I No Longer Want Normal and Boring.

About three weeks ago, I cried out and begged to be boring, to have a boring life. To be mundane and normal. After bad weather and sickness and a kidney infection and a whole list of things that were unplanned and disrupted my idea of what needed to happen, I was frustrated and just needed normalacy and for life to be calm and quiet.

Then, I got some texts and calls that showed me that life was not going to be "normal" soon.  I had a week between the three kids where I was unable to do much work hours at all. I became frustrated and grumpy. All I wanted was calm and quiet, not more and more insanity. The icing on the cake was that we were throwing my sons birthday party this past weekend. I didn't even want to celebrate. I grew so bitter and angry. Why me? And despite the posts that I had written about self-pity, I felt some of it deep inside me.

We got swept into a life of crazyness, and none of it was our own doing. We didn't create the situation bringing my nephew into our house. We didn't make the kids get sick or make the snow/ice cover the streets, cancelling school. We didn't infect our babysitter. And all of this happened right after I cried out for God to make our life peaceful. We got arguements, grumpiness, sadness, tears, temper tantrums, mean and angry texts and phone calls, screaming matches with my husband, etc.

But, I have been posting about how these things, these times of struggle, bring us closer to God. And then, I just read this:

"The Franciscan priest Richard Rohr points out that Native Americans have a tradition of leaving a blemish in one corner of the rug they are weaving because they believe that's where the spirit enters. I can relate to the rugs. I want desparately for things to go 'how they're supposed to.' Which is another way of saying 'how I want them to,' which is another way of saying 'according to my plan.' And that, as we all know, isn't how it works. But it's in that disappointment, in that confusion, in that pain - the pain that comes from things not going how I wanted them to - that I find the same thing happening, again and again. I come to the end of myself, to the end of my power, the end of my strength, the end of my understanding, only to find in that place of powerlessness a strength and peace that weren't there before. I keep discovering that it's in the blemish that the Spirit enters." [an excerpt from the book Drops Like Stars by Rob Bell]

Ok, so crap. Seriously, in the margin, I wrote, "Holy crap. This is me. This is my life."

I desparately want boring, but I cannot grow with boredom like I can through struggling. It's like that muscle analogy that I posted about earlier this week with the Father Fiction book. (See, it really is surrounding me.) I need to have those places in my life where I am weak, where I am imperfect, where the Holy Spirit can enter into me and my life.

Otherwise, we return to that place where we are bored. Where we were before the affair when we become so "comfortable" that we no longer try, that we give up, that we do not struggle and turn to God and fight our battles, but where we are so numb that we don't move forward.

"If we aren't careful, our success and security and abundance can lead to a certain sort of boredom, a numbing predictability, a paralyzing indifference that comes from being too comfortable...Death by wallpaper and flooring." [Also an excerpt from Drops Like Stars.]

So, I may need to change my prayers and my plea and my cry for my life. I don't want to be boring and dull and comfortable. But, if God feels like He can ease my load a little, I'm okay with that...hehe. But, I need to continually remember to chose to to look at my trials and struggles as opportunity, not punishment.

Sometimes, Believing is Full of Lies.

More posting on Father Fiction by Donald Miller...

"A person who believes he is stupid is worse than a person who is stupid."

Oh...geesh.

The key word is believe.

When you believe that you are stupid, you behave stupidly. When you believe that you are bad, you behave badly. When you never have anyone telling you as a child that you are worthy, you believe that you are unworthy.

I was raised by a mom who was firm in her methods of parenting and one thing that I took from her that I have encorporated into our parenting is this: You never ever tell a child that they are bad, or stupid, or ugly, or anything negative. Their actions may be bad and their attitude may be ugly, but those things can be changed. But when you tell a kid, "You are stupid. You are a bad kid. You are ugly." they internalize those things and use them as defining factors for who they are.

I have told Isa, when she's misbehaving, that her attitude is ugly and needs changed. And, then she changes it. We have told her that she is behaving badly, but then she changes her behavior. After each misbehavior, we talk and confirm that we love her, even when she's being naughty or ornery or anything, we will always love her. You also never ever tell a child that your love is dependent on their behavior.

But, what happens when parenting like this doesn't occur? What happens to the kids who are told that they are bad or ugly or stupid? Or to the kids that assume that because their parents are not around or who do not want them or who just do not parent? The kids often struggle more to find their place as a productive member of society. They believe these things, these negative things about themselves and their lives, and they their actions reflect that. Just look at statistics of dropouts and incarcerated young adults...and look at their home lives.

What beliefs about yourself do you need to change?

