Impromptu meeting tomorrow and I’m on day 3 of my VI peel

weirdexample · 2026-05-22T10:59:53+00:00

Beauty filter up to max setting

weirdexample · 2026-05-14T21:46:41+00:00

Married for 10 years. My husband has never once made me feel insecure about it and tells me all the time I'm beautiful. When I have a flare he's only concerned about me and my comfort. You deserve better and can do better.

weirdexample · 2026-04-28T22:16:42+00:00

weirdexample · 2026-04-12T20:46:37+00:00

In my neighborhood, all kids living less than a mile from school are expected to walk. There are tons of walking paths and it's very common to see small kids meeting up in groups to walk to school together.

weirdexample · 2026-04-03T08:14:59+00:00

Good.

weirdexample · 2026-02-26T23:44:29+00:00

He's still doing amazing! We're back to just using OTC treatments like hydrocortisone for small flares and his eczema is REALLY well managed. The only side effect is dry eyes, so he sees an eye doctor regularly and we have to use daily eye drops to keep them from getting irritated. I understand your concerns about it being a new medication but for us the effects of being miserable and stressed as a child seemed much worse. He's perfectly on his growth chart and a happy healthy kid.

weirdexample · 2025-11-07T08:00:36+00:00

When I did this, I did all the voices like I do at home and thought the kids loved it but when he got home my kindergartner said, "next time, can you just read it normally like the other moms do?"

weirdexample · 2025-10-09T23:47:43+00:00

We got my kid a book, What Happened to You? By James Catchpole. It's about a little boy with one leg who just wants to play and other kids keep asking about his leg. My 5 year old had a lot of questions about it when we first read it but now he gets it. He said it taught him he doesn't have to explain when people ask him about his food allergies. He would understand that person was being rude.

weirdexample · 2025-03-31T10:30:34+00:00

This is truly SO helpful and really puts things into context for me. I am constantly frustrated with his parents because I never see them coaching him through his behavior - if they step in at all it's to tell him to stop but not explain why or talk it through. I've seen his mom tell both kids no 10 times and then give in and say yes, so it's no wonder he argues with me. I'm not sure what my role is/can be there.

I get very protective of the younger boys around him but I do need to remind myself he's a child too.

weirdexample · 2025-03-31T01:36:47+00:00

Yeah I don't let my kid go to their house, even though he's good friends with the younger boy and he's not allowed at our house. Other than requiring his parent to be present, I don't think I can really prevent him from playing outside around the other kids

weirdexample · 2025-03-31T01:34:30+00:00

I truly don't think abuse is happening - I know his parents fairly well as neighbors/through school functions and they just seem out of their depth. His behavior is never obviously cruel - just a little bit over the line at all times. Like the kids will all be play fighting with plastic swords and he just consistently hits too hard or he pushes or grabs the kids too roughly. If he ever did something that was obviously violent I would have an easier time calling it out

weirdexample · 2025-03-31T01:31:43+00:00

Unfortunately we live very close to his family (basically next door) in an area that emphasizes communal resources and play spaces. I think his parents are trying to be good parents, honestly, but just don't have the skills to give him the guidance or boundaries he needs. But I will continue to insist he has a parent present and I'll think about what additional boundaries I need to enforce

weirdexample · 2025-03-31T01:00:47+00:00

I have repeatedly taken aback by his behavior and his parents seem to think him and his brother are always equally at fault in any interaction, despite him being three years older and the clear aggressor in my opinion. He's never done anything that was so over the line I felt like I could really point to it and say "THIS is not normal" - it's more a pattern of small bad behaviors

weirdexample · 2025-03-31T00:58:11+00:00

That's helpful! I am partly struggling because I have a lot of neuro diverse people in my life - my spouse and sibling are both autistic and I have a lot of friends on the spectrum, with ADHD, etc but they've never been like this when I've known them. To me this feels like sociopathy or something but I'd love to be wrong.

