Sam has "Mom Days" and "Dad Days", or "Mom Day" and "D Day" as he says it. But I've thrown things off 'cause I'm home on a D Day. Feels good though. I was coming down with a cold and yesterday ended up working for three hours on work stuff anyway so I decided to take the morning off. Then went ahead and pushed on for the full day. I dunno, I just need a recovery or maybe it is all preventative. Anyway, I'm home and lazy and it feels good. Sam has settled into a nap, I have a Harry Potter movie on (prepping for the new movie out next month -- woohoo!) and fully intend to doze off on the couch. Pile of dishes be damned!
Things are good here. I think I am now officially 13 weeks pregnant so I can begin comfortably telling the world. Though I have been telling people when I see them since my belly is pretty much doing that anyway. So, hello world, I am pregnant! I am feeling much better. Nausea is rare, but not completely gone. I'm tired, but not so exhausted. I think I will feel more of a shift as I move into the second trimester then I did with my first pregnancy. I am still very eager for an ultrasound. Here they only do the one 20 week ultrasound unless medically necessary to do more. Oi. But I guess the weeks are flying by so 20 weeks will be here in no time. And at that point I'm half way through anyway. Boy oh boy!
So Sam went through a potty strike. Caused some strife but it only lasted a few days I guess. I guess once the novelty of using the potty wears off they just don't want to have to stop, pull down pants, and sit and go in the potty. But he's been a good sport of it the past day or two so I guess we're still there. He doesn't like to poop in the potty, but he makes such an obvious poop face and stance that we usually catch him in time for the big poops, though we have had plenty of accidents to clean up. You so look forward to the days of being free of diapers, but cleaning potties, dirty undies -- hard to say it's much better! But we do have a lot less waste and we are certainly moving in the right direction. And I only had one HUGE accident where I got soaked with urine, so that's a plus.
The whole family has been fighting off a little cold. Sam has a runny/crusty nose. Aaron had a bug for a few days but seems better. I'll probably be better tomorrow. This was our first time of all getting a little sick, lucky it was a super little cold and hardly anything to bring us down too much.
Let's see, what other random thoughts/updates... Well we'll have company for four weekends straight! Though two of the guests stayed with Meg and the other two with us so that breaks things up a bit. So nice to see everyone. Up next is a visit from Tom & Jeanette. We only see them about once a year so we're looking forward to that quite a bit. I think we'll be taking a road trip down to Texas in March though to see him and the Texas Nemecs. Should be nice.
I guess that's all I have to say right now. And if I don't get down too it I will miss my chance for nap.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
I'm exhausted. I've been gone all day. Working all day and then this mom's night out thing with the neighborhood moms. Then I came home and Aaron had to rush off to work. So I got the kiddo to bed and I thought, gee, I want to write a blog.
But I left my blog in such shambles. All ugly and green with a header that didn't fit. Every time I went back to it I just didn't want to work on it. So, I decided to revamp the look. But I don't have the pics on this computer so I had to go to the other one. And the new design template stuff is a little confusing to me. And I couldn't find out where I had my header image and what size it was supposed to be and how to replace it. And photoshop was being super slow and I couldn't quickly zip through and resize what I wanted. And the time kept ticking on and I still have a visual mess of a blog. But whatever. What I felt like doing was writing so that's what I'll do.
Sorry it has been so long. I guess I'm not completely done with the blog after all. I thought maybe I was. I guess the big change is that...
dun dun dun
I'm pregnant!
So I want to go through it all again. Because. Well, maybe pregnancy makes me crazy. It makes me all reflective and introspective and curious and pretty much self-obsessed. So obsessed with how things are changing -- inside, outside. How things will continue to change inside and outside. I feel excited and scared and all of that stuff.
Today, mostly I feel worried.
So, I went to this girl's night out with the local moms. The new neighborhood has been really good. There area bunch of toddler's and Sam sort of has neighborhood friends. Very fun. Since I'm really not good at organizing activities for the little one, the impromptu playgroups at the park really are great. We can do them at our convenience and we see many of the same faces over and over. Which is good for a shy guy like Sam; he takes a while to warm up to new people. So the neighborhood mom's needed a night out a few months ago and organized a get together. They had another last month that I had to miss, and now tonight was the third gathering. I was sort of dreading it. I like the ladies, but, beyond being moms, I'm not really sure what we have in common. All the more reason to gather I guess.
I dunno it was awkward, but it was a good time. It was fun to go out and nice to have conversations with them beyond broken exchanges at the park. I wonder if I try to dominate conversation too much. Like if I'm not directly involved with a conversation I don't know how I fit in so I always try to interject. That's super annoying. I hope I'm not like that. Oh well.
