Yesterday was a hard day. I knew Ella would have a tough time without her "nonna," I just didn't know how hard. After two failed attempts at a nap and a total of 2 1/2 hours of crying during those times and requesting her Nonna, I finally let her come downstairs to play. If she was playing she was pretty much okay. Unfortunately, she crashed at 3:45pm and I had to wake her up an hour later so that I could take the other two to Jason's office so they could get off to church.
All was well. Ella and I returned home at 6:00pm. I fed her dinner and she nearly fell asleep in the high chair, so I really thought bedtime would come much easier. How naive I am. I quickly rushed her upstairs and through her bath so that I could take advantage of her sleepiness. However, once her head hit the mattress the requests and crying began again. It was only 6:30pm by this time and I new I was in for it. After much rocking, laying her down, singing, reassuring her and repeating all these things at least once, I commenced to giving her my pillow in her crib (I know, a big no no). It worked, though. Within 10 minutes of having that pillow she was out like a light. Mind you, it was 8:00pm by then. Jason took the pillow away after she had been asleep about an hour and continued to sleep until 5:30 this morning. That's about normal for her. I have early risers, and I'm not a morning person. Go figure!
Today was preschool day. It started like any other, only this time she didn't say Nonna as soon as she woke up. She always reminds me to get it before we head downstairs for breakfast. I'm telling you, she was attached like no other. We had to leave extra early today because Cole had an orthodontic appointment. She only requested her Nonna a couple of times in the car and only cried for it once. I dropped her off at school and she did great. Then I picked her up, brought her home and laid her down for her regularly scheduled nap. I've not changed anything about her routine. She didn't request her Nonna, but she played and cried intermittently for an hour before falling asleep. As exhausting as these two days have been, I think we're already making great progress. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be, but I don't want to jinx myself either.
She's rather fond of her silkies (loveys) right now. I think she's afraid they're next to go. I wouldn't do that to her. I've got to go rest up now before the other two get home from school. I've got about a good 45 minute nap waiting for me. Tata!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
This is THE Day
Yes, that day has come.
The one I've been dreading for so long.
Today is the day I finally took the "nonna" (pacifier) away from Ella. I was originally going to wait until her 2-year-old dental visit and give them to the dentist. You see, our pediatric dentist keeps a collection of pacifiers on her wall from children who are giving up the habit. I thought it would be a great thing for Ella to do and something that would make the point to her that she was done. Unfortunately, the longer I wait, the stronger her attachment to it becomes. So, today I took it away. I thought of just giving it to her for nap and at bedtime, but quickly realized that we needed to go cold turkey. I just put her down for her nap and she is crying intermittently and requesting her "nonna" repeatedly. I'm hoping this only lasts a day or two.
The big problem is that I seem to have forgotten how many nonna's we have. I have collected 4, and I believe we have at least 1, if not 2 more roaming around here somewhere. So, my hope is that I find them before she does. Wish us luck! I will update in a few days to let you know how my experiment went.
The one I've been dreading for so long.
Today is the day I finally took the "nonna" (pacifier) away from Ella. I was originally going to wait until her 2-year-old dental visit and give them to the dentist. You see, our pediatric dentist keeps a collection of pacifiers on her wall from children who are giving up the habit. I thought it would be a great thing for Ella to do and something that would make the point to her that she was done. Unfortunately, the longer I wait, the stronger her attachment to it becomes. So, today I took it away. I thought of just giving it to her for nap and at bedtime, but quickly realized that we needed to go cold turkey. I just put her down for her nap and she is crying intermittently and requesting her "nonna" repeatedly. I'm hoping this only lasts a day or two.
The big problem is that I seem to have forgotten how many nonna's we have. I have collected 4, and I believe we have at least 1, if not 2 more roaming around here somewhere. So, my hope is that I find them before she does. Wish us luck! I will update in a few days to let you know how my experiment went.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Good News:)
Well, Ella had her ENT appointment today and we got the news we were hoping for. The fluid has drained and she doesn't require surgery at this point. Her doctor wants to see her back in 2 months to see if the ear that has already lost its tube remains fluid-free. That is our hope and prayer. Thanks to all of you who were our prayer warriors during this time. It looks like 2009 is starting off right for us after the bad ending we had to 2008. Woohoo!!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Spelling Bee Results
This was a partial group shot of the participants. There were 33 kids in all.
They wouldn't let us take photographs during the actual competition, so this is Cole during the practice round. His word was kind.
The awards presentation. All of the kids received medals for making it to the school-wide spelling bee. If you can't tell, Cole is holding a trophy. He came in as runner-up to a fifth grader. The winner will go on to compete in the state-wide competition and Cole will take her place should she get sick and can't compete.
This is a group photo of all of the kids. We consider them all winners.
And here is our Winner! If only we could do something with that hair. Doesn't he look cute!! We are so proud of his accomplishments. Last year he lost his place during the third round. This year, he went on to the very end of 22 rounds. That's going to be a tough on to beat come next year.Thursday, January 8, 2009
GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!!!!
Yes! We are finally in that time of year again. So forget those New Year's resolutions to diet and get in shape. We have got girl scout cookies for sale. This is the first year that Daisies are allowed to sell and we are really excited. If anyone is interested in purchasing cookies from Kelsey, let me know. Prices have gone up this year and are now $3.50 a box. I was really bummed to find that out, but these cookies sell themselves. Anyway, you can go to www.littlebrownie.com to see the cookie choices. If you want to purchase from Kelsey, email me or respond with a comment what you want to buy, write a check to me, Jeannie Dickerson, for the total amount, and when they come in I'll be sure to get them to you. I have to have orders in by the 23rd and all money is due in by February 2nd. Cookies are expected to come in between February 9-12th. Our troop leader is due to give birth right around that time, so it all kind of depends on when she actually gives birth, but those are the dates she's given us for cookies to arrive. I hope your able to find something of interest to you and your family. If not, there's always next year!!:)
We survived!
