365/90 All 6–12 times #3

Rich-The month of March hasn’t been good for him. His leg has still been bothering him so he hasn’t been able to run hardly at all. A runner who can’t run isn’t fun to be around. On top of that, he doesn’t take disappointment well. Syd’s surgery outcome was not easily accepted.

Moe-I have spent a lot of time taking the kids to the doctors this month. A lot of time worrying about Syd’s surgery and recovery. And the rest of the time I was medicating Syd in hopes of keeping her healthy enough for surgery.

Jake-He has spent most of March feeling under the weather with sinus problems and ear aches. His first snowboarding trip this year was not as fun as a result of the ickies. Track starts very soon for him.

Megan-Her new job as paper carrier is going great. She has even signed up for a second route that connects to her current one starting later in April. She will be earning decent money for 12 year old.

Chloe-Now 100% potty trained during the day, we are working on staying dry at night. She enjoyed having Uncle Brent, Aunt Heather and Lu stay with her while we were at the hospital with Syd

Sydney-Now that her ear surgery is over & it was not successful in getting her to hear, we are just waiting for the next step. We will be going Mid-April for an eval for the Baha hearing device. She is still just the happy girl she has always been.

365/89 It scared me at first

This is the face that I woke up to this morning…

At first I panicked, thinking she had ripped open her incision. We have had a hard time keeping her from rubbing her stitches.  The reality is she had a bloody nose during the night {the first one ever for her}. After a bath she looked as good as new.

365/88 Loving the new job

Day 2 of her paper route and MJ loves her new job.

She has already settled into the routine of sorting, folding, banding, and bagging the papers each day shortly after they arrive in our driveway.

She has her little organizational tools (cool color-coded map that Mom made of all the houses on the route) that she uses to keep track of new subscribers and/or who is on vacation.

And she knows how long it takes her to deliver the papers each day.  She prides herself on getting faster each day so far (blame this on her father’s influence).

365/87 Not the outcome we were expecting

Hubby posting…

Monday was Syd’s big day, or so we were hoping.  She went in for her ear surgery and everything seemed to be going according to plan, but then the doc called from the ER and said that he couldn’t finish auguring out her ear canal. 

As best we understand his explanation, the tiny bones in her ear were too close together at the end of ear canal to allow him to make the canal bigger.  There are nerves attached to those bones and if he were to come too close to a nerve, it would have lasting effects (i.e. she could lose her ability to smile).

We trust his professional judgment and appreciate his “better safe than sorry” approach but were still disappointed that our Super Syd won’t have better hearing starting right NOW.

Our next step will be to see if bone conducting hearing aids will work for her.  They have some that are attached to a headband so that could be a speedy, if only temporary, solution.

My Dad used to have an old saying that he continually tried to teach me:

“Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can.

Found seldom in a woman, and never in a man.”

I’m still working on it…

The bright side in all this is that Syd bounces back fairly quickly.  She’s pretty much out of it in the picture below on the trip home.  By the end of the day however, she was mostly back to normal.

I am thankful week 12

Journaling Reads:

I am thankful for the progress she has
made in 2 months.

We had a parent teacher conference with Syd’s teachers this week.
She started in mid January and has made great progress under their guidance. 
She has many things to learn yet but they are confident that it is just a matter of time once the surgery happens.
We have seen her doing many new things at home and is talking more and more each day. All of this is because of the teachers and Paras at ESA. Thank ever so much.

365/86 The night before

Syd, Hubby and I are at a hotel next door to the hospital tonight.

The trip down was uneventful. Weather was good, traffic lite, and Syd watched a DVD the entire way.

This is the calm before the storm. Tomorrow Syd won't be nearly as relaxed when we get to the hospital. We're sure this surgery will be a great thing but turning her over to the hospital folks is going to be tough. She won't leave her Mom's side willingly. And certainly not with someone in a lab coat.

