Parenting advice
If you happen to be the mother of a little monster angel named Oscar, who likes his weeknight routine just so, do NOT rush home from work early to spend an extra 90 minutes with him before bedtime. If you do, and you attempt to have the nanny put him to bed so you can lead a conference call from your home office, you might end up with a toddler who cries so forcefully that, when you go to check on him after your call, he projectile vomits all over you. Not near you. On you. Twice.
Just sayin.
Note to self
Just for future reference. . .
Being thin again is awesome. Freaking awesome. Opening two boxes of new clothes without thinking “please don’t let these be too small” over and over in a little chant to myself is fantastic. Trying on those new clothes and finding that many are actually a size too big is amazing. Looking in the mirror at a woman in a two-piece bathing suit without a lump or bulge in sight, and being able to think to yourself that she could easily wear that on a beach – in public – without a qualm (and you know this because you watched that woman jump up and down and squat down (like you would playing in the sand with a toddler) in the mirror just to make sure) is unbelievable. Knowing that not only can I wear all of these clothes now and not ten pounds from now, but also that I look good in them already? Incomprehensible.
Please send me this if you see me eating chocolate chip cookies. Or ice cream (the kind with sugar – you’ll want to leave me alone if I’m suffering through my sugar-free excuse for “dessert”). Or pizza. You see where I’m going with this, I think.
My little charmer
Oscar is a bit of a flirt. I’ve noticed it a few times when we’re out shopping or at lunch. He’ll make eyes at women, and if he’s really interested, he’ll do a little dance to try to get their attention. Yesterday, his speech therapist brought an observer (a young, attractive, female observer) and Oscar turned up the charm. He hugged both of them when they arrived, he paid attention throughout the session (unheard of before) and he even said two words while they were there. [He also said "bye" and "night" yesterday, but that had nothing to do with him trying to butter up a girl. He was telling Nanny Norma to go away.]
I think he even made his first joke. Usually when he gets bored with an activity one of his therapists is doing, he’ll walk away or lay down on the floor. This time, instead of ignoring them, he signed “bed,” closed his eyes and made a snoring noise. Like he was so bored with what they were doing, he had fallen asleep. Isn’t sarcasm in a 2 year old a bit early? I suspect my parents are laughing at this, as I probably started rolling my eyes before I was even walking.
My favorite is that when he said goodbye to them at the door, he actually said “bye” but then he blew them kisses (which is not something we’ve been teaching him to do, although my parents do blow him kisses on Skype). I’m hoping to develop this into a dual-cheeked air kiss for that certain European panache I’m attempting to instill. Ours is an international household afterall.
Night Night
Documented evidence that he speaks a little! He had been “night night”ing like a maniac right before I remembered that my phone has a camcorder in it. He must have told Norma night night twenty times. On camera? Yeah, just that once.
By the way, the reference to the “box” in the video (which is sitting on the bed with Max the Whippet) is Oscar’s new favorite thing. He likes to carry it around. We don’t know why. It’s an unopened box containing a facial steamer that I purchased years (and I mean years) ago when I had pneumonia. I never used it, but I’ve dragged it around with me through my moves. Oscar found it in the closet a few weeks ago and it became his best friend. He even brings it to bed at night sometimes. He doesn’t open it. It just sits there right next to him, and he pats it from time to time. He’s funny like that.
Ever notice
that when I get stressed out I spend money? Yeah, I picked up on that too. Luckily for me, today I spent it all on clearance sales at J Crew and Athleta for my boy and me, but still. . .
It’s time
I thought that I was going to be all zen throughout this process and not sweat the timing of my referral. I already have a child, I kept telling myself, there’s no big rush here. In fact, it would be better (career wise) if this adoption happened later in the year next year.
Those tactics worked for about five months after I got on the wait list. I saw a chip in my armor on this about a couple of weeks ago, and it’s been steadily increasing in size each day. I’m not saying that I think my wait has been too long or anything. I actually think it’s a completely reasonable amount of time to wait (even a much longer wait is more than reasonable). I get the significance of what I’m waiting for and what it means. All of it. That does not change, however, my desire to actually see my daughter’s face for the first time or my desire to actually get on the real wait list – the one for a court date. Since, as we know in international adoptions, a referral is just the first step. The real waiting begins then. Just saying that my patience is not what I once thought it was. In reality, “my patience” might not exist anymore.
Sick House
We’ve been hit pretty hard with some sort of icky virus since late last week. Oscar came down with it first (naturally), with all of the H1N1 symptoms. I did not run to the emergency room immediately, but after more than 24 hours with a fever not dropping below 101.4 (and that only after Motrin) and hitting a high of 104.8, I broke down and hauled him in on Saturday afternoon. The verdict? Uh, not entirely sure. He tested both negative and positive for H1N1, but the ped thought that he had croup instead because of his hoarse voice. We discussed it a bit, but she then said, “it doesn’t really matter which one it is, since even if he has H1N1, we can’t treat with Tamiflu unless he’s in respiratory distress.”
So many things wrong with that statement, but I knew that whatever he had didn’t seem as bad as what I’ve heard from other families with kids who have had swine flu, so I let it go. She gave me a prescription for some steroid in case his cough goes someplace horrible, which it hasn’t, although it is getting worse. Thankfully his fever has broken, his GI stuff is gone, he’s eating and playing again and now it looks like he’s just sick. As am I. Bonus. Just hoping that Nanny Norma can avoid it. I sent her packing when his fever kicked in, but she’s been back since Monday and he’s been a mucous machine since then.
I have a bit of a dilemma. We have a shortage of flu vaccines in my area (both kinds, not just H1N1). My office has a flu (regular vaccine) clinic this week, but it’s limited to “family.” I’d like to bring Nanny Norma, since I know she’s had trouble finding vaccine as well. I think it’s appropriate to take her, personally. What do you think? I think she qualifies as family (okay, not legally), and she’s certainly a member of my household. Just wondering if I’m pushing the limit here.
Soon
Oscar and I will be taking “that break” I keep telling myself we’re taking. I love airline miles, swine flu, hurricanes and the global economic meltdown so much right now it’s probably horribly inappropriate.
AND a grateful partner gave me a really nice gift certificate to an incredibly nice spa yesterday.
Waitlist movement + vacation plans with my boy (with free international airfare for TWO (including a side trip to see the family) and a super cool hotel at over 50% off! with free breakfast and a spa treatment and enough time there so I might actually feel like we’re on vacation) + spa day = happy me. Really happy me.
