Topic: Ava
Occasion: Third Birthday
My daughter turned three today. When you're pregnant, it feels all-encompassing. It is difficult to imagine the baby you'll soon be holding, much less the little girl she will become. It is difficult to believe that in a few short years, you'll hardly remember the pregnancy part of things.
Ava is such a wonderful part of our lives. She's the first person to wake up in our home. Through much effort, we've convinced her to stay in her room until a decent hour. When she does come to join us she's happy and cheerful and bubbling over with thoughts to share. She greets every part of her day with enthusiasm and often brings a smile to the face of others.
She's also a fascinating study in contradictions. She'll bound halfway across a room to reclaim a toy she wasn't playing with from her brother because she thinks it is "hers." And yet, most of the time she shares with her brother unthinkingly and with a truly generous spirit. He is never far from her thoughts. At the end of her speech sessions, her SLP gives her a treat and she asks for an extra to bring to her brother. Immediately after telling someone her favorite color she volunteers her brother's favorite. When discussing her birthday party she wants to be reassured that Michael will be there.
After her brother, her family members are close to her heart. She loves to name all the members of her immediate and extended family. Her favorite book is a small photo book with pictures of all her family members. She loves to hear stories about when she was a baby or about when her Daddy or I were babies.
If I ask her for a hug, she'll drop whatever she's doing and wrap herself around me completely. She really does give the best hugs. A hug from my daughter will instantly lift my spirits. A hug from me is the first thing she wants when she is hurt or scared. If I sit in my glider, she'll hop up on my lap and ask to rock with me. She loves to be held, tickled and snuggled and I dread the day when she'll decide she's too old for all that.
I miss the baby, but I adore the little girl who is appearing before me. She loves pink and purple. She has distinct opinions about what she'll wear. She'll put a jacket on only under duress. She still prefers to run around the house half-naked, but loves to wear play shoes. She'll appear before me at random moments asking if she's gotten them on the right feet. She'll let me fix her hair and asks to comb or brush mine. She begs to hear books and songs at naptime and bedtime and is starting to sing songs and tell stories herself. She'll reappear several times after going to bed just so she can be tucked in tight another time or two.
She's not fond of her bike, but she loves to run. She's fast too. She runs with all the speed her little body can conjure. She runs so fast that I worry when she happens to head downhill. When she stops, she'll come to me and place my hand over her heart so that I can feel how strong it is. She begs to race and loves to race Michael on his bike.
She loves to draw, paint, glue, and cut. She loves to play in water. If I give her some toys and let her fill the bathroom sink with water she'll disappear happily for an hour. She likes fast music. She knows how to put the electronic piano in demo mode. She'll slide open the piano, choose a fast song and dance or run to the beat.
There's so much more to say. All of these thoughts are just the ones that swirl to the top of my mind most easily. They are one tiny snapshot of who she is right now. She's my little girl. The privilege of getting to watch her grow and change over the next year is her gift to me.
Showing posts with label daily life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daily life. Show all posts
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Surprise Gift
A couple of months ago we had some friends visit from out of town. They came over to our house for the evening. Their daughter spent an amazing evening playing with our children while the adults hung out and played with their baby. We had recently gotten our tea maker and our friend indulged me by letting me make her a pot of tea. We talked about how much we both enjoy drinking tea made with loose-leaf tea leaves. We were sad at the end of the night to say goodbye to the family as we will miss them until their next visit.
Imagine my surprise yesterday when I got a package from them in the mail. Inside I found a very sweet picture drawn by their daughter and addressed to Ava. I also found two packets of loose-leaf tea.
It was a great surprise and I am excited about trying the teas. These teas are particularly interesting. The one you see on the bottom is actually an herbal tea made that is made from the leaf of the rooibos plant grown in South Africa. It is a caffeine-free alternative to traditional tea leaves. I am particularly excited about the caramel rose flavor.
I can't be sure because the label does not say, but my guess is that the top bag containing Emerald Surprise is a green tea. Green tea is made from the same kind of tea leaves as traditional black tea, but is processed differently. Green tea leaves are dried before they begin to ferment resulting in a tea that retains more of the natural health benefits, has less caffeine than black tea, and tastes a little lighter and fresher than black tea.
It was an extremely thoughtful and sweet gift and a wonderful surprise. Thank you!
Imagine my surprise yesterday when I got a package from them in the mail. Inside I found a very sweet picture drawn by their daughter and addressed to Ava. I also found two packets of loose-leaf tea.
It was a great surprise and I am excited about trying the teas. These teas are particularly interesting. The one you see on the bottom is actually an herbal tea made that is made from the leaf of the rooibos plant grown in South Africa. It is a caffeine-free alternative to traditional tea leaves. I am particularly excited about the caramel rose flavor.
I can't be sure because the label does not say, but my guess is that the top bag containing Emerald Surprise is a green tea. Green tea is made from the same kind of tea leaves as traditional black tea, but is processed differently. Green tea leaves are dried before they begin to ferment resulting in a tea that retains more of the natural health benefits, has less caffeine than black tea, and tastes a little lighter and fresher than black tea.
It was an extremely thoughtful and sweet gift and a wonderful surprise. Thank you!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
A Question You Don't Want Your Son to Ask His Preschool Teacher
We were sitting down to breakfast yesterday when Michael announced that when he grows up he wants to design a huge gun to blast tires in a junkyard. After a moment when my brain simply stalled attempting to formulate an appropriate response, I tried the following: "Well, actually, they usually recycle old tires into things like rubber mats and playground mulch like we saw on that show How Things Are Made. Perhaps you could design a huge tire recycling machine when you grow up?" After a millisecond of thought he rejected that idea. "No, I'll just design a really big gun."
Umm. Okay. I obviously needed a new strategy. "Well sweetheart. You can be anything you want to be when you grow up. You can learn all kinds of things at school." He perked right up at that suggestion and happily told me, "Great! I'll ask Miss Marlene to teach me to make a big gun at preschool tomorrow." At that point there was a huge awkward pause while I contemplated exactly the extent to which that strategy had backfired. Finally I stuttered, "No, don't ask Miss Marlene that..." and kind of trailed off. He came right back with, "Why not?"
Alrighty then... I launched into a huge discussion about how first you go through preschool where you learn letters and art and science and then grade school and high school where you learn reading and math and science and history and art and music.... And then, I explained, when you get to college you can choose to study what you want to be when you grow up. I told him that mommy learned how to be a teacher and a speech teacher. Daddy studied computers. Grandpa studied chemistry. His grandmother learned how to be a nurse. I then suggested that he could study to be an engineer who makes prototypes and plans for things to be built in factories.
At that point, I'm pretty sure he had stopped paying attention. Hopefully the huge long conversation will at least have distracted him from his original intention of asking his preschool teacher to teach him how to build a gun. A mama can hope, right?
Umm. Okay. I obviously needed a new strategy. "Well sweetheart. You can be anything you want to be when you grow up. You can learn all kinds of things at school." He perked right up at that suggestion and happily told me, "Great! I'll ask Miss Marlene to teach me to make a big gun at preschool tomorrow." At that point there was a huge awkward pause while I contemplated exactly the extent to which that strategy had backfired. Finally I stuttered, "No, don't ask Miss Marlene that..." and kind of trailed off. He came right back with, "Why not?"
Alrighty then... I launched into a huge discussion about how first you go through preschool where you learn letters and art and science and then grade school and high school where you learn reading and math and science and history and art and music.... And then, I explained, when you get to college you can choose to study what you want to be when you grow up. I told him that mommy learned how to be a teacher and a speech teacher. Daddy studied computers. Grandpa studied chemistry. His grandmother learned how to be a nurse. I then suggested that he could study to be an engineer who makes prototypes and plans for things to be built in factories.
At that point, I'm pretty sure he had stopped paying attention. Hopefully the huge long conversation will at least have distracted him from his original intention of asking his preschool teacher to teach him how to build a gun. A mama can hope, right?
Monday, February 13, 2012
Positive vs. Negative Reinforcement - One Case Study
At the age of four and a quarter, Michael is no longer sleeping during afternoon nap time. I simply have to accept that fact. For a while he would sleep on one day, and quietly play in his room for 90 minutes while his sister slept on the next day. Then the ratio was more like two quiet playing days for every one sleeping day. Then he was only sleeping twice a week. And now he pretty much never sleeps.
