It's B-A-A-C-K!!

Just when I thought it was over...

Last night at midnight, DH and I are just heading to bed and I hear the most god-awful screams I have ever heard in my entire life. I drop my toothbrush and run, heart pounding and scared to see what could possibly cause this terrifying scream.

I enter A's bedroom to hear, "AHHHHH!!!! MOOOOMMMM!!!! I NEED THE BUCKET!!!!"

DH and I are both running in circles... who can get to the bucket first? Team work then comes into play. He grabs the bucket, passes it to me and I throw it under A's head as he's leaning over, clenching his stomach... and then it comes... and comes... and comes.

OMG!

All poor little A could say was, "when will this ever end?"

Okay - I'm beginning to wonder what's going on here. Just how much do you think one mom can handle?

It wasn't too long ago that all three of my boys were sick for a week!

Just when we thought it was over... it mysteriously veers it's ugly head!

I knew I should have ordered the barf buddy when I had the chance!

I sent the other two boys to the babysitter today while I stay home and play nurse to A... let's hope that they don't wake up in the middle of the night tonight with the same issues. I really don't know if I can handle another week of this!

S will be very disappointed if he gets sick and isn't able to have his Super Mario Birthday Party on Sunday!! He's been talking about it now for weeks!!

I'm praying to the almighty universe to please spare us, just this once!!

What to do, what to do...

That is the question of the day.

We learned last week that S's therapy will start on July 6th. Which is wonderful.

(Are you waiting for the "but?")

Here it is... BUT... instead of it being in our hometown... it is now going to be a 35 minute drive each way for the months of July and August.

For those of you who do not live in a small town and typically drive 45 mins to work, one way... you may think I'm crazy... 35 mins isn't a big deal.

Here it is again... BUT...

When you work full time and you have to travel one of your little people to therapy that will take 70 minutes out of your work-day... it is a big deal.

We can't just take him, drop him off, go back to work... drive back, pick him up, come home... that would be 70 mins times two!! We will have to take him and stay while he's there to eliminate 70 mins of travelling time. It's a bit complicated.

So! What do do, what to do??

I went to my family doctor for a friendly visit yesterday and explained the situation. Her suggestion (I made her think it was her idea) is for me to take time off work.

A three month medical leave of absence (although I explained to her that I only need two, she believes we will need more time than that). I advised her that I don't want her to put anything crazy in my medical chart... like "patient going to have a nervous break-down if doesn't take time off work." She told me not to worry.

So... I call my boss.

HAHAHAHAHA!

He's pissed!

Boss: "You know, we can't just put you off work for NO REASON! We have to have a legitimate reason to put you off, you know! Do you think you're stressed?"

Me: (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!) "Do you think I'm not?"

Boss: "AH, well, ah, you must be!"

Me: "Ah, yeah! How would you feel if you're world as you knew it just did a complete 360 in a matter of minutes?"

Boss: "I guess I would be a little stressed! Let me see what we can do, let's see if we can work with you on this without you taking a leave of absence."

Me: "Okay - so while I'm not working and not getting paid, are you going to pay my bills for me??"

Boss: "Ah, NO!"

Me: "Okay then - so how about we look at the medical leave option... at least I'll get paid... right?"

I think the Boss is barking up the wrong tree. It is my right as an employee who pays into my benefits program, to have access to my coverage. If my doctor thinks I need to take a leave of absence, who is he to say that I can't? I think the Human Rights Dept. would have a field day with this guy!

It won't come to that but... holy smokes?

He's so crazy! "Do you think you're stressed?"

"I don't know... are you a man?"

I shouldn't quit my day job!!

For the last three weeks, I have been trying to get my boys' hair cut.

Usually, this is not an issue.

Three weeks ago, I picked the boys up at the babysitter and ventured off to the hairdresser. God love her... she's so patient.

Anyhow, we get there and S usually wants to go first... well, not today! So A went first.

Once A was finished, S began to protest and didn't want to get his hair cut!

Because it's usually "Monkey See Monkey Do" in our house, Baby O then decides that he's not getting his hair cut either!

Well... when you only have so many hours in a day, you can imagine that this is driving me crazy. I decide to pick my battles and make an appointment for another day.

Another day comes... I take S and Baby O to the hairdresser. S gets up like a brave little soldier and gets the deed done.

Baby O? No way! Forget it! He still remembers about the protest last time and decides it's not over yet.

On to today... we try again.

