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Journal Key:

Green = Steve | George = navy | Janet = Purple | Evelyn = Black

8/26/10 (Thursday)

Cara ended up having two popsicles today; the first was at preschool, the second at her kindergarten meet-and-greet. She said it was a lot of fun.

Owen's surgery is tomorrow.

8/27/10 (Friday)

Steve and I were very upset last night because Shelby the cat got out and got lost. We're still upset. She's still lost. We haven't told Cara yet; we're hoping not to have to. She's sleeping over in Middletown and coming home tomorrow afternoon.

The kindergarten meet-and-greet was fun. The three kids (Casey, Cara, and PJ) ran and played, and Owen sat facing forward in his stroller and played with his moose. I'm very happy that he's using his hands so much! Three times, Em or I had to pick the moose up from the ground. She says he threw it; I'd say it's more likely that he kicked it. Still, he spent most of his time grabbing it and messing with it. It's got good big grabbable feet at the ends of little stringy, graspable legs. He had a good time with that, and he also of course likes being outside and seeing people. It was a good night for him.

He had a tough time getting to sleep; I ended up giving him some formula around ten. I was happy about that, because it was the last he'd be getting! Then he woke up around one, and Steve was only allowed to give him water. That was difficult for everyone involved. I was nervous about the morning. He woke up a little when I put him into his car seat, but then he slept the whole way down to south Jersey to the CHOP outpost in Voorhees, only a few miles from Uncle Jim and Aunt Sarah's house.

We arrived a little before six thirty. Inside, he sat in his car seat and watched attentively as I checked him in. He still likes nurses! Very quickly we were brought back and the preoperative fun began. We weighed him. Fully clothed, he was about 7.6 kg, 16.7 pounds. Looking at his chart, the nurse thought that was a very big leap from his last weigh-in. It was his first diaper of the morning, so I changed him and we reweighed him. He only went down to 7.4 kg, 16.3 pounds. He's still growing fast! He flirted with her while she checked his temperature and his blood pressure, and I got nostalgic when she taped the glowing oxygenation monitor to his big toe. When he wore one in the NICU, it had to go just on his foot! He's actually four times the size he was when he was born. We had fun watching everyone while we waited for them to take him in. We got to meet the anesthesiologist, who said (I asked) that he could hear only a faint VSD. Owen was very cheerful and friendly and talked to everyone. Around seven thirty, they took him away.

I had time to use the bathroom, talk with another mom about coffee, and read maybe a page before they came to get me. Again, I felt like an old hand in the recovery area. I sat in the glider and they gave me the crying baby. He was hungry! I'm not sure why, but they didn't think he should have formula. Maybe the anesthetic was different this time; in May, he got a bottle right away. Today, he got a tiny bottle of pedialyte. He was mad when he finished, so he got another. He was a little mad when he finished that, but then he got over it. We got another for the road. By eight o'clock, we were out of there!

Owen got tubes in both of his ears. The doctor told me that there was thick fluid in both of them, which was a little surprising. Over the next couple of days, we can expect some discharge. He's allowed to have Tylenol if he needs it, which of course he hasn't. He does have ear drops. For the next five days, he gets them twice a day. We put five drops in each ear. The prescription has ten refills on it, so we can get more if we see drainage or anything in the next few months. He also needs them as a precaution if his ears are completely submerged in water.

I was a little bit nervous about today because the last time he had surgery he was wonderfully sleepy all day and then was ready to party at night. I was partly looking forward to a day off and partly terrified about the night. However, this anesthesia was lighter and he bounced right back. In fact, after sleeping in the car, he probably only had a little over an hour's worth of naps today.

He had a nice big bottle when we got home. The nurse had suggested that I give him four ounces, diluted to make them into six, but I just let him have the regular stuff. He did fine. He was full and happy and home and had his mommy to cuddle him and things were great, but then maybe they were not so great. He got squirmy, so finally I put him down on the floor. He spent a good ten minutes scooting and scooting and scooting around. A few times I just picked him up and turned him around, to keep him from ramming things with his head. He was very, very happy.

