I had no idea what kind of weekend Quinn would have when we started out on an innocent camping trip. Leaving school a tad early with excited kids was a great way to enjoy the day and set up camp early. It helped immensely to set up camp and eat dinner before the thunderstorms hit. But it was all still good.

At the end of the week Quinn had been coughing a lot. The nurse at her school had called on Thursday and said her lungs sounded clear and asked if I was giving her cough medicine (um, why yes I am…thanks for asking). Friday was a better day for her and she was thrilled to go camping. Turns out the lovely side of allergies is sometimes an ear infection. Forget that she spent all weekend IN THE WOODS where the pollen had a straight line from point A to the point in her nose. Did she say a word? Not until Sunday morning when she said "my ear hurts" did we know. "Raging" was the word of the day Monday when discussing her ear infection in her pediatrician’s office. "In both ears."

And last month when I addressed the balance problem – complements of OMA – I was tempting fate. I was laughing in the face of the Picture Gods. Taunting them like there was no tomorrow. It turns out that an already injured tooth, a slippery slide, and slow responses of the hands when falling onto your face mixed in with a hearty dose of OMA, can cause teeth to be knocked loose. To the point of having to be pulled. Out. With. No. Novocaine. I know you are thinking "what kind of holistic mother is she? That she would promote a drug-free tooth pulling experience?" But it was the doctor’s choice. He intelligently had me step out of the room, applied topical anesthetic, and pulled. Took all of about 2 minutes. With some kind of "pliers" Quinn said. And Quinn? No tears. She just said "it hurt a little bit" and happily picked out her TWO treats out of the treasure chest while I regrouped. She is cute with a toothless grin. That she will probably have for at least a couple of years. She’s resilent and has a high tolerence for pain that is for sure.

If it weren’t for the kidney disease, medicine, OMA, balance issues, orthodics, and a brother who branded her with the end of campfire stick on the back of her hand, Quinn would have it made.