Talk on my level

This morning I decided that I really wasn't getting any better. For the last 3 nights I've fought fevers and felt pretty bad, so I decided I needed to go to a doctor. I know I live with one, but he only takes care of the sickest of the sick. I'm not quite there yet. So Scott found me a PA to go see at 11 am this morning and came home to take care of the kids. I was home by noon with my Z-pack which I promptly took. I'm feeling better than last night already.

My voice is just about non-existent. Payton's not sure what to think about it. She keeps asking, 'What?' after I try to tell her something. I have reduced my speech down to about the level of Ian's. I can squeeze out one or two word phrases and shake my head adamantly, but many words get lost when I try to explain something to the kids. Therefore, right now I'm talking like my 20 month old, and I think Ian likes it :)

Happy Turkey Day! - Mommy's sick

Yup, Mommy's sick. I don't get sick very often and even when I get a cold, I usually don't slow down much. But, today I've been dragging, actually, more of trudging through the day. I have a sore throat, a painful cough, and not much of a voice. So I couldn't raise my voice at all to get any point across to the kids. If they were whining, I ignored it. If they were fighting, I would remove one of them from the situation. Payton and Ian didn't know exactly what to say about Mommy being sick.

I am especially thankful today for two people. Thank God for my friend Jill. She took care of the kids this morning while I took a nap and sulked in my frailty. The kids had a great time with her children, Samuel and Sarah, and I got some rest. It's sometimes hard dealing with two children ages 3 and under when you are not sick. But when you are not feeling well, everything is so amplified. And I'm thankful for my husband. Scott had to work, but he got home at 2 pm. He took care of the kids and everything else :)

So this Thanksgiving was unlike any other I'd ever had. In one way, being sick was good because if we were to have lots of people over, I don't think I would have enjoyed it. I definitely didn't feel like cooking. But I did miss all my friends and family today. I give thanks for everyone in my life. I am very blessed to have a great family and wonderful friends, who no matter where I've lived have always been there for me.

Now for a little funny note. On Monday, I hosted a playdate for some boys Ian's age and came up with a little turkey plate craft. Well, the boys didn't care much for it (they were too young), but Payton loved it. We have made at least one turkey plate a day since then. Most days we make about 5 of them. It's like some bazaar addiction. Some of the turkeys even have names. Payton keeps asking, 'What can we do with the turkeys, Mommy?'

Have you ever seen a turkey?

Payton had her Thanksgiving program today. She did a great job, and the whole thing was very sweet and cute. The preschool and pre-K performed several songs and a poem. The preschool children were dressed like pilgrims and the pre-K were Native Americans. Payton was very excited about the program and was thrilled when I told her that Ian and I would be there. After the program, we had a Thanksgiving feast (potluck). The tables were decorated with a turkey and a placemat that Payton had helped make.

Ian behaved very well during the program. I was a little worried about how he would be because I was up with him 3 times last night for about an hour each time. He didn't have a fever and he has had a cold for about 5 days. He just couldn't get comfortable. I gave him ibruprofen, but that didn't seem to help. We ended up on the couch watching something on TV a couple of times until he fell asleep because nothing I did calmed him down. So this morning I called the doctor. I dropped Payton off at school and was a the Dr.'s by 8:30. Sure enough, Ian has a double ear infection! - poor little guy. I'm relieved to know the source of his uncomfortableness and I'm thankful today isn't Thanksgiving Day.

What was that?

I know Thanksgiving isn't even here yet, but Christmas is right around the corner. Payton is looking forward to Christmas and can't wait to open presents already. Ian is still too young to understand what's coming, although I'm sure he will enjoy the season.

