Ear Bruises

Last week Ronan's therapist called and asked if she could come out on Wednesday instead of the normal Monday. This left me thinking there would be no Monday house visit. I should learn by now not to make assumptions and that there is a reason I keep a date book with notes to myself. If I had looked at my planner I would have seen his teacher was going to be coming out today as well. There I sat sprawled out on the living room floor trying to locate the Megamind DVD Grandma Fullmer had just given the kids.Landon had put it somewhere but couldn't remember where. I found it in a case for a different dvd just as the door bell rang. Upon opening the door and seeing his teacher I let her in and then made a mad scramble to shove all the dvds back in the cupboard and tossed the dirty clothes pile at Landon to put in the bathroom ( the kids had just changed out of their pjs).
The session went well. Inara wanted to play with all of the therapy toys. Ronan didn't want to put rings in a container. He preferred to hang onto all of them and was slightly disgruntled over the object of the game. After his teaching session we had lunch and I got Ronan ready for his ENT appointment.
At the ENT they checked to make sure his ear tubes were clear and functioning. He saw the doctor who checked over the strange ear bruise he woke up with the other morning. He's been getting ear bruises frequently but this is by far the worse. The old theory was he was getting them from pulling his glasses and hearing aides off but this particular bruise arrived while he'd been sick and hadn't worn his gear for a good 4-5 days. His ENT said to watch it and if the ear bruises continued he should get a platelet count done.Tonight I had speech class and I had it pretty easy since I gave my speech last week. The students who were left gave their speeches and I got to sit back, relax and learn about some interesting topics. I'm looking forward to finishing this week and having a little break next week. We might take the kids to the zoo if the weather warms enough.

Tights on the Head

For some unknown reason Jadzia has begun to make a habit of wearing her tights or pants on her head. She seems to think it makes her look like a princess but I think today her tights seemed to make her look more like the court Jester. Upon removal of the tights I realized Jadzia's hair is now thicker and about an inch passed her shoulders. It would seem the haircut Isaac gave her has left her with healthier growth.Speaking of hair Inara's bald spot has pretty much vanished and her hair is thicker. She was born with a ton of hair and about half fell out but it is coming back. As long as she doesn't gain her sister's hair pulling habit She should have a full head of long hair by 18 to 24 months. I'm pretty excited to put bows in it and give her cute pony tails.The boys earned another Patch club pin at church today. They have the most out of all the kids. They receive pins for attendance, saying verses and completing their devotion books. Once they have enough pins they get a wheel pin. I'm pretty proud of them.
This week is going to be busy. We have an appointment almost everyday with Friday being a particularly long day. Next week is Spring break from my classes as well as Landon's birthday. Landon was excited because today was birthday Sunday at church. On birthday Sunday everyone with a birthday in that month gets a candy bar. Landon chose a butterfingers. He was sad at the end because he had wanted to share a piece with his dad and forgot and ate it all.

"Daddy, pick me up!"

Shadow Discovery

Blog #200 here we are and only 165 more posts to make my goal. Today we took the kids to see Rango. The boys intently watched the entire movie without one bathroom request. Jadzia crawled into my lap and fell asleep mid movie. We had lunch at Subway afterward or rather we got Subway to go. I am currently watching Ronan who is in his play pen across from me. I have to laugh because it appears he has discovered his shadow. He is making various motions with his hands and laughing. Every once in awhile he grabs at his shadow. I guess when you're bored what's better than a shadow puppet skit.Inara did get her grouchy lady bug toy and book today from Grandma Spencer. Her favorite was the tag until mommy rudely ripped it off to prevent choking. After that her attention stayed focused on the antenna. I also think she'll be cruising before too long. She is pulling to stand using my lap and arm. She has yet to use furniture alone but it shouldn't be too long until I find the morning surprise of her standing in her bed.The kids missed nap time today because of the movie and late lunch. For the evening we had popcorn and m&ms and just sort of relaxed. The boys had to do their Patch club devotions since tomorrow they are due to get another pin.

Camouflage Bear

I put the kids in a lot of birthday clubs and they pay off throughout the year. Yesterday Landon received $20 worth of coupons towards items at build a bear. Every time one of his animals has a birthday they send $5 free to get that animal a birthday present. Since Landon gets a new build a bear every year he had 3 $5 coupons plus the $5 coupon for being part of the birthday club. I wasn't sure if they would take all at once but they did.Landon picked a camouflage bear which is from his great grandpa and grandma Chandler for his birthday. The kids get build a bear with the birthday money their great grandparents send for each of their birthdays. Next Landon chose a Darth Vader costume and named his bear Destroyer. Due to all of the coupons we got the entire outfit for free plus a big discount off of the bear.

When Landon lost his dinner a couple nights ago he was in bed. He threw up all over his starlight turtle. We were unable to clean him so Grandma Spencer bought the boys a starlight frog and Jadzia a starlight butterfly. Eventually I plan on getting Landon another starlight turtle and Xander can keep the frog. They also make a ladybug which I want to get for Inara since I want to do her room in ladybugs.Ronan got a present too. Grandma Spencer got him a clip koala bear. Xander had received a back pack clip abominable snowman for Christmas. Ronan is constantly trying to steal it because he likes to dangle the animal from the clip. My mom saw this and bought him his own little clip koala. Ronan was pretty excited with his new toy. Inara is going to be getting the grouchy ladybug toy and book. My mom finally found it and is going to have it for her tomorrow.For dinner my family came over and we had pizza, pasta, bread sticks and cookies. I saw my niece for the first time since she got her new glasses. She looks pretty cute. Now were going to enjoy some family time so I think that's all for today. Isaac has a fun family day planned for tomorrow so I think an early bed time is in order tonight. Below is my adorable, grouchy lady bug. She's getting teeth so the book and toy will be fitting.

