Forgetting

We had a pretty uneventful week. We went to playgroup on Tuesday which Bohdin enjoyed. Nyla is still a little sulky about the fact that Bohdin is playing with others. She refuses to join in but at least she'll play by herself. That's the only thing I remember doing in the past week but my memory is gone. I called the electric company last week because I realized they forgot to send me a bill. I was confused by the zero balance until I checked the bank records and found that not only had I received the bill but I had also payed it. I had a similar incident a few weeks ago when I went to get the new midwife referral. I noticed the sign saying they would send a postcard with pap results. I realized I had never received mine. I almost asked them to look it up but decided to wait and look it up in my medical records. The reason I never received the results was because I didn't have a pap smear. There are too many forgetful moments lately.

It's been quite hot so I bought a little pool for the backyard. The kids have been having a lot of fun. I think Bohdin may spend half the summer in his swim shorts. Nyla will just be naked. She doesn't like wearing wet clothes so as soon as her bathing suit gets wet off it comes.




Bohdin has been wanting to get me a mother's day present for quite some time. I have no idea if this is what he always had in mind but Saturday upon returning from Lowes for the building clinic he came home with a present. He thanked me for doing so much for his family. It was very sweet. It also reminded me of a conversation I had with him last week. He asked me if I wanted to know if he loved me or daddy more. I said no since it is not a contest. After a few moments he asked if I wanted to know why he loved me. I agreed to that. He said it was because I was with him. When I asked for an explanation he said he liked that I was able to stay with him even when daddy is gone.

Pictures

Bohdin hooked a measuring tape around Nyla's shirt and they ran around the house.

Baby Daddy

Tuesday night we picked up a used couch off craigslist for the basement. Along with the media cabinet it looks so much better down there now. Prior to this the kids would sit on blankets on the floor. The tv was on the floor and the dvd player was on a cardboard box. On the drive back Nyla started yelling the name of a tv show but I can't remember which one it was. I'll just use Dora.
Nyla: Dora! Dora! Dora! Dora! Dora! Dora! Dora! Dora! Dora! Dora!
me: You can watch Dora when we get home.
Nyla: No! I don't want to watch Dora! I'm not part of this family.
Then she starts crying.

When it was time to get ready for bed that night I wanted to check something on the computer really quick. As I did that Bohdin and Nyla got ready for bed all by themselves. Jammies on, bladders emptied, teeth brushed, and face washed. Then they crawled into bed together to look at a book together. It's hard to believe that in a few weeks I'll have to wait years to get back to this point again.



Bohdin developed a cold on Wednesday probably thanks to the science museum. It's not hard to imagine one of those hundreds of kids there sick. Nyla also had a few sniffles but not as bad as Bohdin. He spent yesterday trying to relax but he's not really good at that. This morning he woke up looking better. He crawled into my lap. I commented on how big he was getting. He said that soon he would be too big for that but the baby would be small enough. Then we had this conversation:
Bohdin: When I'm big I'm going to be the baby's daddy.
Me: Don't you think daddy will be the baby's daddy?
Bohdin: If daddy dies before the baby gets big. You know the older you are the sooner you die.

Playgroup

We have been really busy the past two mornings. Every weekday for the last two weeks I asked the kids if they wanted to go to the zoo or science museum. They didn't. It's understandable with the busy April we had. It was good to spend some time at home again. Yesterday morning they did want to go to the zoo. I checked the zoo website and saw their new huge splash park was open. Unfortunately it was kind of cold and rainy yesterday so we postponed the zoo until next week and went to the science museum instead. It sort of felt like we were at the zoo though because it is field trip time and the place was packed. We were able to enjoy some quiet pockets here and there. Bohdin enjoyed the robotic arm at the temporary robot exhibit. Nyla liked it for a while but became bored. Maybe Buddy or I can take Bohdin by himself this weekend so he can do it as long as he wants. Nyla did not like the crowds or the noise. I remember when Bohdin was the same way. At one point 90 kids came into a certain area. Bohdin ran off to play but Nyla was scared.

Today we went to a park for a summer playgroup of homeschoolers that just started. It was very lightly drizzling so I wasn't sure anybody would be there. When we arrived an hour late there were three other mothers there with children of various ages. The youngest was 21 months and the oldest was 12 I think. The kids already knew each other so the moms made a point of introducing Bohdin to the kids around his age and asking their children to play with him. It was a nice gesture and it worked. We stayed about an hour and a half and Bohdin had a lot of fun. He didn't want to leave but everybody else was going. He asked if all of the same kids would be there next week. I'm glad that he found a group he liked. I think the youngest child he played with was 4 and the oldest was 8. The group looks extremely promising. The playgroups only run through the summer but it seems that by the end of summer Bohdin will have made some friends that we can continue to see.

Our garden is doing okay. A rabbit came and decimated our beautiful peas which is very sad. The corn looks really good as do the strawberries. That's no surprise since those crops are well suited to the area. The wild strawberries in our lawn look very healthy also. The new beans are starting to sprout. The transplanted tomatoes look rough so Buddy planted a corresponding seed next to each transplant as insurance. We still have a few more things to plant but it has been difficult with all of the rain. As of yesterday morning the airport reported 5.88" of rain for the month. It rained again yesterday so we ought to be above 6" by now. The end of April was also quite rainy so it has been a challenge.

