Kellen sure has one! I allowed him to watch Toy Story when we got home from school today and in the middle of it we stopped it to eat, then got ready for bed and finished it. After it was over I told him that Jeff was going to come and see him tomorrow. He looked at me and said,
"Molly?"
He remembered his girlfriends name...who Kellen met the first part of September. Granted, he had met her once before, but that was a year ago! Wow! I was amazed, to say the least!
"No, Kellen. I don't think that Molly is coming with Jeff tomorrow to see you. I'm sorry."
"Jeff's frogs."
"Yes, Kellen. Jeff gave you lots of frogs when you went to his house the last time."
Amazing I tell you...Just amazing!
"Ok Kellen. Let's go to bed now. A little bit after you wake up tomorrow Mr. Jeff will be here to see you, ok?"
"Ok. Kellen go night night."
Worked like a charm. One bed time story and he was in bed and under the covers. Maybe we should have Jeff come and visit us more often. I'm glad he went down easily. My head is killing me...2 Imitrex today...not a good day for Becca's migraine-world...
I'll update with TMJ stuff later...
Friday, October 14, 2005
Thursday, October 13, 2005
What will he say?
What will he say when I see him tomorrow? I'm referring to the TMJ doctor...I have a follow up appointment tomorrow...dare I say that I hope it's my last one...I can actually open my mouth without feeling the need to weep; however, it's still clicking/popping when I do this, but based on what he said the last time, I could be dealing with that clicking/popping sound for another 6 months - a year, or longer...*pout face*
But, on the bright side...it's better than him saying that the clicking/popping will never go away, right? Because that would spell almost certain surgery...and I'm not sure how life would work with a jaw that was wired shut - even for 6-8 weeks. I'm sure that it has to, because I'm fairly certain that a surgery of that sort isn't all that uncommon, but still...consider my job...with a jaw wired shut...hmmm...definitely an interesting prospect...
Anyway..I'm on a cleaning spree...houseguests coming in this weekend for the game - Beat the hell outta' Oklahoma State! I better see something better outta' the Aggies than what they showed last weekend - come on guys - let's see whatcha' got here!!...and I'm trying to get the front part of the house all cleaned up. I'll leave the vacuuming for tomorrow, since Kellen is asleep and I don't want to take any chances on waking him up, but I would like to get quite a bit done so that Matt can come with me tomorrow morning to my doctor's appointment in Houston...I don't really want to drive there again by myself like I did the last time. I proved that I can do it and I didn't get lost, but I don't want to be in a car that long by myself if I don't have to be. He did a great job on the back (yes, yes I know, it's really the front) part of the house yesterday...I think he worked almost the entire day on this room. And it shows. He's almost completedly done with it and it looks great! So the plan for tomorrow is to finish up the house after we get back from Houston (or he'll stay here and work on it, depending on how much I'm able to get done) before the houseguests come.
I say houseguests, mostly because I'm not really sure who's coming into town...Jeff, and ???? I'm not even sure if there is anyone other than Jeff coming in. hmm.. So anyway..this is probably enough of a blog for tonight...Back to cleaning for me!
But, on the bright side...it's better than him saying that the clicking/popping will never go away, right? Because that would spell almost certain surgery...and I'm not sure how life would work with a jaw that was wired shut - even for 6-8 weeks. I'm sure that it has to, because I'm fairly certain that a surgery of that sort isn't all that uncommon, but still...consider my job...with a jaw wired shut...hmmm...definitely an interesting prospect...
Anyway..I'm on a cleaning spree...houseguests coming in this weekend for the game - Beat the hell outta' Oklahoma State! I better see something better outta' the Aggies than what they showed last weekend - come on guys - let's see whatcha' got here!!...and I'm trying to get the front part of the house all cleaned up. I'll leave the vacuuming for tomorrow, since Kellen is asleep and I don't want to take any chances on waking him up, but I would like to get quite a bit done so that Matt can come with me tomorrow morning to my doctor's appointment in Houston...I don't really want to drive there again by myself like I did the last time. I proved that I can do it and I didn't get lost, but I don't want to be in a car that long by myself if I don't have to be. He did a great job on the back (yes, yes I know, it's really the front) part of the house yesterday...I think he worked almost the entire day on this room. And it shows. He's almost completedly done with it and it looks great! So the plan for tomorrow is to finish up the house after we get back from Houston (or he'll stay here and work on it, depending on how much I'm able to get done) before the houseguests come.
I say houseguests, mostly because I'm not really sure who's coming into town...Jeff, and ???? I'm not even sure if there is anyone other than Jeff coming in. hmm.. So anyway..this is probably enough of a blog for tonight...Back to cleaning for me!
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Tired...
I'm worn out. I was part of an interview panel this afternoon to help select congressional interns (at least the first round of interviews) for the Agricultural and Natural Resource Policy Internship and I didn't receive the application packets until yesterday mid-morning. My goal was to try, in my spare time yesterday, to look through them during the day to avoid staying up all night to review them before the interviews this afternoon. Spare time! HA! I didn't leave work yesterday until a little before 6 PM and didn't get started reviewing those applications until almost 10...midnight rolls around and I still wasn't through with them...I had managed to get about halfway through my stack. Oh boy...The best laid plans, right? But with my eyes crossing and the words on the page blurring, what was the use?
I thought that I could try and get to them this morning because I only had two appointments, right? Wrong! But that's ok...We managed to get through all of the interviews anyway with me speed reading the applications prior to them walking in to interview. Occasional breaks helped, plus the fact that our interview panel was awesome and quick...we were rolling on some of these interviews today!
But, you may ask...you're tired and it's midnight yet again tonight? Yup! I'm still on this doggone computer trying to get some work done. I really think that if Matt was home more often I wouldn't be this much of a work-a-holic, but Kellen's asleep and what else do I have to do? Clean house? Ha! So I just work away and really lose track of time getting things done...It's a blessing and a curse to have proxy...it really is.
Tomorrow is another full day...Have a crew full of volunteers ready to "Wow" the area 8th graders coming in for the Youth to Career Fair at Reed Arena...all 2,500 of them...I need my energy for this one, so I'm going to bed...Night night all.
I thought that I could try and get to them this morning because I only had two appointments, right? Wrong! But that's ok...We managed to get through all of the interviews anyway with me speed reading the applications prior to them walking in to interview. Occasional breaks helped, plus the fact that our interview panel was awesome and quick...we were rolling on some of these interviews today!
But, you may ask...you're tired and it's midnight yet again tonight? Yup! I'm still on this doggone computer trying to get some work done. I really think that if Matt was home more often I wouldn't be this much of a work-a-holic, but Kellen's asleep and what else do I have to do? Clean house? Ha! So I just work away and really lose track of time getting things done...It's a blessing and a curse to have proxy...it really is.
Tomorrow is another full day...Have a crew full of volunteers ready to "Wow" the area 8th graders coming in for the Youth to Career Fair at Reed Arena...all 2,500 of them...I need my energy for this one, so I'm going to bed...Night night all.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Sweet boy
Kellen was so tired tonight...I worked kinda' late and didn't get to day care until right at 6. We swung by the chicken place and picked up chicken, corn on the cob (for he and Matt..my jaw would revolt if I were to try that) and some rolls, and he fussed the entire time he was in the car. Made it home and right to the dinner table, and he didn't even eat his roll - if that tells you anything!
He threw a fit after we cleaned off his hands and face and I said that it was time for bed...forget even thinking about a bath tonight. So I changed his clothes and read him a bedtime story and asked him if he wanted me to rock him, which is something that I haven't actually done in quite some time. To my surprise he actually said yes. And to my surprise I realized that I had wanted him to say yes.
I say that he was throwing fits, but it was so much of the tired fits that it really didn't make my angry-upset...they were the kind of fits that it was actually easy to stay calm, speak in a calm voice, help him calm down, try to help him express and verbalize his feelings and help him understand what he was feeling, etc. Those kind don't happen all that often.
Anyway, he laid his head on my shoulder, wrapped his arms around me, with one arm patted my back and with the other, reached his hand up into my hair. He sometimes likes to play with my hair but tonight...it was almost a death-grip. It didn't hurt, but it was very much a security issue. He didn't want me to go anywhere. I just rocked him, stroked his hair and patted his back. It had been too long since we had allowed ourselves to have a special time like that. I miss this! After a little while I laid him down in bed and he actually asked me to lay down with him, which he almost never does - he simply knows that Mommy doesn't lay down with him. I told him, "No. Mommy is not going to lay down with Kellen. Kellen go night-night."
To this he replied, "Daddy lay down Kellen."
Well, I guess he knows which one of us is the sucker, huh? "No Kellen. Daddy is not going to lay down with you. Kellen night-night. I love you. Night-night."
He's such a sweetie!
He threw a fit after we cleaned off his hands and face and I said that it was time for bed...forget even thinking about a bath tonight. So I changed his clothes and read him a bedtime story and asked him if he wanted me to rock him, which is something that I haven't actually done in quite some time. To my surprise he actually said yes. And to my surprise I realized that I had wanted him to say yes.
I say that he was throwing fits, but it was so much of the tired fits that it really didn't make my angry-upset...they were the kind of fits that it was actually easy to stay calm, speak in a calm voice, help him calm down, try to help him express and verbalize his feelings and help him understand what he was feeling, etc. Those kind don't happen all that often.
Anyway, he laid his head on my shoulder, wrapped his arms around me, with one arm patted my back and with the other, reached his hand up into my hair. He sometimes likes to play with my hair but tonight...it was almost a death-grip. It didn't hurt, but it was very much a security issue. He didn't want me to go anywhere. I just rocked him, stroked his hair and patted his back. It had been too long since we had allowed ourselves to have a special time like that. I miss this! After a little while I laid him down in bed and he actually asked me to lay down with him, which he almost never does - he simply knows that Mommy doesn't lay down with him. I told him, "No. Mommy is not going to lay down with Kellen. Kellen go night-night."
To this he replied, "Daddy lay down Kellen."
Well, I guess he knows which one of us is the sucker, huh? "No Kellen. Daddy is not going to lay down with you. Kellen night-night. I love you. Night-night."
He's such a sweetie!
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Go 'Stros!
7-6 in the 18th inning! Whoo Hoo! Way to go Astros! Man alive that was a long game! What was it...the longest in playoff history? Wow!
This somewhat takes the sting off of the horrible game yesterday that the Aggies played with Colorado...or didn't play...I guess whichever way you want to put that. Unlike the 'Stros, our guys just didn't show up yesterday...did they just not get on the plane? I just get so frustrated with those Aggies! Doggone them! And poor Maw Maw, Paw Paw and Aunt Boo got to watch that in person!
What a weekend - it's such a difference actually having Matt around. He didn't have to work at all this weekend, which was such a switch from the norm. We had wanted to get so much done this weekend, but it didn't seem that we actually got it all done...Oh well! No biggie! At least we had some time together, which Kellen really enjoyed.
This somewhat takes the sting off of the horrible game yesterday that the Aggies played with Colorado...or didn't play...I guess whichever way you want to put that. Unlike the 'Stros, our guys just didn't show up yesterday...did they just not get on the plane? I just get so frustrated with those Aggies! Doggone them! And poor Maw Maw, Paw Paw and Aunt Boo got to watch that in person!
What a weekend - it's such a difference actually having Matt around. He didn't have to work at all this weekend, which was such a switch from the norm. We had wanted to get so much done this weekend, but it didn't seem that we actually got it all done...Oh well! No biggie! At least we had some time together, which Kellen really enjoyed.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Lost
So I'm not quite sure what's going on with Lost, which is, I'm sure, the writer's whole point. Saw the women-planted-in-the-hole thing coming a mile away - come ON Sawyer...you of all people should know better!
But what are they doing with the Jack and Locke team up and punch the computer button thing? What the heck is that about? And I thought that Helen was the name of the 900 number girl that Locke called...not an actual girlfriend...hmmm. And they are insinuating something with Jack's wife...just haven't figured out what yet...WHAT!?!?!?
I've gotten Matt hooked on this show and he HATES it. Not the show, but the fact that I've gotten him hooked on it...It's rather funny, actually.
Tomorrow night is Alias. After last week, I think my tear ducts are dry. Matt just couldn't understand why I was getting so upset over a TV show, but HELLO - they JUST GOT BACK TOGETHER AND WERE GOING TO GET MARRIED AND HOW DARE THEY KILL VAUGHN OFF!! I was upset all night - really, and yes, I do know that it's just a TV show. I called Brenna, because I thought of anyone she would understand, but just left a teary, sobby, voice mail because she didn't answer. Sigh...such is my life.
But what are they doing with the Jack and Locke team up and punch the computer button thing? What the heck is that about? And I thought that Helen was the name of the 900 number girl that Locke called...not an actual girlfriend...hmmm. And they are insinuating something with Jack's wife...just haven't figured out what yet...WHAT!?!?!?
