Han Solo Just Scared The Crap Outta Me

Our friends the Perrys gave us a life sized cardboard cutout of Han Solo today. MG immediately claimed it.

So, BJ and I watched a movie tonight. Afterward, at midnight, I came upstairs to get ready for bed. The kids sleep with their doors open so I didn't turn on the hall lights - I just had my phone in my hand when I saw this:

I assure you it was much more startling without the flash. 

I yelled "SHIT" followed quickly by a disparaging comment about BJ, thinking he was the culprit.  

When he stopped laughing he told me that the whole thing was Mary Grace's idea!  "Let's put this where it'll scare Mommy!" she apparently said.

Oh, it's on kiddo. It's on.

America's #1 Game

Mary Grace:  JACK! Jack! JACK! Jack! JACK!

Jack:  YAH YA YAH YA YAH WAhahahahhhaHAHAHAH!  Woah woah woah woah woah!!!!

Mom:  Mary Grace?  Mary Grace.  Mary GRACE!

Mary Grace:  What?

Mom:  It's time to start calming down.  Please play something quiet with your brother.

Mary Grace:  We're going to play hide and seek!!!!

Mom:  No, you're not.  Do something quiet like reading a book to him.  It's getting close to bedtime.  Hide and seek is not quiet.

Mary Grace:  But it's America's number one home game!

Mom:  Go read a book. (straight faced)

Mary Grace:  Ok.

Mom:  (dies laughing)

***

In other news, Claire lost a tooth at school today, and her teacher suspects that she swallowed it.  Mrs. O made her a paper tooth to put under her pillow, but she got it wet on the way home and came in sobbing.  Luckily I heard her before she hit the door, so I had time to stick a Magical Golden Dollar Coin (tm) in my pocket.

I used a little sleight of hand, and now she totally believes that the Tooth Fairy came and put magic in Mommy while she was at school, probably during rest time, and that Mommy used that magic to find a coin in her mouth when she got home from school.

Phew!

***

PS - they're still not quiet and no one is reading anyone any books.  Mary Grace is teaching Claire how to play the piano (Mary Grace's first lesson was today) and BJ is swinging Jack upside down and throwing him at the couch.

First Day Of School

The kids woke me up at 6:45 this morning.  They might be a little excited.

I made them a hot breakfast (pancakes and bacon), got MG showered (Claire had a bath last night), got everyone's hair brushed, remembered to send all the things (lunch, smock, backpacks, etc.).

 They were outside in plenty of time for the bus.

And for just a couple pictures...  :)

We arrived at school at the same time they did, and met them outside their classes.  We wanted them to practice their routines.

Everything went perfectly.  They were confident and excited and ready to rock.  I managed not to cry until we got outside.

I can't wait to hear about all of their adventures.

Birthday Stuff

We recently survived Mary Grace's Friend birthday party.  Her Family birthday party is tomorrow.  There were 22 kids here from 2 - 4:30.  We've got 22 relatives coming tomorrow.  You can see why the parties needed to be divided.

I went rogue and I didn't plan any activities.  I didn't have goodie bags for the kids to take home, either.  I also asked our guests to bring donations for the food pantry in lieu of gifts.  With 22 relatives coming tomorrow, Mary Grace really didn't need gifts from her friends.  A couple of our friends have done similar things (donations of books or school supplies), and I thought it was a very good idea.  The kids just went nuts and played.  We served apples, grapes, watermelon, chips, snack mix, popcorn, and of course cake and ice cream (actually, we forgot to get ice cream so Colleen ran out to get some - thanks again!).  It was very simple and very nice.  The kids were really good.  Everyone got along.  Mary Grace had a great time.

Simple parties are where it's at, y'all.

Yesterday, on her actual birthday, we took her to Dave and Busters down in Indy, which would have been a lot of fun except for two 12 or 13 year old girls stole all of Mary Grace's tickets.  They came over and asked us "Who's winning?" while we were playing a driving game, and swiped the tickets while we were distracted.  I had a rough idea of their size and age from their voices, so I went looking around for them.  They made eye contact with me and then ran - guilty behavior if I ever saw it!  I told the girls, "Go find Daddy!" and took off after them.  They sat down in a booth and I said, "Did you come up and talk to my daughters and me while we were playing the driving game?"

"No, that wasn't us."

"Then why did you run when you saw me looking for you?"

"Because we're leaving, it's time for us to go."

