Candy Day!

It's trick-or-treat day, and here in MN it's friggen cold! Kids might be getting post-halloween-clearance-sale candy this year...brrrr

Fun,fun,fun!

Hermes threw up at school yesterday morning. He was feeling fine, if not tired, when he woke up, but at around tennish, he horked. School called me, I picked him up, he was feeling fine again about an hour later. This morning, we wake up nice and earlyu, got all dressed, grabbed the backpack, and drove to school. After I droped him off and got about three blocks away, my cell phone rang. Aparently, I did not retain as much information from the handbook as I thought. Hermes' school policy is that you must be vomit and diarreah free for a full twentyfour hour period before returning to school. Turned around, picked him up, explained to him that he did nothing wrong, and it wasn't his foult, it was mommy's fault, and came home. I feel silly, but the school assured my I am not the first parent this has happened to, and they will send home a reminder to all the parents about the sick-time policy. It was MEA weekend last weekend, so he was home thurs and fri. He was gone over the weekend, home for the bulk of yesterday, and home today. I think we will work on handwriting, and our english reading. That should help keep me sane.

"Uh-Ohhh! Teef!"

Thor likes to try and help out. His favorite way to help is to take Buddha's pacifier away from him, then give it back after Buddha starts fussing. Thor also likes to put his fingers in Buddha's mouth...or at least he used to.
This morning, after we get home from dropping Hubby off at work, Thor and Buddha are playing together, and I hear a squeek from Thor. Not a scream, shriek, or squeal, but a squeek. I go into the livingroom(I was in the kitchen), to see what had happened, and Thor holds up two fingers and goes "Uh-Ohhh! Teef! (brother's name in only the way thor says it) Teef! Teef! Nooooooo teef, uh-uh, teef!" After examining Thor's fingers, it appears Buddha might have bit him, not very hard, and he only has one tooth on the bottom(upon closer inspection, he has one tooth, and the corners of a second tooth!)so it barely left a mark. After ascertaining that Thor was, indeed, okay, I asked if he was going to stick his fingers in his brothers mouth anymore, he shook his head vigorously 'no', looked at meed, sighed dramaticly, and once again, said "Teef!"

things you anly say as a parent # 157.3

"No honey, don't put the turkey on your head!"

He's starting to talk more

Thor is starting to talk more. He is really reliable with 'Hi!' and getting there with saying brother, poppa and Buddha's name. Chocalate, cake, and icecream have all been in full effect since friday, generally uppercase, generally with exclamation points. He doesn't say momma when I am around, but others have heard him. He still won't say 'no' to me, which is nice but frustrating, he won't say mine either. He says bed now, which helps with sleep time, but still not potty.
I try not to worry, to tell myself everything is fine, but it's hard. He's just doing things at his own rate, and is still easily over stimulated.
Hubby andI got him Bongos for his birthday. Thor seems very pleased with them, which is nice. He is also very pleased with his new bed set. So pleased that he kept trying to sleep in his brothers bed so as not to mess up his own. Hermes was less than thrilled.
Just shy of two weeks and we see the behaviourist for the first time, hopefully the second to the last (he has to do two appointments a week apart). I am pleased to tell them that he is talking more, but it hurts to have to admit that it's hardly anything, compared to the average...who knows, maybe the dam that's been holding his words back will break before then. I see the frustration in his eyes when he wants to tell me something, but either doesn't have the words or cannot ge them out in a way that I understand...I also see the unadulterated pleasure when he gets it right. Here's hopingfor more right with his littleself.

