Northpark Santa

Y'all.

Can we just stop for a hot minute and discuss something that is absolute insanity?  Something that is so absurd, yet people do year after year without hesitation, as if they are naïve precious little people who actually believe that mistletoe is the compass to finding true love?  I'm talking about something that is as close to hades as we can get on this side of eternity....

What am I talking about?

NorthPark Santa, y'all.

Why?  Why do we put ourselves through it every year?  Jason got up at FIVE AM this morning (bless his kind and willing soul dear Lord) to go make the trek to the mall and stand in line FOR HOURS just to get a stupid ticket to see Santa.  Not actually see Santa, a ticket to come see him later.  Bless our precious hearts.

We had to wait this year until after Brady got out of school to actually go BACK to the mall for these precious memories we will hold so wonderfully close to our hearts for the rest of our lives.  Yall.  Have you seen a kindergartener after school?  The attitude, the sass, somehow still the energy, it's like a mixture between a kitten who hates his owner and a six week old puppy.  Who's idea was it to take that kid to go visit Jolly ole Saint Nick instead of locking him up in his room to catch some much needed afternoon zzz's?  Oh that's right, ours.

So since Jason is working during the day, I had the pleasure of taking the kids up to the mall where he met us in the garage.  Now, normally most people who have brains in their head do not touch that parking garage with a ten foot pole during this season.  Everyone knows you valet or you might get murdered.  But there I was, opening every door and wrestling my children out in plain sight, an easy target for anyone who wanted to take advantage of my idiocracy.

FINALLY we got inside, bless.  Now, if you know nothing else about NorthPark Santa, once you have your ticket and are ready to see him, you wait for it....stand in line again.  What in the actual earth?  Yes, there are still fifteen thousand eighty five people there, so you still stand in line.  Thankfully, the order you are placed in goes hand in hand with the order you arrived in the morning.  Us?  We were lucky number sixteen so of course this was going to be a breeze.

Yeah....no, it wasn't a breeze.  How could we be so lucky to store up our treasures on earth instead of Heaven sweet Jesus?  We got the two little monsters up to the front at approximately four o'clock.  Y'all.  They told us they were cutting off the line UNTIL 5:30 because Santa needed to take a break.  What?  An hour and a half, for the love?  Ok fine, we decided to walk around the mall and make the most of it....during Christmas...with children....monster children who need naps and hugs and demand all the toys or they WILL NOT BE YOUR FRIEND for ever and ever so help them.

But we did it.  We walked around.  Got back in line at 5:45 (Santa got a little delayed).  Somehow two or three of the precious housewives of Highland Park seemed to smuggle their way in front of us, and I can guarantee their numbers were not lower than sixteen and I can guarantee they did not arrive at four pm.  I had to do what any Christian woman who  had been waiting as long as I had in the current state that I was in would do....y'all I told those women off so hard....with my eyes.  THEY KNEW I meant business when I looked at them.  Except they didn't because they weren't even looking back.

We finally got to the front of the line at took our pictures at roughly 6:30.  Madelynn cried and it was magical.  Brady talked to Santa, told him he wanted a dinosaur or car or something, this frazzled mama wasn't paying attention.  I was ready to print those puppies out and make a b-line for the gangster-filled parking lot, ain't nothing holding me down at this point.

So then, we get in, wait for it, another line to view the photos and make our selections and pay.  We took pictures of Madi, Brady, and then them together.  I noticed package C was $35 and included 3 5x7 photos, perfection.  I looked for approximately 30 seconds, basically did eeny-meeny-miny-mo and prayed to the Santa gods that they were ok because I can not take one more "Mommy I need to go to the bathroom and this is boring" or I might actually lose it.  "Ok, three package A's it is then, ma'am.  That will be sixty eight dollars."  WHAT?  "But package C says $35 for three 5x7s."  "Oh, ma'am, that's for one pose and three pictures of that pose."  WHAT?  WHAT?  Someone pinch me!  "Oh, ok, yeah, that's understandable.  Here's $68."

