Category: Zach

When Mama Bear Comes Out

Published by dee on August 21, 2019

Some days it really is a struggle. I try to keep it contained as much as possible, but some days the Mama Bear within me just comes out. Let’s just say Monday was not really a good day.

It started out great. Everyone got up on time and got off to our various places for the day. I’m at work going on about my day and things are good. About 9:30 or so I got a call from the high school nurse. It is only the 4th day of the school year, so I definitely was not expecting that quite yet. The nurse tells me that Zach has fainted in the locker room after gym class. Oh.

I’m a worrier when it comes to my oldest son. He has his share of difficulties and school has not always been easy for him. And gym class is one of his least favorite classes. He chose weight training for his Freshman PE credit because it keeps him from having to do group sports activities in the traditional PE class. When I heard during curriculum night that they would be doing quite a bit of running I was already a little worried. Then he told me Friday that he felt sick Friday when they had to run outside so I was already a bit stressed about the whole thing.

And now he has passed out. The nurse assured me he was ok, but that he had hit his head on the floor when he went down. She was making sure he had something to eat and was making him drink juice. She was going to keep him there for a bit and then send him back to class if he was feeling ok. No need to come pick him up.

So. There I sit at work worried like crazy. I chatted with a co-worker about it and about how I am really struggling to between taking care of him and letting him be independent and take care of himself now that he is in high school. It is a skill he needs to develop, but he’s still my baby.

A little bit later, my phone rings again. It is the school nurse. Zach has now thrown up in class, so they are concerned that he could potentially have a concussion. Now it is time to pick him up and yes, I should probably take him to the doctor to get checked out.

As I rush to get to his school, which is now about a 30-minute drive from where I work, I’m calling the doctor’s office to see if I need to bring him there, go to urgent care, or to emergency room. I haven’t done the whole concussion thing before. They said to bring him in to their office and they would check him over.

When I got to school, he was looking so frail and weak. It broke my heart. There’s that thing where no matter how big they are, you just want to wrap them in your arms and protect them. That’s where I was in that moment. But, I’m sure he’d had enough embarrassment for the day so I refrained.

We got to the doctor and had him checked out. The doctor did not see signs of a concussion. Whew. She did tell him to take it easy the rest of the night, drink lots of fluids, and no screens. She also gave him a 48 hour pass for gym class. She pretty much determined the whole episode was caused by over exertion and getting over heated, which is not unusual for him.

He pretty much slept the rest of the day (on the couch ’cause I wasn’t letting him out of my sight) and most of the evening. I made him get up to eat and then he went right back to sleeping.

During all of this, Evie and Caleb got home from school and Caleb’s bus dropped him off at the wrong bus stop. It is down the block at the other corner. It wouldn’t have been a huge deal, except for the fact that this was the third time (out of 4 days) that it had happened. I thought it was fixed after a call to the bus company, but then it happened again. And the heat index was 106 degrees at the time. My poor kiddo came in the door dripping with sweat and bright red cheeks. Mama was not ok with this. I certainly didn’t need a second kid passing out or throwing up because of the heat. Another call was made to the bus company and well, I can’t say that I was very nice on the phone. However, on day five, he was dropped off at the right stop.

Also in the mix of all of this, I had to leave to go to a meeting at work. Oh, and did I mention that Hubby was out of town too? I gave Evie strict instructions to keep an eye on her older brother and keep the noise level down. She did her job, and also texted me photos of him sleeping while I was in my meeting.

When I got home from my meeting, the house was a mess, the dog needed walked, the trash needed gathered and the bins put out for trash pickup, I needed to update the school nurse on Zach, contact his gym teacher, and I was just mentally exhausted.

I sent out a quick email to the nurse to let her know Zach’s doctor does not think he has a concussion. Then I decided to email the Coach. That may not have been the best idea. I should have let me head clear a bit, but at that point I wasn’t sure if Zach would be going back to school the next day or not so I wanted to make sure he knew about the 48 hour pass for gym class, plus fill him in a little on Zach and his physical ability. I tried really hard to be tactful, but the mama bear may have been showing a bit.

