The wife took a much deserved weekend away with her girlfriends. She left on Friday morning. I picked up the kids at school at 3:00 and I was planning on meeting the mother-in-law and dumping the kids on her but when I got to school Atticus was tugging at his ear. It was nice and red and he said his ear hurt. So off to the doctor I went.
We have Aetna health insurance and their network it bad in the area where I live. Ok I am being too nice. The Aetna network fucking sucks where I live. My cardiologist and both of the two urgent care centers (where you can take a sick kid on the weekend or after hours) are out of network. Aetna network SUCKS!
So I was planning on going back to work cuz I have so much shit do to. But I sat in the doctor's office with Atticus for about an hour and a half. My mother-in-law came to the doctor's office and picked up the girls and took them to her house. So it was just to boys at home Friday night. I don't remember what we did so it must not have been too exciting.
Yesterday I took Atticus to the lake and drove the boat arouned and continued to be perplexed at the oil pressure guage continually bouncing between normal pressure and no pressure. I hope it is just the sending unit.
Today I took all three of the hellions to my brother's house about two hours drive away. He is in the process of building his house. He has the framing, roof, subfloors and drywall up. The first floor is painted. it is going to be a nice house. The kids enjoyed their time there and didn't want to leave because they got to play with their cousins.
Tonight was hell getting them to sleep because they were all so tired without any nap. Hell, I'm tired too!
11/15/2009
11/11/2009
Waste of time
I rented a movie called "Meteor" which I find out (after watching it) is a mini series starring Stacey Keach, Christopher Lloyd and Jason Alexander. I watched the DVD and I will never get those two hours of my life back. It absolutely sucked.
11/10/2009
AFib and Enemas
This past Sunday Adrienne was beside herself with pain in her bottom- "My bottom hurts!" She kept asking us to wipe her bottom. She had not had a bowel movement in several days so the wife went to the store and purchased a child's enema which we adminstered. The first try the wife inserted and squirted but didn't pull the mini turkey baster out before letting go of the bulb so it just sucked all the medication back into the enema. So she had to reinsert while I held Adrienne down screaming. She then removed the baster before letting go of the bulb and the medication reached the colon as needed. The bonus was that when the wife pulled out the turkey baster she got a few good squirts of shit on her arms. She just loves getting shit on.
About one minute later Adrienne had explosive shit in the toilet where it was supposed to be. She had immediate relief from her pain. That was two days ago.
Now she still has not had a bowel movement since the enema and we are concerend that she is constipated again because she is complaining that her bottom hurts. The wife bought some oral laxative but it takes 12 hours to work. We will keep our fingers crossed that the laxative works. I am of the impression that Adrienne is afraid it will hurt to poop (due to the constipation) so she won't try. Whe she won't try to poop it just keeps getting worse.
Today I am pretty sure I went into Atrial Fibrillation. I had eaten lunch at home as was sitting in front of my computer (what an unusual occurance) and I notice my heart jumping around in my chest. It was pretty much the same feeling I had gotten before when I was in Atrial Fibrillation. I drove to work and went in for a while and went straight back home. I laid on the bed for about twenty minutes and took my blood pressure which was normal. I then was back in rhythm. Thank Zeus!!! I hate being in atril fibriallation! I hope this shit doesn't start happening again after the two surguries I have been through.
About one minute later Adrienne had explosive shit in the toilet where it was supposed to be. She had immediate relief from her pain. That was two days ago.
Now she still has not had a bowel movement since the enema and we are concerend that she is constipated again because she is complaining that her bottom hurts. The wife bought some oral laxative but it takes 12 hours to work. We will keep our fingers crossed that the laxative works. I am of the impression that Adrienne is afraid it will hurt to poop (due to the constipation) so she won't try. Whe she won't try to poop it just keeps getting worse.
Today I am pretty sure I went into Atrial Fibrillation. I had eaten lunch at home as was sitting in front of my computer (what an unusual occurance) and I notice my heart jumping around in my chest. It was pretty much the same feeling I had gotten before when I was in Atrial Fibrillation. I drove to work and went in for a while and went straight back home. I laid on the bed for about twenty minutes and took my blood pressure which was normal. I then was back in rhythm. Thank Zeus!!! I hate being in atril fibriallation! I hope this shit doesn't start happening again after the two surguries I have been through.
11/08/2009
Challenges Keep on Coming
Lolo had oral surgery yesterday. She had an extra permanent tooth that was horizontal in her pallet and was blocking the descending of her regular permanent teeth. The doctor had to remove three of her top baby teeth to access the extra permanent tooth.
