My sweet little patient

When I woke up Wednesday morning, I never expected we'd end up where we did! I guess it's never a good sign when you sit up in bed and your already-awake husband says "Don't panic when you see Audrey." So, of course, I panicked. And when I saw her with her left eye swollen shut, I knew we'd be at the pediatrician's office as soon as they'd get us in. I figured we'd get a shot or something to help with the swelling and we'd be home... not so much.

Apparently, the sinus infection she'd been having had crept into her eye--so we were hospital bound for an opthamology consult and CT scan and IV antibiotics. By far, the IV was the worst part--they'd get the line in and she's freak out so much she'd blow the vein and have to get stuck again. Four lines later, we finally got settled. Then she had to get stuck again for bloodwork... oh, the joy! The nurse just kept saying, "Wow, she's really strong" which is code for "she's making this ridiculously difficult by fighting like a Kung Fu warrior."

She's been a trooper, for the most part. After all the testing was done Wednesday, she had lots of visitors to keep her entertained. On Thursday morning, we found the play room on the floor and she made laps through the ward on ride-on toys and wagon. Plus, my mother-in-law (who so nicely took of work to keep the other girls) came up to visit, so that killed a lot of time too. But NOW we've hit the "I'm sick to death of being here" slumps, so the good news that we will hopefully be out of here by lunch time was VERY welcome!! Let's hope all the paperwork and transport and all the other junk you have to wait on are moving quickly this morning!

Little Mary Mixup Strikes Again!

How you know if your child has strep throat? Get fiberglass in her legs, I guess... or so it went with Audrey this week!

I think I've written in prior posts how Audrey is forever getting herself into messes and sticky situations. Well, not much has changed. If there is something to spill, she spills it. If there's dirt to be gotten into, she covers herself in it.

About a week ago, she was running to the car in the Chick Fil A parking lot with her sister. Amber made it to the car just fine. Audrey ran smack into the bumper of the car parked next to us. Thankfully, she didn't even cry. Later that evening while having an after-dinner snack, she fell right out of her chair and hit her head on the tile floor (yes, tears that time!). I knew I'd have to get that kid into bed before we ended up in the ER that day.

You'd think she had sight problems, but she's been checked and is fine. She's just accident-prone. I hope this is toddlerhood and not a lifelong affliction...

The topper is this, though. She'd been getting up earlier than usual the past few weeks (at 5 instead of 6) and had been night waking. I asked her if anything bothered her and she said no. She never ran fever or did anything else differently than the changed sleep patterns. I chalked it up to either getting two two-year molars she hadn't yet cut or part of this "I want to be a baby" thing she was going through.

Then we went to play outside on our lovely "winter" day in the 70s. She was climbing up on the box that covers all the electrical stuff outside. Had to be harmless, right? I mean, it's in the middle of half our neighbors' lawns! Then she hops down and begins SCREAMING about her legs and won't let anyone touch her. There's NOTHING to be seen, but that's it. She eventually stops and we forget about it--till I see the scratches and rash develop hours later. And then spread to her neck and chest. Poor kid wouldn't sit in the tub (though she tried) and spent the whole night trying to sleep standing up.

The next morning we went to the doc and he said it was likely fiberglass from that box. BUT the kicker is that if she hadn't gotten fiberglass in her legs, we wouldn't have gone to the doc, and we wouldn't have found out she had strep throat. She must have had it for weeks without us knowing!  I immediately started thinking about all the people we likely infected :(

Now she's on meds and sleeping better and the legs are better too--those just needed time to heal.

Only this kid... geez.

Our new baby?

That's right... we have a new baby over here. Well, not that new--it's baby Audrey.

And on a side note, our kitchen table always looks like this... sigh...
Recently Audrey decided that it would be fun to be a baby again and has been acting accordingly. She was already in diapers, so that's no different... wouldn't that have been fun if she was potty trained and started regressing??

But when you see her walking slowly and flapping her arms with her tongue sticking out, you know we're in baby mode (Apparently all babies toddle around looking like they're trying to take flight.) Then starts the "aaah--aaah" babble, which is so pleasant when you're trying to get her to answer you.

