Sunday night, usually a night that makes me a bit sad. The weekend is ending and it's back to the daily grind of school, work, and all the other things that make up the week. But tonight Ihave to remind myself that I've another day before it will fully start. Tomorrow is a holiday. Presidents Day, one of those holidays that make a government job well worth the hassels that only come with a government job. The kids do have school tomorrow, so it means an early start – no sleeping in. Abate and I also have appointments at the eye doctor. Time for me to get new glasses, and abate hasn't ever had a really good eye exam. Thought it might be a good idea to get his checked since Fantu's eyesight got bad so quickly. I don't think he has any problems but you never know.
The past week was a bit crazy. Alan was in Ireland visiting family and a few friends. I know I should be used to him being away for days at a time as he is usually gone for 4 days straight most weeks, but he was gone for 8 days- twice as long. I'm stressed when we are apart when it's not work related. I wish I didn't stress like this, but I do. I was so happy to see him at the airport last night. I think I worry that one of these days he'll go over and decide to stay, guess we all have our insecurities at times. He only gets a short break at home as we got to the house last night at 11:40 pm and he gets up at 1:00 am ( a short 4 hours away) and heads for Colorado. It will probably be Thursday before I see him again.
Abate had two soccer games this week, both were losses. The first to Midway – a very large 4A school that has had a soccer program for 30 years and have been a state powerhouse for at least 20. The other loss came to Cameron – one of the dirtiest playing teams you could ever imagine. The games this week should be better as they play teams on a more equal rank. Abate also is starting early morning track practice, he will be running the mile with the varsity team. More patches for his letter jacket.
Fantu is slowly still recovering from her surgery. She had two physical therapy appointments this past week. I was unable to take off work for her Wednesday appointment so I called in a favour from a friend. Oh does the parental guilt kick in when you have to have someone else take your child to an appointment. I hated to ask this friend to do this for me as she is one of those people that can never tell anyone no. I didn't have anyone else to ask. I did send her flowers the next day to let her know how appreciative I was (plus I think it helped bit with the guilt). I did get off on Friday to take Fantu to her appointment, I was really impressed at how well she does there. The second we leave she just nearly collapses. I can't help but wonder though – when is she doing the acting? Is it for the therapist so that she looks like she's doing great? Is it for me to look all in pain to get pity? Whichever one it is she deserves a Academy Award. The therapist did notice on Friday that Fantu's left leg is slightly longer than her right. Maybe as she continues to grow they will even up but for now she has a insert to place in her right shoe to help her stand straighter.
Our week without Alan ended yesterday with a shopping trip to Ikea down near Austin (that's where Alan flew in to). We are getting ready to redecorate Abate's room and needed new duvet covers, and some other décor items. He picked out a lovely blue and brown plaid set. We also picked up a small desk and lamp. We got lucky as the daily special was sheet sets for $9.99 ($20 off) so I got a newset for each of the beds. This of course led to me spending much more than I had budgeted – but look how much I saved (yes that is a totally insane excuse). We finished shopping just in time for dinner at Taste of Ethiopia. Abate and I love the food there and Fantu is in love with the waiter. I think she has made an impression on him as he remembered what she ordered last time she was there (september). We had Lamb Tibbs, Doro Wat (the best) and Tikil Gomen. They serve it in the traditional Ethiopian way so we all share the entree's with injera. Abate just tried to see how much he could eat. He really enjoyed his dinner. After dinner we went to visit Carrie, unfortunately Caleb wasn't there as it was his weekend with his Dad. We only had an hour before it was time to head to the airport. A nice day with a happy ending getting Alan back home all safe and sound. Well almost... he was sporting quite the black eye.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Growing Up
This past week has been a busy one. Each of us in our own way were worn out, and feeling the stress physically. Abate had a stomach bug most of the week that he had a hard time shaking off. I made him stay home from school on Wednesday after a light night because of an out of town soccer game. I could see it in him how bad he felt. But he was determined to not let it stop him. His schedule is hectic. He's up at 6:30, gets dropped at school at 7:15, school lets out at 3:30, the it's soccer practice until 6:00 or a game on Tuesdays and Fridays, often not home until after 11:00. He also has soccer practice on Saturday mornings. This week also saw the start of track season. Abate wasn't sure if he would be able to do it to as the practices are after school at the same time as soccer. Coach Kelly wasn't going to let him off that easily, he searched Abate out this week and told him he needs to practice on his own time. He is to run 6 miles a week, try to work on sprints and of course find the time in his schedule to attend the track meets every other week. He of course has to do all this and maintain his grades. I worry that he is taking on too much, but he did two sports in the Autumn and still maintained A's and B's in his studies. I'm sure he can keep it up this time. As I said before he is an over-achiever.
