The weekend went much smoother & we were all a lot less cranky so that is a good thing.
A & I took the two little ones to the wave pool on Sunday & we all had a blast. The kids would go down the really big slide with us & they liked the waves too. I had not been to that pool in years so that was so much fun. First slide down I had D between my legs & thought I would stay sitting up & go slow so as not to scare him. Where the slide comes back into the building it is super dark with a very steep drop off that I forgot about, which turtled me on my back & with my extra weight we went warp speed. I tried to slow us down but that just wasn't happening. Luckily it does dump you into shallow water but the poor little guy got the full thrill of the ride first time down. It did not scare him either so he is definetely one of my kids. :) We swam for two hours & we had to drag the kids out of there finally as it was way past their nap time. D is a maniac in the water & just throws himself backwards under water, so he keeps us on our toes pulling him out. C really likes the water but is more cautious, she will go right under & blow bubbles & all that stuff but she doesn't just throw herself underwater without making sure we are there to help or catch her. I am so happy they both love the water so much. We are going to be spending lots of time at the pools.
Today was a fun day as the kids & I went & had a play date / lunch at another single mom's house. She adopted her 2nd son from Haiti (same age as D), but not from the same O. We had a lot of fun & I really enjoyed their company. I will post a photo she took of all of us when we arrived home from Haiti, as she met us at the airport too.
The photo is A holding D, R my ex-hubby (big kids Dad), me, C & B - the whole motley crew. :) First photo of all of us together. R brought B to the airport to meet us & drove us all home.
UGGGG blogger isn't letting me upload this photo - 2nd day in a row. Anyone out there know what this error message means?
ICAP Error (icap_error)
An error occurred while performing an ICAP operation: Connection failure: An error occurred while sending data to the ICAP server.
There could be a network problem, the ICAP service may be misconfigured, or the ICAP server may have reported an error.
For assistance, contact your network support team.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Bag Update & Random Babbling
So received the call from Air Canada today that the missing back pack is now back in our city, so I decided to go to the airport & pick it up myself. I was so pleased as it was still heavy so obviously the contents were still inside. :) Once I got it home & took everything out I found the following few items missing.
1. C's back pack & contents we had put together for her for the flight home (who would want a little kids back pack with crayons & coloring book, beanie baby, a couple of books, misc little toys & a bunch of fruit snacks, raisins & other snacky items?) D's was in there so that caused some friction as they fought over the contents & who was going to wear it.
2. Two tubes of tooth paste (they left the other 16 tubes)
3. I had a heaping bag of little kid tooth brushes, my dentist graciously donated & now it isn't quite as full
4. All our food items were gone that we took to eat in Haiti; except for one package of Soup Works which was ripped & spilled in the bag. We didn't have anything exciting either just Soup Works, Side Kicks & Pasta type dishes - they must have been hungry.
5. A package of Pull-ups
I am thrilled to have A's good back pack back & only have a few miscellaneous items go astray. I am happy I can box up the rest of this stuff & send them off to Haiti to where they were meant to be. I always figured that the mail would be less reliable than the airlines but this definetely proves me wrong - I never lost one box I mailed to the kids while they were at the O. Actually I only have to mail the boxes to a Florida address & from there it gets loaded on to a small missionary plane that flies supplies in to Haiti once a week.
I am so happy, all of the items that were of any real value; like the Robeez shoes & nursing scrubs were all still in there. It was a good day.......... :)
Well except for the fact that I decided to make the run to the airport instead of putting the kids down for their nap. I figured they would sleep on the road trip. I was also dropping A off at work on the way home from the airport so I figured it would be an hour to an hour & a half road trip & the kids could sleep while I got a few things done. Well they did go to sleep for a wee bit on the way to the airport, but it fell short of their regular two hour nap by a long shot. Now I know why I have been such a stickler with routine & sticking to a schedule. They were tired & cranky & miserable for the rest of the day. Now I must inject here that I did not have my nap today either, plus the fact that the kids were up at 6:30 am (instead of the 7:30 that is acceptable to me) that put me in a foul mood too. I was low on patience & had two kids whining & pushing my buttons. Finally with supper done; all we had left was bath time & reading & I would be home free. So got right to it & D decided to jump into the tub off the side & whacked his head a good one & was just screaming bloody murder. Scared the crap outta me & I grabbed him up & held him for a bit but he recovered & wanted back in the tub to play. So after another melt down or two I had enough for one day & the kids were sent to bed without reading a book. Cranky kids & cranky mommy is not a good combination. That is what I get for not sticking to a routine.