Anyway, mostly I wanted to write because all of the other moms had two kids, except for two of us, and the two of us are pregnant (due at almost the same time!). What did I discover talking with these moms?
They are unhappy. They are worn out. They feel under appreciated. They long for child-free moments, which for them are so rare. These were all highly educated stay at home moms (I think one other mom works 10 hrs/wk). I was reminded of all these articles I've read about how having kids seems directly related to being less happy -- some statistics showing those without kids are indeed happier than those with. Is this true? Are all these parents and moms full of misery and sorrow?
I don't feel that way. I guess I feel pretty good, really. Sure I get down, but it isn't because I'm a mom. I don't feel like there are things I want to be doing that I can't be doing. Sure, I get stressed out when Sam is fussy and I have a bunch of stuff to get done and he needs more attention than I want to give him. But everyday I feel this joy from being with him that is unlike anything I felt before. He makes me laugh. Every little thing about life becomes new again. I learn it again. I try to see it through his eyes. Being a mom has made me feel more complete and more happy. I tried to explain a little of this with the other moms and no one else seemed to respond. Is it because they cannot relate? Is it because they have two kids and I just bask in the fun of one? Is it because I am working? Because Aaron and I alternate days of childcare? So we cannot go crazy from consecutive days of caring for a being that needs you all of the time?
Probably it was really nothing. And I am reading far more into things that weren't even there. Probably it was a group of tired moms that looked forward to having a table full of like-minded individuals where they could complain about things like kids and husbands to others who understood. Not that it is the complete story of their emotional lives, but rather a chance to vent some ordinarily pent up frustrations. And I was the annoying one in the corner saying "oh, my in-laws aren't bad" and "oh, sam brings me such joy" and all that junk.
(However, one husband did call his wife and let her hear the kids crying and then hang up -- no conversation...she got the hint, the party broke up, and we went home.)
Oh well, whatever. I guess it left me scared about how things might change. But I feel good too. I mean, I get jealous of all these ladies. Well, I get jealous of everyone. Big houses, nice cars, good incomes, blah blah blah. But I think the simple arrangement Aaron and I have figured out provides a balance we would not achieve if I worked more and had more money (being independently wealthy would be a whole different story of course...).
So anyway, I hope you moms out there are happy in your choices. You are sacrificing, but does it feel like a sacrifice? You are giving and giving and giving, but does it really feel thankless? Does it get that much harder once you have another one? Maybe I'm being a Pollyanna but I guess that's kind of a good and different twist for me.
And for those of you who don't know:
I have a two year old who uses the potty (!) and talks (!) and no longer uses a pacifier to sleep, sleeps in his own toddler bed, solves problems, and continues to grow so amazingly in front of my eyes. They days and weeks and months go by so fast. I do not easily measure the milestones I expected that first year so it is almost as though I miss them. But he is growing and changing so much. He is tall. He is funny. He comes up with his own ideas. He draws pictures of dinosaurs. He is going to be the big bad wolf for halloween (I suggested wolf and he said he wanted to be the "big bad" wolf). He is so fun. I will have to find stories to retell and photos to post. It is too bad I haven't made a record of everything. He is also just such a nice boy. He hugs the kids at the playground (of course, not all of them want him to), he helps kids when they fall down. He is sensitive and sweet.
I am trying to soak up every Sam minute I can before the new baby comes because I know everything will change.
Oh, I'm 12 weeks pregnant at the time of writing this. I think I will post it once I'm 13 weeks along and sort of officially "in the clear". Baby is due end the of April/beginning of May (due dates be damned! but it's May 1st if you really want to know).
But I left my blog in such shambles. All ugly and green with a header that didn't fit. Every time I went back to it I just didn't want to work on it. So, I decided to revamp the look. But I don't have the pics on this computer so I had to go to the other one. And the new design template stuff is a little confusing to me. And I couldn't find out where I had my header image and what size it was supposed to be and how to replace it. And photoshop was being super slow and I couldn't quickly zip through and resize what I wanted. And the time kept ticking on and I still have a visual mess of a blog. But whatever. What I felt like doing was writing so that's what I'll do.
Sorry it has been so long. I guess I'm not completely done with the blog after all. I thought maybe I was. I guess the big change is that...
dun dun dun
I'm pregnant!
So I want to go through it all again. Because. Well, maybe pregnancy makes me crazy. It makes me all reflective and introspective and curious and pretty much self-obsessed. So obsessed with how things are changing -- inside, outside. How things will continue to change inside and outside. I feel excited and scared and all of that stuff.
Today, mostly I feel worried.