Birthday Party Procrastination

Generally, I'm on top of the game. I have birthday parties scheduled a month in advance with an awesome list of to do's and games and even a menu planned way ahead of party day. Then, I spend the week or two before the party preparing the games, buying all the necessary trinkets and candies and food items, packing gift bags, etc.

This time, not so much. I'm feeling similar to a chicken with it's head chopped off.

It started when I refused to pick a date for the party. I knew that it had to be somewhere around his birthday, but was more than willing to wait until mid-March if I had to. I am beginning to strongly dislike chaos. But, Jose pushed me to pick a day, so finally, I called the church and asked if tomorrow today was available to use the fellowship hall (we have a large family...and when you add in friends, there is no way everyone would fit in our house. Isa's last birthday had over 50 attendees. Seriously...).

The same day that I reserved the hall, I put up a facebook invite and sent out messages to the invited. Then, I did nothing.

On Wednesday, Teo's actual birthday, Jose struck up the conversation in the car on the way home and asked what the plan was..."What plan?" was my reply. I asked if we could just have people come, eat lunch with us, do the cake and ice cream, open gifts and leave. He told me that I was being lazy.

What games do 2-year-olds play? I don't remember adding games into Isa's parties until at least three. So, in his darling attempt to help, he suggested musical chairs. I retorted that Teo couldn't even get INTO the chairs...so, we agreed to disagree for the time being.

Last night, Jose took Teo to the store and bought the food we needed and didn't already have stocked. Chili dogs, hot dogs, chili, PB&Js, chips, and soda.

Tonight, I finally gave in and agreed to go to the party store, only to find out that their hours Monday - Friday are 9 AM to 5 PM. Seriously? Urg. So, we ended up shopping in a nearby plaza and getting the things for gift bags. And after dropping the kids off to my mom and enjoying a nice dinner just the two of us, we returned home to watch a stupid movie and pack treat bags. Fifty treat bags. Then, when the movie ended, Jose took his place in the kitchen (hehe) and I began to be artsy fartsy. I made a mask for crafts and used my printer to make copies (something that I was extremely grateful for because for Isa's 4th birthday, I hand-drew about 30 monster masks), then painted the board for a game of Pin The Tail.

The craft and the game are on the table, waiting to be taken to the church tomorrow later today after we sleep. Jose has made the PB&Js and is finishing up the cake (photos will come after the party). When we wake up, he will make the rest of the lunch and I am going to beg to run to get a quick haircut. We also need to run somewhere to buy our son his birthday gift (which I have no idea what to buy) and then, we will go to the church and set up everything and just wait for the party to begin.

But for now, I need to write my list of things to do tomorrow, in detail, or else I am sure I will forget:

• Call mom to get hole punch
• Take scissors
• Take crayon box
• Grab yarn
• Take goodie bags, board, tails, mask copies
• Buy gift
• Get haircut (I hope)
• Take all the food
• Grab camera and extra batteries
• Buy forks (everywhere we go, they are sold out of disposable forks...weird!)
• Grab scotch tape
• Buy candles (where do these things go after each birthday?!)
• Pack Isa's stuff (she's going to a slumber party straight from the birthday party)
• Go to church
• Blow up balloons
• Set up games and craft table
• Wait
• Eat
• Have fun
• Spoil my son
• Play games
• Cake
• Open gifts
• Go home and nap

Later ya'll. I need to crash!

My Little Sucker-Upper

When you have a Teo, you need nothing else.

Yesterday, we babysat Miss Kirra (she turned one this week!). Within two minutes of walking in the door and realizing that her mom was going to leave her here, she began to throw a fit. In effort to calm her down, her mommy brought out the little container where she stored her puffs. Miss Kirra was obviously distraught and in her arm flailing, knocked the entire container to the floor, puffs and all. However, have no fear, within ten minutes of knocking them to the floor, the puffs were all gone. Teo ate them. One by one from the floor.

Today, the kids decided to color and do crafts, thus bringing out Isa's craft stuff (a bag and a container full of markers, crayons, stencils, paints, glue, paper, stickers, etc.). They were being fairly quiet so I didn't think much of it. Until Teo puts his hand out to show me his newest "snack"...the watercolor pebbles that he had turned into paint with his saliva. His hands and face were covered with watercolor paint. (Thanks Jill for buying a ton of watercolors, leaving them here, and ensuring that they were nontoxic.)

Flood.

When it rains, it pours. When it pours, it floods. That's basically where my life has gone....flooded.

I can't even put things together enough to write a coherant blog post...there is so much going on in my mind...so, to spare you all, I'm not even going to try.