I wasn't overjoyed, to be honest. Still, I had little to complain about when he was contently playing in his room for 90 minutes during his sister's nap without even questioning this setup. There aren't many four year olds who will play quietly and happily in their room for an hour and a half.
Then he realized that I couldn't actually make him stay in his room and he started to wander. Once my husband found him quietly flossing his teeth in our bathroom (what?!?). That day he stayed in his room after being returned there. Another day I found him digging through an old box of toys in the hallway. Then he realized that he can sneak out of his room, and hide in just the right spot on the upper landing to spy on me at the computer. He began to leave his room and have to be returned at least every 15 minutes.
I'll admit it. I did not handle the situation with calm grace and dignity. By the time 2 pm rolls around I desperately want a break from childcare. I want to blog, read, watch television, or simply browse the web and have a little quiet time. Notice, chores do not appear anywhere on that list unless absolutely necessary.
I reacted instinctively. I fussed. The first time. And the second time. And the third time. By the fourth and fifth time I had escalated to slightly nasty hissing. By the sixth and seventh time, when he assured me he would indeed stay in his room this time, I had spiraled downward into quiet yelling (his sister was still sleeping after all) and accusations of lying. He ended up crying and I felt pretty crappy for yelling at a four year old child.
I needed a whole new approach. I printed out a sticker reward chart and hung it up in his room. We reviewed naptime rules (you may not leave your room, you have to play quietly enough so that you won't disturb your sister). I reduced the amount of time he needs to stay in his room by 15 minutes. I allowed him to bring some new toys in his room. I told him that every time he followed all the naptime rules he could put one sticker on the chart. Every time he gets five stickers he may choose a piece of candy.
He was so excited. We don't get candy often around here. We finally threw out the halloween candy a few weeks ago. That afternoon break is completely worth 1-2 pieces of candy a week to me. Since then, we have had two absolutely perfect nap times. He is proud and excited when nap time is over and he gets to put that sticker on his chart.
The combination of making my expectations clear and reasonable, bringing some toys up so his playtime is more interesting, and setting up a reward system worked wonders overnight. I feel great about saving my afternoon break and he feels great about his sticker chart. Taking the time to set up a positive reinforcement system was definitely worth it.
I wasn't overjoyed, to be honest. Still, I had little to complain about when he was contently playing in his room for 90 minutes during his sister's nap without even questioning this setup. There aren't many four year olds who will play quietly and happily in their room for an hour and a half.
Then he realized that I couldn't actually make him stay in his room and he started to wander. Once my husband found him quietly flossing his teeth in our bathroom (what?!?). That day he stayed in his room after being returned there. Another day I found him digging through an old box of toys in the hallway. Then he realized that he can sneak out of his room, and hide in just the right spot on the upper landing to spy on me at the computer. He began to leave his room and have to be returned at least every 15 minutes.
I'll admit it. I did not handle the situation with calm grace and dignity. By the time 2 pm rolls around I desperately want a break from childcare. I want to blog, read, watch television, or simply browse the web and have a little quiet time. Notice, chores do not appear anywhere on that list unless absolutely necessary.
I reacted instinctively. I fussed. The first time. And the second time. And the third time. By the fourth and fifth time I had escalated to slightly nasty hissing. By the sixth and seventh time, when he assured me he would indeed stay in his room this time, I had spiraled downward into quiet yelling (his sister was still sleeping after all) and accusations of lying. He ended up crying and I felt pretty crappy for yelling at a four year old child.
I needed a whole new approach. I printed out a sticker reward chart and hung it up in his room. We reviewed naptime rules (you may not leave your room, you have to play quietly enough so that you won't disturb your sister). I reduced the amount of time he needs to stay in his room by 15 minutes. I allowed him to bring some new toys in his room. I told him that every time he followed all the naptime rules he could put one sticker on the chart. Every time he gets five stickers he may choose a piece of candy.
He was so excited. We don't get candy often around here. We finally threw out the halloween candy a few weeks ago. That afternoon break is completely worth 1-2 pieces of candy a week to me. Since then, we have had two absolutely perfect nap times. He is proud and excited when nap time is over and he gets to put that sticker on his chart.
The combination of making my expectations clear and reasonable, bringing some toys up so his playtime is more interesting, and setting up a reward system worked wonders overnight. I feel great about saving my afternoon break and he feels great about his sticker chart. Taking the time to set up a positive reinforcement system was definitely worth it.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
How to Eat Green Beans - Cook Till Half-Past Ten
We were having green beans with lunch yesterday. Michael also had some ketchup on his plate. The ketchup was intended to be a dip for his chicken. My husband and I noticed Michael happily dipping his green beans in his ketchup as if they were finger food and munching away.
We raised our eyes a little and exchanged a subtle glance that said "ick," but didn't draw attention to the situation. After all, he was happily eating green beans and requested a second helping.
Then he sweetly offered me a green bean dipped in ketchup and asked me if I wanted a taste. I reasonably replied, "No thank you sweetheart, I already have my own." He was too smart for that though. Without skipping a beat he countered with, "But momma, this one is covered in ketchup!"
Well, that certainly put me on the spot. I wasn't the slightest bit interested in tasting that green bean. We've discussed the concept of taste buds before and how everyone has slightly different taste buds which is why different people like different foods. So, I told him that my taste buds like their green beans plain, but thank you for offering.
That seemed to be the end of that. Conversation, and the meal, moved on for a while with no more discussion of how to eat green beans. Then Michael started to explain how you make ketchup-covered green beans. First, you cook the green beans. Then you cover them in ketchup. Then you put them in the oven and cook them again until half-past ten. Then you get to eat them.
Nice to know he has it all worked out.
We raised our eyes a little and exchanged a subtle glance that said "ick," but didn't draw attention to the situation. After all, he was happily eating green beans and requested a second helping.
Then he sweetly offered me a green bean dipped in ketchup and asked me if I wanted a taste. I reasonably replied, "No thank you sweetheart, I already have my own." He was too smart for that though. Without skipping a beat he countered with, "But momma, this one is covered in ketchup!"
Well, that certainly put me on the spot. I wasn't the slightest bit interested in tasting that green bean. We've discussed the concept of taste buds before and how everyone has slightly different taste buds which is why different people like different foods. So, I told him that my taste buds like their green beans plain, but thank you for offering.
That seemed to be the end of that. Conversation, and the meal, moved on for a while with no more discussion of how to eat green beans. Then Michael started to explain how you make ketchup-covered green beans. First, you cook the green beans. Then you cover them in ketchup. Then you put them in the oven and cook them again until half-past ten. Then you get to eat them.
Nice to know he has it all worked out.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
So yummy! Dutch Chococcino Loose Leaf Tea
I have been using my new tea maker to make at least three pots of tea a day. I've tried several new loose leaf teas in the process. I intend to do a post about my favorites once my first wave of research is complete, but I wanted to share a new discovery that I particularly like.
I love the Dutch Chococcino from Vianne's Tea House. I opened the bag and it smelled heavenly. It smelled just like a really good dark chocolate bar. It also has an amazingly rich dark chocolate taste to it. It is the closest a tea has ever come to replacing a really good cup of hot chocolate for me. I made mine with plenty of raw sugar and a little milk in it.
If you enjoy making loose leaf teas and you enjoy chocolate you should definitely try this tea.
If you enjoy making loose leaf teas and you enjoy chocolate you should definitely try this tea.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Why does preschool registration begin in late January?
We just finished registering both children for preschool. Why on earth am I making decisions now about preschool that doesn't begin until August? My daughter is two years old and I am supposed to try and decide how many mornings a week of preschool I think she will be ready for eight months from now. I am just supposed to guess whether or not she'll still be taking an afternoon nap so I can decide if I want to enroll her in the crowded morning sessions or the less crowded afternoon sessions. Sure, I could wait to enroll her, but the program fills up quickly. If I wait, I'll probably lose the opportunity all together.
