Morning, the loss.

When our daughter told us her tooth was loose, I thought she must have hit her face on something and miraculously forgot to mention it to us. I considered this possibility for a moment and realized that with the phase she's been in for the past year, there's no way possible she took a face plant and didn't express her pain, discomfort, or inconvenience to us without a whine, whimper or full-blown bawl.

It sounds bad to paint your own child as an annoying pain in the ass, but when she's not sharing her food with me, making me cards, inventing games for us to play and building forts for us to hide in, that is EXACTLY what she's doing. And, she does it very well, I might add.

Still, there it was, all wiggly and holding on for dear life by a pink gum string. I didn't know that she could lose a tooth so young (just turning five in March and all). So, of course, Dr. Hypochondriac that I am, I looked it up on the internet and many pediatricians concurred that this was completely normal. So, I took deep breath and let go of the idea of our daughter having silver caps. Not like there's anything wrong with that. And I'm sure I would have pushed for a porcelain one and paid money we didn't have just so people wouldn't stare at her teeth.

After several days of seeing Maddy perpetually with her fingers in her mouth or tickling the wobbly tooth with her tongue, it came out. With a little help from my husband. Neither of us could stand it anymore. With his brute strength, he twisted it delicately until it tore off and she began choke on a mouthful of blood. I'm kidding about that last part, but it did come out. And with it, a little blood and a great amount of symbolism. She had lost a baby tooth. She really was no longer a baby at all.






This and the fact that kindergarten is starting mid-August, we're suffering from a bit of post-preschool blues. There is a definite empty nest thing going on in our house. And to think that our son, the one who will be sixteen in August, has only two years of high school left and then he will be gone. The choice to visit us will be only up to him. And I put fingers in my ears and I scream lalala until I start to cry. And I pray that he really feels the connection to his family that we think he feels and can't stand to be away for too long.

The morning after Maddy lost her tooth, she found a crisp single and a Hello Kitty candy necklace under her pillow. I know, sugar. The vigilant promoter of tooth loss. But it WAS her first. I guess we wanted to make sure that it wouldn't be her last ;) I mean, what would we do without the constant reminder that someday, that bright blue room with the handmade posters, flower garland and Little Mermaid accessories would be empty. A workout or sewing room. A room without laughter.

Love to you.

Incubation Period

Time for my quarterly blog...wish I had the constitution to blog more frequently. What I blog about here are the most important things and I find it sad that I don't find more time for writing about them. It doesn't make them any less vital to me.

What's been happening lately...since the last blog, we thought we were all done being sick, but I think I was more sick of the sickness than it was sick of me (and my family). Colds, flus and allergies, never ceasing. I know, that's all a part of life, but it seems like it's hit us especially hard this year (especially Christian). I think we're seeing the beginning of a healthful season. Allergies are preferable to cleaning up vomit and visits to the ER.

Christian's approaching his sweet sixteen ironically with a sour outlook. I know his diabetes gets him down and it's compounded by general teenage angst. Or vice versa. There's still a lot of nagging. Sometimes there's notable improvement, but not long after, being followed by backsliding. The negative stuff is really kind of minor and very typical, but when you want everything for your kid, you don't want them to get hung up on the little BS stuff. He's a smart kid and deep down, he's a good kid. I just want him to enjoy high school more than I did. And I want him to have an easy transition into adulthood.

Madeline's officially registered for kindergarten. She has her assessment in the beginning of May. I have mixed feelings about her starting. I'm excited to see her in another phase of her childhood, but like her daddy, I will mourn the loss of her dependency. I will be going back to work after a long stay-at-home "vacation", as Christian calls it. Time to put the Bon Bons away and start earning a decent living.

Since Christmas, we've had a lot of birthday madness and general madness, which I will share with you in the form of a pictorial:












Until we meet again, Blogger.

I love you SMUCH!

Mermaids and Misery

So, a lot has happened since the summer...my last post. Time flies even when you're not having fun. This blog is testimony. These last few months have been riddled with illness. Christian got hit with the stomach flu just in time to miss trick-or-treating (and his first time with us on Halloween for years, and probably his last chance to go - he's 15). He stayed home and passed out candy for us while we took Maddy around the block. He was passed the point of contagion, so don't worry neighbors.

Shortly after this, he started having stomach pains and was taken in by his father to have them discover that his appendix was sputtering to a halt. They performed the procedure via laparoscope and we thought, done and done...but then his intestines weren't moving the way they need to before discharge. So we waited...or I mean, he waited in the hospital for five days waiting for them to figure out how to get them back in action. Finally a new doctor came on (who was an old doctor) and he prescribed something that he knew would work. He was finally keeping down solids and his bowels had sounds of gas, so the doctor discharged him.