The prescription they gave her to relax her before surgery made her kind of confused and she cried before she go the IV but when they got it in she said that she didn't even feel it.
The surgery took about ten minutes and I got to go back to see her wake up. She was really knocked out and I had to carry her out to the car. She rode lying down with her head in the wife's lap. When we got home we looked at the gauze in her mouth to change it out since it was becoming soaked with blood. The wife found an extra tooth just protruding out of the gauze. She apparently had lost a bottom tooth right after surgery or when they put the gauze in her mouth. We were happy she didn't swallow it.
She definitely has a different smile now with all those teeth missing. She certainly is growing up.
Adrienne went to the doctor on Thursday because she had been constantly complaining (very loudly when in public) that her bottom itched. The doctor diagnosed her with a yeast infection and gave her medicine. She had been on teh medicine now for almost three days and she cried about all day today that her bottom hurt and itched. She urinated on the floor and on the sofa so we are now worried about a urinary tract infection. We went through so much hell with Lolo- we certainly don't want Adrienne to go through that too!
Atticus has a toy catalog that he as obsessed over for almost two days now. He looks through all the pages and asks me or the wife what each toy is and how much it costs. He is particularity fond of a Harley Davidson motorcycle battery operated toy that he could ride. It is $219 (I can remember the price because he has asked me how much it costs about fifty times today) so I don't think we will be getting that for him.
I drank too much red wine last night.
The prescription they gave her to relax her before surgery made her kind of confused and she cried before she go the IV but when they got it in she said that she didn't even feel it.
The surgery took about ten minutes and I got to go back to see her wake up. She was really knocked out and I had to carry her out to the car. She rode lying down with her head in the wife's lap. When we got home we looked at the gauze in her mouth to change it out since it was becoming soaked with blood. The wife found an extra tooth just protruding out of the gauze. She apparently had lost a bottom tooth right after surgery or when they put the gauze in her mouth. We were happy she didn't swallow it.
She definitely has a different smile now with all those teeth missing. She certainly is growing up.
Adrienne went to the doctor on Thursday because she had been constantly complaining (very loudly when in public) that her bottom itched. The doctor diagnosed her with a yeast infection and gave her medicine. She had been on teh medicine now for almost three days and she cried about all day today that her bottom hurt and itched. She urinated on the floor and on the sofa so we are now worried about a urinary tract infection. We went through so much hell with Lolo- we certainly don't want Adrienne to go through that too!
Atticus has a toy catalog that he as obsessed over for almost two days now. He looks through all the pages and asks me or the wife what each toy is and how much it costs. He is particularity fond of a Harley Davidson motorcycle battery operated toy that he could ride. It is $219 (I can remember the price because he has asked me how much it costs about fifty times today) so I don't think we will be getting that for him.
I drank too much red wine last night.
11/03/2009
Looking Back to Pee
Adrienne pee peed in the potty for the very first time at 7:20 on 5/6/08. Obviously that was not the end of diapers- it still took another year before diapers were a thing of the past.
10/11/2009
My Father's Health
This morning my father had a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) also known as a "mini-stroke" or "warning stroke". I was not there but this is what my mother relayed to me. He had arisen early to go to his church to help cook breakfast. When he got back he went to get the newspaper and came back in the house. He was slurring his speech and my mother could not really understand what he was saying. My sister-in-law was there too and she had difficulty understanding my father as well. My mother had called me to tell me that my nephew wanted to see Lolo so they could play. I loaded up Lolo in the car and drove to the parents. When I got there Mom was pulling out of the garage in dad's car. She stopped and rolled down the window and told my dad (twice in a very mean tone of voice) to stick out his tongue. When he did it went to one side which is a sign of a stroke. I told her to get him to the hospital immediately.
She called me on the way and asked me my opinion of which hospital they should go to. We have two hospitals in the county in short driving distance. I instructed her to go to what I felt was the better of the two. I made sure Lolo was cool staying with the sis-in-law and went to the hospital. The already had Dad in a room in the Emergency Department. The doctor talked to us very clearly, personably and he took his time. This was much, much better than the last experience I had in a ED.
