MOM CONFESSIONALS

{ disclosure : received My Little Pony’s RC Rainbow Dash Plane as a gift, the opinions expressed here are always my own }

I’m definitely living vicariously through my daughter.  As a kid my parents couldn’t really afford toys for us.  Christmas gifts usually involved more practical gifts like a new outfit and school bag.  But I do remember all the girls with their dolls, Strawberry Shortcake toys and My Little Pony.  Oh how I wanted ones of my own!

My daughter is a mix of girly and tomboy and the My Littlle Pony’s RC Rainbow Dash Plane is perfect for her!  Maybe I’ve been living in a bubble but this was the first RC toy I’ve seen that wasn’t targeted at boys.  I can’t imagine a little girl not wanted to have an RC controlled toy of their own.  I can’t believe there aren’t many more out there.  Ava shrieked with delight when we opened the box to reveal a My Little Pony gift.  Little did she know that it was way more fun than she could have ever imagined having only played with RC “boys” toys.  I laughed in amusement because my 6 year old was begging to play with it himself — you know, with a girl’s toy.  It was appropriately rated for ages 3 and up, with a simple 3 button remote that took seconds for the toddler to figure out without any instruction. Out came all her Pony’s and they took turns riding Rainbow Dash’s plane as I’m always trying to teach the toddler another socialization skill.

My Little Pony’s RC Rainbow Dash is being added to my arsenal of gifts.  Perfect for little girl’s birthdays, Christmas presents or in this case… just for being her.  With a suggested retail price of $24.99, it requires 3 AA batteries which are not included.

For a limited time, get $10 off when you spend $30 on select new items from My Little Pony at Amazon.com. See details and restrictions.

I also spotted it at our neighborhood Target on sale for $18.99 – STEAL!

On an exploratory trip to Target for no other reason than we were bored, we leisurely strolled the store aisle by aisle.  It’s a lot of fun, and very dangerous.  You just FIND things to buy.  At one point we stopped at the accessories counter and I decided to check out some earrings for the toddler’s newly pierced ears.  After internally rationalizing for a bit, I decided maybe REAL diamonds for a 3 year old might be a little extravagant.  I mean what might she have to look forward to when she’s say, 5 or 6 years old then?  Unfortunately there was no salesperson to be seen and I told the toddler we’d have to come back in a little while to see them up close.  She was fine with that and happily danced around the store, lingering of course in the toy section.  After about an hour, a toy bought for each child and munchies for mom, we headed home.  Halfway home, it occurred to me that we had forgotten the earrings and I gasped, “Damn! (ugh!) I’m sorry Ava, Mommy forgot to check back on the earrings. Sooo sorry!”  The toddler’s quick response back had me floored.  “That’s okay Mommy, just go online.”  And that was that!

Anyone think I shop online too much?

You might think it strange that I’m sitting here eating chili cheese sticks from Black Hound Bakery (yum!) and drinking a glass of water when just a few hours ago I was sitting in an ambulance on my way to the hospital after my son had an anaphylactic reaction to a smidge of ice cream I gave him.  It really was just a smidge.  He seemed really to really want some of what his sister and I were so obviously enjoying after a day of shopping.  I didn’t think there was any harm in just a touch of it on his tongue.  That little touch wound up more around his mouth than in his mouth and that turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Within a few minutes his lips began to swell and I looked at him and thought this is NOT a good sign.  Despite my nursing school training I still didn’t trust myself to call it as I saw it, an anaphylactic reaction.  I immediately took a photo and messaged my pediatrician (who may rue the day he ever let me have his personal cell phone number).  Trying to remain calm, I wrote, “Hey quick q… Just gave Marcus a taste of ice cream and his lips swelled up.  Should we be worried?”  I waited a second before calling and leaving a message with his service as well.  I guess this is where my medical training instinctively kicked in because I knew if I was right, this could quickly turn into a bad situation. I started to notice Marcus getting lethargic and falling asleep almost instantly.  My phone rang and it was the pediatrician who confirmed what I already knew.  I sprinted to the front of the store with my son and as calm as possible asked them to call 911 as my son was having an anaphylactic reaction to the ice cream I gave him a few minutes ago.

