but he's having a hard time remembering it!
Matt and Kellen were trimming some more limbs this afternoon, and Daddy decided to show off by jumping from the ladder to the limb. Well, he forgot that he wasn't 20 anymore.
He attempted to Tarzan leap from the tree. Somewhere between leaving the ladder, grabbing the tree and hitting the ground, his shoulder came out of socket. Well, let me get more specific...his shoulder came out of socket when he grabbed the tree limb, which assisted the crash to the ground quite a bit.
OUCH!
(Now, for those of you who don't know, this isn't the first time this has happened to Matt. Luckily for us (or unluckily for him) it's happened so often that he's able to put it back in himself, which meant we didn't have to go to the ER to have them put it back in place for us.)
Poor guy...he had to put it back into socket with minimal wincing and verbal complaints, because both the kids were outside watching his 'show' and were intensely concerned about him. Tatum kissed his shoulder and wanted to get him 'bo bo ice' to make him better, and Kellen was just all over upset and couldn't bear to watch him at all. Of course, Kellen was over it immediately as soon as Daddy said he was ok, and exclaimed,
"When you flew through the air that was SUPER AWESOME!"
Boys!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
It was just a quick errand!
I went to pick up Tatum at school today...wasn't gone too long, and came home to find this. I REALLY wasn't even gone that long. Really.
Um...what is it about boys and destruction? He was supposed to do some small trimming. I think we need the same dictionary.
Of course, once Tatum saw her Daddy up in the tree, she wanted to go up there, too...
Spring Break, Part 1
Yes, I know it's been almost a month, but hey...at least I'm trying, right?
So after I got off of work during spring break, we went to Maw Maw and Paw Paw's (well, Tatum and I joined the males of the family, who were already there). On Thursday, we HAD planned to go to the zoo, but considering they had every entrance blocked off becuause it was so busy (we must not have timed it well and arrived too late), we switched gears and reversed our initial plan.
Downtown Aquarium it was.
And the kids had a BLAST! It was Tatum's first time there, but Kellen had been there a few times. He acted like he didn't remember it when we were discussing it, but I think he remembered it once we arrived there.
This particular exhibit was fairly close to the eels, which Tatum absolutely did NOT like. It was interesting to see her intense reaction to certain things, both at the aquarium and at the zoo (stay tuned for Spring Break, Part 2). I wonder what causes a child, with no prior history with an animal, to have an intense reaction to it - one way or another, really?
At any rate, she wanted NOTHING at all to do with the eels. And made it well known to anyone within ear shot.
Petting the sting rays at the discovery zone. For some reason, Kellen was a little nervous this time. Tatum was excited about seeing them, but wasn't sure about actually petting them. She wanted to get her hands in the water, but was wary about actually touching them.
We timed it just right to be able to watch the tiger show, which was really the changing out of the tigers...They took one back, cleaned up the area, brought out some 'entertainment' in the way of some food for the next one, then brought the next one out. During the cleaning portion, one of the workers did an educational bit on the tigers, their interaction, etc. It was really interesting. Kellen and Tatum were enthralled. While the first tiger was still inside, Tatum and I were next to the glass, but she's pretty quick at backpedaling, and did so when the tiger got up and ran past the glass. Bless her heart, that frightened her and she wanted to be NO WHERE near that glass! Yet, she was still fascinated and wanted to get close again once the tiger was a little further away.
We also took the train ride to see the sharks...I am just in utter amazement of those creatures! None of the pictures turned out, so you don't get any of those...sorry!
And luckily for us, the weather was WONDERFUL for the splash pad. I had packed the swimsuits and towels already in preparation for the day, so we were adequately prepared.
And as we were walking out, we decided to get a picture here on the bench. Kellen decided he was going to be monkey-man and started climbing on the shark, and I'm sure it wasn't the first time that had happened, so I just let him go. You can see the exhaustion on both of their faces!
So after I got off of work during spring break, we went to Maw Maw and Paw Paw's (well, Tatum and I joined the males of the family, who were already there). On Thursday, we HAD planned to go to the zoo, but considering they had every entrance blocked off becuause it was so busy (we must not have timed it well and arrived too late), we switched gears and reversed our initial plan.
Downtown Aquarium it was.
And the kids had a BLAST! It was Tatum's first time there, but Kellen had been there a few times. He acted like he didn't remember it when we were discussing it, but I think he remembered it once we arrived there.
This particular exhibit was fairly close to the eels, which Tatum absolutely did NOT like. It was interesting to see her intense reaction to certain things, both at the aquarium and at the zoo (stay tuned for Spring Break, Part 2). I wonder what causes a child, with no prior history with an animal, to have an intense reaction to it - one way or another, really?
At any rate, she wanted NOTHING at all to do with the eels. And made it well known to anyone within ear shot.
Petting the sting rays at the discovery zone. For some reason, Kellen was a little nervous this time. Tatum was excited about seeing them, but wasn't sure about actually petting them. She wanted to get her hands in the water, but was wary about actually touching them.
We timed it just right to be able to watch the tiger show, which was really the changing out of the tigers...They took one back, cleaned up the area, brought out some 'entertainment' in the way of some food for the next one, then brought the next one out. During the cleaning portion, one of the workers did an educational bit on the tigers, their interaction, etc. It was really interesting. Kellen and Tatum were enthralled. While the first tiger was still inside, Tatum and I were next to the glass, but she's pretty quick at backpedaling, and did so when the tiger got up and ran past the glass. Bless her heart, that frightened her and she wanted to be NO WHERE near that glass! Yet, she was still fascinated and wanted to get close again once the tiger was a little further away.
We also took the train ride to see the sharks...I am just in utter amazement of those creatures! None of the pictures turned out, so you don't get any of those...sorry!
And luckily for us, the weather was WONDERFUL for the splash pad. I had packed the swimsuits and towels already in preparation for the day, so we were adequately prepared.
Kellen loves the splash pad. Tatum, on the other hand, has to be convinced to play...she does NOT like to get splashed in the face without warning and well, it's a splash pad. Needless to say, she was slightly less enthusiastic in her playing than her brother, but she still enjoyed herself!
And as we were walking out, we decided to get a picture here on the bench. Kellen decided he was going to be monkey-man and started climbing on the shark, and I'm sure it wasn't the first time that had happened, so I just let him go. You can see the exhaustion on both of their faces!Tuesday, March 31, 2009
My helper...
What a blessing it is to have such a wonderful helper. Two of them (some days) truth be told.
Both kids have been fed for the night, and we're just hanging out here at the house tonight...a rarity it seems, lately. No t-ball practice, no school activity, and we were home by 5:30ish, which meant dinner was over by 6. Again...all rarities as of late.
Back to my point.
I was putting a load of laundry in to wash, and apparently Tatum heard me. All I hear is a little girl running toward me shouting, "I help ou, Mommy! I help ou!"
Have I mentioned how much this girl L-O-V-E-S to help with laundry? As in, L-O-V-E-S it. Has thrown a fit because we didn't understand she was asking to help me with it one weekend. Really.
So I put the towels in a pile on the floor, in front of the washing machine, and sure enough, she was diligent in putting them into the washing machine. Yes, this was an added step in my process, but SO WHAT!! This gave her such joy! And as soon as we were through with that pile, she wanted to move on to other clothes...so cute! Then, she ran into the house and proceeded to tell her big brother that, "I help Mommy!!"
She was so proud.
So I asked if she wanted to help me some more, and got out the small hand vac...and she played with that for about 5 minutes...just beaming with pride that she was cleaning the carpet. No, it's not perfect, but that's not the point.
And wow....what does that say about how far I've come in kicking some of my perfectionism with that statement? Does that mean that I'm getting to the point that I'll let the kids do something if it's less than perfect or not done just the way that I would do it? Hmmm....
God MUST be moving here, folks!
Both kids have been fed for the night, and we're just hanging out here at the house tonight...a rarity it seems, lately. No t-ball practice, no school activity, and we were home by 5:30ish, which meant dinner was over by 6. Again...all rarities as of late.
Back to my point.
I was putting a load of laundry in to wash, and apparently Tatum heard me. All I hear is a little girl running toward me shouting, "I help ou, Mommy! I help ou!"
Have I mentioned how much this girl L-O-V-E-S to help with laundry? As in, L-O-V-E-S it. Has thrown a fit because we didn't understand she was asking to help me with it one weekend. Really.
So I put the towels in a pile on the floor, in front of the washing machine, and sure enough, she was diligent in putting them into the washing machine. Yes, this was an added step in my process, but SO WHAT!! This gave her such joy! And as soon as we were through with that pile, she wanted to move on to other clothes...so cute! Then, she ran into the house and proceeded to tell her big brother that, "I help Mommy!!"
She was so proud.
So I asked if she wanted to help me some more, and got out the small hand vac...and she played with that for about 5 minutes...just beaming with pride that she was cleaning the carpet. No, it's not perfect, but that's not the point.
And wow....what does that say about how far I've come in kicking some of my perfectionism with that statement? Does that mean that I'm getting to the point that I'll let the kids do something if it's less than perfect or not done just the way that I would do it? Hmmm....
God MUST be moving here, folks!
Sweet words...
You have to know things will be great when your morning consists of a sweet girl and the words, "Kiss, Mommy!" followed by, "Cheek, other cheek."
Then, "Nose, eye, other eye, other eye." [I feel I must insert here that I don't actually have three eyes...she just kept going back and forth]
"Ear, Mommy."
"Other ear."
Awww....all is right with the world when things like this occur to start off your day.
Then, "Nose, eye, other eye, other eye." [I feel I must insert here that I don't actually have three eyes...she just kept going back and forth]
"Ear, Mommy."
"Other ear."
Awww....all is right with the world when things like this occur to start off your day.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tatum's birthday & birthday party
Here are some pictures of Tatum on her actual birthday...She looked ADORABLE all dressed up that day! (Trust me, she did...the pictures may not have turned out all that great, but it was totally the photographer, not the model!)
Part of the fun was actually flying a kite...Winnie the Pooh, of course! It was certainly windy enough! Daddy and Mike worked on it, and for a little while, they even let the birthday girl play along. Except that her playing along was simply chasing after the kite as Daddy pulled it away from her! Tatum actually thought that was quite fun...Then decided she had had enough, and wanted to help with the real kite flying.
Here she is opening some of her presents...jewelry, dolls, a puppy, but the crowning jewel, perhaps, was the Aggie chair with the cup/water holder. Once she sat in it, she insisted on a water bottle, put it in the appropriate holder, and was pretty well set!
And here is the birthday girl with Daddy and Mommy shortly after diving into her cupcake...I wonder who she takes after with her affinity for all things chocolate??
Here is big brother very much enjoying the cupcake, icing and as many sprinkles that he could possibly fit onto the icing...and even some that didn't fit!
The rest of the pictures are from her (VERY windy) birthday party, which we held nearby at the park. She had LOADS of fun playing on the playground, feeding the ducks, eating cupcakes, and of course, opening her presents. Which reminds me, I need to write thank-you notes. Ug!! Where has my mind gone??
Part of the fun was actually flying a kite...Winnie the Pooh, of course! It was certainly windy enough! Daddy and Mike worked on it, and for a little while, they even let the birthday girl play along. Except that her playing along was simply chasing after the kite as Daddy pulled it away from her! Tatum actually thought that was quite fun...Then decided she had had enough, and wanted to help with the real kite flying.
Here she is opening some of her presents...jewelry, dolls, a puppy, but the crowning jewel, perhaps, was the Aggie chair with the cup/water holder. Once she sat in it, she insisted on a water bottle, put it in the appropriate holder, and was pretty well set!And here is the birthday girl with Daddy and Mommy shortly after diving into her cupcake...I wonder who she takes after with her affinity for all things chocolate??
Here is big brother very much enjoying the cupcake, icing and as many sprinkles that he could possibly fit onto the icing...and even some that didn't fit!Catching up
I'm woefully behind in my blogging, so I'll see if I can TRY to catch up a little at a time. I've just downloaded several hundred pictures from my camera, so that should tell you how behind I am in that respect as well. Granted, we DID just get through with spring break and had a glorious time with many adventures captured on film (can you even say that now if it isn't really "film" anymore??), but you get my drift...Rather than get overwhelmed by catching up all at one time (yeah right!), I'll attempt to do a little bit...
Get ready!
Get ready!
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Happy Birthday my (not so) baby girl!