I've gotten Matt hooked on this show and he HATES it. Not the show, but the fact that I've gotten him hooked on it...It's rather funny, actually.
Tomorrow night is Alias. After last week, I think my tear ducts are dry. Matt just couldn't understand why I was getting so upset over a TV show, but HELLO - they JUST GOT BACK TOGETHER AND WERE GOING TO GET MARRIED AND HOW DARE THEY KILL VAUGHN OFF!! I was upset all night - really, and yes, I do know that it's just a TV show. I called Brenna, because I thought of anyone she would understand, but just left a teary, sobby, voice mail because she didn't answer. Sigh...such is my life.
Picture time
Kellen's school pictures are tomorrow morning and sure enough, he fell down on Tuesday afternoon at day care and has a huge goose egg and bruise in the middle of his forehead. Will we ever get a professional picture of him without it looking like we abuse our kid? I mentioned something about the pictures being ruined to Matt (I know, I'm being a little melodramatic here) and he just laughed and said if he wasn't bumped and bruised then it wouldn't really be a picture of Kellen. So true, so true.
And I paid for his lack of sleep this morning...and I must have gotten all of it, because his teacher said that he was great at school. Had a great day there! Peed on the potty TWICE! And this is in place of them changing his diaper - two diaper change times in a row - WOW!. And I still haven't gone on that shopping spree I keep talking about to get him the big boy undees...maybe if I keep putting it off the teachers at school will have him trained. Wishful thinking, I'm sure. But he did pee pee on the potty for me after his bath tonight. I just have to remember to have him sit there longer than he really wants to...and after he's said "all through" since he gets bored before he actually goes pee pee. But he was so proud of himself. I heard the pee pee sound and looked up from what I was doing to see this huge grin on his face,
"Kellen pee pee potty, Mommy!"
All right!
And I paid for his lack of sleep this morning...and I must have gotten all of it, because his teacher said that he was great at school. Had a great day there! Peed on the potty TWICE! And this is in place of them changing his diaper - two diaper change times in a row - WOW!. And I still haven't gone on that shopping spree I keep talking about to get him the big boy undees...maybe if I keep putting it off the teachers at school will have him trained. Wishful thinking, I'm sure. But he did pee pee on the potty for me after his bath tonight. I just have to remember to have him sit there longer than he really wants to...and after he's said "all through" since he gets bored before he actually goes pee pee. But he was so proud of himself. I heard the pee pee sound and looked up from what I was doing to see this huge grin on his face,
"Kellen pee pee potty, Mommy!"
All right!
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Adults
I actually was around a group of non-co worker adults tonight. Wow! That's a pretty big deal for me, especially lately, as my life consists of Matt, Kellen, work & family. Period. But I went to a small group hosted by some new friends of ours that started a small group from Grace in town. Matt and I have been talking about trying Grace for ??? months now, and Matt& Kellen actually tried it out on Sunday while I was having my migraine medicine hang-over. I think they really enjoyed it! Hopefully I'll get to actually try it on Sunday and see what I think about it, too.
Kellen had a good time playing with their kids and watching VeggieTales, which is a rare treat for him during the week. Plus, they had lots of fun VeggieTales toys, too, so he just had a blast! I had thought that he might actually go to sleep at some point in time, since it started at 7 (bedtime), but no...he was still awake and going strong when we left at 9:20. Overtired and compensating for it, actually.
We'll see how much I pay for this adult interaction tomorrow...
Kellen had a good time playing with their kids and watching VeggieTales, which is a rare treat for him during the week. Plus, they had lots of fun VeggieTales toys, too, so he just had a blast! I had thought that he might actually go to sleep at some point in time, since it started at 7 (bedtime), but no...he was still awake and going strong when we left at 9:20. Overtired and compensating for it, actually.
We'll see how much I pay for this adult interaction tomorrow...
Monday, October 03, 2005
Drugs, drugs, & more drugs
So I had my check-up with the migraine doctor today and he wasn't happy with the number of circles on my calendar. I'm pleased that I'm not popping pills 4 out of 7 days of the week to treat an oncoming migraine, but he had really been hoping for 1-2 circles for the entire month - tops. I have 5 circles with 6 pills taken and one already this month (yes I know it's only the 3rd). I told his nurse that he wouldn't be too happy about it! And I'm still losing weight, despite forcing Blue Bell ice cream almost every night and chocolate when I get the urge - yes I know...what a horrible side effect to have, right? But to have virtually no appetite really does STINK! And to have to force myself to eat one of my most beloved of all foods...well, that's just pure craziness! There are; however, some days when food does actually sound and taste somewhat good - those are nice days...hmmm...
Anyway, back to reality. We chat and he decides to double my dosage of medicine. We had started out on a really small dose anyway (50 mg) when the normal dose for migraine prevention is 100-200 mg. He told me that the vast majority of his patients are able to hold off their migraines with doses of 25-50 mg, but that my migraines were just more severe than that and would need a higher dosage to regulate and normalize. Of his 50 or so patients on this medication, ~6-10 are on doses of the recommended level...I'll be one of those guys now. What I understood is that he wanted to get them under control (i.e. 1 or so a month) and then slowly back the dosage off to see if my body would/could tolerate a lesser dose without more frequent migraines. We shall see!
Jaw-wise things seem to be progressing rather nicely. I can open my jaw and entertain those around me with a nice percussion sound, which now no longer puts me in tears, it's just annoying and uncomfortable. Improvement, improvement! Even if this takes 6 months to a year or longer to improve (i.e. popping/clicking to go away) I think that I can handle it. It will be if the TMJ doctor tells me that it (popping/clicking) will never go away that I will have a major issue and Matt and I will have to crunch the numbers on the surgery costs... I'm scheduled to go back to him next Friday, so we'll see how that goes.
Ok - enough about me..Onto more fun things - Kellen!
So he was sitting on the potty tonight - YEAH! He didn't actually go pee-pee, but sat there for quite some time trying. During this time he was playing with himself (this really is G-rated, honest). I guess it's a fun thing for little boys to do? Wouldn't know, of course. Then he starts pulling at the skin and makes the top part disappear - looks at me and says, "Where penis go?" and grins, just like he's playing peek-a-boo with any other toy of his.
I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from laughing hysterically at this, since he wouldn't have understood why this would have been any funnier than any other game of peek-a-boo, right? "I don't know Kellen, where is it?"
He lets go. "There it is! Kellen penis!"
Oh my gosh can he get any funnier?!? It was a riot! And this occurred after we had a discussion about peeing in the potty rather than on his VeggieTale stuffed animal. He wanted to hold it on the potty with him and I told him that he couldn't because if he pee-peed, he might get some pee pee on the VeggieTale. He looked at me with a mischevious grin (oh man are we in trouble, 'cause when he looks at me like that, he looks JUST LIKE HIS DADDY!) held the VeggieTale in front of him,
"Pee pee VeggieTale?"
"No Kellen. We don't pee on the VeggieTale or our other toys. We pee pee in the potty."
"Oh. Oh-tay." He slowly reaches to put the VeggieTale on the back of the toilet. Quick grin and then, quick-as-a-flash, the VeggieTale is right back in front of him.
"Pee pee VeggieTale?"
"No Kellen. We don't pee on the VeggieTale. We pee pee in the potty. If you don't put your VeggieTale on the top of the potty, Mommy will take it away."
"No! My VeggieTale. Kellen put up VeggieTale." And it goes to the appropriate spot. At least for the time being.
And now I'm realizing that he can get off of the potty by himself. Hmmm. This may not cause a problem after he's peed, but what about the other??? How do I stop him from getting off of the potty after that's occurred without making a gigantic mess? Oh man...so much to learn. I thought that the biggest part of the learning curve with kids was over - I think I was sorely mistaken on that one!
Anyway, back to reality. We chat and he decides to double my dosage of medicine. We had started out on a really small dose anyway (50 mg) when the normal dose for migraine prevention is 100-200 mg. He told me that the vast majority of his patients are able to hold off their migraines with doses of 25-50 mg, but that my migraines were just more severe than that and would need a higher dosage to regulate and normalize. Of his 50 or so patients on this medication, ~6-10 are on doses of the recommended level...I'll be one of those guys now. What I understood is that he wanted to get them under control (i.e. 1 or so a month) and then slowly back the dosage off to see if my body would/could tolerate a lesser dose without more frequent migraines. We shall see!
Jaw-wise things seem to be progressing rather nicely. I can open my jaw and entertain those around me with a nice percussion sound, which now no longer puts me in tears, it's just annoying and uncomfortable. Improvement, improvement! Even if this takes 6 months to a year or longer to improve (i.e. popping/clicking to go away) I think that I can handle it. It will be if the TMJ doctor tells me that it (popping/clicking) will never go away that I will have a major issue and Matt and I will have to crunch the numbers on the surgery costs... I'm scheduled to go back to him next Friday, so we'll see how that goes.
Ok - enough about me..Onto more fun things - Kellen!
So he was sitting on the potty tonight - YEAH! He didn't actually go pee-pee, but sat there for quite some time trying. During this time he was playing with himself (this really is G-rated, honest). I guess it's a fun thing for little boys to do? Wouldn't know, of course. Then he starts pulling at the skin and makes the top part disappear - looks at me and says, "Where penis go?" and grins, just like he's playing peek-a-boo with any other toy of his.
I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from laughing hysterically at this, since he wouldn't have understood why this would have been any funnier than any other game of peek-a-boo, right? "I don't know Kellen, where is it?"
He lets go. "There it is! Kellen penis!"
Oh my gosh can he get any funnier?!? It was a riot! And this occurred after we had a discussion about peeing in the potty rather than on his VeggieTale stuffed animal. He wanted to hold it on the potty with him and I told him that he couldn't because if he pee-peed, he might get some pee pee on the VeggieTale. He looked at me with a mischevious grin (oh man are we in trouble, 'cause when he looks at me like that, he looks JUST LIKE HIS DADDY!) held the VeggieTale in front of him,
"Pee pee VeggieTale?"
"No Kellen. We don't pee on the VeggieTale or our other toys. We pee pee in the potty."
"Oh. Oh-tay." He slowly reaches to put the VeggieTale on the back of the toilet. Quick grin and then, quick-as-a-flash, the VeggieTale is right back in front of him.
"Pee pee VeggieTale?"
"No Kellen. We don't pee on the VeggieTale. We pee pee in the potty. If you don't put your VeggieTale on the top of the potty, Mommy will take it away."
"No! My VeggieTale. Kellen put up VeggieTale." And it goes to the appropriate spot. At least for the time being.
And now I'm realizing that he can get off of the potty by himself. Hmmm. This may not cause a problem after he's peed, but what about the other??? How do I stop him from getting off of the potty after that's occurred without making a gigantic mess? Oh man...so much to learn. I thought that the biggest part of the learning curve with kids was over - I think I was sorely mistaken on that one!
Monday, September 26, 2005
I think he missed his daddy
Matt worked a monster-shift...~80 hours, actually. Luckily, his relief called in early today and, after finding out how long Matt had been at work, graciously offered to come in early so that Matt could come home. He came into the office a little after 4:15 to surprise me (although it wasn't actually a surprise - I had called the station to talk with him around 3:45 and Hebert had told me he was on his way home - sorry honey!). It was; however, still wonderfully nice to see him after so long! He decided since it was so close to me getting off of work that he would swing by and pick up Kellen at school and just meet me at home - I would have LOVED to see Kellen react to THAT surprise!
So we all got home and Kellen just wanted to be close to his Daddy, but still wanted Mommy close by, too. This is actually something that he doesn't get all too often, which we're trying to counter. Some of his demands were:
"Get Daddy."
"Tickle Daddy."
"Daddy get Mommy."
"More Daddy get Mommy."
"Wake up Daddy - get me."
"Daddy GET UP!"
"Bite." [An explanation might be necessary on that one - he wanted a bite of our food..it always tastes better from our fork, it seems.]
"Daddy come HERE."
"Kellen flop."
It was just adorable. You can tell how much he missed his daddy this weekend...every time that we had prayed, he would start the prayer off by saying, "Bless Daddy work..."
Matt and I were sitting in the recliner in the living room and Kellen decided that he wanted to scratch Daddy's back, so he came over and sat between Daddy and Mommy and scratched, patted, and rubbed Daddy's back. Every once in a while he would just hug his Daddy's back and it looked like he was hanging on for dear life. Their time together is just so precious!
I got Kellen's clothes changed for bed and then read him a book while still in the living room, then he decided that he wanted Daddy to read him a book. Since it was 7:30 and completely obvious that Kellen was tired, I suggested that Daddy read him the book in his room and just put him to bed. So they went into Kellen's room and then Matt came out rather quickly. I looked at him with what I'm sure was a quizzical look on my face.
