reflections

Just a few thoughts this evening...

The Boy had his last day of preschool today. In three months, he'll be five and starting kindergarten. I'm not sad over this fact. My Boy is getting older and will do fine in his new class. I'm just wondering where the last five years went. Every day he surprises me with something new, and his questions are always so well thought out, I can see how he's trying to piece the world into something he can comprehend. He asks what words mean, I sometimes feel like a thesaurus trying to use words he understands to describe words he doesn't. He is so subjective. When someone is hurt, he hurts too.

My sensitive Boy will learn to guard himself and his feelings. I almost mourn for that day. Not every person he comes into contact with will understand him, or where he is coming from. As a parent, I want to protect that, but I know that to do that would stunt his growth. He will learn and adapt.

As it is, his brother does his best to aggravate him (well, he gives as good as he gets. It is definitely a two-way street there). They get at each other in ways that boggle my mind. They are especially tuned to grate on each other. I guess that's the way all siblings work. They are born knowing which buttons to push.

But Boy2 seems to be a pro. Every little thing, and it goes both ways, leads to a fight or a tantrum. But they play well together too. The Boy dragged his sleeping bag down, and Boy2 brought down his denim blanket and they were pretending to go camping. The Boy asked Boy2 to sing lullabies to him. "Can you sing me Twinkle Twinkle?" "Sure!" was the response.

Of course, in the midst of this cooperation, the Girl crawls up and starts pulling on their pillows and blankets. "Mommy? Can you put baby in the exersaucer? I don't want her pulling on my sleeping bag." I guess the novelty of having little sis move around on her own is gone in favour of preserving the play space.

That Girl really is moving around now. In just the week that I've been home, she's started crawling around. First it was just getting up to sitting from being on her tummy, and then it was two or three little crawl-like movements before she landed back onto her tummy. This afternoon, she was crawling from the futon, over to the shoes and boots (not the cleanest toys for her to play with...) and then to the stereo where she started pulling on the speakers. Hello, mobility!

more updates

It's feeling good to write again.

Here's the update, for those who may have missed it: I was in the hospital for 8 1/2 days last week (I was admitted May 12, and I got out May 20). I'd had some gallbladder issues and was in the hospital in Stony Plain the Friday previous, had an ultrasound on the following Monday, went in for an ERCP Wednesday, and went to emergency around 3 am Thursday. The ERCP had caused acute pancreatitis, so I was in there until the pain was gone and the food would stay down. It looked like I was going to go home Wed, May 18th, but the night before I had a repeat attack, so they had to keep me longer.

I'm doing fine now. I go for follow-up in a couple of weeks, and we'll see about the gallbladder then.

Now, on to the more important things: the kids!

The radio station we listen most to has added "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen into their rotation this weekend, and the Boy absolutely LOVES it! Every time it starts playing, he gets a bit of a crazy smile on his face and he just twinkles as he sings along. In the van, at home, doesn't matter. He and his brother were in the basement playing and Hubby turned on the radio just in time to hear it start. I asked if he was going to call the Boy up, and he said no. Sure enough, not five seconds later, we heard the thump, thump thump of feet on the stairs on their way up to sing and dance to this song.

Boy2 won't be out done, though. He goes right in there and sings and plays along too. And, OH! the temper tantrums that Boy2 has had lately! He's tired, and we're just getting back into a routine after me coming home, so I understand that part. But my good heavens! Anything could be a reason to fly off the handle. He disagrees with his brother over something, they both want the same toy, he doesn't want to do something (like eat his dinner), it seems as though almost everything is worth a fight for this child. Then he goes and does something like he did this afternoon and nap for only 45 minutes. That is not long enough for that child.

My little Girl is kinda crawling now. If she doesn't think about it, she can go about three or four spaces before she stops and slides on her tummy. She is moving around, though. She can get from laying down to sitting up now, no problem at all. And she;s pulling herself to standing holding onto the futon too, more and more. Her character is developing in leaps and bounds, it's really wonderful to watch. She gets into the cupboards and plays with the dishes, finds all sorts of interesting things on the floor to stuff into her mouth (like coins her brothers drop), and now is on the bottle (that's what happens when Mamma is stuck in the hospital. She seems to like it now, though).

Going to sign off, for right now, though. I should probably check in to bed, since my body is still trying to get back up to speed. This is what I get for doing nothing but lay in bed for a week :)

BOYS!

Wow, I'm surprised that I held it together...

I just went upstairs to check on the boys. They are both awake (not really a surprise), but the Boy had sneaked in his shark's tooth necklace that my parents had brought back for him from their trip in February and had gouged a hole in his wall. It's not that big, about a half inch across, but it's as deep as the tooth is long, and he had to have really worked at it. He said it was for ladybugs and polliwogs to sleep in. Nonetheless, there is still a hole is the frigging WALL!!! AAARRRGGHHH! KIDS!

They really are pretty good boys (most of the time). On Monday I spent all day in the hospital waiting room for my ultrasound results, so Daddy had to take the kids with him to the service he did at the Good Samaritan Society. Apparently they were as good as gold.

I really don't mind that they track dirt through the house. Dirt cleans. Floors get swept, carpets vacuumed, walls washed (though not frequently enough in this house), but holes in the walls??? I can even kinda tolerate when he "wrote" a story on the banister in pen. He is quite creative, he just doesn't seem to be all that forward thinking sometimes. (I know, he's only four. But sometimes...)

Boy2 is SO contrary. He was looking at a picture of the Boy, saying it was him. So the two got into a heated argument because Boy2 said the picture was of him, when it was clearly of the Boy. So I calmly said, "Boy2, what colour are your eyes?" Those mischievous blue eyes looked and thought, then said "Ummm.... Brown!" And that's just one example.

