I knew there was a reason I hate colder weather--it's when the germs come out full-force! I tend to get very few colds, but numerous sinus infections each year. Back in May, I had one of the worst illnesses I had had in years. I went to the dr. and was treated with Amoxil, but after a few days, I got worse instead of better. I was so congested that I literally could not breathe through my nose at all. If you have ever been that congested, you can relate. I went to a different doctor who was very sympathetic. He changed my antiobiotic to Augmentin, gave me an antibiotic shot and steriod shot, then prescribed strong decongestants and cough syrup. It was my best decision to go to the doctor--within 2 hours, I could breathe through my nose again! I got better fast, and I haven't been sick since then.
Until now. Chris and the kids have had on again/off again sore throats and congestion, but it hit me last night. I could feel the congestion building--what a horrible feeling. I pray that, perhaps, I will luck out and only have a bit of a cold instead of a sinus infection. I am not a nice person to be around when I don't feel well, and I haven't felt well all week. It began with a migraine hitting me on Monday and lasting until Tuesday night, when the sore throat and congestion built up. Come to think of it, it was probably my sinuses causing the headache. When Chris gets sick, he stays in bed all day and rests. When I get sick, I still have to get up and take care of kids. Too bad moms don't get sick days!
At least the kids don't seem sick now. I need to get their flu shots--their former pediatrician never had them in stock last year, so the kids got the shots when we changed doctors last winter. This year, though, we all need to get those shots. For two years now, Katie has contracted the flu, so I don't want to risk it this year. Two years ago, she ended up in the hospital for dehydration and high fever with the flu.
Here's hoping we are in for a mild (illness-wise) fall and winter!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Terrible Twos
Last week, I had a meeting with Noah's service coordinator with his speech therapy. Catina took over back in the spring, and I really like her. We had to discuss Noah's progress over this past year, and we also discussed if he would be continuing in the public schools once he turns three.
After getting our insurance information (haha--they won't pay a penny of ST because Noah wasn't born with a cleft palate), we discussed Noah's progress over the past year. Noah does well with Trip, but lately, Noah is bored with ST. He wants to do his own thing. Whenever Trip comes over, Noah hides and throws a fit for the first 10 min. of his therapy. Last week, at least Noah did eventually come around and cooperate for a little while. The problem is that Noah is tired of repeating the same words. Chris and I have decided to begin showing him the Baby Einsteins again. Some experts completely disagree with letting children watch any tv, but our kids have always been enthralled with the Baby Einsteins, and they are quite educational. Most importantly, they introduce new words and Noah will happily repeat them. Catina thought it was a fantastic idea, because we are working with Noah while he watches the tv and interacting with him.
We have decided not to continue with ST once Noah turns three. We believe that he's being stubborn and knows his words, because he does speak some. If he were to continue, he would be evaluated and placed into a class with other ST children. Instead of having therapy once per week, he would go to "school" daily for nearly 6 hours, which is far too long, in my opinion! If Noah is bored with ST once per week, I shudder to think of how he would respond to it daily.
The other issue we are having with Noah is throwing things down the stairs. This behavior just began, and it's very obnoxious. He will throw shoes, toys, water bottles, etc down the stairs and just giggle. We have been putting him in time out, but it seems to have no affect on his behavior. When Aidan was Noah's age, he would literally throw himself on the floor and throw a tantrum if he didn't get his way. It got so bad that we would not go places. Luckily, Aidan outgrew that and is so sweet now, so I can only hope that Noah's behavior will continue to improve.
After getting our insurance information (haha--they won't pay a penny of ST because Noah wasn't born with a cleft palate), we discussed Noah's progress over the past year. Noah does well with Trip, but lately, Noah is bored with ST. He wants to do his own thing. Whenever Trip comes over, Noah hides and throws a fit for the first 10 min. of his therapy. Last week, at least Noah did eventually come around and cooperate for a little while. The problem is that Noah is tired of repeating the same words. Chris and I have decided to begin showing him the Baby Einsteins again. Some experts completely disagree with letting children watch any tv, but our kids have always been enthralled with the Baby Einsteins, and they are quite educational. Most importantly, they introduce new words and Noah will happily repeat them. Catina thought it was a fantastic idea, because we are working with Noah while he watches the tv and interacting with him.
