You Talk Pretty

Georgia has been discharged from speech therapy!

When I brought the kids to therapy today, I was told the good news. I didn't even know the therapists' office was considering discharging her, but apparently Georgia was re-tested recently and scored solidly within normal limits in each of the test categories.

So exciting! Gigi, I'm so proud of you! All of your hard work has really paid off!

Talk With Your Eyes

I got my January-is-eye-check-up-month eye exam today. No major changes. That's good, because I just bought new glasses. Stupid me. But I wanted to use up the last bit of money in our flexible spending account (because if you don't spend it, you lose it) and I had to use it before my eye exam was scheduled, so I just went ahead and got new glasses and hoped for the best. Luckily, it worked out.

My eye doctor is really nice. Young. She has a two year old son, a little younger than Elise and Georgia. We were chatting during my exam and it turns out that her son goes to speech therapy at the same place Henry and Georgia go. It was actually really nice to talk to her about our kids' speech delays. It's not like I meet a lot of other moms with kids in speech therapy. The parents that I do chat with in the speech therapy waiting room often have kids that are in vastly different situations-- the kids are much older, the kids have had a head injury, the kids are mentally challenged. My eye doctor's son is in the same situation as Henry and Georgia; he's had chronic ear infections and it's impacted his speech.

So I got my eyes checked out AND had a few minutes to "talk shop" with another mommy. Yay!

Sun Damage But No Skin Cancer

As fair-skinned as I am, and for as many blistering sunburns as I've had in my life, I probably shouldn't have waited so long to see a dermatologist. I went to one today to get a routine checkup. I figured it was time, and Husband was encouraging me to go.

Everything checked out okay. So far so good, anyway. The nurse practitioner that I saw asked me at one point if I had any spots that I was concerned about and wanted her to look at specifically.  I said, "No. Not yet, anyway." She said, "Yeah. Not YET. As fair as you are, definitely not YET." Then we both laughed. I'm not sure why I laughed, in retrospect.

Ha ha! Skin cancer!

Well, I have some sun damage that I can get zapped with a laser if I'm ever rich and exceedingly vain. I definitely have better ways to spend my money right now. Also, the nurse recommended that I put this cream on my nose that's supposed to kill pre-cancerous cells (mostly as a precaution) based on some information that I gave her. I can't use the cream right now, though, because I'm still breastfeeding. The nurse said that I should probably get annual checkups with a dermatologist, so maybe I'll get the cream next year.

I think that one of my grandfathers had skin cancer at some point in his life. That's probably a genetic strike against me.

Ha ha... skin cancer...

Ant Farm

We got Elise an ant farm for Christmas and the ants just arrived in the mail. IT'S SO COOL!

Elise is really into the TV show Go Diego Go. She wants to be an "animal rescuer" just like Diego. So I thought she'd enjoy the ant farm. And she does. But I think I enjoy it more. Hee hee.

The Pee Pee Dance (of Happiness)

Henry is officially completely done with all forms of diapering. He no longer wears "pull up" diapers at night. Just undies. Just undies! 24 hours a day! Woo hoo!

We probably could have pushed the issue sooner and had him out of nighttime pull up diapers months ago. He'll be 4 years old in a couple of months, and I'd say we could have had him completely potty trained at 3 1/2 if we'd really been on our game. He's been keeping himself dry at night for a while now. But we have lots of kids and plenty of reasons to wake up in the middle of the night already. The last thing I want to do is wake up and change sheets and start a load of laundry. I figured, if he doesn't pee, great! And if he does, then I won't have to clean up the mess. What's the harm in keeping the diaper on him at night? But it got to the point where it was glaringly obvious Henry was ready to ditch the diapers-- when I found him using the bathroom on his own at 3 in the morning, I figured that he definitely had it all sorted out on his own.

Mommy happy dance! Yay!

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Me: What was that noise?!?

Elise: Don't worry, Mommy. Henry wasn't REALLY pooping on me.

