Christina, Author at A Mommy Story

Feb 13, 2014

The Ongoing Shoulder Saga, Episode IV (A New Hope?)

February 13, 2014 By Christina

Earlier this week, I had my first visit with an orthopedic specialist to examine my shoulder. It’s been over a month since I received my flu shot, and going into the visit, I wondered if it was even worth the trouble to look at my shoulder. While I still have pain in the shoulder, it’s no longer a constant ache. It seems to come and go during the week, with some days having little to no pain. (And days when storms are coming in resulting in a steady dull ache.) My range of motion has improved, too, and I can move my arm in most directions without a lot of pain.

Seeing how I’d made so much improvement, I expected the doctor to take a look at me, tell me it was healing well, and send me on my way.

When he came in, he listened to the full story of what I’d been experiencing over the past month. I showed him where the flu shot was given, and he agreed that the spot was higher than typically seen, although he also said that he’d expect the shot to still have stayed in the muscle at that spot. (He overestimates the amount of upper-body muscle I have.) He then asked several questions about movement issues I’ve been having, and then wanted to try some range of motion tests.

While I’ve felt like things have improved in that arm, he proved me partially wrong. Yes, movements aren’t hurting much anymore, but that’s because I’m no longer moving that arm as far as the right arm can move. When I tried to match the right side in some movements, I either re-found that pain in my shoulder again, or the shoulder simply wouldn’t go any further.

The doctor’s diagnosis matched up with my primary doctor’s original diagnosis of bursitis. He gave me two options for treatment: start physical therapy for the shoulder, or have a cortisone injection into the shoulder joint and THEN start physical therapy for the shoulder. I asked which he would recommend, and he thought the cortisone injection might help speed the physical therapy along, and would also take away much of the pain. Seeing how I’ve been conservative with therapy so far, I was willing to get things moving a little faster.

A cortisone shot directly into a joint isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Although in this case, he did numb the area with lidocaine first, which I’m guessing was because of the large amount of cortisone in the huge syringe that was injected next. Although I still couldn’t help but note the irony of getting a shot to help my shoulder right in the same spot as the shot that started this whole mess.

He warned me that I could experience a “steroid flare-up” during the next day or two, where the joint would hurt more, but that after that it would calm down. I did have more pain and stiffness in my shoulder the next day, but today it feels pretty good. Scratch that – really good. I have only the faintest ache when stretching my arm over my head or behind my back.

Next up will be physical therapy to get my shoulder back in shape. I’m still unhappy that I have to go through this at all, but I’m hoping we’re near the end and the physical therapy will be enough to put this whole event behind me.

Edited to add: I did follow up with the Walgreens pharmacy. The pharmacist I spoke with said he’d report it in their system, but generally seemed unconcerned with what had happened to me, other than a flat, “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” I know I need to make time to call their District next.

Filed Under: me me me

Feb 10, 2014

Suave Professionals® New Moroccan Oil Body Care Line (Review)

February 10, 2014 By Christina

This winter is killing my skin. I’ve got dry skin to begin with, but the extra cold, and extra dry, air we’ve had this year has left me a dry, flaky, itchy mess. (I know, so attractive, right?) The easiest way to remedy this is to drink lots of water and apply plenty of lotion.

Here’s the thing about lotions, though: most of the lotions I’ve tried have been greasy or heavy. I’d rub it on my arms, and half an hour later, I could still feel this heavy coating on my arms. I have no doubts as to where Cordy’s tactile sensitivity came from, because I’ve never used lotion unless it was necessary. I never wanted to use it as a kid, and as a teen I’d use the smelly hand lotions occasionally just to fit in with my peers.

Usually I resort to other ways to moisturize, like body wash that contains moisturizers in it, or bath oil. But when my skin is exposed to an onslaught of cold, dry weather – like we’ve had this entire winter – it can’t keep up and often dries out. My hair is just as dry as my skin, although it’s been doing well so far this year thanks to a Moroccan oil that I found to use on it. I’ve noticed that the oil left on my hands made them feel so soft afterwards, and absorbed so quickly with no heavy layer or greasy feel.

