Leggie- one year later

It has been over a year since Madeleine has had her leggie. I took this video of her at the zoo about a month ago. I find myself looking at it and studying it to see if I can really see a difference in the way she walks compared to her peers.

Dr. Mosca urged us to do the amputation early as she would learn to walk with her leggie from the get go. That she wouldn't have attachment to her biological foot and would come to see her prosthesis as an extension of her own body.

Damn, I believe he was right.

Sing a Song

When my mother was here she noticed something that I have taken for granted.... My kids sing. They sing constantly. They sing everything. The love songs and they remember them and sing them, all the time. They have their favorites and sometime they have one favorite for a few weeks. When Grandma was here they sang "ABCs" a lot. The runner up was "Wheels on the Bus". When this video was taken "Happy Birthday" was the favorite.

We were at the zoo and Max and Madeleine found cones that had been used for something previously. They decided they were perfect party hats.

Here's a few pictures that were taken on the same day:

Playing in the shrubs at the zoo. Seriously, who needs animals when you have shrubs?

Max explaining to me the virtues of a weed.

Madeleine telling me that she doesn't need to see anymore animals, thank you.

Madeleine Conquers the Slide

How awesome is my daughter?

Bragging Rights and pictures for fun

Let's both ride our cars
Cheese, Mommy.
Yep, we're twins.
Double the cheese.

Because I am a proud and lucky mum I need to brag about my fantabulous children.

Brag #1: Max is so aware of the tragedies that exist in the world he actually had a dream last night, stood up and tried to correct the situation. Was he: a) concerned about the national deficit b) worried about what the bailout could mean for millions c) worried that Sarah Palin could actually become the president one day? or d) worried that he may lose an ice cream cone?

The answer... c and d... Max had a full on dream in which he stood up and handed me one hand saying, "oh no, the ice cone [ice cream cone] fell, mommy get a new one?" I assured him that I would buy him a new one.

As for Sarah Palin... Aren't we all concerned about that?!

Brag #2: Madeleine identified a triangle in nature the other day. She pointed to an arrow and said, "Look Mommy, I see a triangle".

Brag #3: Fighters of truth and justice... Last night Madeleine said, "Mom, Max take Madeleine's blueberries and eat them all gone" (pleadingly).

Brag #4: Max watched a man blowing leaves the other day at the park. Yesterday I came home from work to find him using a USB cable as a leaf blower. He was holding one end and swooping it back and forth while making a motor noise and the same time. When I asked him what he was doing he said, "I'm a leaf blower, Mom".

Brag #5: Madeleine made a bed for her baby doll in her doll cradle. She put down the 'sheet' and the pillow and then laid the baby in the bed and covered her up with a baby blanket. Then she proceeded to rock the baby very gently while seeing "Rocky-Roo", which, if you didn't know already, is a song I made up a long time ago. It goes...

Rocky Rocky Rocky

Rocky Rocky Roo

Rocky Rocky Me

and Rocky Rocky you

I know, I'm not quitting my day job.

Potty Success

Potty update...
Tonight Madeleine went pee pee twice in the potty after pulling down her pink training underpants. Max was the superstar this evening as he went a little peepee and a tiny poop. He called it a baby. Later while we were playing Maxy told me he wanted to sit on the potty again. I went into the bathroom with him and he promptly poo-ed a largish turd. Oh the joy! Tonight was big for my little man... he had a poop in the potty and then requested to go and finished the job!

Funny side story...
Madeleine asked me what Mia and Cake were doing tonight. She wanted to know if they were sleeping at their house or if they were still playing. I told her they were asleep, as she should be. What is remarkable about this is that Mia and Cate are my friend Sue's twins. They were born the day after Max and Madeleine and Sue and I spent a few weeks in the hospital together. Although we use to get together when the babes were younger we haven't seen each other in quite a while. How Madeleine remembered the girls enough to talk about it is beyond me! She also told me that there were two girls, Mia and Cake, and asked if they were twins (we had been talking about twins tonight). I told her they were twins and she said that they are 'cute'. Awwww.

Poop

Let the record show that Madeleine pooped on the potty tonight before bath. We were all so proud! I wanted to take a picture to show you but Michael said it wasn't necessary. All I can say is that it was big, a result of blueberries and smelly.

Way to go Madeleine!

Dude, where have you been?

Seriously, have my readers missed me? Missed pics of my kids? Wondered what happened?



Hmmm, where do I start???



I quit my job:

I foolishly took a very part time job in a high school this year. I will give you my reasons for taking it and my reasons for leaving it.

