Keeping last night's blog post in mind, I wanted to give an update...
I put the puzzle away and went to bed. James didn't get up until long after Matthew had already yanked me out of bed at 5:55 AM. We just played together until the other kids got up and then I started making breakfast. Destructive disaster and/or learning experience averted.
As I fell asleep last night, I remembered a few golden moments with James over the last few days. I don't want to give you guys the impression that he's a stinker all the time. The truth is, he can be a pest, but in the context of these golden moments, I understand the pestiferousness isn't everything, and I get the sense it's all temporary...a coping mechanism.
Golden moment #1
James had a pretend microphone and he was singing songs into it. Mathew heard "Heavenly Father" in one of the songs and repeated it, looking at James with a smile. Then James cracked a smile and whispered a prayer into Matthew's ear, a little at a time, so Matthew could repeat it into the microphone. It was a game, and they were both laughing about it.
Golden Moment #2
James and Matthew sitting together on the back patio, flipping through a toy catalog and dreaming of the possibilities.
Golden Moment #3
James and Matthew were playing on the school playground while we waited to pick up a neighbor (Alice and Robert had an afterschool thing to go to). James was a model caretaker of Matthew: shepherding him to the toys he likes, helping him up ladders, brushing him off after a tumble, running excitedly over to me to tell me about Matthew's most recent climbing accomplishment.
It appears these golden moments don't involve either of his older siblings. Hmmm. That's something to examine closer.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Is it a sting? or just practice?
We have LOVED having Erin come hang out with us for a few days this Halloween weekend. So many favorite parts, but one moment in particular made my heart skip a beat. Alice and her friends had just finished performing their play. The girls were all over the place playing and having fun, but Alice was snuggled right up to Erin having the time of her life. Her friends even came over and asked Alice to come play, but Alice just smiled and said, "No thanks, I want to be with Erin." Yeah, that's love.
We. love. Erin.
I will tell the tales of our grand adventures in another post, however, since tonight I'm pondering something kinda tricky and I'm seeking a place to think it out.
Erin, Bobby, Alice and Robert just spent a couple hours working on a 3-D puzzle of Earth. No small task. They weren't done by bedtime, so it's sitting on the counter in the kitchen...two mostly-done portions, and an assortment of blue ocean pieces left to connect the continents together. I see it there and immediately think of two things:
1) If James gets up tomorrow morning before everyone else, which he usually does, and discovers this treasure, he will likely destroy it.
2) If James destroys it, how upset will the kids be? Is this a good time to allow such a learning experience? Do I have the energy to work the family through another learning experience, or should I just hide the puzzle away before James even has a chance to mess with it?
This is only one example of the same decision I end up making a hundred times a day. I see situations all day that offer James the opportunity to tinker/pester/tease/disrupt something that's important to another child.
One part of me sees these situations as learning opportunities for James and his siblings. He (hopefully) practices self-control and learns to respect other people's property, and they (hopefully) practice forgiveness and learn to take better care of their things. This side of me pushes to leave the situation as it is and deal with whatever choice James makes. It's wrong to assume that he's always going to choose the destructive/disruptive path, right? It would be nice to see objective data on this. I wish I could quantify it in some meaningful way.
The other part of me sees these situations as a sting operation. Like I'm baiting James with irresistible temptations and then punishing him for it. This side of me wants to remove the item or change the circumstances. It assumes that James will hurt his siblings whenever he thinks he can get away with it. This side also offers me relief from having to deal with the aftermath (i.e. discipline, comforting the victim, working everyone through reparations).
So, most often, I will weigh the perceived risks against the perceived benefits. If it's an item of little worth and the victim won't be THAT upset about it, then I will leave it for James to (probably) destroy.
Is that wrong? I would LOVE to find a way to stop James from doing it at all. Suggestions welcome. Right now, I can't keep everything safe all the time. I purposely sacrifice the things with the smallest value.
The middle ground here is leaving things out, but being present enough to intervene early if James makes the destructive choice. That isn't 100% possible, either.
ARGH! Wish this were easier. Not much closer to a consistent game plan, but I'm feeling like I should put the puzzle away tonight. I'll do that now.
We. love. Erin.
I will tell the tales of our grand adventures in another post, however, since tonight I'm pondering something kinda tricky and I'm seeking a place to think it out.