Me:  "Audrey, what you do you want for lunch"
Audrey: "Aagh, aagh, la la la"
Me: "How about some chicken nuggets?"
Audrey: ""Aargh, ah, nuggets, la, la agh"

 (We eat chicken nuggets pretty often around here, don't judge!)

Her favorite baby thing to do it eat in the high chair, which in some ways, has perks. She's contained. She has a big tray in front of her to keep the mess contained. She's happy. It's a win as far as that's concerned. But it gets a bit challenging when she's perched up there waiting for a snack and the REAL baby needs to eat. Thank goodness for bumbos with trays!

So long, Santa!

I love the holidays--the decorations, the lights, the music, the time with friends and family, food (ohhh... the food!). Usually by the time Christmas Day gets here, I'm ready for it to be over, but this year was different. I felt like we just didn't have the time to do all the "Christmassy" stuff we'd normally do, like going to see lights, doing crafts with the kids, and watching favorite Christmas movies together. I wasn't even sick of the music on the radio, which is really weird because the station here that plays it only has about 30 songs they repeat endlessly from pre-Thanksgiving through the 25th. Even THAT hadn't gotten on my nerves yet! I had all my gifts squared away, but I just wasn't ready for Christmas yet.

We did our first Christmas on the 24th at my in-laws. It was an all-day affair, but even by the end of the day, I was still excited that we got to do Christmas all over again the next morning. But by the end of the 25th, I had had ENOUGH. And apparently I wasn't the only one. The kids were making us crazy too--Audrey wouldn't open any more gifts, which drove her sister up the wall and she was repeatedly begging to open them for her. They were so grumpy and irritable that from that point on I was DONE. I could have packed up most everything that night and had everyone go back to their normal routines the next day.

I was sick of the cranky moods. I was sick of the mess. I was sick of eating like a disgusting pig and having to keep policing the sugar intake of the kids (which normally can be avoidd because I just don't bring that kind of junk in the house--mostly because I wind up eating it myself.) And I was tired of hearing my husband say to the girls, "Why are you so grumpy? Look at all these toys you just got to play with!" (I mean, seriously, they'd been living on a steady diet of crap with no sleep--you could have each gotten them their very own pony and they'd be pissy at this point!)

We had one more weekend of Christmas to go, though, in New Orleans. I think at this point we were ALL over it. My brother even mentioned that maybe next year we should do NOLA Christmas BEFORE actual Christmas, as the spirit was pretty much gone at this point, and I think he is right. It was hard to get too psyched up about it, and really, all I wanted to do was just get back to our normal, boring, every day routines! And now we have, and it's glorious! Funny how you can't wait for the holidays to get here but once you're into the thick of it, you can't wait for them to be over too!

Bye bye pacifier?

Amber was ridiculously old when she finally ditched the pacifier. Seriously... she was 3 and a half. I never meant for it to get so out of hand, but there was always a reason we didn't do it. First, it was that I was pregnant and she'd already have the "trauma" of a new sibling soon. Then it was dealing with being a big sis. Then it was trying to potty train and didn't want to overlap or interfere with that. Then it was starting school (and continued efforts to potty train.) Then we were having another baby and it was just getting ridiculous. I worried myself to death about it, and when the day came that the last one broke, she gave it up herself. No screams. No tears. Not even a mention of it after she said it was broken and gone. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Now I swore up and down I REALLY wasn't going to do that this time around with Audrey. And there was the whole "going to be a big sis" thing going so I let her keep it till she got used to that (And boy, was that a rough time!). We started collecting it up every morning and after every nap, saving it just for "deaux deaux time," with eventual plans for total elimination. Then she kept getting ear infections--and the tubes/adenoidectomy, which caused ANOTHER infection--so she started keeping that sucker around the clock. She was SOOOO crabby, and I just wanted her to have some kind of comfort... I was getting sucked down excuse alley again. I decided her New Year's resolution was to give that puppy up. There were two left, both full of holes, and when they were gone, that was it. Little did I know that they'd be MIA today! It was rough going getting Audrey to finally lay down--she essentially cried herself to sleep--but she did it. The only problem now is actually finding the two missing ones before she does! I know she'll pop those suckers back in her mouth, even if we are paci-free for a while. I KNOW at least one is in the house, so it's a race to find them first!!