I had another early morning with the kids today. For some reason, Tatum isn't making it through the night without some help (either putting her back in bed or settling her back down in ours) and Kellen seems to gravitate toward Mommy and Daddy's bed at some point in time in the middle of the night as well. So I woke up to Kellen sleeping next to me and Tatum hollering for 'Mommy!' I brought her back to bed with me, while Matt snoozed oh-so-nicely on the couch, so as to be sure his tossing and turning didn't disturb my sleep. Several hours later, when it was actually time to wake up, I got out of my shower to see Tatum still asleep, but Kellen starting to rouse and snuggle with her. He laid next to her, gave her a hug and kiss, then stroked her hand, which prompted her to grab onto his thumb - in her sleep, mind you - and hold his hand. So he looked at me, shrugged his shoulders, and just laid down next to her again. It was SO PRECIOUS! So precious, in fact, that I went and woke Matt up and made him come to look!
I then proceeded to tell Tatum "Happy birthday!" She got really excited and started saying, 'Happy birthday party!', so we tried to explain that today was her birthday and we would have her party later. All morning she walked around saying, "Happy birthday to me!" She's VERY excited about her upcoming party. But then again, this is the girl that will sit and have tea parties for hours, so...
I just still can't believe she's two. I'm in awe that two WHOLE years have actually passed since she was born. She's brought so much joy, laughter, love and SPUNK into our lives - I can hardly remember our lives without her!
Here are some of the current things that Tatum loves:
Shoes
Socks [Note: neither of these top two stay on for longer than perhaps 5 minutes in the car, but they MUST be put on prior to going someplace]
Having her toenails painted ("pretty toes")
Bows in her hair (although they don't stay there for long - most of the time)
Having her hair fixed (Pig tails, ponytail, top spout - there's another name for that...)
Pink and purple just about anything
Winnie the Pooh
Her lovey (the yellow one...that's why we have 3 identical ones)
Her blanket (a specific one - pink with minkey on one side and silky on the other)
Her paci's (although she knows that they're for night-night only, which includes naps)
Jackets with pockets
The Foot Book (Dr. Seuss)
Brushing her teeth (yup...she loves it!)
Baths (she loves the bath, but dislikes the act of actually getting clean, including washing her hair)
Going to the park to feed the ducks
Coloring (both with actual crayons and with sidewalk chalk)
Dancing to just about anything with a beat
Her brother
Her big girl undies
Having tea parties
These are obviously in no certain order, but I wanted to jot them down so that I could remember what she likes RIGHT NOW. Even if she's almost as stubborn as her mommy, she's such a tremendous joy.
Happy birthday, my sweet monkey!
I then proceeded to tell Tatum "Happy birthday!" She got really excited and started saying, 'Happy birthday party!', so we tried to explain that today was her birthday and we would have her party later. All morning she walked around saying, "Happy birthday to me!" She's VERY excited about her upcoming party. But then again, this is the girl that will sit and have tea parties for hours, so...
I just still can't believe she's two. I'm in awe that two WHOLE years have actually passed since she was born. She's brought so much joy, laughter, love and SPUNK into our lives - I can hardly remember our lives without her!
Here are some of the current things that Tatum loves:
Shoes
Socks [Note: neither of these top two stay on for longer than perhaps 5 minutes in the car, but they MUST be put on prior to going someplace]
Having her toenails painted ("pretty toes")
Bows in her hair (although they don't stay there for long - most of the time)
Having her hair fixed (Pig tails, ponytail, top spout - there's another name for that...)
Pink and purple just about anything
Winnie the Pooh
Her lovey (the yellow one...that's why we have 3 identical ones)
Her blanket (a specific one - pink with minkey on one side and silky on the other)
Her paci's (although she knows that they're for night-night only, which includes naps)
Jackets with pockets
The Foot Book (Dr. Seuss)
Brushing her teeth (yup...she loves it!)
Baths (she loves the bath, but dislikes the act of actually getting clean, including washing her hair)
Going to the park to feed the ducks
Coloring (both with actual crayons and with sidewalk chalk)
Dancing to just about anything with a beat
Her brother
Her big girl undies
Having tea parties
These are obviously in no certain order, but I wanted to jot them down so that I could remember what she likes RIGHT NOW. Even if she's almost as stubborn as her mommy, she's such a tremendous joy.
Happy birthday, my sweet monkey!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The meaning...
God's moving, but I seem to be left searching for the 'Why?' in the movement at the moment. There have been so many things this week that I've been dealing with that I simply don't know where to start, so I won't. I'm not going to rehash it all. Suffice it to say, God's been testing how broad my shoulders are and my ability to lean solely on Him. If my faith exhibited through my life this week were a class, I'm not sure that I would be passing at this point in time.
I attended a funeral for a colleague this afternoon that was a wonderful celebration of a life lived to the fullest. It was beautiful. I know that Dr. Edwards is in a better place, and is no longer in pain. His life and servant leadership is a model to emulate, and I left wondering if I'll ever "get it" and "get there" and wondered what people would say of my life and witness if something were to happen to me. These things really make you think. Especially in light of the various things I had to deal with this week.
Did I exhibit Christ's love through the various conflicts I dealt with this week? When I consciously thought about it, I tried, but how successful was I? And why should I have to consciously think about it? Shouldn't it be an outpouring of me and my innermost self without the conscious thought?
On other fronts....
Tatum busted both of her lips this afternoon on the concrete as she fell off of the swing while she and Kellen were outside playing. Matt was watching them while I was attempting to take a nap to ward off the migraine that has now taken residence upon my brain. Moments into the attempted nap, I hear Tatum's screams and Kellen runs into my room to inform me of the incident.
"Did you get your DADDY?!?" I asked, probably louder than I intended or needed.
"Yes, but her lips are bleeding."
So I rushed out to the living room to check on things. Looking back, I'm not quite sure why I did this, since the most appropriate person to check on her was doing so, but anyway...Matt asked if she wanted to snuggle with Mommy, and she did. So Tatum and I snuggled with a rag on her lips for a while to stop the bleeding. Kellen was so sweet during the whole thing. He was terribly upset that Tatum was hurt, and ran to get whatever we needed...her lovey, her blanket, a hug, a kiss, held her hand, whatever. He was the embodiment of the caring big brother and it was just precious.
Poor thing, though...both lips are quite swollen. We don't think there was any damage to her teeth, and when she brushed them tonight she didn't grimace or wince like she was in pain. When it was 'my turn' I brushed and tried to check to see if anything was loose, and nothing appeared to be.
And to back things up a little further, we had a WONDERFUL time today at Kellen's school carnival. They had all kinds of games set up and both he and Tatum had fun playing games. There were a few that Tatum was able to play, so we tried to let her play some as well so she didn't get too bored. She also got her face painted (a purple butterfly on one side and an orange flower on the other side). She was adorable during the painting...she kept perfectly still during the entire thing. She just LOVES getting her face painted!
There was an obstacle course that Kellen ran and at the time he ran it, he was the 4th fastest grade K student. They're keeping tally of the top 5 students in each grade level on a board throughout the day, and the fastest in each grade receives a prize. We were so proud of him! You could tell that when he started to run the course that he was nervous, and he really wanted us to cheer for him, which of course we did. Even Tatum got in on it, cheering her big brother along!
Matt and I got reminded of how much Kellen likes moon bounces and other bounce-type pieces, so we ended the carnival experience with a few of those games. And by the time we made it back to the house, both kids were fast asleep in their carseats, evidence that they both had a BLAST!
I attended a funeral for a colleague this afternoon that was a wonderful celebration of a life lived to the fullest. It was beautiful. I know that Dr. Edwards is in a better place, and is no longer in pain. His life and servant leadership is a model to emulate, and I left wondering if I'll ever "get it" and "get there" and wondered what people would say of my life and witness if something were to happen to me. These things really make you think. Especially in light of the various things I had to deal with this week.
Did I exhibit Christ's love through the various conflicts I dealt with this week? When I consciously thought about it, I tried, but how successful was I? And why should I have to consciously think about it? Shouldn't it be an outpouring of me and my innermost self without the conscious thought?
On other fronts....
Tatum busted both of her lips this afternoon on the concrete as she fell off of the swing while she and Kellen were outside playing. Matt was watching them while I was attempting to take a nap to ward off the migraine that has now taken residence upon my brain. Moments into the attempted nap, I hear Tatum's screams and Kellen runs into my room to inform me of the incident.
"Did you get your DADDY?!?" I asked, probably louder than I intended or needed.
"Yes, but her lips are bleeding."
So I rushed out to the living room to check on things. Looking back, I'm not quite sure why I did this, since the most appropriate person to check on her was doing so, but anyway...Matt asked if she wanted to snuggle with Mommy, and she did. So Tatum and I snuggled with a rag on her lips for a while to stop the bleeding. Kellen was so sweet during the whole thing. He was terribly upset that Tatum was hurt, and ran to get whatever we needed...her lovey, her blanket, a hug, a kiss, held her hand, whatever. He was the embodiment of the caring big brother and it was just precious.
Poor thing, though...both lips are quite swollen. We don't think there was any damage to her teeth, and when she brushed them tonight she didn't grimace or wince like she was in pain. When it was 'my turn' I brushed and tried to check to see if anything was loose, and nothing appeared to be.
And to back things up a little further, we had a WONDERFUL time today at Kellen's school carnival. They had all kinds of games set up and both he and Tatum had fun playing games. There were a few that Tatum was able to play, so we tried to let her play some as well so she didn't get too bored. She also got her face painted (a purple butterfly on one side and an orange flower on the other side). She was adorable during the painting...she kept perfectly still during the entire thing. She just LOVES getting her face painted!
There was an obstacle course that Kellen ran and at the time he ran it, he was the 4th fastest grade K student. They're keeping tally of the top 5 students in each grade level on a board throughout the day, and the fastest in each grade receives a prize. We were so proud of him! You could tell that when he started to run the course that he was nervous, and he really wanted us to cheer for him, which of course we did. Even Tatum got in on it, cheering her big brother along!
Matt and I got reminded of how much Kellen likes moon bounces and other bounce-type pieces, so we ended the carnival experience with a few of those games. And by the time we made it back to the house, both kids were fast asleep in their carseats, evidence that they both had a BLAST!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Spring fever
"Spring fever" is what Kellen's teacher coined as the cause for his misbehaving ways today. Darn! He had been doing so well at school! Apparently he had a lot of trouble today listening and following directions. At least enough trouble to warrant an email to me with a request to reinforce those items at home. Got it! Consider reinforcement of said behaviors done...
I feel like I've gotten a mark against me in the "bad parent" column seeing as how he misbehaved the day after I let the he and Tatum have a movie night because they both had such good days yesterday. On a school night at that! Shame on me. But I enjoyed watching Aladdin, too!
Today was picture day for Kellen...Matt and I discussed, at length, whether or not to cut his hair for the pictures, and ultimately decided against doing so. Kellen is becoming increasingly 'attached' to his hair, so much so that he'll put his hands over his head to 'protect' his hair if we discuss him actually getting a haircut. As of now, neither Matt nor I mind this, but I wonder how long that will last...Matt typically likes to give him HIS type of hair cut come late spring/early summer, and keep it that way throughout the summer time. I'm not sure if Kellen will be up for that one this summer...It might be interesting...
In another front, Tatum will be two in a week. Whoa. Where did the time go? On the one hand, I can't believe she's going to be two! On the other, I can barely remember my life - our family - without her. If you've ever met her, you'll understand that on a couple of levels, especially considering she has such a strong personality (can't imagine where she might get one of those).
She's still doing GREAT on the potty front...She's had maybe 4 accidents in the last 3 weeks or so, one at school and the others either on our way home or with me. Hmm...what does that say? I wonder if I'm not asking enough? I had a conference yesterday and today and took her with me this morning to get some coffee before I dropped her off. While we were waiting on it, I asked her if she needed to go and she said "yes," so we did. And she did. I'm working on this with her, but I'm still not really sure that I'm ready for her to actually GO to the potty. Even considering the fact that I cloth diaper, it's still a LOT easier for her to just go in her diaper and have me change her when the diaper is full and/or I get a chance, rather than when she has to go RIGHT THEN.
Mommy's got to get with it!
I feel like I've gotten a mark against me in the "bad parent" column seeing as how he misbehaved the day after I let the he and Tatum have a movie night because they both had such good days yesterday. On a school night at that! Shame on me. But I enjoyed watching Aladdin, too!
Today was picture day for Kellen...Matt and I discussed, at length, whether or not to cut his hair for the pictures, and ultimately decided against doing so. Kellen is becoming increasingly 'attached' to his hair, so much so that he'll put his hands over his head to 'protect' his hair if we discuss him actually getting a haircut. As of now, neither Matt nor I mind this, but I wonder how long that will last...Matt typically likes to give him HIS type of hair cut come late spring/early summer, and keep it that way throughout the summer time. I'm not sure if Kellen will be up for that one this summer...It might be interesting...
