And I Wonder Why My Kids Have Asthma?

On a day such as this, it is no wonder why both my children have asthma.

Let me help interpret this picture for you all. At the very distance on a clear day, there are mountains in the background. Not this smoggy, smoke filled haze that is covering the view of these mountains. Yes, the air quality where we live is pretty poor. We deal with the normal desert dust, plus dust from construction, but this weekend we have been graced with the addition on wind blowing smoke in from the California wild fires into our area. Luckily, my little asthmatics have stayed indoors and have had no breathing issues. Lets hope we can keep it that way until this wind and smoke blow over.

That Makes Two

This week it was confirmed.............. I have two asthmatics.

The first asthma experience for our family was in July, when my son had to visit the pediatric ER twice in one day. For months he was coughing, and coughing, sometimes working into coughing fits. No cough medicine seemed to stop his coughing. Every time I took him to the doctor, I paid my $50 co-pay, sat in the office waiting room for an hour, and saw the doctor for three minutes. Mentioning our family history of asthma, the doctors continued to tell me it was a virus.

That all changed one morning when my son had a difficult time breathing, his neck muscles were struggling trying to assist him in breathing along with his belly (I understand now what they mean by belly breathing). He was pasty white and had black circles under his eyes. I took him in to the ER and he was given a breathing treatment and oral steroid. Four hours later we were back in the ER with the same breathing issues again. This time around in the ER he had 2 more breathing treatments and the doctor would not discharge him until the medical supply company delivered his home nebulizer to the hospital for us to take home . Let me tell you what a long day that was sitting in the ER for hours! One tired Mama, plus a really tired boy. I cannot even describe what a trooper he was.

I believe what made my son's diagnosis a little tricky was that he had a lack of wheezing. It seems most people relate asthma to wheezing. My son did not wheeze until we were on our way to the hospital. Since coughing seemed to be an asthma symptom not commonly mentioned I did some research. In this research, I came across an article about symptoms of asthma, one being a persistent clearing of the throat. I read that sentence twice to make sure I was reading it correctly. This was my daughter. She was constantly clearing her throat. Knowing now, after all my asthma research, it makes since as she was most likely trying to expel the air. So, to the doctor she went. My daughter had a great doctor, who we found after my son's asthma diagnosis, and she prescribed my daughter preventative medicines also.

Some days it now feels like our life revolves around asthma. My daughter uses her inhaler 4 times a day plus Singulair at night. My son has a preventative inhaler he takes morning and night, plus Singulair. Both have rescue inhalers and the home nebulizer machine. The kids have become quite proficient at playing while being attached to the breathing mask. Besides the asthma medicine, it is constant vacuuming and cleaning to keep our house as free of allergens as possible. Our house is an allergy nightmare. We live in the dessert with constant dust, poor air quality in the city, a dog, 2 cats, a load of stuffed animal that collect dust mites, and carpet upstairs. Hopefully by being a great maid and staying on the preventative medicine, the kids will stay healthy and out of the ER.

School Day

It was a morning full of anticipation, apprehension, and nerves running amuck. And this was me, not even my son or daughter.

Today was the first day of first grade for my son and preschool for my daughter. "What are you going to do with all your time?" and "Aren't you glad they are both in school?" were common questions I was asked over the summer. I was even told to prepare myself for a quiet home, for childless time. But how does one even begin to prepare for something so monumental?

Being the planner that I am, I had my grand plan in place ready to execute. After the second drop off, with my new book in hand, I walked right into the coffee shop prepared to read for the whole 2 and 1/2 hours my daughter was in preschool. I can't remember the last time I was able to read uninterrupted. I ordered my coffee, sat down and was flipping page after page engrossed in the plot of my new book. That is, until a mom and her little boy sat at the table next to me. As they were talking over coffee and chocolate milk I became filled with sadness that my son's teacher would now be spending more time with my son during the day then I. No longer would my son and I enjoy a relaxing morning over coffee and chocolate milk. Ok, so its not like I will never have coffee and chocolate milk with my son again, the point being he is now in school and away from home for most of the day. I could no longer focus on my book and decided to leave and figure out what to do with the 2 hours left in my morning before I could pick up my daughter. So much for best laid plans.