I may have yelled a little too much getting the kids in bed. Then I still had to walk the dog and do all the cleaning up before I could go to bed. While I was walking the dog I called Hubby to fill him in on everything and I pretty much just spent all that time griping and complaining about everything that had happened that day. Not my finest moment, but I guess I just needed someone to listen.

Things are better today. Zach is feeling better and is back to school today. The bus situation was fixed yesterday and hopefully continues to be fixed this time. I wish I could go back and fix my attitude, but sadly it doesn’t work that way. I obviously still need to work on better stress management.

Here’s to the rest of the week being as uneventful as possible!

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Seven

Published by dee on June 26, 2012

Zach turns seven today and for some reason I am a mopey mess of emotions about it. My BABY is SEVEN! I’m blaming this crazy emotional state of mine on the residual hormone changes from birthing my last baby (who is already 4 months old!) and the fact that said baby is practically a little mini-me of Zach. The personalities are different, but my two boys look so very much alike that it is hard to look at Caleb and not think about sitting and holding Zach as an infant. Looking at the two of them just reinforces how quickly it all goes by. He may be turning seven today, but I’m pretty sure when I blink my eyes he’ll be 18 and moving away from home. Although, he has assured me that when he moves out he’ll just buy the house next to mine or maybe across the street so he can still come visit a lot. I suppose I can live with that.

Since his party isn’t until Saturday and Daddy won’t be home tonight, we decided to celebrate a little bit last night. We took him out for the dinner of his choice (which ended up being McDonald’s), had ice cream for dessert, and then let him open his birthday gifts from the family.

I’d say he is pretty happy with his gifts. He would have been even happier if I would have let him stay up all night and finish building his new Legos, but even 7-year-olds need their sleep.

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Catching Up

Published by dee on August 30, 2011

Feeling a bit scatter-brained this week, but I’m trying to do better at updating things so here are a bunch of random updates to fill you in.

In pregnancy news, I’m now 14 weeks and into the second trimester. I’m feeling much, much better when it comes to the queasy, nauseated mess that I was a few weeks ago. However, I’m still ridiculously tired the majority of the time. I have managed to force myself out of my comfy chair and gotten a few things accomplished around the house. I would feel better about that if there weren’t so much more that needed to be done. I’m at least getting the laundry washed. It just may not be folded and put away.
Things seem to be going really well for Zach at school this year. There have been a couple of complaints, but they have been minimal. I mean, what kid wants to do homework? I think it has made a big difference this year that we were better prepared and had supports in place for his sensory issues from the beginning. We’re currently exploring what other services may be available for him during the school day, but there is a chance he won’t qualify for anything. Apparently in Missouri, SPD does not qualify him for services as a primary diagnosis.
Both Zach and Evie are signed up for Tumbling classes at the Y this year. I was really hoping to put them in dance, but we are really trying to watch costs right now and it was just a bit more than we wanted to spend. The tumbling classes go for two months at a time (and are much cheaper), so they can try it out and it isn’t a huge loss if they decide to drop it. The first session is Monday night and they are both really excited about it. The best part is that they are in the same class and they are excited about getting to do it together.
Zach also is wanting to join Boy Scouts (Tiger Cubs) this year. They are having a meeting about it tonight and he asked me if he could go so I guess we are going to. Honestly, I’m glad he is interested in it but I’m a little hesitant about the time commitment. Our evenings are so jam-packed already during the week, but I know it will be a good experience for him. I’m also hoping that maybe he will build some closer friendships with kids in his school.
I’m really getting excited for our annual Labor Day weekend trip to the lake, but praying my sister-in-law doesn’t go into labor while we’re gone. She’s about two weeks out from her scheduled c-section date, but could go into labor at any time. I would really like for her to hold off until I’m back in town to greet my new little nephew!
Exciting things are happening for our little church that we’ve been a part of the last couple years. As a new church start, we’ve been meeting in various locations but we have finally purchased and are moving into our own building this week. It will be a huge deal for us to have our own space in a permanent location. In preparation for our Grand Opening at the new building on September 25th, I’ve been working on overhauling our web site. Finding time to work on it has a been a challenge, but it is going to look great when it is finally done. The church’s band (which hubby plays Bass in) is also going to be playing a show at Zona Rosa on the 10th, which we’re hoping will pull in a few new people. It will be his first time playing in front of people (other than at church) and he’s really excited about it.
My calendar is starting to fill up with Fall photo sessions and I’m getting really excited to get out and shoot! Between early pregnancy sickness and the incredible heat we’ve been going through this summer, I haven’t felt like doing much of anything. Now that it is finally starting to cool down (at least a little bit) and I’m feeling better, I’m ready to get my finger clicking again!

