Reading some old blogs I saw that its been a while since I just wrote about our day. I have been writing so many blogs with a purpose that I'm leaving out all the day to day details. I think I also feel like so much has happened that I can't keep up, so I just write about things in general. So I'm going to just write about today, but first ...
Natalie had her first follow up rheumatology appointment on Friday. The doctor was very impressed with how much better Natalie was doing. He said yet again that her wrist swelling had been impressive, but now she has a full range of motion back. He was happy with how all her joints looked, including her fingers which didn't get the steroid injections. Natalie was a little less scared and sat on the exam table this time and didn't cry at all during his exam. She sang and hulaed for him, too. He saw no reason to change her medicine for right now, and we'll be going back in about two months. She does need to have her eyes checked every 3 to 4 months though because of uvitius (I think I spelled it right). He said she had positive ANA in her blood work which puts her at a higher risk for eye problems. She also was anemic. He said that usually that goes away after the inflammation goes down, but I think that a lot of it will have to due with her now taking a multivitamin (she needs folic acid so the methotrexate doesn't give her canker sores) and eating better because she feels better. So, Natalie had to get blood work done while we were at the office. She did really awesome considering. She chose zebra sunglasses as her prize from the treasure chest, which was completely unsurprising to Mike and me.
This appointment really had me thinking about how things were a month or two ago. We visited my parents this weekend, which also made me think of how miserable Natalie was over the holidays. They really see the difference because they only see her about once a month and they saw her at her absolute worst over Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was showing my mom some pictures from my blog of crafts we had been doing recently and as I went further and further back, I stopped to read some of the every day recap blogs. We were so wrong about what was bothering her. I feel horrible guilt at thinking she was pretending to be in pain to get attention because of William. I used to get so frustrated with her and was sometimes mean to her. I wish she could have made me understand that she was in real pain. In our defense, she rarely said that her legs hurt and never said her wrists or hands hurt. It scares me to think that she will probably have another flare and will go back to how she used to be for those few months. Hopefully it will never get that bad because we will know what is happening this time, but to think of her so sad, sucking her thumb all day long, barely being able to walk. We didn't realize how much we missed her laugh and smile until we saw it come back full force.
Friday was a busy day for us. Mike worked from home so that he could come to the doctor's appointment. He had a deadline for work, so we saw very little of him during the day even when it got crazy. The plan was for us to go to our neighbor's for our weekly play date, come home early and get the kids down for nap early, then wake them to drive to the doctor's, and then drive to my parents' from there hopefully not too late for dinner.
Our neighbor has her kids on a schedule a bit different from the other two moms we usually see at play date. Usually, we run the play date from 10 to noon, but she wanted 9 to 11 because her kids go down for nap at 1130. But, William goes down for nap around 8 or 830 and he is still asleep at 9. It got to be 930 and I went to go call our neighbor to tell her we'd be late, and she'd messaged me asking if we were still coming. She said her kids were watching to see when their friends were coming. I felt like a jerk! Poor kiddos. Luckily, William woke up about fifteen minutes later and I got us out of the house pretty fast. On the walk down the street, another of the mom called asking if it was too late to come (they weren't planning on coming since they had a doctor's appointment). Then a little bit later the other mom called asking if we wanted to do a picnic lunch. So, we eventually decided everyone would come back to our house for the picnic lunch. Before then though, the kids kept playing. William wasn't having a good time though. There wasn't too much out for him to play with and one of the other boys really likes him and William was feeling a bit crowded. But Natalie had an awesome time, so much so I barely saw her! She was off exploring the new toys inside and out, and playing with her friends. She did get all wet in the wadding pool and I didn't know until she needed a new diaper later. I really liked how the kids could go outside and inside on their own because the porch was gated off from the street and the whole backyard available for them to play. The older kids got to run free and us moms stayed inside with the babies.
