Miss R was still warm this morning. Jeff had been up several times in the night to check on her. My parents volunteered to take care of her during the day. Poppy met us in the parking lot of Children's Learning Adventure. I transferred Miss R to his car. Henry was upset that Poppy took Miss R but not him. He said he didn't like school.
Miss R had a fluctuating fever throughout the day. The kids went to bed before 8PM. I got home at 8:10PM.
Jeff made me pizza, and we watched Sunshine Cleaning. While the pizza was cooking, I got a chance to tuck Henry in bed as he was still talking to himself, keeping himself up. He's a funny guy.
With about 1/2 an hour of the film left to go, Jeff checked on Miss R. Her temp was 103.7 under the arm, which means her core temp was probably more like 104.7. I got her a wet washcloth and Tylenol. She was very red in the face. Unlike Henry who tends to get hot in particular areas of the body (e.g., just his forehead but not the top of his head, or just his back), Miss R gets warm all over. The Tylenol has helped bring the fever down, but it acts slowly. We finished watching the movie as Miss R slept on Jeff's chest. He put her to bed about 15 minutes ago. I'm staying up for another 45 minutes and will be checking her before I head to bed.
Jeff commented that he worries more about Henry when he gets sick b/c Miss R just seems to resilient. I think that impression comes from her rebounding from flu and colds when she first joined our family. I tended to think of her as resilient too. But I've been a little more concerned her ever since July when her lungs required the steroids and nebulizing treatments.
In any event, Miss R won't be going to school tomorrow.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
The Christmas Tree
Sunday morning, Henry and I slept in until 9AM. I didn't go to bed until after 2AM b/c I was coding and creating an exam for my graduate seminar. I suspect that Henry was just sleeping off his illness. He wasn't 100% Henry today, but he was better. He seemed a little hypersensitive. He overreacted, for example, when a drop of syrup got on his tray.
Henry and I read the comics, his favorite Sunday pasttime. He really likes Slylock Fox.
We put up our 3.5 fiber optic Christmas tree and hung ornaments. Henry put up his first Christmas ornament on his own (see Holiday Penguin on left). He had to concentrate to get it on.
Miss R had been in a good mood all morning. She took to putting up Christmas ornaments after she saw Henry do it. She didn't really need any assistance or personalized instruction. She is a Christmas orngament prodigy, I think. Her fine motor skills are truly excellent.
We are missing a box of our ornaments, which makes me sad. Some of my childhood ornaments were in it.
Henry found a bunch of our holiday cards sent by family and friends last year. The first one that he found was from one of my all-time favorite professors, Marty Fishbein, who passed away on Thursday. Marty was a truly exceptional scholar and firstrate mentor. I was glad that Henry found that card.
Henry and Miss R had fun wearing the reindeer headband and Santa hat that we normally put on our iron coyotes outside.
Henry managed to break two of our delicate ornaments. We had fiber glass Mickey and Minnie ornaments. He made them kiss rather hard and their ears shattered, requiring a thorough vacuuming of the area.
Henry decided to spruce up his outfit by putting on my tank top.
After their nap time, which didn't last long as it took forever for them to fall asleep, Jeff took them to my parents around 3:30PM. Around 5:15PM, my mom called to say that Miss R had a fever and was sleeping. Jeff went over there for dinner with medicine and thermometer in tow. Her temp was 102.
The kids were in a great mood when they came home. Miss R still felt warm but not hot. Her temp was 99.2.
After teeth brushing, we put them to bed. Miss R fights bed time, which is frustrating. She wanted blankets, then didn't want them, then cried b/c she wanted them. I finally told her to go to bed and left the room. Then, Henry started yammering. I was in my office, and I could hear them giggle at each other. After 15 minutes, I played "bad cop" and told them to go to bed. Henry wanted to be tucked in again. But he was up a few minutes later. I ended up tucking him in several times.
Henry and I read the comics, his favorite Sunday pasttime. He really likes Slylock Fox.
We put up our 3.5 fiber optic Christmas tree and hung ornaments. Henry put up his first Christmas ornament on his own (see Holiday Penguin on left). He had to concentrate to get it on.Miss R had been in a good mood all morning. She took to putting up Christmas ornaments after she saw Henry do it. She didn't really need any assistance or personalized instruction. She is a Christmas orngament prodigy, I think. Her fine motor skills are truly excellent.
We are missing a box of our ornaments, which makes me sad. Some of my childhood ornaments were in it.
Henry found a bunch of our holiday cards sent by family and friends last year. The first one that he found was from one of my all-time favorite professors, Marty Fishbein, who passed away on Thursday. Marty was a truly exceptional scholar and firstrate mentor. I was glad that Henry found that card.
Henry and Miss R had fun wearing the reindeer headband and Santa hat that we normally put on our iron coyotes outside.Henry managed to break two of our delicate ornaments. We had fiber glass Mickey and Minnie ornaments. He made them kiss rather hard and their ears shattered, requiring a thorough vacuuming of the area.
Henry decided to spruce up his outfit by putting on my tank top.After their nap time, which didn't last long as it took forever for them to fall asleep, Jeff took them to my parents around 3:30PM. Around 5:15PM, my mom called to say that Miss R had a fever and was sleeping. Jeff went over there for dinner with medicine and thermometer in tow. Her temp was 102.
The kids were in a great mood when they came home. Miss R still felt warm but not hot. Her temp was 99.2.
After teeth brushing, we put them to bed. Miss R fights bed time, which is frustrating. She wanted blankets, then didn't want them, then cried b/c she wanted them. I finally told her to go to bed and left the room. Then, Henry started yammering. I was in my office, and I could hear them giggle at each other. After 15 minutes, I played "bad cop" and told them to go to bed. Henry wanted to be tucked in again. But he was up a few minutes later. I ended up tucking him in several times.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Christmas Lights
On Friday, Patty came to clean our house. The kids had fun cleaning windows with her (she gives them water to wipe). Jeff and I took the kids outside and put up Christmas lights. We took down the Halloween Spider and put up reindeer in our entry way. While Jeff hung the blue icicles that frame our door way, I let the kids spread bird seed around the property. We had bought some at Basha's on Thanksgiving and had fun Thursday afternoon spreading it.
The kids got very dirty from climbing up and down the latter (with Jeff's help of course). We wiped them clean before lunch and then it was nap time.
Around 3:30PM, Jeff took the kids to Grammy and Poppy's house. Jeff hit some golf balls. I worked. We returned to my parents around 6:15PM for Thanksgiving leftovers.
Then, my parents, Jeff, the Twins, and I went to Tohono Chul Park's holiday light display. Over 1/2 a million lights in the park. Live music in the different gardens. The kids had a great time. Henry, unfortunately, was a bit too loud to listen to the choir, so I walked around with him. We ran into Frosty the Snowman a couple times. Henry didn't realize that we'd walked in a circle. He thought that he'd come across a second snowman.
The kids enjoyed the desserts...Miss R especially. We didn't watch the Tucson Ballet's scenes from the Nutcracker b/c Henry was again a bit too loud.
As we headed toward the exit of the park, we ran into a family with two little boys. Henry was fascinated by Andrew, the 4 year old. He walked right up to him and said "Hi!" As Andrew walked backward, Henry would walk forward. Within 30 seconds, Henry gave Andrew a hug...he hasn't yet learned about personal space. Andrew's dad joked with Jeff: "You really need to work on that. He needs to come out of his shell."
Within a couple minutes, Henry was running around and Andrew was having fun chasing him. And Andrew's two year old brother also got in on the action.
I think that Henry would like for us to have a big family. I suspect that he would have loved to have older siblings.
On a parental note, as we entered the park, a kid who was about 7 was leaving the park with his family. He pointed at Henry, and in a very snide voice said, "Look, he has glasses!" Henry didn't hear or care of course. And if every there was a kid who will be able to let snide remarks bounce off him, it is Henry. He doesn't really internalize criticism and is self-directed. Nevertheless, I pretty much wanted to smack the 7 year old upside the head. He was too old to pick on a toddler.
When we got home, the kids played near the reindeer. Then, it was time for bed.
This morning, Henry started feeling hot. He had a low grade fever that slowly crept to over 101 throughout the day. In the morning, he started crawling around instead of walking. His balance was clearly off, and he wanted to be held a lot. So it was a quiet day at home. Lots of reading. Some TV. Henry liked the former and loved the latter.
Jeff made pizza for dinner. Henry loved it. Despite not feeling well today, he was very pleasant and his appetite was fine. We are now headed to the bathroom for a much needed bath.
The kids got very dirty from climbing up and down the latter (with Jeff's help of course). We wiped them clean before lunch and then it was nap time.
Around 3:30PM, Jeff took the kids to Grammy and Poppy's house. Jeff hit some golf balls. I worked. We returned to my parents around 6:15PM for Thanksgiving leftovers.
Then, my parents, Jeff, the Twins, and I went to Tohono Chul Park's holiday light display. Over 1/2 a million lights in the park. Live music in the different gardens. The kids had a great time. Henry, unfortunately, was a bit too loud to listen to the choir, so I walked around with him. We ran into Frosty the Snowman a couple times. Henry didn't realize that we'd walked in a circle. He thought that he'd come across a second snowman.The kids enjoyed the desserts...Miss R especially. We didn't watch the Tucson Ballet's scenes from the Nutcracker b/c Henry was again a bit too loud.
As we headed toward the exit of the park, we ran into a family with two little boys. Henry was fascinated by Andrew, the 4 year old. He walked right up to him and said "Hi!" As Andrew walked backward, Henry would walk forward. Within 30 seconds, Henry gave Andrew a hug...he hasn't yet learned about personal space. Andrew's dad joked with Jeff: "You really need to work on that. He needs to come out of his shell."
Within a couple minutes, Henry was running around and Andrew was having fun chasing him. And Andrew's two year old brother also got in on the action.
I think that Henry would like for us to have a big family. I suspect that he would have loved to have older siblings.
On a parental note, as we entered the park, a kid who was about 7 was leaving the park with his family. He pointed at Henry, and in a very snide voice said, "Look, he has glasses!" Henry didn't hear or care of course. And if every there was a kid who will be able to let snide remarks bounce off him, it is Henry. He doesn't really internalize criticism and is self-directed. Nevertheless, I pretty much wanted to smack the 7 year old upside the head. He was too old to pick on a toddler.
When we got home, the kids played near the reindeer. Then, it was time for bed.This morning, Henry started feeling hot. He had a low grade fever that slowly crept to over 101 throughout the day. In the morning, he started crawling around instead of walking. His balance was clearly off, and he wanted to be held a lot. So it was a quiet day at home. Lots of reading. Some TV. Henry liked the former and loved the latter.
