The "Katester" Effect

Usually, at some time during each blog post, I mention the fact that we did our usual chores over the past weekend.  This includes doing laundry, getting things ready for the week, cleaning and picking up the house and heading out to the grocery store and running miscellaneous errands.  Given the history of me and my children, our weekend routine frequently incorporates a visit to urgent care or some other medical facility for various illnesses and ailments.  

In any case, this weekend was rather eventful.  Jeff and I lined up a babysitter for Saturday night because we were supposed to go to a wedding.  Jeff had gotten out of the house early on Saturday morning and was going to come back and pick me up to head out to the reception.  In any case, it was just me and the kids on Saturday.  So, we played around the house in the morning and just before lunch, we went out to Target to do some grocery shopping.  So, we were in the bread and cereal aisle and I told Jack to go and pick out his cereal while I went to get a loaf of bread.  I had my back turned and, if I was honest, I wasn't really paying attention, and I pushed the cart forward when I heard shrieking coming from underneath.  Apparently, Jack decided to crawl UNDER the cart and I rolled over his finger or it somehow got caught in the wheel.  It was pretty bad.  It was bleeding everywhere, it was kind of smooshed and deformed looking and so I picked him up and told him not to look at his hand while I ran over to the first aid aisle.  I grabbed some Band-Aids, gauze, and children's Tylenol and then I ran to the frozen foods section for a bag of frozen peas.  And then, we ran up to the check-out aisle, got our groceries and then I threw everything in the car and drove to Urgent Care.  Poor guy was in a lot of pain and just kept crying that he didn't want to see the doctor, he only wanted to go home.  But this was one of those injuries that needed immediate medical attention, so I didn't listen to him.  

In any case, the doctor took one look at the finger and sent us for x-rays to confirm what I already knew - that Jack has splintered the tip of his left pointer finger.  They called a pediatric orthopedist for a surgical consult, but the break and its location made it difficult for a pin to be inserted, so they wrapped up his hand in a soft cast and sent us packing.  I always thought that when something like this happened to one of my children, I'd be able to stomach it.  I remember when I worked for a kids' day camp before I started law school and one of the little girls there fell and sustained a compound fracture to her wrist.  I never had any problem with that, but Jack's little finger made me really queasy.  In fact, the nurse in the clinic told me that I needed to keep it together so I wouldn't freak Jack out when it came time to clean up and bandage the finger.    

Talk about maternal guilt - Jack is just about 3.5 years and both of his parents can now claim responsibility for his two broken bones.  My aunt calls this the "Katester" effect because, it would seem, that my children have inherited my clumsiness or, rather, my accident prone-ness.  In any case, we went home and I pretty much gave Jack carte blanche to do whatever he wanted.  I cancelled the babysitter and I'm really glad I did because he was so out of sorts for the rest of the night.  He became irrationally attached to an inflatable fish (Nemo) and had to feed it and give it water every couple of hours.  And then, when we were getting ready for bed, he just started sobbing because he thought his stuffed animal looked sad.  So, he gave it a bunch of toys to "play" with and got even more upset when the stuffed animal's expression didn't change to happy.  

He was okay yesterday - his mood improved throughout the day, I'll say that.  In the morning, he was exceptionally clingy and emotional - most things set off a stream of tears, but he did get better.  We were supposed to meet a friend for lunch, but they cancelled at the last minute because of illness and I'm actually happy about it because I was nervous about Jack's mood.  In any case, we went back to Target yesterday afternoon to finish grocery shopping and pick up a birthday present for the neighbor girl - we went to her birthday party yesterday.  And the entire time we were in Target, Jack kept talking about how he had gotten hurt the day before.  He's going to develop PTSD towards Target.  That'll be a problem.  

So, in any case, we got home and went across the street for the birthday party and I'm pleased to report that Jack actually did pretty well with it.  He had fun running around with the other kids, licking the frosting off of his cupcake, and playing soccer.  We didn't stay too long because Jack needed to take a nap.  So, we headed home and he fell asleep almost immediately.  Nora and I went outside to play with bubbles and the neighbor girls came over to draw "get well" pictures for Jack all over our sidewalk.  In any case, after Jack woke up, Nana and Boppa came up to see the little man and he amazed everyone with his ability to put together puzzles (seriously, the kid is like a savant when it comes to puzzles) and we had some dinner and went to bed on the early side.  

