Is Summer Over Yet?

You know, sometimes with your spouse there are times you realize there is such a thing as too much togetherness. Well, I think the same goes for children. Since I couldn't convice CSR to sign up for a day camp or even a class, we've spent A LOT of time together this summer. I think it must be getting to me because this week, I haven't been the best parent I could be. It amazes (and frustrates) me that we meet up with preschool friends at the park and what does CSR do? He either hangs on me, insists I play with him or goes off by himself-- and doesn't play with the other kids, which was the main reason for us to go to the park. What is it with that? I figured he'd be going nuts to see his school friends and have some time away from me. Maybe I'm too popular for my own good? Of course if CSR isn't on my case, he's pestering RTR. I can't tell if CSR is purposely playing rough with the baby or is oblivious, although I suspect it's the former. We thought we were pretty lucky when RTR was born that CSR didn't really act out like some kids do when a baby arrives. But now, I think it was just delayed-- especially now that RTR is mobile and is demanding in his own way for attention. A year ago, you could put RTR in the Bjorn and go. Now, not so much. Maybe that's what CSR is realizing. Three can be a crowd when it comes to the freedoms of going and doing whenever where ever.

More on Grandma's Visit

I just got home today from taking my 99 year old grandma to my aunt's house in Vancouver, WA. Grandma's visit was going great until last Friday. While finishing up her shower, she fell-- pretty much a free fall from standing to the hard ceramic tile floor. Oh my gosh, I don't think I've ever been so scared. I was standing right there too to help her with her shower. I had to call 911 and since I left the house phone outside, I used my cell phone, which was thankfully in my pocket. The dispatcher sent medics... but it seemed like they took forever, while my poor disoriented grandma just wanted to get up off the floor. I tried not to panic and remain calm for not only my sake but for grandma's and CSR's as well (the baby was napping). The paramedics came in and were able to get her up off the floor. They took her to the hospital to get checked out (they were so wonderful to grandma, CSR and me, I am DEFINITELY supporting the EMS levy). I was left to figure out what to do with the boys. I couldn't get a hold of Tyler. But my friend Suzanne called in the middle of the chaos and said she'd be right over to pick up the boys. But CSR refused to get in her car and was throwing a MAJOR tantrum. Mortifying. Fortunately, T. pulled up and took over with the kids. I rushed to the hospital. She was being x-rayed when I got there. A nurse wanted grandma's medical history-- which turns out to be very minimal-- I guess that's why she's made it to 99. Doctor said her CT scan showed no problems inside her noggin but she dislocated her shoulder and that he would reset it once the anesthesiologist got there. She had to be sedated with some funky drug that would essentially make her forget about the reset-- which is a good thing because it was quite something to watch. I had to turn away, it got to be too much. Doctor said it was a 1 in 50,000 case in difficulty in getting her arm back into its place. After another x-ray and getting fitted with a sling, they let us go home-- at 8:45pm, about five hours after the fall. Grandma kept asking me what happened to her. I am so grateful that it didn't turn out any more serious. As the week went on, grandma seemed more and more like herself. The fall left her with a black, swollen eye too but she wouldn't let me take a picture of it. I told her it looked like she got in a street fight. When she laughed at that, I relaxed-- just a little.

14 Months Old

RTR is 14 months old today. Here are a few fun facts:

*I am edging closer to walking all by myself, in fact taking a few steps here and there this evening.

*Besides fruit (see previous Fruitetarian post), my new favorite food is Cheetos cheese puffs. My great-grandma, who is visiting us this week, is so kind to hand me a couple whenever I point to the bag.

*I am learning to appreciate the nuances of "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear," taking more time to enjoy ALL of the pages of the book.

*I'm getting use to taking baths in the big bathtub, so maybe my mom can try and sell the baby one on craigslist.

*I've been saying a few words, but since neither of my parents speaks my language, they don't know exactly what I'm saying. My mom thinks it might be French, since I'm really good at that ZH sound the Frenchies use for the J sound. Still not that into baby sign language, despite months of being shown "More," "Milk," and "All Done."

Hey Grams

Another change of pace in our household-- my 99 year old grandma is visiting. She's been here only a couple of days but already it's been great. CSR has taking to calling her Grams, as in "Hey Grams, look out your window to see the fountain." We'd taken her for a little drive down to the ferry dock in Edmonds. I think it's a cute pet name he's come up with. He also calls her 'Cullough, a sort of abbreviated version of her last name.

She's hard of hearing so that means The Price is Right at top volume. When CSR realized she had dozed off, he turned off the tv. That made me smile, thinking that he DOES have a limit when it comes to tv-- since his parents limit screen time during the day. Last night, Grams said "CSR, you tickle me." He was being a cut-up, acting silly while playing restaurant and trying to take her order from the menu he had made. For some reason, he'd just burst into giggles whenever she read one of his drink items-- "Pooch juice," whatever that is.

He's very sweet to her, wanting to help her for the most part. Refilling her water glass, pulling her chair out for her at the dining room table. Here's to a few more days of fun times with Grams.

