The Petite Family

Healthy Heart

Joe had his annual heart check-up today.  They do an echocardiogram and just check things over. When he's a little older, they'll do a stress test.  But, he's in great shape.  Even though we knew that, it's always reassuring to get a good report.  It reminds me of those scary days when he was an infant and we didn't know which way things would go.  Today, the only worry was about Joe's annoyance with with all the sticky goo left from the sensor sticker things they use to monitor his heart.  He had to tediously peel them off, one at a time, deciding whether the quick-rip or slow and steady removal approach was best.  By the end, he was opting for the quick method!   

Flo came along for the ride today, too, because she had a Spanish tutoring session just down the street.  So, after Joe's appointment, we hung out at the medical center for a bit, then drove her over to her lesson at the community college.  Joe and I decided to park and snooze for the hour and a half lesson time.  Joe brought his tablet along to read and play a game, but, I had no problem catching a quick nap while things were quiet and I could recharge for the rest of the day!

Desperately Seeking Health and Vitality

Almost two months have passed since my last entry, and Florence keeps sending me emails, reminding me to update our website, so I figured I’d finally oblige. I’ve been sick for over a week now. I think I’m starting to emerge from it, but it really knocked me out. It started out as a sort of flu, then progressed into a nasty sinus infection and respiratory thing. It has not been pleasant. Darren has had to take a couple days off of work, and despite his best efforts to help out with the kids and meals and such, a lot of the housework like basic cleaning and laundry have fallen way behind. If I don’t get better soon, I’m going to have to call in support services. But, I’m hopeful the next few days will see me regaining my strength and feeling better. My birthday is on Monday, and I certainly would like to feel better before then!

Everyone’s doing well. The kids are keeping us busy. Zofia is into everything, and getting a lot more expressive. Flo is into Club Penguin and enjoys getting computer time whenever possible. Joe is rather computer savvy, too! We’ve really had to set limits on it, though, or I swear they’d sit there all day. Thankfully, we have plenty of other things to keep us busy. Flo and I have been working on writing a lot, and she and Darren have been working on a Geography/History curriculum for the United States. Joe is still progressing through some basic reading stuff, and most of the time is easy to work with. His main focus, though, is always hockey! He loves hockey!

Darren is heading to Italy next week for a short vacation to visit his good friend, Alex. He’s excited to get away for a bit and have a change of pace. We briefly pondered all going, but the cost would be way too expensive, and 2009 is our year of no credit card debt! And besides, even if we could afford for us all to go, I’m thinking that toting three young kids around Italy might not be the relaxing experience we’d be aiming for. We’d be better to try that in five or six years. We’re going to try to find something local we can do this summer for an overnight as a family that will be fun, affordable, and as relaxing as possible.

So, off to find the box of tissue and head back to bed, hopeful that Zofia is tired enough to join me. Good night!

Sick

Well, as luck would have it, Darren has a long weekend this weekend, and he’s been really sick since Saturday morning. He’s spent the last two days sleeping in the baby’s room (there’s an extra bed in there) and running across the hall to the bathroom. I have to say, I have real empathy for single parents. It must be very difficult for the weekend to roll around and not have a partner with whom to share some of the kid responsibilities. Hopefully, Darren is feeling better by Tuesday morning, so he doesn’t have to take any sick leave. I guess if he’s going to get sick, at least he’s not using up any leave. Let’s just hope it doesn’t make the rounds to me. I can’t take leave!

January is blowing by. We’ve been busy with homeschooling activities and just trying to stay on top of things. The weather is finally turning cold, which makes it feel more like winter now. I bundled up the baby tonight to go for my walk, thinking I’d take her along in the stroller, since Darren is sick. It was so cold and gusty, I had to cut it a bit short. Zofia didn’t seem to notice. She was all wrapped up in one of those snow suit things and covered with blankets. The only part of her that was a little chilly when we got home was her nose. Nonetheless, I think I’ll be retreating to the basement to exercise on the treadmill until the temperatures go up a bit. Brr…

I’m waiting on a loaf of gluten-free bread to finish baking, so I can go to bed. It’s my baking experiment of the day. I went through a bread-making frenzy last week and made five or six loaves of whole wheat bread, a few of which I froze. It turned out really well, but the problem with making bread is that it’s too easy to eat too much of it. But, I wanted to see if I could make a healthy bread for the kids that didn’t have any unwanted additives in it. It was a hit with Joe, and Flo liked it okay, but wasn’t too excited. I’ll have to play around with the recipe. We’ve also been considering trying Joe on a gluten-free diet, as many kids with multiple food allergies benefit from at least a reduction in wheat products. The problem is, it’s become a staple in a lot of the convenience food for him; like cereal, homemade muffins, bread, crackers, etc. So, we’ll see. Now that he’s five, I think I may take him to the allergist again for some more testing. At the very least, it might give us a little more information to work with.