   

And today, the kids are at Grammy Camp.  Last night, my mom commented on how happy Nora seemed to be.  She said that Nora is usually a happy girl at her house, but she was surprised to see just HOW happy Nora was in her own home.  Jeff thinks it's got something to do with me - and it probably does.  She is her Mama's girl right now.  Nora can crawl like a champ - she's really quick - and she definitely does not like to be left alone.  So, she crawls to me no matter where I am and lifts her little arms up for me to hold her.  She gets really frustrated though when she makes it to me and I move.  For example, she really wanted to be picked up this morning while I was making the bed.  So, she'd crawl over to me on one side of the bed and as soon as she got there, I had to go around to the other side.  So, she'd shriek and crawl around the bed, only to repeat the process.  Poor girl was really upset by the time I picked her up - but as soon as I pick her up, she's her happy self again.  

Nora is doing really well with solid foods now too and I think she's starting to prefer them to milk.  Yesterday when I put her in her high chair, she started squealing and kicking her little legs and waving her arms because she was so excited to eat - I think she gets that from her Aunt Kate.  She also thinks its pretty cool that she can feed herself - and the dog.  She holds out her little puffs to Blue who all too happily takes them from her hand.  He also follows her around after she's all done eating because, more often than not, she's got food stuck to her butt.  

Honestly, I can't believe that she'll be nine months at the end of the week.  She's growing so quickly and it is such a joy is watch her discover and explore the world around her.  We're also working really hard on walking - both Jeff and I try to get her to attempt taking a few steps towards us, but she's not sure of herself yet.  She'll be holding on to the furniture and we'll get down on the ground and clap our hands.  Nora will smile and try and steady herself - and it looks like she wants to take a step or two, but then reconsiders and sits down on her butt and crawls over to us.  But, she'll get there soon enough.  

And lets see... what else happened during the past week?  We celebrated Jeff's birthday on Tuesday - we went out to dinner downtown, which is always a risk with the kids.  But, while we were eating, a man came up to us and told us that he'd never seen two kids who were so well-behaved.  I wanted to hug him because, in my opinion, they weren't being well-behaved.  It's stuff like that I need to hear every once and a while - a good reminder to give both my kids and myself a little slack.  Uncle Alec came over on Friday night to watch hockey and have some dinner and I think the rest of the week was pretty quiet.  Today, I'm going to have some surgery on my shoulder (the Katester effect IN effect yet again) and I'll be working from home for the rest of the week.  Coming up this weekend, we've got MORE play dates and things to do - hurray for spring!    

My Little Man

Yesterday, Jack and I went on a date.  It wasn't really anything exciting, but I wanted to spend a little one-on-one time with him.  We went and got his hair cut, bought him new shoes (which is a whole separate story) and grabbed some lunch together.  As we were sitting at the table, enjoying our food and talking about nothing important, and I was struck by the fact that there's nothing really "baby" about him any more.  Even his hands (which were the last remaining part of his babyish looks) are starting to lean out and lose some of their pudginess.  While he'll always be my baby, there's nothing infantile about him any more.  So, I was sitting across the table, looking at him and my eyes started to well up just thinking about this, and it was almost as if he could read my mind.  Jack looked at me and asked if he could come over and sit with me and finish his lunch.  So, he walked around the table, climbed up on my lap, laid his head against my chest, and let me cuddle him while he ate.  Mostly, I just cried, kissed him way too much for his liking, and marveled at what an amazing little boy he's becoming.  When we got home, Jeff commented - unprompted - that it seems as if Jack has aged by light years over the past month.  He wants to do everything by himself now.  He likes getting dressed and undressed, helping me fix supper, and running around outside without adult supervision.  In some ways, this new found independence is fantastic for lots of different reasons, but mostly, it's just heartbreaking for me.

