Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Funny Kid

Oftentimes, when Devin uses the bathroom at the front of the house with the big window that faces the street and the neighbor's house across the street, he raises the shade.

I'm pretty sure he does that to spy on them.

Monday, December 29, 2008

1 cm an hour

This day six years ago, I was hooked up to an antibiotic IV in a backless nightgown, all bright eyed and bushy tailed because I was about to give birth. I arrived at the hospital shortly after midnight with 1 little fact in the forefront of my mind. 1 CM an hour. Which meant...I would be birthing my first baby about 10 o'clock the following morning.

It also meant...I'm an idiot. A complete and total idiot! I know you think it's harsh. But, when I look back on that day, I was pretty sure the nurse who told me that I needed to sleep because it was going to take awhile was wrong because I had that fact in my head. 1 cm an hour. That little fact made me so much smarter than the nurse, at least that's what I thought.

Even if my body had adhered to that random average number, I WASN'T EVEN IN LABOR! See, that's how dumb I was! My water had broken, but labor had not started. Labor hurts, and I wasn't in pain. I thought I was lucky! But, I wasn't lucky, I just wasn't in labor. Broken water <> Labor. That was a fact I didn't have memorized about giving birth.

I was given pitocin around 7 am to get the labor going. Still, it took me a few months to realize that I was induced. It took me a while to realize that Broken Water <> Labor.

Around 10 AM, when I thought I would be welcoming my new baby, I may have asked for something so I could get some sleep. I was also saying good-bye to that know-it-all nurse. She was going home, but she'd be back, she said. She'd see me then, she said. Yeah, right! I thought. I'd be on the other side by 5:00 for sure. I wouldn't be seeing her. No way.

Yes way.

That baby didn't arrive until 10:30 PM. And, that nurse was back. And, she was just wonderful. Her name was Therese. I'd like to send her a message to tell her she was just wonderful.



You know what else hurts? Milk coming in. I didn't know that either, and I nearly killed little Trevor by not feeding him for 2 days. It all worked out OK in the end, though. He's fine now. No stained brain from the jaundice that was complicated by the dehydration. Which I also didn't recognize because I'm such a dummy.

Happy Birthday Trevor from your mom who used to be pretty dumb. You've taught me a lot.


12/29/03


12/29/04


12/29/05


12/30/06


12/29/07

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The sagacity of a Child

I made Macaroni and Cheese with hot dogs for the boys' dinner last night (we were going out and dropping the kids with a sitter and didn't share in this luscious meal). It's a meal I had often as a kid. And, I always loved it. More than Sauerkraut and Wieners, anyway. I asked John if his mom made him Mac and Cheese with Hot Dogs when he was a kid, and he said, "No!" and gave me that look that says, "You're crazy, woman!" He went on to explain the reason his mom never made that meal for him was because he never would have eaten it. I think he added a "disgusting" under his breath.

"Whatever." That's what I said under my breath as I dished out the boys' dinner.

A few bites in, I asked them if they liked it.

I got an enthusiastic, "YEAH!" from both of them. It probably didn't hurt that the Macaroni was shaped like characters from Scooby-Doo.

"You really like it?" I asked Devin.

"Yeah!" he said with the same aforementioned enthusiasm. Then, he added. "I may not like it when I'm all grown up, but right now, I LOVE IT!"

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Punch!

Sunday night at bedtime, I told the boys to brush their teeth. Further, I gave them 3 minutes and let them know if played around and it took longer than 3 minutes, they could just forget about a story. Somehow, no story at bedtime is their worst punishment ever. They love their bedtime stories.

So, Trevor (who by the way got one cavity filled last week and will have another filled tomorrow) brushed his teeth in 3 seconds flat. Done! He was getting his story! Devin, on the other hand, dillied and he dallied. He came downstairs looking for his "lasso" (really a piece of curling ribbon). This freaked Trevor out. "DEVIN, YOU GOTTA BRUSH YOUR TEETH OR YOU WON'T GET A STORY!!" he yelled pretty close to Devin's face as I told Devin, "Just go brush your teeth and then we'll talk about the lasso." He was overwhelmed with his desire to tell me about the lasso and the stern directions from me and Trevor at the same time. So, quick as a flash, he reached out and punched Trevor right in the chest.