Yesterday I put the kids down for their nap at 1:00 & they played & fooled around for a whole hour. Finally I said enough you both come to Mommy's bed & we will all sleep together ;) Now usually I do fall asleep for a bit when I lay down with them, but then wake up & go get a start on dinner while they continue to sleep. Well yesterday D & I didn't wake up until 4:45. Holy smokes what a waste of a day. C had woke a bit earlier but had gone down to B's room & hung with him until we woke up.
That is one thing I am really going to miss when I go back to work - I LOVE my after lunch nap time! Lorraine, a lady I work with, came by today with a gift certificate & card from all my co-workers. Thanks so much everyone you are all so sweet, generous & considerate I really do appreciate everything you have done for us! We will certainly put your gift card to good use over the next while.
Tomorrow is a new day & I am hoping we can put today's grumpiness behind us.
Yesterday A & I took the kids to "Let's Play" to burn off a little energy. When my big kids were little they didn't have these kinds of play areas so this was all new to me. There was slides & tunnels & balls rooms & all kinds of fun stuff to explore. I flew down the very first slide like a freaking rocket & it felt like I compressed a couple of vertibrae & twisted an ankle, when I gracefully landed at the bottom. The kids had a blast though, although they were a little intimidated by the swinging tunnels & by the amount of kids there. All the big kids kind of push the little ones to the side so they were a little nervous. I crawled through tunnels & squeezed my fat behind through these rolling things I didn't think I would squeeze through. In fact I got half way through one & started whining I was stuck so C & some other little girl grabbled my arms & yanked me through. I love it when I make an a** out of myself in front of a ton of people. I forgot it was spring break right now so the place was hopping. Next time we go will be on a school day. When C got up this morning she said she wanted to go to "Let's Play" again & whined when I said no - that was just the start of it.
No big plans for the weekend. In fact I didn't even know it was Friday until the contractor said see you on Monday. I can't believe another week has flown by. I will try to get some photos of the kids at home on here tomorrow.
Hugs, Laur
1. C's back pack & contents we had put together for her for the flight home (who would want a little kids back pack with crayons & coloring book, beanie baby, a couple of books, misc little toys & a bunch of fruit snacks, raisins & other snacky items?) D's was in there so that caused some friction as they fought over the contents & who was going to wear it.
2. Two tubes of tooth paste (they left the other 16 tubes)
3. I had a heaping bag of little kid tooth brushes, my dentist graciously donated & now it isn't quite as full
4. All our food items were gone that we took to eat in Haiti; except for one package of Soup Works which was ripped & spilled in the bag. We didn't have anything exciting either just Soup Works, Side Kicks & Pasta type dishes - they must have been hungry.
5. A package of Pull-ups
I am thrilled to have A's good back pack back & only have a few miscellaneous items go astray. I am happy I can box up the rest of this stuff & send them off to Haiti to where they were meant to be. I always figured that the mail would be less reliable than the airlines but this definetely proves me wrong - I never lost one box I mailed to the kids while they were at the O. Actually I only have to mail the boxes to a Florida address & from there it gets loaded on to a small missionary plane that flies supplies in to Haiti once a week.