- Posted using BlogPress from Moe's iPhone

365/85 long nights catching up to her

Syd has been going through her “insomnia phase” again. The last few nights she has been awake for 3-5 hour stretches in the middle of the night.

I don’t know what causes it or how to change it. We just deal with it; some times better than others. {I tend to get cranky and darker circles form under my eyes}.

She tends to fall asleep in the strangest places in the  afternoons.

365/84 Sometimes she is such a big girl…

The girls and I have had a bit of trying morning. We all needed more sleep and the whining is at an all time high here.

CJ has a bit of a “taking things that don’t belong to her” problem. You don’t always know the thing is missing until you need it or catch her acting suspiciously.

Today it was my lip balm from my night stand, she was stashing it in her closet. When I discovered this, I had just about had it with everything and kind of started to rant and rave about taken things that are not yours.

I had one hand on my hip, bent over at the waist, pointing my finger and shaking my head at CJ. All the while I’m telling how taking things was wrong and she should not do it ever ever ever again.  She had her lip stuck out with big tears rolling down her face. 

Syd steps up next to CJ and starts rubbing her back and cooing. She had just such a look of concern on her face, I was struck mute.  I was so taken at this display of compassion from Syd that I dropped to my knees and hugged them both with big tears rolling down my face.

365/83 Counting down

In just 4 days Syd will be having surgery on her ears. Hopefully they will be able to widen one of the ear canals to enable her to hear more clearly. Both sides will need to be done as both ear canals narrow to less than 2 mm, but the second will need to wait awhile.

This will be very scary for her and I’m dreading watching her leave the room screaming as they take her to surgery. I get upset just thinking about it. I’m hoping with her new communication skills it will go better than the last surgery but I will not hold my breath. 

I am thankful week 11

Journaling reads:

I am thankful for 2 hour, 2 days a week
to myself.

Since Syd has started school I get 2 hour twice a week alone. It is not much; just 4 small hours each week but for a mother of 4 it is a little piece of heaven.
I usually save my errands that are more difficult with toddlers or make appointments for doctors and hair cuts during these times.
But the best is when I can just stay home and scrapbook or clean without interruptions. Folding laundry is so much faster when I’m not stopping to chase someone out of something.
Summer break is coming and my alone time will end but I will enjoy it while I can.

365/82 A mere 12 hours

Only in Michigan can we go from a week of 50’s to a snow storm that closes school the next week.

Last evening I snapped a photo after the tree trimmers cut down our pine tree {thinking I was going to be telling you how happy I am to be rid the tree that brushed my van every time I pulled in and out of my driveway}. 

The kids came home from school telling me that we would probably not have school because we were going to get 6-10 inches of snow by morning. What? I was so done with this stuff!

Sure enough the snow started falling at 8 pm and continued through the night. I woke up to a  winter wonderland yet again. Yesterday I was dreaming of spring and now I’m pulling out my snow boots hopefully for the last time.  Only in Michigan!

365/81 Thank you Lu

I got an email from my Sister-in-law this afternoon, in it was a copy of Lu Bean's writing assignment.

I loved it! Reading it made me smile and the kids enjoying hearing it as well, thank you Lu Bean.

We always enjoy having her visit us even if she calls us the crazy house But I can definitely see why she would think we are crazy. The loudest thing at her house might just be the whirling of saws and the laughing. From what I hear from our kids, their house is “way more fun.”

365/80 Surprising Similarities

From early on we have seen the similarities in MJ and CJ. Often people have said that CJ is a mini-MJ in looks and personality.

But Syd is the only one with dark hair and I think that has blinded me to how similar she is to the MJ.

MJ had a project at school where she had to write about herself now and when she was younger, providing pictures of each time period. MJ took it a step further and wanted to show pics of her sisters at about the same age as her younger self to see if she could fool anyone.

I said “I’m sure I can find a pic of CJ that looks like you but not of Syd, you two just don’t look alike.”

Was I ever wrong!  When comparing these three photos; Syd is the near twin of MJ but CJ’s face,it’s just a different shape and her nose is more upturned.