We decided to play it conservatively. We enrolled both children five mornings a week. We can always change our mind later and decide to only send them three mornings a week, but if we don't reserve all five mornings we won't have the opportunity to increase our number of days after the spots have all filled up.
We decided to move Michael up from the explore classroom (a mix of 3 and 4 year olds who mostly attend part-time) to the discover classroom (a pre-school classroom of 4 year olds who are required to enroll for all five days of the week). I feel like he is getting a little bored at home and wants to spend more of his time with his peers in a social environment. Of course, as soon as I made that decision I began second guessing it. I don't really want him to go all five weekdays. I'd like to have one more year where the three of us (Michael, Ava, and I) have a full day at home together. Still, I remind myself, I can change my mind in the fall.
We decided to enroll Ava at a different school all together. We enrolled Ava at the same school she'll be receiving her IEP speech services from beginning in March. The preschool program there is supposed to be amazing and some of the rooms are co-taught by SLPs. They can just pull her out of her classroom for her speech session which will save me an extra trip twice a week. Of course, as soon as I made that decision I began to wonder if I should have just enrolled her at our local school (Michael's school) for preschool. We know and like the explore room classroom teacher. If we had done that she'd be going to the same school as her brother. I'd just drive her from one school to another two days a week for speech.
All of this would be more straightforward if I weren't forced to make these decisions eight months ahead of time based on information that will be outdated by the fall. What's done is done. Fall will come. Everything will work out. The children will be older and more independent as it should be. I just need to relax and calm the decision anxiety a little.
We decided to play it conservatively. We enrolled both children five mornings a week. We can always change our mind later and decide to only send them three mornings a week, but if we don't reserve all five mornings we won't have the opportunity to increase our number of days after the spots have all filled up.
We decided to move Michael up from the explore classroom (a mix of 3 and 4 year olds who mostly attend part-time) to the discover classroom (a pre-school classroom of 4 year olds who are required to enroll for all five days of the week). I feel like he is getting a little bored at home and wants to spend more of his time with his peers in a social environment. Of course, as soon as I made that decision I began second guessing it. I don't really want him to go all five weekdays. I'd like to have one more year where the three of us (Michael, Ava, and I) have a full day at home together. Still, I remind myself, I can change my mind in the fall.
We decided to enroll Ava at a different school all together. We enrolled Ava at the same school she'll be receiving her IEP speech services from beginning in March. The preschool program there is supposed to be amazing and some of the rooms are co-taught by SLPs. They can just pull her out of her classroom for her speech session which will save me an extra trip twice a week. Of course, as soon as I made that decision I began to wonder if I should have just enrolled her at our local school (Michael's school) for preschool. We know and like the explore room classroom teacher. If we had done that she'd be going to the same school as her brother. I'd just drive her from one school to another two days a week for speech.
All of this would be more straightforward if I weren't forced to make these decisions eight months ahead of time based on information that will be outdated by the fall. What's done is done. Fall will come. Everything will work out. The children will be older and more independent as it should be. I just need to relax and calm the decision anxiety a little.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Revising Our At Home Day
I have observed that when Michael is engaged in a planned activity he is an angel. He is engaged, focused, enthusiastic, and respectful and has a beautiful attention span. When left to his own devices to simply play with the many available toys in his home his behavior starts out fine and spirals downwards towards a hyperactive, attention-seeking, disrespectful mess. I think he is bored. I wish he could independently choose and engage in one of the many activities available to him, but he is just not doing that yet.
Without realizing it, over the past few weeks I have been coping with this behavior by slowly increasing television time to give myself a break. I think it has ultimately been counterproductive. He walks away from the tv even more wound up than before. This week I am going to attempt a detox. We will have little or no tv this week and a significant increase in planned activities.
In order to make the planning manageable I am going to try to hit several types of activities each day: art, physical activity, music, science, reading, and a fine motor focus activity. I will fill in an activity in each of those categories on each at-home day this week.
Today, for example, art is going to be making a collage. I'll give the children scissors, glue, paper, and lots of things to cut and glue onto their paper. This particular art project will be about process rather than product. For a physical activity we will play our run-around-the-circle game (our first floor has a continuous path through all the rooms around a central staircase). I sit in the playroom holding a play golf club about 3-4 inches off the floor and each time they run by they jump over the club. Then to change things up I'll raise it several feet off the floor and they crawl under it. They can keep this up for at least 15 minutes running around the circle a good 30 times. It is great exercise.
For music we will play the piano. For science we are going to try trapping alka seltzer tablets in a small container with a cap and watch the tops pop off. We'll talk about why that happens. We'll have a reading time with as many books as they'll listen to in one sitting. They can usually do that for at least half an hour. For a fine motor activity I'm going to get out the sand on the light box and we'll do a copy the pattern game.
I'm hoping that the plan will keep everyone happily engaged all morning without anyone getting crazy (myself included). Then we'll have lunch followed by nap. Wish me luck.
Without realizing it, over the past few weeks I have been coping with this behavior by slowly increasing television time to give myself a break. I think it has ultimately been counterproductive. He walks away from the tv even more wound up than before. This week I am going to attempt a detox. We will have little or no tv this week and a significant increase in planned activities.
In order to make the planning manageable I am going to try to hit several types of activities each day: art, physical activity, music, science, reading, and a fine motor focus activity. I will fill in an activity in each of those categories on each at-home day this week.
Today, for example, art is going to be making a collage. I'll give the children scissors, glue, paper, and lots of things to cut and glue onto their paper. This particular art project will be about process rather than product. For a physical activity we will play our run-around-the-circle game (our first floor has a continuous path through all the rooms around a central staircase). I sit in the playroom holding a play golf club about 3-4 inches off the floor and each time they run by they jump over the club. Then to change things up I'll raise it several feet off the floor and they crawl under it. They can keep this up for at least 15 minutes running around the circle a good 30 times. It is great exercise.
For music we will play the piano. For science we are going to try trapping alka seltzer tablets in a small container with a cap and watch the tops pop off. We'll talk about why that happens. We'll have a reading time with as many books as they'll listen to in one sitting. They can usually do that for at least half an hour. For a fine motor activity I'm going to get out the sand on the light box and we'll do a copy the pattern game.
I'm hoping that the plan will keep everyone happily engaged all morning without anyone getting crazy (myself included). Then we'll have lunch followed by nap. Wish me luck.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Lesson learned. (Or - How we called our pediatrician three times in five days and yet managed to miss calling the most important time.)
Let's start this story from the beginning. As I believe I already mentioned, Ava tripped at the play place in the mall Friday night. She fell rather oddly onto her arm and was significantly favoring her right hand. After determining that there was little or no swelling and her fingers seemed to move fine, we decided that a pediatrician call for that incident was unnecessary.
The next day Ava woke up from nap with a croupy cough. That was followed by labored breathing and we made an after-hours call to the pediatrician. A late night dose of steroids obtained from a 24 hour pharmacy saved us a trip to the emergency room. Our sincere thanks went out to the on-call pediatrician.
Monday, I was walking into a room when Michael was walking out and I managed to slam him in the forehead with the doorknob. I hit him hard enough that he fell back onto his butt gasping for breath before the screaming began. I comforted and hugged and felt around the forehead for lumps but found none. I mentally moved on once the crying stopped.
It wasn't until some extremely bizarre behavior began at bedtime that I remembered the bump on the head and became concerned. He was scared and asking to sleep with us (never in his entire life has he been afraid at bedtime - never). He was desperately thirsty and drank so much water that we had to change his clothes twice in a row. Again, very odd. I was worried about some kind of brain injury. Another late night call. We got the same on-call pediatrician. Who knows what she was thinking of us at that point, but she decided at home observation would be adequate. Turns out, he was fine thank goodness.
Yesterday Ava had a fever. She was complaining that her right ear hurt. At least it was during regular office hours this time. We went to the pediatrician and sure enough, she has an ear infection in her right ear. Ten days of antibiotics here we come.
As we were about to leave, I remembered Ava's hand and quickly told our pediatrician the play place story and showed her the bruising on Ava's hand. At this point, all four knuckles have dark bruises and the bruise shows up on the palm of her hand as well.