I am so happy, all of the items that were of any real value; like the Robeez shoes & nursing scrubs were all still in there. It was a good day.......... :)
Well except for the fact that I decided to make the run to the airport instead of putting the kids down for their nap. I figured they would sleep on the road trip. I was also dropping A off at work on the way home from the airport so I figured it would be an hour to an hour & a half road trip & the kids could sleep while I got a few things done. Well they did go to sleep for a wee bit on the way to the airport, but it fell short of their regular two hour nap by a long shot. Now I know why I have been such a stickler with routine & sticking to a schedule. They were tired & cranky & miserable for the rest of the day. Now I must inject here that I did not have my nap today either, plus the fact that the kids were up at 6:30 am (instead of the 7:30 that is acceptable to me) that put me in a foul mood too. I was low on patience & had two kids whining & pushing my buttons. Finally with supper done; all we had left was bath time & reading & I would be home free. So got right to it & D decided to jump into the tub off the side & whacked his head a good one & was just screaming bloody murder. Scared the crap outta me & I grabbed him up & held him for a bit but he recovered & wanted back in the tub to play. So after another melt down or two I had enough for one day & the kids were sent to bed without reading a book. Cranky kids & cranky mommy is not a good combination. That is what I get for not sticking to a routine.
Yesterday I put the kids down for their nap at 1:00 & they played & fooled around for a whole hour. Finally I said enough you both come to Mommy's bed & we will all sleep together ;) Now usually I do fall asleep for a bit when I lay down with them, but then wake up & go get a start on dinner while they continue to sleep. Well yesterday D & I didn't wake up until 4:45. Holy smokes what a waste of a day. C had woke a bit earlier but had gone down to B's room & hung with him until we woke up.
That is one thing I am really going to miss when I go back to work - I LOVE my after lunch nap time! Lorraine, a lady I work with, came by today with a gift certificate & card from all my co-workers. Thanks so much everyone you are all so sweet, generous & considerate I really do appreciate everything you have done for us! We will certainly put your gift card to good use over the next while.
Tomorrow is a new day & I am hoping we can put today's grumpiness behind us.
Yesterday A & I took the kids to "Let's Play" to burn off a little energy. When my big kids were little they didn't have these kinds of play areas so this was all new to me. There was slides & tunnels & balls rooms & all kinds of fun stuff to explore. I flew down the very first slide like a freaking rocket & it felt like I compressed a couple of vertibrae & twisted an ankle, when I gracefully landed at the bottom. The kids had a blast though, although they were a little intimidated by the swinging tunnels & by the amount of kids there. All the big kids kind of push the little ones to the side so they were a little nervous. I crawled through tunnels & squeezed my fat behind through these rolling things I didn't think I would squeeze through. In fact I got half way through one & started whining I was stuck so C & some other little girl grabbled my arms & yanked me through. I love it when I make an a** out of myself in front of a ton of people. I forgot it was spring break right now so the place was hopping. Next time we go will be on a school day. When C got up this morning she said she wanted to go to "Let's Play" again & whined when I said no - that was just the start of it.
No big plans for the weekend. In fact I didn't even know it was Friday until the contractor said see you on Monday. I can't believe another week has flown by. I will try to get some photos of the kids at home on here tomorrow.
Hugs, Laur
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Missing Bag Finally Located??
So I have been contacting Lynx Air almost daily for the last couple of weeks trying to find out where our missing back pack is, as it still has not shown up in Haiti. Finally yesterday Lynx admitted that the bag could not be found & it was company policy to reimburse customers $9.07 per pound to compensate for missing bags. I was p.o'ed to say the least. That would have been only $399.08 as they weighed the bag at 44lbs. I told them that was unacceptable as the back pack itself cost almost that much & I had a whole bag full of donations for an orphanage. So I started listing the items that were in the lost back pack
Back Pack = $300.00
20 pairs of Robeez shoes x $30 per pair (a donation I received) = $600.00
26 Nurses scrub uniform shirts x $18 = $360.00
50 tooth brushes x $2.00 = $100.00
18 tubes of tooth paste x $2.50 = $45.00
2 kids back packs full of stuff x $40.00 = $80.00
Diapers = $25.00
Pull ups = $25.00
Food / Snacks = $25.00
Gift from another Mom for her childs birth mother (value ? $40.00)
TOTAL = $1,800
Once the lady from Lynx heard my list she said just a minute & put me on hold until I went to voice mail (which of course no one has yet returned my phone call since March 25). Grrrrrrr I am not impressed to say the least.