Bohdin was talking to Nyla the other night in the bathroom and explained excitedly that she would be able to teach the new baby things. Nyla said she would like to teach the baby how to kick. She denies it now but both Bohdin and I heard her say that. I can't imagine what she will actually teach the baby. Nyla and I are so lucky that Bohdin is such an awesome big brother. I'm certain that without him Nyla would be even crazier than she is. Bohdin is so patient and kind. He is a wonderful role model. Yesterday in the car after the science museum she was hungry and had part of her snack but what she really wanted was Bohdin's ham and cheese sandwich. She yelled and cried for it. Bohdin took a piece and gave it to her. Since she was already mad she just threw it down. He gave her another piece which she also threw. He then gave her a third piece which she ate. She never would have had so many chances with me. I probably would have been stingier also. He ended up giving her the majority of his sandwich even though he was really hungry.

Grouchy

Nyla has had quite a few grouchy periods in the past few days. She doesn't want me to take any pictures of her which is pretty unusual for her. She and Bohdin have still had some fun playing together though. He was giving her rides on her back. When I pulled out the camera to take a picture Nyla ran away crying and I took the picture below. My strategy has been to try to stay away from her but I'm not very successful since she's sitting next to me right now. She is watching a show on tv so she'll be quiet for a few minutes anyway. We had plans to go out this morning but I'm not taking her anywhere.




Nyla was getting dressed in her room yesterday. She came into my bedroom and told me that she spilled her paint. From my understanding she hit it with her foot when she was putting on her sock. It was a nearly half gallon disaster. The lid wasn't on very tight and the paint seeped out. I called Buddy to ask him what I should do. My first thought was to call the carpet a loss and put hardwood floors down. He wanted to try the cleaning route. He suggested I use what I could on the floor to paint and he would take care of it when he came home. I was able to do a second coat of the one wall I had finished previously and most of the remaining room. Surprisingly Buddy was able to do a really good job of cleaning it up with the wet vac. There is a ring of pinkish carpet but it's not bad at all.

Jinxing myself

As I'm typing this Nyla is laying next to me but not in my arms. For many many months now she has only wanted to sleep in my arms or sometimes daddy's arms. Yesterday she spent the whole nap by herself although when I told her about it upon her awakening she vehemently denied it. I hate to mention this since doing so might jinx it.

Nyla denying that she slept alone yesterday reminded me of an incident several weeks ago. She came upstairs to use the bathroom. She wanted to use the big potty but the door was closed. Without even trying to open it she comes in complaining that she needs help. I told her I wouldn't help her until she at least tried to open the door by herself first. She walks back to the door, turns the doorknob, and opens the door. She quickly closed it then sat down on the floor crying "See. I can't open it." Can't argue with that.

We didn't pull out any schoolwork at all while Buddy was gone. We reviewed math and letter sounds in the car from time to time but that was it. Bohdin was having trouble remembering all of the sounds the letter a makes. I was thinking of this on Monday and thought we should pull something out. He didn't want to but I pulled out his spelling anyway. I don't remember what started it but a few minutes later he was reading all of the three letter words on the page. He did fine as long as he didn't assume he knew what was written. He was also able to finally phonetically break down three letter words. We put the spelling aside in the summer because he just couldn't separate the last two letters. We'll probably start doing a lot more of the spelling in the next few weeks. He finally seems ready. I'm still not sure what I'll do with the math. My original goal was to stay where we are until he can add single digits as quickly as I can but maybe that's not necessary. He is a lot faster than he was a month ago and I'm sure that with continued practice he will have them memorized.

Oozing

Bohdin prefers to touch somebody when he sleeps especially with his feet. When he sleeps with me at night and crowds me I'll try to push him over but it's no use. He just oozes back over to where he was. Even if I lift him up and scoot him over 18 inches within seconds he will be back to where he can touch somebody. Buddy and I were laughing about this the other morning when he tried unsuccessfully to move a sleeping Bohdin over a little bit. He is especially sensitive to having somebody nearby in the early morning. He'll wake up pretty quickly if he can't feel anybody. He was up hours earlier this morning because nobody was in bed with him. He couldn't go back to sleep but he did try with his feet entangled in my legs.

Buddy had a military social function on Friday. The kids were excited about going to a party and packed two large bags with toys. Nyla refused to take a nap instead wanting to sleep in the car on the way there. I think both kids were disappointed. They thought it would be funner. There were lots of kids there but none quite the right age I guess because Bohdin and Nyla didn't play with any of them. I think it was my first family military function since Ft Campbell back in 2001. I missed all of the picnics at Ft. Meade and I don't recall anything at Ft Hood. Oops I forgot the stuff at Ft. Leonard Wood. We did do a lot there. Anyway it was nice talking to the other wives. It's a small older group and they all seemed nice.





Yesterday was spent replanting bean seeds. We've had about 5 inches of rain since I planted them and most did not make it. The cucumbers and melons didn't germinate well either. Hopefully this next batch do better. Buddy has been working hard in the garden and says he is tired of mulch. He seems less excited about gardening than when he was gone.