365/79 Explaining who Grandpa G is

Posted by Hubby:

We were up in G-town on Sunday visiting our families.  As we were leaving town, we drove by my Dad’s shop, just to make sure it was still there .  As we were driving by, CJ asked – “whose building is that?”  3 year olds are always full of interesting questions but that’s one I hadn’t quite expected (or knew quite how to answer).  My Dad passed away when CJ was just 3 months old and it’s always difficult how to explain who Grandpa G is because she was too young to have any memories of him.  The best thing we can do is show her pictures and try to explain the situation.

She asked again about Grandpa just before bedtime and so we spent time time looking at a picture of JD and Grandpa at a Tiger Game from 2001.  It’s hard for her to process because the JD in the picture is 5 years old, but it’s a start.

It’s sad that neither CJ or Syd will have a chance to meet my Dad.  We’ll just have to do our best to help them know him through our pictures and stories.

365/78 They got jobs!

It is official; MJ and JD now have jobs. They will be delivering news papers. At 20-25 dollars a week they think they struck gold! JD is already planning what he will buy with his payload. MJ is planning what she will do with the money she will make when JD gives up his job and she gets both routes.

MJ starts next week and JD the week after. JD will need MJ to substitute for him the first couple weeks as track practice starts the very same day. MJ is more than happy to help him; she is already figuring in the extra income she will make.

I’m thinking I might be in for more work than I originally thought when I suggested they get paper routes. The routes are not in our neighborhood and I will not be letting them go across town on their own. I just may have to invest in new videos for the girls to watch as I suspect we will be in the van for a few hours every afternoon.

I just hope JD realizes that weekend papers need to be delivered by 8 am and will require him to get out of bed a few hours before that to get them packed and ready to go. I think he will tire of that very quickly.

I almost forgot: MJ’s first day is the same day of Syd’s surgery and my brother will be taking her out for her first day. I really really appreciate it Brent, you are the best baby brother I could have asked for!

365/77 Played hard

JD and MJ had the neighbor kids over to play in the front yard and CJ just had to be out there with them. She fussed and fussed until we gave in and got her dress for the chilly day. I think there were playing baseball and she was the cheerleader. She ran around and laughed and sang. She had a great time and cried when the kids went home and she had to come in.

365/76 Time change affects

Every night since the time change Syd has taken a snooze in the late afternoon.

Over the weekend I thought it was just the Benadryl that was making her sleepy. But now I have to wonder if she is getting sick again or is it just the affects of the time change.

She has just over a week before her scheduled surgery so I hope she is not coming down with something again.

365/75 Competition = Motivation?

JD came home today with a schedule. Not surprising; he signed up for track.

We had picked up new shoes last weekend but at the that time he was “not sure” if he was going to join; so he was not basing his selection on the best track shoe but the best looking running shoe.

There are over 160 7th & 8th graders signed up this year. {WOW, did I ever tell you how much bigger this school is than our hometown school!}  JD will need to do his best at every practice if he wants to get selected to run in the next meet. Maybe this type of competition is just what he needs to keep him motivated to run his best.

365/74 A Star is Born?

Earlier this year, MJ joined an after school team that participates in fine art and educational competitions against other local schools (think singing and quiz bowl types of activities).  The competitions are called “Head to Head”.

Not lacking in confidence, our daughter decided that she wanted her activity on the team to be singing (solos).

This picture is of her watching a replay of her 1st performance, performing Kenny Chesney’s “Who You’d Be Today”.

Although she said that she felt very nervous (“my legs were just shaking”), she looked very cool and calm on video and did a nice job.

Both hubby and I agree that she has a lot more nerve at her age than either of us did then (and maybe even more than we have now).

We’re proud of you Boog!

365/73 unbelievable!

I found out today that JD can start driver training this month! I can not believe that he is old enough, I’m just not ready for this. Does he look ready to learn how to drive a car to you?

