Yesterday Lance and I took Jared out with us to get some pastries and a big fruit tart cake at Whole Foods to take back to Christie's house for dessert. After that we took Ava out to dinner with us at Mike's American Grill. It was awesome of course. We all enjoyed the fruit tart later, went back to my dad's and got everyone in bed. I had the girls with me on the sofa bed, and we were talking about dreams. This is a recap of the conversation:
Jenna: What are you going to dream about mommy?
Me: I think I'll dream about flying over the ocean!
Jenna: What's Jared going to dream about?
Me: Maybe that he can walk all the way across the room! What are you going to dream about?
Jenna: That I'm a dinosaur!
Me: What kind of dinosaur? A Jennasaurus or a Jennadon?
Jenna: A brachiosaurus! Ava, what are you going to dream about?
Ava: Fruit tarts! We all burst out laughing and continued to talk about it for a few minutes.
Jenna: I'm going to dream that I'm flying in space. Ava, are you going to dream about stars???
Ava:....and fruit tarts. LOLLLL
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Busy bee
Since Jenna was little I've always noticed that she doesn't like to stare for very long. Getting her to look (and keep looking) at the camera, for instance, can be very frustrating. But she has no problem with interactive things, and I've never really had concern with her concentration since she loves doing workbooks and trying to read along with stories.
Yesterday Jenna had her first eye exam with an optometrist to get ready for kindergarten. The first "test" was putting her forehead and chin on a stand so they can look in her eyes. The optometrist kept asking her questions about the light, "see if it changes colors," etc. to keep her looking at it. The next machine was for the retinal pictures, so she had to continually look at a dot so they could take a good shot. That took a little longer for her because she had to stare long enough to get the picture. Eventually they were able to get them, but I could tell the dr. was getting a little impatient repeatedly asking her to keep looking at the dot. She really liked being able to see the picture of inside her eye, though.
Next we went into the exam room. That was interesting with Jared in a stroller and Ava's curiosity. The next exams consisted of looking into the mirror reflection of letters that were behind her, perfect. He had her follow a little light he was holding, but she didn't want to just stare at a boring light, until he put his finger over it, and it looked like his finger was glowing. Next she put on these huge 3-D glasses to identify shapes and the ones that stand out. She identified her shapes, then the dr. asked her to look at the first of 3 rows and show him the one that stands out. She quickly pointed to each of the 3 objects in each row one after another. She had already scanned and noticed the ones that stood out. He was very impressed with that. Naturally I take partial credit. But I also go into paranoid mode that she has ADD or something. He did say that once she gets in school her attentiveness and focus should improve. Next up was the "robot" glasses. As the dr. told her, every kind of glasses was in this machine! I took a picture of her so she could see how she looked. He tested her near/far sightedness. She favors more to far-sighted, as in she can brings things to focus well that are farther. Her diagnosis, she's 20/20, and from her exam he doesn't think she'll ever need glasses. No astigmasim or jittering of the eye, everything looks great.
She had her 5 yr physical and rest of her immunizations on Monday, her arms's still a little red and sore, but now all of the offical kindergarten paperwork appointments are finished!!
Yesterday Jenna had her first eye exam with an optometrist to get ready for kindergarten. The first "test" was putting her forehead and chin on a stand so they can look in her eyes. The optometrist kept asking her questions about the light, "see if it changes colors," etc. to keep her looking at it. The next machine was for the retinal pictures, so she had to continually look at a dot so they could take a good shot. That took a little longer for her because she had to stare long enough to get the picture. Eventually they were able to get them, but I could tell the dr. was getting a little impatient repeatedly asking her to keep looking at the dot. She really liked being able to see the picture of inside her eye, though.
