Working

We had to run some books back to the library yesterday, and it was such a nice day that I couldn’t stand to force the girls to come straight home with me. We’ve had plenty of cabin fever build up from all the time we spent sick. So, we dropped in on Studio Grandma. We actually found her in the studio, in the middle of an art class (I can never remember her schedule). Eleanor happily joined the class and started on her own work of art. I didn’t get any pictures of Eleanor since I didn’t want to alarm any of the students’ parents by having them go home and say there was someone taking pictures at class. I’ll have to get a picture of her with her finished project. It should take a few weeks for it to dry, considering how much glue she used.

Phaedra and I went outside to play, and I did get a bunch of pictures of her. It was so pleasant out there in the sunshine, so I just kept on clicking photos while she played. When Phaedra wants to play outside, she begs, “Wug! Wug!” It sounds like she’s trying to say rug, but she’s really saying work. That’s what she calls playing in the sandbox and doing other things outside. I don’t thing I’ve ever heard her say work in reference to anything indoors. She just loved all the time she got to spend working yesterday.

A girl and her dinosaur.

It looks like the dinosaur is trying to chew her hand off. “I know you’re big, but I can still eat you! OM NOM NOM. Don’t you walk away from me. I’ll chew your arm off! OM NOM NOM. If I could just get through this jacket . . .”

Okay. Enough thinking like a toy dinosaur.

She’s getting more aware of the camera. She was saying, “cheese,” while shrugging her shoulders. Of course, even when she says cheese for the camera, she won’t look at it.

I love her mussy curls.

 My, what sharp teeth you have.

See! My camera wasn’t broken (wink, wink).

Dare I Say It?

We have now had two days and two nights with no puking whatsoever. I don’t want to jinx things by saying we’re all better, so let’s just say things are certainly looking up around here. I’ve continued to give the kids yogurt, and I think that helped a lot. But I talked to another mom last night whose family went through this flu, and she said some of them lasted 5 days also. It was just a sickness that didn’t want to let go. I can believe that. I felt awful through Monday even though I was done being sick on Saturday.

The girls are so used to drinking milk that they kept asking when they could have it again. On Monday, we told Eleanor she could have it after two more days, mainly because we thought Phaedra would be ready for it by then, so we wouldn’t have tantrums over her being excluded. Yesterday, I wasn’t ready to try giving it to Phaedra, so Eleanor and I had to work out a stealthy plan for only her to have a little milk. Eleanor was in charge of distracting Phae, and she did a terrible job because she kept coming back into the kitchen while I was pouring the milk. I managed to keep it hidden anyway, and I took it to Eleanor’s room and gave her the signal. Then Eleanor went in her room and closed the door to enjoy her milk. The baby monitor was still on, and this is what I heard:

“It isn’t making my tummy sick! I’m all better!”

“Hooray! My electrolytes are back!”

Grant explained to Eleanor a little about electrolytes and what happens when you’re sick. Eleanor has really been interested in electrolytes. Yesterday at lunch, she asked me, “Why did we have to get our electric lights back?” I had no idea what she was talking about. I tried to tell her we never had to get back any of our lights because we never lost them. Then, she said something about being sick, and I realized what she was trying to ask.

I have been dying to scrub this house from top to bottom, but Phaedra has been so whiny and clingy that I can’t get anything done. I have about six loads of laundry that need folded and put away. This weekend won’t help me get much done since Grant will be in class Friday evening and Saturday until evening. At least he wasn’t gone last weekend. I probably would have jumped off a cliff or something if I had gone through all that alone.

I went to a Relief Society function last night to give us tips on reconditioning furniture and decorating on a budget. It was SOOOO nice to get out of the house, away from fussy kids. The sister who taught the class did a really good job, and I got a few ideas. I am so amazed by what some people are able to get done. I have heaps, I mean heaps, of stuff I want to do, but I can never seem to find the time. Either that, or I just don’t have the energy once I finally do find the time. I try to tell myself that some people are at a different stage in life, and maybe it will be easier when my kids are in school. But honestly, I don’t know if I could be that productive even if I was given the time.