Well, in preparation for Santa's arrival, we went about an hour south of here to an outlet mall near Charlotte. We found a couple of things for the kids, walked around alot, had a 6 minute train ride inside the mall, and had yummy mall pizza. We were all a little tired when we left the mall that afternoon. Scott and I loaded the kids in the car and Scott put their sippy cups on the roof while we buckled the kids in. I was suppose to take them off the roof before I got into the car. Somehow, it slipped my mind. We made the first corner out of our row in the parking lot and I heard something on the roof and said, 'What was that?' Scott looked at me and shrugged. We turned a couple more corners and I got a view of what was on the roof. Sure enough, both cups were in the middle of the street about to be run over by on-coming cars. Scott and I decided that it wasn't worth going back to get them. About that time, Payton asked what was going on and I say truthfully, 'Mommy forgot to bring the cups in off the roof and now they are in the middle of the road being run over by cars.' Payton immediately started bawling! 'I want my cup!' The boo-hooing is so sad and pathetic. Scott and I were actully chuckling about he whole thing to ourselves, but Payton's crying didn't appear as if it was going to stop. So, Scott makes the block to go back to get the cups. Payton's cup was only cracked and didn't look damaged, but Ian's lid was almost nonexistent and his cup was crushed. I showed Payton the cups, which somehow help her calm down. Actually I think that Daddy and I telling her we would get her a new, better cup helped her calm down the best. Then she had to repeat the whole incident again to all of us, just to make sure everyone understood what happened. I had no idea that losing a cup was going to be so traumatic for Payton. Scott thinks that the graphic way I described how we lost the cup is what set her off. Either way, she's fine now.

SNOW!

We had a light dusting of snow last night! I watched the weather and knew it was a possibility, but the kids had no idea. So when they first saw it, I don't think either one of them knew whether to be excited or not. Ian seemed very perplexed about the whole sight. Payton understood it was snow, but since it's her first experience with it (that she remembers), she didn't know what to do with it except look at it.

There really wasn't enough to make snow balls, and it was pretty icy. When I handed Ian a little snow ball, he imediately dropped it. We accidently left the sand box open and I think Ian had the most fun seeing the snow in it.

The End of the Garden

Last night, we had a pretty hard freeze and I fear the days of the garden are over until spring. I pulled up the rest of the carrots and picked my one cabbage that was semi-ready. The cabbage was frozen, but I'm hoping it will be okay to saute later for supper. Some of the carrots are so beautiful - nothing like the first carrot we pulled back in mid-October (that one was pretty funny looking). My first garden was such a great experience. It brought lots of things to talk about with the kids, lots of bugs, lots of questions, and lots of joy. We might have to make it a bit bigger in the spring.

The colder weather has taken a little while to get used to. Yesterday, we had a play date at a park at 3:30 pm. I bundled the kids up when we got there with the heavy coats, hats and gloves/mittens. At first Payton was a little reluctant, but once she started running around with her friends she was fine. Ian surprised me; he kept his mittens on even though I could never get his thumb in the right place. My friend, Jill, brought me some hot chocolate which made it a little better for me. But after about 40 minutes, Payton said, 'I'm ready to go.' and Ian followed close behind. I really can't blame them. I was wearing my warmest wool socks and my feet were still cold. We got in the car and the thermometer read 39 F! Yikes. The one good thing from it being cold this early in the winter season, is that maybe it will increase our chances of seeing snow.

Since we have been house bound a little more, we've been running around in our family room more (with the help of the Laurie Berkner Band).

Hand Saw and Pumpkins - Why?

For about the last week, every time I see the 2 pie pumpkins on my front step, I've been thinking about cooking them up to make pumpkin puree. My mom always says that it's so much better than the canned stuff and I figure it would be something the kids and I could do together. So, for whatever reason, tonight was The Night for cooking the pumpkins. I bring the pumpkins in from outside and the tirade of questions from Payton starts,

'What are you going to do with those?
'We are going to cook them.
'Why?'
You have to cook the pumpkin in order to use it to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread and other recipes.
'Why?'
Because mommy wants to make yummy things with the pumpkins.
'Why?'

I know that this is normal for this age, but sometimes the questions are too much.

I grab the biggest, heaviest knife I own to try to cut the pumpkins in half. The blade barely scratches the surface. Then I think, maybe I can use our electric knife. Yeah, no. That doesn't any better than the first knife. Then I try to hack it a couple of times with the biggest, heaviest knife. It works, kinda. But I keep thinking, I wish I had a hatchet.

