Hannah (while riding on Eric's shoulders): "Daddy have bubbles in ears!"
Eric: "Whaaaat?? I have bubbles in my ears??"
Hannah: "Just kidding!!"
Friday, September 30, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Voodoo child
Yesterday our hallway was packed full of all the stuff I pulled out of Hannah's room to de-flea prior to spraying the daylights out her room for the second time and then returning the de-flead stuff to the de-flead room. In between loads and loads of laundry, I was carrying an armful of pillows fresh from the dryer back to her room to stash on her top bunk (in the hopes that the fleas won't get to them up there) when I got my ankle stuck in between the wall and the laundry baskets and plummeted forward. Face plant.
Hannah heard the thud and my scream and pulled herself away from her dinosaur movie to check on me. I sat down on the floor in her room to inspect my ankle, and she went to her shelves and came back with this giant bouncy ball type thing (that we call the wrecking ball) that lights up when it hits the floor. She, very seriously, rolled the ball around my ankle for a few seconds and then looked up and asked, "feel better, mommy?" I stifled my laughter, assured her that I did feel better, and thanked her for her help.
At dinner later that night, she spotted a bandage on Eric's finger and asked what happened. He explained, and her remedy this time was to get this light-up birthday wand thing that Grannah got her for her first birthday and hold it over his wound until he assured her that he felt better and thanked her for her help.
I'm not sure what brand of magic healing she's using, but it's quite effective.
Hannah heard the thud and my scream and pulled herself away from her dinosaur movie to check on me. I sat down on the floor in her room to inspect my ankle, and she went to her shelves and came back with this giant bouncy ball type thing (that we call the wrecking ball) that lights up when it hits the floor. She, very seriously, rolled the ball around my ankle for a few seconds and then looked up and asked, "feel better, mommy?" I stifled my laughter, assured her that I did feel better, and thanked her for her help.
At dinner later that night, she spotted a bandage on Eric's finger and asked what happened. He explained, and her remedy this time was to get this light-up birthday wand thing that Grannah got her for her first birthday and hold it over his wound until he assured her that he felt better and thanked her for her help.
I'm not sure what brand of magic healing she's using, but it's quite effective.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Hannah's pretend boobies
When Lila was bestowed on Hannah, Hannah was still nursing three times a day and often insisted that Lila tandem nurse with her, so here I'd be, hanging out with two boobs out, Hannah on one and a baby doll on the other. I'm all in for a good game of let's pretend, but this one wasn't one of my favorites. I tried explaining to Hannah that she was Lila's mommy and could therefore nurse Lila herself, but that concept was lost on her. Pretending Lila was nursing from me, okay. Pretending Lila was nursing from her, totally insane. Is the realm of pretend a developmental thing that happens in stages/at certain ages?? Or do you think it's just because Hannah was still nursing three times a day back then and is now nursing not at all? Whatever the reason for her refusal to nurse Lila herself, it's a thing of the past. This week Hannah began nursing her own babies. I think it's super cute so I snapped a few pics of her nursing one of her smaller babies tonight during her bedtime routine.
So, yeah, I think it's safe to say that Hannah is weaned now. I started cutting her back in June, first eliminating the night time nurse. By the time her second birthday rolled around she was just nursing first thing in the morning, and by the time we got to Michigan a couple weeks later, she was rarely asking for boobies, and I wasn't offering. There were a few weeks where 3 or 4 days would pass before she'd remember to ask for boobies, and although I let her take her time with it, if I thought she was asking because she was hungry or thirsty, I'd push food and drink. I think the last time she nursed was Labor Day after we got back from the State Fair....I think...So yay! I've got my boobs back! And yay that Hannah has her own pretend boobies with which to nurse her babies!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Kitty AIDS
Kaya has FIV, kitty AIDS. Crazy, right?? Eric was astonished and wanted to know how she could have kitty AIDS if she wasn't having any kitty sex. The vet explained that FIV is most often transmitted through bite wounds. She was attacked back in 2007 and ended up with two pretty bad bite wounds that cost me $500 at the time to fix. Now it's a few years later and we've already shelled out almost that much just to find out what was wrong and get her started on an antibiotic. I'd like to find the punk cat who did this...
Last Friday, after 3 days of extreme lethargy and not eating, drinking, or eliminating anything, I realized that something was seriously wrong and called the vet. Hannah and I skipped our Friday morning swim and raced Kaya to the doctor. Before we did that, Hannah was being really sweet, covering Kaya with her blanket and saying, "Feel better Kaya? Feel better??" As I watched Hannah trying to comfort Kaya, it occurred to me that I don't have any pictures of Hannah and Kaya together (because Kaya runs like hell when Hannah tries to play), and that since Kaya was pretty seriously sick, that particular scene could be my only photo op, so I took it.
The antibiotic is kicking in and although Kaya still has a very small appetite, she is moving around and seeming healthier. I don't know what's next. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it affects her. Since she has lost 1/3 of her body weight in the last 2 years, I don't imagine she has a lot of time left, but who knows.