We have decided not to continue with ST once Noah turns three. We believe that he's being stubborn and knows his words, because he does speak some. If he were to continue, he would be evaluated and placed into a class with other ST children. Instead of having therapy once per week, he would go to "school" daily for nearly 6 hours, which is far too long, in my opinion! If Noah is bored with ST once per week, I shudder to think of how he would respond to it daily.
The other issue we are having with Noah is throwing things down the stairs. This behavior just began, and it's very obnoxious. He will throw shoes, toys, water bottles, etc down the stairs and just giggle. We have been putting him in time out, but it seems to have no affect on his behavior. When Aidan was Noah's age, he would literally throw himself on the floor and throw a tantrum if he didn't get his way. It got so bad that we would not go places. Luckily, Aidan outgrew that and is so sweet now, so I can only hope that Noah's behavior will continue to improve.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
I'm Not Ready
When Katie was born, I became a bit isolated. We kept to ourselves in Winder, and then Aidan was born, and once again, we stayed fairly isolated. Then we moved to the apartment in Douglasville and I became pregnant with Noah. I joined MOPS, and I met some of the nicest, most caring and unselfish women I've ever known. They gave up their Christmas Eve to take Katie and Aidan out so that I could rest with Noah on our first day home from the hospital. They even made us lunch, dinner, and Christmas breakfast, and my heart was overflowing. We then moved to our house in Winston, and I continued to stay friends with MOPS women. Katie made friends with our next door neighbors, and suddenly, we no longer kept to ourselves. Those kids were constantly over, helping themselves to my food and making messes, but we nipped that in bud and the kids rarely came over. Instead, Katie became friends with our other neighbors, and it worked out well. Then, we moved again, and unfortunately, our neighborhood did not have any young kids in there, so once again, we became a bit isolated.
As we began searching for a house to call our own, we came upon our current subdivision. We drove around and saw several young children, happily playing on the sidewalks. We made the offer, and 4 months later, moved in! We have been craving having young families around so that the kids can play with other children and stop living like nomads. We began going to the pool, and Katie quickly made a friend named Mary. Another time, as we were walking to the pool, a car pulled beside us and recognized Aidan--a boy from his pre-k class, Hayden, lives across the street from us, and his dad coaches t-ball in Dacula!
Most recently, Katie has made friends with the girl next door, Mackenzie. Suddenly, Mackenzie is over at our house daily, and Mary has been stopping by as well. I am not ready of this!! What happened to the days of playdates, where the moms made the plans and chatted while the children played? Suddenly, Katie has become Ms. Popular, and her new friends are constantly ringing the doorbell and asking Katie to play with them. Overnight, I have turned into That Mom--you know, the one who wants to know exactly where her child is at all times, sets a specific time for her child to be home, and has implemented strict guidelines when friends are over. Don't get me wrong--I am thrilled that she is making friends, but I have not been on this side (the parent side) of having friends over without adults. She growing up too fast. All of a sudden, I am flashforwarding 10 years and can envision her asking to go out to the mall in her friends' cars--augh!! I know this is part of growing up, but I am having to grow up as well, in a sense. I am becoming more than a mom of small children. I am also the mom of an older child, and it's a bit scary, because it's unchartered territory for me. Now that she's 7, of course I can't expect to have "playdates" like she used to have. Instead, she's going over to friends' houses and inviting them over here. She's making plans to go trick or tricking with a group of friends, and poor Aidan cried when Katie took off with her friends without him. It's a time of change for all of us!
As we began searching for a house to call our own, we came upon our current subdivision. We drove around and saw several young children, happily playing on the sidewalks. We made the offer, and 4 months later, moved in! We have been craving having young families around so that the kids can play with other children and stop living like nomads. We began going to the pool, and Katie quickly made a friend named Mary. Another time, as we were walking to the pool, a car pulled beside us and recognized Aidan--a boy from his pre-k class, Hayden, lives across the street from us, and his dad coaches t-ball in Dacula!
