Twerks

[waverly]

Happy Thursday!  What's new?


Twerks for my work:  We are opening to the public Monday.  We also received and moved into our new public facing desk.  Lots more to do, but I think we will mostly be ready to open on Monday.  I might bop in on Friday (which is my temporary work from home day)- I will call and check to see if things are moved first.  


Not much new on the home front.  I think the babysitter is settling in more and more which is good.  No news from the school district on how they plan to proceed. 

[rere]

I received a quite extensive document on the school guidelines. I am trying to wrap my head around how they are going to space kids out. Maybe use the gyms for lunch? They already have 4 shifts and DD was not eating until 1. The mornings when kids congregate? They specified 6 ft apart and they can take their masks off, if not masks on.

Other than that, our 22nd anniversary is this weekend. I am praying for no rain. I either want to go the lake and just float all day, or go to a nice restaurant and have a drink on a big patio. Rain in the forecast is not making me happy.

[twinmomma]

Random: DD1 has a "boyfriend." It started back when they were in school and is still going strong. They do video calls to plan their someday wedding. He wrote her a letter that says "You make me happy. I love you." He wants to be a construction worker and she wants to be an engineer so someday they will have a company together. I'm dying from the cuteness. It's all totally innocent and very sweet. They're just very good friends. I love eavesdropping on their conversations. She's currently showing off the ninja stars and sword that she made today.

TWERK: I have a doctor's appointment in two weeks! I actually got on the schedule! I'm hoping I like them and get some answers. I hate this diagnosis limbo. I don't do well when there's no solid plan. 

[waverly]

Also, I thought we might follow Italy's and NY's curve, but the last 3 days cases are rising. However, other health indicators are OK (percent positive, ICU, and hospital admissions and beds).  So who knows what is going to happen....  I am upset we are going up again rapidly from 400, to 600, then to 890.  

[sdlaura]

I just had my mid-year review. Comp is always an end of year thing, so no news there, but my boss/our CEO did tell me that he thought it was a no brainer for me to move to the next/highest title possible outside of the c-suite (which I have no interest in) at year end. So that’s good.

Older kids have been at camp all week and I wouldn’t say they’re totally jumping for joy each day to go, but I think we’re all feeling so much better being back in a routine. They are always excited to tell me something about their interactions with other kids when I pick them up, and they’re sleeping much better - no more coming out of their room 8 times and not going to sleep till 10:30 pm.

DS2 had his 3-year appt today and was 16th percentile for height (3 feet tall exactly). I think a couple posters on this board did growth hormones for their kids - would you have started to think about pursuing testing/talking to an endocrinologist at this percentile? I think DH would be against it, because it was suggested to his parents when he was a kid and they were hippies and horrified for some reason. He’s 5 foot 7 and I’m 5 foot 2. Strangely DD is super tall but our boys are shorter.

[mommyatty]

I’m still doing random happy dances that my awful coworker is leaving. Even though it means I’m probably going to have to absorb a lot more work.

DD turns 8 in 2 weeks. We were going to have one of her friends over to swim, but I’m not sure we will be able to because of the stupid coronavirus. But at least our governor has halted moving forward with reopening even more. Not that he’s backing up, which he ought to do. So maybe at some point we will do what is necessary to get this under control.

Our new cat continues to be the best cat ever. He’s been amazing, and I think having him is really good for my mental state. He’s a snuggle bug, and it’s so nice to just sit quietly with him.

[sandandsea]

I heard that the district will likely miss their announcement date and still not disclose what the plan is for the fall next week so we are submitting the private school application for ds1 and will forfeit the $200 if we decide to unenroll.

[sdlaura]

sandandsea I’m not sure whether I’d talk to principal before or after placement test. Probably before? I guess it couldn’t hurt right?

[mae0111]

I would wait and speak to the principal after the test. I’d also consider getting him a tutor over the summer and for next year, if you can swing it.

DD1 bombed her placement test when she entered her current private school. The public school was way behind in math and she hadn’t learned more than 1/2 of the concepts. She just left blank all of the stuff That she didn’t know. I spoke to the principal after and she understood. I then coached and taught her all summer (because I had the time - if I didn’t -tutor).

I also had her do Duolingo every day for 15 minutes because she was entering 3rd grade at a school where the kids had been taking Spanish since preschool.

She caught up without issue in all areas and ended 2nd term this year with a 95 average. If you think he can bridge the gap this year (maybe with help) then push ahead!

[mommyatty]

The school my kids are in is advanced as well. But the school is really great about helping kids get caught up. I don’t think the timing matters too much on when to talk to the principal, but since they’re in camp there, I would probably do it in a “we are thinking about applying but let me tell you my concern.” I absolutely would not bring up placing him in a grade lower. I doubt they would do that. It’s likely going to be a thumbs up or down decision. Generally they only do placements at a lower lever when they’re thinking about kindergarten readiness. Like DD’s two BFFs are a year older than her because when they tested, they were placed in pre-k even though they were kindergarten age. But there’s a boy in her class now with very severe dyslexia who is CLEARLY not on grade level in any area. (I’m not sure he can read at all whereas most of his classmates in 2nd grade were reading at a 4th grade level or above.) They let him in but had to agree to tutoring and all kinds of other support.

