Today was a day ALL about Tristan. Even though we have been trying to keep the family life the same by having dinner together and visiting etc things are not "normal" and it is starting to wear on Tristan. He is having a small behavioral issue and is not really listening to me when I ask him to do or not do something. So today we decided to make the day about him and try to make the day as normal as possible and follow our old routine with a slight distraction...THE ZOO!
The day started out great. He was excited to see both Washington and I home together and having breakfast etc. The ride to the Zoo seemed uneventful and I tried pumping the "Zoo" up since I was not sure if he really understood what it was. He seemed to be doing fine until we got there and then...he wanted to go HOME!
He kind of mopped through some of the first exhibits, but once we got to the Giraffes he really perked up...he got to feed them lettuce and he was all about that. After that experience he was all smiles and giggles and I was happy too!
They had a man in the "Sahara" area playing drums and he had all kinds of drums laid out so the kids could join him. Tristan had a GREAT time banging on them and making all kinds of racket...:)
Moving to a smaller set of drums....and waiting patiently!
Get down little man!!!
He enjoyed the Monorail ride too and I tried to point out all of the different animals the guide was telling us about. He didn't seem to like the Monkeys as much as I thought he would though??
BUT he loves to play in the water....
After the zoo, on our ride home, he CRASHED! It was a really good feeling to feel this happy again.
This evening I started a Sibling Bead program. I got the idea when Tristan showed interest in Trinity's necklace of beads from the Beads of Courage program. The hospital helped me put together a "Chores" list of things he needs to do each day...help set the table, put his toys away, brush his teeth, put his shoes in the closet, rinse off in the shower, say his prayers, pick out a book to read. etc etc. They made a pretty picture chart with 12 different things I asked for and provided 20 or so beads to start me off. Grandma and Grandpa helped me with this too by picking up letter beads so i could spell out his name on his necklace like Trinity's. This evening before he went to bed I went over the chart with him and told him that for each day that he does all of his chores he will get to chose a bead from the container. He seemed to really like the idea and I am hoping it works!
So back to earlier in the day...When we were driving home from the Zoo I got thirsty and asked Washington to stop somewhere so I could get a drink. He stopped at McDonald's and they have these Strawberry Lemonades. It looked so good and refreshing (and I actually was!) so we each got one......
Within minutes of driving away Washington starts yelling about something hurting! Once I got him to calm down it and tell me it was BRAIN FREEZE I started laughing telling him how silly etc...and THEN I could feel the pain moving up my chest and into my brain and Oww Owww Owww Owwww!!!! BRAIN FREEZE! That serves me right..:) BUT the drinks were still yummy!
ARTICLE -
What causes brain freeze?
By Chanie Kirschner, Mother Nature Network
Q: What exactly causes brain freeze? And here’s a better question — how do I prevent it from happening in the first place?
A: Ahhh, the dreaded brain freeze. I’ve experienced too many of those myself, unfortunately. The bad thing about ice cream headaches is that they hurt — a lot. The good thing about ice cream headaches is that they are usually over in a matter of seconds, or at most a couple minutes.
For me, they always seem to come on slowly, with the pain starting at a 3 and working its way up to an 8 or 9 almost instantaneously. (You can tell I’ve been questioned about my level of pain in the ER a time of two.) But they usually subside as quickly as they come, and thank God for that.
And ice cream headaches don’t come only from ice cream — they can come from eating any really cold food or drink. Like Slurpees. In fact, in 1994, 7-Eleven even trademarked the term Brainfreeze to use in conjunction with its delicious frosty drink.
So what causes ice cream headaches in the first place? It has to do with the nerve receptors above the roof of your mouth. When you take a bite of ice cream, some of it touches the top of your mouth, otherwise known as the hard palate. That in turn triggers the nerves above the palate to cool down — and quick. The nerves send an emergency message to the brain that it’s about to get cold up there, and the blood vessels in the brain constrict to accommodate. When the warm blood rushes through the blood vessels again — presto! You get a searing headache similar to a migraine. Ouch! But don’t worry though, this kind of headache does not signify a serious problem.
So what to do? Well if your ice cream headache has already started, chances are it’ll be over quickly. To speed things up a bit, you can touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth and hold it there, warming up your palate and calming down the brain’s reaction.
To keep yourself from getting the freeze in the first place, try eating cold foods slower than usual and keep that ice cream away from the roof of your mouth if you can. Seem impossible? It’s not: I tried it to research its efficacy for this article, and not only is it possible; it works. (That’s right, I gave myself a brain freeze for this article. That’s how dedicated I am. As dedicated as Matt Damon gaining 40 pounds for a role.)
So have no fear. You can still enjoy your favorite ice cream sans the splitting headache. Just be sure to save some for me.
— Chanie
Today was a GREAT kind of family day.....
The Mommy
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