Well, if it wasn't the worst, it was close. I've been sick all week AGAIN, Helen has been sick. Ruthie hasn't been sick, but I'd be very surprised if she wasn't getting sick, based on her horrific behavior today. I won't bore you with the minutiae of my day I'll just recount some of the more fun moments.
Ruthie decided, five minutes before we needed to leave for th gym (yeah, why was I going to the gym when I'm sick...mostly because the thought of spending ALL DAY in the house with my children was too much to bear.) that she needed to change into pair of ugly pants that did not match her shirt. They are pants I don;t like for anything but hanging around the house. But I didn't have the energy to wrangle her into the ones I picked out because I was too busy telling her how hideous her outfit was. At the risk of losing any points I may have been awarded for that, I felt awful and apologized to her later, telling her how beautiful she looked today. Thank God she believed me.
Helen fell off the kitchen chair as I was loading the car for the gym. I had so had it with theatrics and crying at that point that I merely picked her up off her back, where she was laying in a pile of Cheerios and Raisin Bran, placed her in a chair without saying anything and walked away from my crying toddler, and out the door. Fortunately, I realized later she was not hurt.
After the gym, we went to Target to pick up a few things. I let Helen walk into the store. Usually she is in a cart. The plan was to find a cart they could both sit in. I don't know if she fell or threw herself on the floor, but there she was, laying on the floor in the middle of the entrance, screaming, while the automatic door kept opening and closing. She flung herself onto her back and I left her there, to get a cart, while Ruthie screamed, "Mommy, look where she is, she's on the floor," and other patrons stepped over her to get in. I got many a dirty look from the elderly couples shuffling in, but the cart guy thought it was hilarious.
After we got home from Target, I realized what a bad idea it was to have gone to the gym, as I ha d used up nearly every ounce of energy on the x-bike. This left me no choice but to force Ruthie to take a nap. This was made much easier by the temper tantrum she threw just after lunch. I carried her to her room to let her scream. She emerged into the hallway. I put her back and locked her in. When she realized she was locked in, she worked herself into a total frenzy that eventually led to a nice 2 hour nap. But sleep did not come before I made my way in to her room and informed her that children in my house didn't act this way, and if she wanted to throw fits of this nature she could pack her bags and move in with another family. Since she's not quite four, she can't reach her suitcase at the top of the closet, so she shut up and settled down.
Friday, January 18, 2008
On the Crapper
Why is it my 11yr old son seems to always need to take a crap when I tell him it's time to do a job? Today all three boys were doing their chores. My 11yr old was then missing, so I asked the other kids where he was. The bathroom. I barged in on him, told him to get up and do his chores. Told him if he has to crap really bad, well, he'll just have to work quickly, then poop. Sheesh.
Am I a bad mom for assuming he's trying to get out of chores?
A brisk walk
I only put shoes, socks, and mittens on once. If they get thrown, they get put in the diaper bag. You should've seen the looks I got this morning walking back from the grocery store in 40 degree weather...
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Not Faking
After lunch, a call comes in from the school nurse. Lars has a headache he describes as "large" and it hasn't been alleviated by the soothing pictures or waterfall music the nurse has been applying. I talk to him on the phone. "Hey there, Little, you don't feel good?"
His small voice responds, "No. I have a headache. A large one." He sounds more sad than in pain, so I ask him if something happened that hurt his head but he says no, it was just all the noise at lunch. Suspecting there might be more psychological than physical pain, I ask if he thinks he'll be ok to skate practice tonight. He hesitates, "I, ...I don't know. I think I can skate." I remind him that if he comes home from school sick, he can't go to practice and he decides to give the afternoon at school another try.
A couple of hours pass. The small worry that I'd been harboring for Lars since the call is gone when the phone rings again. Lars is really sick. So sick that he can't be put on the school bus; can we come get him? Chris heads to the school and returns with a limp boy who has no interest in standing up, let alone skating. Calibrated Mama lips determine he has a little fever so we get him some Tylenol and bundle him into blankets on the couch. I wonder how awful he was feeling when I coaxed him into staying at school after lunch?
