Comes to Mind. 11-24-13

Why am I thinking of this right now?

Watch for it-- Watch for it-- 2:38

Taking Stock at Month 22. 11-18-13

Here’s what’s happening at 22 months old:

• Boop’s favorite words are “No Way, Go Away!” Usually, this happens as I try to put a diaper on her, or any sort of clothes, really. We’ve been trying to potty train. She loves the potty, but she hasn’t made the connection. She knows she needs to wipe with toilet paper, flush the commode, and wash her hands, but she hasn’t gotten the idea of doing the deed, yet.  I thought I had it, yesterday. She hadn’t gone to the bathroom for a really long time, and I was pumping her with fluids. She proceeded to get off the toilet, and I asked her if she wanted a diaper. She said, “Diaper.” After I put one on her, she immediately went. And so, there you go!
• Boop really hasn’t gotten into her baby dolls that much. I guess she has a Winnie; so dolls are not as important. Lately, I’ve been noticing her throwing her blankets at Winnie, and this weekend, she finally figured out how to tuck Winnie into her blanket. Cute, yes. But Sunday morning, she had managed to find a tube of sunscreen. She had apparently decided that Winnie needed some lotion and was dabbing it on her. Winnie was unphased, thank goodness. 
• Winnie and her UTIs. She got this last one while on antibiotics; though I admit I missed some doses. She’s eating this prescription food, which she doesn’t like and which doesn’t help. I think the cranberry supplements must be doing the most good. Such a shame. Bless her heart, she’s also going blind.
• Hopefully, my Invisalign will be finished on my bottom teeth before Christmas, still many months on the top ones. I’m finally making some progress at work. Maybe I’ll wrap up some projects by the end of the year. At my last visit to the MD, I found that I had gained 9 lbs since the summer! Not exactly sure how that happened. Thankfully, in the last 2 weeks, I’ve lost about 4 lbs.  

Push and Pull. 11-15-13

photo by SF

Boop and I at the park before Halloween

The Poppy. 11-12-13

This is the way Boop is using the 'poppy'...

Did I mention that she's into Ev*ry* thing?!?

Mr. Right? 11-11-13

Dating is a bit of a minefield. I didn't mean to sound like Pat Benatar.  There is a little social network group of local single moms I keep up with. Their demographics are a bit different than me, as most are in their 20's, not settled into their career, and have an unfortunate history with their baby daddy. These ladies and their dating fiascoes. I've been there, but fortunately, I was never really dependent on having a man around. I wouldn't mind dating again (my interest has been piqued: admitted), but I don't want Boop to be harmed by a bad relationship. 

I've learned to do many things by myself, and I hope to do that for Boop. In fact, the person doing developmental testing last weekend asked me if she could see Boop climb down stairs. I put Boop at the top of our flight of stairs, and she began making her way down by herself. The evaluator was a bit confused, "Well, we only needed her to climb down 2 or 3."  


A little bird this morning was warning me to be careful: not sure where that came from? I had always told myself that I could have Boop and re-evaluate the dating situation and more possible children later. Fortunately, I don't have to make any of these decisions right this minute; no one wants to date me! I guess I should make some trite reference to my ticking biological clock, though. If I am able to meet the right person, great! But I always think of that episode with Dr. Phil, "Someone would have to throw themselves on the hood of your car to even be on your radar!" That about sums it up. I'm not the most observant person, nor do I put myself out there much. Maybe I'll meet him eventually.

Taken by SF

Care. 11-8-13

I've kind of gelled with a few doctors that I'm comfortable with. My family medicine doctor and my rheumatologist are pretty good. My dermatologist is fine, too. I haven't seen a cardiologist since I've been here. I really don't have the time or energy to deal with them all. It's enough to try to keep Boop and Winnie well. 

I like the vets that Winnie has now. It's a clinic; so there are a number of vets there that we have seen. I'd say that I liked about 5 out of the 6 we've had there. Even with the one that I wasn't crazy about, I still felt like I was getting good care. She's on longer-term antibiotics, and she seems to be doing well. We still don't know what is causing the UTI's, but we seem to have found something that makes her feel better. <EDIT 11-8-13: Another UTI, urgh!!>


With Boop I'm still struggling a bit. Bless her heart, I rarely feel like we have any solid answers for anything. As I wrote before, I was the one that suggested the UTI. Now we are struggling with some skin condition. I'm debating about trying a new doctor, but darn it, they just can't be available every hour and every minute I fret over every little hiccup. I would feel better if we had a solid generalist who was good at diagnostics. I've had a couple of really good rheumatologist who have been able to zero on in a few problems I've had, and I've felt much better as a result. Wish I could get Boop on the right track.

Boop at the university demonstration farm a few weeks ago

Jeepers, Creepers. 11-5-13

My helper is coming over this afternoon. She emailed to say that she only had an hour tonight as she had forgotten she had Bible study. I’m hoping that we’ll get the peeping nil planted because I don’t think it could stand another night out in the cold just sitting on my doorstep. I would bring it in the house, but I think that would only confuse it more.  I think I’ll plant it in my front yard a ways from the house so it won’t wreck my foundation like the silver maple was trying to. 

It will no doubt be some work in a short amount of time. I’ll have to run home, change into my dad's old sweats, get Boop some dinner, and then it will be a fight to find a root-free spot to plant it. There’s also some sort of creepers, and I don’t know if those two should be planted close together. Mom keeps telling me that I should put them in a pot, but I don’t think some pot is a good long-term strategy. Meanwhile, Boop and I are fighting a cold, and I just hope that I don’t wind up with a sinus infection.