During this whole process, Miss Questions continues:

'Mom, what are you doing?'
I'm trying to cut open the pumpkin.
'Why?'
To get the seeds out.
'Why?'
So I can cook the pumpkin. I can't cook it with the seeds in.
'Why?'
Because you can't! Payton, stand back! (As I begin the hacking.)
'I want to see.'
Payton, I don't want you to get hurt in case this knife goes flying.
'Why?'

Ian, in the meantime, is playing with his trains.

I give up on the knives, but don't want to give up on the project (that would be sending the wrong message to Payton). So I call my parents because they always seem to have good practical advice in these types of situations. It doesn't take long for them to assess the situation and Dad had the idea of using a hand saw. He said it works well when he saws turkeys in half when he wants to smoke them. If the saw is good enough for turkeys, why not a pumpkin or two.

I get the kids to follow me to the garage, pumpkins in had. The kids are a little confused, especially Payton, but she drops the questions for a while while she rides her bicycle around the garage. Ian is equally entertained by a tricycle, so I lay out some paper towels and start sawing away. This method actually works quite well (don't worry Scott, I washed the saw when I was done).

The rest of the preparations for cooking the pumpkin are pretty easy: scrape out the seeds and pumpkin guts and then roast on a cookie sheet, with a little water, covered in Al foil. This sounds easy and I know it is, but it always takes longer than you anticipate. Pumpkin guts are sometimes not so easy to remove and somehow I always forget this from one year to the next. Of course, the kids had lost all interest in anything I was doing at this point. Daddy was on-call this evening and didn't get to help with any of the festivities. Therefore, they wanted me to them entertained which made things take a bit longer.

Oh well, the pumpkins are cooked and pureed. I have 6 cups of beautiful yellow, pumpkin puree that I will make a yummy pumpkin pie with and maybe some pumpkin bars :)

The Leaf-Sucker-Truck

When we arrived home from Payton's school yesterday, the leaf-sucker-truck was in our cul-de-sac. I never knew there were such trucks until I moved here. Winston-Salem has a leaf collection program where everyone puts their leaves in a pile on the side of their lawn to be sucked up by this truck and taken off somewhere. I understand the need for this, especially in the older parts of W-S that have tiny yard and huge trees. The leaves overtake everything: sidewalks, roads, yards, etc. So, when we got home and I saw the tree, I hurried over to grab my rake to get some of the leaves between my neighbor and I to the curb because the next collection probably won't take place for another two weeks. The leaf-sucker-truck is quite noisy, and both Ian and Payton were very uneasy about it (they still won't let me vacuum around them). But I explain to Payton that we should get our leaves to the curb so the leaf-sucker-truck can take them away. She bursts into tears and cries, 'I want the leaves to stay!!! I like the leaves! Don't take the leaves!' Tears were streaming down her face, and I realize this battle is not worth it. The leaves will be around for another couple of weeks so that we can bury ourselves in them, jump in them, and make it rain leaves. When I conceded to Payton's cries, it took her a couple of minutes to compose herself while saying, 'It's OK, it's OK, it's OK...'


After quiet/nap time, we went out to play with in the leaves. This is such a fun fall activity, why did I want to get rid of them - yet?

Ian's OK

Ian's limp is pretty much gone. He still hops more than he used to when he runs, but you can't tell there was ever anything wrong when he walks now. Scott and I are very relieved and very thankful that we have two healthy, happy (most of the time) children :)

We went to an arts and crafts store this morning because my a & c supplies are lacking. Payton asks about 10 times everyday about making something. We cut, color, paint, glue just about everything we can get our hands on. I thought this kind of things would be better once she got to school because they do arts and crafts almost everyday, but I think it's just gotten worse. She's gotten a taste of it and won't let it go. I guess we all are like that though.

This afternoon we had a play date at a coffee shop with a play area. The kids were done after about an hour, but it was a nice hour.