Fantu's progress since her surgery had been going quite slow. She was just afraid to straighten her leg and do the stretching exercises she's supposed to do. She was also using her crutches far more than she was supposed to. She was at the Physical therapist on Friday and has shown a lot of improvement. She has hardly touched her crutches while at home all weekend. Was hurting a bit last night and had to put ice on it last night. She did seem better today.
One conversation the kids keep revisiting is birthdays and just how old are they really? They are honestly about as clueless as we are. One thing we are sure about is that their birth certificates are wrong. They don't seem to mind that we celebrate their birthday on a day that most likely isn't the actual day. What matters to them is that it is a special day to celebrate them, a day that they are special, the center of attention, and that we celebrate that they are in this world. But the one thing that does bother them is that they don't know exactly how old they are. Fantu thinks she's older than stated but she is starting to realize it isn't as far off as she had thought. Abate finally admitted that even though he got to celebrate his fifteenth birthday he probably isn't that old. Are their birthdays so far off the mark that it will cause problems.... no I really don't think so. At the most they are off by 6-8 months.
As Fantu told Carrie the other day when Carrie asked her if she was going to grow some more, Fantu replied, “ yes I will be grown up”.
Fantu's progress since her surgery had been going quite slow. She was just afraid to straighten her leg and do the stretching exercises she's supposed to do. She was also using her crutches far more than she was supposed to. She was at the Physical therapist on Friday and has shown a lot of improvement. She has hardly touched her crutches while at home all weekend. Was hurting a bit last night and had to put ice on it last night. She did seem better today.
One conversation the kids keep revisiting is birthdays and just how old are they really? They are honestly about as clueless as we are. One thing we are sure about is that their birth certificates are wrong. They don't seem to mind that we celebrate their birthday on a day that most likely isn't the actual day. What matters to them is that it is a special day to celebrate them, a day that they are special, the center of attention, and that we celebrate that they are in this world. But the one thing that does bother them is that they don't know exactly how old they are. Fantu thinks she's older than stated but she is starting to realize it isn't as far off as she had thought. Abate finally admitted that even though he got to celebrate his fifteenth birthday he probably isn't that old. Are their birthdays so far off the mark that it will cause problems.... no I really don't think so. At the most they are off by 6-8 months.
As Fantu told Carrie the other day when Carrie asked her if she was going to grow some more, Fantu replied, “ yes I will be grown up”.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Mother knows best....
Mother knows best....
but if you were to ask Fantu she'd heartily disagree. It has been a difficult week for her since her surgery. The day of the surgery she struggled with the anesthesia, she was groggy and out of sorts all day. The pain meds (Tylenol 3) made her nauseous. Her leg was swollen all the way to her her toes. She was connected to an electric ice pack (very cool) ( no pun intended). She slept well that first night, I had to wake her to take her meds every 4 hours. She woke on Thursday feeling great. She moved easily around the house on her crutches, wanted to get out and go to Abates orthodontist appointment and she even wanted to keep her own appointment to get her eyebrows waxed. Great! I never thought she'd do so well. But the sun soon sank and with it her spirits as pain crept in and soon took over. The pain pills every four hours weren't cutting it. She was in tears she hurt so bad. The selling increased so much that the bandages grew tight and uncomfortable. It took several hours and an extra pill to make the pain manageable. I felt helpless and inadequate during this time as I just couldn't make her feel better. Friday morning she had improved. She rested for the day, kept her leg up and her only complaint was boredom. This continued through the weekend. A routine of a pain pill every 4 hours, rest, ice pack and lots of tv. She continued to feel sick from the pills and had a rash on her arm and face where they had used adhesive tape during the surgery. She was looking forward to returning to school,but yet also a bit nervous.
Monday she returned to school. She lasted until noon. Alan was home and collected her and brought her home to rest for the remainder of the day. On Monday I had returned to work after taking off to be with her after her surgery. It was a very busy day trying to catch up. I did on Monday call the school counselor to make some changes to her schedule. Athletics class had to go. Fantu is looking at a 6 week recovery. Her right knee is also starting to give her trouble and she really can't afford to screw it up and require surgery before summer. I also have watched her math grade drop with each successive grading period. I asked that they remove her from athletics and place her in a Math Concepts class to help her catch back up in Math. It would mean a shuffle in her schedule including changing her History class to a different period with a different teacher. I knew this would not go down well as she loved her history teacher. Her other option would have changed her English class and her lunch period. I knew that would not be an option as she has lunch with most of her friends. We would leave the choice up to her.
