Things went very smoothly, for the most part, with Thomas’ surgery today.  The patient did not eat or drink more than two ounces of apple juice after 1 this morning as instructed.  He did not want the mask, but unlike his sister did not fight it.  I held him on my lap in the operating room with my arms hugged around his.  As the mask was held up to his mouth, he was talked to and reassured about the skunk that would be coming into the room and not to smile when he smelled it.  This psychology worked perfectly as he concentrated on the animal and not the reality.  Once asleep I left to rejoin Daddy and wait for word from the doctor.  30 minutes later we were thrilled to learn the hidden ear tube was retrieved and removed then replaced with a smaller one after the trapped fluid was sucked out.  Adenoids were also taken out.  Pre-surgery prayers answered for sure.  The recovery was a little rough but not as bad as the last time.  Thomas was so tired he had a tough time being roused enough to drink some juice and show the nurse he was okay to leave.  Since being home his only issue has been a bad taste in his mouth that makes him want to spit it out.  That we can handle.  No food restrictions, though his appetite is minimal as it could take 24 hours before he returns to normal.  Sissy is struggling with the shift in attention to her little brother, pointing out all the special treatment.  You had your turn two weeks ago, Charlotte.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 50

Tough to sell school fundraising items in your neighborhood when everyone who lives around you is pushing the same.  So we did what any veteran salesperson would:  implemented a strategy.  (The veteran would be me who peddled cheese blocks, sausage logs and pizzas in grade school to score a free telephone.)  The key is to pinpoint nearby houses with no kids, those whose children haven’t started kindergarten or families with kids in private schools.  It worked!  One hour into our mission and, with my two items thrown in, Charlotte had sold 13 things.  Then I swung through our old neighborhood in a different school boundary where we bought countless items from the neighbor kids near us before ours were sellers.  Some of them have also moved so we succeeded in just one sale.  But factor in Nana/Papa’s online order and two days in she is up to 21–four items short of a Hummer limo ride.  I am not kidding.  This is something to get excited about.  Forget my cheap, plastic touchtone phone.  I want to ride in that stretch limousine!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 50

I’m not posting anything on Pinterest or planning for future recipe shares, but I am finally taking a bit of interest in meal preparation beyond using a microwave or toaster.  Yesterday Dave and the monkeys came home to sloppy joes in the crockpot and corn muffins on the stovetop.  Today it was good timing for the Schwan’s man to show up as I bought a bag of frozen cheese tortellini that required boiling water to prepare.  Thankfully I found and washed out a big dusty pot that had measurements on the inside marking the quart lines.  I creatively put it in the crockpot with the left over sloppy joe meat and some spaghetti sauce in the fridge.    It was the perfect blend of sweet and tangy.  I know this because I had one bite then accepted a tomato and cream cheese sandwich was the better choice.  Frozen, pre-mixed blueberry muffin batter resulted in six muffins waiting on top of the oven as well.  By next week I may start wearing an apron!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 50

I couldn’t help but overhear two college girls walking side-by-side on treadmills as I did three sets on a leg machine nearby.  The words I picked up included sober and sofa and some guy’s name.  To their credit they also mentioned something about how much they’d already accomplished in assignments for a class.  My take-away was they are typical students consumed with things that, at this stage in their lives, are so critical.  What are my plans for the weekend?  Will the guy who seems so into me now care about me when we graduate?  What should I major in or should I switch my current one?  I walked away from them smiling to myself about how naturally self-involved I too was at that point.  Thankfully I devoted years getting it out of my system before eventually taking the next steps; where there is little room for worry about the little things.  I saw some of my old self in these young women.  We all can.  The key is for them to at some point broaden their perspective and see past the bubble where they currently reside.  And surely they will.  But a thousand conversations will happen between now and then obsessing over things they will no longer remember, or even care about, when they’re married with children.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 50

Friday we’ll be going through a second surgery in two weeks as Thomas gets a fourth ear tube in his right ear and his adenoids taken out, along with a hopeful rescue and removal of the T-tube that’s fallen behind his ear drum.  We were told getting his adenoids out was easier to recover from than taking his tonsils too.  Then I made the mistake of talking to other moms about it and hearing one of Thomas’ classmates had his adenoids out a month ago and almost made a return trip to the hospital from dehydration.  It doesn’t help that Charlotte has told him, “You’re gonna get the gas.”  Something he recalls from previous surgeries was unpleasant.  I am not dreading that part of the procedure, if I’m even allowed to accompany him into the operating room, as much as the part when he wakes up.  It has previously involved him sobbing in pain until he wore himself out and fell asleep.  Then he had to be roused to use the bathroom before we could leave.  Since this is the 4th time his right ear has been messed with I assume the pain intensifies from scar tissue.  Trying to stay calm and positive.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 50