Dad's signs improved and his speech got much better and when he stuck out his tongue it no longer wagged to one side. They took him for a CT scan and brought him back quickly. A nurse told us that the CT scan was normal and that there were no anomalies. So we sat there and waited. I waited for probably another 45 minutes and decided that they would probably release him and the parents were both telling me to get back to the family. So I left and headed to Lowe's to buy the shit to paint Adrienne's room including a $100 chandelier that looked like it had purple crystals on it but looked pink in Adrienne's room. So now I get to take that back sometime.
Well they decided to keep Dad for 48 hours for observation since a TIA can be a warning sign for further stoke.
It is kind of torturous to think about but one day my father will die. Today made me really think about that. How will I handle it? I guess I am more afraid that my mother would pass away first because my father really cannot seem to be able to take care of himself. It isn't something that I really like to think about but nevertheless, I think i am rather mentally prepared for when it does happen.
I love my father and he was a very good father to me and to my brother- not perfect because no one is, but he was very good to us- even when I wanted to fight him for making me come home from a party when I was 16 or 17 years old. He was always there, he always provided for us, and he put up with my mother belittling him continually and treating him like a piece of shit while at the same time taking very good care of him physically.
She called me on the way and asked me my opinion of which hospital they should go to. We have two hospitals in the county in short driving distance. I instructed her to go to what I felt was the better of the two. I made sure Lolo was cool staying with the sis-in-law and went to the hospital. The already had Dad in a room in the Emergency Department. The doctor talked to us very clearly, personably and he took his time. This was much, much better than the last experience I had in a ED.
Dad's signs improved and his speech got much better and when he stuck out his tongue it no longer wagged to one side. They took him for a CT scan and brought him back quickly. A nurse told us that the CT scan was normal and that there were no anomalies. So we sat there and waited. I waited for probably another 45 minutes and decided that they would probably release him and the parents were both telling me to get back to the family. So I left and headed to Lowe's to buy the shit to paint Adrienne's room including a $100 chandelier that looked like it had purple crystals on it but looked pink in Adrienne's room. So now I get to take that back sometime.
Well they decided to keep Dad for 48 hours for observation since a TIA can be a warning sign for further stoke.
It is kind of torturous to think about but one day my father will die. Today made me really think about that. How will I handle it? I guess I am more afraid that my mother would pass away first because my father really cannot seem to be able to take care of himself. It isn't something that I really like to think about but nevertheless, I think i am rather mentally prepared for when it does happen.
I love my father and he was a very good father to me and to my brother- not perfect because no one is, but he was very good to us- even when I wanted to fight him for making me come home from a party when I was 16 or 17 years old. He was always there, he always provided for us, and he put up with my mother belittling him continually and treating him like a piece of shit while at the same time taking very good care of him physically.
Blowing off steam
Business sucks.
Adrienne's finger is healing very well. We went to the orthopedic surgeon last week and they took the stitches out which was an excruciating happening for Adrienne and both me and the wife. The orthopaedic surgeon questioned why the emergency department doctor did not use dissolvable stitches. He did tie one or two stitches using the dissolvable type but the other four he used regular stitches and poor Adrienne didn't understand the reason they had to come out. The orthopaedic surgeon said that the emergency department doctor should have to take out the stitches.
Atticus has been to the doctor last week with an ear infection. He still has a tube in his left ear and there was a bunch of wax and nasty stuff that was blocking the tube from doing its job. The family doctor removed that and put him on an antibiotic and he is fine.
I went to the doctor the week before last with a cough and they put me on Azithromycin which did nothing because I had to go back to the doctor Friday with a low grade fever and splitting headache. I never get headaches, so when I do, I am definitely sick. I have been coughing for the past three weeks. My family doctor listened to my lungs and thought he heard something. They took a chest x-ray and sure enough I have walking pneumonia. So I am on another antibiotic.
So all three of the hellions were at the mother-in-law's house Friday night. Saturday morning we got up and I was feeling pretty good. The wife took a shower and I walked into the room as she was putting her clothes on. She looked at me and I looked at her and she said "What? You are looking at me like you want to have sex. We have to get some stuff done" which meant painting Adrienne's room.
It has been at least three weeks since I have gotten any, so the streak continues. I guess I can't be too critical of her because she is on a drug that decreases her already pretty low libido. Also I didn't get her anything for our 9th anniversary. She never said anything to me about this, but I know it really, really bothers her. I hate these occasions because I hate trying to buy something for someone else. She did spend $70 of our money to buy me a massage for our anniversary (which of course I would have never bought for myself). I guess I am just going to have to force myself to buy presents and learn to live with the lack of sexual satisfaction with a partner and just be appreciative of what I do have.
