So it seems that as all professions have their specific rewards they also have what are referred to as occupational hazards, parenthood is no exception, the difficulty perhaps is in choosing just one or two to highlight. So I will begin with my own laundry list of complaints:
#1 weak bladder: (don't even get me started on the trampoline) Sorry to start with this one but we all know it's true. I just remember thinking how wonderful it would be to not be pregnant anymore just so that I didn't have to wear a pad in case of accidents and walk around with wet peed on pants after every time I sneezed or worse puked which was always a daily occurance for me. One OB visit had me feeling more like the baby than expectant mother with my hair smelling of barf and my sweatshirt tied around my waist to cover the giant wet spot from when I peed while puking in the parking lot on my way in. Irony not lost on me.
#2 used to be nice but not so much anymore...
When I was a nanny, babysitter, camp counselor, preschool teacher, student teacher, substitute teacher, friend, auntie... I was sooo nice, patient, fun, creative, punctual, tidy, put together, calm, cheerful, and loving. I am still loving to a fault but sometimes that love is hidden by a fire breathing dragon who spits words through clenched teeth while taking loud deep breaths in order to keep from going ballistic and destroying everything in it's path.
#3 Plantar faciitus: it's even annoying to spell! this bugger entered my life not long after the birth of my third child who I carried all the time after being barefoot and pregnant on a tile floor, combine this with super high arches and it's a recipe for disaster. This problem was a dual killer to me as it caused me unbearable pain and eliminated my quick and dirty form of exercise of jogging which had helped me get back into my old clothes from the past pregnancies. I have finally gotten some arch
supports now this year but I contend that my arches got me pregnant. I had this conviction that it was because of my IUD that I had this leg and foot pain so I got it removed. I was in so much pain that I was ready to risk pregnancy in order to heal my heel! Well two more kids later I now know it was the damn high arches! So the girls can thank my paranoia and high arches for their time on earth.
#4 Carpell tunnell syndrome: by the way I do not care if I spell this crap wrong because I am mad that I have it and I don't want to respect it enough to go and look it up and make sure that I spelled it's stupid name right. I want it out of my life!! My arms and hands hurt and I have been now reduced to wearing braces on one or both which makes me look like a bodybuilder or I am trying on my MJ costume a little too early. So I figured out that the reason my wrist felt like it was dislocated and there were shooting pains up my arm was from holding the babies in one arm. I tend to cock my wrist and support much of the child's weight in the crux of my wrist, which was mostly unconscious but also necessary because I would often have one in each arm so I couldn't support the weight with my other arm. I am now being more careful because even small tasks like sweeping and wiping bottoms (which are non-negotiable parts of a job I can't take time off from or quit...) were becoming more and more painful. I couldn't wash dishes, fold laundry, wipe counters, spray cleaners, lift crying toddlers, escort unruly six year olds to time out, attend to Jasper's needs and buckles and straps, or even pull up the covers without feeling like my wrists were very vunerable to injury and pain. I guess I never realized that being a mommy is all in the wrist!
All of these ailments can be helped by eating right, getting regular exercise, daily meditation, stretching and yoga, and getting plenty of sleep. Hahahaha I'm laughing so hard I fell off my chair!
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
The summer has flown by and I have not been very good about documenting all the fun we have had. As a family we went to Santa Cruz to spend the week with Jon's mom and dad and sister and her husband and two beautiful daughters. The kids always look forward to this annual trip when their grandparents get a big house for us all to stay in and have fun at the beach, either in Tahoe or Santa Cruz area. The time goes by too fast as did the swim lessons they took, the camps we paid dearly for and the two vacations Jon and I took separately to visit family and friends. Now he is already back at work and the kids are getting back to school. Jasper started 5th grade on his 10th birthday and I can't believe he is that old! A decade has flown by and I know how fast another one will go, so I am trying to inhale the baby head smell a little deeper, appreciate the 6 year old speech patterns a little more, and savor those almost 9 and 10 year old snuggles while they are still available for mom. I must admit I am lucky to have experience with toddler hood because this 2 year old is bringing her A game! I don't know how it will be when we don't have a baby anymore, but I'm expecting a bit more freedom and ability to travel and explore a little easier. We always have the challenge of either accommodating our dear Jasper or making the difficult decision to leave him behind.
I have always felt sad about leaving Jasper behind, but when we are doing something that he would probably not enjoy and would be very hard to bring him I remind myself that we both deserve to get what we need, and so do the other children. Jasper did attend Juniper's 6th birthday at the Ice Rink and actually went out on the ice! Jasper excelled at his first year of Boost Camp where he studied conductive education with his family and the help of many wonderful volunteers and his pooh-bah and Nana who contributed greatly to the cause!
The days passed quickly; we went to the fair for a few minutes, the bay area discovery museum, the local gravenstein apple fair, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for an afternoon, and the beach a few times. We had a good time but the summer went way too fast! Now it's back to the morning rush, then cooking and cleaning all day and getting ready for the evening.
