One of my best friend's in the entire world is having a hard time right now. And I can't be there. It's a difficult position to be in. I've never felt quite this helpless before.
What do you do to help someone far away?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
My Little Sweetie
Today Dutch's teacher, Carla, pulled me aside when I came to pick him up. "Uh-oh," I thought, "he beat up another kid."
She said, "I just wanted to let you know how much we love having Dutch in our class. Molly [a little girl in the class] started crying today and Dutch went over and gave her a hug. He's so sweet!"
I've been worried for a LONG time that Dutch will be a bully because he's so much bigger than the other kids and has a tendency to hit when he's angry. (He's also incredibly bossy.) Today made me re-think that. He's always very concerned when other people are crying and he does what he can to make it better.
Hopefully he'll grow out of the hitting, but keep the sensitivity to others!
She said, "I just wanted to let you know how much we love having Dutch in our class. Molly [a little girl in the class] started crying today and Dutch went over and gave her a hug. He's so sweet!"
I've been worried for a LONG time that Dutch will be a bully because he's so much bigger than the other kids and has a tendency to hit when he's angry. (He's also incredibly bossy.) Today made me re-think that. He's always very concerned when other people are crying and he does what he can to make it better.
Hopefully he'll grow out of the hitting, but keep the sensitivity to others!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
A List for Tuesday
Five Tips for Wearing Red Shoes
1. Don't EVER wear black tights with red shoes. You'll look like Minnie Mouse. Especially if the red shoes are patent leather.
2. Unless you're going for the Wicked Witch of the East look you shouldn't wear red shoes with striped socks or tights.
3. Wearing red and pink together is a HUGE no-no. It makes my friend Hayden gag.
4. Draw more attention to your red shoes by keeping the rest of your outfit simple.
5. The saying goes, "Red shoes means no underwear." By no means do you have to take this seriously.
1. Don't EVER wear black tights with red shoes. You'll look like Minnie Mouse. Especially if the red shoes are patent leather.
2. Unless you're going for the Wicked Witch of the East look you shouldn't wear red shoes with striped socks or tights.
3. Wearing red and pink together is a HUGE no-no. It makes my friend Hayden gag.
4. Draw more attention to your red shoes by keeping the rest of your outfit simple.
5. The saying goes, "Red shoes means no underwear." By no means do you have to take this seriously.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Dutch's Speech Therapy
Dutch's SLP Abby came on Friday to do his 6 month review. That's right, he's been in speech therapy for 6 whole months already!
He's really improved in every area, but we still have a lot of work to do. Because he's improved so much Abby is scaling back her time with us. She'll start coming once a month now instead of every other week. With his toddler class every week and Abby coming once a month we're really hoping to test him out of the program by his birthday!
Dutch is definitely not on the same level as a lot of kids his age, but the progress he's made in just six months is amazing to me. He's started using a few two-word phrases; he calls me Mama or Ma now; he talks a lot more than he used to, even if you can't understand a lot of it. But mostly I'm just glad that we've been able to work on his tantrums and some of his behavior issues. Now when he gets upset he goes into the other room until he calms down and then he'll come back and be ready to play. SUCH an improvement over the screaming fits he used to have!
Anyway, thanks for all your well-wishes and prayers on our behalf. Keep it up and we'll get this kid talking like a 3-year-old in no time!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Lots of Pictures
The mustache necklace Heather gave me for my birthday.
Just in case I ever need a disguise at a moment's notice.
(Pictures of the ring Bella picked out coming soon.)
Bo.
For Dutch's toddler class Valentine party I made all of the kids a super-hero mask. The little note said: "For a SUPER friend! Happy Valentine's Day!"
Here is Dutch in the green one, although he actually ended up with the red one that doesn't fit him quite so awkwardly.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Pregnancy Complaint - Worst Doctor's Visit Ever
Okay, so it wasn't the actual visit that was the worst. I have a really nice doctor, and she has really nice nurses. But the absolute worst doctor's appointment in pregnancy is the one where you have to get checked for gestational diabetes (followed by the very first one where they draw out vial after vial of blood; in hopes of draining you completely, I think).