Erin, Bobby, Alice and Robert just spent a couple hours working on a 3-D puzzle of Earth. No small task. They weren't done by bedtime, so it's sitting on the counter in the kitchen...two mostly-done portions, and an assortment of blue ocean pieces left to connect the continents together. I see it there and immediately think of two things:
1) If James gets up tomorrow morning before everyone else, which he usually does, and discovers this treasure, he will likely destroy it.
2) If James destroys it, how upset will the kids be? Is this a good time to allow such a learning experience? Do I have the energy to work the family through another learning experience, or should I just hide the puzzle away before James even has a chance to mess with it?
This is only one example of the same decision I end up making a hundred times a day. I see situations all day that offer James the opportunity to tinker/pester/tease/disrupt something that's important to another child.
One part of me sees these situations as learning opportunities for James and his siblings. He (hopefully) practices self-control and learns to respect other people's property, and they (hopefully) practice forgiveness and learn to take better care of their things. This side of me pushes to leave the situation as it is and deal with whatever choice James makes. It's wrong to assume that he's always going to choose the destructive/disruptive path, right? It would be nice to see objective data on this. I wish I could quantify it in some meaningful way.
The other part of me sees these situations as a sting operation. Like I'm baiting James with irresistible temptations and then punishing him for it. This side of me wants to remove the item or change the circumstances. It assumes that James will hurt his siblings whenever he thinks he can get away with it. This side also offers me relief from having to deal with the aftermath (i.e. discipline, comforting the victim, working everyone through reparations).
So, most often, I will weigh the perceived risks against the perceived benefits. If it's an item of little worth and the victim won't be THAT upset about it, then I will leave it for James to (probably) destroy.
Is that wrong? I would LOVE to find a way to stop James from doing it at all. Suggestions welcome. Right now, I can't keep everything safe all the time. I purposely sacrifice the things with the smallest value.
The middle ground here is leaving things out, but being present enough to intervene early if James makes the destructive choice. That isn't 100% possible, either.
ARGH! Wish this were easier. Not much closer to a consistent game plan, but I'm feeling like I should put the puzzle away tonight. I'll do that now.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Parent-Teacher Conferences
I attended a parent-teacher conference this week for each one of my kids in school/preschool. A snapshot of what I remember their teachers telling me about what my kids are like in class :) It's completely hearsay at this point...
James
Independent, independent, independent. Needs coaxing to do certain things, but finds a groove once he's there. He keeps to himself and respects the rules, but does not take pleasure in arts and crafts, or praying (it's a christian-based preschool), or singing with the group, or journal-writing. His favorite play activity is the Paw Patrol characters and cars, where he'll create structures for them with the big blocks. When he can be convinced to write in his journal or draw something, he can be pretty meticulous. His writing is very, very small. He's on track as far as letter recognition and counting. He has grumpy days when he doesn't really want to do anything. He doesn't let kids take things away from him, though, and that's a good thing in preschool :)
Robert
Robert's teacher says he surprises her with his analytical approach to life and his humble confidence. He has no problem getting up in front of the class to explain how he came up with a certain answer to a problem. She tells me he's bright, but not cocky or competitive about it, because he just plain loves to figure things out for himself. He also has a knack for thinking outside the box: one time, they were play-acting some social skills in class, and Robert's job was to break a classroom rule while the teacher's back was turned. Most kids pretend to bother another student or start making noise in their seat. The teacher tells me that Robert got up on the table shouting and wagging his rear end. It was quite the spectacle! The kids were rolling on the floor with laughter. The teacher was surprised/impressed at his gutsy choice, and she loves him for this kind of stuff. He keeps the rules and works hard, but he's got a knack for knowing when it's okay to let loose, too. This kid is so, so, so different from the kindergarten-Robert who wouldn't dare to eat school lunch because it required him to get up in front of the class and put a card in a pocket (to choose his entree). Now, he's talking out his thought processes and delighted to participate everywhere in the classroom. It's a renaissance year for him. What happened?!
Alice
Responsible, friendly, fun, engaging, social, hard-working, diligent. That's what I hear, anyway ;) She finishes all her homework at school. She works well in teams and independently. She's bright and happy and often very, very silly. She's always trying to rope her teacher(s) into her imaginary games with her friends. Whether it's a pretend news show, or they need someone to act like an ogre, Alice approaches her current and former teachers as casually and playfully as any of her peers. Alice will talk to them about things that are important or exciting to her. I think it's safe to say she's pretty comfortable with adults. She says she's bad at math, but the truth is she just doesn't enjoy it as much as language. I wish I could dig out that "bad at math" weed...