"Really?  If you're leaving then why are you sitting at an empty booth looking guilty?  Where are your parents?"  I marched them over to the table where their family was, and when their mother appeared I told her what I suspected and why.  I said, "I don't want anything from you, but I thought you needed to know what they did."  She said, "I'm sorry that happened to you," but didn't accept responsibility.  I walked away feeling shaken and sick.  The hostess took me outside to calm down.  She said, "If some stranger was accusing your kids like that, you'd stand up for your kids, too, wouldn't you?" and I agreed that I probably would, but I would grill them later and extract confessions, and then I would punish them severely - once for stealing and once for embarrassing me in public!  I didn't expect her to beat them senseless right there in front of me or anything.  But I sure hope they were suitably punished when they got home.

After talking to the hostess, Danielle, I went back in to find BJ and the kids.  Mary Grace was sobbing, and even though the restaurant refunded her tickets (we guessed that she'd had between 500 and 1000, so they gave us 750).  She didn't understand at first that they'd put them on the debit card thing and that's why we didn't have a bucket of tickets anymore.  The whole thing cast a dark shadow over what was otherwise a really good time.

I just don't understand people.  I hope those girls learned a good lesson.

Monica was impressed, when I told her the story, that I had confronted them.  She said, "Weren't you afraid of getting punched or something?"  It never even occurred to me to worry about it.  The police and the manager were standing right there by the time I talked to the mother.  I guess the pain of getting punched would go away in a day or two, but the anger I would have felt if they had gotten away with what they did would have lasted a lifetime.

Teachable moment for the girls, too, about why we don't take things that don't belong to us, and why we need to take good care of what does belong to us, because there are dishonest people, etc. etc.  Ugh.  Heck of a lesson to learn on your birthday.

Anyway, I'm exhausted.  I have some new books downloaded, so I'm going to go lay on the couch in the family room and read until I can put the kids to bed.

Mary Grace is SEVEN!

Dear Mary Grace,

Holy guacamole.  Seven.

Official Kindergarten School Photo

This is the part where I go on and on about how hard it is to believe that you're already seven, and you were just born yesterday, and so on.  It's all still true, but it's not very creative to repeat the same thing year after year after year.

I don't write about you very often, anymore, because you're getting so big and your stories are really your own now.  Don't ever think that it's because you're any less interesting than your brother and sister.  I just don't want to tell you who you are, anymore.  You are writing your story every day, and it's such a joy to watch.

I love to watch you when you don't know that I'm watching.  I love the way you lead when you're playing with other kids, but you're always careful to give everyone a turn and be fair.  You get your sense of right and wrong from your dad, I think, and you remind me of him in the way you treat other people.  I love to watch you work on something challenging.  You have such perseverance!  You get that from Daddy, too.

You and Claire and Jack are so close.  The three of you remind me of Aunt Mimi, Uncle Chuck and me.  

I hope that never changes.  It just melts me when you read to Jack.  You're such a lovely little mother hen with him, and it's a HUGE help to Dad and me.

You are exceptionally tall!  A full head taller than all the girls in your class last year, and you're already wearing size 8.

You absolutely loved your first year of school, and your teacher Mrs. O (and she loves you!).  Claire has her next year, too, and you're a bit jealous.  I know that first grade is going to be every bit as much fun as Kindergarten was, and that you're going to have another great year in school.  I can't believe school starts in 5 days.  It's going to be so quiet around here with just Jack, after I've had you three around all day all summer long.

You discovered Girl Scouts this year, and got to try all sorts of things you've never tried before, like archery.  You want to take up archery as a hobby, because of scouts and the movie Brave, which makes me a bit nervous.

Like your dad and Grandmother Diana, you are part fish.  You love being in the water, whether it's a pool or the gulf of Mexico like in this picture, and you are fearless.  You've been taking swimming lessons, and your swimming skills are really coming along.

You are so many awesome things, Mary Grace.  You are kind and helpful, you are funny, you are a hard worker and a great student, you are smart and insightful, you are beautiful, you are good at so many things...  Most of all you are adored by everyone who knows you, but especially by me and your dad.

Here's the checklist:

Your favorite toy for playing is: Star Wars guys, the toy bow and arrow you got for your birthday

Your favorite toy for snuggling is: your panda bears

Your favorite foods: spaghetti and pizza

Your favorite book is: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew

Your favorite activity is: recess at school

Your favorite place to go is: Christos for birthday breakfast

Your best friend is: Claire and Nala

Something new that you're doing: learning to ride a bike without training wheels

Something you've mastered: reading

Something people say about you: "She's so tall!"

Something that you're saying is: you've been singing Christmas carols all summer, I still haven't figured that out 

Something Dad and I are proud of you for: I can't pick just one thing.  We're proud of EVERYTHING you are, Cuppycake.

Something surprising about you: you have a sense of style and you're very serious about your clothes.  I'm a jeans and t-shirt mom, so I don't know where you got that.