Jeff made pizza for dinner. Henry loved it. Despite not feeling well today, he was very pleasant and his appetite was fine. We are now headed to the bathroom for a much needed bath.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
On Wednesday, Henry and Miss R were taken to school early so that I could make it to school by 8AM to teach my grad seminar (as it was the day before Thanksgiving, the class wanted to meet early). The kids were fine at drop off.
Grammy and Poppy picked up the kids in the afternoon and took them to Barnes and Noble. The kids had a great time as usual. Jeff and I went to see "New Moon" (which was hilarious...unintentionally). Then, Jeff picked up dinner while I got the kids. Henry didn't want to leave Grammy's house. He wanted to watch Peanuts...the scene where Charlie Brown gives the little red headed girl a kiss. Henry insisted that we read a book before leaving. That ended when he thought he heard Uncle Brian's voice and ran to back door. Turned out it was Poppy. We then headed home. We stopped by the gas station to fill up the car. When I was done, Henry announced that he wanted to "go to the gas station again." Not sure what the appeal is with the gas station.
On Thursday, we went for a family walk in the morning. Henry convinced me to hold him a good part of the way. I'm not used to Henry asking for so many much Mommy holding...it was nice. We took a family trip to Basha's to pick up some last minute groceries. As we passed the blood pressure machine, Henry insisted that I take my blood pressure. Then he wanted Daddy to "take blood pressure."
After lunch, we gave the kids a bath. We have to put plugs in Henry's ears while he has the tubes in them. He did better with them than anticipated. The kids had fun "swimming." They took a long nap while I got some cooking done. Jeff got the kids dressed while I got ready. Then, it was off to Grammy and Poppy's house for Thanksgiving dinner.
My Aunt Gloria (my dad's sister) got to meet Miss R for the first time. Our dinner party consisted of Grammy, Poppy, Aunt Gloria, Uncle Brian, Aunt Erin, Jeff, me, and the kids. Miss R was in a rejection mood. I managed to get a spoonful of potatoes in her mouth, however, at which point she realized that the dinner was pretty good. Miss R found Henry's dump truck. She put her Mickey and Minnie toys in it and pushed them around the house. I don't think that I've ever seen her move so much. Henry joined in with his bike. The kids loved the pie. They wanted second helpings. Of course, once I brought them to the kids, Henry announced that he didn't like pie, having stuffed his face 2 minutes earlier. He did, however, managed a couple more bites of the second piece.
I think that it would be fitting to end today's post with a list of things for which I am thankful.
1. Henry is amazing. He continues to dazzle us with his quick wit and verbal prowess.
2. Miss R is very loving. We began our year with a strong feeling that it was important to use the skills that we'd gained being the parents of a child with special needs for other children. We put that feeling into action by going through foster parent training and getting licensed. We are thankful that Miss R melded so seamlessly into our family and that she has thrived with us. Being Miss R's mom has been very rewarding. And I confess that it is nice to have one child in the house who is slightly more mommy-centric than Henry who is a complete daddy's boy.
3. Jeff is a fantastic father and fabulous husband. I simply couldn't keep up with my work without him. The kids adore him.
4. My parents are wonderful grandparents. It is a joy seeing how much our kids love them and want to spend time with them.
5. I am thankful for the support that we've been given by our family and friends. Jeff's sister Jennifer has been supportive through calls and emails to Jeff throughout the NICU ordeal to the present. We are lucky to have several gems of friends too.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Grammy and Poppy picked up the kids in the afternoon and took them to Barnes and Noble. The kids had a great time as usual. Jeff and I went to see "New Moon" (which was hilarious...unintentionally). Then, Jeff picked up dinner while I got the kids. Henry didn't want to leave Grammy's house. He wanted to watch Peanuts...the scene where Charlie Brown gives the little red headed girl a kiss. Henry insisted that we read a book before leaving. That ended when he thought he heard Uncle Brian's voice and ran to back door. Turned out it was Poppy. We then headed home. We stopped by the gas station to fill up the car. When I was done, Henry announced that he wanted to "go to the gas station again." Not sure what the appeal is with the gas station.
On Thursday, we went for a family walk in the morning. Henry convinced me to hold him a good part of the way. I'm not used to Henry asking for so many much Mommy holding...it was nice. We took a family trip to Basha's to pick up some last minute groceries. As we passed the blood pressure machine, Henry insisted that I take my blood pressure. Then he wanted Daddy to "take blood pressure."
After lunch, we gave the kids a bath. We have to put plugs in Henry's ears while he has the tubes in them. He did better with them than anticipated. The kids had fun "swimming." They took a long nap while I got some cooking done. Jeff got the kids dressed while I got ready. Then, it was off to Grammy and Poppy's house for Thanksgiving dinner.
My Aunt Gloria (my dad's sister) got to meet Miss R for the first time. Our dinner party consisted of Grammy, Poppy, Aunt Gloria, Uncle Brian, Aunt Erin, Jeff, me, and the kids. Miss R was in a rejection mood. I managed to get a spoonful of potatoes in her mouth, however, at which point she realized that the dinner was pretty good. Miss R found Henry's dump truck. She put her Mickey and Minnie toys in it and pushed them around the house. I don't think that I've ever seen her move so much. Henry joined in with his bike. The kids loved the pie. They wanted second helpings. Of course, once I brought them to the kids, Henry announced that he didn't like pie, having stuffed his face 2 minutes earlier. He did, however, managed a couple more bites of the second piece.
I think that it would be fitting to end today's post with a list of things for which I am thankful.
1. Henry is amazing. He continues to dazzle us with his quick wit and verbal prowess.
2. Miss R is very loving. We began our year with a strong feeling that it was important to use the skills that we'd gained being the parents of a child with special needs for other children. We put that feeling into action by going through foster parent training and getting licensed. We are thankful that Miss R melded so seamlessly into our family and that she has thrived with us. Being Miss R's mom has been very rewarding. And I confess that it is nice to have one child in the house who is slightly more mommy-centric than Henry who is a complete daddy's boy.
3. Jeff is a fantastic father and fabulous husband. I simply couldn't keep up with my work without him. The kids adore him.
4. My parents are wonderful grandparents. It is a joy seeing how much our kids love them and want to spend time with them.
5. I am thankful for the support that we've been given by our family and friends. Jeff's sister Jennifer has been supportive through calls and emails to Jeff throughout the NICU ordeal to the present. We are lucky to have several gems of friends too.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
"Help! I'm being robbed! I'm being robbed!"
Jeff woke up Henry at 5PM. He would have slept longer had Jeff let him. I had a 4PM meeting at school. Then, I had to post something for my grad students. Miss R came home from her sibling visitation around 6PM. They've been dropping her home early. My understanding was that the visitation was supposed to be 2 hours, but they've been cutting it short. One of Miss R's siblings sent her home with a photo of himself. I'm planning to tape it near her bed. We were too rushed this morning, but I had wanted to send a couple pictures of Miss R on her visitation. We'll try to get our acts together next time. A couple weeks ago, Miss R named her bio siblings to me when I asked her who she saw on her visit. It was a first. The sibling who sent along the picture gave Miss R a very nice outfit for her birthday. It may be a little big on her right now b/c she's running a little small for her age. But I'm sure that she'll be big enough in a few months, and it is really cute.
Jeff made the kids pancakes for dinner at Henry's request. Pretty much Henry has gotten whatever his heart desires today.
At one point, I was trying to distract Henry while Jeff got the laptops out of the living room. I asked Henry to dance. He did his "Maniac" dance with singing.
A little later, he decided to push the new cat food case out of the pantry. It's 9 lbs. He actually picked up the box and carried it a little ways before putting it down. That's over 1/3 his body weight.
He and Miss R went wild in the kitchen. Dancing. Moving. Yelling. Chanting. Singing. Giggling. Henry announced that he was "tap dancing" as he tapped his hands against the cat food box. He then sat down and "played the piano" like Schroeder from Peanuts.
We had to wrangle him on the bed to put the special and required ear drops in his ears. Incidentally, Henry can count to 9 in 2 seconds flat when pressed. Whenever I ask him to count, he says "No." We had him on the bed and were holding him down for the ear drops to settle. He was squirming and fighting us. I said, "We'll let you up if you can count to 10." He rattled off those numbers super fast. Can't say that I'm surprised that he's been holding out on us. Erin did the same thing to my mom when she was a child. My mom was concerned that Erin didn't know how to write her ABCs. Erin refused to do it at home when asked. We were at an ice cream social that had tables of butcher paper and crayons. My mom caught Erin in the act of writing them out.
He and Miss R went into Lily's kennel in Jeff's and my bedroom. Henry got mad at Lily for joining them. He announced that they were "going to Costco." It was then time to brush teeth, but the kids wouldn't budge from the kennel. I warned them in a stern voice. They ignored me. So I said, "OK. That's it." I grabbed Henry and carried him to the bathroom. He started yelling, "Help! Help! I'm being robbed! I'm being robbed!" Of course my stern attitude went out the window b/c I busted up laughing. I'm not sure where he gets half the things he says. I believe that it was yesterday that he told me that he was putting himself in time out. Kind of hard not to laugh when he makes such pronouncements.
Miss R has been very hard to get to sleep these days. She gets very silly by 8PM. I think that we are going to try to put them to bed earlier. It's difficult though. We do enjoy spending time with the kids after dinner.
Jeff made the kids pancakes for dinner at Henry's request. Pretty much Henry has gotten whatever his heart desires today.
At one point, I was trying to distract Henry while Jeff got the laptops out of the living room. I asked Henry to dance. He did his "Maniac" dance with singing.
A little later, he decided to push the new cat food case out of the pantry. It's 9 lbs. He actually picked up the box and carried it a little ways before putting it down. That's over 1/3 his body weight.
He and Miss R went wild in the kitchen. Dancing. Moving. Yelling. Chanting. Singing. Giggling. Henry announced that he was "tap dancing" as he tapped his hands against the cat food box. He then sat down and "played the piano" like Schroeder from Peanuts.
We had to wrangle him on the bed to put the special and required ear drops in his ears. Incidentally, Henry can count to 9 in 2 seconds flat when pressed. Whenever I ask him to count, he says "No." We had him on the bed and were holding him down for the ear drops to settle. He was squirming and fighting us. I said, "We'll let you up if you can count to 10." He rattled off those numbers super fast. Can't say that I'm surprised that he's been holding out on us. Erin did the same thing to my mom when she was a child. My mom was concerned that Erin didn't know how to write her ABCs. Erin refused to do it at home when asked. We were at an ice cream social that had tables of butcher paper and crayons. My mom caught Erin in the act of writing them out.