James
Independent, independent, independent. Needs coaxing to do certain things, but finds a groove once he's there. He keeps to himself and respects the rules, but does not take pleasure in arts and crafts, or praying (it's a christian-based preschool), or singing with the group, or journal-writing. His favorite play activity is the Paw Patrol characters and cars, where he'll create structures for them with the big blocks. When he can be convinced to write in his journal or draw something, he can be pretty meticulous. His writing is very, very small. He's on track as far as letter recognition and counting. He has grumpy days when he doesn't really want to do anything. He doesn't let kids take things away from him, though, and that's a good thing in preschool :)
Robert
Robert's teacher says he surprises her with his analytical approach to life and his humble confidence. He has no problem getting up in front of the class to explain how he came up with a certain answer to a problem. She tells me he's bright, but not cocky or competitive about it, because he just plain loves to figure things out for himself. He also has a knack for thinking outside the box: one time, they were play-acting some social skills in class, and Robert's job was to break a classroom rule while the teacher's back was turned. Most kids pretend to bother another student or start making noise in their seat. The teacher tells me that Robert got up on the table shouting and wagging his rear end. It was quite the spectacle! The kids were rolling on the floor with laughter. The teacher was surprised/impressed at his gutsy choice, and she loves him for this kind of stuff. He keeps the rules and works hard, but he's got a knack for knowing when it's okay to let loose, too. This kid is so, so, so different from the kindergarten-Robert who wouldn't dare to eat school lunch because it required him to get up in front of the class and put a card in a pocket (to choose his entree). Now, he's talking out his thought processes and delighted to participate everywhere in the classroom. It's a renaissance year for him. What happened?!
Alice
Responsible, friendly, fun, engaging, social, hard-working, diligent. That's what I hear, anyway ;) She finishes all her homework at school. She works well in teams and independently. She's bright and happy and often very, very silly. She's always trying to rope her teacher(s) into her imaginary games with her friends. Whether it's a pretend news show, or they need someone to act like an ogre, Alice approaches her current and former teachers as casually and playfully as any of her peers. Alice will talk to them about things that are important or exciting to her. I think it's safe to say she's pretty comfortable with adults. She says she's bad at math, but the truth is she just doesn't enjoy it as much as language. I wish I could dig out that "bad at math" weed...
Monday, October 24, 2016
Changes
If you're familiar with any members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it may have come up that their congregations are organized geographically. Members attend church at the time and place that is assigned to their neighborhood. They work and serve with the people in that congregation until they move or the boundaries are adjusted.
Our congregation has just experienced one of those adjustments. It's huge, actually, completely splitting my home congregation in half and merging us with a neighboring congregation who also got split in half. In the change, Bobby was released from his calling as bishop. All of the members were released from their church callings/obligations at the same time. The newly called leaders of the newly formed congregations are now hard at work seeking inspiration to fill the vacancies (youth teachers, Sunday School teachers, music leaders, etc.) that will need to be staffed when we meet for the first time next Sunday.
I'm a mixed bag of emotions, but mostly relieved and hopeful. Bobby's work as bishop was hard on me. Hard on my relationship with him. Hard on my relationships with other folks in the congregation. That difficulty came with blessings, though, as we worked together to do the Lord's will. I felt a greater measure of peace and resilience as a mother. I learned to accept help, which taught me better how to offer it. I've seen parts of myself change. Our family has grown. It's only been two years, but I think I've matured a lot more than my usual two years' worth.
I'm also feeling a little stress with the change. I had a nightmare last night that I had volunteered to teach the 4-year-olds class but completely forgot about it until an hour before church was supposed to begin. The class had 12 kids in it, 8 of them with serious behavioral problems, and all of my family just happened to be attending another church that day for some bizarre reason. I was alone, totally unprepared, and I couldn't even find the manual to start preparing a lesson. I woke up and had to cry a bit before seeing the nonsense of it all.
