Klutzy Much?

Both boys have been EXTREMELY klutzy these past few weeks. I think I've kissed more boo boo's in the last few days than I have in a LONG time.

Triscuit has been tripping over his feet and bumping his head quite frequently. I thought "Hmm...maybe it's the medication that's thrown him off", until he put his pants on (the SAME pants we bought for him in December). It looked like he was expecting a flood! He's also been complaining that his shoes are hurting him (yup...we bought THOSE in December, too).

As for Toblerone...well, he's just clumsy because he's 2 and 1/2, but lately the klutziness has been a LITTLE more prevalent than usual. He's mastered the stairway, but tonight, he must have either miscalculated or twisted his ankle on the way down....THUD THUD THUD...SMACK! Right into the hallway door. A squeal, a breathless cry and wailing followed. Don't worry...he's alright. No boo boo's to kiss that time, although if I could have kissed his ego, it would have done a WORLD of good. Honestly, I think he hurt the door more than he hurt himself!

So...that got me pondering..."Is there something WRONG with my children?" The answer? Well, yes, because they have Weenie and I for parents, but that doesn't account (fully) for the uncoordination. AND...since Triscuit's pants would have suited him well during a flood, I thought I should measure them.

Ready for this?

Triscuit

Age: 7 years, 6 months.

Weight: 59 pounds

Height: 4'3 and 1/2 inches tall.

Toblerone

Age: 2 years, 7 months.

Weight: 52 pounds

Height: 3'7 and 1/2 inches tall.

TRISCUIT was a few inches taller than Toblerone at the age of 4!

We're in for it....

Now accepting canned goods and monetary donations to feed my beasts (Yes, I'm kidding).

A Harrowing Week

Man. I think I'm ready for a mini Mommy vacation. Any takers? Here's what life has been like since my last post.

I have been working pretty hard with Triscuit, trying to get him situated on this medication. I'm still not super thrilled about the inability to sleep side effect from the Dexedrine, but at least he's able to sit still better and focus. He's actually beginning to notice that he's able to retain more. One example is, we started a lesson in magnets and magnetic fields in science. Over a weeks time, he was able to retain ALL of that information and breeze through his test on that chapter. He said, "MOMMY! I REMEMBER!" It was a moment I will not soon forget!!!

Now, here's where it gets harrowing. Toblerone came down with, what WE thought was a typical cold. He spent a whole day sneezing his poor little head off. The next day was OK, until he went to bed that night. Once he got into a deep sleep, he began coughing. It wasn't a cough that was irritating, but it was a barking, dry cough. When I went up to check on him, he was wheezing. Granted, Toblerone has had many colds in his 2 and 1/2 years of life, but NEVER wheezing. The next morning, it was more of the same...coughing and wheezing. Because I used to have severe asthma, I knew the signs of "struggling to breath", so I took him to the doctor around 10:00am that day. The doc took a quick look and said, "Well, he doesn't SOUND like he's wheezing, but I do suspect Croup". To be honest, I suspected it, too. He gave us the instructions to get a humidifier and keep him as calm as possible. Yeah...right. You try and keep a 2 and 1/2 year old calm!!! It's almost impossible! Around noon that same day, he was REALLY wheezing and only getting one word out at a time when he talked. I took him to the bathroom and put the shower on as hot as possible. We sat in the bathroom for a good 15-20 minutes reading books. That seemed to calm the coughing down a bit, but it didn't help the wheezing. Around 3:00pm, he threw up and the breathing was becoming increasingly worse. I called BACK to the doctors office where they instructed me to bring him in RIGHT away. Now, the situation takes a weird turn.

We arrive at the doctors office. They take us back to the room (all FOUR of us) where Dr. L comes in. We do the normal chit chat about what may be happening with Toblerone when he asks THIS question...

Dr. L: "Wasn't Triscuit sucking on something plastic earlier?"

Mum: "No. I am VERY aware of what my kids put in their mouths."

