X-rays and Bless You

Early last week, Lydia (6 months) developed a cough. After checking in with the nurse at our doctor's office, the plan was to take her in on Monday if she didn't seem better. I had a gut feeling that we were dealing with more than a cold. On Friday, I broke and hauled her in, not before taking a quick video on my phone of her hacking & crying. My girls have an amazing ability to appear perfectly symptom free upon entering the doctor's office.

After listening to her lungs, we were sent to radiology for a chest X-ray. I was completely unaware of what this involves for an infant. It was a bit torturous; she despised her time in the "tube." I thought about snapping a picture, but both hands were busy holding her little arms above her head. So, I found this image online. Effective contraption, but unpleasant. This little guy seems to be tolerating the scenario much better than Lydia.

 

My mommy instinct was correct. She has low grade pneumonia, poor baby. I should have taken her in earlier. I am the kind of mom that has the urge to rush my kids to the ER with every head bump, call the doctor with each sniffle, and check Annika from head to toe with every tumble. I think my husband may be terrified that this will give me the permission to follow through with my worrisome ways.

Despite Annika having the flu and Lydia pneumonia, the girls are happy, smiling through the "bless you" as my 3 year old nephew calls it; a much more pleasant word than "snot."

I hope this post is finding all of you well and 'bless you' free.

Deanna

Bags Full of Cute & Sassy

You know those huge blue IKEA shopping bags? Every time I visit the store, I buy one. When I take a load of clothes to donate, they come in handy. I use them to haul laundry up & down the stairs. Our storage room is filled with them, holding too small or large girl clothes. Today, I stuffed two of them with toys, clothes, dolls and stuffed animals gathered from all over the house.

I guess having a new baby sister can be tough, but having a new baby sister with a terrible cold is just too much to take. Annika has been acting out a little. How? By covering every inch of available floor space with her belongings. I suppose this is a fairly harmless way to mark her territory, but I snapped. I set crying, coughing, sneezing Lydia on the floor and scooped up every toy, every cute little fuzzy thing I could find, and tossed them in big blue bags.

Trying to keep my cool, I explained again to Annika why it is important to keep the floor clear... safety and so on, besides keeping mommy happy. Demanding that she was not to get another single thing out before the contents of both bags were put in their rightful places, I had a realization; she's three. I helped with the major task, and straightened her room.

Looking around at the job complete, she said, "You did a good job Mommy. My room looks neat and tidy, but this thing here, it needs to be moved just a little to the left."

And then it hit me, just why I forget that she is only three.

President's Day in the Life of a 3 Year Old

It turns out, President's Day is one of the best holidays of the year; Annika told us so on our way to swimming lessons this morning.

This holiday means that Daddy gets to stay home All DAY, we get to go to lunch at a restaurant, and have hot cocoa. I knew that Josh would be home, but the other festivities were a surprise. We did indeed go out to lunch at The Lumberyard. My daughter is quite convincing.

Annika ordered the Minnow, kid's fish & chips, because "it's good to try new things." She said that she dreamed about having "halbit fish on President's Day."

We played tic tac toe Annika style, which means it's a race to add X's or O's as fast as you can while your opponent "hockey's" your crayon away and scribbles over your writing. It's a pretty exciting game.

With a quick stop at the fabric store while Josh & Lydia circled the parking lot, we headed home and made a new dress.

 

Before dinner, Lydia tried rice cereal for the first time, and loved it!

As always, Annika dressed for the occasion. We learned that this day is also a good day, because Annika likes President Obama; he has two girls, and that's nice.

And after an exciting, special holiday, we crawled into bed for a story and lullaby.

Good night everyone. Happy President's Day. I hope your day was special too.

Deanna

One Eye Forward

When I was 21, I worked retail in Bellevue Washington. I think of those years as my "fashion-y" era. My undone look was still in designer threads, my hair was streaked with highlights & lowlights, and my face was seldom without makeup.

One evening, seeming frazzled, a lady came rushing into the store. I asked if I could help. She described her shopping trip as a rare chance to get out of the house while her husband wrestled kids to bed. She was quickly looking for nothing specific. Within moments of conversation, I realized that she had liner and mascara only on one eye. Thinking, "How embarrassing!" I gave her my undivided attention. She must really need help, I figured. How could you forget something like that?

We ended up chatting for a while. She told me about her kids, her job as a school psychologist, and how she rarely had time to shop for herself. I don't think she bought anything; I do recall that she was on her way to a children's clothing store.

She seemed happy, which was perplexing to me. I thought about how when I had kids, I would make myself a priority; I would make sure my makeup was on before I left the house, and I would buy clothes for myself that were as cute as those I bought for my kids. Now 13 years later, I look back at this interaction with a whole new perspective. That lady was one step ahead of me; she at least managed to get one eye fancied up for her night out.

Oh, and having kids of my own to dress and make adorable before leaving the house, I understand how my mom could arrive at a choir concert with mismatched shoes. I get it now, I really do.

Forgetful Jones

Remember the absent minded character, Forgetful Jones from Sesame Street? I remember watching him as a kid. I found him terribly irritating. I mean really, how could anyone be so forgetful? The whole idea was just too much... until now. I realized recently that I identify completely with poor silly Jones. I'm thinking that behind the scenes, he was a parent of young children.

Back in the day, I never needed a calendar; I rarely wrote a grocery list. Now, I'm doing well to remember to grab the grocery list. Before I had kids, my memory was great. Now, my short term memory is, well, about as sharp as the safety scissors I let my daughter use. Unloading the dishwasher the other day, I attempted to place cereal bowls in the refrigerator. While cleaning up after dinner, I repeatedly tried to put the left overs in the cupboard. I begin a sentence, and my mind goes blank before my thought is complete; quite the conversationalist I've turned into.

I hear that other people's children sleep. I only part way believe them. My 3 year old sleeps through the night sometimes; we celebrate when she does. If the 6 month old sleeps for a 2 hour stretch, my husband and I feel giddy with excitement. Between bad dreams and reflux, our little one's are awake a lot. We are awake a lot. And with the exhaustion, comes failing memory. I am Forgetful Jones... that's O.K. though, they are totally worth it.