But, the dream inspired me to reach out to our new Primary leaders (whoever they may be...) through our new bishop and offer my help for this Sunday. I'll probably be there anyway, since James is none too keen on change, or Primary in general (just yet). And if I were the new Primary president for a group of kids I only half knew, then I'd be frantic just about now :)
Whew. Change is kinda uncomfortable at first, even if it's just shedding skin as we grow. I'll leave you with this little gem:
Our congregation has just experienced one of those adjustments. It's huge, actually, completely splitting my home congregation in half and merging us with a neighboring congregation who also got split in half. In the change, Bobby was released from his calling as bishop. All of the members were released from their church callings/obligations at the same time. The newly called leaders of the newly formed congregations are now hard at work seeking inspiration to fill the vacancies (youth teachers, Sunday School teachers, music leaders, etc.) that will need to be staffed when we meet for the first time next Sunday.
I'm a mixed bag of emotions, but mostly relieved and hopeful. Bobby's work as bishop was hard on me. Hard on my relationship with him. Hard on my relationships with other folks in the congregation. That difficulty came with blessings, though, as we worked together to do the Lord's will. I felt a greater measure of peace and resilience as a mother. I learned to accept help, which taught me better how to offer it. I've seen parts of myself change. Our family has grown. It's only been two years, but I think I've matured a lot more than my usual two years' worth.
I'm also feeling a little stress with the change. I had a nightmare last night that I had volunteered to teach the 4-year-olds class but completely forgot about it until an hour before church was supposed to begin. The class had 12 kids in it, 8 of them with serious behavioral problems, and all of my family just happened to be attending another church that day for some bizarre reason. I was alone, totally unprepared, and I couldn't even find the manual to start preparing a lesson. I woke up and had to cry a bit before seeing the nonsense of it all.
But, the dream inspired me to reach out to our new Primary leaders (whoever they may be...) through our new bishop and offer my help for this Sunday. I'll probably be there anyway, since James is none too keen on change, or Primary in general (just yet). And if I were the new Primary president for a group of kids I only half knew, then I'd be frantic just about now :)
Whew. Change is kinda uncomfortable at first, even if it's just shedding skin as we grow. I'll leave you with this little gem:
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| Matthew saw the bike rack and instantly turned it into a ship. Sound effects and everything. |
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Boston in the Fall
I got back this weekend from a solo trip to Boston. It was a good trip; fun enough that I didn't miss home, but hard enough that I'm kinda glad it's over :)
I was there as part of a 3-day Training Certificate in Adult Weight Management (Level 1) to earn some continuing education credits towards my Registered Dietitian (RD) credential. Just over half of the participants were clinical dietitians who regularly counsel clients on weight loss, so I was feeling a little out of practice.
(Which I am. It's been ten years since I sat in the clinician's chair!)
Anyway, I found it a fantastic intersection of evidence-based guidelines and real-life difficulties. We studied the research to see what's been proven to work, then discussed what it takes to convey that information to clients and support them in their choices.
I was surprised by some "new" research avenues that were barely mentioned ten years ago in my training (gut microbiota, excess prenatal weight gain affecting the infant's long-term health, fat tissue endocrinology) and relieved that reliable, long-term research has finally shown that the key to long-term weight loss is total lifestyle change and realistic expectations. Whoda thunk it?! ;)
So, with the few remaining continuing ed credits I need to earn before next May, I think I'll learn more about those new research avenues and worry less about which weight loss plan is best for which kind of person. The bottom line is: whichever diet the client can stick to, that's the one that will work for them.
While in Boston, I had the pleasure of staying with Katie P, a friend I had met some years before out here in Urbana. I did not manage to take any pictures of our adventures together...d'oh!...beyond this oddball assortment:
But it was my time with Katie that made it such a rejuvenating trip. That, and, there were a couple young kids around that I could play with and some dishes that I could wash. It's great to have real-life work around that I can choose to do, not HAVE to do ;) Thanks, Katie, for letting me play house. And eat your delicious food. And raid your chocolate stash.
Friday night, Michelle B braved 4+ hours of night driving and Boston traffic to come chat for a couple hours. I don't know if she feels the experience was worth that sacrifice, but I'm so, so glad that she came. She has such good questions. Unique insight. And she genuinely cares about your answers. I would love to spend more time with both of these inspiring women.
As soon as I got home, the kids started telling me about all of the treats and special privileges they had experienced since my departure. My head was still spinning with childhood/adult obesity statistics and weight loss efforts, so every empty calorie they named was like a dagger to my heart. I had to ask them to stop telling me. Three days later, I'm still wonky. This might take a couple weeks to wear off.
