Bruised Boy

Alex is the one who got hurt, but I think mommy cried almost as much as he did. Even Ella shed a few tears. We keep hoping he'll take more than just a couple of steps, but when he tried tonight, WHAMMMMO! His little face smashed right into the coffee table.

It was immediately big and purple and looked like he had a marble shoved under his skin. He cried and cried for what seemed like forever, but he wouldn't let us hold ice on it. He's still a boy, too tough for that. I wanted to take him to the hospital to get it checked out, immediately. But Troy insisted it wasn't that bad.

He was right. It didn't get huge and his eye didn't swell shut, at least that's the report from when I put him to bed around 8 tonight. We'll see how he looks tomorrow. Regardless, the boy has his first "shiner" and he and Daddy are quite proud of the badge of honor he'll be wearing for the next several days.

Ella just wants to put a Dora Band-Aid on it!

Oh and did you notice his big boy haircut?! He's truly becoming a little man.

The Screamer and the Road Trip

You think you're doing okay, that your child is pleasant, easy-going, and likable... well think again. Alex has turned into "that" kid. I don't know why he seems to have just "flipped the switch," but he's suddenly become, clingy, whiny, and high-maintenance.

I think back just a few weeks to when I was in the hospital and we had to leave them with Kimmie and Gavin. He did great! Kim was able to put him in the pack-n-play, he hung out with the girls during the day, he ate and slept and was pleasant for the two days we were unavailable.

That all changed last Thursday. I dropped the kids at Laura's house so I could attend a lunch with my department and then get things packed up and ready for our trip to Minnesota. Alex did have an ear infection, but he'd been on antibiotic since Monday, the fever was gone, he was sleeping fine, etc... I even got in his quick morning nap before I dropped them off. Laura didn't want him too rested, so he'd be sure to sleep that afternoon. He started crying when I walked out the door at 11:15 and he didn't stop for at least an hour.

Next challenge the road trip. Troy wanted to drive at night. Leaving around 7p.m. would put us in Minneapolis around 1-2 a.m. We had the DVD players hooked up in the car, put the kids in their jammies, and hit the road. Problem #1 it's still daylight and they're still awake. After 3 DVD's, we finally shut things down hoping they'd nod off. Alex was past that point and hadn't had medicine in 3+ hours so we stopped at an exit ramp, in pitch darkness and dug out Motrin to help him out. He was asleep within 20 minutes. Ella didn't sleep until after 11:30p.m. Both kids woke up when we got there, both cried and whined as we all attempted to sleep in the same room, that first night was a nightmare and the first day there wasn't much better. When we went to be Friday night and struggled to get him to sleep, we considered going home the next day, earlier than expected.

He was out of his element, I think his ear must have still hurt, he may have had teething issues, it was a trifecta of awfulness! He finally came around the last day and we had a better trip home. Two strikes, I should have known the worst was yet to come.

Mommy had a staff meeting Wednesday morning. I dropped the kids at Laura's just after 8 and headed for the office. They go to Laura's once every couple of weeks, so this is certainly nothing new. When I called Laura around 11:30 to check on things and let her know the meeting was running a little late, she sounded frazzled and frustrated. Alex had cried when I walked out the door, but that usually never lasted for more than a few seconds, and I had chalked last week up to the ear infection. But this time, he wouldn't quit. He didn't take a morning nap, he was still crying after lunch and after she put him down for the afternoon nap. She even put him in the same room with Ella in hopes of calming him a bit. No better. I heard him screaming when I hit the door and I felt horrible.

He loves me and I know he's used to being at home with me everyday, but I do leave them with sitters on a regular basis and he's always done just fine with that. He's not as adjusted as Ella, but she went to Laura's every day for the first 2 years of her life, so that makes sense.

Since Wednesday, he hasn't had a good night of sleep, he's fussy and not eating well and generally crabby, plus he's developed a runny nose. Maybe I can blame it on a cold, maybe we've ruined him in some way, I don't know, but my great kid has suddenly become the problem child who nobody wants around. Except me of course. Even when he's complete nightmare, he's my little man and I love him to pieces. I just hope I can figure out how to make him that happy go lucky boy again so others can see what they're missing.

39 and holding

I flew to Dallas a couple of weekends ago for a conference through my employer. I could have flown home the same day, but my best friend's birthday was Friday, and I wanted to stick around to help celebrate. We had such a great time and it reminded me of why we've remained friends for so long.

We talked our husbands, our kids, our health, our fears and hopes, we talked about finding time alone to refresh and renew and remain the women we've become. We talked about what would happen if one of us wasn't around anymore and we talked about how we love and rely on one another. It was a great couple of days to re-connect and just have fun with my friend.

It's funny how we talked about death. Not just because of my tumor, but because we've grown up and and we're growing older. It's a part of our lives now. Mortality is still scary at any age!

Most importantly, we shopped, we ate, we drank adult beverages, and we had so much fun! I hope our next 39 years will be full of birthday celebrations together. Maybe we can do the Oprah show for our 40th? or 50th or 60th? If we make it to 70, I say, let's hit Paris again. Our kids should be grown by then!

We're still here... sometimes

I can't believe it's been almost a month that I've been away from my posts! We've been busy around here with some new obstacles and great victories as well.

Alex has cut his one year molars and almost has the "stomach and eye" teeth in as well. That means less crabbiness for all of us. He's expanding his vocabulary on a daily basis. This week, his favorite is "DOORA." He still struggles with Dada, but he's got that girlfriend's name on the tip of his tongue. He's also climbing and crawling and causing more trouble than we ever knew possible. But with that precious little grin, we're learning to pick up the pieces and ignore the bruises as this "rough and tumble" boy learns his way around.

Ella finally tackled potty training like a pro. I mentioned that I called her school to check on when classes started, etc... and they told me that "all the boys and girls at preschool wear big kid pants. They don't poopy or pee-pee in their pants and they don't wear diapers anymore." That was a suggestion from a school and it worked! She stripped down right there in the kitchen and said "I'm a big girl too! I no wear diapers anymore." and she hasn't. We had a few "accidents" while mommy was in the hospital and then out of town on business. (more on those adventures later) but in the last 2 weeks, she's worn her big girl panties all day long, she's started going on her own without being prompted, she only wears 2 diapers a day for nap and bedtime. It's been a long-time coming, but we couldn't be happier that it's finally happened!

I was in the hospital for a couple of days last month. Remember that whole "you're not having a heart attack" episode? Well, it happened again only this time, they found out why. I have a faster heart rate than I should. It's been that way since I had rheumatic fever in college. (let that be a lesson to never think strep throat can just go away on its own because you're a fun-loving college student!) Anyway, they did a whole battery of tests on my heart, blood and brain, which all came back great! So all they've done is put me on a beta blocker to slow down my heart rate and they say that will take care of things. Scary at the time, but now we know how many things are going well within this body, so that's a relief. We also got another look at the meningioma (brain tumor) and we're waiting to hear the measurements on whether it grew in the last 3 months. My next MRI isn't scheduled until October, so this was just a bonus while they checked other things during that hospital stay.

We're heading off for Minneapolis this weekend to celebrate the fourth with our friends Dane, Dena, Deuce & Dutch! It's sure to be a long car trip for the kids but we've stocked up on snacks, movies, and the potty seat! We're looking forward to a great time!