Before the picnic, it was a crazy. Natalie wanted to bring a toy stroller to our house and had to leave with no pants on. Once we got to our house, it was me, Natalie, and William and one of the other moms and her two kids. I cut up a fruit salad as quick as I could as the chaos went on. William kept crying, and Natalie kept demanding to eat. But, soon, the other moms and kids came and we all went outside. There was a feast for the kids, but they barely ate anything and just decided to play instead. It was great seeing so many kids enjoying our backyard. I'm so glad we moved the riding toys and picnic table out there. (Still working on getting the play house assembled and finding a sand and water table). I saw Natalie sitting on the pool steps with her best friend. The little boy who loves William was playing catch with our other little athletic neighbor. The babies were hanging around with the moms mostly, including William for the most part. I learned William knows how to use a straw when I let him try a juice box and he drank almost all of it! Of course, when it was time for the families to leave, the kids were suddenly interested in eating. Eventually, everyone headed home and Natalie went inside for nap. Shortly later, William went down. I then had an hour and a half of calm before I had to wake up the kids and get them in the car.
After the doctor, we head down to my parents'. Natalie was very excited to go. William, though, was not happy to be in the car and cried maybe half the ride with a nap in the middle. We felt horrible, but there isn't anything we could do. We did stop so I could feed him, and he was happy then, but very mad once he was back in his car seat. By the time we got to my parents' house, he was doing the shuddering kind of cry. It took him maybe 20 minutes to calm all the way down and be ready to socialize with my parents. We then had dinner (mac and cheese for Natalie and Mike, hot dogs for them and me, and baked beans for me and William, oh, and cooked carrots, too). Natalie ate great, which made my parents really happy. There was some play time that night, but not too much. Natalie did notice their record player and knew what it was from Lilo and Stitch. She then wanted to pretend it played music and have Mike hold his mouth open like Stitch does. After bath, she ran right at my dad and climbed up him all naked. And then, she kept running around saying she was Chicken Little. We did bed time a little late, but everyone went down easily. We were most concerned about William sleeping away from home, but he went the whole night. I only heard him cry once, but he didn't even wake my parents. I heard the next morning that Natalie woke up at 5 and wanted to watch Dinosaur Train with Mike downstairs. He got her to get into bed with him and they slept together until 630. I must admit I was a little jealous of that wonderful snuggle. William woke up at 540 and didn't go back to sleep after eating, but we had some nice play time alone. It seems easier to play with William when we are at my parents' house for some reason. Maybe its because he is a little less adventurous?
At 9, I went with my father to a library book sale in the next town over. There were tons of great books, but I had to put a lot back when I learned that the board books were being treated like hardcovers and were priced $1.50. That's ridiculous if you ask me. When we paid, my father said something to the cashier, and this other woman totally snapped at him. She was trying to say it was a deal because a board book is expensive. Well, a board book costs the same as a paperback, not a $25 hardcover. My father was pretty angry because he wasn't being mean about it, just stating his opinion. I also got some YA titles for my classroom library when I return to teaching, but those were supposed to be $1 for trade size paper backs, so I put a few back. When we paid though, they were rung up the wrong price. So, I got some good books, but was not impressed with the pricing. My father wound up paying for my books, which were really mostly Natalie and William's books. I got William a couple of cloth books and a touch and feel book. And I got Natalie a few books based on characters she likes and a Little People lift the flap book about going to school. Natalie took her Care Bears book, climbed up the couch, and read it by herself.
When I got home, William was up from nap and Natalie was happy to see me. My brother stopped by a little later, but after a quick lunch, we had to head out to the graduation party we'd come down to MA to attend. Both kids fell asleep in the car on the way there, which wasn't surprising since it was nap time. But we got them up and went inside. The party was a little rough. Natalie was having a hard time finding things to do. She knew there would be cake and wanted that, but didn't want to wait for it. She wanted to be carried and was a afraid of the dog. She had a few meltdowns, but thankfully nothing really horrible. It was all because she was tired. First it was because she wanted to use a camera, but she didn't know how to use it. Later, she wanted to share her cake with us, but I couldn't have any. She got really sad. Then Mike refused a bite, too, and she lost it. It was so sad. She had a few good times though. After seeing people play ping pong there all the time, she wanted to play. She put used the paddle to push the ball across the table.