Lovely trip, overall, and I'm so glad I could do that. I don't think I'll do something that intense for a few years...during my next recertification cycle :)
I was there as part of a 3-day Training Certificate in Adult Weight Management (Level 1) to earn some continuing education credits towards my Registered Dietitian (RD) credential. Just over half of the participants were clinical dietitians who regularly counsel clients on weight loss, so I was feeling a little out of practice.
(Which I am. It's been ten years since I sat in the clinician's chair!)
Anyway, I found it a fantastic intersection of evidence-based guidelines and real-life difficulties. We studied the research to see what's been proven to work, then discussed what it takes to convey that information to clients and support them in their choices.
I was surprised by some "new" research avenues that were barely mentioned ten years ago in my training (gut microbiota, excess prenatal weight gain affecting the infant's long-term health, fat tissue endocrinology) and relieved that reliable, long-term research has finally shown that the key to long-term weight loss is total lifestyle change and realistic expectations. Whoda thunk it?! ;)
So, with the few remaining continuing ed credits I need to earn before next May, I think I'll learn more about those new research avenues and worry less about which weight loss plan is best for which kind of person. The bottom line is: whichever diet the client can stick to, that's the one that will work for them.
While in Boston, I had the pleasure of staying with Katie P, a friend I had met some years before out here in Urbana. I did not manage to take any pictures of our adventures together...d'oh!...beyond this oddball assortment:
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| Garden harvest mid-October: cherry tomatoes, ground cherries, and raspberries. We raided the garden before walking to "Modern" for a couple chocolate-dipped ricotta canollis. |
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| My view from their delicious backyard hammock swing. Perfect weather. |
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| A peek at the exhibitor hall getting set up for the BIGGEST food and nutrition conference of the year. Many of the participants in my program were staying afterwards for the conference. |
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| My first-class "snack" of hummus, veg, pita circle, crackers, and gourmet dark chocolate. Apparently, I had unknowingly purchased First Class for one of the flights on this trip some months ago. I was pleasantly surprised, and remarkably refreshed once I got off the plane. |
But it was my time with Katie that made it such a rejuvenating trip. That, and, there were a couple young kids around that I could play with and some dishes that I could wash. It's great to have real-life work around that I can choose to do, not HAVE to do ;) Thanks, Katie, for letting me play house. And eat your delicious food. And raid your chocolate stash.
Friday night, Michelle B braved 4+ hours of night driving and Boston traffic to come chat for a couple hours. I don't know if she feels the experience was worth that sacrifice, but I'm so, so glad that she came. She has such good questions. Unique insight. And she genuinely cares about your answers. I would love to spend more time with both of these inspiring women.
As soon as I got home, the kids started telling me about all of the treats and special privileges they had experienced since my departure. My head was still spinning with childhood/adult obesity statistics and weight loss efforts, so every empty calorie they named was like a dagger to my heart. I had to ask them to stop telling me. Three days later, I'm still wonky. This might take a couple weeks to wear off.
Lovely trip, overall, and I'm so glad I could do that. I don't think I'll do something that intense for a few years...during my next recertification cycle :)
Monday, October 17, 2016
No more pacifier...ouch.
First nap time without the pacifier...Matthew's not happy...I know all my kids went through this at some point and they don't SEEM to resent me too much, but it's stinkin' hard all the same :(
Why now?
1) Life is crazy, but I get more sleep and have more energy than I did a year ago. The pacifier was for ME more than anything. It was an easy fix for a stressful situation. It's time for both of us to develop a few more tools for that self-soothe, impulse-control, disappointment-management toolbox.
2) I can see it's starting to affect his front teeth.
3) There's no baby on the way forcing my hand here, so I was afraid that if I didn't do it now (about the time I took the pacifier away from all the other kids), then I might not do it at all. It's an artificial deadline, but the only one I've got. Might as well be consistent, right? ;)
Why now?
1) Life is crazy, but I get more sleep and have more energy than I did a year ago. The pacifier was for ME more than anything. It was an easy fix for a stressful situation. It's time for both of us to develop a few more tools for that self-soothe, impulse-control, disappointment-management toolbox.
2) I can see it's starting to affect his front teeth.