They apparently brushed Kellen's teeth and then when Daddy started reading the book, Kellen stated, "No read book Daddy. Kellen night-night." Well all-right then.
So we all got home and Kellen just wanted to be close to his Daddy, but still wanted Mommy close by, too. This is actually something that he doesn't get all too often, which we're trying to counter. Some of his demands were:
"Get Daddy."
"Tickle Daddy."
"Daddy get Mommy."
"More Daddy get Mommy."
"Wake up Daddy - get me."
"Daddy GET UP!"
"Bite." [An explanation might be necessary on that one - he wanted a bite of our food..it always tastes better from our fork, it seems.]
"Daddy come HERE."
"Kellen flop."
It was just adorable. You can tell how much he missed his daddy this weekend...every time that we had prayed, he would start the prayer off by saying, "Bless Daddy work..."
Matt and I were sitting in the recliner in the living room and Kellen decided that he wanted to scratch Daddy's back, so he came over and sat between Daddy and Mommy and scratched, patted, and rubbed Daddy's back. Every once in a while he would just hug his Daddy's back and it looked like he was hanging on for dear life. Their time together is just so precious!
I got Kellen's clothes changed for bed and then read him a book while still in the living room, then he decided that he wanted Daddy to read him a book. Since it was 7:30 and completely obvious that Kellen was tired, I suggested that Daddy read him the book in his room and just put him to bed. So they went into Kellen's room and then Matt came out rather quickly. I looked at him with what I'm sure was a quizzical look on my face.
They apparently brushed Kellen's teeth and then when Daddy started reading the book, Kellen stated, "No read book Daddy. Kellen night-night." Well all-right then.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Close Call
That's what I'll call the events of Hurricane Rita for those of us in the original path...a close call. Our department closed down a little before 3 PM on Thursday and the University closed on Friday for hurricane preparations. Matt had worked a 24-hr shift on Wednesday and got home early Thursday morning with the intent of packing things up and putting them in a climate controlled storage facility. However, they had run all night during their shift and he kept watching the storm path and decided against that, thankfully so, now. That would have been so much work for nothing (but we didn't know that at the time). I wasn't sold on the idea, but was behind whatever he wanted to do...my thoughts...we have homeowners insurance for a reason, right? They sent him home with some O2 tanks to fill up, so without an official decision on them wanting him to come back, we took that to mean that they did.
After watching the storm track all day Thursday morning, by mid-day we finally make the decision that Kellen and I will go to Uncle Eddie & Aunt Glenda' s in Rockdale. We don't think that I'll hit much traffic going that route (and I know some back roads that no one else will be taking), and it's a good direction away from the path of the storm, and after I find out my parents are going there, too, it's a great chance for Kellen to spend some time with his Pap Pa and Gramma...So Rockdale it is. We decide that I'll just get up and leave on Friday and not worry about taking off on Thursday, since there really isn't any reason to do so. Thursday night Matt decides to go ahead and go to the Aggie game, which is fine by me...I'm not feeling well and just need to take it easy. So Kellen and I watch some of the football game, which Kellen is just SO excited about.
"Go Aggies!" He yells to the TV as the game ensues. He sure loves Aggie football - well, almost any football, actually.
I let him stay up until 8:30 PM watching the game and then he'd just had enough and to bed he went. For being as tired as he was he really didn't put up too much of a fuss, which is unusual for him when he's overtired. Some would say that based on this, he would sleep in the next day, right? WRONG! My kiddo' just isn't hard-wired that way... Up and going maybe a half hour later than his usual time on Friday morning...but basically his normal time.
I packed up things and got ready to go on Friday morning while Matt ran some errands to get ready to go back to work. His goal - get Kellen and I off to Rockdale and then head to work...for a monster-sized shift. From whatever time he got there on Friday until Monday night at 6 PM. CRAZY!!! The only break was supposed to be for him to run home to check on the house before calling me to come home, but he ended up not doing that because one of the professors I work with checked on the house for me and called to let me know everything was OK on Saturday. Thanks & Thank God!!
My plan was to leave on Friday between 8-9 AM, and I ended up getting out the door by 9:45, which wasn't all that bad. I didn't hit any traffic on Hwy 21 to Caldwell and then it just stopped as I turned onto 36...so I busted a U-turn and went down the backroad FM 908..No traffic there, which is just as I thought! I made great time, and only had to slow down 4 times, 3 times to avoid hitting buzzards in the road - stupid birds that wouldn't fly away as I was coming - even when I honked at them.
"Too loud, Mommy. Mommy hit bird?"
"No Kellen, Mommy didn't hit the bird. I just honked at them so that they would move so I wouldn't hit them."
"Too loud, Mommy. No honk."
The 4th time was to avoid some monster-sized snake that was stretched from the side of the road to the center stripe - not kidding - I just went around that sucker...wasn't about to run over it! Love those back roads with zero traffic!
"Whoa Mommy!"
We made it to Rockdale before 11, and Kellen just had such a good weekend. He didn't act shy with Uncle Eddie or Aunt Glenda, and I can't remember when the last time was that he had seen them. But, he did remember the house! We drove up and he made a comment about a puppy that he had played with during one of our visits...It's amazing what sticks in his brain and what he remembers, because I swear that was almost a year ago...As for my parents, after a quick trip on Friday morning to the doctor for dad's blood pressure, which was WAY too high, new medicine, and getting their place ready for the storm, they head off to Rockdale as well and get in Friday afternoon.
All-in-all we had a good weekend. I was kicking myself because I didn't take more craft projects to work on in my spare time. I took Kellen's baby book and the pictures that I had already picked out and ordered to go in them...got them cropped, placed and put in the book (but I had that done on Friday before my parents even got there - how much time had I thought that project would actually take?). Now I just need to add some text in places and gather a few more event pictures and that book will be done - and how old is Kellen? Whew?!? I had contemplated taking some of the t-shirts for the t-shirt quilts that are lined up for me to work on - at last count I think there are 4, but that includes a high school and college quilt for me as well. I should have taken those with me and cut the squares out while I was there, but oh well! I really expected that it would be storming some, possibly with some power outages...Again, oh well! On a positive note - I was able to take a NAP - a long one, too - I think it was 3 hours or something crazy like that on Saturday afternoon. So maybe it was good that I didn't have projects to work on, because I would have felt like I needed to work on them and I wouldn't have let myself nap...which I'm sure that I needed.
Kellen made some great strides on the potty this weekend, peeing three times in it on Saturday night - once before and then once again after his basin-bath (translation: a lazy-mom's bath when there isn't a bathtub available and you don't want to get in the shower with the kiddo), then again after brushing his teeth - Way to go buddy!
Now Mommy really has to step it up in this area...He's telling me that he needs his diaper changed and doing so well on the potty - all of which means that I need to start working harder on the potty training. Up until this point I have been very laisse-faire with this event, albeit a milestone event, in his life. Now it looks like we need to go on a shopping trip and pick out some training undies (not pull-ups - because it doesn't bother him in the least to pee pee on Buzz Lightyear...), plastic training cover pants, and some big boy undies.
Question: Am I really ready for this?
Answer: NO!
After watching the storm track all day Thursday morning, by mid-day we finally make the decision that Kellen and I will go to Uncle Eddie & Aunt Glenda' s in Rockdale. We don't think that I'll hit much traffic going that route (and I know some back roads that no one else will be taking), and it's a good direction away from the path of the storm, and after I find out my parents are going there, too, it's a great chance for Kellen to spend some time with his Pap Pa and Gramma...So Rockdale it is. We decide that I'll just get up and leave on Friday and not worry about taking off on Thursday, since there really isn't any reason to do so. Thursday night Matt decides to go ahead and go to the Aggie game, which is fine by me...I'm not feeling well and just need to take it easy. So Kellen and I watch some of the football game, which Kellen is just SO excited about.
"Go Aggies!" He yells to the TV as the game ensues. He sure loves Aggie football - well, almost any football, actually.
I let him stay up until 8:30 PM watching the game and then he'd just had enough and to bed he went. For being as tired as he was he really didn't put up too much of a fuss, which is unusual for him when he's overtired. Some would say that based on this, he would sleep in the next day, right? WRONG! My kiddo' just isn't hard-wired that way... Up and going maybe a half hour later than his usual time on Friday morning...but basically his normal time.
I packed up things and got ready to go on Friday morning while Matt ran some errands to get ready to go back to work. His goal - get Kellen and I off to Rockdale and then head to work...for a monster-sized shift. From whatever time he got there on Friday until Monday night at 6 PM. CRAZY!!! The only break was supposed to be for him to run home to check on the house before calling me to come home, but he ended up not doing that because one of the professors I work with checked on the house for me and called to let me know everything was OK on Saturday. Thanks & Thank God!!
My plan was to leave on Friday between 8-9 AM, and I ended up getting out the door by 9:45, which wasn't all that bad. I didn't hit any traffic on Hwy 21 to Caldwell and then it just stopped as I turned onto 36...so I busted a U-turn and went down the backroad FM 908..No traffic there, which is just as I thought! I made great time, and only had to slow down 4 times, 3 times to avoid hitting buzzards in the road - stupid birds that wouldn't fly away as I was coming - even when I honked at them.
"Too loud, Mommy. Mommy hit bird?"
"No Kellen, Mommy didn't hit the bird. I just honked at them so that they would move so I wouldn't hit them."
"Too loud, Mommy. No honk."
The 4th time was to avoid some monster-sized snake that was stretched from the side of the road to the center stripe - not kidding - I just went around that sucker...wasn't about to run over it! Love those back roads with zero traffic!
"Whoa Mommy!"
We made it to Rockdale before 11, and Kellen just had such a good weekend. He didn't act shy with Uncle Eddie or Aunt Glenda, and I can't remember when the last time was that he had seen them. But, he did remember the house! We drove up and he made a comment about a puppy that he had played with during one of our visits...It's amazing what sticks in his brain and what he remembers, because I swear that was almost a year ago...As for my parents, after a quick trip on Friday morning to the doctor for dad's blood pressure, which was WAY too high, new medicine, and getting their place ready for the storm, they head off to Rockdale as well and get in Friday afternoon.
All-in-all we had a good weekend. I was kicking myself because I didn't take more craft projects to work on in my spare time. I took Kellen's baby book and the pictures that I had already picked out and ordered to go in them...got them cropped, placed and put in the book (but I had that done on Friday before my parents even got there - how much time had I thought that project would actually take?). Now I just need to add some text in places and gather a few more event pictures and that book will be done - and how old is Kellen? Whew?!? I had contemplated taking some of the t-shirts for the t-shirt quilts that are lined up for me to work on - at last count I think there are 4, but that includes a high school and college quilt for me as well. I should have taken those with me and cut the squares out while I was there, but oh well! I really expected that it would be storming some, possibly with some power outages...Again, oh well! On a positive note - I was able to take a NAP - a long one, too - I think it was 3 hours or something crazy like that on Saturday afternoon. So maybe it was good that I didn't have projects to work on, because I would have felt like I needed to work on them and I wouldn't have let myself nap...which I'm sure that I needed.
Kellen made some great strides on the potty this weekend, peeing three times in it on Saturday night - once before and then once again after his basin-bath (translation: a lazy-mom's bath when there isn't a bathtub available and you don't want to get in the shower with the kiddo), then again after brushing his teeth - Way to go buddy!
Now Mommy really has to step it up in this area...He's telling me that he needs his diaper changed and doing so well on the potty - all of which means that I need to start working harder on the potty training. Up until this point I have been very laisse-faire with this event, albeit a milestone event, in his life. Now it looks like we need to go on a shopping trip and pick out some training undies (not pull-ups - because it doesn't bother him in the least to pee pee on Buzz Lightyear...), plastic training cover pants, and some big boy undies.
Question: Am I really ready for this?
Answer: NO!
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Jaw update
I had my follow-up appointment with the TMJ doctor last Friday morning. It was originally scheduled for the Friday before that, but I still had medicine left to take and had it rescheduled for last week so that he could evaluate me when I had completed my 2nd round of muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory meds. For the record - it IS getting better, I'm just getting impatient. However, I just need to remind myself of how far I've come since May and June, when it was at its worst...bawling when Kellen would bump my jaw. Right? Right. Keep reminding myself of that. Because I don't like the alternative (I'll explain).
We chatted about how my jaw was doing and I asked him about the popping/clicking when I opened my jaw. I can still open it through the first phase just fine, it's when I push it to open through the second phase that it now pops (when before it wouldn't/couldn't open unless I manually moved the lower portion of my jaw around) and clicks. It doesn't really hurt anymore when it does this (at least most of the time, anyway), it's just incredibly loud and annoying to me. He manipulated it, and had me open and close my jaw a couple of times while he felt what it was doing, commented that "Yes, it was really loud and pretty bad", then told me the good and bad news.
