June 19, 2007
· Filed under Family, Health
But not how you’d think! I wasn’t the one who was sick. Little Man woke up last night having seizures. Yes, seizures! So, off to the E.R. we went. The took blood (poor kid isn’t a bleeder - it took 2 sticks!) and did a head CT. Thankfully everything turned out mostly normal, but they’re sending us to his regular doctor today to get a referral to a neurologist and an EEG.
Turns out his orange-on-a-toothpick gargantuan cranium (anybody get the movie reference?) may not be entirely healthy. My mother’s intuition tells me everything is a-okay, but doctor’s don’t really settle for that. So Little Man played with the doctor’s swivel stool in the ER from 10 last night until 2 this morning. And we’re headed to his pediatrician in about an hour.
So my momzilla episode seems to pale in comparison. I’m just thankful now to have Little Man in my arms at home, not seizing. It’s weird how something like that can change your perspective and attitude.
June 18, 2007
· Filed under Parenting
I don’t know how it happened, but I seem to have become Momzilla. I snap at my kids. I avoid conversations at the park or playground. I snap at my husband. I avoid my mom friends. Why? Because I’m angry all the time. Angry about what? I have no earthly idea. I blame it on hormones. But whatever it is, I have to make it stop!
My poor kids! They ate lunch in silence today because they realized that I was snapping at them over every little infraction. On one hand, it was nice to see them actually respect my authority and respond to something I said. On the other hand, I felt a little quite a bit guilty for making them afraid to speak.
But ahhh, the silence…
Excuse me now, but I have to go make dinner for a friend who just had a baby. Once it’s made I’ll slap on my most congenial smile, drop it off at her house (oohing and ahhing appropriately over her new baby - but only for the appropriate minute), and then slither back into my car glad that I don’t have to make real conversation with someone. How bad is that?
June 15, 2007
· Filed under Family
Yeah!!! My big brother is home. After an extended deployment in the mountains of Afghanistan where he and his soldiers did some truly remarkable work, he arrived this afternoon and is now reunited with his wife.
They’re having a wonderful reunion and I’m sue he’s getting some much needed rest. Welcome home, Rob. You’ve been sorely missed.
June 14, 2007
· Filed under Food, Friends
Yummy goodness
It’s flag day and my good friend is hosting a party for our discipleship group, along with our children and spouses. 18 kids in all, belonging to 13 adults. It’ll be a romping good time.
So I’m bringing pasta salad, a festive flag cake made with orange extract (mmm…) and the biggest bags of Cheetos and Kettle Chips this side of the Mississippi.
Post script: And in fact I do have a reason to celebrate Flag Day this year - my brother is coming home tomorrow after 16 months of deployment in Afghanistan. Hooray!!!
June 13, 2007
· Filed under Shopping, Trivialities
Now, not only can you say that your baby was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but that he was born with a personalized silver spoon in his mouth.
Isn’t that just what the world needs? You can purchase your own at aptly named Spoil The Baby.
May I just ask… when did spoiling become such a good thing? Didn’t we get the term ’spoiled brat’ somewhere? (Please do not take from this that I think every child with a personalized silver baby spoon is a spoiled brat. In fact I don’t know any children with a personalized silver baby spoon. Yours - if he has one - may be a perfectly sweet child…) But seriously, when did “spoil” become a marketable selling word for retail use?
June 13, 2007
· Filed under Discipline, Parenting, Works for Me!
I grew up hating chores. They were always a punishment and always talked about in negative terms in the house. Still to this day I see dusting, vacuuming, washing dishes - as negative chores that should be hated.
Somehow though, I got Bean (3 yrs old) to think of doing the laundry as fun. So she helps me separate darks from lights, put them in the wash, move them from the washer to dryer, remove them from the dryer, and separate the clean clothes into categories (socks, shirts, or Little Man’s, Bean’s, Mama’s… you get the point). I’ve done the same thing with setting the table and clearing it after a meal. She ‘graduates’ to where she’s able to do specific ‘tasks’ (not chores) and be Mama’s Big Helper.