3) There's no baby on the way forcing my hand here, so I was afraid that if I didn't do it now (about the time I took the pacifier away from all the other kids), then I might not do it at all. It's an artificial deadline, but the only one I've got. Might as well be consistent, right? ;)
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| Matthew, hamming it up for the camera. Never mind that he just poked his finger through his styrofoam cup and gushed 16 fl oz of ice-cold water all over his lap and the floor. Life is good! |
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Asthma Update
When there's not much TV/computer that I want to watch in the evenings, I end up blogging a lot more. Maybe it's a good thing Hulu is no longer free...
Tonight was Robert's last dose of oral steroids. What a feat! The doc warned us that the meds would be bitter and that we should request a flavoring...well, smelling our pharmacy's version of "grape" almost made me gag. Robert could NOT abide the bitterness. Sobbing, wailing, gnashing of teeth.
Eight doses, people. EIGHT!
Enticements like chocolate syrup, doughnuts, and screen time only worked once each and only worked to reduce his torment to 60 minutes. That's an hour of oscillating from moderate distress to the gall of bitterness and back up...gearing up to swallow just 8mls of medicine.
One thing I learned from this: I can't make my kids eat anything they don't want to eat. Robert thought we could pin him down and pour the whole dose into his mouth. I didn't dissuade him of that notion, but it's highly unlikely I would even try it :)
One thing I noticed about Robert: He can do hard things. He's gotten better recently at describing his thoughts and feelings. He even used self-calming techniques that he learned in school (love his 1st grade teacher!). He kept describing his conflicting emotions, "I WANT to drink it, but I DON'T want to drink it." And when it came down to it, he really did it. Swallowed it all. No sputtering, no gagging, just downed the whole thing. Brave boy!
Tonight was Robert's last dose of oral steroids. What a feat! The doc warned us that the meds would be bitter and that we should request a flavoring...well, smelling our pharmacy's version of "grape" almost made me gag. Robert could NOT abide the bitterness. Sobbing, wailing, gnashing of teeth.
Eight doses, people. EIGHT!
Enticements like chocolate syrup, doughnuts, and screen time only worked once each and only worked to reduce his torment to 60 minutes. That's an hour of oscillating from moderate distress to the gall of bitterness and back up...gearing up to swallow just 8mls of medicine.
One thing I learned from this: I can't make my kids eat anything they don't want to eat. Robert thought we could pin him down and pour the whole dose into his mouth. I didn't dissuade him of that notion, but it's highly unlikely I would even try it :)
One thing I noticed about Robert: He can do hard things. He's gotten better recently at describing his thoughts and feelings. He even used self-calming techniques that he learned in school (love his 1st grade teacher!). He kept describing his conflicting emotions, "I WANT to drink it, but I DON'T want to drink it." And when it came down to it, he really did it. Swallowed it all. No sputtering, no gagging, just downed the whole thing. Brave boy!
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| Brave boy and his buddy hanging out in the back of the rental truck a few days ago. |
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Breathing Troubles
Robert had some trouble breathing last night. He came in from playing soccer in the backyard and he was panting like he was out of breath, but there was a lot of wheezing in there, too. Hours later, when he was asleep, he was still wheezing and panting at the same rate. I found it pretty alarming, but he didn't seem too bothered. Well, until he woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. He sounded so raspy and panty that I took him to the guest room and slept next to him the rest of the night...just to monitor the situation a little closer. If it had distressed him at all, I would have considered a visit to the ER. As it was, Robert insisted he was fine. No pain. No distress. But between the wheezing, a couple nightmares, some growing pains in his feet, and some periodic whimpering and restless tossing and turning, neither one of us slept very well.
Robert was lethargic in the morning, not wanting to eat or talk too much because "it takes too much air." I called the pediatrician as soon as his office opened and got an appointment at 8:30. Yay! Exercise can wait another day (erk!).
The doc didn't have to listen very long to confirm our suspicions. Asthma. This attack was probably triggered by the harvest season (yay, midwestern living!) and all that physical activity outdoors last night. Anyway, he got a couple doses of medication with the nebulizer in the office:
And when Robert's lungs still weren't as open as the doc would have liked to hear, he gave him a dose of oral steroids. Robert found them quite tasty. He commented on the flavor and texture as if he were evaluating a glass of wine. Made the doc chuckle a little. We were then sent home with prescriptions for an inhaler and more steroids and a pile of instructions on how to administer these new drugs frequently over the next four days.