So I got up this morning ready to call Lynx Air again after I fed the kids breakfast. The phone rang while we were eating & it was Air Canada in Montreal & they have our bag! Now how in the world did Air Canada get my bag when we checked it in ourselves at Lynx Air in Miami on February 29? So 3 1/2 weeks after the missing bag was lost it is back in Montreal & will be sent back to us tomorrow. Bummer Nadine & Brett are leaving for Haiti to pick up their son tomorrow so it will be too late to send the stuff with them. Now I will have to pay for shipping to send this stuff to Haiti but I am so happy that these items were not lost or stolen. I guess I should be careful about saying that until it is back in my hot little hands. What a pain in the butt & I found Lynx to be very unresponsive to my concerns & they refused to return my calls. How in the heck do you lose a bag when the plane only holds 16 people & their bags? Plus how did the missing bag end up at another airline? I'll let you know if all the contents are still in the bag when I do get it. Air Canada in Montreal did not say that the back pack was full so I am just hoping all the stuff is still in the back pack & I will be able to send it off to the orphanage & then all will be well.
Nadine have an awesome trip to Haiti & I look forward to hearing you have your son home for good! Safe travels - I hope all your bags make it & hoping you all remain healthy. Give your little guy a hug for me too. Talk to you soon.
Hugs, Laurie
Back Pack = $300.00
20 pairs of Robeez shoes x $30 per pair (a donation I received) = $600.00
26 Nurses scrub uniform shirts x $18 = $360.00
50 tooth brushes x $2.00 = $100.00
18 tubes of tooth paste x $2.50 = $45.00
2 kids back packs full of stuff x $40.00 = $80.00
Diapers = $25.00
Pull ups = $25.00
Food / Snacks = $25.00
Gift from another Mom for her childs birth mother (value ? $40.00)
TOTAL = $1,800
Once the lady from Lynx heard my list she said just a minute & put me on hold until I went to voice mail (which of course no one has yet returned my phone call since March 25). Grrrrrrr I am not impressed to say the least.
So I got up this morning ready to call Lynx Air again after I fed the kids breakfast. The phone rang while we were eating & it was Air Canada in Montreal & they have our bag! Now how in the world did Air Canada get my bag when we checked it in ourselves at Lynx Air in Miami on February 29? So 3 1/2 weeks after the missing bag was lost it is back in Montreal & will be sent back to us tomorrow. Bummer Nadine & Brett are leaving for Haiti to pick up their son tomorrow so it will be too late to send the stuff with them. Now I will have to pay for shipping to send this stuff to Haiti but I am so happy that these items were not lost or stolen. I guess I should be careful about saying that until it is back in my hot little hands. What a pain in the butt & I found Lynx to be very unresponsive to my concerns & they refused to return my calls. How in the heck do you lose a bag when the plane only holds 16 people & their bags? Plus how did the missing bag end up at another airline? I'll let you know if all the contents are still in the bag when I do get it. Air Canada in Montreal did not say that the back pack was full so I am just hoping all the stuff is still in the back pack & I will be able to send it off to the orphanage & then all will be well.
Nadine have an awesome trip to Haiti & I look forward to hearing you have your son home for good! Safe travels - I hope all your bags make it & hoping you all remain healthy. Give your little guy a hug for me too. Talk to you soon.
Hugs, Laurie
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Some photos
A & I in Miami - February 28
Holding C for the first time - February 29, 2008
Holding D for the first time - February 29, 2008
Lagossette, Haiti (outside the orphanage)
Three of my babiesWhere has the time gone......
I can't believe it has been a week & a half since I last posted - the time just seems to be flying by. Things are busy with us & we are having lots of fun.
