Picture of the Day

Andy has been sick since Tuesday.  He rarely gets sick, but there's some crazy virus going around his class that left his with a horrible, hacking cough and a fever.  We went to the doctor this morning and she checked for strep, bronchitis, pneumonia and the flu, but he was negative for all of them.  Just a very bad virus with some asthma side effects.

It really hasn't been a fun week for either of us.  He is supposed to be grounded from all electronics this week for various indiscretions, but it's pretty hard to kick him when he's already down and take away tv, so I've been pretty lenient in that department.  I've been stuck in the house all week except for a few times when I left him here, which isn't very enjoyable either.  At least I've been able to get to a few things that I've been putting off.  I ran out of excuses and "home all day but just didn't want to do it" didn't fly anymore.  Hoping the girls don't get it and he feels better by Monday.

Andy was playing with the fridge magnets this morning before we went to the doctor.  This is his final product.  Notice the creative use of punctuation and alternate letters.

Picture of the Day

Andy brought this home the other day from school.  A couple of these are really good.

Just Because He Does It Doesn't Mean I Have To

Charlie and I spent the last week putting together the desk for the office.  It is one of those desks that you buy at an office supply store, comes in a very flat box and has 67, yes 67, steps and countless pieces to put it together.  We spent a few hours on it every night, finishing one side, then the other, then the center drawer and so on.  I groaned and moaned through the entire process and even got Charlie to admit on day 4 or so that maybe we should have invested a little more money and got a good-quality desk that was already put together before it made it's way into our house.

When it was done it looked pretty nice, but one of the drawers does not go in and out very smoothly despite Charlie spraying it with DW40, so I will curse it every, single time I open it.  Maybe I will just not put anything in that drawer so that I don't have to open it and will just choose to open it on those days when I am already angry with Charlie and need more fuel for my fire.  Or maybe I should just shut up and get over it.

Anyway, we've moved it into the office at this point and it is 100% better than the little table that the computer used to be on, so I can't complain too much.  As long as the kids never touch it and put tape on it that takes the finish off when I rip it off I think I'll get over it and be okay. 

However, here's the funny part of all of this.  The other night Charlie was watching Hard Knocks, an HBO show that follows a different NFL football team each season.  This season they are showing the Miami Dolphins, Charlie's favorite team.  At one point he called me into the room to show me a clip from the show.  It was about the Dolphins' new quarterback, who was just drafted and is straight out of college.  He was given a $7.5 million signing bonus and is making another $3 million plus this season.  So the guy has a lot of money. 

In this particular scene he and his gorgeous wife were building their own end table.  It probably came in a box similar to the one our desk came in, but much smaller.  They couldn't get the drawer to work at all.  Charlie looks at me, smiling, and says something about how this guy makes millions of dollars and he builds his own furniture, so why can't we?  My response was simple.  He's about 22 years old.  He's supposed to build his own furniture at 22.  I'm 40.  I've already been through the years where I build my own furniture.  I'm old enough that I've earned the right to buy one already made.

Someday I am going to buy a kick ass desk, I just may have to wait awhile.  I can tell you for sure, the next one we buy will not come in a six inch high box.

Kid Quote of the Day

Sarah:  Can we have dessert?

Me:  No, we're not having dessert tonight.

Sarah:  Then I'm never going to give my kids dessert and I'm going to eat it all myself.

Try And Try Again

When it comes to trying something even slightly difficult, my kids are notorious for giving up rather quickly.  It's maddening, and I have very little patience for it.  What a surprise, me without patience!  This weekend I took the girls to the park and Sarah asked me to teach her how to swing by herself.  Her cousin, Ella, can do it and since Ella is only five months older than Sarah it kills her that Ella can do something she can't.

She knows how to pump.  She's known how to do that for a couple of years.  That does not mean she can do it well, it just means she knows to put her feet forward and pull them back and can do it at the right time.  Whether she can do it with enough force to actually move herself is another story.  I showed her how to stand as far back as possible, jump on the swing as it's moving forward to get some momentum and then exaggerated how to lean forward and back to get the swing going and go high doing it.  She tried for about three second, back and forth two or three times, and then gave up and whined because it was too hard.  She did this several times, each time only trying for a few moments, before giving up completely and declaring that she would never ever learn how to swing.  Probably not with that attitude.

Andy is very similar.  He is a smart kid and likes people to think that he is, so he doesn't like to do things that he is not good at or are hard.  Well, basically if they are hard then he isn't good at them.  He doesn't ride a bike, because he never finished learning.  He was about 95% there, but who knows now.  It was too tough and didn't make him look very good for not knowing how to do it.  There are several other things that we've asked him if he wants to try and he always says no.  Too hard, wouldn't be good at it.  God forbid you try something you aren't good at!