What you want to be when you grow up: an astronaut

Love you bunches, Peanut,

Mom

E.T.

"Who are those men?" asked MG in the scene where E.T. is dying.

"They're doctors, they're trying to help."

"I don't think they need a doctor, they need a vet."

I love this kid.

Leadership and Responsibility

I got four hours of sleep last night, so I was running on fumes and caffeine all day.  But the weather has been unseasonably beautiful here, and the kids wanted to go to the park.  I gave them the old "We'll see..." and said, "It depends on Jack's nap..."  Last time we went to the park we took the neighbors (N & S) because their mom is pregnant and is still puking in her third trimester and girlfriend needs a break, plus they're great kids and no trouble, and the girls play really well with them...  So it's a win/win/win.  Anyway, I told MG to go to the bathroom and get her shoes on, then Claire, then I realized we needed dog food so I was going to change the plan.  I was going to say, "Let's go to the fun pet store with all the critters and get dog food, and then we'll go to Sonic," because I knew they'd like that equally as much as they'd like going to the park, and it would require a lot less maternal energy.

Meanwhile, MG had gotten shoes and used the facilities and run outside in her enthusiasm to go.  And when she got out there she saw N & S and invited them along to the park.  So I come outside with Claire and Jack, prepared to offer this New and Improved Plan, and here come N & S running down the street.

"N & S can come with us, they asked their mom!" she said.

"Mary Grace!" I said through my teeth, "What did you do?"

"I asked them..."

"You KNOW you're not supposed to make plans or invite friends along without checking with me first!  I wanted to go to the pet store and Sonic instead, and now I have to disappoint your friends and be the bad guy.  I am not happy with you for putting me in this position!" I whispered, as the girls ran down the block.  "Now I have to tell them they can't come!"

Here's where it gets good....

"No, Mommy," she said, "I created this problem.  I'll take care of it."  She had this resigned look on her little face, and she kind of sighed as she undid her seat belt and started to get out of the car to tell her friends they couldn't come to the park.

And thank goodness I was able to take a step back and stop being tired and selfish for a minute, thank goodness I was able to say, "No, no...  Just...  It's ok.  Sit back down.  We'll go to the park," just as N & S got to the car.  "I have to go get Mary Grace's Daisy stuff," I said, "You guys get in, and I'll be right back."

I called BJ and told him the story while I was inside.  "Wow," he said.  "There are high school kids, college kids...  Heck, I know ADULTS who can't say, 'I made a mistake and I'll fix it,' and take responsibility like that!" he said.

"I know," I said.  "I was impressed."

Even though I was SO tired, we went to the park.  I even stopped and got drinks for the kids and an enormous coffee for myself (caffeine is almost like sleep, right?)  I called a friend and she met us there.  We met some other little girls at the playground who were about the same age as our kids and wanted to play.  And I got to stand back and see Mary Grace as the leader she's becoming - as someone who isn't afraid to make things happen and be spontaneous, someone who wants everyone around her to have a good time, someone who will take other kids who are shy or uncomfortable under her wing to include them in everyone else's fun, someone who is going to be a really cool adult someday (sooner than I think).

When I had a minute to talk to her privately I said, "I want you to know that I was really proud of the way you took responsibility for your mistake, today, and that was why I decided to go ahead and take you guys to the park.  You're growing into such a wonderful girl, and I'm really proud of you."

So we dropped her off at Daisies, I took the neighbor kids home, then Claire and Jack and I went to the pet store and got the dog food while MG was busy, and we picked her up on our way home.  It worked out better, that way, than it probably would have the other way.

It occurs to me that in order to raise a child, especially a girl, to be a good leader, you have to actually let her lead.  I am so grateful to the Patron Saint of Parenting (Erma Bombeck?) that I had the sense to let her lead today.

And now I am going to go to bed.

PHEW

The foot is not broken.  I can relinquish the title of Worst Mother Ever back to Joan Crawford or Courtney Love or whoever named their kid Carburetor this week.

The doctor's office took forever.  I liked it better when my doctor first started practicing, and he had 11 patients, and I could call and get an appointment for whenever I wanted.  Sometimes he would call me and offer me appointments, just so he'd have something to do.  Then Dopey Amy referred everyone in town to him, and now suddenly (7 years later) Dr. Popular is all busy and impossible to see.  He still listens and does a wonderful job, but he's obviously stretched much thinner than he used to be. Waiting room waits are longer, and the time between when I call and when I can get in has grown.