Dr. L: "I could have SWORN it was Triscuit that I saw sucking on a blue piece of plastic.". At this point, he turns to Triscuit and asks, "Triscuit? Do you remember sucking on that piece of plastic?"

Triscuit: "No. I don't."

Dr. L: *speaking in a rather frustrated tone..."It was just this morning. You SHOULD be able to remember."

Triscuit: "I don't remember."

Dr. L: "I suspect Toblerone may have sucked something down his windpipe and it's stuck. He still doesn't sound wheezy to me...but, we will go ahead and give him a breathing treatment to see if it works."

Now...have you EVER tried to give a breathing treatment to a toddler that has NO clue what is going on? Yeah...needless to say, Toblerone FREAKED out. He cried and screamed. It was a good thing Weenie was with me, because there was NO way I could have held his hands and arms away from his face AND keep him from running away! Because Toblerone was freaking out so bad, TRISCUIT was freaking out. I had to keep TRISCUIT away from the breathing machine. He made several attempts to turn it off. He kept saying, "Mommy!!! It's HURTING him! It's BURNING him! TURN IT OFF!!!!" Regardless of the countless explanations, Triscuit still had it in his head that Toblerone was being tortured. Because Toblerone threw SUCH a fit, the breathing treatment had NO effect on him whatsoever....and because of this, the doc now had it in his mind that Toblerone HAD sucked something down his throat. He sent us to Urgent Care for an X-Ray. We get to Urgent Care and the UC doc comes out, ALL apologetic, saying, "If it's not metal, it won't show up on an x-ray. Since Dr. L is SURE he sucked something down his throat, he needs to get a CT scan at the hospital."

I bet you're thinking, "What?" Yeah...that's what WE were thinking! Toblerone is old enough to tell me if he swallowed something he shouldn't have. He IS talking now and he's a VERY smart little boy. So, to be safe and not sorry, we head to the hospital.

We get to the hospital about 4:30pm. As with ANY hospital during cold and flu season, it was PACKED. Fortunately, we were set as priority 2 (not extremely urgent, but urgent enough). Regardless, we still sat there for 3 hours. All the while, Toblerone is coughing so much he's throwing up. They FINALLY have a room for us at quarter till 8:00pm. We get in the room and the doc comes in...

ER Doc: "So, can you tell me WHAT the heck is going on here?"

Mum: *looks at Weenie*..."Well, Toblerone was having problems breathing this morning. I took him to the doc where he tells us it's probably Croup. We head home, where Toblerone's breathing becomes increasingly worse. We head BACK to the docs office where he says that he suspects Toblerone had sucked a toy down his throat that said Doc THOUGHT he saw my oldest son with. We were told to get an x-ray. Then, we were told to come here for a CT scan, because plastic can't be seen on an x-ray. THAT'S why we are here."

ER Doc: "What?"

Mum: *rolls eyes*..."Yup. Can you PLEASE tell me what the heck is going on with my kid?"

ER Doc: *listens to Toblerone breathing*..."Ummm...yeah. He's wheezing! His pediatrician didn't HEAR this?"

Mum: "According to him, Toblerone wasn't wheezing...he was choking."

ER Doc: *A look of disgust comes over his face*..."We are going to give him 3 breathing treatments to polish him up. If THAT doesn't work, then we'll talk about the CT scan. I won't do a CT scan on him if YOU don't think he's sucked something down his throat. A CT scan is an equivalent of 200 x-rays....in other words, too much radiation...especially for child."

Here is where it gets FUNNY.

The respiratory therapist comes in and sets up his equipment. He walks over to Weenie (who is holding Toblerone) and hands him the apparatus for Toblerone to start "sucking on". As you can probably guess, Toblerone starts FREAKING out again. I mean, not just crying, but kicking and screaming to the point of turning red faced and sweating. The respiratory therapist just looked at Toblerone like he was crazy. He tries to get Toblerone to calm down, but the way he was talking to Toblerone was on a 5 year old level. I was thinking, "Surely, they look at the charts to see the patients ages before they talk to them". So, I say:

Mum: "Have you seen other kids his age act this way before?"