Most recently, Katie has made friends with the girl next door, Mackenzie. Suddenly, Mackenzie is over at our house daily, and Mary has been stopping by as well. I am not ready of this!! What happened to the days of playdates, where the moms made the plans and chatted while the children played? Suddenly, Katie has become Ms. Popular, and her new friends are constantly ringing the doorbell and asking Katie to play with them. Overnight, I have turned into That Mom--you know, the one who wants to know exactly where her child is at all times, sets a specific time for her child to be home, and has implemented strict guidelines when friends are over. Don't get me wrong--I am thrilled that she is making friends, but I have not been on this side (the parent side) of having friends over without adults. She growing up too fast. All of a sudden, I am flashforwarding 10 years and can envision her asking to go out to the mall in her friends' cars--augh!! I know this is part of growing up, but I am having to grow up as well, in a sense. I am becoming more than a mom of small children. I am also the mom of an older child, and it's a bit scary, because it's unchartered territory for me. Now that she's 7, of course I can't expect to have "playdates" like she used to have. Instead, she's going over to friends' houses and inviting them over here. She's making plans to go trick or tricking with a group of friends, and poor Aidan cried when Katie took off with her friends without him. It's a time of change for all of us!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
This and That
What a crazy couple of months we have had! We have finally almost finished painting the house--the only rooms left are the downstairs bathroom and the dining room. Unfortunately, we need the bathroom tiled before we can install the toilet, and we haven't had much luck getting Chris' friend, who promised to help us out, to actually help. We've replaced several light fixtures, and we finally have some art on the walls.
Katie's off to a fantastic start in second grade. Seriously, how can she be in second grade already?! So far, she's gotten all As on her assignments, so I hope she can continue with the good work. Lately, she's been wanting to read more than what is required nightly for school, so I hope she continues her love of books. Luckily, she makes friends easily, so she has become friends with several girls in the neighborhood and in her class. In fact, our next door neighbor is only a year older than Katie, and they have quickly become good friends.
Aidan is adjusting well to Pre-K. I must admit, I was worried about him. He can be kind of shy, and for the longest time, he would cry if any child came up and tried to play with him. However, he loves school and has made a couple of good friends, one of whom lives across the street from us. His name is Hayden, and he and Aidan rode bikes together in our driveway and on our sidewalk last Saturday. He always wants to do "homework", which are simply those activity books I found in the $1 section at Target that is geared for Pre-K--things like learning the beginning sounds of words and writing letters. He has become much more well-rounded lately. He is enjoying his Thomas trains again, as well as his Imaginext Batcave and playing Nintendo. He's asking to play t-ball again, which is perfect because Hayden plays t-ball and his dad is a coach, so Aidan will be very happy!
Noah has been a bit more of a challenge. Lately, he fights speech therapy and refuses to repeat anything for Trip. Instead, he will talk up a storm any other time, but it's only half in English. He has his own language, and I know he's telling me about his days because I catch familiar words mixed in with his words! However, this has been my most trying week with him. He has become very stubborn and determined to get his way, and he's actually quite strong. I don't know where he has learned this, but he pushes his siblings and will throw hard toys at us. Keep in mind, he only does this at home--he's great around other kids or adults! On Tuesday, I went into our utility closet to throw something away, and he slammed the door while my head got caught between the door and the door frame! Needless to say, it hurt for a long time, and though I rarely spank my children, he got two swats on his bottom and went to time out. Once my pain subsided, I talked with him and explained that he gave me a boo-boo and was not being a good boy. He decided to stay in his room for an hour more. I am at my wit's end. I must admit, I am at a complete loss with how to discipline Noah. When he gets into a stubborn mood, he cannot be reasoned with. He will cry if one of his siblings, in trying to play with him, plays with any of his toys because he thinks they are taking his things. Any advice on discipling Noah is appreciated. He will stay in time out, but I'm not sure how much of an effect it has on him, you know? Every time he hits, he goes to time out, but we are still having the same behavior.
Chris and I have been working a lot lately. I've been helping out at Van Adams Jewelers, but Chris and I have also been helping Van get his rental house cleaned and ready to sell. His ex-wife used to live in the house and completely destroyed the place--we've been tearing and scraping wallpaper, scrubbing the bathrooms and kitchen, scrubbing doors and baseboards, and we will help paint. Van is getting new carpet and a kitchen floor, since a leaky sink destroyed the hardwood in the kitchen--such a shame. We're doing this to help Van and also to earn some extra money to fix up our own house.