I don't know how people do homeschooling, I am waiting until the kids start school to have a few hours to myself to get bigger chores done like deep cleaning and organizing cupboards and pantry. Oh boy, how my goals have changed over the years!
Speaking of that, I have always loved to rise to a challenge and I seem to do better when busy, especially if my brain is being employed and challenged, so.... I am considering setting up a small or medium preschool in my home! (Starthistle Garden) It has been something I have always wanted to do and for one reason or another I never did it but now finally Jon is behind the idea and that's all I need to get in into action! The kids are full of ideas and eager to be helpers if they are off from school or home early. I think I will offer childcare in my home from 9:30am to 2:30pm Tuesday through Friday, with Monday off to prepare for the week and cleanup from the weekend! I can get a babysitter to watch the two little ones here while I do administrative work and cleaning and preparation. I will write about the experience of setting up the school because I have been wanting to write as much as I can and that may be interesting or helpful to other people in my situation. I am going to start by calling 4 C's and a woman named Janet who offered to mentor me a long time ago, I will ask if her offer is still good. Ok, here I go... I will check in soon and update the situation! Let's hope for a lot of fun and a way to make ends meet here while keeping my own kids home with me! I hope it works, wish me luck!!
note to self: post pictures of summer fun.
another note: it's good to mellow out on the fun just before school starts so the kids are nice and ready for the first day of school.
I have always felt sad about leaving Jasper behind, but when we are doing something that he would probably not enjoy and would be very hard to bring him I remind myself that we both deserve to get what we need, and so do the other children. Jasper did attend Juniper's 6th birthday at the Ice Rink and actually went out on the ice! Jasper excelled at his first year of Boost Camp where he studied conductive education with his family and the help of many wonderful volunteers and his pooh-bah and Nana who contributed greatly to the cause!
The days passed quickly; we went to the fair for a few minutes, the bay area discovery museum, the local gravenstein apple fair, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for an afternoon, and the beach a few times. We had a good time but the summer went way too fast! Now it's back to the morning rush, then cooking and cleaning all day and getting ready for the evening.
I don't know how people do homeschooling, I am waiting until the kids start school to have a few hours to myself to get bigger chores done like deep cleaning and organizing cupboards and pantry. Oh boy, how my goals have changed over the years!
Speaking of that, I have always loved to rise to a challenge and I seem to do better when busy, especially if my brain is being employed and challenged, so.... I am considering setting up a small or medium preschool in my home! (Starthistle Garden) It has been something I have always wanted to do and for one reason or another I never did it but now finally Jon is behind the idea and that's all I need to get in into action! The kids are full of ideas and eager to be helpers if they are off from school or home early. I think I will offer childcare in my home from 9:30am to 2:30pm Tuesday through Friday, with Monday off to prepare for the week and cleanup from the weekend! I can get a babysitter to watch the two little ones here while I do administrative work and cleaning and preparation. I will write about the experience of setting up the school because I have been wanting to write as much as I can and that may be interesting or helpful to other people in my situation. I am going to start by calling 4 C's and a woman named Janet who offered to mentor me a long time ago, I will ask if her offer is still good. Ok, here I go... I will check in soon and update the situation! Let's hope for a lot of fun and a way to make ends meet here while keeping my own kids home with me! I hope it works, wish me luck!!
note to self: post pictures of summer fun.
another note: it's good to mellow out on the fun just before school starts so the kids are nice and ready for the first day of school.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
No! We will not get unmarried!!
Lately I've been doing a lot of what I call "Mommy Olympics", an example is when you are on hold with the doctor's office on one phone, texting about school pickup that day on the other one, making eggs, putting together lunches and telling kids to get their socks and shoes on, all while nursing the baby. So yeah, case in point here:
The last two nights Jon has been gone (first as a teacher helping with graduation and enjoying a little night life in Sebastopol where he can walk home after a couple of beers and impromptu jam sessions with other midnight tokers; and then as a musician playing for the party of a friend) so even though I did have help with Jasper I was still left with 5 kids awake both nights. Putting five kids to bed alone at night is not the most fun thing in the world, ok I will be honest, it is nearly impossible, except that they always do eventually fall asleep.
Last night was particularly burly with a moment where I counted 4 screaming kids at the same time.
When Jasper's helper left he was quiet and possibly asleep... then Jillian started in on her bedtime antics which usually are only quelled by me holding the door tight until she gives up and falls asleep, (at least last night she fell asleep in her bed instead of her usual spot on the floor!) Pretty soon Juniper had to give her input with an almost 6 year old sized wail of her own. I just had to breathe and tell myself again that no one ever died from crying... but I can't leave my baby crying on my bed where she was just lovingly nursed to sleep and left with video monitor on after my ninja-like exit... and now is awake from all the crying! and I can't leave Jasper to slam himself further up into the corner of his bed pressing his fat lip from the night before and biting the inside of his cheek so that it is swollen to look like a one-sided case of the mumps.... and I can't leave my post at Jillian's door or she will come out and wreak havoc; so I tell Juniper in my calm/angry voice that I will not be able to lie with her or read to her because her yelling and crying has woken up the three children who are needier than she is on the totem pole... would she like to visit the garage to cry loudly or stay here quietly? we compromised by letting her have the light on and she fell asleep without much more fuss. I was amazed that I was able to get through it without totally losing my temper, but that's how it is with 5 kids sometimes, survival means throwing out the philosophy and doing what works in the moment. This may not be the best thing for long term but neither is crash and burn... which also happens from time to time. We are all learning together, the kids remind me about keeping my temper in check and I remind them to do just about everything else.
