Speaking from Experience

At work we talk about expertise. The goal is to build expertise so that your analysis of situations becomes better and more sophisticated. Then you pass that expertise on to others so that they can hopefully learn from your experience.

Let me pass some expertise on to all of you:

When you hear a loud crash from upstairs, do not walk, RUN.

When you see your three year old daughter buried underneath a five foot dresser, covered in glass and rocks from her broken fish bowl, get her out of there immediately.

Calm her screaming down before you try to determine what is and is not broken. Get that shard off glass that is sticking out her neck OUT OF HER NECK.

Get her in the shower to get the glass out of her hair and off of her body.

Get in the bath with her and just hold her. Put ice on the huge bump on her head while you are in there. Have her move every limb and appendage that she has to make sure they are OK Ask her how old she is, when her birthday is, and where she goes to school.

THANK GOD that Grandma is there and knows what to look for in terms of concussions, broken bones and appendages.

THANK GOD that Dad is there and that he bounds up stairs quicker and that he pulled her out from under all that debris before she got crushed, and that he took care of cleaning the room so you could take care of her.

THANK GOD that Grandpa was there to calm you when you broke down when it was all over and the Bean was watching Spongebob.

Realize that you need to treasure the people you love because they can be taken away from you at any moment. Moo and Bean, when you read this years and years from now, promise your mom that you will treasure each other as much as your Mommy and Daddy treasure you. You almost lost one another today, so never take for granted the fact that you have one another now.

Finally, you probably should not write blog posts an hour after your youngest daughter almost crushes herself to death. I had to do something, and this is how I work things out. Sorry if this got a little maudlin.

Little Miracles

First of all, Happy Birthday to Aunt B!! We hope you have a great one and that Uncle J arrives home in time to share it with you and your personal little miracle. Please pass along our condolences on his family's loss to Uncle J and his family when you can and let them know that our thoughts are with them.

So Aunt B and little baby Miller are our first minor (well, major really) miracle to note. I have been noticing lots of them lately. The second little miracle is Dad for all of the incredibly hard work he does on hardly any sleep. The amount of patience and effort that Dad demonstrates on a daily basis is beyond remarkable.

The third miracle is Grandma and Grandpa, and the way that they have come to our house after not seeing the girls (miracles four and five) for months and immediately have those two little ones enthralled. Grandma and Grandpa took them to Pump it Up, the Mall, the carousel, the train, out to dinner, and to science class yesterday, more than Mom has ever attempted to ever do with those to in a 12 hour span. And according to all reports from admittedly biased Grandparents there were no behavioral issues, not even from our sassy little three year old (miracle six).

Finally, when Mom got home from work last night, a bathed Moo and Bean were all ready for bed, clutching their new stuffed kitty (Bean) and bat (!) (Moo) that Grandma and Grandpa had purchased for them. They read another chapter of Charlotte's Web with Grandma and then the Moo looked at me and said three words that I have never, ever heard her utter in her life and never though I would: "Mom, I'm tired." BIG, HUGE, miracle number seven.

Home Sick

I was just bragging to someone the other day about how I had only used 6 hours of sick leave this year, and that was to take care of a sick Bean. So, naturally, after having done that, I am now home sick myself. I have been fighting a cold for the past few weeks and it is now taking the familiar form of a recurring sinus infection I tend to get around this time every year. Sigh . . . the girls rather reluctantly went off with Dad to school this morning, so I am hoping a little rest will do the trick and that stronger medicine than Dayquil will NOT be called for.

