Freaking out

Does anyone still visit here? Just wondering.
Life has been so crazy these last months. School, vacation, summer, kids, swimming lessons, baseball; the list is never ending. But it all comes to a screeching halt next week when school starts up again. And let me just tell you the level of freak out I am in. I am freaking out. How can I be sending kid to Kindergarten? It just isn't possible. He's just a baby. And then if that wasn't enough, I am sending my baby to preschool. I don't even know how this all happened. One minute your pregnant the next you are sending them off to be educated by someone else. Back to my freaking out. I had a near panic attack over school lunches the other day. Do I send lunch with him so I know he isn't eating junk? Or do I let him buy because he is a big kid now and can make a few decisions for himself? But he can't, he's just a baby. See, freakin' out. So, please tell me this is all normal. It's not strange to obsess over details such as not being able to find his classroom and wandering the halls all day. It's not we rid that I am worried some big mean kids will beat him up and my sweet innocent boy will be gone forever replaced by a snotty bratty kid. It's not strange that I am total mess of lunch. Please. please tell me this is normal.
But wait there's more. If you've done the math, you know I have two children. One is going to Kindergarten the other is going to preschool. You may have figured out that there will be a few child free hours in there. For the first time in five a half years, I will have time to think, to shower, maybe eat while sitting down. I can't even fathom the possibilities here. It's crazy I tell you.
They aren't babies anymore.

Who are you and what have you done with my baby?

Oh, HI! Let's see if I can still make this thing work. Here we go. I got it figured out.

Recently I have had a chance to hold a few babies. Yes, people have entrusted ol' butter fingers with their precious offspring. I don't know what they were thinking either.
Anyway, that led me to the conclusion that my baby isn't a baby anymore. I'm sure other people noticed long ago. But it has taken me until now to figure it out. I've been trying to delay the inevitable for a long time. I, until recently, still put her in 18m onsies. What! They still fit. So why shouldn't she wear them. I gave her coffee to stunt her growth. OK, that one is a lie. But I did think about it.
But I can deny it no longer. These pictures prove my point.

She a big girl. She is quick to tell you she uses the potty. Yes, TELL you. She's finally talking. In words. And if you show any interest what so ever in her pottying she will show you her pink underwear. Don't believe me, just ask the little old lady in Target the other day who was just a little too impressed by Anna's statement. She got an eye full of pink panties. Speaking of undies, she is very opinionated about the underwear in her flashing arsenal. Only pink ones will do. Do you know how many pink panties come in a package of little girl underwear? I do. About three. The rest I may as well throw in the garbage. Because she isn't going to wear without waging WW III.

My baby is growing. I miss the baby. But I love the little person she's become. Flashing and all.

The reason Daisy thinks we got them

All those months of neglect early on are finally starting to pay off.

My new favorite song

She was trying to get better presents.

It worked.

We caught one

Just a couple of comments.
1) Mark is helping. That branch he's holding is very heavy. I'm not sure Jason could do it with out him.
2) Anna is helping too. She's walking. She wieghs 15 lbs more with all that stuff on.
3) You can't tell in the this picture but it was brutally cold. We spent the rest of the day with our lips pressed up against the side of hot cocao mugs to get the frost off of them. It was COLD!
4) It was a fun day.

A day in the kitchen

In my tiny pool of available time, I am managing to squeeze in a very small amount to baking. It is that time of year after all. I have a new little helper. I've always had help in the kitchen. And I still have my big boy helper sometimes. But now I have a cute little helper whose smile lights up my kitchen. See what I mean. She asks a million and one questions. I understand about half of them. That is big. I used to not understand anything. We are coming along. I think it is moments like these that are helping. She and I are spending time together just talking. No big brothers around. She can't just nod to what he says; she has to talk to me herself. And to top it off, she is learning to make apple crisp. In another year I will be able to send her to the kitchen to make me dessert while I veg. on the couch. It's an investment in the future I figure.
BTW, what do you think of my new wall color in the dining room? I told you I couldn't stand wood paneling. I'm not sure just how I feel about painted wood paneling yet. But replacement wasn't in the budget for this year. $20 worth of paint was. I like the color a lot. We also painted the kitchen a bright sunny yellow. And I used a yellow green as an accent. I will show you these things another day perhaps.

I know they grow up quick

But this just seems ridiculous. Rocking chairs!! At least they managed to maintain their silly even in old age.