Here's just an idea of what I will be explaining in detail at some point of time in the future:

• My dad called, but I didn't accept the call. I need to write him a letter.
• My sister-in-law called and we are going to help her out. We need to re-arrange some things in the house.
• Isa woke up this morning with a 102.7 fever and then threw up. She will be home with me tomorrow.
• Our sleep patterns have been shot to hell this weekend. Friday night, we went to sleep at 2 AM. I got woken up at 5 AM by a phone call requiring me to leave. I returned home and went back to sleep around 11 AM and I slept until about 2 PM. Last night, we didn't fall asleep until 4 AM and woke up around 8 AM, but went back to sleep until about 10 AM when Isa finally woke up. We returned to take a nap around 1 PM and slept until about 5 PM. Now, it's 11 PM and I know I need to go to bed. But my brain seems to think differently.
• My son broke a wine glass that I painted for heARTworks, now, I need to redo it. It pretty much rocked too.
• My home needs some loving attention. The dust on my mantel is high enough that you cannot see the original wood color (mostly thanks to all the sanding that Jose did to the house in January). The laundry pile that needs folded is large enough that an elephant would be scared. The craft room's mess could hide small vehicle. Ugh. I need a maid.

I'm pretty sure that I jinxed myself last week when I stated that I really want a boring life. When I can think straight, I'll fill in some missing pieces...if you pray, please just shoot out some little prayers for our little family. Thank you.

Confessions of a Real Life Mommy #14, 15, & 16

#14. I cannot wait until spring. Not because of the weather, but because Isa is outgrowing her pants and I need her to be able to wear flood pants capri pants without raising questions because I don't want to buy new jeans.

#15. Last Sunday, Jose and I slept in. Isa and Teo woke up and went downstairs to watch a movie. Isa made them cereal and they were quiet. When we began to get ready for church, we figured out why they were so well behaved. There was a trail of Hershey Kiss wrappers that stretched from the foyer (where a bag was located in Isa's backpack from her Valentine's Party at school) all the way through the living room, dining room and kitchen. I believe they ate at least half a bag. I secretly laughed a lot. And deep down, I was still very thankful for being able to sleep past 8 AM.

#16. Also on Sunday, less than an hour of finding out about the Hershey Kiss raid, we grabbed fast food for breakfast on the way to church. Not thinking, Jose ordered three diet sodas. Yes, after our kids ate half a bag of chocolate, we gave them soda. At least it was diet, right? [It was just a rough morning all the way around!]

Confessions of a Real Life Mommy #7, 8, 9, & 10

#7. Isa has a drawer under her bed that is broken. Instead of fixing it, we just emptied it, pushed it in, and told her not to use it.

#8. Teo would rather wear his potty seat around his head than use it. I'd rather not fight with him about it until he starts using it, so it's a common accessory.

#9. The first thing we taught our kids once they could walk was to throw their own diapers away. It just makes sense.

#10. I don't think that either of my kids has worn matching socks in over 4 months. See Confession #3 for more info.

Who Says "Stop, Drop, and Roll" Only Applies To Fire?

Isa's been having some issues at school. A few weeks back, she recieved a yellow card in a class for talking. Then, about a week later, I got a call from her other teacher saying that she was disruptive and talking and being kind of rude.

Upon talking to Isa afterwards, some things came up.

1. She doesn't seem to be challenged. Her homework is simple to her. The assignments and worksheets being done are things that she has been doing for years.

2. She is being bullied. There is a boy in her class that she says is mean to her and her friends. This little boy calls them stupid and other things. And he acts like he is going to hit them. She said it makes her mad. I asked what they do about it, if they argue with him, hit him, or what? She said they tell the teacher, but he only gets time taken off of recess.

So, since I can't do much to teach this other kid how to behave, I had to figure out a way to teach my daughter to not be quite so bothered by him so that she can better focus at school. I asked her what we should do. I'm not sure what she was thinking my question was, but she replied, "Stop, drop and roll?"

Uh. Sure. I ran with it. So, we set out a plan of "Stop, drop and roll" to help her deal with this kid.

First, STOP. This means stop the contact with him as much as possible. Stop the conversation. Walk away. Ignore him. Whatever it takes.

Next, DROP. Drop the issue. Drop the anger and emotions that stem from him being mean. We talked about how she is smart and beautiful and a good person, so whatever mean things that are said are not valid, and they don't matter.

And ROLL. Roll onto the next thing. If he's mean at recess, then class begins, go into class with a new mindset and ready to learn. If he's mean during reading time, then you go to do worksheets, focus on the worksheet and not what he did during reading time.