Our pediatrician took one look and sent us down for an x-ray. Our pediatrician's office is adjacent to the hospital, so at least this trip only involved an elevator ride and walk down a long hallway. She told me to just go home after the x-ray. She would call me and let me know. Well, I told the x-ray technician that we were just going to take off per our pediatrician's advice. He gave me a significant look and asked me to stay just 10 minutes while he made a quick phone call. I knew right then that the x-rays showed something and that he didn't want me to leave until he got a doctor to take a look.
As it turns out, there is at least one and probably two fractures in the bones of her hand. Just give me a parent of the year award. Yes, I let my two year old daughter walk around with a broken hand for five days. I only found out because I mentioned it in passing during the pediatrician visit in which her ear infection was diagnosed.
Here's her x-ray. It's pretty subtle. At least, it is subtle to my completely uneducated eye. But, I'm told there is a fracture. I have learned that it is possible to have a broken bone with no swelling and no restriction in movement. Our pediatrician told me that as soon as I noticed the significant bruising I should have called. Ahh, hindsight.
Later today I'll be setting up an appointment with a pediatric orthopedist. Let the fun and games continue.
The next day Ava woke up from nap with a croupy cough. That was followed by labored breathing and we made an after-hours call to the pediatrician. A late night dose of steroids obtained from a 24 hour pharmacy saved us a trip to the emergency room. Our sincere thanks went out to the on-call pediatrician.
Monday, I was walking into a room when Michael was walking out and I managed to slam him in the forehead with the doorknob. I hit him hard enough that he fell back onto his butt gasping for breath before the screaming began. I comforted and hugged and felt around the forehead for lumps but found none. I mentally moved on once the crying stopped.
It wasn't until some extremely bizarre behavior began at bedtime that I remembered the bump on the head and became concerned. He was scared and asking to sleep with us (never in his entire life has he been afraid at bedtime - never). He was desperately thirsty and drank so much water that we had to change his clothes twice in a row. Again, very odd. I was worried about some kind of brain injury. Another late night call. We got the same on-call pediatrician. Who knows what she was thinking of us at that point, but she decided at home observation would be adequate. Turns out, he was fine thank goodness.
Yesterday Ava had a fever. She was complaining that her right ear hurt. At least it was during regular office hours this time. We went to the pediatrician and sure enough, she has an ear infection in her right ear. Ten days of antibiotics here we come.
As we were about to leave, I remembered Ava's hand and quickly told our pediatrician the play place story and showed her the bruising on Ava's hand. At this point, all four knuckles have dark bruises and the bruise shows up on the palm of her hand as well.
Our pediatrician took one look and sent us down for an x-ray. Our pediatrician's office is adjacent to the hospital, so at least this trip only involved an elevator ride and walk down a long hallway. She told me to just go home after the x-ray. She would call me and let me know. Well, I told the x-ray technician that we were just going to take off per our pediatrician's advice. He gave me a significant look and asked me to stay just 10 minutes while he made a quick phone call. I knew right then that the x-rays showed something and that he didn't want me to leave until he got a doctor to take a look.
As it turns out, there is at least one and probably two fractures in the bones of her hand. Just give me a parent of the year award. Yes, I let my two year old daughter walk around with a broken hand for five days. I only found out because I mentioned it in passing during the pediatrician visit in which her ear infection was diagnosed.
Here's her x-ray. It's pretty subtle. At least, it is subtle to my completely uneducated eye. But, I'm told there is a fracture. I have learned that it is possible to have a broken bone with no swelling and no restriction in movement. Our pediatrician told me that as soon as I noticed the significant bruising I should have called. Ahh, hindsight.
Later today I'll be setting up an appointment with a pediatric orthopedist. Let the fun and games continue.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Apologies and Remorse Serve a Purpose
Before our road trip to LA for the holidays my husband decided to get the oil change the minivan needed. He didn't have time to do it himself, so he took it to the dealer the day before our trip. While he was there, they reminded him about a recall repair that needed to be done and said they could do that too if he was willing to wait an extra hour. He agreed.
Several hours later they were finally done. He maneuvered the van through their lot and came to the driveway of the lot where he needed to stop and wait for a break in traffic before pulling out onto the main road. Simple enough. All drivers stop before pulling into traffic several times each excursion. It should have been simple this time too, except that his brakes didn't work.
After a moment of panic, he managed to pump the breaks enough to stop and then turned right around and went back into the service area of the dealership. And instead of apologizing profusely about how they put his life and the lives of others in danger, they simply said they'd take a look at it as soon as possible.
To make a long story short, he was told that the repairman neglected to "bleed the brakes." I don't really know what that means, but my husband assures me that it is an inexcusable error that resulted in dramatically reduced brake performance.
He never did receive an apology. He just lost additional hours of precious time. Upon hearing the story I was appalled. Their error risked his life and the lives of any vehicle that might have been in his path. We were just lucky that he had to stop to wait for a break in traffic. If he had been able to just pull out, the first time he needed to brake might have been at a busy intersection.
I can't believe they didn't apologize. And then call out a manager and get him or her to apologize. And then ask what they could do to make it up to us. I know we live in a litigious society and to apologize is to insinuate guilt and put yourself and your organization at risk. I'm guessing that is why he didn't receive an apology. However, as a wife who recognizes that her husband's life was endangered, my heart craves an apology. I'm not looking to sue anyone, I just want to see some sincere remorse for such a huge mistake.
Clearly, we'll never return to that dealership. Somehow that doesn't feel like enough though. The incident still lingers in my mind a month later. It pops into my head every time we brake.
Several hours later they were finally done. He maneuvered the van through their lot and came to the driveway of the lot where he needed to stop and wait for a break in traffic before pulling out onto the main road. Simple enough. All drivers stop before pulling into traffic several times each excursion. It should have been simple this time too, except that his brakes didn't work.
After a moment of panic, he managed to pump the breaks enough to stop and then turned right around and went back into the service area of the dealership. And instead of apologizing profusely about how they put his life and the lives of others in danger, they simply said they'd take a look at it as soon as possible.
To make a long story short, he was told that the repairman neglected to "bleed the brakes." I don't really know what that means, but my husband assures me that it is an inexcusable error that resulted in dramatically reduced brake performance.
He never did receive an apology. He just lost additional hours of precious time. Upon hearing the story I was appalled. Their error risked his life and the lives of any vehicle that might have been in his path. We were just lucky that he had to stop to wait for a break in traffic. If he had been able to just pull out, the first time he needed to brake might have been at a busy intersection.
I can't believe they didn't apologize. And then call out a manager and get him or her to apologize. And then ask what they could do to make it up to us. I know we live in a litigious society and to apologize is to insinuate guilt and put yourself and your organization at risk. I'm guessing that is why he didn't receive an apology. However, as a wife who recognizes that her husband's life was endangered, my heart craves an apology. I'm not looking to sue anyone, I just want to see some sincere remorse for such a huge mistake.
Clearly, we'll never return to that dealership. Somehow that doesn't feel like enough though. The incident still lingers in my mind a month later. It pops into my head every time we brake.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Anticipating a Child-Free Evening
My parents offered to take both children overnight Saturday night. My dad picked the children up early and took them swimming. My parents were going to keep the children all day Saturday, overnight, and most of the day Sunday. It was the first child-free time my husband and I had in over two, very stressful months.
Needless to say, my husband and I were very excited. 36 hours of freedom for parents of young children is no small thing. We went to lunch at a restaurant by ourselves. We did a little shopping by ourselves. Then we headed home for the main event. The plan was to get back in touch with our pre-parenthood selves by playing a game. My husband bought Skyrim (big fantasy adventure game) and we planned to stay up until the wee hours of the night playing. Then sleep in and play again the next day until the children came home. I get that many of you might choose another way to celebrate freedom, but we were pretty excited about our plan.
We were about two hours into playing (which is the tip of a very large iceberg) when the phone rang. My mom wanted to let me know that Ava woke up from her afternoon nap with a croupy cough. (Internal dialog: Oh no!!! Please don't let this ruin our night off!) I told her we would bring by a humidifier and some ibuprofen for the night. She told me to just leave them on the porch so that Ava wouldn't see us and ask to come home.