The kids are sweet, funny, silly, teasers, monsters, sassy, grumpy, loud, affectionate, happy from one moment to the next. I had forgotten how noisy & active a 2 & 4 year olds are. They move from room to room & cause havoc where ever they go. :) I told some of you that I was counting on the kids as my new weight loss program - I am happy to tell you that so far I am down 10 lbs. :) Now only 40 or so to go. I don't think I have been super active to lose that weight but I am certainly eating a lot healthier.
There has been so many changes in the short amount of time they have been home. The kids are no longer afraid of the dogs & actually seem to really like them now. D adjusted to the dogs the quickest & would pet them but now C isn't freaking out anymore either. She still gets a little scared if they jump up on her but she doesn't become hysterical anymore & she likes playing with them. We even surprised the kids tonight while they were in the bath & threw the dogs in the tub with them. They were so surprised but it didn't take D long to start dumping water all over them. Dogs didn't look overly impressed but the kids, A & I found some humor in it.
D still has a runny nose so I don't know if it is lactose intolerance or not, although it isn't as bad as it was before. I haven't tried the rice milk yet as none of the grocery stores around my place seem to carry it. I will have to make a special trip out to try & find some. For those Mom's out there that have taken your kids off of milk products - how long was it before you saw an improvement? No not just an improvement because I have seen that but how long until the nose stops running.
The kids are sleeping until 7 - 8 in the morning now :), nap at 1 wake at 3 & are in bed for the night at 8:30. They go to bed incredibly well, I put them to bed together in a single bed (bottom bunk) & they are asleep in 5 - 10 minutes max. I don't have to sit with them anymore at nap or bedtime - I just tuck them in , hug & kiss them & they are good to go. I usually go sit in my room so if they call me I hear them right away but it is so easy. I wish my big kids went to bed that good when they were little. D has fallen out of bed three times now but I just run in there, pick him up & put him back to bed & he has gone back to sleep immediately each time. Other than that there has been no one waking up in the middle of the night.
I live in a 4 level split so we have lots of stairs which both kids were a little scared of. D even fell down one flight, one evening on his tummy head first but didn't get hurt, just freaked him & I out a bit. Footy pj's on laminate stairs are not a good idea. They both navigate the stairs now no problem & now know why I was telling them to hold on to the railing. D has had two good goose eggs on his forehead so far, once he flipped off the couch & I can't recall how he managed to get the second one. C crashed into a corner today & got her first cut / goosebump on her forehead so they are both normal kids. No major injuries yet so we are doing good.
I haven't taken the kids in for medical check-ups yet but I am sure we all have guardia & need a round of Flagil, otherwise they seem super healthy & full of life. I would just like to blood work done & get them tested for lead & get a good general checked up. D still has the super big buddha belly so I am assuming that is indictive of parasites.
We took the kids swimming on Sunday & they had a blast! C was a little tentative to begin with but D was a maniac & not afraid at all so it wasn't long until C was doing all the stuff he was doing. They had a great time & I think we will have to make it a weekly event.
The kids love car rides. As soon as they are fed & dressed in the morning they are asking to go for a car ride or out for a walk. C can get in her own car seat & buckle herself in too so that is convenient. They travel good & get very excited about seeing big trucks & trains. They just are so busy looking at everything & eventually just fall asleep. We haven't been on any long trips but spent a couple of hours running around this afternoon. We are hoping to go visit my folks soon & they live three hours away so I am sure the kids will love that trip.
The kids are testing us constantly to see if the rules are still the same as they were a minute or hour ago. If I give C heck she has taken to mimicking everything I say along with finger pointing & ugly faces. She is starting to figure out that being sassy is logging her alot of corner time. She always gets two warning & the third time she is sent to the corner. As soon as she sees me getting up she starts saying "Excuse me, Excuse me, Excuse me" (instead of sorry) but by then it is too late. She hates sitting in the corner so maybe that behavior will decline quickly. I think that they never had a ton of consistency as far as discipline goes (at least from the volunteers) so they were able to get away with some of that behavior. I don't like it though, so we are working on that one.