Now, my five year old can recite these to you at any point (assuming she won't be shy about it), and I can only hope that she implements the actions as well at school as she does at home. When she starts to get tempermental here at the house, we simply remind her to "stop, drop, and roll" and she is able to do so with a smile on her face. Her beautiful face.

My Son....My Personal Pain in the Butt

See this lil' guy...? He has been my personal pain in the butt since before he was born. And he has definately set it as his personal standard...

When I was pregnant, I had gestational diabetes. When they induced me about two weeks early, I figured it would be cake. I mean, seriously, I had my daughter without any pain meds, so the second one is easier, right? Wrong. This kid's mission has been to be a booger in my behind.

I demanded an epidural after just a few hours of being in labor. I attributed it to being exhausted from the rough pregnancy. However, it was more than that. His entire labor was more than that [but that's a different story for a different day]. When he finally was ready to grace this world with his presence, the first words I remember out of my petite Asian doctor's mouth was, "Oh! He's sunny side up!"

In real people terms, that means that he decided to be born face up instead of the normal face down. So what's the big deal? That means that the back of his skull rubbed down each and every one of my vertibrae as he traveled the birth canal. Fun.

So, now, he continues to hold his standard of pain-in-the-buttness high. Today is a perfect example.

This is a photo taken by our amazing neighbor, Deanna.

This afternoon, we had a playdate...about five or so other kids came to join Teo in lunch, playing and just having fun. After about ten complaints of Teo hitting them, one other boy requested to play the wii. No problem. I had him choose a game to play and I turned on the tv and the wii. Hit eject. Grinding noise, but nothing comes out. Hit eject again. Still nothing. So, I try to insert the disk for the game he wanted to play...but it won't go in. I look closer. I disconnect the wii and hold it upside down.

Out falls about five coins.

I shake it. Out comes about three more.

So, I hook it back up but there is still something blocking the disk from ejecting, so I wait for my husband to come home. He takes it apart and lo and behold, about four more coins.

That was more than enough of a pain in the buttness for me today. But, obviously not for Mateo...

So, around nine, Jose puts him to bed. Of course, I didn't expect him to sleep, but he was quiet, so I left him to do his own thing and wear down. Then, I heard plastic, like a grocery bag rustling...so I snuck upstairs to see what he was doing. There he stood in the mess that he had created.

He had pulled all the toilet paper that he could reach out of our stockpile. He also pulled out everything else he could grab. And shredded about two rolls of toilet paper that were strung across the hallway.

I put him back into bed. Cleaned the hall. And haven't heard him moving around since...hopefully.

He is lucky that he is so darn cute...

Co-Sleeping with Mr. Jibber Jabber

I have never been an advocate for or against co-sleeping. When it was necessary for me to get two hours of sleep with newborns, I co-slept. For my son, what that meant was that every night since birth for at least three months, I slept on my back with him laying on my chest until he eventually figured it out. Actually, until we figured it out, meaning a way to "trick" him into sleeping, which resulted in many nights of him sleeping in a car seat. Don't judge me. I had a LOT to deal with at that time.

Anyways, the carseat thing was a means to begin the process of self-soothing and allowing him to sleep on his own. As soon as he was sleeping flat on a mattress insead of in the carseat, he was moved to his crib in his own room. (Isa slept in her crib in our living room from the time we brought her home. We had a 1 bedroom apartment, so the living room became her oasis.) I do not think there is need to keep my kids in the room with me while I sleep. I also do not judge those who do. I know myself to know that I would fret and freak out about every peep and squeak made when they are next to me, so as soon as they are sleeping well on their own, they are in a separate room.

With both kids, we switched them from cribs to toddler beds early on. Isa was probably 2 or so when we made the switch. Teo was barely one. He loved going into Isa's room to lay (and play and jump and fall off of) her toddler bed, so when her feet began to hang off the edge and we got her a twin bed, we saw no reason to wait to make the switch. And, I believe it was a good choice. He adjusted well and he adjusted quickly. His room was already very baby proofed, and in case you didn't notice, Teo is twice the size of a kid his age (then and now). So the change to a toddler bed last spring was a success.

