Now you see it, now you don't

It look like she'll be a toothless wonder for a few years.

Shocking

Putting away my kids laundry, I just had a shocking revelation.

I just put away 4 of Bekah's pants. What?!? As of the last time I did laundry (and I don't remember exactly when that was), I have not needed to wash Bekah's pants. She did not wear pants unless after strong persuasion and tears. I just ran downstairs to check on her, and sure enough, she is wearing pants. This is the girl that has frequented our park wearing poofy princess dresses, that went through TONS of tights over the winter, and has one side of the closet designated for church dresses and another for play dresses.

Last year, she had a drawer full of cute pants that were untouched. This year, I prepared myself. I bought a bunch of clearanced out tights for the winter, dresses for the summer, and found cute skirts at yard sales.

Great, now she decided to change. It's a good thing I don't pay full price on anything.

If only

If only my son would like cold things... He doesn't like popsicles? He won't even eat ice cream. Who doesn't like ice cream? We all scream for ice cream!

"Not even the fastest horse can catch a whining word"...Chinese proverb

Last night, as I was up AGAIN with a crying boy, wearing the same PJs I have worn for 2 days (going on the 3rd this morning), I almost complained to my husband. "You don't know how hard this is!" Almost. As soon as the thought was on the tip of my tongue, I remembered that this is the man who was working last night until 2am... and that "getting home early" is when he comes home before 6:30, which happens about once a week. And here he is volunteering to help with Kyle in the middle of the night, just trying to be helpful.

Phew, for once in my life, I'm glad I thought Before I spoke. There is nothing to do but laugh... and a shower would be good.

Oh well, this too shall pass.

Kyle's update

The Lord is good to me,
and so I thank the Lord
for giving me the things I need,
the sun and the rain and the apple seed,
the Lord is good to me"

I think the song is about Johny Appleseed. If the song had been written today, it would have probably been a complaint about lack of apples. Instead, written back in the days when there were no handouts, the gifts from God included allowing us to work.

Well, the Lord has certainly been good to me. Last time I wrote, I was feeling overwhelmed and scared. I needn't have bothered worrying, because the next day while praying about Kyle, I felt such peace. I didn't worry again.

Kyle's surgery went very well. He was happy and excited all morning... thrilled to eat his "surgery breakfast" of jello. We went to the hospital around 10:30 and left by 3:30. The Dr. said that his adenoids were about 15% larger than a normal kid, and although his tonsils only looked a little large from the top, they were actually 2-3 times the normal size! No wonder the kid couldn't breathe.

So how are we doing now?
Well, The Lord is good to me.
He's given me the things I need, friends and family, a sense of humor, and Lortab.
The Lord is good to me.

Kyle is... to be expected. He stopped crying yesterday when Dad, Grandma & Grandpa Franklin, & Bekah came home (after I finally got him to drink something, sleep a little, and gave him more Lortab).

Bekah LOVED spending a couple of nights with her grandparents... as did I. I don't think she wanted to come home. Someone to dote on her, take her out to eat, and she even got to stay up late watching movies. I swear I'm raising a party girl. She had been home about 20 min. when she declared that she wanted to go play at a friend's house. Never mind it was 7pm. My dear neighbor already came over this morning and invited Bekah to go help clean her bathrooms. Bekah couldn't get her shoes on fast enough... sure beat hanging out with a brother who was screaming because he had buggars in his nose (which he had because he was screaming). Thanks Aunt Chris (and we really do need to make your adoption into our family official).

Adding it up

This morning at breakfast, I told Bekah that she had 7 points (we use points for our rewards system). She beamed and turned to her dad, "3 more points and I get to go on a date!"

What? Rob and I both did a double take. We quizzed her some more, and within a few minutes, she was adding AND subtracting!

So, at the risk of being one of those annoying parents who are always bragging about their kids... I'm going to do it any way. I admit that my talents do not include sitting and teaching my children all the time. When I actually sit and try to teach Bekah, I usually end up having to take deep breaths to stay calm. We just have such different learning styles. Hers does not include actually focusing on what I'm trying to teach her. My talent is to take my kids places where other people can teach them.

So, while she hasn't mastered her letters yet, I think it is super cool that she is already working out mathematics.

And this morning, Rob absolutely beamed, "Bekah, you're going to be an engineer!"

6 more days

The last couple days I have been feeling stressed. Outside I feel calm, but inside I feel like I have this pit. Consciously I blamed it on all of the things I had to do: the literacy program, writing a primary program, refinishing my deck, etc. etc. Wrong.

A couple months ago, I was talking with my neighbor about how frustrated I was with Kyle. He was sometimes so hyper-stimulated, like he couldn't even control himself. She commented that her son had been just like that, but then they found out he had sleep apnea. Well, the lights just went off in my head when she said that. I made an apt. with the ENT and sure enough, Kyle had most of the symptoms: bad breathe, waking up suddenly (often crying), large tonsils, snoring (sometimes so loud that we can hear him in our room with both doors closed)... The ENT recommended surgery if we actually witnessed sleep apnea. If we didn't, then we would do a sleep study. As mentioned earlier, on our anniversary night, Rob and I spent a romantic night watching Kyle sleep. I was stunned at how much he sat up in bed or stopped breathing over and over again! We've even found him asleep, sitting straight up in bed.

In 6 days Kyle will have his adenoids and tonsils removed. Yesterday, he went to the pre-op. class where they take the kids around the hospital and show them what to expect. It went well. As a nurse, I have seen other kids with this surgery. It's not a big deal and most of the time, they don't even stay the night. No problem. Recovery is hard, but hey, I can deal with that. We've prayed about it and feel like he needs it done. Rob and I are even counting the days, anxious for when we can have a well-rested little boy. So it's a really good thing.

I thought I was totally fine with it until I started talking with my mom today, and then suddenly I found myself crying. Underneath, I am scared to death. At the pre-op class, Kyle looked so little, walking around the hospital with the bigger kids. It kills me inside to send him off to something that is going to hurt him so much, even when I know it will make him better. I thought being a nurse would make me feel less of this... knowledge is power, right? But I'm a mom, and knowing the "what ifs..." can be worse. So everyone, please pray for our little boy.