Adrienne's finger is healing very well. We went to the orthopedic surgeon last week and they took the stitches out which was an excruciating happening for Adrienne and both me and the wife. The orthopaedic surgeon questioned why the emergency department doctor did not use dissolvable stitches. He did tie one or two stitches using the dissolvable type but the other four he used regular stitches and poor Adrienne didn't understand the reason they had to come out. The orthopaedic surgeon said that the emergency department doctor should have to take out the stitches.
Atticus has been to the doctor last week with an ear infection. He still has a tube in his left ear and there was a bunch of wax and nasty stuff that was blocking the tube from doing its job. The family doctor removed that and put him on an antibiotic and he is fine.
I went to the doctor the week before last with a cough and they put me on Azithromycin which did nothing because I had to go back to the doctor Friday with a low grade fever and splitting headache. I never get headaches, so when I do, I am definitely sick. I have been coughing for the past three weeks. My family doctor listened to my lungs and thought he heard something. They took a chest x-ray and sure enough I have walking pneumonia. So I am on another antibiotic.
So all three of the hellions were at the mother-in-law's house Friday night. Saturday morning we got up and I was feeling pretty good. The wife took a shower and I walked into the room as she was putting her clothes on. She looked at me and I looked at her and she said "What? You are looking at me like you want to have sex. We have to get some stuff done" which meant painting Adrienne's room.
It has been at least three weeks since I have gotten any, so the streak continues. I guess I can't be too critical of her because she is on a drug that decreases her already pretty low libido. Also I didn't get her anything for our 9th anniversary. She never said anything to me about this, but I know it really, really bothers her. I hate these occasions because I hate trying to buy something for someone else. She did spend $70 of our money to buy me a massage for our anniversary (which of course I would have never bought for myself). I guess I am just going to have to force myself to buy presents and learn to live with the lack of sexual satisfaction with a partner and just be appreciative of what I do have.
9/29/2009
A Traumatic Night
Well tonight started out normal enough. I arrived home and ate dinner after everyone else had finished- this is pretty normal. I normally get home about 6:00 PM. Atticus and Adrienne got in the shower together. I got them out and dried them off. My sister called and I talked to them while the hellions were running around playing. I handed off the phone to the wife so I could get the kids finished for bed. Got the pajamas on Adrienne, Atticus and Lolo and then while the wife was still on the phone.
Adreinne brought me the green from that is a puppet that croaks the tunes of Old McDonald, Frere Jacque and London Bridges. They love it when I chase them with the frog and make it nip at them when they are writhing in giggling fun on the floor. I chased Adrienne and Atticus into the the master bedroom and had a few songs they both jumped up and bolted out of the bedroom down the hall and towards Atticus' room. Atticus entered his room and immediately slammed the door as Adrienne reached for the wrong side of the door (the side with the hinges). The door slammed on her index finger and she immediately started screaming. I was right behind them but not close enough to stop the door slamming. Blood was going everywhere and I grabbed her up and took her into the master bathroom. I had a look at it and it looked like the tip of her finger was crushed.
Her fingernail was perpendicular to the rest of her finger. It made me feel so, so, so horrible for playing part of this. It was her right index finger and she is right handed. I felt like such as ass even though I knew that these things kind of happen. We are always telling the kids not to slam doors but they are kids and they don't listen to their parents.
It was about 7:40 and we needed to get to the hospital. We had two other kids and I felt that we didn't have time to put them into the car. The wife called my mother who lives about six miles away to come over. I called a neighbor because I thought we needed to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Adrienne calmed down pretty quickly and was really brave. Fortunately the wife was more coolheaded than me and got some ice to put on Adrienne's finger.
My mother arrived before the neighbor did and I sent the neighbor home. We headed to the hospital and were seen by the triage nurse within about five minutes. Adrienne was not crying but she had been shivering some. She was very calm and cried a little bit when the triage nurse put the heart rate monitor on her uninjured finger.
So we went to an Emergency Department room and sat for about 30 minutes before we were seen by a young doctor who didn't have the best bedside manner. During the wait, Adrienne didn't cry and joked with us. I held her in my lap the entire time.
The doctor looked at it and told us that she would definitely loose her finger nail that might or might not grow back. We needed a x-ray to see if there was a fracture. Another ten minutes passed by and we wen to the x-ray department and Adrienne sat on my lap and did a great job of holding her hand in position for the x-rays. She still was not crying.