Zofia was five months old yesterday. She’s a big giggler now. She loves laughing at her brother and sister’s silly faces and funny noises. Of course, along with her increased alertness, comes an increase in energy expenditure on my part. I’m feeling chronically tired and no matter how much I try, I can’t seem to get a good night’s sleep. I guess that’s something you have to be willing to forego once you have children, but it sure can make a person cranky at times. I try to prioritize sleep for that reason. And since there’s twenty one minutes left for the bread to bake, I think I’ll be really productive and go finish folding the laundry, because typing is starting to put me to sleep.

Back in the Swing of Things... sort of...

We got back from the wedding on the 6th. Of course, we got very few good pictures after all that effort. I certainly hope the wedding photographer had better luck than we did. Though, I'm sure she did considering she had two things going for her, that we didnt; skill and no toddler to chase around. Nonetheless, we got a few shots that, at least, show the events of our trip.

So, we've been home a little over a week, and we're back into the routine of Darren's yucky commute, toting the kids around to activities and spending our spare time sending out Darren's resume into the great employment abyss.

Last week was busy... some highlights include Flo cutting the back of her hand on a glass. This delayed us a few hours that day, as I was not sure whether it warranted stitches. It was a close call, but I dreaded the trip to the ER, where Joe would roll all over the floor in the waiting room, and we'd all probably get sick. So, I decided to get those butterfly closure band-aids and go that route. Thankfully, it seems to be healing well, and if any scar remains, it should be very minor.

Next, the kids started their Little Gym classes on Wednesday. Joe had to sit through Flo's class, before it was his turn. Of course, by this time he was tired and very excited to get in there and try out all the equipment. Well, in true Joe form, he ran all over, found it very difficult to pay attention to the teacher, and was actually asked to leave and try again next week. Yikes! I really thought there should be two teachers for a group of three year-olds; one to teach the class, and one to wrangle the kids. However, I kept my opinions to myself, as I do realize he was not being a model student. He was very upset to have to leave, and says he won't go back, but we'll see... we'll give it a go again this week.

Yesterday, I had a little bake-fest. The kids love those Chocolate Chip Clif Bars, but they're rather pricey, considering they usually eat two thirds of bar and leave the rest to bake in the sun in the car. So, I thought to myslef, "How hard can it be to make healthy-er snack bars. I made a bunch using steel cut oats, flax seed, carob chips, maple syrup, and an array of other ingredients. They turned out rather well. I could tweak them a bit. I sealed them all in plastic pouches, using one of those vacuum sealer things we got like three years ago, and have never used. Pretty handy!

Darren decided to forego working overtime this weekend, just for a little downtime and some sleep. Sometimes we get to the point where the time is more valuable than the extra money. So, we actually had a day with no hectic schedule, and it was nice. Flo went to a friend's birthday party, and had a great time. Later on we actually ate dinner together at home, and just lounged around. It was wonderful... aside from Flo and Joe fighting over who would get the blue fork, and who would sit in which chair, and who had more toys, etc....

So, tomorrow's church, a trip to the co-op for a few groceries, and Darren's playing D&D with some friends in the afternoon. I'll probably spend the afternoon cleaning and organizing stuff. I just moved our computer from downstairs to upstairs in a little nook on the landing. I'm wondering if this is going to throw off my groove. We'll see.

Sick

Well, I got the flu for my birthday (March 16). That was nice! Actually, I got it the day before, and I'm just starting to feel semi-human again. Although, I think the recovery process is going to be slow. I can't exert myself beyond moderate walking, or I start coughing uncontrollably. Fun!

Today we went to a Spring Equinox celebration and potluck. Flo had a great time, and it was good to get out and socialize, but I felt like falling asleep the whole time. I'm sure that makes a good impression.

Flo spent the night at her friend, Dara's, house next door last night. She came home obviously sleep-deprived and grouchy, though I'm told they had a really good time. Super!

Bruno was neutered on the 7th... that went off uneventfully. He seems blissfully unaware that anything is missing. He also got microchipped, so now he could be returned to us if he's ever lost. Hmm... Who's idea was that? Ha.