In fact, he had a mostly very happy day. One highlight for me, though, was when he eventually did get fussy. I put him on the floor. Fussing. I pulled him to sitting up. Fussing. I recited "Buntington Bunny," a favorite poem from Ride a Purple Pelican. Engrossed staring. I very rarely manage to get him to stop fussing so effortlessly!

Cara, in the meantime, also had an exciting day. Steve dropped her off at YBR, and in the early afternoon Em picked her up! Today was a reunion party at Susan's house, because it's PJ and Casey's last day. It's the last last day; Susan doesn't have any more kids. Instead, she'll be working in a daycare. At the party, though, Cara got to see Avery again as well as a lot of the other kids she remembers (and some she doesn't). There was a water slide very much like the one in New Mexico. Em was clever enough not only to suggest that she could bring Cara but also to think to bring her a bathing suit and towel! The fun didn't stop there. From Susan's, Grandmama picked Cara up! Definitely a big day for everyone.

8/28/10 (Saturday)

In the morning Owen and I drove down to Middletown for the Great Child Switch. He was asleep when we arrived, at nine o'clock, having been up since 5:30. He woke up when he got into the house, and he was a little upset, possibly because he woke up to Grandmama and Grandpapa rather than Mommy. He remained upset until I took him for a little snuggle, but then, once he'd realized that Grandmama could do lots of fabulous things like bounce him up and down, he decided that this place was pretty okay! He stayed with them for the morning. He got to sit up and play and then scare himself by falling down. He got to take a walk into the park with Grandpapa, but he missed much of it by falling asleep.

While Owen was thus enjoying himself, Cara, Claire and I went picking raspberries! Each of us got a bucket with a long string handle, and we headed into the field. Here's how the morning went.

Cara: Look, Mommy!

Me: (peering into her bucket) Wow!

Cara: Let me see yours. (She looks. I have the entire bottom filled.) Oh, you have a lot! I'm going to count mine. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight! I have eight!

Me: That's great.

Cara: I want to go show Aunt Claire. (runs off)

Cara: (mere minutes later, from a distance) I want to go show Mommy! (runs back)

It sort of went on that way for a while, with brief interludes of picking. Eventually, though . . .

Cara: I have to go to the potty.

Me: You went before we left the house!

Cara: I have to go again.

Me: Ok.

We left Claire with all of the buckets and headed into the store. The bathroom was, of course, an adventure. On the way back, we bought three of the cinnamon donuts and a cup of apple cider. I thought about texting Claire to come and eat in the shade, but I thought that once all three of us had stopped picking, we'd never be able to start again. We went and found Claire.

Cara: I want to go eat in the shade!

So Claire and Cara went and ate in the shade while I did some more picking. Eventually, they came back. They picked for another minute or two.

Cara: I have to go to the potty!

Me: Are you sure you don't just want to go into the store again?

Cara: No, I have to go potty! And then I want another drink.

At that point, we decided to pack it in. We paid for the (three pounds of) berries and headed to the store to browse the produce, baked goods, and fun candy. Astonishingly, Cara seemed to have forgotten about the bathroom. She was focused now on getting ice cream, which they sold outside. I was not crazy about the idea of sitting around while she ate it. In one of the candy displays, we found something astonishing: a gummy kabob! It was a skewer that had been stuck, lollipop style, through a large variety of gummy candies.

Cara: I'm not going to want that! I want ice cream.

Me: (mild inward cursing)

She ended up with rainbow sherbet, of which she ate about a third of a scoop before she was done.

Owen was asleep when we got back, but he woke up when he heard Cara. He hadn't seen her, really, since yesterday morning! He was a happy little boy. GiGi came over and played with him, and he was a happy little boy with her, too.

