Done

I'm done. I've had it. A family can only take so much stress before it begins to destroy them. I wish we had never looked into buying a house. It's been one disappointment after another, and I can't handle any more. Our closing was supposed to be tomorrow. We were having the carpets cleaned today and having our final walk-through. The utilities are on, we are packed, and everything is in boxes. We have to be out of our current house by July 5--and we were lucky to get those 5 days. Aidan is set to begin Pre-K by our new subdivision, and we have friends helping us move.

We began looking at houses in March. After searching for a few weeks, we found a house we thought was perfect, and we made an offer on the house in late March. We had our pre-approval, and our closing was set for May 24. The seller accepted our offer, so we had to wait for BOA to approve it since it's a short sale. According to new laws, they had to give us an answer within 10 days. 10 days came and went, and still no response. Finally, at the end of April, BOA gave us the approval. We began finalizing the details for the loan, and that's when we realized Chris' credit score had dropped 130 pts. Now, he has zero debt and had not taken out any new cards or loans. That's when we realized that our loan officer's advice had destroyed Chris' credit. Somehow, against all odds, we finally got a loan approval. Unfortunately, we couldn't get verification of credentials quickly, so we kept being told that closing was 2 weeks away. Finally, we got a closing date of June 30 last week. I couldn't get excited--I had been disappointed too many times. Last Friday, things fell apart again. BOA was trying to add another $8000 to the loan because we hadn't closed by June 22! Umm....we TRIED to, but kept getting told we had to wait for approvals. The bank backed down and kept the loan amount they had originally agreed to. Chris and I were prepared to walk, but luckily, things fell back into place.

My house is now 90% packed. Our kids have picked out paint. We are ready to move. Today, though, the unthinkable happened. Chris got a call from our realtor explaining that the seller doesn't have the right to sell the house. The deed to the house is in a trust, and no one can figure out who has the right to sell. So now, we are back at square one. My nerves are fried. I am in tears. I am beyond done. So, we don't know what's going to happen. We need major prayers.

Polite

Noah and I skipped ST this past week. We rarely cancel, but we had a playdate at the zoo with some friends, and I think exposing Noah (and the other kids) to as many kids as possible is just as beneficial as ST, and Tripp understood. My kids had a blast at the zoo--Katie had never been before, and even though Aidan and Noah have been before, they still enjoyed it immensely. While we were at the zoo, I was dreading taking Noah out of his stroller. We've been going through power struggles lately when it comes to Noah sitting in the stroller, and I figured the zoo would be horrible. Oddly enough, I was willing to let Noah walk, and he requested to get back into his stroller! One of the big differences in Noah vs. the other kids around his age is that they tend to tell their moms what they want, and their moms ask them what they want. I realized that this is my fault--I had assumed that Noah couldn't speak much that I didn't need to ask him what he wanted to do. Several of my friends also have speech-delayed children, yet they do still included their kids in decisions. I made it my mission to focus on asking Noah his preferences this week.

As I started asking Noah questions, he began answering me. One aspect of parenthood that I have always focused on as my children began speaking was being polite. I try to always ask my kids to please do something, and then I thank them. As a result, Katie, and especially Aidan, are fairly polite. I mean, they're still kids, so they can be demanding, but overall, they understand that I am more willing to comply to a request if they are polite. Well, I began asking Noah to please sit in his car seat. Surprisingly, he began happily climbing in and letting me buckle him up! But the biggest surprise was when I thanked him--he said "You're welcome"! As the week progressed, he's been saying thank you to me when I give him his sippy cup, when I give him food he wants, or when I put him in a shopping cart or stroller. If I tell him thank you for behaving, he will always reply with "You're welcome".

On Friday, I had a bad day and desperately needed some intense retail therapy. We went to MOG, and Noah climbed into his stroller easily and told me "You're welcome" when I thanked him for behaving. After buying some things at Old Navy, Bath and Body Works, and Yankee Candle, we went to the soft playground. I let the kids play for about 45 min., and when it was time to leave, all three of them easily left, and Noah easily got back into the stroller!! I was beyond amazed! Maybe I've been making things harder than they had to be..............