I've read articles about this (yes, Mom, I do read a few things other than People magazine from time to time) and he is a classic case.  Smart kids don't like to do things that they aren't good at because they think people won't think they aren't smart anymore.  To fix this problem you are supposed to emphasize how hard they try something, not how well they did it.  You are definitely not supposed to tell them how smart they are, instead saying how determined and hard working they are.  We've tried that, it doesn't work with our kids.

I'm not really sure where they get it from.  Not from Charlie, that's for sure.  That guy doesn't know how to half-ass anything and I'm pretty sure tried anything and everything as a kid.  It is not in his DNA to give up or believe that he can't accomplish something.  I'm not quite that amazing, but I do remember shooting baskets for hours in my driveway trying to get better at basketball (I never did) and don't tend to have a defeatist attitude about trying new things.  I'll refrain from doing things because I'm lazy, but not because I'm not willing to try or not good at it.

Now go back a month to the beginning of school.  Andy came home and told us he wanted to join the band.  We agreed that he could, one of the stipulations being that he had to practice everyday which is good because that lines up with the goals of his teacher as well.  We went to instrument night to get a saxophone, his instrument of choice.  Do you know how much a saxophone is?  Well, when I was in band my mom bought me a flute for around $250.  I think they might even still have it.  I thought maybe a saxophone would be around there.  Not even close, but that was over 20 years ago.  We are "renting" one (it's actually rent to own) for $50 a month.  We only have 58 months to go before we own it.  When I asked if we were getting a new one or a used one the owner told me we were getting a very high quality saxophone.  Um, he's nine.  I don't want a high quality saxophone, I want a cheap one that still sounds good.

Anyway, let's jump forward to yesterday.  Andy was upstairs in his room practicing his saxophone while I was making dinner.  He was playing a brand new song - Mary Had A Little Lamb.  That makes two songs he knows, the other being Hot Cross Buns.  Yes, it does take a lot of patience to listen to him practice.  He keeps asking me to sit in his room while he practices, but believe me, you can hear that thing all over the house.  So he played Mary Had A Little Lamb over and over and over again and kept making mistakes.  He was getting really frustrated because I could hear him grumbling and yelling at himself which is exactly what I would do.  Finally, after about 10 minutes, he played it correctly.  As soon as he was done he yelled, "YES".

I'm not sure if he kept trying because he was determined to learn it or if he had to practice a certain amount of time anyway or because he didn't want to look stupid in band practice, but I don't really care.  I'm just glad that he stuck with it and is discovering that you can take something you don't know how to do and practice and get better.  Maybe he is maturing or his dad's DNA is finally kicking in, but I hope there is more to come.

If he could pass some of it onto his sister, that would be pretty cool too.

Doctors

One of my biggest fears about moving was leaving Sarah's doctors and her physical therapist.  In fact, I was more sad about leaving the therapist than the doctors, because she had been working with Sarah since she was five months old and knew her better than any doctor.  She watched Sarah's progress from the very beginning and taught her how to roll over, sit up, crawl, walk, run, ride and bike and everything in between.  As for our doctors, we had quite a few and had built up a pretty good rapport with them as well.  I was struggling with the thought of getting a new cardiologist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, urologist, gastroenterologist, and pediatrician.  Sarah is so tired of telling her story, and I am tired of people not knowing exactly what to do for her.  Her urologist used to call her his "mystery patient", which he thought was great because it was a challenge but from the patient's perspective you never want to be a mystery.

I used to tell Charlie that due to all the doctors, we couldn't move unless he was really sure or unless wherever we were moving had fantastic doctors.  Luckily, that was the case with Denver.  Children's Hospital Colorado, which has a branch right in our town but the main campus is also less than 30 minutes away, is an amazing hospital and ranks higher in every single specialty than the places we were going in Dallas.  I think in 2012 it ranked 6th in children's hospital across the country.  I didn't know exactly where to start, but Sarah's therapist told me to call the NICU at the hospital and ask them who they would recommend.  She is so smart, I really miss her.

I called the NICU, but they referred me to a special branch of the hospital where you tell them what you are looking for in a provider and they recommend someone for you that fits your needs.  Awesome.  They referred us to a fabulous pediatrician that is minutes from our house, who was able to refer us to several amazing specialists.  I was so happy when we left that pediatricians office, she was so receptive to Sarah's needs and really put her at ease.

She sent us to the Rehab department at Children's Colorado where we met an amazing doctor.  For the first time ever, I spoke with someone who understood what was going on with Sarah and even asked spot on questions about side effects and symptoms.  Nothing I said was a surprise to him and he correctly asked me about things that I had forgotten to tell him.  He knew exactly what was going on with her.  It was one of those "everything happens for a reason" moments where I realized why we had really come to Colorado.

