I was simply HIS Mommy

You may or may not have noticed my lack of involvement in the 'bloggy' world lately. 

My explanation is simply; I have been SWAMPED!  At work, with things for my kids, and personally. 

I am struggling to keep my head above water. 

I have wanted to scream: "STOP THE WORLD, I WANT TO GET OFF!" from the mountain tops (too bad I don't live near any mountain tops)!

The time was short, but I was able to step away for a few brief moments yesterday and simply be G's Mommy.


He had his end of the school year program yesterday.  While it wasn't as easy to just walk away from my job, I am so thankful to have been able to attend.

It was lovely to watch him in his element.  He is such a happy go lucky, free spirited little guy.  Yesterday, he shone more than usual.

We have listened to him practicing his songs around the house for weeks.  All of his hard work (and the hard work of his teachers and classmates) paid off.

As he sang Sicky, Sticky Bubble Gum his face lit up with each sticky movement.  His head was stuck to the floor here.

He embraced his inner performer during Tooty - Ta.  He reached his high moment as his bottom went up and his tongue went out.  It was as if the lyrics were specifically written for him.

During the performance I couldn't help but reflect on how much he has grown, developed, and learned this year.

Brent and I were extremely worried about his ability to focus, follow directions, and STOP talking.  We have been pleasantly surprised with all of the gracious and honest complements we have received from his teachers, regarding his ability to focus and follow directions.  And surprisingly they haven't mentioned the talking.

He has grow up right before our eyes and sometimes I feel as if we are missing it.

Yesterday for a few brief moments I was  just Gavyn's Mommy.  Nothing more and nothing less.  And I LOVED it!

"Fix it Mommy!"

                 Earlier this week I picked my 3 and 6 year old sons up from preschool and Kindergarten (they are in the same building).  When we got home from school my 3 year old, G said “Mommy, my ears aren’t hearing very well because they are all cloudy.”  Over the weekend he had been a little sniffly.  I thought that maybe his ears were plugged due to this. 

                After about a half an hour I noticed that his ear lobes were bright red.  They also felt warm to the touch.  Neither of my kids have ever had this occur before.  I thought it was time to call the doctor.  I am not one who usually jumps at calling the doctor for every abnormal symptom my children have.  For some reason this time it just seemed necessary.  I think partially because in the back of my mind I was thinking that he may have an ear infection.  I had a terrible ear infection in college.  I went through 3 rounds on antibiotics along with ear drops.  It was one of the most painful experiences I have ever had.  If this was what was going on with him I just wanted to get it taken care of as soon as possible and get him feeling better.

                I explained my son’s symptoms to the receptionist.  She told me to keep an eye on him, but there was nothing that could be done at this point.  I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the tone of her voice.  She wasn’t blatantly rude, but she wasn’t friendly either.  It was almost as if she were calling me an idiot for being concerned over warm, discolored ear lobes.  In all fairness I’m sure she gets several silly phone calls on a daily basis.  Needless to say, I was slightly annoyed when I hung the phone up.

                By the time my husband, Brent, got home from work G was beginning to decline in spirits.  I explained G’s symptoms and told him that I had phoned the doctor.  After I finished the explanation Baby M needed to be fed.  I took her up stairs to feed her.  Meanwhile, my hubby was preparing dinner and entertaining both B and G.  In hopes of helping to make G feel better Brent was making the dinner G selected, pizza.  I had no sooner finished feeding Baby M when I could hear quite a bit of commotion coming from downstairs.  Brent entered our bedroom and informed me that G’s was pretty much in a downward spiral at this point and that he was crying uncontrollably about his ears hurting.  Brent was immediately followed by G, who was absolutely pitiful!

                Of course as luck would have it, it was 6:45.  The doctor’s office was closed.  Brent and I discussed what to do to help the obvious pain G was in.  We concluded that going to The Minute Clinic at CVS may be faster than going to the ER.  I looked at the CVS web page to see if they were able to do anything for an earache.  Upon looking at the page I saw that the clinic closed at 7:00.  I also noticed that there was not a Minute Clinic located in the CVS that is literally 5 minutes from our house, so I would need to take him to one that is further away.  Brent and I quickly got G ready and in the car and I drove, well flew actually, us to CVS. 

                G and I hurried into CVS (I’m sure we were quite the sight to look at) and to the clinic, which is at the back of the store (of course).  We were informed that the clinic was closed.  Feeling like a total failure I carried G back out to the car and decided to take him to immediate care.  As I was pulling out of the parking lot I noticed the Walgreens across the street.  Outside of the building it advertised at Take Care clinic.  I drove us to Walgreens and rushed inside, once again. 