The kids fell asleep right away in the car, so that part of the ride home went smoothly, but it was pouring rain as it had been all day, so that made it not a fun trip for Mike. We got home about 545 and the kids woke up just before home, so we had to delay bedtime. Natalie wanted to watch WALL-E, so we put that on. We got them dinner, but it was breakfast for dinner since Mike and I weren't that hungry. I stayed with William and he ate a whole bunch of fruit even though he'd just nursed. After dinner, I did most of the unpacking while Mike played with the kids, though William kept wanted to take what Natalie was doing. My mother had given me some toys that were in the attic. One was a pizza themed memory game I loved as a kid and Natalie loved it too, though we didn't play by the rules. Later while I was putting William to bed, they took out the Candyland we've had for a while but I took out today. She really liked the board, but they didn't actually play. Also from my mother's house was my old ballet costumes. Natalie tried on the traditional tutu at their house, but we had a lot more. I put all the ones of appropriate size in her dress up box and can't wait to have Natalie play with them, or maybe even pull them out on one of our play date Friday's. Natalie's bed time went smoothly, too. We brushed teeth, and read three stories. Tonight it was Lily's Potty, Hula Lullaby, and Max Ride's Away. She read the last one in bed after commenting about how her blanket kept her feet warm.
William had a pretty smooth bedtime too. After bath, I take him in to his room alone. I have a few toys on the bed and a bucket of books. He complained when I did his diaper, but then he was alright. He mostly looked at the books while I did his lotion. He struggled while I got his pjs on, but that seemed only to frustrate me, not him. I laid out five books for him - three which seem to be his favorites and two new ones. He chose Duck and Goose 1 2 3. I waited to see if he wanted another book, but he was ready to nurse. He tells me that by climbing up on the pillows. I read him some Jungle Book while he ate. We've been using the Twilight Turtle, so I enjoy being in there seeing the stars, too. The Kindle is what I read to him from at bedtime, so its still dark. I moved him into bed fully awake, but not as sleepy as some nights. I didn't have his blanket ready though, so he had to wait for me to arrange it. He complained a little when I left. About half the time when I leave him in the crib, he will look back at me. Tonight he stayed laying down but cried a bit. Just now, at 1015, he cried a bit. Hopefully, its not a bad sign for the night since it is a bit early for him to make any noise. Looks like his blanket might not be close to him. Mike moved the monitor camera for me, but he still finds a way to move where I can't see him.
Natalie had her first follow up rheumatology appointment on Friday. The doctor was very impressed with how much better Natalie was doing. He said yet again that her wrist swelling had been impressive, but now she has a full range of motion back. He was happy with how all her joints looked, including her fingers which didn't get the steroid injections. Natalie was a little less scared and sat on the exam table this time and didn't cry at all during his exam. She sang and hulaed for him, too. He saw no reason to change her medicine for right now, and we'll be going back in about two months. She does need to have her eyes checked every 3 to 4 months though because of uvitius (I think I spelled it right). He said she had positive ANA in her blood work which puts her at a higher risk for eye problems. She also was anemic. He said that usually that goes away after the inflammation goes down, but I think that a lot of it will have to due with her now taking a multivitamin (she needs folic acid so the methotrexate doesn't give her canker sores) and eating better because she feels better. So, Natalie had to get blood work done while we were at the office. She did really awesome considering. She chose zebra sunglasses as her prize from the treasure chest, which was completely unsurprising to Mike and me.
This appointment really had me thinking about how things were a month or two ago. We visited my parents this weekend, which also made me think of how miserable Natalie was over the holidays. They really see the difference because they only see her about once a month and they saw her at her absolute worst over Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was showing my mom some pictures from my blog of crafts we had been doing recently and as I went further and further back, I stopped to read some of the every day recap blogs. We were so wrong about what was bothering her. I feel horrible guilt at thinking she was pretending to be in pain to get attention because of William. I used to get so frustrated with her and was sometimes mean to her. I wish she could have made me understand that she was in real pain. In our defense, she rarely said that her legs hurt and never said her wrists or hands hurt. It scares me to think that she will probably have another flare and will go back to how she used to be for those few months. Hopefully it will never get that bad because we will know what is happening this time, but to think of her so sad, sucking her thumb all day long, barely being able to walk. We didn't realize how much we missed her laugh and smile until we saw it come back full force.