The good news. The clicking is a sign that the soft tissue around the jaw area is relaxing, which means that it's getting better. YEAH!
The bad news. The clicking may not go away for 6 months to a year...maybe even longer. Or he could make it go away very quickly with surgery, but he stated that he didn't think that I really wanted him to go that route. He's absolutely correct!
Now, if he told me that the clicking would never go away without surgery, I would most likely be making a surgery appointment quite soon...but if it will go away and it just requires patience on my part...well, I'm married to Matt...God has instilled some level of patience in me at this point in time...right?
So, the plan is to drop the muscle relaxants from the mix and just take the anti-inflammatory medicine and he wants to see me back in a month.
Sidenote: The doctors office had moved locations since our last visit and I actually drove myself to the doctors office on Friday. All by myself to Houston - and I didn't get lost and only made 3 U-turns (and there were no signs telling me that I couldn't make those U-turns). I was pretty proud of myself and consider that quite an accomplishment!
We chatted about how my jaw was doing and I asked him about the popping/clicking when I opened my jaw. I can still open it through the first phase just fine, it's when I push it to open through the second phase that it now pops (when before it wouldn't/couldn't open unless I manually moved the lower portion of my jaw around) and clicks. It doesn't really hurt anymore when it does this (at least most of the time, anyway), it's just incredibly loud and annoying to me. He manipulated it, and had me open and close my jaw a couple of times while he felt what it was doing, commented that "Yes, it was really loud and pretty bad", then told me the good and bad news.
The good news. The clicking is a sign that the soft tissue around the jaw area is relaxing, which means that it's getting better. YEAH!
The bad news. The clicking may not go away for 6 months to a year...maybe even longer. Or he could make it go away very quickly with surgery, but he stated that he didn't think that I really wanted him to go that route. He's absolutely correct!
Now, if he told me that the clicking would never go away without surgery, I would most likely be making a surgery appointment quite soon...but if it will go away and it just requires patience on my part...well, I'm married to Matt...God has instilled some level of patience in me at this point in time...right?
So, the plan is to drop the muscle relaxants from the mix and just take the anti-inflammatory medicine and he wants to see me back in a month.
Sidenote: The doctors office had moved locations since our last visit and I actually drove myself to the doctors office on Friday. All by myself to Houston - and I didn't get lost and only made 3 U-turns (and there were no signs telling me that I couldn't make those U-turns). I was pretty proud of myself and consider that quite an accomplishment!
Must we do this again?
So Matt is at a FEMA meeting tonight because of the mandatory Galveston county evacuation that begins tomorrow...he is bound and determined that Kellen and I will NOT be in this house when this hurricane hits TX land on Friday night - we'll either be in Conroe or Mexia, depending on where they're estimating the path of this thing, seeing as how our house has the word "mobile" in it, we're not actually going to take any chances. We had planned to build the deck this week, had Adam all lined up to help on Thursday and really thought that they could get the entire thing done in one day, as long as Matt had the materials here and some prep work done before Adam got here Thursday morning...so much for that plan. Nature has a way of usurping things sometimes.
I know that this will come out sounding really selfish, but I want this to be all over so that Matt can finish up with his paramedic tests and get going on his rotations. Yikes! We're a year behind on our schedule with this paramedic plan here...fast-track my behind - HAH!...so another natural disaster will not help this situation, since all of the people that he needs to connect with to get fnished up are intertwined with the rescue and relief efforts around here...grumble, grumble, gripe, gripe - and that did come out really selfishly.
Kellen had an all-around bad day today. Just woke up on the wrong side of the bed...I guess everyone can have one of those days, even a two year old...His teacher said that he had a good day...guess he used up his good behavior on her. Well, that's not entirely true...we did have some fun and good times playing horsie, airplane and coloring between some of the meltdowns this evening. I think he might be coming down with something and/or didn't get a good night sleep last night, so I made sure to start the bedtime routine on time and he was at least in his bed at 7:10...I have the sniffles today, so I hope that he's not coming down with something and that I'm not either.
Here's my bright story for the day...I had an appointment this morning off campus, got into my office at about 10:00 AM and was welcomed by a beautiful spread of lily flowers. The student worker told me they were for me and that I'd just missed the delivery guy. One of the recent August master student graduates, who now resides with his military wife in Europe, had them sent to me to thank me for my hard work and effort in helping him to graduate (there had been some last-minute issues with some of his paperwork but I was able to get it cleared up with the appropriate office and get him cleared for graduation). He just wanted to thank me for the work that I did for the graduate students and to let me know that he, and he was sure the rest of the graduate students, really appreciated it. WOW! Talk about your warm fuzzy. I almost started crying as I read the card, and quite honestly, almost every time that I looked at the flowers today. It was so nice of him to take the time and effort to say, "Thanks" and he didn't need to at all - it really was all in a day's work.
I know that this will come out sounding really selfish, but I want this to be all over so that Matt can finish up with his paramedic tests and get going on his rotations. Yikes! We're a year behind on our schedule with this paramedic plan here...fast-track my behind - HAH!...so another natural disaster will not help this situation, since all of the people that he needs to connect with to get fnished up are intertwined with the rescue and relief efforts around here...grumble, grumble, gripe, gripe - and that did come out really selfishly.
Kellen had an all-around bad day today. Just woke up on the wrong side of the bed...I guess everyone can have one of those days, even a two year old...His teacher said that he had a good day...guess he used up his good behavior on her. Well, that's not entirely true...we did have some fun and good times playing horsie, airplane and coloring between some of the meltdowns this evening. I think he might be coming down with something and/or didn't get a good night sleep last night, so I made sure to start the bedtime routine on time and he was at least in his bed at 7:10...I have the sniffles today, so I hope that he's not coming down with something and that I'm not either.
Here's my bright story for the day...I had an appointment this morning off campus, got into my office at about 10:00 AM and was welcomed by a beautiful spread of lily flowers. The student worker told me they were for me and that I'd just missed the delivery guy. One of the recent August master student graduates, who now resides with his military wife in Europe, had them sent to me to thank me for my hard work and effort in helping him to graduate (there had been some last-minute issues with some of his paperwork but I was able to get it cleared up with the appropriate office and get him cleared for graduation). He just wanted to thank me for the work that I did for the graduate students and to let me know that he, and he was sure the rest of the graduate students, really appreciated it. WOW! Talk about your warm fuzzy. I almost started crying as I read the card, and quite honestly, almost every time that I looked at the flowers today. It was so nice of him to take the time and effort to say, "Thanks" and he didn't need to at all - it really was all in a day's work.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
2 Percenter...
Is what I'm feeling like today...The heat just got to me yesterday and I had to leave the game (for those of you asking, "What game?" - Shame on you - The Aggie game!) I'm blaming it on a combination of meds and total bodily exhaustion from the weeks of health issues...but I just couldn't adapt to the heat at all. And I wasn't alone...it seemed like people were dropping like flies! It was SO HOT! I can't imagine what it would have been like had there been no breeze! Yikes! But, Judy and I went over to the MSC and watched the rest of the game on the big screen TV in the air conditioning...(I know, I know...feeling like a major 2%'er here...), but it just wasn't worth either of us getting really sick. Even with slathering the sunscreen on, Matt looks like a lobster today. I know he's hurting because he actually took the aloe vera with him to work...it has to be bad if he's doing that! I think the sun got to him, too - he had a major headache for most of the day today, despite taking aspirin and drinking an entire pot of coffee...it was just so hot!!
Anyway...66-8 Whoo Hoo & a big Whoop on that one! Way to go Ags!
It was really nice to see Jen & Jason, too...we haven't seen them since the Cotton Bowl last year - man-oh-man, I hadn't realized it had been that long, has it really??? They came down with some friends of theirs and we girls actually met up at the MSC, escaping the heat, and we all ended up going out to eat at, where else, Wings N More after the game. The girls swung by our place, let my babysitter go to work on her thesis-writing (thank you Maria!!!), grabbed Kellen and got our name on the waiting list...45 minutes was not really that bad of a wait...considering that it was game day and all.
To back up, Matt and I actually had a night out on Friday night...Went to First Yell - our first First Yell, actually. Singing Cadets was the first opener...followed by the Aggie Wranglers, then Percussion Studio (I finally got a change to see them, Jen - after how many years of trying to get them to perform Aggieland Saturday?) They were all great, and I actually have one of my grad students that is a member of Percussion Studio this year...I believe that after that little performance Matt and I will be attending their fall show this December, yes sirree bob...We enjoyed all of it, except for the opener comedian...he had some funny jokes, but all-in-all he was NOT a family friendly comedian...and that was what we (and lots of other folks) were there for. There were a lot of people there with little kids, as this is touted as a family friendly occasion...I'm thinking that I'll be hearing some comments about this one at work on Monday.
Bill Envall was GREAT! His bit was an hour and a half long...and I didn't stop laughing for much of that 90 minutes. I felt like I had just been through a marathon ab workout (if I can remember what one of those feels like...). He had us in stiches! I can't remember when, or even if, I've laughed that hard or for that long. We didn't get out of there until after 11 PM...picked Kellen up by 11:30 and he was sacked out. I think he might have fussed for 15 seconds when Matt laid him down in his bed again...other than that, we heard nary a peep from him. The babysitter, the daughter of a co-worker (aren't you guys proud...I'm actually working up a set of babysitters - finally...) was great. We will (hopefully) be able to use her to cover some of the football games this season.
All-in-all a nice weekend...got quite a bit done and despite having two different babysitters on two different days, we really got to spend some time playing with Kellen, too. He's gone on the potty a couple of times this weekend - YEAH!! Although I'm thinking that the pull-ups might not be the best route to go because he doesn't seem to mind peeing on Buzz Lightyear...even when I tell him that when he puts on the Buzz Lightyear pull-ups that he needs to tell me when he has to pee pee and we'll pee pee in the potty and not in Buzz. Hmmm...I'm not pushing this, so I guess we'll just wait and see on this one...
And he was so sweet saying his prayers tonight...
"Bless Daddy work. Bless Mommy work. [Not quite sure why I got a work blessing, but whatever] Bless frog. Bless Daddy work. Bless Shrek home. Bless book. Bless Daddy work."
He sure does love his Daddy! We had thought that he didn't understand the difference between work and home...but he seemed to make the distinction tonight. I'm still not quite sure why I got a work blessing since I was at home, but he blessed Shrek home...so there is some sort of distinction going on there in his mind. Just now quite sure that we can understand what that is. Oh well!
Anyway...66-8 Whoo Hoo & a big Whoop on that one! Way to go Ags!
It was really nice to see Jen & Jason, too...we haven't seen them since the Cotton Bowl last year - man-oh-man, I hadn't realized it had been that long, has it really??? They came down with some friends of theirs and we girls actually met up at the MSC, escaping the heat, and we all ended up going out to eat at, where else, Wings N More after the game. The girls swung by our place, let my babysitter go to work on her thesis-writing (thank you Maria!!!), grabbed Kellen and got our name on the waiting list...45 minutes was not really that bad of a wait...considering that it was game day and all.
To back up, Matt and I actually had a night out on Friday night...Went to First Yell - our first First Yell, actually. Singing Cadets was the first opener...followed by the Aggie Wranglers, then Percussion Studio (I finally got a change to see them, Jen - after how many years of trying to get them to perform Aggieland Saturday?) They were all great, and I actually have one of my grad students that is a member of Percussion Studio this year...I believe that after that little performance Matt and I will be attending their fall show this December, yes sirree bob...We enjoyed all of it, except for the opener comedian...he had some funny jokes, but all-in-all he was NOT a family friendly comedian...and that was what we (and lots of other folks) were there for. There were a lot of people there with little kids, as this is touted as a family friendly occasion...I'm thinking that I'll be hearing some comments about this one at work on Monday.
Bill Envall was GREAT! His bit was an hour and a half long...and I didn't stop laughing for much of that 90 minutes. I felt like I had just been through a marathon ab workout (if I can remember what one of those feels like...). He had us in stiches! I can't remember when, or even if, I've laughed that hard or for that long. We didn't get out of there until after 11 PM...picked Kellen up by 11:30 and he was sacked out. I think he might have fussed for 15 seconds when Matt laid him down in his bed again...other than that, we heard nary a peep from him. The babysitter, the daughter of a co-worker (aren't you guys proud...I'm actually working up a set of babysitters - finally...) was great. We will (hopefully) be able to use her to cover some of the football games this season.