LADIES.  GENTLEMEN.  What are we doing to ourselves???  Why do we HAVE to go to NorthPark Santa every year?  For consistency, because we saw him as a little kid, because he is the actual Santa and no one can prove it otherwise....NO.  NEVER EVER EVER AGAIN for the love.  Promise you will tell me this next year when I'm lost in a little jingle bell bubble and all I want is a jolly old pic with Saint Nick and think it will be better this year.  Please knock some sense in me and remind me that Neiman's downtown has a Santa...with a valet.  And booze...

And there will be shots...9/10/18

So it's been another few weeks and I've been meaning to post an update on my boy.

The worst part is over, I think.  We had the STIM test done.  We had my boy sedated, watched him as his chest caved in and struggled to breathe, his body fighting itself while they put him under to have an MRI.  We've gone to the appointments, we've spoken to all the doctors, we've gotten results, and we've weighed our options.  Now in a normal situation, I don't think this would have effected me as much.  It wasn't surprising, he hasn't been on the charts for height since birth.  I've always suspected something might be off.  But with all that we faced with Madelynn, I was really really hoping for a break in the medical issues department.  But here we are, facing a potentially life long treatment plan.

Our boy will need growth hormone injections six days a week at least until he stops growing, potentially for the rest of his life.  He's five, and that was a hard pill to swallow for both Jason and I.

When we went over his testing results with his pediatric endocrinologist, we were initially hoping for good news.  Apparently a passing marker level for growth hormone is a level of 10 or above during the course of the STIM test.  Brady's peak level was 3.8 and his lowest number was 0.2.  We discussed a lot of things, but a part of us was hoping maybe he was borderline deficient and we'd just let him grow the way he was growing.  Unfortunately, his case is pretty severe, so we made the decision to proceed with treatment.  Shots.  Every day.  For our five year old.

The next step was getting a pre-authorization from the insurance company to somewhat cover the costs of the injections.  We were denied the first go round, but found out we were approved in the second round late last week.  Thankfully, the endo did all the leg work for us on that part and told us about a co-pay assistance program we could apply for.  If we were to receive that, we'd get $2,400 toward the cost each year for the first two years of treatment, which would help significantly.  Apparently without this card, people pay anywhere from $300-$700 per month out of pocket, so it made the finance person in me extremely anxious.

By the grace of God, we got news today that we were approved for the copay assistance card.  I also learned that the $2,400 will count toward his deductible, which is $2,600, so it will essentially cover most of that.  We are looking at approximately $65/month instead of potentially $700, so that is wonderful news.

Our next step is to schedule a shipment and get training on how to give the injections.  I'm sure we will learn that all with time, I'm just thankful the hard part is over.  We've determined he needs treatment, but thankfully we are on a journey with something that is 100% treatable.

I included a pic below so you can see how he compares to others in his classroom.  He currently is as tall as an average three year old, but he's five.  I'm looking forward to that gap closing a little bit, not just for appearance, but so my boy can feel confident, so his muscle tone can be what it is supposed to be, so he can have sustained energy he needs, so he can sit normally in a chair and have less falling accidents, so he can have fewer shaking episodes, and so he can develop and grow the way he is supposed to.  I'll keep you all posted with his progress.

Deep Breaths - 8/16/18

There are lots of things that go through a mother’s mind when she brings her kiddo to his or her very first day of school.  Will he be brave?  Will he be kind?  Please, God, let him make friends.  Please let his teacher be awesome.  He looks so grown up.  How is he this grown up, wasn't he just taking his first steps?  Now he's running all the time.  Running...I'm not sure if he is capable of sitting still all day in one chair.  Speaking of things he's capable of, will he be able to open everything in his lunch I packed?  He always struggles getting that straw out of the package and into the impossible juice container.  I hope he doesn't starve because he can't open what he needs to.  Oh gosh, will he be bold enough to ask when he needs to go to the bathroom?  And oh Lord, will he be able to wipe on his own?  So many normal things.  But the first thing that went through my mind as I saw his little guy walking in to that big building that will shape his next 13 years?

