Success!

I got my six-month follow up blood work results back today. I have "normal" Vitamin D numbers and my Ferritin is holding steady. Sure, they're at the low-end of normal. But I'll totally take that.

I haven't heard back about my hip/back x-ray yet, so I'll call tomorrow and see if the nurse knows anything.

Today, X-man and I had a delightful trip to Miller Park with the neighbors. We played at the spray park from 10 until 11:45 and then we went over to the zoo for a little over an hour. X-man hadn't been there in two years because last year whenever I tried to plan something it was always 65 degrees outside... I got lots of good chat time with Super Shanna, and I got to watch my kid be particularly adorable.

Here's the thing about having a child with an anxiety issue. When he falls apart, I feel like people give me this look. This, "Thank God my child doesn't have that problem" or "There goes X-man freaking out again." People have opinions about everything regarding my parenting (he's spoiled) to what he eats (you shouldn't let him have processed foods). It feels then like his anxiety issue is what every conversation with other parents is about. I'm not gonna lie. When it's rough, it's rough. But hey, we're all doing the best we can. And he's six -- according to the book, "Your Six-Year-Old: Loving and Defiant" by Louise Bates Ames at the Gesell Institute of Human Development, my child is pretty much right on the money with where he's supposed to be emotionally. He just needs some things explained in a way he can understand them, some maturity and some practice in social situations to get through the brunt of his issue.

When we got to the water park today, the girls were getting changed into their suits, but X-man was ready to play. So he ran over to the playground, found the two biggest boys and said, "Hi! I'm X-man. Can I play with you guys?"

They put their heads down and didn't say anything.Then they started to walk away.

So he followed them up the rope ladder they were climbing and said. "Whatcha guys playing? Can I play, too -- please?"

The older boy looked at the younger one, who nodded, and then he asked, "Only if you know Marvel superheroes."

X-man smiled this great big smile. "Can I be Wolverine?" The big boy nodded approvingly. Then off they went. Go X-man!

Then, at lunch, X-man was taking his food from me and every thing he touched he looked at me and said, "Will this make E sick?" He loves our friend's daughter who has food allergies. X-man adores E. He treats her like she's his baby sister. And he's very concerned that something might have slipped into the cooler that might make her sick.

I explain that the only thing she can't eat is the bread on his sandwich. He immediately picked it up and moved it as far away from E as possible. Then he helped himself to some of her potato chips. Then he shared his Pirate Booty with the girls. I started listing the ingredients and he said, "And it's Gluten-Free."

I responded by saying, "I don't know if it's gluten free. I don't see any wheat." And then he tells me to turn the package over because it says it's gluten free right on the front. Bravo, X-man. Bravo.

Right before we left the zoo to come home, X-man asked for a drink and a snack. I bought him some water and then he looked at the vending machines. "E can eat Skittles. But I feel like fruit snacks." I said I couldn't tell if they had soy in them, but if we got them and he sat in the back of the car, he should be okay. We bought them, and he immediately turned them over looking for the word, "soy."

I swear, I was ever so proud of him today.

Our team won our volleyball game tonight, so we're 4-1. We have another game on Thursday that X-man wants to go to. KTDID is supposed to be there, too. So he's excited to see me play and see his aunt. "She hasn't been over in like two weeks! And that's like forever!"

Okay, so maybe he's still a bit melodramatic. But come on, he's my kid, after all. :-)