He and Miss R went into Lily's kennel in Jeff's and my bedroom. Henry got mad at Lily for joining them. He announced that they were "going to Costco." It was then time to brush teeth, but the kids wouldn't budge from the kennel. I warned them in a stern voice. They ignored me. So I said, "OK. That's it." I grabbed Henry and carried him to the bathroom. He started yelling, "Help! Help! I'm being robbed! I'm being robbed!" Of course my stern attitude went out the window b/c I busted up laughing. I'm not sure where he gets half the things he says. I believe that it was yesterday that he told me that he was putting himself in time out. Kind of hard not to laugh when he makes such pronouncements.
Miss R has been very hard to get to sleep these days. She gets very silly by 8PM. I think that we are going to try to put them to bed earlier. It's difficult though. We do enjoy spending time with the kids after dinner.
Quick Update: Henry is Doing Well
Henry had tubes put in his ears this morning. The surgery required anesthesia. Both Jeff and I weren't excited about knowing that he'd be put under. We got the kids out of bed at 5:50AM this morning. There was much crying and protest. We arrived at the surgery center at 6:30AM. Henry liked playing with the toys in the waiting room. Miss R enjoyed coloring the white board walls.
Jeff went with Henry to the back when his name was called. I attempted to braid Miss R's crazy hair while she colored. We were then called back to be with Henry. Henry looked super cute in his tiger hospital gown.
The hardest part was watching Henry be wheeled off in the gurney. He had the look of a child whose parents had abandoned him.
The surgery was quick. About 10-15 minutes later, Dr. Dean came to see us. He said that it went well. There was a lot of fluid behind the right ear.
About 5-10 minutes later, we headed around the back. Jeff went through the back entrance. The nurse said to follow the screams. Henry didn't like waking up with strangers around him.
We then headed to their school and dropped off Miss R. It was about 8:15AM at this point. Henry was super hungry having not eaten. We took him to the glass onion where he enjoyed bites of Jeff's "A Hard Eggs Night" and my "No Yoko" breakfast.
Henry and I watched Thomas videos on the couch. He had a big lunch. He was perhaps a bit less active than his normal self, but as active than the average toddler. Then it was nap time.
Jeff went with Henry to the back when his name was called. I attempted to braid Miss R's crazy hair while she colored. We were then called back to be with Henry. Henry looked super cute in his tiger hospital gown.
The hardest part was watching Henry be wheeled off in the gurney. He had the look of a child whose parents had abandoned him.
The surgery was quick. About 10-15 minutes later, Dr. Dean came to see us. He said that it went well. There was a lot of fluid behind the right ear.
About 5-10 minutes later, we headed around the back. Jeff went through the back entrance. The nurse said to follow the screams. Henry didn't like waking up with strangers around him.
We then headed to their school and dropped off Miss R. It was about 8:15AM at this point. Henry was super hungry having not eaten. We took him to the glass onion where he enjoyed bites of Jeff's "A Hard Eggs Night" and my "No Yoko" breakfast.
Henry and I watched Thomas videos on the couch. He had a big lunch. He was perhaps a bit less active than his normal self, but as active than the average toddler. Then it was nap time.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Mangled Glasses, Singing and a Mega Tantrum
Kate was off to Chicago again Thursday through Saturday. When I dropped the kids off at daycare, Henry was happy to go off and play with the "bicycles," which are little scooting toys. Miss R cried. They then reversed on Friday, and Miss R was content to join her class while Henry cried. It's still sad to see them cry, even though I'm pretty sure they stop as soon as I'm out of earshot.
Grandma and Grandpa took the kids Thursday afternoon. Henry had mangled his glasses. Friday afternoon Grandma and Grandpa took him to the opticians, and they were able to fix the glasses.
I then joined them and we headed out to dinner. The first choice had a 45 minute wait so we went to Coco's. That was actually a great place to take them. It wasn't too busy, we got a booth, and service was pretty quick. Henry rummaged through Grandma's purse until he found her cash. He hasn't learned the power of the credit card yet. She gave them both a dollar for their piggy banks.
On Saturday we went to Costco with with the Grandparents. Miss R decided to stay with me rather than share a cart with Henry. We were about halfway through the store when I realized I hadn't given her any sample food. We backtracked, and she enjoyed the snacks. For someone her size, it is probably like having a bunch of appetizers.
They went home with their Grandparents leaving me free to hit some golf balls and clean the house. At one point, Grandma had to leave Grandpa alone with them for a while. I think that is a first. They timed it so they were napping at that time. When they got up, they went outside and watered the plants. It's nice that they are still at an age when they want to help, even though they may not be the most helpful.
Again Henry did not want to leave their house to come home. I feel like he is a little resentful when we leave him with others. Miss R is quite different; she always lights up and runs and gives us big hugs when we pick her up.
Kate arrived home late Saturday night so we spent some time together on Sunday. We all slept in rather late. The kids enjoyed a breakfast of french toast. They then found their underwear drawer and had a great time running around with underwear on their heads. It's brand new underwear, nothing they have worn yet. At one point Henry got his face stuck in the leg hole and asked for help to get it out. What a character.
We went grocery shopping and picked up things for Thanksgiving. It was nice to have the two of us there so we could have two carts and one kid per cart. Then it was back home for lunch and nap time.
After nap we went for family walk with the dogs. We ran into our neighbor Yvonne. She had a friend along, Ava who is the grandaughter of one of our other neighbors. She looked like she was probably five or six. She enjoys the dogs so she joined us for the walk holding the leash for Yvonne's dog Chocolate. Henry saw Ava and got a big smile on his face. He loves older women. He of course wanted to do what she was doing so we tried to put Lily on the leash, but she's so energetic it didn't work out. He ended up just carrying the leash.
Just before bath time, Kate had to go back to her office. She left the door open, and Henry saw her in there and immediately made a nuisance of himself wanting to watch YouTube videos. I removed him, and he went into the worst tantrum I've ever seen. Usually he is such a bad actor that you can kind of laugh off his tantrums. This time he was truly upset and on the verge of out of control, flopping, flailing and putting his fingers in his mouth in an odd sort of way, kind of pulling down on his jaw. I'd never seen him like that before.
Today Kate had something to do at 8am so we pried the kids out of bed kicking and screaming to get out the door on time. Both kids cried when Kate dropped them off despite being offered pancakes.
This evening was nice. We walked the dogs, had some dinner, read books, and took a bath. Henry was very cute at dinner. He looked at me straight in the eyes and smiled and I was wondering what was up. He started to talk, and I made out some verses to "Hark the Herald." He has been singing that because it is at the end of the book "A Charlie Brown Christmas," which we read often. He has also been doing a funny walk where he kicks his legs out behind him. I finally asked him what he was doing and he said, "Skating on the pond." Again, emulating "A Charlie Brown Christmas." He has been insisting lately that he is a girl, Miss R is a boy. We'll see where that takes us. We won't break out the dvd of "Transamerica" just yet. When we were getting out of the car, he found some coins and held them and said "Money, money, money." This time a reference to "Mamma Mia!"
Miss R has been having fun pushing her nose into my nose. She pushes pretty hard, and it isn't comfortable. She will even say "Ouch" but keep on doing it, giggling the entire time. She has also been rather tough at bed time, which is new. She seems to get really energetic and giggly at night. The last few nights trying to get her to sleep has been a challenge.
Tomorrow Henry gets tubes put in his ears. We have to be at the surgery center at 6:30am with surgery at 7:30am and no food or drink after midnight. I'm not looking forward to having to get him up early or having him put under for surgery. It's very routine but there is always some risk. He's been put under before for his hernia surgery so hopefully this will go just as smoothly.
Grandma and Grandpa took the kids Thursday afternoon. Henry had mangled his glasses. Friday afternoon Grandma and Grandpa took him to the opticians, and they were able to fix the glasses.
I then joined them and we headed out to dinner. The first choice had a 45 minute wait so we went to Coco's. That was actually a great place to take them. It wasn't too busy, we got a booth, and service was pretty quick. Henry rummaged through Grandma's purse until he found her cash. He hasn't learned the power of the credit card yet. She gave them both a dollar for their piggy banks.
On Saturday we went to Costco with with the Grandparents. Miss R decided to stay with me rather than share a cart with Henry. We were about halfway through the store when I realized I hadn't given her any sample food. We backtracked, and she enjoyed the snacks. For someone her size, it is probably like having a bunch of appetizers.
They went home with their Grandparents leaving me free to hit some golf balls and clean the house. At one point, Grandma had to leave Grandpa alone with them for a while. I think that is a first. They timed it so they were napping at that time. When they got up, they went outside and watered the plants. It's nice that they are still at an age when they want to help, even though they may not be the most helpful.
Again Henry did not want to leave their house to come home. I feel like he is a little resentful when we leave him with others. Miss R is quite different; she always lights up and runs and gives us big hugs when we pick her up.
Kate arrived home late Saturday night so we spent some time together on Sunday. We all slept in rather late. The kids enjoyed a breakfast of french toast. They then found their underwear drawer and had a great time running around with underwear on their heads. It's brand new underwear, nothing they have worn yet. At one point Henry got his face stuck in the leg hole and asked for help to get it out. What a character.
We went grocery shopping and picked up things for Thanksgiving. It was nice to have the two of us there so we could have two carts and one kid per cart. Then it was back home for lunch and nap time.
After nap we went for family walk with the dogs. We ran into our neighbor Yvonne. She had a friend along, Ava who is the grandaughter of one of our other neighbors. She looked like she was probably five or six. She enjoys the dogs so she joined us for the walk holding the leash for Yvonne's dog Chocolate. Henry saw Ava and got a big smile on his face. He loves older women. He of course wanted to do what she was doing so we tried to put Lily on the leash, but she's so energetic it didn't work out. He ended up just carrying the leash.
Just before bath time, Kate had to go back to her office. She left the door open, and Henry saw her in there and immediately made a nuisance of himself wanting to watch YouTube videos. I removed him, and he went into the worst tantrum I've ever seen. Usually he is such a bad actor that you can kind of laugh off his tantrums. This time he was truly upset and on the verge of out of control, flopping, flailing and putting his fingers in his mouth in an odd sort of way, kind of pulling down on his jaw. I'd never seen him like that before.
Today Kate had something to do at 8am so we pried the kids out of bed kicking and screaming to get out the door on time. Both kids cried when Kate dropped them off despite being offered pancakes.
This evening was nice. We walked the dogs, had some dinner, read books, and took a bath. Henry was very cute at dinner. He looked at me straight in the eyes and smiled and I was wondering what was up. He started to talk, and I made out some verses to "Hark the Herald." He has been singing that because it is at the end of the book "A Charlie Brown Christmas," which we read often. He has also been doing a funny walk where he kicks his legs out behind him. I finally asked him what he was doing and he said, "Skating on the pond." Again, emulating "A Charlie Brown Christmas." He has been insisting lately that he is a girl, Miss R is a boy. We'll see where that takes us. We won't break out the dvd of "Transamerica" just yet. When we were getting out of the car, he found some coins and held them and said "Money, money, money." This time a reference to "Mamma Mia!"