In another front, Tatum will be two in a week. Whoa. Where did the time go? On the one hand, I can't believe she's going to be two! On the other, I can barely remember my life - our family - without her. If you've ever met her, you'll understand that on a couple of levels, especially considering she has such a strong personality (can't imagine where she might get one of those).
She's still doing GREAT on the potty front...She's had maybe 4 accidents in the last 3 weeks or so, one at school and the others either on our way home or with me. Hmm...what does that say? I wonder if I'm not asking enough? I had a conference yesterday and today and took her with me this morning to get some coffee before I dropped her off. While we were waiting on it, I asked her if she needed to go and she said "yes," so we did. And she did. I'm working on this with her, but I'm still not really sure that I'm ready for her to actually GO to the potty. Even considering the fact that I cloth diaper, it's still a LOT easier for her to just go in her diaper and have me change her when the diaper is full and/or I get a chance, rather than when she has to go RIGHT THEN.
Mommy's got to get with it!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
What streaks...
The kids are doing pretty well over here...Kellen is actually GOING to the potty (YAY for medicine that works consistently!), Tatum is NOT having accidents consistently, and on the sleep front, she's going to bed like a champ once more. Now, the next hurdle to overcome is getting BOTH (yes, I typed BOTH) kids to sleep all night in their OWN beds, and to sleep all night without having to be taken to the potty, or put back in bed at any point in time prior to 6 AM. Heck....I would even bump that back to 5:30 right now and be pretty much ok with it...
It is a little sad to take one kid back to bed only to see another asleep on the floor next to the gate containing her in her room. Awww...
But kids in bed is one habit that I do NOT want to start (on a rare occasion, ok, but every night crawling in bed with us, nope). Sadly, Matt doesn't necessarily agree with me. Either that or he's buying Kellen's sob story virtually EVERY night...or Kellen's really sneaky...Dunno.
I have some work stuff going on right now that's pretty stressful...Some university-wide student vs advisor articles that have run in the Batt that I get to deal with visa via my office this year with the advising organization on campus. Pray for guidance as I meet with some committees and navigate these political waters. I need my brain-to-mouth filter firmly in place and most of all, need the Lord to provide the correct and appropriate words to say.
It is a little sad to take one kid back to bed only to see another asleep on the floor next to the gate containing her in her room. Awww...
But kids in bed is one habit that I do NOT want to start (on a rare occasion, ok, but every night crawling in bed with us, nope). Sadly, Matt doesn't necessarily agree with me. Either that or he's buying Kellen's sob story virtually EVERY night...or Kellen's really sneaky...Dunno.
I have some work stuff going on right now that's pretty stressful...Some university-wide student vs advisor articles that have run in the Batt that I get to deal with visa via my office this year with the advising organization on campus. Pray for guidance as I meet with some committees and navigate these political waters. I need my brain-to-mouth filter firmly in place and most of all, need the Lord to provide the correct and appropriate words to say.
Monday, February 16, 2009
The secret?
I didn't want to post for fear it might ruin it, but I believe we have found the secret to Tatum staying in her bed until she falls asleep. We haven't quite made it to the sleeping all night long in her bed until the regular morning (per the rest of the world, or at least the rest of the household, is concerned), but it's progress!
Friday night was the discovery night. I began the nighttime ritual the same as usual, with me catching her getting out of bed, then walking her back to bed, tucking her back in, and telling her 'night night'. One time I even stayed outside of her door and counted on my hand to five. Sure enough, by the time I had gotten to five fingers, she was at the door opening it up. The next time I put her back into bed, she actually told me, 'door open', so I thought I would give it a try.
Grandpa Gerren had come to visit on Friday as well, and he offered to go lay on the floor in her room to assist, but I told him I was going to try something different. I was going to leave the door open slightly and try to catch her being good.
By this point in time it had been longer than a count to five, and she was still laying in bed, so I went into her room (the door had been left slightly open), praised her for staying in bed and going night night, and told her I would be back. I put my stopwatch on, and went back in after 30 seconds and repeated the above statements. 45 seconds. Repeat. 2 minutes. Repeat. 5 minutes. Repeat. When I went back in after 7 minutes, she was asleep.
Whoo hoo!
Saturdays nap went remarkably well, too. Grandpa and I took the kids to the park while Daddy worked on the yard, and we made it back to the house slightly after noon for lunch. It was about 12:45 and Tatum was rubbing her eyes and actually asking for night night...Well, about that time, Daddy was working in the front yard immediately under her window - and he wasn't raking leaves. He was mowing and weed eating. That didn't faze her. We followed the same routine as Friday night, only we started out with the cracked door and she was asleep within 5 minutes, I believe...I went in after 2 minutes to check on her, and she was in that 'almost' phase, the next time in she was completely asleep.
Saturday night followed the same pattern, although it began a half hour earlier because her nap was abruptly cut short by an older brother screaming for mommy inside the house. (Thank you very much). The half hour shift didn't seem to bother her, and it still worked.
Sunday went smoothly as well, and so did tonight. Thank you ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner!
Now, if we can only get her to STAY in bed after she wakes up in the middle of the night, rather than go back to sleep by the baby gate or worse, scream until a parental figure 'rescues' her...
Any suggestions for that one? I'm open here!
Friday night was the discovery night. I began the nighttime ritual the same as usual, with me catching her getting out of bed, then walking her back to bed, tucking her back in, and telling her 'night night'. One time I even stayed outside of her door and counted on my hand to five. Sure enough, by the time I had gotten to five fingers, she was at the door opening it up. The next time I put her back into bed, she actually told me, 'door open', so I thought I would give it a try.
Grandpa Gerren had come to visit on Friday as well, and he offered to go lay on the floor in her room to assist, but I told him I was going to try something different. I was going to leave the door open slightly and try to catch her being good.
By this point in time it had been longer than a count to five, and she was still laying in bed, so I went into her room (the door had been left slightly open), praised her for staying in bed and going night night, and told her I would be back. I put my stopwatch on, and went back in after 30 seconds and repeated the above statements. 45 seconds. Repeat. 2 minutes. Repeat. 5 minutes. Repeat. When I went back in after 7 minutes, she was asleep.
Whoo hoo!
Saturdays nap went remarkably well, too. Grandpa and I took the kids to the park while Daddy worked on the yard, and we made it back to the house slightly after noon for lunch. It was about 12:45 and Tatum was rubbing her eyes and actually asking for night night...Well, about that time, Daddy was working in the front yard immediately under her window - and he wasn't raking leaves. He was mowing and weed eating. That didn't faze her. We followed the same routine as Friday night, only we started out with the cracked door and she was asleep within 5 minutes, I believe...I went in after 2 minutes to check on her, and she was in that 'almost' phase, the next time in she was completely asleep.
Saturday night followed the same pattern, although it began a half hour earlier because her nap was abruptly cut short by an older brother screaming for mommy inside the house. (Thank you very much). The half hour shift didn't seem to bother her, and it still worked.
Sunday went smoothly as well, and so did tonight. Thank you ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner!
Now, if we can only get her to STAY in bed after she wakes up in the middle of the night, rather than go back to sleep by the baby gate or worse, scream until a parental figure 'rescues' her...
Any suggestions for that one? I'm open here!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Whew!
I feel like I can *almost* breathe a sigh of relief...this week has been SO HECTIC, both with work activities and with the Tatum sleep adjustment issues. I am just READY for a relaxing weekend...
Lord, PLEASE let this be a relaxing weekend!
To update...the chili went well, and Matt invented his own special chili recipe, even if he didn't intend to do so. He went to the store last night, but didn't quite get my grocery list exactly correct, so the chili wasn't made how I usually make it. But, as is his normal cooking style, he managed to pull it off and it still tasted pretty good with his "help" even if it wasn't my normal chili recipe. In fact, it was one of the only pots of chili there that I could actually EAT without needing a fire extinguisher for my mouth, so I was completely ok with it! It; however, did not win the chili cook off (as opposed to the last time I made chili and entered it in the chili cook off...it DID win). Just saying...
We now have valentines for the parties at both schools that will be taking place tomorrow. Kellen and I spend some time writing out his valentines, inserting the tatoos, and sealing then shut. What exactly is the point of sealing them shut with a sticker anyway? The 'to' and 'from' are on the outside of the card itself? I just don't get that... That, along with the chili cook off and having to go to the store to get said valentines resulted in him going to bed VERY late - I certainly hope that tonight and tomorrow go well for him. He hasn't been sleeping well at night either lately, so I hope that tonight will be different for him (and subsequently for me as well).
Hey, Tatum's visiting Maw Maw and Paw Paw, so I don't have to worry about her. If Kellen has a good night sleep, perhaps that means that I will as well, right? Sound logic, huh?
A girl can dream, can't she?
Lord, PLEASE let this be a relaxing weekend!
To update...the chili went well, and Matt invented his own special chili recipe, even if he didn't intend to do so. He went to the store last night, but didn't quite get my grocery list exactly correct, so the chili wasn't made how I usually make it. But, as is his normal cooking style, he managed to pull it off and it still tasted pretty good with his "help" even if it wasn't my normal chili recipe. In fact, it was one of the only pots of chili there that I could actually EAT without needing a fire extinguisher for my mouth, so I was completely ok with it! It; however, did not win the chili cook off (as opposed to the last time I made chili and entered it in the chili cook off...it DID win). Just saying...
We now have valentines for the parties at both schools that will be taking place tomorrow. Kellen and I spend some time writing out his valentines, inserting the tatoos, and sealing then shut. What exactly is the point of sealing them shut with a sticker anyway? The 'to' and 'from' are on the outside of the card itself? I just don't get that... That, along with the chili cook off and having to go to the store to get said valentines resulted in him going to bed VERY late - I certainly hope that tonight and tomorrow go well for him. He hasn't been sleeping well at night either lately, so I hope that tonight will be different for him (and subsequently for me as well).
Hey, Tatum's visiting Maw Maw and Paw Paw, so I don't have to worry about her. If Kellen has a good night sleep, perhaps that means that I will as well, right? Sound logic, huh?
A girl can dream, can't she?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
3 days in a row...
Now I'm detecting a pattern. Here we are at Wednesday, and no accidents for Tater-tot at daycare again today. She's even poo poo'ed on the potty.
Now, I was expecting some problems today, but perhaps they'll show up tomorrow - she snuck a drink of unknown size of Kellen's "special" yogurt drink this morning. There are two problems with that. First, it's a strawberry flavored drink and she can't have 1) fruit and 2) strawberries, specifically, yet and the next BIG problem is that it was Kellen's "special" drink, which means it had a FULL dose of laxative in it. I have NO IDEA how much of the drink she got before I caught her. Will that catch up with her tomorrow? We shall see.
We're almost at Valentine's day and I'm quickly realizing this holiday has snuck up on me. Both of the kids have school parties on Friday afternoon, and we're currently valentine-less in this household. Yikes!
I guess I know what my project for tomorrow will be. After the chili cook off. Oh yes...the undergraduate chili cook off is tomorrow immediately after work. So as I type, the third pound of ground beef is browning on the stove for my chili. Yes, I know it's late. I might not even have the chance to throw it all together until the morning. Because other than the meat, I don't have any of the rest of the ingredients I need to actually MAKE the chili. Another yikes! Oh well, I guess it's ok for only deciding to enter it at all last night!
Now, I was expecting some problems today, but perhaps they'll show up tomorrow - she snuck a drink of unknown size of Kellen's "special" yogurt drink this morning. There are two problems with that. First, it's a strawberry flavored drink and she can't have 1) fruit and 2) strawberries, specifically, yet and the next BIG problem is that it was Kellen's "special" drink, which means it had a FULL dose of laxative in it. I have NO IDEA how much of the drink she got before I caught her. Will that catch up with her tomorrow? We shall see.
We're almost at Valentine's day and I'm quickly realizing this holiday has snuck up on me. Both of the kids have school parties on Friday afternoon, and we're currently valentine-less in this household. Yikes!
I guess I know what my project for tomorrow will be. After the chili cook off. Oh yes...the undergraduate chili cook off is tomorrow immediately after work. So as I type, the third pound of ground beef is browning on the stove for my chili. Yes, I know it's late. I might not even have the chance to throw it all together until the morning. Because other than the meat, I don't have any of the rest of the ingredients I need to actually MAKE the chili. Another yikes! Oh well, I guess it's ok for only deciding to enter it at all last night!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
2 days in a row...
