I'm just coming out of that phase right now. Things are looking up! But for the past three weeks, oh boy.
I feel much better today.
Anyway, I haven't blogged much lately because everything has been coming out in a whiney, pathetic, and ungrateful manner. Now I have several posts in my draft folder that I can look back on in a few years and think, "Suck it up, you ninny!"
(Maybe half my problems is the way I talk to myself... hmmm...)
So here's a quick run-down of what's been going on lately...
Scotty's Job
Scotty's new job involves some travel. I haven't told you a lot about the job he started in May, but he now works for the LDS Church. He works with the temples, and he had to go to Memphis to help close the temple for renovation (his previous job involved shipping all the state's liquor, so we laugh about the contrast between his two recent employment opportunities. For a while, he was known at his new job as "the liquor guy").
The week Scotty was gone was a little crazy. It seemed that all the "events" and responsibilities were scheduled for that week, and just to add to the fun, my van died. During the prior weeks, I had three friends whose car batteries died. On Monday morning, I told my friend Julie (whose battery had just died over the weekend) that it seemed to be a trend and I might be next!
I thought I was kidding, but it happened the very next day! Luckily it happened in the garage, so I wasn't out and about. My neighbor came over and jump started my van, and then I went to have the battery tested. I ended up having to buy a new one.
For as busy as things were while Scotty was gone, I actually handled things pretty well. It was stressful, but we made it through. My angry streak started after he got home. Poor Scotty.
The Thing in the Ear
Scotty likes to look in our kids' ears with a flashlight. I came home from choir practice last Sunday afternoon, and Scotty told me that he found something in Daisy's ear. He made me look, and sure enough, there was something black-ish inside. Scotty tried to dig it out with an ear pick, but Daisy wasn't cooperative.
{Eva's ear inspection}
As this all unfolded, I started to recall that several years ago, we could see something in Daisy's ear. It looked like a glob of wax, but it was hard. We thought it might be her tube. We tried for weeks to get it out, and eventually we just stopped messing with it. I don't think we ever took her to the doctor for it.
I also vaguely remember the doctor looking in her ear at one point and telling me that her ear had a lot of wax build-up. The doc didn't clean it out because Daisy was really fussy about it, and it wasn't causing any problems.
Anyway, we kind of forgot that there was something in Daisy's ear, so we're pretty sure that it was in there that whole time... about five years. No big deal.
Parents of the Decade, for sure.
I ended up taking Daisy to the pediatrician on Tuesday. The doc tried to dig it out but couldn't get it to budge. She put some ear drops in Daisy's ear to help loosen the wax, and then she irrigated the ear, but the thing wouldn't come out (no thanks to Daisy who was going crazy through all of this).
On Wednesday we went to an ENT, and he was able to get it out. It was Daisy's tube, after all, and it had sat there in the wax for so long that the wax had turned black. It looked like beef jerky. It had been blocking most of her ear canal, so I'm hoping that Daisy will be able to hear a little better now. She has always been the kid that has to keep turning the TV up and can't seem to hear anything.
Fall Break
My kids had fall break last week. I had no idea what to do with them while they were out of school. In Utah, when school is out and the weather is good and there's a holiday approaching... things are nuts. It's incredibly crowded everywhere, and I can't handle it, so I needed to think of something to do with my kids that didn't involve being out with the people.
I made a list of ideas, and then we did a silent vote. My kids are always at odds with each other (I know this is normal, but I still feel like it's just us or that my kids are worse than others), so I told them that I was going to read them a list of things we could do, but they were not allowed to give any opinions on the list. They had to listen silently, and then I would call them one at a time to my bedroom where they would tell me their top two choices. If I heard them discussing the activities or trying to sway one another, the activities would be canceled.
They ended up choosing to make blankets for Primary Children's Hospital, which totally surprised me. I wasn't sure how it would play out - it definitely had the potential to be a disaster. I was pretty sure that they would whine and hate it, and that I would end up finishing all the blankets myself while they destroyed the house.
I took them to Walmart, and each kid picked some fleece. Then we went home and cut and tied the blankets. Zoe and Eva obviously weren't any help, but Nicky and Daisy did a pretty good job. I did the cuts (I was hoping Nicky and Daisy could help cut, but I learned pretty quickly that their skills aren't quite to that level yet), and Nicky and Daisy tied them. The blankets didn't turn out perfect, but they are good enough.
The next day we took them to the hospital.
Nicky and Daisy loved it! There was some whining, of course, but overall, it went very well and was a great way to spend our days off.
(I wanted to share this with you not to boast, but just in case it's something you would like to do as well. It's a great activity for families or youth groups. You can find the information here. My children have been to the hospital several times and have always been given a doll or a blanket, and it really helps make the hospital experience more positive. Next time we are going to make some stuffed monsters).
The Jazz Game
Last Wednesday, Scotty was offered free tickets to the Jazz game, so we hauled the kids downtown to the arena. This was the opening game for the season. We took the kids on Trax in the free fare zone, just for fun.
I think Nicky has been to a Jazz game, but he was so young he doesn't remember, so for the most part, this was our first Jazz game as a family. Our seats were the second from the last row, so we were up pretty high (we typically end up in the last two rows at any event we go to there). We figured we'd make it through the first half and then have to go home. We were exactly right.
The kids were pretty good. Nicky and Daisy loved it. Even Zoe and Eva were alright. The problem was that Eva took an interest in the stairs, and we couldn't contain her. I was a nervous wreck because the stairs up there are so steep. I imagined Eva plummeting to her death no less than 5,000 times, and finally I said, "We have to go. I can't do this!"
{Those were some high seats}
Halloween Prep
We've been ironing out all of the costuming details for Halloween. I try to not put a lot of effort into the kids' costumes because I never know if they will actually wear them. A four-year-old can spend three months saying she is going to be a frog for Halloween and then wake up on Halloween morning and insist that she's allergic to frogs and that she has always wanted to be a lady bug.
A few weeks ago, Zoe got attached to a Daisy Duck costume that my mom made me when I was about three. I didn't think she would really wear it, but she has worn it... and worn it... and worn it...
She wore it to the grocery store. She wore it to her friend Milo's house. She wore it to her grandma's house and then her cousin Lincoln liked it, so she let him have a turn wearing it. And last weekend, she wore it to a Halloween party and won a costume contest.
Through all of this, I have had the privilege of hauling a gigantic plush duck head and tuchus around in the trunk of my van, and I am constantly asked, "Mom, where's my duck butt?"
{Zoe eating a donut at Milo's house}
We'll see what she decides to do when it's really Halloween. We have three dress up activities this week and then next week will be the school parade. There's still plenty of time to transition to lady bug.
No comments:
Post a Comment