Update on Life

Thanks Tuxbaby for asking how things are going!

Life has been pretty hectic since my last post. On Saturday morning, R woke up and was feeling chilled which I thought was kind of odd. I went out to do a few errands and when I came back I found out that R had taken a nap (unheard of since she was very small!) and was running a fever. The fever came and went all weekend and she was lethargic and sleepy - poor thing! By Monday she was back to her chipper self but I followed the school "rules" and kept her home because her fever didn't break until sometime Sunday evening. I think it was good to give her the day to relax and enjoy some special time with mom and dad (and E who was napping for part of the day). She didn't seem too upset about missing school so I think she realized that she needed that day too. The fever did put me a little on edge because her last fever experience was due to the Lyme Disease - however, it ran its course and she seems back on track so I have to stop worrying, I guess, and hope for the best! Motherhood is a constant source of worry -- and I hear that it never really ends. I think I tend to be a worrywart about certain things - justifiably or not - but I'm an odd mix because I would also categorize myself as an optimist and I like to find the good in things and don't want to think about the bad. A sort of a Pollyanna, if you will. Sometimes life throws me for a loop though and I am as good as the next person at wondering about the worse case scenario. So, I guess the thoughts of chronic Lyme Disease were in the back of my mind this weekend.

As for A - she has become accomstumed to the inhalant drill. She sits nicely, breathes deeply, is no longer fearful of the mask (phew), and knows that she needs to take a drink of water right after her dosage so as to avoid "nasties" in her mouth (thrush). So, things are going well on that front. Yesterday I had her parent-teacher conference at preschool and that went very well. Two of the three teachers are well acquainted with R and our family in general so it was a very comfortable meeting and it was nice to talk about how well A is doing and the fact that she felt right at home from day one because of all the time she spent there during drop-off/pick-up for R for two years. I asked about any concerns they might have in respect to her hearing ability in the noisy school environment. I know she hears well when it is one-on-one at home but this recent hearing screening 'failure' has me wondering if she has had difficulties in other situations. Thankfully, it appears that she is hearing well enough that she is getting along fine. Perhaps this Friday when we go in for her rescreening we will find that last week was a strange fluke or a very temporary situation because of fluid in her ears that the meds may have taken care of already. I'm hopeful. The rest of the meeting went well and I got to hear glowing reviews of her social/emotional/play skills, her excellent speech/language skills, her fine and gross motor skills (parent and teacher alike were celebrating her ability to pump herself on the swings which is a recently acquired skill!), and her status as a "great model" for others at circle time where she sits attentively, listens well, and shares appropriately her thoughts and ideas. That's my girl! She is such a sweetheart who is empathetic and kind but with a dash of temper when she feels she is justified! LOL She is loving her first year at preschool and the teachers love having her in the class.

As for little E. She is nearly one! Her big day is on Thursday and I have yet to finalize plans for that special celebration. My in-laws will be coming over for dinner that evening and we are just planning a small family party with dinner, cake and ice cream and of course presents. Her big present is a Radio Flyer wagon that her sisters can pull her around the yard in -- I think the big girls will like it as much, if not more, than their littlest sister. I have plans for A to go on a playdate on Thursday afternoon with a preschool friend so I have time to get ready for the evening celebration. Like it or not, there will be a full recounting of the event complete with messy cake snapshots of the birthday girl later in the week.

Rick was also on the casualty list this past weekend. On Sunday he started with a sore throat and clogged sinuses. He felt pretty crappy much of yesterday but is back to work today and feeling quite a bit better - he is finding those zinc cold lozenges to be helpful in kicking the cold pretty quickly. I can't take extra zinc while nursing which is a bummer but my immune systems seems to be doing a better job of keeping the colds at bay for some reason...thankfully! And somehow we are rarely sick at the same time which is a blessing in an of itself! Having him home yesterday was actually a boon for me (albiet at his expense!) because I was able to get a lot of running around accomplished sans kids! I had to do the preschool drop-off and pick-up, go to the parent-teacher conference, run a grocery errand, drop snacks off at R's classroom, and bring A to and from gymnastics. Busy day - but having Rick home made it a lot less stressful (for me! LOL).

Today is another busy one. I did preschool drop-off and ran to Target for a few things. Now I need to have a quick lunch and E is currently napping. At 12:30 I need to leave to pick up A from preschool and then we are driving down the "big mall" where they have a portrait studio at JC Penney so I can have A's 4-year and E's 1-year portraits taken. I realized last week that I had not yet made time to do it and I wanted it over and done with. Call me obsessive but I have a thing about these yearly portraits. I love having them to look back on a to see their progression as they age and in part my personal obsession comes from having relatively few pictures of myself to look at because I was baby #5!! I am already behind on E's baby photo album and I am trying desparately to catch up because I want all of them to have their own pictures to look back on and I want to make sure I have those memories to cherish forever. They grow up way too fast... So, anyway, we have a time crunch this afternoon because their appointment is for 1:20 and of course it is really two sittings we are dealing with and I need to be back on the road by about 2:45 so I am home in plenty of time to get R off the 3:30 bus! Plus, R has her 4:00 art class today!! Phew. So, lots of running around and a small prayer that it all goes smoothly. I realize that I am doing this to myself - so I am trying to keep it in perspective and just get through the day, the week, the month. October is a busy month and we have yet to even get into the full swing of the "holiday season" and all that entails. What was I thinking when I practically "planned" these two October babies? ;-)

Ah well, it's all good stuff so who am I to kvetch? I had book club last night and we talked about a great book that I think I mentioned here before. It is called A Walk on the Beach by Joan Anderson and it's about a friendship she formed with Joan Erikson (wife of psychoanalyst Erik Erikson) that occurs on Cape Cod when she is in her 50's and Joan Erikson is in her 90's. It is a great read with a lot of great quotes about keeping yourself open to new experiences and finding joy in every day things and always taking the time to play no matter how old you are. I need to keep some of those quotes handy when I find myself getting too caught up in the daily grind. It also talks about keeping your body moving and fit because it is the only thing you have to get you through this life. Treat it kindlly and keep it moving so it has the strength to get you through all the learning, living, and doing of life. It was a very quick read and although I could not completely identify with either character I found a lot of great wisdom in the book and it makes me want to read more about and by Erik and Joan Erikson.

Our next book is less "real" and perhaps a fair bit less thought-provoking. But, I'm looking forward to it nonetheless. We are reading Zorro by Isabel Allende. I'll let you know what I think when I've finished - which has to be in a few weeks when the book club meets again!

Ok, time for some lunch and then the crazies of the day will continue!