So for the 2nd day in a row, Tatum had zero accidents at school. She had an accident at the house this morning before we left, and one immediately before bedtime, but I think in the hustle and bustle of the morning, I didn't ask her if she needed to go as we were trying to get out of the house. As for tonight, well...that was just an accident. I asked, she said no, and went not even minutes later.
She's getting there, but I would by no means call her potty trained.
On the Kellen front...no accidents today. What a blessing!!
She's getting there, but I would by no means call her potty trained.
On the Kellen front...no accidents today. What a blessing!!
Monday, February 09, 2009
Big changes
So long containment, hello freedom! *Sigh*
If you've ready any of the latest posts here, you're probably guessing what happened.
Tatum got home on Friday night, and was already asleep, so Friday night was just fine. Saturday for nap; however, was an altogether different story. I returned for a quick trip to the store, after getting her down and Kellen all ready for nap, in time for Matt to ask me, "Guess who can climb out of her crib?"
I'll give you two guesses and I don't think you'll need the second one, huh?
I immediately went into mommy-panic mode...you know the kind. 'She can't stay one minute longer in the crib, it must be taken apart and she must go into a toddler bed, we have to do this NOW, she's not sleeping in that bed like that tonight, etc, etc.' All true statements, but they could probably have been said over the span of perhaps two minutes rather than two seconds...I dunno...
At any rate, our Saturday afternoon, clean up around the house and take a walk to the park plans changed rather dramatically...the kids and I ended up going to Rockdale to pick up the toddler bed that was being stored there. We left shortly after the kids woke up from their naps (much later than normal because hey...it took Tatum a while longer than normal to go to sleep - apparently a small feat of strength will do that to you - or maybe it was the small bump on her noggin from the climb/fall out of the crib that interfered with her sleep pattern?)
At any rate, we get there, my uncle and I get the bed, and Tatum is following us to the van as we are getting ready to load the bed and mattress. We stop and put the items down...Tatum didn't. She high-tailed it RIGHT into the metal foot of her new bed. In the eye. Thank God that it was at the height it was, because millimeters in either direction and I shudder to think of the damage that the metal rod could/would have caused her eye with the force of her collision. As it was, the top of the rod gashed into her eyebrow and the bottom bruised the area immediately underneath her eye.
I scooped her up and ran her into the house, with the blood pooling on her eyebrow and then dripping down her face and onto her shirt and shorts...bless her heart, she was just screaming her head off - and I don't blame her one bit! My uncle was running behind me, my aunt and Kellen were inside the house, and Kellen wanted to know what was wrong with his sister! My aunt isn't as mobile as she once was, and I'm sure it was upsetting her to no end that she wasn't able to help us. I had my head next to Tatum's and just kept repeating, 'Mommy's gonna fix it. Mommy's gonna make it all better.' I was able to stop the bleeding, then get Tatum calmed down enough to sit on my lab and let me hold ice on her eye for about five minutes or so. It's a nice cut, but not bad enough to need stitches. I do imagine that it will scar. So she'll have a scar in her eyebrow just like her mommy.
Good grief!
A few minutes later and she was running around asking for a snack like nothing had ever happened, so Praise the Lord that all things ended up like they did!
We got the bed loaded back up, and then made it back home in time for supper that Daddy made for us (YAY!). While the kids were eating, I cleaned up the bed and put it in Tatum's room. In the process, I did my fair share of crying. The room no longer looked like my baby's room. It had a toddler bed in it and looked like a toddler room. And it made me cry. Seriously cry. And I think it made my husband question my sanity. Although I'm not entirely sure about that one.
We introduced Tatum to her new bed (re-introduced, I guess I should really say) and she liked it (much better the second time around, really...). A short while later, it was time for bed.
Then the fun really began.
Due to our trip and getting the bed set up, we were about a half hour off of her normal bedtime, but I lost count of how many trips we made with her back to her room and to her new bed. After an hour and a half, I finally just went in her room, laid down in the bed with her, and patted her back until she fell asleep. (Don't judge - I had had enough!)
That worked fine. And she didn't get up. At least until 1:30 when we heard her screaming for Mommy at the baby gate we put across her door frame. So Daddy went to get her, and she spent the rest of the night in our bed, snuggled as tightly as she could get against me. She likes to snuggle tight and push. I felt like I was inches away from getting pushed out of my bed. And I don't have a really small bed!
Fast forward to Sunday nap and I think the time frame to get her down was about an hour and a half...I'm not sure what finally worked on that one, but I think it was just the Mommy-Daddy tag team combination that finally wore her down.
Sunday night we whittled the TTS (time-to-sleep) to down about an hour. We tried about 30 minutes of walking her back into her room and putting her back in bed, and then after than, I laid on the floor for a little while until she finally fell asleep. I actually think I did as well, so the full TTS might not have been a full hour - Matt came to get me at about 8:15.
Tonight was about 45 minutes. We did a few trips of putting her back to bed (maybe a half dozen or so), then I laid down in her room on the floor for about 15 minutes and she was out. I think that might have to be the plan we go with at least in the beginning, as it really seems to work with her!
On the Kellen treatment front, he seems to be doing well with this medicine. He was able to 'go' before bed tonight and said it didn't hurt at all. Praise the Lord! That's two days in a row, which is a blessing in and of itself.
On the Tatum potty front, she went all day today at school without any accidents. I'll just say a big WOW on that one. Still am not expecting it, but it's nice!
If you've ready any of the latest posts here, you're probably guessing what happened.
Tatum got home on Friday night, and was already asleep, so Friday night was just fine. Saturday for nap; however, was an altogether different story. I returned for a quick trip to the store, after getting her down and Kellen all ready for nap, in time for Matt to ask me, "Guess who can climb out of her crib?"
I'll give you two guesses and I don't think you'll need the second one, huh?
I immediately went into mommy-panic mode...you know the kind. 'She can't stay one minute longer in the crib, it must be taken apart and she must go into a toddler bed, we have to do this NOW, she's not sleeping in that bed like that tonight, etc, etc.' All true statements, but they could probably have been said over the span of perhaps two minutes rather than two seconds...I dunno...
At any rate, our Saturday afternoon, clean up around the house and take a walk to the park plans changed rather dramatically...the kids and I ended up going to Rockdale to pick up the toddler bed that was being stored there. We left shortly after the kids woke up from their naps (much later than normal because hey...it took Tatum a while longer than normal to go to sleep - apparently a small feat of strength will do that to you - or maybe it was the small bump on her noggin from the climb/fall out of the crib that interfered with her sleep pattern?)
At any rate, we get there, my uncle and I get the bed, and Tatum is following us to the van as we are getting ready to load the bed and mattress. We stop and put the items down...Tatum didn't. She high-tailed it RIGHT into the metal foot of her new bed. In the eye. Thank God that it was at the height it was, because millimeters in either direction and I shudder to think of the damage that the metal rod could/would have caused her eye with the force of her collision. As it was, the top of the rod gashed into her eyebrow and the bottom bruised the area immediately underneath her eye.
I scooped her up and ran her into the house, with the blood pooling on her eyebrow and then dripping down her face and onto her shirt and shorts...bless her heart, she was just screaming her head off - and I don't blame her one bit! My uncle was running behind me, my aunt and Kellen were inside the house, and Kellen wanted to know what was wrong with his sister! My aunt isn't as mobile as she once was, and I'm sure it was upsetting her to no end that she wasn't able to help us. I had my head next to Tatum's and just kept repeating, 'Mommy's gonna fix it. Mommy's gonna make it all better.' I was able to stop the bleeding, then get Tatum calmed down enough to sit on my lab and let me hold ice on her eye for about five minutes or so. It's a nice cut, but not bad enough to need stitches. I do imagine that it will scar. So she'll have a scar in her eyebrow just like her mommy.
Good grief!
A few minutes later and she was running around asking for a snack like nothing had ever happened, so Praise the Lord that all things ended up like they did!
We got the bed loaded back up, and then made it back home in time for supper that Daddy made for us (YAY!). While the kids were eating, I cleaned up the bed and put it in Tatum's room. In the process, I did my fair share of crying. The room no longer looked like my baby's room. It had a toddler bed in it and looked like a toddler room. And it made me cry. Seriously cry. And I think it made my husband question my sanity. Although I'm not entirely sure about that one.
We introduced Tatum to her new bed (re-introduced, I guess I should really say) and she liked it (much better the second time around, really...). A short while later, it was time for bed.
Then the fun really began.
Due to our trip and getting the bed set up, we were about a half hour off of her normal bedtime, but I lost count of how many trips we made with her back to her room and to her new bed. After an hour and a half, I finally just went in her room, laid down in the bed with her, and patted her back until she fell asleep. (Don't judge - I had had enough!)
That worked fine. And she didn't get up. At least until 1:30 when we heard her screaming for Mommy at the baby gate we put across her door frame. So Daddy went to get her, and she spent the rest of the night in our bed, snuggled as tightly as she could get against me. She likes to snuggle tight and push. I felt like I was inches away from getting pushed out of my bed. And I don't have a really small bed!
Fast forward to Sunday nap and I think the time frame to get her down was about an hour and a half...I'm not sure what finally worked on that one, but I think it was just the Mommy-Daddy tag team combination that finally wore her down.
Sunday night we whittled the TTS (time-to-sleep) to down about an hour. We tried about 30 minutes of walking her back into her room and putting her back in bed, and then after than, I laid on the floor for a little while until she finally fell asleep. I actually think I did as well, so the full TTS might not have been a full hour - Matt came to get me at about 8:15.
Tonight was about 45 minutes. We did a few trips of putting her back to bed (maybe a half dozen or so), then I laid down in her room on the floor for about 15 minutes and she was out. I think that might have to be the plan we go with at least in the beginning, as it really seems to work with her!
On the Kellen treatment front, he seems to be doing well with this medicine. He was able to 'go' before bed tonight and said it didn't hurt at all. Praise the Lord! That's two days in a row, which is a blessing in and of itself.
On the Tatum potty front, she went all day today at school without any accidents. I'll just say a big WOW on that one. Still am not expecting it, but it's nice!
Friday, February 06, 2009
Clean Slate
So after yet another accident today....Kellen and I went to Walgreens to pick up two different medicines...his "old" medicine and an enema. The latter was HIGHLY recommended by a co-worker who is dealing with the same issue with his son, and their doctor - a specialist - recommended it as one prong in their trio approach treatment. We had, up to this point, done the two other prongs, but hadn't taken the leap for the third.
I took the leap.
So we now have a clean slate, so to speak. I won't go into details. Suffice it to say, I still want to know what's wrong with Kellen. I'll simply ask WHY should that particular medicine (or any other medicine, for that matter?) take 2-4 times the allotted time frame to take effect when the box says 2-5 minutes (it took his body almost 10 minutes to kick in). Ask yourself, if you've ever had one, if it took the full time the box indicated to take effect.
Uh...Hello????
At any rate, we'll begin the Miralax tomorrow and will try for two weeks, as was the plan the first time around.
Please pray for Kellen as we go through this. Pray for a cessation of accidents, especially at school (four in this week alone horrifies me - I shudder to think of the various impacts those are having on Kellen). Pray for us as we continue to trouble-shoot, and pray that we are making and continue to make the correct decisions for his treatment, whatever that needs to be.
I took the leap.
So we now have a clean slate, so to speak. I won't go into details. Suffice it to say, I still want to know what's wrong with Kellen. I'll simply ask WHY should that particular medicine (or any other medicine, for that matter?) take 2-4 times the allotted time frame to take effect when the box says 2-5 minutes (it took his body almost 10 minutes to kick in). Ask yourself, if you've ever had one, if it took the full time the box indicated to take effect.
Uh...Hello????
At any rate, we'll begin the Miralax tomorrow and will try for two weeks, as was the plan the first time around.
Please pray for Kellen as we go through this. Pray for a cessation of accidents, especially at school (four in this week alone horrifies me - I shudder to think of the various impacts those are having on Kellen). Pray for us as we continue to trouble-shoot, and pray that we are making and continue to make the correct decisions for his treatment, whatever that needs to be.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Updates...
1. We're still trying to "regulate" Kellen. Unfortunately, he had another accident yesterday. I talked with Matt about switching him from this medicine back to the old medicine...his body seems to react better to it. I mentioned that last night, and Kellen was happy about it. I said something about it again this morning and Kellen was excited. He went on to make some comments about it that just made me want to cry...
'I like the old medicine, because it didn't make me have accidents. This medicine makes me have accidents. It turns my poo poo into poo poo water and it doesn't stay inside - it leaks out.'
Oh my...let me tell you...first thing in the morning - heck, any time of the day, that just broke my heart.