So, I went to this girl's night out with the local moms. The new neighborhood has been really good. There area bunch of toddler's and Sam sort of has neighborhood friends. Very fun. Since I'm really not good at organizing activities for the little one, the impromptu playgroups at the park really are great. We can do them at our convenience and we see many of the same faces over and over. Which is good for a shy guy like Sam; he takes a while to warm up to new people. So the neighborhood mom's needed a night out a few months ago and organized a get together. They had another last month that I had to miss, and now tonight was the third gathering. I was sort of dreading it. I like the ladies, but, beyond being moms, I'm not really sure what we have in common. All the more reason to gather I guess.
I dunno it was awkward, but it was a good time. It was fun to go out and nice to have conversations with them beyond broken exchanges at the park. I wonder if I try to dominate conversation too much. Like if I'm not directly involved with a conversation I don't know how I fit in so I always try to interject. That's super annoying. I hope I'm not like that. Oh well.
Anyway, mostly I wanted to write because all of the other moms had two kids, except for two of us, and the two of us are pregnant (due at almost the same time!). What did I discover talking with these moms?
They are unhappy. They are worn out. They feel under appreciated. They long for child-free moments, which for them are so rare. These were all highly educated stay at home moms (I think one other mom works 10 hrs/wk). I was reminded of all these articles I've read about how having kids seems directly related to being less happy -- some statistics showing those without kids are indeed happier than those with. Is this true? Are all these parents and moms full of misery and sorrow?
I don't feel that way. I guess I feel pretty good, really. Sure I get down, but it isn't because I'm a mom. I don't feel like there are things I want to be doing that I can't be doing. Sure, I get stressed out when Sam is fussy and I have a bunch of stuff to get done and he needs more attention than I want to give him. But everyday I feel this joy from being with him that is unlike anything I felt before. He makes me laugh. Every little thing about life becomes new again. I learn it again. I try to see it through his eyes. Being a mom has made me feel more complete and more happy. I tried to explain a little of this with the other moms and no one else seemed to respond. Is it because they cannot relate? Is it because they have two kids and I just bask in the fun of one? Is it because I am working? Because Aaron and I alternate days of childcare? So we cannot go crazy from consecutive days of caring for a being that needs you all of the time?
Probably it was really nothing. And I am reading far more into things that weren't even there. Probably it was a group of tired moms that looked forward to having a table full of like-minded individuals where they could complain about things like kids and husbands to others who understood. Not that it is the complete story of their emotional lives, but rather a chance to vent some ordinarily pent up frustrations. And I was the annoying one in the corner saying "oh, my in-laws aren't bad" and "oh, sam brings me such joy" and all that junk.
(However, one husband did call his wife and let her hear the kids crying and then hang up -- no conversation...she got the hint, the party broke up, and we went home.)
Oh well, whatever. I guess it left me scared about how things might change. But I feel good too. I mean, I get jealous of all these ladies. Well, I get jealous of everyone. Big houses, nice cars, good incomes, blah blah blah. But I think the simple arrangement Aaron and I have figured out provides a balance we would not achieve if I worked more and had more money (being independently wealthy would be a whole different story of course...).
So anyway, I hope you moms out there are happy in your choices. You are sacrificing, but does it feel like a sacrifice? You are giving and giving and giving, but does it really feel thankless? Does it get that much harder once you have another one? Maybe I'm being a Pollyanna but I guess that's kind of a good and different twist for me.
And for those of you who don't know:
I have a two year old who uses the potty (!) and talks (!) and no longer uses a pacifier to sleep, sleeps in his own toddler bed, solves problems, and continues to grow so amazingly in front of my eyes. They days and weeks and months go by so fast. I do not easily measure the milestones I expected that first year so it is almost as though I miss them. But he is growing and changing so much. He is tall. He is funny. He comes up with his own ideas. He draws pictures of dinosaurs. He is going to be the big bad wolf for halloween (I suggested wolf and he said he wanted to be the "big bad" wolf). He is so fun. I will have to find stories to retell and photos to post. It is too bad I haven't made a record of everything. He is also just such a nice boy. He hugs the kids at the playground (of course, not all of them want him to), he helps kids when they fall down. He is sensitive and sweet.
I am trying to soak up every Sam minute I can before the new baby comes because I know everything will change.
Oh, I'm 12 weeks pregnant at the time of writing this. I think I will post it once I'm 13 weeks along and sort of officially "in the clear". Baby is due end the of April/beginning of May (due dates be damned! but it's May 1st if you really want to know).
Thursday, July 22, 2010
stuff n stuff
I am a single mom for a couple of days. Aaron is off to Nebraska (of all places) for one-night art exhibition. He had planned to do this last winter but a terrible storm and car accident kept him from it. So he rescheduled for this weekend. He's sick, though, and that will make it a challenge to do the long drive for such a short show. But he has left. He's going for it.