Ian's Limp

Yesterday after naps, Ian started dragging his left leg a little. Earlier in the day, he had been jumping off my STEP (used for aerobics). The kids love jumping from it or pretending it's a balance beam. So, when he started limping I though that maybe he landed funny on his foot or injured it somehow while jumping. We had a play date scheduled at a park close by with one of Payton's classmates. We went to it and I just kept an eye on him. He was never fussy and played just fine, but the limp started getting a little worse. I started to get a little worried. It was 4:30 and I didn't want to go to the ER, so I called our pediatrician and they have after hours clinic on Fridays. They said they could get us in at 5:15, so we grabbed some Chik Fil-A and headed to the Drs office. I figured content kids versus hungry kids would be easier to manage considering the last visit to the doctor.

We didn't see our regular doctor, but the man we saw was very nice. Unfortunately, Ian didn't think so. A nurse and I had to hold Ian down while the doctor moved his legs around. Evidently Ian is very strong for his age. Then we had him walk for us. Of course, the limp wasn't there, but he was so upset - bright red face and screaming - that whatever was ailing him, he overcame briefly. The Dr. said that he could have pulled something and to keep an eye on it. Ian's had a cold for the last week, so while we were there I had him look in Ian's ears, chest, and throat. Everything checked out fine. On the way down the hall to leave, I let Ian walk and his limp was very evident. The Dr. stopped me and we talked a little more. He thinks that Ian has hip synovitis which can occur in young children who have had a cold or viral infection. Supposedly, hip synovitis can come on quickly and take several days to go away. In the mean time, we're keeping an eye on him to make sure it doesn't get worse or he gets a fever.

I was pretty worried when I went to bed last night and checked on Ian several times throughout the night, but there was/is nothing we can do. He woke up with the same limp, not worse, not really better, just the same. He's been fine today, not fussy, playing well and pretty happy as usual.

We went out to Salem Lake because it was a beautiful day and Scott has never been out there. We walked for about a mile and a half along the lake to a small bridge and creek and then turned around. Payton walked for most of it. Ian walked a little, rode a little and was carried a little. He was getting so tired by the end of the walk, he almost fell over in the wagon asleep, so I picked him up and carried him. The leaves are past their peak here. I think it's still beautiful, but also a little sad. Soon everything will be brown and dead :(

Fall Fun

The Fall colors around here are insanely beautiful. Many of the trees are vibrant red, orange and yellow, and the leaves have started really falling off the trees. So sometimes the ground under a tree is just as pretty as the tree itself. At the beginning of Fall, I wasn't too impressed, but now I see why people enjoy the season so much. I want to compare it to Spring in Phoenix, when you are on one of the mountain preserves and the wild flowers surround you and stretch out forever. It's kind of like that, but its on a much grander scale because the trees are everywhere. This is the first time I've ever experienced a real Fall (South TX doesn't have this many deciduous trees), and I don't want it to end.

It was a beautiful afternoon. It's been cloudy and rainy for the last two days, so we took advantage of the sun and mild weather. We went around the neighborhood collecting leaves. Maybe we'll do an art project with them.

Payton's ear seems just fine. She slept through the night on Monday and it hasn't hurt since Monday. But we still have to finish the antibiotics which she doesn't care for. We have to promise her a treat after she takes it, so she will take it.

Yesterday, Payton didn't have school because they've been conducting parent-teacher conferences instead. So we had ours yesterday. Payton's teacher said that she is super-sweet, smiles alot, and gets along well with everyone. The teachers did 36 month old evaluation. The evaluation scores each child in areas like gross and fine motor skills, communication, personal/social relationships, and problem solving. Payton did very well in the evaluation, but I found one thing kind of funny. Under the Communication heading, the teacher wrote, 'Doesn't talk very much.' I had to take a double take. Were we talking about the same little girl? Payton will talk your ear off if you let her, but evidently at school she is shy and quiet.

Scott is on the Medicine ICU service so he is on-call every other 24 hours for 24 hours. He usually gets home between 6:30 and 7 pm, so it makes for a long day for all of us.

What a day!