The x-ray showed that the tip of her had been fractured. The doctor called it a tuft fracture. He ended up putting four stitches in the finger to put the tip back in place. Two of the stitches were in the nail bed. Adrienne really cried during the stitching. The doctor had to inject lidocaine several times- she really screamed the first time he put the stitch needle so he put more lidocaine in the finger and she really screamed.
She was crying that she wanted to go home and when the wife or I said something like "the doctor is making it better" she sobbed and said through her tears "I don't think so" That made us all laugh.
We felt so bad for Adrienne. It was a really tough and painful thing for a three year old to go through. We were very proud of her and she did such a wonderful job. The nurse said that usually they had to hold down children. Adrienne stayed in place and didn't try to move her hand. She also was very tired. After it was all over the nurse brought her a purple popsicle and Adrienne at it all.
We stopped by McDonalds and got her chicken nuggets and a sprite with a barbie toy. The doctor wrote her a prescription for antibiotics and pain medication so I ran to Walgreens in Hickory (since it is the only 24 hour pharmacy in the county) and got back home about midnight.
I am really concerend that the doctor did a good job. I don't think he irrigated the finger enough (but I am not a doctor) and I don't konw if he got the tip positioned correctly. I am eager for an orthopedic doctor to look at an x-ray of her hand.
It just kills me to see my children hurt. I guess the moral of the story is that we need to enforce the no-slamming door policy.
Adreinne brought me the green from that is a puppet that croaks the tunes of Old McDonald, Frere Jacque and London Bridges. They love it when I chase them with the frog and make it nip at them when they are writhing in giggling fun on the floor. I chased Adrienne and Atticus into the the master bedroom and had a few songs they both jumped up and bolted out of the bedroom down the hall and towards Atticus' room. Atticus entered his room and immediately slammed the door as Adrienne reached for the wrong side of the door (the side with the hinges). The door slammed on her index finger and she immediately started screaming. I was right behind them but not close enough to stop the door slamming. Blood was going everywhere and I grabbed her up and took her into the master bathroom. I had a look at it and it looked like the tip of her finger was crushed.
Her fingernail was perpendicular to the rest of her finger. It made me feel so, so, so horrible for playing part of this. It was her right index finger and she is right handed. I felt like such as ass even though I knew that these things kind of happen. We are always telling the kids not to slam doors but they are kids and they don't listen to their parents.
It was about 7:40 and we needed to get to the hospital. We had two other kids and I felt that we didn't have time to put them into the car. The wife called my mother who lives about six miles away to come over. I called a neighbor because I thought we needed to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Adrienne calmed down pretty quickly and was really brave. Fortunately the wife was more coolheaded than me and got some ice to put on Adrienne's finger.
My mother arrived before the neighbor did and I sent the neighbor home. We headed to the hospital and were seen by the triage nurse within about five minutes. Adrienne was not crying but she had been shivering some. She was very calm and cried a little bit when the triage nurse put the heart rate monitor on her uninjured finger.
So we went to an Emergency Department room and sat for about 30 minutes before we were seen by a young doctor who didn't have the best bedside manner. During the wait, Adrienne didn't cry and joked with us. I held her in my lap the entire time.
The doctor looked at it and told us that she would definitely loose her finger nail that might or might not grow back. We needed a x-ray to see if there was a fracture. Another ten minutes passed by and we wen to the x-ray department and Adrienne sat on my lap and did a great job of holding her hand in position for the x-rays. She still was not crying.
The x-ray showed that the tip of her had been fractured. The doctor called it a tuft fracture. He ended up putting four stitches in the finger to put the tip back in place. Two of the stitches were in the nail bed. Adrienne really cried during the stitching. The doctor had to inject lidocaine several times- she really screamed the first time he put the stitch needle so he put more lidocaine in the finger and she really screamed.
She was crying that she wanted to go home and when the wife or I said something like "the doctor is making it better" she sobbed and said through her tears "I don't think so" That made us all laugh.
We felt so bad for Adrienne. It was a really tough and painful thing for a three year old to go through. We were very proud of her and she did such a wonderful job. The nurse said that usually they had to hold down children. Adrienne stayed in place and didn't try to move her hand. She also was very tired. After it was all over the nurse brought her a purple popsicle and Adrienne at it all.
We stopped by McDonalds and got her chicken nuggets and a sprite with a barbie toy. The doctor wrote her a prescription for antibiotics and pain medication so I ran to Walgreens in Hickory (since it is the only 24 hour pharmacy in the county) and got back home about midnight.