Yesterday I had to drink the yucky orange drink (SO not good for my already upset tummy), sit for an hour where I hoped to be able to read, but the TV in the waiting room was on WAY too loud, then get 3 vials of blood drawn. I've really liked the phlebotomist that's drawn my blood in the past because she's been able to get a vein right away and get me in and out and on my way. This time I had a different chick and she of course complained about my veins and had to stick me a couple of times before she could draw the blood. Not fun. Then I had to go BACK to my doctor's office to get my rhogam shot. It's one of those shots that sort of burns going in. Not fun again.
So, in review, I got to do some of my favorite things yesterday: drink orange-flavored sugar, get blood drawn by someone who wasn't as good as I'd hoped, and get a shot that left me with a sore bum! Hopefully everything turns out fine though. That's one way I've been really blessed - Jack is a healthy guy who likes to move! He's my little Jackhammer. (And yes, you can absolutely expect me to pun his name for the entirety of the poor kid's life.)
Yesterday I had to drink the yucky orange drink (SO not good for my already upset tummy), sit for an hour where I hoped to be able to read, but the TV in the waiting room was on WAY too loud, then get 3 vials of blood drawn. I've really liked the phlebotomist that's drawn my blood in the past because she's been able to get a vein right away and get me in and out and on my way. This time I had a different chick and she of course complained about my veins and had to stick me a couple of times before she could draw the blood. Not fun. Then I had to go BACK to my doctor's office to get my rhogam shot. It's one of those shots that sort of burns going in. Not fun again.
So, in review, I got to do some of my favorite things yesterday: drink orange-flavored sugar, get blood drawn by someone who wasn't as good as I'd hoped, and get a shot that left me with a sore bum! Hopefully everything turns out fine though. That's one way I've been really blessed - Jack is a healthy guy who likes to move! He's my little Jackhammer. (And yes, you can absolutely expect me to pun his name for the entirety of the poor kid's life.)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A List for Tuesday
Five Reasons I Love Valentine's Day
1. Chris brought me home some beautiful purple and white daisies - my favorite.
2. I'll get to make some Valentine's for Dutch's toddler class, and nothing is more fun than making Valentine's for little kids!
3. Chris loved the present I got for him (a beautiful picture of the Flatiron Building in New York City, one of his favorite buildings).
4. I loved seeing all the guys coming out of the grocery store with plastic cones of flowers for their girlfriends or moms or wives or daughters.
5. It's the one day a year when you can give someone a heart made out of construction paper and it will totally make their day!
1. Chris brought me home some beautiful purple and white daisies - my favorite.
2. I'll get to make some Valentine's for Dutch's toddler class, and nothing is more fun than making Valentine's for little kids!
3. Chris loved the present I got for him (a beautiful picture of the Flatiron Building in New York City, one of his favorite buildings).
4. I loved seeing all the guys coming out of the grocery store with plastic cones of flowers for their girlfriends or moms or wives or daughters.
5. It's the one day a year when you can give someone a heart made out of construction paper and it will totally make their day!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Sick Buddy and Other News
This last week Dutch was a HUGE jerk. On Monday it literally left me in tears because I was so frustrated with him and just couldn't stand to be with him another minute. It makes me wish my sisters lived closer so I could have someone come over and make it all okay. On Friday I was so done with Dutch that the minute Chris got home I gave him a kiss and left. I used some of the money I'd received for my birthday and went and got a pedicure. It was nice.
For Christmas I'd been given a gift-card for a pregnancy massage. On Saturday I went and did that. It felt so nice, but now today my neck hurts again and I want to go back for another one!
Dutch woke up with a bad cough today. We gave him some medicine and he and I stayed home from church so we wouldn't get any other kids sick. I can hear him coughing in his sleep and it just about breaks my heart.
He's been doing so well with his words lately! Not only is he actually using the words he knows, but he's saying new ones! He's been trying hard to communicate with me and I always have him at least TRY to tell me what he wants before he shows me. It seems to be working well. I'm excited for Abby to come and see the progress he's made just in the last couple of weeks. It's amazing!