Moroccan oil seems to be the hot new moisturizing ingredient. It’s actually known as argan oil, which most often comes from Morocco, a lightweight miracle oil known to be rich in nutrients and antioxidants. So when I was asked to try out the new Suave Professionals® Moroccan Infusion Body Care line, my experience with Moroccan oil convinced me it was worth giving it a try. For the first time, Suave^® Body Care is launching products in the Suave Professionals^® line, using premium ingredients to provide soft and radiant skin.

I received the body lotion and dry body oil spray to test. The Suave Professionals^® Moroccan Infusion Body Lotion is a daily moisturizer that absorbs quickly for up to 24 hours of non-greasy hydration, while the Suave Professionals^® Moroccan Infusion Dry Body Oil Spray is described as a non-greasy formula that absorbs instantly and seals in long-lasting moisture. There are few lotions I’ve ever been happy with over the past several years. Since entering my thirties, I’ve needed moisturizer for the dry, itchy skin on my arms and legs in the winter, but usually only use it when I absolutely need to, knowing I don’t like the feel of it.

So how did these products do? The lotion had a thinner consistency than I’ve noticed with other products. It rubbed in quickly and smoothly, without a lot of effort. I liked how lightweight it felt, and while it felt a little greasy at first, I noticed after a few minutes that the greasy feeling was gone! My skin didn’t feel like it had lotion on it at all, and yet it was soft, smooth, and looked healthy without any signs of dryness. Wow!

I tried the Dry Body Oil Spray the next day, and found similar results. It required even less effort to rub it in (you could really just spray it on and let it absorb while brushing your teeth), and despite being an oil, had no greasy feel afterwards and was also weightless.

The spray seems to work better when used right after a shower or bath, while your skin is still moist, locking in that moisture and providing a radiant look. The lotion is great anytime – I’ve been using it two or three times a day on my poor, dry hands and on my feet before bed. My skin isn’t itchy, and I like that I don’t have any heavy lotion feel. Moroccanoil® does seem to be a miracle ingredient, and Suave has harnessed the best attributes of it to create body care products that feel like luxury lotions.

Will I keep using the lotion and body oil spray? Absolutely. I love the way my skin feels, and I’m so relieved to find a solution to fight the cold winter air that doesn’t make me conscious of lotion on my skin.

You can find more information about the Suave Professionals^® Moroccan Infusion Body Care products at their Facebook page, where you can also get tips for radiant skin, style advice from celebrity stylist Brad Goreski and enter the “Radiant Wishes” sweepstakes for a chance to win Suave Professionals® Moroccan Infusion products, a spa day or a trip to Los Angeles.

Giveaway!

Experience a little luxury for yourself! For a chance to win a $1000 gift card, leave a comment below and let me know which of the Suave Professionals® Moroccan Infusion Body Care products you would most like to try.

Sweepstakes Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

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This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 2/7/2014-2/28/2014. Be sure to visit the Suave Professionals® brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

Filed Under: reviews, sponsored

Feb 7, 2014

Snow Day Ramblings

February 7, 2014 By Christina

All of my focus has been drained away, so apologies if this is disjointed.

Today is the third snow day in a row for us, and our…eighth? seventh? who can keep track anymore?…of the school year. It’s an unheard of number of snow days for my kids. A few of the days made sense, with extreme cold and wind chills of -20, and this Wednesday’s snow and ice storm in the early morning, making for dangerous travel.

Yesterday and today were called off mostly because the side streets and many sidewalks are still snow covered. I remember days that had more snow in previous years where the kids still had school. This is not a “kids nowadays are wimps” complaint, this is more of a “what happened to city snow removal?” complaint. I understand the need to protect the safety of kids, and wouldn’t want to put my kids at risk for a bus getting stuck in the snow or sliding and having an accident, so I approve of looking out for the safety of the kids. But the snow stopped early Wednesday morning, and snowy roads should have been cleared by now.

Mira, 2009 – I think Cordy missed just one day of preschool with that snowstorm

As of last night, the news said the city was just starting to get to the side streets and neighborhood streets. It seems like Columbus used to have a better snow response team and reached the entire city in under three days. Most of the suburban schools were back in session on Thursday, with clear streets, while we continued to wait. Maybe Columbus should take some of that large tax surplus they have and invest a little in additional snow removal teams?