So Yesterday amid the chaos it was my Dad's birthday. He lives way up in Vancouver Washington and I don't see him much, but I had his birthday on the calendar because I know that we are some of the few people he considers family and he is always very thoughtful of us and I also know that although he may not admit it he is pretty sensitive to whether people think of him or remember him on holidays and his birthday. And.. I failed yesterday in calling him, of course I did. Last Saturday, one week prior to his birthday, I looked at the calendar and thought I had forgotten but it was still a decent time to call so I got the kids together and we sang a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday in three part harmony with lots of cha-cha-cha's at the end only to realize 10 minutes later that I was looking at the wrong day on the calendar and it was actually the next week. Fast forward to last night and after the crying episode, mommy holding the nursing baby with one hand and the toddler's door closed with the other, yelling at Juniper to get back in bed, adjusting Jasper and asking Jonah to help... when the ashes settled I just wanted to relax and watch netflix. That's when I looked at the clock and saw that it was 10:10 and I had forgotten to call my dad on his birthday. Well it was too late but I called and left a long rambling apologetic message anyway because I was so sure I was going to remember, it was on my calendar after all! The gig that Jon had was not on the calendar so that's why I was left alone with all the kids, but my dad's birthday was up there for weeks.... it never fails that the more I worry about forgetting something the more likely I am to forget it!
Thinking of my dad led me to contemplate my family and how different my childhood was from the one my kids are having so far. Recently Juniper decided that Jon and I should get "unmarried". She had heard Irene (Jasper's nurse) say this when they were talking about why Irene was not married but was a mother. She is always asking people if they are married or have kids (her teacher got engaged this year), she was also very perplexed as to why I was in the wedding pictures of my mom and Harold, because aren't you supposed to get married and THEN have kids? I explained that my dad and mom had split up and my mom married Harold who was my step-dad when I was about her age. Well I know she wants to be a flower girl in a wedding so I could see how her wheels were turning... if I just found another guy to marry then we could have a wedding and she could wear a beautiful dress with flowers in her hair and be the flower girl like I had been at the wedding of my mom and step dad. Having a step dad didn't sound bad to her, I sure liked mine! Hey two dads must be better than one huh? So Juniper set about telling us that unless Daddy got me something really super nice within three days then I was going to have to become unmarried to him and probably get a step dad.... She had some good points although her logic was selfish and immature, she insisted that we were not good together and that we fight all the time. It is very easy for adults to give too much credence to the words out of the mouths of babes. We think that their inexperience with the world gives them an unbiased perspective and an ability to tell the truth that grown-ups don't have, but I don't think so. In this case Juniper was testing her manipulation skills to the extreme... what would we say? I explained to her that we may fight but we always make up and that even though we don't always speak nicely to each other we always love each other, and that most of all we love our family and we love our kids and we want to raise them together. I told her that there are many types of families, we know many kids who have two mommies (who are together) and many who go back and forth between their mom and dad, and many whose parents are still together, I explained that one way is not necessarily better and that different people have different types of families and that we had decided to do it together. I am grateful for this experience because I get to see what I missed out on being an only child of a "broken home", (and possibly how easy my mom had it as a mom of two girls 11 years apart.) Even though Juni is right, and I could go looking for a handsomer prince to sweep me further off my feet, I am happy where I am with the prince who has become king in my heart. It may not be a fairy tale but the reality is that even though there are some really hard and trying times they make the good times all the sweeter. Human nature in it's constant state of duality teaches us that the best things are the hardest things, the most bitter weeds make the sweetest honey...
*See the poise I have? Here I am with my mom, my (now former) step-dad who I begged my mom to marry, and my mom's mom and dad (who were unmarried for a long time before this picture). I think Juni wanted to make an even sillier face at her debut as flower girl!
The last two nights Jon has been gone (first as a teacher helping with graduation and enjoying a little night life in Sebastopol where he can walk home after a couple of beers and impromptu jam sessions with other midnight tokers; and then as a musician playing for the party of a friend) so even though I did have help with Jasper I was still left with 5 kids awake both nights. Putting five kids to bed alone at night is not the most fun thing in the world, ok I will be honest, it is nearly impossible, except that they always do eventually fall asleep.
Last night was particularly burly with a moment where I counted 4 screaming kids at the same time.
