Sarah had an accident at school today. Not a full blown pee in your pants accident, but one where she got to the toilet on time but couldn't pull her pants down far enough and ended up peeing on the back of her pants and underwear. Due to some issues that we are still trying to figure out but believe are partially neurological, she doesn't always have a lot of notice that she needs to go to the bathroom. We're working on it but as they say, accidents happen.
Luckily I help out with reading in her classroom on Tuesday mornings so I happened to be there when the accident occurred. Apparently at the beginning of the school year I had put an extra pair of leggings and underwear in a bag and put it in her backpack, so she had extra clothes. I'm so good I didn't even remember it was there, but she did. So I went with her to the bathroom to help her change her clothes.
It seems like it would be easy, but because Sarah wears a knee brace and braces on each foot, changing her pants is kind of a big deal and a total pain in the butt. She chose the larger bathroom and I helped her take everything off, put everything dry back on and told her I would take care of the wet stuff so she didn't have to worry about it.
At one point she looked at me and smiled and said, "You're a good mom". Nothing else, no "I love you", no big hug, just that one statement. But that was enough. There are many, many days when Sarah blames me for the most crazy things that I have no involvement in or control over, creating anger and guilt for things that I can't do anything about. But that one statement told me in the end, no matter how much we disagree and go at each other and no matter how much I have "ruined her life", she knows that I'm trying. Trying to do what's best for her, trying to help her out and make things right, and trying so hard to make the shitty things in her little six-year-old life just a little bit better.
I'll take "You're a good mom", because that's mainly what I strive for everyday and often feel that I come up short. That may be one of the best compliments I ever get.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Blankets
The first few months we lived her the girls were sleeping so well they lured us into a false sense of security. I don't know if the move was overstimulating for their little brains or it was the mile-high mountain air, but we were getting an amazing amount of sleep. So much so that I started to actually think clearly and wasn't walking around like a zombie most day. I believe those days have come to an end.
It started with Amanda's cough, and then Andy's, and then fevers and just snow balled. Everybody is sleeping well again, meaning we're not all kept up by coughing at night, but the girls are still finding ways to wake us up most nights. For example, last night I woke up from a deep sleep. I looked next to the bed, nothing there. I rolled over and look at Charlie's side of the bed. Sure enough, Sarah was standing there. I'm not sure if I heard her say something and that woke me up or if it was just the presence of someone staring at you. I asked her what she needed. Water. Her sippy cup was empty. Why, at six years old, she can't fill her own sippy cup in the middle of the night and she has to wake up one of us to do it is beyond me. But she does.
That wasn't normal, though. Sarah does wake us up for stupid things 1-2 times a week, but it's Amanda who wins the award for the most annoying and useless wake up calls. She probably does it 3-4 times a week, and it's always the same thing. She'll yell out for one of us to come in her room and we'll rush in there so she shuts up and doesn't wake the other two only to find out that she wants us to put her blankets back on her. That's all, she needs her blankets on.
I know she can do it herself, tiny little arms and all, because I've seen her do it. Reach down, pull them up, roll over and go to sleep. But she doesn't want to do it, she wants us to do it. On top of that, she sleeps with anywhere from 4-6 blankets a night, and she wants them in a certain order. I'll come into her room at 2:30 a.m. and she'll tell me "I need my blankets on". However she doesn't just want you to pull them up and go back to sleep. I've had this conversation more than once in my delirious, over-tired state:
Amanda: I need my blankets on.
Me: You can't do this yourself? (no answer)
Amanda: The peek one laa (rhymes with bad)!
Me: Huh, what did you say?
Amanda: The peek one laa!!
Me: What? I still don't know what you are saying.
Amanda: THE PEEK ONE LAA!!!
Me: The pink one last? Seriously? Does it really matter?
Apparently it does. We've been humoring her for the last few weeks. It's easier and quieter to just do it and go back to sleep then try to get her to do it herself, kind of like all that crap we used to do with her in the middle of the night when she wanted us to rock her to sleep. Same story, different year. But we're starting to lose it, and it's not just me it's Charlie too. I'm not sure how it's going to change, but whatever we do it's going to be painful. For us, for her and for the other two kids.
I wonder if they make Snuggies in her size?
It started with Amanda's cough, and then Andy's, and then fevers and just snow balled. Everybody is sleeping well again, meaning we're not all kept up by coughing at night, but the girls are still finding ways to wake us up most nights. For example, last night I woke up from a deep sleep. I looked next to the bed, nothing there. I rolled over and look at Charlie's side of the bed. Sure enough, Sarah was standing there. I'm not sure if I heard her say something and that woke me up or if it was just the presence of someone staring at you. I asked her what she needed. Water. Her sippy cup was empty. Why, at six years old, she can't fill her own sippy cup in the middle of the night and she has to wake up one of us to do it is beyond me. But she does.
