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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Invasion of the yuckies

Ryan is sick....AGAIN.

No surprise, huh? You would think that he's permanently sick. He practically is. He's had so many ear infections, his doctor wants to put tubes in his ears.

*Sigh*

He's been on antibiotics for the last 7 days, and yesterday he shocked us by starting to run a fever...AGAIN. Come on! What kid runs a fever when he's ALREADY on antibiotics??!!

*Sigh*

Turns out that he STILL has an ear infection...even AFTER being on antibiotics for a week. Also, it turns out that he now has a DOUBLE ear infection. Which means the antibiotics aren't working.

So they put him on a stronger antibiotic called Augmentin. Now, I'm not sure how many people are actually familiar with that, but if you've ever had a kid on it, then you know that you're going to spend at least a week removing their diapers with kitchen tongs to avoid the diarrhea covering the lower half of their body, running down their legs and puddling on the floor underneath them. Forget wipes. You might as well just hold them under a running faucet in the bathtub.

Sound gross?? Trust me, it's even worse in person!

His doctor also said that if his fever won't go down within 48 hours of the new antibiotic, that something else is probably wrong with him.

*Sigh*

Friday, March 27, 2009

An incredible struggle...

Prayers for Stellan






I discovered this incredible blog through Ashley's blog. As I started reading about this incredible mother and the extremely tough time her littlest one is going through, I continued to be more and more amazed at the absolutely amazing strength and faith in God that she has.





If I ever had to go through this same situation with Dalton or Ryan, I think I would fall apart! I'm sure there are moments where she is not as calm and collected as she seems, but being able to keep it together enough to be strong for her other children has given me an incredible admiration for her as well as some insight into the wonderful relationship with God she must have.





To say the least, it's been an eye opener, and I appreciate my own family so much more faced with the realism of that I may be in her shoes one day. I hope not though.





Check out her blog, and please, please pray for her little guy, Stellan.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

B-day Party































Thursday, March 19, 2009

Oh. My. Gosh!

My BABY is FIVE years old!!

As of St. Paddy's Day.

I feel so OLD!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

I am ALMOST...

...the mother of a school-age child.

OH MY GOD!


Where did the time go? When did my little boy get so big????


He will officially be FIVE on Tuesday. Yes. He's a St. Paddy's Day baby.
My little BIG boy on his first birthday. *Sigh* How time flies.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Sunday at the park

These were taken last weekend. I've just been a bit too lazy to post them. lol As you can see, we had a FUN day at the park....even if it was just a bit cold and windy!


Go me!


What the heck are you putting me on, daddy?

Can we please go inside now?? It's too cold out here!



Think I should lick it?



Thursday, March 5, 2009

Wee-Wee All the way home!

I was cooking dinner the other night, halfway paying attention to Dalton as he chattered away on the floor next to me.

Generally, I use that time to find out how his day was, if he was having any trouble with the bully at school, if he did anything fun that day, etc.

So, on this particular night, my child decided to shock the hell out of me. Not just once, but twice. Oh yeah. Twice.

You know how it is when you're talking to anyone and cooking at the same time. You're half hearing what they're saying, and half thinking about what you're measuring or chopping, what setting the oven needs to go to, and how long to cook it for, etc.

Well, that's what I was doing, and a little phrase wiggles it's way into my ear..."I have a wee-wee." Well, he does, so I really didn't think about what he was saying, other than the general thought, hmm...he's never called it THAT before....

So, I go on with my cooking, and then that little phrase is followed by another that grabs my brain and puts it into a chokehold.."See? Look!"

And of COURSE, being the obliging mom, I turn and look down to see my child with his pants hiked up his leg, his underwear pulled to the side, and his wee-wee hanging out!

I can't believe I managed to utter a half-way sensible response, "Put that away, baby. That's your private place."

"My private place?"

"Yes, only YOU get to see your private place, ok?"

And that was that. It was put away, and I went back to my cooking with a completely numb brain and most likely a dumb expression on my face.

A couple of minutes later, I hear, "My friend Shane's wee-wee is bigger than mine."

I dropped my spatula.

I didn't even bother responding to that other than, "Uh-huh."

So, now they're comparing wee-wee's at school. Boys. I don't get them.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

To Hit Or Not To Hit...That is the question

The past couple of weeks, I've started to notice a difference in Dalton. His attitude, his demeanor...everything was....off. He's had more melt-downs and temper tantrums in the last couple of weeks than he's had in his entire 4, almost 5, years of life!

I would take him to daycare in the morning, and notice that all of a sudden he wants to take the baby to his room first. Then he would need to go potty. Then he would just stand there at the door to his classroom without going in. I'd practically have to push him in. When he would go in, he would pick a table or a seat that didn't have anyone at it, and sit down all by himself. He was ignoring the kids that were normally his friends.

I thought it was definitely odd, but I figured he was just going through a phase. Turns out, that a kid at school is bullying him. Which upsets me, of course. I can't overreact though. It's just time to teach him conflict resolution. Then I come to find out that this same kid is not only calling him names and pushing him, but he's also slapping, kicking, hitting, throwing toys, and ROCKS at my child!! At this point, I am absolutely furious!

It is the daycare's job to watch the children in their care. If they had been paying attention, this never would have happened, and it certainly wouldn't have happened more than a couple of times! My child has bruises all over his body from being pelted with rocks. He has a cut on his face from it as well. Now I know it is difficult for one or two people to keep an eye on 15 children on a playground. However, it is their JOB to guarantee the safety of the children in their care.

So now, it is WAY past the point of just teaching Dalton how to deal with a bully. Both his father and I are teaching him to defend himself. We are also telling him that it is ok to hit back if he is being hurt. I don't like it. I've never believed in teaching a child something like that. It is a fine line between teaching a child defense and teaching him to turn into a bully himself. How do you balance it? How do you tell him it's ok to hit back, but turn around and tell him it's not ok to hit people? It seems confusing. He's almost 5, but at that age, they don't grasp the concept of different situations.

He knows right from wrong. But when you've been teaching them their whole life that it's not ok to hit, kick, or bite people, it's confusing to turn around and tell them it's ok to hit back! I am comfortable with my decision to teach him to defend himself, but I am also nervous about the future. What if I'm creating a monster, so to speak?

I am going to have a LONG talk with the daycare director in the morning. She will absolutely need to guarantee his safety, or I will pull him out immediately and file a complaint with the state. I hate to be "that mother" who never lets the child work out situations on his own. But I draw the line at letting my child come home with numerous bruises and cuts.

Sure, I understand that in school he will have to eventually deal with bullies. However, he is FOUR years old! And in daycare...not school. This should not be happening.