No Such Luck

I thought we were in the clear yesterday since Phaedra went the whole day without throwing up, but I was wrong. She was stirring in her bed from an hour after I put her down on through the night. She would fuss off and on, and I could tell she was working hard to stay asleep. Then, she threw up again around 1:30. I am so tired of this! I have been so worried about her.

I feel so bad for the poor girl. I can tell it’s wearing her down. She cried more this time, and she has been more and more clingy yesterday and today. She wants to be held or be in my lap at all times. There were only a few brief moments today when she was okay to play on her own instead of being in my arms or at my ankles fussing. She’s so pitiful, too. She’ll fuss at me, and if I don’t pick her up, she lays on the floor on her tummy, sucking her thumb. It’s heart wrenching. I even turned the TV back on this evening (even though they have both been watching WAY too much TV through all this) just so I could attempt to unload the dishwasher in peace. The rest of today, I have felt like a mama koala bear.

I had to give Phae a bath in the middle of the night. Eleanor woke up crying while we were trying to clean up. Once she calmed down from the initial upset of being woken up, she seemed so concerned about Phaedra. She didn’t want to lay in the bed with Grant. She pulled up a stool next to the tub where I was washing Phae, and she seemed happy whenever I gave her something to do. I love her sense of empathy. She is such a caring little girl.

On Sunday, when Phaedra was throwing up, Eleanor was so nervous. I told her I thought she would be happy it was Phaedra throwing up instead of her, but she told me she wasn’t. She didn’t want her sister to be sick. During one “false alarm,” Eleanor hid her head in her hands and said, “I can’t watch!” It was like her own personal horror movie. She said, “It’s scary when Phaedra throws up.”

I called my wonderful sister today, and she suggested I feed Phaedra some yogurt with live cultures to get some of the natural bacteria back into her body. I gave her some yogurt at lunch and with dinner. I almost called the nurse at our doctor’s office, but I decided to watch and see if this would help. She has held down liquids, and she’s still having wet diapers. She held down food all day, so let’s hope the night goes well tonight. I will be one very dejected mommy if she gets sick again tonight.

In Recovery

We have all been sick.

Thursday night, we heard Phaedra coughing in her bed. She had done that a little the night before. She cried out, so I went to comfort her and put her back in her bed. A few minutes later, around 1:00 (technically Friday morning), she cried and started coughing again. Then the sound changed, and we knew we had to get in there. She had thrown up in her bed. I started cleaning her up while Grant worked on cleaning up her bed. She didn’t cry. She just sat on the edge of the bathroom sink, her little body trembling while I wiped her off and changed her clothes. Eleanor amazed us by not waking up, even with the light on and all the commotion in her room. That was a blessing.

We figured Phaedra had only thrown up because she had gagged during a cough, so we tried to settle her down and let her lay with us in bed for a while. Then she puked again. After that clean-up, we moved to the family room with a bowl. Phaedra was wide awake, so we started a movie. Grant sent me to bed to get some rest. Around 3AM, I got sick . . . a different kind of sick. Phaedra threw up all night and finally fell asleep around 6:00. Grant stayed home from work without me having to ask him. When Eleanor woke up a little later in the morning than usual, she was sent directly to the TV while the rest of us tried to sleep it off. I was sick most of the day.

The next night was almost an exact repeat, but with Eleanor. This was the first time our girls have ever really vomited. Eleanor threw up her morning milk for a few days a year or two ago, but she has never thrown up actual food. There is definitely a difference in the way the two girls handled it. Phae was a trooper. She took it in stride, aimed for the bowl, and spit into the bowl afterwards. Then, she would make herself comfortable on my lap or Grant’s almost as if it hadn’t happened, pointing to the show and saying things about it. I did hear her crying for me some of the time I was trying to sleep, but she didn’t really cry about throwing up. Eleanor called out from her room that she had thrown up and proceeded to cry while we tried to get things cleaned up. She begged me for some medicine to make her not throw up. She screamed every time she puked, and made sure we knew she really, really didn’t like throwing up. My heart was breaking for both of them.