When Jasper's helper left he was quiet and possibly asleep... then Jillian started in on her bedtime antics which usually are only quelled by me holding the door tight until she gives up and falls asleep, (at least last night she fell asleep in her bed instead of her usual spot on the floor!) Pretty soon Juniper had to give her input with an almost 6 year old sized wail of her own. I just had to breathe and tell myself again that no one ever died from crying... but I can't leave my baby crying on my bed where she was just lovingly nursed to sleep and left with video monitor on after my ninja-like exit... and now is awake from all the crying! and I can't leave Jasper to slam himself further up into the corner of his bed pressing his fat lip from the night before and biting the inside of his cheek so that it is swollen to look like a one-sided case of the mumps.... and I can't leave my post at Jillian's door or she will come out and wreak havoc; so I tell Juniper in my calm/angry voice that I will not be able to lie with her or read to her because her yelling and crying has woken up the three children who are needier than she is on the totem pole... would she like to visit the garage to cry loudly or stay here quietly? we compromised by letting her have the light on and she fell asleep without much more fuss. I was amazed that I was able to get through it without totally losing my temper, but that's how it is with 5 kids sometimes, survival means throwing out the philosophy and doing what works in the moment. This may not be the best thing for long term but neither is crash and burn... which also happens from time to time. We are all learning together, the kids remind me about keeping my temper in check and I remind them to do just about everything else.
So Yesterday amid the chaos it was my Dad's birthday. He lives way up in Vancouver Washington and I don't see him much, but I had his birthday on the calendar because I know that we are some of the few people he considers family and he is always very thoughtful of us and I also know that although he may not admit it he is pretty sensitive to whether people think of him or remember him on holidays and his birthday. And.. I failed yesterday in calling him, of course I did. Last Saturday, one week prior to his birthday, I looked at the calendar and thought I had forgotten but it was still a decent time to call so I got the kids together and we sang a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday in three part harmony with lots of cha-cha-cha's at the end only to realize 10 minutes later that I was looking at the wrong day on the calendar and it was actually the next week. Fast forward to last night and after the crying episode, mommy holding the nursing baby with one hand and the toddler's door closed with the other, yelling at Juniper to get back in bed, adjusting Jasper and asking Jonah to help... when the ashes settled I just wanted to relax and watch netflix. That's when I looked at the clock and saw that it was 10:10 and I had forgotten to call my dad on his birthday. Well it was too late but I called and left a long rambling apologetic message anyway because I was so sure I was going to remember, it was on my calendar after all! The gig that Jon had was not on the calendar so that's why I was left alone with all the kids, but my dad's birthday was up there for weeks.... it never fails that the more I worry about forgetting something the more likely I am to forget it!
Thinking of my dad led me to contemplate my family and how different my childhood was from the one my kids are having so far. Recently Juniper decided that Jon and I should get "unmarried". She had heard Irene (Jasper's nurse) say this when they were talking about why Irene was not married but was a mother. She is always asking people if they are married or have kids (her teacher got engaged this year), she was also very perplexed as to why I was in the wedding pictures of my mom and Harold, because aren't you supposed to get married and THEN have kids? I explained that my dad and mom had split up and my mom married Harold who was my step-dad when I was about her age. Well I know she wants to be a flower girl in a wedding so I could see how her wheels were turning... if I just found another guy to marry then we could have a wedding and she could wear a beautiful dress with flowers in her hair and be the flower girl like I had been at the wedding of my mom and step dad. Having a step dad didn't sound bad to her, I sure liked mine! Hey two dads must be better than one huh? So Juniper set about telling us that unless Daddy got me something really super nice within three days then I was going to have to become unmarried to him and probably get a step dad.... She had some good points although her logic was selfish and immature, she insisted that we were not good together and that we fight all the time. It is very easy for adults to give too much credence to the words out of the mouths of babes. We think that their inexperience with the world gives them an unbiased perspective and an ability to tell the truth that grown-ups don't have, but I don't think so. In this case Juniper was testing her manipulation skills to the extreme... what would we say? I explained to her that we may fight but we always make up and that even though we don't always speak nicely to each other we always love each other, and that most of all we love our family and we love our kids and we want to raise them together. I told her that there are many types of families, we know many kids who have two mommies (who are together) and many who go back and forth between their mom and dad, and many whose parents are still together, I explained that one way is not necessarily better and that different people have different types of families and that we had decided to do it together. I am grateful for this experience because I get to see what I missed out on being an only child of a "broken home", (and possibly how easy my mom had it as a mom of two girls 11 years apart.) Even though Juni is right, and I could go looking for a handsomer prince to sweep me further off my feet, I am happy where I am with the prince who has become king in my heart. It may not be a fairy tale but the reality is that even though there are some really hard and trying times they make the good times all the sweeter. Human nature in it's constant state of duality teaches us that the best things are the hardest things, the most bitter weeds make the sweetest honey...
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Pictures of the past...
This morning while I was cleaning up I came across a photo album that my Aunt put together for me as a gift one year. It has all the pictures she had saved of me from the time I was born to the time I got married and had my first baby. It was once again fun to see how much I look like my own baby and toddler when I was those ages. It also makes me think of how quickly this thing called life is going by....