An hour and a half later we stopped playing and gathered the requested items. I called my mom to let her know we were on our way. In a concerned tone, she told me we'd better come in and listen to her ourselves. I knew this was a bad sign. When we walked in to my parents living room I could hear the stridor in Ava's breathing. It was clearly audible with every inhalation even though all she was doing was calmly watching television. You could see her upper chest suck inwards with effort (retraction) at every breath.
It was clear that we would probably need to go to the ER. Again. I wanted to call our pediatrician's office though and see if there was any possible way to avoid the trip. Perhaps we could try an oral steroid first? We gave Ava an ibuprofen and left her at my parents. The stridor always gets worse when she gets upset and making her leave would have upset her. It took me an hour and a half to finally get someone on the phone and talk them into calling in a prescription.
We picked up Ava from my parents house and drove her to the 24 hour pharmacy with us leaving the windows cracked (cool air helps soothe stridor). I got the medicine in her at 8pm and we drove around for two more hours before going home. She was calm in the car and we wanted to give the medicine a chance to kick in before trying to put her to bed. She was in bed at 10:30 and back up at 11:30 panicking during a coughing fit. I calmed her as quickly as possible to minimize the stridor fallout and didn't manage to leave her room until after midnight. She was back up again at 1am and 2:30am. Then, finally, she stayed down until morning.
The next day she still had audible stridor about 50% of the time, but there was no retraction and her mood and energy level were mostly appropriate so we were mostly out of the woods. We avoided the ER trip by the narrowest margin.
Not anywhere close to the 36 hours of child-free time we had been anticipating, but one health crisis narrowly averted so still a win. Is it terrible that I'm wondering if I can convince my parents to give us a make-up weekend?
Needless to say, my husband and I were very excited. 36 hours of freedom for parents of young children is no small thing. We went to lunch at a restaurant by ourselves. We did a little shopping by ourselves. Then we headed home for the main event. The plan was to get back in touch with our pre-parenthood selves by playing a game. My husband bought Skyrim (big fantasy adventure game) and we planned to stay up until the wee hours of the night playing. Then sleep in and play again the next day until the children came home. I get that many of you might choose another way to celebrate freedom, but we were pretty excited about our plan.
We were about two hours into playing (which is the tip of a very large iceberg) when the phone rang. My mom wanted to let me know that Ava woke up from her afternoon nap with a croupy cough. (Internal dialog: Oh no!!! Please don't let this ruin our night off!) I told her we would bring by a humidifier and some ibuprofen for the night. She told me to just leave them on the porch so that Ava wouldn't see us and ask to come home.
An hour and a half later we stopped playing and gathered the requested items. I called my mom to let her know we were on our way. In a concerned tone, she told me we'd better come in and listen to her ourselves. I knew this was a bad sign. When we walked in to my parents living room I could hear the stridor in Ava's breathing. It was clearly audible with every inhalation even though all she was doing was calmly watching television. You could see her upper chest suck inwards with effort (retraction) at every breath.
It was clear that we would probably need to go to the ER. Again. I wanted to call our pediatrician's office though and see if there was any possible way to avoid the trip. Perhaps we could try an oral steroid first? We gave Ava an ibuprofen and left her at my parents. The stridor always gets worse when she gets upset and making her leave would have upset her. It took me an hour and a half to finally get someone on the phone and talk them into calling in a prescription.
We picked up Ava from my parents house and drove her to the 24 hour pharmacy with us leaving the windows cracked (cool air helps soothe stridor). I got the medicine in her at 8pm and we drove around for two more hours before going home. She was calm in the car and we wanted to give the medicine a chance to kick in before trying to put her to bed. She was in bed at 10:30 and back up at 11:30 panicking during a coughing fit. I calmed her as quickly as possible to minimize the stridor fallout and didn't manage to leave her room until after midnight. She was back up again at 1am and 2:30am. Then, finally, she stayed down until morning.
The next day she still had audible stridor about 50% of the time, but there was no retraction and her mood and energy level were mostly appropriate so we were mostly out of the woods. We avoided the ER trip by the narrowest margin.
Not anywhere close to the 36 hours of child-free time we had been anticipating, but one health crisis narrowly averted so still a win. Is it terrible that I'm wondering if I can convince my parents to give us a make-up weekend?
Saturday, January 28, 2012
How do you know?
We were at the play place at the mall last night. The children were having an amazing time. Michael loved it when a 15 month old baby followed him around trying to give him hugs. Ava was inside a tent like structure with three other girls about her age and appeared to be having a great time. It was idyllic.
Then Ava exited the tent and was running towards us. I think she just wanted to tell us something. First she tripped over one structure. I saw it. She got right back up and continued towards us looking back over her shoulder at the offending structure. So, of course, she stumbled right across the next thing in her path.
She fell with her right arm twisted beneath her. I knew right away that I needed to go to her. This wasn't a wait and see if she shakes it off kind of situation. I was concerned about the arm and shoulder. She was crying and I scooped her up and cradled her in my lap. Often, if the injury is minor, she'll be off again after a short cuddle, but not this time.
She was crying that her hand hurt. In that moment it looked like the area on the top of her hand around the middle two knuckles was swelling up and red. Her fingers weren't moving and quivered a little. I can admit it. I panicked a little. I scooped her up and rushed her over to my husband. Meeting his eyes and giving him a significant look, I told him I thought her hand was -hurt-.
Now when we looked together, I could no longer detect anything that looked like redness or swelling. She was able to tolerate having her fingers wiggled and bent a little. When we asked her to get her shoes, she held one in each hand. I was starting to feel better and a little silly about overreacting.
But then, she didn't go back to playing. And she was favoring the hand. She wouldn't use it to play "high five." She was visibly scared when I tried to hold that hand instead of the other when leaving the mall. She was extremely careful when I unbuckled her from her carseat to take that arm out from the straps of the 5-point harness without bumping the hand at all.
I just wasn't sure what to think. Even with all that it didn't seem like an ER on a Friday night kind of situation. Give some ibuprofen, wait, and observe seemed to be the most prudent choice. I hate the uncertainty though. How do you know how serious something is?
Then Ava exited the tent and was running towards us. I think she just wanted to tell us something. First she tripped over one structure. I saw it. She got right back up and continued towards us looking back over her shoulder at the offending structure. So, of course, she stumbled right across the next thing in her path.
She fell with her right arm twisted beneath her. I knew right away that I needed to go to her. This wasn't a wait and see if she shakes it off kind of situation. I was concerned about the arm and shoulder. She was crying and I scooped her up and cradled her in my lap. Often, if the injury is minor, she'll be off again after a short cuddle, but not this time.
She was crying that her hand hurt. In that moment it looked like the area on the top of her hand around the middle two knuckles was swelling up and red. Her fingers weren't moving and quivered a little. I can admit it. I panicked a little. I scooped her up and rushed her over to my husband. Meeting his eyes and giving him a significant look, I told him I thought her hand was -hurt-.
Now when we looked together, I could no longer detect anything that looked like redness or swelling. She was able to tolerate having her fingers wiggled and bent a little. When we asked her to get her shoes, she held one in each hand. I was starting to feel better and a little silly about overreacting.
But then, she didn't go back to playing. And she was favoring the hand. She wouldn't use it to play "high five." She was visibly scared when I tried to hold that hand instead of the other when leaving the mall. She was extremely careful when I unbuckled her from her carseat to take that arm out from the straps of the 5-point harness without bumping the hand at all.
I just wasn't sure what to think. Even with all that it didn't seem like an ER on a Friday night kind of situation. Give some ibuprofen, wait, and observe seemed to be the most prudent choice. I hate the uncertainty though. How do you know how serious something is?
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Beautiful Distraction
I spent a disturbing amount of time yesterday browsing the Vladstudio website. The website has hundreds of beautiful wallpapers/background (725) and I'm pretty sure I looked at all of them. You can turn the pictures into jigsaw puzzles to play right there on the website. They also have an iphone app which provides 12 puzzles for free and all available puzzles, forever for $1.99.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Here are a few of my favorites:
Monday, January 23, 2012
Magic School Bus and the Earth
We visited my husband's parents in Oklahoma last week. They had a wonderful dry erase easel and the children were having a blast playing with it. The adults were sitting in the living room talking and when we looked up Michael had drawn a picture on the easel that looked just like the following photo except that his was done in carefully chosen colors.