Next we went into the exam room. That was interesting with Jared in a stroller and Ava's curiosity. The next exams consisted of looking into the mirror reflection of letters that were behind her, perfect. He had her follow a little light he was holding, but she didn't want to just stare at a boring light, until he put his finger over it, and it looked like his finger was glowing. Next she put on these huge 3-D glasses to identify shapes and the ones that stand out. She identified her shapes, then the dr. asked her to look at the first of 3 rows and show him the one that stands out. She quickly pointed to each of the 3 objects in each row one after another. She had already scanned and noticed the ones that stood out. He was very impressed with that. Naturally I take partial credit. But I also go into paranoid mode that she has ADD or something. He did say that once she gets in school her attentiveness and focus should improve. Next up was the "robot" glasses. As the dr. told her, every kind of glasses was in this machine! I took a picture of her so she could see how she looked. He tested her near/far sightedness. She favors more to far-sighted, as in she can brings things to focus well that are farther. Her diagnosis, she's 20/20, and from her exam he doesn't think she'll ever need glasses. No astigmasim or jittering of the eye, everything looks great.
She had her 5 yr physical and rest of her immunizations on Monday, her arms's still a little red and sore, but now all of the offical kindergarten paperwork appointments are finished!!
Monday, July 11, 2011
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday...
A new adventure in leaving Jenna somewhere. I've slowly started adding opportunities for her to be without me. It started when she was 2 months old, we left her overnight with Grandpa and Christie for our anniversary. There were many calls to the house, and overnights didn't happen again for a while! I had to leave her to go back to work for a couple months. She stayed overnight at our house in MO with Lance's parents as well, a little better with just a few calls to check in. Next came playdates at friends' homes without me. Then it was preschool, where I dropped her off with a teacher at the front of the school (GASP). How was I to trust these people to take my baby from the front door to her classroom and keep her safe for 3 hours?! She loved every minute of it, so that helped. She's been off of school for a couple months, and I've been coming to grips with her riding the bus (at least home) from kindergarten this year. I'm glad we're only doing half-day though, I don't think I could handle a full day away yet.
This week she is attending VBS for 3 hours in the morning. We didn't have to rush around too much this morning. That definitely helps all of our stress level. It's at the same church I have MOPS, so she is at least used to the building and also has another friend from church there. But there was some hesitation and anxiety from her going into the sanctuary FULL of people. She said she wanted to go to her room (where she would normally be during MOPS). The babies and I all went in with her to her seat for a couple minutes. I left her in there and went out the foyer where she couldn't see me, but I did peak in one more time to wave to her, and then waited another few minutes to make sure she didn't leave looking for me. I was reassured by the pastor that there were plenty of group leaders for the younger ones, she wouldn't get lost in the shuffle and would be watched. I asked these questions specifically. I finally decided I couldn't just keep these babies in the foyer and mustered up the courage to leave. I got home, put Jared down for a nap, started some laundry, hung out with Ava watching cartoons and making appointments. Jared is up, they've had a snack, and I have 30 minutes left before I go get Jenna. I know she's loving it, though. I am extremely nervous about kindergarten, a big school, bigger class size. Seeing her up close and personal all day long, I forget how young and little she really is. This is a good re-adjustment for me...right? :)
This week she is attending VBS for 3 hours in the morning. We didn't have to rush around too much this morning. That definitely helps all of our stress level. It's at the same church I have MOPS, so she is at least used to the building and also has another friend from church there. But there was some hesitation and anxiety from her going into the sanctuary FULL of people. She said she wanted to go to her room (where she would normally be during MOPS). The babies and I all went in with her to her seat for a couple minutes. I left her in there and went out the foyer where she couldn't see me, but I did peak in one more time to wave to her, and then waited another few minutes to make sure she didn't leave looking for me. I was reassured by the pastor that there were plenty of group leaders for the younger ones, she wouldn't get lost in the shuffle and would be watched. I asked these questions specifically. I finally decided I couldn't just keep these babies in the foyer and mustered up the courage to leave. I got home, put Jared down for a nap, started some laundry, hung out with Ava watching cartoons and making appointments. Jared is up, they've had a snack, and I have 30 minutes left before I go get Jenna. I know she's loving it, though. I am extremely nervous about kindergarten, a big school, bigger class size. Seeing her up close and personal all day long, I forget how young and little she really is. This is a good re-adjustment for me...right? :)
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Party in the house!
Party prep continued...