                This time we were greeted by someone who appeared to be a medical technician (I’m not positive about this, but I’ll refer to her as Tech Lady).  I explained that I had not been to the clinic before and needed help with the process.  I also explained what G’s symptoms were.  Tech Lady (who was very nice and I’m sure just doing her job) says “Well I’m not sure if they are taking anyone else, did you make an appointment?”

                                ~Did I make an appointment?!  Lady I just told you I have not been here

                              before and I don’t know what to do, NO I DID NOT MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!~

Tech Lady explained that in the future I could make an appointment on line (Thank you for the information Lady, but please just help my son).  She went to find out if someone was able to see G.  She returned and told me that they would see him and helped me with the sign in process. Tech Lady also asked for my insurance card (which I expected) and took G to get his vitals while I continued filling out information.  Another person came out (this was the person who would later actually ‘diagnose’ G, she will be referred to as Nurse) and informed me that they did not accept our insurance because it was based out of Massachusetts (I have never come across this problem before).  Nurse proceeded to ask me if I still wanted to have G seen. 

                          
                           ~Again, I'm fully aware that she was just doing her job, but
                             SERIOUSLY!?  My son is standing her CRYING because his
                             ears hurt so badly and you'reasking me if I still want him to be
                             seen?  YES, YES, I do!  Please help him to feel better.~

                               

After I finished jumping through all of the paper work hoops they took us into a room to take a look at G.  Nurse took his temperature, it’s 99.8.  She went to her computer as if she’s going to enter some information and then said, “I’ll look in his ears first before I do this.  That way if he doesn’t really have an ear infection I don’t have to charge you so much” (I really appreciated her doing this).  Nurse took a look in G’s ears and commented that they were very red.  She then looked down his throat and mentioned that it was red as well, but she doesn’t want to put him through a Strep test because the same antibiotic is used to treat ear infections and Strep. 

                After the diagnosis was confirmed we waited to have the prescription filled.  While we were waiting G complained that he felt as if he were going to throw up.  There he was doubled over holding his stomach at Walgreens.  I asked the pharmacist if there were a bathroom I could take him to.  The pharmacist handed me a small trash can.  I placed the trash can in front of G, who hung his head over it and removed his glasses (for the record he never did get sick).  At this point I am feeling helpless.  All I want to do is fix this situation for my baby.  After all that’s what I am supposed to do as his Mommy, right?  The help I am able to get for my son is completely at the mercy of these people at Walgreens and they seem to be more wrapped up in making sure the paper work has been completed accurately than tending to the needs of G.  By no means do I expect anyone to hand anything to me or to do things for me, but let’s be realistic here.  I am upset because it seems as if society has become so wrapped up in ‘completing the form’ and ‘getting paid’ that it appears as if we have over looked basic human needs.  For goodness sakes people, we are talking about a 3 YEAR OLD who is in need!

                We got his medicine and were on our way home.  When I got home and explained the insurance debacle to Brent and he was . . . well let’s just say extremely upset, about the situation.  The next morning Brent called the insurance company and explained the previous night’s events.  The insurance company informed him that there is a phone number on the back of the card.  The people at Walgreens just needed to call the number to find out about coverage.  Brent was told to send the receipt in to have the claim adjusted.  How completely frustrating!  The bottom line here is that G finally got what he needed and is doing well.  I am disheartened with the process in which we were required to take in order to have his needs met.

Noises of the Night

               
                 It’s 2:00Am, a time when most are fast asleep and dreaming.   If someone is up at this time it’s typically for one of two reasons; a delightful evening of experiencing the night life is beginning to come to a close, as last call is 3:00AM, or you’re up with a child.  It doesn’t seem like too long ago when I was taking part in the first option.  Tonight however, the only partying I am doing is ‘rocking’ with Baby M.  Oh and I don’t mean rocking as in dancing the night away.  I mean rocking as in I’m sitting in a chair, holding her, and moving the chair back and forth in hopes that the movement with quickly lull her to sleep.  It seems so much more glamorous to be out on the town enjoying the night life until 3:00AM, I wouldn’t change one single part of holding my sweet little girl for anything.   At this point I’m sure some of you are thinking I’m crazy, while others know exactly what I’m talking about.

              I find it interesting how the noises of my house seem to come alive when everyone except Baby M and I are asleep.  As I stare blankly at the lime green wall of my bedroom, I feel almost as if I am in some sort of a coma.  I am so tired and can barely keep my eyes open.  Yet this baby I’m holding in my arms seems to think I should be on her time schedule.  She has absolutely no understanding of day and night.  Not to mention her lack of understanding regarding the other 4 people she lives with.  She will quickly learn about these things.  I begin to hear the endless hum coming from the refrigerator (It’s from my college days we keep it in our room so I don’t have to go down stairs to store milk.) at my side.  It is accompanied by the squeak of the rocking chair and every so often a low snore can be heard from my husband, who is enjoying a nice night’s sleep.  And to top it all off, the most enjoyable noise of all (Yes, I just described noise as enjoyable.  Keep reading you’ll understand why in a moment.)  The sweet coo coming from my little girl.  You see she isn’t being fussy at this hour, she simply wants to be held and interact with her Mommy (Now do you understand why I called this my favorite noise?).  All of this could be irritating.  I choose not to view it in such a negative way.  Instead, I choose to find the positive in all of this ruckus!