What is going on here? I can't take this attitude. Picture a nasty little 2 year old looking at you and saying, "NO! I not getting my hair cut! Leave me ALONE! YOU NOT A BABY, I A BABY!!"

What?

So by now you've probably guessed it!

Yes, I had to resort to cutting the little devil's hair myself!

(BTW - DH is not impressed with my hairdressing abilities)

Baby O thinks it's the best hair cut he's ever had!

I don't think that I should quit my day job!!

Music to my ears!

I have this overwhelming feeling of joy/happiness/relief/confusion/frustration/elation.

My son, S, is now talking in full sentences. What did I say in my previous post? I predicted that he would be talking in full sentences by when, Christmas?

I am so happy, yet so confused.

This little boy is such a mystery to me and to every health professional who has seen him since March 29th of this year when he stopped verbally communicating.

I am so pleased to say though that he is now coming back to me. That's really how I feel... I feel like he's been a little lost soul for the last 2 1/2 months and he is slowly but surely coming back to me.

We walked into the sitter's house this morning. The idea was that he was going to go in and say "Good Morning" but he changed his mind in the van. He wanted to walk in and say "Luigi."

Whatever makes you feel good S, go for it!

So we walk in, he holds up his DS game and yells, "Luigi!!"

The sitter looked at me and I honestly thought she was going to cry! (sigh, sniff sniff)

She then looked at me and shook her head as if to say, "what the heck?"

I'm like, "I KNOW!!!"

He then ran over to the couch, hopped in between his two buddies and they started playing together.

What a beautiful sight!

Hearing his little voice is music to my ears.

One step forward...

I am pleased to announce that I had a very enjoyable weekend.

S, sang songs and talked up a storm all weekend long. Now, mind you, he did this in the comfort of his bedroom, in the play space under the stairs... anywhere that he didn't think anyone could hear him.

He did however, say "DS" without just saying the letter sounds and also said "Luigi." He held a book up to me and said the word.

The Top Hits of the weekend were:

1. "Scooby Dooby Doo, Where are You?"
2. "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
3. "Aloetta"

He counted to 9 while playing Wii... then to 13 when playing hide-and-seek with Big Brother A. Also, when he was done counting, he said "ready or not, here I come!"

Ask him a question though and he will not answer in a sentence and is still gesturing and saying "uh huh" and "uh uh" for "yes" and "no."

Beggars can't be choosers at this point. I am so happy with this progress I literally started to cry when he was singing the theme song to Scooby Doo.

We had a meeting today with the team of professionals that are working with S, and told them of his progress.

We are all so stumped by his peculiar behavior but I have the utmost faith in the team's ability to help him... as well as our consistency in working with him.

Tonight, when we were getting ready for bed, he also asked for milk. Previously, he would say "ma" for milk. Tonight he said the word.

To get him to talk, I have been saying the word and waiting for his response. If he has none, I repeat myself. I don't ask him to repeat the word, I simply wait for his response. I've been consistent in not giving him what he wants until he says the word, or at least tries it and it's working great. Of course, I didn't come up with this strategy all by myself. I have the TEAM to thank for it. Watching and learning their techniques are really paying off. He's catching on much quicker than I anticipated.

I am predicting that by Christmas, he will be speaking in full sentences again (or at least I hope).

We start intensive therapy in three weeks, which I'm sure will help immensely. Then there's preschool in the Fall together with therapy in the afternoon. He's going to get the best help we can possibly ask for!!

I am amazed at the Early Intervention programs available in our province. Ones that if we lived in another province, ie. Ontario, these therapies would cost a whopping $20K-$30K per year! Our provincial government is paying the entire bill!! This is amazing!! Even the middle-class citizens of our province are getting benefits.

I guess my theory of quitting my job, staying home, baking bread and collecting a "cheque" can be put on hold... at least for a little while.

Thank you provincial government! I will vote for you in the next election!!

My Mom is a Wine-O

Okay - let's hope this isn't what my kids remember of me when they're older.

Of course, we rarely go without having a glass of wine with dinner, but that's the extent of when they would see me with it. Mostly, it's at the end of the day when they're in bed and I need to relax. Red wine just seems to make the day seem better somehow. If we lived in Europe, we'd drink it for breakfast!

One glass before bed... that's all it takes. I'm not an alcoholic or anything... or at least I haven't taken the first step to admitting it. :)

Thankfully, DH is the town supplier of all things "wine." I like to consider myself "Quality Control."

