Friday, August 31, 2007

Feeling better about S. and school

I visited with S.' teacher this morning, and I'm feeling much better about the bathroom incident. There is a single bathroom in the classroom that the children all use. However, not all the kids have good bathroom etiquette. Things like shutting the door while they are in there and knocking before entry are still being learned. The teacher is also dealing with kids who wait until the last possible minute to go potty.

A new boy started on Wednesday. It was his very first day to ever be in any sort of classroom setting. He is one of the kids having bathroom protocol problems. What I think happened is that he needed to GO, and S. was already in the bathroom. He was probably much more interested in getting her OFF the potty than anything sinister.

Mrs. G. has assured me that she will continue to work with the kids' proper bathroom protocol and will spend a little more time reinforcing it. Meanwhile, I'm going to talk to S. about saying NO or OCCUPIED very strongly should someone walk in while she is in the bathroom.

*whew*

I've re-arranged an afternoon meeting, so lunch today with S. is still ON! She still doesn't know, so this is going to be a pretty nice surprise.

As a side note, Mrs. G. seems to have a fine appreciation for S. We both agreed she is a pretty funny kid. Yesterday afternoon, Mrs. G. had a worksheet for the kids. S. responded with, 'I don't want to do this.' Mrs. G. talked to her, and S. did complete the worksheet. I suspect this will not be the last difference of opinion, though. I told Mrs. G. that we found punishment really doesn't phaze S. very much. In order for her to follow rules, she needs to understand why they are important.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Four Drop offs and a Funeral

Gee, it has been a long time...

Monday

S. started Kindergarten on Monday. Where has the time gone? Her first day, she wanted assurance that Mr. W. and I would hang out with her if necessary. However, once we got to her class, she dove right in and couldn't have said we were there or not. Her teacher had a little gift sack for each set of parents. It contained a little packet of Kleenex and some chocolate to help the mommies and daddies get through the day. A very sweet poem she wrote about the first day of school accompanied the bag and left me boo hooing in the van on the way to daycare.

L. was NOT happy about going to her school without S. She did eventually voluntarily enter her classroom, but she made her displeasure known.

Tuesday

Again on Tuesday, we took S. directly to her classroom. She couldn't wait for us to leave.

L. started a new class at daycare. She refused to walk in her new classroom until she was a couple of her buddies from her previous classroom. I spent a good amount of time discussing L.'s food allergy and pointing out where we keep the epi-pens and how they work. I'm confident these teachers will be just as careful as her last teachers.

Wednesday

Mommies and daddies are not allowed to walk their child to class as of today. I dropped S. off in the designated area. She barely slowed down for me to yell, 'I love you. Have a good day.'

L. went right into her new class and was raring to go. Good times.

I worked obnoxiously late and when I got, home, Mr. W. told me the disturbing story S. told him. She said a boy came into the bathroom while she was in there and touched her privates. She told the teacher, and the boy got in trouble. We did not get a note home or any communication from the teacher about this. I am trying not to go off the deep end. S. doesn't seem traumatized, just annoyed. I am struggling with an urge to drop kick this kid into the middle of next month.

On the other hand, S. brought home some work from school. They are spending the first couple weeks learning how to use their tools. Yesterday, the was glue and scissors practice. I'm really proud of how well she managed to keep her glue contained.

Thursday

Freddy, the betta fish, is dead. So dead, in fact, that he was starting to stink. We held an impromptu burial service for Freddy out by our front step shortly after breakfast. May he rest in peace. Sucky way for a 5 year old to start her day, losing a pet...

On the way to school, S. confirmed her story about the bathroom incident and added the detail that the boy kicked her as well. I am going to visit with the teacher tomorrow morning. Her conference period is from 8:05 to 8:55, and I need to hear from her what is going on.

Again, L. tripped merrily into her class. I think she really loves the new activities available to her now.

I am leaving for home now, and really hope that we have some sort of communication from the teacher.

I am excited about tomorrow, though. I am taking a long lunch and spending it with S. I haven't told her about it, so it's going to be a surprise.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Drugs, drugs everywhere

Seasickness patch worked, but also induced terrible dizziness. Good thing I didn't vomit on that stuff, since I could barely get upright, let alone hit an appropriate vomit target.

The doc has submitted a request for the Zofran to be covered... Right now, I'm perfectly willing to pay full price for anything that keeps everything currently in my tummy from making a violent re-appearance. Although, $20/pill hurts...

The security system woks

We have a brand new security system at work. Badges are required to move from floor to floor and into certain departments. After more than 9 years of never having to deal with a locked door, I have definitely hit a learning curve.

I can tell you with 100% certainty that the lock on the glass door that goes into IS works perfectly, seeing as how I have smashed myself into it on multiple occasions. Maybe a broken nose will help me remember to swipe my ID badge? ... Probably not.

Operation Eeyore Sleep

We (or rather, Mr. W.) did it! The girls are no longer sleeping on toddler bed and in a crib. Both have been put away and twin size beds have taken their place.