It's been HOW long??

We were out of a "real" computer for several weeks, but NOW I have a beautiful new laptop on my kitchen table! Hopefully this will make it more likely that I update. And thanks to a nap and Dora the Explorer, I'm able to hop on here right now while I watch the "big girls" with half an eyeball...

I had promised an update after the next school party for Amber (which, sadly, was Halloweeen's party) unless things went tragically wrong. They did go wrong--with my computer. But all-in-all, she did pretty well. There was the class picture incident, though--it's where all the kids sat around the teacher on a blanket at the pumpkin patch. All the kids, that is, except Amber. She just stood on the side with her back to the camera. Yep, she's THAT kid. But I am fully confident that had I not been there, she'd be right up front and center cheesing it up for the camera.

I know this because when I "sneak" in and watch her at school functions, she is Little Miss Goody Two Shoes. I was late to her "Santa comes to school Christmas party" last week (due to a particularly nasty blowout diaper--Thanks, Stella!) She didn't see me walk in, and lo and behold, there she is sitting in her teacher's lap, beaming at Santa like she'd never done a thing wrong in her life.

Well, I suppose it's time for me to go... the hubs is home (and keeps talking) and the Dora is about to save the day again anyway. Here's hoping to be back soon!

Shall we hibernate?

Staying at home each day with the girls is not the world's most EXCITING job on a day-to-day basis, so I try to go out and do things. I have the girls in school half a day on Tuesday/Thursday. We belong to a Moms Club and try to have playdate with other SAHMs. However, every time I try to do something nice with other people and have some semblance of social life, I often wind up wishing I could just crawl into a cave and hibernate with my crew.

When I go somewhere with just me and the girls, their behavior is usually stellar. I mean, seriously... I'm usually so proud of how well-behaved they are and how they listen. But SOMETHING about going in public with other people--be it friends, family, school--makes Amber act like a she-beast. I suppose I should chalk it up to shyness--but it seriously ruins my day. I already have my hands full watching 3 girls, but when she starts up, I just DON"T know what to do. Sometimes it's refusing to walk and sitting down in the middle of the ground/road/store. Sometimes it's being ugly and mean to anyone who tries to approach her. It drives me CRAZY because she really and truly is a sweet girl. She is just do damn inflexible! Any break to the "norm" makes her start acting out.

For example, if I go to her school for a party or special day, she melts down. It's so WEIRD! She is GREAT when I'm not there--the teacher is forever telling me what a sweet girl she is, how well she listens to directions, what a big help she is, etc. And she's such a good girl for me at home, doing most anything I ask of her and being so kind to her sisters. But when "school world" mixes with "mom world," she flips out. She wants to be carried. She rolls on the floor. She won't participate in the class activities. She cries and screams. It's so damn embarrassing!!!

I know, I shouldn't let a tantrum ruin my day, but it just makes me feel terrible, as I know I come off looking like one of the following:

1. Push-over mom: If I cater to her tantrum, then I look like a wishy-washy mom who lets her kids walk all over her. Which in turn would likely cause MORE tantrums. She looks like a spoiled brat that does this all the time to get her way. WHICH SHE DOESN'T DO AT HOME. But who would believe me?

2. Crazy mama: I have to get mean. This could be picking her up and fussing at her, threatening to leave, walk off while she's rolling on the floor in hopes she'll get up and follow me, etc. I don't want to come off as a crazy, screaming mom, but I find myself growling at her or fussing at her for acting like such a fool.

So after the tantrum is over, she goes about on her merry way, not letting it bother her in the least. And I am left stewing about what a bunch of crazy fools we look like. I know it shouldn't matter to me what anyone thinks we look like, but I feel like a jackass. I just don't know what to do with this girl!

Well, tomorrow is her class Halloween party. She swears she will be "extra super happy" if I come, and I have told her she better doggone well not act like a hooligan when I get there. I could opt not to go, but I don't want her to be the only child whose mother doesn't make all these little preschool events. So here's hoping for the best... but I know the whole time I'll be geared up worrying she'll erupt at any given moment.

Tomorrow I'll have to update with the "results" of the class party. If not, then you'll know I went into hibernation with my crew.