He explained that this was a picture of the earth and showed us the crust, mantle, outer core and inner core and explained that it got hotter as you went further in. I was so proud of my four year old.
I knew exactly where he learned it. He's recently become obsessed with the Magic School Bus books. This is a series of books about a class of children and their teacher who has a magic school bus. The teacher takes the class for field trips in the magic school bus that cover a wide variety of non-fiction topics. His diagram of the earth came from the "Magic School Bus Inside the Volcano" book we had recently gotten from Scholastic Book Clubs. We've read it about 10 times since we got it.
The Magic School Bus books come in three varieties. The original picture books are aimed at ages 4-8ish and include some humor I find inappropriate for my younger children. There are also magic school bus chapter books aimed at older children. The version of the series we like are simpler picture books adapted for younger children by Scholastic. These feature the same set of eight children in each book so the kids get to know the characters. The humor is appropriate for younger children and school and classrooms are treated as fun places to be. You can find several of them on Amazon by searching for "Magic School Bus Scholastic Level 2."
I highly recommend these books. Michael (4) and Ava (almost 3) both really enjoy reading them over and over again and they're learning great facts at the same time.
He explained that this was a picture of the earth and showed us the crust, mantle, outer core and inner core and explained that it got hotter as you went further in. I was so proud of my four year old.
I knew exactly where he learned it. He's recently become obsessed with the Magic School Bus books. This is a series of books about a class of children and their teacher who has a magic school bus. The teacher takes the class for field trips in the magic school bus that cover a wide variety of non-fiction topics. His diagram of the earth came from the "Magic School Bus Inside the Volcano" book we had recently gotten from Scholastic Book Clubs. We've read it about 10 times since we got it.
The Magic School Bus books come in three varieties. The original picture books are aimed at ages 4-8ish and include some humor I find inappropriate for my younger children. There are also magic school bus chapter books aimed at older children. The version of the series we like are simpler picture books adapted for younger children by Scholastic. These feature the same set of eight children in each book so the kids get to know the characters. The humor is appropriate for younger children and school and classrooms are treated as fun places to be. You can find several of them on Amazon by searching for "Magic School Bus Scholastic Level 2."
I highly recommend these books. Michael (4) and Ava (almost 3) both really enjoy reading them over and over again and they're learning great facts at the same time.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Lovely Indulgence - Breville One-Touch Tea Maker
I'm not a coffee drinker. I enjoy something with a little mocha flavor, but straight coffee as a beverage is too strong for me. On the other hand I love hot tea. I enjoy the seemingly infinite varieties of types and flavors. I love the ritual of wrapping my hands around a warm teacup and taking my first sip. I find it instantly relaxing.
My husband also enjoys hot tea, yet since we became parents we rarely indulged. We make tea from loose tea leaves and with the little ones around there never seemed to be enough time. Then we discovered the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker. It is the tea equivalent to a fancy coffee maker. It is expensive, but due to the generosity of my husband's parents, we were able to get one for Christmas.
You fill the glass kettle with water and the stainless steel basket with loose tea. Then you push a button to tell the machine which type of tea you are making (black, green, oolong, herbal, white...). The machine automatically determines the best steeping temperature for the type of tea you are making. Then you push a button to tell the machine whether you like your tea mild, medium, or strong determining the length of time the tea will steep. You push the "Tea" button and walk away (or, if you're like me, you sit there and watch the magic). The water is brought to the correct temperature and the basket is lowered into the water for just the right amount of time. A quiet three beeps tells you when your tea is ready.
You can choose to have the tea kept warm at just the right drinking temperature for up to an hour (you can even customize this temperature if you like yours warmer or slightly cooler). You can also choose to have the basket oscillate up and down during the steeping to gently circulate the water through the tea leaves increasing the intensity of the flavor. There is also a timer and you can set the machine up to have hot tea ready for you first thing in the morning. All of the settings (temperature and time) can be customized).
I've been completely amazed at this machine. I love it and I always have a pot of hot tea handy now. The tea tastes wonderful. I've completely given up soda and I don't even miss it. I would definitely recommend this machine to anyone who enjoys drinking hot tea made from loose tea leaves.
My husband also enjoys hot tea, yet since we became parents we rarely indulged. We make tea from loose tea leaves and with the little ones around there never seemed to be enough time. Then we discovered the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker. It is the tea equivalent to a fancy coffee maker. It is expensive, but due to the generosity of my husband's parents, we were able to get one for Christmas.
You fill the glass kettle with water and the stainless steel basket with loose tea. Then you push a button to tell the machine which type of tea you are making (black, green, oolong, herbal, white...). The machine automatically determines the best steeping temperature for the type of tea you are making. Then you push a button to tell the machine whether you like your tea mild, medium, or strong determining the length of time the tea will steep. You push the "Tea" button and walk away (or, if you're like me, you sit there and watch the magic). The water is brought to the correct temperature and the basket is lowered into the water for just the right amount of time. A quiet three beeps tells you when your tea is ready.
You can choose to have the tea kept warm at just the right drinking temperature for up to an hour (you can even customize this temperature if you like yours warmer or slightly cooler). You can also choose to have the basket oscillate up and down during the steeping to gently circulate the water through the tea leaves increasing the intensity of the flavor. There is also a timer and you can set the machine up to have hot tea ready for you first thing in the morning. All of the settings (temperature and time) can be customized).
I've been completely amazed at this machine. I love it and I always have a pot of hot tea handy now. The tea tastes wonderful. I've completely given up soda and I don't even miss it. I would definitely recommend this machine to anyone who enjoys drinking hot tea made from loose tea leaves.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Good Sportsmanship?
Let's start with the good part of this story. I bought an UNO deck at the grocery store the other day and we sat down as a family to play. I always enjoyed UNO, so unlike certain other children's games (Candyland), I was looking forward to playing.
We had never played a card game before. I introduced the terms dealer, dealt, hand, deck, and shuffle. They loved watching me shuffle the cards and had a blast helping me count as the cards were dealt until we all had seven cards. Since it was their first time we just all played with our hands face up and focused on learning the mechanics of the game. Everyone had fun. They easily caught on to matching either color or number and enjoyed learning about reverse, skip, and wildcards. Michael and his dad even joked and laughed when Michael was skipped about three times in a row.
However, things ended on a sour note when I won the game. They seem so young to be upset that they didn't win. However, even at the ages of two and four, I got crossed arms, pouting faces, turned backs, and the complaint, "But I wanted to win!" All of this was followed by a refusal to play a second time.
Obviously this is something we need to address. I think I'm going to start playing games with them often. I'll play at least once with them during the day, and we'll play as an entire family a few times a week. Before we even begin I'll say that we're going to play at least twice no matter who wins. I'll discuss (briefly and age appropriately) that we play together because it is fun and model nice things to say to the winner and nice things for a winner to say.
Does anyone have any other ideas about how to teach good sportsmanship to preschoolers?
We had never played a card game before. I introduced the terms dealer, dealt, hand, deck, and shuffle. They loved watching me shuffle the cards and had a blast helping me count as the cards were dealt until we all had seven cards. Since it was their first time we just all played with our hands face up and focused on learning the mechanics of the game. Everyone had fun. They easily caught on to matching either color or number and enjoyed learning about reverse, skip, and wildcards. Michael and his dad even joked and laughed when Michael was skipped about three times in a row.
However, things ended on a sour note when I won the game. They seem so young to be upset that they didn't win. However, even at the ages of two and four, I got crossed arms, pouting faces, turned backs, and the complaint, "But I wanted to win!" All of this was followed by a refusal to play a second time.
Obviously this is something we need to address. I think I'm going to start playing games with them often. I'll play at least once with them during the day, and we'll play as an entire family a few times a week. Before we even begin I'll say that we're going to play at least twice no matter who wins. I'll discuss (briefly and age appropriately) that we play together because it is fun and model nice things to say to the winner and nice things for a winner to say.
Does anyone have any other ideas about how to teach good sportsmanship to preschoolers?