He had another two accidents today...So, bottom line - I'm not giving him any more of that medicine, will get some more of the Miralax, and we'll switch asap. We'll try for two weeks - same plan as before - and see if his body can start to self regulate.
2. My daughter is a chocoholic. (I wonder where she gets that from?). And she's a sneak.
Interesting combination.
There was a small container of Oreos on the computer desk this morning. She had seen it and was continually asking for 'cookie'. Considering she had only just had breakfast, I had told her no. Well, I was in another room for only a few short minutes, and that was apparently long enough for her to get into the container, get a cookie, and spill the rest of them on the floor. When her daddy walked in and busted her, she tried to cover by picking them up and returning them to the container, then taking the container to her daddy and telling him, 'cookies yucky-fell floor - yucky'.
Little stinker.
I guess that's what I get for not eating them all last night, huh?
3. Tatum is visiting Maw Maw and Paw Paw today...Well, I got an email today during work letting me know that Tatum is now capable of escaping...er, climbing out of her pack-n-play.
Nice.
To the best of my knowledge, she hasn't tried to get out of her crib here. YET. Kellen was out of it at about 20 months, if my memory serves me correctly. So we've had 3 months of extra 'containment' time with her....Let's just see how long it continues.
I'm NOT ready for that switch over here...
'I like the old medicine, because it didn't make me have accidents. This medicine makes me have accidents. It turns my poo poo into poo poo water and it doesn't stay inside - it leaks out.'
Oh my...let me tell you...first thing in the morning - heck, any time of the day, that just broke my heart.
He had another two accidents today...So, bottom line - I'm not giving him any more of that medicine, will get some more of the Miralax, and we'll switch asap. We'll try for two weeks - same plan as before - and see if his body can start to self regulate.
2. My daughter is a chocoholic. (I wonder where she gets that from?). And she's a sneak.
Interesting combination.
There was a small container of Oreos on the computer desk this morning. She had seen it and was continually asking for 'cookie'. Considering she had only just had breakfast, I had told her no. Well, I was in another room for only a few short minutes, and that was apparently long enough for her to get into the container, get a cookie, and spill the rest of them on the floor. When her daddy walked in and busted her, she tried to cover by picking them up and returning them to the container, then taking the container to her daddy and telling him, 'cookies yucky-fell floor - yucky'.
Little stinker.
I guess that's what I get for not eating them all last night, huh?
3. Tatum is visiting Maw Maw and Paw Paw today...Well, I got an email today during work letting me know that Tatum is now capable of escaping...er, climbing out of her pack-n-play.
Nice.
To the best of my knowledge, she hasn't tried to get out of her crib here. YET. Kellen was out of it at about 20 months, if my memory serves me correctly. So we've had 3 months of extra 'containment' time with her....Let's just see how long it continues.
I'm NOT ready for that switch over here...
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
She what???
As many of you know, Tatum has been choosing, as she feels like it, to potty train herself. Periodically, I'll ask her whether she wants to wear undies or a diaper as she's getting dressed in the morning. The past couple of days, she's chosen undies.
And she's done ok during the day...I don't have high expectations, and it doesn't really matter to me whether or not she has accidents during the day. I take LOTS of undies, diapers, and lots of changes of clothes, just in case.
Well, I go to pick her up today, fully expecting to see her in an outfit other than that in which I dropped her off.
Not so.
She didn't have ANY accidents today. At all.
They put her in a diaper at nap time. But it was dry even after she woke up.
No accidents. None.
Now...I don't expect this to continue, but WOW! Way to go baby girl! I guess you wanted to make a big splash once you hit 23 months old, huh?
And she's done ok during the day...I don't have high expectations, and it doesn't really matter to me whether or not she has accidents during the day. I take LOTS of undies, diapers, and lots of changes of clothes, just in case.
Well, I go to pick her up today, fully expecting to see her in an outfit other than that in which I dropped her off.
Not so.
She didn't have ANY accidents today. At all.
They put her in a diaper at nap time. But it was dry even after she woke up.
No accidents. None.
Now...I don't expect this to continue, but WOW! Way to go baby girl! I guess you wanted to make a big splash once you hit 23 months old, huh?
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Challenge
To get the kids to work on their areas of control (ie., THEIR rooms), while I simultaneously work on the rest of the house. Plus laundry, plus whatever else happens to be on my to-do list today. (The goal is to surprise Daddy when he gets home with a clean house. The question is whether or not this is an attainable goal). And to get ALL of it done in enough time to get a birthday present for the party we have at 2 PM.
AND to make time for naps prior to that. For the kids. Not necessarily for me (who are we kidding!?!?).
We'll see how that goes...
What challenges are you up against today?
AND to make time for naps prior to that. For the kids. Not necessarily for me (who are we kidding!?!?).
We'll see how that goes...
What challenges are you up against today?
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Odd week
This has been an odd week...
I've had mental moments all week long - you know the kind...the ones where you have way too much to do and tasks that should roll off your brain make you think WAY too hard and question your abilities.
Then yesterday, my assistant flipped backwards out of her chair and hurt her leg on the trash can, and a short while later I smashed my pinky finger in one of my long desk drawers. Instantaneously the nail was filling with blood...You know those kind of smashes...the ones that make you want to scream, but you can't scream because you're in an office, and that's not socially acceptable. You know, you can't just scream your head off in an office, right?
Ug...
So all day yesterday while trying to work, I fought to keep, "my throbbing finger" from seeping into every thought. I punctured it twice last night to relieve the pressure, but it still woke me up several times last night. So I punctured it again this morning.
Just in case you're wondering...I'm gonna lose that entire fingernail. I just know it.
As I got into the office this morning, I came to the realization that you actually USE that little pinky finger A LOT when you type.
Ouch.
I'm still not sure why this week has felt so "off" though...Oh well..only one more day until the weekend!
I've had mental moments all week long - you know the kind...the ones where you have way too much to do and tasks that should roll off your brain make you think WAY too hard and question your abilities.
Then yesterday, my assistant flipped backwards out of her chair and hurt her leg on the trash can, and a short while later I smashed my pinky finger in one of my long desk drawers. Instantaneously the nail was filling with blood...You know those kind of smashes...the ones that make you want to scream, but you can't scream because you're in an office, and that's not socially acceptable. You know, you can't just scream your head off in an office, right?
Ug...
So all day yesterday while trying to work, I fought to keep, "my throbbing finger" from seeping into every thought. I punctured it twice last night to relieve the pressure, but it still woke me up several times last night. So I punctured it again this morning.
Just in case you're wondering...I'm gonna lose that entire fingernail. I just know it.
As I got into the office this morning, I came to the realization that you actually USE that little pinky finger A LOT when you type.
Ouch.
I'm still not sure why this week has felt so "off" though...Oh well..only one more day until the weekend!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
New feature
Follow me, if you want...I've added the "Followers" section to the blog on the sidebar toward the bottom on the page (you'll probably need to scroll down to see it, below the list of blogs). If you would like to follow the blog, feel free to click and follow. If not, no biggie, just thought I would add the feature.
Have you....?
I copied this from a friend's blog. The thing said to bold ones that applied.
1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper (can't imagine why I'm bolding this one...LOL)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (depends on your definition of "afford" - God provides...
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty (can you even do this any more after 9/11? - I'm bolding this one since I've at least been to the Statue of Liberty...)
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (Yup...taken 'em when the kids are sick)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold shower
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking (just about every time I dance! LOL)
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment (Just about every time I look at one of my kiddos!)
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Money doesn't buy my satisfaction...)
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing (Does the Rec count?)
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Survived a Hurricane (Ike, anyone?)
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy (I have kids, of course I do this!)
70. Found out something significant about your ancestors
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fo
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people (I like to think I have the opportunity to do this fairly often!)
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band (Does high school count?)
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style (I'm not that trendy or influential! LOL)
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in a historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Ran a marathon (Can I italicize this for a half marathon?)
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment (Can we say learning instead of learned?)
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David (And it is MAGNIFICANT!!!)
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunch box
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
64. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
6. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics (Does attending a former location of the Olympics count - Munich, Germany?)
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books - Yeah, buddy!!
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
80. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hotel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a camp fire
189. Kept a blog (Hmmm...)
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
198. Built your own PC from parts
199. Written your own role playing game
200. Been arrested
1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper (can't imagine why I'm bolding this one...LOL)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (depends on your definition of "afford" - God provides...
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty (can you even do this any more after 9/11? - I'm bolding this one since I've at least been to the Statue of Liberty...)
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (Yup...taken 'em when the kids are sick)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold shower
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking (just about every time I dance! LOL)
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment (Just about every time I look at one of my kiddos!)
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Money doesn't buy my satisfaction...)
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing (Does the Rec count?)
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Survived a Hurricane (Ike, anyone?)
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy (I have kids, of course I do this!)
70. Found out something significant about your ancestors
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fo
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people (I like to think I have the opportunity to do this fairly often!)
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band (Does high school count?)
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style (I'm not that trendy or influential! LOL)
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in a historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Ran a marathon (Can I italicize this for a half marathon?)
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment (Can we say learning instead of learned?)
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David (And it is MAGNIFICANT!!!)
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunch box
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
64. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
6. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics (Does attending a former location of the Olympics count - Munich, Germany?)
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books - Yeah, buddy!!
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
80. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hotel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a camp fire
189. Kept a blog (Hmmm...)
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
198. Built your own PC from parts
199. Written your own role playing game
200. Been arrested
I forgot daddy...
I realized that in my ramblings yesterday updating everyone, I left out daddy! Oops! Daddy's working very hard in pursuit of a new direction in his life...very potentially a completely new career. It's exciting and a little scary (perhaps just for me?) all at the same time, but we're trusting that we're following what God wants for him in this, so please pray for him in this new path and that we continue to follow God!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Updates
I know I'm still woefully behind on the Christmas update, so please still bear with me on that one...
Kellen
We started his treatment back up on Tuesday afternoon. He seems to be better from whatever upper respiratory crud he had, so it's time to try this again. Day 2 of the treatment was tonight, and Day 1's was successful in its production WHILE HE WAS AT HOME this morning before school. A BIG HUGE YAY on that one. I don't even care (too much, anyway) that I was late for work this morning. Thank you, Lord, for not having him repeat the incident from the last go-round again, and for sparing us ALL from having to go through something like that again today. Please allow Day 3+ to go smoothly as well.
Tatum
She did; however, have a slight issue today. I picked her up and it looked like she had been scratched by a cat. Seriously. She has ENORMOUS scratches on her face, apparently from another kiddo who decided that verbal "Mine" arguments weren't sufficient, so she resorted to scratching Tatum and got a good swipe in before she was grabbed. And I guess her nails were jagged and did a NUMBER on Tatum. I seriously hope they don't leave scars, and I'm NOT overreacting. I doctored it again tonight with some antibiotic ointment, so I'm hopeful that it 1) won't get infected and 2) Tatum will leave it alone. Please let Tatum leave it alone as it heals...
Prior to the race, in front of the George R. Brown...
During the race...and I have no idea what mile marker this was taken at, but I believe it was fairly early in the race...
School has started back up, so I may be a little scarce for a bit...Here's a quick update on the kids.
Kellen
We started his treatment back up on Tuesday afternoon. He seems to be better from whatever upper respiratory crud he had, so it's time to try this again. Day 2 of the treatment was tonight, and Day 1's was successful in its production WHILE HE WAS AT HOME this morning before school. A BIG HUGE YAY on that one. I don't even care (too much, anyway) that I was late for work this morning. Thank you, Lord, for not having him repeat the incident from the last go-round again, and for sparing us ALL from having to go through something like that again today. Please allow Day 3+ to go smoothly as well.
He's doing well both in school and in Kids Klub, other than regular bumps, etc. He had an ice pack on his head when I picked him up today, but he's ok.
Tatum
Tatum is enjoying school, so much so that she runs AWAY from me in the afternoon when I pick her up. She doesn't ever seem ready to leave when I get there. That helps to alleviate some of the mommy guilt that I get when she cries in the morning when I leave her. :-) I know that it's developmental and completely normal for her to do that, but it sure is wearing for me to see and hear her cry for me almost every morning. However, her love of her activities and the fact that she isn't begging to leave as soon as I gets there tells me that she DOES like her school. That and the fact that she asks to GO to school are both clues.