Miss R has been having fun pushing her nose into my nose. She pushes pretty hard, and it isn't comfortable. She will even say "Ouch" but keep on doing it, giggling the entire time. She has also been rather tough at bed time, which is new. She seems to get really energetic and giggly at night. The last few nights trying to get her to sleep has been a challenge.
Tomorrow Henry gets tubes put in his ears. We have to be at the surgery center at 6:30am with surgery at 7:30am and no food or drink after midnight. I'm not looking forward to having to get him up early or having him put under for surgery. It's very routine but there is always some risk. He's been put under before for his hernia surgery so hopefully this will go just as smoothly.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Maniac
On Wednesday morning, Jeff went to a CFT. I got the kids out the door, but they took FOREVER to move. Miss R is much more responsive to Jeff than me when it comes to getting dressed or putting shoes on, etc. She threw a huge fit in the parking lot b/c I wouldn't let her take her flowered headband into school as she wasn't wearing it.
Henry wore his glasses and received many compliments. I asked Henry who he looked like. He said, "Harry Potter!" Jeff reported that lots of people commented on how good he looked in glasses as they left the building in the afternoon.
Jeff learned at the CFT that one of Miss R's older siblings has been in email contact with another sibling who supposedly lives with an aunt in another state. That aunt and sister are apparently visiting Tucson at the moment and will be moving here permanently. We don't know how that will affect the case. Our family specialist seems optimistic about our situation. But I think that Jeff and I are inclined not to assume anything about the future right now.
We had a visit at 6PM from Alison, our family specialist, from A Place to Call Home. Henry and Miss R had a couple of toddler tantrums while she visited. They keep taking each others toys. Henry wasn't wearing pants (but he was wearing his Little Mermaid pullups) when she arrived. According to Jeff, Henry had just had the biggest output ever.
The kids had some dried mango after the visit. While in the kitchen, Henry put Miss R's headband on. She had thrown it aside, but then had a fit when he touched it. I said, "Henry's so goofy!" And she giggled. Henry danced in front of us, and that made her laugh even more. I decided to teach him "She's a Maniac" from Flashdance. He picked up on the moves quickly.
The Twins played on the slide. Miss R learned that she could go down the slide on her stomach. They were both bears to get to bed. Talking. Complaining. Singing.
I'm off to Chicago tomorrow. Jeff will have the kids all to himself again!
Henry wore his glasses and received many compliments. I asked Henry who he looked like. He said, "Harry Potter!" Jeff reported that lots of people commented on how good he looked in glasses as they left the building in the afternoon.
Jeff learned at the CFT that one of Miss R's older siblings has been in email contact with another sibling who supposedly lives with an aunt in another state. That aunt and sister are apparently visiting Tucson at the moment and will be moving here permanently. We don't know how that will affect the case. Our family specialist seems optimistic about our situation. But I think that Jeff and I are inclined not to assume anything about the future right now.
We had a visit at 6PM from Alison, our family specialist, from A Place to Call Home. Henry and Miss R had a couple of toddler tantrums while she visited. They keep taking each others toys. Henry wasn't wearing pants (but he was wearing his Little Mermaid pullups) when she arrived. According to Jeff, Henry had just had the biggest output ever.
The kids had some dried mango after the visit. While in the kitchen, Henry put Miss R's headband on. She had thrown it aside, but then had a fit when he touched it. I said, "Henry's so goofy!" And she giggled. Henry danced in front of us, and that made her laugh even more. I decided to teach him "She's a Maniac" from Flashdance. He picked up on the moves quickly.
The Twins played on the slide. Miss R learned that she could go down the slide on her stomach. They were both bears to get to bed. Talking. Complaining. Singing.
I'm off to Chicago tomorrow. Jeff will have the kids all to himself again!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Severance: The First Steps
On Tuesday morning, the kids were still asleep at 8AM. We got out the door around 8:45AM. Jeff had Miss R's hair in a headband that looked pretty good. As we walked down the hall of the daycare, a woman with a car seat was coming in the opposite direction on Henry's side of the walkway. When she was a couple inches from him, he yelled "Oww!" She found this very funny. Indeed, Henry would make a much better comedian than a serious dramatic actor. He's lacking in realism. Both Henry and Miss R were reluctant about going into their classrooms, but the promise of snacks made the transition slightly less troubling for them.
My parents really wanted to pick up the kids today. We agreed as we had a 4:30PM hearing for Miss R. At the last hearing, the court planned to switch case plans from reunification to severance/adoption. Today was the hearing that confirmed that switch. Miss R's case will move from CPS' hands to another agency. That agency will decide who gets to adopt Miss R (with the judge's approval of course). As far as we understand it, Miss R is officially a ward of the state now. But that doesn't mean that the severance has been finalized yet. We have yet another hearing on March 15 that will finalize the severance. In the meantime, the new agency will be vetting candidates for Miss R's future "forever home." For whatever reasons, it will take a month for Miss R's case to switch from CPS to the other agency. Prior to the hearing, the CASA was informed by the CPS caseworker that the aunt is a possible candidate. In the hearing, she was not mentioned however. At the hearing, the CPS attorney and the CASA both said that we were an appropriate permanent placement for Miss R. Miss R's CASA said that she would love to see Miss R placed with us permanently. The judge asked us if we wanted to add anything. Jeff reiterated that Miss R is doing very well.
Jeff and I had planned to go to dinner and then pick up the kids. We got a call from my mom, however, when we were near her side of town. She and Poppy had picked up Henry and were headed to our house. Apparently, much to our surprise, Miss R had been picked up by CPS for a visitation. That surprised us b/c we had assumed that the visitation was canceled due to the hearing. My parents and Henry made it to our house about 20 minutes before Miss R arrived. The driver decided it was OK to leave Miss R with my parents when Miss R yelled out for "Grammy!" and went running to her. The driver was a little bit worried about Miss R in the car b/c Miss R had been very quiet. I think that she was relieved that Miss R perked up upon seeing my mom.
The kids were rowdy this evening. We watched part of The Incredibles while eating dinner in the living room owing to Lily making a mess near the kitchen. That dog has been nothing but trouble. Henry enjoyed pasta salad and potato salad. Miss R enjoyed bread. We think that she'd already eaten some McDonald's during her visit with her siblings.
Henry read books with Jeff. Miss R snuggled with me. I attempted to take pictures of Henry with his glasses on. He didn't make it easy. Then, it was teeth brushing and bed.
My parents really wanted to pick up the kids today. We agreed as we had a 4:30PM hearing for Miss R. At the last hearing, the court planned to switch case plans from reunification to severance/adoption. Today was the hearing that confirmed that switch. Miss R's case will move from CPS' hands to another agency. That agency will decide who gets to adopt Miss R (with the judge's approval of course). As far as we understand it, Miss R is officially a ward of the state now. But that doesn't mean that the severance has been finalized yet. We have yet another hearing on March 15 that will finalize the severance. In the meantime, the new agency will be vetting candidates for Miss R's future "forever home." For whatever reasons, it will take a month for Miss R's case to switch from CPS to the other agency. Prior to the hearing, the CASA was informed by the CPS caseworker that the aunt is a possible candidate. In the hearing, she was not mentioned however. At the hearing, the CPS attorney and the CASA both said that we were an appropriate permanent placement for Miss R. Miss R's CASA said that she would love to see Miss R placed with us permanently. The judge asked us if we wanted to add anything. Jeff reiterated that Miss R is doing very well.
Jeff and I had planned to go to dinner and then pick up the kids. We got a call from my mom, however, when we were near her side of town. She and Poppy had picked up Henry and were headed to our house. Apparently, much to our surprise, Miss R had been picked up by CPS for a visitation. That surprised us b/c we had assumed that the visitation was canceled due to the hearing. My parents and Henry made it to our house about 20 minutes before Miss R arrived. The driver decided it was OK to leave Miss R with my parents when Miss R yelled out for "Grammy!" and went running to her. The driver was a little bit worried about Miss R in the car b/c Miss R had been very quiet. I think that she was relieved that Miss R perked up upon seeing my mom.
The kids were rowdy this evening. We watched part of The Incredibles while eating dinner in the living room owing to Lily making a mess near the kitchen. That dog has been nothing but trouble. Henry enjoyed pasta salad and potato salad. Miss R enjoyed bread. We think that she'd already eaten some McDonald's during her visit with her siblings.Henry read books with Jeff. Miss R snuggled with me. I attempted to take pictures of Henry with his glasses on. He didn't make it easy. Then, it was teeth brushing and bed.
Monday, November 16, 2009
104 degrees
On Sunday, Jeff took the kids to the park. Henry was not as active as he normally is. When Jeff made lunch for the kids, Henry didn't eat. Jeff noticed that Henry was warm.
Jeff and the kids picked me up at the airport. The kids were groggy. Henry was quite warm when we got home. He wanted to watch TV, and we let him. We gave him Tylenol. At one point, his temperature was 104 or so. The Tylenol would drop it a couple of tenths. Henry didn't move around much. Most of the time, he snuggled against me. His hands and feet were cold, but his head was hot. I told him that if he wanted to watch TV, he had to wear his glasses and he did.
Henry looks super cute in his glasses. He makes glasses look good.
I ended up calling the nurse hotline for our insurance. Then, I ended up talking to a nurse from the call line of our pediatrician's office. They both recommended baths to bring the fever down a little. His feet looked a little bluish. He got mad at Miss R b/c she put her feet on his back in the tub. Miss R had lots of energy for whatever reason.
Henry's temperature came down a little but was still high. By morning, it had gone away. We had to keep him home b/c the school policy is that kids need not have had a fever w/i 24 hours in order to attend.
Henry was still asleep when I left with Miss R around 8:30AM. Miss R was in a good mood. She'd slept in a little too. She got mad at me at the parking lot of school b/c I wouldn't let her bring the pumpkin light into school and made her keep it in the car. Jeff called to say that Henry had a 9:30AM appointment at Dr. Bianchi's office. I met them there. Henry weights 26 lbs 12 ozs. Basically, we are just supposed to monitor the situation for now. Henry's pulse-ox was 94.
I watched Henry when I returned. Didn't get much done, which wasn't great. Henry wanted to watch movies on the laptop NOT the TV. I got my old laptop and set him up next to me with it. I worked on my laptop. He would look over and request that I pull up pictures of him.
HENRY: I want to see pictures of Henry.
KATE: How do you know that I have pictures of Henry on here?
HENRY: Because I know.