Digging for gold

Anna has always had a bit of a fasination with her nose. It was the first body part she learned to idenitfy on her own. It was the first one she said. It's just a cool little thing.
Since the begininng of school we have had a long string of colds. We just barely get well from one, and we are knocked flat again. I lost count somewhere around 5. 5 colds in two months. Let's just say I am sick of being sick.
All of this sickness has brought a new level of fun to Anna's life. Not only is the nose fun to say and touch; you can reach up in there and get stuff out. There is a certain threshold of yuck for every mother. For some it's poo or puke. For me it's removal of things from your nostril with your finger. Anna has me all figured out too. That kid digs and digs up there. And I didn't even realize just how much she does it until I downloaded the pictures from my camera the other day.
I didn't take a single one of purpose. But here they are staring at me. ICK!!!
That look of concentration on her face. What does she think she will find up there anyway?
Just gross. I have to go wash my hands.

The first hair cut

I have waited a long time for this day. Anna was determined to never grow hair. Then, when she did grow hair, she had a raging mullet. I've been waiting to cut it because once she finally got a little hair I didn't want to scare it away be cutting it. But this could wait no longer. It was getting very straggly looking. And no matter what I did with it, it still had mullet characteristics. Ever put a mullet in a pony tail? It still screams I am a mullet. Besides we are going on vacation soon and I didn't want Jason's family to think we don't like her. This is our beautiful son and we think the one with the mullet is a girl. We didn't want that.
So we went. Anna was a very big girl. She's seen Mark do this lots of times. She was sooo ready to try this out for herself. I've heard horror stories from other parents about their kid's first hair cut. I am happy to say that has never happened to us. We are fortunate that both of our kids go in a trance like state when their hair is played with.
The day ended with Anna's hair looking marginally less like a mullet. We are just hoping now the sides will catch up soon. I am also hoping she will start letting use barettes on her. She ripped out each and every one I have ever put in there. With each barrette assult also comes two to three or ten hairs. She's very lucky she isn't completely bald on top.
As for the men, well, they did what all men do in salons. Stay out of the way and try to be invisible. And hope none of their friends see them in here.

Hooky on the first day

Because I am an A+ student, I didn't have a whole lot to do on my first day. I posted my first assignment on Monday. I am not a teacher's pet, so don't even think it. That left my day pretty open yesterday. We decided to go look at fall leaves and visit a local cider mill. Yesterday will forever live in my memory as a really fun family day. We took the very scenic route to the cider mill. We stopped several times to view the sight along the way.
We stopped at the wind mill farm we always pass on the way to my parents. We have wanted to stop many times but always are in too big a hurry. This was just amazing. You don't realize how big they are until you are right there. Need perspective? That's Jason and the kids at the bottom. They make this loud woooshing sound when the blades spin. You can't help but duck even though they blades are thirty feet over your head. This was a very cool part of the day.
Then we drove on and saw some absolutely gorgeous leaves. Fall is really something here. Our final stop was the cider mill. They have a waterfall behind the building that was not to be missed. Just so pretty.
The kids really enjoyed watching them make cider. It was a unique viewing because the building and operation is so old. There isn't room for ropes to separate the viewers for the doers. We got a very up close look. It was a lot of fun. We will almost certainly make it a yearly tradition.

A love of Fall

After living down south for so many years I have really come to appreciate this time of year. They have some fall color down there, but nothing like this. It's one of the benefits of having a real winter. The leaves put on one last hu-ra before they die. And let me tell you, this year has been really something. The leaves are so bright it almost hurts your eyes.
But the leaves aren't the only ones putting on a show, in my yard, this year. This is a red twig dogwood bush I got back in June. All summer I have patiently waited for it to do its' thing. And now it has. Don't you just love that color. It makes that whole side of the yard just happy.
And I can't leave without telling about my other favorite thing regarding this time of year. Hats. I love hats. It's a sickness really. I have lots of wintry hats for myself. And I am constantly getting them for the kids. My aunt made these for the kids a few months ago. I couldn't wait for the weather to turn so they could wear them. I know, I'm just a tiny bit strange. But look! Don't they just look so cute.

I love this time of year.

I can't promise this is my last Fall post. We are supposed to go on a scenic drive tomorrow. We will go if it doesn't snow. Yes, snow. There is snow in our forecast for tomorrow. Which, if it happens, will be earlier than last year by a good two weeks.