Grandmama related the story of Cara's adventures last night. She'd wanted to stay up late. Really, really late. Okay, Grandmama had said, the first thing to do is to get into your pajamas. Cara did. It was quarter to eight. She was delighted to get to keep playing. Wow, said Grandmama and Grandpapa, it's late. It's really late. It's the middle of the night. And then they put her to bed. Don't tell Mommy, she'd said. Mommy would be very upset!

Mommy has two things to say: First, does Cara not know where any digital clocks are in your house? Second, watch out! She may learn to tell time in kindergarten!

It was very cute that Cara told me and Steve later that she'd stayed up very very late last night. Interestingly, earlier in the day she'd told me that when she grew up and had children, she'd let them sit in the front seat of the car. I explained about rules and laws and things. Too bad I didn't think of that example later, when she asked what toll booths were and I ended up explaining all about what the government was.

This evening, we told Cara about Shelby. She's not as broken up as we are. Her reactions vary. Sometimes, she explains to us why Shelby left. Sometimes, she hopes we find her. She explained to us how Buster feels, which has to do with their food-sharing issues. She went with Steve to put Lost Cat fliers in the neighbors' mailboxes.

8/29/10 (Sunday)

Lately, Cara has been eating toast. Last Thursday, she somehow got me to make her toast at bedtime, cut the crusts off, and put rainbow sprinkles on it, like Grandmama does. That was the night Shelby was newly lost, so I think I was somewhat distracted. The next day, at breakfast, she asked Steve for toast. She wanted the crust cut off. "Mommy did it for me," she said, "with no arguing."

Today was a staying-home day. Steve mowed the lawn and did yard work, and I brought Owen out in his bouncer to look at the tree. Cara joined us. Eventually, the ice cream truck came! We've been avoiding it a lot this summer, but we feel like we should enjoy it while we can, now that it's ending. Steve and I got ice cream sandwiches, and Cara chose a rocket pop because she loves it so much because it's just like America. We were ready to sit in the shade and have a treat, but then Cara said, "I'm going to go put mine in the freezer so I can have it after lunch!" So Steve and I had to do that, too.

After lunch, we sat on a blanket in the shade and had our ice cream, while Owen bounced and talked to the tree.

Cara only has two days left at YBR. I think she's starting to see the sad side to that. I'd been planning on making cupcakes for her to bring in to share, and I got out my cupcake book to look for tips. We ended up using some of the techniques in there to make Wizard of Oz-themed cupcakes. I melted chocolate to make hair for Dorothy and then made some other things with it, too. I rolled out Tootsie rolls and figured out how to make witches' hats. Cara helped mix things and decorated the "lollipop" cupcakes. We made one Toto one, with chocolate ears and nose. It was hard to mix up brown icing. We had sort of a grayish sludge when I realized that I had chocolate icing in the fridge. That worked better.

It was a long, slow, sugary day.

8/30/10 (Monday)

Today I got out of bed around 6:20, after Steve's alarm had gone off twice. He got out of bed at six thirty. After I visited her several times, Cara got out of bed around quarter after seven. It was quarter to eight when Owen woke up. He was very cheerful. We changed him and put in his ear drops, and then he just sort of hung out and was pleasant. Cara was ready, so we left! He was happy in the car and happy at YBR, and when Miss Carol gave him the bottle that we'd gotten ready for him, he thought it was a nice suggestion, though not an urgent need.

Cara and I had fun bringing the cupcakes over to her side of the street. I believe that they ended up cutting them in half, so the Munchkins and the Lollipops could all share. When I got there to pick Cara up, Adrian and Aeshna and a few other kids came over to tell me which ones they'd had. They're going to miss Cara. Adrian would like to have a playdate with her, but he's not sure he can, because Edison might be too far. Maybe if he could go to Aeshna's house, then somehow get to Cara's house. It sounded very complicated.

Owen's day was fairly eventful. For instance, at daycare he sneezed a sneeze so big that everyone looked at him funny and wondered how he'd produced something of that magnitude. At home, he had some tummy time. At first it was boring and involved holding his head up and looking around. Then he got mad and rubbed his face on the blanket and yelled and managed to start turning himself clockwise. I'm not sure how far he'd have gotten; I rescued him from his tummy after only about thirty degrees. While he was sitting in his high chair and eating up his dinner, which he very much enjoyed bobbling at, he and his hands viciously and repeatedly attacked the crab toy that's attached to the tray. Clearly, he had a busy day. He was asleep before we were done with dinner.