Smitty

A sad day for me... my cat died. It wasn't sudden. Smitty was an old cat-- estimated to be around 16 or 17 years old. But still, we've been together a long time. I rescued him from the Idaho Humane Society back in 1995. He was "Pet of the Week" on the 5pm newscast I produced. On the set, he was such a mellow, docile cat...hiding his face in the anchor's arm, I thought what a sweet cat. That was on Friday. On Sunday I decided to see if he was still at the pound. My first clue should have been that the pound didn't have a very clear history on him... his kennel card only saying that he'd been adopted out but then returned after just a day. I brought him home to my apartment, where he promptly climbed to the top of the kitchen cabinets. When I tried to give him the medicine the shelter gave me, it was quite the battle. My neighbors scoffed at my fearfulness of the cat and the way he seemed to stalk me. They had three cats themselves. But they changed their minds after taking care of him when I had to go out of town.

Oh Smitty. He had quite the reputation. I could get friends to cat sit for him-- once. No one would do it a second time. When we made the journey from Boise to Seattle 11 years ago, he meowed (howled) nearly the whole way and that included going the long way through Portland.

He broke a lot of stuff-- pushing glasses, dishes, miscellaneous items off of tables and shelves. He liked being petted, but only for so long before lashing out to nip at you when he'd had enough. There was the time we suspect he ate the fish from the fish tank that Tyler had put in a bowl while he cleaned the tank. Smitty would go crazy for the water from tuna and canned chicken cans. Although when he got older he would promptly vomit up the water, making us impose a ban on that treat.

He wasn't fond of children, despite living with two of them. Like many children, ours were very intrigued and curious about this furry little creature who roamed about the house at will, could escape through a curious little door in the hall and would bite or nip with very little warning. CSR learned his cat manners early on, RTR was still learning. One sign that the end was near for Smitty was his lower tolerance for letting baby fingers "pat" him or give his fur a tug.

We knew the end was coming for several months-- changes in his activity level, weight, eating habits-- but it still catches you by surprise. On Sunday, we realized it was very close. I was alarmed when I came home to find him in the front yard, very still. Later on, he was among the ferns on the shady side of the house. I picked him up at one point and couldn't believe how light he was-- this one time nearly 20 pound cat, now so feathery light. He had stopped eating and drinking. By Monday, he just would move from place to place and meow softly, not in his usual "voice." I worried he was in pain and suffering. What to do? Let nature take its course? What would that look like? Would it be messy? Would it be alarming to me, to our five year old son?

I found it's a delicate balance between sensitivity and practicality. Euthanasia at our local vet's office would run $100-$200. Going to the county shelter involved driving to Kent and a much smaller fee. But still driving to Kent and back. I'm lucky to have such a terrific husband. Tyler said he would handle it, getting off work early and taking Smitty wherever I decided. As for how it would all end... I got off easy I guess. We came home from running errands this afternoon, and Smitty was gone. His body on the baby's bedroom floor. Since Tyler was home, he was able to take him without the kids knowing what was going on. I told CSR that Papa was going to help Smitty. That the cat was old and that his body didn't work very well, that he was dying and wouldn't be here anymore. CSR said he would miss Smitty and that Smitty would miss us. I told him that I was sad, that I had Smitty for a long time, even before I moved to Seattle. He also suggested we could get another cat or maybe a dog to cheer us up. He was a cat with a lot of character, known far and wide for his temperament and antics. While frustrated by the way he would relentlessly jump onto the table in search of tasty remnants of a meal, he was very special to me. I come to the end of this, with tears and a sloppy runny nose, saddened by the loss and surprised by it too.

Diaper Duty

We're on a new kind of diaper duty in our house-- making the switch to cloth. Or at least trying to. Who knew you needed so much gear for cloth diapering-- the cloth diapers (at least 2 dozen), diaper covers, liner/wet bag for the diaper pail, stuffers/liners for the diapers, additional laundry supplies-- baking soda, white vinegar. I'm sure I'm forgetting at least one thing if not more. The first day went pretty smoothly. It's the ones following that made me realize that this may be a little harder than I thought. I also think I bought the wrong size prefolds. Who knew they came in different sizes? The ones I have don't quite reach all the way from front to back if I fold them according to the diagram I had to print out showing how to fold the dang things. The fleece liners also appear to irritate RTR's bum, so those are out of rotation. I also read somewhere you can't use regular diaper cream for irritation because it could ruin the diaper's absorbancy.

I checked out a web site called Diaper Swappers thinking I could find some of the gear we're lacking. Instead, it's overwhelming with a bunch of abbreviations I don't understand and don't have the patience to look up the meanings. Talk about a sub-culture. Also, RTR's mainly fruit diet (see the Fruitetarian post), makes for tricky diaper changes when it comes to that #2 business. Then there's the lame person on Craigslist who told me the diaper covers I was interested in were sold, but still appear on the repost. And when I took off on Sunday leaving the boys with their dad, some of my parting advice, if you get befuddled on the diapers, the disposables are in the bottom dresser drawer. Proudly, it looks like Papa was on the cloth bandwagon-- even doing some laundry while I was gone (even if he used too much bleach).

A Craigslist Kind of Weekend

Adding to the garage purge, putting a few items on craigslist. Out of the four baby things I listed on Thursday-- a backpack, bouncer seat, Bjorn and Boppy-- two of them were down the road by Sunday. Someone drove all the way from Auburn for the baby backpack and paid the asking price-- a little more than what I originally paid for it at a yard sale several years ago. Another person took the bouncer seat. So not too shabby. However, I did buy some cloth diapers from a craigslist ad on Friday night. But with my two sales, I came out nine dollars ahead.