Phaedra spent much of the night in my bed with me while Eleanor threw up watching shows with Daddy. Saturday was amazingly quiet for our house, as we were all sick and sleepy. (Grant never got the stomach flu, but he has had a pretty bad cold.) This is how things looked at our house at 10:30, Saturday morning.

We’ve been working on recovering. I was no longer sick by Saturday afternoon, but my tummy has still been really sore. Eleanor has eased back into eating things, and has held down food and water since Saturday (although she hardly ate or drank a thing all Saturday). Phaedra has had a harder time, throwing up at least once every day except today (finally!) and begging for food every chance she gets. I’m hoping we’re done with all that. I’m so ready to be done!

Feel Like Shopping?

A friend of mine just opened shop on Etsy. She has some gorgeous accessories for women, girls, and babies. Check it out.

What I like best about her shop is her adorable model for the baby headband. She came over the other day and snapped a few shots of Phaedra, and she shared the photos with me. But, you’ll have to look in the sold section to find this one, of course. Stuff sells like hotcakes when you use an adorable model like my baby girl!

When I was getting ready to do this post, it occurred to me that I have never featured Etsy shops on my blog. I have a sister-in-law and a cousin who have shops, and I was going to also link to their shops. When I went to get the links, I saw that one shop seems sold out, and the other I can’t find. So, if they get up and running again, I’ll be sure to show off their talent, too.

Potty Prodigy

Phaedra has always been interested in the potty. One day, a few months ago, I had the girls in the tub when Phaedra said, “P U” a few times. I knew what this meant since every time I change her poopy diaper, we joke about how P U-ey she is. She had even started saying “P U” before she did the job. So here she was saying it in the bath and starting to get that tell-tale look on her face. I quickly grabbed her and held her dripping-wet behind over the potty. Sure enough, she did what she said she would do. I made a big to-do about what a good job she did, and I let her wipe her bottom with one of Eleanor’s “special wipes” (flushable toddler wipes). She especially liked flushing the potty, saying, “bye-bye,” and closing the lid.

Since then, Phaedra has loved the idea of going on the potty. She comes to me at random times and insists on going potty. She often already has a wet diaper, but she rarely gets on the potty without forcing something out. Obviously, she isn’t going when her body tells her she needs to do it. Rather, she’s deciding when she wants to do it and tells her body to perform. There have been times in the tub when she begs me to get her out and let her potty, so I’m sure the concept is there part of the time.

I’m not one to push potty training before she’s ready for it. I don’t want to potty train myself by having to ask her every two minutes, and I really don’t want to mess with puddles. I’ve kept all pressure off, only putting her on the potty when she asks to go. Then, I try to praise her and make it fun when she does. She absolutely loved it the first time I said, “plop!” when I heard a plop in the potty, so now, when she wets, we enjoy saying, “tinkle, tinkle, tinkle.” We have to make it worth doing again, right?

At bedtime, Eleanor always goes potty before they get into bed, and about a month ago, Phaedra started insisting on going at that time, too. If she doesn’t insist sometimes, we have tried to skip that step just to get them to bed faster. By the time we’re getting her blanket, she realizes it and begs for the potty. Because I don’t want to force it on her, I always try to ask her if she wants to go or if she just wants me to change her before bed, but she always wants to go. She has lost some interest in the potty during the day, but it seems to be a fixed part in her bedtime routine.

This is a HUGE difference from Eleanor, who loved sitting on the potty but didn’t actually put anything in it (besides toys and binkies) until she was 3 years old and then battled me through so much of the potty training process (oh wait, we still have battles, but that’s another post). So, here’s hoping I’ll have an easy time potty training Phaedra. Maybe she’ll just figure it all out herself. Wouldn’t that be nice :)

Here are some pictures of my little cutie being such a big girl.

  She was really working it for the camera. 

This is the part that really horrifies Grant. She likes to lean in close when she says, “bye-bye.” It makes me feel squeamish inside also, but mostly because I’m afraid she’ll reach in. Grant can hardly stand to watch, poor guy.

I am Weary

I don’t usually like to get this personal on my blog. I like to keep it light and fluffy and about the kids. I might not even post this. Tonight, I just need a release. I just need to spew these feelings I have weighing so heavily on my heart.

