Not That Fateful and Dreaded Phone Call

Tayler got out of the shower yesterday and came in my room wrapped in a towel, hair dripping on the floor to show me some purple-ish spots on her chest. I did the usual sick child spot check. No fever. No runny nose. No cough. No aches or pains. So, I sent her off to school with instructions to keep her eye on them and call me if they started multiplying. Around noon, I get a phone call from her saying she had 7 spots this morning, and now there are 11. I picked her up from school, did another spot check. No symptoms of any kind. I called the doctor and they told me to bring her in.

All of her vitals were perfect as usual and she was cheery and happy. The doctor came in and took a look at the spots, checked her legs, listened to her lungs, checked the spots again, and made that god awful perplexed "hmmmm", you know, the one with the furrowed brow that makes your stomach turn. She then told me the spots are purpura. Pur..whaaaaa?? Purpura is essentially bleeding under the skin and can be caused by a multitude of things ranging from meningitis to simple trauma to the area.

"I'll be right back" the doctor says and steps out of the room. My concern grows as I just know she's going to find another doctor for another opinion, and of course moments later in walks the doctor with her colleague. He looks at the spots more "hmmmmmms". He has her lie down and lifts her head, moves it around in circles, asks some questions, and rules out meningitis..whewwwwwww!!! The options we were left with were a: Trauma or B: low platelets...shiiiiiiiit!!! He recommends some blood tests and leaves.

This of course throws Tayler into a near panic. The last time a needle had to enter Tayler about 6 years ago, it took 6 grown nurses to hold her down. I gave the typical reassurances..."You're a young adult now" "You can handle this" "It's not as bad as a shot" "Mommy will be right here, holding your hand." "I'll buy you ice cream if you're brave"... When the nurse came in to draw the blood, she manned up..shut her eyes really tight, winced a little, squeezed the shit out of my hand, and only said "ow" once. I was very proud of her!!

The doctor came back in and let me know she was sending the blood to the labs to be tested STAT, not because she thought it was anything serious, but because she was curious...seriously?!?!?! This is what you say to reassure a parent you have just told their child could potentially have leukemia?!?!? I'm curious?!?! WTF...she sent me home with purpura written on a piece of paper and explicit instructions NOT TO GOOGLE IT when I got home.

We went home. Picked up a frozen pizza and the promised ice cream at the store. I had promised Tayler we would watch My Sister's Keeper when Ross was out of town this week. As much as I was sure I did NOT want to sit with my daughter and watch a dramatic sob story about a girl with..you guessed it..Leukemia, I felt like what I needed to do with Tayler right now was act normal. She did not need her mom in total freak-out mode...freaking her out.

So we watched the movie, while I choked back tears. I literally forced myself NOT to cry..and that was a SAD movie!! And I waited...and waited...and waited. We left the doctor's office at 5.. at 7 there was still no call...at 8 there was still no call. I continued to reassure myself that there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with her..she was healthy and active...but when you're in these situations, you can't help but think about all of the movies and blogs you read from parents with seriously sick children..how their kid was fine, then one day some strange something or other appears, and the next thing they know their fighting some epic battle with a life-threatening disease. I wasn't in a full blown panic, but it was definitely lingering at the back of my head.

Around 9, I got the call. I knew immediately by the chipper way the doctor said "Hi!" that everything was fine, a total rush of relief when she said Tayler's blood is perfect.

I was beyond grateful and relieved that it was NOT one of those calls that turn your world upside down, and in that moment, my heart went out to all of those parents who have answered that phone call and heard a somber doctor on the other end of the line.

Please tell me you did NOT go out in that??? The Ho-Down Show-Down

So..Tayler's school had a "Ho-down" last night for the 4th and 5th graders. My best friend's son goes to school with her and we thought it would be fun to get together for dinner while the kids are at this...Ho-down thing. Actually, she offered to make me dinner...and when would I EVER pass up the opportunity to sit on my ass and drink wine while some else slaves away at the stove??

Two glasses of wine later the kids are yelling from the door that they were leaving to walk the three blocks to the school....we waved them off cheerfully from the kitchen..out of sight from the front door....and poured another glass of wine.

Two hours and one drunk D-licious later (yes, I know it was Thursday night..but c'mon..that's only one day away from Friday..I like my pre-weekend celebrations)...Ross goes to pick them up....I'm sitting on the couch when my daughter comes sauntering in the house...in a spaghetti strap dress-thing that I am pretty sure is really supposed to be a shirt...and patent leather shoes with little heels. I...was....MORTIFIED....seriously MORTIFIED. The only consolation was that she was in-fact smart enough to put shorts on under this atrocity that she for some reason considered appropriate to not only wear out in public...but to a SCHOOL function none-the-less.

We made a feeble attempt at the "modesty talk" where she of course played dumb..(because she is so smart)...claiming that "yea, but I'm wearing shorts underneath" ... 45 minutes of arguing later... I'm pretty sure she now understands the definition of the word modesty, but she by no means has any intentions of implementing it into her wardrobe choices. So naturally we threatened to put her in a habit...permanently...if she EVER tries to walk out the door like that again.

AND now I get to be "THAT parent"...yep...the one who's child they look at with pity because her mom is obviously "absent" in the parental control category...and as an added benefit, I get the knowledge that she isn't even close to her teen years..and it's starting already. Lord....help....me!

What have we learned here today??.... Put the wine down...and pay attention to your freaking kid when she walks out the damn door.

5 hours and 1 Tayler later....

So...I told Tayler to clean her room. The usual 6 hours goes by, and she finally reappears claiming that "I'm done!! It's so awesome...come look!!" ... and this is what I see.....

Pictured here is Tayler...and her idea of "cleaning her room."

What you see here is her 5'wide 1.5' deep metal and glass shelving unit, shoved into her 5' wide 2' deep closet, which she proudly refers to as "her store!!"

How, you ask, did she manage to fanagle and shove this shelving unit into her closet? .. this my friends, like many many of the 3 million things Tayler will do in order to keep from doing what she is currently SUPPOSED to be doing, is still a mystery.

My Own Little Project Runway

Tayler has always been a very creative kid, and a master creator. Much to my horror, she can cut, glue, bend, break, re-arrange and mix most anything...into something...usually involving things like her brand new bed sheets (that came in a set, that match her bedspread), or my favorite summer dress, feathers and lots of cardboard boxes...and NOTHING in this world keeps her happier and more entertained. Lately, she's taken to cutting the sleeves off of all of her long-sleeve shirts and sporting them as punk rocker arm bands complete with thumb holes, apparently she pulls most of her inspiration from Avril Lavigne, which I guess is still better than either of the Spears girls, so I'll take it.

Yesterday, most likely inspired by the latest fashion exploits of her mother, Tayler decided that her one and only goal in life was to become a world-renowned fashion designer. Being the excellent and supportive mother that I am, told her "great, you create 10 outfits, and I will call everybody I know here in St. Pete, and get you in on one of the shows"..cause we all know, with Tay's adhd, the chances that this fad will last past the third outfit are slim to none, but hey, you need to encourage your kids...right? But for now..and probably to the middle of next week, she's going to eat, sleep, and breath fashion.

Here she is modeling her first creation, that mommy had to kindly explain "was great for walking down the runway or rocking out with your friends..in the privacy of your bedroom, but NOT school, or otherwise appropriate 10 year old public apparel"

....she made the skirt....thingy....and when she first appeared wearing it, it was not accompanied by the mommy-suggested obviously required leggings.

Yes...I do realize....I am in for MUCH trouble in imminent, looming, panic inducing upcoming teenage years.

Move over Coco Chanel...Tay's on the scene!