                 I know the reality of this situation.  It is short lived.  Right now in this moment she needs everything from me.  The only communicating she is able to do is through her cries and coos.  I am left to decipher between them all to determine what specifically she is in need of.  There are times, however, when she looks directly into my eyes and it’s almost as if she is able to completely understand just what I am thinking at that moment.  All of these seemingly endless moments do eventually come to an end.  And in the grand scheme of a child’s life they are such a tiny part of it.  It seems like only yesterday I was partaking in these very same activities with my now 6 year old son.  He still hugs and kisses me, but far and few between are the days when he wants to sit and rock with me.  No longer does he depend solely on me for his needs.  So right now I’m going open my eyes, as much as possible, and simply enjoy this time with my daughter.  I know that as soon as I blink my eyes the moment will disappear and she will be 6 years old, in Kindergarten, and far too big to want to rock with her Mommy.

Work Display - Mommy Things

Work Display

My kids are always brining home BEAUTIFUL works of art. My kindergartener also brings home great samples of his writing along with other types of school work. Both B and G are proud of what they have created and accomplished, which they should be. They want to display their work. They used magnets to display it on the refrigerator. Hanging the work on the refrigerator was causing a few problems. A lot of the time work was too big for our side by side refrigerator so it would get caught in the doors. When it wasn’t getting caught in the doors it was getting knocked off of the refrigerator for one reason or another. I came up with a new way to display my kids’ work.

Using Command Hooks (I think they are actually marketed as cord clips) and removable letters (both were purchased at Menards) this is what I came up with:

The papers have to be folded a little at the top so that they don’t fall through and you slide them through from the side.

Both B and G are able to fold and slide their work that they choose to display. Now we can enjoy their beautiful work and the refrigerator is no longer a mess!

Please feel free to share any creative work displays you have come up with. I love to see new ideas!

My Beginning

      
 I decided to write this Blog for a few reasons.  First of all, being a Mommy is one of the best tasks I have EVER embarked upon.  I would like to share Mommy tips that have worked in our house as well as receive tips that have worked in other homes.  Let’s face it kids don’t come with instructions and we could all use a little help now and again.  No one could have ever put into words; the joy, challenge, and feeling of pure unconditional love that come with being a parent.  I never imagined how one little boy would completely capture my heart and wrap me around his finger.  Not to mention little boy #2 managing to accomplish the same task and now finally, my most recent over taker, my sweet little girl joining her brothers in the Mommy overtaking.  Sometimes I wonder if they realize how much power they actually have over my husband and I.  If they ever figure it out I fear that we, my husband and I, will be done for!  I feel so totally blessed to be embarking upon this journey with my wonderful husband. He is not only head over heels in love with our 3 absolutely delightful (Well today I would describe them as delightful, but that changes from time to time if you know what I mean.) children, but he is also totally smitten with their Momma (me) as well.  In our home parenting can be described as a tag team sport.  There are days when all is right with the world and noting could be more perfect.  Then there are days when I feel as if I’m ready to throw the towel in and at that very moment, my Prince Charming is right there to slap me a high five and take over while I recuperate!          
 
                With all of that sappy stuff being said (Does anyone need a Kleenex now?) on to my next reason for ‘attempting’ to Blog.  I really enjoy making and creating things, especially things for my children and family.  So often I feel as if my job consumes my life and my children and family are set aside so that I can put other children’s needs in front of theirs.  You see, I am a teacher by day and a Mommy and wife by night.  Basically; I eat, sleep, and breathe CHILDREN!  The purpose of this is not to complain or seek sympathy.  The purpose is simply to set a foundation for my choice to Blog.  I have tried to utilize my love of crafting to create unique birthday parties for my children.  I believe that a birthday is a very important day.  Not only is it obviously the day that someone was brought into the world, but it is a time to show someone that you care about them and share with them how special they are.  It is one single day out a year when I strive to make an individual feel their importance.  On my children’s birthdays I strive to set extra time aside for them in hopes of making them realize how important and special they are.   I thought to myself birthdays are something I am passionate about why not share ideas that my children have enjoyed?

                I have a few other topics in mind as well, but I think it’s best to start our simply and add more as I grow more comfortable with Blogging.