Today was a bad day for my brother, Mike. He has had many bad days. Life has not been as kind to him as it has been to some people. He faces more problems than I can imagine ever having the strength to handle. Because of this, he has been drawn to trying to find a way out of this brutal life. My mother and I are his main source of support living close by. We try to help him. I often watch my mother wear herself thin trying to help him. Nothing is ever quite enough. There is always another challenge. I’m sure I could do more for him than I do. I try.

My heart aches for my mother who has worked so hard to try to help him. My heart aches for my brother who never asked for such a difficult lot in life, and yet things just keep getting worse. We pray for him often, and I pray for my mother. If anyone reads this, will you please pray for my brother? I think we need all the help we can get.

My comfort in all of the events today was in my family. I am so grateful to have in-laws who love my daughters so whole-heartedly and come to my aid without hesitation. I am grateful that I am here in Oregon so I could be here to be a support to my mother and be there with her when she needed me. I know my siblings love her dearly, as they do my brother, and I know they would be here helping if they could. I am grateful for the love they show and support they give in being in contact with us. I am so grateful for my sweet, innocent girls. They are such a comfort to me. After being away from them for a while to be with my mother, I was so glad to come back to them and be able to hold them. I pray that they never have the troubles in life I have seen my brother face. I pray I never have to watch them go through so much pain and suffering as my mother has watched Mike. I pray that I can protect them from harm, and I hope they can avoid that from which I cannot protect them. I am so glad that my girls were able to have a pleasant evening with their grandma and their uncle, and then I was able to take them home and tuck them safely into bed.

I’ll be okay. I just had to get that out. Please pray for my brother.

18 Month Party

[Backtracking –Feb. 28, 2010]

There is a group of little ones in our ward who are all turning nursery age within a few weeks of each other (bless those nursery workers). A few of the moms came up with the idea to have a special party for the kids and moms to celebrate. We thought it was possible that most of our kids could grow up in this area, so it might be fun for them to look back on pictures from the day. Get ready for a ton of pictures. Five cute 18 month olds = picture overload!

Here are the kiddos:

Phaedra

Emmett

  Ian

Lillian

 Mae

 It was funny to watch them play, side by side, but in their own little worlds.

They had snacks and decor that went along with the primary color theme.

 Snack time! Phaedra seemed to bond with Emmett the most. Sadly, they just barely moved out of the ward, so he is the only one who won’t be in nursery with her. She shared her snacks with him while his mommy got him a plate. I wonder what was going through their heads, looking at each other that way.

 

 “Seriously, this woman is still taking pictures of us eating our snacks?””Oh please let her battery run out.” We lured them together with cupcakes for a few group shots (minus Mae, who had to leave).

 Yummy!

The foot that wouldn’t stop bouncing.

He’s captivated.

And he’s captured.

Oh dear! What will the future hold?

She Did It!

Phaedra made it through an entire day of nursery at church today without coming to me crying! She reached nursery age at the beginning of March, and we had a rather rocky start. She loved nursery . . . as long as Mommy didn’t leave. Plus, we missed a few weeks in March because of illness, so she didn’t have as many chances to get used to it.

I know I was half, if not 3/4, of the problem with her not wanting to stay in nursery without me. I just wasn’t ready to let go. I wasn’t ready to see my baby grow up, to see her just fine without me, doing big kid things. I wasn’t ready to do things the hard way when the easy way wasn’t working. I wanted her to be like Eleanor, so excited to play with new toys and other kids that she was distracted enough for me to say a quick goodbye and get out of there before it occurred to her to be upset. She wasn’t like Eleanor. She panicked when I put her down and even inched away from her. I would get her happy and comfortable, engaged in some activity, and then I would try to say bye and start to leave. Before I got two feet away from her, she was wailing and clinging to me in any way possible. So I stayed. Or I took her with me. I hate to see that sweet little girl in distress.