Big girl bed #2

We officially now have only one child left in a crib. Well, technically, that one has never slept in a crib yet, but she's the only one left. We had to put Miss Audrey in a her "big girl" toddler bed unexpectedly yesterday. When I went to get her out from her nap, she had so much leg and lower torso over the rail, I know for sure she could kamikaze out of there. And of course, I was immediately gripped by "The Fear," as so appropriately named by the ladies of Rants from Mommyland (a favorite blog I read.)

As defined on their blog: "The Fear: irrational, all-consuming anxiety that something awful may happen to the little terror suspects (or their father). Sex offenders, drunk drivers, and enemy combatants among those who inspire The Fear. Results in statements like; "No you may NOT walk to the mailbox without a grown-up. I don't care if you are in High School."

The Fear is basically the way that I am always scared poopless that something horrible is going to happen to my children. So of course, my great fear at this point was that leaving the crib up for one second longer would result in my child possibly falling out and breaking her neck and killing herself. Likely to happen--absolutely not. But will I worry about it incessantly and not be able to sleep if my child is in that crib one more time--you bet!

So within an hour, the crib was converted to toddler bed. I guess I should be glad we made 2 years and 3 months still in a crib! So far, no big issues except that when she wakes up, she gets up and begins beating on the door. No more letting her just play in there for a few minutes after waking. When she's up, she's out!

Now, if we could just get Stella to sleep longer than 3-hour intervals at this point, we could move her fanny to the crib....

Oh, they grow so fast...

Today was Amber's last day of school before her birthday on Sunday, so I offered to bring a special treat for the kids. So naturally, I was baking cookies and putting on frosting way past when I should have been in bed last night, but I digress...

When I woke her up this morning for school, I said "Good morning! Happy UNbirthday!" She sat up and stretched out her arms and said "WOW, Mama! Look at my arms how long they are! I grew FAST last night!" Playing into this, I told her to look at her pajama pants. The cuffs were pushed up around her mid-calves.

She looked down and saw how short they looked. When she looked back up at me, her eyes were wide with excitement! "Mama, I grew REALLY REALLY fast last night!"

The child was certain that because today was a "birthday" of sorts, she had grown overnight! She couldn't wait to run out and tell Jay to look at her and see how big she'd gotten. Then she proceeded to tell anyone who would listen how big she was now because she's growing so fast!

Oh, the sweet innocence... brings a smile to my face every time I think of it!

Theme Week

It appears we have a theme running around here this past week, and that theme has been "puke on mom" week. Lovely.

It started with Audrey climbing down the stairs on the swingset. She wanted me to hold her--how sweet! And then she puked all over me and herself. I stripped it down in the backyard and headed for the house. Hope none of the neighbors were watching but that was too nasty to stay in for one second longer.

The baby was coughing so much from her cold a few days later that she puked all over me and the couch at 2 AM. That was fun.

Then last night with the lights off I sat down in the recliner to rock the baby to sleep. My pants felt a little bit damp, so I wiped my hand back there to check it out. Doggie barf (which was identified by its Purina-rific smell). All over the butt of my pants (and the recliner!)

This morning Amber got up and threw up all over the floor. But I just feel a little left out here because it didn't ACTUALLY get on me, other than when I was washing her off in the tub. Just didn't quite hit that 100%. I'm a high achiever, I know...

But seriously--can we get some good health over here?!?! Since about 10 days ago, we've all had various combinations of the following: extreme diarrhea, vomiting, strep throat, ear infections, cold, and cough. My kitchen counter looks like a micro-Walgreens!

Living on the crazy train

So as brought to my attention today, it has been quite some time since I blogged on here. During part of that break, I was pretty much computer-less (unless you count the fossil in the back of the house which does not lend itself to blogging time with 3 children underfoot).

I guess when Stella was born, I stepped aboard the crazy train and that sucker hasn't made any stops yet!! Actually, I must have boarded when she was about 1 month old, and this is what life has been like in a nutshell..