Anywho, between the yearly physical (which is what the appointment was for) and the foot, and the X-rays, and the waiting for the X-rays, and so on, we were there about 2 hours.  It's a good thing that Grandpa Bob took Claire, because keeping Hop Along and Jack occupied was enough to exhaust me, and Claire would have been bored to tears.  Plus, the poor kid was just there with me yesterday.  Same room and everything.  Mommy can only blow up so many gloves into balloon chickens.

After the X-rays had been taken, but before Dr. Popular came back to talk to us about the results, MG asked what was taking so long.  I said, "Well, the doctor has to look at all the pictures of your foot, and there are lots and lots of bones in there, and he has to look at each one to make sure it's not broken.  Here, let me show you," and I pulled up an image of a foot X-ray on my phone.  We were looking at it when Dr. Popular came back, and he thought that I'd somehow managed to get Mary Grace's X-ray on my phone!  I should have let him think that I was that good, but I came clean and told him it was just some random internet foot.

How on earth did our mothers keep us busy at the doctor's office without tech?

Oh, the other thing about the visit that was funny - Mary Grace made me push her in the wheelchair.  You should have seen the looks we got from other patients.  But she was hurt, and that's what it's there for, right?  How the heck else was I supposed to get her, Jack, and all our crap around the building?

I need to stop caring what other people think.  From now on, when I find myself thinking, "Oh my gosh, those people are judging me!!" I'm going to imagine that they're actual judges with scorecards in their hands.  Then I'll do my very triple lutz, and go on. 

Pain

Somehow Mary Grace fell on her foot this evening and hurt it, and she has been hobbling around pretending to be crippled ever since.  It is not bruised.  It is not swollen.  She is just a drama queen.

Remember how I said that my kids drive me the most nuts when they're acting the most like me?  Yeah.

As I was putting her to bed, she said, "I sure hope my foot feels better tomorrow."

And since I've completely run out of sympathy, I said, "I think your foot feels better right now."

"Mommy," she said, exasperated, "you don't understand my pain."

Stay tuned, folks, because in just 7 short years, this kid is going to be a teenager.  And that's when the fun will really start.

Now you'll have to excuse me.  I have to go send another apology letter to my parents.

Wherefore Art Thou, Perry?

Tonight before bed, we were reading the girls' new Phineas and Ferb book.  If you've never seen the show, it's about two kids and their pet platypus, Perry.  Perry pretends to be a pet, but in reality he's a secret agent - Agent P.  He has a theme song, that says, "He's a semi-aquatic egg laying mammal of action..."

Anyway, we're reading the book, in which P&F build a submarine, and Perry escapes the submarine to go after the Evil Dr. Doofenschmirtz.  In the book, it says, "Perry donned his wetsuit..."

"Mommy," Mary Grace interrupted, "Perry is a semiaquatic mammal.  Why does he need a wetsuit?"

I just stared at her for a second, then I started laughing.  This kid doesn't miss a trick.

***

Earlier tonight we were telling the girls about Grandpa Bob's new job.  We explained that he's still going to be a nurse, but he'll be what's called a Charge Nurse, sort of like the boss of the nurses.

"He's going to be the brains of that outfit!" Mary Grace exclaimed.  Oh my goodness...

***

And because I love you and I want you to be happy, I am sharing the recipe that I made up for dinner tonight.  I'm proud of myself for actually writing down what I did, for a change, so that I can re-create this if I want to.  It made a ton.  BJ, Dad, and I each had one (too spicy for the girlies, they had soup and grilled cheese).  I think we'll get at least 4 more servings out of it, maybe more.  I served it with shredded lettuce and sour cream.  YUM!

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

3 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

1 small red bell pepper, diced

3/4 cup Frank's RedHot Sauce

1/2 cup Ranch dressing

1/4 cup sour cream

1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup

Mix all above in a medium bowl. Fill large tortillas and arrange in sprayed 13 x 9 pan.

Top with jarred salsa (about a cup, give or take) and shredded Mexican cheese (two cups or so).

Cover with foil.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Serve with shredded lettuce and sour cream.

We made it!

Mary Grace was up, dressed, and ready to go at 7:05 this morning.  The bus doesn't come until 8:30.  I made her get undressed and take a shower, instead of just staring out the front window impatiently for almost an hour and a half!

Meanwhile, Claire had a total thermonuclear meltdown that Mary Grace was going to school without her.

She felt a little better when she realized that we were going to MG's school, too, after we got her onto the bus.

The bus was 10 minutes late.  BJ said, "Do we have the wrong day?"  I said, "No, I think it's just a first-day-of-school thing."

While we were waiting, we had a photo shoot.

Got some last-minute advice from Daddy:

Then we tried magic:

...and it worked!  The bus came!

Good thing I'm quick with the camera, because she jumped on that bus and disappeared so fast, I almost missed it.  I didn't even have time to cry.

