First, I have to say thank you to everyone who has expressed their love and support over the last few days. From Twitter to Facebook to Google+ to telephone calls to texts to emails, we have been shown just how many people out there are rooting for us. It's humbling and we are incredibly grateful to each and every one of you who have offered words of encouragement, sent us links to possible jobs, and offered to help us financially. I am overwhelmed by your generosity.
We are coping the best that we know how. This situation is tailor made to be detrimental to Scot's mental health and I won't pretend that this week has not been ridiculously difficult. I'm fairly exhausted from trying to keep us all moving in the right direction while keeping some semblance of normal surrounding the kids. I am, however, cautiously optimistic about where we go from here. There is still vast amounts of uncertainty, but there is also possibility and I'm clinging to that.
I don't want to shout specifics about Scot's job search in this space. However, he's applying, we're getting some nibbles, we're following them up. We can only hope the right opportunity comes knocking. Until then, we redefine normality.
Thank you again to everyone. I, personally, could not be the rock of our family right now were it not for your support. It is invaluable to me. Thank you.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
A Post I Never Wanted To Write
Yesterday, I got a call from Scot at about 11:15 a.m. and he told me he'd lost his job.
I'm not going to go into details here. The important point is that he was our only source of income. I haven't worked in 8 years which is going to make getting a job problematic. Complicating things is the fact that Scot made about triple what I used to make so my earning potential is small, especially compared to our bills.
We're doing all those things that people do in these situations - Jamie has been pulled from daycare; Liam has been told there will be NOTHING extra besides TKD; I stopped shopping at the expensive grocery store and switched to the cheaper one.
We have one paycheck coming at the end of this week and another in mid-April and then we're out. Scot has applied for unemployment. Our health insurance runs out at the end of April so I'll be applying to get the kids coverage through the state while Scot and I will have to remain uninsured.
Scot is looking for new employment and we're praying with all our might that SOMETHING comes through quickly.
I'm scared out of my mind but trying to ignore the terror and function anyway. This is only sometimes successful as I find myself bursting into tears at the smallest things.
Our lives are suddenly full of uncertainty.
I'm not going to go into details here. The important point is that he was our only source of income. I haven't worked in 8 years which is going to make getting a job problematic. Complicating things is the fact that Scot made about triple what I used to make so my earning potential is small, especially compared to our bills.
We're doing all those things that people do in these situations - Jamie has been pulled from daycare; Liam has been told there will be NOTHING extra besides TKD; I stopped shopping at the expensive grocery store and switched to the cheaper one.
We have one paycheck coming at the end of this week and another in mid-April and then we're out. Scot has applied for unemployment. Our health insurance runs out at the end of April so I'll be applying to get the kids coverage through the state while Scot and I will have to remain uninsured.
Scot is looking for new employment and we're praying with all our might that SOMETHING comes through quickly.
I'm scared out of my mind but trying to ignore the terror and function anyway. This is only sometimes successful as I find myself bursting into tears at the smallest things.
Our lives are suddenly full of uncertainty.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Finally, A Doctor With Sense
Earlier this week, we finally got to see the allergist for Liam's problems. To review, see this post. So, he's been off the oral steroids for 8 weeks now. We've switched his antacid medication from Prilosec to Pepcid on the advice of his pediatrician who didn't seem to think getting him on an antihistamine based antacid was a bad thing. Liam has been fine on the Pepcid and we can get it over the counter so that's where we left it.
I was fairly certain that our appointment with the allergist would be a complete waste of time for us and that Liam would have to go through a scratch test before all was said and done. I only kept the appointment on the advice of our pediatrician whom I trust implicitly.
It turns out that the allergist was also a realist. When I laid out the whole situation for her and explained that he was doing so much better on just the Pepcid, she didn't see any need to try to fix something that wasn't broken. I told her that my mother's intuition was saying that his issues had more to do with GERD than with an allergy. She seemed to agree and based on his complete LACK of symptoms, she said it really wasn't necessary to put Liam through a scratch test because she was fairly sure it would come up with nothing.