His small voice responds, "No. I have a headache. A large one." He sounds more sad than in pain, so I ask him if something happened that hurt his head but he says no, it was just all the noise at lunch. Suspecting there might be more psychological than physical pain, I ask if he thinks he'll be ok to skate practice tonight. He hesitates, "I, ...I don't know. I think I can skate." I remind him that if he comes home from school sick, he can't go to practice and he decides to give the afternoon at school another try.
A couple of hours pass. The small worry that I'd been harboring for Lars since the call is gone when the phone rings again. Lars is really sick. So sick that he can't be put on the school bus; can we come get him? Chris heads to the school and returns with a limp boy who has no interest in standing up, let alone skating. Calibrated Mama lips determine he has a little fever so we get him some Tylenol and bundle him into blankets on the couch. I wonder how awful he was feeling when I coaxed him into staying at school after lunch?
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
New Member Intro......It's Too Hard to Live at My House
Hello everyone! I just stumbled upon this wonderful blog (er...sarcasm mill?), and I LOVE it!
I was asked to write in an intro about myself. Well, how much time do we have? I tend to be long winded, so I'll attempt to keep this short. I have been married over 15 years and have five children. Three biological sons ages 12, 11, & 9, two adopted daughters ages 4 & 2. I enjoy crafts, adoption and parenting books, websites, education, cooking, cycling, our church, friends, and a good laugh. I'm currently on a mission to lose the last 40 pounds of about 100 pounds that were too many. Privacy is important to me, so I post under an anonymous name. I won't be posting pics of my family, but I will post humorous photos I come across.
After my husband and I were both raised in entirely dysfunctional homes with none of our parents being any sort of mentor/role model, we decided to blindly jump into the world of marriage and parenting. We got engaged after three dates, married 6 months later. What fun! We survived the first few years of marriage. We are still alive after my one time only "batter fried fish" entree for dinner that nearly killed us both. And a five alarm dish of enchiladas.
We always wanted a large family, the term "large" still being debated. When I was in high school, a desire for adoption began to run thick thru my blood and deep in my heart. When my husband asked me to marry him, I asked him about a day later if we could adopt. He said basically, "well, since we haven't had sex, we don't even know if we have infertility issues. So, back to that sex topic, can we discuss that?.............." He has two adopted siblings and has always been open to adoption. He grew up seeing the positives, heartache, issues, joys, and the recipe of an adoptive family.
Moving along, we had three bio boys in three years. The third pregnancy left me on bed rest for seven months, followed by a birth that left me with a surprise hysterectomy and menopause. My first thought? Now we can adopt!!! My husband was rolling his eyes since we had three very young boys, our third being born deaf (has since been repaired). To make life even more interesting, our 12yr old son has ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), and our 9yr old son has Aspergers. Since we needed more drama around here than that, we decided to adopt a little girl from Russia.
To make a really long adoption story short, we went all the way to Far East Russia to adopt a precious little 3yr old girl. We were never able to bring her home due to our adoption agency operating illegally. We have since sued them and the FBI is prosecuting them. We regrouped, found a new adoption agency, and adopted two girls practically out of our backyard in our home state. The girls are in our home on an adoption placement, adoption soon to be finalized in a couple months.
Living in my home is a new adventure every day. To sum it up, our 4yr old daughter says "It's just too hard to live here. I have to make my bed, clean my room, get dressed, and I have to tell the truth, and I have to keep my undies dry." She states this matter of fact at least once a week. Our clean cut, healthy, positive, nurturing home is so foreign to her that it really is work for her to be a family member. So apparently it's just too hard to live here, huh? One time she beat up her younger sister here. My husband walked in on them and yelled at the 4yr old as he picked her up off her 2yr old sister. She immediately said "Time for us (the girls) to move!" She was ready to pack her bags and be gone. We explained that everyone makes mistakes, and you don't move just because you make a mistake.
For my WorstMamaEver story to add this time........