I don't even want to know...

Clark's 15 Month Check Up

Clark had his 15 month check up today. He is 32 inches tall (80th percentile) and 24 lbs and 12 oz (also 80th percentile). Looks like his size is finally starting to even out. Not in the top 10% anymore.

Poor Clarky got 3 shots today. After we left the doctor's office, he kept grabbing at the leg where he got the shot that the nurse said was going to sting and he would say, "Boo-boo! Boo-boo!" So sad.

Elisey Stories

Elise has been telling short stories lately.

"Mommy. When I was a leaf falling down, I got caught in a spiderweb."

"One time I was stuck in the mud, but a robot helped me."

"I like to take my rocket to outer space. Wanna come with me on my rocket to outer space, Daddy?"

"I don't like to go on that playground because of the tigers. There are tigers there that eat me."

Also, she spent part of our car ride today changing the lyrics to songs on children's shows (mostly Wonder Pets) to include the words "penis" and "vulva." It was funny.

January Is Vision Check Up Month

Because I alone manage the medical needs of five people and four cats (Husband mostly takes care of his own medical needs and issues), I have decided it is time to simplify my life a bit and try to put everyone on a schedule as much as possible. For the longest time, managing Henry and Georgia's medical issues was a tremendous task-- between frequent doctor's visits and visits to specialists, I was in a doctor's office at least once and sometimes twice every week. It was bonkers. But now everyone is current on their vaccines and chronic issues have been addressed, so it is time to make my life a little bit easier.

January is hereby "vision check up month." Everyone in the house who needs to get their eyes checked will do so in the month of January. Husband and I both wear glasses, so we're on that list. And Henry is 3 years old, so he is officially ready to start his yearly vision check ups, as well.

No more "Husband's last dental exam was in October, and I had one in November, and when was Henry's last exam? November, too? Or was it December?..." I can't keep all of that stuff straight. Since vision checks don't need to correspond to birthdays, the way children's vaccines and well visits usually do, I decided to make it easy to remember-- everyone goes in the same month, all in the beginning of the year.

Georgia's Privates

We've explained to the kids that saying something is private means that you don't want to share it with very many other people. Georgia now refers to her favorite foods as her "privates." Mashed potatoes with dinner the other night lead to a conversation about not wanting to share her privates with the rest of the family, and after making cupcakes today, Georgia yelled at Elise, "Don't touch my privates!"

(Georgia is all better today, by the way. Some crazy 24-hour thing, I guess. Of course, now Husband has it and it's making him twice as sick. Dang. I know I'm probably next...)

I Didn't Know There Is That Much Fluid In the Human Body

Georgia is sick. Sick sick. Diarrhea dripping down the sides of her diapers, puke flying everywhere sick. I cannot understand why she isn't just a dusty pile of bones on the floor because I had no idea that she had that much fluid available in her body. Other than the occasional "my tummy hurts," though, she seems to be doing mostly okay. She isn't lethargic or overly cranky or anything like that. We're giving her Pedialyte and just hoping for the best at this point.

Circus!

We took the kids to a circus recently. They all liked it, even Clark (he especially liked the high wire act). It was a two hour show, so their attention was flagging by the end. But overall, the kids enjoyed seeing the animals do tricks and the acrobats jump around.

I remember going to the circus when I was young. It was cool to take my own kids to do the same thing.

She Bit Me

Elise has been a lunatic today. Crazy temper tantrum in the book store, rotten and defiant behavior all day, and then she bit my arm right before bed. I don't know what her problem is, but she better have that shit out of her system by tomorrow because I will NOT be HALF as understanding as I was today.

Where Did All of This Crap Come From?

In hopes that we'll be moving soon (still waiting to hear if the bank has accepted our offer for the short sale of that house that we bid on recently), I've been going thorough some of our stuff and organizing what we want to keep and getting rid of what we don't want. Two trips to Goodwill and a pile of baby gear to consign later, and it still feels like I'll never see the end of it all.