Never a dull moment. I am so glad that I decided to get goody bags ready last night and take a shower and blow dry my hair. There was no way any of that was happening today. I almost went with getting fruit myself to cut up and making a cake, but I changed my mind and got everything from Costco. What a stress-saver...well some of the stress anyway. I got to bed after midnight last night and was anticipating the kids getting up at their usual 6:30, but instead it was 8 a.m., which meant I was an hour and half behind with 3 hours to go until party time! On the agenda, tidy up the house, get myself and Ava dressed (she would be going out with me), get the pool set up in the backyard and start the hose, then get to Party City to pick up the balloons and Costco to get the sandwiches. All this in a car with no A/C and taking the time to buckle and seatbelt in a toddler in a 2-door. I had a few wardrobe changes throughout the day due to dirt, water and sweat. Lance was a huge help cleaning the kitchen and taking Jenna and Jared out.
Ava and I got home at 10:40! Some shout-outs to Dawn, Angela and Lana who helped me get things together so I didn't lose my mind running late ;) It was about 11:45 when Lance called me because Jenna and Jared were getting cranky and wanted to come home, so I told him to come in through the front door, I had the blinds open a little bit so I could see them pull up, and I was a nervous wreck. (1) I was hoping Jenna wouldn't have some kind of freak out meltdown that you see on America's Funniest Home Videos, and (2) all the planning and whether it's a success are not will be over in 1 minute. It was a very long minute waiting for them to get out of the car and for Jenna to open the front door. But I had my camera ready, the living room was full of friends, in she came, we yelled surprise, and she paused and backed away slowly. It took a couple seconds and someone yelling Happy Birthday for it to click, and then the pure joy of the moment took over. It was perfect. Here's the moment:
She instinctively took her shoes off before joining everyone, then took her time going around the room to greet her friends, and when she got over to where I was she gave me a hug. After a few minutes I thought serving lunch would be a good idea, so I asked Jenna if she was ready to eat. Her response of course, "No, I want to play!" Well...ok. After taking our time to eat, we had a mad house getting kids changed and lotioned up to go play in the water outside. Once they were out there they had a blast, in spite of water getting dumped on each other's heads and mud slinging (literally). We did the cake outside and came in for presents. Just when I thought we were done Jenna reminded me, "No mommy we need to do the pinata!!" Right you are. There's something about a bunch of kids in an enclosed space scrambling for candy on the floor that makes me just laugh out loud. As the party was winding down and everyone was leaving Jenna was anxiously waiting to break out her new toys. At first I was having her wait while we re-grouped to start cleaning up, but instead I set her up on our bed with a couple of her new things while the babies napped.
It's 8 o'clock, it's been non-stop since I got up, my feet hurt, my head is greasy from sweating so much, there are still dishes on the counter and sink, I have a 2 year old who got a late nap and is still awake in her crib, but the rest of the house is clean, the kids are bathed and I have one 5 year old who is passed out after an unexpectedly exciting day to celebrate HER. Priceless.
Never a dull moment. I am so glad that I decided to get goody bags ready last night and take a shower and blow dry my hair. There was no way any of that was happening today. I almost went with getting fruit myself to cut up and making a cake, but I changed my mind and got everything from Costco. What a stress-saver...well some of the stress anyway. I got to bed after midnight last night and was anticipating the kids getting up at their usual 6:30, but instead it was 8 a.m., which meant I was an hour and half behind with 3 hours to go until party time! On the agenda, tidy up the house, get myself and Ava dressed (she would be going out with me), get the pool set up in the backyard and start the hose, then get to Party City to pick up the balloons and Costco to get the sandwiches. All this in a car with no A/C and taking the time to buckle and seatbelt in a toddler in a 2-door. I had a few wardrobe changes throughout the day due to dirt, water and sweat. Lance was a huge help cleaning the kitchen and taking Jenna and Jared out.