Jesus, please keep him safe.

This world has become so cold.  It isn't fair when my son's first day of Kindergarten is robbed by the idea that he might not be free from danger in his own classroom.  As I pondered dropping a doorstop into his little Ninjago backpack just in case a desperate time ever called for it, and then wondered how I'd ever explain how to use it to my Kindergartener, my heart absolutely broke.

Jesus, please keep him safe.

Please keep them all safe.  Please help us find a solution that works to protect our children from harm.  Please help our school administrators to discern what to do in tough situations.  Please let our legislators finally come together and get past Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative to keep families in tact.  Please, just keep them safe.

I hugged my boy tight tonight as we talked about his first day.  We talked about the fun things he did, he showed me pictures he drew, talked about the things they are going to learn, and he told me he opened his own juice.  We talked about the importance of being kind to everyone and finally we prayed.  We prayed that all kids would know they are loved, and that during the school year, that Jesus would please keep them all safe.

8/10/18 - My Boy is Growing Up

I’ve started and stopped approximately twenty posts since I last updated everyone: posts about having the kids home for the first time ever together, posts about being absolutely thrilled to teach my son some things at home, posts about getting to take my children on outings without the stress of work being on my mind, and posts about oh my word what was I thinking when I thought two kids at home ALL SUMMER would be a breeze...

Then July came around and I thought about posting about my Madelynn soaring into her first birthday despite all of her battles, posting about how thinking through and reliving those days gave me an insane amount of anxiety because I wasn’t just in fight or flight mode anymore, and then posting about post partum depression and how awful it is and how I wish more parents would talk about it, and that it can actually occur anytime within the first year of having a baby, especially to those who have had traumatic births.

The truth is, I will probably late post about some of those topics because they are my life, and also because it’s now August and my Brady is going to Kindergarten in, well...days y’all, days.  I’m going to have SO MUCH LESS NOISE in my house y’all from 7am-3pm and I might actually get to hear my brain think enough to begin to write down what I’m thinking.  You moms know what I’m talking about...

But anyway, because my little guy has some big stuff coming up, and because I’ve been guilty of “Vague-Booking” some details, I wanted to let people in on what’s been going on with him and where we are.  For those of you that know my kind, crazy, silly little boy, you might know that he has never been on any of the growth charts at the pediatrician’s office for his height.  “Sure, Elaina, but have you looked in the mirror?”  “Oh who cares, his personality is ten feet tall,” and “You’re just being paranoid, STOP” are all very accurate and well-meaning phrases I’ve heard, but I’ve now learned that no matter what a single person on the face of this planet tells you, always always trust your mama gut.

After Brady’s 5 year checkup in February, our pediatrician recommended that we follow up with his Endocrinologist again, just to rule out some things. But this time when we followed up, we didn’t get our normal good news.  Our prileminary blood tests showed that Brady’s liver enzymes were low, which could be an indicator that his growth hormone levels were low.  So the endocrinologist ordered some further, more intense but more accurate testing to be done.  Brady was admitted into the hospital and was injected with a substance to make his body produce growth hormone.  Then over the course of the morning, his blood was drawn every 30 minutes to test the levels of his growth hormone.  I had to watch him go from silly and goofy to getting an attitude because he wanted to watch something more interesting on tv  to almost passing out and throwing up over just a few hours, and my mama hurt every time he cried because the needles or the iv hurt.  The results came in and it was determined that Brady has a growth hormone deficiency.

Now, also during that test they checked his cortisol levels.  They also came back borderline low so we had to yet again take my baby boy for more bloodwork, Jason holding him down while he was screaming for dear life begging not to be poked again.  Thankfully, the cortisol levels came back perfect the second time around, but we still have the growth issue.