Two adults and four kids sure can accumulate a lot of stuff.

All I know is that I'm not paying to move anything that we aren't sure we want to keep. So, I'm looking at all of this lag-time with the bank as a good opportunity to get organized.

Stop It!

Today at story time at the library, Clark kept misbehaving so I tried to distract/redirect him by laying him on the floor for a second and tickling him. He laughed and laughed. Then started screaming, "Stop it! STOP IT! STOOOOOOOP IIIIIIITTTT!!!" I didn't know that he knew to say that. And it was very weird to see a 15 month old screaming "stop it." How could anyone else in the children's section of the library today know that Clark has 3 older siblings who play-wrestle with each other (while yelling "stop it") OR that Clark is a freaking parrot who copies anything and everything he hears? Instead it looked like I yell "stop it" at my infant so often that not only did that phrase become some of his first words, but they are now his only means of self-defense from a lunatic mommy.

YOU stop it, Clark. You stop it.

The Art of Letter Writing

Henry is learning at school to write his ABCs. When he draws a capital E, he makes a line down and then four lines across. It's such a classic little kid move, like writing an S backwards. Super adorable. When I practice writing with him, he'll actually go back and "correct" our E's by adding in the fourth line later. Silly boy.

Have You Cried Enough Today?

Because I read about Irena Sendler just now and CRIED MY EYES OUT. She saved hundreds babies from Nazis. Saved babies from Nazis! I cried because Irena Sendler did something wonderful and amazing, and also because I can't imagine being a parent who is in such a helpless, hopeless situation that I would hand my child to a stranger (knowing that I will probably never see him again) because that is his best chance at survival.

And now I'm crying again. Fucking Nazis.

Link to the Snopes article

Link to the Wikipedia article

Also, she was a total babe:

Extension of My Sole

The girls got new shoes recently. The sneakers they picked out perfectly epitomize their personalities right now. Georgia picked out pink and white shoes with Disney princesses on them. Hearts. Flowers. Elise picked out black and red Spiderman sneakers from the boys' section. Georgia doesn't hate boy stuff and Elise doesn't hate girly girl stuff, but they are drawn to certain things and it's a safe bet that Georgia will like the cutesy things and Elise will like the stuff typically marketed toward boys.

I wonder if that will stick with them.

Potty On My Mind

Georgia finally peed in the potty at home!!!

Notice I said "at home." She apparently pees in the potty at school all the time.

At home, for the longest time Georgia would sit on the potty for a few minutes and then proudly declare, "I peed in the potty!" when in fact she hadn't. Husband and I would say, "Well, you didn't pee this time, but thanks for trying."

I assumed Georgia had duped the teachers at school, because they kept telling me how she uses the potty. I was thinking, yeah, right... they're just busy watching a zillion other kids and they're taking her word for it. But then the other day as I was picking Georgia up, I asked one of her teachers how her potty training is going at school.

"Great. She's still in the same diaper from this morning. Lately, she's been keeping herself dry almost all day."

And sure enough, she was still wearing the diaper she had left home in. She has a different brand of diapers at home and at school, so there was no mistaking it.

Damn.

So Husband and I were persistent this weekend! And she FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY peed on the potty at home. Here I had been thinking that she's just a late potty training bloomer. Nope! She didn't want to use the potty at home for some reason. Busted, Georgia! We know what's up now.

Oh, man. ONE kid in diapers soon. I'm so excited.

Molars!

During our holiday vacation, Clark kept sticking his fingers in his mouth and chewing on them waaaaaay at the back of his mouth. I figured he must be getting some teeth in, but he never got fussy so I assumed they hadn't poked through yet. He had a rough time when his front teeth were coming in, so I was bracing myself for the intense teething pain he'd get when his molars arrive.

A couple of days ago, I stuck my finger in his mouth, out of curiosity. He has one molar on each side on the top, practically all the way in! Yay for easy teething!