All food issues are resolving themselves quickly. D still goes into panic mode as the meal is being prepared as he wants to eat instantly but it is getting better. The last two days I have told the kids they need to stay out of the kitchen as I cooked as they were always under foot or clinging to my legs & with cooking on the stove or opening the oven it was a hazard. D will stand at the entrance & whine & beg to be put in his booster chair, even though supper is just being prepared. Before D was very protective of his bowl of food & would lose it completely if anyone came near it or if he spilled food. Now he isn't doing that & will even let me feed him some times. They eat everything & probably more than me most meals. They eat all fruit, veggies & meats no problem. So far so good.
I am really looking forward to the weather warming up & spending the summer outside. :) I miss seeing my friends at work & doing lunches, but I can see this time off with the kids will fly by. Thanks for the emails everyone I appreciate you thinking of us & keeping in touch.
Hugs, Laurie
The kids are sweet, funny, silly, teasers, monsters, sassy, grumpy, loud, affectionate, happy from one moment to the next. I had forgotten how noisy & active a 2 & 4 year olds are. They move from room to room & cause havoc where ever they go. :) I told some of you that I was counting on the kids as my new weight loss program - I am happy to tell you that so far I am down 10 lbs. :) Now only 40 or so to go. I don't think I have been super active to lose that weight but I am certainly eating a lot healthier.
There has been so many changes in the short amount of time they have been home. The kids are no longer afraid of the dogs & actually seem to really like them now. D adjusted to the dogs the quickest & would pet them but now C isn't freaking out anymore either. She still gets a little scared if they jump up on her but she doesn't become hysterical anymore & she likes playing with them. We even surprised the kids tonight while they were in the bath & threw the dogs in the tub with them. They were so surprised but it didn't take D long to start dumping water all over them. Dogs didn't look overly impressed but the kids, A & I found some humor in it.
D still has a runny nose so I don't know if it is lactose intolerance or not, although it isn't as bad as it was before. I haven't tried the rice milk yet as none of the grocery stores around my place seem to carry it. I will have to make a special trip out to try & find some. For those Mom's out there that have taken your kids off of milk products - how long was it before you saw an improvement? No not just an improvement because I have seen that but how long until the nose stops running.
The kids are sleeping until 7 - 8 in the morning now :), nap at 1 wake at 3 & are in bed for the night at 8:30. They go to bed incredibly well, I put them to bed together in a single bed (bottom bunk) & they are asleep in 5 - 10 minutes max. I don't have to sit with them anymore at nap or bedtime - I just tuck them in , hug & kiss them & they are good to go. I usually go sit in my room so if they call me I hear them right away but it is so easy. I wish my big kids went to bed that good when they were little. D has fallen out of bed three times now but I just run in there, pick him up & put him back to bed & he has gone back to sleep immediately each time. Other than that there has been no one waking up in the middle of the night.
I live in a 4 level split so we have lots of stairs which both kids were a little scared of. D even fell down one flight, one evening on his tummy head first but didn't get hurt, just freaked him & I out a bit. Footy pj's on laminate stairs are not a good idea. They both navigate the stairs now no problem & now know why I was telling them to hold on to the railing. D has had two good goose eggs on his forehead so far, once he flipped off the couch & I can't recall how he managed to get the second one. C crashed into a corner today & got her first cut / goosebump on her forehead so they are both normal kids. No major injuries yet so we are doing good.
I haven't taken the kids in for medical check-ups yet but I am sure we all have guardia & need a round of Flagil, otherwise they seem super healthy & full of life. I would just like to blood work done & get them tested for lead & get a good general checked up. D still has the super big buddha belly so I am assuming that is indictive of parasites.
We took the kids swimming on Sunday & they had a blast! C was a little tentative to begin with but D was a maniac & not afraid at all so it wasn't long until C was doing all the stuff he was doing. They had a great time & I think we will have to make it a weekly event.