RT: "Not HIS size, no..."

At this point, I'm taking a wild guess and coming to the assumption that NO, HE DID NOT LOOK AT TOBLERONE'S AGE.

Mum: "What do you mean?"

RT: "Kids his age usually understand what's going on."

Mum: "He's only 2 and 1/2."

The look on this poor guys face was PRICELESS! It was a mix between shocked, sympathy and a bit of humiliation.

RT: "OH! Well, THAT explains A LOT! I was wondering why he was only giving me one word answers and throwing such a fit! For two and 1/2, yes...this behavior is completely normal!"

Mum: "I'm sorry. I guess I should have said something to you earlier. I figured you looked at his chart and saw his age."

RT: "No, I didn't. I can't BELIEVE he's only 2 and 1/2! He's HUGE!"

At that point, I believe we became the topic of the ER. We had nurses and assistants coming in looking at him saying, "So...he's only 2 and 1/2?" I'm thinking I need to get him a T-shirt with "I'm only 2 and 1/2...please TREAT me as such".

We finally get out of the Emergency Department around 11:00pm that evening (armed with an at home breathing machine and meds).

The next few days were good. Toblerone was requiring less and less of the breathing treatments and by Sunday, it looked like we were out of the woods....UNTIL that evening. He started getting pretty cranky and when I went to comfort him, he felt REALLY hot. I gave him some Tylenol and put him to bed. I had been sleeping with him since this all happened to make sure I stayed on top of the breathing issue. That evening he was SO restless, poor kid! Then, 5:00am rolls around. He sits straight up in bed, says something and starts PUKING. Good thing his tummy was empty, otherwise I would have been cleaning up puke for the next few hours. Because he was running a temp, my concern was maybe the bronchitis WASN'T viral....maybe it had turned bacterial. So, I call his pediatricians office to voice my concerns. Yup...they felt the same way. So, BACK to the pediatrician we go. Dr. L comes in and we do the usual chit chat of just WHAT may be ailing Toblerone THIS time.

Dr. L: "So, what did they diagnose him with at the hospital?"

Mum: "Croup and viral bronchitis."

Dr. L: "Oh. OK. And then this morning, Toblerone started throwing up, huh?"

Mum: "Yes. I thought since he was running a temp that maybe the bronchitis was bacterial."

Dr. L: "Well, let me listen to him."

He listens to Toblerone's chest (while Toblerone is yelling..."No...ALL DONE!") and says:

Dr. L: "He sounds pretty clear except for the gunk in his chest. If you were in the ER on Thursday and he came down with THIS today, my guess is he picked up the flu bug from the hospital. I'm going to give you a prescription for steroids that I want you to start administering as soon as Toblerone's tummy settles down. That should help with the remainder of the croup holding on and also help keep the breathing treatments away while he's coughing all that up."

So, we get the prescription filled and head back home. We TRY and get Toblerone to eat, but every time he smelled food, he would start gagging. This continues ALL day and into the night. The next day, he's eating a little, but his temperature was gradually rising. I tried to give him Tylenol, but he just gagged when he smelled it. Finally, the temp reached 103.4. I freaked! Again, I call the docs office. The nurse picks up...

NP: "What's happening with Toblerone?"

Mum: "We were just in there yesterday and Dr. L explained that he has now contracted the stomach flu. His temp is 103.4 and I can't get him to take any medication. At what point do I need to start freaking out and be REALLY worried?"

NP: *laughing*..."Toblerone will be just fine. Try your best to get that Tylenol down him. If all else fails, hold him down and squirt the med in his mouth with a medication syringe."

Mum: *laughing back*..."He's 52 pounds and 3'6 inches tall. That's going to be a LOAD of fun, let me tell you."

NP: "Really? Have you tried putting it in his juice or bribing him with a piece of candy?"

Mum: "Yup. I've tried all that. He tells me "Mommy...juice...yucky" and refuses to drink it. Then, he will throw a fit if I take the candy away. He just doesn't understand."