Breyer's Chocolate Ice Cream

2, 3, 4, Tell the People What She Wore. 11-3-13

I’m a bit drained after a day work trip away, while her grandma had a little one-on-one time with Boop. Bless her heart, Mom tried to save munchkin from herself, but there was a bit of collateral damage that I was trying to set aright upon my return. A friend also needed some information for some research he was doing, and I’m trying to pull that together <ahem>. Mom’s departure today reminded me a bit of the 1^st time she had to take Winnie to the groomer. Let’s just say it was fraught with anxiety and tears. The groomer finally just had to tell my mom to leave. And so it was today. After her 10^th vacillation back and forth between the den and the door, and Boop getting increasingly upset, I convinced her that she just needed to go. Boop had already quit crying by the time Mom made it to her car.

And so I’m trying to prepare myself for the coming week, many dealings with people (students) who want feedback, like my friend's research. Sometimes people say things that I don't expect. One reaction is to want to tell them what's wrong with what they are saying. My second reaction is confusion: how did they reach their conclusion? Did they really think this through? My third reaction is to search my own experience and admit that I’ve probably done this, too, and probably still do. Maybe they get this better than me. And my fourth reaction is to wonder if they are putting in enough effort (and creating more challenges for me)? I can only try to keep plugging away. At the end of the day, I’m just trying to hold on to a little bit of sanity and keep a roof over our head. Boop seems to be doing okay, so far, and she does get to spend a little time with family. It’s hard to be away, though.

These are some photos of Boop's Last Swim of the Summer a few weeks ago.

The water was COLD, but Boop loved it. 

I had tried to heat the water with pots from the stove to no avail.

"So we have to say good-bye to the summer!"

Parade. 11-5-13

I finally figured out how to get the photos off the phone.

She just saw me.

TrickorTreat. 11-3-13

Our candy bowl is full. We have done Halloween. First, we went to a local dormitory in the Lady Bug costume. That was a pretty good haul. Next was Malloween. Meh. A lot of just standing around and waiting. Then, we went around the block with a friend. My neighbors give good candy—except for the people next door, the not-so-pleasant ones, who give none. We had a nearly full basket just from that trip. 

Plus, I bought candy for the trick or treaters coming to my house, but most came during the brief time while we were out. It was dark and rainy, meaning less trick or treaters than usual and more candy left. As if that wasn’t enough, we went to the trunk or treat when Mom came in, which was huge. We got cold and tired about half way through, but still got a lot of candy.

Not a happy camper. The best snap I could get.

Boop is all about her punk-on (her plastic pumpkin candy holder), and hearing the word “candy” really gets her moving. At 21 months, the recommendations still stand at no peanuts; so that eliminates some candy. Plus, there is the fear of her choking on other candy. So, she’s a bit limited on the candy she can eat—we’ve discovered her love of Twix and Kit-Kats. Mom took the remaining chocolate, especially the Snickers. I took the chewy, chokeable, non-lactose candy that I liked (one pack of Dots left). The rest, we will share, most likely with the students.  

Fall Is In the Air. 11-3-13.

“There’s a change coming in with the Autumn air. The crisp wind makes me quite aware.” I don’t know why that came to mind. Seems like that was a poem I wrote in elementary or middle school. There was more, but you will be glad I’ve forgotten. At least it rhymes. We did a few things in the spirit of Halloween, but that weren’t officially Halloween events. 

Daycare had a parade. The little ones in each of the classes dressed alike. There were a lot of crayons. The little ones in Boop’s class were explorers in paper bag vests and paper towel roll binoculars. I was happy that the food this time was specifically for the kids. Just wish I had known ahead of time. Forgot my camera and tried to take a few with my geriatric cell phone. Still can't figure out how to download those onto my computer.

Then, we went to S’s farm last weekend, which was a nice day. I’ve already posted a photo of Boop on H’s slide. It was good to see them again. It seems like every other time we’ve tried to see them, Boop has been sick.

Taking Stock at Boops Month 21. 11-3-13

Here’s what happened when Boop turned 21 months a few weeks ago:

The girl loves her sweet tea. This led to one very long night. Caffeine is OUT!

A pumpkin from my cousin's farm

• ·         Boop loves to sing and dance. She looks a bit like she’s doing the merengue when she’s dancing around. One of the daycare workers said that Boop would be happy to have the music playing all day so she could dance. We are able to recognize more and more of her songs. She’s started to sing the ABC’s. She would watch the ‘Wiggus’ (Wiggles) all the time if she could. She also will say 'kaykoo' (thank you) pretty regularly.

• ·         Winnie has been on antibiotics, and she looks like she’s feeling so much better. She still scratches and picks a lot. In the back of my mind, I worry about her kidneys, but she seems to be feeling pretty good. Her eyesight is definitely getting worse.

• ·         My Invisalign leaves me in a fair bit of pain. I have about 2 more months for my bottom teeth. The top teeth are another story.

• ·         I seem to be picking up a lot of the ailments that Boop has been getting. This month has kept me busy with trying to get Boop well. I was out for a week with her high fevers. No UTI, thank goodness. She had her 1^st febrile seizure, which didn’t freak me out too much, I guess. I used to have them as a baby; so I knew exactly what was happening with Boop. I was relieved that the ER folks didn’t feel any neurological work-up was needed. Thank goodness my friend G was there to sit was there for a while.