The kids love car rides. As soon as they are fed & dressed in the morning they are asking to go for a car ride or out for a walk. C can get in her own car seat & buckle herself in too so that is convenient. They travel good & get very excited about seeing big trucks & trains. They just are so busy looking at everything & eventually just fall asleep. We haven't been on any long trips but spent a couple of hours running around this afternoon. We are hoping to go visit my folks soon & they live three hours away so I am sure the kids will love that trip.
The kids are testing us constantly to see if the rules are still the same as they were a minute or hour ago. If I give C heck she has taken to mimicking everything I say along with finger pointing & ugly faces. She is starting to figure out that being sassy is logging her alot of corner time. She always gets two warning & the third time she is sent to the corner. As soon as she sees me getting up she starts saying "Excuse me, Excuse me, Excuse me" (instead of sorry) but by then it is too late. She hates sitting in the corner so maybe that behavior will decline quickly. I think that they never had a ton of consistency as far as discipline goes (at least from the volunteers) so they were able to get away with some of that behavior. I don't like it though, so we are working on that one.
All food issues are resolving themselves quickly. D still goes into panic mode as the meal is being prepared as he wants to eat instantly but it is getting better. The last two days I have told the kids they need to stay out of the kitchen as I cooked as they were always under foot or clinging to my legs & with cooking on the stove or opening the oven it was a hazard. D will stand at the entrance & whine & beg to be put in his booster chair, even though supper is just being prepared. Before D was very protective of his bowl of food & would lose it completely if anyone came near it or if he spilled food. Now he isn't doing that & will even let me feed him some times. They eat everything & probably more than me most meals. They eat all fruit, veggies & meats no problem. So far so good.
I am really looking forward to the weather warming up & spending the summer outside. :) I miss seeing my friends at work & doing lunches, but I can see this time off with the kids will fly by. Thanks for the emails everyone I appreciate you thinking of us & keeping in touch.
Hugs, Laurie
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Under the weather
We are all feeling a little under the weather. D & C both had dry hacking coughs at night time in Haiti & today we could tell D was feeling really rough. He was clingy & whiny most of the day & felt a little warm earlier.
Today I woke with a full scale migraine & even slept through the little kids waking up this morning. I felt tired & am feverish (I assume since I am freezing - but everyone else says they are warm). I slept till 9am, was asleep with the kids by 1, got up for a wee bit & crashed for another two hours & woke to find A had cooked dinner & it was ready & waiting to be eaten.
A develped a weird itchy rash night before last & we thought it might be the start of the chicken pox. But by yesterday it had not progressed. Today it has faded more so that was a bit of a mystery. She had felt tough the night we got home from Haiti & all the next day.
The kids are definetely testing us more to find out where our boundaries are. C is a little more defiant & will continue to do something after we ask her to stop & laugh about it. We give her two warnings & then remove her & then her temper really shines & I have seen the spitting episodes that others have spoken about. She is not a bad kid she is just trying to figure our what our rules are. I don't think she is feeling 100% either & had a couple of fits of frustration when when couldn't put on her shoe or her jacket zipped herself.
They are both very busy kids so they keep us all on our toes. The two big kids have been awesome & have pitched in & helped chase the little monsters. A is amazing with them & took over for me completely today while I slept. Tonight B took the littles to bed while I cleaned up the kitchen & supper mess & they did not even fuss & were asleep in about 10 minutes. We still go & sit on the floor next to their bed & remind them to lie down if they sit up but they are very easy to get to bed - it usually only takes 5 - 20 minutes till they are sleeping soundly. If they do fuss it is just a feeble attempt at a protest & not a full out fight. We have not had any sleep issues at all. The kids go to bed between 8:00 & 8:30 & wake between 6:30 - 7:30. They also lie down for a nap around 1:00 & sleep for about two hours.