Sam just went down to nap.
But I'm not alone. Meg is just across the river and can help out, and Aaron's mom is actually coming to visit on Saturday. And I just got a message that she might come tomorrow night. So maybe I just have to manage one night on my own.
Things remain busy and scattered. I feel so all over the place. Like I can't keep up with seemingly simple things. Stuff I feel like I should be able to handle easily. I forget stuff. I ask stupid questions. This move has been hard for me and I'm not entirely sure why. Sure, it's change. And it's scary commitment. And it's hard to move with a toddler. And I'm not able to get enough sleep. And I don't do well with not enough sleep. And there is just so much going on. Already we've had a leaky shower, a clogged sewer line. (I seem to often have water problems where I live and blame it on my completely water-lacking astrological chart -- you astrologers reading this can tell me if that is nonsense -- it may well be.) We have all this other stuff we want to do to the house. It's easy to drop too much money on it, here and there. And then things like Comcast accidentally charging us a second installation fee don't help. I get so angry with Comcast it's silly. I'm only doing one job right now -- teaching. So I feel like I should be on top of everything. But I feel so completely not on top. It's exhausting.
Today I went to a playgroup through the mom meetup.com group here in town! Yay me! But I completely failed. I didn't introduce myself to people, though some people introduced themselves to me. And Sam was being completely shy too (gee, where does he get that??) So pretty much Sam and I played by ourselves while other moms and toddlers played nearby. Maybe I'm forcing it. Maybe I don't need more mom friends. I dunno. I would probably try again. Maybe an indoor setting works better because Sam and I can't just run off to another part of the park or whatever. The park the playgroup met at was right near our house, though, so we were able to walk to and from. But I didn't take the stroller because it is rocky/hilly terrain taking the back path there. And on our way home, we completely got soaked in an unexpected warm summer rain. It was actually pretty fun.
Aaron is doing better than I am at meeting other parents and toddlers. When I'm teaching he often takes Sam to play at the little park near our house and he has met neighboring families. So that's good. Sam, I guess, is still very reserved in those groups. Yet, he's very outgoing at the library lap-sit, which Aaron takes him to (again, while I teach). So I think he just takes a bit to warm up.
I have also been shopping around for a daycare. Aaron will be going to Iceland for an artist residency at the end of August. He will be gone two weeks. It is the first two weeks of the semester and I can't take the whole time off. So I am going to need help. Luckily, it seems some of our friends will be able to watch him a few mornings each week, so I'll take some vacation time but get some work time in. Still, I think it might be good to have more of a scheduled group socialization opportunity for Sam. I don't want him to be too shy or uncomfortable around other kids. And sometimes I really do think that preschools are becoming more and more necessary, just because more and more kids do them. It's almost expected that by kindergarten kids have already had some sort of "schooling". Plus, I do sorta wonder if other people know more how to teach my child stuff than I do -- I mean, I really don't know much about early childhood development and though it's interesting, I don't think I'd be able to learn it all just to teach my own children. I don't know. He's only two. There is time for all of this. But I will say shopping around for a daycare is hard. It's hard to know the right questions to ask. It's hard to find a program that does what you want. I am guessing we'll be waiting another year. But, I guess that's good, because waitlists can take a while.
wet from the rainSaturday, July 10, 2010
TWO YEARS!
So somehow the days just keep going by. I wake up at 6:45 and before I know it it's 10 pm. And in the midst of all of that, my little one has been with us for two years! two whole years! Today, we wish Mr. Sam a great big happy birthday!!!
He is currently napping.
We have moved to our new house. From move til today, sleep has been erratic I guess. It's not missing, but it starts late and ends early. So today he woke up at 7:30 despite going to bed at 10 or maybe later, so he crashed at noon on our way home from the zoo. Hopefully he'll get a nice long nap and we can get back to our regular sleep routine. Tough to have him tired and cranky on his birthday!
We converted his crib to a toddler bed. Jumping the gun? I dunno. So far he has rolled off onto the floor twice. Last night was the second time. Poor guy. SO sad to wake to him crying and pick him up off the floor, shocked, tired, and probably in pain.
This morning we got a donut and went to the zoo! Lafayette has a neat little free zoo that they are expanding all the time. They have a great wallaby "exhibit" and the wallabies have little joeys in their pouches! And the river otters are really fun too. Always swimming around. There is one of those tubes that kids can crawl through too and Sam always likes that. He might like the old-fashioned tractor by the petting zoo the most though.