Well, we managed to survive Christmas break. It was a long break having been cooped up in the house most of the two weeks, but we made it. Cole had to start school back a day earlier than Kelsey because his school had been flooded with sewage back in October and it was time to make up the 4 days they missed during the clean-up process. But, it was good for Kelsey to have one extra day of recovery. We weren't sure she would be able to go back this past Tuesday, but she made quick progress in just a matter of 24 hours. She received a clean bill of health from her surgeon Tuesday morning, and off to school she went. Ella started back to preschool on Tuesday as well.
I'd like to say that having them all back in school, I rushed home to get the house back in shape and rest before they returned home, but if you know me well enough, you know that's not the case. Having had the girls' doctor appointments scheduled for 9:00am in downtown Birmingham required us leaving the house at 8:00 to make to the appointment in time. Needless to say it was pouring down rain and rush our traffic was at a standstill. However, we did manage to make it there in the nick of time. Ella was started on a 2nd dose of antibiotics because she failed her pressure test due to fluid remaining behind her left eardrum. The tube in her left ear has come out prematurely and is lying in the ear canal...that does her no good. The right ear looked great and it passed the pressure test. We wait now to see if the fluid drains like it's supposed to. If not, she has to have a 2nd set of tubes and have her adenoids removed. I'm really praying the fluid resolves and we don't have to undergo another surgery. I've about had all I can take with hospitals and surgeries. If she has to have another surgery, that will put our family having had 4 surgeries in 2 years' time. NO MORE SURGERY!!!!
Anyway, I digressed. I got Ella to school around 10:30 and Kelsey to school at 10:45am. That left me with two hours before I had to pick Ella back up. Really not a lot of time to get much done. I decided to rush off to the grocery store to do my shopping. I'm on this kick right now to weed out my cookbooks. I have so many of them that I've never used, or maybe just used a couple of times that I thought it was time to see what else they have to offer. I'm going through one book at a time and planning my meals from there. We are going to keep the recipes that we like and print them up so that I can finally rid my house of all of these books that are just collecting dust. I returned home with about an hour to spare, so I started prepping meats and vegetables. By the time Jason got home from work, I had prepared 4 meals and had 4 more to go. One of the meals that was prepared was one we had for dinner, the rest went into the freezer. After I got Ella to bed, off I went to finish making those other four meals. I can't tell you how liberating it felt having had all that done and now I have enough meals in the freezer to feed us for 3 weeks and all I have to worry about now is baking them and preparing sides. It will free up so much time in the kitchen. I'm ecstatic!
On another note, Cole's spelling bee is early tomorrow morning and I'm really excited for him. Last year, he lost during the third round with the word bureaucracy. Jason and I didn't even remember seeing that on the list of words they sent home for him to study. This year, he has worked so hard to learn all the words. They sent home 1 1/2 sheets of words with four columns on each sheet. They're printed small and it's a lot of words, but he's up for the task. I have to make a stop at the drug store in the morning to see if they have any video discs for my camcorder. I forgot to pick some up. I'll be sure to let all of you know how he does.
I'd like to say that having them all back in school, I rushed home to get the house back in shape and rest before they returned home, but if you know me well enough, you know that's not the case. Having had the girls' doctor appointments scheduled for 9:00am in downtown Birmingham required us leaving the house at 8:00 to make to the appointment in time. Needless to say it was pouring down rain and rush our traffic was at a standstill. However, we did manage to make it there in the nick of time. Ella was started on a 2nd dose of antibiotics because she failed her pressure test due to fluid remaining behind her left eardrum. The tube in her left ear has come out prematurely and is lying in the ear canal...that does her no good. The right ear looked great and it passed the pressure test. We wait now to see if the fluid drains like it's supposed to. If not, she has to have a 2nd set of tubes and have her adenoids removed. I'm really praying the fluid resolves and we don't have to undergo another surgery. I've about had all I can take with hospitals and surgeries. If she has to have another surgery, that will put our family having had 4 surgeries in 2 years' time. NO MORE SURGERY!!!!
Anyway, I digressed. I got Ella to school around 10:30 and Kelsey to school at 10:45am. That left me with two hours before I had to pick Ella back up. Really not a lot of time to get much done. I decided to rush off to the grocery store to do my shopping. I'm on this kick right now to weed out my cookbooks. I have so many of them that I've never used, or maybe just used a couple of times that I thought it was time to see what else they have to offer. I'm going through one book at a time and planning my meals from there. We are going to keep the recipes that we like and print them up so that I can finally rid my house of all of these books that are just collecting dust. I returned home with about an hour to spare, so I started prepping meats and vegetables. By the time Jason got home from work, I had prepared 4 meals and had 4 more to go. One of the meals that was prepared was one we had for dinner, the rest went into the freezer. After I got Ella to bed, off I went to finish making those other four meals. I can't tell you how liberating it felt having had all that done and now I have enough meals in the freezer to feed us for 3 weeks and all I have to worry about now is baking them and preparing sides. It will free up so much time in the kitchen. I'm ecstatic!
On another note, Cole's spelling bee is early tomorrow morning and I'm really excited for him. Last year, he lost during the third round with the word bureaucracy. Jason and I didn't even remember seeing that on the list of words they sent home for him to study. This year, he has worked so hard to learn all the words. They sent home 1 1/2 sheets of words with four columns on each sheet. They're printed small and it's a lot of words, but he's up for the task. I have to make a stop at the drug store in the morning to see if they have any video discs for my camcorder. I forgot to pick some up. I'll be sure to let all of you know how he does.
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