Saturday, January 30, 2010

Doctor's Appointment


This past week I took Brielle down to Nephi to see the family doctor. I took her in for her well child check. For some silly reason, I am always a little excited about these appointments. Dr. Oveson has been my doctor for nearly as long as I can remember. He saw me when I was young, he’s been my doctor through my pregnancies and the births of my children (except Tanner, we lived in Logan). He is now their doctor as well. When I take my kids to see him for their well child checks, it’s almost like show and tell. I get to show him how much the kids have grown up, what they have learned, and how darn adorable they are.
He always sings their praises, acts impressed and amazed at their accomplishments, and asks me sincerely how I’m doing.
That’s why I was excited.
I couldn’t wait to show him how my adorable baby girl has turned into a spunky little toddler. Pooper volunteered to babysit my two boys so it was just me and the little princess. She was perfectly charming and very well behaved while we waited in the lobby. Then when the nurse weighed and measured her she didn’t put up a fight at all.
I was thrilled.
Then Dr. O. walked in. He was excited to see her and immediately commented on how big she had gotten. Then he playfully got down to business. “Hey cutie, can you show me where your eyes are?” I was grinning on the inside because she has known the answer to this basic question since she was a year old.
She immediately pointed directly to the ceiling in response.
The ceiling?
I quickly piped in saying, “you know this, where are your eyes?” Another enthusiastic point to the ceiling.
He moved on.
Where is your tummy? She had shown him that trick the previous year when I took her in for her 1-year check-up. This time she didn’t point to the ceiling, instead she triumphantly slapped her knees. She had a big grin on her face as I urged her to try again and show Dr. O. where her belly was. Another slap on the knees.
I couldn’t believe it.
Finally he asked her where her ears were to which she responded by pinching her cheeks. I didn’t bother trying to help. She didn’t say a word the entire time, and spent most of the visit sitting on the exam table with her tongue sticking out.
She was crazy.
By the end of the visit, Dr. O. was explaining what the signs of autism were and what I should be watching out for.
He told me that she should be able to say simple words like cat, and dog among other things. I tried to assure him that she did, but when I asked her to repeat it she made some unintelligible sound then stuck her tongue back out.
Soon the visit was over and Dr. O. left the room. Immediately my little princess picked up a magazine, proudly pointed at a picture of a dog and exclaimed “puppy right there! woof woof!”
Oh well, I guess there’s always next year.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Probation



I’m on probation.
During a typical hectic Tuesday morning, I was battling to get both of my boys ready for school. I went into my bathroom to get Tanner out of the shower, and once I turned the water off, I sprayed shower cleaner on the glass surround. He had Apparently had his heart set on using the squeegee to clear away the excess water which apparently he could'nt do once the cleanser was sprayed on the glass.
He had a royal meltdown.
After several minutes of him crying hysterically and me trying to console him, he announced that he wanted to find a new family to live with.
I was heartbroken.
He assured me that he would come back and visit because he would miss "Wuke" and his toy castle.
I begged and pleaded to make him want to stay, I even promised him that I would let him squeegee the shower whenever he wanted. I kept trying to think back to any episode I may have seen of Little Bill for ideas on how to deal with the situation.
Nothing.
I now remember one episode where Little Bill wanted to run away, so the family decided to run away with him. Where was that when I needed it?
The more I tried to convince him that he was my little boy and that I could never let another mommy take him, he was insistent that a new family was indeed what he wanted.
In the back of my mind I really wanted to drop him off with another mommy that would make him eat brussel sprouts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and put him on toilet scrubbing duty only after he had finished mopping all the floors and cleaning out the pig pen.
That would show him.
He would come running home with arms wide open proclaiming that his REAL mother was the greatest in the whole world.
Unfortunately I couldn’t think of one person that would be that cruel.
Each time I asked him why he wanted to leave, he responded between sobs by saying “I don’t want to leave, but you’re just SO mean to me.”
I started thinking about my interactions with this middle child of mine. Truth be told, he gets “in trouble” a lot. I love him more than life itself, but he happens to be a little pill. I am still looking for ways to control his meltdowns, encourage him to be responsible, and keep him from tormenting his little sister. I feel so defeated when I admit that after 4 years I still haven’t found out just how to handle my middle child. My heart sank as I realized that he probably really felt like another mommy would be much nicer to him and that time-out would be far less common in a different household.
None of the blame is his, it’s all mine.
After explaining to him that if he left our family that would mean that he would never be able to see his grandparents again either since they too are part of our family, he was devastated by the very thought so he agreed to give me a trial run.
Probation.
I swore up and down that I would shower him with love and attention. I would use nothing but positive reinforcement for jobs well done and make this house a happy place.
It worked.
He loves me again.
But I do have to say, by the end of the day, even at 4-years-old, he realized that he was running the show. He missed his nap (which he NEVER does), he was hyper beyond measure, and he tormented his sister all the more. Needless to say, while I made it past probation, I shamefully admit, I’m still clueless when it comes to parenting.
Any suggestions?