However, when we made the change, we also implemented the use of a baby gate in his doorway during naptime and night night time. He never climbs it or kicks it down (although he definately could if he just thought about it). The gate was not just to keep him in his room, but to protect him from the nearby stairs and from the dangerous small toys in the neighboring bedroom and more. But, since then, he has mastered going up and down the stairs, he has grown knowledgeable on where sissy's room is and where mommy and daddy's room is. And Isa has began to take it as her task to release him from his gated prison. So, as soon as he was awake, the gate came down, whether mommy or daddy knew or not. (I am sure this is a secret agreement amongst them, as their early morning routine includes playing quietly in Isa's bedroom, watching a video and eating whatever Isa has gotten for their breakfast, whether Mommy or Daddy are awake or not.) So, in the past week, the gate has slowly but surely become an option, not a necessity.

Last night, around 3:30 AM, I was waken from a deep sleep by wiggling and a tiny voice just talking and talking next to me in my bed. I have no idea what baby talk jibberish was being said, nor am I sure what all the movement was about. I have no clue how long he had been there. But, there he was, my lil' Teo...chatting away, wiggling to his hearts content, sandwiched between Jose and I in our bed. He seemed to be oblivious to the fact that Mom and Dad were not listening nor paying attention. That we were deep asleep. So, slowly, as I began to wake up, I talked softly with him and we spent about 15 minutes of chitter chatter, before I tried to awake Daddy to return Teo to his bed. I love his words. As I'm trying to shake Jose, all I hear is "DaDa. Nigh Nigh. BaBa. DADA!"

I am sure that this too will run its course and there will be a point where I get frustrated by this (I know this for a fact because the five year old little girl that we find in our bed causes me literal backaches with how she takes over the mattress), but right now, it makes me smile.

Isa's Circus

I wanted to post pix of Isa's birthday, better late than never. And I didn't get many photos. It's a tough job to run the party AND take photos. :( It was a blast however! I can't believe my baby girl is FIVE!!!

Friday night, Isa was allowed to invite two friends over. Introducing Tressa and Nessa. They had a blast: hide and seek, ordering pizza, playing Just Dance on the wii, making cookies, watching a movie and eating popcorn and apples, they went to bed easily. Sadly, when they went to bed, Mommy and Daddy were just getting started: making food and baking and decorating the cake...

The party started at noon. We had lunch, then games, before doing cake and presents. Isa loved her cake and was so excited (as is any child) about gifts!

I can't believe she's five...does it get easier to deal with them getting older?

Any Guesses?

So, does anyone wanna guess why I'm lightheaded?

Wanna guess why my bathroom smells like this combination of citrus, mint, and bleach?

Anybody wanna take a gander at why I just went through two toothbrushes and a rag?

Wanna take a stab at it? Come'n.....

Okay, so let's take a guess at how the large bright blue spots got onto the new (less than a year old) tiling? Wanna guess why they were permanent and are STILL not coming up entirely after a intense cleaning session of 409, rinse, bleach, rinse, and toothpaste, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat?

Yea, I don't know either...

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Saves the Day

My day was long and mentally tiring. It was great. I loved it. The conversations, the thoughts. I really had a great day. But it made me tired. So, I listened to Ingred Michaelson on the ride home. LOUD. Enough said.

When I arrived, I was greeted by a very rambunctious duo. It should have been my warning for the night.

In the next hour, I stripped my son down to his diaper because he likes to play with the chocolate syrup, started a load of laundry because his chocolate covered clothes transferred mess to my clothes when he decided to jump on me, had to deal with a million mini freakout tantrums, got my coupon binders ran over by a high chair, pulled a Suduku book out of the toilet, got headbutted in the face, had kids jumping all over me, and much more!
So, finally, I submitted to powers stronger than me and permitted the tv to turn on. Within seconds, both kids were silent, sitting on the couch, entranced by Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was pretty awesome.

I'm not sure if I should be joyous or sad that they are so enamored by that movie... I love it. I love that they love it. They would rather watch musicals and things like that than stupid cartoons like Spongebob. But still, they do love the tv and that is kinda a bummer.

Often I wonder what other families do about tv and movie rules. Is there an amount of time set per day? How do you keep track? Is it a reward kinda thing? Hmmm....

My unintentional week.

This week, intentional time has been few and far between. Actually, anything intentional has possibly flewn out the window. Since the start of the week, we have been nothing but schedule changes, inconsistancies, and floops. What? You don't know what a floop is? Me either. It just sounds about right.

Monday's major event was registering Isa for school. She is official. Kindergarten starts in a couple weeks. Teachers are Ms. Smith and Sra. Frabel. We have a teacher conference next week to meet the teacher. I have already met Sra. Frabel and am not her largest fan, but maybe she will show me that she's a better teacher than my first impression. She's the one who evaluated Isa for early admission.

