Why today was a good day

I had to have dental surgery today. And you’re probably wandering how that registers as a good day. Well, here are a few reasons today turned out to be good.

1. I found a turtle. Yep, you read that right. I drove home from dropping off the girls at daycare and there it was, right by my driveway. I called my dad, since he has rescued about every animal there is, and got some advice and now he is temporary living in my screened in porch and named Tuck.

2. Anesthesia. After all these dental problems this year, I’ve developed some anxiety about getting my teeth worked on. Especially when today’s appointment involved inserting a metal post in the bones of gums for an hour. And I was practically asleep before they gave me the drugs. It was amazing. Best nap ever.

3. We got our air conditioning working. And today’s high was 88 so I was very relieved!

4. Our baby may be brilliant. She officially can sit up by herself. Although she will fall eventually so I won’t leave her alone to do it, but she can do it! So I got out all Ella’s old baby toys and Eva sat up thoroughly excited playing with them. It was so cute.

OK, that’s it. Now tomorrow I face the eye doctor, with both kids. Wish me luck.

Time for wine

So tonight Ella was bawling and begging to watch a show before bed. She’s already watched two movies and two shows today, but Eva had been crying wanting me to hold her for the last several hours and I just caved. (I swear we haven’t been watching that much TV but today we were all exhausted and I had to do some work too.)
Anyway, I then tried to turn the TV off and get her to get her pajamas on and she threw a fit. Meanwhile I noticed the cat threw up all over our bedspread. So, amidst the puke, the crying from Eva and Ella throwing a fit, I’d had it. So, I threw her jammies down and said “Fine! Don’t put them on. But just remember that I tried to make today really nice for you since you had to go to the doctor. I got you McDonalds, ice cream, and let you watch 2 movies. And you sure aren’t being nice to me!” And I stormed out.
I went downstairs to vacuum and blow off a little steam. Next thing I knew a sad Ella was standing in front of me saying “I’m sorry Mom.” It was sweet and sad. I was still mad though and I just said “OK Ella but get back to bed.” Then she disappeared again, but reappeared with her jammies on. Funny how she always acts like she can’t put them on without me, but this time she got them on in 2 minutes flat. Completely by herself. It was really sweet though. She felt bad and I could tell. And I explained to her that I forgive her and sometimes I just get so tired and would be really great if she could just not give me such a hard time to do everything. I don’t know if that’s too much for a 3-year-old, but I actually think she’s really smart and she responds well to honesty.
Anyway, I guess her guilt wasn’t too much for her so she’s asked for a few more minutes. Then I asked her one more time to go to bed. And she went.
So, I don’t know if I handled it perfectly, but she’s testing her limits and I let her know she’s crossed them. Maybe we need to get the sticker chart out again. Oy. I think it’s a good night for a glass of wine.

Good night

We had a fun night last night making homemade pizza then getting some dinner around for tonight. I never feel like cooking on Friday nights. So I did my mom’s awesome and simple ham and bean recipe, which is this:

1. Big jar of northern beans
2. can of green chiles
3. cubed ham
4. sauteed onions

And you warm it all in a crockpot and it’s ready. Also, I made some cornbread muffins (also with green chiles mixed in) to go with it. My mom has taught me that green chiles and salsa are good in lots of dishes.

We also had a photoshoot last night. Ella had a lot of fun taking pictures. Then I had her pose for a bunch. Little does she know she’s getting her own Diego digital camera for Christmas. She’s going to love it!

Here is Ella’s modeling debut. (I’ll spare you mine.)

And Steve has a lot of work lately … so this is where you can usually find him.

The dreaded appointment

I’ve been dreading this Monday’s six-month appointment for her spherocytosis (a type of hereditary anemia she has) checkup. They have to do blood work. It’ terrible watching someone hold down your little baby and stick with a needle. So, I threw in a lot of treats in to my bag and tried to warn my innocent girl that we were going to see the doctor. She seemed so happy all morning too. I felt awful about what was to come.

The hospital is HUGE and overwhelming too. Last time we were there we had to ask around about where the Pediatric Oncology/Hematology (luckily we just need the hematology part) department was and several people didn’t know. People who worked there. Apparently they’ve undergone major renovations though, so it was all very new. But this time, I had no trouble at all.

Anyway, the people there couldn’t have been nicer. And they just acted like Ella’s the cutest, sweetest little girl they’ve ever seen. I mean, she IS (you read about her award, right?) but they see kids all the time, so it’s nice that they still have that excitement for mine.

The waiting room is also filled with books, puzzles, a train table and little rideable animals. I appreciate that so much. Instead of a long wait of me keeping her restrained and making sure she’s not getting into anything she shouldn’t, she is having fun. That is huge.

Before we knew it we got called in. They let Ella drag a rideable lion she spotted in ANOTHER playroom into our room. And right away the nurse asked if we wanted drinks. She brought us apple juice and water. This is practically fun!

Ella sat really still as she had her breathing checked, her blood pressure done, her height and weight checked. Then while we waited for the doctor I pulled Ella through the halls in a wagon (yes, they have several wagons in the hall.) The doctor then spoke with us for awhile. Pretty routine. And the good news is that after she’s three she’ll only have to go once a year. Awesome. She will have to have a couple extra vaccines in the next few years though.

Finally came the dreaded blood draw. At first Ella sat still as they poked her. They had put numbing lotion on when we first got there. But the nurse wasn’t getting any blood, so she readjusted the needle, Ella jumped and some blood squirted out. Then she bawled. I quickly grabbed her a sucker and that mostly calmed her down. But then the nurse had to do it AGAIN. She cried some more. But it was over pretty quickly.

All in all, not too bad at all. The nurse let us play in the playroom while she “checked us out” so we didn’t have to wait up at any counter either. Are they good or what?

So it went about as well as it could. I don’t think I’ll be quite as anxious about it next time.