Oh, and see that red mark on Hannah's left cheek?? That's a flea bite. Awesome, right? They love Hannah and bit her to shreds for days while I frantically researched bug bites online trying to figure out what was going on. I thought fleas would be easier to see, but they're really not. We've been vacuuming and cleaning and washing sheets like mad, and as a result, Hannah is waking up with fewer bites each morning, but I can't keep that kind of cleaning up, and it's not enough anyway so I agreed to some Ultracide...It's supposed to be non-toxic once it dries....I'm a little skeptical, but I'm willing to take my chances. After all, fleas caused the bubonic plague, did they not??? Given a choice between the plague and toxins, I'll take toxins.
Speaking of, Hannah and I need to get the heck out of dodge this weekend while Eric does de-fleas our house....anybody want visitors???
Last Friday, after 3 days of extreme lethargy and not eating, drinking, or eliminating anything, I realized that something was seriously wrong and called the vet. Hannah and I skipped our Friday morning swim and raced Kaya to the doctor. Before we did that, Hannah was being really sweet, covering Kaya with her blanket and saying, "Feel better Kaya? Feel better??" As I watched Hannah trying to comfort Kaya, it occurred to me that I don't have any pictures of Hannah and Kaya together (because Kaya runs like hell when Hannah tries to play), and that since Kaya was pretty seriously sick, that particular scene could be my only photo op, so I took it.
The antibiotic is kicking in and although Kaya still has a very small appetite, she is moving around and seeming healthier. I don't know what's next. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it affects her. Since she has lost 1/3 of her body weight in the last 2 years, I don't imagine she has a lot of time left, but who knows.
Oh, and see that red mark on Hannah's left cheek?? That's a flea bite. Awesome, right? They love Hannah and bit her to shreds for days while I frantically researched bug bites online trying to figure out what was going on. I thought fleas would be easier to see, but they're really not. We've been vacuuming and cleaning and washing sheets like mad, and as a result, Hannah is waking up with fewer bites each morning, but I can't keep that kind of cleaning up, and it's not enough anyway so I agreed to some Ultracide...It's supposed to be non-toxic once it dries....I'm a little skeptical, but I'm willing to take my chances. After all, fleas caused the bubonic plague, did they not??? Given a choice between the plague and toxins, I'll take toxins.
Speaking of, Hannah and I need to get the heck out of dodge this weekend while Eric does de-fleas our house....anybody want visitors???
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The terrible twos wake up with a roar
I naively believed that Hannah hit the terrible twos early at 18 months and that life henceforth would be smooth sailing. Sometimes I forget the number one lesson I've learned since becoming a mom: no phase is ever over, it just hibernates. The terrible twos have reawakened, and they are accompanied by a much stronger set of lungs and a far greater level of persistence.
There are a number of occasions throughout the day that throw Hannah into a fit, but the most difficult happen at night. Once again, Hannah refuses to go to sleep or be in her room by herself. She wraps her arms around my or Eric's neck very tightly and insists that we stay. If we leave anyway, she protests by screaming so loud that she gags and chokes and has to take 5 (seconds, that is) to clear her throat before continuing, and continue she will. On and on and on and on...screaming and screaming and screaming. If you do stay with her until she falls asleep (and this process often takes more than hour so good luck hanging in there), you'll need to return a few hours later (and then a few hours after that...) when she wakes up and realizes you've left. Last night she was up at 10:30, 2:30, 5:00, and 5:45. Insane. I was seriously insane by 5:00, and I lost it. I screamed at her to go to sleep, and I slammed doors, and then I cried crib side (I moved her from bunk bed to crib before throwing my own temper tantrum). When I started to cry, she stopped. She patted me on the back, and said "shhhhh..." and kissed my head. Sigh.
Hello bad mommy with the terrible temper, not so nice to see you again!! (I apologized to her this morning.)
Her day time tantrums are much easier to handle. I still sometimes feel like my head is going to explode, but if I can just get some music going, I can get through it. This morning she launched into one of her fits when i told her that I couldn't remove the shoulder pads from her car seat strap. I flipped on the radio and rolled down the windows to keep the screams from reverberating around the car. I pulled up to a red light like this and a gaggle of picture-snapping tourists stopped to stare and smile sympathetically at me. Some of them laughed. I think they were genuinely impressed by her decibel level.
She went down for a nap without too much insanity, but woke up from nap screaming and could not be convinced to do anything else. She screamed when I picked her up and screamed when I put her down. She reeked of the poop that she had filled her diaper with but kicked me if I tried to change her. Eventually I gave up, returned down the stairs, flipped on the iPod, and resumed squash chopping. She stopped crying shortly after and started bumping her butt down the stairs while announcing to me "Stopped crying mommy."
Since I was close to rock bottom last night, I spent much of the day doing some serious thinking about how to get us out of this phase as quickly and painlessly as possible. I decided that the bedtime coddling has to stop because all it does is make her want to be coddled every single time she wakes up at night, and I can't deal with that. Tonight I hugged her for at least 10 minutes before pulling myself out of her boa constrictor grip and making my way guiltily to the shower.