It seems so hard as a parent to learn to let go as children grow and mature. I keep a quote in mind every time I have trouble letting my kids spread their wings. It says, "A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary." My job is to continue to provide them with the tools they need to successfully spread those wings.

It's a Party

My munchkins Auntie started a new family tradition at our house. As munchkin #1 is entering first grade, munchkin #2 is taking the leap to preschool, the munchkin Daddy and Auntie are going back to school, what better way to kick off this new journey in our families lives then to....... have a party!!! It was a Back to School Party. Full of decorations, dessert, and family.

This was no plain old party though. Yes, it had the decorations, the people, the food, and the excitement of my kids all day, "when is the party?" "is it time for the party?" "where is everyone for the party?" "Why aren't our 'people' here yet?" What made this an extra ordinary party, was the message behind it. Auntie picked two themes to "work on" or "keep in mind" through this school year which were "Listen Well" and "Good Attitude."

As we were eating our brownie sundaes the most amazing thing happened. It was started off by one small question. "What does listening mean to you?" The oldest child gave his answer which was parroted by the younger one. Then, the entire family started talking about what it meant to "listen well", to have a "good attitude." I loved that it got the munchkins talking and providing examples to us about what these terms meant. The 6 year old munchkin even started asking his Papa and Nana what they were going to do to have a good attitude.

If you are as sappy as me, gotta love the times when true heartfelt discussions transpire around the kitchen table.

Dribble, dribble, dribble, flood

It all started as I was carrying groceries in from the car. A little dribble of water peeking out from under the garage door. As I carried in the sacks, I played over and over in my head what could be leaking in the garage. Please tell me something else can leak in my garage but the water heater, please. After all grocery bags were stowed safely on the table (did not want the dog to take the opportunity to eat the bag of frozen chicken nuggets), I rummaged up enough courage to open the garage door. With one push of that button, my toes were flooded with water rushing down the driveway. If I would have closed my eyes and heard seagulls squawk, I would have sworn I was at the beach with the water flowing over my toes.

After the panic of.......... everything is wet, what plumber do I call, how much will this cost me, what pictures and sentimentals have been destroyed, I figured I would turn lemons into lemonade. Now, this was asking a lot as I am no cook. My kids think pancakes come from the microwave and were astonished to find out that pancakes can be made on a griddle and you actually cook pizza in the oven!! Thanks Aunties!! Anyway, back to the lemonade, I decided it would be a great time to clear the clutter from the garage.

What a fire hazard. Seeming that my husband has caught a garage on fire, a story for another time, and yes, he was an adult, one would think we would keep that garage clean and clear of debris. Toys, school projects, bikes, pet travel cases, you name it, I think we had it. Oh, did I failed to mention this is a one car garage with a non- working SUV in it?

After four grueling hours, I was proud that we had a new water heater, made 2 trips to Goodwill, 1 trip and $35 later, the city dump, and had a virtual yard sale on the curb awaiting garbage day 2 days later. I am taking bets on what is left for the garbage men to pick up........

Hotel de Mama Mia Maria

One evening while driving home my 6-year-old little man said to me, "I would like to stay at a hotel tonight." I replied, "We live here, we are not staying at a hotel."

"But I want to stay in a hotel."

I could see where this conversation was going and did not want to circle this particular wagon with him. So I announced, "We are going to stay in a beautiful hotel tonight called the Hotel de Mama Mia Maria."

I saw a big smile creep over his face as I started to list out what wonderful amenities were available at this hotel:

• chamber maid
• chef
• chauffeur
• bell hop
• activity coordinator
• waitress
• mediator
• secretary
• photographer
• educational tutor
• access to a petting zoo: two cats, one dog, plus a menagerie of wild critters a mile a way on Nana's mountain
• water amusement center: a slip-and-slide is just a slip and slide; add a water gun and it is a water park; add the neighbors' kids across the street and it is a water amusement center

To me, I was sold on this hotel after a maid and chef would be at my beck and call. Hotel de Mama Mia Maria sounds better then any brochure I have ever seen for an all-inclusive resort. Unfortunately, my son was not as impressed when he finally figured out it was his house.

This is the story of how our house became known as the Hotel de Mama Mia Maria.