A few things helped today happen. First, the week before last, I was getting sick again after just finishing one round of antibiotics for a really bad sinus infection. To go to the doctor, I left the girls with Grant’s cousin, Ashley, at Grant’s mother’s house while his mother was teaching her art class. I was forced to leave them. Eleanor does not do well with doctors, and Phaedra would not do well sitting by herself on a chair while I was examined. I could just picture myself with two anxious girls clinging to my lap while some poor doctor had to try to work around them to examine me. Leaving Eleanor would be no problem. She loves Ashley’s daughter, Abby, and she was looking forward to playing with her at Grandma’s house. Phaedra was a different story. I thought she might do pretty well since it was in a familiar environment, with her sister, and even though she doesn’t really know Ashley, I don’t know if I could have found a more patient and gentle person to watch her. I considered just taking Phaedra with me to the doctor if she was having too hard of a time with me leaving her. Sure enough, Phaedra started crying when I went to leave. I think I forced myself to leave her. Ashley was fine with dealing with her. I couldn’t have left her in a better situation; if all else failed, they could go out to the studio to visit Grandma. I wasn’t even going to be gone that long.

You know what? She survived (of course). Most of all, I survived. (I think I was silly to think letting go would be any easier for me with my second.) She cried at first, but Ashley was able to calm her down. Every now and then, she would remember she was sad, and cry a little more. I was only gone about an hour. The funny thing was that she remembered it that Saturday when we went for an Easter egg hunt at Grandma’s, and when we got there and I set her down, she immediately started crying, thinking I was going to ditch her again.

On Tuesday, I took the girls to my mom’s while Grant was at his evening class. I left them with her for a while so I could go for a jog. Phaedra has never had a problem being left with either grandma. I told her I would be right back. My mother said that whenever she remembered to miss me, she would comfort herself by saying, “Mommy,” taking a deep breath and saying, “Back.” That melted my heart. Also, it helped me remember how important it was to tell her I would be back. In nursery, I had been trying to say goodbye so much that I forgot to reassure her I would return. Duh!

The other wonderful thing that helped today was that, by some miracle, she took a nap before church. She has been terrible about naps all week, but this morning, she went right to sleep so that she got about an hour in before we had to get her up to leave. So, she wasn’t cranky and emotional, and I wasn’t feeling sorry for my sleep-deprived child. She had been begging me to take her to nursery all through sacrament. I had talked to her all morning about how she would go to nursery, I would go to class, and then I would come back to get her. It was the perfect day to rip off the band-aid.

I went in, got her settled at the snack table, and told her I was going to class but would be back. She started clinging and crying, so I picked her up and held her. Times like those make it so tempting to just take her to class with me. I comforted her until she would sit down at the table again, warned a nursery leader that I was going, kissed her and told her I would be back, and then I was out of there before she could start her protest. It was absolute torture listening to her wail while I was standing out in the hall, not daring to look in the window in case she would see me. After a minute, one of the nursery workers picked her up and sat with her at the table, and she calmed down. I checked back many times during the next two hours, and every time, I saw her happily playing, or I got a thumbs-up sign from one of the nursery workers. I heard her cry one time I was in the hall, but she stopped after a bit. I assume another child had stolen a toy or something. When I picked her up, they all said she did really well. She was happy to see me, and sweetly said, “Bye, bye,” to the nursery workers.

So, we did it. Hopefully, it will just get better from here. I think she really does enjoy being in nursery when she can get over missing Mommy. Now, I just have to get over missing her. If you lived with her, you would see why I am so easily addicted to her.

I asked her questions about what she did, such as, “Did you have a snack, play with toys, etc.” When I asked her, “Did you sing a song?” She nodded, and said, “Head,” placing her hand on her head. So, I sang “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” while she tried to keep up with the actions. It was adorable. I love how she communicates what happened.

While I’m talking about accomplishments, I should mention that Eleanor passed off Article of Faith #11 today. She’s going to have all 13 before we know it!

Article of Faith #10

Eleanor has been working on her articles of faith in primary. She has amazed us with how easily she memorizes them. She has passed off all of them through number 10, and now we’re working on number 11. She can’t exactly recall any article of faith on demand once she has passed it off, but she remembers the most recent one for quite a while. Here is a video of her doing #10, which she passed off about two weeks ago; the video was taken the morning before church the day she passed it off. She can still tell it to you, even though we are working on #11 now.