I am really concerend that the doctor did a good job. I don't think he irrigated the finger enough (but I am not a doctor) and I don't konw if he got the tip positioned correctly. I am eager for an orthopedic doctor to look at an x-ray of her hand.
It just kills me to see my children hurt. I guess the moral of the story is that we need to enforce the no-slamming door policy.
9/23/2009
The calm after the storm
Last night went pretty well. Initially more hell was raised and more tears flowed from Adrienne who was not giving up anything. The wife ended up sleeping all night with Atticus so she didn't get much sleep.
The melt down really didn't arrive until this morning when Atticus did not eat and began screaming the words 'I want my blue binky" over and over and over and over and over without cessation for about twenty minutes. I had to wrestle his clothes and shoes on him dealing with as much resistance as he could put up. But as I alway tell him: "I WILL win so why are you fighting?"
They all calmed down once in the Expedition. School went fine and nap went well without issue. In fact he went to bed tonight wihtout any problem either and the wife is in our bed tonight. Lolo didn't even ask at all about her mouth plug. All is good.
The melt down really didn't arrive until this morning when Atticus did not eat and began screaming the words 'I want my blue binky" over and over and over and over and over without cessation for about twenty minutes. I had to wrestle his clothes and shoes on him dealing with as much resistance as he could put up. But as I alway tell him: "I WILL win so why are you fighting?"
They all calmed down once in the Expedition. School went fine and nap went well without issue. In fact he went to bed tonight wihtout any problem either and the wife is in our bed tonight. Lolo didn't even ask at all about her mouth plug. All is good.
9/22/2009
Bye Bye Binkie
Atticus the 3 year old and Lolo the 5 year old both are addicted to pacifiers. Neither sleeps without one or rides in a vehicle without one. It was way past time for them to give up the habit. We all know the bad things about it such as guaranteed braces, etc.
I had not pushed the issue and the wife enjoyed the little peace the pacifier brought her throughout her day. However still sucking on a pacifier at five is a little too far! The wife and I came to an agreement that the binkies had to go.
The twins preschool teacher just had a baby. So we made a big deal of giving all the binkies to the new baby. I made a "Binky Box" where they were supposed to keep the pacifiers from one week prior up to today when they gave them away to the baby. Sometimes they put the pacifier in the box but most times they didn't.
We had binkies strewn all over the house from one end to the other and across all three floors. The wife did a good job of rounding them up and cutting a hole in the end to render then unusable.
Psychologically I think Lolo was more prepared than Atticus. She is old enough to know that no one else in her class uses one. She has slept over at a friends house without one and she camped out with her father witout one. Lolo shed some major tears at first for about three minutes before bedtime. But she accepted it and has fallen asleep without incident. In fact she and her sister sleep together and her sister (the one addicted to her blankie and thumb) was raising hell because she wanted to read another book and I said no because it was well past their bedtime. Lolo went to sleep and I have not heard from her since which was about three hours ago.
Atticus on the other hand is a little different. He played the big game fine. He normally does not go to sleep when you close the door. He likes to stay up to play for about an hour before he falls asleep. He did this tonight as well but when he got tired and wanted to go to sleep he exited his room and went to our room where mommy was sleeping. He got in bed with her and I think that is where they are now. Atticus sleepig with us in our bed is out of the ordinary- it only happens on rare occasions in fact almost never. I am not sure if he and the wife are still in our room or if the wife took him to his room and laid down in bed with him there.
Maybe just one more night of trauma without the binkies and then it will be all over.
I had not pushed the issue and the wife enjoyed the little peace the pacifier brought her throughout her day. However still sucking on a pacifier at five is a little too far! The wife and I came to an agreement that the binkies had to go.
The twins preschool teacher just had a baby. So we made a big deal of giving all the binkies to the new baby. I made a "Binky Box" where they were supposed to keep the pacifiers from one week prior up to today when they gave them away to the baby. Sometimes they put the pacifier in the box but most times they didn't.
We had binkies strewn all over the house from one end to the other and across all three floors. The wife did a good job of rounding them up and cutting a hole in the end to render then unusable.
Psychologically I think Lolo was more prepared than Atticus. She is old enough to know that no one else in her class uses one. She has slept over at a friends house without one and she camped out with her father witout one. Lolo shed some major tears at first for about three minutes before bedtime. But she accepted it and has fallen asleep without incident. In fact she and her sister sleep together and her sister (the one addicted to her blankie and thumb) was raising hell because she wanted to read another book and I said no because it was well past their bedtime. Lolo went to sleep and I have not heard from her since which was about three hours ago.
