The Worst Check-up Ever...

Katie R.

Want to feel like a better parent?  Read this.  I think this may rank as one of the worst check-ups ever, primarily because it's the appointment that will never end.  Seriously it's been a week of constant reminders and there is no end in sight.

Let's start from the beginning.  First, Wes went to drs appointment after a morning at camp and no nap. Worst scheduling my a mother ever.  Then, Andrew went to Daddy's office while Wes went to the doctor, and being daddy's boy that went over like a lead balloon. So we started out the appointment crying.  

Then he refused to get on the scale.  Throwing himself around, crying, screaming and basically doing anything to mortify me.  Eventually, I had to get weighed with him and then put him down to be weighed.  Awesome.  I basically trapped him against the wall to get his height and then the poor nurse fled the room as fast as her feet would take her.

A knock on the door and I look up to see a nurse holding a book for Wes to which he promptly screams "no".  I look again and the nurse is someone I had a drink with the previous weekend and this was the first time she has met my child.  Amazing first impression.

She leaves and the doctor then takes a 1/2 hour to get in the room.  This is how he finds Wes.  Yes he is eating a snack under the chair at the hospital.  Quite possibly the dirtiest place on earth.  He wasn't crying and I didn't care.  (please note the shorts int he photo, those come into play later).  And yes he has on a pink pull-up because we had to borrow it from a friend before the appointment

Wes did not cry for the doctor but he was as defiant as he could be.  He refused to talk but when he did, he ensured that he said something that would make me want to crawl in a hole.  For example, when Dr. Sam asked if he could say over 100 words I said yes and then Wes said "Dr. Sam do you want to play construction vehicles games on Mommy's iphone".  When Dr. Sam asked Wes if he could look in his ear to see what is there Wes said "there is poop in there".  When Dr. Sam said can you name body parts Wes said "just my stinky toes".

Finally when we could take no more the appointment came to a close.  Dr. Sam is amazing and funny and happy the whole time.  I can't get out the door fast enough and Dr. Sam says "By the way I think we are neighbors"  Oh My God.  Sure enough he and his wife moved in about 4 houses from us.  He probably is putting up a for sale sign right now.

As we pulled out of the parking garage this happened.  At 4 o'clock of course the worst time of the day.

It's over right?  Oh not so fast.  I get home and the phone rings.  Remember the shorts that were on the floor, apparently we left them there.  I say no problem my husband works there he can pick them up tomorrow.  

Did that happen?  Of course not.  Look what came in the mail today.

Not only do we probably need to find a new dr we can probably never take a walk in our neighborhood.

See don't you feel like a good parent?

Trip to the ER

It was going to happen eventually, the fall, the scream and the cut that means we are taking our first trip to the emergency room.

We were visiting family at the beach and had just come in from a great day in the sun.  Tom went to put the beach toys away and I marched the boys straight to the shower to hose off.  I stepped in first to get the water on and then I told Colby to come in and he took one step, slipped and hit chin first on the shower floor. I scooped him up and covered his chin immediately. Amazingly their wasn't much blood but when I finally looked I saw that the cut was deep.  I called to Tom and he instantly agreed we needed to go to the emergency room. We left Lincoln with his grandfather and a sandy Colby, Mom and Dad headed for the closest ER.  Luckily we were in Maine and I knew the location of the closest ER so we weren't driving blind following a gps to the nearest facility. I now will proceed with the bragging portion of this blog.  After the initial scream and cry of the fall/cut Colby did not cry at all. The entire car ride he sat with his wet facecloth held to his chin and then once arriving at the ER he answered questions the nurses and doctors asked him without hesitation.  In the picture above he has a cotton ball with lidocaine on it to numb the cut. We had to sit there for about twenty minutes to make sure that it had kicked in.  We told Colby he would need stiches and he seemed alright about it. (Thank you Doc McStuffins from Disney) The doctor was wonderful (she has two kids the same age as Colby and Lincoln) and knew how to handle the situation.  As she kept him talking she shoved the needle all around his cut. He mentioned that it stung a little but he wasn't bothered with her continuing to shove the needle in. Then she proceeded to stich up his little chin. 4 stiches latter and he was up for ice cream so off we headed to the nearest scoop shop for a treat for my little rock star. He could have asked for the moon and I would have promised it to him but all he wanted was some ice cream. 

Weeks later and the stiches have dissolved and all that remains is a little scar and a story to tell the rest of his life.  He was so brave! Tom and I couldn't be prouder and happier to have that under our belts.

Merry Christmas

We are fortunate to have wonderful friends and family. So fortunate that the boys get treated quite well at Christmas time and at their birthdays (which both fall somewhat close to Christmas).  Because the toys tend to build up, I have, for the past two years put toys away unwrapped but unopened.  The boys are usually overwhelmed with everything and don't realize I've stashed them away.

Fast forward six months and Colby and Lincoln have finished their preschool programs for the year and the summer is upon us. That means a lot of together time looking for things to do.  I went to the stash and pulled out a gem.  Several sets of legos and lego sheets to build roads/towns/houses on.  They would have loved playing with it at Christmastime but to pull it out as an end of year treat just made the day/week!

Lots and lots of little legos to step on but the joy and hours it consumes makes it worth the pain in the feet!  I still have a few more things packed away that will be perfect for a rainy summer day.

Staking Claim

Nothing like taking ownership of books..

These are a few of my books from growing up, I'm lucky my parents saved them because they are some of my favorites. 

As the youngest of three girls it was important to try to stake claim on the books you liked most. 

Clearly as my mother put all of our names in this book I took measures into my own hands to indicate whose book it really was. I'll have to keep an eye on these books to see which one of my boys stakes his claim and writes his name on it! 

Life Lessons from the Neighbor Cat

I think that the cat next door, Smoke, realizes that this house is missing our Isis Kitty. He comes over to visit anytime we are outside.  We are happy to pat him as he lounges around us as the boys play. Yesterday the boys were at the water table and I was just enjoying the sunshine as Smoke sat at my feet. I noticed the cat creep into a pouncing position.  I thought Smoke was about to pounce on a grasshopper but when he jumped and came out with a mouse in his mouth I was surprised.  He took it over to the bottom of the slide and let it run around a bit as he kept pawing at it.  I tried to encourage the boys to move to the deck so as to give the cat some space. (I wasn't sure what his plan was and I was hoping he would just walk away with it in his mouth.) The boys wanted nothing to do with giving Smoke some space. Colby actually wanted to watch from the top of the slide. "Don't worry mom, the mouse is already dead" he reminded me! So I let him go to the top of the slide to let him watch.

  He continues to narrate for me as Smoke continues to play/eat/maul the mouse, "Mom, Smoke eat the head off!" I would think this would disturb my boys but they saw it (and explained to me as such) as food for Smoke that he caught on his own.  They seemed fine with it after the cat devoured the mouse in about 6 bites.  It was disgusting to me but the boys just went back to playing at the water table after it was all over.  I did tell them to give the cat space after that because I thought he would throw it back up but he lingered for another hour and seemed fine. 

I appreciated the rodent control and the circle of life lesson the neighbor cat taught us that day.  Thanks Smoke!