Friday was a busy day for us. Mike worked from home so that he could come to the doctor's appointment. He had a deadline for work, so we saw very little of him during the day even when it got crazy. The plan was for us to go to our neighbor's for our weekly play date, come home early and get the kids down for nap early, then wake them to drive to the doctor's, and then drive to my parents' from there hopefully not too late for dinner.
Our neighbor has her kids on a schedule a bit different from the other two moms we usually see at play date. Usually, we run the play date from 10 to noon, but she wanted 9 to 11 because her kids go down for nap at 1130. But, William goes down for nap around 8 or 830 and he is still asleep at 9. It got to be 930 and I went to go call our neighbor to tell her we'd be late, and she'd messaged me asking if we were still coming. She said her kids were watching to see when their friends were coming. I felt like a jerk! Poor kiddos. Luckily, William woke up about fifteen minutes later and I got us out of the house pretty fast. On the walk down the street, another of the mom called asking if it was too late to come (they weren't planning on coming since they had a doctor's appointment). Then a little bit later the other mom called asking if we wanted to do a picnic lunch. So, we eventually decided everyone would come back to our house for the picnic lunch. Before then though, the kids kept playing. William wasn't having a good time though. There wasn't too much out for him to play with and one of the other boys really likes him and William was feeling a bit crowded. But Natalie had an awesome time, so much so I barely saw her! She was off exploring the new toys inside and out, and playing with her friends. She did get all wet in the wadding pool and I didn't know until she needed a new diaper later. I really liked how the kids could go outside and inside on their own because the porch was gated off from the street and the whole backyard available for them to play. The older kids got to run free and us moms stayed inside with the babies.
Before the picnic, it was a crazy. Natalie wanted to bring a toy stroller to our house and had to leave with no pants on. Once we got to our house, it was me, Natalie, and William and one of the other moms and her two kids. I cut up a fruit salad as quick as I could as the chaos went on. William kept crying, and Natalie kept demanding to eat. But, soon, the other moms and kids came and we all went outside. There was a feast for the kids, but they barely ate anything and just decided to play instead. It was great seeing so many kids enjoying our backyard. I'm so glad we moved the riding toys and picnic table out there. (Still working on getting the play house assembled and finding a sand and water table). I saw Natalie sitting on the pool steps with her best friend. The little boy who loves William was playing catch with our other little athletic neighbor. The babies were hanging around with the moms mostly, including William for the most part. I learned William knows how to use a straw when I let him try a juice box and he drank almost all of it! Of course, when it was time for the families to leave, the kids were suddenly interested in eating. Eventually, everyone headed home and Natalie went inside for nap. Shortly later, William went down. I then had an hour and a half of calm before I had to wake up the kids and get them in the car.
After the doctor, we head down to my parents'. Natalie was very excited to go. William, though, was not happy to be in the car and cried maybe half the ride with a nap in the middle. We felt horrible, but there isn't anything we could do. We did stop so I could feed him, and he was happy then, but very mad once he was back in his car seat. By the time we got to my parents' house, he was doing the shuddering kind of cry. It took him maybe 20 minutes to calm all the way down and be ready to socialize with my parents. We then had dinner (mac and cheese for Natalie and Mike, hot dogs for them and me, and baked beans for me and William, oh, and cooked carrots, too). Natalie ate great, which made my parents really happy. There was some play time that night, but not too much. Natalie did notice their record player and knew what it was from Lilo and Stitch. She then wanted to pretend it played music and have Mike hold his mouth open like Stitch does. After bath, she ran right at my dad and climbed up him all naked. And then, she kept running around saying she was Chicken Little. We did bed time a little late, but everyone went down easily. We were most concerned about William sleeping away from home, but he went the whole night. I only heard him cry once, but he didn't even wake my parents. I heard the next morning that Natalie woke up at 5 and wanted to watch Dinosaur Train with Mike downstairs. He got her to get into bed with him and they slept together until 630. I must admit I was a little jealous of that wonderful snuggle. William woke up at 540 and didn't go back to sleep after eating, but we had some nice play time alone. It seems easier to play with William when we are at my parents' house for some reason. Maybe its because he is a little less adventurous?