She did; however, have a slight issue today. I picked her up and it looked like she had been scratched by a cat. Seriously. She has ENORMOUS scratches on her face, apparently from another kiddo who decided that verbal "Mine" arguments weren't sufficient, so she resorted to scratching Tatum and got a good swipe in before she was grabbed. And I guess her nails were jagged and did a NUMBER on Tatum. I seriously hope they don't leave scars, and I'm NOT overreacting. I doctored it again tonight with some antibiotic ointment, so I'm hopeful that it 1) won't get infected and 2) Tatum will leave it alone. Please let Tatum leave it alone as it heals...
Mommy
My knees felt like they were back to normal today, but they apparently are not. As I was getting ready to leave the office today, the fire alarm went off in the building. I had to close down the computer quickly, not sure if it was a false alarm or not, and of course, couldn't take the elevator. For those of you that aren't aware, my office isn't on the first floor...but on the fourth. My knees haven't completely recovered from the race.
And speaking of the race, I thought I would throw in a few pictures from this weekend, for those of you interested...
Prior to the race, in front of the George R. Brown...
During the race...and I have no idea what mile marker this was taken at, but I believe it was fairly early in the race...
After the race at the George R. Brown...
And then with some of my biggest fans...
So my question is this...what next? I set a rather lofty goal, really...didn't adequately prepare for it (I'm being altogether truthful here - running up to 6 miles doesn't prepare you for 13.1) and chanted Phil 4:13 through a good portion of this race. As a sidenote, 'I can do all things, through Christ who strenghens me,' is a GREAT pace setter, by the way...I did it, but certainly NOT on my own strength and ability.
So what's next? I personally do best with goals that I work to accomplish, and right now I'm not working towards any. Well, that's not completely true...I always have goals that I'm working towards, but this one really stretched me further than I could do on my own. At least that's how it felt. And since I've done this, I want to be working towards another physical goal...especially since I can see the spiritual significance in pushing our physical bodies to the limit of what WE think we can do.
Any ideas? Another half? Working on a better time? A biathalon? A 10K? I'm open to suggestions....
Sunday, January 18, 2009
02:45:28
2 hours, 45 minutes and 28 seconds seems to be my chip time...My pace was a 12:38 min/mile...
I made it, I'm alive, I had no acute injuries during the race, my hip flexors and toe nails hurt, and I'm tired. *grin*
I had a wonderful experience, and my next one (yes, I feel that there will be a next one) will probably go even better with more adequate training.
YAY!!
ETA:
Some stats, for those of you interested:
Of my age group of females, (F30-34), I came in 484/696.
Of all females, I came in 2591/4085.
Of all half-marathon participants, I came in 4414/6327.
Of course, these are still the unofficial results as of about a half hour ago...
I made it, I'm alive, I had no acute injuries during the race, my hip flexors and toe nails hurt, and I'm tired. *grin*
I had a wonderful experience, and my next one (yes, I feel that there will be a next one) will probably go even better with more adequate training.
YAY!!
ETA:
Some stats, for those of you interested:
Of my age group of females, (F30-34), I came in 484/696.
Of all females, I came in 2591/4085.
Of all half-marathon participants, I came in 4414/6327.
Of course, these are still the unofficial results as of about a half hour ago...
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A kiss...
Or at least an attempt, was had by Kellen today. *sigh* Are we there already?
I walked in to Kids Klub today and was greeted by Kellen with ice on his head (fun fact #1 - slight head injury from running into the wall in the gym). Then I was asked to stay for a second while another one of the counselors came over so she could speak with me. (Fun fact #2 - Just in case you didn't know, that's almost NEVER good.)
She then proceeds to tell me that she saw a girl pushing Kellen today, separated the two of them and then reminded the girl about the 'we don't push' rule. The girl then defended herself and replied that she was pushing Kellen away because he was trying to kiss her.
Uh.
The counselor then confirmed this fact with Kellen.
Yup. He did indeed try to kiss her.
She then reminded Kellen that we don't kiss our friends at school. (I have reiterated this and went a little further...we don't kiss our friends. That's something for grown-ups.)
However, at this point in time when I was hearing the story, my first question to him was, "Where did you try and kiss her?"
His response, "Down there," while pointing to an area in the cafeteria.
Still so innocent. And I desperately want to keep it that way!
I walked in to Kids Klub today and was greeted by Kellen with ice on his head (fun fact #1 - slight head injury from running into the wall in the gym). Then I was asked to stay for a second while another one of the counselors came over so she could speak with me. (Fun fact #2 - Just in case you didn't know, that's almost NEVER good.)
She then proceeds to tell me that she saw a girl pushing Kellen today, separated the two of them and then reminded the girl about the 'we don't push' rule. The girl then defended herself and replied that she was pushing Kellen away because he was trying to kiss her.
Uh.
The counselor then confirmed this fact with Kellen.
Yup. He did indeed try to kiss her.
She then reminded Kellen that we don't kiss our friends at school. (I have reiterated this and went a little further...we don't kiss our friends. That's something for grown-ups.)
However, at this point in time when I was hearing the story, my first question to him was, "Where did you try and kiss her?"
His response, "Down there," while pointing to an area in the cafeteria.
Still so innocent. And I desperately want to keep it that way!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
What a day...
So I went for a short run this morning in my new shoes. I didn't realize how poorly cushioned my OLD shoes were until I ran in my NEW shoes.
NICE!!
It was brutally cold this morning. Brutal might be overstating it some, but it was cold. If it's going to be as cold on Sunday, I might have to add another layer for the race. And/or gloves that I don't mind parting with at some point in time during the run.
Hmmm...
Today was also the awards ceremony for the Vice Chancellor's Awards in Excellence (part of the Texas A&M AgriLife Conference). I was part of a team that was nominated and received one of these awards for our recruiting efforts as it related to diversity (it was actually the Diversity award).
I'm glad that God chose to allow our team to be blessed in this manner, and that He's allowed me to be blessed with such wonderful co-workers who will work so hard alongside me, and to take time out of their days to nominate us for such an award. I'm blessed that He's allowed me to work in an environment where I truly feel that my contributions and ideas make a difference, not only to those with whom I work, but those with whom I interact - mainly the students. I am blessed to be in this particular work environment and truly feel that this is where I'm supposed to be. God seems to continually remind me that I'm exactly where He wants me to be and that this is what He wants me to be doing. He knows that there are certainly times when I need that reminder.
Lord, thank you for reminding me today that what I'm doing IS making a difference, and that everything that I'm doing is ultimately for You.
NICE!!
It was brutally cold this morning. Brutal might be overstating it some, but it was cold. If it's going to be as cold on Sunday, I might have to add another layer for the race. And/or gloves that I don't mind parting with at some point in time during the run.
Hmmm...
Today was also the awards ceremony for the Vice Chancellor's Awards in Excellence (part of the Texas A&M AgriLife Conference). I was part of a team that was nominated and received one of these awards for our recruiting efforts as it related to diversity (it was actually the Diversity award).
I'm glad that God chose to allow our team to be blessed in this manner, and that He's allowed me to be blessed with such wonderful co-workers who will work so hard alongside me, and to take time out of their days to nominate us for such an award. I'm blessed that He's allowed me to work in an environment where I truly feel that my contributions and ideas make a difference, not only to those with whom I work, but those with whom I interact - mainly the students. I am blessed to be in this particular work environment and truly feel that this is where I'm supposed to be. God seems to continually remind me that I'm exactly where He wants me to be and that this is what He wants me to be doing. He knows that there are certainly times when I need that reminder.
Lord, thank you for reminding me today that what I'm doing IS making a difference, and that everything that I'm doing is ultimately for You.
Interesting thought..
Four Benefits of Putting Margin in Your Life
by Rick Warren
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
*** *** *** ***
Here are four immediate benefits you’ll receive by building margin into your life:
1. Peace of mind. When you’re not always hurrying and worrying, you have time to think, time to relax, time to enjoy life. We had a bird come into the building one evening before service. He started singing, and it was just like we’d been given an invitation: “Just relax. Everybody except those sitting directly under the bird, relax.”
2. Better health. Unrelenting stress harms our bodies. We all know that, yet we let it continue day after day after day. Many times we only build margin in our lives after the heart attack almost happens or does happen, or the blood pressure skyrockets. Why do we wait until our health plummets before we make this decision? Why not realize thatwe need to build some margin intoour lives now? The truth is your body needs downtime in order to heal. Race cars make pit stops occasionally in order to get repaired. You can’t fix anything going 200 miles an hour. Yet, we try to repair ourselves while we’re still racing through life. Margin builds in time for better health.
3. Stronger relationships. Lack of margin is one big reason for the collapse of the American family today. When we don’t make relationships a priority and make time for each other, our relationships suffer. Relationships take time; and margin provides the time to sit and talk, to listen and enjoy one another, and to provide the comfort we each need.
4. Usefulness in ministry. When you’re overloaded by activity, you can only think of yourself. You’re in survival mode, just trying to make it through another day. But being available to God for his use makes all the difference in this world.
When you have no margin in your life and God taps you on the shoulder, saying, “I’d like you to do this for me,” your first response isn’t joy. Your first response is, “Oh, no! Another thing to do! Sorry, God – I’d like to do that, but I’m just too busy.”
We end up resenting the great opportunities God brings into our lives. But when you have margin, you’re available for God to use.
You don’t have to live on overload. You don’t have to live in survival mode. Begin today to build a buffer around your schedule. Then enjoy the benefits of margin and see what God does next!
********************************
I was sent this email and it got me thinking...what do I need to say "No" to for me so that I can say "Yes" to God?
by Rick Warren
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
*** *** *** ***
Here are four immediate benefits you’ll receive by building margin into your life:
1. Peace of mind. When you’re not always hurrying and worrying, you have time to think, time to relax, time to enjoy life. We had a bird come into the building one evening before service. He started singing, and it was just like we’d been given an invitation: “Just relax. Everybody except those sitting directly under the bird, relax.”
2. Better health. Unrelenting stress harms our bodies. We all know that, yet we let it continue day after day after day. Many times we only build margin in our lives after the heart attack almost happens or does happen, or the blood pressure skyrockets. Why do we wait until our health plummets before we make this decision? Why not realize thatwe need to build some margin intoour lives now? The truth is your body needs downtime in order to heal. Race cars make pit stops occasionally in order to get repaired. You can’t fix anything going 200 miles an hour. Yet, we try to repair ourselves while we’re still racing through life. Margin builds in time for better health.
3. Stronger relationships. Lack of margin is one big reason for the collapse of the American family today. When we don’t make relationships a priority and make time for each other, our relationships suffer. Relationships take time; and margin provides the time to sit and talk, to listen and enjoy one another, and to provide the comfort we each need.
4. Usefulness in ministry. When you’re overloaded by activity, you can only think of yourself. You’re in survival mode, just trying to make it through another day. But being available to God for his use makes all the difference in this world.
When you have no margin in your life and God taps you on the shoulder, saying, “I’d like you to do this for me,” your first response isn’t joy. Your first response is, “Oh, no! Another thing to do! Sorry, God – I’d like to do that, but I’m just too busy.”
We end up resenting the great opportunities God brings into our lives. But when you have margin, you’re available for God to use.
You don’t have to live on overload. You don’t have to live in survival mode. Begin today to build a buffer around your schedule. Then enjoy the benefits of margin and see what God does next!
********************************
I was sent this email and it got me thinking...what do I need to say "No" to for me so that I can say "Yes" to God?
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Sick kiddos...it stinks!
I guess that's the way it works with more than one kid. One gets sick, gets over it, then the other gets it or some version of illness number 1 and the cycle perpetuates itself.
Ug.
We're in the cycle, so to speak, right now. And I'm hoping that we can stop it at one cycle.
Tatum went in for a nasty, persistant cough, and pulling on her ears about two weeks ago. Sure enough, double ear infection. The cough was dismissed with the suggestion to give her mucinex. Since she isn't age-appropriate for that medicine, at least per the dosage chart on the actual medicine itself, I get it and her prescription with her appropriate, doctor prescribed dosage in hand.
Fast forward to Thursday morning and we hit stage two of this cycle. Tatum is through with all of her medicine, seems to be fine other than the fact that she REALLY LIKES her medicine and taking her medicine. Hmmm...And Kellen wakes up with a slew of problems...he's having trouble walking, his back hurts, his throat hurts, his stomach hurts (ya' think?? See previous posts for additional details on that one..) and his side hurts. I checked his leg and it was actually warm to the touch, so it was obviously apparent that he had done something to himself. Initially, I was concerned that he just didn't want to go back to school after the potty incident the day before, but that wasn't the case (or at least not all of the case). So I packed Tatum up, got her to daycare, and proceeded to try and clear my calendar at work - rescheduling where I could and getting people to fill in where I couldn't reschedule.
Have I mentioned that I had been out of the office the entire week already for some intensive training? Ouch. But everyone knows that my kiddos are my priority, so there ya' go...