It's after midnight and I'm still awake for two reasons: Chris got called in to surgery at about 7 and I can't sleep without him; and I'm having trouble sleeping anyway. I'm only 28 weeks, but I'm pretty much ready for Baby Jack to get here already. When I was pregnant with Dutch I had really bad back pain almost the entire pregnancy. Now, with Jack, it just started today! Not fun. But at least my morning sickness is almost completely gone.
I've been thinking a lot about motherhood lately. Being a mom was something I always assumed I would do eventually, but it wasn't ever my main goal in life. Now I find that it's difficult for me to feel fulfilled and... I don't even know the word, but necessary comes close enough. Through our entire marriage I've made more money than Chris and I loved being able to contribute like that. I've never been very good at cooking or cleaning or other domestic stuff, so it felt nice to do SOMETHING. Now I am making $0 and working harder than I ever have. I'm still terrible at cooking and cleaning and I hate coming to the end of the day and feel like I did nothing worthwhile. I guess this stems in part from the fact that I was denied a car loan because I don't work. I have great credit and (with Chris's salary) make enough money to make the payments, but the loan had to be in Chris's name to be approved. It hurt more than I thought it would.
Anyway, it's late and I'm rambling, and tomorrow is my favorite holiday: Valentine's Day!
For Christmas I'd been given a gift-card for a pregnancy massage. On Saturday I went and did that. It felt so nice, but now today my neck hurts again and I want to go back for another one!
Dutch woke up with a bad cough today. We gave him some medicine and he and I stayed home from church so we wouldn't get any other kids sick. I can hear him coughing in his sleep and it just about breaks my heart.
He's been doing so well with his words lately! Not only is he actually using the words he knows, but he's saying new ones! He's been trying hard to communicate with me and I always have him at least TRY to tell me what he wants before he shows me. It seems to be working well. I'm excited for Abby to come and see the progress he's made just in the last couple of weeks. It's amazing!
It's after midnight and I'm still awake for two reasons: Chris got called in to surgery at about 7 and I can't sleep without him; and I'm having trouble sleeping anyway. I'm only 28 weeks, but I'm pretty much ready for Baby Jack to get here already. When I was pregnant with Dutch I had really bad back pain almost the entire pregnancy. Now, with Jack, it just started today! Not fun. But at least my morning sickness is almost completely gone.
I've been thinking a lot about motherhood lately. Being a mom was something I always assumed I would do eventually, but it wasn't ever my main goal in life. Now I find that it's difficult for me to feel fulfilled and... I don't even know the word, but necessary comes close enough. Through our entire marriage I've made more money than Chris and I loved being able to contribute like that. I've never been very good at cooking or cleaning or other domestic stuff, so it felt nice to do SOMETHING. Now I am making $0 and working harder than I ever have. I'm still terrible at cooking and cleaning and I hate coming to the end of the day and feel like I did nothing worthwhile. I guess this stems in part from the fact that I was denied a car loan because I don't work. I have great credit and (with Chris's salary) make enough money to make the payments, but the loan had to be in Chris's name to be approved. It hurt more than I thought it would.
Anyway, it's late and I'm rambling, and tomorrow is my favorite holiday: Valentine's Day!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Favorite Picture Friday
Thanksgiving 2010
I just love Dutch's argyle sweater.
I think he looks SO cute in it!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
First Day of School
Today was Dutch's first day of school!
He started his toddler class this morning. It's one day a week for an hour and a half and it's specifically to help him with his language (and to socialize him and all that). I tried to take a picture as we were heading out the door, but the battery in my camera is dead. Yes, the excuses just keep piling up!
I was invited to stay for the class today, but decided to only stay for the first half hour because he was doing SO well. I told them I would go out and sit in the lounge area and they could come get me if they needed me. About half an hour later the kids came past me on their way to get a drink at the drinking fountain and have some running play time in the hallway (supervised, of course). On the way past the first time Dutch just waved and kept going. But on the way back to class he was SO upset that I wasn't coming with him. I could hear him crying through the door, so I waited ten minutes (so there was only 5 more minutes left of class time) and went back in. He calmed down and I sat by him while he ate his snack.