Which brings me to now.  Wednesday of this week (the day before he starts Kindergarten) Brady has been scheduled to get an MRI of his pituitary gland to determine the cause of the low growth hormone.  For those of you like me who aren’t medical experts and who didn’t know until the doctor told me, the pituitary gland is in the brain.  My boy has to be sedated on top of the fact that it’s his BRAIN, y’all.  They are looking to see if the gland is just not functioning properly, what it’s size is proportionate to what it should be, and if they see a tumor inhibiting it.  Tumor, another word that will take the breath out of a mamas lungs really quick.  I’m hoping and praying for the best outcome on this, but I trying to come to grips with the reality that this will be a long term care plan.  We are facing either daily shots possibly for the rest of his life, or surgery if it is a tumor.

All of this is to say, the Pyka family could use some prayers and well wishes.  I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to handle all of this and I’m definitely ready for the medical issues to just not be a thing anymore.  If you could keep our family lifted up these next few weeks it would be much appreciated.

2018 - The Year of....Meal Prep?

Happy New Year Friends!!!  (Is it still ok to say Happy New Year, even though it's officially MID-January?)  How many of you are sticking to those resolutions two weeks into January?  Need a little push and motivation?  Well, I'm here to (hopefully) help you out...

We've all got resolutions...resolutions to stress less, to be present more often, to read more, to save for a fancy vacation, to work out more, and the list goes on.  But, statistically the most common resolution?  To EAT HEALTHIER and maybe shed a few pounds.  So I may be in good company when I say 2018 is the year we will eat healthy all year.  This year, our family has gotten dedicated and slightly obsessed with meal prep.

Now, I've been posting a bit on Facebook about what we've been doing for meal prep on a weekly basis.  I've had a few people interested in information on our process.  And, by request of Trinity Yoga owner Heather Mincieli, I'm going to cover some things like what we do, what we've found works, what does not work for us, etc.  By the way, Trinity Yoga has a program available to help jumpstart your path to EAT CLEAN as well as many different yoga options including toddler yoga.  If you need a motivational push, Trinity Yoga is a great place to start.  It's in the North Dallas area, but some of her eating programs are right on Facebook so they are easily accessible anywhere.  You can find them using the handle @trinityyoga.life on Instagram and Facebook.

Now...on to meal prep.  You've heard about it, you aren't sure where to start, what to do, where to go for resources...the absolute first step is to get organized.  For supplies, I recommend buying divided containers (2 sets of 15 is plenty), as well as some smaller containers for sauces that you'd like to keep totally separate.  These are the ones we bought on Amazon.

Plastic Meal Prep Containers - Amazon

1.5 Oz Plastic Cups - Amazon

Once we bought the supplies, we began looking for recipes.  Some of our recipes came from friends, some from Pinterest.  Oh the amount of things you can find on Pinterest is mind....blowing.  Have a special health concern?  Pinterest is your girl.  Need to eat gluten free?  Pinterest is your girl.  Need to get flat abs in 10 days and not sure what to do?  You're on your own there girlfriend...

Anyway, we pick four recipes to prepare per week.  Yup, only four.  We eat those four prepared meals for six days, and give ourselves one non meal prep day to go out as a family...mostly because we like to make memories, but also so people don't call us those crazy meal prep obsessed people who have no lives that really just need tacos...I digress.

I personally prefer choosing one crockpot or soup meal, one grilled chicken bowl type meal that I can throw on something easy like the George Forman, and one or two sheet pan meals that go in the oven or mixture of stove-top and oven.  That way, cooking all at once is easier.  But each person and even each week is different, so choose what makes sense to you.

