, pardon me...but any advice on how to get dried boogers off the wall?    

A certain child who shall remain nameless has a disgusting tendency to wipe boogers on the wall in the dead of night. I cannot seem to remove the last vestiges despite Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and a hot soaked cloth. Ick.

Edited by Nickarolaberry - 3/14/12 at 9:37am

[sparkletruck]

Fingernail, knife, razor blade

[Geofizz]

Originally Posted by Nickarolaberry 
And, pardon me...but any advice on how to get dried boogers off the wall?    

Child labor

[Nickarolaberry]

Originally Posted by Geofizz 

Child labor