Updated Playlist

I tidied my playlist and rearranged it. I put "Summer Breeze" first to remind myself (the self that is sitting in a house surrounded by LOTS of snow, with more coming down all the time!) that summer still exists!

I think that the main thing we can see from this playlist is how random my wandering musical taste is. And, to make it even more surreal, it is automatically set to "shuffle". Just another added service in my ongoing quest for weird! I will update it more if I ever have time (no promises!)

Just a note--the green list is just fun music to have playing. The blue list is my "heartbroken" list--for when you are blue! Although I really like a lot of those songs, anytime!

I hope you enjoy it---I do!

My Birthday

I had such an awesome birthday! I really can’t even express how great it was! It began with 8 solid hours of sleep—an almost unheard of rarity in my sleep-starved life! I had lots of birthday wishes from friends, acquaintances and various-people-who-love-me. That was great, and I am so incredibly grateful for it. It is nice to know I am loved (and not forgotten!!)

My charming son LargeBoy and his bestest friend made me THE BEST CAKE I HAVE EVER EATEN. From scratch. Chocolate with chocolate frosting (also from scratch, my own recipe—involving both butter AND cream cheese and 4 kinds of chocolate. Perfection. If you stop at stage 2 you can make it into Truffles (we did), and then if you go on, it turns into fabbity-fab-fab-fab frosting!). MMMMH. Yum.

I went out to lunch and running errands with dear friend K—yummy, yummy Mexican food. (She also gave me a cherry cheesecake—which I nobly shared with her). I ordered pizza for dinner (which contained the MAGIC INGREDIENT-- “I didn’t have to cook it!”) I haven’t had ordered pizza in a couple of months, so I really enjoyed it—plus I got the toppings I wanted instead of what makes everybody else happy! (It was my birthday, right!). Nobody seemed to mind--it all got eaten!

Best of all, my hubby came home! He is working out of state, so he leaves at about 3:30 Monday morning and returns days later (which day depends on the weather!)

I got some great gifts—a package arrived in the mail with a lovely selection of small (great for my purse!) Bath & Body Works yummy stuff in a great scent (food scents are my very fav—not big on floral!) AND a Reading Woman Calendar. While we were out shopping Best Friend K got me a new phone (because she has said LOTS of bad words about my old phone, which was actually HER old phone that was still better than the one it had replaced!). Sweet LargeGirl got me some adorable, sparkly earrings (I always love new earrings!). And Hubby gave me more B&BW lotion—because he knows I love it so!

We also went on a great date, to our favorite restaurant. We thought about going to a movie, but the only ones I wanted to see were at the “El Expensivo” theater, so we just came home and spent time together. I am reading his Christmas book aloud to him—Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. A truly excellent book (the first of a trilogy). After listening to last week’s reading-aloud, while he was gone LargeGirl swiped it and finished it in a few days. She is now on the second one, going gang-busters!

I have realized that gift giving is one of my “love languages”. I love to find the perfect gift for someone else, and I love to receive gifts, too. I must not be maturing, because many women my age freak out about birthdays, but I still love them!

My birthday--full of love, thoughtful gifts, friends and yummy food. I am possibly the luckiest woman in the world!

Getting Dressed

There are some things about the script for dressing a toddler that are fairly standard: "come back here, you naked monkey!", "No silly, that's not a hat, that's your shoe! Shoes don't go on your head!", "Where are your toes? There they are! Let's put a sock on those wiggly toes!"

While my script has all of those elements (especially about silly hats--EVERYTHING goes on her head first--pants, shoes, diaper--except for gloves, which go on her feet!), we do have some unique variations.

First of all, my toddler is now 4 feet tall, and weighs 50 pounds. I never had visible (or even useful!) arm muscles--but she has changed that! I have quite the "gun show" going, now!

The routine for dressing her goes like this:
Unzip the top of her specially made, escape-resistant jammies, but only down to the tape around her waist. Take out her left arm. Attempt to pin her right arm under my leg. Cut the tapes around her jammie sleeve (one at the wrist, one at the bicep), take out her arm, cut the tape off her night glove (which is not only dirty, but probably has at least one fingertip chewed off--a new development that I HATE!), make sure any open wounds are covered with A) Neosporin, B) A High-end, latex free bandaid, C) Several layers of medical tape. Then put on a new glove and tape it around her wrist.