Atticus on the other hand is a little different. He played the big game fine. He normally does not go to sleep when you close the door. He likes to stay up to play for about an hour before he falls asleep. He did this tonight as well but when he got tired and wanted to go to sleep he exited his room and went to our room where mommy was sleeping. He got in bed with her and I think that is where they are now. Atticus sleepig with us in our bed is out of the ordinary- it only happens on rare occasions in fact almost never. I am not sure if he and the wife are still in our room or if the wife took him to his room and laid down in bed with him there.
Maybe just one more night of trauma without the binkies and then it will be all over.
9/13/2009
Electricity Nazi
Something I do every day- I walk around the house and turn out all the lights that have been left on in empty rooms. There are always lights on! I am probably saving a shitload of money because I switched all the lights to compact fluorescent bulbs. My kids rarely turn off lights when they leave a room. My wife sometimes turns out lights when she leaves a room. They don't have to work to pay the electric bill so I guess they really don't give a shit. And it isn't just that. I beleive in being a good steward of this planet and if I see an opportunity to contribute a little less to the destruction of our environment, I am going to do so.
The wife calls me an Electricity Nazi.
Bitch session over.
The wife calls me an Electricity Nazi.
Bitch session over.
9/10/2009
Supercar Heaven
I had a good friend in middle and high school whose father built a pretty large company from a small one he took over from his father-in-law. My friend's father needless to say became pretty wealthy. He also was a car nut. Apparently he was good friends with the President of Porsche back in the day (late 1980's and early 1990's) so he was able to get his hands on a brand new Porsche 959. It took him several years to actually get the car imported into the USA because it was not street legal. From what I remember he had tried to get the modificaitons done to it to make it legal. I think he had all of those modifications completed when I took these pictures.
According to Wikipedia there were only 337 of these cars built.
My friend's father does not own either of these cars anymore. I had heard that he sold the 959 to Jerry Seinfeld but I don't know if this is fact or not. I do know that Jerry Seinfeld owns one.
I don't know about the Ferrari F40 here but he owned this car too. I was hanging out with my friend and we washed the cars for his dad. We had done this several times before with some of his other cars and he used to take us for rides as a reward for washing them. I distinctly remember him taking me for a ride in his supercar of the month at the time which was a red Ferrari Testarossa. We hit 160 mph on a four lane road and I about shit in my pants.
Unfortunately I never got to ride in either the 959 or the F40. I just was amazed standing there looking at the $1 million worth of vehicles!
Difference in Offspring
The twins are so different. Adrienne already can maintain momentum on the swing by herself. I can get her started and she can for the most part keep swinging back and forth. Her brother Atticus has no clue but seems to want to try to do it. It won't be long before he gets it too.
I am just wondering when it will get easier to get these kids to bed. Atticus still pitches a holy hell of a fit almost every night with the crying and screaming. This too shall pass.
I am just wondering when it will get easier to get these kids to bed. Atticus still pitches a holy hell of a fit almost every night with the crying and screaming. This too shall pass.
9/03/2009
Learning to Ride a Bike
I took the training wheels off Lolo's bike this weekend. She can balance a little bit but she isn't comfortable with me letting go of the bike. I always hold on to her seat to keep her from falling one way or the other. She freaks out if she thinks she is going to fall. Regardless it hasn't kept her from wanting to continue to try. It should take her several more attempts before she is riding on her own.
9/02/2009
Bad boy today
I really fucked up today. I was supposed to pick Lolo up from kindergarten at 3:00 PM. I neglected to write the appointment in my calendar so my crackberry will buzz me that I have something to do. So I was immersed in work on a phone call and completely spaced it until the wife called me. When I answer the phone here is the conversation verbatim:
Me: Hello
The wife: I am so mad at you. You better leave RIGHT NOW and get your ass to Concordia to pick your daughter up. She has been crying.
Me: I'm leaving right now.
When I got there she was not crying (thank Zeus) and talking to a woman who turns out to be an old classmate of mine. Lolo was in good spirits and was happy. I apologize profusely to her but she said: Daddy, even though you forgot to pick me up I still love you.
Gee I wonder where she got that from?
Me: Hello
The wife: I am so mad at you. You better leave RIGHT NOW and get your ass to Concordia to pick your daughter up. She has been crying.