All-in-all a nice weekend...got quite a bit done and despite having two different babysitters on two different days, we really got to spend some time playing with Kellen, too. He's gone on the potty a couple of times this weekend - YEAH!! Although I'm thinking that the pull-ups might not be the best route to go because he doesn't seem to mind peeing on Buzz Lightyear...even when I tell him that when he puts on the Buzz Lightyear pull-ups that he needs to tell me when he has to pee pee and we'll pee pee in the potty and not in Buzz. Hmmm...I'm not pushing this, so I guess we'll just wait and see on this one...
And he was so sweet saying his prayers tonight...
"Bless Daddy work. Bless Mommy work. [Not quite sure why I got a work blessing, but whatever] Bless frog. Bless Daddy work. Bless Shrek home. Bless book. Bless Daddy work."
He sure does love his Daddy! We had thought that he didn't understand the difference between work and home...but he seemed to make the distinction tonight. I'm still not quite sure why I got a work blessing since I was at home, but he blessed Shrek home...so there is some sort of distinction going on there in his mind. Just now quite sure that we can understand what that is. Oh well!
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
He did WHAT?
So I picked Kellen up from day care yesterday and posted on his cubby was a message from his teacher asking me to help her out with the ripping/tearing of book issue. Apparently Kellen had ripped several books in class. Stinker - he hasn't been doing that at home lately. So I go to the next room where he is and his teacher asked me not to leave just yet. There was another parent in the room and I was wondering just what that meant...Then she asks me if Matt had been gone a lot...no...Kellen had actually spent all day on Saturday with his dad, I told her...Matt was on a 36 hr shift Sunday and Monday, but he had gotten to spend quite a bit of time with him over the weekend, even saw him on Sunday morning while Matt was at work when we visited him on the "big truck" that Daddy drives. Well, apparently my little Kellen-man had quite the bad day at school. Not only did he rip up some books, but he had kicked one of his friends while they were taking a nap...in the head...and not by accident, either. I was mortified! Then she proceeds to tell me that he's been pushing people all day long, too. Whoa buddy! What's going on here? I told her that he MUST have been having a bad day because he had been super sweet on Sunday...and he had!! What was the DEAL?
I guess we all have bad days...and that extends to 2 year olds, too.
So we went back to our discussions about books and how we were nice to our books and didn't hurt them...NOR did we kick and hurt our friends. I just don't understand that. He's so compassionate most of the time and hates to see people hurt and upset, why did he do something that he knows would hurt someone else?
Arg...
Picked him up from day care today and was told that he had a MUCH better day today. No incidents to report. THANK YOU GOD!
I guess we all have bad days...and that extends to 2 year olds, too.
So we went back to our discussions about books and how we were nice to our books and didn't hurt them...NOR did we kick and hurt our friends. I just don't understand that. He's so compassionate most of the time and hates to see people hurt and upset, why did he do something that he knows would hurt someone else?
Arg...
Picked him up from day care today and was told that he had a MUCH better day today. No incidents to report. THANK YOU GOD!
Sunday, September 11, 2005
10 Years...Has it been THAT long?
My 10 year high school reunion was this weekend...football game Friday night and then the family picnic on Saturday afternoon at the Perry's Pecan Patch on FM 908. We didn't make the football game because Matt was on a 24 hr shift...but the picnic was a must - after all, I did get roped into helping out with the planning by the good 'ole class Prez...Frei-daddy himself. I had never been to this place, although there were apparently a lot of gatherings there while we were in high school, so I'm not quite sure what to expect from the facilities...
Saturday morning was rough...neither Matt nor I were feeling well - he was coming down with something and I think what has seemed like countless weeks of meds and sleepless/restless sleep nights finally kicked me in the tail. It took me a while longer than I would have liked to to actually get moving...Lots to do...we were all supposed to bring 1) beverages for our families...easy for us...water and apple juice; 2) desserts to share (I had planned to make these on Friday night but kinda' pooped out on this game plan while talking to Jen on the phone...I enjoyed chatting with her MUCH more than I would have enjoyed baking, so no worries there, although I guess I could have been good and done both at the same time - oh well!), so I baked a bundt cake, cupcakes for the kiddos, which I was sure there would be plenty of, and then a batch of no-bake chocolate cookies. I was geared up to make two batches of those, but was just short of 2 cups of sugar, so the second batch got shelved. Waited for the bundt cake to cool and then cut it up...cupcakes to cool and then frosted them - that baking pretty much took a while; 3) folding/lawn chairs; 4) kiddo entertainment...pull together what I think are some appropriate "outside" toys...Kellen's weed eater, leaf blower, and his new sandbox toys...for some reason I remember something about their being a sandbox available at this place - better to be prepared, right?
Prepared...HAH!...in my preparation I take the umbrella OUT of one of our bags...not thinking about the possibility of it raining on us during the reunion...so much for prepared...it ended up sprinking on us for about an hour and a half...and it ended up being so muggy that no one was really in the mood to eat anything...so all of those lovely desserts that I spent the morning making ended up coming right back home with us...virtually untouched. Oh well! Matt took the cupcakes and cake with him on shift (36-hr shift...I'm sure they'll be eating some of that) and I'll keep the no-bake cookies around...Lord knows I'll eat those!!
All-in-all it was a great turn-out and good time. I was the official photographer, which should have meant that my digital camera's memory card was full, but I slacked off on my job (sorry Chris)...with the weather and trying to catch up with people that I had literally not seen in over 10 years...it just kinda' slipped past me. I did take some good shots, and will work up an email to the class asking for everyone to send their pics to me, load them all up on shutterfly and share them with the group...so I think that was the biggest thing that Chris wanted anyway. At least if that part gets accomplished, everyone will have access to the full slew of pics from the weekend. Maybe I should change my title from photographer to historian...that way I won't feel bad about not taking so many pics and will work harder at the compilation and subsequent sharing of said pics...Yeah, I like that idea better anyway...historian it is.
Let me just say again for the record, "I have a wonderful husband!" He let me just catch up with people and checked in with me periodically, but he basically just chased after Kellen and played with him during the entire picnic. And Kellen was a handful. He discovered the San Gabriel river...discovered...literally...I'm really glad that we brought several changes of clothing for him...He played in the sandbox, with the rocks, sticks, ran around, climbed the slimy rocks covered in muck-mud...did I mention that it was sprinkling?...again, so glad we brought several changes of clothing with us!
So we got home and during the drive Matt was actually COLD. I put this word in bold for those of you who don't know Matt well - for the rest of you, you understand how crazy that is and how badly he must have been feeling...(And to chase Kellen around all afternoon with zero complaints...I love you sweetie!). We got home, I put Kellen to bed and Matt went straight to the recliner, covered up with blankets and just shivered...Bless his heart! I was really worried about him going on a 36-hr shift...took his temperature and he was actually running a fever, which he almost NEVER does...I unloaded the majority of the things from the truck that just had to be brought in...He woke up this morning and his fever had broken last night, thank God...He said that he's feeling better, so that's a plus...his immune system just amazes me! What hit him and put him through that would have probably knocked me out for at least 3-4 days...so off to work he goes this morning.
As for today, Kellen and I just had a lazy day. Since we (Kellen) only watch TV/DVD's on the weekend at our house, we watched whatever DVD Kellen decided he wanted to watch at the time, some twice, played with toys, danced around, put some puzzles together, snacked, pretty much did whatever he wanted to do that didn't require me to exert that much energy. I'm still feeling like I've been hit by a truck...I guess weeks of running close to the exhaustion line will do that to you, so I'm trying to take it easy today. I've done some laundry, but haven't been really diligent about keeping it going...Just when I get around to it. I had the idea that I could work on the spare bathroom project, which still isn't finished...possibly as a surprise for Matt...but quickly canned that idea when I realized how much energy it took for me to stumble to the DVD player to switch out shows for Kellen. Spare bathroom? Nah...I'll get to it later. I enjoyed the day much more just hanging out with Kellen and spending time with him. And he was in a snuggly mood today...I really like those days! I got a lot of random "I lub jou Mommy" today...translation, if you can't tell "I love you" - such a sweet little boy!!
Matt called this morning at about 20 minutes to 11...taking someone to the Med Center, so we got ready to go see "Daddy work" and Kellen really enjoyed watching his Daddy drive up in the "big truck" and then spend some time with him. To give you an idea of how much he wanted to see Daddy...he was in the middle of watching Hermie...one of his favorites...when I asked if he wanted to go and see Daddy. His reply?
"Stop Hermie. See Daddy. Hermie all through. Go see Daddy now. Stop Hermie."
It was just so sweet! He was ready to go and see his Daddy that very second! "Where Daddy at?" was also one of the first things out of his mouth this morning after I got him out of his bed. He seems to understand the concept of work...if nothing more than that it means that person has to be somewhere other than at home when they're at work, because that answer pacified him.
We called almost all of the Grandparents today...(sorry MeeMaw, we just didn't get a chance to give you a call today) and chatted with them. Kellen really enjoyed doing that. He's transitioned from me trying to talk him into saying "Hi" on the phone to my almost having to pry it out of his hands after the conversation is over (or while he's giving his Gramma Gerren a play-by-play of Toy Story). He really likes talking on it now. But woe is the person who is trying to compete with one of his shows, which is unfortunately what happened today with some of the grandparents.
Saturday morning was rough...neither Matt nor I were feeling well - he was coming down with something and I think what has seemed like countless weeks of meds and sleepless/restless sleep nights finally kicked me in the tail. It took me a while longer than I would have liked to to actually get moving...Lots to do...we were all supposed to bring 1) beverages for our families...easy for us...water and apple juice; 2) desserts to share (I had planned to make these on Friday night but kinda' pooped out on this game plan while talking to Jen on the phone...I enjoyed chatting with her MUCH more than I would have enjoyed baking, so no worries there, although I guess I could have been good and done both at the same time - oh well!), so I baked a bundt cake, cupcakes for the kiddos, which I was sure there would be plenty of, and then a batch of no-bake chocolate cookies. I was geared up to make two batches of those, but was just short of 2 cups of sugar, so the second batch got shelved. Waited for the bundt cake to cool and then cut it up...cupcakes to cool and then frosted them - that baking pretty much took a while; 3) folding/lawn chairs; 4) kiddo entertainment...pull together what I think are some appropriate "outside" toys...Kellen's weed eater, leaf blower, and his new sandbox toys...for some reason I remember something about their being a sandbox available at this place - better to be prepared, right?
Prepared...HAH!...in my preparation I take the umbrella OUT of one of our bags...not thinking about the possibility of it raining on us during the reunion...so much for prepared...it ended up sprinking on us for about an hour and a half...and it ended up being so muggy that no one was really in the mood to eat anything...so all of those lovely desserts that I spent the morning making ended up coming right back home with us...virtually untouched. Oh well! Matt took the cupcakes and cake with him on shift (36-hr shift...I'm sure they'll be eating some of that) and I'll keep the no-bake cookies around...Lord knows I'll eat those!!
All-in-all it was a great turn-out and good time. I was the official photographer, which should have meant that my digital camera's memory card was full, but I slacked off on my job (sorry Chris)...with the weather and trying to catch up with people that I had literally not seen in over 10 years...it just kinda' slipped past me. I did take some good shots, and will work up an email to the class asking for everyone to send their pics to me, load them all up on shutterfly and share them with the group...so I think that was the biggest thing that Chris wanted anyway. At least if that part gets accomplished, everyone will have access to the full slew of pics from the weekend. Maybe I should change my title from photographer to historian...that way I won't feel bad about not taking so many pics and will work harder at the compilation and subsequent sharing of said pics...Yeah, I like that idea better anyway...historian it is.
Let me just say again for the record, "I have a wonderful husband!" He let me just catch up with people and checked in with me periodically, but he basically just chased after Kellen and played with him during the entire picnic. And Kellen was a handful. He discovered the San Gabriel river...discovered...literally...I'm really glad that we brought several changes of clothing for him...He played in the sandbox, with the rocks, sticks, ran around, climbed the slimy rocks covered in muck-mud...did I mention that it was sprinkling?...again, so glad we brought several changes of clothing with us!
So we got home and during the drive Matt was actually COLD. I put this word in bold for those of you who don't know Matt well - for the rest of you, you understand how crazy that is and how badly he must have been feeling...(And to chase Kellen around all afternoon with zero complaints...I love you sweetie!). We got home, I put Kellen to bed and Matt went straight to the recliner, covered up with blankets and just shivered...Bless his heart! I was really worried about him going on a 36-hr shift...took his temperature and he was actually running a fever, which he almost NEVER does...I unloaded the majority of the things from the truck that just had to be brought in...He woke up this morning and his fever had broken last night, thank God...He said that he's feeling better, so that's a plus...his immune system just amazes me! What hit him and put him through that would have probably knocked me out for at least 3-4 days...so off to work he goes this morning.
