Caroline and the four leaf clover

We’re at an early soccer game for Lily this morning.  The soccer field is on the outfield part of a baseball diamond.  The infield  area is actually about 1/4 of the field, by one of the goals.  We’ve had significant rainfall this spring, so its a total mud pit, wet and deep.  So the refs decide to shorten the field so the girls aren’t getting stuck in the mire.

 On the other side of the infield is a little playground, and Caroline asks if she can play there. Sure, not a problem. She has on this white hat from her girl scout troop so I can see her clearly.  I’m only about 250 feet away, and its 9 am, no one else is around the area except us.  And its fenced in.

 

So……  I look over to check on her and here she comes across the mucky infield area.  She’s having a slow go of it, and I yell at her to get out of it.  She looks over at me and obviously only heard my voice, not what I actually said.  So she keeps moving.  I yelled again.  Then she falls.  She yells for me she’s stuck, and falls again.  At this point, all the parents from Lily’s soccer team are watching this and looking at me, to see my reaction.  I can’t stop laughing.  I actually have tears running down my face I’m laughing so hard.  I yell at her to take a left to get out of the infield, as its only about 15 feet to the grass.  She is just standing there.  So me and a friend of mine go over to help her.  Missy has an old blanket to get for Caroline so she can be wrapped up on it. 

 

I attempted to venture into the infield to help her, but I took 2 steps and started to sink.  I quickly got out.  I told Caroline to come over to me.  She tells me she’s completely stuck and can’t get her shoes out.  I’m still laughing at this point.  So I asked her to get out of her shoes and then pull them out.  She gets out of her shoes, but she can’t get the shoes out, they have so much suction under them with the mud, its like concrete.  So I told her to put her fingers under them and pry them out.  They pop out and mud flies.  I’m about to wet myself at this point and I’m kicking myself for not bringing the video camera because its priceless.  So she slowly walks out towards me and she looks like she’s pooed all over herself, she’s that much of a mess.  But is she upset?  Hell no.  Happy as can be, as usual.

 

So I wrapped her in the blanket, put the shoes on the bleachers and we walked back to the sidelines of the soccer game.  I asked her why she was coming thru the infield instead of around on the grass.  “I found a 4 leaf clover and I wanted to show you.”

“So where is the clover now?”

“I lost it in the mud.”

“It wasn’t a very lucky clover then, was it?”

 

Poor kid.  We were just howling with laughter after this.  So after Lily’s game, Caroline had a field trip to the ASPCA, but with no shoes, pooed in looking pants, I stopped at Target to get her some pants and shoes.  Then Lily asks me if I brought her another pair of shoes.  Um, no, that was what I asked YOU TO DO!  So I had to buy her some too.  So $55 later, we’re on our way. Get to the ASPCA 30 minutes late.  Fortunately after all this, we’re all in a good mood.  As Monty Python once sang, always look on the bright side of life.

 

 

Tooth Fairy

Caroline lost her 2 front teeth this month, and she looks very amusing.  It doesn’t seem so long ago she was totally toothless and then those teeth started erupting, making her look funny.  Now those teeth are leaving, and it doesn’t seem possible she’s old enough.

Being my inquisitive one, she leaves notes for the Tooth Fairy, asking such questions as “Whats your name?” and “When is your birthday?”  My favorite one from last night is, “Can I have some fairy dust?”  Oh great, what is her plan for fairy dust?!

She gets a note from her tooth fairy, written in tiny script with purple ink, and rolled scroll style.  The note thrills her more than her $1.   She ran into my room this morning before 7 a.m. quivering with excitement over her tooth fairy note.  The Tooth Fairy asked a very important question, “do you plan to use the fairy dust for good?”  Tooth Fairy, you must know this child!

 I just pray Caroline won’t be crushed one day when she finds out about her tooth fairy.

Voice mail and The Scooter Store

For a couple of months now, a $14.95 charge has appeared on our phone bill.  Of course, it was up to me to investigate, so I finally had some time today.  I dug out an old bill from November and compared it to the February bill.  There is the $14.95 charge along with an 888 number to call for questions.  After dialing, I was able to talk to someone with a lousy, static filled connection, which is amusing for the phone company.  I’m not sure this woman’s third language was English, but we managed to more or less communicate.

“Cheryl” asked what my problem was and I asked her what is this $14.95 charge on my bill?  It took her a couple of minutes to actually find my account, that’s 2.  She proceeds to tell me its for voice mail on the internet.  Pardon? I’m pretty sure I didn’t order it, and I can guarantee you my husband didn’t order this.   She asks me “Do you know a Caroline?”  *^&#@$!!  Oh yes, I know a Caroline, she’s my 6 year old.   “Caroline isn’t authorized to make decisions on the phone service, by the way.”  No laugh on the other end.  Great, no sense of humor.  My luck.