Okay that is not a fair question considering the picture above.  He is not feeling well today, his throat is soar and he napped most all day.

I think we will revisit this idea in the summer though; the idea that he is old enough might sink in by then and not sound so crazy to us.

I am thankful week 10

Journaling reads:

I am thankful for their close relationship.

These two are a mere 13 months and 13 days apart. Crazy, I know.
They fight for attention, over toys, and who’s turn it is like all siblings. But there are times when CJ is so tender with Syd, caring how she is feeling; those are the moments that my heart sings.
They often look at books together and I hear CJ telling Syd the “story”, even though I doubt Syd can understand much of it.
I know they will be more fussing and fighting as they get older but I hope they will remain this close as they grow up together.

365/72 Lazy Sunday

We had a very lazy Sunday. Just hung out, watched a movie and took naps most all day. Hubby and JD wrestled a bit this afternoon, not sure if JD enjoyed himself as much as he thought he would. He thinks that he is stronger than his dad but I have yet to see him win at wrestling.

365/71 Tent building; a great childhood past time

We had Lu Bean over for a visit this evening. While she was here the girls made tents from blankets and my dining room chairs. I think this is one of the greatest childhood past times. I know I always enjoyed doing this as a child. CJ had such great time that she insisted on sleeping in her tent tonight. I can just bet that she will want to build tents most every day now.

365/70 Zoning out

Syd came done with a rash this week and by last night she was itching it like crazy. After a visit to the doctor {I think we have been there once a week for the past month and a half} she has a prescription for a cream and I have been advised to give her Benadryl. It is the Benadryl that has her zoning out. By dinner time she was falling asleep standing up.

365/69 Too good of a deal

I was the lucky recipient of a 30% off coupon from Kohls. With their large selection of clearance racks I could spend a mint. I did keep myself in check though but I did find 2 wool coats that were a great deal marked down 70% and with my 30% off, less than 30.00 a piece!

I couldn’t decide between the two: I love red and it caught my attention right away but I also loved the tie waist and zipper on the black one. I was just going to bring them both home and get others opinions. When I told Hubby how great of deal they were he told me to keep them both! Bonus!

I also found a grey wool coat for him on clearance. And he looks great in it. 

Kohls + clearance + 30% off = Happiness

365/68 Bitten by the game bug

First off let me just say: Hubby I just couldn’t not use this photo to tell this story. {forgive me}

Hubby has had his Iphone for a few months now. He  rarely plays electronic games but he suddenly got the urge last weekend to download a chess game app. It is all he seems to want to do in his spare time. He even talks to the game 

Tonight he came into the bathroom to talk with while I showered but he barely said two words to me and even stayed long after I left the bathroom just playing chess with his Iphone. Did he even notice I left? Probably but he did not acknowledge it. I think it is a bit funny; maybe now he won’t be so hard on the rest of us when a silly little game has us in its clutches.

365/67 Never far away

Syd is basically my shadow most the time. When she is not on my lap she keeps a keen eye on me so I don’t get too far away. When I really need to leave without her I usually have to sneak off.  It is not the best solution but for now it works. Sometimes a mom just needs to take a shower in peace; without an audience.

This afternoon she was standing behind me on my chair; watching TV and playing with my hair while I type.

365/66 off to Club Brent

After Ruby traumatic weekend she needed a little R & R. My brother and Sister-in-Law graciously offered to take her and give her nerves a much needed break. Even 2 days after her collar going haywire she was still unwilling to move freely in the house and had to be dragged outside. It even took a lot of coaxing to get her to leave the garage to get in Brent’s car.  Brent called me when they got her home and said she was acting normal and relaxed for the most part.

Thank you guys for soothing her rattled nerves.

 

365/65 Haywire

Ruby’s wireless Petsafe collar went haywire last night.  She can normally go anywhere in the house but now places like MJ’s bedroom and the kitchen would cause her collar to beeped at her. The beeping freaks her out.  She got zapped when she went just a few steps off the stoop. It turned our 80# wriggling ball of excitement into a shiver ball of nerves. She is scared to move anywhere the poor thing. I have an email into the company but I think her collar is toast.

