Dylan update

I was excited to find that a pediatric allergist from the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia - one of the best - has an office nearby.

I've been waiting for two months to take Dylan, and her first appointment was today - not a moment too soon. She has really suffered this spring. On top of her other symptoms, she's had a persistent cough, especially when running around.

Unfortunately, the tests today showed that she has developed asthma. The doctor is hopeful that it will be seasonal, and will only act up when her allergies are at their worst. We'll have to wait and see.

The good news is that the doctor was great. I really liked her. She was very thorough and was great with Dylan. She will monitor Dylan more frequently and adjust her treatment accordingly. I feel better about that. Especially now that our poor girl will have yet another medication to take twice a day.

Dylan's one question: Does this mean I'll have to give up swinging?
It's really the little things that mean so much.

May Flowers

May has been beautiful in our part of the world. We've had so many colorful surprises.

These irises have been Scott's favorite so far. He never had any luck trying to transplant some of his Grandma's at our yard in Daphne, so he has loved having some of his own at last.

Our Wild Child

Just got back from taking Isaac to the doctor because he received some sort of "trauma" to his ear. Who knows what happened? All I know is that when I went to get him up from his nap, his ear was filled with dried blood. Not to worry, though. The doctor says all is fine. He apparently stuck something in it, but the cut was just inside of the canal and the eardrum is fine. Whew. Again.

This child is taking years off my life by the minute. Just last weekend, he opened the car door as we were going down the road. Thankfully, Scott was driving and was able to pull over and allow me to jump out and close the door.

My favorite escape, American Idol, is soon to be over. I may be putting the headlights on our lawnmower to good use and driving around at night. The warm weather should hold up until Idol returns.

Reaching For the Stars

Throughout winter, Dylan participated in an acting workshop. These pictures were from her final class back in March.

She recently had her 3rd grade concert at school as well. It's amazing to see how comfortable she is on stage. She did a great job singing and playing the tambourine. (The pictures didn't turn out well enough to post, but we did get some great video.)

Early Spring

These pictures are from April.

Katherine is sitting with some of the daffodils she planted. She was so proud of them. She also planted tulips that have been beautiful the whole month of May.

Isaac is shown here with some daffodils from across the road. Katherine put the fear in him, and he stayed away from hers. He would just point to them and say, "Ka-Ka's".

She has taught him well. She has signs posted around her bedroom for him. Do Not Touch and Privat Stuff. It doesn't matter that he can't read.

When I went into her room yesterday, there was a new sign. At first glance, I didn't get it.

All Flimits

What's a flimit? Then I got it.

Off Limits.

The Color Green

As of yesterday, I have a new favorite pastime. Cutting the grass.

The antique riding mower we had inherited from the previous owners has been laid to rest. (I could say that it just couldn't cut it, but that would be beyond corny.) It's replacement arrived yesterday - a shiny new John Deere!

I had so much fun cutting the backyard! I'm actually looking forward to the next time. It was a perfect 68 degrees outside, and the smell of the freshly cut grass was great. A couple of months ago, when the grass was buried under ice and snow, and my lungs would hurt from just breathing, I dreamed of this day. And now that it's here, I'm going to savor every last second of it.

I guess I should be more excited about the bike, but it's not nearly as relaxing or fun. Just don't tell the girls.

Zoom City

For months, we've laughed at Isaac's "alien talk". He could carry on an entire conversation of gibberish and there wouldn't be a real word in any of it.

But in the last couple of weeks, he's starting to say so many words. And he's actually putting sentences together. It seems to correlate with when he began saying his own name. "Eye-sheek". Now, it's Eye-sheek go out-shide. Eye-sheek's car. And his favorite, Don't fall! (This usually signals that he's dangling from something he's climbed on, and I'd better hurry up and rescue him before he gets another bump, scrape, or bruise that he seems to stay covered in these days.)

Another new stage is his obsession with planes, trains, buses, trucks and cars. He is constantly making motor sounds and pushing around, or riding on, some motor vehicle. He favors the larger ones, especially the big yellow school bus.

Right now, he's tugging on my leg with his favorite book in his hand - Zoom City! which is all about cars and tow trucks. After I read it for the billionth time, we're going out-shide!

Making Nice

Yesterday was great. Breakfast in bed, picnic in the park, the whole nine yards. But after a day of being spoiled, it's time to get back to work.

And I have my work cut out for me. His name would be Isaac. When volunteering to help in the nursery at church yesterday, I discovered that - gasp! - Isaac is the nursery bully. Yep. My sweet little bouncing baby bully.

