Happiness

Last night my Jack did his homework willingly. Now this isn't the normal two pages he has. It was about 8-10 pages. When this happens it's overwhelming for him. I promised myself I wouldn't ask him to do homework all week. I kept my promise for the most part. I would make general announcements like, "only those who have homework done will get to do ____" This worked a little bit so he had a lot of leftovers by last night. So I decided to tell him that if he finished ALL his homework I'd let him sleep in my bed with me. WOW, did that kid get going. I guess it was Mommy time he needed. Something comes to mind, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease", there's been a bit of squeaking lately. I had decided it was pretty much what kids do at 7 and I still think it is to some degree but I also think that he needed Mommy time. So it was about 10pm and we hopped into bed. I usually don't go to bed until later but thought that I needed to talk a bit with him to see if anything was bugging him. He was talking a million miles a minute but none of it about bullies, or mean kids or anything but BIONICLES. The kid has a one track mind with these things. He loves them. I don't follow the story so well. He's always telling me stuff and gets a bit frustrated when I don't remember this Toa or who Gali is etc. GI JOE's were much easier. But I must say that I was purely happy to have my Jack who hates school so much do his homework with such ease last night. Makes a mom want to smile. :)

Nose bodies business

Adventure is never too far to find in my neck of the woods. Friday last week my Sam decided to put a purple bead up his nose at preschool. So my lovely friend called me and let me know. I felt so bad as I busted a gut in the middle of target. I don't know why I thought it was so funny but I did. When I talked to him on the phone he was so sad my laughter dwindled quickly and I decided I had better go pick him up. The day before he tried shoving cheese up his nose at which point I reminded him of another friend who had also put a bead up his nose and had to go to the ER. I thought that would be helpful but apparently it only sparks the imagination.

So off to the ER we went. He wasn't sad by the time I had picked him up and I couldn't see the bead at all. I could see a trace of blood but that was it. We got to the ER and they saw us almost right away. I thought "Wow, this never happens". Well it didn't happen. 4 hours later we got to go home and the bead was still no where to be found.

Sam loved the 4 hours of all mom attention he got though. We laughed, we played, we made balloons out of the gloves. We tried procedures they suggested without them. They said that I could plug his good nostril and blow into his mouth, like CPR to try and blow the bead back out. This he was very willing to do. He would open his mouth so wide and ready that it would just crack me up. But I did try SEVERAL times to get this to work. Didn't work with or without the staff watching. Eventually they got an ENT to come and check him out. He numbed his "nose holes" and used a "nose opener" to look deeper in with his special lights. NADA! So he said that it probably went all the way back and he swallowed it. Nice, now Sam is excited to check his poop.

Problem, if he gets a really runny nose bring him in and we'll do surgery. Well today I noticed a runny nose. Predominately on the bead side. Hmmm. Will surgery be lurking around the corner? Who knows.

Have your kids stuck anything fun up their noses? Besides their fingers. Oh FYI organic matter is of more concern that plastic in case you were wondering. Oils from the foods etc. can really irritate apparently. Just thought I'd let you know.

SPARK

I love reading about our amazing human bodies. I just do. So I found another fun book as I whizzed past the new books at the library. It's called "SPARK The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain". Some of you may think I'm crazy but it really is quite interesting. So I'll share a little blurb from it with you.

"It was already known that exercise increases levels of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine--important neurotransmitters that traffic in thoughts and emotions. You've probably heard of serotonin, and maybe you know that a lack of it is associated with depression, but even many psychiatrists I meet don't know the rest. They don't know that toxic levels of stress erode the connections between the billions of nerve cells in the brain or that chronic depression shrinks certain areas of the brain. And thy don't know that, conversely, exercise unleashes a cascade of neurochemicals and growth factors that can reverse this process, physically bolstering the brain's infrastructure. In fact, the brain responds like muscles do, growing with use, withering with inactivity. The neurons in the brain connect to one another through "leaves" on treelike branches, and exercises causes those branches to grow and bloom with new buds, thus enhancing brain function at a fundamental level."

Isn't that just fascinating. Okay some of you already know this stuff and may be yawning but I just get excited reading this. Now I know that my lack of physical activity is why I feel dumb sometimes. My brain is weakening. Now I need to start working out and I'll get smarter, right?

Actually I recently read a book on brain exercises. They suggested doing things with your opposite hand. So I've been trying to vacuum left handed. Not quite physical enough to bring the growth and reconnection maybe but still a challenge. :)

Now I just need to work out a plan to get in that exercise. Hmmmm. The bathroom deals been off for a while. Suggestions are welcome. :)