Needless to say, I have learned an important lesson about communicating with Noah. Even though we skipped ST, he has come a long way in a week!f

Progress

As a mother, I have many days that do not rank high in my memory--honestly, they are days I would like to forget. For the most part, though, I have great days mixed with not so great moments. Occasionally, I will have fantastic days, days when all of the stars appear to have aligned and all is right with the world.

I awoke this morning to the sound of my husband's phone ringing. Now, anyone who knows me knows not to call me prior to 9 am--I am not much of a morning person. However, feel free to call me at 1 am!! Seriously, though, I am completely out of it most mornings and stumble my way out front to see the kids. Anyway, the kids' dentist office called not once, but twice! I returned their call only to discover that, since changing our dental benefits, we would no longer qualify for $5 office visits. Instead, we would be charged the fantastic price of $159 PER CHILD! For some reason, their dentist is considered to be a specialist, so I told the office thanks, but no thanks. Instead, I called the dentist Chris and I use and was able to set up appointments for all three kids at the end of July, thus qualifying for $5 visits. I figured I must be in for a forgettable kind of day.

Our realtor called next. As most of you know, we have had a contract on a house since the end of March, and our original closing date was May 24. Our loan officer was kind enough to make a royal mess out of everything, so we are still waiting on a closing date. The catch is that we are supposed to be out of our rental house June 30. Our former landlord was kind enough to not pay the mortgage with our rent money, so the bank foreclosed on the house at the beginning of May. However, the bank has been extremely generous in allowing us to finish our lease at the rental house, and not even charge us rent! Since it was not our fault that the landlord did not pay the mortgage, the bank is very willing to work with us. When Chris got off of the phone and told me we are closing on June 30, I barely reacted. I guess I've been disappointed so many times with this house that I'm finding it hard to believe that we are actually moving next Wednesday!! However, it's official--we will be moving next week! That changed my perspective on the day.

Ever since we put an offer in on the new house, I've been so worried about Aidan's Pre-K enrollment. Back on March 1, I got up at 5:45 am (I know, right?!) and made sure I got to Pre-K registration around 6 am to grab a highly sought-after slot. Well, that school is in Grayson, and will not be as convenient once we move. I went to a school that is across the street from our new neighborhood, hoping that they might have some space. Naturally, I was told there was a waiting list and would find out in June if another class was added. I got the call today--Aidan is in! Orientation is at the end of July!

With some many positive things happening today, Chris and I decided to take the kids to The Home Depot to pick out paint colors and grab some things for the new house (such as doorknobs--yes, the former occupants took the doorknobs!). We will actually order the paint next week, when we move, but we wanted the kids to pick their colors and we wanted to see some options for the rest of the house.

However, the biggest surprise today was Noah! Sure, I was excited Aidan got into the convenient Pre-K. I was amazed to get an actual closing day on the house. But I nearly cried when I realized that, for the first time in at least 6 months, Noah ATE (not drank) three meals today! He actually did it! For breakfast, he had milk and a granola bar--typically, it's only milk. Lunch was fun--we went out to Zaxby's, and Noah actually ate most of his grilled cheese and a few fries. Dinner amazed me the most, though--he ate almost his entire bowl of chili, and I filled it up! Now that's what I call progress!!!! I never would've thought I'd be so excited about my child eating.

Potty Training?

Ah, if there is one aspect in which I can, without a doubt, admit to completely stinking at as a mother, it's potty training! I remember when Katie was 18 months old. I was very excited at the thought of potty training her, so I went to Target by MOG and bought her a royal potty! No joke--it played royal music when we "flushed" it. My enthusiasm must not have been contagious, though, as Katie refused to go potty. Soon, her third birthday came and went, and she was still in diapers. By that point, Aidan was 6 months old and I was so done with having two in diapers at once. I asked my pediatrician, and she suggested not giving Katie an option and forcing her to wear underwear. Katie also went on Miralax, which was a script at that time. We had two birthday parties to attend just after beginning the Miralax, so I was smart and dressed Katie in a pull-up, just to be on the safe side. The first party went smoothly, with no accidents. Once we got to the second party, the unforgettable happened--the Miralax not only worked, but worked it's way down Katie's entire lower body! The pull-up was no match for it. Poor Katie had to get a bath at a birthday party, and even borrow clothes since hers got destroyed and I didn't think to pack any others since she was in a pull-up. Lesson learned! However, the following week, she was completely potty trained during the day, with no accidents.