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First Day in the First Grade

Published by dee on August 18, 2011

Zachary started First grade yesterday (and I can’t stop singing the song from that darn Veggietales movie every time I say “first day in the first grade”). I was a little nervous about him starting a new year, with a new teacher, and new kids because it seemed like it took most of the year last year to finally get him settled in.

As it turns out, I had no need to worry. The kid walked in like he ruled the school on the first day. He got up and got dressed on time, and didn’t even complain when I told him mommy had to take pictures before we could leave. He didn’t show the slightest bit of nervousness. I wish I could have had his confidence when I was six!

He was excited to get to his classroom and find out who was going to be in his class. It turns out that at least one of his good friends ended up in class with him and even sits right next to him. He was a little disappointed that his best boy friends weren’t in his class, but for some reason there are a lot of girls and very few boys in his grade so they have to split them up.

He came home happy, saying he had a great first day. This morning he was just as excited to go back. I dropped him off at the door this morning for the first time (last year he went to the before school program and had to be signed in each day) and he assured me he would make it to his classroom by himself. I don’t think he even looked back after he got out of the car. I can’t believe he is getting so big.

I also had a great conversation with his teacher regarding his sensory issues and she is very willing to accommodate him in the classroom. She’s very open to any suggestions I have that will help him throughout the day and just knowing that has put this momma’s heart and mind at ease.

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Six

Published by dee on June 24, 2011

Excuse me while I get all mommy-bloggerish and weepy on you, but this little chunk of love –

has suddenly turned into this gigantic six-year-old boy (ok, so he’s not officially six until Sunday, but still!). SIX!

It’s like I blinked and all of a sudden here we are. We’ll be spending the weekend celebrating his six-year-oldness and I’m just sitting here in disbelief that six years can go by so fast. Six years of crazy ups and downs, but mostly six years of the most amazing love I’ve ever known. That boy holds my heart in his hands for sure.

(And by the way, that first picture up there is part of the set that really convinced me I wanted to learn photography someday. I think I’ve come a long way since then!)

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The Boy

Published by dee on April 27, 2011

He won’t let me take a decent photo of him anymore. I get silly faces or poses every time.

He knows more than mom and dad all of a sudden and is very unhappy when we tell him otherwise.

He doesn’t like loud noises unless he is the one making them.

He would eat nothing but bologna and cheese sandwiches if we let him get away with it.

He would wear only sweatpants and t-shirts if it weren’t for the required school uniform.

He loves his family immensely, including his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

He is incredibly smart, and is now reading and writing words and sentences.

He is better at video games than I am.

He is obsessed with all things Mario and Luigi.

He adores his little sister, even though when asked he’ll tell you he doesn’t like her.

He is still so little and vulnerable, even though he tries to act tough.

He is learning to deal with his anger in more appropriate ways.

He has almost made it through a full year of kindergarten, even though it has been scary and difficult.

He has started trying new foods again, even though 9 times out of 10 he’ll spit them right back out.

He wore blue jeans for the first time in over a year yesterday, because I asked him to for his school pictures. He didn’t complain and decided they weren’t so bad.

He held his little sister’s hand this morning when she was scared to go down the stairs by herself, and then opened the car door for her. This was after he corrected her for not saying please when she asked me for her cereal.

He is growing up, whether I like it or not.

He makes my heart swell with pride.

The last year has been a difficult one, but I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t know if it is the OT sessions, the adaptations we’ve made both at home and at school, or just simply maturity on his part, but I’ve gone from feeling helpless to hopeful and that’s enough to get me through.

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