His grandma is getting to town in about an hour (Aaron is picking her up in Indy right now). We will have a simple Sam dinner (grilled cheese and tomato soup) and cake and ice cream. And, of course, presents! Sam is starting to get into presents -- curious to open boxes and see what's hiding under paper. So that's fun.
Non-birthday updates:
Adjusting to the new house is going well. The first week was rough. Really missed the yard and land around the old place. We also had a leaking shower that required different plumbers to come and fix over the span of like four days. They inevitably would show up when Sam was (*finally*) napping, the dogs would go nuts, and there went the nap. And we couldn't shower. So it was rough. Dogs were having trouble adjusting to lack of privacy/yard and having strangers in their house. Aaron and I were seriously tired because moving with a toddler is HARD. You do not have nearly the time to settle and all of that that you did pre-kid. We had to wait until after 10 pm or so to get unpacking and settling in. Oi. But, finally, on Thursday we got internet so we could finally feel like home. Pathetic, but it did really feel that way. Plus, we're all just getting used to the new surroundings and dogs are getting used to being in a neighborhood again. I, however, cannot wait to get a fence installed.
I'm still tired and scatter-brained and feel like I'm all over the place, but we're settling in. Seems like it's taking forever.
Sam continues to grow like crazy before our eyes. He is talking so much more now. Sometimes it takes me a minute to realize what he's saying, but out of the blue he'll say some new word like "stairs" or "towel". He combines two words frequently; not usually three. He likes to play pretend. We have changed Mr. T's diaper, marched dinosaur toys around, pretended to be airplanes, or sleeping, or whatever. Two is a very fun age. He's getting bigger all the time. He is such a kid. I really think I need to find playgroups for him and stuff, but I'm terrible at it. I've started to look into daycares, but no obvious winners there. I had joined a mom group through meetup.com but so far have not really found a way in, despite some meager attempts. Hopefully I'll figure something out.
So that is that. Now for a few pics:
Signing "Mom" and saying it too
Signing and saying "Dad" (or "dee")
Signing "Sam"! We came up with a sign for Sam -- Thumbs Up!
The elephant sculpture at the zoo. He always puts his head under the trunk to get wet.
He loves drinking fountains.
The tunnel at the otter exhibit
Tractor fun!
First time we've done one of these. They had a step for Sam to step on.
The Erlewines found out Sam was into Dinos. Nuf said.
He is currently napping.
We have moved to our new house. From move til today, sleep has been erratic I guess. It's not missing, but it starts late and ends early. So today he woke up at 7:30 despite going to bed at 10 or maybe later, so he crashed at noon on our way home from the zoo. Hopefully he'll get a nice long nap and we can get back to our regular sleep routine. Tough to have him tired and cranky on his birthday!
We converted his crib to a toddler bed. Jumping the gun? I dunno. So far he has rolled off onto the floor twice. Last night was the second time. Poor guy. SO sad to wake to him crying and pick him up off the floor, shocked, tired, and probably in pain.
This morning we got a donut and went to the zoo! Lafayette has a neat little free zoo that they are expanding all the time. They have a great wallaby "exhibit" and the wallabies have little joeys in their pouches! And the river otters are really fun too. Always swimming around. There is one of those tubes that kids can crawl through too and Sam always likes that. He might like the old-fashioned tractor by the petting zoo the most though.
His grandma is getting to town in about an hour (Aaron is picking her up in Indy right now). We will have a simple Sam dinner (grilled cheese and tomato soup) and cake and ice cream. And, of course, presents! Sam is starting to get into presents -- curious to open boxes and see what's hiding under paper. So that's fun.
Non-birthday updates:
Adjusting to the new house is going well. The first week was rough. Really missed the yard and land around the old place. We also had a leaking shower that required different plumbers to come and fix over the span of like four days. They inevitably would show up when Sam was (*finally*) napping, the dogs would go nuts, and there went the nap. And we couldn't shower. So it was rough. Dogs were having trouble adjusting to lack of privacy/yard and having strangers in their house. Aaron and I were seriously tired because moving with a toddler is HARD. You do not have nearly the time to settle and all of that that you did pre-kid. We had to wait until after 10 pm or so to get unpacking and settling in. Oi. But, finally, on Thursday we got internet so we could finally feel like home. Pathetic, but it did really feel that way. Plus, we're all just getting used to the new surroundings and dogs are getting used to being in a neighborhood again. I, however, cannot wait to get a fence installed.
I'm still tired and scatter-brained and feel like I'm all over the place, but we're settling in. Seems like it's taking forever.