NP: "I guess you have no choice but to force it in his mouth. Plug his nose to make sure he swallows it. Good luck!!!"

The first time, he gagged, but didn't throw it up...so that was good. As his temp came down, he got more and more hungry.

Toblerone: "Mama...hungy. Burger."

Mum: "We don't have any burgers. Let me call Daddy to see if he will bring home burgers."

While I'm on the phone with Weenie, Toblerone lays down on the couch and falls asleep. Being the loving Daddy that Weenie is, he brought home burgers for the boys. Weenie goes over to Toblerone and says in a quiet tone:

Weenie: "Daddy brought you burger."

Toberlone didn't hear him at first, so Weenie repeats himself. Toblerone heard it the second time.

Toblerone: *sits straight up* "Dada...Burger?"

He's still not awake, but flies off the couch and stumbles over to the dining room table. I swear, I don't think Weenie and I have EVER seen him snarf down a burger so fast! Once he ate that and kept it down, we knew he was on the road to recovery.

So...that has been MY life these past few weeks!

Now...for that vacation. I want at least one day on the beach with a nice bottle of white wine....

SUCCESS!!!

Now that Triscuit is on the medication, he is doing SO much better! I'm IMPRESSED!

The beginning of the week was a little difficult. The side effects from Dexedrine are headache, stomach ache (often them feeling full and not hungry at all) and sleeplessness. Triscuit had ALL of those, poor baby, but he stuck it out and is now doing much better. We saw an immediate difference in his ability to sit still. On Sunday, when we went to the in-laws, he sat down and played chess with one of his uncles. I don't think I've ever seen him sit still for longer than 20 minutes. He sat there for a good hour (I believe it may have been longer) and concentrated on the game! I was SO happy! But the real test was school. I wondered if it would carry over to the next day.

Monday came and I wasn't going to expect too much of him. He had only slept for about 5 hours the night before, so he tired out really easy. We got through about 2 and 1/2 hours of school before he actually ASKED me if he could take a nap (that's unheard of coming from Triscuit). Tuesday was a rough day because he had Scantron testing to complete. I had him take the reading portion first (the most difficult for him). He FREAKED! "But Mom, it's too long! I can't do this!" He WAS able to sit still, but again, because of his short attention span, he would get half way through the story and then do the questions. Needless to say, he got about 18 wrong out of 26 questions. Once he saw his score, he had a meltdown. It seemed like it took me forever to calm him down and explain to him what the purpose of the testing was. He wasn't happy. He actually said, "Mom...will Mrs. L still be proud of me?" (Mrs. L is his degreed teacher. He REALLY cares what she thinks). I had to assure him all would be fine. The second portion of the test was math. As soon as he hears the "M" word, he usually tries to argue his way OUT of doing it. This time was different. He sat down and did it...WITHOUT an argument. He was still trying to get me to help him, but after about the third time that I said, "No Triscuit...Mommy can't help you", he got it through his head. He got a 75% on that portion! Then, today, he sat down, focused on his work and got it DONE! I was SO happy and SO impressed with him! He seems to be trying a LOT harder, too!

Because he has been doing so well and trying so hard, Weenie went out and got him a new Lego set. He got the set about 45 minutes ago. He's been sitting there NOT moving and TOTALLY silent! It's just AMAZING to see such a night and day difference in the area of "spaziness".

I took a few pictures. He looked like such a grown up sitting at the table, concentrating on putting his Lego's together!

Then, as soon as Toblerone saw Triscuit sitting there working with his Lego's, TOBLERONE had to get in on the big boy action, too!

I have faith that this won't be the ONLY week Triscuit will do well, but regardless, I will keep you all posted!

Again, I want to thank those of you who have been there for us! MUCH appreciated!!!

And We FINALLY Have Answers!!!

The waiting, the anxiety, the dreading of the appointment today....ALL OVER! And we have ANSWERS! I'm so happy right now, I could kiss a monkey (I know...completely random).