I was trying to soothe her into joining us; the girls decided to join in. Anytime a parent gets on the ground is a invite to climb on them in their eyes.

Update: I called the company and after walking me through restaging the transmitter and getting the same results they are replacing the collar for free. I should get the new on within 2 weeks. Ruby may have to go Club Brent’s for a few days just to forget this trauma.

I am Thankful Week 9

Journaling reads:

I am Thankful for his safe trip home.

He does not travel for work or pleasure by himself very often. But when he does, it makes us appreciate him even more.  He. was gone only 2 nights, but it was long enough for the girls and I to feel his absences. When he is gone my days seems longer and my work load feels doubled.

I’m a worrier by nature and when my family is not all in the same place, I spend a bit of my time worrying about them while they are gone.

It is great to have him back for the weekend.

A significant note: Since his return, Syd has been cuddlier with him, which he is thankful for.

365/64 Sudden fever

CJ told me she was freezing and needed a sweater about 1 this afternoon. I didn’t think anything of it, I often feel chilly and need a sweater in our house. About 3 I noticed she was just sitting on the couch with her arms wrapped around herself.  When  asked her if she was okay, she asked me to cover her up because she was cold.  I grabbed an afghan and when I was wrapping it around her I could feel heat radiating off of her. Her temp was 100.8 and before it was all said and done it got up to 102.8. By 9 PM her fever broke and she was sleeping peacefully in her bed.  I have no idea what caused the fever but I’m glad it is gone.

365/63 Impromptu snowball fights

One of JD’s main reasons for liking where we live now is the frequency he gets to see his uncle.  Today Brent stopped by to grab something and as he was leaving JD threw snow at him.  That is all it takes, a full blown snowball fight was in order.  I think JD would say he won but  as you can see JD is the only one with snow on him. 

365/62 The North Pole

As we were running errands last week, we drove by this house. We drive by this house often, it is just down the road from our house and they have had this sleigh on their roof since late November. But this time CJ caught a glimpse of the sleigh on the roof and yelled, “That’s the North Pole, mom look. That is where Santa lives. Can we go visit?” “Hey, how is he going to get his sleigh off the roof?”  After I stopped giggling I said “Maybe the reindeer can help him.” CJ looked shocked and said “mom, reindeer can’t do that!”

365/61 Off to sunny California

Hubby left this afternoon for a business trip to California. He will only be gone 2 nights but even that seems too long for most of us. Life as a temporary single parent of 4 is not fun for either of us.

CJ has a classmate that is on vacation in Mexico this week and the teacher told the class she left on an airplane. As we were leaving the airport CJ started crying. I assumed that she was sad about leaving dad but I was wrong.  She told me, “I wanted to see Chloe A., she is on vacation at the airport.” I had to chuckle and tell her that Chloe A. left on an airplane, she was not staying at the airport. CJ then said, “Why didn’t we stay and watch her plane?” When I told CJ that her plane left last week she was huffy because I didn’t take her to the airport sooner. Ah, life with CJ is never dull

365/60 A bit too small…

My SIL, Heather, is cleaning out the soon to be babies room and my kids have been reaping the rewards for it.  She dropped off another small load of stuff today. Usually it is mainly for the little girls but today it was more for MJ. A box of scrapbooking supplies and a pair of size 7 heels.  My dear MJ is growing like a weed and she can now wear my shoes (size 8-9), Hubby can’t believe how big her feet are.  She was determined to get these shoes on her feet; simply because they are heels and she wants to wear heels so badly. But she is just shy of a klutz and I fear for her safety. 

She pulled, wiggled and pushed. It was funny to watch. She did get them on and celebrated loudly.  She showed me, I kept telling her they would never fit. She strutted around for just a few minutes before she could not walk anymore, they were killing her feet. She collapsed in giggles. I had to pry them off the feet.