As for today, Kellen and I just had a lazy day. Since we (Kellen) only watch TV/DVD's on the weekend at our house, we watched whatever DVD Kellen decided he wanted to watch at the time, some twice, played with toys, danced around, put some puzzles together, snacked, pretty much did whatever he wanted to do that didn't require me to exert that much energy. I'm still feeling like I've been hit by a truck...I guess weeks of running close to the exhaustion line will do that to you, so I'm trying to take it easy today. I've done some laundry, but haven't been really diligent about keeping it going...Just when I get around to it. I had the idea that I could work on the spare bathroom project, which still isn't finished...possibly as a surprise for Matt...but quickly canned that idea when I realized how much energy it took for me to stumble to the DVD player to switch out shows for Kellen. Spare bathroom? Nah...I'll get to it later. I enjoyed the day much more just hanging out with Kellen and spending time with him. And he was in a snuggly mood today...I really like those days! I got a lot of random "I lub jou Mommy" today...translation, if you can't tell "I love you" - such a sweet little boy!!
Matt called this morning at about 20 minutes to 11...taking someone to the Med Center, so we got ready to go see "Daddy work" and Kellen really enjoyed watching his Daddy drive up in the "big truck" and then spend some time with him. To give you an idea of how much he wanted to see Daddy...he was in the middle of watching Hermie...one of his favorites...when I asked if he wanted to go and see Daddy. His reply?
"Stop Hermie. See Daddy. Hermie all through. Go see Daddy now. Stop Hermie."
It was just so sweet! He was ready to go and see his Daddy that very second! "Where Daddy at?" was also one of the first things out of his mouth this morning after I got him out of his bed. He seems to understand the concept of work...if nothing more than that it means that person has to be somewhere other than at home when they're at work, because that answer pacified him.
We called almost all of the Grandparents today...(sorry MeeMaw, we just didn't get a chance to give you a call today) and chatted with them. Kellen really enjoyed doing that. He's transitioned from me trying to talk him into saying "Hi" on the phone to my almost having to pry it out of his hands after the conversation is over (or while he's giving his Gramma Gerren a play-by-play of Toy Story). He really likes talking on it now. But woe is the person who is trying to compete with one of his shows, which is unfortunately what happened today with some of the grandparents.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Baby Genius?!?
Ok, ok...so I may be overreacting slightly. But I finally got Kellen back today (thank you so much Maw Maw and Paw Paw!!) and what he did tonight makes me think - ok, confirms my thinking-that he's got a lot going on up there. Will explain in a minute...
Matt and I left him in Ft. Worth with Maw Maw, Paw Paw and Aunt Boo on Sunday so that he could spend some more time with his aunt before she flew out on Monday...and they had a blast!! Anyway...Matt was planning to help out with evacuees on Monday during the day, which didn't end up happening because it was a holiday and there were many more volunteers that day than anticipated. So, he ran errands during the day, all the while still thinking there was the possibility that they were going to call him to come and work...which they eventually did...and he went here in town and helped out in the afternoon/evening rather than in Houston as originally planned. This was actually reason #2 why Maw Maw and Paw Paw had Kellen - I had to work, daycare was closed, and if Matt ended up helping out in Houston or in town...Kellen was to go where??? So this worked out really well for us. The original plan was that Matt would swing by Conroe on his way back from Houston, so quick-change of plans...and we decide that Matt will try and pick up Kellen on Tuesday. He has to work a 24-hr shift on Wednesday, so there shouldn't be a problem with Tuesday...I was geared up and ready to go pick him up after I got off of work on Tuesday, but Matt and I chatted about how much work I could actually get done with no interruptions, the fact that he could study and try to take a test or, if unable to take a test, get some things done around the house (which actually turned into him helping out here in town).... So, change of plans again and Kellen ends up spending another night away...he's having a blast, barely missing us...(I'm not quite sure how I feel about that, actually). I ended up staying at work until ~9:30...and man-o-man did I get some things done! I can tell that this is taking its toll on my body...even with the muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory meds in my system...my back is really sore...wait a minute...perhaps that could be from this weekend's adventures at Six Flags, too...hmmm....
So anyway...today. The grant proposal is done, off of my desk, submitted. Whoop!! At 5 PM I'm out the door to meet Maw Maw in Plantersville to do the Kellen swap. We had a nice dinner...I think he was a little happy to see me! As we were getting ready to leave, he starts to pull what I've now discovered as a fast one...
"Kellen throw up," he says as he's strapped in the car seat with the car loaded, vehicle started, and Mommy getting into the car, ready to leave the parking lot to head back to College Station.
Concerned, of course, I turn and look at him. "Kellen, do you need to throw up?"
"Yes."
"Does your tummy hurt?"
"Yes."
"Do you need to get out of the car and throw up?"
"Yes."
I get out of the car, tell Maw Maw that I think we might have a problem, unstrap him from his car seat and take him to the grass and start to rub his back. I'm thinking that Maw Maw might have a munchkin houseguest for another night...but I must be a miracle worker, because he - almost immediately - begins to try and climb up me, play with sticks, rocks, etc.
"Kellen, does your tummy hurt?"
"No."
"Kellen, do you have to throw up?"
"No."
Whoa buddy...what's going on here??? Where-when did he learn this one??? As it starts to dawn on me whats happening...I pick him up, walk over to the car, and he begins again.
"Kellen throw up. Tummy hurts."
I open the car door. "Come on Kellen. Time to go home. You're going home with Mommy now."
"Kellen throw up!! NO!" And then a monster appears where my child was only moments before...bucking against me as I try to strap him into his car seat. "Kellen THROW UP! NO! TUMMY HURTS!"
I look at Maw Maw, I'm sure with total exasperation in my eyes...and let her know that I think he's faking it...and will test my theory on the way home. If I end up with puke in my hair, I'll know I was wrong. As I'm sitting here with clean hair...I realize that I wasn't wrong, and that somehow - my child has learned to lie...
At some point in time on the way home, the monster went away and Kellen reappeared...it's nice to have him back. We got home, he was SO excited to see Bailey and by this time it's WAY past his bedtime. So, we start getting ready for bed, changing clothes, bedtime stories, etc. We read a couple of Winnie the Pooh books, then an alphabet zoo book, then I tell him to pick 1 more book. So he goes and picks the frog book that never has made its way back to Maw Maw and Paw Paw's where it belongs. We read this book and then I tell Kellen to get in bed.
"Clifford book - read Clifford book, Mommy!" he begs...
"Do you want Mommy to read you the Clifford book?"
"Yes ma'am."
I know, I know...you shouldn't give in, right? But I haven't seen him since SUNDAY!!! And how can you say no to THAT??? And it's just a bedtime story. So, I sit down on the floor and read him the Clifford book - well, I begin to read it to him, anyway. In this Clifford book, Clifford counts objects 1-2-3. We've been reading this book for ages, so he's seen me use my pointer finger to point to and count the objects on each page as I read the page...don't we all do that as an educational tool? Anyway...today, as I do every so often, I asked if Kellen would count, because in the book it asks "Can you count three ____ (houses, airplanes, trucks, cars, trees, children, etc.). Usually he says, "No, Mommy do it." But not today...today he counted to three...the first time he did it he didn't point to the objects, so I then asked him to do it again and point to the object on the page...
He did it! And actually counted 1-2-3 and pointed to each different picture like he's seen me do a hundred times before...I know that this doesn't count as reading, but man, I'm so proud of him! I got really excited and hugged him, told him how proud I was of him and how proud he should be of himself for counting in the book like that.
He just slowly turned his head every so slightly, gently put one hand on my mouth and said, "Too loud Mommy."
I guess I must have gotten a little carried away and forgot to use my night-night voice...
So we read the entire book that way, and he really only got confused on the very last page when they list all of the objects that have been listed before all on one page...he got confused between the three trucks and three cars...understandably so, I think...
I'm so glad that I gave in and read that last book to him...to think that I might have missed that moment with him...Wow...
*Just for the record, the isn't the first time he's counted...he can count to 10 (at least that's as high as I've ever heard him count), but the first time that he's cooperated with the counting in conjunction with this book.*
Then it was off to bed, say our prayers, which of course start with "Bless Daddy work..." (when he blesses anyone, he says their name and then work, even if they're in the room) and it's night-night time! I'm thankful that he was able to spend some quality time with his Aunt Boo and that I was able to get so much work done while he was gone, but I'm so glad that he's back.
Matt and I left him in Ft. Worth with Maw Maw, Paw Paw and Aunt Boo on Sunday so that he could spend some more time with his aunt before she flew out on Monday...and they had a blast!! Anyway...Matt was planning to help out with evacuees on Monday during the day, which didn't end up happening because it was a holiday and there were many more volunteers that day than anticipated. So, he ran errands during the day, all the while still thinking there was the possibility that they were going to call him to come and work...which they eventually did...and he went here in town and helped out in the afternoon/evening rather than in Houston as originally planned. This was actually reason #2 why Maw Maw and Paw Paw had Kellen - I had to work, daycare was closed, and if Matt ended up helping out in Houston or in town...Kellen was to go where??? So this worked out really well for us. The original plan was that Matt would swing by Conroe on his way back from Houston, so quick-change of plans...and we decide that Matt will try and pick up Kellen on Tuesday. He has to work a 24-hr shift on Wednesday, so there shouldn't be a problem with Tuesday...I was geared up and ready to go pick him up after I got off of work on Tuesday, but Matt and I chatted about how much work I could actually get done with no interruptions, the fact that he could study and try to take a test or, if unable to take a test, get some things done around the house (which actually turned into him helping out here in town).... So, change of plans again and Kellen ends up spending another night away...he's having a blast, barely missing us...(I'm not quite sure how I feel about that, actually). I ended up staying at work until ~9:30...and man-o-man did I get some things done! I can tell that this is taking its toll on my body...even with the muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory meds in my system...my back is really sore...wait a minute...perhaps that could be from this weekend's adventures at Six Flags, too...hmmm....
So anyway...today. The grant proposal is done, off of my desk, submitted. Whoop!! At 5 PM I'm out the door to meet Maw Maw in Plantersville to do the Kellen swap. We had a nice dinner...I think he was a little happy to see me! As we were getting ready to leave, he starts to pull what I've now discovered as a fast one...
"Kellen throw up," he says as he's strapped in the car seat with the car loaded, vehicle started, and Mommy getting into the car, ready to leave the parking lot to head back to College Station.
Concerned, of course, I turn and look at him. "Kellen, do you need to throw up?"
"Yes."
"Does your tummy hurt?"
"Yes."
"Do you need to get out of the car and throw up?"
"Yes."
I get out of the car, tell Maw Maw that I think we might have a problem, unstrap him from his car seat and take him to the grass and start to rub his back. I'm thinking that Maw Maw might have a munchkin houseguest for another night...but I must be a miracle worker, because he - almost immediately - begins to try and climb up me, play with sticks, rocks, etc.
"Kellen, does your tummy hurt?"
"No."
"Kellen, do you have to throw up?"
"No."
Whoa buddy...what's going on here??? Where-when did he learn this one??? As it starts to dawn on me whats happening...I pick him up, walk over to the car, and he begins again.
"Kellen throw up. Tummy hurts."
I open the car door. "Come on Kellen. Time to go home. You're going home with Mommy now."
"Kellen throw up!! NO!" And then a monster appears where my child was only moments before...bucking against me as I try to strap him into his car seat. "Kellen THROW UP! NO! TUMMY HURTS!"
I look at Maw Maw, I'm sure with total exasperation in my eyes...and let her know that I think he's faking it...and will test my theory on the way home. If I end up with puke in my hair, I'll know I was wrong. As I'm sitting here with clean hair...I realize that I wasn't wrong, and that somehow - my child has learned to lie...
At some point in time on the way home, the monster went away and Kellen reappeared...it's nice to have him back. We got home, he was SO excited to see Bailey and by this time it's WAY past his bedtime. So, we start getting ready for bed, changing clothes, bedtime stories, etc. We read a couple of Winnie the Pooh books, then an alphabet zoo book, then I tell him to pick 1 more book. So he goes and picks the frog book that never has made its way back to Maw Maw and Paw Paw's where it belongs. We read this book and then I tell Kellen to get in bed.
"Clifford book - read Clifford book, Mommy!" he begs...
"Do you want Mommy to read you the Clifford book?"
"Yes ma'am."
I know, I know...you shouldn't give in, right? But I haven't seen him since SUNDAY!!! And how can you say no to THAT??? And it's just a bedtime story. So, I sit down on the floor and read him the Clifford book - well, I begin to read it to him, anyway. In this Clifford book, Clifford counts objects 1-2-3. We've been reading this book for ages, so he's seen me use my pointer finger to point to and count the objects on each page as I read the page...don't we all do that as an educational tool? Anyway...today, as I do every so often, I asked if Kellen would count, because in the book it asks "Can you count three ____ (houses, airplanes, trucks, cars, trees, children, etc.). Usually he says, "No, Mommy do it." But not today...today he counted to three...the first time he did it he didn't point to the objects, so I then asked him to do it again and point to the object on the page...