Aidan was a bit different. He's more stubborn than Katie, and even though he hated being wet in underwear, he would simply not give in and use the toilet. Finally, last summer, several months after his third birthday, he became potty trained during the day. Except that he isn't. Getting him to have a BM in the potty has been an even worse nightmare than Katie's Miralax incident. Poor Aidan was holding his BM to the point that we went to the pediatrician in Jan. and had an x-ray. Aidan had an impacted stool, but our pediatrician believed it was best to let him suffer and refused to help him. Needless to say, this was NOT ok with Chris and me, and was one of the reasons we changed pediatricians this past winter. We ended up at CHOA Immediate Care, where the doctor and nurse were so kind to Aidan that his misery ended and he was awarded a new teddy bear by the dr., a bear he named Hero. A week later, on his 4th birthday, Aidan ended up in the ER because Chris and I thought his appendix had ruptured, only to discover that he was impacted again. The screams from Aidan were unreal, and he could not stand up or walk. I felt the stool in the right side of his abdomen, and that's why we believed his appendix was about to rupture. After that fiasco, he has relax quite a bit with his BMs. Sure, we're not there yet--there are many mornings he wakes up to a BM in his pull-up, but I will take that ANY day over those hospital trips. Our new doctor has encouraged us to simply reward his BMs in the potty, and not punish over having them in his pull-up. It's a process, but slowly he's gaining confidence.

One can only imagine how excited I must be at the prospect of potty training another child. After all, I've had nothing but pleasant, easy experiences thus far. Therefore, I shocked myself by deciding to go ahead and try to potty train Noah. We tried for the first time today. It seemed to go pretty well at first, but by this evening, he had two accidents. At least he was excited to sit on the potty, and continued to sit on it throughout the day. I have no idea how long I will decide to continue potty training him, or if I will decide to wait until winter, but it seemed like a good time. He's interested in it, so I figured it couldn't hurt. If only we could get a success....maybe then I wouldn't dread potty training so much!

Girls' Day Out

Katie loves her American Girl, whose name is Amanda. Katie got her for Christmas this year. I knew the American Girl Bistro and store were at North Point Mall, but that's still kind of a long drive from Grayson. We went to a birthday party at the AG Bistro back in April, and it was wonderful! I spoke with my sister Rachel and mom, and we decided to take Katie to tea at the AG Bistro. Unfortunately, my mom couldn't make it, so Rachel, Katie and I enjoyed tea.

The AG Bistro is an amazing place. They really cater to little girls. The dolls get their own high chairs attached to the tables, and everything is pink and purple. Rachel and I ordered tea, but Katie wanted pink lemonade. Rach and I tried an orange tea and Earl Grey tea. They brought out the food, which was delicious. On the top tier, we had mini strawberry muffins and fruit kabobs with cantaloupe, strawberries, and honeydew cut into flower shapes. On the middle layer, there were three kinds of sandwiches: grilled cheese mini hearts, which Katie adored and ate 3 of; star-shaped turkey and cheese, which Katie tried but didn't eat much of; and ham, cheese, and tomato on pretzel bread, which Katie completely refused to try! Rachel and I thought the sandwiches were wonderful! On the bottom tier, we had heart-shaped gooey brownies topped with powered sugar, chocolate chip cookies, and mini cupcakes with pink icing. Katie gobbled up the sweets!