With every doctor we had seen in the past, they had no idea what was wrong with her or what had happened.  Her therapist knew far more than the doctors, who often told us there really wasn't anything they could do for her and insinuated that we should just be happy that she could walk.  We saw specialists at Scottish Rite, at Shriners and all over Dallas and Fort Worth.  This was the first person in six years that knew exactly what her diagnosis and issues were.  Even better, he said that they see about 600 kids from around the country every year with the same problems.  They had a weekly Spinal Defect Clinic where all the doctors and specialists come together for about a four hour period and spend time with the kids.  That way you don't have to go to multiple appointments with multiple doctors, they all come to you.

Sarah is scheduled for the clinic in November.  I am so excited to see how it goes and find out what they recommend.  I'm not expecting anything ground breaking, but hoping we can get a better idea of what the possibilities are for the future.  In the meantime, she starts physical therapy in a couple of weeks and she's going to get fitted for new braces next week.

On we go!

Rainy Days

I used to love rainy days, especially when the kids were at school.  It was an excuse to be casual all day - not wash my hair because it was just going to get messed up anyway, don't wear nice clothes because they were just going to get wet - and put off errands to another day when you weren't going to get soaked as you went from place to place.  I could just sit at home by the computer or with a magazine or every once in awhile even a book, and relax while the rain fell outside.

Not so much anymore.  In the past the most trying part about a rainy day was getting the kids in and out of the car due to the fact that we never parked in the garage because there was too much junk and kid's toys taking up the parking area.  I always got really wet strapping Amanda into her car seat while the rest of them complained about something or other.  Yes, there was always complaining, whether it was about not getting to use the umbrella, not getting to use the right umbrella or that their hair got slightly damp while I am getting dumped on outside the car.  But that was it, a few struggles in and out of the car and then done.

Now that we live across the street from the school, we have to walk in the rain.  I could drive them, but that would make me look bad, plus with around 850 kids at the school the drop-off line on rainy days is ridiculous and I would go even more insane if I was in that line with the kids in the car.  Everybody needed their own umbrella, fortunately for some reason we have an overabundance of them(probably because the first one I tried wouldn't open and the second one had holes, yes holes, in it and we never throw anything away), and a rain jacket.  Sarah walks slow on a dry day, but on a rainy day it's worse because she can't see where she's going with the umbrella.  So she slowly trudged up the hill to the school and I had to keep with her or else she would cry that she was always last and left behind, all the while the back of my sweatshirt was getting soaked.

Amanda stepped in a huge puddle next to the curb, partly because it was unavoidable and partly because she doesn't really know how to jump over it.  I don't know when the motor skills for jumping kick in, but she hasn't figured that one out yet.  I know three year olds can do it because Max is three weeks older than her and he was jumping back and forth over his dinosaur puzzle this weekend.  Oh well, I still say she's ahead of the game.

By the time Amanda and I got back from dropping the older two at school, my jeans were wet about six inches up from the hem and Amanda needed to change her socks and shoes.  Then we had to get her off to school so I had to fight rainy day traffic and get a little more wet getting her out of her car seat.

So, yeah, I'm not a fan of rainy days anymore.  I'll take them on the weekend any day, then you never even have to get out of your pajamas, but during the week I'll pass.

Friends

Never underestimate the power of friendship.  That is one of the things I've realized after moving.  You truly figure out who your friends are and who is just one of those for the moment friendships.

This weekend I took Andy and Sarah back to Dallas to see some of our friends.  A couple of weeks ago I was feeling all sad and mushy and nostalgic and missed my friends terribly so when I got an email from Spirit Airlines about their cheap, cheap fares I had to go.  Seriously, cheap.  Of course they nickel and dime you for everything, but still cheaper than anybody else.  And, they sell Cup Noodles on the plane.  What other airline does that?  Why would an airline do that?

Anyway, the kids had Thursday and Friday off due to teacher evaluations and I signed them up for first thing Thursday morning so they were schedule free after 10 a.m. on Thursday.  We woke up unbelievably early on Friday morning and were in our rental car by 11 a.m.  We made two quick stops, one of them to buy our favorite pancake mix that we haven't been able to find here and costs about $8 a box via the world wide web.  Andy and Sarah told everyone we saw the rest of the weekend if they wanted to visit us they must bring at least one box of Aunt Jemima Whole Wheat Blend pancake mix or they couldn't get in.  I'd let them in anyway but frown in disapproval.

From there we had lunch with a bunch of my wonderful mommy friends, dropped by Andy's old school so he could say hi to some friends and teachers and then went to the splash park they built right after we moved and topped it off with the best shaved ice ever.  EVER.  Andy got to go see Star Wars with his best buddy, Mark, while Sarah and I stayed with Larisa and Natalie (and little Max).  We didn't do anything amazing, just sat around and told stories and laughed and laughed.  Such good medicine.