She also said that if it comes down to Liam needing the steroid treatment, there are a lot of options for us - we could switch steroids, we could change frequency, we could change dosage - all things that the gastroenterologist refused to discuss with me. She, too, seemed a little puzzled that the GI doc had never seen a kid get twitchy on steroids.
So, for the time being, we leave Liam on the Pepcid and we don't screw around with anything else. His symptoms have resolved and there's no reason to poke or prod him further. If his symptoms should return or get worse, of course we will return to the doctors.
Thank goodness at least one of the doctors was willing to talk to me like I was an intelligent human being and take what I was saying at face value. Liam has been through enough.
I was fairly certain that our appointment with the allergist would be a complete waste of time for us and that Liam would have to go through a scratch test before all was said and done. I only kept the appointment on the advice of our pediatrician whom I trust implicitly.
It turns out that the allergist was also a realist. When I laid out the whole situation for her and explained that he was doing so much better on just the Pepcid, she didn't see any need to try to fix something that wasn't broken. I told her that my mother's intuition was saying that his issues had more to do with GERD than with an allergy. She seemed to agree and based on his complete LACK of symptoms, she said it really wasn't necessary to put Liam through a scratch test because she was fairly sure it would come up with nothing.
She also said that if it comes down to Liam needing the steroid treatment, there are a lot of options for us - we could switch steroids, we could change frequency, we could change dosage - all things that the gastroenterologist refused to discuss with me. She, too, seemed a little puzzled that the GI doc had never seen a kid get twitchy on steroids.
So, for the time being, we leave Liam on the Pepcid and we don't screw around with anything else. His symptoms have resolved and there's no reason to poke or prod him further. If his symptoms should return or get worse, of course we will return to the doctors.
Thank goodness at least one of the doctors was willing to talk to me like I was an intelligent human being and take what I was saying at face value. Liam has been through enough.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Punxsutawney Needs To Fire Phil
I know it's ridiculous to put any faith in the weather predictions of a rodent of unusual size, and I don't. Not really. But it is hilarious to me just how WRONG Phil has gotten it the last two years. Last year he predicted that we would have an early spring.
We got this.
This year, he predicted that we would have 6 more weeks of winter. Wrong again, Bozo!
You guys, the weather this week has been AMAZING. Sunny, perfect temperatures, no humidity. The kind of weather in which you throw open all the windows of the house and let in delicious smelling air. In fact, the whole winter has been exceedingly mild. We've had two major snowstorms that I can think of and Jamie got to play outside in the snow exactly once. We had some cold days but we seemed to avoid that bitterly cold section of time in February that always makes me want to stab things.
So here it is, the middle of March, and we have weather that wouldn't be out of place in May. Tomorrow's high? 77 degrees. Sunny. Perfect.
July and August are going to be BRUTAL.
We got this.
This year, he predicted that we would have 6 more weeks of winter. Wrong again, Bozo!
You guys, the weather this week has been AMAZING. Sunny, perfect temperatures, no humidity. The kind of weather in which you throw open all the windows of the house and let in delicious smelling air. In fact, the whole winter has been exceedingly mild. We've had two major snowstorms that I can think of and Jamie got to play outside in the snow exactly once. We had some cold days but we seemed to avoid that bitterly cold section of time in February that always makes me want to stab things.
So here it is, the middle of March, and we have weather that wouldn't be out of place in May. Tomorrow's high? 77 degrees. Sunny. Perfect.
July and August are going to be BRUTAL.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Wordless Wednesday: Jamie At The Park
 |
| Wearing Mommy's sunglasses |
(not quite wordless, but...)
The weather has been incredible for March. Last year at this time, it was snowy. The last several days here have been sunny with low humidity and temps in the mid-60's to low-70's (!!) This called for a trip to the park.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Sometimes There's Nothing Like A Girls Night Out
Or IN, in this case.
Last night I met up at a friend's house with two other ladies from Twitter for an evening of wine, fun, pie-making and hilarity.
It was heavy on the hilarity, short on the pie-making, and late on the hours. I got home at 2:30 am. And it was W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L. I haven't laughed that hard in I don't know how long and I haven't stayed up that late voluntarily in years.