I can't believe how quickly time passes.  Seriously, it just flies by.  And I don't really notice the changes because they happen overnight, it would seem.  Jack is an incredible tiny human.  He is going to be a great person one day.  And I'm sure that all parents say this about their children, I get that, but it doesn't stop it from being true.  Yesterday, there was an article in the paper about a ten-year old girl with Soto's Syndrome, who didn't have any friends and no one responded to an invitation for her birthday party.  Her mom went on Facebook and asked for help.  As it turned out, this little girl had over 300 people show up at her party.  But, her dad was interviewed for the article and was quoted as saying, "I'll go pick her up from school and she'll be playing by herself.  She doesn't have any friends."  This made me really sad because while she had a great birthday party, what's her day at school going to be like today?  Of course, when I read the article, I started crying and told Jeff about it.  After he made fun of me for tearing up, he said, "If Jack knew her, he'd be her friend.  No doubt about it."  And that, in summation, is the kind of kid he is.  Jack just wants to play and he's nice to everyone he meets.  Seriously.  He's got his issues, but he's also three years old.  Yesterday, when we were in Target, he was waving to everyone and saying, "Hi there!  How are you?" which was followed up by, "And how's your day going today?"  My heart breaks and swells about a thousand times a day.  Every time he sees his family, he runs to greet them with a hug, smile, and a kiss.  My favorite part of the day is picking him up from school when he runs to me, arms opened wide, screaming, "MOMMY!"  The other night, I was woken up by his two hands on the sides of my head, searching for my face to give me a kiss and tell me, "Mommy, I just love you so much."

Ugh.  That kid.  I can't even tell you how much I love my two munchkins.  Jack, Jeff and Nora are literally my whole world and sometimes, I can't believe how lucky I am.  That I was chosen to be Jack and Nora's mother and that Jeff chose me to be his partner for life.  The love a parent has for their children is unparalleled in every aspect.  I can honestly say that there's nothing I wouldn't do for them.  And I can't imagine this feeling to ever change.  Twenty years from now, if one of them called, I'd be there.  I've always thought that my kids are lucky to have the family and friends they've got in their lives, but I think that our family and friends are equally blessed by Jack and Nora as well.  I know that Jeff and I must be doing something right in terms of how we're raising our kids, but it certainly helps that we've got an incredible network to help show Jack and Nora how to treat others and how to love each other.  We are, truly, blessed beyond words.          

In any case, these are the things I've been thinking about over the past week.  We were busy, yet again, and the weather was beautiful all week.  At school, it was deemed, "The Week of the Young Child" or whatever that means, and there were different theme days.  Jack came home on Tuesday with a purple mohawk:

Apparently, it was "Crazy Hair" day at school.  Jack thought he was pretty awesome.  It was like someone put a quarter in him on Tuesday night because he was hysterical.  After we got home, he and Blue played around the house for a bit while I got unpacked and started supper.  When I opened the fridge, I found this:

If you can't tell, that's Blue-Dog's baby in the fridge.  According to Jack, the baby needed a time-out.  In any case, while we were eating supper, he suddenly exclaimed, "Mommy!  I need to poop!" and he ran into the bathroom.  After he was done with his business, he called out to me to come and look in the toilet.  I've heard that this is not an uncommon phenomenon with boys.  So, I went into the bathroom and told him that I was very proud of him.  He told me he was very proud of the "big poopy that he made with his butt."  In any case, he ended up with yogurt all over his shirt and so I stripped him and got him out of his chair after he was done with dinner.  He ran all over the house while I cleaned up when I noticed him, streak by and dressed like this:

 
Anyways, on Wednesday, I went to see the last Timberwolves' game of the season with a girlfriend.  We had really - and I mean really - good seats.  We were on television the entire time.  I'm not much of a basketball fan, but I had a fantastic time.

See?  I told you the seats were good.  Jeff stayed home with the kids and sent me this picture and caption while I was at the game:

"He is already a teenager.  He has locked Nora out of his room."  

When I got home, Jack was still awake and pretty excited about all the swag that I'd gotten him.  One of the players had given me a t-shirt and some kind of inflatable noisemaker shaped like a wolf paw.  Pretty neat, I guess, if you're a three-year old.  

In any case, the rest of the week was pretty mundane.  Jeff and I ran a few errands before we picked up the kids on Friday night.  We went to Walgreen's and there was a "Red Nose" campaign/fundraiser.  So, I donated a dollar and got this red clown nose.  I put it on when we went to go get the kids at school on Friday night - and Jack thought it was awesome, as to be expected, and I think he wore it non-stop for two days:

In any case, Saturday was absolutely beautiful and so we went to the zoo.  We've got a rather large double stroller but neither Jeff or I were interested in hauling that around or assembling it, so we threw Jack's little red wagon in the back of the car.  Jack thought it was awesome because he could get in and out of it easily.  Nora thought it was awesome because she was cruising around with her brother, just like a big girl does.

Both kids had so much fun at the zoo.  Nora appreciated some of the animals and Jack loved seeing the farm babies.  We fed some goats, saw baby chickens and piglets, and even watched the two grizzly bears wrestling and playing in the water.  