As a child I spent many hours wondering if I would ever be a mommy, if I would get married and have kids, or if maybe I would be a nurse, or an actress, or a singer, or a teacher... I wrote those things down each year in my school memorabilia book which also held a successive account of my toothy grins and lofty aspirations. Now what I want to do with my time is write. I feel like I have learned so much from school and life so far that I don't want to forget it and for me the best way to remember is to write.
Looking at the faded photos of my grandma who is now passed on smiling her wry smile at me or looking with stern expectation at the lively, tow-headed toddler at her glass dinner table, I realize that her story went much untold. There is no account of her feelings toward being a mother and wife, what happened when she divorced my grandpa and married someone else and had a son with him. How did she feel about being a grandmother, about being alone after her second husband's death. We don't know any of her words, her thoughts, because she kept them inside. Now when we talk about her what people remember most is how mean she was, how she would hit her daughters and not say sorry, how she never said I love you...
These are hard and sad facts but they are most certainly not the only things about her... but the truth is that I don't know much about her because she was just my grandma and to my own mom who is a liberal minded 60's flower child feminist mother herself, mostly thinks of her as her own mean mom. (I just realized that tomorrow is my Grandmother's birthday, coincidence?)
I want to be more than that to my kids. If they say I was mean they will also know how much I loved them because I will write about it. If I made mistakes it will be written that I said sorry for them and that I am working on a new way of responding/asking/being. That I will learn from my mistakes and move forward is sometimes the only thing that keeps me going when I feel like it's all falling apart.
I know that this time is but a blink of the eye and before I know it Jianna (6mo.) will be showing pictures of herself at this age to her own children. Hopefully when she does I can be there too and then I will be the Grandma telling her how fast it all goes, smiling my wry smile and hopefully when I pass on my legacy will be more than just grandma and mean mom... I hope I will inspire them toward greatness!
My Grandma Mildred (Millie, Mild-Red...) me, my mom at X-mas dinner at my Grandma's in Moraga
Monday, February 10, 2014
tedium
Rainy days have kept us inside this weekend. We are all a little stir-crazy and cabin fevered. Jasper, who is least happy about being out in a rain storm was actually the one who went out in it most. First to an appointment which he was too late for and had to get back in the van just after getting out, and then to swimming with his daddy. Yesterday I took him in the Softub and we had a great time out in the light rain, just relaxing and him kicking his legs so much. I proposed to him the idea of seeing how far he was swimming with an underwater pedomiter(?) and he loved the idea. I said he could clock how many miles he swam in the hot tub and then imagine he had been swimming the ocean and how far he could get. We had fun with that idea. He was using his arms to splash me and then laugh like crazy when he got water in my face. I want to bring him in everyday! We are just pretty busy with daily life and the whole process of getting ready and getting in and out and then cleaned off and dressed again is a lot more laborious for Jasper than it is for the other kids, and it makes a wet mess of the house and uses up all the towels. I want to consider moving it to the deck but Jon is against that idea and says they are ugly to look at... ok. Aside from having fun he also reopened an old wound on his toe by either kicking the jets or when coming inside on the metal door jamb.
His toe was gushing blood and it looked like a river of red flowing into the drain of the shower, yikes!
He has also been banging his lip on the side of his bed sometimes at night and bleeding all over his bed. Poor guy wakes up with a fat lip and a big bloody smear on the padded side rails of his special bed. We have tried putting a pillow or padding on that side but he somehow moves it and gets under or over and then he gets upset by the pillow being over his head!
Baby Jianna is three months old and I am reminded of a time when Juniper was that age and we took her with us to San Francisco to meet up with Aunt Gina and Uncle Greg and stay in Gina's friend's beautiful apartment. She was just this little thing all swaddled at night like our baby now. I can hardly believe how big and strong she is now. She complains of stomach aches a lot so that is something I need to bring up with our pediatrician next time. I give her probiotics, and I got some special digestive tea to help soothe her but she seems to complain almost every time she eats. She also sometimes has dark circles under her eyes indicating a possible allergy. We are thinking it may be dairy but it also could be wheat. I think the next step is to try the elimination diet with her and see if the stomach aches get better.
Today they are having 100's day at school. They sent her home on friday with a piece of purple plastic that was supposed to become a cape for the 100th day of school. Everyone is supposed to put stuff on the cape, guess how many things? yes, 100! So before I even knew anything about it Juniper had set to work making her cape in a hurry, with tape and glue and all sorts of different small objects that probably did not end up making 100 things. She lost interest as it got torn and crumpled because she had taped some bows with masking tape and it was getting a little messy. Needless to say she forgot the cape this morning and I had to bring it to her. But I could tell she was happy to have her wrinkled torn cape with pretty jewels and bows and sparkles on it rather than no cape at all. So I had to console myself that I let her do her own work and she was proud of herself for doing it herself and it doesn't have to be perfect for it to be pretty and fun! (Hopefully they wont have to count all the objects!)
On another school related note, Jonah had a really hard time with his homework this week. The class was given a week to complete a research project on an endangered insect of their choice.