On Tuesday morning Mrs Brown called her into her office and told Fantu the plan. Fantu choose to change her History class. As soon as school was out I got my first text from her. She was mad. She'd told me she didn't want her scheduled changed but I'd gone ahead. The 2nd text she said she wasn't going to talk to me any more. I told her I had to do what I thought was best for her. She then claimed I really don't know whats best for for her ( you must realize thought that she was saying these things with a bit more anger). I'm not to make choices for her... She can make her own. My final reply was – I'm your mother, I'm older, wiser, and I do think I do know what is best when it comes to her education .I told her she can choose to be angry, to not talk to me, but I will not tolerate rudeness or for her to be disrespectful.
It's hard to make decisions like this knowing the anger it would bring. I don't like making people angry, especially family. I had to be tough. I knew she'd eventually soften up. It didn't take long. By the time we were finished dinner she was talking to me, and soon was laughing.
So now we are several days later and she complains to me about the new classes. Home work, horrible teachers, so unhappy. While behind my back she's telling her Dad how much fun her new class is and how she likes it. She a stubborn one this child. Never about to admit that maybe Mother does know best.
but if you were to ask Fantu she'd heartily disagree. It has been a difficult week for her since her surgery. The day of the surgery she struggled with the anesthesia, she was groggy and out of sorts all day. The pain meds (Tylenol 3) made her nauseous. Her leg was swollen all the way to her her toes. She was connected to an electric ice pack (very cool) ( no pun intended). She slept well that first night, I had to wake her to take her meds every 4 hours. She woke on Thursday feeling great. She moved easily around the house on her crutches, wanted to get out and go to Abates orthodontist appointment and she even wanted to keep her own appointment to get her eyebrows waxed. Great! I never thought she'd do so well. But the sun soon sank and with it her spirits as pain crept in and soon took over. The pain pills every four hours weren't cutting it. She was in tears she hurt so bad. The selling increased so much that the bandages grew tight and uncomfortable. It took several hours and an extra pill to make the pain manageable. I felt helpless and inadequate during this time as I just couldn't make her feel better. Friday morning she had improved. She rested for the day, kept her leg up and her only complaint was boredom. This continued through the weekend. A routine of a pain pill every 4 hours, rest, ice pack and lots of tv. She continued to feel sick from the pills and had a rash on her arm and face where they had used adhesive tape during the surgery. She was looking forward to returning to school,but yet also a bit nervous.
Monday she returned to school. She lasted until noon. Alan was home and collected her and brought her home to rest for the remainder of the day. On Monday I had returned to work after taking off to be with her after her surgery. It was a very busy day trying to catch up. I did on Monday call the school counselor to make some changes to her schedule. Athletics class had to go. Fantu is looking at a 6 week recovery. Her right knee is also starting to give her trouble and she really can't afford to screw it up and require surgery before summer. I also have watched her math grade drop with each successive grading period. I asked that they remove her from athletics and place her in a Math Concepts class to help her catch back up in Math. It would mean a shuffle in her schedule including changing her History class to a different period with a different teacher. I knew this would not go down well as she loved her history teacher. Her other option would have changed her English class and her lunch period. I knew that would not be an option as she has lunch with most of her friends. We would leave the choice up to her.
On Tuesday morning Mrs Brown called her into her office and told Fantu the plan. Fantu choose to change her History class. As soon as school was out I got my first text from her. She was mad. She'd told me she didn't want her scheduled changed but I'd gone ahead. The 2nd text she said she wasn't going to talk to me any more. I told her I had to do what I thought was best for her. She then claimed I really don't know whats best for for her ( you must realize thought that she was saying these things with a bit more anger). I'm not to make choices for her... She can make her own. My final reply was – I'm your mother, I'm older, wiser, and I do think I do know what is best when it comes to her education .I told her she can choose to be angry, to not talk to me, but I will not tolerate rudeness or for her to be disrespectful.
It's hard to make decisions like this knowing the anger it would bring. I don't like making people angry, especially family. I had to be tough. I knew she'd eventually soften up. It didn't take long. By the time we were finished dinner she was talking to me, and soon was laughing.
So now we are several days later and she complains to me about the new classes. Home work, horrible teachers, so unhappy. While behind my back she's telling her Dad how much fun her new class is and how she likes it. She a stubborn one this child. Never about to admit that maybe Mother does know best.
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