It took about 3-4 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and we were trying hard to keep Marcus awake.  He was desaturating fast.  I could not believe how calm I was being.  I did exactly as the EMT’s told me.  Got on the stretcher with him and we were on our way.  Marcus was barely awake, but not trying to sleep anymore.  He was quietly observing all the commotion.  Definitely not his usual behavior but they placed him on an O2 sat machine where he fluctuated from 92% to 100% as they gave him oxygen.  He happily placed it in his mouth like it was some teething toy.  The EMT’s had evaluated that they should take us not to the nearest hospital but rather one that had a Pediatric emergency room and also happened to be en route to home.  In minutes we were in the pediatric emergency room where he was given a dose of oral Benadryl.  Once again, thankfully to an informed conversation I had with the EMT’s, instead of  shot of Epi(nephrine) or a shot of Benedryl, he was given an oral dose which eased everyone especially the infant who would have been wailing at the top of his lungs.  I guess that would have a been a good thing too, opening up his lungs.  It was funny arriving into the ER with the EMT’s informing the staff that “Mommy speaks Nurse”, all I could say was… um barely…  The swelling around Marcus’ mouth had gone down significantly and you would never know anything was wrong because he was the happiest patient.  He thought being in the ER was sheerly the best thing ever!  See Video. After being evaluated, we were cleared to go home.  The reaction was mostly localized thanks to it only being a “smidge” of ice cream.  Armed with a bottle of Benadryl and instructions to get his allergies evaluated as soon as possible, we went home.

The baby is now fast asleep thanks to the side effects of Benadryl, none the wiser to the fact he probably shaved like 20 years off my life.  But I guess I have no one else to blame but myself.  I gave him the “smidge” of ice cream.  The irony was that he had an appointment to get allergy tested earlier in the week but since I had just started school, my mother in law had to take him.  Because of a language barrier between my barely English speaking mother in law and the doctor, they thought it was simply a routine visit. 

{ disclosure : received a Filtrete Water Station to demo but the opinions expressed here are always my own }

After observing all of my environmentally conscience classmates over the summer with their reusable water bottles I was determined to kick the bottled water habit.  No matter how small a step I managed to take, my family never seemed to climb on board.  I couldn’t believe they thought the mere act of filling up the bottles before leaving was just too much for them.  Sheer laziness I tell you!  It was simply easier to grab a bottle from the shelf and walk right out the door. Yet I was shocked that they could remember to bring back the empty bottles for recycling redemption and yet couldn’t be bothered to fill up their own bottles and bring it back, as if the 5¢ really makes it an incentive.  If there was a sale at Target or BJ’s Wholesale Club my basement would be filled with cases and cases of Poland Spring water, much to my chagrin.

When I spotted the Filtrete Water Station at BlogHer, I thought it was sheer brilliance!  It took the Brita or Pur water pitcher idea one step further and was just the thing to help my family kick the water bottle habit.  The station is small enough to move under the faucet to fills 1 to 4 reusable crystal clear bottles rapidly.  When I say rapidly, it’s not a drip drip drip like the filtration pitchers I’m use to.  Within a couple minutes I have 4 bottles of water ready to go.  The bottles have a uniquely designed cap that creates a spill proof seal each and every time and also serves as a handy handle for transportation.  Every morning as I leave for school, I grab a bottle and go.  It’s been a life saver in the heat wave we’ve had this week.

My family is slowly coming around.  This past weekend as we headed out the door, we grabbed 3 bottles for the car and were on our way!  I guess the sleek bottled water design helps too!  Another added bonus, I can twist the cap off and add in a few ice cubes for an instant chill.  That’s one over on bottled water!

The Filtrete Water Station boasts a savings of 3000 plastic water bottles from landfills per year.  The filter doesn’t have to be replaced for an amazing 3 months, almost 2 and a half times longer thn traditional pitcher filters and is recyclable with #2 plastics. The Filtrete Water Station comes with a docking station, (4) 16.9oz bottles and 1 Filtrete Fast Flow Filter and retails for around $42.99.  Additional bottles can be purchase in a 2-pack for $15.99.  Replacement filters are only $12.99 and only need to be changed 4 times a year.  This mom loves Filtrete and Mom Confessional readers can download this coupon for $5 off their own environmentally friendly Filtrete Water Station.