“Cheryl” doesn’t believe me when I tell her this information.  “What is the birthdate of this Caroline, please.”  I tell her Caroline’s birthdate, and add, “She might be lucky to celebrate her 7th birthday at this point.” 

At this point, the culprit skips into the kitchen, where I’m speaking to “Cheryl.”  Caroline’s asking me a million questions at one.  I ask her to stay right next to me, I have something to talk with her about.  She’s clueless.  I do get “Cheryl” to refund the charges and cancel the subscription.  At least I’m pretty sure I was able to do this.  I guess I’ll find out next month when my bill arrives.

Caroline denies all of this, of course.  She also denied contacting The Scooter Store back in November.  I only found out about The Scooter Store because they called to ask Caroline for her scooter preferences.  I asked them if they were aware they were calling for a 6 year old, who I’m pretty sure will be unable to pay for the scooter, although she might be in need of one shortly. Fortunately, they were very good natured about it, and said they had a few kids do  this every month.

Fortunately, I have a good sense of humor, and I was able to laugh about it.  I wonder whats next.  Scratch that.  I don’t wonder. My imagination will run wild.

Whats for dinner?!

Caroline, my inquisitive 6 year old, skips through the kitchen last night, staring at the oven.

“Whats for dinner, Mom?”

“Ribs.”

“Where are they?”

“In the oven for now, why?”

“Well…..” Caroline begins to reply as she turns on the oven light, “I can’t see them past the tinsel.”

I had to laugh, as its rather well known I don’t like tinsel.  Much like Frank Costanza, I find it distracting.  Mom, on the other hand, loves the stuff.  The Christmas trees I had while growing up dripped in tinsel.   My 2 brothers and I refuse to use the stuff.  When I was 2 or 3, I’d stand behind the tree and pick it off, and pile it in the corner.  Mom still reminds me of this to this day. 

Boy? Girl? Lily?

You gotta love 3 year olds.  Sam has a new litany he recites now as he walks around the house.

“I’m Sam, I’m a boy.  That’s Caroline, she’s a girl!  Lily is a Lily, Dad is a Dad and Mom is a Mom.”

“Hey, Sam!  Did you know I’m a girl?” I ask him, hoping he’ll get it.

“No you not!  You a MOM!!”

Can’t argue with a 3 year old’s logic, can you?  And he makes me wonder, why is 6 year old Caroline a girl, yet 9 year old Lily is a Lily? Where is that cut off?  Unfortunately, Sam isn’t able to explain this logic to me yet.  I wonder if there is an Adult Education Course at the local JUCO?

11 years, 5 months, 12 days and counting

Diabetes sucks.  I was surprisingly diagnosed with Type 1 when I was 28.  Out of the blue.  I hadn’t been sick in over 2 years, but I was fired from a very stressful job 6 months prior.  I’m sure it was that job.  The frustrating thing about diabetes is there are no days off.  It is a 24/7 lifetime job.  No vacations. I honestly hate vacations as I have to pack so much paraphernalia to take along, since I can’t pick any of my insulin pump supplies up at the local pharmacy. 

I should feel blessed, I’ve survived 3 diabetic pregnancies, and have 3 beautiful and active children.  I can’t begin to say how much work those 3 pregnancies were for me.  Constant finger sticks, staying on top of my blood sugars.  Cravings? Hell no.  I couldn’t just eat what I wanted when I wanted.  I had to plan it all out and take the proper amount of insulin.  Any mistakes I made could affect the fetus.  How much pressure is that for a woman? It wasn’t as if I was a former drug addict resisting a backslide.  My 3rd baby was 10 lbs.  Of course that meant I didn’t manage my blood sugars closely.  Fortunately he was a healthy baby, and is a big boy, so maybe it was just him, Mr. Fluffy.

Doctors are rarely encouraging of diabetics.  If your A1C, the blood test to help measure your blood sugars for the prior 90 days, is high, its your fault.  You are doing something wrong.  Can’t lose weight?  You’re doing something wrong.  Complications? You screwed up.  Do I ever hear anything positive? Rarely.  Why can’t you do this? Whats the problem with YOU?  I’d love to have all non diabetic endocrinologists live in my shoes for a year.  So, how did you do?   That was easy, right?   Did you like to feel the frustration, the stress, the fingers pointing at you.  I’m not sure there is any other chronic disease which has this same problem.   Diabetics are their own doctors too.  I change my insulin levels on my own.  If I waited for the doc, nothing would be changed.  Maybe its me.  Maybe I’m harshly judging myself.  I know I don’t rely on others to do this work for me.  I don’t want the responsibility in someone elses hands.  My kids get it, to a point.  When I tell them I have to check my blood sugar, there is no argument.  They wait, sometimes patiently.  Its part of their lives.  They never knew me before diabetes. 