Monday also marked the end to our first 12 week series of 24/7 Dad. It was bittersweet. There were three guys who completed the course and through it all, we all grew fairly close. Now, to know that we will not be meeting once a week, was hard. But it was wonderful to hear them give their thoughts and opinions of how the class has affected their lives.

Tuesday was one of my days home with the kids. They simply drove me crazy. It was a very hot and muggy day. And with our lack of central air, it was difficult to keep the house cool enough for us not to go insane. The kids got the vibe, I'm sure, because they were extra nerve wrecking with their arguements and misbehavings. I survived. Barely. And when Jose got home, he helped Isa clean her room.

The agreement was if she cleaned her room, we could go to Chuck E. Cheese. I believe Jose saw the need for Chuck E. Cheese to calm my nerves and to cool us all down, so he cleaned with her to make it happen. We skipped the church softball game (which was their first win) and met my sister at Chuck E. Cheese, for a night of fun, food and cool air. When we returned home, both kids easily went to bed and my wits were restored.

Tuesday also marked the day when the neighbor, John, came knocking on my door, asking if we knew anyone who could use a couch, free. I had just taken Teo out of the bath, so I was slightly distracted by his naked butt running around the foyer as I spoke to John, so I just told him I'd check around. When I texted Jose, he reminded me that WE need a new couch. So, I went next door and asked if we could have it. By the end of the day, we got a new couch and a new recliner for our living room. The old chair returned to its lair in the basement and the couch is in the dining room waiting for a new home.

Wednesday was another work day. Meetings, meetings, meetings was the jist of it. Good meetings though. During the few moments that I was home, I recieved another knock at the door which led to the neighbor giving us a cabinet thing (like for an entry area), a chalk board, a large glass mirror, and a built in bar area (for the basement). Last night, we got it all downstairs and I believe I sweated about ten pounds of water off.

Today (Thursday) has also been very random.  The kids woke me up kinda early, so after breakfast, I allowed cartoons and play. Teo did basically every single thing he could have to get in trouble. Every time he was sent to timeout, he was giggling. So, by 9:45, he was sent up for a nap (usually, he goes down at 10). Now, at 11:45, he is still awake. Screaming. Throwing things. He is simply fighting sleep and his desire for independence and stubborn struggle has worn me down. I went up to calm him down about a half hour ago, and he ended up sitting in bed, giving milk from his sippy cup to each of his stuffed friends in his bed. Afterwards, he would lick them. (I have NO idea!) I have gotten to the point where it is now a battle of willpower, so I will not give in and let him out of his room without a nap. He is so tired. When I was up there, he kept rubbing his eyes, laying down and relaxing for a split second before he realized he was at ease, then tensing back up and starting to scream and cry again. The silence is lasting a little longer and longer each time now, so soon, he will be asleep, I hope.

Isa and I have dentist appointments at 2 PM. McKenzie and Scott with be babysitting Teo here for the short amount of time that we will be gone. I pray that he becomes a normal kid by then. I'll let you know...

Yes, Miss Isa, There are Genetic Abnormalities...

Isa kept complaining of an ouchie in her mouth. Sunday morning, she even demanded a bandaid for the inside of her mouth. I had to tell her "no" through my laughter.

I assumed that she bit her cheek or something. Never assume. We all know what that means.

Sunday night, Jose was going to poke her in the mouth and tease her about the gap in her teeth and when he went to do so, noticed that there was something protruding from the top of her mouth right behind her two front teeth.

That's right ladies and gentlemen, that there is a tooth.

So, first thing Monday morning, we call the dentist. The lady never asks questions about why I want my daughter seen, but sets up an appoingment for 10:40 AM. We go. The dental hygenist was nice and quirky. When explaining the tooth, she shrugged it off saying that it happened all the time that kids' permanent teeth fail to push out the baby teeth. Usually, it's on the bottom, she said. Usually, the kid is a couple years older, she stated. Then she saw the tooth. Oh, boy, was she intrigued. Doesn't look like a permanent tooth, she said. She discussed the statistical analysis of the possibilities. She prepped for an x-ray. Isa just sat there, calm as a cucumber, listening to the chatter and piping in when necessary.

As I predicted, the x-ray showed five teeth: two permanent teeth still embedded, two baby teeth, and an extra. (Turn your head or the computer screen sideways to properly view the x-ray.) The dentist came in and referred us to a pediatric dentist who specializes in kid's teeth and procedures on kids.

I called and explained the situation. They managed to squeeze us in a couple hours after the phone call at 1:30 PM. I dropped off Jose and Isa at the dentist (because we were running late, as always), then I ran Teo to the babysitter's house, and returned to the dentist. Jose was glad when I arrived because he didn't know how to fill out half of the paperwork. Ha!