Food issues are improving already & the kids are amazing eaters. They will eat just about anything we give to them. I have been making all very healthy meals & snacks through-out the day as I want to give them the best start here as they did not have veggies, meats or fruit before, except for mangos when in season & guava & bananas. Pretty much all their food previously was some kind of corn or oat mush, pasta or rice & beans so they were not really used to have to poke food or to chew anything much, they could always just scoop their food in a spoon. They will eat all vegetables - potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, asparagus, red & yellow peppers, mushrooms etc. D isn't too keen on strawberries or celery. We have taken the kids off of milk products as they too had that chronic runny nose. Yesterday was our first day so it has only been two days but there is an improvement already, but still to soon to know. The kids are drinking soy milk right now but we are going to try them on a rice milk too. We are still expermenting on what they will & won't eat but so far they are very easy to please. Since D is also not feeling well we will elimate all the milk products for a week or so & then reintoduce some to see if the runny nose returns just so we are not confusing cold issues with him being lactose intolerant.
Still not feeling well so I am going to sign off. I know I have not posted any of the photos for the adopting parents on the yahoo groups yet, but I just have not up to going through photos yet; but I will do it soon - I promise.
Hugs, Laurie
Today I woke with a full scale migraine & even slept through the little kids waking up this morning. I felt tired & am feverish (I assume since I am freezing - but everyone else says they are warm). I slept till 9am, was asleep with the kids by 1, got up for a wee bit & crashed for another two hours & woke to find A had cooked dinner & it was ready & waiting to be eaten.
A develped a weird itchy rash night before last & we thought it might be the start of the chicken pox. But by yesterday it had not progressed. Today it has faded more so that was a bit of a mystery. She had felt tough the night we got home from Haiti & all the next day.
The kids are definetely testing us more to find out where our boundaries are. C is a little more defiant & will continue to do something after we ask her to stop & laugh about it. We give her two warnings & then remove her & then her temper really shines & I have seen the spitting episodes that others have spoken about. She is not a bad kid she is just trying to figure our what our rules are. I don't think she is feeling 100% either & had a couple of fits of frustration when when couldn't put on her shoe or her jacket zipped herself.
They are both very busy kids so they keep us all on our toes. The two big kids have been awesome & have pitched in & helped chase the little monsters. A is amazing with them & took over for me completely today while I slept. Tonight B took the littles to bed while I cleaned up the kitchen & supper mess & they did not even fuss & were asleep in about 10 minutes. We still go & sit on the floor next to their bed & remind them to lie down if they sit up but they are very easy to get to bed - it usually only takes 5 - 20 minutes till they are sleeping soundly. If they do fuss it is just a feeble attempt at a protest & not a full out fight. We have not had any sleep issues at all. The kids go to bed between 8:00 & 8:30 & wake between 6:30 - 7:30. They also lie down for a nap around 1:00 & sleep for about two hours.
Food issues are improving already & the kids are amazing eaters. They will eat just about anything we give to them. I have been making all very healthy meals & snacks through-out the day as I want to give them the best start here as they did not have veggies, meats or fruit before, except for mangos when in season & guava & bananas. Pretty much all their food previously was some kind of corn or oat mush, pasta or rice & beans so they were not really used to have to poke food or to chew anything much, they could always just scoop their food in a spoon. They will eat all vegetables - potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, asparagus, red & yellow peppers, mushrooms etc. D isn't too keen on strawberries or celery. We have taken the kids off of milk products as they too had that chronic runny nose. Yesterday was our first day so it has only been two days but there is an improvement already, but still to soon to know. The kids are drinking soy milk right now but we are going to try them on a rice milk too. We are still expermenting on what they will & won't eat but so far they are very easy to please. Since D is also not feeling well we will elimate all the milk products for a week or so & then reintoduce some to see if the runny nose returns just so we are not confusing cold issues with him being lactose intolerant.
Still not feeling well so I am going to sign off. I know I have not posted any of the photos for the adopting parents on the yahoo groups yet, but I just have not up to going through photos yet; but I will do it soon - I promise.
Hugs, Laurie
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