1. Baby gets super fussy at 1 month old, and begin the reflux medication trials.
2. Husband has hemorrhoid surgery (and several followup visits)
3. Husband has second surgery because he didn't rest like he was supposed to after first surgery (cue major league aggravation and more followup visits)
4. Baby gets an upper GI, sees pediatric gastroenterologist.Yet another med.
5. Baby see second ped GI, and determination of milk protein intolerance is made.
6. Mama stops eating dairy foods. A little tricky, but good for the diet.
7. Husband goes to Virginia for 3 weeks. Takes laptop AKA lifeline to outside world.
8. Big girls start school and mama's guilt is through the roof every time they cry.
9. Whole family is sick with one or more of the following: Cold, cough, strep throat, chronic diarrhea, occasional vomiting. 3 doctor visits in 1.5 weeks.


And we're stuck at #9 right now. Good times. But whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right??

And I'm not meaning this as a complaining post--I really have to look at it more like humorous... and also so one day when I am totally blank on what happened in the first half of Stella's life, I can look back at this and say "OOOOH yeah! And I did it on no sleep, too, baby!"

Happy Katrina-versary?

Well today marks the 6th year since Katrina hit, and as expected, I haven't seen much in the way of publicity over this--and understandably so. In the wake of Hurricane Irene's destruction just this weekend, on top of the earthquake in the same area last week, I think it would be a shame to snub coverage of those folks in lieu of marking the anniversary of a DIFFERENT storm.

But this anniversary stands out to me a bit more because it's the first one where the calendar year lines up the same as in 2005--the first one where the 29th has been a Monday again. All last night when I'd wake up to feed Stella, I had the worst time trying to go back to sleep. My mind just kept racing back to the wee hours of THAT August 29th, when we were all hunkered down in our house, just waiting for Katrina to get there. At this point you knew it was too late to get out, so you just braced yourself for what you knew was coming, and I don't think our lives have ever been the same since.

This morning I was telling Jay about my rough night and he said "Well, at least it wasn't anything traumatic that you went through," comparing my experience to that of soldiers who watched people being killed. And true enough, we were quite lucky not to have suffered any deaths among our family and friends. Thank God for that.

But there is something profoundly shaking about watching the world you grew up in just start to crumble around you. And by this I don't just mean the infrastructure--I mean the crumbling of hope and of morality and general order. I'll never forget hearing people screaming for help from their rooftops in the middle of the night. I'll never forget watching people break into the CHURCH SUPPLY HOUSE down the road from us. And I'll never forget the fear we had that we just might not make it out of this alive and just how close we came to being the ones who would have been stranded on our roof should that levee have given way on our side!

However, this anniversary also marks some great things for me. Going through something like this helped me to re-evaluate what was REALLY important in my life and make that a priority. I was able to just let go of the "stuff" and be thankful for the wonderful friends and family I have. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that six years later I'd be sitting here with three sweet little girls in my care. If it weren't for Katrina, I'd never have met my husband, and I'd never have these wonderful babies.

Though I'm sure not true for everyone, at least for me, the silver lining far outweighs the cloud...

Getting so big!

Every now and then you catch one of the girls doing something more "mature," and you realize you've just witnessed them grow up just a teensy bit right before your eyes... It's a great feeling, knowing you're helping to shape them into the person you want them to be. And it's also a sad feeling, realize they're just one step further from babyhood.

For the last couple nights, Amber has started doing a lot of the things I would do for her all by herself--WITHOUT BEING ASKED--before bedtime. She took off her clothes, changed into some new underwear (we were skipping the bath because we hadn't even walked outdoors and I was pooped!), went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and got her room all ready for the "bedtime routine," including picking out a book for us to share in her rocker. She was so proud of herself, and I was too, of course!

She's even been pretty good lately about picking up her room (or Audrey's room, if that's where they've been playing). And she never ceases to amaze me how she will help out her sisters--putting in a lost pacifier, handing over a toy, getting a juice cup, etc. She really is a big help to me, even at three! Who'd have guessed? But most anytime I ask her to get something or do something for me when I'm tied up (or hooked up nursing), she generally does her best to help me out. It really does make me proud...

AND YET, why does the thought of her growing up make me a little sad?? I mean, we raise our children so they can be independent and self-sufficient. And we CERTAINLY wouldn't want to be wiping butts and filling up snack cups for the next 18 years, BUT it still makes me just a little bitty bit sad. I guess it's because I just love them so much for who they are RIGHT NOW and am enjoying the innocence and sweetness of these preschool years. And maybe it's knowing that once this day is gone, it's GONE and there's no going back.