Fast forward through the day and Kellen and I just hung out and rested. We watched movies, took a nap, colored, and just generally took it easy. His most persistant symptom continued to be his cough. He never did run a fever. And he refused to take any medicine...wouldn't gargle with salt water, wouldn't drink apple juice, wouldn't even take the mucinex for his cough.
The next morning (Friday) he seemed to be fine, so off to school he went. Well, in the midst of the craziness that was my attempt to catch up in the office, including non-stop student appointments and, my assistant walked into my office, interrupted me with a student to let me know that the school had just called, Kellen had a fever, and they needed someone to pick him up. Thankfully Matt was able to tag team on that one, pick him up and take care of him for the remainder of the day. Again, the primary complaint was the cough, but it was joined by Kellen saying he felt sore all over.
Uh oh.
So today, Kellen has run a fever pretty much all day long. He started with 100.4, spiked to 102, then went back down to 100.4. He's lounged in our bedroom watching movies and resting, as we've tried to keep him sequestered in an attempt to avoid any additional spreading of germs to Tatum, at the very least.
It's interesting how different the kids are in some respects as well. As I got the medicine out to give it to Kellen (mucinex), Tatum begs for it and Kellen covers his mouth. I can BARELY get Kellen to choke it down without throwing it back up and Tatum would drink the entire bottle if I let her or if she managed to get into the medicine cabinet. Same flavor. Same texture. Kids out of the same genetic pool. Just interesting.
Bless the kids hearts...Kellen's just wanting to be snuggly, Tatum doesn't understand why she can't play with her Kellen and is oh so concerned with him when he goes into a coughing fit. We've been trying our hardest to keep them apart but MAN, I can totally understand how this cycle can repeat itself continually in a multiple kid household! We weren't concerned with keeping Tatum away from Kellen while she was ill because he wouldn't have been able to catch her ear infection but now.....we just aren't sure what Kellen has!
Hopefully he'll get the rest he needs over the weekend to be ready to go on Monday!
Ug.
We're in the cycle, so to speak, right now. And I'm hoping that we can stop it at one cycle.
Tatum went in for a nasty, persistant cough, and pulling on her ears about two weeks ago. Sure enough, double ear infection. The cough was dismissed with the suggestion to give her mucinex. Since she isn't age-appropriate for that medicine, at least per the dosage chart on the actual medicine itself, I get it and her prescription with her appropriate, doctor prescribed dosage in hand.
Fast forward to Thursday morning and we hit stage two of this cycle. Tatum is through with all of her medicine, seems to be fine other than the fact that she REALLY LIKES her medicine and taking her medicine. Hmmm...And Kellen wakes up with a slew of problems...he's having trouble walking, his back hurts, his throat hurts, his stomach hurts (ya' think?? See previous posts for additional details on that one..) and his side hurts. I checked his leg and it was actually warm to the touch, so it was obviously apparent that he had done something to himself. Initially, I was concerned that he just didn't want to go back to school after the potty incident the day before, but that wasn't the case (or at least not all of the case). So I packed Tatum up, got her to daycare, and proceeded to try and clear my calendar at work - rescheduling where I could and getting people to fill in where I couldn't reschedule.
Have I mentioned that I had been out of the office the entire week already for some intensive training? Ouch. But everyone knows that my kiddos are my priority, so there ya' go...
Fast forward through the day and Kellen and I just hung out and rested. We watched movies, took a nap, colored, and just generally took it easy. His most persistant symptom continued to be his cough. He never did run a fever. And he refused to take any medicine...wouldn't gargle with salt water, wouldn't drink apple juice, wouldn't even take the mucinex for his cough.
The next morning (Friday) he seemed to be fine, so off to school he went. Well, in the midst of the craziness that was my attempt to catch up in the office, including non-stop student appointments and, my assistant walked into my office, interrupted me with a student to let me know that the school had just called, Kellen had a fever, and they needed someone to pick him up. Thankfully Matt was able to tag team on that one, pick him up and take care of him for the remainder of the day. Again, the primary complaint was the cough, but it was joined by Kellen saying he felt sore all over.
Uh oh.
So today, Kellen has run a fever pretty much all day long. He started with 100.4, spiked to 102, then went back down to 100.4. He's lounged in our bedroom watching movies and resting, as we've tried to keep him sequestered in an attempt to avoid any additional spreading of germs to Tatum, at the very least.
It's interesting how different the kids are in some respects as well. As I got the medicine out to give it to Kellen (mucinex), Tatum begs for it and Kellen covers his mouth. I can BARELY get Kellen to choke it down without throwing it back up and Tatum would drink the entire bottle if I let her or if she managed to get into the medicine cabinet. Same flavor. Same texture. Kids out of the same genetic pool. Just interesting.
Bless the kids hearts...Kellen's just wanting to be snuggly, Tatum doesn't understand why she can't play with her Kellen and is oh so concerned with him when he goes into a coughing fit. We've been trying our hardest to keep them apart but MAN, I can totally understand how this cycle can repeat itself continually in a multiple kid household! We weren't concerned with keeping Tatum away from Kellen while she was ill because he wouldn't have been able to catch her ear infection but now.....we just aren't sure what Kellen has!
Hopefully he'll get the rest he needs over the weekend to be ready to go on Monday!
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Treatment, Day 1
Well, what I/we DIDN'T want to happen today happened.
The doctor anticipated that the medicine would take 4-6 hours to "kick in" and cause a bowel movement. After 2 hours Kellen had an every-so-slight movement last night, very watery and not much came out, but it was something. However, the real movement came 17-18 hours later.
Yup. Today during school.
Unfortunately, he didn't quite make it to the bathroom for it. He asked to go to the bathroom, had an accident prior to getting there, finished on the potty, but couldn't get anyone's attention for assistance afterwards to help with clean up and a change of clothes for some unknown/undetermined period of time. He told me he felt like he was going to be stuck on the potty in the bathroom forever because he was yelling and screaming for help and no one came. As he and I continued to discuss what happened and I asked him how it made him feel, his response just made me want to bawl...sad and scared were the two primary feelings that he indicated he felt during this incident today.
Incidentally, my back hurts from the mommy guilt that is now piled onto it, because I MEANT to email his teacher last night, thought about it again this morning, and didn't get a chance or make the time to do it (sidenote: I was in an intensive all day training, so it wasn't like I just didn't get around to it during the day) to be sure that she was aware that his treatment plan had been changed. I have now rectified that situation. Please understand that I'm not angry or upset with anyone at the school because of what happened today. No one is to blame - no one did anything wrong. I am upset with myself because I could have most likely prevented this with an email giving everyone at the school a heads-up. Kellen did everything correctly by asking to go to the bathroom and then yelling for all he was worth when he needed help.
This is just what I didn't want to happen. This is the reason that I gave him the medicine as soon as I possibly could once I had it in my possession.
But I have to wonder...what is so horribly wrong with my child's intestines that a medicine that should work in 4-6 hours takes 17-18 instead? Perhaps we won't ever find out the answer to that question.....
So...he got the medicine today at 5 PM. We also added some "sit" time to our regime today, both in the morning and tonight after dinner (approx. 5 minutes this morning and about 30 minutes tonight after dinner). Neither time was productive, but I didn't expect them to be so soon in the process. I did; however, write this all down in my spiral journal, much to Kellen's enjoyment. He thinks it is incredibly 'awesome' that I'm journaling all about his poo poo.
My heart broke for him as he told me how scared and sad he felt today. I wanted to turn back the time and make all of that go away for him...to protect him from that situation happening to him in the first place. I kept apologizing to him, hugging him, stroking his hair, snuggling with him. He let me, but kept saying things like, 'Mommy, you didn't do anything to be sorry for.' and 'But Mommy, you didn't do it.'
Lord, PLEASE don't let the same thing happen to him tomorrow at school. If he has to go, at least allow him to make it all the way to the potty. And guide us as to the correct time to administer his new medicine so that he can go while he's at the house, NOT while he's at school so this becomes a non-issue altogether!
The doctor anticipated that the medicine would take 4-6 hours to "kick in" and cause a bowel movement. After 2 hours Kellen had an every-so-slight movement last night, very watery and not much came out, but it was something. However, the real movement came 17-18 hours later.
Yup. Today during school.
Unfortunately, he didn't quite make it to the bathroom for it. He asked to go to the bathroom, had an accident prior to getting there, finished on the potty, but couldn't get anyone's attention for assistance afterwards to help with clean up and a change of clothes for some unknown/undetermined period of time. He told me he felt like he was going to be stuck on the potty in the bathroom forever because he was yelling and screaming for help and no one came. As he and I continued to discuss what happened and I asked him how it made him feel, his response just made me want to bawl...sad and scared were the two primary feelings that he indicated he felt during this incident today.
Incidentally, my back hurts from the mommy guilt that is now piled onto it, because I MEANT to email his teacher last night, thought about it again this morning, and didn't get a chance or make the time to do it (sidenote: I was in an intensive all day training, so it wasn't like I just didn't get around to it during the day) to be sure that she was aware that his treatment plan had been changed. I have now rectified that situation. Please understand that I'm not angry or upset with anyone at the school because of what happened today. No one is to blame - no one did anything wrong. I am upset with myself because I could have most likely prevented this with an email giving everyone at the school a heads-up. Kellen did everything correctly by asking to go to the bathroom and then yelling for all he was worth when he needed help.
This is just what I didn't want to happen. This is the reason that I gave him the medicine as soon as I possibly could once I had it in my possession.
But I have to wonder...what is so horribly wrong with my child's intestines that a medicine that should work in 4-6 hours takes 17-18 instead? Perhaps we won't ever find out the answer to that question.....
So...he got the medicine today at 5 PM. We also added some "sit" time to our regime today, both in the morning and tonight after dinner (approx. 5 minutes this morning and about 30 minutes tonight after dinner). Neither time was productive, but I didn't expect them to be so soon in the process. I did; however, write this all down in my spiral journal, much to Kellen's enjoyment. He thinks it is incredibly 'awesome' that I'm journaling all about his poo poo.
My heart broke for him as he told me how scared and sad he felt today. I wanted to turn back the time and make all of that go away for him...to protect him from that situation happening to him in the first place. I kept apologizing to him, hugging him, stroking his hair, snuggling with him. He let me, but kept saying things like, 'Mommy, you didn't do anything to be sorry for.' and 'But Mommy, you didn't do it.'
Lord, PLEASE don't let the same thing happen to him tomorrow at school. If he has to go, at least allow him to make it all the way to the potty. And guide us as to the correct time to administer his new medicine so that he can go while he's at the house, NOT while he's at school so this becomes a non-issue altogether!
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Diagnosis and treatment
**WARNING**
This is a post about poo. If you don't want to read details about poo, or Kellen and his poo, then click the "X" at the top of the screen and come back tomorrow. I'll still love you, promise.
We had our consultation with our pedi about Kellen and his digestive issues today, and all-in-all, I think it went well. I went into the appointment armed with my notes, internet print-outs of what I thought the diagnosis was, pictures - albeit not great ones since our ink is going out in our printer - of his 'achievements' as he likes to sometimes call them, and our 2008 calendar adorned with stickers marking the poo occasions. Unfortunately, the stickers are few and far between in many of the months, hence one of the reasons for the visit. To give an example, November had three stickers. And I don't think I just missed or overlooked any poo poos that month. I can't say that with 100% certainty for all months, but we captured the vast majority with stickers, since the occasions are so rare that they're pretty hard to miss around here. October had six stickers, September had four, August three.
Poor guy.
Anyway...stats:
40 lbs
40.5 inches tall
bp 90/54
Yet another reminder that I MUST get out the car seat booklet and convert his car seat into a booster seat. Ug.
So the doctor, Kellen and I discussed the current status of poo in Kellen's life. We detailed the L-O-N-G history of this, prior dosage of Miralax, dosage since my being off work in December, that outcome, my concerns, a short term (next two weeks) treatment plan, then scenarios for if the treatment plan goes as we hope and then what our options are if it doesn't. We discussed dietary concerns - while acknowledging that virtually every diet has room for improvement, our diet seems fine by all accounts. The doctor discounted/discarded the notion that this was a predominantly diet-related issue, which had been a concern for Matt.
Conclusions:
More about the barium enema, in case you're wondering why we're considering that at all. The barium enema is a diagnostic tool for Hirschsprungs disease , but this would be our next treatment/diagnostic step in the process. The doctor also indicated frequently once a child having severe constipation problems underwent this procedure, the process of cleaning them out so well, which is what the procedure will do, served as a treatment itself due to its nature (paraphrasing how he said it, but that's the gist) by ensuring all hardened stools within the colon were expelled.
