For my mom

Note: During a recent conversation my mom told me that she missed my blog posts on THIS blog. You see, I have a few blogs, and this one has been a bit neglected. This one is going to be dedicated to my mom and my dad because I am sure mom will read most of these posts to him. And to Gene's parents, too, because I blog all about the Cassell boys who live in Topeka.

Jared's Day

Today I was blessed to spend a few hours with my favorite fourth grader and a few of his classmates. 

At noon we left Randolph Elementary and walked to the university to spend some time in its outstanding art museum. All three fourth grade classes were present and paired up with a walking buddy. Parents and teachers distributed themselves along the line of kids, seeing quickly which kiddos needed more focus.

As we walked along, I was stuck by the gorgeous weather and the beautiful fall colors. As the crowd of 60 plus kids and several adults walked through the neighborhood, we stirred up dogs both outside in yards and inside the house. So in addition to the cheerful chatter of children excited to arrive at the museum, we also heard plenty of barking.

Jared proudly told his classmates that both his mom and dad work at the university. Some kids were impressed and asked questions while others simply rolled their eyes. 

We sat on the cement in the shade and enjoyed lunch together. I love listening to lunch conversations of kids, especially when I can kind of fade into the background. I tried to remember a fourth grade field trip of my own. Instead I recalled a rather strict teacher who generally dressed in black and wore pointy shoes.

Next was the museum. Now it's time for quiet. If museums are for quiet, then why are all the spaces built to echo? "Tiptoe up the stairs quiet as mice," our guide instructed. Unfortunately, she mentioned stomping, and I am afraid that was the word that caught the attention.

Art mounted on textured walls begged to be touched as the children waged an inner war on whether to resist the siren call. I read a few labels to the children who wondered what a particular painting was all about. Finally, at last, it was time to descend to the more kid-friendly art lab, which accommodates louder voices and offers a variety of activities.

Toward the end, the patience was waning as kids were again led into quiet zones. The walk back to school began briskly. About halfway there, a group of boys --- yes, I said boys-- started to sing a few songs from the upcoming fourth and fifth grade program. More joined in, and again I found myself blessed to be walking alongside the neighborhood serenaders. The sound of happy, singing children might be the sweetest sound I've ever heard.

Jared's turn

We took a family bike ride to celebrate the weather and mother's day this afternoon. Jared was having a few difficulties and he kept complaining that his behind hurt. When we arrived home about an hour later, my skills as a mom were requested.

"Come on mom," Jared said. "Let's go fix my butt."

I love this stinkin' sweater

Jared likes to cooperate during photo time.

Turns out I lied …

To my mother, even. Horror of horrors. I guess iphones do manage to record video. How did I miss this? And, yes, I should be grading. I have 10 more Feature Writing Grades to final, 25 senior seminar grades to tally and 10 from Advanced Media Lab.

Footage from tonight's basketball courts.

Sleeping Rockstar

the doctor's office

Jared and I have spent a lot of time in the Doctor's office lately. I do with this were not so. Check out this schedule:

Wednesday, Nov. 14: We see Dr. L for an ear check up. All is OK with ears and tubes.

Thursday, Nov. 15: Jared has a temperature and is coughing himself silly

Friday, Nov. 16: We see Dr. P to see what's going on with the continued fever and coughing. Chest is clear. No redness in ear. He wonders if ear tube in one ear is still working. No drugs. We think it's viral.

Monday, Nov. 19: Jared OK in the a.m., goes to daycare, has fun, wakes up with high fever.

Tuesday, Nov. 20: Back to the doctor's. Now we see Mrs. B (nurse practioner). She says definite ear infection. We get 3-day Z pack.

Friday, Dec. 7: We go back to Dr. P for a recheck of ears. All is fine.

Thursday, Dec. 13: Another fever at daycare. Coughing persists.

Friday, Dec. 14: Back to Dr. P. We have a new ear infection. 10-day antibiotic.

Monday, Dec. 17: Jared coughs pretty much all night long. And, I do mean all night long. Scary stuff.

Tuesday, Dec. 18: Mom calls Dr. P AGAIN. I love his nurse, Candy. She recognizes my voice. We think maybe he has asthma? We start taking a steriod twice daily for five days.

Thursday, Dec. 20: Back to Dr. L for the ears. He thinks ears look fine. It's the throat that is terrible. Jared refuses to cooperate at all with hearing test. This is problematic. Dr. L wants to continue antibiotic for 20 days total.

Gotta love this ride we are on!

It's 8:52 p.m.

As I type, I hear a rhythmic thump on the other side of the wall. It's Jared, throwing his football up against the wall.

He's supposed to be sleeping as I put him to bed at 8:08 p.m. He's managed to figure out how to turn on the bedside lamp all by his precious little self. What a blessing. Now, he throws a fit whenever I turn it off and then promptly turns it on again.

Jacob is sound asleep on the top bunk, so I'm not keen on getting my little one going by removing the light entirely. I should be grading …

Mom, please don't kill me

Well, the boys needed haircuts, and they got them. I think they are adorable, but there is no doubt in my mind that my momma will hate them. Admitedly, Jared's is a bit shorter than I expected, but his hair is a lot thinner than Jacob's. Anyway, it was a NUTTY week, and the deed is done. Perhaps they will have some length by Thanksgiving?

Bunk Beds

There is no more crib in my babies room. Almost five years ago, Gene put together that little bed with lots of love and cussing.

"Did it make you want to cry to take the bed apart," I ask Gene.