Peaches has been enjoying having a fenced in yard and loves playing ball outside. Unfortunately, she got into some mouse bait that was hidden the garage, so she's currently at an emergency vet with Chris. Luckily, Chris knew immediately what she was playing with, so he took her in. They've induced her to vomit, and we're hoping she can make a full recovery. Chris mentioned that he's getting rid of the bait when he gets home--it's just not worth it. He had our exterminator set the bait just in case there were unwelcome guests who made our garage their home while the house was vacant--not that we've seen any, thank goodness. Please keep Peaches in your prayers--she's such a sweet, loyal girl who loves the kids as though they were her own, and whose been there for us when we need her.
Katie's off to a fantastic start in second grade. Seriously, how can she be in second grade already?! So far, she's gotten all As on her assignments, so I hope she can continue with the good work. Lately, she's been wanting to read more than what is required nightly for school, so I hope she continues her love of books. Luckily, she makes friends easily, so she has become friends with several girls in the neighborhood and in her class. In fact, our next door neighbor is only a year older than Katie, and they have quickly become good friends.
Aidan is adjusting well to Pre-K. I must admit, I was worried about him. He can be kind of shy, and for the longest time, he would cry if any child came up and tried to play with him. However, he loves school and has made a couple of good friends, one of whom lives across the street from us. His name is Hayden, and he and Aidan rode bikes together in our driveway and on our sidewalk last Saturday. He always wants to do "homework", which are simply those activity books I found in the $1 section at Target that is geared for Pre-K--things like learning the beginning sounds of words and writing letters. He has become much more well-rounded lately. He is enjoying his Thomas trains again, as well as his Imaginext Batcave and playing Nintendo. He's asking to play t-ball again, which is perfect because Hayden plays t-ball and his dad is a coach, so Aidan will be very happy!
Noah has been a bit more of a challenge. Lately, he fights speech therapy and refuses to repeat anything for Trip. Instead, he will talk up a storm any other time, but it's only half in English. He has his own language, and I know he's telling me about his days because I catch familiar words mixed in with his words! However, this has been my most trying week with him. He has become very stubborn and determined to get his way, and he's actually quite strong. I don't know where he has learned this, but he pushes his siblings and will throw hard toys at us. Keep in mind, he only does this at home--he's great around other kids or adults! On Tuesday, I went into our utility closet to throw something away, and he slammed the door while my head got caught between the door and the door frame! Needless to say, it hurt for a long time, and though I rarely spank my children, he got two swats on his bottom and went to time out. Once my pain subsided, I talked with him and explained that he gave me a boo-boo and was not being a good boy. He decided to stay in his room for an hour more. I am at my wit's end. I must admit, I am at a complete loss with how to discipline Noah. When he gets into a stubborn mood, he cannot be reasoned with. He will cry if one of his siblings, in trying to play with him, plays with any of his toys because he thinks they are taking his things. Any advice on discipling Noah is appreciated. He will stay in time out, but I'm not sure how much of an effect it has on him, you know? Every time he hits, he goes to time out, but we are still having the same behavior.
Chris and I have been working a lot lately. I've been helping out at Van Adams Jewelers, but Chris and I have also been helping Van get his rental house cleaned and ready to sell. His ex-wife used to live in the house and completely destroyed the place--we've been tearing and scraping wallpaper, scrubbing the bathrooms and kitchen, scrubbing doors and baseboards, and we will help paint. Van is getting new carpet and a kitchen floor, since a leaky sink destroyed the hardwood in the kitchen--such a shame. We're doing this to help Van and also to earn some extra money to fix up our own house.
Peaches has been enjoying having a fenced in yard and loves playing ball outside. Unfortunately, she got into some mouse bait that was hidden the garage, so she's currently at an emergency vet with Chris. Luckily, Chris knew immediately what she was playing with, so he took her in. They've induced her to vomit, and we're hoping she can make a full recovery. Chris mentioned that he's getting rid of the bait when he gets home--it's just not worth it. He had our exterminator set the bait just in case there were unwelcome guests who made our garage their home while the house was vacant--not that we've seen any, thank goodness. Please keep Peaches in your prayers--she's such a sweet, loyal girl who loves the kids as though they were her own, and whose been there for us when we need her.
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