After tea, we had to shop some at the AG store. All of my kids get allowances based upon their behavior charts, but Katie recently spent some money, so I agreed to pay half of what she found, which kept her in a fairly small budget. She ended up getting a new red shirt for her doll, and some accessories--socks, shoes, sunglasses, and a headband. We rarely have the opportunity to shop at the AG store, so that's why I gave in on funding some new things for Amanda. The kids know that they the reason they get allowances is so that they will have money for special things, and that it's very rare that I will buy them toys unless it's Christmas or their birthday.

We had so much fun, that I am debating having Katie's birthday party at the AG Bistro for tea, but the bad news is that tea is only offered during the week. I'm not sure how that would work out for her friends.

I know we will go back for tea another time. The best part was that Katie got to feel very special spending some one-on-one time with her mommy (and her aunt), and I want all of the kids to feel special. I'm afraid Katie sometimes feels left out as the only girl, and spending time with her is so important.

Breakthrough

Every once in awhile, my kids will really surprise me. Chris and I are working through situations with each child. Sometimes, we get instant gratification with our efforts, but most of the time, we don't reap the benefits until months later.

Katie can be a great big sister, when she wants to be! Unfortunately, she seems to enjoy causing trouble more than being a good example. Katie is really smart, though. Since this is my blog, I figure I can brag just a little. This past year in school (first grade), Katie got all As the entire year and scored in exceeding expectations on her CRCT standardized test. Unfortunately, she gets bored, which can cause trouble at home. Today, she had her friend Lindsay come over. Katie and Aidan constantly disagree on certain things, but one thing Katie really was looking forward to was watching a Hannah Montana this afternoon. As it turns out, Lindsay wasn't really a fan of the show, so I was surprised (and proud) that Katie hid her disappointment and watched another show, a show that I thought everyone might like. It can't be easy to have one's hopes set high only to be knocked down. She handled it very maturely--and it made me realize just how much she's grown up.

Aidan's issue is potty training. He pees in the potty like a big boy--he even stands. Unfortunately, pooping is another issue. For some reason, he's always been scared of pooping the potty. We even have had to take him to CHOA for an impacted stool. It was obvious he needed to poop today--he had to change underwear and he whined a lot. When Chris came home, he offered Aidan $1 to poop in the potty. For some reason, that really motivated Aidan, and sure enough, he obliged! Obviously, we are not above bribes!

Chris has really worked with Noah on getting him dressed. Noah used to really fight getting dressed. As he was getting his bath, he decided he wanted to hold onto my pajamas, which are kind of a safety blanket for him. I told him he may hold them, but not in the tub. Noah was not pleased with me, and proceed to throw a bit of a tantrum. I ended up holding the pajamas close to the tub, just out of his reach, and that seemed to satisfy him. Eventually, Noah decided to try to grab the pjs, to which I responded with a stern "no". I told him once again that he could hold them once he was finished with his bath. He stuck out his lower lip, but held his arms up, telling me he was ready to get out. As I dried him off, he got my pjs, and directly laid down and did not move while I dressed him. I was amazed! Apparently, he got the message that he got what he wanted if he cooperated!

Of course, who knows what tomorrow will bring..... :)

Bubble Boy

When I was growing up, I thought adults had it made. After all, they were the ones who could eat whatever they wanted, buy anything, stay up late, and tv whenever. As a child, I felt that my parents were extremely strict--I couldn't date until I was 16, I couldn't pierce my ears until I was 18, I couldn't ride in friends' cars, etc. However, one of the main points I remember from my childhood was the introduction of Nintendo. We had an Atari, and my parents never upgraded to the brand-new Nintendo. How cool was it to visit my friend's house and play with Mario, Luigi, and the gang? Honestly, I don't remember if I ever asked for a Nintendo, but it seemed like all of my friends had one. Above all, I'm not sure why I cared--I've always been horrible at video games! When I met Chris, he had a Nintendo 64, and we had a blast playing Mario Kart on it. Since we've been married, Chris has begun selling video games and systems online for extra income, and at times, the income has been better than his "real" job! I mean, that's how we survived when he was unemployed for 8 months right after Noah's birth.