I did of course have pictures of Henry on the computer.
Henry had two bursts of hungry during our viewing of Monsters, Inc. He was quite keen on eating dried fruit. He also had pancakes and soy bacon. Later, he had Indian food for lunch.
I decided it was time to add to his collection of political names. I haven't given him any challenges in awhile. I decided that he should know that Kathleen Hall Jamieson is the nation's expert on political advertising. He is having some problems saying such a long name. At one point, his response to the question of "Who is the nation's expert on political advertising?" elicited something that sounded like Jamieson "and Snow White."
At 1PM, he went down for his nap. Jeff took care of Henry in the afternoon. Then, my parents brought Miss R home. Today was my long teaching day.
Jeff said he and the kids had a good evening, although Henry and Miss R were getting on each other's nerves. When I got home, Jeff's cough sounded terrible. Currently, Miss R is coughing. If it keeps up, I'll have to pull out the nebulizer. And Henry feels warm, although I don't think his temperature is in the high range. Sigh.
I wouldn't be surprised if someone has to stay home tomorrow, but I really need some time in the morning to get work done.
In the late afternoon, Jeff and I have Miss R's permanency hearing to attend. I am of the opinion that we should be taking a taxi or renting a car so that the parents won't know what kind of car we drive. Maybe that's overkill. But I think that it is important for them to NOT know who we are or where we live.
Jeff and the kids picked me up at the airport. The kids were groggy. Henry was quite warm when we got home. He wanted to watch TV, and we let him. We gave him Tylenol. At one point, his temperature was 104 or so. The Tylenol would drop it a couple of tenths. Henry didn't move around much. Most of the time, he snuggled against me. His hands and feet were cold, but his head was hot. I told him that if he wanted to watch TV, he had to wear his glasses and he did.
Henry looks super cute in his glasses. He makes glasses look good.
I ended up calling the nurse hotline for our insurance. Then, I ended up talking to a nurse from the call line of our pediatrician's office. They both recommended baths to bring the fever down a little. His feet looked a little bluish. He got mad at Miss R b/c she put her feet on his back in the tub. Miss R had lots of energy for whatever reason.
Henry's temperature came down a little but was still high. By morning, it had gone away. We had to keep him home b/c the school policy is that kids need not have had a fever w/i 24 hours in order to attend.
Henry was still asleep when I left with Miss R around 8:30AM. Miss R was in a good mood. She'd slept in a little too. She got mad at me at the parking lot of school b/c I wouldn't let her bring the pumpkin light into school and made her keep it in the car. Jeff called to say that Henry had a 9:30AM appointment at Dr. Bianchi's office. I met them there. Henry weights 26 lbs 12 ozs. Basically, we are just supposed to monitor the situation for now. Henry's pulse-ox was 94.
I watched Henry when I returned. Didn't get much done, which wasn't great. Henry wanted to watch movies on the laptop NOT the TV. I got my old laptop and set him up next to me with it. I worked on my laptop. He would look over and request that I pull up pictures of him.
HENRY: I want to see pictures of Henry.
KATE: How do you know that I have pictures of Henry on here?
HENRY: Because I know.
I did of course have pictures of Henry on the computer.
Henry had two bursts of hungry during our viewing of Monsters, Inc. He was quite keen on eating dried fruit. He also had pancakes and soy bacon. Later, he had Indian food for lunch.
I decided it was time to add to his collection of political names. I haven't given him any challenges in awhile. I decided that he should know that Kathleen Hall Jamieson is the nation's expert on political advertising. He is having some problems saying such a long name. At one point, his response to the question of "Who is the nation's expert on political advertising?" elicited something that sounded like Jamieson "and Snow White."
At 1PM, he went down for his nap. Jeff took care of Henry in the afternoon. Then, my parents brought Miss R home. Today was my long teaching day.
Jeff said he and the kids had a good evening, although Henry and Miss R were getting on each other's nerves. When I got home, Jeff's cough sounded terrible. Currently, Miss R is coughing. If it keeps up, I'll have to pull out the nebulizer. And Henry feels warm, although I don't think his temperature is in the high range. Sigh.
I wouldn't be surprised if someone has to stay home tomorrow, but I really need some time in the morning to get work done.
In the late afternoon, Jeff and I have Miss R's permanency hearing to attend. I am of the opinion that we should be taking a taxi or renting a car so that the parents won't know what kind of car we drive. Maybe that's overkill. But I think that it is important for them to NOT know who we are or where we live.
Friday, November 13, 2009
"Help Me Scar!", ENT, Glasses
On Thursday, I took the day off to watch the kids. Miss R had a fever and so couldn't go to daycare. Other than the fever, she was pretty much herself. I kept Henry home as well since I was there anyway.
Patti came to clean and enjoyed seeing the kids. It had been a while since she had seen them. Henry immediately wanted to clean the windows, and she supplied him paper towels and they scrubbed away together. He also did some mopping, which he did quite well. He remembered that she keeps a radio in her bag and helped himself to it.
In the afternoon, Miss R's fever seemed a little worse, and she was pretty lethargic so we watched some Sesame Street videos.
In the evening, I sat on the couch to read to them, but Henry wanted to run around. While I was sitting and reading with Miss R, Henry climbed on the back of the couch, which is right up against the wall. He was reaching as high as he could, trying to reach a metal sun we have hanging there. He said, "Help me Scar!" which is a quote from The Lion King movie when Mufasa is trying to escape the stampeding wildebeests and is clawing his way up a canyon wall. It was hilarious.
Friday Miss R seemed ok, her fever was gone before bed without medication and hadn't returned by morning. In the afternoon Grandma and Grandpa picked up Miss R, and I picked up Henry. I took him to an Ear Nose and Throat doctor regarding his ear infections. No big surprise, they recommended putting tubes in his ears. I don't completely understand it, but it has something to do with the pressure in the inner ear not being right and so the ear drum gets stretched and it leads to ear infections. Sounds like a simple procedure to put them in. The doctor said it takes 5 minutes and he'll often do it on his way to work.
We also picked up his glasses that afternoon. I think he looks pretty good in them but I haven't had much success getting him to wear them. Grandma said he wore them for an hour and a half tonight when he was at their house watching TV.
We had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa at Swenson's. Miss R managed to drop her grilled cheese on the floor in about 10 seconds, which she did last time we were there. It caused much crying and screaming on her part because I wouldn't let her have the part that had been on the floor. I had learned from last time and had cut the sandwich in two and offered her the second piece but she couldn't be consoled and I had to leave the restaurant for a few minutes. Later she was having fun dipping chicken nuggets in ranch sauce and licking the ranch sauce off. That lasted until she spilled the ranch sauce all over herself and Grandpa's foot.
I thought I would try a little experiment and let them stay up as long as they wanted. I am curious as to whether Henry would ever tire out if left to his own devices. In the end I wore out and put them to bed around 10:30pm. Miss R seemed tired at one point but caught a second wind. Henry showed no signs of slowing down. They ran around having a great time together. It seemed like a toga party at one point because they wrapped themselves in their towels and were marching around. I might have to repeat the experiment when I've had more rest.
Today we walked the dogs in the morning. I had to make Henry walk, because he wouldn't leave Miss R alone in the wagon. Then we went to the park. They had a good time. There were lots of kids because of a birthday party. They were older but Henry seems to like that. At the end of the trip Henry announced "Yea Park!"
After nap they went to Grandma and Grandpa's because I had to work. They went to Barnes and Noble and got some new books, a puzzle and stuffed ladybugs. Henry apparently tried to lay claim to the toy Thomas train set they have there. He told a six year old girl that it was his train. Grandma had to try to explain sharing to him, which is something I think we will be working on for a great while. Miss R went up and down the escalator holding Grandma's hand but not needing to be held which was different for her.
When Henry and Miss R were dropped off at home Henry stated that he wanted to go with Grandma and Grandpa. It might have had something to do with me being upset with him after he bonked Miss R in the head with a flashlight.
Bed time was another screaming tantrum, which has become common. Both Henry and Miss R were enjoying playing in a suitcase I had pulled down for Kate in case she needed it for her trip to Chicago. They would sit inside it and close the flap, then burst out of it giggling. I had wheeled them into their bedroom while they sat in it. When I finally put my foot down and made them get in bed, Henry had a major fit, screaming and flopping all over and inevitably bonking his head pretty good on the headboard. Miss R wasn't happy either. Eventually after a story and several songs they calmed and went to sleep. Thursday, November 12, 2009
Mamma Mia!
On Wednesday morning, Jeff reported that Miss R went pee on the potty. Going number 1 on the potty is a first for her. We were pleased that both kids seem to be making progress is the potty training area.
I took the kids to school. There was practically a mutiny in the car when I put the Belly Button CD in the player instead of the Muevete CD. I had two very angry toddlers on my hands. I had no idea that they were so devoted to their Latin music.
Henry, again, wanted to join Miss Casi's class. I talked with Jan who is the other teacher in Miss Casi's class. She was surprised that Henry was so insistent because their classes don't spent a lot of time together...except on the playground. Of course, they are on the playground three times a day.
Interestingly, when I talked with the afternoon teacher (one who floats from class to class; name I can't remember) in Henry's class on Tuesday, I mentioned that he has been talking about Miss Casi a lot. She said that Miss Casi is very outgoing so that kids find her funny. I asked her if Henry was pretty quiet in general. She said that Henry does talk to her, but he hasn't actually uttered any words in front of Miss Casi, who asked her the other day if Henry could speak. How ironic that Henry has been talking about Miss Casi a lot and she's never heard him speak!
Henry went with me to the store on Tuesday. We stopped by the Chase Bank desk inside Basha's (grocery story). As I pulled the cart up to the desk, Henry pointed to the teller and said "Bank robber!" The teller burst out laughing. She gave Henry a lollipop.
Back to Wednesday, Miss R was very apathetic this morning when I was dropping her off. Miss R has seemed very sedate in the morning when we arrive at school. She goes over to Miss Lulu willingly, but she doesn't quite have the attachment yet. With Miss Kristen and Miss Josie, she'd run over to them to give them hugs. I think that she is still out of sorts for not being in that classroom. She really doesn't like change. She isn't fighting it, but she's not thrilled either. I'm hoping that she'll warm up to Miss Lulu and Miss Diana soon.
Grammy and Poppy picked up the kids on Wednesday afternoon. Poppy said that Henry told them he wanted to go to Barnes and Noble. Grammy said they'd go some other day. Then Henry requested that they go to Toys R Us. I'm glad that he privileges B&N over Toys R Us. Poppy reported that Henry ate A LOT of food. Miss R ate some.