I know toddlers don't like to share. But it wasn't just Isaac not wanting to share his own toys. It was Isaac taking what he wanted - toys, drinks, snacks, you name it. The fact that the other 3 boys were older and bigger didn't deter our little bruiser. In fact, when the biggest little boy chose to sit inside a little ship that Isaac was particularly fond of, Isaac wrapped his arms around him, hurled him out, and said, "Uh, oh".

"Uh, oh" is right. I've got six days to make him nice. Wish me luck.

The Picture of Innocence

We have been swamped with birthday parties. Katherine had 5 in April alone. The picture here shows her riding Spot at one of them.

Just looking at the picture, you can't tell that a nor'easter was moving in and it was pouring rain outside. But we felt obliged to attend this particular party. The birthday girl happened to be sporting a new haircut with a conspicuous gap in the front. According to her mom, Katherine was maybe, possibly, probably responsible for this gap.

Now, I should say that Katherine has denied any involvement in, or knowledge of, how this happened. And here in America, one is innocent until proven guilty. But she has, on more than one occasion, admired those beautiful golden curly locks. Hmmmm....

In any case, we gave this little girl a VERY NICE birthday gift.

Not Born To Be Wild

Got my Mother's Day present early! The girls picked it out and couldn't wait another week. Was it one of those homemade cards I love so much? No. Roses or tulips? Again, no. You can keep guessing but you'll never get it right.

They got me a bike. A pretty pink bike. A big bike. A bike with only two wheels. This last detail is one Katherine thinks we should reconsider. After seeing me make a wobbly loop around the driveway, she actually had the audacity to ask if the stores sell training wheels for grown-ups.

Forget the training wheels. I'd like to meet the genius who decided that, as you get older and your bottom gets bigger, the bike seat should get smaller. And somebody please explain to me why the brakes have to be on the handlebars. I'm sure those real cyclists - you know, the ones with the neon spandex - have some compelling arguments. But there should be options for those of us who aren't real cyclists. Those of us who long for the days of banana seats, baskets on the front, and pink and purple streamers on the handlebars. Those of us who stay off the main roads and wear our spandex under our clothing!

Think about it.

A Day For Mom

Since Mother's Day is just around the corner, I guess it's time to start leaving paper, scissors and crayons in obvious places, hinting for a handcrafted treasure. I know it's sappy, but I love those little handmade cards and pictures. And despite Scott's efforts to the contrary, I save them all.

Of course, with my brood, you have to have a good sense of humor, a strong imagination, or both. Take Dylan, for instance. One of her earliest tributes was when she was in 4-year-old preschool. Her teacher compiled a collection of Mom's Best Meals. Right there, sandwiched between the other moms' gourmet concoctions was Dylan's entry. My mom's best meal is...Pop Tarts. And, if that wasn't humiliating enough, she actually included Dylan's stick-person drawing of me putting a pop tart into the toaster. Needless to say, I wore my dark shades when dropping her off for the remainder of the year.

Her kindergarten year wasn't much better. She was given the task of completing the statement My mom is as _________as __________. I'm sure the other kids wrote things like My mom is as pretty as a rose, or My Mom is as sweet as candy. Not Dylan. Oh, no. She wrote, My mom is as wide as a bookshelf. That's right. A bookshelf. At least I was spared the humiliation of a bookshelf-person drawing of me cooking a Pop Tart.

Katherine's tributes, on the other hand ... well, let's just say IN MY DREAMS! She draws pictures that are supposed to be me, but look more like combination Barbie/Bratz dolls. Perfectly painted fingernails, glamorous makeup and hair, and lots of jewelry. The Queen of Bling. If life were fair, this would be the woman to greet Katherine each morning. All made up. Breakfast on a silver platter. Instead, she gets me. Flannel pj's. Hair a mess. Pop Tart on a paper plate.

Who knows what Isaac may turn out one day? Here we have a child who loves to drop face down on the floor at my feet, stick his head between my ankles, and wrap his arms around me so that I can't move. This headlock/hug is his way of showing affection. There has to be a creative genius lurking within, right?

Nevertheless, I will continue to hoard my little treasures. I will keep them all. The good. The bad. And the ugly. (I will just display some of them a little more prominently than others!)

Spring Break II

The second part of our spring break was spent at the beach with my parents, sister, and little niece. The girls were elated that Bailey also came to spend a day with them.

We enjoyed our time together, but the cold temperatures kept us away from the beach for the most part. Fortunately for us, we had a heated indoor pool and plenty of seafood restaurants to keep us entertained!