Ava and I got home at 10:40! Some shout-outs to Dawn, Angela and Lana who helped me get things together so I didn't lose my mind running late ;) It was about 11:45 when Lance called me because Jenna and Jared were getting cranky and wanted to come home, so I told him to come in through the front door, I had the blinds open a little bit so I could see them pull up, and I was a nervous wreck. (1) I was hoping Jenna wouldn't have some kind of freak out meltdown that you see on America's Funniest Home Videos, and (2) all the planning and whether it's a success are not will be over in 1 minute. It was a very long minute waiting for them to get out of the car and for Jenna to open the front door. But I had my camera ready, the living room was full of friends, in she came, we yelled surprise, and she paused and backed away slowly. It took a couple seconds and someone yelling Happy Birthday for it to click, and then the pure joy of the moment took over. It was perfect. Here's the moment:
She instinctively took her shoes off before joining everyone, then took her time going around the room to greet her friends, and when she got over to where I was she gave me a hug. After a few minutes I thought serving lunch would be a good idea, so I asked Jenna if she was ready to eat. Her response of course, "No, I want to play!" Well...ok. After taking our time to eat, we had a mad house getting kids changed and lotioned up to go play in the water outside. Once they were out there they had a blast, in spite of water getting dumped on each other's heads and mud slinging (literally). We did the cake outside and came in for presents. Just when I thought we were done Jenna reminded me, "No mommy we need to do the pinata!!" Right you are. There's something about a bunch of kids in an enclosed space scrambling for candy on the floor that makes me just laugh out loud. As the party was winding down and everyone was leaving Jenna was anxiously waiting to break out her new toys. At first I was having her wait while we re-grouped to start cleaning up, but instead I set her up on our bed with a couple of her new things while the babies napped.
It's 8 o'clock, it's been non-stop since I got up, my feet hurt, my head is greasy from sweating so much, there are still dishes on the counter and sink, I have a 2 year old who got a late nap and is still awake in her crib, but the rest of the house is clean, the kids are bathed and I have one 5 year old who is passed out after an unexpectedly exciting day to celebrate HER. Priceless.
Friday, July 8, 2011
It's been a long time comin'
Every once in a while I come back to my blog, look at the date of my last entry and think, what's been going on with me that I want to write about? Well, a lot has been going on in the last few months that I don't really want to over-elaborate on. Except to say that it's consisted of headaches, dizziness, stress, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, many doctors visits and ultimately medication. Looking back, I can really see how much of myself was missing. I was completely disconnected and unmotivated with my kids, I had this underlying aggression that usually reared it's ugly head in the evening and resulted in my screaming and on the verge of throwing something (or someone). I eventually came to the conclusion (through tears, prayers and the advice of special friends) that I probably needed to get on something to help, at least for now, so I can be the best version of myself. It has been a trying time, but I do feel about 80% on my way to "me". I still have a couple looming physical things that need to get resolved, but I take my time, I want to get things done, I laugh more, and I desire for my children to truly be happy and sense love and unity in our family. This is vast improvement.
Adventures in Partying
Wow. It's been a long day but also fun because I am anxiously awaiting Jenna's 5th Birthday surprise party tomorrow! Last night I went and got my hair done, and then I was planning on running errands for party prep. afterward. Unfortunately while I was at the salon a monsoon came through. With a trash bag over my newly highlighted and straightened hair, I made my way to the car and then drove 40 mph on the Interstate home. I knew it would be a long day ahead today since it started with Jenna throwing a fit about what shoes she wanted to wear to take her birthday pictures at JC Penney (LOVE their coupons btw). Of course she wanted to wear the ones that didn't match her dress whatsoever, and I had to resort to pulling the car out of the garage without her to make her hurry up and change them herself. By the time we got their the pink cheeks and tears had subsided, and she got some cute pictures in the end. She got to choose what we had for breakfast (waffles and yogurt) and where we got lunch after pictures (McDonalds). By the time lunch was over we were all due for a good nap. Success! Ava was my alarm clock at 3:30, we were expecting Lance home around 4, then we all ventured out to Red Robin for Jenna's birthday dinner. Jenna took a great nap and was the last one up before we left. This time she did get to choose the clunky purple crocs to wear with her dress :) We had a pretty good dinner, which including the waitresses singing to Jenna with her sundae, and Red Robin balloons that Ava managed to let go while getting strapped into her car seat, and Jenna let hers go in Target after that. Since I wouldn't be able to run my errands and conceal any party things during the day with all the kids, I had to manage while we were all together tonight. So I dropped Lance, Jenna and Jared off at Target to get a new movie, and I took Ava to Party City.