He was supposed to take notes and then turn in a rough draft with all the parts of an essay. He wants to do things well and correctly and is perhaps a bit of a perfectionist, which also means that if he doesn't think he will be able to complete it in time he doesn't want to really even try.
Jonah's class went to Coloma as a part of their study on the Gold Rush and they stayed overnight and acted as gold miners would have. Maybe that also included coming into contact with some nasty germs because about a week later he woke up in the night saying his hand was hurting. I felt it and realized he had some swelling and hardness under the skin at the base of his palm. We gave him some ice and he went back to bed. In the morning his hand was obviously infected with a red angry swollen bumpy part and then red streaks heading toward his elbow. That scared me so I made and appointment and took him to the doctor. We were already headed there for Jianna's checkup so were able to get them seen together. Jonah is now taking antibiotics and the red streaks are gone but he still has this gross infection with pus under the skin. So he feels like he should not have to do his homework and just be allowed to watch TV and play video games because his hand hurts and he was allowed to stay home from school for a day and "rest" (watch TV and play video games). There was a Berenstein bear book in the waiting room of the pharmacy about the exact thing that happened. Brother bear was sick and was so busy having fun at home that he didn't bother to work on his homework and when he went back to school he flunked the pop quiz, maybe that inspired Jonah to blow off his homework and blame it on his hand. Oh the trials of being an elementary school student! On the upside both Jonah and Juniper have been having fun with some new workbooks I got Juniper to work on her Kindergarten skills. She is taking it very seriously and working all the time on them, she's already half way through the second book and it's only been three days! Jonah is helping her by reading the directions and making sure she is doing it right. Very sweet!
I read a posting at Jillian's preschool the other day for dealing with misbehavior and I have been trying it out with my kids, it seems especially to be working wonders with Jonah. It goes like this: DADD....
D for Disapprove ("we don't do that in this family" and mean it)
A for affirm ( remind them what they do right "you are often so helpful"),
D for Discover (find out what is going on or why they did it "what is this really about?")
D for "Do-Over" (what could we do differently next time?)
Good stuff!
Love you!! xoxo
His toe was gushing blood and it looked like a river of red flowing into the drain of the shower, yikes!
He has also been banging his lip on the side of his bed sometimes at night and bleeding all over his bed. Poor guy wakes up with a fat lip and a big bloody smear on the padded side rails of his special bed. We have tried putting a pillow or padding on that side but he somehow moves it and gets under or over and then he gets upset by the pillow being over his head!
Baby Jianna is three months old and I am reminded of a time when Juniper was that age and we took her with us to San Francisco to meet up with Aunt Gina and Uncle Greg and stay in Gina's friend's beautiful apartment. She was just this little thing all swaddled at night like our baby now. I can hardly believe how big and strong she is now. She complains of stomach aches a lot so that is something I need to bring up with our pediatrician next time. I give her probiotics, and I got some special digestive tea to help soothe her but she seems to complain almost every time she eats. She also sometimes has dark circles under her eyes indicating a possible allergy. We are thinking it may be dairy but it also could be wheat. I think the next step is to try the elimination diet with her and see if the stomach aches get better.
Today they are having 100's day at school. They sent her home on friday with a piece of purple plastic that was supposed to become a cape for the 100th day of school. Everyone is supposed to put stuff on the cape, guess how many things? yes, 100! So before I even knew anything about it Juniper had set to work making her cape in a hurry, with tape and glue and all sorts of different small objects that probably did not end up making 100 things. She lost interest as it got torn and crumpled because she had taped some bows with masking tape and it was getting a little messy. Needless to say she forgot the cape this morning and I had to bring it to her. But I could tell she was happy to have her wrinkled torn cape with pretty jewels and bows and sparkles on it rather than no cape at all. So I had to console myself that I let her do her own work and she was proud of herself for doing it herself and it doesn't have to be perfect for it to be pretty and fun! (Hopefully they wont have to count all the objects!)
On another school related note, Jonah had a really hard time with his homework this week. The class was given a week to complete a research project on an endangered insect of their choice.
He was supposed to take notes and then turn in a rough draft with all the parts of an essay. He wants to do things well and correctly and is perhaps a bit of a perfectionist, which also means that if he doesn't think he will be able to complete it in time he doesn't want to really even try.
Jonah's class went to Coloma as a part of their study on the Gold Rush and they stayed overnight and acted as gold miners would have. Maybe that also included coming into contact with some nasty germs because about a week later he woke up in the night saying his hand was hurting. I felt it and realized he had some swelling and hardness under the skin at the base of his palm. We gave him some ice and he went back to bed. In the morning his hand was obviously infected with a red angry swollen bumpy part and then red streaks heading toward his elbow. That scared me so I made and appointment and took him to the doctor. We were already headed there for Jianna's checkup so were able to get them seen together. Jonah is now taking antibiotics and the red streaks are gone but he still has this gross infection with pus under the skin. So he feels like he should not have to do his homework and just be allowed to watch TV and play video games because his hand hurts and he was allowed to stay home from school for a day and "rest" (watch TV and play video games). There was a Berenstein bear book in the waiting room of the pharmacy about the exact thing that happened. Brother bear was sick and was so busy having fun at home that he didn't bother to work on his homework and when he went back to school he flunked the pop quiz, maybe that inspired Jonah to blow off his homework and blame it on his hand. Oh the trials of being an elementary school student! On the upside both Jonah and Juniper have been having fun with some new workbooks I got Juniper to work on her Kindergarten skills. She is taking it very seriously and working all the time on them, she's already half way through the second book and it's only been three days! Jonah is helping her by reading the directions and making sure she is doing it right. Very sweet!