Shortly after I got there, they took Isa back to take a look and we finished up paperwork. Then, they called us back to show us x-rays and what they planned to do. Isa was cool as an freezer on a hot day. They said that we could return to the waiting room while they did the procedure and they'd let us know when she'd be ready. She could care less if we stayed or if we went. She seriously had no fear about what was going on.

About twenty minutes later, they called us back again to pay the half up front and to get our daughter. She was a little loopy from the laughing gas and her upper mouth was super numb, causing her top lip to stick way out (like the reverse of a pout). They gave us the tooth in this tiny purple treasure chest and we were on our way.

To me, the tooth looked huge! She looked a little rough, but when I asked her if she wanted to run around with us or if she wanted to go to the babysitter's, she opted to go with Cindy, so we dropped her off. Drugged. Numbed. And missing a tooth that most people never have. :)

The dentist said to just watch it. Kids don't get dry socket, he said, so nothing to be too concerned about.

Now, some interesting facts for you all:

• 
  
  The extra tooth that Isa had is called a Mesioden. 
• 
  
  The disease of having extra teeth is called Hyperdontia and is genetic. When I was in second grade, I had to have my two front teeth removed as well as a mesioden and was toothless for well over a year. My mom also confirmed that she too had an extra tooth.
• 
  
  Approximately 2% of the population has at least one extra tooth.
• 
  
  The occurrance of extra teeth is more prevelant in males than females.

So...there's something for you to chew on....

(Haha! I crack myself up!)

Carla = Busy

It was a busy day today, but I love it. :)

Woke up early at 8 (which is now very early for us since I've started working at home). Went for a walk (Me, Teo, and Isa) with AJ at 9. AJ brought over Kirra for us to babysit at 10, just after I put Teo down for his early nap. Kirra hung out and ate and finally got fussy around 11. Isa went to have quiet time in her room and Kirra passed out in my arms. I facebooked and did some websurfing for a bit (because I was holding the baby, of course!). An amazing friend, Michae, brought her two littles over around noon. Iz and Isa and Bel played for a bit while Teo and Kirra slept and I made sloppy joes. Teo woke up just in time for lunch. We ate. Kirra woke up. At 1, We had a diaper changing party while Iz and Isa went out the play in the backyard. After diapers and everything, we all went to the yard. The kids played while Michae loved on Kirra. AJ came to pick up Kirra at 2. Michae left pretty soon after to pick up her hubs from work. Teo wanted to go "ni ni" and Isa said she wanted to watch a movie in her room, so we all went upstairs and we all took a nap at 3. Jose got home around 4, but I didn't want to wake up and he needed to grab some spaghetti sauce from the store, so he went while the rest of us slept. Then, he came home and I got up around 5 and now it's 6 and I'm getting ready for one of my dad's classes.

Now, knowing that, here's what I got from today:
1. I want to take more walks. It was a nice time to talk with a friend and my kids.
2. I miss tiny babies. I am sad that mine are huge, not only now, but right when they are born. Kirra is so tiny. My kids skip that stage.
3. My missing tiny babies does NOT mean I am ready for number 3. My two keep me busy enough. A third is okay in short doses, but I don't think I could do three full time.
4. I love watching my kids with other kids. They are so loving, not only with baby Kirra, but with Iz and Bel, or with other friends. I think that as much as I hate saying good-byes, watching kids giving hugs and kisses and saying their "I love yous" makes my heart melt.
5. I love naps. I took them daily when in college. I wish I could take them daily now. Although, my 2-hour naps are probably not a good idea to do every day. I never understood the basis of a 20-minute-power-nap though.
6. I have a lot of friends and not enough time to hang out with them all. Michae and I haven't had time to play and hang out in months. Far too long. Maybe, with my OCDed-ness, I should make a list of people to hang out with and make sure I do it on a regular basis. Haha!
7. I love my work schedule, but sometimes, I do miss my family. I see the kids all day, and Jose late at night, but with June's schedule, I only get two weeknights every week to have our entire family together. And those weeknights are usually busy too. I knew when I took this job that this would be a change that I had to make and I am okay with it because ultimately, I see my kids a lot more and, better than that, they are almost always with Mommy or Daddy now. No more 50+ hours per week at the sitter (although I love Cindy and her family dearly!). And that is a worthy sacrifice.

What are some things you learned from YOUR day today?