The kids were happy to see me when they came home. We sat outside in the atrium. I was on the front door step. Miss R wanted to be held and requested that I sing "Honey, Honey" with the replacement of those words with "Robin, Robin" or "Henry, Henry" or "Mommy, Mommy." She did a good job singing "Mamma Mia!"
We went inside so that I could rebraid her hair. We are hoping it will look good enough for tomorrow morning when I'm not there to do it. Then, Jeff can wash her hair tomorrow night and let her go Fro on Friday morning. Henry requested that we watch Mamma Mia!, so Jeff popped it in. Once Miss R's hair was done (and it did take awhile), we turned off the TV and got ready for bed. Henry had a full out meltdown at his beloved Mamma Mia! being turned off. It was quite a production. At least he didn't have a vomit tantrum...but pretty close.
I leave for Chicago in the morning. I'm not looking forward to leaving the kids. I haven't been feeling well lately (cough is back, trouble sleeping, exhausted), and I think that I'm just generally out of sorts b/c of all the unknowns about Miss R's case. We learned on Wednesday morning that Miss R's case manager, with whom we have good rapport, is having surgery so Miss R's case is being reassigned to her supervisor. We don't know anything about the supervisor. And if she is like Carmen, I hope things will turn out fine. But again, it is more unknown. Apparently, if the court decides on severance on Tuesday, then the case will switch to a different division that determines who a child is placed with. More unknowns. More bureaucratic whatnot to figure out. I'm also not thrilled that Henry will be getting his glasses on Friday and going to the ENT, and I wont' be here to be with him. He has been more Mommy-focused these days (still very much a Daddy's boy, but he has wanted me more). The other night, we practice somersaults. He loved doing that. He doesn't quite have the squatting part down yet. But he likes propeling his body. Miss R has the squatting part down well, but she doesn't quite get the propeling part. They are a lot of fun. Three days away from them is going to seem like FOREVER.
I took the kids to school. There was practically a mutiny in the car when I put the Belly Button CD in the player instead of the Muevete CD. I had two very angry toddlers on my hands. I had no idea that they were so devoted to their Latin music.
Henry, again, wanted to join Miss Casi's class. I talked with Jan who is the other teacher in Miss Casi's class. She was surprised that Henry was so insistent because their classes don't spent a lot of time together...except on the playground. Of course, they are on the playground three times a day.
Interestingly, when I talked with the afternoon teacher (one who floats from class to class; name I can't remember) in Henry's class on Tuesday, I mentioned that he has been talking about Miss Casi a lot. She said that Miss Casi is very outgoing so that kids find her funny. I asked her if Henry was pretty quiet in general. She said that Henry does talk to her, but he hasn't actually uttered any words in front of Miss Casi, who asked her the other day if Henry could speak. How ironic that Henry has been talking about Miss Casi a lot and she's never heard him speak!
Henry went with me to the store on Tuesday. We stopped by the Chase Bank desk inside Basha's (grocery story). As I pulled the cart up to the desk, Henry pointed to the teller and said "Bank robber!" The teller burst out laughing. She gave Henry a lollipop.
Back to Wednesday, Miss R was very apathetic this morning when I was dropping her off. Miss R has seemed very sedate in the morning when we arrive at school. She goes over to Miss Lulu willingly, but she doesn't quite have the attachment yet. With Miss Kristen and Miss Josie, she'd run over to them to give them hugs. I think that she is still out of sorts for not being in that classroom. She really doesn't like change. She isn't fighting it, but she's not thrilled either. I'm hoping that she'll warm up to Miss Lulu and Miss Diana soon.
Grammy and Poppy picked up the kids on Wednesday afternoon. Poppy said that Henry told them he wanted to go to Barnes and Noble. Grammy said they'd go some other day. Then Henry requested that they go to Toys R Us. I'm glad that he privileges B&N over Toys R Us. Poppy reported that Henry ate A LOT of food. Miss R ate some.
The kids were happy to see me when they came home. We sat outside in the atrium. I was on the front door step. Miss R wanted to be held and requested that I sing "Honey, Honey" with the replacement of those words with "Robin, Robin" or "Henry, Henry" or "Mommy, Mommy." She did a good job singing "Mamma Mia!"
We went inside so that I could rebraid her hair. We are hoping it will look good enough for tomorrow morning when I'm not there to do it. Then, Jeff can wash her hair tomorrow night and let her go Fro on Friday morning. Henry requested that we watch Mamma Mia!, so Jeff popped it in. Once Miss R's hair was done (and it did take awhile), we turned off the TV and got ready for bed. Henry had a full out meltdown at his beloved Mamma Mia! being turned off. It was quite a production. At least he didn't have a vomit tantrum...but pretty close.
I leave for Chicago in the morning. I'm not looking forward to leaving the kids. I haven't been feeling well lately (cough is back, trouble sleeping, exhausted), and I think that I'm just generally out of sorts b/c of all the unknowns about Miss R's case. We learned on Wednesday morning that Miss R's case manager, with whom we have good rapport, is having surgery so Miss R's case is being reassigned to her supervisor. We don't know anything about the supervisor. And if she is like Carmen, I hope things will turn out fine. But again, it is more unknown. Apparently, if the court decides on severance on Tuesday, then the case will switch to a different division that determines who a child is placed with. More unknowns. More bureaucratic whatnot to figure out. I'm also not thrilled that Henry will be getting his glasses on Friday and going to the ENT, and I wont' be here to be with him. He has been more Mommy-focused these days (still very much a Daddy's boy, but he has wanted me more). The other night, we practice somersaults. He loved doing that. He doesn't quite have the squatting part down yet. But he likes propeling his body. Miss R has the squatting part down well, but she doesn't quite get the propeling part. They are a lot of fun. Three days away from them is going to seem like FOREVER.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
"I'm two!", PT visit
On Sunday the kids went to their grandparents earlier than usual. Kate had to work and I was happy to have some time to do fun things like laundry and vacuuming plus a trip to the driving range. We walked the dogs before going. Both kids now like to sit in the wagon for the entire trip. Maybe I need a new route to spice things up.
At the grandparents they worked in the yard. From my brief observation I think it probably takes Grandma and Grandpa three or four times as long to do the work they are doing, but the kids really enjoy it. "Where's the dust pan?," "Where's the leaf bucket," "Henry, can I have a broom please," "No, don't sweep the pile I just made all over the place." They have a lot of patience.
I joined them for a dinner of hamburgers, potato salad, corn bread, and rice. Miss R loves her rice. Henry is big on meat.
Monday afternoon Henry had a physical therapy appointment. He hasn't had one for a while. Kate and I are still concerned about his toe walking, which he is doing a great deal of lately. As before she doesn't see any physical problem, there is range of motion, the heel cords don't seem tight. She provided a few weight options to help keep his whole foot on the ground. She tried a fanny pack but that wouldn't stay on. We loaded up his Thomas backpack with weights but couldn't keep that on either. Ankle weights had the same result. Finally some weights that attach to his shoes seemed to be acceptable to him, but they didn't really seem to work as well. We'll have to keep trying.
Today Miss R's CPS case worker visited her at daycare to see how things were going there. I don't think I can say much about that. Kate picked up Henry and took him to the grocery store. We had dinner and played around at home. Miss R returned a bit early from her bio family visit.
At some point in the last few days, Henry thought it would be fun to put a diaper on his head and run around. When asked what he was doing, he said "I'm being silly." Tonight we had him in underwear instead of diapers and at some point he took them off and put them on his head as well. Our little frat boy in the making, Hank the Tank.
Lately when asked a question, he might normally say no to he now replies "Maybe not." Kate asked him this evening how old he was and he replied "I'm two." We haven't really worked with him on that so we were both kind of surprised. He has some books that have buttons that play sounds. In the story, it will show a picture of the button that should be pressed at that point in the story. He is now able to push the appropriate button.
Henry and Miss R had a great time doing Ring-Around-The-Rosie tonight. Miss R initially had her hands full and so I offered to play with him. He refused and insisted that Miss R hold his hands. They had several rounds of singing and laughing and falling down in very dramatic fashion.
Kate is off to Chicago this weekend so I get to try to manage by myself for a few days. Her parents have offered to help so I think I will survive. Henry has an appointment with an Ear Nose and Throat doctor on Friday afternoon to check out his ears and his frequent ear infections. I hope he doesn't need tubes but he might.
At the grandparents they worked in the yard. From my brief observation I think it probably takes Grandma and Grandpa three or four times as long to do the work they are doing, but the kids really enjoy it. "Where's the dust pan?," "Where's the leaf bucket," "Henry, can I have a broom please," "No, don't sweep the pile I just made all over the place." They have a lot of patience.
I joined them for a dinner of hamburgers, potato salad, corn bread, and rice. Miss R loves her rice. Henry is big on meat.
Monday afternoon Henry had a physical therapy appointment. He hasn't had one for a while. Kate and I are still concerned about his toe walking, which he is doing a great deal of lately. As before she doesn't see any physical problem, there is range of motion, the heel cords don't seem tight. She provided a few weight options to help keep his whole foot on the ground. She tried a fanny pack but that wouldn't stay on. We loaded up his Thomas backpack with weights but couldn't keep that on either. Ankle weights had the same result. Finally some weights that attach to his shoes seemed to be acceptable to him, but they didn't really seem to work as well. We'll have to keep trying.
Today Miss R's CPS case worker visited her at daycare to see how things were going there. I don't think I can say much about that. Kate picked up Henry and took him to the grocery store. We had dinner and played around at home. Miss R returned a bit early from her bio family visit.
At some point in the last few days, Henry thought it would be fun to put a diaper on his head and run around. When asked what he was doing, he said "I'm being silly." Tonight we had him in underwear instead of diapers and at some point he took them off and put them on his head as well. Our little frat boy in the making, Hank the Tank.
Lately when asked a question, he might normally say no to he now replies "Maybe not." Kate asked him this evening how old he was and he replied "I'm two." We haven't really worked with him on that so we were both kind of surprised. He has some books that have buttons that play sounds. In the story, it will show a picture of the button that should be pressed at that point in the story. He is now able to push the appropriate button.
Henry and Miss R had a great time doing Ring-Around-The-Rosie tonight. Miss R initially had her hands full and so I offered to play with him. He refused and insisted that Miss R hold his hands. They had several rounds of singing and laughing and falling down in very dramatic fashion.
Kate is off to Chicago this weekend so I get to try to manage by myself for a few days. Her parents have offered to help so I think I will survive. Henry has an appointment with an Ear Nose and Throat doctor on Friday afternoon to check out his ears and his frequent ear infections. I hope he doesn't need tubes but he might.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
"I want to listen to 'Sue is a Boy.'"
As we drove out of the garage this morning, Henry had a song request. He wanted to listen to "Sue is a Boy." That would be "Johnny-A-Cash"'s song more commonly known as "A Boy Named Sue."