Sam continues to grow like crazy before our eyes. He is talking so much more now. Sometimes it takes me a minute to realize what he's saying, but out of the blue he'll say some new word like "stairs" or "towel". He combines two words frequently; not usually three. He likes to play pretend. We have changed Mr. T's diaper, marched dinosaur toys around, pretended to be airplanes, or sleeping, or whatever. Two is a very fun age. He's getting bigger all the time. He is such a kid. I really think I need to find playgroups for him and stuff, but I'm terrible at it. I've started to look into daycares, but no obvious winners there. I had joined a mom group through meetup.com but so far have not really found a way in, despite some meager attempts. Hopefully I'll figure something out.
So that is that. Now for a few pics:
Signing "Mom" and saying it too
Signing and saying "Dad" (or "dee")
Signing "Sam"! We came up with a sign for Sam -- Thumbs Up!
The elephant sculpture at the zoo. He always puts his head under the trunk to get wet.
He loves drinking fountains.
The tunnel at the otter exhibit
Tractor fun!
First time we've done one of these. They had a step for Sam to step on.
The Erlewines found out Sam was into Dinos. Nuf said.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Toddler Tummy
Oh and a frustrating and confusing rant about Sam's digestion and such -- experienced parents feel free to offer suggestions.
Sam had diarrhea for probably more than two weeks. After just over a week of it not sorting itself out, we went to see the doctor. The doctor had us collect a stool sample to test for parasites. Have you ever had to collect a stool sample for a non-potty trained kid?? They want you to line their diaper with plastic to collect it. So uncomfortable! It kept going up his but cheeks. Poor kid. So we got a sample and turned it in. Didn't hear from them didn't hear from them, then the doc called to say they needed more! So Aaron goes out to the lab and gets another specimen cup. They need to do a blood cult test. They want to see if there is bleeding in the intestines. So they give him the cup and say he can do that or do this hemocult (sp?) card thing. So we decide to do the cup because we didn't know what to do with the cup. By this point it's a good week since our doc appointment and Sam's stool is firming up anyway. But finally we collect it; it's after hours so we refrigerate it and intend to bring it to the doc the next day. We don't. So the day after that (now Friday) I call the nurse to see if it's too old. She said probably, most of the time it has to be within 48 hours, but I should take it in and ask. I take it in and ask and they said it had to be within 24 hours and I should just do the card anyway. I *politely* explain how this is stupid because we've wasted all this time and I'm probably the irritated overly vocal mother that embarrasses everyone. Anyway we plan to do the card and they throw away the old poop that has been sitting in our fridge!! Then another nurse calls to check back with me and explain that the poop has to be back within like TWO - FOUR hours or something. I'm like "how is that supposed to work??" They don't understand why it's a problem -- "oh, do you live out of town?" No, but we share one car, and there is nap time, and he often goes in the evening, and.... anyway finally someone tells me I can go to the hospital to drop off the sample if I need to after hours. Regardless, in this instance we just need to do the card. Fine. I will do the card. By now Sam's poop is back to normal. OH and this last nurse finally told me that there weren't parasites, so I guess that's good news.
Augh. So frustrating.
Now, however, Sam is back to very slow bowel movements -- like every three days. Three days!! He is drinking lots of fluids, eats wheat and whole grain, might have too much dairy, eats fruits and veggies. We now give him the yogurt with the bacteria for healthy digestion...We know to ease up on bananas, rice, applesauce... I worry about this kid. Hmm.
Also -- I'm pretty sure Sam was doing some teething when the diarrhea hit. Moms out there -- did your kids get this when teething?
Ah, to blog about poop. I have no shame.
Sam had diarrhea for probably more than two weeks. After just over a week of it not sorting itself out, we went to see the doctor. The doctor had us collect a stool sample to test for parasites. Have you ever had to collect a stool sample for a non-potty trained kid?? They want you to line their diaper with plastic to collect it. So uncomfortable! It kept going up his but cheeks. Poor kid. So we got a sample and turned it in. Didn't hear from them didn't hear from them, then the doc called to say they needed more! So Aaron goes out to the lab and gets another specimen cup. They need to do a blood cult test. They want to see if there is bleeding in the intestines. So they give him the cup and say he can do that or do this hemocult (sp?) card thing. So we decide to do the cup because we didn't know what to do with the cup. By this point it's a good week since our doc appointment and Sam's stool is firming up anyway. But finally we collect it; it's after hours so we refrigerate it and intend to bring it to the doc the next day. We don't. So the day after that (now Friday) I call the nurse to see if it's too old. She said probably, most of the time it has to be within 48 hours, but I should take it in and ask. I take it in and ask and they said it had to be within 24 hours and I should just do the card anyway. I *politely* explain how this is stupid because we've wasted all this time and I'm probably the irritated overly vocal mother that embarrasses everyone. Anyway we plan to do the card and they throw away the old poop that has been sitting in our fridge!! Then another nurse calls to check back with me and explain that the poop has to be back within like TWO - FOUR hours or something. I'm like "how is that supposed to work??" They don't understand why it's a problem -- "oh, do you live out of town?" No, but we share one car, and there is nap time, and he often goes in the evening, and.... anyway finally someone tells me I can go to the hospital to drop off the sample if I need to after hours. Regardless, in this instance we just need to do the card. Fine. I will do the card. By now Sam's poop is back to normal. OH and this last nurse finally told me that there weren't parasites, so I guess that's good news.