[rere]

sdlaura , Ds has been on growth hormones for 1.5 yrs. The doctor really never brought it up to us until around 13. He was at the 10%, but then fell off the chart completely which freaked me out. . I am 5ft 9 and DH is 6ft, if we were shorter, I don't know if they would have said much about it? We debated it for a while. DH was not on board, and neither was DS. Then the height started to bother him, so I pretty much decided we were going to check it out. He took the test that showed his pituitary gland was not functioning correctly and not producing enough hormone. I am not sure how early that test will show a deficiency? He is also almost 2 years behind in his growth plates, so showing 15 for a 17 year old. That is good, because once the growth plates close, we have lost our chances, so he has at least another year or 2. The doctor did boost his dose way us and told us that it is critical he does not miss a shot because of his age, where if he was 7, a missed shot would not be a huge deal.

Basically, I would just ask your doctor about it and ask how soon can they do any sort of test to show a deficiency and when would they be concerned. They estimate the height based on the parents, so if he was on track to meet those expectations, they may not worry about it. DS was tracking 5ft 7 total, which is way low based on our heights. He has hit that now, so hopefully we get him to 5ft 10 in the next year which is the low end of the estimate.

[polecat8]

Work is getting super busy. A lot more got put on my plate. It is a good thing, but it's going to be rough. If we can get government approval for our device, it will open up a whole new market for us!

I just got info about the fall semester at the university that I teach at part time. We are starting a week early and ending classes at Thanksgiving. Finals will be remote the week after. We have to be prepared to teach in-person or online at any time. We also have to be able to accommodate students who can't be in the class room due to health or visa issues. We won't get the definite word on how the semester will actually begin for a few weeks.

No word yet on what my kids' schools are doing yet. There is a board meeting on Monday. I might listen in since it is online to see if any decisions will be announced.

But in less than two weeks, DH and I are going to get lost in the mountains for a few days. We rented a cabin to celebrate our birthdays and anniversary. My parents and nephew are watching the kids while we get some R&R. This is so needed and I can't wait!

[mustardseed2007]

sdlaura, my kids are also on growth hormones. My whole family and our kids qualify as "short stature" but it's more like being below the curve or below 2%. They are not GH deficient so they are categorized as idiopathic short stature. Basically short stature without a known cause. To give you an idea, DD's predicted height without GH is 4ft 9 and DS' was 5ft 1

If he is way off track based upon parental height like rere's son then they may do a GH test.
rere, didnt your son fail the STIM test?

[traveltheworld]

We officially got notified that 15% of our employees can return to the office on a voluntary basis starting July 1; then up to 25% can return by September 1. So I'll for sure have the summer home with the kids. I'm happy about that.

Work is just insanely busy, which I'm not happy about.

[rere]

Jun 26, 2020 10:45:55 GMT -5 mustardseed2007 said:

sdlaura , my kids are also on growth hormones. My whole family and our kids qualify as "short stature" but it's more like being below the curve or below 2%. They are not GH deficient so they are categorized as idiopathic short stature. Basically short stature without a known cause. To give you an idea, DD's predicted height without GH is 4ft 9 and DS' was 5ft 1

If he is way off track based upon parental height like rere 's son then they may do a GH test.
rere , didnt your son fail the STIM test?

That is the 3 hour test of the pituitary? Yes, he failed that.  

[mustardseed2007]

rere, yes exactly. That's what I thought. So your son is actually growth hormone deficient. Have you seen positive increases? From what I understand, the people who get the most out of it are usually the ones who are deficient in GH.

Mine actually did not fail that, so are not growth hormone deficient. But we were still prescribed and approved GH based upon their estimated height being so low (below 5ft 2 for DS, below 5ft for DD)

We've seen growth for sure, but they continue to be smaller than their peers. It's just that they aren't as shockingly smaller than their peers.

[rere]

mustardseed2007, He was 5ft 1.25 February 2019 when we started and he is now 5ft 7.25. His rate of growth slowed this last quarter, so they really upped his dose las visit. Some of that may be a natural spurts since he just now really hit puberty full force in the last year. I am hoping we get 3-4 more inches or so before 18.

[sdlaura]

Thanks rere and mustardseed2007. I don’t think the kids are on track to be out of line based on parental height - I’m just a little concerned about having boys be shorter than DH. I think DD will end up dwarfing her parents and 3 brothers since she’s somehow 90th percentile+ still at almost 8. But maybe she’ll just peak early.

[erinshelley21]

sdlaura there is a chance she will peak early. I am the opposite of your DD. I hit 5'3" at age 12 and haven't grown at all in almost 19 years. I am the shortest person in my family on my mom's side and my dad's side. All the women in my dad's family are/were at least 3 inches taller than me. The pedi predicted I was going to end up being about 5'8" based on the old trick of doubling your height at age 2 or something like that. Not sure how accurate that is anyways but it was a nice thought in my pre-teen years!

[phdmomma]

sdlaura, I was similar to erinshelley21, I was really tall, and then stopped growing super early, I'm about 5'1". But all of the women in my family top out at 5'3", so it isn't that crazy.

[mustardseed2007]

Jun 26, 2020 11:27:06 GMT -5 rere said:

mustardseed2007 , He was 5ft 1.25 February 2019 when we started and he is now 5ft 7.25. His rate of growth slowed this last quarter, so they really upped his dose las visit. Some of that may be a natural spurts since he just now really hit puberty full force in the last year. I am hoping we get 3-4 more inches or so before 18.

That's awesome!!!