I made brownies on Saturday. I cut the first corner out and set it aside for me but everybody that came by grabbed for that piece. After hearing me tell somebody that the corner was mine Bohdin pointed out that there were three other corners.

And then there were none

We watched the Derby and some of the preceding races from home while Paul, Jenn, and the others watched it live. By the end of the day Nyla recognized the call to post. None of us won anything until about race 8 when Bohdin finally picked a winner. I didn't get anything right until the derby when my horse came in first. I only placed a show bet though so I didn't get a lot of money. Buddy won money on the second and third place horses. Overall we almost broke even by the end of the day. Buddy came home in time to watch the race on tv but slept through it.

Bohdin was sad to see all of our visitors leave Sunday. One batch left early Sunday morning and another group about noon. They were the best most unobtrusive guests ever. Not only did I get a new sliding glass door installed out of the deal but they were also quiet. No messes were made and they played with Bohdin and Nyla. I hope to see them again next year but this time I shouldn't have work for them.

Nyla was starting to feel better by Sunday and was dancing around. I have video of her dancing that I've been meaning to post. Paul and Jenn were treated to the robot dance which they both thought was funny.





Since Buddy was finally home he took over some of the chores including care of the chickens. They started sleeping outside last week so all that was needed was food and water. Ever since we lost the two chicks the rule has been that they can't be out of their coop without supervision. Buddy didn't find the rule as necessary as I did and let them out while he was inside the house. That night he didn't secure the door of the chicken coop. There was a gap where the chickens could get out. The next day when we checked on the chickens they were all gone. Some dogs had come through our yard that day so it could have been them or the hawk again. I saw the hawk again that day and the two dogs came back again. Even if it wasn't the dogs that ate our chickens they did trample our garden. We had a lot of rain on Sunday so they made deep tracks through the garden and killed at least one bean plant. The kids were surprisingly indifferent while I was definitely the saddest. Once again I failed the chickens and they met a terrible end.

I had a consult with a midwife in Indiana yesterday. Buddy and the kids came but Buddy got hardly anything out of it since he was busy keeping the kids preoccupied. I didn't expect to find anybody so good in this area. It was everything I wanted. Now I just have to get a referral which I hope won't be a problem. Everything is working out perfectly. I'm glad that I was with the other OBGYN group first because a midwife would not have sent me to a hematologist. The hematologist was actually the best person I've met this pregnancy. He really put my mind at ease. Prior to talking to him I was really scared that I could die but he gave me the confidence to believe that I'll be able to handle the bleeding. So I went from terrified to not even slightly concerned. That's priceless.

Fever

Tuesday night Nyla developed a fever. She slept poorly that night but woke up fine. I didn't want to go to the library for storytime since Nyla might be contagious and my back was hurting more than usual that morning. Bohdin really loves story time so we went. I had books due anyway and needed to go to the grocery store. We always seems to be late to storytime but I was determined to get there on time that morning. Nyla was already buckled and Bohdin was buckling himself when a mama duck and her ducklings crossed our driveway. We had to get out of the car to see that. We watched them walk across our yard and into the next yard. At least we were late for a good reason that day.

My dad stopped by late Wednesday night along with John. They had a meeting in Lexington and stopped by for a quick visit. The kids went to bed late that night. They hadn't seen granpa in almost three years. Bohdin was excitedly showing off but Nyla was more reserved. Nyla's fever came back that night along with diarrhea. We didn't go anywhere on Thursday because she had a fever off an on throughout the day. She had no appetite and the diarrhea continued. I had to finish cleaning to get ready for the visitors coming that night. Nyla layed on the floor with a blanket and pillow and watched me clean. I didn't get as much done as I had hoped. The house felt really big that day.

Paul and Jenn arrived Thursday night about the time that Nyla's fever broke. The kids had been looking forward to their arrival for quite some time. I had tasked Paul with replacing the basement sliding glass door when he came since it wasn't something Buddy could do on his own. I know Buddy would never allow me to carry a heavy door down to the basement. He and Justin got the door out pretty quickly. Then we discovered that the door we bought would not work. After a lot of scrambling it turns out our only option would have been a custom door that would take weeks to build or another sliding glass door. With a gaping hole in the basement and a lot of rain forecasted it wasn't a tough decision. Paul and his friends installed the new door Friday afternoon.

Nyla started feeling sick again Thursday night. Her poop was completely liquid at that point and she even threw up the little she had eaten. She had a high fever throughout the night. Her fever broke again in the morning and stayed away the rest of the day. She still complained of her stomach hurting and couldn't sit on the potty without liquid poop coming out. By Friday evening though she was starting to feel better again. She ate food and she had a poop that wasn't complete liquid. She is awake now Saturday morning. She is grumpy so Bohdin and I are going to try to stay far away from her today.

Bohdin has had a good time with our visitors. He played duck duck goose with them yesterday and ball. The night before he played Incan Gold. It's good that somebody is paying attention to him because Nyla has been sucking all of my time. He asked me yesterday why I've been laying in bed so much. It has not been by choice.