I read a posting at Jillian's preschool the other day for dealing with misbehavior and I have been trying it out with my kids, it seems especially to be working wonders with Jonah. It goes like this: DADD....
D for Disapprove ("we don't do that in this family" and mean it)
A for affirm ( remind them what they do right "you are often so helpful"),
D for Discover (find out what is going on or why they did it "what is this really about?")
D for "Do-Over" (what could we do differently next time?)
Good stuff!
Love you!! xoxo
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Hello 2014!
Here we are already in 2014! Wow how fast the time goes! Now we are a family of 7 people and it is getting more interesting all the time!
Jillian is so cute, she will be two in a couple of months and I can hardly believe that is true. She is still my baby! I am amazed lately at her expanding vocabulary and her easy social nature. Yesterday we all went to the Farmer's Market (Jasper stayed home with Irene who was here on Sunday). Jillian found the sidewalk chalk and was engrossed in the pictures she and others were making in the square. She was so focused on her work but at the same time was doing it together with the others (mostly adults). She offered different colors to her new friends and traded and moved around, sometimes lying belly down on the pavement with her nose inches away from the chalk drawing. When her favorite comrades in chalk left she recruited new members (young scruffy single males and older grey-haired gentlemen seemed to be her main targets).
Other excitements at the Farmer's Market included:
For a few minutes all of the big kids were missing. One minute they were playing tag, climbing trees and running around like banshees, then by and by I hear they are missing, no where to be found. Two dads were searching the perimeter and one dad is telling me it's not like his son to just run off without telling him.... I said that's not like mine either. I last saw Juniper near her favorite climbing tree, I knew they were here somewhere so I walked toward the tree and saw the hunched backs of a few familiar jackets under a table with rocks and gems on it and a long draping table cloth, I believe they were all looking at one kids ipod and had no idea the parents were looking for them.
In other news, Jillian decided it was a good time to try her independence at crossing the busy street by herself. She saw a family with a stroller crossing at the crosswalk and was following along with them. From across the way I saw where she was headed (Daddy was on duty at the time and had just turned away for a few seconds) I yelled her name and then his name and he ran over and scooped her up just as she made it to the curb! It was a little excitement for everyone watching. Jon said "she was already making eye contact with the drivers..." well, I hope that's the last time we have that happen!!
As I sit here now Jillian is insisting on going in the hot tub so she is naked, which makes for a great impromptu potty training session. I'm not sure she understands that it's gross to put the potty seat upside down on her head like a hat. She is ready to potty-train but I'm not sure I'm ready. I'm also wearing my sleeping/nursing baby in the sling so I'm reminding the screaming toddler about inside voices which she mostly disregards but does think is funny. The hard part about potty-training is the time before they are able to realize they are taking a crap on the carpet. They look down and they're like oh! there's some poop! I think i will squish it between my toes or maybe spread some under the table for fun... hopefully the dealing with massive amounts of excrement stage of my life will lessen as time goes on!
So....While I was writing that guess what Jillian did... ta-da!! she pooped in the little potty! I was typing away and I hear her say, "uh oh" which is what we all say when she poops in the bath, shower, on the floor or anywhere but the diaper. I jumped and clapped and said yes yes! that's the place to do it, not uh-oh, high five!! Good work Jillian, now put your diaper back on!!
Jillian is so cute, she will be two in a couple of months and I can hardly believe that is true. She is still my baby! I am amazed lately at her expanding vocabulary and her easy social nature. Yesterday we all went to the Farmer's Market (Jasper stayed home with Irene who was here on Sunday). Jillian found the sidewalk chalk and was engrossed in the pictures she and others were making in the square. She was so focused on her work but at the same time was doing it together with the others (mostly adults). She offered different colors to her new friends and traded and moved around, sometimes lying belly down on the pavement with her nose inches away from the chalk drawing. When her favorite comrades in chalk left she recruited new members (young scruffy single males and older grey-haired gentlemen seemed to be her main targets).
Other excitements at the Farmer's Market included:
For a few minutes all of the big kids were missing. One minute they were playing tag, climbing trees and running around like banshees, then by and by I hear they are missing, no where to be found. Two dads were searching the perimeter and one dad is telling me it's not like his son to just run off without telling him.... I said that's not like mine either. I last saw Juniper near her favorite climbing tree, I knew they were here somewhere so I walked toward the tree and saw the hunched backs of a few familiar jackets under a table with rocks and gems on it and a long draping table cloth, I believe they were all looking at one kids ipod and had no idea the parents were looking for them.