Monday, January 16, 2012
Pure Magic: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Review: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore - short film and interactive iPad storybook
Watching this short film, and to a lesser extent, experiencing the iPad animated book version was magical. It captivated me, spoke to me, and even made me cry a little. My husband, my two-year old, and my four-year old were captivated as well.
I hesitate to tell you too much about the story. On the website I read that the story was inspired by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books. The animation was done using miniatures, computer animation, and 2D animation creating a very unique and completely engaging look.
The storybook app has an interactive element on every page. Some are simple - a swipe of a finger creates wind, or colors the sky. Other pages have simple activities like drawing on a blank page in a book, spelling with letters in a bowl of cereal, or changing the seasons. A few pages have simple, yet beautifully done mini-games including playing "Pop Goes the Weasel" on a piano, putting together puzzles, or my favorite of dressing characters up as characters from famous novels (pirate, Frankenstein, the Queen of Hearts, Ebenezer Scrooge).
My children laughed with delight at the look on Morris' face when a book came thudding to the ground. They competed to touch the screen on so many pages finally falling into a rhythm of taking turns on each page until we were all ready to turn the page to hear the next part of the story. Now, we read-played-experienced the animated book version first and watched the animated short second. I would actually recommend doing things the other way around. Watch the short first. Enjoy the experience with no preconceived expectations. Next, thoroughly enjoy the animated book. Then, if your children are old enough, enjoy discussing the similarities and differences between the two media.
Every time I watch it I appreciate the story on another level or catch something I missed the first time. For anyone with a love of books, animation, New Orleans, or simply a wonderful magical story I cannot recommend this enough.
Here is a great trailer for the animated short (but don't watch it if I've already convinced you - watch the short with a blank slate):
This is a trailer for the iPad app:
I also very much enjoyed the "making of" videos on their website and watched every one.
You can purchase the animated film from iTunes separately for $2.99, or you can purchase the iPad app for $4.99 which includes the film and an animated, interactive book version of the story.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Guests
We have some friends that moved away a while back. They're back in town visiting friends and family and they came by a couple of nights ago. Their daughter is halfway between Michael and Ava in age. They also have a seven month old son. The visit was lovely and notable on several points.
I wish I had an adorable picture to share, but I was so busy visiting, that I didn't take any. I sign of a great visit I suppose.
- Our children stayed up later than they have in their lives (not counting the insanity that is infant sleep). They did remarkably well and both woke up bright and cheery at their usual 6:30 am as if they hadn't gone to sleep 2 1/2 hours later than usual.
- My husband and I had a wonderful time socializing with our friends and fellow parents. We do not have such evenings often enough.
- Their daughter was an amazing playmate. Our children already play well with each other. Their daughter's age and temperament blended perfectly with those of our children. All three children played together beautifully for about five straight hours. It was a joy to witness. I particularly loved watching Ava play and communicate so well with another little girl close to her age. I wish this family didn't live so far away.
- It was fun to spend time with a baby. I enjoyed it. Ava enjoyed it too. He was babbling. It was adorable and bittersweet at the same time. I've mentioned before that babbling babies almost always inspire envy in my heart - not my best trait. Perhaps, that is getting better. It didn't feel quite as sharp this time.
I wish I had an adorable picture to share, but I was so busy visiting, that I didn't take any. I sign of a great visit I suppose.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Health and Fitness Plan 1.0
I was always a nose-in-a-book kid rather than a get-outside-and-play kid. In fact, when my parents would kick me out of the house to get some sunshine I'd bring a book out with me. Some people are active by nature. They love to be moving and get antsy when stuck in one spot for too long. I can disappear into a quiet activity for hours at a time and never once feel the need to get up and stretch.
As a kid, this tendency to be sedentary wasn't too much of an issue. My weight stayed mostly under control exercise free. Several times during my twenties I would half-heartedly begin an exercise program only to abandon it a few weeks later. Even then, the weight was not a major issue. Two children later, with my age creeping towards a whole new decade, I am getting a little frustrated with my weight. I have the 10-15 pounds I didn't lose after the two pregnancies in a row, and a slow steady creep upwards since then.
My husband, completely on his own, was also coming to the conclusion that he wanted to begin to exercise as well. Now that the children are a little older, we are all sleeping better, and there's a little more "free time" in our schedule, I was willing to commit a tiny bit of that time to exercise. Not too much, mind you, just a little.
We decided on 15 minutes a day. Start to finish it is 20. In order to actually accomplish that regularly, we wanted to chose a consistent time of day. We had tried the wake up before the kids and exercise plan before only to fail miserably at sticking with it. This time we decided to do the 15 minutes right after we put the children to bed. That's something we do at approximately the same time 7 days a week. If we exercise immediately after the children are in bed, we can still have 60-90 minutes for other activities before our bedtime.
We alternate days. The first day I'll do aerobic while he does strength training and the next day we switch. That's between 45-60 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week and 3-4 sessions of muscle strengthening activity a week. This page on the CDC website says that 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and 2 sessions of muscle strengthening activity is the minimum recommended weekly amount for an adult. Well, I figure our current regimen is a heck of a lot better than the nothing we were doing before, so this isn't a bad start.
If I decide to increase my elliptical days to 20-25 minutes I'd be closer to that recommendation (60-100 minutes per week). I'd have to do 45 minute elliptical sessions to meet the 150/week average and I'm just not willing to commit that much time yet. I'm pretty sure I couldn't sustain it. I think it is more important to establish a shorter routine I can sustain than a longer one I give up in two weeks.
We have an elliptical machine we bought shortly after we got married that was supposed to be the foundation of our fitness. Well, it worked well for a few months. Then it gathered dust for years during my pregnancies and the first few parenting years. Now we're dusting it off again. I found a great app for my iPhone by lolo that takes my music and uses it to make an interval style plan for my elliptical machine. The program lets you choose the difficulty level you want, and the length of the workout and it does the rest. So, I tell it 15 minutes and then it plays my music and tells me the resistance level to change the machine to every minute or so. It controls your pace by choosing music that has certain beats per minute and can even modify the beats per minute slightly to get you to speed up or slow down slightly.
lolo also has upper and lower body weight training programs, but I didn't like them as much. I found the music distracting and didn't like matching my exercise repetitions to their arbitrary pace. Instead I designed my own weight training routines. I pulled out some dusty books I had bought years ago. Strength Training Anatomy and Women's Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier. I really like these books and think they are extremely well done. I like the way it shows you through anatomical style drawings the exact muscle groups targeted by each exercise.
I designed three routines - an upper body, lower body, and abs/back/core routine. That way, I'll hit everything at least once over the course of the week. I used the books to identify the major muscle groups in each area and identified one exercise per muscle group. Each routine can be done in approximately 15 minutes, so it meets my requirements. All I need to do these workouts are a few different sets of dumbbells which I already owned.
Then I took a flashcard program I had bought to convert some of my artic decks into iPhone form for Ava and used it to make flashcard sets for the three programs. I took a picture of each exercise from the book and attached an audio file where I counted down either 60-90 seconds/exercise (Begin, halfway done, 15 more seconds, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.) Now I just flip through the flashcards, hit play, and work my way through each one ending at about the 15 minute mark. Lots of setup, but now everything is efficient.
And that's the plan at the moment. We're only about a week in, but we are actually both enjoying the brief workouts and find it gives us fresh energy to enjoy the time before bed. It also makes us feel a little more flexible, less creaky, and a little healthier and stronger during the day.
A decent beginning. Someone ask me if we're still keeping up with it in a month. I sincerely hope so/intend to.
As a kid, this tendency to be sedentary wasn't too much of an issue. My weight stayed mostly under control exercise free. Several times during my twenties I would half-heartedly begin an exercise program only to abandon it a few weeks later. Even then, the weight was not a major issue. Two children later, with my age creeping towards a whole new decade, I am getting a little frustrated with my weight. I have the 10-15 pounds I didn't lose after the two pregnancies in a row, and a slow steady creep upwards since then.
My husband, completely on his own, was also coming to the conclusion that he wanted to begin to exercise as well. Now that the children are a little older, we are all sleeping better, and there's a little more "free time" in our schedule, I was willing to commit a tiny bit of that time to exercise. Not too much, mind you, just a little.