So, we’ve been stuck at home, two stir crazy kids and one mom who still has to work. I’m thankful that I work from home and don’t have to scramble to find childcare during these snow days. But it’s also hard to stay focused on work with constant interruptions. Cordy has been doing a lot of reading during the past few days, finishing another Percy Jackson novel and earning more points for her school’s read-a-thon. Mira has been trying her best to engage her sister and force Cordy to play with her. It’s worked a few times, but most of the time it ends in, “MOOOOOM! Mira’s bothering me!”

We’ve had plenty of TV watching and game playing , too. I’ve learned just how little there is to watch on TV in the late morning/early afternoon. Especially for kids. Your choices are pretty much preschool and younger programming, or older teen programming that they’re not quite ready to watch. This is only strengthening my desire to cut cable entirely. On the upside, it’s strengthened family bonding time, too, as I’d rather sit with Mira and let her read to me rather than endure Bubble Guppies.

We’ve been staying in pajamas until late in the day, too.

And having the kids around 24/7 has resulted in my being unable to get away from the germs that Mira likes to bring home. She’s had a cold since early this week, and now that we’ve been in such close contact for so long, I’m now getting her cold.

I love seeing the snow cover everything outside in a beautiful, sparkling blanket of white. But I’d be just as happy to see it gone if it meant no more snow days this school year. I want some “me-time” again – just a little – before I go bonkers.

I’m really looking forward to Monday, for two reasons. First, if Mother Nature has mercy on us, the kids will go back to school and we’ll have some sense of normalcy again. At least until they’re out of school on Wednesday for a professional development day.

And second, I’ll be seeing the orthopedic specialist my doctor recommended regarding my shoulder. Yep, it still hurts, although it’s not as bad as it had been, thank goodness. Certain movements are still painful, but if I’m sitting still, it doesn’t continuously ache. Unless there’s a storm coming in, and then my shoulder aches down into my arm. Hooray for a weather-predicting shoulder? I can think of far better superpowers I’d rather have. Hopefully this doctor will have some solutions, or at least a place to start to get rid of this shoulder pain.

Filed Under: school, snow

Feb 3, 2014

Gifted and Struggling

February 3, 2014 By Christina

I mentioned recently that Mira was evaluated for gifted identification. She’s a bright kid, and her abilities in class – when she’s focused – made her teacher think it was worth the time to check.

We received the results this weekend. In the letter, it explained the testing methods used and provided her scores. Based on her scores, she’s not identified as gifted in math, which I thought would be her strongest skill. However, she did score high in reading, and has been identified as gifted in reading. Surprise, surprise! The girl who refused to read for SO long, saying that she wasn’t good in reading and Cordy was the “reader” among them is actually a very good reader.

She was also given a cognitive abilities test, and while she didn’t score high enough to meet the cutoff for “superior cognitive,” she was only a few points away. It’s possible she’ll be re-tested in a couple of years.

Overall, I’m proud of Mira, even if I am somewhat pleasantly surprised by the results of her evaluation.

Here’s what confuses me, though: how can a child who reads so well have so much trouble with spelling?

She reads out loud to me, and while she stumbles on some of the harder words, she still makes a good attempt at reading them the way it looks like they should sound. But have her read a word several times, then ask her to spell that word without looking at it? She can’t.

I know she’s reading at too fast of a speed to still be sounding out each word. She automatically recognizes the order of the letters and knows the word. So why is she unable to rely on that recognition for spelling?

This was her most recent spelling test. While this one was particularly bad, because she told us she liked to study on the bus and not with us (and wasn’t studying), even the spelling tests she studies for have several missed words.

Ouch.

She has fantastic ideas she wants to get down on paper, but is often held back by writing unintelligible sentences. Can you decode this one?

This was from the start of 1st grade. “I will take care of my bunny, like feed it.”

Or this one?

From Friday – the team name is “Zeus’ Thunder”

It’s like some kind of spelling-only dyslexia. Or possibly a remnant left over from when she had speech apraxia as a toddler and preschooler. Her speech is still a little hard to understand at times, so maybe when she sounds out a word, she’s writing it using the sounds she still substitutes for the correct sounds?