two years ago

Two years ago today, Thor was born. Out of my three baby birthing experiences, his was by far the most painful, which is funny, cause he was also the smallest at birth, which is funny cause he is HUGE now. I remember being very afraid that something might be wrong, he was missing one vessel in the umbilical cord, and it was not a text-book pregnancy. He was fine, thank god, and within a few minutes of being born had everyone in the room giggling. If he was covered and swaddled, no crying, but as soon as he had exposed skin, he screamed and cryed, and stopped! just as soon as he was covered again. Over the course of his life to this point, we have dealed with multiple ear infections, baby asthma, colic, I don't know how many bumps on the heads, falling downs, pinched fingers, and tantrums. Thor has never been a quiet child, ever. When he is not happy, you know, when he is happy, you know. He was eating solids early, and able to suck down an eight ounce bottle in record time by the time he was five months. He was late to crawl, and walk, but jumps like a pro. Now, he goes up and down the stairs, walks backwards, and is trying o stand on one foot and summersault. Every now and then, like last night, he will force himself to stay up so late that he finally has a melt down and passes out, only to wake up two hours later and do it all again. He bullies his big brother and want's to help take care of his baby brother to the point of being an hindrance. Every now and then he will speak a full sentance, or clearly say a word like spaghetti, only to not say anything for hours, sometimes days, after.
After the extreme pain of childbirth, the frustration of colic, the inner turmoil over his not talking and being like other kids, he brings me such joy. He loves music, hugs and kisses, sitting in my lap and being read to, and playing peek-a-boo. He tries sooo hard to be like his big brother, while still being my littleman.

Happy Birthday, Boo,
Momma loves you.

Weight watch '06

Since I have previously posted about my weight here, I figure I will keep posting about it periodically, if for no other reason than to give myself a record. As of this morning, I am at 225, fully clothed in sweatshirt, jeans and tennis shoes. Figure it at about 220 naked. This now has me only 35 pounds away from my prepregnancy weight, and 55 away from my 'ultimate weight loss goal', although honestly, I will be thrilled with pre-baby weight, and, well...even more thrilled with ten pounds under pre-baby. If I actually hit 165 I think I might faint dead away from surprise. Now, though, I am even more aware of the need to exersice and drink plenty of water. When you gain alot of weight, it does weird things to your skin...unnatractive things...almost horror movie things..."AAggh! She's melting...stay away, stay away...DON"T GO UP THE STAIRS! YOUR IN THE HOUSE ALONE! HE'S CALLING FROM IN THE HOUSE!!!!!" Okay, not that bad, but you get the idea. Oddly, now that the weight is coming off, I'm more motivated to make it go away than I was before. Something about realizing you've lost another ten pounds gets ya going. You'd think that the heavier you are the more motivated, but it seems to be the oppisite. Maybe the threat of failure is less now. Either way, I've got a spare kid here now, so am running more, and Thor seems to want to nap early, and who am I to stop him. Bye all. More later from Housewifeland-The Crankiest Place On Earth!

and By The POWER of Greyskull, he is HE-MAN!!!

Thor is HUGE. I don't mean fat, or big, or husky, no, he is proportionate for his size, and at a few days shy of two, his size happens to be that of an average three year-old. HUGE. Over THREE FEET TALL and thirty-two lean muscled pounds. According to the CDCs hight predictor, he could be 6'5" at aged 18, they did give the disclaimer that all estimates are not perfect, there are circumstances that can affect ones hight that cannot be predicted, but they feel that there is a %58 chance of 6'5" a %78 chance that it will be within (over or under) an inch and a half, and a %96 chance of his hight being with 2.5 inches, all things being equal, and barring any major illnesses that stunt his growth. Jeebus. Kids not gonna hafta worry about being the tallest in kindergarten (when that day comes) kid's gonna hafta worry about being the tallest in the school!
What really cracks me up about all of this, Hermes, who is more than three years older than Thor, is very petite. I wonder when Thor's gonna be taller. Once again referencing the CDC's info, Hermes will e lucky to hit 5'9
What has my curiousity really going, Buddha is very tall for his age(as Thor is) and very lean(as Hermes, not quite as lean, but deffinately lean). He is too young to try to guestimate, but time will tell.