Augh. So frustrating.
Now, however, Sam is back to very slow bowel movements -- like every three days. Three days!! He is drinking lots of fluids, eats wheat and whole grain, might have too much dairy, eats fruits and veggies. We now give him the yogurt with the bacteria for healthy digestion...We know to ease up on bananas, rice, applesauce... I worry about this kid. Hmm.
Also -- I'm pretty sure Sam was doing some teething when the diarrhea hit. Moms out there -- did your kids get this when teething?
Ah, to blog about poop. I have no shame.
Craziness
I need to update my banner. Silly to see winter Sam in the hot and humid summer weather. I guess it's kind of refreshing though.
So, when I post so infrequently it leaves too much to say that I don't know what to say.
We are still trying to buy a house. Today is the 25th. We were supposed to close today. Didn't happen. Supposed to close Monday, won't happen. So now the goal is Tuesday. I hope it happens. The couple who took over our lease needs to get in the night of the 30th. Oi. That's Wednesday. We have to be out by Wednesday. We have a lot of stuff packed. We have a lot more packing to do. But instead I'm writing this blog. Aaron is doing some packing. I have a hard time knowing what packing to do next. Like I need to clear things out before I can know what to pack up. We're running out of boxes. I don't know how many dishes to keep out. I've already had to dig things out of boxes that were already packed.
I'm a sloppy packer. I pack ahead and I seal boxes and everything -- it's not like I'm packing as I load the truck. But I will pack things that fit the box well or balance the weight load instead of good sorting. Aaron is a good sorter, good organizer. I make boxes full of miscellaneous things and label them "liz miscellaneous" this has been a joke amongst us for a good long while.
I'm scared that we're buying this house. It is a cute house. It is a small house. It is on a good street near nice parks with good schools, close to campus, close to the library, close to restaurants...we got a great down payment deal. I should feel confident in this choice. But I'm having cold feet. Home ownership is exciting but always more money, more work, more commitment than it seems at first. These are things that are good about it too -- you get to put money into it, you get to accrue money in it, you get to make it your own. But every little problem you have with it is you problem, and it is a burden. But I think it will be ok. I'm scared to have close neighbors. I hope they are ok. I'm nervous about "settling" though it's something I've wanted for a long time.
A lot of my insecurities come up just because of lack of confidence. I'm teaching again. Bring on the self doubt. The class is going well, the students are good workers -- it's all fine. But if there is anything to ruffle my feathers it's teaching. I guess it just isn't for me. I keep thinking with more experience I will gain confidence. But you know what? I guess I've been doing this for five years now -- how much experience do I need?? (it has been on and off for five years though). Anyway, that kind of insecurity just makes me insecure about all of my life choices and all of that. But really things are good. I should feel good. And I think I do feel good. Most of the time.
We are busy. Too busy. I'm working full time -- or just under, with the gallery and teaching. I can't believe there are couples where both parents work full time. Yikes. We are exhausted even with this arrangement. I get home from an 8-hour day and I'm exhausted. I don't have the energy to pack, to clean house, to entertain Sam with something better than a movie or lying next to him while he plays with cars on our bed. It's terrible. It's terrible to not have the energy for my son. I sorta feel like I'm a wimp. There are so many parents that do this all the time. Surely they don't neglect their children all the time like the way I feel I'm doing? I guess that's extreme. It's not really neglectful. But it sure isn't what I would want it to be.
And then I feel neglectful of my spouse. Our summer at one point was going to be very relaxed; I would work some and Aaron would have time for his art. His time is now all for Sam and moving and house chores. It's taking it's toll.
But we will get through it. It isn't long now, actually. We should close next week. We should move next week. I'll take time off of the gallery next week, only teaching (four hours/day, three days/week). Then I'll work one more week at the gallery and be off until August. Then I have the two job overlap again for a week, then it's back to the gallery only. So it will ease up. Of course Aaron is traveling all over the country and world with art shows, so we'll see how we sort that out. If anyone wants to come watch Sam for a couple of weeks in August, let me know!
