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May 2010
May 14, 2010
Things have taken a turn for the worse. Anastasia is back to having behavioral problems that seem to be brought on by lack of sleep. It's really miserable for all of us. My husband, in particular, only sees Anastasia when she's exhausted, and every evening seems ruined by temper tantrums, in-your-face behavior, and disobedience. I am now usually putting the Miss in bed by 7 pm, because she's so obviously out of her mind tired. The good news is she stays in bed and doesn't get up a million times before falling asleep.
Her May 20th appointment with the neurologist can't come soon enough.
To make things more difficult, I've had horrible pain that appears to be related to my C-sections. It had been better for many months, but it came back with a vengeance this month. Then my dad had an emergency quadruple bypass...and now I'm trying to plan a trip down with the kids to see him next month. Most days I can't think beyond getting through the day, so trying to prepare for the trip seems impossible.
My tired girl, after eating a yogurt popsicle - the old stand by for days when she won't drink enough fluids.
Anastasia periodically climbs into Zane's play pen. Can you see the dark circles under her eyes?
Zane is a gadget guy, through and through. He always tries to take my camera away.
"Helping" in the garden.
May 18, 2010
This weekend, we traveled two hours (one direction) to visit my in-laws. Anastasia had a fabulous time; Zane likes it pretty well, too, but he hates being in his car seat for more than an hour and a half. Both kids were exhausted by the time we got home, around 7pm. The next day, we had guests over for half the day. Miss A. loves that; Zane, not so much. By Monday, the kids were in utter exhaustion. This makes Zane really grumpy - and sleepy, although he won't usually sleep more than he normally does. The consequences for Anastasia are more profound. I haven't been able to get her to drink more than 8 oz. of anything since our Saturday excursion - and then, only by threatening loss of priviledges. She's barely eating, too. And while her behavior certainly could be worse, she's uber grumpy and has little to no impulse control.
And I'm planning on taking both kids on a week long trip away from home soon.
I'm really questioning my judgment here. If Anastasia is away from home for a week, it will take her at least a week to get rested again. That means she'll be eating and drinking very little for two weeks.
In most ways, Anastasia seems like any other 4 1/2 year old. But in some ways, she's still that delicate little preemie.
Left: The Miss, eagerly waiting for guests to arrive. Right: Zane helping with yard cleanup. He likes to mop and vacuum, too :)
The kids and me after a long day. Is it normal to be exhausted every single day?
May 28, 2010
Yes, that is Zane eating a banana...peel and all. His eating habits couldn't be more different from Anastasia's! (And, um, no, I don't normally feed him bananas with the peel. He stole this one and started chomping on it before I knew what was happening.)
Zane likes to sit at the table with his sissy while she does schoolwork. He's just started scribbling a little with crayons. He sometimes eats them, too, and if he gets his hands on a marker, he'll suck the thing dry.
The other day, when Anastasia was still working on some school work, Zane scooted into her chair and intently watched her work. He's really turning into a little mimic. The other day, while I vacuumed, he got out his toy vacuum and vacuumed alongside me. When I turned my vacuum over to clean the brush roll, he turned his vacuum over, too, and started "working" on it.
She's shockingly big, isn't she?
Rather suddenly Anastasia says she is her dollie's "Mother." A few nights ago she insisted on dressing the doll in a matching nightie, and she told me "the most important part of being a mother is putting your baby to bed and changing it's clothes and putting it's clothes away."
While waiting in the doctor's office the other day, she ran across a simple boat toy. She said, "What does it do, Mommy?" I told her it floats in the water. She said, "Is this an electronic toy?" When I told her it wasn't, she put it back in the toy box.
And to keep the preschool attitude coming, the other day I caught her praying, "Dear God, why do we have toenails?"
Anastasia's last appointment with the neurologist did not go so well. He was perfectly pleased with the number of hours of sleep she gets ("I see kids who get maybe 4 or 5 hours a night," he said). He didn't think there was anything else he could do for her. When I wondered aloud how she'll get through kindergarten when she's so exhausted all the time, he told me I could call him if things change. I was really disappointed. BUT the good news is he gave us a prescription for Rozerem, a pill that at least gets her to sleep, even if it doesn't keep her there.
Although it doesn't help the Miss much, she's pretty good about keeping quiet when everyone else is asleep. The other day, while I was still in bed, I heard Elvis quietly singing "Hound Dog." I thought I heard feet stomping, too. So I snuck around the corner to the kitchen and discovered Anastasia dancing while she waited for everyone else to get up :)