8/31/10 (Tuesday)

To make up for yesterday, Owen got up today around quarter after four. A little after five, I gave up on the idea of sleeping on the couch and decided to stop complaining (well, sort of stop) and just accept that my last day of summer break was going to start out as early as a workday. It ended up being pleasant and productive; Owen had a big breakfast at home for the first time in a couple of weeks! Oddly, he was still going strong when I dropped him off at eight. I put him into a bucket seat and he was clearly happy to be with his friends.

It was very very sad (for me) to pick Cara up from YBR for the last time. The class was listening to Green Eggs and Ham when I came up. We got her stuff; her name was already off of her mailbox and her extra clothes were in her nap bag in stead of her bin. She didn't have a bin anymore. The story was still going on, but the teacher stopped as the kids all came over and gave Cara a giant hug until everyone at the middle of it fell over on top of each other. That was so much fun that they did it again. Then again. Then we told them they'd had enough. Cara hugged her teachers goodbye, and we left for the last time. Except for the times we'll visit and for the times when Owen will be there. Still, it's sad.

Downstairs there's a backpack with Cara's sheet in it and a blanket ready for the days when she'll be at Discovery Time all day; usually she'll be in kindergarten during nap time, but otherwise she needs to be ready. We have out two extra crib sheets for PJ and Casey, who will also be there tomorrow. We picked out an outfit. Well, I picked it out and Cara approved. Tomorrow is my first day at school and Cara's first day at Discovery Time; the new year is really beginning!

9/1/10 (Wednesday)

I came home from school today around four so that Em, who is on vacation this week, and I could walk over to DT to pick up the kids. Admittedly, it was a little bit too hot for that to have been a perfect idea, but it's just so nice that we can! Cara's dropoff had gone smoothly in the morning; the kids were watching cartoons. PJ and Casey had had a bit more of a tough time, but Cara had held Casey's hand. The kids had all been watching cartoons. When Em and Ron (who drove over) and I arrived, they were watching cartoons. We're so delighted. They had just come in from playing outside in the very nice play area. It is still summer vacation. We'll see how it goes. The kids, having been grilled, all agree that they didn't look at any books and that they did no arts and crafts. They had a good day, though!

Cara reports that she really liked the movies. The best part of her day was going to Discovery Time. Casey says that she made a hundred new friends. What's the name of a new friend she made? Cara. This is the down side to having them all together! For the past few days, Cara's been explaining to everyone at YBR that she was going to kindergarten with her "other boyfriend, PJ."

Back at the house, Em used her . . . ear-looker to look into Owen's ears. She looked at them right after the surgery last week, and today she was able to get a much better view. He didn't mind at all, so they're a lot less sensitive. The blood is all gone, and she says that he's a big boy now because his ear canals have outgrown some of their curviness. I'm pleased to hear that.

We played for a while, and when Steve got home we all went out to Famous Dave's. Em had called earlier to make sure that they had corn dogs. They did. Among the four children, I think they managed ten bathroom trips. Owen ate almost an entire big jar of baby food and then pooped standing up on Steve's lap. It got us to thinking about all of the different pooping experiences babies get to have. We don't want to try any of those things, but it's interesting.

It was bath time when we got home. While Cara was in the big tub, I got Owen into his little tub on the floor. At first he sat up in the tub, and I considered washing him like that. It would have been to exciting, though, and I'd have needed to be an octopus. He lay back. Once I'd gotten him nice and soapy, he decided to scoot. His head was halfway over the back edge, and the tub was ready to tip over except for that I had my elbow on the front end. My expression must have been very funny, because Owen thought that this was hysterical. He had to try it several times. I do not remember having this problem with Cara.

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