..and my heart still aches at the thought of Emma.  While the pain gets less every year, it’s still there.  I wonder if I’ll ever get over the “what if” factor.  We did play that card with Marcus and look how it turned out? What if I hadn’t listened to the doctors (and to my husband) and continued with her pregnancy?  These are the moments I believe in miracles, because I know they are possible… but I will never know.  As August approaches I always get anxious.  I know it’s merely a date, but reaching it reminds me so much of that day.  Like a ticking time bomb…  I admit this year it almost slipped by me.  As the week approached, whether subconscious or not, I avoided looking at calendars.  When the day arrived, I didn’t exactly acknowledge it, but had a heavy heart all day.  In the evening when everyone had gone to bed, I looked at the calendar… August 23rd, 2010 and noted next to it – Remembering Emma.  I let all the emotions sink in and quietly wept.  I know my husband had forgotten and that really angered me.  To this day, I still don’t understand how he can forget.  I understand each person has a different coping mechanism, but I needed his to be like my own… so I didn’t feel so alone in it.  Sitting in the playroom, after everyone’s gone to bed, silently weeping as if it was a shameful secret.  Sometimes when I bring up Emma, as our first child, I almost sense an exasperated sigh from him.  I know he wants me to forget and probably doesn’t understand why I can’t forget.  It’s going to be one of those things we differ on.

At the same time I couldn’t help chastising myself.  I had two gorgeous kids now.  They are the loves of my life and bring me the greatest joy!

I’ve been asked many times for a MARCUS UPDATE, so here you go!: I wonder someday if Marcus will resent me for my over-scrutinizing and publicizing of his condition for all the world to see and hear.  I found myself whispering in his ear the other day to never leave me.  I don’t know what my world would be without my sweet boy.  I want to see him grow up, be taller, stronger and more handsome than his daddy.  I want to see him marry and have kids of his own, experiencing the joy that he brings me every day. All things aside, and we won’t know what the future will bring, he is perfect in every way.  Marcus is a sweet happy baby who has a smile for everyone.  He has such a gentle, quiet temperament.  He sleeps on schedule, loves his veggies, will sooth himself to sleep in his crib and wakes up happy as can be.  He never wakes us up if he’s up before us.  He’s content to play in his crib by himself until someone happens to stop by.  He loves his sister and “big brother” Jaylen (his cousin), everything they do makes him erupt in a giggle fit.  He has two bottom teeth, way ahead of his sister who didn’t pop any until she was about 15 months old.  Sadly, they are coming in a little crooked, a nod to my terrible dentitions – Thank G-d for braces!  At 8.5 months, he’s not crawling yet, but not for lack of trying.  He’ll get it one day I’ve been told, there aren’t any grown adults who can’t walk! Little blips come up here and there, but we take it one step at a time and as a family together.  As with any of our children, nothing is too small or insignificant, and we’ll always worry about every little hair on their pretty little heads.  I’m so happy that I stuck to my gut because here he is and the world is a happier place because of him.

Emma’s sister, Ava is a barrel of laughs.  We never know what is going to come out of her mouth, I call it, affectionately, “The Ava Show!”  She’s been often described as 3 going on 30.  She’s incredibly precocious, loves everything passionately.  She’s not a child you can stereotype.  She is girly and a bit tom-boyish at the same time.  She loves transformers as much as she loves My Little Pony.  She plays with her dollhouse as much as her train set.  She’s always imitating one of the adults in her life and if you let her help you with something, be warned, she’ll think she’s a pro from then on.  She’s one of mommy’s favorite photography subjects and has become quite the model.

With my heart bursting full of love for my kids, I can’t help but wish for another little brother or sister for Emma.  Only time will tell, but nothing brings me as much joy like a house filled with children’s laughter.