The Endings:
--It's the end of an era.....me having children in elementary school. I'm a bit sad, wistful about it for sure. But, my son has matured and grown so much over the last few years that he is ready to move up. He'll start growing and changing and not be my little boy anymore (physically anyway). The changes I saw in my girl over the 3 years in middle school was astounding. I expect the same for him.
-- The end of middle school for my daughter--she'll start high school in the Fall. Of course I'm a bit nervous about this one as we haven't heard anything about a parent and/or child orientation. I think I'd feel a bit better if I knew something was coming to welcome us in. Also, the building is HUGE. There's about 3,000 kids that go to it. Both of them will go from being the big fish now to being the new kids on campus this Fall.
--The wood flooring in our house is seeing it's last day. They started demo this morning. Once that is done I am really ready to get the new floor delivered hopefully be end of next week. Then it needs to acclimate, then install....then finally onto cabinetry, counters, painting, etc. just ready to be done.
--Elaine passed away a few months ago in her sleep. She was the mom of the 3 girls I went to elementary through high school with. I've written about her a few times on this blog. She was special to me because she was a tie to home, she was friends with my mom, and she was a mother figure to me all these years. She made sure to reach out on birthdays/holidays, texted regularly, we met up in person a few years ago at my 4th grade teacher's farm (Elaine retired to Arizona/Missouri)--she let us know we were loved. I will miss her.
The Beginnings:
--Discovering what has been contributing to my girl's major fatigue. She has been complaining for a long time now about being sooo tired. I've noticed that she has been very lethargic after school and on weekends when she's not scheduled to do anything--just wants to lie down and do ipad or watch tv, has been crazy irritable in the evenings where my son can't do much and she'll snap at him to 'Stop'. And eating ice like crazy. This has been so unpleasant for me as I can't stand the sound of chewing loud things--I keep saying I have miso.phonia. Anyway we had gone to the new primary Dr. a few weeks ago initially because she had been having itching on her scalp. Not a big deal, but when we were at the new Dr. I explained that she also has been complaining of fatigue symptoms--I was worried it might be signs of depression. She said before we go down that road let's get her labs checked--hasn't been done in years and why I (or her old physician) didn't think to do it sooner I don't know.
Long story short her labs showed she has an iron.deficiency. Ferr.itin levels on the report shows normal levels between 14-79 and hers is 7. She is not actually anemic though as her hemo.globin was normal. It was such an AHA when I read some of the symptoms: extreme fatigue, eating ice, brain fog, poor memory, irritability are all in there.
AND, she also has a Vitamin D In.sufficiency. Normal range is 30-100 and hers is 23. Some symptoms of that is: fatigue, mood changes, frequent illnesses. She gets sick way more than her brother now.
So like yes, this poor kid has been suffering with both of these issues for who knows how long??? As a mom, I'm frustrated that I didn't think to get labs done much much sooner. And frustrated that her other primary didn't either..why?? She's likely been feeling like crap for a long time but because that's her norm, she doesn't realize how bad she feels. She just keeps pushing through all of her activities.
In following up with the Dr. said she needs to to start supplements for both iron and vit D and we will recheck her in 3 months during her well visit. I will be waiting to find out if the supplements make a difference and how much of one.
--First time working out at the gym with my son and he loves it.
I finally decided to join back up to a gym (been thinking about it for months) because I just prefer being inside sweating than outside. I'm comfortable there because I've spent a lot of my years in gyms with sports, lifting weights, cardio, etc.. and I actually like going. So a few days ago I signed up at the y for a family membership because I learned that kids age 10+ can go to certain areas too if they are with an adult. This was major because I've always wanted to take the kids and just go. This past Saturday my daughter was on a waterpark field trip all day and I suggested he and I go. When we got there he wanted me to show him around the place (it's huge) and then show him all of the cardio and lifting equipment he can use. When it was time to work out I let him choose what he wanted to do--he chose the sit down bike. We both did that for 10-15 minutes and he, of course, was putting it on a crazy high level...but was keeping up so I just let him. Then, he chose the treadmill....I always worry he'll fall off but he was fine. Then he wanted to try an upper body machine--we did chest press...then we did some free weights, then stretch. We were there way over an hour. What I really liked was he was so interested in learning all about it and was open to me teaching him what I knew along the way. I surprised myself by how much I actually do know about lifting techniques, tips for workouts, etc. I showed him how this machine worked, what machines are for cardio, etc. It was so...much...fun! Sharing with him something I've learned and done for so many years. It seems the love of fitness (I do love it, just haven't done it) has passed on because he's SO into it. He wanted to go the next day and kept talking about making a schedule etc.. Last night he pulled out his whiteboard and made himself a "Being Healthy" plan including how much strength training to do, how to split up arms and legs and cardio, things to focus on while eating, etc.. He said he doesn't need to be on a diet (thank god), but he wants to eat a fruit or vegetable at lunch/dinner. Even this morning he was asking about the next time we can go.
It was really impressive how quickly he took the idea of working out at the gym and made himself a plan. It's all new, of course, so I hope this doesn't fade.
And here's the best part--I struggle being self motivated at times. Perfect example is just not signing up to the gym. Why not? I've got the time.....and just haven't done it. But now that I've got the kids to go with me and someone who will constantly ask to go?? Brilliant. Win Win.
My daughter may take some time to come around because I've mentioned signing the family up and she's been like...eh, whatever. But at least last night she said she'll try it next time we go. We can make it a family thing! I hope she'll really like it. Plus, at 13 she doesn't need supervision for anything and she's been taught a lot already from her time in Jr. High athletics and sports.
I'm so excited!!
--Summer. This week winds down the year with my daughter's end of year awards ceremony Tuesday night, then my son's 5th grade elementary graduation Wednesday night, a clap out for him at 9:30am on Thursday and swim party 5-8 that night.
Then.
Summer Begins!
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