It was exactly what I needed.
So, ladies, you know who are, thanks for a wonderful night. I can't wait to do it again!
Last night I met up at a friend's house with two other ladies from Twitter for an evening of wine, fun, pie-making and hilarity.
It was heavy on the hilarity, short on the pie-making, and late on the hours. I got home at 2:30 am. And it was W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L. I haven't laughed that hard in I don't know how long and I haven't stayed up that late voluntarily in years.
It was exactly what I needed.
So, ladies, you know who are, thanks for a wonderful night. I can't wait to do it again!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Thriving In Year Three
Today, Jamie is officially three. Tempus fugit.
In some ways he's a completely different kid from when he was born and in some ways he's just the same. He's still stuck to me like bur on a regular basis and he never wants to be far from me. Since I can't wear him in a sling anymore, he settles for following me wherever I go. He still demands the lion's share of my attention most days - to the point of demanding extra affection if he sees me hugging his brother.
But the baby in him? The baby is gone and we're entering the hardest year we'll face (save for the teen years) - The Terrifically Terrible Threes. The year I've dreaded since he was born a redhead. At least I know that I'll be weathering whatever he throws at me WITHOUT morning sickness. Pregnancy really complicated Liam's Year Three.
The battles have already begun and we've been saying for months that he's acting Three. I don't expect his behavior to really change but I do expect the next year is going to be a running battle over every little thing. I expect my patience to wear thin on a regular basis. I expect that I'll want to sell him at least once a week.
But I also expect that he'll kill with me cute rays. I expect that he'll smother me with love and hugs and smiles. I expect that he'll keep improving his language and begin to stun me with his smarts. I expect that he'll challenge me to find new parenting strategies while desperately trying to maintain the fiction that I actually know what I'm doing.
It's going to be a fun year and we'll have our battles but we'll also continue to pick up activities that were simply impossible when Jamie was younger. I know that most people miss their babies as they grow up, but I am relishing getting to know my children as whole people and experiencing the world with them. What's happening now is the validation of all the hard work of getting through infancy. It's hard but it's so worth it.
In some ways he's a completely different kid from when he was born and in some ways he's just the same. He's still stuck to me like bur on a regular basis and he never wants to be far from me. Since I can't wear him in a sling anymore, he settles for following me wherever I go. He still demands the lion's share of my attention most days - to the point of demanding extra affection if he sees me hugging his brother.
But the baby in him? The baby is gone and we're entering the hardest year we'll face (save for the teen years) - The Terrifically Terrible Threes. The year I've dreaded since he was born a redhead. At least I know that I'll be weathering whatever he throws at me WITHOUT morning sickness. Pregnancy really complicated Liam's Year Three.
The battles have already begun and we've been saying for months that he's acting Three. I don't expect his behavior to really change but I do expect the next year is going to be a running battle over every little thing. I expect my patience to wear thin on a regular basis. I expect that I'll want to sell him at least once a week.
But I also expect that he'll kill with me cute rays. I expect that he'll smother me with love and hugs and smiles. I expect that he'll keep improving his language and begin to stun me with his smarts. I expect that he'll challenge me to find new parenting strategies while desperately trying to maintain the fiction that I actually know what I'm doing.
It's going to be a fun year and we'll have our battles but we'll also continue to pick up activities that were simply impossible when Jamie was younger. I know that most people miss their babies as they grow up, but I am relishing getting to know my children as whole people and experiencing the world with them. What's happening now is the validation of all the hard work of getting through infancy. It's hard but it's so worth it.
Newborn Jamie
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Birthday Celebration
Jamie doesn't turn 3 until tomorrow but due to familial scheduling, we celebrated his birthday today. In honor, I give you a pictorial essay.
Going for the big one first (his new car seat was enclosed)
Anything with construction equipment makes Jamie a happy kid.
Ball pit!
The birthday cupcakes, as requested.
YUM!
Ball pit nap
Nap's over! Wake up!
It was a successful birthday all the way around.
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