Poison Control on Speed Dial

Last night, after a long day, I was helping Jose dig out in the yard for the to-be-made basketball court, and Teo was crying on the monitor. We waited, thinking he'd stop on his own, but he didn't so after a few minutes, I went to check on him.

Once I got to his room, he held a nearly empty bottle of Johnsons & Johnsons body wash out to me and through his tears and hysterics said, "Ba Ba" with a quivering lip. I told Isa to go get Daddy and I threw my son, covered in a layer of body wash, into the tub where I washed him up using only water and the soap on his skin. Jose came up and I let him take over the bathing while I called Poison Control (1-800-222-1222, in case you didn't know. Save it in your phone. Post it on your fridge. Know it!).

The man there laughed when I explained the situation and said "Basically, it does the same thing to the insides as it does to the outsides, cleans 'em out," and said he would be fine if he drank it. Said the worst that would happen would be the runs or throwing up. He got our zip code and that was that.

Then came the fun of cleaning up the mess. Changing the sheets was the easy part. The puddle of body wash on the floor was a different story. Has anyone ever tried to clean up half a bottle of liquid soap from the floor? The first swipe takes off a lot of the excess, but leaves quite a bit still. Then, it takes twenty minutes to rinse the soap from the rag, which creates a huge bubble effect in the sink. By the time you get to the third or fourth wipe down, the rag is soaked through and still sudsy because you are tired of rinsing it out and every time thereafter you try to wipe the wash from the floor, it just becomes a bubbly mess. It took an honest hour probably to get it all done.

The good news is that no vomiting or diahrrea came of it and Teo was nice and clean by the time we put him back to bed with a room that smelled like baby wash.

Last night was the second time in my short life of being a parent that I have had to call Poison Control. (1-800-222-1222! Memorize it!) The first was about two years ago when Isa and a friend's daughter, Olivia, were playing is Isa's room and came down with the nearly empty bottle of Children's Tylenol. They had managed to somehow get it off the window above the dresser and open it despite the childproof cap. We imagine that they sat in the room, taking drinks and passing it back and forth like a bunch of two or three year old drunkards. That night was the night I learned that kids would need to drink an entire bottle or more of Children's Tylenol before reason for concern.

So, one tip for all parents would be this: Know the number for Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) and never hesitate to call it. Lots of things in a house get into the hands of little people, one way or the other. If you're not sure if they drank it or how much they got into, call. The people that work there are amazing and always helpful. And it's never stupid to call if you don't know. When being a parent, it's always better safe than sorry.

eat. Eat. EAT.

One thing I never realized before becoming a parent was the number of times I would say that word. EAT. Sometimes, I get a gurgle in my throat as I say it for the eight hundred and fifty nineth time in a single meal. The gurgle is because it becomes so repetative that it gets stuck in my throat and my mouth is dry from saying it so often.


I'm fairly certain that I am not alone with this battle over meals. Are all kids like this?


Today was a typical day. Isa nearly beat me in my sleep to get me to wake up because she was "staaaaarving." She wanted a snack, but since we cleaned her room last weekend to find cocoa pebbles in her toybox, she's been cut off from snacks in her bedroom. I told her to wait a little longer until Teo woke up. (Our normal morning routine involves Isa waking at the crack of dawn and playing in her room quietly while watching a movie until Teo wakes up and consequently wakes me up around eight.)

"Mom, I'm starving..."


When we got up and around and came downstairs around eight thirty, I made three bowls of cereal, at her request. She ate her fruit loops and was done.


Ten thirty.

"Mooom, I'm staaarvinggg..."

Gave her a cheese stick.


Eleven thirty.

"MOM, I'M STARVING!"

"Isa, wait until Teo wakes from a nap for lunch. You already had a snack. Wait."

Twelve thirty. Teo wakes up.

"MOOOOMMM, I AM STAAAARVINNNNGG!"

So I make lunch. I made her pizza on english muffins and gave her chocolate mousse fluffy yogurt that she has begged me for all day.

Two o'clock. She still hasn't eaten her food.

"eat."

She said that she tasted her yogurt and it tasted "funny."

"Eat."

She just never took a bite of her pizza.

"EAT."

The tv had been turned off.

"EAT."

She had been threatened and bribed with everything under the sun. 

"EAT!!"

I told her to go in timeout then go to bed for a nap with no tv or playing or anything because she wasn't listening and got mouthy. After hysterics, she promised to eat. A half an english muffin pizza later, she was yelling that her tummy says it's full.

Fine. Put the plate in the sink.

Three o'clock.

"MoooooOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!! I'm STAAAAAARRRRVVVINGGGG!!!"

Grr.