We all stopped for an instant. Then I hugged Trevor as he cried and told Devin that he wasn't getting a story because he's not allowed to punch his brother. So, then he cried. And cried. And cried.

And cried.

Seriously, it's the worst deterrent we have in our arsenal.

So, much as I wanted to take it back and go ahead and read him a story (because some tears really DO make me want to change my mind and these were that kind) John read Trevor a story while I told Devin that I couldn't read him a story. I told him that even though I understood he was frustrated, there's never a good reason to punch your brother. He told me it was an accident, and I really did believe him. I think Trevor and I were both at fault for not letting him have his say. But, still. Can't punch your brother. So, I hugged and kissed him and said good night. Twice. Daddy did the same. And, Devin just kept crying.

Trevor tried to make it all go away, negotiating on his brother's behalf.

"It didn't really hurt," he said. We weren't going to be swayed though.

After Daddy and I had gone downstairs, Trevor listened for Devin to stop crying. And, when he did, Trevor brought him some books to cheer him up. Devin told us about that part on Monday.

I don't know. I think this whole "brothers" thing is really going to work out for these two.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Green Tips

Yesterday at karate, Trevor and I took and passed our green tip test. I was pretty confident for myself because I know the first kata pretty well, but I was worried about Trevor. Our Sensei made a point of telling him that if he didn't pass, it wasn't a bad thing. Gosh, was I worried. But, he passed. He followed along during the Kata with me, and he knew it well enough, although he gets his lefts and his rights confused a lot of the time.

Anyway, mostly I was worried about him not passing the test because he was doing his big huge frowny face (I call it his bulldog face) during the warmup. He was trying to tell me he was thirsty, but I didn't believe him. He's pretty good at coming up with excuses for not wanting to do Karate while we're at Karate, so I decided he was making it up. But, he later told the Sensei he was sad because he was so thirsty his throat had started to hurt. As Trevor worked out with his bulldog face, Sensei would say, "Come On! This is part of the test!" So, I was worried about Trevor failing that part of the test. And, Trevor's little friend who's been tasked with "helping" Trevor with Karate would check his face every two minutes. Every time she looked at him and his sad face, her face would fall, too. His sadness was absolutely contagious, and her workout was pretty much ruined. Seriously. Even after Trevor got a drink and wasn't so sad any more, his friend couldn't stay on task at all.

One of the things I like about Karate is the "respect" aspect of it. We're all expected to teach each other as much as we can. So, little kids who know more than me (and even some who don't!) have no problem with putting my arms where they should be for a head block, and I'm expected to thank them. I think this is good for me, and it's especially good for those kids who aren't afraid to approach and help me. Even Trevor has offered a few corrections. I may practice more, but he pays more attention, so I accept his corrections gracefully.

Last night at karate, we did a "Compai." I probably spelled that wrong. We went around the circle and everyone who chose to said something they were thankful for, then we raised our glasses of juice and said, "COMPAI!" Trevor said, "I really like karate because it's a lot of fun, but I don't like the timing of it. It's really long. It's almost a hundred minutes!" As I sensed this complaint coming, I looked at the ceiling for help, but nothing happened. I was still stuck on the floor with my thankless child who isn't afraid to speak in public. I like that he's not shy, so I raised my glass to his Compai, and thanked him for coming with me almost every week for the last 6 months.

So, that's it. We got our Green Tips. I plan on signing up for the next six months because of our one senior student who recently became a black belt. When I first met him, I thought he was maybe 24. He'd been leading the class during the Sensei's year long sabbatical, and he just seems very mature. He's only 17. I want people to think Trevor is 24 when he's only 17. I think it will be good for him for life.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

A Moment...

I'm going to try and give you a moment, a precious moment.

We were all in our cold basement, cleaning it and/or watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Devin came over and said, "I want to give you a secret." With his cold, little hands, he moved my hair away from my ear and put his mouth close.

I heard nothing, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw his mouth moving.

I told him I couldn't hear him.

So, he moved my hair again with those little precious hands and whispered, "I love you."

I whispered back that I loved him.

He said, "I want to give you another secret."

So, he moved my hair, leaned close, and whispered, "I know that already."