No problems getting the kids to class. Miss R looked apathetic this morning when I transferred her over to Miss Lulu. I don't think that she's bonded yet with her new teachers, so she doesn't have that spark. Henry was thrilled to be on the playground.
I came home and made calls on Henry's behalf. We have an appointment with Shirley on Monday. The ENT was booked until the 23rd, so I called Dr. Bianchi and he called the ENT to get Henry in next week. I also left a message for Cuyler, so that we can have an OT evaluation.
Alison was supposed to have a home visitation today but she had to cancel b/c she's sick...like the rest of the country. We picked up the kids at 4PM and took them to Alvernon Optical (casas adobes branch) and bought him two pairs of glasses. They should be ready mid-week.
After looking for glasses, we went to Swenson's for dinner. Miss R was upset b/c she dropped her half of a grilled cheese on the floor, and I wouldn't let her have it back. Henry enjoyed the meal and loved the ice cream. He also enjoyed putting pennies, nickels, dimes, and a quarter in a Salvation Army jar.
We came home and read books. The kids ran around with the Tickle Monster gloves. Then it was time for teeth. Miss R did a fabulous job with letting us brush her teeth. That was a first!
No problems getting the kids to class. Miss R looked apathetic this morning when I transferred her over to Miss Lulu. I don't think that she's bonded yet with her new teachers, so she doesn't have that spark. Henry was thrilled to be on the playground.
I came home and made calls on Henry's behalf. We have an appointment with Shirley on Monday. The ENT was booked until the 23rd, so I called Dr. Bianchi and he called the ENT to get Henry in next week. I also left a message for Cuyler, so that we can have an OT evaluation.
Alison was supposed to have a home visitation today but she had to cancel b/c she's sick...like the rest of the country. We picked up the kids at 4PM and took them to Alvernon Optical (casas adobes branch) and bought him two pairs of glasses. They should be ready mid-week.
After looking for glasses, we went to Swenson's for dinner. Miss R was upset b/c she dropped her half of a grilled cheese on the floor, and I wouldn't let her have it back. Henry enjoyed the meal and loved the ice cream. He also enjoyed putting pennies, nickels, dimes, and a quarter in a Salvation Army jar.
We came home and read books. The kids ran around with the Tickle Monster gloves. Then it was time for teeth. Miss R did a fabulous job with letting us brush her teeth. That was a first!Thursday, November 5, 2009
Our Little Harry Potter
We picked up Henry and Miss R around 4PM today. I got Miss R and Jeff got Henry. We then went to Dr. Bianchi's office where Henry got his ears checked and received his Hib B booster. His right ear is still infected. So he is going back on an antibiotic AGAIN. Dr. Bianchi wants us to make an appointment with an ENT. The nurse was impressed with Henry not making a fuss over the shot. After she pulled it out of him, he did say "Ow." But he didn't cry. We tried to get Henry to sing his ABCs for Dr. Bianchi. Miss R did instead. She missed a couple letters but for the most part did the entire thing from start to finish. We were impressed.
We headed to Pearle Vision to pick up my new glasses. Their kids selection was limited. Only one pair was truly small enough for Henry. As Henry looked in the mirror with one pair he was trying on, he said "I look cute" and "Harry Potter!" We are going to try a couple more places before ordering. We stopped by LensCrafter, but Henry was moody. The only pair he liked was this pink pair that didn't fit well. He wasn't cooperative. He wanted to go to Toys R Us. The salesperson asked skeptically, "He knows what Toys R Us is?" I said, "Unfortunately."
We went to dinner at Jason's Deli. The kids weren't too awful during the meal. Miss R took her time as usual. When I told Hal the other day about how Miss R takes FOREVER to eat, he suggested that she was French. Maybe.
We came back. Gave the kids a bath. Then it was time for teeth brushing and bed. Miss R was a little better than usual about us brushing her teeth. She opens her mouth for a second, which is an improvement. I think that she was doing it today b/c Henry really wanted me to brush his teeth for him so he openned wide.
I still have concerns about "the other shoe dropping" when it comes to Henry. One of my online preemie mom friends said that "maybe this was the other shoe that dropped" (referring to the glasses). God willing!
Our situation with Miss R has me anxious. Really anxious. I know that it would be difficult to let her go under any circumstances but I truly believe that if we felt that her family would make her healthy and happiness their number one priority, we could let go with grace if not ease. After my call with the caseworker, I looked up some profiles on MySpace. Long story short, the family isn't appropriate. Period. When we first started out, I couldn't imagine how a parent could create a situation that lead to their child being taken away. Then, when we were confronted with real parents, I began to feel some empathy. But now, the only thing that I feel is a sense of protection for Miss R. We can't let her return to that life.
I'm going to get back to work. The publisher is demanding Excel files by tomorrow. Sigh. We were supposed to have another couple weeks on this. Grrrrrr.
We headed to Pearle Vision to pick up my new glasses. Their kids selection was limited. Only one pair was truly small enough for Henry. As Henry looked in the mirror with one pair he was trying on, he said "I look cute" and "Harry Potter!" We are going to try a couple more places before ordering. We stopped by LensCrafter, but Henry was moody. The only pair he liked was this pink pair that didn't fit well. He wasn't cooperative. He wanted to go to Toys R Us. The salesperson asked skeptically, "He knows what Toys R Us is?" I said, "Unfortunately."
We went to dinner at Jason's Deli. The kids weren't too awful during the meal. Miss R took her time as usual. When I told Hal the other day about how Miss R takes FOREVER to eat, he suggested that she was French. Maybe.
We came back. Gave the kids a bath. Then it was time for teeth brushing and bed. Miss R was a little better than usual about us brushing her teeth. She opens her mouth for a second, which is an improvement. I think that she was doing it today b/c Henry really wanted me to brush his teeth for him so he openned wide.
I still have concerns about "the other shoe dropping" when it comes to Henry. One of my online preemie mom friends said that "maybe this was the other shoe that dropped" (referring to the glasses). God willing!
Our situation with Miss R has me anxious. Really anxious. I know that it would be difficult to let her go under any circumstances but I truly believe that if we felt that her family would make her healthy and happiness their number one priority, we could let go with grace if not ease. After my call with the caseworker, I looked up some profiles on MySpace. Long story short, the family isn't appropriate. Period. When we first started out, I couldn't imagine how a parent could create a situation that lead to their child being taken away. Then, when we were confronted with real parents, I began to feel some empathy. But now, the only thing that I feel is a sense of protection for Miss R. We can't let her return to that life.
I'm going to get back to work. The publisher is demanding Excel files by tomorrow. Sigh. We were supposed to have another couple weeks on this. Grrrrrr.
Upset, Angry
On Wednesday, Henry and Miss R went to Grammy and Poppy's house after school. They did some yardwork, as evidenced by Henry's very dirty face when he came home. We played on the couch before bedtime. The kids enjoyed jumping up and down on the big pillows.
I was feeling exhausted as I've pushed my body too hard to get a lot of things done the past couple weeks. I'm in the process of standardizing charts for the book with my co-author Bruce...there are 103 of them. That doesn't include the bizillion tables not put in the book but will be put on a website as additional evidence of our claims. The editors' assistant just announced yesterday that we needed the charts standardized by tomorrow to stay on track with the publication date. We thought we had a couple more weeks. Plus I have a paper that has to get done this weekend. Ugh. I was so exhausted that I decided to go to bed at 9PM b/c I wasn't going to be productive with a headache caused by sleep deprivation.
This morning, Jeff walked into the kids' bedroom and said "Good morning!" to Miss R. She said "No!" but smiled. "No!" is a consistent theme in our house.
I was mad at Henry this morning. When I got him out of the car, he ran for it, about fifty feet from the vehicle. Luckily, it was on a sidewalk, but still. I had to grab Miss R and run after him. She was mad about being taken from the vehicle so quickly (she usually likes to take a couple minutes). Henry fell and scrapped his knee in the process. I doubt that he'll learn from the experience that listening to mom is best.
KATE: "Do we run away from Mommy?"
HENRY: "OK."
KATE: "NO!"
HENRY: "No."
KATE: "Let's go over this again. Do we run away from Mommy?"
HENRY: "OK."
KATE: "NO!"
HENRY: "No."
KATE: "Do we run away from Mommy?"
HENRY: "OK...No."
I just received an upsetting call from Miss R's caseworker. Apparently, an aunt who lives in another state (and has never met Miss R) has passed her Arizona background check. She still has to pass her state's background check. But once that happens, she will be considered as a permanent placement. I'm upset. I'm angry. We know from the caseworker that this is a person who KNEW what the bio parents were doing. She took a sibling (now about 14) from the family several years ago, but she left the two other siblings who as a result have problems now. Not small ones either. She KNEW and did NOTHING. Supposedly, CPS doesn't like to place kids in homes where there is NO attachment (not possible since this aunt lives in another state far away...supposedly). Will CPS really follow those guidelines OR decide that blood kin is best b/c they don't have a "record" even if they have poor judgment (as evidenced by letting stuff happen, not reporting it to authorities)? In the meantime, we'll just have to hope that CPS comes to the conclusion that kin who let kids suffer are probably not the best choice as a child's parental figure (duh-ha, duh-ha, and 1+1=2) and that attachment matters. Miss R is attached is US. She is. She loves us, and we love her. A point not in our favor is that our skin colors are different. No matter what the public rhetoric is about tolerance and acceptance, from what I gather from the message boards, social workers don't like mixing and matching.
I was feeling exhausted as I've pushed my body too hard to get a lot of things done the past couple weeks. I'm in the process of standardizing charts for the book with my co-author Bruce...there are 103 of them. That doesn't include the bizillion tables not put in the book but will be put on a website as additional evidence of our claims. The editors' assistant just announced yesterday that we needed the charts standardized by tomorrow to stay on track with the publication date. We thought we had a couple more weeks. Plus I have a paper that has to get done this weekend. Ugh. I was so exhausted that I decided to go to bed at 9PM b/c I wasn't going to be productive with a headache caused by sleep deprivation.
This morning, Jeff walked into the kids' bedroom and said "Good morning!" to Miss R. She said "No!" but smiled. "No!" is a consistent theme in our house.
I was mad at Henry this morning. When I got him out of the car, he ran for it, about fifty feet from the vehicle. Luckily, it was on a sidewalk, but still. I had to grab Miss R and run after him. She was mad about being taken from the vehicle so quickly (she usually likes to take a couple minutes). Henry fell and scrapped his knee in the process. I doubt that he'll learn from the experience that listening to mom is best.
KATE: "Do we run away from Mommy?"
HENRY: "OK."
KATE: "NO!"
HENRY: "No."