Wow, that sounds tidy, when it is written down like that! The part that throws off reality, is that while I am trying to apply all of those things, SmallGirl is insistently trying to remove them (and she is faster and sneakier than I am!).

As soon as I have her glove on, I slide her (long sleeved) shirt over her head and put her arm in, then tape the sleeve down at the wrist and just over the wrist. Two layers of tape, going in opposite directions, to make it harder for her to peel off.
Repeat for right arm.
Tape her shirt around the waist. Cut the tape off the waist of her jammies and unzip the rest of the way. Change her diaper, trying to keep her from picking any leg wounds (there are ALWAYS leg wounds!). The second she is in a fresh diaper and liner, a pair of stretch knit pants are pulled on and taped around each ankle. I am deeply grateful that we finally got both ankles healed up, because they are the hardest wounds to deal with. Then, pull on a sock and tape it around the ankle. Repeat for the other leg. Then pull on her overalls and tape them around the ankles. Twice. Pull up the overalls and fasten them. Button the sides and pull any loose fabric to the back, then apply tape around her waist and chest (at least 3 times around).
Whew! Now you can put shoes on. And attempt to brush her hair (which reminds me, I have to schedule a haircut for her, she got nail polish in it last night).

All of this because with all of the exotic Latin and Greek based, long words that describe the conditions that affect her life (oral apraxia, hypotonia, epilepsy, developmental delay) the one that really affects every minute is CSP--"Compulsive Skin Picking". Related to Compulsive Hair Pulling. Not fun to live with.

The first time I asked a doctor about it the dialogue went like this:
Me: "she picks compulsively, even in her sleep. If you hold her hands, she will move her elbow or knee up, so she can still reach it."
Doctor: "Have you tried Band-Aids?"

!@#$%^&*!@#$%!!!!

We have tried EVERYTHING. From Duct tape (on the outside of her clothes, of course!) to Heavy Duty Anti-Psychotic Meds (NOT GOOD).
So far, the best option is cellophane tape. After having tried every variety, by every company, I can conclusively state that for this purpose the very best tape is the cheapest type Wal-Mart sells. (Which I am very glad about!--I buy 12 or 15 rolls at a time. You should see the checker's faces. And I get a lot of comments about "you must wrap a lot of gifts!).

This blog entry sounds pretty whiney and self pitying, but it isn't. I am feeling very blessed to have her in my life. She is SO funny. She was so cute this morning. I am glad to have scotch tape invented (I just LOVE whoever invented that stuff!) and to have clothes available so easily (she is unbelievably hard on clothes. The tape wears out the cuffs in no time at all.) I love that I only have to sew her jammies, and not every single thing she wears. I love being her mommy.

Dr. Visit Follow-up

BigGirl's visit went well. We like the new doctor just fine. We are trying an inhaler for exercise-induced asthma. Her hands are currently symptom free, so they are hard to diagnose, but if it happens again, we are going right back in. Her heart sounded fine. The most surprising part for me was the initial height and weight. While I know that she is growing like a weed, and I can't keep her in pants that are long enough, I was still surprised that she is 5'6". FIVE AND A HALF FEET TALL!

The Doctor Visit

Today's adventure is a doctor visit. This one had more pre-visit adventure than the usual office call, because our "old" family doctor (who we liked, had a pretty good relationship with, and had already filled out the pages and pages of forms that medical visits require) joined the Air Force and left. He was actually quite young for a doctor, and I can see the military being a great life for him--but it did leave us doctorless.

Finding a new doctor turned out not to be just the usual pain in the neck of doctor shopping, either. Our insurance (which is not too bad) is a smaller company, and the doctors who accept it tend to be in the North/Eastern part of the state. Most of my life tends toward the South/Western part, so finding a doctor who A) is accepting new patients, B) accepts our insurance C) is reasonably close and D) that we like, has not been fun or easy.

But I seem to have accomplished it at last. (You may hold the aplause--or not, as you see fit).