Most of you know I was really worried and apprehensive about the testing. I didn't know what to expect. I was told "Neurological testing". They didn't tell me what kind. If any of you have ever googled a random subject, it seems the information that pops up is the type of information that would scare the crap out of you. I read everything from PET scans to probes and wires. That was SOOO not the case! The testing was considered "Neuro Behavioral" testing. Small, random (sometimes a little weird) and simple tests. There were three phases to the testing: Motor skills, written testing and communicative testing. I will try and break it down the best I can.

Phase one. Motor skills.

Triscuit was asked to touch his fingers together in the same order SHE did (without looking at his fingers). Thumb and index finger, then thumb and pinkie...so on. On the RIGHT side, Triscuit did PERFECTLY...but on the left side? No so well. He got the pinkie and index right, but the other two? Completely opposite. She had him pretend to throw a ball, pretend to brush his teeth, then had him look up at the corner of the room through a tube. He switched the tube from eye to eye, so he passed (I know...I still don't understand that one). She had him touch his nose, show her the difference between left and right...things of that nature.

Phase two: Written testing.

He was instructed to look at detail. Most of it was recognizing shapes. It would go from simple to complex (complexity being shapes in shapes and the key was to recognize the exact position of the shape. In other words, it couldn't be just a rectangle. It had the be the rectangle slanted to the left)...things of that nature. When it came to THOSE types of tests, he did REALLY well. Then, he went to letters. She wanted him to write his alphabet in LOWER case as quick as he could. He knows his alphabet...but writing is not his forte. He likes to mix up his lower and upper case...something I thought was normal. I guess, that's NOT normal...especially for his age. He understood when he made a mistake, but got really frustrated AT the mistake. He got to "g", when she decided to stop the test. She also observed his behavior when he was writing. Most of us understand that when you are testing, you need to sit still and you need to be quiet. He couldn't do either. He was fidgety, distracted and the poor kid just doesn't know how to work QUIETLY. The other thing that was worrisome, was he kept asking, "Is this right? Is this right?" He has NO confidence. The last part was numbers. He had to recognize the sequence of numbers then find that same sequence through 10 lines of numbers that were in SIMILAR order.

Phase three: Communicative testing.

THIS part of the testing was the most difficult for him. The first thing she did was read him a story. Then, she asked him what the basics of the story was. He had no problems telling her that. But when she began asking him the details of the story (like "How was the weather in the story?" Or, "What emotion was the character showing?"), he would often answer it with a questioning tone (and no, he didn't get it right). The next thing was giving him verbal instructions. She could only say them once, so he had to really pay attention. I forgot exactly what she asked him to do, but all I know was he just looked at her...confused beyond confused. He would make a frustrated growl and say, "I don't know what you mean". She repeated this three times (different questions every time) and he couldn't do ONE of them. The last thing was asking him to do was repeat back a sequence of numbers in the same order she spoke them. He did great when it was only 4 numbers long...but when it came to 5 or more, he didn't get one of them correct. It was too complicated.

She stepped out of the room for about 10 minutes to score his testing. During this time, I tried to keep Triscuit out of the bio hazard trash can. He wanted to know why he couldn't touch it. He wanted to know what bio hazard meant and why he couldn't just throw something away in ONE trash can. That was fun. He had to wash his hands twice because he just HAD to mess with it! GROSS!!!!

Anyway, she came back with a LOAD of paperwork along with his scores. Here's how it played out.
Motor Skills - She didn't tell me EVERYTHING she saw, but she did tell me a few things. He's a little behind on his motor skills. Something she fully expected. To be honest, I did too...but she didn't tell me what the cause could have been (as I've mentioned before, the concern was the nature surrounding his birth). She wasn't too concerned, stating that he will catch up...it was just going to take a little longer than normal. I have still to pose some questions about that.