Blood curdling screams serenaded me while I shampooed and rinsed and dried and dressed, and when I was finished, I returned to her room and sat in a chair for more than 5 minutes (a modification of the Sleep Lady's shuffle), all the while talking to her about what I expected of her and reassuring her that I would do everything in my power to keep her safe, happy, and healthy. Then I took off again. She only screamed for about 10 minutes after that and has been quiet since so hopefully this tough love approach will get the sleeping thing back on track, because I can handle it during the day time hours, but it's downright unbearable in the middle of the night, especially after a number of previous wake-ups.
The only other solution I could come up with was to assume that her needing our presence was normal and give in to that. Frankly, I think that proponents of attachment parenting and the family bed are probably right on--it definitely seems more natural, especially when you think about tribal cultures all bedding down together in one hut--and I think that Hannah would probably prefer that style of parenting and benefit from it greatly. Sadly, I can't provide it. I don't have it in me. I need just a little bit of space at the end of the day and have no desire to sacrifice that and go to sleep with her at 7:30 or to have to tiptoe into a darkened room later on and skip books before bed so as not to wake her. Nope. As ideal as it sounds, and as much as I'd love to be that mom, I know my limits.
I hope Hannah doesn't get some crazy complex or have attachment issues as a result of these limits...
There are a number of occasions throughout the day that throw Hannah into a fit, but the most difficult happen at night. Once again, Hannah refuses to go to sleep or be in her room by herself. She wraps her arms around my or Eric's neck very tightly and insists that we stay. If we leave anyway, she protests by screaming so loud that she gags and chokes and has to take 5 (seconds, that is) to clear her throat before continuing, and continue she will. On and on and on and on...screaming and screaming and screaming. If you do stay with her until she falls asleep (and this process often takes more than hour so good luck hanging in there), you'll need to return a few hours later (and then a few hours after that...) when she wakes up and realizes you've left. Last night she was up at 10:30, 2:30, 5:00, and 5:45. Insane. I was seriously insane by 5:00, and I lost it. I screamed at her to go to sleep, and I slammed doors, and then I cried crib side (I moved her from bunk bed to crib before throwing my own temper tantrum). When I started to cry, she stopped. She patted me on the back, and said "shhhhh..." and kissed my head. Sigh.
Hello bad mommy with the terrible temper, not so nice to see you again!! (I apologized to her this morning.)
Her day time tantrums are much easier to handle. I still sometimes feel like my head is going to explode, but if I can just get some music going, I can get through it. This morning she launched into one of her fits when i told her that I couldn't remove the shoulder pads from her car seat strap. I flipped on the radio and rolled down the windows to keep the screams from reverberating around the car. I pulled up to a red light like this and a gaggle of picture-snapping tourists stopped to stare and smile sympathetically at me. Some of them laughed. I think they were genuinely impressed by her decibel level.
She went down for a nap without too much insanity, but woke up from nap screaming and could not be convinced to do anything else. She screamed when I picked her up and screamed when I put her down. She reeked of the poop that she had filled her diaper with but kicked me if I tried to change her. Eventually I gave up, returned down the stairs, flipped on the iPod, and resumed squash chopping. She stopped crying shortly after and started bumping her butt down the stairs while announcing to me "Stopped crying mommy."
Since I was close to rock bottom last night, I spent much of the day doing some serious thinking about how to get us out of this phase as quickly and painlessly as possible. I decided that the bedtime coddling has to stop because all it does is make her want to be coddled every single time she wakes up at night, and I can't deal with that. Tonight I hugged her for at least 10 minutes before pulling myself out of her boa constrictor grip and making my way guiltily to the shower.
Blood curdling screams serenaded me while I shampooed and rinsed and dried and dressed, and when I was finished, I returned to her room and sat in a chair for more than 5 minutes (a modification of the Sleep Lady's shuffle), all the while talking to her about what I expected of her and reassuring her that I would do everything in my power to keep her safe, happy, and healthy. Then I took off again. She only screamed for about 10 minutes after that and has been quiet since so hopefully this tough love approach will get the sleeping thing back on track, because I can handle it during the day time hours, but it's downright unbearable in the middle of the night, especially after a number of previous wake-ups.
The only other solution I could come up with was to assume that her needing our presence was normal and give in to that. Frankly, I think that proponents of attachment parenting and the family bed are probably right on--it definitely seems more natural, especially when you think about tribal cultures all bedding down together in one hut--and I think that Hannah would probably prefer that style of parenting and benefit from it greatly. Sadly, I can't provide it. I don't have it in me. I need just a little bit of space at the end of the day and have no desire to sacrifice that and go to sleep with her at 7:30 or to have to tiptoe into a darkened room later on and skip books before bed so as not to wake her. Nope. As ideal as it sounds, and as much as I'd love to be that mom, I know my limits.
I hope Hannah doesn't get some crazy complex or have attachment issues as a result of these limits...
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