(This is what one week of meals typically looks like in our house...Chicken Bowls, Stuffed Peppers, Sheet Pan Flank Steak, and Crockpot Stew) 

I pull up all the recipes and go to Kroger's website and actually save time there by shopping online and getting my groceries delivered.  I know this is not an option for a lot of people, but praise sweet Jesus in Heaven that our address has been newly added to the list for delivery.  If you need to make a list and go to the store, now is the time to do it.  If you are eating for 6 days for two adults, you will need 6 servings of each meal, so keep that in mind when making your list.  But what about my kids?  We have one kiddo who eats solid foods, so he gets a little bit of my serving each night, or sometimes we make him his own little bento box of things we know he will eat. 

Now...for the fun.  Meal Prep Day.  Make sure you choose a day that you can devote 2-4 hours for solid cooking (to start it might take 3-4, but it gets easier as you get the hang of it).  We do ours as a team on Saturday during my five month old's naptime.  The (almost) five year old can play independently for a little bit, so we get him set up on ABC Mouse or something that keeps his attention and go to town.  We look at the four recipes and determine which make sense to start first (crockpot or soups, etc) or which might need to wait longer (meals that take a really long time in the oven, etc).  Then, we each take two recipes and cook!  Now, I'm not gonna lie, I'm a M.O.M (Master of Multi-tasking), so there are several times when I'm chopping onions that I have to stop and clap for the letter A, help paint a t-rex, or turn on some music and start a dance party in the kitchen while we work.  But for the most part, the baby sleeps and the five year old is entertained.  If your kiddos aren't quite able to last that long, you might tag team with your partner for two recipes, or designate someone to cook while the other watches the kiddos, and then choose someone to plate everything and get the kitchen cleaned up.

(getting organized)

(ready to go in the oven)

(another meal going in)

(meals everywhere)

The absolute best part?  Once you are finished cooking, you are finito.  Done...for a whole week!  Using those four recipes, we alternate the two meals we eat every day.  So, for example, Meals 1 and 2 would be lunch and dinner for S/T/TH and Meals 3 and 4 would be eaten M/W/F so we don't eat the same thing two days in a row. 

Meal prepping has so many benefits y'all.  Now, we've always been pretty good about creating meals for the whole week, planning out grocery runs, and cooking the meals during the week.  But places we've struggled that meal prepping in advance has helped?  Portion control.  Getting home from work and being too tired to cook. Having a stressful day and wanting all of the margaritas and tacos instead of cooking.  Going out to lunch because we didn't have time to make lunch again.  Spending all of the money on all of the food.  Meal prepping has helped us in ALL of these areas.  Plus, I'm down seven pounds this month.  I'll take it dude.

Oh...and quickly some things that we've found that don't work for us.  Lack of planning does not work with meal prepping.  You have to make a commitment to sit down and plan your meals out.  You can not daydream through the grocery store and get the same results.  Also, generally just from a food selection, some colder foods that mix with ingredients don't last all week.  Case and point here is tuna.  We had a great tuna meal a couple weeks ago but by day five I only took a couple bites before tossing it.  Also, I'd recommend putting any sauces/dressings in the little containers above from Amazon so you are able to heat your food up and keep the sauces whatever temperature you might like.  We've made mistakes of pouring everything on top but then it just didn't taste as well.  

Finally, I'll leave you guys with some of the goodness that we've been eating these past few weeks for recipe inspiration.  Always pick items you would LOVE to eat.  Don't just throw in unseasoned chicken in the oven and swear you'll eat spinach and beets all day every day.  It just...won't...happen.  Make food that's colorful, makes you happy, fuels your body the way it needs, and makes you look forward to meal time.  In the long run, it is more sustainable than any cleanse or fad.  

Honey Sriracha Glazed Turkey Meatballs

Paleo Chop & Drop Roasted Veggies & Sausage

Healthy Turkey Chili

Thanks y'all.  Please remember to check out Trinity Yoga using the handle @trinityyoga.life on Facebook and Instagram.  Her clean eating challenge might just become your new obsession for 2018.    

Let me know if you have any questions.  God bless!