That wasn't normal, though. Sarah does wake us up for stupid things 1-2 times a week, but it's Amanda who wins the award for the most annoying and useless wake up calls. She probably does it 3-4 times a week, and it's always the same thing. She'll yell out for one of us to come in her room and we'll rush in there so she shuts up and doesn't wake the other two only to find out that she wants us to put her blankets back on her. That's all, she needs her blankets on.
I know she can do it herself, tiny little arms and all, because I've seen her do it. Reach down, pull them up, roll over and go to sleep. But she doesn't want to do it, she wants us to do it. On top of that, she sleeps with anywhere from 4-6 blankets a night, and she wants them in a certain order. I'll come into her room at 2:30 a.m. and she'll tell me "I need my blankets on". However she doesn't just want you to pull them up and go back to sleep. I've had this conversation more than once in my delirious, over-tired state:
Amanda: I need my blankets on.
Me: You can't do this yourself? (no answer)
Amanda: The peek one laa (rhymes with bad)!
Me: Huh, what did you say?
Amanda: The peek one laa!!
Me: What? I still don't know what you are saying.
Amanda: THE PEEK ONE LAA!!!
Me: The pink one last? Seriously? Does it really matter?
Apparently it does. We've been humoring her for the last few weeks. It's easier and quieter to just do it and go back to sleep then try to get her to do it herself, kind of like all that crap we used to do with her in the middle of the night when she wanted us to rock her to sleep. Same story, different year. But we're starting to lose it, and it's not just me it's Charlie too. I'm not sure how it's going to change, but whatever we do it's going to be painful. For us, for her and for the other two kids.
I wonder if they make Snuggies in her size?
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wait A Minute, Did You Say I'm Three?
After two weeks of Andy being sick and one week of Amanda home from a fever, we topped it off this week with fall break. One week of all three kids home from school (except for two days when Amanda had her Spanish school) after being stuck at home for so long with sickos is enough to drive me to the brink. Top it off with me making several appointments this weeks - well visits, dentist, other random doctor appointment and fall pictures of the kids - that required the kids to "be on their best behavior" and I am done. Put a fork in me!
All this means is that I have a very low level of patience or threshold for irrational behavior. Unfortunately I have a three year old, and they thrive on irrational behavior. I don't know what happened to my happy go lucky, low key little girl, but all of a sudden Amanda has decided that she wants to push buttons and be in control and not do anything that we ask her to do. I'm hoping that it has something to do with the fact that we are totally off schedule this week and we're wearing her out, but I really think she's just decided that it wouldn't be fair for her to go through her three's without torturing me a little bit.
Thankfully she has school tomorrow morning and the older kids will be back to school on Monday. I just have to make it through one more day of Andy torturing the girls and then we are back to normal. If what we have going on here is normal. On the plus side, I just went to check on her in bed and when I leaned down next to her she said, "Mommy, I love you." I never get tired of that, and it sure will help me make it through tomorrow.
All this means is that I have a very low level of patience or threshold for irrational behavior. Unfortunately I have a three year old, and they thrive on irrational behavior. I don't know what happened to my happy go lucky, low key little girl, but all of a sudden Amanda has decided that she wants to push buttons and be in control and not do anything that we ask her to do. I'm hoping that it has something to do with the fact that we are totally off schedule this week and we're wearing her out, but I really think she's just decided that it wouldn't be fair for her to go through her three's without torturing me a little bit.
Thankfully she has school tomorrow morning and the older kids will be back to school on Monday. I just have to make it through one more day of Andy torturing the girls and then we are back to normal. If what we have going on here is normal. On the plus side, I just went to check on her in bed and when I leaned down next to her she said, "Mommy, I love you." I never get tired of that, and it sure will help me make it through tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Kid Quote of the Day
Sarah: Why is Amanda crying?
Me: Probably because she can hear you (saying mean things).
Sarah: Well, I can hear the upsetment in my heart.
Me: Probably because she can hear you (saying mean things).
Sarah: Well, I can hear the upsetment in my heart.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Kid Quote of the Day
"Prepare to fight the bad guys. Or as we heroes like to call them, baddies."
-Andy, trying on his Halloween costume. He's going as a ninja, I didn't know they were considered heroes.
-Andy, trying on his Halloween costume. He's going as a ninja, I didn't know they were considered heroes.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Apple Pie
My parents were in town last week (which is part of the reason I didn't post that much, but the other part is because I am lazy) which brought tons of visitors. It seems that everybody that comes to visit us knows more people here than we do. It helps us meet new people, but kind of stinks that we don't know anybody.