Elise Is Starting to Read!

Elise is starting to sound words out when she sees them. Short words. She needs a little bit of help fitting the letter sounds together smoothly. But she's starting to read!

Watch out world!

Are You Sorry Now?

Yesterday while Husband was tucking Elise in for a nap, she got mad at him for tickling her and she hit him. We then proceeded to try to make Elise say she was sorry.

"Elise! Tell Daddy you're sorry."

(She starts crying.)

"Tell me you're sorry for hitting me Elise. It's not nice to hit."

"Suh... suh... sar... sar... suh..."

"Elise! You need to say you're sorry!"

"Suh... sar... suh... I can't! My words won't work!"

This went on for a while. She could say every other word in the English language perfectly fine, but for some reason "sorry" couldn't come out of her mouth.

"Elise. Tell Daddy you're sorry for hitting him or you'll go to time out."

"Suh... suh... IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!"

It's the worst when kids make you break character (that character being the stern parent) because they've said something ridiculous. Husband and I were trying so hard not to laugh.

She eventually apologized.

Elise Medicine Update: Pepcid

Elise's medicine has been changed. I'm supposed to give her half a tablet of Pepcid Complete once a day. They're chewable, flavored pills... like candy. So Elise is in heaven.

No reaction to the medicine so far. Hopefully the Pepcid will cure her nausea.

Babies and Food

* Georgia has been an amazing eater lately. Anything we give her, she eats. All of it. Cleans her plate. Peas, green beans, red beans and rice, cheddar and broccoli quiche... anything. I love it!

* Clark still has an awesome vocabulary, and the words he says are so clear. Lately he talks and talks about apple juice. "Adda jooz." He seriously loves apple juice. Oh. And goddammit. He's started copying the big kids by saying "what happened?" and "why?" He uses them in the proper context, too. He's always been great about saying things in the proper context. For example, Elise will fart really loudly and Clark will turn to me and say, "Wha happa?" And I'll say, "Elise tooted." And then Clark will say, "Why?" So I'll explain. He also has started asking "why" after he's been given an instruction (just like the big kids). I'll tell him to put his bear back in the toy box and he'll say, "Why?" Ugh.

Well, Scratch the Prevacid

I gave Elise some Prevacid last night before bed, per a nurse practitioner's orders. She's two years old and I was told to give her one 15mg pill. Elise woke up a few hours after bedtime, puked (so much for helping her nausea), and then scratched her body like crazy. Her torso, head, face, arms, legs... everything itched. There was no visible rash or hives, but her skin was all red from the scratching. Husband eventually gave Elise some Benadryl to stop the itching.

I called a nurse today, and as I suspected would be the case, was advised that Elise might be allergic to the medication and that I should discontinue using it. Poor Elisey. I tried to help her, but the medicine I gave her made her feel worse. I don't think that Prevacid is one of those drugs that commonly has side effects, but the nurse said that it's possible for a person to have a reaction to any medicine, so I guess Elise is just one of the unlucky few who can't take it.

Ho Ho Hurl

Elise has been having vomiting problems.

It started while we were on vacation visiting family over the Christmas holiday. The first time it happened, we were in Target. Elise said she wasn't feeling well and that she wanted me to hold her. I picked her up and carried her while I pushed Clark in the front seat of a shopping cart. Husband had the other two kids in a separate cart. As I was walking past the greeting cards, Elise says, "Moooooommy. I don't feel well." And then drenched me in vomit. My shirt was covered, her shirt was covered. Vomit was dripping down her pants, and had pooled in my shoe. Vomit was coming out of her nose. I yelled for Husband to go find an employee, so he took Clark and ran off with the kids while Elise puked all over me three more times.

Get this, though. People were walking by, making eye contact with me. Not one of those assholes said, "Are you guys ok?" or "Can I go get someone for you?" No one. I know puke is gross and whatever, but be a decent human being and at least ask a person who is clearly in distress if you can go get someone else to help. Merry Christmas, jerkwads.