In other news, Jillian decided it was a good time to try her independence at crossing the busy street by herself. She saw a family with a stroller crossing at the crosswalk and was following along with them. From across the way I saw where she was headed (Daddy was on duty at the time and had just turned away for a few seconds) I yelled her name and then his name and he ran over and scooped her up just as she made it to the curb! It was a little excitement for everyone watching. Jon said "she was already making eye contact with the drivers..." well, I hope that's the last time we have that happen!!
As I sit here now Jillian is insisting on going in the hot tub so she is naked, which makes for a great impromptu potty training session. I'm not sure she understands that it's gross to put the potty seat upside down on her head like a hat. She is ready to potty-train but I'm not sure I'm ready. I'm also wearing my sleeping/nursing baby in the sling so I'm reminding the screaming toddler about inside voices which she mostly disregards but does think is funny. The hard part about potty-training is the time before they are able to realize they are taking a crap on the carpet. They look down and they're like oh! there's some poop! I think i will squish it between my toes or maybe spread some under the table for fun... hopefully the dealing with massive amounts of excrement stage of my life will lessen as time goes on!
So....While I was writing that guess what Jillian did... ta-da!! she pooped in the little potty! I was typing away and I hear her say, "uh oh" which is what we all say when she poops in the bath, shower, on the floor or anywhere but the diaper. I jumped and clapped and said yes yes! that's the place to do it, not uh-oh, high five!! Good work Jillian, now put your diaper back on!!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Thankfuls
The holiday craze is passed and the kids are back to school today, and I feel a bit dazed. Now to pack up the tree, take down the wreath and un-christmas the house. Whatever fun is in the decorating is reverse in the un decorating, although it does make the house feel less cluttered and decidedly cleaner when all of those holiday nick knacks dissapear and the house goes back to its regular self. But when is the best time to do it?
Usually I do it all myself and everyone gets home and then after a while someone will exclaim... " hey the Christmas tree is gone!".. or it will be little by little, dragging out an already slightly painful ritual. We love Christmas time around here so its a little sad when we have to say goodbye. But we can keep giving and singing throughout the year anyway!
We are super grateful to all the family who sent gifts and fattened the trimmings under the tree this year, it sure felt nice that Santa Clause was alive and well and sending gifts through the mail! I got slippers from Aunt Patty and a pedicure from Aunt Barbara so my feet will be pampered this winter! Aunties Rock!
Jon and I are so thankful to the support we have recieved from family members like Gina and Greg Wegis, Bernice and John Gonzales, Harold Appleton, Patricia Canfield, James Gonzales, Marcelina Gonzales and the whole Bakersfield Clan Gonzales, Behill, Ramos, etc. Kim Peterson, Chris Combs and Gloria Kitner and families, and to so many friends like Jennifer Weisbrich, Erica and Paul Solano, Megan Watt, Kimberly and Sebastian Stinson, Patricia Flora, Matt and Jennifer O'Donnell, Sue Davis and family, Michael Taylor, Michael Ratikan, friends from Elsie Allen, Ukestars, and so many more.
We are so blessed to have such a wonderful and diverse community here in Sebastopol and Sonoma County,( the allergies are the only thing I don't love). The ocean and hills and beautiful views are wonderful but it is the people who make this county a very nice place to live. We are lucky to have been born here in North America, in Sonoma County and so forth, so we have a chance to show the world what happy cows can do (we are the cows).
Usually I do it all myself and everyone gets home and then after a while someone will exclaim... " hey the Christmas tree is gone!".. or it will be little by little, dragging out an already slightly painful ritual. We love Christmas time around here so its a little sad when we have to say goodbye. But we can keep giving and singing throughout the year anyway!
We are super grateful to all the family who sent gifts and fattened the trimmings under the tree this year, it sure felt nice that Santa Clause was alive and well and sending gifts through the mail! I got slippers from Aunt Patty and a pedicure from Aunt Barbara so my feet will be pampered this winter! Aunties Rock!
Jon and I are so thankful to the support we have recieved from family members like Gina and Greg Wegis, Bernice and John Gonzales, Harold Appleton, Patricia Canfield, James Gonzales, Marcelina Gonzales and the whole Bakersfield Clan Gonzales, Behill, Ramos, etc. Kim Peterson, Chris Combs and Gloria Kitner and families, and to so many friends like Jennifer Weisbrich, Erica and Paul Solano, Megan Watt, Kimberly and Sebastian Stinson, Patricia Flora, Matt and Jennifer O'Donnell, Sue Davis and family, Michael Taylor, Michael Ratikan, friends from Elsie Allen, Ukestars, and so many more.
We are so blessed to have such a wonderful and diverse community here in Sebastopol and Sonoma County,( the allergies are the only thing I don't love). The ocean and hills and beautiful views are wonderful but it is the people who make this county a very nice place to live. We are lucky to have been born here in North America, in Sonoma County and so forth, so we have a chance to show the world what happy cows can do (we are the cows).
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