In the course of the weekend, my mom's second cousin, Marie, and her husband came on Friday night for dinner, my mom's childhood friend came on Saturday for lunch, and my college roommate and her family came on Sunday for dinner. By the time the weekend was over we were beat, but very happy to have so many visitors.
Marie brought us a big box of apples from the apple tree in her back yard. I've only seen her one other time since we moved here, while my sister was visiting, and that time she brought us peaches. I would love an apple and peach tree in my back yard, but apparently they only produce fruit about once every six years here. The trees give fruit in the summer/fall, but freeze the following spring, and don't recover enough to produce fruit again for 5-6 years. I think that would drive me bonkers, so I'm okay with no fruit trees.
Anyway, huge box of apples. There is no way we can eat them all and a lot of them have spots and worm holes and other issues since, as Marie's husband put it, they are organic and free range so I decided to make an apple pie. From scratch. For some people this is no big deal, but I've never made a pie before except those ice cream pies where you buy a pre-made crust, melt the ice cream in it and then refreeze it. No brainer.
Charlie helped by peeling the apples and my mom and I cut them, but that's all I would let them do. I wanted to do it myself. Except for missing the part where you can, but don't have to, add cinnamon for flavoring, the pie turned out really good. I was so excited that a few days later I made a second one. Unfortunately we didn't want to eat another pie, so I made it for my neighbor. I didn't taste it, but I'm pretty sure that one turned out even better.
I still have apples left and would love to make one more pie, but I don't have anybody else to give one to and since Charlie and I are trying so hard not to eat junk, another pie in the house is not a good idea. I may cave anyway, because I get on kicks like this where I make something and I have to keep doing it over and over again, even when it doesn't make sense and there are a ton of other things I should be doing instead. I just think it's cool that I can make a pie. Plus I love to bake.
Next summer I'm going to make cherry.
Here's a picture of pie #2. We ate the first one so quickly I forgot to take a picture :)
In the course of the weekend, my mom's second cousin, Marie, and her husband came on Friday night for dinner, my mom's childhood friend came on Saturday for lunch, and my college roommate and her family came on Sunday for dinner. By the time the weekend was over we were beat, but very happy to have so many visitors.
Marie brought us a big box of apples from the apple tree in her back yard. I've only seen her one other time since we moved here, while my sister was visiting, and that time she brought us peaches. I would love an apple and peach tree in my back yard, but apparently they only produce fruit about once every six years here. The trees give fruit in the summer/fall, but freeze the following spring, and don't recover enough to produce fruit again for 5-6 years. I think that would drive me bonkers, so I'm okay with no fruit trees.
Anyway, huge box of apples. There is no way we can eat them all and a lot of them have spots and worm holes and other issues since, as Marie's husband put it, they are organic and free range so I decided to make an apple pie. From scratch. For some people this is no big deal, but I've never made a pie before except those ice cream pies where you buy a pre-made crust, melt the ice cream in it and then refreeze it. No brainer.
Charlie helped by peeling the apples and my mom and I cut them, but that's all I would let them do. I wanted to do it myself. Except for missing the part where you can, but don't have to, add cinnamon for flavoring, the pie turned out really good. I was so excited that a few days later I made a second one. Unfortunately we didn't want to eat another pie, so I made it for my neighbor. I didn't taste it, but I'm pretty sure that one turned out even better.
I still have apples left and would love to make one more pie, but I don't have anybody else to give one to and since Charlie and I are trying so hard not to eat junk, another pie in the house is not a good idea. I may cave anyway, because I get on kicks like this where I make something and I have to keep doing it over and over again, even when it doesn't make sense and there are a ton of other things I should be doing instead. I just think it's cool that I can make a pie. Plus I love to bake.
Next summer I'm going to make cherry.
Here's a picture of pie #2. We ate the first one so quickly I forgot to take a picture :)
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Last Ditch Effort
How can you say no to this face?!?
Andy has been working his tail off the last two days trying to meet his goal for Cub Scout popcorn sales. He has knocked on every door in our neighborhood. It amazes me how many people are obviously home (garage door open with two cars inside) and do not come to the door. I think it has to do with the ridiculous amount of solicitors in our neighborhood, but I'm getting off topic.
He set a goal for himself of $600 in popcorn sales. He is almost there, but a little bit shy. His money is due tomorrow so today is really the last day we can go door to door. If you want to support him, any amount of sales will help. If you don't want any popcorn for yourself, there are also two different options to support our military troops and send them popcorn overseas.