I had to search to find this picture, but in the chicken coop, Jack wanted me to take his picture in the cut out/climb up thing they've got there - and if you want to see how much he's changed in three years...

So, after we got home from the zoo, Jeff and Jack went to take their naps and Nora and I headed out to the store to do some shopping.  Even she's getting bigger by the minute - now she's able to sit up in the Target cart and "help" me with the shopping:

Yesterday, we didn't do much.  I made some spaghetti sauce and got things ready for the week.  Jack and I went out to have our little date and get him some new shoes.  This is my least favorite thing to do.  Ever.  Jack doesn't like it either.  He's got huge feet.  And, not only that, but they're really thick and wide.  Finding shoes that fit him well is next to impossible.  He can't wear just any shoe because most don't fit his feet in one way or another.  Even the shoes that are billed as "wide" aren't a surefire win because they might not be "tall" enough for his potato feet.  We went to five different stores yesterday.  We struck out at the first four stores because they didn't have his size or, if they did, the shoes STILL didn't fit.  And you can only go up so many sizes before it's actually unsafe to buy the shoes in question.  We finally found some that worked at Target.  Poor little man had to suffer through me trying to jam about a two dozen pairs of shoes on his feet.  And he kept crying, "Stop!  Those are too really little for my feet, Mommy!"  When we FINALLY found some that worked, he said, "Yeah, dude!  These are awesome!" And then ran away from me to show me how "fast" he could run in his new kicks.  Even Jeff was pleased in my choice of footwear because he remarked how easy it was to put Jack's shoes on this morning.  

And today, the kids are at Grammy Camp.  It looks like Wim and Jack went to Fleet Farm with Boppa and then headed over to McDonald's for some lunch and playtime:

  

And I think that's about it for the week.  Jeff's birthday is tomorrow, and we're going to take him out for dinner tomorrow night.  We've got a wedding this weekend and possibly try to squeeze in a play date with some friends.  

Frozen on Ice

Man, what an awesome weekend.  

The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining and we had so much fun indoors.  Ha!  Anyways, last Friday, Jeff came down with the stomach flu and so I headed in to the office to pick up some files and work and then I came back home to take care of him.  Being that I thought I had been on death's door earlier in the week, he just needed someone on hand to bring him water, clean up after him, and make him toast to throw up.  Gross, I know.  But, he turned the corner on Friday and suggested we go pick up the kids from school and take them to Perkins for dinner - pancakes have a way of soothing a troubled tummy.  

  

It is getting harder and harder to take good pictures of the kids these days.  Nora is constantly on the move and, for whatever reason, Jack had become adverse to taking photos.  Perhaps its because I've attempted to document every moment of his life and he's rebelling against the (wo)man.  Who knows?  

  

In any case, on Saturday we got up and did our usual chores.  Nora took a power nap and so Jack and I played inside while Jeff went to the gym.  Rather, I cleaned, Jack messed everything up, and Jeff made sure to get out of my way.  Jack ran his remote control guy all over the place while I cleaned and wiped the drool off of every surface in our house.  After lunch, I put Jack down for a quick snooze because we went to see Frozen on Ice on Saturday afternoon.  We went with a few of my girlfriends and their kids.  Like I said before, we Bennies like to breed and, between the six adults, we had thirteen kids to wrangle.  

I had debated bringing Nora for a while because I kind of wanted to have a "date day" with Jack, but when it came down to it, I couldn't leave her behind.  She would have been perfectly content to hang out with Daddy and it's not like she'd know she was missing anything, but I figured she'd like the lights and music and whatnot, so she came along with us.  We left the house and headed downtown.  In order to avoid the chaos surrounding the Target Center, I parked in my contract spot at my office building and the kids and I made the six-block trek over.  I had thought I was being smart (and a little frugal) but I was second-guessing my decision the whole way over.  Downtown is a bit sketchy on the weekends.  There aren't a ton of people out on the streets and those who are out don't really give me a lot of confidence.  So, I'm walking over to the Target Center, holding the hand of a three-year old, wearing Nora in the Bjorn and carrying my diaper bag and purse.  I was terrified - thinking what I would need to do if someone tried to harass or rob me.  

Regardless, we made it there and back in one piece.  Everyone had a ball, I think.  Jack loved the show.  Honestly, I think I spent more time watching his face and reactions than I spent actually enjoying the performance.  His favorite part was the giant abominable snowman.  And, as I had guessed, Nora loved watching the show too.  We got there with enough time to get a snack and he asked for an Olaf hat too.  