The next day I got up and walked eight miles (that's right, have I mentioned I'm walking a 1/2 marathon in November?) and then we went to one of our favorite taco joints to meet up with my hilarious friend, Melanie, and her two kids.  Melanie is so much fun you can never, ever, be in a bad mood after hanging out with her, especially when schooners of Shiner are involved.

That afternoon we saw Jim and Sharon and their kids and we just relaxed outside while the kids swam.  It was heaven.  Then we went back to Larisa's house and had a dance party with the girls while the boys played hours of video games and we laughed some more.  Breakfast the next morning with another visit from Melanie and then lunch with my old friend, Bren, and her wonderful hubby and kids.  A weekend with all my favorite people.

The kids stayed up way too late both nights and there was a tad too much whining and crying here and there, but overall a wonderful weekend.  I would love to do it by myself next time, but then my friends would have to dump their kids too so maybe instead I can entice them into joining me for a weekend away.  I don't really care what we do, I just want to make sure I keep up with the people that count, the ones I love most and have shown me that they are going to be my friends for the long haul.  You know who you are!

Picture of the Day

 Sarah had Hat Day at school on Wednesday.  This is what she picked.  I think we may be in trouble in a few years.

 

Kid Quote of the Day

"It's so dark.  I think I want to play monster."

-Amanda, who really looks for any reason to play monster.  I mean, who wouldn't?

Addendum

When I went to pick up Amanda from school today I found out that this week's letter of the week is W, not L.  She said it with such conviction when I asked the other day I thought for sure she knew what she was talking about.  Looks like it may not be as easy as I thought.

Picture of the Day

First day of school pictures.  These were the best I could get from someone who did not want to go to school this morning.

First Day Take 2

Today was Amanda's first day of school.  Well, first day of one of her schools.  Yep, that's how we're rolling around here this year, Amanda gets two schools.  I was looking forever for a Spanish immersion preschool like she had last year.  I found one that was just starting up and she was the very first student to enroll, I wasn't playing around.  They only need three for a class.  Three.  They got two more but one dropped out, so back and forth I went with the director of the school as to whether or not they were going to have a class.

I almost dropped the whole thing entirely, but we really want her to get some Spanish so I stuck with it.  Last week I spoke to the director again and she said we can do one month with two students and if we get another, which she is so, so sure will happen (ahem, ahem) then we will continue.  Otherwise, it will be one and done.  I don't want to start the whole preschool search over and have her miss even more school, so Charlie and I decided she would do the Spanish school on M/W/F and another preschool on T/Th, just in case.  If Spanish prevails that's great, if not then she will at least have one school.  It sounds like a lot but both school are only half-day, which is stupid and ridiculous anyway, so she's at the Spanish one three hours a day the other one 2.5 hours a day.  I'll spend more time in the car driving back and forth than she will at the school.  Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, today was the first day at the non-Spanish school.  She did not want to go because she really wanted to watch Doc McStuffins (I would not make this up) and she wanted to walk to her school the same way Sarah (and Andy, although she didn't mention him) do.  The entire drive there she cried that she wanted to walk, even though it's a ten minute drive from the house.  In fact, after I picked her up she whined about that same thing for about another ten minutes.  I'm convinced both girls were having a long weekend hangover this morning and were feeling no love for me at all.  Days like this make me really dislike being a mom.

I dropped off a crying Amanda, went to the grocery store and then went home.  I would have stayed out longer and run more errands except my cell phone is not functioning properly after I jumped into a swimming pool this weekend with my clothes on and my phone in my pocket to save Amanda who ended up not really needing to be saved but was instead just very distressed that Andy and Sarah weren't playing near her.  Yes, my wonderfulness just keeps going on and on.  No worries though, I had insurance on said phone and will have a newer, better one delivered to my door for a crazy-but-not-as-crazy-as-the-cost-of-a-new-phone co-pay tomorrow.

As I was putting away the last of the groceries the phone rang.  It was the school.  Crap.  Nope, actually a good thing.  They were just calling to tell me that Amanda was doing wonderfully, even better than they would have hoped for her first day, and had stopped crying minutes after I left (of course, they always do that).  I had nothing to worry about and could enjoy my remaining 15 minutes before I had to come pick her up.  Okay, I had a little more time.

It's nice to know that she likes the school and is well adjusted and happy.  I knew she could do it all along.  The best part is that I asked her if they learned any letters today.  She said yes, one.  The letter L.  There's a good chance that kid will actually know the alphabet by the end of the school year.  That would be amazing!