Friday, January 1, 2010

Mayhem, Musing, and Martians

Mayhem

Some of you may know that I work from home. Part of my job includes writing for 25 blogs. 25blogs! So, I am here to confess that my family blog has been a little neglected. You see, after spending 4-6 hours a day writing for blogs, the last thing I want to do is sit at my office (the desk in my kitchen) after hours and do essentially the same thing I've been doing all day, but this time without getting paid. So, I've decided a good alternative would be to take portions of posts I write for other blogs and paste them over here, and while they may not be as unique and personal as they could be, they are posts none-the-less. So here they are for your holiday enjoyment!

Musings
I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was great. The day was somewhat relaxed, and the kids were spoiled rotten. I really do love Christmas. However, I also despise the aftermath.
You see, I work from home, on the computer for up to 6 hours a day. While I am working, my kids enjoy playing with each other, and the harder they play, the messier the house gets. That’s typical, Christmas or no Christmas, but the joy of Christmas seems to have left a large amount of extra clutter in my life.
Our 12ft Christmas tree is making me claustrophobic. The once beautiful and majestic symbol of life everlasting is now a giant dust and clutter collector.
The toys the kids were so excited to open on Christmas morning have now been poked, prodded, and abused leaving some of them broken or neglected after only a short stay at our home. My boys got two giant boxes of legos. I love the concept of legos. I love that they require critical thinking, imagination, and fine motor skills, but I loathe the little pieces that end up all over the house only to be stepped upon by an unsuspecting barefoot.
The packages once wrapped in fancy paper with lovely bows, adding to the festive decor of our home are now piled up sky high in the corner of my kitchen. Just sitting there. Waiting for my wonderful husband to take the time to send them to their resting place-far away from my kitchen.
The delicious handmade treats that my friends and neighbors so graciously brought to our home as a symbol of love are now crumbs on my kitchen floor.
And finally, all of the lovely Christmas decor I have been working so hard to collect throughout my adult life just adds to my list of things I have to dust.
I think I’m going crazy!
I really make an effort to have the Christmas Spirit. There are so many wonderful things that accompany this time of year, but now, I want my house back.
Today my mom is making the 20 minute drive up to my house to help me package all of my Christmas decor in their boxes where they’ll be stored and eagerly awaiting their appearance in 2010. When that time comes, I will be so happy to see them that I will giggle with joy. But now, be gone with you! All of you!

Side note: My wonderful mother did in fact help dig me out of my Christmas disaster area! Thanks Mom:).
This post is from my blog, Musings of Modern Mamas
Martians




I can’t believe 2009 is over! This year has been one I won’t soon forget for reasons both good and bad. Above all, I am thankful that after the end of another year my family is healthy, happy, and safe.
Everything else is just extra.
I have LOVED having the kids home during their Christmas break. We have been completely lazy and loved every minute of it. Last night we spent several hours creating martians. When they unwrapped the Martian Making Kit at my parents’ house on Christmas I silently cringed. I figured a gift that would produce such a mess would surely have to come from the grandparents, but after much begging, I finally gave in to their pleas and opened the kit.
I had a ball.
I never thought it would be so much fun making martians. The atmosphere was so relaxed. We had no need to hurry, the kids could be late for bed, and the mess could wait. We were able to sit, create, and chat. It was perfect.
On a side note, my littlest princess has been enjoying her big brothers’ legos. She enjoyed them so much that she just had to stick this
right up her nose. Luckily, we also got the game Operation for Christmas, so I have been brushing up on my tweezing skills. I was able to successfully remove the gear shifter without a hitch.
-This post is from my blog, Making the Most of Family Time
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