Written Skills - He is behind...no doubt about it. Again, something I wasn't too shocked by. She noticed that, of course, he couldn't sit still. He had to move at all times. He couldn't be quiet and do his work, he had to talk it out. When he made a mistake, he got VERY frustrated and anxious. Performance anxiety...big time. He tried to make a joke out of it...and often did nervous laughter. This concerned her....BIG TIME. She said that when he makes a mistake, he gets ANGRY at himself. He is looking to us adults for verification BEFORE he makes the mistake (hence asking, "Is this right?"). She told me that she would LIKE for him to see a counselor...just to make sure he doesn't have an anxiety disorder. I told her I was wondering if MY frustration rubbed off on him causing him to be anxious. She said I had a good point. She talked to me a little about it and told me that no matter HOW good my intentions are, we are all human and we ALL get frustrated. She said she could only imagine what I go through on a daily basis being both mom AND teacher. She gave me some pointers on how to deal with both of our issues...so I have yet to test those out next week.

Communicative testing: Here is where it hit home. He failed. He failed BIG time. What she told me was that because he didn't start the act of talking until he was 4, it essentially put him behind by 2 years. A child is supposed to begin talking at around 2 or 2 1/2. Although Triscuit knew what things were (he could identify things if you asked him to point out, say, a horse), he never followed through with SPEAKING it. She said that he may be 7 and a half, but his verbal/comprehensive skills are at a 5 year old level. When I told her in the first appointment that he was a year behind in language arts and phonics, she knew something wasn't right...she just needed to verify it before telling me her findings. Because he is 2 years behind in communicative skills, he will also be behind socially. How true THAT is. He talks on a 5 year old level, comprehends on a 5 year old level and THINKS on a 5 year old level. She did reassure me he will catch up to his peers, but it's going to take a LOT of patience and encouragement. She advised me to stay away from the institution of school until he's stable. If we put him back now, it would cause things to get worse. She also thought that holding him back a year would be a VERY good idea (something we had already decided on). He will also need behavioral modification classes. All my frustration towards him...expecting him to "act his age" wasn't something he was capable of. I'm having a rough time with that. I felt so out of touch with my own child when she told me all of this. Poor baby.

So...here's the plan. He definitely has ADHD. He is in need of behavioral therapy (as I said above) and yes, it was strongly advised for him to be put on the lowest dosage of Dexadrine available (Spantules). It's a long acting pill...it will last 8-10 hours, then it wears off, just long enough to get him through the school day. She explained it before like a "buzzing that will go away once the medication takes effect". Also, because he is a VERY visual person (learner), we will be using a LOT of manipulative's during school (thank you to all my teacher friends who told me about this aspect a few weeks ago...you all were SO right on). Make the instructions as simple as possible and don't expect him to understand things the first 3 times it's explained. A lot of patience and encouragement is needed. We were given a 504 request letter (you teachers will understand that one) for his schooling. This will allow more time during testing along with other things.

The most important thing that she noticed is, he wants to be "a good boy" SOOO badly, that when he DOES make a mistake, he gets angry at himself. Some of his argumentative behavior is the fact that he's frustrated, doesn't understand why he's getting in trouble and doesn't know how to communicate his emotions. What I'm about to say may sound harsh. Know that I love you all but as his mother, I have to say this. Those of you reading this that have direct contact with him....UNDERSTANDING, ENCOURAGEMENT and LOVE is HIGHLY needed. Yes, he may be annoying at times and yes, he does seem immature...but we all know WHY now...so please...cut him some slack. I will no longer sit back and except impatient behavior towards my son. Yes, I was often impatient too, but because I understand now what is happening with him, MY perspective has changed. My job as a mother is to do the best I possibly can. This includes making sure they are healthy, loved and PROTECTED. I will do anything and everything to make sure they are getting the best we can give them.

I realize this has been a long post, and I thank you for taking the time to read it. It's been an emotional journey for me, so I've writing this with a lot of emotion on my sleeve. I realize this blog is a little out of character for me, but I'm sure you all understand.

Last thing. I want to thank ALL of you that have been so supportive of everything I've/we've done to help Triscuit...from home schooling, to listening to me babble, to suggesting techniques, to thinking and praying for us, etc. You all have really kept our spirits up and assured us that all would be fine. I can't say thank you enough!!!!

