Sunday, Sept. 16

I took Alyssa and Mason to the After Hours Clinic today. Going anywhere with kids is always an adventure. We walked in and Alyssa and Mason proceeded to the fish tank while I waited to sign her in. Mason yells at me from across the room, "Mom, what does it mean if a rock is walking?" I reassure him that it must be a crab if it is walking. He insists it is a rock because it looks just like the other rocks. I get Alyssa signed in and head over the fish tank. I pointed out for mason the legs on the "rock" and tell him that the crab looks like a rock so it will blend in with the rest of the tank and so big fish won't try to eat it. For the next 45 minutes, while we wait to go back, I have to try to identify every part of the tank that is a crab instead of a rock. Then he gets the crazy idea that one of the crabs could break the glass and get out and get him. So, he is studying them from a distance to see if they really will be strong enough to break through. Once he gets bored of the "rocks" he asks if fish have ears. I told him to look and see. So he decides that fish don't have ears. Then he wants to know why fish can't breathe out of water. This goes on the entire time while Alyssa sits quietly looking at a Sports Illustrated magazine. It is amazing to me that the two of them came from the same gene pool and are being raised in the same home.

Finally, we get to go back to see the doctor. The nurse does the initial tests on Alyssa and then leaves. Mason, in his loud voice, says, "I hope the doctor isn't old!" right as the doctor opens the door. I just shook my head because after 6 yrs of living with this kid, I know that he will just say what he is thinking no matter what I tell him. Turns out that Alyssa didn't have strep throat but some viral tonsillitis which should just go away on it's own. Good news!

Later, we went to my parents house for my Sister In Laws birthday. My mom was funny. We did cake but forgot to sing or do candles. So after my parents got home from a viewing they had to attend, my mom made us all gather back in the kitchen and put candles in the half of the cake that was left so we could sing. We got home much later than I would have liked especially for a school night. But that is what happens when mom gets overly involved in solving a cross word puzzle with her brother!

Tuesday, Sept. 18

Alyssa woke up today complaining that her hands felt funny. Upon investigating, I found that her hands were puffy and a little pink. Otherwise, she was fine. So, I took her to school and called her doctor who made an appt for her in the afternoon. After dropping Mason off at Kindergarten, I checked Alyssa out of school and took her in. Alyssa has also been complaining of pains in her feet for well over a year and recently of pain in her hip joints, shoulders, and neck. Her doctor seems concerned because she also has had a significant (for an 8 yr old) weight gain since she saw her last. I just kept thinking that she was getting ready to grow and so she was growing out before she grew up. The growing up part just hasn't happened yet. So, I guess Thursday or Friday we need to take her in and have a bunch of blood work done. They will be testing her thyroid and also running tests for auto-immune disorders. It breaks my heart to think of having to deal with this. I have watched my good friend with her son who has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. It is terribly sad to see a young child have to deal with lifelong problems. And I am scared. I don't know what this might mean for her. Hopefully it will be nothing. But if it is nothing, what is causing the pains and the weight gain?

Once that shocking experience was over, we took her back to school to finish out the day. My kids were excited to have my friend's kids come over and play for a little while after school. Poor Zander cried when they left though. He really loves those kids. I then took Alyssa to dance. I wrote the wrong time down and got her there 15 minutes late. Luckily her teacher was understanding and it didn't end up being a big deal.

We also had a big event today. Alyssa made her first batch of cookies all by herself. They were good too. She got a cookbook from a school fieldtrip and so they were healthy cookies but really yummy! She was really proud of herself! And I was proud of her.