Hopefully this will grow in her a sense of responsibility - that her contribution is important; and a love for keeping things in order and helping others. I haven’t used cleaning as a punishment - except when she colors on the wall. Then she has to help clean because she made the mess. But it’s all in the wording, isn’t it? There’s a big difference between saying “you made the mess, now you have to clean it up.” and “You know that crayons are for paper. Sit in the naughty seat until the timer goes off. Then let’s clean this up together!”
So, I hope to keep cleaning as a privilege in my house. Because hey, once my kids are old enough to do it all, they’ll want to clean and I won’t have to! Right? For more Works for Me tips, head over to Shannon’s at Rocks in My Dryer.
June 12, 2007
· Filed under Health
for an 18-month old to stop hearing mama’s voice when there’s background noise? He’s had tubes in for about 2 months. In that time he’s had at least 4 ear infections. And I noticed this week that when we’re at the grocery store, or the children’s museum or the playground - basically anywhere there is a lot of noise - he doesn’t hear me call his name. Now, I’m not talking about him being distracted and not paying attention. I’m talking about when he realizes I’m not where he thinks I am and he starts looking frantically for me. I call his name, first at normal volume. Then louder, and louder, and louder, until I’m standing next to him and near shouting, and finally he looks at me with surprise to find me so close.
So I’ve started playing little hide and seek games with him where he has to follow the sound of my voice. Sadly, he can’t distinguish which direction it’s coming from. He can’t follow the sound. We see the pediatrician for his regular 18-month check up on Thursday. But I’m thinking we’ll be sitting in the audiologist’s office pretty soon.
Anyone have experience with this? Could he just be really distracted by other things going on? I keep hoping…
June 8, 2007
· Filed under Current events
(Cue Beetles music) You say you want a revolution, Well, you know, We all want to change the world… Our coup was successful. For those of you who aren’t versed in the dynamics of suburban homeowners association takeovers, check out the reasons for the takeover here.
The result of all this is that I am now a full-fledged Board Member - I’m the secretary in fact, because, as they say, I write pretty. In truth, I’m the secretary because I can string a few words together in a sentence without proliferating profanities. I know, it’s tough to find a candidate as qualified as me. Oh! and I can take notes too. Man! The talent I possess!
So, we’ve had our hostile takeover, we’ve completed our revolution, next on the agenda, mwahaha, we’ll try to take over the world!
But seriously, the issues isn’t over. There’s a case in front of Georgia’s supreme court about a sex offender and a day care. If the court rules in the offender’s favor, the guy in my neighborhood is expected to take this sweet pastor’s wife to court.
June 6, 2007
· Filed under Works for Me!
Summer time. Kids out of school. Yet still, there are grown up things to be done - like laundry, mopping floors, paying bills, …. blogging.
We have one of those little pop-up tent things for the kids - they’re made by Play Hut I think. We have a small one, a tunnel, and a big Dora the Explorer playhouse. Normally they’re folded up and hidden in a closet. But during the summer I bring them out once or twice a week, set them up for the kids, and they can play in there for hours (no joke!). That gives me precious time to get things done. When we’re done, I fold them up and put them away. The best part is that we can take them with us when we go on a road trip - they’re easy to pack and small, and they’re most entertaining at Grama and Papa’s house.
For more Works for Me tips, head over to Shannon’s at Rocks in My Dryer.
June 6, 2007
· Filed under Discipline
I’ve come to a point in my parenting where the sheer 3-ness grates on my nerves. The whining. The refusing to share. The tantrums. And we all know that tantrums love an audience.
I’ve discovered a new tactic and I LOVE it! It only works at home, unfortunately. I haven’t found a trick yet to use when we’re out. But here it is… When she starts whining, or refuses to share, or is reveling in her 3-ness, I send her to room. I don’t take her there, or call it time out or the naughty seat. I just tell her to go to her room - until she’s ready to share / stop whining / etc. It’s amazing. She sulks off to her room, disappears behind a closed door for a minute or two, then comes out smiling and announces, “Okay, I’m ready!”
(I seem to remember my mother doing something like this to me… Only it was phrased differently - “don’t come out until…” I prefer the positive-ness of “please come join us as soon as you’re ready to…”)