Sister Tea Party

Jadzia has been dreaming for some time now to have a tea party with her baby sister. Jadzia and Inara had their first sisterly tea party today. Inara was more like a doll prop that annoyingly kept stealing the tea pot and used it to knock over all the tea cups and destroy the block cake. Jadzia was patient but the patience of a three year old wanes thin pretty quick. Jadzia gave Inara about three chances to straighten up her act before Jadzia decided Inara was best suited to playing with her toy cookie jar.Jadzia's exact words were "Inara, if you can't play right you don't get tea. You play with the cookie jar." Inara happily complied as the lights and music of the cookie jar took her attention away from her tea party rampage. I had to give Jadzia props for refocusing Inara's energy. Jadzia showed she harbored no ill feelings when ten minutes later she wrapped Inara in a hug and stated "I love you baby sister. I'm just not playing tea party with you anymore." Such sister love.Last night it looked as though Landon had gotten the flu. He was overcome with stomach pain as I put him to bed and shortly thereafter lost his dinner. This morning he laid on the couch and said he still didn't feel well. This appeared to confirm he had not escaped the flu but by bed time tonight he was back to himself. For now it appears to just be a coincidence. The carpets have been shampooed, surfaces sanitized and linen washed so I'm really hoping the effort was worthwhile.Xander is still going strong and just had the cough for a couple of days. He seems to have avoided the flu and just caught a minor cold. I shouldn't be too surprised. Xander tends to have a strong immune system but he pays for it when he does get sick because it hits him harder.
I'm off to spend some husband time and watch a movie. Inara has started going to bed at a more reasonable time so we've been able to get back to watching our shows and movies with just us again.

Tooth Fairy Payout

Landon woke up this morning with a ziploc bag full of three dollar bills and eight quarters. He came running down stairs in delight, "Mom, I got the rich tooth fairy! Look how much she left me!" I looked his money over and had him count it. "Mom, I heard the tooth fairy last night! She came through the window. I know because I heard the window open and close."

If only it had been that simple. The door had been left open so there was no noise as I entered. Xander and Landon were sleeping on the top bunk together. Landon was sprawled firmly across his pillow. I maneuvered my hand underneath trying to feel for the plastic bag his tooth was in. Finally I had a firm grip and gently pulled. Even with my stealth techniques the pulling caused Landon to lift his head, eyes closed and then smack it right down into Xander's unsuspecting head.Xander grumbled and looked around sleepily as I ducked and dangled onto their bed ladder. I was crouched rather funny and knew the odd scene would send anyone into hysterics over my strange predicament. I'm not sure how long I stayed bunched up on the ladder but after enough time passed and I hadn't seen any fuzzy little heads pop up I proceeded. I quickly shoved the bag of money under his pillow and darted from the room.This afternoon Landon and I went to Toys R Us. He had a $3 gift card from being in their birthday club. He took his tooth fairy money as well. After much deliberation he decided on A GI Joe Duke Mighty Mugg. He was pretty pleased with what he ended up with.

It's Like Pulling Teeth.

Landon's loose tooth from yesterday is no longer loose. It is sitting in a ziploc bag under his pillow patiently awaiting tooth fairy pick-up. His bedroom door is left open since Landon is pretty sure the tooth fairy can't manage his door due to tiny hands. Leading up to his tooth falling out Landon tried just about everything to pull his tooth out. He relentlessly wiggled it. He ate hard candy and tried to convince me that he needed to eat candy all day until it fell out. "I don't really want to eat all the candy but I need to. I need a visit from the tooth fairy tonight." After candy extraction was over ruled by mommy he spent a good 20-30 minutes biting on a wet wash cloth.
I was in the kitchen making lunch when Xander walked in. I glanced at him and said "Go tell Landon it's lunch time." "He's unable to come to lunch today?" I looked at Xander puzzled by his unusual response "Why not?" "He's upstairs jumping on the bed and wiggling his tooth at the same time. He thought maybe his finger would slip and push his tooth all the way out."The bed jumping was unsuccessful and after lunch it was nap time. My dad had told Landon about the old method of tying a string around his tooth and slamming a door. About an hour into their nap I heard the thud of the door and yelling. "Landon's tooth came out!" "My tooth is out!" I went running up stairs. "How'd you do it?" I had Xander slam the door while I pulled my tooth with my fingers." I looked puzzled for the second time today "Did you tie a string?" "We didn't have a string so I just pulled with my fingers and the force of the door hitting my tooth was all I needed." I smiled at the silliness of his reasoning but nonetheless he'd accomplished his goal because there in his hand was his prize. His first lost baby tooth.Now what is the going rate for a first tooth now a days? I've been told due to the economy it's about $2 which was what our tooth fairy had said he thought was a fair deal but Grandpa and grandma added in a stimulus package and brought the total to five dollars. The only question is can we sneak the money in without little eyes seeing.