You don't need a pool to make pool toys fun

So a weeks ago Jason came back from the store with a present for the kids. He does this a lot. He goes out in to the world and finds little treasures for them. They always delight in his findings. But honestly, this time, I thought it was a dud. He brings out these "wacky noodles." I did point out to him we don't have a pool. He assured me it doesn't matter.
The kids humored him for a few minutes. Then they put them down and went back to the sand box. Oh well, he said, they were on clearance.
The "noonles" (as Anna calls them) hung around a couple of days. No one really played with them. Then one day, someone (Jason) picked one up and whacked someone (me). Game on.

They have turned into the best toy we have. Score one for Daddy. They are some much fun, in fact, we went back and bought more. Still on clearance. Apparently, people don't buy many pool toys in September in NY. Go figure.
There are just all kinds of things you can do with a noodle. Sword fight. Yep. You can do that.
Pick on the swing people. Yep. Much to their delight.
Harass your mother. You can. But you shouldn't. Mommy fights back. Even when you are as cute as this one, Mommy takes no prisoners.
Leave it to Daddy to find a toy where you can beat the tar out of someone and no one gets hurt.

A change in the air

The nights are getting longer and the days shorter. Everyone seems to be in a frantic rush to get those last few things done before winter. Work on the flower beds has gone into over drive.
The search for winter hats, coats, mittens, snow pants and boots has begun. The stores now stock ice scrapers instead of bikinis. My thoughts are turning to indoor cooking. From Mac and cheese to homemade breads and cookies. They make the house feel like home. The kids and I started our afternoon tea ritual again. I have missed it.
These two are getting in the last of the sandbox playing for the year. It is conceivable in a month they will be building snow castles instead of sand. Last year we got our first major snow fall three days before Halloween.
The season is changing here in my little piece of heaven. I look forward to the fun the next season brings.

Sickness

We are sick. Once again sickness descended upon our house. I should have known it was coming. After all, Mark did start school. That place is crawling with germs. Before you even open the door to that place you can see them ooze out through the cracks. It's disgusting. I should have known Mark would catch a cold before the end of the first stinking week. He would then take his filthy nasty gross germs and pass them on to the rest of us. He couldn't have passed it on any faster if he came home and licked us. Now we are all sick. And let me tell you these are the crankiest sick people you ever want to meet. The little one is down right mean.

So that's us this week. Sick.

But wait there's more. Anna had her hearing test on Friday. She has perfect hearing. It's like she hasn't ever been to any rock concerts or anything. Oh wait, she hasn't.

Now go wash your hands. You don't want what we have.

It's not easy finding a dependable babysitter

I am frustrated

So stinking frustrated. We had the evaluation with the speech therapist last night. And Anna did really well. Except that isn't what we want. We want her to do badly so she will qualify for this program.
OK, let me explain. There are two qualifying scores for language.
There is cognitive; what the kid understands. To test this the therapist named objects and asked Anna to point to pictures of the objects in a book. Anna got them all. Then it got harder. She asked Anna to point to different actions. drinking from a cup, sleeping baby, running boy. Then it got even harder. She asked Anna to follow simple two step directions. Give the baby doll a drink then hand me the cup. It kept getting more difficult until she was asking Anna to do things I didn't know she could do. Anna did them all. No prompting. Nothing. She aced it. She is testing at a three and a half year old level here.
The second part of the test is verbal. She asked Anna to say things. Say ball. Say baby. She didn't do as well here. I knew she wouldn't. She has major trouble with enunciation. She will hear a sentence and repeat a jumble of syllables sounding nothing like what she just heard. She tries but it just doesn't come out right.
So here is where it gets sticky. The great of New York takes the two scores and adds them together. Then averages them. They, then compare that number to a chart of the overall averages of kids in her age group. If a child scores below a 73 they qualify. Above 73, they don't. Anna got an 86. She scored in the low 70s in the verbal portion and got a 98 in the cognitive part. Having a high score on one portion of the test drags the other score up. So the end result is she's smart but she can't tell you anything she knows. And now we have to wait six months for another evaluation. By then she will be old enough to qualify through the school system instead of the state. The school system qualifies the two scores separately. So she will probably qualify then. I just hate waiting though. We caught this early. I would like to have it dealt with now.
We have our final meeting with Early Intervention on Thursday. I am going relay our concerns to them at that time. I hope there is still something that can be done. The kicker of the whole thing is they switched our coordinator on us. We haven't even met the woman who is coming. I think this puts us at a disadvantage because the other coordinator had met Anna and knew she needed help. This one is just relying on the write ups done by the others who came here.
Frustrated. That is my word of the day. I am just not loving NY today.