trying to use an unbiased eye

On friday, I had to take Thor and Buddha in for their respective check-ups. My Dr, who is just a cutie!, stated after hearing all of Buddha's many accomplishments(he's six months and crawling already!) "How Exciting this must be, but please, don't get me wrong, but you know that's just not normal, right?" And then there's Thor...
When You have a child, that child is born perfect, you have every aspiration for their life, and you know they are going to grow up and change the world. Heaven help the person who tells you that there is something not right, or norma, with that child. Thor has an AMAZING musical talent, one that we will nurture, support, and encourage. One that I tell him, at not-quite-two, is amazing. However, Thor is a little...well..I cannot think of a way to put it. He's stubborn? a perfectionist? manipulative? maybe the smartest of the three, maybe not? Thor has been delayed in his devolopment from a fairly early age. He didn't crawl when he was supposed to, but we were living with the in-laws at the time, including their two dogs and a cat, so we had an excuse. He didn't get as much floor time as we would've liked, and you cannot really crawl in a playpen now, can you? He was kinda late to walk. He would walk when he thought he wasn't being watched, and then only a little. We used his mortal fear of the vacuum against him, and by 18 months, he was walking like a pro, but still, much later than most kids. His speech is an entirely different matter. Sometimes he will speak in full sentances, or damn near, perfectly coherent and intelligable al day long, and then he will go for three days barely utterring a word. There are days where he will talk to innanimate objects, but he'll pointedly not utter a syllable for me. He is very affactionate, plays well, maintains eye contact, etc...so the Dr does not think it is autism, but she wants him to be evaluated to rule out any "issues". I am fine with his hearing test, honestly, but am scared shitless of seeing the "develpmental behaviorist" Two hour and a half long appointments, hopefully they will tell me his is fine, and just does things in his own way, and why the hell did my Dr send me, but when I look with as unbiased an eye as a parent can muster...I don't know. The uncertainty frightens me.

sometimes a flash of brilliant insight makes you feel dumb as a rock

Earlier today I was discussing various housing set-uos with my mother-in-law. Namely, the process of oneday giving Hermes his own room. The subject of Thor, and his bed came up. I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, Thor could last six more months in a crib(yeah right!) until Hermes is in his own room, and then we could transfer Thor into a twin bed with toddler rails on it. Being the boys room would be a little snug, this seemed like a better Idea than trying to fit two twin beds in there. Plus we have a full size futon, and a spare twin bed, downstairs in the basement, so Hermes could have a bigger bed, if he wanted...About this time my mind stutterred. The treason I was debating keeping Thor in a crib longer was because there wasn't enough room for two twins, the reason we would need two twins is because the only toddler bed we have found that we like, and that isn't a plastic or cheap metal base, is over $100, and that's kinda pricey for a bed he will grow out of quickly, granted Buddha could use it...Then I had that mental stutter again. What was it about beds and cribs and the basement that was making my mind twitch???

OOOHHHhhhh! It dawned on me...we DO have a toddler bed that we like in the basement!
Shortly before Buddha was born, Mom-the-hipple brought me out to purchase a 3-peice nursery set-a changing table, a dresser and a fully convertable crib. Convertable cribs are cribs that magically become toddler beds, well magically and through the use of supplied hardware. Thors crib was purchased because it was convertable, but the necessary hardware was sold seperately, we didn't by it at the time, and now is discontinued-but with the exception of a few minor scratches and some grime, it is in fabulous condition. The convertable crib, that came with required hardware, that we bought for Buddha is sturdy, good wood and strong metal. I realized that we can put Thor in the convertable crib, in "Toddler Bed Mode", and put Buddha in Thor's crib, after it is cleaned and inspected. We can pick up a new mattress for Buddha, Thor can keep his lumpy mattress, the New crib will be used, the old crib won't get junked, and I don't have to try to keep Thor in a crib for six more months.

I felt brilliant!! At least until I realized that we have had the convertable crib at the house for about eight months, and I have been on the hunt for a toddler bed for about four months. Well, you can't win all of them, but at least I figured i out before we dropped money on something that we ultimately didn't need!

...he said with absolute love and adoration

Last night, Hermes woke up after about an hour and a half of sleep, so I went into his room to re-tuck him, and to talk for a few minutes. It always helps him get back tosleep to talk about any dreams he doesn't understand, and to know that even if he doesn't see us, we are still here. After our discussion, I go across the hall into the bathroom. Moxie, the cat, wanders in, and instigates the following exchange.
"Mommy, are you in the bathroom?"(Hermes)
"Yeessss"(me)
"Are you going potty?"
"Yeeesss"
"Moxie came in, I bet she has to poop!"
"Well, she can do that in here, it's okay, no go to bed."
"Okay, I love you Momma"
"I love you too!"
"Goodnight Momma."
"Night Hermes, have pleasent dreams."
"I will, Momma,...Cats bury their poop!!"

Ah, how nice to know that he thinks about his love for his momma and cats burying their poop at the same time!