Robert was feeling fine after the first nebulizer treatment. He's been acting very much like his normal self. The doc said we should keep him home from school today and tomorrow, though, as we monitor the situation and get into the new medication regimen. Inhaler today and tomorrow every four hours, also at night if he wakens with breathing/coughing problems. Oral steroids twice a day for the next four days. Once that's over, he'll only need the inhaler when he has trouble breathing again.
My little brother had asthma as a kid. I'm pretty sure he's completely outgrown it by now. There's no way of knowing now how asthma will affect Robert's life in the future, but he does seem to be responding well to the medication, and the whole situation doesn't seem to bother him too much.
The meds are stressing me out, though...which one when and how many times for how many days...argh.
But because Robert was feeling fine and breathing well, I decided NOT to change my plans for the afternoon: a friend helped me rent a truck and haul our big pile of sticks/brush/woody branches to the landscape recycling center. Sooooooo nice to have that done at last.
Robert was lethargic in the morning, not wanting to eat or talk too much because "it takes too much air." I called the pediatrician as soon as his office opened and got an appointment at 8:30. Yay! Exercise can wait another day (erk!).
The doc didn't have to listen very long to confirm our suspicions. Asthma. This attack was probably triggered by the harvest season (yay, midwestern living!) and all that physical activity outdoors last night. Anyway, he got a couple doses of medication with the nebulizer in the office:
And when Robert's lungs still weren't as open as the doc would have liked to hear, he gave him a dose of oral steroids. Robert found them quite tasty. He commented on the flavor and texture as if he were evaluating a glass of wine. Made the doc chuckle a little. We were then sent home with prescriptions for an inhaler and more steroids and a pile of instructions on how to administer these new drugs frequently over the next four days.
Robert was feeling fine after the first nebulizer treatment. He's been acting very much like his normal self. The doc said we should keep him home from school today and tomorrow, though, as we monitor the situation and get into the new medication regimen. Inhaler today and tomorrow every four hours, also at night if he wakens with breathing/coughing problems. Oral steroids twice a day for the next four days. Once that's over, he'll only need the inhaler when he has trouble breathing again.
My little brother had asthma as a kid. I'm pretty sure he's completely outgrown it by now. There's no way of knowing now how asthma will affect Robert's life in the future, but he does seem to be responding well to the medication, and the whole situation doesn't seem to bother him too much.
The meds are stressing me out, though...which one when and how many times for how many days...argh.
But because Robert was feeling fine and breathing well, I decided NOT to change my plans for the afternoon: a friend helped me rent a truck and haul our big pile of sticks/brush/woody branches to the landscape recycling center. Sooooooo nice to have that done at last.
Monday, October 3, 2016
James is 4!
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| This picture pretty much sums up James' feelings about his birthday: excited, in charge, and oh-so-delighted about presents. |
Happy Birthday, James! There's so much I think and feel and hope about you these days that it won't fit into a single blog post. Heck, it won't even come out straight when I try to put it to words. Let's try to keep it simple, then.
This was the day I first saw you with my own eyes:
This is the first time Alice and Robert ever saw you, too.
This was the second day I knew you. You were much happier. You still look at me this way sometimes.
You did the funniest thing to our family. Suddenly, I felt like we were full and busy and more whole than ever before. When you got old enough to sit and crawl and interact with us, I just wanted to group us all together and take pictures all the time. It was almost like I couldn't believe I was surrounded by so many people that I loved so profoundly, and who brought me so much life.
Here you are just after you turned 1 year old:
And here's a picture of you when you were 2 years old:
That's a face I know and love SO well. Like this one when you were just barely 3:
This morning, you turned 4 years old. You had a nightmare and hopped into bed next to me. I love how you trust me. I love that I can comfort you when you're scared. I love that you tell me important things, especially when it's a really scary dream about losing your silly putty down a grassy ravine.
I kicked you out of my bed this morning, but I let you sleep on the floor in my room. With that single feat, you, dear James, have officially slept longer and more often in your parents' room than any of your siblings.
You are your own person, Little Man.
You have a knack for reading people's moods, and a gift for blurring the line between play and aggression. Your older siblings like to run your life and you like to show them they can't. You've matured a lot this year, though, discovering more ways to interact with kids cooperatively.