His teachers were all great and very attentive to him. They say he played really well and listened and helped, and was all around good. For his first day he did VERY well. It was another little boy's first day and he literally cried the whole time. Dutch was so sweet, he kept bringing him toys to help calm him down. It was pretty cute.
So I think this will be great for him. And for an hour and a half a week I will have guilt-free time to myself. Beautiful.
He started his toddler class this morning. It's one day a week for an hour and a half and it's specifically to help him with his language (and to socialize him and all that). I tried to take a picture as we were heading out the door, but the battery in my camera is dead. Yes, the excuses just keep piling up!
I was invited to stay for the class today, but decided to only stay for the first half hour because he was doing SO well. I told them I would go out and sit in the lounge area and they could come get me if they needed me. About half an hour later the kids came past me on their way to get a drink at the drinking fountain and have some running play time in the hallway (supervised, of course). On the way past the first time Dutch just waved and kept going. But on the way back to class he was SO upset that I wasn't coming with him. I could hear him crying through the door, so I waited ten minutes (so there was only 5 more minutes left of class time) and went back in. He calmed down and I sat by him while he ate his snack.
His teachers were all great and very attentive to him. They say he played really well and listened and helped, and was all around good. For his first day he did VERY well. It was another little boy's first day and he literally cried the whole time. Dutch was so sweet, he kept bringing him toys to help calm him down. It was pretty cute.
So I think this will be great for him. And for an hour and a half a week I will have guilt-free time to myself. Beautiful.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
A List for Tuesday
Five Reasons Why I Need a Wife, or an Alice From "The Brady Bunch"
(in no particular order)
1. I would get more writing done.
2. My house would be cleaner.
3. I would feel saner.
4. It would be so nice to have a break and not feel guilty the entire time for inconveniencing the person watching my demon.
5. On days like today I could just leave Dutch without abandoning him and having Child Services called.
(in no particular order)
1. I would get more writing done.
2. My house would be cleaner.
3. I would feel saner.
4. It would be so nice to have a break and not feel guilty the entire time for inconveniencing the person watching my demon.
5. On days like today I could just leave Dutch without abandoning him and having Child Services called.
Monday, February 7, 2011
The Year of Jack
This last week was Chinese New Year's, as I'm sure you all know. It inspired me to look up what each of us in our family are according to the Chinese calendar, so here you go:
Chris was born in the Year of the Monkey
Pam was born in the Year of the Dog
Dutch was born in the Year of the Rat
And Jack will be born in, wait for it, the Year of the Rabbit
That's right. He'll be our little Jack-Rabbit!
Correction: My sister pointed out that since Chris and I were both born in January we were actually a different animal than I first realized.
Chris was born in the Year of the Monkey
Pam was born in the Year of the Dog
Dutch was born in the Year of the Rat
And Jack will be born in, wait for it, the Year of the Rabbit
That's right. He'll be our little Jack-Rabbit!
Correction: My sister pointed out that since Chris and I were both born in January we were actually a different animal than I first realized.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Finally!
So way back in September Chris promised me a car by the end of the month. He had been promising me a car for a while, but this time, with the deadline in place, I assumed he was serious. No dice.
All in all it worked out well because TODAY I BOUGHT A CAR! We got a ridiculously good deal on it and it's just about the most perfect car for me (although I would have loved it to be a really awesome color like orange, I am fine with the silver). It's a 2009 Chevy HHR and it will be the perfect size to fit me and my four boys (Chris, Dutch, Baby Jack, and Bo the Wonder Dog). It has low mileage, tests A+ for safety, and is big without driving big (because I'm not very good at driving big things).
Thanks to Clarissa for watching Dutch for a few hours while we went and looked and test-drove and bought it. Thanks to Chris for FINALLY letting me get a car. And a special thanks to Baby Jack for making his Daddy realize how absolutely necessary a bigger car will be.
Pictures to come (as soon as I find where Dutch hid my camera).