The number of times he's said something just to get his brother's goat! I'd be rich if I had a penny for each time! Of course it doesn't help those times when the Boy purposely goads and baits his brother...

The Girl is turning into a regular character. She's such a card. She's stared throwing herself backwards when you hold her, so you always have to keep both hands on her. (She did this to Hubby and luckily he has quick reflexes!)

She is also SO close to crawling. She scoots and moves around a bit, and she's starting to move around more by wiggling on her tummy, but I had her on the bed tonight and she got onto her tummy and nearly up on her knees. But she really has an opinion of what she wants.

After spending so much time away yesterday, all she wanted was mommy cuddles. I handed her to Daddy for a minute and she just cussed at him! (that is, she would have had she been able to speak. There was no misinterpreting the meaning behind that sound!)

Tomorrow, I'm back at the hospital, but this time the Girl is coming with us (Thank you so much Gum Grandma and Turkey Grandpa for watching my little Hellions this last little bit! You've likely earned a Sainthood in all this!) to give these wonderful people a bit of a break. This really is ridiculous, though. I've spent so much time in the hospital this last week, that I really do have a pain in my neck from sitting in those chairs for so long!

Health update

Yesterday was not very fun for me. I have had a rough couple of days (and nights) with some severe abdominal pain. Usually when that happens it goes away and doesn't come back for a really long time. So when I was up for 5 or six hours Wednesday night, tender off and on yesterday, and then, yesterday morning had it again in full force, I finally did what Hubby wanted me to do Wednesday night.

I called a friend and Hubby and I went to the hospital in Stony Plain. We were there for an hour and a half before we got in to see the nurse, and then another hour before the Doctor came. I sent Hubby home (not much point both of us being there, bored to death), they sent a bunch of blood out for tests, and hooked me up to morphine and gravol. (boy, that was an experience...)It was kinda neat feeling the way my limbs felt fuzzy and almost numb. My very first time having anything like that.

All in all, I spent 8 hours of my day in the hospital. When the drugs started to wear off, the Doctor came and told me that I likely had gallstones. He sent me home with some narcotics for pain, and said "If you get a fever, you come back here. If the painkillers don't work, you come back here." Succinct enough, I think.

So I'll get a phone call Monday to let me know when my ultrasound will be, but he sounded pretty confident that it was gallstones and that the gallbladder will be taken out. It would be nice to be pain-free.

So. I called Hubby to let him know they could come and pick me up. Apparently, as they pulled in and Boy2 saw me sitting on the bench just outside he was disappointed. "Awe. No baby?" So Hubby thinks we need to go to the hospital more, since Boy2 has come to associate it with having babies. It made me laugh, though!

Fun Pics!

I've been fooling around with my pictures :)
My Boy smiling at something on TV....
The Boys reading quietly to each other (rare as it is...)
The poster for their new rock and roll group "The Mac Pack"...
My absolutely gorgeous little Girl...
And Boy2 personified (missing teeth, smiling like a wildman, with the shades)

Easter baking this year

This is the only Easter baking I did this year. Perogs just didn't seem to be in the schedule this time around. But these are a sweet dough as well, twisted into a bunny. The Boy had lots of fun forming the tails! And this time I dipped them into a glaze that had lemon juice to add a lighter taste. So yummy!

Photo updates

Here are a couple of photos from the last little bit. Some from our brief little trip down to sunny Calgary, and some from just the last couple of weeks. My two "rock star" boys. Boy2 will literally break down and have a full out tantrum sometimes if I won't put youtube on for him to watch music videos, or if I start singing along to the radio to a "boy song". Jeepers!

There is the Boy with his favorite animal in the whole world (Amma's pug-shitzu, Bessie Olivia) and of course, the world's cutest little rug-rat, my beautiful, photogenic Girl! She's started to ham it up for the camera.

Tonight, I was finally putting her too-small clothes into a tote (instead of the pile it had become) and she was sitting next to me "helping". The boys would sit beside me and destroy, but I think she was actually helping. I guess the difference between boys and girls? We'll see how it develops.

Election results!

A couple of thoughts tonight.

1) I love the new toy Hubby got for me. (an HP mini, so now I have a laptop!)

2) I can hardly believe the results of this election! The overwhelming defeat of the Liberals and the Bloc (especially with Duceppe losing his seat and stepping down) and the huge gains for the NDP to achieve the highest number of seats in history. Wow! And Harper gets his majority government.

Now the hard work begins for both the government and the official opposition. Forage away! I'm looking forward to seeing the paths being built!

growing up...

We just got home from church about half hour ago. There was a lunch followed by AGM today, and I wasn't going to stay that long, but I started drying dishes and they just never seemed to end...

Boy2 fell asleep in the van en route home, so he's sleeping on the couch, the Girl slept through most of the meeting, so she's awake, and the Boy and Daddy were home for maybe 20 minutes before the Boy says "Daddy? Will you go for a walk with me?"

"Where to?" asks Daddy.

"Just around. And I'll wear my sandals."

So Daddy and the Boy left for a walk, just the two of them. I don't know what to feel. The Boy was always more Mommy-centered (except where the truck is concerned, then Daddy is the awesomest person in the world!) and now he wanted a walk with Dad. I'm happy for this relationship development, but it's another sign that the baby I brought home four and a half years ago is growing. (that and the fact that he's rapidly running out of pants that fit and we bought new shoes since the old ones were way too tight)

Hubby had put a roast in the slow cooker before church this morning, so when I opened the door this afternoon I had a whiff of heaven! I am really looking forward to supper!