Her hearing test is still on Friday. I will keep you posted.

Disclaimer: the averages and qualifying are a little more involved than what I said above but that is the gist of what they do.

Just laying around

Take a moment to yourself today. Sit quietly with a loved one for a few minutes. Call someone special and tell them you care. Maybe say a little prayer for our military members who are protecting those freedoms we hold so dear.
And most of all, have a great weekend!

Author's side note: I am not so bright. I know I told you all on Monday that Anna's audiology test is today. I really should have looked at my calender before I wrote that. It's next Friday. See...Dumb.

OK, so now I wish she would just start talking

We have known for a while that Anna should be talking. Mark was talking by 26 months. Long before in fact. Anna tries to talk. But she doesn't form words. During her WCC in June the doctor confirmed our fears. She should be talking. The doctor set us up with Early Intervention. We have had a number of experts here to talk with her and us. They all say Anna is average/even above average everywhere else. The next step is a hearing test on Friday, to see if maybe she fluid on her ear drum. This would explain her not being able to repeat things said to her. But I don't believe this is it. She understands everything going on around her. She follows direction very well. Her comprehension of things said to her amazes me.

The whole process is going painfully slow. We have been dealing with this since the beginning of July and still haven't gotten anywhere. I am incredibly frustrated with the whole thing. I just want to know what is wrong so that we can start taking steps to fix it. Whether it be speech therapy or tubes in her ears I just want to get it over with.

Anna is an incredibly special little person. It's so hard to watch her struggle. She wants us to understand. She repeats herself over and over then dissolves into tears. I want to cry with her at times because I want to understand her and can't.

Hopefully Friday will bring a few answers for us. No matter what, it will be one more thing we can check off the list of possible things wrong. And one step closer to a solution, I hope.

Revisting childhood.

Let me tell you about a little trip the kids and I took during our vacation. I took them to a place I spent a good portion of my own childhood. It was like stepping back in time a little. We visited my Great Grandmothers cottage on Cayuga Lake. It's in the heart of wine country in upstate NY. A fact that wasn't all the important to my as a child. But now...oh my. They make some really nice wine here. For our honeymoon Jason and I took a day and when wine tasting. What fun. We had no idea what we were doing. Did you know you are supposed to spit the wine back out? Puh. Not us. We took it like shots. Yeah. No idea. But we did buy some wine so I guess the wineries were probably happy.
Anyhoo. I guess it's off on a tangent day. Where were we? Right, Cayuga Lake. So the kids and I took a journey. First you drive and drive and drive. You go through Ithaca. Ever been to Ithaca? I swear the designers of that town were five and had crayons. There are so many one way streets you are bound to get lost. And I did. Good times. But then we pulled out of town on the far side and kept going until we saw this sign. Then we did what any good redneck would do. We pulled off the paved road.
We drove a little further and then we entered the woods. This was always really neat to me at a kid. The woods just close in around you. It doesn't matter how bright the day is, it is always dark in here. I'm sure those lights don't mean anything. They have been on for a long time.

Then everything opens up and we are there. This is one of those views that is forever stuck in my mind. It mean swimmings, hiking, fishing, and fun to me.
It also means seeing this lady. She celebrates her 100th Birthday this year. She is amazing. She still lives by herself and does all of her own cooking and cleaning. She is sharp as a tack and remembers every single person she has ever met.
She loves clowns and had them all over the cottage when we were kids. She has since given the cottage to her daughter and son. They still keep a few clowns around to keep them company while they are there. Mark and Anna got a huge kick out of the clowns.
You go through that gate in the above picture. Then you go down all of these stairs. And you are on the beach. Did I take a decent picture of the beach. *Searches frantically* No, I didn't. Sorry. However I can tell you about those stairs. I went up and down those stairs not less than 298,564 times as a child. They winded me then and they still wind me today. That is a lot of stairs.
They had fun I think.

I most certainly had fun.

Have a great weekend!

I think that look is genetic