We decided on 15 minutes a day. Start to finish it is 20. In order to actually accomplish that regularly, we wanted to chose a consistent time of day. We had tried the wake up before the kids and exercise plan before only to fail miserably at sticking with it. This time we decided to do the 15 minutes right after we put the children to bed. That's something we do at approximately the same time 7 days a week. If we exercise immediately after the children are in bed, we can still have 60-90 minutes for other activities before our bedtime.
We alternate days. The first day I'll do aerobic while he does strength training and the next day we switch. That's between 45-60 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week and 3-4 sessions of muscle strengthening activity a week. This page on the CDC website says that 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and 2 sessions of muscle strengthening activity is the minimum recommended weekly amount for an adult. Well, I figure our current regimen is a heck of a lot better than the nothing we were doing before, so this isn't a bad start.
If I decide to increase my elliptical days to 20-25 minutes I'd be closer to that recommendation (60-100 minutes per week). I'd have to do 45 minute elliptical sessions to meet the 150/week average and I'm just not willing to commit that much time yet. I'm pretty sure I couldn't sustain it. I think it is more important to establish a shorter routine I can sustain than a longer one I give up in two weeks.
We have an elliptical machine we bought shortly after we got married that was supposed to be the foundation of our fitness. Well, it worked well for a few months. Then it gathered dust for years during my pregnancies and the first few parenting years. Now we're dusting it off again. I found a great app for my iPhone by lolo that takes my music and uses it to make an interval style plan for my elliptical machine. The program lets you choose the difficulty level you want, and the length of the workout and it does the rest. So, I tell it 15 minutes and then it plays my music and tells me the resistance level to change the machine to every minute or so. It controls your pace by choosing music that has certain beats per minute and can even modify the beats per minute slightly to get you to speed up or slow down slightly.
lolo also has upper and lower body weight training programs, but I didn't like them as much. I found the music distracting and didn't like matching my exercise repetitions to their arbitrary pace. Instead I designed my own weight training routines. I pulled out some dusty books I had bought years ago. Strength Training Anatomy and Women's Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier. I really like these books and think they are extremely well done. I like the way it shows you through anatomical style drawings the exact muscle groups targeted by each exercise.
I designed three routines - an upper body, lower body, and abs/back/core routine. That way, I'll hit everything at least once over the course of the week. I used the books to identify the major muscle groups in each area and identified one exercise per muscle group. Each routine can be done in approximately 15 minutes, so it meets my requirements. All I need to do these workouts are a few different sets of dumbbells which I already owned.
My Upper Body Routine
Arms
- Hammer Curls - biceps
- Reverse Curls - outer forearm
- Wrist Curls - inner forearm
- Lateral Raises - deltoid
- One-Arm Triceps Extensions - triceps
Chest
- Dumbbell Presses - chest
- Dumbbell Flys - chest
My Abs/Back/Core Routine
Abs
- Crunches with Feet on Floor - upper abs
- Leg Extension Circles - lower abs
- Dumbbell Side Bends - oblique abs
Core
- Plank - Core-Abs
- Torso Swimming - Core-Back
Back
- One-Arm Dumbbell Rows - latissimus dorsi, rhomboid
- Dumbbell Shrugs- trapezius
My Lower Body Routine
Legs
- Squats - quads
- Floor Hip Abductions - outer thigh
- Adductors on the Floor - inner thigh
- Hamstrings on the Floor - hamstrings
- Standing Calf Raises - calves
Butt
- Floor Hip Extensions - glutes
Then I took a flashcard program I had bought to convert some of my artic decks into iPhone form for Ava and used it to make flashcard sets for the three programs. I took a picture of each exercise from the book and attached an audio file where I counted down either 60-90 seconds/exercise (Begin, halfway done, 15 more seconds, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.) Now I just flip through the flashcards, hit play, and work my way through each one ending at about the 15 minute mark. Lots of setup, but now everything is efficient.
And that's the plan at the moment. We're only about a week in, but we are actually both enjoying the brief workouts and find it gives us fresh energy to enjoy the time before bed. It also makes us feel a little more flexible, less creaky, and a little healthier and stronger during the day.
A decent beginning. Someone ask me if we're still keeping up with it in a month. I sincerely hope so/intend to.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Grace Under Pressure - Not So Much
PSA: Pitiful whiny post ahead. Feel free to not read this one. :-) You have been warned.
This is a rough time of year. I love the holiday season, but it is intense. There are two major holidays in a row and big breaks in the daycare/preschool routine. (Therefore, less breaks for Mama.) We also have our annual trip 12 hours away taking our little ones away from home for 5 days.
This is also the exact same time frame that Ava's special education eligibility evaluation was held. I've also been informed that our IFSP is going to need to be updated even though it will only be in effect for approximately five weeks before she ages out. Our first IEP meeting is scheduled for later today.
Paperwork needs to be filled out to prepare for the IFSP meeting. Paperwork needs to be filled out for the IEP meeting. I scheduled a visit to the special education preschool classroom. I need to set up pediatrician visits. I haven't had enough sleep in weeks. I've been ill at least twice during this time frame. The children have each been ill 2-3 times and my husband and mother have been ill as well.
I'm limping along trying desperately to keep things together and still be a pleasant, cheerful, effective, and efficient mother/wife/therapist/friend/acquaintance, but the cracks are beginning to show. I'm less than patient with the children, Michael in particular, and I'm feeling pretty guilty about that. I had a "thing" with my husband - which never happens. Seriously, we're in sync 98% of the time. It was strange and disorienting to be upset with him. Fortunately we had that patched up in less than 36 hours.
I'm having trouble focusing on tasks that need to be done. My /s/ sets for Ava have been sitting 25% done for almost a week. If I could focus and finish them up I could be using them with her and sharing them with you. But when I do find the time to sit at the computer, my mind rebels and I end up randomly web browsing remembering little when the snippet of free time comes to an end.
The IEP meeting will be done in a few hours. The mostly token IFSP meeting will be done next week. Hopefully, things will settle a little after that and I'll have a chance to regroup. Well, until her birthday. Then everything shifts again. I suppose that's just how life works. This parenting a child with special needs is an endless exercise in flexibility. Someday I'll be an expert in that, right?
This is a rough time of year. I love the holiday season, but it is intense. There are two major holidays in a row and big breaks in the daycare/preschool routine. (Therefore, less breaks for Mama.) We also have our annual trip 12 hours away taking our little ones away from home for 5 days.
This is also the exact same time frame that Ava's special education eligibility evaluation was held. I've also been informed that our IFSP is going to need to be updated even though it will only be in effect for approximately five weeks before she ages out. Our first IEP meeting is scheduled for later today.
Paperwork needs to be filled out to prepare for the IFSP meeting. Paperwork needs to be filled out for the IEP meeting. I scheduled a visit to the special education preschool classroom. I need to set up pediatrician visits. I haven't had enough sleep in weeks. I've been ill at least twice during this time frame. The children have each been ill 2-3 times and my husband and mother have been ill as well.
I'm limping along trying desperately to keep things together and still be a pleasant, cheerful, effective, and efficient mother/wife/therapist/friend/acquaintance, but the cracks are beginning to show. I'm less than patient with the children, Michael in particular, and I'm feeling pretty guilty about that. I had a "thing" with my husband - which never happens. Seriously, we're in sync 98% of the time. It was strange and disorienting to be upset with him. Fortunately we had that patched up in less than 36 hours.
I'm having trouble focusing on tasks that need to be done. My /s/ sets for Ava have been sitting 25% done for almost a week. If I could focus and finish them up I could be using them with her and sharing them with you. But when I do find the time to sit at the computer, my mind rebels and I end up randomly web browsing remembering little when the snippet of free time comes to an end.
The IEP meeting will be done in a few hours. The mostly token IFSP meeting will be done next week. Hopefully, things will settle a little after that and I'll have a chance to regroup. Well, until her birthday. Then everything shifts again. I suppose that's just how life works. This parenting a child with special needs is an endless exercise in flexibility. Someday I'll be an expert in that, right?
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