At 9, I went with my father to a library book sale in the next town over. There were tons of great books, but I had to put a lot back when I learned that the board books were being treated like hardcovers and were priced $1.50. That's ridiculous if you ask me. When we paid, my father said something to the cashier, and this other woman totally snapped at him. She was trying to say it was a deal because a board book is expensive. Well, a board book costs the same as a paperback, not a $25 hardcover. My father was pretty angry because he wasn't being mean about it, just stating his opinion. I also got some YA titles for my classroom library when I return to teaching, but those were supposed to be $1 for trade size paper backs, so I put a few back. When we paid though, they were rung up the wrong price. So, I got some good books, but was not impressed with the pricing. My father wound up paying for my books, which were really mostly Natalie and William's books. I got William a couple of cloth books and a touch and feel book. And I got Natalie a few books based on characters she likes and a Little People lift the flap book about going to school. Natalie took her Care Bears book, climbed up the couch, and read it by herself.
When I got home, William was up from nap and Natalie was happy to see me. My brother stopped by a little later, but after a quick lunch, we had to head out to the graduation party we'd come down to MA to attend. Both kids fell asleep in the car on the way there, which wasn't surprising since it was nap time. But we got them up and went inside. The party was a little rough. Natalie was having a hard time finding things to do. She knew there would be cake and wanted that, but didn't want to wait for it. She wanted to be carried and was a afraid of the dog. She had a few meltdowns, but thankfully nothing really horrible. It was all because she was tired. First it was because she wanted to use a camera, but she didn't know how to use it. Later, she wanted to share her cake with us, but I couldn't have any. She got really sad. Then Mike refused a bite, too, and she lost it. It was so sad. She had a few good times though. After seeing people play ping pong there all the time, she wanted to play. She put used the paddle to push the ball across the table.
The kids fell asleep right away in the car, so that part of the ride home went smoothly, but it was pouring rain as it had been all day, so that made it not a fun trip for Mike. We got home about 545 and the kids woke up just before home, so we had to delay bedtime. Natalie wanted to watch WALL-E, so we put that on. We got them dinner, but it was breakfast for dinner since Mike and I weren't that hungry. I stayed with William and he ate a whole bunch of fruit even though he'd just nursed. After dinner, I did most of the unpacking while Mike played with the kids, though William kept wanted to take what Natalie was doing. My mother had given me some toys that were in the attic. One was a pizza themed memory game I loved as a kid and Natalie loved it too, though we didn't play by the rules. Later while I was putting William to bed, they took out the Candyland we've had for a while but I took out today. She really liked the board, but they didn't actually play. Also from my mother's house was my old ballet costumes. Natalie tried on the traditional tutu at their house, but we had a lot more. I put all the ones of appropriate size in her dress up box and can't wait to have Natalie play with them, or maybe even pull them out on one of our play date Friday's. Natalie's bed time went smoothly, too. We brushed teeth, and read three stories. Tonight it was Lily's Potty, Hula Lullaby, and Max Ride's Away. She read the last one in bed after commenting about how her blanket kept her feet warm.
William had a pretty smooth bedtime too. After bath, I take him in to his room alone. I have a few toys on the bed and a bucket of books. He complained when I did his diaper, but then he was alright. He mostly looked at the books while I did his lotion. He struggled while I got his pjs on, but that seemed only to frustrate me, not him. I laid out five books for him - three which seem to be his favorites and two new ones. He chose Duck and Goose 1 2 3. I waited to see if he wanted another book, but he was ready to nurse. He tells me that by climbing up on the pillows. I read him some Jungle Book while he ate. We've been using the Twilight Turtle, so I enjoy being in there seeing the stars, too. The Kindle is what I read to him from at bedtime, so its still dark. I moved him into bed fully awake, but not as sleepy as some nights. I didn't have his blanket ready though, so he had to wait for me to arrange it. He complained a little when I left. About half the time when I leave him in the crib, he will look back at me. Tonight he stayed laying down but cried a bit. Just now, at 1015, he cried a bit. Hopefully, its not a bad sign for the night since it is a bit early for him to make any noise. Looks like his blanket might not be close to him. Mike moved the monitor camera for me, but he still finds a way to move where I can't see him.
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