Things that are popular in the MooBean household this month:

• Michael Phelps! The girls were allowed to stay up (REALLY) late to watch him race, and now they talk about him all the time. The Moo has even developed a Phelpsian butterfly stroke, which looks like an excellent imitation to my untrained eye!
• Imitation. The most oft repeated phrase by the Moo lately is "stop copying me!" Naturally this is directed at the Bean, who tends to interpret it more as a rallying cry than the veiled threat it actually represents. Thus far, they have not come to blows, but I see the distinct potential for our first real donnybrook in the near future.
• ART! This is a great development: the girls would rather draw than watch Spongebob. The Moo has progressed in her artistic abilities to a point where Dad swears she draws better than he does, and the Bean is starting to add some amazing detail to her drawings (her people have pupils in their eyes, noses, ears, and hair now -- still no bodies, but it is very cute to see her drawings of faces with arms and legs sticking out of them). Her preferred subject matter for her drawings is "sea slugs."
• Snuggles, a trend created by Dad and greatly encouraged by Mom. I am trying to make the most of the girls' willingness to snuggle as the writing is on the wall as far as pulling away from Mom and Dad goes. The Moo already wipes off all my kisses!!

The other big thing in our house right now is KINDERGARTEN. It has been a little a low key up to this point, as the Moo will be going back to LCDS so she will not be starting a new school, but it is starting to hit us that this is a huge milestone and a really big deal! We are glad that Grandma L and Grandpa D will be here to help share her last week of summer before she embarks on her primary school career. She will be in Mrs. Corso's Kindergarten class, and we already know that four of her friends from last year will be in the class of 10 with her. There is also a full time aid in the classroom, so I am confident the Moo will get all of the individualized attention she needs to make the most of this year. Yeah Moo! We are very proud of what a big girl you have become, and how excited you are about learning!!

Finally, an update on Grandma D and her broken foot: Grandma D called on Monday and said that she had had a new Xray taken, and her foot is healing nicely. Still no need for a cast or surgery so that is all good news! She may even be able to go back to wearing regular shoes next week. Way to go Grandma!

On Motherhood

So I am learning that motherhood means, among other things, being more organized than I have ever anticipated having to be in my life. Some people take to this more naturally than others -- I am in the latter camp. One coping mechanism I have had to rely on is doing things the minute they are brought to my attention, as opposed to waiting to do them later, which ends up meaning they get forgotten about until the last minute. To whit, the Moo starts Kindergarten in two weeks, and it just occurred to me that I have not gotten her medical paperwork and other forms filled out. I have, however, had her school supplies purchased and ready go since early summer. I also recently ordered their Halloween costumes because I saw them in the Chasing Fireflies catalog and decided to get it out of the way early (otherwise we'd be at Target at the last minute on 30 October and they'd end up going as whatever was left): the Bean is going to be our Angel and the Moo demanded the witch costume, much to my surprise. To recap, we have not done what we need to do to get the Moo medical clearance for school which starts in two weeks, but we're covered for an event that is months away. So, prioritization appears to be another issue I struggle with (as well as rambling, unfocused blog posts!).
I am writing this in the few minutes I have before taking the Bean to a ballerina party for one of her classmates. We had a rough week with the Bean healthwise. On Wednesday she kept us up until four in the morning complaining that he stomach hurt. We were starting to get really worried about possible outcomes like appendicitis when she finally clarified that it was in fact her ear and not her stomach that hurt. So, one quick trip to urgent care and we confirmed the ear infection and got some amoxicillin. We had another scare this weekend when the Bean came home from school with a huge welt on her thigh that had a target lesion pattern to it, which is of course common in lyme disease. We called the Dr who said to bring her in on Saturday morning, and called Grandma L who tried to calm us down by noting numerous other possibilities. We nonetheless spent the rest of Friday night freaking out. We saw the Dr the next day, who very calmly removed a microscopic stinger from the middle of the welt. Phew . . . This is illustrative of another axiom of motherhood: the worrying never stops.
Another, final axiom? The birthday parties also never stop and we are off to McKenzie's!! Happy Anniversary Englebrights and hope everyone had a great weekend!