KATE: "Let's go over this again. Do we run away from Mommy?"
HENRY: "OK."
KATE: "NO!"
HENRY: "No."
KATE: "Do we run away from Mommy?"
HENRY: "OK...No."
I just received an upsetting call from Miss R's caseworker. Apparently, an aunt who lives in another state (and has never met Miss R) has passed her Arizona background check. She still has to pass her state's background check. But once that happens, she will be considered as a permanent placement. I'm upset. I'm angry. We know from the caseworker that this is a person who KNEW what the bio parents were doing. She took a sibling (now about 14) from the family several years ago, but she left the two other siblings who as a result have problems now. Not small ones either. She KNEW and did NOTHING. Supposedly, CPS doesn't like to place kids in homes where there is NO attachment (not possible since this aunt lives in another state far away...supposedly). Will CPS really follow those guidelines OR decide that blood kin is best b/c they don't have a "record" even if they have poor judgment (as evidenced by letting stuff happen, not reporting it to authorities)? In the meantime, we'll just have to hope that CPS comes to the conclusion that kin who let kids suffer are probably not the best choice as a child's parental figure (duh-ha, duh-ha, and 1+1=2) and that attachment matters. Miss R is attached is US. She is. She loves us, and we love her. A point not in our favor is that our skin colors are different. No matter what the public rhetoric is about tolerance and acceptance, from what I gather from the message boards, social workers don't like mixing and matching.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Glasses
Monday was a fairly uneventful day. I took care of the kids, as is the usual routine, while Kate worked and the Grandparents recuperated from the weekend. By the time we get home, walk the dogs, have dinner, take a bath, it is pretty much time for bed. Not that they go to sleep but they go to bed anyway. Besides the twice daily battle with Miss R over teeth brushing, the kids were well behaved and things went smoothly.
On the walk I was shocked that Miss R walked more than Henry. She tends to want to stay in the wagon while Henry would rather run around. Last night they reversed that.
At home the set of plastic high heel shoes is still a big hit with both of them. Miss R didn't want to get out of her high chair after dinner. She is normally a very slow eater. This time she wasn't eating but just wanted to play around so she was in there for about an hour. She was able to climb out any time she wanted.
This morning when Kate dropped off Henry they found his class on the playground. Henry called out "Bicycle" and ran off to another part of the playground where the bigger kids play. Kate caught up to him trying to get on the larger tricycles. The employee there said that technically only 3 years old and up could be in that part of the playground. She also said that they were familiar with Henry. It appears this wasn't his first attempt at the tricycles.
Kate called the eye doctor for an appointment and it was either go today or wait until January so we went today. The bad news is that Henry is getting glasses now. One eye is worse off than the other. If left unchecked it can lead to the brain basically ignoring the eye that is worse which can lead to a lazy eye. By prescribing glasses now it will ensure that the brain gets an equal picture from both eyes and will continue to use both eyes.
We knew it was coming but both of us thought it would be later. There have been many times I have been impressed by what he is able to pick out from a distance, the Toys R Us sign from across the street and through some trees for example. However, if it is mostly just one eye doing the work that is clearly not good.
Kate and I are both feeling rather bummed by this. I feel like he is such a handsome and perfect little boy, I don't want anything that indicates he is anything but perfect. I don't want him to have to deal with teasing and social stigma that go with glasses either. Although, if I know Henry, he is going to do his own thing and not care what others think. Kate is feeling like this might just be the beginning of many more "shoes dropping" as it were. If he ends up just needing glasses, we would thank our lucky stars. However, there are many things that might not show up until school age. For now we wait and worry.
Miss R came home from her bio family visit tonight with a sucker. Argghh! 4 cavities and she comes home with a sucker. I know it is Halloween time but I'm pretty content to not give them any candy whatsoever. Kate is a little softer but we still rarely give them anything sugary. I feel that anyone who gives them sugar should have to brush their teeth. Henry is very good about teeth brushing but it is still a knock down drag out fight almost every morning and night with Miss R.
I had better go, it is almost 2am and Henry just wet through his diaper and work starts in less than 5 hours.
On the walk I was shocked that Miss R walked more than Henry. She tends to want to stay in the wagon while Henry would rather run around. Last night they reversed that.
At home the set of plastic high heel shoes is still a big hit with both of them. Miss R didn't want to get out of her high chair after dinner. She is normally a very slow eater. This time she wasn't eating but just wanted to play around so she was in there for about an hour. She was able to climb out any time she wanted.
This morning when Kate dropped off Henry they found his class on the playground. Henry called out "Bicycle" and ran off to another part of the playground where the bigger kids play. Kate caught up to him trying to get on the larger tricycles. The employee there said that technically only 3 years old and up could be in that part of the playground. She also said that they were familiar with Henry. It appears this wasn't his first attempt at the tricycles.
Kate called the eye doctor for an appointment and it was either go today or wait until January so we went today. The bad news is that Henry is getting glasses now. One eye is worse off than the other. If left unchecked it can lead to the brain basically ignoring the eye that is worse which can lead to a lazy eye. By prescribing glasses now it will ensure that the brain gets an equal picture from both eyes and will continue to use both eyes.
We knew it was coming but both of us thought it would be later. There have been many times I have been impressed by what he is able to pick out from a distance, the Toys R Us sign from across the street and through some trees for example. However, if it is mostly just one eye doing the work that is clearly not good.
Kate and I are both feeling rather bummed by this. I feel like he is such a handsome and perfect little boy, I don't want anything that indicates he is anything but perfect. I don't want him to have to deal with teasing and social stigma that go with glasses either. Although, if I know Henry, he is going to do his own thing and not care what others think. Kate is feeling like this might just be the beginning of many more "shoes dropping" as it were. If he ends up just needing glasses, we would thank our lucky stars. However, there are many things that might not show up until school age. For now we wait and worry.
Miss R came home from her bio family visit tonight with a sucker. Argghh! 4 cavities and she comes home with a sucker. I know it is Halloween time but I'm pretty content to not give them any candy whatsoever. Kate is a little softer but we still rarely give them anything sugary. I feel that anyone who gives them sugar should have to brush their teeth. Henry is very good about teeth brushing but it is still a knock down drag out fight almost every morning and night with Miss R.
I had better go, it is almost 2am and Henry just wet through his diaper and work starts in less than 5 hours.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Halloween!
On Saturday morning, we went to the zoo. Henry enjoyed running around and climbing more than watching the animals. He tried to climb into the rhinos cage.
Henry was thrilled by the bearded dragons...
He enjoyed a good sized lunch of hamburger and a PB&J sandwich. He practiced twisting the top off the water bottle with Daddy...
And the pre-nap afternoon was made complete by pumpkin rolling...
He and Miss R crashed in the car. When they got up, they read with Jeff and put on their costumes. We only stopped by three houses (Nick and Janice's, Yvonne's, and Hal's). Our neighbors were surprised to have trick or treaters. In Yvonne's 30 years of living in the neighborhood, she had never had one! Nick and Janice gratiously got the kids some cookies. We told them it was unnecessary. Honestly, we just wanted to show the kids off. No need to have hyper toddlers on extra sugar! Henry LOVED the cookies but was upset when I made him give the cookie that he let Roger lick to Roger instead of eating it himself. Yvonne got Miss R an orange bag and Henry a box of SpongeBob bandaids! Jon gave them chocolate. Miss R, whom I've never given a piece of chocolate, knew exactly what to do with it. She demanded that I take off the wrapper. She was irked when I only let her have one bar (that contained four pieces).
We then headed to Hal's place. Hal offered to rummage for candy or give us a can of corn! We reiteratated that we were just showing off the kids. Henry marched past Hal at the front door and found his way to the living room where Hal had been watching football. Henry hopped on the couch, leaned back, and looked at ease.
He offered Hal his chewed on bag of cookie crumbs.
Then, we met up with Grammy and Poppy at El Charro. Henry liked the food but wasn't keen on sitting in one place. He and I ended up on the outside patio and visited a fellow playing a guitar (who was very good).
On Sunday morning, the kids slept until 8AM. That was so nice! We took them to Joel's for breakfast. They enjoyed pancakes, french toast, french bread, and potatoes. We went to the turtle pond. Incidentally, Henry knows that Daddy's name is Jeff and Mommy's name is Kate. That would be my mom's doing.
Then, it was off to Grammy and Poppy's house. Henry and Miss R sang in the car. Miss R has been a song bird lately. Jeff reported that she'd been singing "Mamma Mia!" And at breakfast, she belted out "Baby Belga."
Grammy and Poppy are doing outside work today. Henry "helped" Grammy rake leaves.
Henry was thrilled by the bearded dragons...
He enjoyed a good sized lunch of hamburger and a PB&J sandwich. He practiced twisting the top off the water bottle with Daddy...
And the pre-nap afternoon was made complete by pumpkin rolling...
He and Miss R crashed in the car. When they got up, they read with Jeff and put on their costumes. We only stopped by three houses (Nick and Janice's, Yvonne's, and Hal's). Our neighbors were surprised to have trick or treaters. In Yvonne's 30 years of living in the neighborhood, she had never had one! Nick and Janice gratiously got the kids some cookies. We told them it was unnecessary. Honestly, we just wanted to show the kids off. No need to have hyper toddlers on extra sugar! Henry LOVED the cookies but was upset when I made him give the cookie that he let Roger lick to Roger instead of eating it himself. Yvonne got Miss R an orange bag and Henry a box of SpongeBob bandaids! Jon gave them chocolate. Miss R, whom I've never given a piece of chocolate, knew exactly what to do with it. She demanded that I take off the wrapper. She was irked when I only let her have one bar (that contained four pieces).
We then headed to Hal's place. Hal offered to rummage for candy or give us a can of corn! We reiteratated that we were just showing off the kids. Henry marched past Hal at the front door and found his way to the living room where Hal had been watching football. Henry hopped on the couch, leaned back, and looked at ease.He offered Hal his chewed on bag of cookie crumbs.
Then, we met up with Grammy and Poppy at El Charro. Henry liked the food but wasn't keen on sitting in one place. He and I ended up on the outside patio and visited a fellow playing a guitar (who was very good).
On Sunday morning, the kids slept until 8AM. That was so nice! We took them to Joel's for breakfast. They enjoyed pancakes, french toast, french bread, and potatoes. We went to the turtle pond. Incidentally, Henry knows that Daddy's name is Jeff and Mommy's name is Kate. That would be my mom's doing.
Then, it was off to Grammy and Poppy's house. Henry and Miss R sang in the car. Miss R has been a song bird lately. Jeff reported that she'd been singing "Mamma Mia!" And at breakfast, she belted out "Baby Belga."
Grammy and Poppy are doing outside work today. Henry "helped" Grammy rake leaves.
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