I started looking into daycare options in the fall. I thought maybe two half days a week would help. Sam is more into playing with kids and we don't do that too much. And it would ease things up for the two working parents. But I dunno. It's expensive; it's scary. Aaron is probably teaching just two days/week next term, so alternating schedules won't be too bad. I don't know. OH! this is also instigated because the past two years we've had a cheap and reliable sitter living next door -- Meg! But now we're moving, and so is she. She got a good job downtown and just leased a sweet apartment above some downtown shops. Very cool.
So it's change, change, change. But I guess it's good. It is exhausting.
A mixture of pictures:
Playing guitar over video chat with Grandpa
Washing his car. Serious business.
Cake is way more important than smiling for the camera. (Aaron's bday!!)
More serious car washing
Hallway in the house that may soon to be ours.
Living room.
Kitchen
Showing body parts.
This is Sam's pout. He is a total 2 year old. If he doesn't get what he wants, we see this face in an instant. We probably give in too much. Here, he wants me to put the camera away.
My beautiful boy.
Mom, put the camera away!
This is my Sam.Wednesday, June 2, 2010
yeah
So I am finally posting. It has taken so long to post that I no longer wanted to post because there is too much to say, and where do I begin?
I will begin with Sam and his talking, since that's where things left off.
The kid talks. He may still be behind his peers, but he talks. Since last post, the assessment team suggested Sam get speech therapy twice a week. We did one session with the speech therapist and she said that she was surprised they recommended so much therapy. Schedules got busy, almost every day Sam would learn a new word, so we quit therapy. This past weekend we went to visit family in Ohio, and that really encouraged Sam to speak more -- all the new people to communicate with, one of them a very talkative 2 1/2 year old. So now Sam just keeps saying more and more words and putting two and three word combinations together. Sometimes I don't understand him, but he sure is trying. He likes to say "Meg Home" and "Big Building" and "Big Car" and "Pink Ball", the other day he started saying "run" and this morning he said "keys" for the first time. He still does a lot of signing too.
Other than that, the big news is we're in the middle of buying a house!! I still have some jitters and anxiety about this commitment. After owning a home in Michigan for only a short time, Aaron and I were pretty convinced that if we were to buy a house again, it was going to be IT. THE home. I don't know that this is IT. We're not so married to West Lafayette. But we are here. And we like a lot of things about being here. The cost of living is so low and I like my job. But mostly this incredible deal turned up for a cute little bungalow in a neighborhood we like. With parks nearby and good schools for Sam and we can still walk to campus. So, we went for it. We are well on our way and scheduled to close June 30! We have recently submitted our inspection addendum with the fixes we hope they will make, and now we're waiting to hear back from the seller. I hope it all works out ok.
I am still working at the gallery and I'll be teaching a class at Purdue starting mid-month. It ends the beginning of August.
I guess that's a superficial update about what's up with us. Now I'm going to see if I can lie down for a few before Sam wakes from his nap, which could be any minute...
I will begin with Sam and his talking, since that's where things left off.
The kid talks. He may still be behind his peers, but he talks. Since last post, the assessment team suggested Sam get speech therapy twice a week. We did one session with the speech therapist and she said that she was surprised they recommended so much therapy. Schedules got busy, almost every day Sam would learn a new word, so we quit therapy. This past weekend we went to visit family in Ohio, and that really encouraged Sam to speak more -- all the new people to communicate with, one of them a very talkative 2 1/2 year old. So now Sam just keeps saying more and more words and putting two and three word combinations together. Sometimes I don't understand him, but he sure is trying. He likes to say "Meg Home" and "Big Building" and "Big Car" and "Pink Ball", the other day he started saying "run" and this morning he said "keys" for the first time. He still does a lot of signing too.
Other than that, the big news is we're in the middle of buying a house!! I still have some jitters and anxiety about this commitment. After owning a home in Michigan for only a short time, Aaron and I were pretty convinced that if we were to buy a house again, it was going to be IT. THE home. I don't know that this is IT. We're not so married to West Lafayette. But we are here. And we like a lot of things about being here. The cost of living is so low and I like my job. But mostly this incredible deal turned up for a cute little bungalow in a neighborhood we like. With parks nearby and good schools for Sam and we can still walk to campus. So, we went for it. We are well on our way and scheduled to close June 30! We have recently submitted our inspection addendum with the fixes we hope they will make, and now we're waiting to hear back from the seller. I hope it all works out ok.
I am still working at the gallery and I'll be teaching a class at Purdue starting mid-month. It ends the beginning of August.
I guess that's a superficial update about what's up with us. Now I'm going to see if I can lie down for a few before Sam wakes from his nap, which could be any minute...
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