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| Posing by your bday cake that you had decorated with rainbow sprinkles and candy eyeballs. |
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| This is how you paint these days...mixing colors, no real rhyme or reason to it, just seeing what happens. |
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| This is how you prefer to color: focused, deliberate pockets of color. Absolute attention to staying within the lines, very little mixing of colors. You seem content to use one color or many, depending on what's at-hand. |
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| And this is how you draw people and write your name. The people are carefully drawn, slowly, with just the right amount of detail you prefer. Your name is a little different every time you write it...that "s" just throws you for a loop. |
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| And just last week, you came home from church absolutely bursting with pride at this giraffe you had drawn. I was pretty impressed, too. |
Sunday, October 2, 2016
A few pictures from this week
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| James' "baby love" knows no bounds. Here he's holding his newest 3-month-old friend. |
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| Alice and Robert have been "ice skating" on the tile this week...giving each other letter grades for performance, training like it's a real competition. |
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| The kids enjoying lunch during the Sunday morning session of General Conference. Alice and Robert are looking bored and disinterested on purpose. Matthew and James are following their lead. They actually enjoyed eating on the counter. Don't you love how James forgot to put on socks? Awesomeness. And both little boys insisted on wearing a tie on the outside of their sweater vests. Matthew is developing some pretty strong opinions. |
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Archery Attempt
Some friends of ours have a little archery range in their backyard. When Robert heard about that, he nearly flipped with disbelief. "Really?! You can shoot real arrows at stuff?! REAL arrows?! When can we go?!"
We brought the whole family for a little archery session. Matthew and James didn't care. At all. Zero interest. Maybe even some fear in there. That's okay, though, because the bows were a bit large for them. Alice tried it now and then, but thought it would be more fun with a bunch more friends. I tried it and smacked my forearm really, really hard with the bow string (forgot to bend my elbow). Bobby had just cut his knuckle open the night before (6 stitches at the ER...yay!) so he wasn't shooting at all.
That left Robert. Totally chill Robert. He's not one to wear his heart on his sleeve, so the only way to tell he's REALLY excited about something is how he focuses on it: 1) he asks about it every 5 minutes, 2) he builds his own target out of cardboard and tape, and 3) even James' pestering can't put him in a bad mood.
Focus.
He pretty much shot arrows the whole time we were there. By the end, he was loading his own arrows and even taking steps back from the target to test his skill. Every single arrow that went in, he would marvel at how deep it had gone. He observed that less dense targets let the arrow go in deeper. Bobby got lucky and took this video of Robert's favorite shot from the whole experience.
It seems like everything Robert tries these days, he loves: reading, math, swim, piano, archery. He could do NONE of these things 6 months ago. Now he likes ALL of them. He's experiencing a bit of a personal renaissance, I think. He's figured out that he can try new things, work on them, and improve. That's something I STILL struggle with quite often ;) Robert's helping me change, though. These kids are good for me in so many ways.
We brought the whole family for a little archery session. Matthew and James didn't care. At all. Zero interest. Maybe even some fear in there. That's okay, though, because the bows were a bit large for them. Alice tried it now and then, but thought it would be more fun with a bunch more friends. I tried it and smacked my forearm really, really hard with the bow string (forgot to bend my elbow). Bobby had just cut his knuckle open the night before (6 stitches at the ER...yay!) so he wasn't shooting at all.
That left Robert. Totally chill Robert. He's not one to wear his heart on his sleeve, so the only way to tell he's REALLY excited about something is how he focuses on it: 1) he asks about it every 5 minutes, 2) he builds his own target out of cardboard and tape, and 3) even James' pestering can't put him in a bad mood.
Focus.
He pretty much shot arrows the whole time we were there. By the end, he was loading his own arrows and even taking steps back from the target to test his skill. Every single arrow that went in, he would marvel at how deep it had gone. He observed that less dense targets let the arrow go in deeper. Bobby got lucky and took this video of Robert's favorite shot from the whole experience.
It seems like everything Robert tries these days, he loves: reading, math, swim, piano, archery. He could do NONE of these things 6 months ago. Now he likes ALL of them. He's experiencing a bit of a personal renaissance, I think. He's figured out that he can try new things, work on them, and improve. That's something I STILL struggle with quite often ;) Robert's helping me change, though. These kids are good for me in so many ways.
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