eatthefrostingfirst

With the last 5 days being so busy I forgot to mention that we spent our last Monday afternoon in the ER. This is what my life has turned into. A trip to the ER is no longer memorable. Oldest had been "working hard" for a few days. Working hard is a term that we picked up in the NICU. It means breathing harder than normal, aka retracting. He does this from time to time and usually a good nebulizer treatment clears it up. However, we were on day 3 or something like that and it really wasn't subsiding. Brilliant mother that I am decides to bring him to the drs (after a full afternoon at school and notifying his school nurse to keep an eye on him) I bring him to the covering pediatrician because mine isn't in that afternoon and he looks at his sats (oxygen saturation which I usually ask to check) 90 Not good. Well I knew it wasn't good either hence the reason for my visit. Okay, let's try a neb and see if we can get the numbers up. He agrees with the scho...

Well I survived my official first year as Hostess of Thanksgiving. But not without a few bumps and officially turning into a bitch on the day prior. We had been without hot water since Friday. Those not following along with the math, that meant we were on day 5. I was beginning to get slightly annoyed. Apparently not every plumber in America deals with our hot water tank so we had to find an appropriate company that does. Naturally, after coming out a few wks ago and assuring us they fixed the problem, it broke again. They told us they had the part to fix it so it wouldn't be a huge problem if it broke. We call over the weekend and of course didn't receive a call back until Monday. Sorry, we cant come out until Tuesday. Tuesday rolls around. Again. Sorry. We dont have the part and will have to overnight it. I can assure you it will get here on Wednesday and we will be out to fix it. Wednesday. 11AM "Hello. Mrs Stern. Yea, Paula from idiot plumbing company. Unfortunate...

5 days till Turkey Day. I'm hosting this year and actually very excited about it. New house, family, good food.. and not enough serving bowls. Really you cannot over buy serving bowls so why dont I just constantly stock up on them when I see them? Note to self..do just that. Buy lots of serving pieces. Always. Boys had a playdate today. Am I the only one who's children have constant meltdowns? Beginning to feel that way. Been stressed beyond stressed this week. Boys are driving me batty, feeling depressed in general, still having shoulder pain from the mastectomy (now officially being diagnosed as tendonitis) and just feeling... stressed. So I treated myself to a massage today. Thank you Chuck! And ambien..for giving me a whole night sleep. And thank you to my husband for allowing me to destress two whole days of the week. It's amazing what having another person around can do to a mother's sanity. I love weekends for just that... daddy time!

I'm sure we could find a cause for every month of the year. I believe there is even a month dedicated to those who love sauerkraut but November is Prematurity Month so I feel compelled to blog about it. Prematurity can strike any family. It's not just women from low socio-economic backgrounds. Women who smoke or who dont seek prenatal care. I know this because I do not fall into any of those categories yet, prematurity hit our home. Unless you have not followed along or haven't know me for a while, you know my history. I can recite it in 25 words or less because I tell it so often. It may sound heartless now because of my candor but I can assure you, it's not. It lives with me every single day. EVERY DAY. I carried twin boys for 28 weeks. I felt kicks and nudges. I saw their hearts beating on countless of ultrasounds. Because I was so high risk (and hospitalized for a good part of my pregnancy)I got to see the boys daily. Let me tell you, sometimes ignorance is blis...

It started out me rushing to get PTO fundraiser forms out in the mail only to find that after I actually mailed them, two stragglers decided to submit. I then rushed to the dermatologist only to wait 35 extra minutes to be seen. Once seen, I was told that these "skin color changes" that are all over my face are called a "pregnancy mask". And that would mean what exactly? Apparently it means that I am forever reminded of my two pregnancies (which were hardly a walk in the park) and that some kind of hormonal changes occur when you're with child and are stuck with brown lines around your face for life. Terrific. The day just keeps getting better. My 2.5 hours of "ME" time are now wasted due to the doc so I race home, check an email, pee and rush off to get Youngest. The kid looks like he is ready to crash as I think about my catching up on Brothers and Sisters on DVR while he naps. 30 minutes passes and I'm barely through the first commercial. ...

When I saw an article regarding the Government's "task force" thinking that women under 50 do not need screening mammograms, I think actual steam came out from my head. Without a family history, they may now recommend that you wait until you have a Mammo and oh yea, let's throw the self breast exam out the window too. WHAT? No need to look for a lump if it could potentially save your life? And no family history of Breast Cancer? Okay, that would be me. So, I would now be waiting 9 more years until my first mammogram where then they would be most likely telling me I had Stage 3 or Stage 4 Breast Cancer that has metastasized because ...well, because you waited so long to be checked out. I had no lump. I have no mother with Breast Cancer. I had a clean mammogram at the age of 40. What I did have was advanced DCIS that was caught on a screening mammogram that was cured by a mastectomy. I shutter to think of the what if's. With younger women these days getting diag...

Wouldn't it be kind of fun to go back in time when we just got engaged? We would get to re-register! Who couldn't use some new every day dishes from Crate and Barrel? And that fifth crystal bowl that your parents friend bought you? Return it for a much needed serving platter. Note..you can NEVER have enough serving pieces. Known fact. Brother in law just got engaged. I am beyond elated for him. I said..beyond! Can be loosely interpreted as "way too into the whole thing!" I want to live vicariously through him for the next few months. I want to relive wedding planning, receiving line or no receiving line and deciding on a honeymoon destination. I loved that time. The whole kit and caboodle. Sure it was stressful. All the plans, the fine details. The fights with my Mother. But...so fun! When else do you get to be center of attention for an entire day? (hmm, other than your funeral I mean. But then, you dont get to enjoy it!) And couldn't we all use a second ho...