We've got to test the products to make sure the client's are happy!

We've actually had family members come into our wine-cellar (a.k.a - closet with milk crates and boxes full of wine...) and comment on how they couldn't live in a house with so much wine in it. "How do you keep yourselves under control?" they ask.

Well, maybe they need to start admitting to something? Huh?

I guess we're lucky to not have "addictive personalities," otherwise, there could be an issue.

The funniest thing I can remember was when my son was in preschool, they were learning about the food groups. They were talking about fruits and vegetables and asking the kids to name different types of fruit. When grapes were mentioned, my then four year old little boy raises his hand and says, "Mrs. ___ do you know what grapes are good for?" She replies, "what's that A?" He states, "they are great for making wine!"

Thankfully she knows us and replies, "Yes, A, that's right! Grapes are used to make wine!"

This was a reminder to me that you just never know what kids are going to come out with!

We'll see what they remember about their childhood when they're older.

This might be scary.

Bubble wrap and hula hoops!

In an attempt to entertain our three sons, we've been trying to think of things that the kids will have fun doing (besides the trusty Nintendo DS and Television screen).

My DH and I both brought home a special surprise for the boys last night.

My DH's surprise: Bubble wrap (very large sheets)

My surprise: Hula Hoops

Honestly, it sounded like guns were being fired in my house as the kids jumped around and played on the bubble wrap.

And how funny is it watching three little boys trying to maneuver a hula hoop?? OMG - it was so cute.

Baby O was trying to be like Big Brother A... doing everything he could to get those hips moving! The "ula oot" was bigger than him!!

S was pretty red in the face by the end of it! He really worked up a sweat! LOL

Big Brother A was fantastic! He's a natural... just like his mama (chuckle).

So, if you're looking for some fun... dig out the bubble wrap or find yourself a hula hoop! You're bound to have a great time!

PS - It is a good work out... I can feel it in my abs today!

Note to self... I really need to work out more!

Small Town Gossip

Ooohhhh, today's topic hit's me hard!

Yes, I realize that we all like to gossip... to a certain degree. But when it comes to people talking about your kids! Watch out! I can say whatever I want, but God forbid YOU say ANYTHING about my kids!

This morning I was rushing around, getting everything together to get my passport done. Even though I've known about the June 1st deadline for having a passport to cross the border, I wait until June 10 to complete it. Oh the crazy life of a working mom.

Anyhow, I walk into my Lawyer's office this morning to have a friend that works there, be my Guarantor for my passport and I hear... "And (Momof3) says, well just leave him alone then!" Okay - this comes from a conversation that this friend and I had last week. Which is fine. But when I walked in and said, "I said what?" I took everyone by surprise by walking in on the conversation.

Anyhow, my friend proceeds to tell me that an acquaintance of hers called her and said, "What is going on with (Momof3's) little fella, S?" Well, as you are aware from reading my previous blog posts. S, stopped talking back in March and we have been to Doctor's, SLPs, etc., ever since, trying to figure out why.

He's still the same loveable, hugable little boy... communicating and getting what he needs and wants. He's just not using his words. He is making progress though. There is nothing mentally or physically wrong with this child. He is super smart. At the age of 4 he knows all of his letters and their sounds, can spell his name out loud and can recognize numbers up to 12.

Let me tell you... there aren't a lot of kids in kindergarten today that can do that!

One of his attributes at the moment, just happens to be the fact that he is incredibly strong-willed and STUBBORN! And has chosen NOT to use his words. He does say Mommy, Dada, Wii, Juice, POOP! You know, the important ones! :)

So, anyway, it's officially big news around my small town that "something is wrong" with S. Well... to all of you who like to gossip and make a mountain out of a mole hill - "mind your own GD business!"

I guess the biggest thing that got me was the comment that the acquaintance made when my friend said, "why would you ask that, what have you been hearing?" She then said, "OMG, I've heard everything from one extreme to the other!" WTF does that mean? My friend didn't have time to discuss what she had heard because she was at work but plans to find out. Ohhhhh.... I'll be interested to hear this.

As you can tell, I'm a little pissy today.

If you're genuinly concerned about the well-being of my child, thank you!

If you're just looking for the juicy gossip and are going to misconstrue everything, "go to hell!"

Oh the joys of living in a small town.

People I Hate!

Okay - so maybe "hate" is a strong word. But let me tell ya, I've been counting to 10, very slowly, all day. I just keep getting madder and madder the longer I work.