Apparently she met a girl named Grace on the bus, just like Junie B. Jones.

When we got to school, we parked a couple blocks away and walked.  The crossing guard yelled at me.  I'm going to probably learn as much as MG this year.

We finally arrived at room 10, and MG wasn't there!  I sent BJ down one hall with Jack, and Claire and I went down the other to look for her.  I was afraid she'd gotten lost, because the buses drop them off on the opposite side of the school from her classroom.

I got all the way outside and to the second door (I was trying not to panic, even though when I got outside there were no buses out there, and OMG where the hell could she be, panic panic panic!) before BJ called and said he'd found her in the hall that connects hallway #1 and hallway #2.  PHEW!

By the time I got back to class, she was already settled in and coloring.

We just stood there and let her ignore us for a while.  Then the principal came on and said that the parents could proceed to the cafeteria for information on Parent Council and a sibling snack, so we gave her a kiss and left.

She barely looked up from her coloring page.

We walked back to the van

...a little bit sad, but excited for Mary Grace!

Claire, Jack, and I went to the Boo Hoo Breakfast at Chick Fil A.  Daddy stopped at his usual cafe on the way to the office, and apparently found the Woo Hoo Breakfast - a bunch of parents were there celebrating their liberation.

Before I knew it, it was time to pick our big girl up from school.  Looks like she had fun, doesn't it?

We went to the office to run payroll, then we all went to DQ for lunch.  Mommy had a strawberry lemonade, because swallowing anything chunkier than chicken soup still feels like swallowing knives.  It might be a good diet plan, if it weren't for the fact that milk shakes feel so good on a sore throat.

When we got home, the light was better, so I got one more picture in front of our Kindergarten sign.

Is it just me, or does she look older in this one?

School Anxiety

Mary Grace starts kindergarten tomorrow. 

I spent all night last night having anxious dreams about it.

The school allows parents to come for the first 45 minutes tomorrow (in real life).  In my dream, there was this elaborate greeting ritual that involved two differently colored blankets and wrapping them up in a very particular way (I know, it doesn't make any sense).  I couldn't get it right.  Some dad took me aside and tried to show me, ended up hitting on me in a very creepy inappropriate way*, and I missed her getting off of the bus, anyway.

Then I finally found her right classroom (in the dream - I know where it is IRL.  I even know which windows to peek in during the day).  I didn't recognize her.  She looked like a different kid.  She didn't like her name**.


Then it was time for lunch (which is odd, because we got her into the half day program IRL) and as we were walking to the cafeteria I threw a foam take-out container away in an air duct, causing all kinds of havoc for the school janitor.  (It looked like a laundry chute in my dream, and if I had been there in the beginning when she got off the bus they would have pointed it out to me, according to Imaginary Janitor.  "Where were you?  Everyone else knew!")  Meanwhile, MG stood next to me shrinking with embarrassment.

Then the very worst part of the nightmare happened.

She asked me to go home.

I don't remember any more of it, thank goodness.

BJ and I were talking about it yesterday, as I was trying not to cry in the playplace at the mall that she has outgrown, about why starting Kindergarten is hard for me.  He said, "She's had 3 years of preschool.  I think we've done a pretty good job of preparing her for the world." 

"I know," I replied, "but what if I forgot something?"

Thanks to the magic of Facebook, I know I'm not the only one who is struggling with this enormous change in our family.  My friends are having a Boo Hoo Breakfast at Chick Fil A tomorrow.  We'll all get each other through it.

I know it's going to be fine.  As I've often said, "Change isn't so bad, it's transition that sucks."  And I know that I only have dreams like that because I'm crazy, not because I'm psychic.  But my real fears are there in black and white - that she'll get out in the big world and she'll realize that her mom is a huge dork, that I'll embarrass her or let her down, that she won't be proud of the person we've taught her to be once she has a choice, that I've forgotten to teach her something vital and I won't be there to correct it when she's at school...  It's all pretty real.

Looks like I picked the wrong month to go off of the Zoloft.



*This is my subconscious telling me to get my wedding ring resized so I can wear it again.

**When we went to meet her teacher last week, she told her teacher that she could call her Mary if she wanted to.  HUH? 


PS - Happy birthday Gramma!!  Call me when you get up!

Happy Birthday, Cuppycake!

Dear Mary Grace,

This morning you turned six.  It absolutely blows my mind that you're six whole years old, because it feels like you were just born.  Six.  That's a third of your childhood.  I do not feel old enough to have a daughter who is six.  You're getting to an age that I remember.  I remember when Mimi was born, and I was 5.  I remember when my Papa died, and I was six.  I remember school.  I find myself wondering which things you're going to remember about your life now when you're my age.