I always knew my kids would get interested in video games--I mean, we have dozens of systems and hundreds of games in our garage for sale on Amazon! When Katie was 5, Santa brought her a pink Nintendo DS. Chris and I debated if she was old enough to handle it, and she proved that, not only was she responsible enough to take care of it, she did not play it excessively. That's one thing I've alway prided myself on as a mother. I am a firm believer that most things should not be off limits to kids, but instead should be offered in moderation. Case in point--my kids are not told that they can NEVER have Coke to drink. Instead, they know they get Coke on special occasions, such as at a birthday party. If something is off limits, that simply makes the object more desirable. I feel the same way about tv--the kids are allowed to watch it for an alloted amount of time daily, and for the most part, we stick to it. Therefore, my kids understand (and learned at an early age) that they must decide what show(s) are most important, and decide how to spend their time.

Since Katie was so responsible with her DS, we decided to get a red and black DS for his fourth birthday. Almost immediately, we learned the error of our decision. His love for Thomas the Tank Engine and Super Hero Squad diminished as he spent more and more time on his beloved DS. Soon, Chris set up a Nintendo 64 for the kids, so I felt like Aidan was constantly playing video games. Something had to change, and it had to change fast! We tried setting time limits for playing video games, but it was difficult, if not impossible, to enforce. We tried making Aidan earn time by doing well on his behavior chart (more on that in another post), but that didn't work, either. Eventually, Chris moved the 64 to the family room so that I could monitor the time more easily. I have finally worked out a system that works very well for us. Any time Aidan wants to play video games, I set the timer in 30 min. intervals, and he does very well by turning off the tv when the timer goes off. He is playing with other toys again, and I don't have such angst with the video games.

However, as with every issue, there is a silver lining to Aidan's love of video games. He and Chris have recently really bonded over playing Super Mario Wii in the evenings. Oddly enough, the Wii has brought my family together in a way I would never have imagined. As soon as Chris gets home, Aidan runs up to his daddy and asks to play with him. Chris and Aidan turn on the tv, and Noah runs into the family room and intently watches. Katie proudly tries to coax Aidan along in the game.

The funniest part about Chris and Aidan playing the Wii is that Aidan is obviously not as skilled as Chris. Chris is always Mario, and Aidan is usually Toad. Well, the Super Mario Wii has a new feature for a 2-player game. If one player is in trouble, they can "bubble up", which means they can't be killed. For about 75% of the time, Toad is in the bubble, so Aidan's new nickname is Bubble Boy! Aidan thinks it's hilarious, and everyone in the family will joke about Bubble Boy.

Feeding Therapy

Is there really such a thing? If so, what in the world does it entail? Apparently, I may learn firsthand what, exactly, feeding therapy is. As most of you know, Noah has been in speech therapy for about 9 months now. Tripp is our speech therapist (ST), and comes to our house every week on Tuesdays at 11 am. Noah and Tripp have a special bond--Noah will jump up and down to greet Tripp, and will eagerly look to see what goodies Tripp has for him to play with. Noah has come a long way since beginnging ST last fall--he has a vocabulary of about 30 words now! Tripp works with Therapy Solutions in Dacula, but comes to our house through the Babies Can't Wait state program. Essentially, any child under age 3, regardless of income or insurance, is covered by BCW for speech therapy. Most insurance companies won't cover ST, hence the point of offering free (or deeply discounted) ST to children under age 3.



But I'm getting off-track. Let's rewind to when Noah was a baby, around 4 months old. He would scream quite loudly, and nothing would calm him down. He would spit up most of the meal that he had nursed, and solids didn't seem to make a difference. We were still in Douglasville at that time, so Dr. Flowers suggested putting Noah on prescription Zantac for reflux to see if it helped him with his eating. Almost immediately, our eating issues were behind us. No longer would Noah spit up every meal. He grew into a different baby--sweet, calm, and happy. After being on Zantac for 6 months, we moved to Grayson and took him off of the medicine. In May 2009, Dr. Hogan suggested putting him back on the Zantac because his eating patterns were still off. In August, Dr. Hogan suggested ST since Noah wasn't talking much. Never once did I believe that the two might be related. That is, not until recently.....