Sometimes I wish I could change it.  I wish I could give this to someone else.  Then I wonder.  Is the fact I have this disease protecting my children from developing it some time in the future?  Possibly.  So far my children have tested negative for the antibodies.  I pray it continues.  I’ve heard people say God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.  Sometimes I wonder about this line of thinking.   There are days I’m overwhelmed with everything I have to do.  I can’t exercise without checking my blood sugar before I start, sometimes in the middle and always at the end.  I have to balance my exercise with my insulin.  Its a tightrope walk.   A slight mistake either way sends me low or too high.  Neither is good.   

My insulin pump is vibrating, telling me its time to reload.   Its a sign from Minimed. 

Mommy’s Little Helper

I was sending out some girl scout emails the other day, when I heard a familiar noise.  It was coming from the family room, which was unusual for this particular noise.  I walked into the family room and found Sam, my 3 year old son, on the couch with a bottle of white wine and my corkscrew.  “Sam, can you tell me what you are doing?”  I asked. 

 Sam just held up the bottle of wine and the corkscrew and smiled.  “Want some?”  he replied.

I had to laugh.  I asked him to wait and I went for the camera.  He also knows how to properly use the corkscrew, as he demonstrated proudly. 

He’s going to make some lucky girl a great husband one day.  I can hear it now, “I used to take care of my mom the same way when I was 3.” 

Nachos are veggies, aren’t they?

My 3 year old, Samuel, has vegetable day at school today.  Each child is to bring in their favorite vegetables to share with the class.  Sam, being the meat and potatoes boy he is, doesn’t like veggies.  Or fruit.   When he accidentally puts a veggie or fruit in his mouth, he appears to be in the throes of strychnine poisoning.   Its entertaining.

So this morning I asked Sam what veggie he’d like to bring to school.  “Mom, I don’t like wegetables.”

“I know Sam, but you need to choose something to share with your class.”

“Nachos.”

How can you not laugh? Unfortunately, I didn’t have any tortilla chips, or I would have sent them in with him.  He took peas.  He enjoys squishing them at the dog.

1st Grade Whoopie Cushion

My 1st grade daughter, Caroline, decided a pumpkin whoopie cushion was a good thing to sneak into her backpack to take to school. I was unaware she considered this a good idea. She decided to set it off during quiet time. Caroline’s teacher, Mrs. C., recognized the artificial farting noise, and quickly scanned the classroom. She found Caroline’s head inside her desk, and her shoulders shaking. Mrs. C. casually walked over to Caroline and quietly asked for the whoopie cushion and put it in her secret drawer. It came home with a small post-it note requesting it stay at home where it is more comfortable. I can’t even begin to say how much I appreciate Mrs. C’s sense of humor. She’s a fabulous teacher, the kids love her and so do the parents. My 9 year old, Lily, had Mrs. C. in 1st grade too, so she’s well aware of our family “quirks”.

I only WISH I had Caroline’s nerve when I was her age. I waited until I was in junior high before I embarked on my mischievous public life. I was too scared of my mom and her wrath to act up before then. I refer to Caroline as a party on legs. The kids flock to her and want to be with her. I’ll admit, I love Caroline’s personality which I know will take her far in life. I wouldn’t change her for any reason. Sometimes I wish she’d wait to do some of these things until she was out of my house. Then again, I wouldn’t have stories to tell if she did wait. My cousins continually ask for current Caroline stories, as they know they will never be disappointed.

My first post!

My hope for this blog is to have entries which are short and sweet, entertaining and maybe thought provoking.  Hopefully you will enjoy this, and recommend it to your friends.  The more the merrier.

First off is the trip to the dentist this morning with my 3 kids. It was my son’s official first dentist visit and he did great. My 6 year old daughter was too busy telling stories about pulling out her friend Chloe’s tooth in the girls’ bathroom at school last week. Practicing dentistry without a license is apparently alright, once you ask for payment, you’re in trouble. CJ stopped talking long enough to have her teeth cleaned. Poor Lily received a lecture about proper brushing. She gets a similar lecture from the orthodontist every 6 weeks. I’m now having to brush her teeth for her again, she’s 9!  Of course, within 5 minutes of returning home, the Halloween candy was raided, negating all the cleaning we just endured.