I admit it. I like the "Carpenters" and even own a CD. Come on, who doesn't want to sing along to "Im on top of the world looking, down on creation!" I'm thankful I have two boys. That "American Girl" store is INSANE! I often drive halfway home from preschool drop off- no kids in the car- before I realize I'm singing along to children's CD's. Yesterday I was bopping away to "Witches Brew" I am often in need of a stiff drink. Chocolate should be the solution to all. People without children shouldn't stare at you when your kid is tantruming in a public place. No, lets amend that. No one should stare at you when your kid tantrums in public. We've all been there people and if you haven't, you will.. I thrive on multi tasking. I will not be moving again anytime soon yet I still cant stop looking at the real estate section. I read obituaries. Daily. I love naptime and if it was legal and safe, I would ...

My life didn't' exactly map out how I planned it to. Although I suppose, it rarely does. I didn't expect to be raising a child with special challenges, didn't foresee cancer in my future and certainly didn't think my role as a Mommy would be so challenging. I believe I was meant to be a mother to boys. I'm not great at crafts and cant really make a french braid so I'm sure I'd be doomed! The boys..my boys....well lets just say they give me a run for my money. They are active. Sometimes fresh. Energetic (A great thing except when you really just want 10 minutes of quiet time), stubborn, always on the go and never sit still. Maybe I just described every 4 and 6 year old out there but I feel like mine come with special challenges. Oldest, as you know, has some developmental delays. I thought life would get easier as he grew. I'd hoped he would catch up sooner than he has. He has made amazing progress. I'm in constant awe of him. Friends of ours ...

I hate Winter. I hate snow, the cold and the germs. Ok, technically it's not winter yet but I still hate the germs. Play dates are being cancelled left and right. Kids are staying home from school and Lysol and I are becoming fast, best friends. 2AM and youngest calls out for Daddy. Hmm, I listen again.He never calls for Daddy. (He's a definite Mommy's boy) and besides, Daddy could sleep through an earthquake and never hear his shouting child. I go in. "Mommy. I have pukies in my bed" (I know, my kids say pukies for "vomit". So classy) Terrific. Should've played asleep till husband heard him. I need to wake him anyways because cleaning up a kid AND changing sheets at 2AM isn't real easy. Miraculously, he managed to say fairly clean. Jammies in tact. No vomit all over his 25 "friends" that he sleeps with. Dear husband changes the sheets. Okay buddy, time for bed. "NO!" Okay, knew this was coming as the kid was wid...

I get sentimental around Thanksgiving time. It's my most favorite holiday of the year ( a close second to Mother's Day. I love the company, my family is great and I could eat my Mom's stuffing for days on end. Oldest's "theme" for show and tell this month is What I'm Thankful For. He has to bring in something each Monday to follow theme (let me tell you, this is not as easy as it may sound) So I got to thinking..what am I thankful for? The obvious: chocolate and family (in no particular order) a new house and a husband who lets me sleep on weekend mornings without fail cute children who I love more then I ever thought possible..even when they are driving me to the verge of drinking The fact that I'm cancer free and pretty much skated through it all Oldest son scoring "grade level" on his math skills. (Okay, so I know we are talking Kindergarten but when you have a child with delays..everything is a HUGE deal. This is monumentous!) ...

First off, I haven't even experienced a turkey coma and Santa has already hit the malls. Can we celebrate a day of thanks first before pushing the Ho Ho Ho's on us? Tis the season for germs. The media has put us in a frenzy over this swine flu and every mother, including myself, has been running to the pediatrician in fear of the flu. I'm not an over reactor when it comes to my kids. Really, true fact. I dont fret when they play in the dirt (yet I do come home and change their clothes if I think they may stain. That's just called me being anal) and if they have a sniffle I dont keep them home from school. I actually usually chalk it up to allergies. However, I do find myself a little bit paranoid this flu season and have turned into somewhat of a paranoid freak. Our pediatrician's office calls me on my cell to tell me they have the H1N1 vaccine in for Youngest (Oldest is still on stand by to see if the allergists office will give it to him due to the egg factor...

menopause Well, perhaps the start of menopause Okay, maybe just menopausal symptoms. Still. It begins. Met with the oncologist today. Dr. E was very...statistical. Here are the facts. Here are the risks. Here are your decisions. So I send my scrip for Tamoxifen off to the mail in pharmacy I now need to go through (honestly, the biggest pain in my butt. I much prefer CVS and my resident pharmacist who is the most helpful person on the planet and always, ALWAYS, asks how my boys are doing.) But, thanks to husband's insurance plan..this is what we need to do for any long term meds. Apparently my Cancer (or as he calls it, pre-cancer. I guess DCIS is pre-cancer. Which is why it's actually called Stage Zero. I dont buy it. I had a mastectomy because of pre-Cancer? To me, it's Cancer.) I digress... Apparently my Cancer was very aggressive and all over the place. Good to know the mastectomy was the right way (or in this case, the only way) to go. I also learned I hav...

I was reading an article in a magazine the other day and Jaclyn Smith was quoted about having Breast Cancer. She said something like; and I paraphrase, It's a club no one wants to join or belong to but once you do, you do everything you can to help out the new and existing members. I'm tired of belonging to clubs. I'm in too many. Lifetime member.. And all by default. The IVF club Prematurity club The loss of an infant club The 'your child has a g-tube' club Former member of the tracheostomy club Mom to children of special needs club Breast Cancer Club and lets not forget Hadassah. A lifetime member thanks to my Mom. This entails me to get their monthly magazine and invites from the local "ladies" to participate in their once a year bingo nights. I long for cooking clubs or even a good mah-jong but I simply do not have the time! And speaking of clubs..I'm making my blog a members only site thanks to my Mother putting the fear of g-d into ...