Today the kids both had flu shots scheduled at 10:45am. I figured that we could go to the gym and then head over the doctor's office. I promised Payton that if she was good we could have lunch at McDonald's for a reward because Payton was NOT looking forward to getting a shot. Somehow this wonderful little plan went hugely off track. I picked the Ian up from the gym's child center, and he was usual self, waving good-bye to everyone and giving me hugs. Then we pick up Payton and at first she seemed fine, but then said that her ear hurt. I asked her if she got hit and she said that she had run into another child. So, I didn't think much of it.....at first. We get to the car and I let Ian crawl up in the front seat while I put Payton into her car seat. She's still complaining about her ear. Ian meanwhile is pretending to drive the car and is quite pleased with himself. Of course, this must end because I have to put him in his car seat. He is not so pleased with this idea. He kicks and screams. I have to hold him down to buckle him in. We start off to the doctor's office which is only a 10 minute drive from the gym and Ian will not stop screaming. Tears are streaming down his face. He's turning red and just whaling at the top of his lungs. I'm trying to play some of his favorite songs. When that doesn't work, I start threatening him. That doesn't work. He continues on his little tirade. Payton, in meantime, randomly cries out and says that her ear hurts. Ian screams the ENTIRE way to the doctor's office. We get there and Ian calms down when I get him out of the car. Payton is trying to be good, but I can tell, she just doesn't feel well. We get in the waiting room and Ian starts to play with a train set and Payton has to go to the potty. So I have to pry the semi-content Ian away from his playing. His screaming commences immediately. The nice lady working the front desk said she would watch Ian, so I let him wander back to the train table knowing full well once he realizes I'm gone, he will start his screaming again - but there's always hope. I take Payton to the restroom and can hear the screaming coming down the hall from the waiting room, so I go get Ian. When I get back to Payton, she's in tears because I left her. Two very unhappy kids, one mom is disbelief. It's times like these when you wish you could remove yourself from the situation, but you know there is just no way out. Therefore you resign yourself and just push through the turmoil knowing that eventually everything will get better.

Two unhappy kids and I go back to the waiting room. Strangers and nurses are giving me the 'I'm-so-sorry-look' and ask if they can help. Ian was probably tired and rebelling, so there wasn't too much I could do for him except try to distract him. Books worked a little bit, but finally the train won him back over and he was better. Payton sat in my lap and laid her head against my chest and said, 'I want to take a nap.' Payton NEVER wants to take naps. This started to make me worry. The story of the 3 year old boy who hit his head, laid down for a nap, and never woke up always plays through my mind when the kids hit their heads. So I rush over to the nice lady at the front desk and tell her Payton's story and that now she wants a nap. The nice lady's eyes get a little bigger, as if she understands my concern, and says that they will get her looked at soon. We settle back into the waiting room and I tell Payton she has to stay awake. Of course, she answers, 'Why?'

We make it into the examination room and eventually the doctor comes. She is extremely nice and looks in Payton's ear. Evidently some people are blessed with an abundance of ear wax and some are not. Payton is one that is blessed, poor child. Because every time a doctor has to look in her ears, she has to get them cleaned out. She hates this. The doctor sticks the ear cleaning thing in her ear about half a dozen times before she can finally see what she's looking for. Payton kept saying, 'Mommy, I'm done! I'm done!' Sure enough, Payton has an ear infection, and evidently it's not uncommon for ear infections to come on super fast like this. Who knew?

I was happy with this diagnosis because at least she didn't have any inner ear trauma from running into a kid at the YMCA. But we were not done. We still had to get two flu shots. Payton was first and the nurse nor I was holding down the leg she was getting the shot in. Her reaction to the shot was a nice kick of the leg she was getting it in. That nurse stuck the entire needle into Payton's little thigh. It was probably about and inch and a half long. She was screaming and saying 'That hurt!' Ian was next. He, at least, didn't take as long for him to get over the shot. They both finally settled down about the same time.

I carried both kids out of the office and to the car. They were both exhausted. Neither one of them was hungry, and they both fell asleep on the way home. Unfortunately, Ian woke up when he got home. Payton took a two hour nap. Ian didn't sleep anymore, so he's been grumpier than Payton today. Ah, such is life. Tomorrow will be better (I hope).