And speaking of school, holy cow, how is it possible that you're starting REAL school next week?  You are SO excited!  I hope that you stay as excited about school as you are today until you get your Ph.D.  We found out today that you've been switched to the morning class (funny story, right after the school secretary called me, I realized that we had an appointment to meet your old teacher tomorrow morning, so I called right back to find out if we keep that time or get another... but while I was pushing one for this and three for that to get through the voice maze, I started thinking, "Oh, I really should call BJ and tell him that Mary Grace got into half day Kindergarten."  So when I heard the beep, instead of saying, "This is Amy Austin, I was calling to confirm our appointment to meet Mary Grace's teacher..." I ended up saying, "Hi honey, it's me.  I just got a call from the school and Mary Grace got into the half day class, so yay!  I'll talk to you later.  Love you, bye."  And I didn't even realize that I was telling the school secretary's voicemail, "Love you, bye!" until I hung up!!!  I'm sorry your mom is such a total dork.)


ANYWAY, when I told you that you were going half days, I said, "And now we can do so many fun things in the afternoon!  We can go to the park, go on playdates, go to the zoo and the museum!!!"  You were really excited, and I was so glad.  I was afraid you'd be upset about not going full days.  I promise we'll stay and eat lunch at school once in a while, if we can.

A couple days ago Claire asked Daddy, "What am I going to do when Mary Grace is in school all the time?" so she was really relieved that you're going to be going half days next year.  I am, too.  We're going to have lots of fun.  And we're saving a boatload of money.

You are SO tall!

Daddy took you out for breakfast for your birthday this morning, and you had pie.  You brought half of it home for Claire, just like last year.  I love the way you two are so close.  And oh my gosh, are you both coo coo over your brother.  I would've thought that you'd get bored with him by now, but you both just adore him, and you constantly want to hold him and hug him and kiss him.  One of the sweetest things I've ever seen is the three of you curled up, you and Claire reading books to Jack.  We had lunch at Noodles, and we had birthday dinner at home with lots of family.  It was a fun day. 

Here's the checklist I started doing when you were a baby:

Your favorite toy for playing is: Barbies- especially making dresses at the Children's Museum, Polly Pockets, Little People

Your favorite toy for snuggling is: your panda bears

Your favorite food is: "Spaghetti.  Actually, cake!"

Your favorite book is: Junie B. Jones

Your favorite activity is: playing with friends and family

Your favorite place to go is: Noodles

Your best friend is: Claire and Esther

You, Claire, Iris, and Esther at the Children's Museum

Something new that you're doing: Adding 3 digit numbers (123 + 456, etc.) 

Something you've mastered: turning the TV on and off, reading (seriously, you just read "turning on and off the TV" over my shoulder!)

Something people say about you: "She's so sweet!"

Something that you're saying is:  You quote the Junie B. Jones books.  You especially think that "behiney" is hilarious.

Something Dad and I are proud of you for: I can't pick just one thing.  We're proud of EVERYTHING you are, Cuppycake.

Something surprising about you: You've lost a whole bunch of teeth already.  I think your 8th and 9th teeth are wiggly now - I've lost count.  The tooth fairy is going broke. 

What you want to be when you grow up: a veterinarian ("for pets, not wild animals").

You are such a wonderful girl, Mary Grace.  It is such a privilege to be your mom.

Love,
Mommy

They Can Be Taught

Overheard:

Sweet Boy:  Mary Grace, are you going to marry me?

Mary Grace:  I don't need to worry about that until I'm in college.

BJ and I high-fived over that one. 

***

We've been working really hard at keeping the family room clean and the toys picked up.  I've told the kids that if they stop in between each show and pick up for a few minutes, it will never get trashed.  After a very busy weekend, the family room was looking a little rough.  Mary Grace came down and started cleaning it up all by herself, without being asked, this morning.  When Claire got up, she helped. 

Hallelujah!

***

Tooth Fairies

Mary Grace just lost another tooth, and it reminded me of something I've been meaning to tell you all.

We give her a dollar coin every time she loses a tooth, but some kids get $20s (I'm guessing these are the parents who stop at the ATM on the way home from work!) and others get toys.  She noticed the disparity, and do you know what I told her?  I said that every family has their own Tooth Fairy - just like every neighborhood has their own mail carrier - and some Tooth Fairies are more liberal than others. 

I might have also mumbled something about how those other kids may or may not be able to go to college after their parents have spent all their money buying baby teeth...  but she didn't hear that part.  Heh heh!

So if you have a stingy Tooth Fairy like we do, feel free to explain it thusly when your kids notice.