Messy Conversations

No no no...this isn't about some embarrassing question or conversation we've had to have with Triscuit (although, I KNOW that's what you were thinking). This one is about Toblerone.

As I've mentioned before, my "little" 2 and 1/2 year old has begun to converse with us now. Every day, he comes out with another word that he's heard and has incorporated into his vocabulary. He also has really begun to pronounced his words...and he takes his time. He enunciates VERY well, but when it comes to the sound "sssss"...it's a "th". Yes, he lisps. Although cute, it can be a little "messy". I'm thinking about investing in these...:

It's a blast carrying on a conversation with him, but he seems to be the MOST talkative during the most INAPPROPRIATE times.

I will go from least inappropriate to most inappropriate.

In last place....

WHILE MOMMY IS ON THE PHONE

It NEVER fails. The minute that phone rings, he's RIGHT there (I actually HATE to talk on the phone, so I don't get that many calls).

Toblerone: *finds the phone (regardless of where I may have hid it), grabs it and RUNS it to me. "Mama...PONE!" In a SHRILL and LOUD voice.

Mum: "OK Toblerone...Thank you."

Toblerone: "Welcome"

Mum: "Hello?"

Toblerone: "Hold....pone...talk"

Mum: "No Toblerone. You can't hold the phone and talk."

Toblerone: "Peeeeeeeth?"

Mum: "No. Go Play."

Toblerone: "No pay (play)...talk!"

If his ploys of asking NICELY don't work, he will resort to attention grabbing.

Toblerone: "MAMA! TOOKIE!"

Mum: "No...no cookie."

Toblerone: "Handy?"

Mum: "No Candy."

Toblerone: *beginning to whine*..."PEEEEEEEEEeeeetttthhhh?"

This can go on if I let it, but I will usually duck outside, quickly finish my conversation and come back in to a HOWLING good time.

Next to the last place:

ANYTIME I'M COOKING

I wouldn't mind him joining me in the kitchen if he wasn't INTO everything. As soon as he sees me getting pots and pans out...he's RIGHT there.

Toblerone: "Mama...dinner?"

Mum: "Yup. Mama's making dinner. Please, go play outside or go to your room and play."

Toblerone: "No pay...hep?"

Mum: "No thank you, honey. I don't need help."

Toblerone: *opens pantry* "Toblerone hep. Pearth?"

Mum: "I don't need your help honey...and no, we aren't having pears for dinner."

Toblerone: *runs to the fridge*..."Mama. Cheeth?"

Mum: "Hmm...actually, yes...I'll take the cheese. Thank you."

Toblerone: "Welcome. More? Hep?

Again, this can keep going on, but because of his age and lack of knowledge about things that can REALLY hurt him, he can't stay in there with me. He came dangerously close to putting his hand on the hot glass top stove once. Since then, it's been out of the question.

Runner up

RIGHT BEFORE BED

My kids are NO different from any other kid when it comes to bedtime. They HATE it. They would much rather stay up with Mom and Dad. After all, Mommy and Daddy usually party after the kids are in bed (yes...I'm kidding). We begin to get ready an hour before bedtime...that way, they have time to get it through their thick little heads that it's time for bed and Mommy and Daddy aren't going to cave. *DING DING DING* "Lllllllet's get ready to ruuuuuummmmbllllllleeee!"

Mum: "OK boys. Time to get ready for bed. Brush your teeth please."

Triscuit: "NOT FAIR! It's not 8:00! I want dessert."

Mum: "No dessert. Go brush your teeth....NOW."

Triscuit: *pouts and shuffles his feet while going to brush his teeth*

Toblerone: "No! No...bed...yet."

Mum: "Yes. Time for bed. Let's brush your teeth."

As I get his toothbrush ready, he's right by my side saying:

Toblerone: "Mama...Toblerone...brush MY teeth (touching his hand to his chest)."