He did it! And actually counted 1-2-3 and pointed to each different picture like he's seen me do a hundred times before...I know that this doesn't count as reading, but man, I'm so proud of him! I got really excited and hugged him, told him how proud I was of him and how proud he should be of himself for counting in the book like that.
He just slowly turned his head every so slightly, gently put one hand on my mouth and said, "Too loud Mommy."
I guess I must have gotten a little carried away and forgot to use my night-night voice...
So we read the entire book that way, and he really only got confused on the very last page when they list all of the objects that have been listed before all on one page...he got confused between the three trucks and three cars...understandably so, I think...
I'm so glad that I gave in and read that last book to him...to think that I might have missed that moment with him...Wow...
*Just for the record, the isn't the first time he's counted...he can count to 10 (at least that's as high as I've ever heard him count), but the first time that he's cooperated with the counting in conjunction with this book.*
Then it was off to bed, say our prayers, which of course start with "Bless Daddy work..." (when he blesses anyone, he says their name and then work, even if they're in the room) and it's night-night time! I'm thankful that he was able to spend some quality time with his Aunt Boo and that I was able to get so much work done while he was gone, but I'm so glad that he's back.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Let's do that again!
Quick recap...So last weekend my parents came over on Saturday a little after Matt left for his 48 hr shift. They had such a great time with Kellen! Dad and I were able to run quite a few errands on Sunday - THANK YOU PAP PA!!
They brought him the Shrek doll, which he just absolutely adores...(see those pictures in the previous post) and some yard toys...a weed eater and a leaf blower...now, along with his lawn mower, he can pretend to help Mommy and Daddy work in the yard when we're outside. He had such a blast with those toys!
And who knew that we had a built in sandbox? We had always thought it a problem that we couldn't grow any actual grass toward the back of our yard...but not Kellen...leave he and his Gramma to it and they'll just PLAY!! Enter the new sandbox toys that they brought, and he's just having such fun...He's a mess, a sandy mess, but having a ball! Such the optimist!
The week was pretty much a blur...work, work, more work (first week of classes, need I say much more??), Matt helping out in Houston with the folks that have been evacuated from LA, Matt's work (as in actual job), Kellen getting sick on Thursday, Maw Maw & Paw Paw coming to the rescue, whew! What a week...But then the weekend...full, but fun!
On Friday after I got off of work we drove to Jeff's in Ft. Worth...spent the night there and just hung out during the day on Saturday. I actually took a NAP a long nap - can you BELIEVE it?!?! We had Allison's wedding in McKinney Saturday night and drove over there from Ft. Worth...reception after that in another little suburb about 30-35 minutes away from that at Matt's cousin's house...Watched the Aggie game during the reception...Yes, we actually did watch the game during the reception...does this fact actually surprise anyone??
Kellen was remarkably well behaved for as full of a day as it was and as late as it ended up being. When we first got to the reception, he went straight for the pool - of course, but Matt caught him just before he walked into the water...They were playing some music during the reception outside, so he wanted to dance with Mommy (no one else...just Mommy...only Mommy today). He was just so cute...Then we got him inside to watch the game and he really like that room...duh...who wouldn't like watching football on a 64" TV and running around on plush carpet?
Then back to Jeff's for Saturday night...no such luck on Kellen sleeping in on Sunday morning...at least not too long. The boys went and got us breakfast and my coffee for the 2nd morning in a row (I could really get used to that kind of treatment) then we got ready to head out to Six Flags.
What FUN! First stop, the horses...Kellen said that he wanted to ride the brown one, but when it got right down to it, no such luck. He pitched a fit as Matt and I tried to put him on the horse and strap him in. So, he rode in the carriage with Mommy, which, as you can see from the picture, was just fine by him. In his defense, he had just woken up from a very short (~1 hr) nap taken in the truck from Jeff's to the Six Flags parking lot and it was taking him a little while to wake up, so it was ok. When the ride was over he looked and me and said and signed, "More. Kellen ride horsie." Sorry buddy-boy...They don't let us just stay on here. He'll learn.
We stood in line WAY too long for the first ride...but learned about the speed pass in the process...Well worth the $$ spent, I say. Maw Maw had Kellen-patrol all day and Matt, Aunt Boo, Paw Paw and I rode the rides...WHOO HOO!! I haven't been to Six Flags in years...Matt says he hadn't been there in 15-20...and this was the first time that he and I had gone anywhere like this together. We had such a good time! Batman, Mr. Freeze, Texas Giant, Titan...man-oh-man what fun!! Got off of the wooden roller coaster with a bruise already starting on my right thigh - I can't do that to myself too much..one wooden roller coaster per trip...that's it - my back was already killing me...Matt, too.
Kellen and Maw Maw had fun riding some of the kiddy rides. If you ask Kellen, he drove the truck and train all by himself. He just looked like such a big boy with his hands on the steering wheel! Man, if we lived a little closer we would have a season pass and be here all of the time! Matt and I talked about using Six Flags and/or AstroWorld as an incentive or reward when Kellen does well in school. I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, but that will just be so much fun!
We left Six Flags minus the munchkin...he stayed with Maw Maw, Paw Paw and Aunt Boo so that he could spend more time with Aunt Boo...he went back to their hotel and apparently had them in stitches and rolling all night long...We head back to Jeff's, get our stuff...and back to College Station we go...get back into town around midnight...Thank you honey for driving...and letting me sleep the entire way home!!
At work at 7:30 this morning and another week, here we come! Perhaps this week will be a little less crazy and I'll be able to get back into my routine of blogging a smaller blog every night...these marathon blogs take quite a bit of time, and I'm missing the cute things that Kellen does on a daily basis, which is the whole point of the blog anyway! Will do better...must do better...
They brought him the Shrek doll, which he just absolutely adores...(see those pictures in the previous post) and some yard toys...a weed eater and a leaf blower...now, along with his lawn mower, he can pretend to help Mommy and Daddy work in the yard when we're outside. He had such a blast with those toys!
And who knew that we had a built in sandbox? We had always thought it a problem that we couldn't grow any actual grass toward the back of our yard...but not Kellen...leave he and his Gramma to it and they'll just PLAY!! Enter the new sandbox toys that they brought, and he's just having such fun...He's a mess, a sandy mess, but having a ball! Such the optimist!The week was pretty much a blur...work, work, more work (first week of classes, need I say much more??), Matt helping out in Houston with the folks that have been evacuated from LA, Matt's work (as in actual job), Kellen getting sick on Thursday, Maw Maw & Paw Paw coming to the rescue, whew! What a week...But then the weekend...full, but fun!
On Friday after I got off of work we drove to Jeff's in Ft. Worth...spent the night there and just hung out during the day on Saturday. I actually took a NAP a long nap - can you BELIEVE it?!?! We had Allison's wedding in McKinney Saturday night and drove over there from Ft. Worth...reception after that in another little suburb about 30-35 minutes away from that at Matt's cousin's house...Watched the Aggie game during the reception...Yes, we actually did watch the game during the reception...does this fact actually surprise anyone??
Kellen was remarkably well behaved for as full of a day as it was and as late as it ended up being. When we first got to the reception, he went straight for the pool - of course, but Matt caught him just before he walked into the water...They were playing some music during the reception outside, so he wanted to dance with Mommy (no one else...just Mommy...only Mommy today). He was just so cute...Then we got him inside to watch the game and he really like that room...duh...who wouldn't like watching football on a 64" TV and running around on plush carpet?
Then back to Jeff's for Saturday night...no such luck on Kellen sleeping in on Sunday morning...at least not too long. The boys went and got us breakfast and my coffee for the 2nd morning in a row (I could really get used to that kind of treatment) then we got ready to head out to Six Flags.
What FUN! First stop, the horses...Kellen said that he wanted to ride the brown one, but when it got right down to it, no such luck. He pitched a fit as Matt and I tried to put him on the horse and strap him in. So, he rode in the carriage with Mommy, which, as you can see from the picture, was just fine by him. In his defense, he had just woken up from a very short (~1 hr) nap taken in the truck from Jeff's to the Six Flags parking lot and it was taking him a little while to wake up, so it was ok. When the ride was over he looked and me and said and signed, "More. Kellen ride horsie." Sorry buddy-boy...They don't let us just stay on here. He'll learn.We stood in line WAY too long for the first ride...but learned about the speed pass in the process...Well worth the $$ spent, I say. Maw Maw had Kellen-patrol all day and Matt, Aunt Boo, Paw Paw and I rode the rides...WHOO HOO!! I haven't been to Six Flags in years...Matt says he hadn't been there in 15-20...and this was the first time that he and I had gone anywhere like this together. We had such a good time! Batman, Mr. Freeze, Texas Giant, Titan...man-oh-man what fun!! Got off of the wooden roller coaster with a bruise already starting on my right thigh - I can't do that to myself too much..one wooden roller coaster per trip...that's it - my back was already killing me...Matt, too.
Kellen and Maw Maw had fun riding some of the kiddy rides. If you ask Kellen, he drove the truck and train all by himself. He just looked like such a big boy with his hands on the steering wheel! Man, if we lived a little closer we would have a season pass and be here all of the time! Matt and I talked about using Six Flags and/or AstroWorld as an incentive or reward when Kellen does well in school. I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, but that will just be so much fun!
We left Six Flags minus the munchkin...he stayed with Maw Maw, Paw Paw and Aunt Boo so that he could spend more time with Aunt Boo...he went back to their hotel and apparently had them in stitches and rolling all night long...We head back to Jeff's, get our stuff...and back to College Station we go...get back into town around midnight...Thank you honey for driving...and letting me sleep the entire way home!!At work at 7:30 this morning and another week, here we come! Perhaps this week will be a little less crazy and I'll be able to get back into my routine of blogging a smaller blog every night...these marathon blogs take quite a bit of time, and I'm missing the cute things that Kellen does on a daily basis, which is the whole point of the blog anyway! Will do better...must do better...
Monday, August 29, 2005
Week in Review...
(Originally typed Sunday night between 7:30 - 10:00 PM...having trouble with internet...)
I can't believe my last post was Tuesday morning...how time has flown by...(wait a minute...don't a couple of my posts start out like that??? hmmm).
Anyway...last week was really full work-wise, but I WAS ABLE TO GET SOME SLEEP thanks in part to the addition of Tylenol PM to my nightly mix of meds...oh well, at this point in time, what's one more med, right? At least this one allows me to sleep and fall back to sleep if/when I wake up throughout the night.. I was able to get quite a bit done at work..(surprising, considering everything that I'm taking...) the orientation on Wednesday went very smoothly..WhooHoo!! Thursday was an attempt to tie up some loose ends and projects at work before school starts on Monday and get things ready for me to be out of the office on Friday...I didn't actually get too much of my projects done, but did put out some student fires, which is really what I'm there for, so that was fine.
Friday I had my follow-up with the TMJ doctor...so Matt, Kellen, Bailey & I drove to MawMaw & PawPaw's on Thursday night so that we could get ready and leave for the appointment bright and early Friday morning. (Why is it that we always make plans and forget about the dog? We had planned to leave on Friday morning and then go to the zoo from the dr's...spend the night in Conroe...but Hello!!! the dog has to be looked after, too). Anyway, we decide to just take one car on Friday morning, since we figured that, if things stayed about the same as in previous doctors appointments, I'll be in and out of the office in about 5 minutes. Sure enough..we chatted about how I felt the medicine was working and he checked my jaw...2 more weeks of this medicine. I told him about the insomniac issues and the Tylenol PM addition..no problems there with him, either, and I was in and out of the office before my appointment was actually scheduled to begin.
We decided to go to the same diner that Matt, Kellen and I had eaten at during our last trip to Houston, the 59 Diner, for a late breakfast. At the diner, we sat in a booth next to three older folks who Kellen just took an instant liking to...A couple named Henry & Dorothy (she says that everyone calls her "Aunt Dotty") and another gentleman named Tom. They just took to Kellen, too. He played peek-a-boo with them, went through all of his animal sounds, described their clothes, hats, etc., named his breakfast guests (Mommy, Daddy, MawMaw, PawPaw), pointed out when PawPaw was taking a nap, and all-in-all just had a BLAST playing with them. We found out through the course of our conversations that Henry and Dotty have been married for 59 years and they've never had any children, (although by the way they interacted with Kellen I would have sworn that they had at least a dozen children/grandchildren), had been close to adopting three separate times but had put it off each time and really regret it now. Tom is a sketch artist, and ended up giving Kellen one of his sketches. He also did the thumb-coming-off joke to Kellen, which really shocked him...he clung to me with a shocked look on his face...poor Tom...I think he was really worried that he had scared Kellen badly and tried to explain to Kellen that it was just a joke...his thumb was still there. After our food arrived, Kellen would periodically stop eating and ask to say Hi...he wanted to turn around and just talk with them for a minute. It was just so cute! Dotty ended up giving Kellen a dollar to use at the zoo...and he gave them all high-fives when we left. He wasn't quite up to hugs, but that was ok...Like I said...he just had a blast with them!
