05/09/2013

I do need to do a proper catch up (Again...)

however, I'll just quickly say some things.

I've been dealing with:

a 5 year old who is discovering that he is individual, different and independent young person. He turned 6 last month (SIX!! Where did that time go?!?!) He's like a tween. Not a not quite kid-not quite teenager... He's not quite a little kid-not quite big kid kind of tween. And it shows. There's more attitude, door slamming, yelling, back chatting - all sorts of fun. But then there's the grown up part of him that makes me so proud to be his mother. He seems to understand things. More than a 6 year old should. Life things, really.  Then again, he's all sorts of clever, but can then totally not get a simple concept.  Makes life interesting.

A 2 year old.  Says it all, really, doesn't it. On the one hand, it's to be expected. She's 2. On the other hand, she's a TOTALLY different 2 year old to what J was. He was quite and easily calmed (and pretty much still is), and E is just go go go, not even stopping to drop from exhaustion. She has started to become more understandable by outsiders, speaks really well (and I've been asked independently by several people if she's 3 and not 2...) I don't really remember much of J being 2, but E can count to 13, knows some of the alphabet, can recognise 1 or 2 letters when shown. We've recently been learning some sign language colours and words at the library and she's picked them up really easily. However, she's had to go into daycare for 2 weeks recently and since then she's become a screaming mess. She was sick with a bug going round by the end of it. Pretty much since then she's had separation anxiety, bad. She's screaming, whinging, crying, "pick me up" on me all the time. She will push past her tired limit *just* to spend more time with me. Eventually, she drops or  she asks to go to bed (but only during the day). It is exhausting. On a heaps more positive note, E toilet trained within 2 weeks. She started just before she started at daycare (because I had 2 weeks of prac). By the end of the fortnight, she was mostly accident free. Last week, just one accident (and it wasn't when we were out in the car ALL day for fathers day). This week, all of a sudden, she knows she needs to poo. So, pretty much, we can ditch the day time nappies. Just the night time to go now! I'm so proud of  her. She's pretty much done it all by herself. One day, she just woke up and seemed to know what to do. So proud!

A husband going through a mental health crisis. Months now, really, since before I started my own anti-depressants. He's been seeing someone for it, and then we could both see it wasn't working. Then he decided to stop all the meds the psych put him on, which screwed him around, but actually made him better. Now he's on some other medication and is doing quite well. He seems to back to 'normal'. It was hard to help him through all that. The ups, downs, nothings, everything all at once, the yelling, the say absolutely nothing...

Potty success!

Eden told me today that she needed to do a wee. She's been saying this for a few days now, so I  humoured her and sat her on the potty, and she did a wee! OMG! Later she told me she needed to poo, which normally means that she's already done one, but nope, she sat on that potty and did one! She later told me she needed to wee again, but had an accident instead... It's like she woke up this morning knowing what her body needed to do! She reckons can do it again tomorrow, will have to be seen to be believed!

A catch up in photos from 10 June to 20 June

At my mum's place, jumping in muddy puddles!

holy moly! Look how long her hair is!

Earning pocket money! 20c for this job!

Pick your battles! To get her to sleep,
E wanted to sleep on the floor, at the bookshelf, under her teddy rug.

My baby had a tongue full of cold sores! Lasted a week.
She was in so much pain.

My babies at my cousin's engagement party

So happy together, even early in the morning!

J's imagination made him a tent/tunnel out of a foldable clothesline and some towels!

E found a skateboard. And tried to use it properly. I can see broken arms in our future!

Fire!

A bit of excitement here yesterday.

J wanted to be at school early, but it was a good decision not to leave so early. We were sitting on the couch, doing some sight words, when I said to him that I could smell smoke. I looked around, but there was nothing. I just assumed that it was coming from a neighbours place. We continued with the sight words and I could smell it stronger. I looked around again, and out in the pool area was plumes of smoke!

I managed to keep the kids inside (they could see everything!) and called Andrew's parents saying "IT'S ON FIRE!"

They told me to turn the electric switch off (and there's one next to the pool pump) and I repeated "IT'S ON FIRE" coz I felt like they didn't get it. I didn't call them because I wanted them to come and rescue us, I called them to let them know.

I flicked the switch for the pool, but it flicked back to on. I flicked it off again, and it went straight back on. So I flipped the safety switch (which turned the whole power off).

Then I did something stupid. J called out to me saying "we need a fire extinguisher!"  I called back saying we didn't have one. Turns out we did - two, in fact! - but I didn't know it. The stupid thing I did was hose the fire. Even though I know you don't hose an electrical fire, I did it anyway. My brain seemed to be only able to think about how you put out a oil/grease fire or a wood fire, and not an electrical one.

Apparently I'm lucky to be alive.

medication

This medication is working! I feel so much better! I don't feel anything like I did.  I'm so much calmer in the evening and don't feel gloomy during the day.

Previously, I wrote about the fact I wasn't hungry. Well, it turns out this medication has that effect. It has an appetite suppressant. It is FANTASTIC!! Although I snack, I probably eat one decent meal a day. It's usually between breakfast and lunch, always after school drop off. Normally, some bacon, 2 eggs and a bit of salmon..

So at dinner time, I'm just feeding the kids. Makes for quick clean up.

Andrew's not eating at dinner much either (but he takes what's left over from the kids dinner for lunch), so when I go grocery shopping next week, it's going to be so much cheaper!!

toilet talk #2

Eden woke up again with a dry nappy, and then sat on the toilet and did a wee when we all got up. She was so proud of herself!! Now we just need to be able to keep doing this!

Toilet talk

Eden woke up today, while we're away overnight, sat for a while then told me she wants to do a wee (coz J told her he was going to the toilet). Normally she says stuff like that coz she just wants to do what J is doing. Anyway, J came back and they both went to the toilet. He helped her take her pj's off and nappy off and put her onto the toilet. He told me to come up and look at her. She had a dry nappy, and even done a wee in the toilet. Omg. So proud!