It all started this morning... I was sitting at the office, drinking my coffee when the lady who does our in-office training called. We did a session via webinar and she showed me a few things, which made me dig into my client database, which made me uncover a few things that perhaps people would rather I not uncover!

BUSTED!!!

A little background on my career. I'm paid 100% commission to sell stuff. I work for a HUGE company who has other people like me, who sell the same stuff, all over the world.

Five years ago when I first started selling stuff, I joined a multi-stuff-selling corporation (a.k.a. MSSC). Which basically means, they have a really large group of clients, so large that they can't service them all. I was brought on board because they needed someone to help service the clients where I live. It was my understanding that the CEO of the MSSC didn't want to service my area any longer, so he wanted someone else to do it. I would get paid for any new business I generated myself and could "fill my boots" with any of the existing clients (less maybe 25 of the CEO's personal clients.

Well, the table has now turned and the CEO is expecting me to be here to service his clients, but doesn't want me to make any money for my work and time.

I know that this may be hard to understand so I'll make it a little more clear.

He's being a greedy bastard and I'm about ready to kick him in A$$!

Phew, that felt good! Not as good as kicking him the A$$ though.

So I need to make a decision... Perhaps I should dissolve my relationship with the MSSC, take MY clients and run!

Or maybe I should just forget all of this bulls**t; stay at home, make bread and collect my cheque at the end of the month.

So many options!

If you were my friend and I had a nasty son, would you tell me?

That's the question of the day!

I have this acquaintance/friend who has a son in A's class (we'll call him johnny), who although comes from a very good family, is one of those kids that you just don't want to force your kids to hang around with. On a number of occasions, A has come home saying that he has been hit, had his sweater thrown in the urinal (GROSS!!), and has been called names.

In my eyes, johnny is a ruffian. He doesn't know his boundaries. He's whiny and likes to be the leader of the pack.

Initially, we thought, "he's gone through a lot of changes in his life lately which could result in challenging behaviors." But now, it is becoming apparent that he's just a nasty kid!

However, his mother is not naive to his behaviors and often says to me, "if you see johnny doing something he shouldn't be doing, please tell me!" But do I? Really? Would she really want me to?

This little boy tends to lean towards the more aggressive children in the class to play with but the mother wants him to play with the better behaved "good" kids... but the better behaved kids don't want to play with him! She thinks that if he plays with the "good" kids, he'll be converted. I'm not so sure!

I had a discussion with another mother who is in the same predicament as me. We feel badly but our boys are adamant that they DO NOT want to play with this little guy... so what's a mom to do?

If little johnny came from a different upbringing, I would have no problem telling my son to "stay away from him!" But because he "is who he is" it's hard. And because I know is mom and know that she is trying her damnedest to get him to comply... it's even harder!

I've told A that he doesn't have to play with johnny if he doesn't want to and that if he does anything to him that he shouldn't, be sure to tell the teacher or tell me.

Then, the little johnny's mother calls with a personal invitation for play dates and birthday parties.

Oh the joys of parenting!

Where's my magic wand?

(Frantically searching)... Where is it? Please don't tell me I lost it? Please don't tell me, among the millions of things that I have to do today, this has gone missing. Can you help me out? I seem to have lost my magic wand! You know, the one that magically cleans the house; puts money into my bank account, since I work in a 100% commission based sales career; makes the kids' lunch in the mornings; does the laundry... (ring, ring) Oh - wait a minute? (Wiping the drool from my face and my laptop)... did I just fall asleep at work?

(Back to reality) Wouldn't life be grand if this were a true story. Oh the things I would do if I only had a magic wand. House chores would be at the top of the list... money would be second. Third would be to cure all illnesses and make everyone healthy. I feel confident that everything else in my life could be handled without it.

If you were given a magic wand, what would you use it for? (Comments below) And DH, please don't say, "make my wife want to be in the mood more often." Although... if everything else was done, I may not feel so tired at the end of the day! Hmmmm....

Life is so hectic these days. For those of us who have to work outside of the home full-time, there just aren't enough hours in the day (SAHM's I'm sure feel the same way, at least I get a little break from the kids when I go to work - I applaud those who SAH with their children - you deserve two magic wands!!).

One can only dream of what it would be like to have the authority to waive a small stick and say "abra-cadabra." Or - in my house, the famous words would be those often spoken by super mario brothers and my kids... "mama-mia - LUNCH!"