Taking it:

I want to keep my foot in Seattle Public School's door.
I am curious about high school special ed.
I have a grant I need to pay back with service.
I can call myself a public school teacher and have a Seattle schools email account, title etc.
I can keep my self 'fresh' on new policy and professional development.

Leaving it:

I was asked to work too many hours, way above my contract.
The administration were micromanagers.
The sped team was grouchy and a real pain in the ass to work with.
I missed my kids.
The money was sooooo not worth the work.

Reason #2 for being away...

My mom was here. Or should I say, Grandma. She was here for about a week and we were so so busy that I had no time to post. Can I just say that my mom is the best Grandma a kid could ever have?

It was so fantastic to have my mom here to help out. Michael and I were amazed at how much we could get done while she played with the kids. The Ms were crazy for her! I mean, who wouldn't be, if you got candy and presents for just being you! She played and read stories and chased them around the house nonstop. When they asked to play with Playdough right before dinner, she said, Sure! When they wanted to paint, she said, Okay! When they asked for more candy she said, Why not? I'll join you!!!

The kids impressed her with their potty prowess, their enormous repertoire of songs and their sheer cuteness. And, they worked her like only a grandchild can. When they needed to go to bed they asked for one more story, one more hug, one more snuggle. She gave in.

As an adult I enjoy my mother. We get along well and have similar taste in things. We like to shop, to stop for ice cream, to drink wine and chat. I sincerely wish she lived closer. Tonight the kids were in the bathtub doing things my mom taught and encouraged them to do. Madeleine said, "Mommy, Grandma doos that, member?" [Grandma does that, remember?] And then Max said affectionately, "I want more Grandma, Mommy". Over the weekend we reminisced about Grandma and the kids told me that Grandma was going to come on a Big Airplane and bring more candy. Ha Ha.

Number 3 reason I have been away:

When my mom was here we went to see my sister. I haven't spent time with her in many many years. I haven't seen her 15 year old son in many many years. She now lives close enough for a quarterly visit. Here's what I noticed about my sis... she looks older as I'm sure I do. She is just as pretty as she always was. She is smart and funny. She is a good mom. She keeps a tidy house. I wish we had more time together.

Here's what I noticed about my 15 year old nephew: He is bright and congenial. He is easy to chat with and NOT socially awkward. He is a cutie pie! He seems like the kind of kid I would have hang out with if we were in the same generation; he likes to skate, to play music, to have deep thoughts, and he has a pretty good style for a teenager.

Thank you Wendy, Craig and Chance for your hospitality!

Number 4 reason I haven't written in awhile:

Madeleine had her dreaded sleep study last week. It sucked. I will have to write later a play by play of the night. I don't feel like reliving it here.

• Let us just say that it is the most 'non-natural' sleep environment.
• Madeleine hated it and was scared.
• I doubt they got any information.
• I'm glad I did it because if I didn't I would have always wondered.

Okay, you are all caught up now. I will post a few pictures soon.

The aftermath

Successful weaning. It has been one week and four days since the Ms last nursing. My boobs seriously ached for an entire 9 days. God, I had no idea how much of my milk they were actually getting. I have to say that by and large they have done very well with the weaning endeavor. They have fallen into other healthy habits as an exchange for their favorite comfort item (i.e., my boobs). They have taken to drinking cow's milk. Something they never ever would do before. They like it with chocolate- who doesn't? They eat a great breakfast now and usually wake up quite hungry. They enjoy a good snuggle as opposed to grabbing my shirt and asking for milk.

In the process they have uttered the most precious phrases ever! I am writing them here because I never want to forget what they have said. And, I want to be able to remind them when they are teenagers that they actually said these words aloud.

Madeleine:
I want Milky
I want the other side
I want to trive (try) it.
Just a sip.
Just a little bit.
I can be a baby too.
Mommy's boobies are so nice and soft.... so soft.
Milky is put away now.

Max:
Milky all done.
Max is a big kid, have cow's milk now.
I want to touch the boobs now, mommy.
Put a hand there?
Rub mommy's belly now.
Milky put away.

Migraine: still there after trying several different kids of meds. I'm on something now that I take daily that is suppose to help alleviate the pain. The pain cycles through different degrees of intensity but is always present.

Boobs: so soft and small now. Actually quite nice to have the girls back to their normal size. The shape has changed a bit though, ehem.

Me: It is nicer than I thought to be a non-nursing mother. I was sad for a few days but only because of the nostalgic reminder that my babes are kids now and their needs have changed.