Now, Ava is very conversational, so I knew better than to even mention the words "Jenna" and "party" to her, or she would give it away in a second. So I told her we were getting birthday stuff for Jenna. Jenna has mentioned a party over the last couple weeks, and she is very inquisitive. I think she's on to me. The idea of a surprise party came from her MONTHS ago, so I tucked it away never to be mentioned again. One night last week she said, "For my birthday I want to go in my room when my friends come, and then I'll come out, and they can yell 'Surprise!'" I said next to nothing in response. Today I really tried to play up that our going to get pictures taken, going out to dinner and getting a balloon were our celebration of her birthday. And then tonight as the sun was setting, and clearly the day was done, she says with a sad voice, "When are my friends going to come for my birthday?" Just rip my heart out why don't you. Well, after I took Ava to Party City, I met back up with Lance, ran into Target to get a few other things, and Jenna asks, "What store did you go to?" Me: "It's a supply store." Jenna: "Yeah, but what's the name of it?" Me: "I just had to get cups n'stuff." Plus, Lance plopped Jared's stroller on top of the bag with the party stuff, including the pinata. I made a comment about it, which of course prompted Jenna to turn around and look in the back of the van. "Did Daddy get a pinata??!!" I replied, "Turn around" and quickly got in the car. At this point it's about 7:45, Jared's cranky, but we still need to stop at Costco. Yes I am a procrastinator. Again I just took Ava in with me, and when I started loading the van up Jenna noticed the two bowls of fruit salad and asks "Is someone coming over to eat that?" To which I said NOTHING. When we finally got home Jenna asked if she could wear her dress again with her PURPLE shoes when she's 6 and mentioned having a party for her birthday. As far as she knows, her and daddy are having special time to go hang out tomorrow morning while I prepare the house.
I am so glad they are all in bed now. All her questions are wearing me down. How can I feel bad and so gitty at the same time? Heehee. I can't wait!
Now, Ava is very conversational, so I knew better than to even mention the words "Jenna" and "party" to her, or she would give it away in a second. So I told her we were getting birthday stuff for Jenna. Jenna has mentioned a party over the last couple weeks, and she is very inquisitive. I think she's on to me. The idea of a surprise party came from her MONTHS ago, so I tucked it away never to be mentioned again. One night last week she said, "For my birthday I want to go in my room when my friends come, and then I'll come out, and they can yell 'Surprise!'" I said next to nothing in response. Today I really tried to play up that our going to get pictures taken, going out to dinner and getting a balloon were our celebration of her birthday. And then tonight as the sun was setting, and clearly the day was done, she says with a sad voice, "When are my friends going to come for my birthday?" Just rip my heart out why don't you. Well, after I took Ava to Party City, I met back up with Lance, ran into Target to get a few other things, and Jenna asks, "What store did you go to?" Me: "It's a supply store." Jenna: "Yeah, but what's the name of it?" Me: "I just had to get cups n'stuff." Plus, Lance plopped Jared's stroller on top of the bag with the party stuff, including the pinata. I made a comment about it, which of course prompted Jenna to turn around and look in the back of the van. "Did Daddy get a pinata??!!" I replied, "Turn around" and quickly got in the car. At this point it's about 7:45, Jared's cranky, but we still need to stop at Costco. Yes I am a procrastinator. Again I just took Ava in with me, and when I started loading the van up Jenna noticed the two bowls of fruit salad and asks "Is someone coming over to eat that?" To which I said NOTHING. When we finally got home Jenna asked if she could wear her dress again with her PURPLE shoes when she's 6 and mentioned having a party for her birthday. As far as she knows, her and daddy are having special time to go hang out tomorrow morning while I prepare the house.
I am so glad they are all in bed now. All her questions are wearing me down. How can I feel bad and so gitty at the same time? Heehee. I can't wait!
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