Darren got tentative approval to work at home, and finds out the details tomorrow, so that's a good thing. If he had to deal with this commute much longer, he'd be looking for a new job.

Well, that's about all the news for now. Good night!

Sick

Everyone had the sniffles this week, and on Thursday, Joe came down with something nasty... coughing like a seal, feverish... it's Saturday, and he's still not himself, but the fever seems to be gone. Thus, it was a slow week. We cancelled playgroup, so as not to expose our friends to Joe, but Flo played all afternoon with our neighbor's daughter, Dara, so she didnt' miss out on any social opportunities.

On Wednesday Flo had gymnastics, which she really loves. It's a class just for homeschoolers, so it's during the day, which is nice for me. Later in the evening, Flo came with me to another one of Bruno's puppy kindergarten classes. She's the only kid that comes, probably because it doesn't start until 7:30pm. I think it's a good experience for her. She has to pay attention and she's learning a lot about dog behavior and training. Of course, she's a little too much a spaz with the puppy most of the time to actually accomplish any real training... that's my job, I guess.

On Thursday flo had her first piano lesson with Miss Rachael. She seems to be very excited, and has practiced everyday so far, except today, because we were gone all day.

Today, after Flo's ice skating lesson, went to the World Pet Expo out in Timonium, near Baltimore. The kids had a blast seeing all the different animals and pet products. We even saw our puppy kindergarten class instructor there doing a training demo.

After the Pet Expo, we drove into Baltimore and had lunch at a little vegan restaurant called The Yabba Pot, then walked around the inner harbor for a couple hours. The kids enjoyed watching a street performer and visiting a few of the local shops.

Flo's favorite things of the week are:

1. the fairy book she got for Christmas.
   
2. her new ice skates we got on sale
   
3. learning two column addition
   
4. the old Herbie, the Love Bug movie
   
5. bubble tea
   

Oatios and the ER

Joe is so funny. He hears the sound of the cereal box crinkling and he comes running, just like a well-trained dog. Oatios are his favorite, because they're one of the few things that don't give him hives. So far, our small list of safe foods includes oatmeal, squash, blueberries, apples, banana, green beans, wheat seems okay, and rice. Believe it or not, when he eats peas, he breaks out in hives. Weird... It's definitely a challenge. I'm so glad he's still breastfeeding. At least I know he's getting a good amount of calories that way, and we can slowing work on increasing his list of safe food. FUN!

Yesterday was not fun. The night before, I had heart palpitations all night, which has happened before, but I took my blood presurre and it was much higher than normal (it usually runs quite low), and this kind of scared me. So, I had Darren take me to the ER... I went in while he sat with the kids in the truck. I had no idea it would be a five hour deal. UGH. I got a taste of what an ER is like in a metro area. When I got there, around 1pm, there was just a few people there... I thought I'd get right in... Then it filled up with sick people wearing masks, people bleeding, screaming children, and so on. I sat in the waiting room for two hours... then I got hooked up to an IV for dehydration and they ran a bunch of tests. So, I sat there for a few hours, though I was moved to the hallway halfway through, to make room for an accident victim. All my tests came back okay and my blood pressure was high normal. They said it's most likely stimulants like sugar and caffeinne, stress or lack of sleep. I don't think I've overdone any of those, but I guess... So, went home, got a good night's sleep, drank a lot of water, and am feeling much better. That was an experience I'd prefer not repeat anytime soon.

Well, off to make some veggie-dogs for Flo who is pestering me. Lunch time!

Tonsillitis... Ouch!

Now Darren is sick with the tonsillitis, Flo is feeling great, and I'm in desparate need of sleep! Praying I'm not next in line. What a week!

Sick

Flo is sick and miserable. She has Hand-Foot & Mouth Disease...
well, just the mouth part... sounds bad, but is supposed to run it's course in a week or so... FUN!

Sick

The flu hits the Petite household. Ick.

Yesterday was my 29th birthday. I have one year left of my 20’s, so I’d better make use of it. We had a nice day. Darren and I went to see the movie “Time Machine”… I liked it. I’m feeling a bit yucky physically, though, as I have really been neglecting my sleep lately and not getting enough. That's probably why I'm getting sick.

Florence is a chatterbox these days… talking in full sentences and picking up new words by the day. I’m still amazed by her. She’s definitely a typical “terrible two,” but regardless of the frustration, I’m loving spending time with her.