I’ll admit it.  I use bribes and threats on a regular basis to get compliance from Charlotte and Thomas.  Do this and you can get that.  Don’t do this and you will lose that.  This week I have threatened  to keep my daughter from attending a friend’s make-your-own jewelry birthday party if she didn’t do something I asked.  She did it.  Yesterday and this morning I told Thomas he could play on the computer a little bit after school or play with my phone on the way to school if he would get ready and get in the car and get excited about going.  Both times it worked and he forgot about the promise before I had to deliver on it.  Turns out another mom promised her son he could play with their iPad if he willingly entered the building.  So I’m not the only one using these tactics, thankfully!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 50

You’d think my kids were training for a powerlifting competition.  They like a lot of small meals spread throughout the day.  Fruits and vegetables regularly make the cut, but so would unlimited treats if we let them.  As I type this Charlotte is thrilled to be eating Baby Goldfish crackers after she was denied anything else but cut-up carrots, broccoli and cauliflower since she scarfed down 3/4 of her scrambled egg serving for dinner to run outside and play with friends.  I made it clear before she exited that her eating was done for the night… then caved and let her have the veggies until Thomas eating raisins in front of her like the Cheshire Cat led me to go lax with the crackers.  In her defense, she’s turning to food for energy after I had to wake them up this morning early for Charlotte’s stitches to be removed at the doctor’s office.  All went well and the report is incision looks good, thankfully!  Now back to work so I can snack on stuff left out in the newsroom–they get it honest.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 50

or take that job transfer or relocate closer to relatives, you might want to consider Parenting magazine’s suggestions:

Best Cities for Families

1. Boston, Massachusetts

2.  Burlington, Vermont

3.  Portland, Maine

4. Austin, Texas

5.  Cheyenne, Wyoming

6. Arlington, Virginia and Washington, DC

7. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

8. Madison, Wisconsin

9. Omaha, Nebraska

10. Sioux Falls, South Dakota

11. Des Moines, Iowa

Safest Cities in America

1. Burlington, Vermont

2. Virginia Beach, Virginia

3. Portland, Oregon

4. Boulder, Colorado

5. Seattle, Washington

6. Fort Wayne, Indiana

7. Scottsdale, Arizona

8. Lexington, Kentucky

9. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

10. Spokane, Washington

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 50

I have no idea how old I was when friends started spending the night.  For Charlotte, her first sleepover happened this summer when she invited a close friend up the steet to stay at our house.  They were both pumped.  We drove down to pick up her sleeping bag, favorite animal and clothes.  I even made popcorn for them to watch a movie in Charlotte’s room as long as her brother could be included–he was.  All seemed to be going well until it was time for Mommy to say goodnight and go in the bedroom with Daddy.  Charlotte actually started crying.  Huh?  You have a friend staying in your bedroom with you all night, I reminded her, and Mommy & Daddy are a few feet away in our room.  It was at that moment I realized 6 is probably too young for overnight stays and have not entertained another one since.  Her friend was not a bit homesick or bothered by Charlotte’s demeanor, so thankfully they eventually went to sleep and were overheard talking things over much too early the next morning through the door.  Live and learn!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 50

Thomas doesn’t start preschool until Wednesday, so he and I are spending more time together without Daddy and Sissy.  This morning we rode bikes, kicked a soccer ball and played Avengers on the drive.  Then we went to the library with our neighbor and her two kids.  That visit ended when he started being mean to Isabella and not following directions.  I had the talk with him on the way home about being nice to friends or no one wanting to play with him.  Later he was in the bathroom when I was on the phone with someone about a story for work.  “What’s that, Honey?”  I hollered to him when I couldn’t hear what he was saying to me from behind the door.  “Is Daddy here?” he wanted to know when I walked in, adding “Why did you call me Honey?”  The kid’s right.  I never call him that, only Daddy.  So who knows why but you can’t get much past a 4-year-old.  He wore jeans, Avengers t-shirt, Toy Story baseball cap, sunglasses, Spiderman glove and carried a little inflatable guitar from Chuck E. Cheese to pick up Charlotte.  And I thought she was my fashion plate.  Tonight he pulled on a pair of Daddy’s boxer briefs out of the laundry pile and quoted a line from Mrs. Doubtfire about being a new man and a model father.  Who is this child and what happened to my innocent 3-year-old?

This Saturday, August 25 the non-profit Harleys-N-Hotrods is “Cruising for Kids” at Antique Acres in Cedar Falls to raise money for Make-a-Wish Foundation of Iowa.  Click here for more info.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 50