I just have to remember that tomorrow will hold joys and surprises (and problems) that I can't anticipate, so I need to enjoy today for what it is and be excited for the promise of the future. When Amber was a baby, I could never anticipate how much I would LOVE her at age 3, so who knows what great things will be in store for us both when she's 4, or 10 or 16?

I think this is one of the paradoxes of motherhood--wanting your children to grow up into great people but still always yearning to keep them as your little babies!

Comments?

Ok, so sorry to anyone who left a comment for any of the last few posts. Like a big dummy, I didn't think to check and now realize there were several on there I hadn't read before. BUT thank you for your kind words, and now I know to check comments more often!!

Is there some way to get an email notification when someone comments? That would be great if there was...

Biggest Loser

It never ceases to amaze me how easily Audrey loses things. She loses small things, but it's the big stuff that gets me. For instance, she likes to sleep with two dolls, a stuffed duck, and stuffed monkey. AND I COULDN'T FIND ANY OF THEM. Seriously, how do you misplace FOUR stuffed animals? Well, you shove them into bags, ride-on toys, strollers, and the play kitchen.

This evening's missing item: a pacifier. This is a frequently lost item. We used to have a bunch of them but she lost a bunch and chewed through the rest. So I wound up having to buy 2 more, but one of those is now missing. I've found them in crazy places before--the pantry, the dog kennel water bowl--so who knows where it is. And I've looked everywhere.... wonder how many times she's going to wake up tonight looking for it :o(

Now, I know she's getting too big for the "nu-nu," but with all the stress of the new baby, taking that away was the last thing I wanted to do. Only in the last week or so have I felt like we're FINALLY getting past some of that (specifically, the sleep issue and resulting major-league tantrums), so I'm only remotely considering weaning her from the pacifiers at this point.

But I sure do hope I don't end up having to buy a couple more in the meantime--though it sure would be nice not to do the "Great Nu-Nu Hunt" before each nap and bedtime!!

Banshee problem solved?

Apparently the solution to the banshee problem was LOTS of sleep. At least, I hope that's the end of it...

Audrey was a good 2-3 hour napper during the day and almost overnight she started taking like 20-30 minute naps. AND night waking. AND getting up at the crack of dawn. So needless to say, she wasn't getting a whole lot of sleep for the last few weeks. And it wasn't for lack of us trying to get her to stay down. We did every little trick we could think of (or read about) to get her to stay down, but to no avail...

And like MAGIC on Thursday morning she slept like crazy. Woke up at 11, but was a banshee again (see previous post) and then napped again at 3 BY REQUEST! Well, I hesitated to put her to bed TOO early because I feared the early riser, but she went down by about 8:30 and slept till NINE this morning.

I saw the banshee rears its little head slightly around noon, and put her down again for a nice long nap. And like magic, no episodes today! I could SURE get used to this!!!

Late morning surprise

Audrey has been waking up around 6:15 or so pretty consistently these days. So when she and Amber both started sleeping past 8:00 this morning, I was stoked. Too bad I was up since 6 ANYWAY with itty bitty missy, but it allowed me time to keep reading the last Harry Potter book, which I could NOT put down!! Then 9:00 came and went. And 10:00, when Amber finally showed her face, Audrey was still sawing logs.

I took a quick peek into her room, trying to be sneaky so she wouldn't see me if she WAS awake and I could milk out a few more minutes of peace. It's dim in her room from the room darkening shade, and I was peeking around the corner of the closet... but I could have SWORN the kid was naked. "Oh no," I told myself, "she's just got on that light yellow pj that is looking flesh tone in this light."

WELL, when she finally woke up at ELEVEN, I went in to find her BUCK NAKED except for socks. All the animals and pjs and diaper were on the floor. Hoping she had just done this, I checked out the status of the sheet--sopping wet. Socks--could be wrung out they were so full of pee. Then I noticed that her hair was wet too :o( I guess she had been peeing in that bed all night and rolling around in it.

NASTY!!!!