I couldn't leave the spot we were in because there was vomit all over the floor and I didn't want someone to slip in it. So I waited for Husband and the Target employee to arrive and then asked Husband to go buy me a new shirt. While the employee cleaned the floor, I took Elise's shoes off, changed her shirt, and put clean pants on her. I always have a change of clothes for the kids in my diaper bag. Thank god.

Not a change of clothes for me, though. So I had to walk to the front of the store and to the restrooms literally covered in vomit. It was pretty awful. Elise felt better after she puked, so she was doing good by that point. Once I got changed and cleaned up, everyone was okay.

The second time Elise puked was while we were opening presents on Christmas morning. Sorry, Nana. At least it wasn't as much vomit as the first time.

The third time Elise puked, she came into our bedroom around 6:00 in the morning after we'd gotten back home from our vacation the night before and she said, "Mommy. I'm going to vomit." Which she did. On our bed. My side.

Then she threw up this morning. In the toilet this time. (Yay!)

Elise never had a fever, diarrhea, constipation, a bad cold with queeze-inducing post-nasal drip... nothing. None of the other kids got sick, either. I took her to the doctor this morning and the current line of thinking is that she has reflux right now. She has to take Prevacid for the next two weeks to see if that helps. I hope it does. Poor baby.

Maybe a House

Our offer was accepted on a house. We still have a LOT of hoops to jump through, though, so no time to celebrate just yet. It's a short sale, so the bank still needs to approve the amount we offered, there needs to be an inspection of the property, and our financing all needs to come through.

Fingers crossed.

I don't love this house. It will do. It's about 400 sq feet bigger than the house we have now, plus a garage (which we don't have presently). Also there's a porch that can be enclosed and an obvious place to add on by building an addition, if we ever feel so inclined and can afford it. The neighborhood is a little too "suburbia" for my taste, but it's in good school zones and has relatively low crime rates.

It will be nice to move closer to family and old friends. Also the city where we're moving has unbelievably awesome parks and playgrounds. The last time we were in town, some random dad at one of the playgrounds turned to me and said, "I never had a playground even close to this cool when I was growing up," and I said, "Yeah, me either." Then we both turned and looked at our children with equal parts love and bitter jealousy in our hearts.

Good Day, 2013!

We had a nice New Year's Day yesterday. We took our annual first-day-of-the-year family photo. With four toddlers, no family photo is going to be a "good" picture. It's passable. Everyone is looking at the camera and no one is crying their eyes out. That's all I can ask for at this point.

We also baked cookies together, as per our family tradition. We made dark chocolate chip cookies. Everyone helped, even Clark. And the cookies are yummy.

So far so good, 2013. So far so good.

Actually, It's a TRIKE

Because we were travelling during Christmastime this year, we let the kids open their presents early at home. Among other things, the girls got trikes (Henry already had one).

After we got back home, we took some of their Christmas money and bought the three oldest kids bike helmets. Henry's looks like a dinosaur face. Georgia's is Barbie brand and is pink with hearts. Elise picked out a boy's helmet that is blue with dragons and medieval knights on it. I think they love the helmets more than their trikes. They wear them around the house.

Sometimes I accidentally refer to their recreational "vehicles" as bikes. Every time-- every f-ing time-- Elise pipes up and says, "Actually, it's a TRIKE." I finally told her she would be getting a pocket protector for Christmas next year. Nerd.

Elise picked up on pedaling really quickly. Georgia still doesn't get it. She puts her feet on the pedals but she can't figure out how to make the trike go. I've tried showing her and explaining it so many ways. Push down on the pedals one at a time. Act like you're walking while you sit down. Kick the pedals down. Down and around, down and around! She just doesn't get it. She will eventually. Until then, I'll be kicking the back of her trike the whole way down the street.