Update on Grandma D

Grandma D saw the orthopedist today, and he gave her the OK to drive back to Michigan, although she will be taking Grandpa S's car, as it is an automatic and that way she will not have to use her broken foot. The Doctor said he sees no need for a cast as yet, but advised having another x-ray taken in about a week. Depending on the results of that x-ray, Grandma may have to have surgery or a cast put on (if the bones have shifted significantly). So, at least so far, the best possible outcome, as Grandma is anxious to get home! We will say goodbye to all of our company tomorrow, and the house will seem awfully quiet--although never too quiet with the Moo and Bean around!

Back From Miami

I am back from Miami and very glad to be home. The trip was OK, much like all of these things usually are, and it was HOT. Not much time for sightseeing, although we did get down to South Beach to check out the art deco district and get Dad a guayabera.

I was in constant contact with Dad while I was gone (the benefits of a domestic TDY) which is how I found out on Thursday that Wednesday night Grandma D-- who had come down to watch the girls while Mom was gone--had slipped on the stairs and really hurt her foot. Dad and the girls took her to the emergency room that morning, and it turned out that Grandma broke her foot in two places!! So, as I write this, poor Grandma is trapped on the coach, trying to get the swelling to go down. Her foot looks much better today than yesterday, and she has an appointment to get the foot set on Monday morning. We are hoping there will not be a need for pins or anything like that, but judging by the x-ray, Grandma really did a good job of breaking it! She is anxious to get back to being able to get around and do things, as three days on the couch is enough to drive anyone crazy!

So, we have been taking it easy this weekend. We did go over to Molly's fiance's house last night, ostensibly for an hour or two of swimming that turned into a six hour B-B-Q. The kids were in the water for most of that time with the Dads and we had a great time, although we felt bad when we realized that we had stayed away from home for so long. Grandpa S had come down on Friday though, so Grandma had some company while we were out.

Hope everyone's week was a good one! We enjoyed seeing the pictures of the birthday celebrations - everyone looks GREAT. Happy birthday again Great Grandma -- you look WONDERFUL!!!

Weekend Activities and Looming Hiatus

We had a very eventful weekend -- lots of swimming and Sunday afternoon we went to the Kennedy Center to see the matinee show of The Lion King, newly arrived in DC this summer from Broadway. We weren't sure if the girl's behavior was going to be up to Kennedy Center standards, but they were wonderful. It helped that the show is really amazing. We also did LOTS of swimming this weekend -- Friday we had an afternoon swim date with the Moo's friend G, who is an awesome swimmer and challenges the Moo to do more. The Moo actually swam a lap for the first time, which is all she needs to do to qualify for swim team at LCDS this year. The next day we spent two straight hours in the pool with our friends Ms. M and Mr. B, and their two daughters. We had a great time and enjoyed a wonderful poolside picnic of pasta, chicken breast, apples, strawberries, and yogurt. So, lots of exercise, and a little culture this weekend as well. Oh and Thursday we met up with C at the Loudoun County Fair, so that was another event this week, although not necessarily a cultural one (unless you count exposure to carnie sub-culture!).

Mom is heading out on a business trip for a week so the Moo Bean blog will be on a brief hiatus. Grandma D is coming to stay with the girls and Dad while Mom is gone, to help Dad manage things. I'll be back from Miami by the weekend, although the girls are a bit excited to see me leave. I make little gift bags for them when I go away, with little two or three dollar toys and trinkets wrapped up, one for each night I am gone. So, they get to open a present every day, and when they open the last one, they know I am coming home that day. They have seen their giftbags waiting in the kitchen, and they are anxious to shove me out the door so they can start opening things!! Sigh -so I guess that strategy works a little too well. Also, first I was sent to Syracuse in February, and now I am being shipped to Miami in August, so I am not sure who I annoyed at work, but I will have to work on making amends when I get back, before I end up traveling to Siberia in December.

Looking forward to catching up with all the blogs when I get back, and hearing all about the birthday celebrations in Bass Lake. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREAT GRANDMA!! And to Aunt L, Mrs. Englebright, Grandpa D and Grandma L. I hope you all had a wonderful time and can't wait to see the pictures!