Good news...Josh LOVES school. But he hates daycare. Dropping him off is barely better than it was on the first day but my sympathy and guilt have been replaced with frustration and irritation. This morning, when he was jumping around and crying, I looked at him and said, "Enough!" and walked off. Seriously, enough.
I picked him up this afternoon and he's a bucket of smiles and actually looked bummed that it was already time to go. Jeez!
Last Friday night I invited mom to join me and the kids at the mall for a little "indoor play" and food court dinner. After we ate I decided to take Lauren to Claire's so I could buy her some new hair pretties. Her hair has grown so much and I can't seem to tame its wildness. So we found some cute things and went up to check out. Then it happened...her first public tantrum and I was by myself.
As soon as she started screaming I began to pray....
ME: Dear Lord, please make her stop screaming.
CASHIER: Can I interest you in any of our flavored Chapsticks?
ME: Dear Lord, make this cashier shut up. Give her the wisdom to realize I am in no mood to buy the Dr. Pepper Chapstick and all I want to do is get the heck out of here.
ME: Uh...not tonight.
CASHIER: She must be tired.
ME: Dear Lord, I see you've given her at least a basic level of wisdom to realize that my screaming child, who's writhing on the floor, is tired. She is obviously a genius.
ME: Lauren!! Goodness.
This about the time I realized that everyone in the mall had now entered Claire's and was staring at my daughter. I remembered from my days of working at Claire's that there was some sort of attraction to screaming children getting their ears pierced. I'm not sure what sadist type of person wants to see a small child in pain, but nonetheless, I noticed that people have not changed and that a crowd had gathered to see, what they assumed, was a little girl who just got her ear pierced.
As soon as the crowd realized it was just a bratty child and not a cute little girl who just got her ears pierced...they turned on me.
We finished the transaction and I pretty much ended up dragging Lauren out with one arm and dragging the stroller out with the other. I was mortified and trying to hide the steam coming out of my ears.
After that, I went and found Josh playing the Wii at Game Stop with mom, where, while waiting for him to finish his game, a small child had taken down his pants in the middle of the store and his mother was screaming. Oh God did I laugh. Once mom and I composed ourselves, I realized that I had just witnessed God's sense of humor again. He's good!
Then we went to Von Maur to look at the Shoe Sale room. Lauren had ball and made every woman in the department chuckle. She tried on about a dozen pairs of shoes and brought out a selection to mom to try on as well.
And with that we were done with our shopping excursion.
Saturday we went to the Blairstown Sauerkraut Days parade. Miss Diva was "in the zone" and ready for some serious candy.
The kids had a blast and got a ton of candy. And although it was a typical Iowa parade (tractor, farm animal, tractor, farm animal) it made me miss small town living. You know where everyone knows everyone and families have been friends for 30+ years.
After the parade I pushed Josh in the stroller and carried Lauren on my hip. The kids got the candy so mama wanted her funnel cake. Fortunately I got my funnel cake...
but soon the smell of sauerkraut got to me and we had to leave...quick.
Sunday we worked in the basement and Monday we heard that Larry's brother had passed away. I quickly gave the kids a bath and got them dressed so we could join the family at the farm.
While bathing Lauren I noticed a few red marks on her face. But by the time I buckled her into the car I noticed they had spread. So I stopped at a pharmacy and picked up some cortizone cream.
We headed to the farm and expressed our condolences, looked at old pictures and visited for awhile. Dustin had taken the kids out to the barn to see the horses and Josh had attached himself to four defenseless kittens. Shortly after we got there, Dustin brought Lauren in and I realized she was covered in red spots.
Turns out, what we thought was chicken pox, was merely a reaction to the chicken pox vaccination she had received two weeks prior. Unfortunately, my camera died and I didn't get any pictures and of course by the time I found the charger...they have cleared up.
Tomorrow is Kris' funeral. I can't imagine losing a brother, let alone a child. No parent should ever have to go through that. I know tomorrow will be a difficult day for many people and I continue to pray for everyone's strength and comfort. We certainly are blessed, at times like these, to have our faith in God.
Baby Update: 12 weeks
The most dramatic development this week: Reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.
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