A quick stop at Wal-Mart for diapers, pull-ups, sunglasses, and a harness, which we never did use, and we were off to the zoo. Kellen took a short nap during the drive, and we got to the zoo at about 11:30...just in time for feeding the sea lions. He enjoyed watching that and said that he wanted to go swimming with them. Ahhh...
I can't believe my last post was Tuesday morning...how time has flown by...(wait a minute...don't a couple of my posts start out like that??? hmmm).
Anyway...last week was really full work-wise, but I WAS ABLE TO GET SOME SLEEP thanks in part to the addition of Tylenol PM to my nightly mix of meds...oh well, at this point in time, what's one more med, right? At least this one allows me to sleep and fall back to sleep if/when I wake up throughout the night.. I was able to get quite a bit done at work..(surprising, considering everything that I'm taking...) the orientation on Wednesday went very smoothly..WhooHoo!! Thursday was an attempt to tie up some loose ends and projects at work before school starts on Monday and get things ready for me to be out of the office on Friday...I didn't actually get too much of my projects done, but did put out some student fires, which is really what I'm there for, so that was fine.
Friday I had my follow-up with the TMJ doctor...so Matt, Kellen, Bailey & I drove to MawMaw & PawPaw's on Thursday night so that we could get ready and leave for the appointment bright and early Friday morning. (Why is it that we always make plans and forget about the dog? We had planned to leave on Friday morning and then go to the zoo from the dr's...spend the night in Conroe...but Hello!!! the dog has to be looked after, too). Anyway, we decide to just take one car on Friday morning, since we figured that, if things stayed about the same as in previous doctors appointments, I'll be in and out of the office in about 5 minutes. Sure enough..we chatted about how I felt the medicine was working and he checked my jaw...2 more weeks of this medicine. I told him about the insomniac issues and the Tylenol PM addition..no problems there with him, either, and I was in and out of the office before my appointment was actually scheduled to begin.
We decided to go to the same diner that Matt, Kellen and I had eaten at during our last trip to Houston, the 59 Diner, for a late breakfast. At the diner, we sat in a booth next to three older folks who Kellen just took an instant liking to...A couple named Henry & Dorothy (she says that everyone calls her "Aunt Dotty") and another gentleman named Tom. They just took to Kellen, too. He played peek-a-boo with them, went through all of his animal sounds, described their clothes, hats, etc., named his breakfast guests (Mommy, Daddy, MawMaw, PawPaw), pointed out when PawPaw was taking a nap, and all-in-all just had a BLAST playing with them. We found out through the course of our conversations that Henry and Dotty have been married for 59 years and they've never had any children, (although by the way they interacted with Kellen I would have sworn that they had at least a dozen children/grandchildren), had been close to adopting three separate times but had put it off each time and really regret it now. Tom is a sketch artist, and ended up giving Kellen one of his sketches. He also did the thumb-coming-off joke to Kellen, which really shocked him...he clung to me with a shocked look on his face...poor Tom...I think he was really worried that he had scared Kellen badly and tried to explain to Kellen that it was just a joke...his thumb was still there. After our food arrived, Kellen would periodically stop eating and ask to say Hi...he wanted to turn around and just talk with them for a minute. It was just so cute! Dotty ended up giving Kellen a dollar to use at the zoo...and he gave them all high-fives when we left. He wasn't quite up to hugs, but that was ok...Like I said...he just had a blast with them!
A quick stop at Wal-Mart for diapers, pull-ups, sunglasses, and a harness, which we never did use, and we were off to the zoo. Kellen took a short nap during the drive, and we got to the zoo at about 11:30...just in time for feeding the sea lions. He enjoyed watching that and said that he wanted to go swimming with them. Ahhh...
Then it's off to see the monkeys. At one of the exhibits there is one monkey in particular that is stretching his athletic limits and giving us all a show. It's pretty amazing! At the monkey exhibits there are a couple of other kids about the same age or a little older than Kellen..
At the orangutangs we get a glimpse of the extent of Kellen's "mine" complex when he tells a little girl looking at the orangutan "No look monkey. My monkey."
I promptly told him that the monkey was for everyone to look at and that he needed to apologize to her. "Tell her that you are sorry."
He slowly walked over to her and gave her a hug. "I sorry," he whispered. The little girls mom looked at me and smiled. She mentioned that her daughter was at the same age and going through the same thing, so she understood. Thank goodness.
To the lions next...Lion King, as Kellen calls him, and Nala, of course.... Because of how the zoo is set up with the underground tunnel, we were able to get so close to them and Kellen just loved it! The lion was asleep most of the time...but it was amazing about how big these guys actually are!
Epetants (elephants) were next. Kellen's favorite by far. They were being so active for us! The first elephant was giving himself a bath with his trunk...and a long one at that, then proceeded to get a branch and use it to scratch himself. Then he walked to the fence and started to scratch his behind...then turned and started scratching his teeth! Kellen was just in heaven! It's at the elephants that we get the true picture of the extent of his "mine" complex. There was a set of, I'm guessing twins, who came to look at the elephants after we arrived, and he told them, in no uncertain terms, "No watch epetant. My epetant!" We had to have a discussion about the elephants being there for everyone to look at, not just Kellen.
Then Matt made the mistake of saying it was time to move one...I don't think so Daddy-o. Kellen could stay here for quite some time and it will probably be Kellen who decides it's time to leave the elephant area. And he eventually does, giving us an "All through" sign when he's finished. We take a family photo by the photo-opp elephant...whoo hoo...finally a Hapes family photo without Mommy behind the camera!
Onto the giraffes. He's just amazed by them! "Big giraffe!" We lucked out and arrived for their afternoon snack. This was just our lucky day! Great interaction and activity by the animals! It was wonderful!
Have I mentioned yet that it's an incredibly hot day? It's a beautiful day, but there is no breeze, so we have to be really careful to make sure that Kellen is drinking enough fluids to not get overheated. He has the tendency to get really hot and red, so we need to be really careful about this. Since we've been at the zoo a while, we decide that the last stop after the giraffes will be the petting zoo, then we'll call it a day.
Petting zoo it is...Grab a brush and he's petting the little goats. He doesn't introduce himself like he did during our last visit...maybe he learned his lesson since they didn't talk back at that time. One of them does actually try and "talk" to him, ...he just looks startled more than anything else. And continues to pet the goats. They've added a small water area since our last visit, but we skip it...let's get out of Houston before the traffic gets too bad, especially since it's a Friday afternoon.
Mommy demands one more Hapes family photo...I know, I know...I can be so demanding. But it is a rare occasion when I'm not the one behind the camera, so here we go!
Clean everyone up and away we go...baby wipes are the best! Sleep and snoring ensues almost as soon as we get into the vehicle...Kellen, of course, is the first to go...followed rather quickly by Matt, then Judy, then me...Thankfully, George is driving and completely awake.
Matt and I have plans to have an adult night out...YEAH! Thank you MawMaw and PawPaw!! We decided to go and watch a band called The Mighty Orc's playing at a bar called The Hideaway on Dunvale. He took another nap when we got back to his folks, woke up around 5ish...I layed down and took a little nap before we left, too. We got there at about 8:30, ordered our dinner, which was very good, by the way, especially for a bar...the band started at about 9:45 and they were good! Really good! We enjoyed ourselves. On the way home I made a comment to Matt that it was nice that we were still able to go out and enjoy ourselves - it's something that you read about in a lot of magazines...couples having kids and then not really being about to connect without those kids around...it's just nice that we're able to still enjoy each other. We need to try and do that more often...Is once a month even possible???
Saturday Judy, Kellen & I went to eat a late breakfast at Luby's, then we headed back to College Station at ~11. We worked in the yard, etc...just enjoyed each other on Saturday afternoon before Matt had to get ready to go to work. On a 48 hour shift. He hasn't had to pull one of those in a while. Matt weed-eated and we had Kellen outside with us while he was doing that...it scared Kellen really badly, although I'm not quite sure why...I think it was the loudness of it...so he calmed Kellen down and was able to make that work. Matt and Kellen took another one of their Daddy/son showers after Daddy gave him a hair cut (and Mommy gave Daddy the wrong guard...what was I thinking??? it's a 4, Rebecca...not a 2...but it's just hair, right? it will grow back). Then Daddy left for work...
Gramma and Pap Pa Gerren show up moments later...they haven't seen Kellen since his birthday party in July and this is Pap Pa's long weekend...so combine that with Matt's shift, and it's a good chance for me to have some company at the house and not be all by myself. Great timing! Gramma arrives with a toy Shrek, which is the first thing Kellen goes for. They have a wonderful time with Kellen! But it's getting late, my medicine is kicking in, and I'll have to go into details later....
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Sweet Sleep!
So I had my migraine follow-up yesterday afternoon and all was well. I've had 4 migraines since beginning the medicine on August 1st, and taken 6 Imitrex for those 4 migraines (yes, 2 of those were dooseys!!) I've been marking them, along with the Kellen "special juice" dosage, on Kellen's day care menu that they send home at the beginning of each month. The migraine days are circled. He seems to think that within another month there won't be any circles on my calendar. As far as I'm concerned, I"m thrilled with the results as of now! But he said that he would be dissapointed if I would have 4 migraines a month while taking this medicine. Whoo Hoo!!! Relief!!! What a wonderful thought!
I had the forethought to bring with me the other medications for my jaw...he's a doctor right? So while I was there I also chatted with him about my insomniac phase caused by the other meds. He gently asked if I had considered trying to cure one thing at a time. I didn't have the heart to tell him that if I did cure one thing at a time that I would be going off of the Topomax...I just told him that I had to get the jaw issue under control and wasn't going to stop treatment for the TMJ. I told him that I understood his concern and under normal circumstances would agree with him, but that I couldn't continue to live with my jaw in its current condition. He was concerned that perhaps the Topomax was causing the insomnia, but I pulled out the calendar, showed him when I started the Topomax, when I started the other meds, and when the insomnia issues began...It's pretty clear to me that it's the other meds because it started up at the same time. Anyway, I asked if it would be alright for me to take some Tylenol PM along with these medications to get some rest...expressed my concern about my body not being able to function properly on 2-3 hours of sleep/night for any prolonged period of time. He said that it wasn't a problem and that the combination should be fine.
So...fast forward until Kellen's in bed...Daddy's home (but about to go to a review) and I'm taking my nightly dose of drugs...hoping, praying, "Please let this work...please let me be able to sleep...all night long. Lord, you know how tired I am, please let me be able to sleep." (I don't think I've mentioned yet that I've been up since 1:00 AM...yup...1 AM). So I'm in desperate need of sleep. And, for the most part, I DID! I woke up around 1:30 or so, but was able to go back to sleep (the very thing that has been eluding me all week long), then again at about 4:00 and thought I was a goner for sure..nope! Able to go back to sleep again. THANK YOU JESUS!
I had the forethought to bring with me the other medications for my jaw...he's a doctor right? So while I was there I also chatted with him about my insomniac phase caused by the other meds. He gently asked if I had considered trying to cure one thing at a time. I didn't have the heart to tell him that if I did cure one thing at a time that I would be going off of the Topomax...I just told him that I had to get the jaw issue under control and wasn't going to stop treatment for the TMJ. I told him that I understood his concern and under normal circumstances would agree with him, but that I couldn't continue to live with my jaw in its current condition. He was concerned that perhaps the Topomax was causing the insomnia, but I pulled out the calendar, showed him when I started the Topomax, when I started the other meds, and when the insomnia issues began...It's pretty clear to me that it's the other meds because it started up at the same time. Anyway, I asked if it would be alright for me to take some Tylenol PM along with these medications to get some rest...expressed my concern about my body not being able to function properly on 2-3 hours of sleep/night for any prolonged period of time. He said that it wasn't a problem and that the combination should be fine.
So...fast forward until Kellen's in bed...Daddy's home (but about to go to a review) and I'm taking my nightly dose of drugs...hoping, praying, "Please let this work...please let me be able to sleep...all night long. Lord, you know how tired I am, please let me be able to sleep." (I don't think I've mentioned yet that I've been up since 1:00 AM...yup...1 AM). So I'm in desperate need of sleep. And, for the most part, I DID! I woke up around 1:30 or so, but was able to go back to sleep (the very thing that has been eluding me all week long), then again at about 4:00 and thought I was a goner for sure..nope! Able to go back to sleep again. THANK YOU JESUS!
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