Kindergarten Round Up Fail

In my first official act as "Mary Grace's mom" at her brand new school, I proved once again that I am a complete and utter tool.

I sat down next to two women who obviously knew each other.  The one farther from me in the noisy cafeteria asked me if I had a pad.  I dug through my bag for a second and said, "Sorry, all I have is this," as I sheepishly held up a size 1 diaper.  Might work if you're desperate," I said with an apologetic shrug. 

"What?  Oh, no, I said a pen," she replied.

And I died.

If Mary Grace had been there, I'll bet I would have gotten my first, "Mo-THER!" 

So I lied, "Well, hi, I'm Amy and I'm hard of hearing.  Thought you said pad.  Nice to meet you."

I can only hope that she forgets me by August.

PS - how is my baby already old enough for Kindergarten?

PPS - how is it that I'm this big a dork, and yet I still have awesome friends?  Be honest, are you all just hanging out with me for comedic purposes?

MG's Results

The CT scan was negative for appendicitis - the doctor said that her symptoms were probably caused by the urinary tract infection that she has, but to keep an eye on it.  (Yes, I feel a tiny bit better knowing that the ER doctor saw enough of what I saw to test for it, but mostly I'm just glad she doesn't need surgery).

The bad news is that she has Influenza A, and she needs to stay away from Jack until she is symptom-free for 24 hours without fever reducers - which will be about two weeks from now.  Influenza A can be fatal in infants, so, yeah.

I have no idea how we're going to manage this...  Thank goodness we're self-employed. 

See you in March or so....

ER

Mary Grace was fine this morning.  When I picked her up from school, her teacher said that she had been really tired.  Odd, because she stayed in bed all night for the first time in months last night.

When I got her home her temperature was around 101.  She slept on the couch a little while.  She didn't want anything to eat and wouldn't drink much.  She didn't want medicine, so I didn't push it. 

At 1:30 her temp was 103.5.  Then I got a little more serious.  I started quizzing her about her symptoms, but she said that just her tummy hurt.  I gave her some ibuprofen for the fever, then I asked her, "Is your tummy ache sharp or is it dull?" 

"It just hurts, Mommy."

"Does it feel hot or squeezy?"

"It just hurts."

After 30 minutes her temp was only down to 102.7, so I called the doctor's office.  The triage nurse said she could be seen by the doctor at 3:30, or we could take her to the ER.

"What would you do?"

"Well, if it is her appendix, you'll want to be in the ER."

So I called BJ and had him come home to take her.  Of course, of course, by the time he got there the ibuprofen had kicked in, and her temp was down to 99.  She's slept the whole time they've been there, which is extremely unusual for her.  The nurse at the ER says it doesn't look like appendicitis, but they were still waiting on the doctor when BJ called a half hour ago.

The hardest part, for me, and I know it's not all about me but it's my blog, damnit...  The hardest part for me is that I'm not there.  An ER is no place for a newborn, and I would have had to take Jack (he's exclusively breastfed, and I can't pump).  Honestly, BJ is better at this sort of thing, anyway.  He stays calm and doesn't make big scared eyes when they bring out the needles like I do.  Claire is driving me insane (she doesn't know what to do with herself when MG's not around) and I'm so worried (what if it's pneumonia?).  I'm relieved that it's not her appendix, but I feel a little stupid for sending them to the ER now.  I guess BJ joked with the nurse about taking away my internet connection. 

Parenting is hard.  If I hadn't called the doctor's office and it had been her appendix, I'd feel stupid AND I might have a really sick kid on my hands, so I'd rather feel dumb with a kid who doesn't need surgery.  And I'd rather feel dumb ...........

Holy shit - BJ just called and the doctor IS worried about her appendix, so they're doing a CT scan.

I liked it better when I was wrong.  Oh God.

No Big Thing

Well, that was manageable!

Scarlet fever sounds like a big freaking deal, especially when you've read a lot of books set in the 19th century, but it really wasn't.  We treated the itching with Benadryl (orally) and Calamine lotion (externally), the fever with Tylenol and Motrin, and the infection with antibiotics.  Two days later, and she's fine.  We didn't even have to take all her toys out back and burn them. 

I think we tend to forget how lucky we are to live in a time of abundant and accessible medicine.  We get so caught up in the health care crisis (and believe me, with as much as our health insurance costs - more than our mortgage - there's no doubt that it's a crisis!) that we forget how very very lucky we are that we don't have to sit and wait for our children to die of simple infections.  100 years ago, they didn't even have Tylenol.  The best you could do for your sick kid was to liquor (or coke!) 'em up and hope for the best.  There was no FDA to make sure that whatever snake oil you were giving your kids was even safe.  But I can easily imagine that trying something would've been preferable to doing nothing.