Here is a link to his online account: http://www.trails-end.com/shop/scouts/email_referral.jsp?id=29552023
Thanks so much for your support, and thanks to Grandma S, Grandma and Grandpa D and April from Florida who have already placed an order!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Next In Line
Andy finally went back to school for good on Monday, appetite starting to come back and lethargy gone. On Monday afternoon Amanda looked flushed so I took her temperature. 102 something. You know what that means, no school the next day. Why can't they just all get sick at once. Especially when it's not puking sick, it's just "I feel fine but have a fever so can't go to school" sick.
Today is Friday and she still has a low grade fever. She isn't acting sick, but by the end of the day her cheeks are red and she is worn out and she has a tiny little fever. So, five days at home for Andy, four days for Amanda. Three visits to the doctor. I should be getting tons done because I'm home all day, but I'm not. I feel trapped in my house. I just really hope Sarah isn't next, because we have well-visits on Monday, dentists appointments on Tuesday and Sarah has a big doctor appointment on Wednesday.
Also, did I mention that the kids are on fall break next week? Yeah, we've never had that before, but they got today off and all next week. So I filled it with tons of appointments so they didn't have to miss anymore school. I just didn't take into account when I scheduled them that one or more of them might be sick and blow the whole thing out of the water.
It does add a little excitement to it all, but not really the kind I was looking for. Keep your fingers crossed that everybody (and at this point everybody means Sarah) stays healthy.
Today is Friday and she still has a low grade fever. She isn't acting sick, but by the end of the day her cheeks are red and she is worn out and she has a tiny little fever. So, five days at home for Andy, four days for Amanda. Three visits to the doctor. I should be getting tons done because I'm home all day, but I'm not. I feel trapped in my house. I just really hope Sarah isn't next, because we have well-visits on Monday, dentists appointments on Tuesday and Sarah has a big doctor appointment on Wednesday.
Also, did I mention that the kids are on fall break next week? Yeah, we've never had that before, but they got today off and all next week. So I filled it with tons of appointments so they didn't have to miss anymore school. I just didn't take into account when I scheduled them that one or more of them might be sick and blow the whole thing out of the water.
It does add a little excitement to it all, but not really the kind I was looking for. Keep your fingers crossed that everybody (and at this point everybody means Sarah) stays healthy.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Cold, Cold, Cold
I took Andy back to the doctor on Wednesday. We thought he was getting better so he went to school on Monday, but by Wednesday morning he was still lethargic and had no appetite and was still coughing horribly. I let him go to school because he didn't have a fever and had missed so much the week before, but ended up picking him up early for the doctor appointment. It was a good thing I did, because he had pneumonia. Just the beginning of it, but still it was there. Ugh.
The doctor said he could go to school on Thursday because he wasn't really contagious anymore, but Wednesday night he had a fever of 101.6 which meant he wasn't going to school on Thursday. So many days of sick, sad Andy and so many missed days of school. For some weird reason his teacher didn't send any make-up work home, even after I asked, but I didn't push it. He wouldn't have wanted to do it anyway and I didn't want to have to make him do it.
Just as he was trying to get over all this sickness the weather changed and the temperature dropped. A lot. On Wednesday it was in the mid-seventies, on Thursday it started getting colder and by Friday it was in the mid-forties. Friday morning there was snow on the ground. SNOW. Don't get me wrong, I'm not delusional, I knew it was going to snow here. I mean, we live in Colorado now. However, I did not know it was going to snow on October 5th. Not a good sign. It's going to be a long winter.
So, Andy's turning the corner on this lengthy illness, and I am starting to realize what a long, cold winter it's going to be. I know I'll survive, I'm just not going to be happy about it.
The doctor said he could go to school on Thursday because he wasn't really contagious anymore, but Wednesday night he had a fever of 101.6 which meant he wasn't going to school on Thursday. So many days of sick, sad Andy and so many missed days of school. For some weird reason his teacher didn't send any make-up work home, even after I asked, but I didn't push it. He wouldn't have wanted to do it anyway and I didn't want to have to make him do it.
Just as he was trying to get over all this sickness the weather changed and the temperature dropped. A lot. On Wednesday it was in the mid-seventies, on Thursday it started getting colder and by Friday it was in the mid-forties. Friday morning there was snow on the ground. SNOW. Don't get me wrong, I'm not delusional, I knew it was going to snow here. I mean, we live in Colorado now. However, I did not know it was going to snow on October 5th. Not a good sign. It's going to be a long winter.
So, Andy's turning the corner on this lengthy illness, and I am starting to realize what a long, cold winter it's going to be. I know I'll survive, I'm just not going to be happy about it.
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