Yesterday we weren't going anywhere. I let my 2yr old wear a wool plaid jumper dress, black turtle neck, leopard print pants, hot pink socks, black church mary janes, and a big smile. My husband thought she looked like a Lady of the Evening, but ya know what? I thought she looked so happy that I didn't care what she was wearing. Heck, we are in our own home for heavens sake. Of course I would make sure she looks normal heading out to the grocery store, church, whatnot.
I have a personal blog called SpecialNeedsKids (clickable) if any of you would like to read more of my adventures. Please let me know if you are aware of any kids special needs blogs that may be of interest.
I look forward to getting to know you all, laughing with you at the highlights and lowlights of your day, and encouraging each other. Best wishes everyone!
I was asked to write in an intro about myself. Well, how much time do we have? I tend to be long winded, so I'll attempt to keep this short. I have been married over 15 years and have five children. Three biological sons ages 12, 11, & 9, two adopted daughters ages 4 & 2. I enjoy crafts, adoption and parenting books, websites, education, cooking, cycling, our church, friends, and a good laugh. I'm currently on a mission to lose the last 40 pounds of about 100 pounds that were too many. Privacy is important to me, so I post under an anonymous name. I won't be posting pics of my family, but I will post humorous photos I come across.
After my husband and I were both raised in entirely dysfunctional homes with none of our parents being any sort of mentor/role model, we decided to blindly jump into the world of marriage and parenting. We got engaged after three dates, married 6 months later. What fun! We survived the first few years of marriage. We are still alive after my one time only "batter fried fish" entree for dinner that nearly killed us both. And a five alarm dish of enchiladas.
We always wanted a large family, the term "large" still being debated. When I was in high school, a desire for adoption began to run thick thru my blood and deep in my heart. When my husband asked me to marry him, I asked him about a day later if we could adopt. He said basically, "well, since we haven't had sex, we don't even know if we have infertility issues. So, back to that sex topic, can we discuss that?.............." He has two adopted siblings and has always been open to adoption. He grew up seeing the positives, heartache, issues, joys, and the recipe of an adoptive family.
Moving along, we had three bio boys in three years. The third pregnancy left me on bed rest for seven months, followed by a birth that left me with a surprise hysterectomy and menopause. My first thought? Now we can adopt!!! My husband was rolling his eyes since we had three very young boys, our third being born deaf (has since been repaired). To make life even more interesting, our 12yr old son has ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), and our 9yr old son has Aspergers. Since we needed more drama around here than that, we decided to adopt a little girl from Russia.
To make a really long adoption story short, we went all the way to Far East Russia to adopt a precious little 3yr old girl. We were never able to bring her home due to our adoption agency operating illegally. We have since sued them and the FBI is prosecuting them. We regrouped, found a new adoption agency, and adopted two girls practically out of our backyard in our home state. The girls are in our home on an adoption placement, adoption soon to be finalized in a couple months.
Living in my home is a new adventure every day. To sum it up, our 4yr old daughter says "It's just too hard to live here. I have to make my bed, clean my room, get dressed, and I have to tell the truth, and I have to keep my undies dry." She states this matter of fact at least once a week. Our clean cut, healthy, positive, nurturing home is so foreign to her that it really is work for her to be a family member. So apparently it's just too hard to live here, huh? One time she beat up her younger sister here. My husband walked in on them and yelled at the 4yr old as he picked her up off her 2yr old sister. She immediately said "Time for us (the girls) to move!" She was ready to pack her bags and be gone. We explained that everyone makes mistakes, and you don't move just because you make a mistake.
For my WorstMamaEver story to add this time........
Yesterday we weren't going anywhere. I let my 2yr old wear a wool plaid jumper dress, black turtle neck, leopard print pants, hot pink socks, black church mary janes, and a big smile. My husband thought she looked like a Lady of the Evening, but ya know what? I thought she looked so happy that I didn't care what she was wearing. Heck, we are in our own home for heavens sake. Of course I would make sure she looks normal heading out to the grocery store, church, whatnot.
I have a personal blog called SpecialNeedsKids (clickable) if any of you would like to read more of my adventures. Please let me know if you are aware of any kids special needs blogs that may be of interest.
I look forward to getting to know you all, laughing with you at the highlights and lowlights of your day, and encouraging each other. Best wishes everyone!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
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