Parents then didn't love their children any less than we love our kids now.  They weren't less attached to them.  The only insulation they may have had against the heartbreak that would come from losing a child was that it was such a common experience back then.  Walk through any old cemetery and you'll see dozens and dozens of tiny headstones with a single date on them, or with a horribly short span between two dates. 

And here we are, a century later, and parents can and do elect to refuse vaccinations that our great-grandparents couldn't have imagined, and would have given anything to have for their kids.  We've never seen an iron lung, and if we see a kid with leg braces or in a wheelchair, it's unusual.  Few people walk around with scarred skin or rotten teeth.  And while children still die young, it's a rare and unexpected tragedy.  I've heard so many people say, "Parents shouldn't outlive their kids," when someone dies young, but the truth is that up until quite recently in human history, it was actually more common for parents to lose a kid or two (or several) than not.

Geez, for a post that started off with "everything's fine!" this has gotten awfully maudlin.  But this is what I'm thinking about today.  I'm thinking about how lucky we are that we can run out to the store and grab a bottle of Tylenol or an antibiotic for a couple bucks.  I'm thinking about how sad it is that not everyone in our modern world enjoys the same access to medicine that we do.  And I'm wondering what kinds of advancements the next 100 years will bring.  That will really be something...

Frankly Scarlet....

I wrote yesterday that Mary Grace was sick.  She slept through the night last night and woke up fairly perky, so I thought we'd seen the worst of it (the worst being 102.6 degree fevers twice yesterday).  Well, you can imagine how long that lasted...

Grandpa Bob came over this morning bright and early after he got off work, had pancakes, and looked at her throat.  He said it looked bad, but to give it another day since she was doing so much better than yesterday.  If you don't have a nurse in your family you really should get one, it's very convenient!  After he left and I got Claire and BJ out the door, I remembered that it's Friday and that I've had profoundly bad experiences with urgent care, and her fever was starting to spike again, so I decided to call and get a same-day-sick appointment.  This was at 9 am.  I spoke to Annette (LOVE her - if your doctor's office doesn't have an Annette, you should get one, but you can't have mine!) and when I told her what was going on, with the white spots on the tonsils, she said, "Yeah, we have a 10:00, you should bring her in."

"Well," I said, "As long as no one cares that I haven't had a shower..."

Turns out I had just enough time to get showered, so at about 9:15 I left MG on the couch watching Phineas and Ferb while I ran upstairs.  By the time I got back downstairs (fully dressed) at 9:30 (becoming a mother has made me hyper-efficient with personal hygiene), she was covered in a red, bumpy, itchy rash.  It came on so fast!  It was especially bad around her belly button, on her neck and shoulders, and her wrists.

At that point I was thinking, "I'm SO glad we already have a doctor's appointment!"  I threw clothes on her, put her in the car, and away we went. 

"You're welcome."

Her throat was so classically strep-looking that Dr. M didn't even do a culture (she cried a lot when I told her what they were going to do - she was afraid they'd drop the swab down her throat, poor baby).  In addition to strep throat, she also has Scarlet Fever (!!!) which was a big deal before antibiotics (see also: The Velveteen Rabbit, and Little Women) but apparently is no big thing now that we have abundant antibiotics to choose from.  (It still sounds scary, though.)

Thank Fleming!

It turns out that Scarlet Fever is a skin manifestation of the strep infection, which means that the infection in her throat is already in her systemically, which means that there's a greater risk of it going to her heart or her kidneys, so we're treating it aggressively.  He assured me that she should be much better by Sunday, and that she could even return to school Monday assuming that her fever stays down.

We waited at the doctor's office for her urinalysis to come back (negative for a UTI, hooray!).  I'll tell you what, I've had to do a clean-catch urine sample with MG twice now, and it's no fun for anybody.  "Mom, this is GROSS!" she said.  I had to agree.

Odds are that one of us, probably Claire, will have caught this by Sunday.

And then I'll become real.

It took forever to spend $80 at the pharmacy on various medicines and creams to try to keep her comfortable.  We were mainly waiting on her antibiotic.  I think they had to go out back and culture it themselves.  Then my order rang up incorrectly - the vitamins I got for the dog (whole 'nother story) didn't ring up buy one get one free - so I had to talk to the manager to get a refund.  All told, we were gone for 2-1/2 hours which is a ridiculously long time when you're little and you're sick, but she hung in like a trooper.  I guess the Oreo Blizzard didn't hurt.

It has been an exceptionally long day, and it's only 1:30.  I think I'm going to try to sneak in a nap.