BigGirl gets to go in today, hopefully to find out what the heck is up with her circulation. Her hands have had problems with a strange rash/dryness, swelling, cyanosis (being blueish) and they are always cold. Not good signs for anybody, but particularly not for a skinny early teenage type person. Keep her in your prayers, just in case! I will post results when I know them.

Mothering 101--tips from an expert

I was raised by wise women. Our society doesn't particularly value wisdom, (youth and ignorance are prized, and wisdom and experience are overlooked and dismissed) but I was blessed to have true wisdom in my life.

My dear aunt once told me the best parenting advice she had came from 2 sources: My mother (her older sister, who had 11 well loved children) and my Grammy (their mom who had 10 well loved children). She said the emotionally wise things came from Grammy, and the rationally wise things came from mom (who took parenting classes, and read voraciously--choosing what she felt was the best and truest, most useful wisdom and tossing the rest).

Here is some of my Grammy's advice--the things that she left to be shared at her funeral.

JOYCE’S COUNSEL TO HER DESCENDANTS


*Parenting and grand-parenting are their own reward.

*Seek guidance from prayer.

*When your child, grandchild, or anyone comes to you with serious worries and feelings of failure: LISTEN – LISTEN – LISTEN! Avoid giving advice like the plague.

*Sit near them, say, “This is hard, but you can do hard things.”

*They may feel worthless – you know they are not. They may feel not lovable – you know they are. They may feel they lack courage – you know they’re brave.

*Remember the healing power of touch. Draw near, wipe away tears, pat their hand, rub their back, and give a hug. Let them feel the strength and faith that Heavenly Father will always bless and guide through prayer. Let them know you have faith in them and their prayers. Let them know that the Savior is watching over them by day and by night and loves them always no matter what. But most of all pray with them and for them.

A poem my grammy had saved (which describes her perfectly)

She had a way with children,
She molded them like clay.
She found the greatness in them, and
She nurtured it each day.


Our trip to Idaho for Grammy's funeral was physically rather uncomfortable--I have never been good at sleeping in the car. However, the love and joy that was gathered together to celebrate the life of a remarkable woman made it worthwhile--and, as an added bonus, I love getting to spend time with my family, and I loved being with my dad & 2 sisters. LOTS of stories were shared!

When you drive across the country in January, you know you will be crossing your fingers all the way for good weather. We were very blessed--although we had 30 mile an hour winds all the way across Kansas and most of Missouri, and the blowing snow was NOT pleasant to drive in, the wind did keep it from sticking to the road. That means that although visibility was reduced, the roads were bare and dry.

One fun note--at a late night potty stop (in Colorado, I think!)the restroom door was postitioned in such a way that there was a pretty good sized snowdrift (a foot across, 18 inches long & 3 inches deep) that had blown into the ladies room, under the door. While we were waiting, we made a tiny little snowman, with emery board arms and dog treat face, and left him sitting in the corner by the door (where the wind would keep him cold). It was fabulously funny. I guess you had to be there! Just more proof that life is about the journey, not just the destination!

Books!

I have read more non-fiction in the last few months than in the whole rest of my life combined (probably). Some was dull, some had a few sparkling bits in the dross, and a few have just been excellent. Three I recommend (and boy, do they cover the spectrum!):

"Garlic & Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise" by Ruth Reichl. This was such a fun read--as good as well written fiction, lots of plot twists-BUT--Caution: It will make you HUNGRY! It is about Ruth becoming the food critic at the New York Times, and the lengths she would go to to provide accurate reports. Very fun!

"The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century" by Edward Dolnick. It is the story of a mediocre artist who managed to fool the world and the psychology he used to do it.

But one of the best books I have read lately is very short, but wonderfully sweet--
"The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers: Spiritual Insights from the World's Most Beloved Neighbor" by Amy Hollingsworth. It might not be to everyone's taste, but it had some wonderful treasures for my heart, for where I am at right now, and for how to become who I want to be.

I have had big plans all week about the awesome blogs I want to post--but BigGirl (poor, poor thing!) had a stomach bug and threw up every half hour, all night long, and we are both exhausted--and I am going back to bed!