Through all this, Christian lost 12 lbs and on an already gaunt teen, it looked bad. He looked sick, sick. We took the opportunity during Thanksgiving to fatten him up. It definitely doesn't work overnight, especially when the loss was so great. But I think he gave it his all and ate a little bit of everything he saw.

Shortly after Thanksgiving Maddy got sick, then I got sick and then Maddy got sick AGAIN. This time, ear infection and pink eye. I'm crossing my fingers that Richie doesn't get taken down like the rest of us. He's been the nursemaid through all of this. OR as Maddy would say, he's the doctor because he's a boy. I didn't teach her that stuff, I swear.

Amidst the tumult of malaise and malady, I've noticed a theme in our daughter's obsessions. Right now...and for the past few months, everythings coming up mermaid. Ariel, to be more precise. Here's a fun little mermaid montage to offset the dreariness of the first part of this blog:






Here's to a splashing New Year full of immunity!

My love to all but most to you!

A Taste of Summer

Because summer is almost officially over, I thought I'd show you what you missed (and what I miss). It goes by fast, but seemed seriously truncated this year. Here's a portrayal of how the summer looked in my head...a series of snapshots:













God, I'm blessed.

I love you all! SMUCH, Richie.

Night and Day

Every night before my daughter goes to bed, we play in her room for a while, read her a story, brush her teeth, and then I cuddle with her before she goes into her own bed. Every night she puts her hand between the slats of her toddler bed and I kiss it. She then pulls her hand back and kisses her own hand. How sweet! I never want to forget this (and a million other things).

My son's routine isn't as sweet or endearing. It's not just because of his age, but his condition. He has to take an injection of long-lasting insulin, test his blood sugar, which consists of a finger prick to get the blood on the test strip. If he's within range, then he can brush, floss and rinse. If he's below, then he has to take fast acting glucose tablets/soda. If he's high, well, that's another injection of a different insulin. I wish he could have a night time ritual more like his little sister's. Maybe not quite as child-like, but certainly as painless.

Being that I can't undo what nature has insisted upon and I can't turn back the hands on the clock, I'm trying to help raise funds to cure type 1 diabetes. Please help me, if you happen to be reading this. Please make a donation, no matter how big to jdrf.org or joslin.org. If you like to shop, you can visit sugarcubesociety.etsy.com where crafters from all over the country have contributed their goods for the greater good. Thank you SO much!

My love to you all, but especially you!

They Grow Up So Fast...

It seems like just yesterday (or at least, two months ago) she was our little princess.



She was running around with her little friends, playing dress up at the Extreme Princess Playdate thrown by the Party Wizard.



But look at her now:



She has so many big life decisions to make since she had her first (out of two) preschool graduation. Like, which cookies she wants to have for snack. Or what she should wear for her playdate with her best friend, Catie.

All we can do as parents is be there for her and support whatever choices she makes. Better not clear out her room just yet even though my thighs and buttocks are screaming for a home gym.

I love you and you and you, but mostly you.

Two Years Greater

The best present I ever got my husband for his birthday was our daughter. She was born the day after his birthday and will always be his slightly belated gift from the heavens. Sometimes, regardless of my rants, she actually is a little angel. She can be so tender and warm. I have to admit that right now, she doesn't exactly behave like an angel at the frequency I'd like her to, but seeing the indicators makes me have hope for the future ;)

We had a fairly low-key birthday weekend, which included a small family party at my sister's, a viewing of the Bee Movie (her first movie on the big screen) at the cheapo theatre and a trip to Fairytale Town (her first visit). All of which were well received by the daughter, with a slight exception. Anytime we tried to photograph or video our her she would scrunch up her face and tell us to go away. Oh, well. Once my husband and I let go of our expectations of having any memorabilia of the day, we seemed to enjoy ourselves even more. However, I came to the conclusion that our daughter would have loved it more so if she were there with another kid, even her big brother to drag behind her.

For my husband, the kids and I got him two skateboard t-shirts and Barack Obama's latest book. I don't normally buy him presents for his birthday. I usually just make him his favorite dinner and dessert. But I'm glad we did get him presents. He looks sexy in his shirts, but not as sexy as he looks when he gets all geeked about how Barack is taking more states (and delegates) than Hillary in the primaries! Friggin' poli-nerd. I love him. He's the best present I've ever got.

Regardless of my daughter's camera-resistant expressions, I managed to capture this snapshot of our day at Fairytale Town.




I love you beyond words.