After the show was over, all nineteen of us went out to dinner.  Fortunately, one of my girlfriends had the foresight to call the restaurant to let them know we were coming and they'd reserved a large table for us in the back private room.  But, we were in good company as there were a lot of other tables with families and little girls in Elsa and Anna dresses.  

So, we made the trek back to the parking ramp and as we were driving home, Jack asked if we could stop for some ice cream.  This actually, kind of surprised me because Jack doesn't like ice cream.  I know, what?  Whose kid is he?  Honestly, I think it has less to do with the taste and more to do with the fact that it's cold.  It might also be the texture, but he has never been one to enjoy ice cream.  He'll eat a Popsicle though, so go figure. 

So we stopped at Dairy Queen on our way home.  And Jack preferred to play with his sundae.  I think he ate about two bites, but Daddy was happy to help with the leftovers.  We were all beat so the whole family got into their pajamas and climbed into bed for a group snuggle.  

Yesterday morning, Jack woke up and ran to his bedroom window to look outside.  He turned to me and said, "Mommy!  I want to play outside today!"  And again, how do you say no to something like that?  The weather was absolutely beautiful - it was a bit windy, but it was warm and again, the sun was shining.  I had kind of hoped for a lazy morning in bed but Jack had other plans, obviously.  

But first, we needed to get dressed.  Nora needed a bath yesterday morning due to an unfortunate diaper incident.  I thought that, given the fact she can sit up on her own and whatnot, she'd enjoy splashing in the bathtub instead of getting cleaned up in her baby basket, but she was not amused.  It was awful.  She refused to sit in the water.  Jack kept trying to talk to her and give her toys, but she did not like sitting in the bathtub.  She kept pulling herself up on the side and wailing at me to get her out of there.  I took this picture of the two of them - Jack is trying to tell her that "big girls take baths" but she wasn't having it:

Still, after we got out of the tub, she was a happy camper.  She was naked, of course, which always makes things better in her world.

She's really picked up squeaking - Jeff calls her "Squeakers von Beakers" because of all the noises and squawking she does.  Honestly, she just scoots around the house shrieking and squeaking.  It's pretty cute.  But, she also gets herself into a lot of trouble too.  Her favorite things, currently, are to crawl over to Blue's dog dish and dump out his water.  She also likes to pull everything out of the cupboards, rip the bumpers off the coffee table, and throw the remote controls as far as she can.  

In any case, we got cleaned up, had some breakfast and Jack "helped" me put Nora down for her morning nap.  And then, we finally got to go outside.  Jack played with "his girls" for a while - jumped on their trampoline and investigated some sticks, but we managed to do all of his favorite things.  We blew bubbles, drew with chalk, and we went on a hog ride.  Last year, our neighbors (who have three boys) were going through a major purge and "gifted" us this motorized Harley Davidson.  Last summer, Jack didn't really think it was all that interesting, but it's the only thing that he wants to do now.  And, for the record, he's a terrible driver.  

So, we tried to work on steering his motorcycle yesterday because Jack kept driving on to the neighbors' lawns.  That thing is also pretty speedy and I spent most of my time chasing after him to try and redirect him from ramming it into parked cars and trees.  Jeff came outside and took over so I could run a few errands.  Yesterday, Target was blessedly quiet which makes sense because even I didn't want to be grocery shopping on a day like that.  Still, I got the chores done and I got home in time to make some ribs for dinner.  Jeff went to the gym while the kids napped and I sat outside and got some work done.  My favorite thing to do.  And then the rest of the day was pretty mundane.  

Jack has been asking to see his Nana and Boppa all week - so he was pretty excited when I told him this morning that he got to go to Grammy Camp.  As we were pulling in to meet my dad, he saw Boppa's car and started hollering, "There's MY Boppa, guys!  Boppa's going to come and take me and Nora and we're going to play and have so much fun!  It's my Nana/Boppa Day!"  It was pretty cute.  

This coming week, we don't have too many plans, which is always nice.  Things at work have been pretty busy.  I'm in trial all day tomorrow and I've got an out of town deposition on Wednesday.  I'm also going with a girlfriend to see the Timberwolves play on Wednesday night and Jeff's birthday is next week too.  But the sun is still shining and it's supposed to be beautiful all week and I'm hoping I can get outside and enjoy it.