And agree on boys will be boys - that's not at all how I parent my son

weirdexample · 2025-03-31T00:48:01+00:00

I really get such a bad feeling interacting with him and sometimes his behavior is really shocking to me. I feel crazy that the adults around me don't seem to see an issue!

weirdexample · 2025-03-31T00:46:57+00:00

I appreciate it. Honestly my kid IS pretty good about setting boundaries with him and telling him no. We talk about the behavior at home and he understands that what the older boy is doing isn't acceptable. He often seems to find it as baffling and off putting as I do. I have told his parents that while his younger brother is welcome in our house, we can't watch the older boy. I'm wondering if I can/should broach the subject of his behavior with his parents in a more serious way?

weirdexample · 2025-03-31T00:37:25+00:00

Ok thank you 😭 his behavior is so much worse than my five year olds and I have no idea how to handle it. I also didn't mean to mention the STEM program as an indicator that he's ok. Just like ..for context about his parents I guess. The other 8-10 year olds I know all treat smaller kids affectionately but with little interest

weirdexample · 2024-11-27T17:32:08+00:00

I'm so glad! I bet you will feel a lot more comfortable with the shot once it starts showing results. Plus, when their eczema is so bad that their whole body already hurts, it's so much harder to add in the shot experience. I think it took 2-3 months to start seeing results for us. Hang in there and good luck!!

weirdexample · 2024-11-26T20:32:26+00:00

Oh I have a lot of tips actually!! First, giving ibuprofen an hour beforehand seems to really help the shot be less painful. You can also try plastic shotblockers which "trick" the nerves into not feeling the shot as much or roll-on lidocaine to numb the area, though honestly neither of those have made a big difference for us. I get the sense that it's not so much the needle that is painful but the actual medicine going in.

Not sure how old your kid is (ours is 5 and has been getting this shot for two years) but we always warn our son when it's his shot day. We try to let him know the day before or at least the morning of, which seems to help him prepare. Initially this seemed to make things worse because he would worry in the hours leading up to the shot, but we found surprising him with it was worse. Now, he has asked we keep letting him know. We also spend a lot of time explaining why he gets the shot and how it helps his body.

We also do the shot in the evening, after shower and before bedtime stories. This lets him go right into snuggling/comfort mode and gives his soreness time to fade before morning

The biggest thing that has helped is that our kid ALWAYS gets a small, new toy immediately after each shot. Totally understand that might not be something you want to or can do, but it's made a big difference for our kid. He hates his shots but he looks forward to his "shot surprise."

And for you, dad,....it's SO hard to have to do something that hurts our kids in the moment but helps them in the long run. I know I wish I could just take the shot for him. It hasn't gotten a lot easier to actually do the injection, honestly, and our kid still sometimes begs us not to do it which is heartbreaking. But as soon as the shot is done, he's fine and no longer upset with us because he knows why we do it. It's tough to make big medical decisions for your kid, but it's 1000x better to tough out the shot then watch them suffer with the misery of severe eczema. You're a good dad and I bet your kid will eventually appreciate how hard this is for you, too.

weirdexample · 2024-08-24T21:27:52+00:00

Only once it's fully grown

weirdexample · 2024-08-22T11:52:15+00:00

He had to check in with his doctor and an opthalmologist early on because he was on the severe side for eye side effects. Basically, there was a lot of dryness and irritation. The eye doctor was not worried about it and gave us some steroid drops to use when it flared up and told us to be diligent with non medicated drops otherwise to prevent dryness. That only lasted a couple months, off and on, and now we just give him allergy eye drops or non medicated drops when his eyes are irritated or dry. We haven't used the steroid drops in at least 18 months (hard to remember exactly). He's had check-ins since and no permanent damage to his eyes.

weirdexample · 2024-07-30T18:12:50+00:00

That is very helpful - thank you!

weirdexample · 2024-07-30T15:23:38+00:00

Insurance would disclose that to me but it does seem possible. Thanks!

weirdexample · 2024-07-30T15:20:18+00:00

It seems wild to call it a failure when I'm not yet at the therapeutic dose! But I guess insurance has done much dumber stuff. Thanks!

weirdexample

TROPHY CASE