And of course she ratchets up her banshee yell (see previous post), making cleanup a complete nightmare. Good times.. We won't be wearing those jammies again, and if she wakes up like that again tomorrow, I'm going to start duct taping that diaper when I put her down...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, take me away!!!

Home of the Banshee

I always said that the terrible twos actually begin with the "terrible second year." Audrey was always so laid back and easygoing.. as my dad puts it, "she was smiling since birth!" And she actually did start smiling at only a few weeks old and NO it was not gas... But I'm hoping that this sweet easygoing nature will make a comeback once we get through this rough patch.

I still have people tell me all the time "Oh, you just never see that Audrey without a big smile on her face!"

Well, let me tell you what.. she must be saving it up just especially for me. The tantrums this kid has been throwing lately are OFF THE HOOK! The sound is above and beyond regular screaming... it is DEAFENING! And it sounds like it's coming from way down deep. I don't know how the kid isn't shredding up her throat, but she doesn't even seem hoarse afterward.

Once she starts, there is no comforting her. We've tried holding her down, whispering in her ear, distracting her, and ignoring her, and I'm not really seeing anything slowing her down. Sometimes she starts up as a reaction to being told "no," as in "No, you have to change your diaper now before we do anything else because it's dragging on the ground behind you." But more often than not she cranks it up when you go to get her out of the crib. And sadly, these episodes have been lasting up to an hour long.

I guess she's just been hit with a lot right now--a tough age, a new baby, and trying to find her place as the middle child. But I just wish she'd do it a little more quietly...

Amberisms of the Day

Apparently I'm not doing well with trying to write up lots of little stories, so at least I should jot down a few gems when I can or I am sure to forget them.

While changing Audrey's diaper:
ME: Ooh, little girl, this is stuck on you like peanut butter!
AMBER (eyes wide): But mama, there's no peanuts in it!!

and then later during said diaper change:
AMBER: Audrey, your diaper is stinking up all the air!

And because of diaper change we had a bath... and Amber was washing her own hair.
ME: Amber, you ready for me to rinse yet?
AMBER: No, mama, I still workin' on it...

And my fave:
AMBER: Oh, come on, Mama! You can do it! You're the best!

What a Week!

I swore up and down that I'd do better with this blog, but it truly has been Grade-A crazy around here. And I swear, it never fails that when I have a spare couple minutes and think to blog, this stupid laptop is having internet issues. I sure did miss this computer when it was in the shop for a few weeks, so it's better than nothing, but it never fails to screw up in the 5 minute period I'm looking to use it...

BUT ANYWAY...

Right now I'm getting a taste of "single parenting" while Jay is laid up. He had surgery on Wednesday and is not supposed to be doing any lifting or moving around, etc. So of course, he's been up and about quite a bit. Nothing compared to his usual by any means, but he definitely has not been laying down and resting as I think he should. So of course today he feels like poo. Uh huh. Why must some people (men) do everything the hard way??

On Wednesday we also had the Audrey severe reaction to ant bites fiasco. She broke out in hives and a rash and her little extremities were all swollen. So five prescriptions and a referral to the allergist later, she's doing much better.

Audrey has also decided to start using the potty. Maybe she'll be super duper easy?? That would be a pleasant change of pace! She doesn't use it consistently enough to take her out of diapers, but she's gone 4 or 5 times just today. It's getting a little aggravating with the constant trips back and forth to the potty, but if I don't have to go through what we did (and sometimes STILL do) with Amber, it'll be worth it. She looks like such a little peanut on the potty, though!

But the biggest achievement of the past week is that Amber is now paci-free. I know it's absolutely ridiculous that she still took it, but I kept finding reasons to postpone the "breakup"--Audrey was going to be born, Audrey was so reflux-y, trying to potty train, still trying to potty train, Stella to be born. There was always some reason to wait, and I dreaded the day they'd be gone forever. I started limiting her to bedtime only, and then I started eliminating them one by one. And when the last one broke, she just got rid of it herself. KNOCK ME OVER WITH A FEATHER!! And we've never heard another word about it... She was pretty crabby at bedtime because I think she didn't know what to do with herself in the bed without them, but never once did she ask for them.

It's been a tough week, but it's also been a great one! These little girls never cease to amaze me!