I was never the world’s best speller, either, but I don’t remember struggling this much. I’m not sure how to help her, other than drilling her spelling words over and over again, which she finds utterly boring. (And I understand – it is boring!) Mira seems frustrated with it, but she also prefers to act like it’s no big deal and hide her frustration. I’m planning to ask her teacher for advice on how to better handle spelling when we meet for parent-teacher conferences later this week.

Does anyone else have experience with a good reader who has a difficult time with spelling? Is it just something that will eventually “click” for her, or will it at least get better?

Filed Under: Mira

Jan 31, 2014

Mira, the Daisy Scout (and Cookie Seller)

January 31, 2014 By Christina

Earlier this year, interest forms were sent out about forming a Daisy scout troop in our area. Mira had been wanting to join Girl Scouts since last year, and we nearly joined at the start of summer, but the troop we were matched up with abruptly dissolved before she could attend her first meeting. When this second chance presented itself, she begged me to sign her up for it.

Mira’s Daisy Scout vest (I still need to iron on 2 more petals that she’s earned – oops!)

I was excited that she wanted to join Girl Scouts. I was a Brownie scout when I was in elementary school. (I don’t think they had Daisy scouts back then?) It was a fairly large troop, and I remember making crafts and going to day camp in the summer. I probably would have been in Girl Scouts longer had our troop leader not moved away. It was the only troop in my small town, so when she left, our Girl Scout troop dissolved, just as many of us were bridging to Juniors.

When Mira had first expressed interest, I dug through some boxes and pulled out my old Girl Scout Handbook. She didn’t believe I was once a Girl Scout, too, so I proved it with my circa 1977 edition of the handbook:

I didn’t notice it as a kid, but I love the diversity in this book’s images. Pretty awesome for a 1977 printing!

This troop did get started in the fall, and Mira is now a proud Daisy scout. She’s competitive, so she is determined to earn as many badges as she can. Daisy scouts are kindergarteners and first graders, so she’s one of the older girls in her group.

And then earlier this month, the Girl Scout cookie drive started. I don’t know why I thought that Mira might not care all that much about selling cookies, because I was utterly wrong. She carefully looked over the materials, especially studying the prizes earned at each level, and then announced she was going to sell 1,000 boxes of cookies.

Um…that’s the spirit, kid? How do you tell your child to aim lower with her goals?

I didn’t want to tell her that her goal was too high, but I also didn’t want her to be disappointed if/when she didn’t reach that goal. Because selling that many boxes of cookies is not an easy task. Aaron and I have plenty of friends, but not THAT many people we can hit up for cookie orders.

So I gently tried to explain just how many boxes that was, and how many people would have to order to reach that goal. I encouraged her to keep that goal in her mind, but to also set a lower goal that she’d still feel proud about reaching. Basically, a minimum goal. She settled on 300 boxes. Still awfully high, but not nearly as impossible.

For the past two weeks, she’s brought up selling cookies everywhere she’s been. She’s tried to sell cookies to cashiers in stores, to people in waiting rooms, and of course to friends and family. She’s had the best luck with friends and family, of course.

She sat next to me while I posted cookie order announcements on Facebook, checking in with me later to see who placed orders. She’s asked Aaron at least every other day if he gathered any new orders for her at his office. Mira is determined to be the World’s Best Cookie Seller, and I am the mom who is required to have the order form with me everywhere we go. Really, Aaron and I are her unpaid interns, I think.

She’s not going to make her big goal, but she has a shot at making her smaller goal. I’ll give her credit for having drive and persistence. The order forms are due later today, and she’s at just over 200 boxes ordered. Hopefully she’ll have the chance to participate in some booth sales in March to supplement her total and reach that goal of 300.

This is my first time on the mom side of Girl Scout cookie sales, and I have a new appreciation for my mom, for her efforts helping me sell cookies as a kid. So far it hasn’t been too hard, although I realize the real work begins when we have to pack the SUV full of cookies to deliver. But it’s worth it if Mira is happy and hopefully learning something from the experience.

(Side note: I’m turning in the forms today at 3pm. If you’d like to order cookies, let me know before then and I can get your order in. $4/box, and we can mail them out to long-distance friends if they cover shipping. The things we do for our kids…)

Filed Under: Mira