Me: I'm leaving right now.
When I got there she was not crying (thank Zeus) and talking to a woman who turns out to be an old classmate of mine. Lolo was in good spirits and was happy. I apologize profusely to her but she said: Daddy, even though you forgot to pick me up I still love you.
Gee I wonder where she got that from?
8/18/2009
Kid Vices and Rolls Royce Limo Rides
The kids all have their vices.
Adrienne sucks her thumb and has a special "blankie" that she loves- she normally doesn't sleep without it. Kind of normal for a 3 year old.
Atticus doesn't go anywhere without his pacifier that we call "binky" Until recently he had a strap that clipped to his shirt so he had it on him ALL the time. Now he isn't wearing that but he still can't ride in a vehicle or sleep without a binky in his mouth. Sort of normal for a 3 year old when the parents didn't push him toward giving up the habit.
Then there is Lolo. Starting kingergarten tomorrow and she turned five years old in January. She still can't seem to ride in a car or sleep without a binky. Last night was only the second time in her life that I can recall that she didn't sleep with a binky in her mouth.
The first time that I remember her not sleepign with a binky was this past March I think when we camped out in tents on the parent's property in the cow pasture. She fell asleep in a sleeping bag beside the bonfire and I carried her to the tent where she slept fine without the mouth plug.
Last night Lolo had a sleep-over with her good friend Alyssa. Alyssa's grandfather owns and runs a billion dollar company. Therefore, Alyssa's father and mother are very wealthy. They own a Rolls Royce Limo. Alyssa's father chauffeured Princess Alyssa and Princess Lolo around the town all dolled up in their princess dresses. Apparently Lolo had the time of her life and enjoyed picking up the phone in the limo to instruct the driver where to go next. So she slept without the plug last night. I believe it was out of embarrassment that she didn't use the binky.
Last year when I was taking her to school every morning to drop her off she always made a point to remove the binky from her mouth before she got out of the car to go into school. She would be embarrassed to go to school with it.
So yesterday we had orientation with the PreK3 teachers and the topic of conversation turned to the kids vices. One of the teachers gave the wife encouragement to get rid of the binkys pointing out the future troubles with teeth. I think the wife may be on board now trying to get rid of the vices. We will have to wait and see.
Adrienne sucks her thumb and has a special "blankie" that she loves- she normally doesn't sleep without it. Kind of normal for a 3 year old.
Atticus doesn't go anywhere without his pacifier that we call "binky" Until recently he had a strap that clipped to his shirt so he had it on him ALL the time. Now he isn't wearing that but he still can't ride in a vehicle or sleep without a binky in his mouth. Sort of normal for a 3 year old when the parents didn't push him toward giving up the habit.
Then there is Lolo. Starting kingergarten tomorrow and she turned five years old in January. She still can't seem to ride in a car or sleep without a binky. Last night was only the second time in her life that I can recall that she didn't sleep with a binky in her mouth.
The first time that I remember her not sleepign with a binky was this past March I think when we camped out in tents on the parent's property in the cow pasture. She fell asleep in a sleeping bag beside the bonfire and I carried her to the tent where she slept fine without the mouth plug.
Last night Lolo had a sleep-over with her good friend Alyssa. Alyssa's grandfather owns and runs a billion dollar company. Therefore, Alyssa's father and mother are very wealthy. They own a Rolls Royce Limo. Alyssa's father chauffeured Princess Alyssa and Princess Lolo around the town all dolled up in their princess dresses. Apparently Lolo had the time of her life and enjoyed picking up the phone in the limo to instruct the driver where to go next. So she slept without the plug last night. I believe it was out of embarrassment that she didn't use the binky.
Last year when I was taking her to school every morning to drop her off she always made a point to remove the binky from her mouth before she got out of the car to go into school. She would be embarrassed to go to school with it.
So yesterday we had orientation with the PreK3 teachers and the topic of conversation turned to the kids vices. One of the teachers gave the wife encouragement to get rid of the binkys pointing out the future troubles with teeth. I think the wife may be on board now trying to get rid of the vices. We will have to wait and see.
First Day of School
Tomorrow is the first day of school for the kids. Lolo will be in Kindergarten which won't be a big step for her because she went to the same school last year for Pre K4. Adrienne and Atticus are going to the same school as Lolo and will be in PreK3. They too went to a pre school program last year but they were in a different school.
I am trying to figure out how I am going to afford all this private school education.
I am trying to figure out how I am going to afford all this private school education.
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