All in all it worked out well because TODAY I BOUGHT A CAR! We got a ridiculously good deal on it and it's just about the most perfect car for me (although I would have loved it to be a really awesome color like orange, I am fine with the silver). It's a 2009 Chevy HHR and it will be the perfect size to fit me and my four boys (Chris, Dutch, Baby Jack, and Bo the Wonder Dog). It has low mileage, tests A+ for safety, and is big without driving big (because I'm not very good at driving big things).
Thanks to Clarissa for watching Dutch for a few hours while we went and looked and test-drove and bought it. Thanks to Chris for FINALLY letting me get a car. And a special thanks to Baby Jack for making his Daddy realize how absolutely necessary a bigger car will be.
Pictures to come (as soon as I find where Dutch hid my camera).
Friday, February 4, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
They Don't Know Anything
It is another edition of Pam Complains About Pregnancy!
In this weeks episode we find Pam doubled over in upper abdominal pain. The medical advice received? Take a warm bath.
This in and of itself doesn't bother me, because the pain went away on its own, but after billions and billions and billions of babies have been born shouldn't we know a little more about pregnancy? Everything in obstetrics is guesswork. They guess your due date, guess how far along you are, guess what's wrong with you, or guess that everything is fine.
Even BEFORE you get knocked up it's all a matter of guessing. They guess why you can't conceive, blame it on something obscure and leave you to your own devices.
Then again, I bet a lot of medicine is just guessing.
In this weeks episode we find Pam doubled over in upper abdominal pain. The medical advice received? Take a warm bath.
This in and of itself doesn't bother me, because the pain went away on its own, but after billions and billions and billions of babies have been born shouldn't we know a little more about pregnancy? Everything in obstetrics is guesswork. They guess your due date, guess how far along you are, guess what's wrong with you, or guess that everything is fine.
Even BEFORE you get knocked up it's all a matter of guessing. They guess why you can't conceive, blame it on something obscure and leave you to your own devices.
Then again, I bet a lot of medicine is just guessing.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
A List for Tuesday
Okay, so it's like a month late, but here is The Davis Family 2010 in Review:
January:
And that was our 2010 in a nutshell.
January:
- Pam graduated with her Master's degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University
- Chris stayed behind in Pennsylvania while Pam and Dutch moved back to Utah, temporarily living with Chris's mom and dad
- Pam turned 27
- Chris turned 29
February
- Pam and Dutch started watching Baby Alexis every day when her mom returned to work
- Chris was still in Pennsylvania doing all of his clinical rotations for school
March
- Pam, tired of not having a place to call her own, and angry with the storage unit for being leaky and ruining some of her stuff, finds an apartment and moves in without Chris every seeing it
- Chris comes to Utah to do his last rotation at the Fourth Street Homeless Clinic in downtown Salt Lake City
- Pam and Dutch are ecstatic
- Dutch stops calling Pam "Mama" and begins calling her "Daddy"
April
- I don't really remember anything huge happening this month
May
- Chris graduated from Seton Hill University as a Physician's Assistant
- Chris passed his boards with flying colors (the minimum score you had to get was a 350 and he got a 536)
- Grandma Morgan passed away
June
- Josh and Dawn got married
- Pam's best friend's father passed away
July
- Dutch turned 2
- Pam got to meet Gail Carson Levine
- We bought Dutch a potty and thought we would start potty training him (it didn't work out)
- Chris was hired by Dr. Warner (even though he didn't start work until August)
August
- Dutch moved from a crib to a toddler bed
- We took a family vacation to Bear Lake
- Dutch was evaluated to determine if he should begin Speech Therapy
September
- Pam got to go see She & Him in concert with her friend Julie
- Pam found out she was pregnant, but didn't share the news for a little while longer
- Chris promised to buy Pam a new car. But didn't.
October
- Chris and Pam celebrated their 7 year wedding anniversary
- We finally tell people Pam is pregnant
November
- Mallory Hope was born (Pam's sister's daughter)
- We celebrated Thanksgiving with 3 different dinners
December
- We had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year
And that was our 2010 in a nutshell.
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