"No, I wanted to cry putting it together. It was much easier to take apart."

Now my little boy of four years sleeps on the top bunk and my little boy of two years sleeps on the bottom bunk.

Before they sleep, however, they giggle, they get out of bed again and again, they dance, they turn up the CD player too loud, they fight and they drive mommy NUTS.

Finally, perhaps realizing it's not a good idea to push mommy one inch further, they nestle in to sleep. And the little boy of four years who earned two naughty notes today and the little boy of two years who screamed most of the morning, suddenly become the purest little angels ever … until the morning.

The trip to Kohl's

Two items in a bag with a receipt. I needed to walk into the store, take a left and then a right to reach the customer service area. No biggie.

I had a list of items for Sam's Club and the grocery store. Oh, and I had my two boys. Naughty and VERY NAUGHTY.

I tried to put Jared in the stroller/cart Kohl's has available. He was not pleased with this and began screaming his "Help! I'm being murdered scream." I shove him in there and start pushing, sort of.

Jacob, despite having a front-row seat to Jared's meltdown, wants to push the stroller. I tell him I just want to get it going so Jared will stop screaming. Grudgingly he moves aside at a snail's pace.

Meantime, Jared gets even more cranked up. I am pushing quickly as I am getting lots of looks. There is no line, so I decide to just deal with it, but I am still holding out hope that the screaming will stop.

I pride myself on how my children generally behave in the store. Every now and again, we have a small problem. We've been in line too long or it's getting late or they are hungry.

It's wrong to negotiate with terrorists, but I decided to try. I take my little terrorist out of the stroller contraption. He bolts away (still screaming, incidentally)

The girl behind the counter has to take a phone call, and I have to take the screamer around the corner so the poor girl can hear!

Jacob is no longer interested in pushing the stroller, and why I think it necessary to lug it back to the front of the store is beyond me. I think it's rude to just abandon your cart in the wrong place, but maybe I had a good reason today. Still, I head for the front carrying the hysterical child and pushing the cart while telling Jacob repeatedly he isn't getting another stuffed animal. And, it's only a quick trip to the front. Surely he will stop screaming, I think.

People are really looking me know. I am losing my cool. I want to beat him. I spank his diapered butt, but he only screams louder.

We get out of the store as quickly as possible, and I again spank the terrorist who is doing his best to kick, bite and pinch me in between screams.

I wish I could have had Harry Potter's magic wand to force my child into his carseat. I think I got a scratch on my face. He was pretty livid by now.

Once the car started, he calmed down rather quickly. I wondered if I should chance Sam's. Some may have considered throwing in the towel at this point, but not me. I drove across the parking lot and geared up for round two --- mom vs. Jared.

I let him walk up to Sam's to butter him up a bit. He wasn't pleased that I held his hand, but he relaxed when Jacob took his other one. Laughing, I scoped him up and deposited him into the cart. He looked at me, and I looked at him. "Go ahead and make my day, child."

He smiled and threw his little head back and laughed. I watched as my little screamer turned into the resident greeter, waving and calling "hi!" to all we encountered.

With a successful trip to the grocery story following, I tally the score. Mom wins, 2-1.

Success

I'm not sure how I managed to delete the text of my first post on this title, so here I go again.

Now though, I'm feeling lazy and will offer only the highlights:

1. Jared's ear tube procedure was an amazing success.

2. I will return to work Thursday (yeah)

3. I owe a big thank you to my mom-in-law for coming to stay with Jacob.

4. I also owe a big thank you to my dear friend Anna, who came to wait with us at Single Day Surgery, even after first going to the hospital. Apparently, I had failed to mention the location of said surgery. (sorry, Anna)

5. I am very behind on my novel as I have felt pretty crappy most of the day.

6. At 8 a.m. tomorrow, I will find the cost to do a complete remodel on my bathroom, which I hate with a passion. Pray that the cost is in the Cassell budget.

Ear tubes and faith

"Jared, look over here. Look at Pooh! Good!" The woman waves wildly to
capture the baby's attention through the window and repeats the test on
the other side.

Jared's mother sits holding him in her lap amazed that there a way to test the
hearing of a 1-year-old boy who doesn't talk much. Jared laughs
energetically as he sees the clown light on on the right side of the
sound booth.

"Well, he has a 30 percent hearing loss," the woman says after completing the test.

Really, his mom had known on the drive over to the office that ear tubes were
pretty much a given. Her mind racing, she forced herself to think of
her good friend, Anna.

Anna knew before she did that Jared was a likely candidate for tubes, and now she was grateful to have been somewhat prepared. Anna's reassurance echoed in her mind as she asked what the next step was.

Oblivious, Jared walked around happily looking for stuff he could get his chubby little hands into. His blue eyes danced with mischief as he darted out of the room.

Wishing yet again that she had demanded her husband accompany her, she dashed
after Jared, who was already peaking into one of the exam rooms.
Sensing her proximity, he squealed and took off running again.

Her own mom had cried when she told her about the tubes, but she had not.
Focusing inward, she realized that God would take care of her baby. A
resident worrier, she often worries about things she could attempt to
control, like how to disciple her two boys or how to encourage Jared to
stop hitting his older brother, Jacob.

Medical things were simply out-of-her hands. She often found herself spacing out the specifics of medical things. She trusted that God would provide capable doctors
for her family, and he always had. It seemed easy to have faith in God
when it came to her family members, so she again wondered why she
insisted on fighting Him at every turn when he was dealing directly
with her.