Noah used to clean his plate for every meal. Seriously, my then 18-month-old would eat more than his siblings did combined. Suddenly, this past December, just after his second birthday, Noah got more picky. Foods the he loved he would no longer touch. One by one, we lost foods. Initially, Noah would happily eat anything I placed in front of him, with the exception being fruit. He liked pureed fruit, but he would never touch an actual strawberry, banana, or apple. The only fruit he would eat was watermelon! He did, however, adore applesauce, and these things called Buddy Fruits that I found in the Publix produce department. They are pureed fruits in portable containers that you simply squirt into your mouth! Slowly, though, applesauce feel off of Noah's list of acceptable foods, and now there are only a handful of foods that Noah will eat, and I use the term "eat" loosely. For the most part, he will not eat more than a couple of bites of any of these foods. Here is his current list of acceptable foods, and ones with * means they are only sometimes acceptable (he might completely refuse the food one day only to eat several bites of it the following day):



Kraft American cheese slices, Goldfish, yogurt*, cheese pizza*, chili with cheese*, mac and cheese*, peanut butter crackers*, grilled cheese*, spaghetti with meat sauce*, french fries, and chicken nuggets*.



I am not exaggerating--I have no clue how this child has not lost weight. He likes milk, too. Do you see a common theme in his foods--almost all of them have cheese in them. Oh, and ice cream is also acceptable to him. I've worried about his eating habits before, but I've mostly dismissed them as Noah simply being picky. However, after ST today, I am finally getting professionals to be concerned with Noah's eating habits. Tripp has asked me to make up a list of the foods Noah will eat, and he's going to talk to his boss about Noah possibly getting some feeding therapy with him as well. So what is feeding therapy? Essentially, Tripp will sit down with Noah and offer him an array of foods. Tripp will watch Noah's reaction, and coax Noah to try the food. At this point, we are not sure if Noah's problem is from the reflux or a more serious problem, such as texture sensitivity or problems with swallowing. Apparently, it's quite common for children who need ST to also need FT. Honestly, I hope Noah can get FT--I've worried for a long time if he's lacking vitamins from his poor diet.

For now, I will continue to work with Noah on eating. There are days when Noah basically eats nothing but Goldfish, if we're lucky. After 6 months of this behavior, it's no longer considered simply a phase, or Noah trying to take control of something in his life. I know some people might suggest simply offering Noah foods I want him to eat, and only those foods. Guess what? I've tried it, and the child will starve himself for days instead of eating. Smoothies? Noah might take a couple of sips of it, but then won't touch it again. I think it's gotten to the point that Noah is simply not hungry any more. You know the feeling--you're stomach is so empty that the thought of food makes you feel worse.

I never would've believed reflux from Noah's infant days would plague his eating habits during his toddler days, or that speech and eating are related, but my third child is teaching me that, although I may have 3 kids, I still have a lot to learn as a mom!

Welcome to the 21st century!

Well, I have often thought about blogging, but truthfully, I am not sure I can keep up with it! However, I would like to be able to chronicle important events in the lives of my family, and not simply the milestones that everyone keeps track of. In 20 years, will I remember how sweet it was to hear Noah say "Bye, bye, you" everytime we walk out the door, grabbing my flip flops for me and placing them ever so gently at my feet? Perhaps I will recall how sweetly Aidan comes up and kisses me daily? Or will I remember how Katie worked so diligently helping Noah learn how to talk, repeating phrases over and over again?

In a nutshell, I am creating this blog to record how our young family is taking shape, and changing before my eyes.

I have a wonderful husband who is almost done with his associate's degree. He began college 15 years ago, got sick, dropped out, and now is determined to get a degree! Katie is my firstborn, and she is currently 6. Aidan is 2.5 years to the day behind Katie, and is a fun-loving 4-year-old. Noah is my baby, and he is 22 months behind Aidan, making him 2-years-old, and almost having a Christmas birthday!

Our daily grind is filled with plenty of sugar, along with a bit of spice to make things interesting. Sometimes the kids get along, other days are filled with whining, but one thing is certain--there is never a dull moment!