In order to make the transition from little to big more comfortable for the girls, we ordered matching Eeyore Blue Roses bedspreads, sheets, etc sets. The girls love them almost as much as jumping on their new beds.

We skipped the side rails for now, and L. did fall out of bed once last night. She was cranky when Mr. W. picked her up to put her back in bed. However, she did manage to stay in the center of her bed the rest of the night. Yay L!

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Appointment!

Had my prenatal check-up today. It was oh-so-fun PAP, etc. appointment. We did get to listen to the little bean's heart fluttering away at 156 bpm. Everything's perfect, and he commented on my little bump. Mr. W. turned into a giant squooshy, kissy-faced marshmallow after hearing that little flutter... Awwwwww.

I have a script for seasickness patches which I will try for a few days. If these don't work, the doc will start the process to TRY to get Zofran covered for me... On the lighter side, apparently the medication in the patch will make your pupil dilate if you touch your eye after applying the patch and before washing your hands thoroughly. He had a patient who wound up subjected to all kinds of neurological workups when she showed up at the ER with uncontrollable nausea and vomitting and one dilated pupil. A good thing to note!

I again declined all genetic, spina bifida, etc. screenings. I'm one of those who worries incessantly when there may be something wrong, and I would never forgive myself if an invasive test wound up harming my baby. So, it makes perfect sense to me to skip screenings that already put me at a higher risk due to my 'advanced maternal age.' When you add in that I have no intention of terminating, it just makes sense to save the insurance co. some money.

Now if you could tell me that an amnio was guaranteed 100% not to harm the baby and gave a 100% correct diagnosis, I'd be all over it. Otherwise, I want to avoid what happened to a good friend of mine. She too, would never consider an amnio or termination and she DID have screenings done. She received terrible results and wound up having to deal with worries at the back of her mind the rest of her pregnancy. She delivered a perfectly healthy little boy.

I'll head to big, bad, research hospital an hour away in another month or so for a detailed ultra sound. This should give enough information to prepare me for the need to deliver at big, bad, research hospital if there is something seriously wrong with the bean. The local hospital where I plan to deliver doesn't really have a NICU. Can you imagine how badly it would stink to be stuck in one hospital while your new baby has been airlifted to another one an hour away? *shudder*

M.W.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

This, that and the other

All about S.

Got a note from daycare that a child in S.' class came down with scarlatina (aka Scarlet Fever) last Friday. I'm guessing this is where S. was exposed to Strep.

Kindergarten is a mere 20 days away. It has finally dawned on S. that when she starts her new school, she will be leaving her old friends and teachers behind. We had a case of the nervous whines on the way to daycare this morning. Bless her heart. She has attended the same center since she was 6 weeks old. She will never be in the same school for that long again (please, let her finish college in 4 years!). She's worried about her teacher, her friends, being all by herself, etc. She is so outgoing and friendly with everyone, that I know she will settle in just fine. Meanwhile, I've promised to:

A. go with her on her first day and stay as long as she needs (Mr. W. is in on that promise, too).
B. go have lunch with her at least once.

On the mommy-bragging side of things, we requested a particular K teacher for S. One of the instructors is very militant, and I know from the depths of my soul that teacher would be a bad match for S. We picked the teacher we got the warmest fuzzies from during the Kindergarten parent orientation back in February. Additionally, this is the same teacher who was recommended by another faculty friend. Turns out S. is in high demand. We met another Kindergarten teacher at the local museum, and she was impressed enough with S. that she asked the principal if S. could be in her class.

Of course, next year, the teachers will switch from discussing who 'gets' to have S. and who 'has' to have S. Well, maybe not that extreme.

All about L.

L. is a terror to her older sister. There, I've admitted it. My 2 year old is rough and mean. The funny thing is now after L. has bitten, pinched, hit, pushed, thrown at her big sister, she starts shushing S. in a futile attempt to avoid getting in trouble. It's wrong to laugh, but I immediately know when L. has done something wrong. Her shushing noises are not exactly super quiet.

Speaking of aggression, I'm concerned about L.'s lack of speech. Not only is she not understandable by just about anyone besides me, she is trying to enunciate and failing miserably. I'm giving her another couple weeks before I start talking to our doctor. As much as I hate the thought of it, it is very likely time for L.'s hearing and language skills to be examined more closely.

All about me

You know how products very rarely live up to the hype? I have found one that truly does. Oh my goodness, am I happy. It's this tummy sleeve I bought at Motherhood Maternity. It's just spandex/nylon stretchy tube top looking thing. However, you can put it on over your regular button down pants while they are unbuttoned and unzipped. The edge looks a bit like the end of a tank top (black in my case). This sucker holds my pants up, smooths out the lines where everything is unfastened and allows me to put off (perhaps permanently?) switching to those belly-covering maternity slacks and skirts. I'm almost as in love with this thing as I am the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

I have my next doctor's appointment Thursday morning. Hopefully Mr. W. remembers to ask off so he can go. There's nothing quite like listening to that little heart beat to get a guy 'vested' in a pregnancy.

Also, I am definitely feeling the little bean move. Wow! I never expected to feel it so soon.

M.W.