General dietary comments discussed included:
Again, I feel pleased about our direction, and no longer feel like we're aimlessly wandering with no end point in sight. Let me clearly state that I don't want Kellen to have to undergo the barium enema. I WANT the new treatment to work, but at least now if it doesn't, I feel like we have some other option that is more than simply, 'give MORE of the XXX medicine that you were giving.'
Despite the continued reassurances that all is well and that Kellen taking this medicine for so long is ok, after over 4 years on medicine for what should be a normal bodily function, I am just wary...at some point in time bulimics get hooked on laxatives and their bodies can't function without them...what is this prolonged exposure doing to my 5 year old?
I just want him to be able to go to the bathroom without pharmaceutical assistance and not scream in pain and agony. Is that too much to ask?
This is a post about poo. If you don't want to read details about poo, or Kellen and his poo, then click the "X" at the top of the screen and come back tomorrow. I'll still love you, promise.
We had our consultation with our pedi about Kellen and his digestive issues today, and all-in-all, I think it went well. I went into the appointment armed with my notes, internet print-outs of what I thought the diagnosis was, pictures - albeit not great ones since our ink is going out in our printer - of his 'achievements' as he likes to sometimes call them, and our 2008 calendar adorned with stickers marking the poo occasions. Unfortunately, the stickers are few and far between in many of the months, hence one of the reasons for the visit. To give an example, November had three stickers. And I don't think I just missed or overlooked any poo poos that month. I can't say that with 100% certainty for all months, but we captured the vast majority with stickers, since the occasions are so rare that they're pretty hard to miss around here. October had six stickers, September had four, August three.
Poor guy.
Anyway...stats:
40 lbs
40.5 inches tall
bp 90/54
Yet another reminder that I MUST get out the car seat booklet and convert his car seat into a booster seat. Ug.
So the doctor, Kellen and I discussed the current status of poo in Kellen's life. We detailed the L-O-N-G history of this, prior dosage of Miralax, dosage since my being off work in December, that outcome, my concerns, a short term (next two weeks) treatment plan, then scenarios for if the treatment plan goes as we hope and then what our options are if it doesn't. We discussed dietary concerns - while acknowledging that virtually every diet has room for improvement, our diet seems fine by all accounts. The doctor discounted/discarded the notion that this was a predominantly diet-related issue, which had been a concern for Matt.
Conclusions:
- The doctor agreed to my diagnosis of encopresis.
- Daily medicinal regime will change for the next two weeks from Miralax to 1 oz Milk of Magnesia (I went after the appointment and got the Wild Cherry flavor and he LOVED it!) The doctor indicated that it generally took 4-6 hours for the medicine to work, so we'll try giving it to him as soon as we get home from school to see how that works. I think that would be better than him trying to go at school. If we realize it takes longer for the medicine to impact his body, then we might switch to the morning so he can have an after-school sit. We'll see.
- By the end of the two weeks, he should be going at least every other day with taking the Milk of Magnesia.
- If not, we'll need to go the barium enema route at the hospital (not what we really want to do, but might be a necessary route at this point in time if we've exhausted other possibilities)
- If milk of magnesia is working, then we'll go to phase two and use mineral oil (2-4 Tablespoons) daily for 4-6 weeks, gradually weaning him off of even that toward the end of that time frame to see if his body will self regulate.
More about the barium enema, in case you're wondering why we're considering that at all. The barium enema is a diagnostic tool for Hirschsprungs disease , but this would be our next treatment/diagnostic step in the process. The doctor also indicated frequently once a child having severe constipation problems underwent this procedure, the process of cleaning them out so well, which is what the procedure will do, served as a treatment itself due to its nature (paraphrasing how he said it, but that's the gist) by ensuring all hardened stools within the colon were expelled.
General dietary comments discussed included:
- Milk limited to under 20 oz daily (includes cheese/yogurt as well)
- Fruits/veggies - 3 servings daily [could stand to work on this area, particularly with the variety that we have in the house; more (servings/day) isn't necessarily better]
- Probiotics (already included in yogurt, adding additional packets is fine!)
- Drink lots of water (check!)
- Some juice for Kellen is ok (apple, prune) [nice try...but I've done my milk & water only job too well...the doctor just laughed at me on that one]
- Try actual prunes/dried prunes as a snack
Again, I feel pleased about our direction, and no longer feel like we're aimlessly wandering with no end point in sight. Let me clearly state that I don't want Kellen to have to undergo the barium enema. I WANT the new treatment to work, but at least now if it doesn't, I feel like we have some other option that is more than simply, 'give MORE of the XXX medicine that you were giving.'
Despite the continued reassurances that all is well and that Kellen taking this medicine for so long is ok, after over 4 years on medicine for what should be a normal bodily function, I am just wary...at some point in time bulimics get hooked on laxatives and their bodies can't function without them...what is this prolonged exposure doing to my 5 year old?
I just want him to be able to go to the bathroom without pharmaceutical assistance and not scream in pain and agony. Is that too much to ask?
Monday, January 05, 2009
My not-so-bright moment with my girly girl
I should have posted this days ago, but hey...if you're following my blog you're probably still wanting to know how Christmas and New Years went, right?
Newsflash: I'm still behind! LOL And I'm not feeling guilty about it! (Well, that's not entirely true...I'm desperately trying to not feel guilty about it...I'm working on accepting that I can only do so much, and that my ideal isn't always practical...I'm a work-in-progress on that one)
Anyway...I made the decision to paint my daughters toenails a few days ago.
Yup. My 22 month old daughter.
Considering that I attempted this after bath and shortly before her actual bedtime, it wasn't one of my more shining mom-moments, if you know what I mean. Add to that the fact that I was wearing BRAND new jeans, a BRAND new shirt, and that I hadn't put down a towel to protect the carpet and you HAVE to wonder what I was thinking.
Apparently I wasn't. I didn't think or plan ahead for this momentous occasion.
Did I mention that my little girl is lightning fast? And that she likes to grab at virtually all things pink, which is, of course, the color that I chose to paint her toenails because when given the choice, she'll choose pink or purple and pink generally looks better on toes, now doesn't it?
Luckily for me, when she grabbed the open jar of nail polish from my hands and knocked it onto the carpet, I was quick enough to grab it before any spilled onto the actual carpet. Or my jeans. Or my new shirt. Or any other fabric that shouldn't have come into contact with fingernail polish. The only casualty of the lightning quick 22 month old and the subsequent stray fingernail polish was my hands, and they came clean.
WHEW!
After quickly correcting my horrid errors, I made quick work of her tiny toes (and in case you're wondering, she didn't get a base or top coat, and only got one coat of color), then tried desperately to keep her still while they dried.
As a sidenote, I don't think I've EVER said, 'don't touch those!' in such quick succession before in my LIFE!
Luckily for us all, her cute little piggies dried quickly, and she made the rounds of the room, showing everyone here her freshly painted toes. "Pretty piggies" was the phrase of the night until our princess went to bed.
This got me to thinking. Tatum seems to be the daughter that my mom always wanted. Now that statement might sound weird, coming from my mom's daughter. But let me explain. My mom always wanted a 'girly' daughter...one that liked dolls, thought her Barbies - the ORIGINAL Barbies that she kept from when she was little - were cool, and that was, you know, a girly girl.
I was not that child.
I didn't like to play with dolls. I thought her Barbies were cool because I could pop their heads off - a fact which did NOT amuse my mom. I played with BB guns. I climbed trees to prove they were safe for my older brother. I rode go-carts in the pasture. My hair was cut short because I got upset if it was tangled (well, let's get real here...I threw fits when my mom tried to fix it when I was REALLY young - so she kept it short). Bottom line - I was not a girly girl.
But it appears my daughter is.
She remarked, "Pretty!" when her daddy hung up the pink fan in her room. She LOVES to play with her dolls, and constantly pushes them around the house in their stroller or shopping cart. She wraps them in blankets and puts them to bed in their cradle (incidentally, she's playing with the cradle that my great grandfather made for me when I was little...I love that it's actually getting some use in its intended way). She loves her pretty pink painted piggies. She grabbed my hand the other day just to look at my wedding ring. Yes, my wedding ring...remarking, 'pretty!' as she looked at it. Then told me that she wanted it on her. Uhhh...she's 22 months old and already wanting diamonds.
Folks...I'm in serious trouble here with this little girly girl! But I'll get the hang of it...I've already become familiar with Sam Moon and hey, they have these super deals on GREAT bows.....
Newsflash: I'm still behind! LOL And I'm not feeling guilty about it! (Well, that's not entirely true...I'm desperately trying to not feel guilty about it...I'm working on accepting that I can only do so much, and that my ideal isn't always practical...I'm a work-in-progress on that one)
Anyway...I made the decision to paint my daughters toenails a few days ago.
Yup. My 22 month old daughter.
Considering that I attempted this after bath and shortly before her actual bedtime, it wasn't one of my more shining mom-moments, if you know what I mean. Add to that the fact that I was wearing BRAND new jeans, a BRAND new shirt, and that I hadn't put down a towel to protect the carpet and you HAVE to wonder what I was thinking.
Apparently I wasn't. I didn't think or plan ahead for this momentous occasion.
Did I mention that my little girl is lightning fast? And that she likes to grab at virtually all things pink, which is, of course, the color that I chose to paint her toenails because when given the choice, she'll choose pink or purple and pink generally looks better on toes, now doesn't it?
Luckily for me, when she grabbed the open jar of nail polish from my hands and knocked it onto the carpet, I was quick enough to grab it before any spilled onto the actual carpet. Or my jeans. Or my new shirt. Or any other fabric that shouldn't have come into contact with fingernail polish. The only casualty of the lightning quick 22 month old and the subsequent stray fingernail polish was my hands, and they came clean.
WHEW!
After quickly correcting my horrid errors, I made quick work of her tiny toes (and in case you're wondering, she didn't get a base or top coat, and only got one coat of color), then tried desperately to keep her still while they dried.
As a sidenote, I don't think I've EVER said, 'don't touch those!' in such quick succession before in my LIFE!
Luckily for us all, her cute little piggies dried quickly, and she made the rounds of the room, showing everyone here her freshly painted toes. "Pretty piggies" was the phrase of the night until our princess went to bed.
This got me to thinking. Tatum seems to be the daughter that my mom always wanted. Now that statement might sound weird, coming from my mom's daughter. But let me explain. My mom always wanted a 'girly' daughter...one that liked dolls, thought her Barbies - the ORIGINAL Barbies that she kept from when she was little - were cool, and that was, you know, a girly girl.
I was not that child.
I didn't like to play with dolls. I thought her Barbies were cool because I could pop their heads off - a fact which did NOT amuse my mom. I played with BB guns. I climbed trees to prove they were safe for my older brother. I rode go-carts in the pasture. My hair was cut short because I got upset if it was tangled (well, let's get real here...I threw fits when my mom tried to fix it when I was REALLY young - so she kept it short). Bottom line - I was not a girly girl.
But it appears my daughter is.
She remarked, "Pretty!" when her daddy hung up the pink fan in her room. She LOVES to play with her dolls, and constantly pushes them around the house in their stroller or shopping cart. She wraps them in blankets and puts them to bed in their cradle (incidentally, she's playing with the cradle that my great grandfather made for me when I was little...I love that it's actually getting some use in its intended way). She loves her pretty pink painted piggies. She grabbed my hand the other day just to look at my wedding ring. Yes, my wedding ring...remarking, 'pretty!' as she looked at it. Then told me that she wanted it on her. Uhhh...she's 22 months old and already wanting diamonds.
Folks...I'm in serious trouble here with this little girly girl! But I'll get the hang of it...I've already become familiar with Sam Moon and hey, they have these super deals on GREAT bows.....
Sunday, January 04, 2009
God doesn't get tired
After Awana's tonight, when I realized that Kellen was/is woefully behind in his workbook, (sidenote: how I got that we should go through one lesson a week is beyond me...we are a quarter behind - YIKES!!), we came home and went through two lessons, both in Genesis. We read from my Bible and then went through his lessons.
After reading about the six days of Creation and learning that God rested on the 7th day, Kellen remarked, "But God doesn't need to rest, He doesn't get tired."
He went on to ask, "Why did God need to rest? All he did was talk."
(You know, He SPOKE the world into creation...)
After reading about the six days of Creation and learning that God rested on the 7th day, Kellen remarked, "But God doesn't need to rest, He doesn't get tired."
He went on to ask, "Why did God need to rest? All he did was talk."
(You know, He SPOKE the world into creation...)
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