Mum: "OK. But as soon as YOUR done brushing your teeth, Mama's going to help you."

Toblerone: *frowns* "No. Mama NO hep Toblerone."

Mum: "Mama needs to go over your teeth after your done."

He will USUALLY let me go over his teeth AFTER he's done chewing the heck out of his toothbrush, but we do have occasions where I have to CHASE him around the house to catch him first.

After that fiasco, comes either quiet playtime or reading.

Then....it's time for them to get into their beds.

Triscuit: "But I don't WANNA go to bed! I'm not tired!"

Most of the whining and carrying on comes from TRISCUIT.

Weenie: "It's time for bed. Come on...let's go pray."

While Weenie is praying for Triscuit and tucking him into bed, I'm in the other room getting Toblerone to relax. I will usually lay down next to him and wait until he's completely settled down. Lately however, he's begun to use this time to TALK.

Toblerone: *points to the middle of the room* "Toblerone'th...room?"

Mum: "Yes. This is Toblerone's room. Lay down and go ni-night."

Toblerone: *points in the direction of Triscuit's room* "Trithcut'th...room?

Mum: "Yes. That's Triscuit's room. Lay down please."

Toblerone: "Mama...pay?"

Mum: "You want Mama to pray for you?"

Toblerone: "Yup"

After I'm done praying, the ownership of room conversation begins again. Then, he starts to make his nest.

Toblerone: "Mama? Min Min? Mauw? Elmo? Cat (he has 3 of them now)?"

After I'm done fetching all of his toys for him....

Toblerone: "Wobin? Piow?"

Mum: "Your Robin pillow is right there. Lay down."

Toblerone: "Banket?"

Mum: "OK. You're ALL tucked in now...PLEASE go ni-night."

Toblerone: "Mama? Ludge joo"

Mum: "Aww. I love you too."

In less than a minute, he's usually OUT!

*Drum roll please*.......

The most INAPPROPRIATE time?

WHILE ONE OF US IS GOING TO THE BATHROOM

It doesn't matter WHO it is. No matter HOW sneaky you are or how quiet you are...he's RIGHT there. I've tried to get into the habit of locking the door, but God forbid if you forget...

Toblerone: *busts through the door* "Mama? Doin?"

Mum: "Going potty. Go upstairs please."

Toblerone: "Poop?"

Mum: "No. Pee Pee. Go upstairs please."

Toblerone: "Mama? Done?"

Mum: "NO. Go upstairs please....NOW."

Toblerone: "Mama? Done? Now?"

Mum: *sigh*. "Yes Toblerone. Mama's done."

Toblerone: "Paper? Wipe?"

Mum: *MUCH HEAVIER SIGH* I get off the toilet as gracefully as possible (trying not to show TOO much)

Toblerone: *peeks into the toilet* "MAMA! Pee pee! Potty!"

Mum: "Yes honey. I know."

Toblerone: "Toblerone? Fush?"

Before you can answer....he flushes it FOR you.

Toblerone: "Mama? Wash...handth?"

Mum: "Yes Toblerone. Mama's washing her hands."

After the ritualistic bathroom routine is over...he yells...

Toblerone: "MAMA! DONE! POTTY!"

Thanks Toblerone. Now the neighborhood knows!

I have this feeling that not much will be sacred in the near future...privacy is OUT the window! We are getting a door alarm for our bedroom door (since there's no lock). We haven't had it happen YET...so let's keep it that way. I don't want to emotionally scar my children for life. I don't want this to happen....

One of my BIGGEST fears, yes. Do you blame me?

Preoccupied

My apologies for being absent. My weeks have been filled with a certain 7 year old not wanting to do school, so our days haven't been the easiest to get through. I've also been consumed with finding out more information on ADHD before this Friday (Neuro testing at 2:00pm). I want to know exactly what tests he (Triscuit) will be going through before we get there. I know this isn't a test he can prepare or study for, but nonetheless, I still want to know.

Say a little prayer for us, as this has been heavy on my heart and mind since December!

Thank you.