I Owe You...

... a blogpost.  I have been tardy, meaning to write many times but just not having the time to be witty and articulate and interesting.  Not that I am that any other time....  but I can't even fake it right now.

So instead, I will just grace you with some pictures of the J-man.



He is resourceful.



He made me slide down this too.  Oh yes, he did.



He really needs to learn how the ride a trike





This might be ther first time he has ever said 'cheeeese' to a camera

 A little side note on the whole "he needs to learn how to ride a trike" caption. 

J-man can't ride a trike yet.  He doesn't have the motor planning skills to coordinate peddling.  Yesterday I saw our neighbor with his little boy who is the same age as J-man ...

(and whom, by the way, never ever talk to us for no apparent reason whatsoever...  ok, maybe it is because of this moment)...

... riding a two-wheeler.  A bike! 

Sometimes I just wanna beat someone's a**, ya know?

Jaws



Villain a la James Bond


Four stainless steel caps. 

J-man isn't quite the arch-villain Jaws from the James Bond movies, but his mouth has got a bit more bling to it.  In the end, four cavities (sigh), caps and sealants on teeth, and one heckva long day a the Children's outpatient day surgery.  J-man was a trooper, however.  He did excellent with the pre-op exam, tolerated the whole mask-put-him-to-sleep routine, and woke up afterwards fairly easy and with minimal whining.  Altogether a big departure from what I expected....  of course, I expected h-e-l-l.

I must also give props to Children's... and yes, I do work there, so I might be a little biased.... but I must say they did a wonderful job with him.  I was with him until he was asleep and was allowed in the recovery room before he woke up (not standard, but they acknowledged my great wisdom in knowing what would work for him waking up).  They were gentle, used simple language, showed visuals in addition to talking, and generally took my lead on what would work best.  I was very pleasantly surprised.  Not sure why, but I was.

Daddy

Once upon a time....
There was a boy who loved his mommy.
Preferred her over all others.
Mommy, mommy, mommy.
The sun rose and set with mommy.

The daddy felt sad.
The boy liked the daddy, but chose the mommy.
The daddy felt like a third wheel.

The mommy told the daddy...
Someday this will change...
You will be the chosen one.
The sun will rise and set with you.

The daddy did not believe the mommy.
The daddy was wrong.
The mommy was right.

Because one day it was daddy, daddy, daddy.
The sun rose and set with daddy.
Daddy played the best games.
Daddy was awesome.

And mommy was relieved...
Because she could put up her feet...
And delight in the chant daddy daddy daddy!!

Best of the Best: Anxiety & Stress

I am once again honored to be a part of the Best of the Best series on SOS Research for Parents.  This month's topic was Anxiety and Stress...  which pretty much summarizes my life.  Anyhoo, I thought my last three posts pretty much summed up how something as simple as a weekend away can have far-reaching consequences. 

Ahhhh... but also great blog material, so there is that!

Check out the Best of the Best this month!!  Wonderful writers with a lot to say!

Melt Down Man

I would love to say that this is the angelic face that we have embraced this week.

So sweet....  so innocent.... so lovable...

But alas, the J-man has been more like this:

GROWL

Still cute and lovable, for sure, but more prickles and thorns than any rose bush.  J-man has erupted into a full-fledged control freak with superhuman capabilities to meltdown.  If melting down was a superpower, he would be wearing a cape and a MDM symbol of his chest.  Melt Down Man, capable of exhausting his parents in one single tantrum!!!  He has driven me to make emergency phone calls to my special-needs-momma-posse for advice and help.

I got some good advice, and we have started implementing it today.  No miracles, alas, but we are gonna commit to setting some bigger boundaries and consequences.  An consistent approach to his overwhelming emotional upsets. 

You know, that whole "parenting" thing. 

So Happy Mother's Day to all those mommies and mommy-helpers out there. 

Say a prayer or cross your fingers that I make it through this particular level of mommie-h-e-l-l.

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PART III : This post was submitted for the S-O-S Best of the Best series on Anxiety published on May 15th, 2011.

Everyone Pays the Piper

Yesterday we came home from our long weekend away. 

We had a great time.  A great time that was made even greater by the fact that everything appeared to go wonderfully with J-man and Grandma Mumu.  Of course, I doubt Grandma Mumu would tell us if it didn't go well... but based on the condition of things when we got home, I believe it probably did go quite well.

HOORAY!

But, my friends, everyone has to pay the piper his due.

And oh, we are paying....  we are paying...

We have had no less than four complete and total J-man meltdowns since yesterday evening.  For our normally mild-mannered boy, that is impressive. 

Meltdown #1:  Pajama Bottoms of Doom

We arrived home to smiles and excitement and clingy happiness. All was well as the afternoon turned into evening.  We managed to get bath done (early) without incident, changed into pajamas, and then had dinner.  J-man's dessert was fruit pudding.  And that was the beginning of the end.

He spilled the pudding on his pajama bottoms.  And not just a little spill...  almost-the-whole-jar spill.  He was a little upset, but didn't too phased by losing his dessert.  However, changing the pajama bottoms???  Well, that was a disaster of epic proportions!  As we hand-washed the bottoms (since he was already in complete meltdown mode), he hysterically 'demanded' them.  Grabbed them and tried to put them on (soaking wet).  As the bottoms were drying, huge choking sobs while he 'circled' the dryer. 

It wasn't pretty.

Meltdown #2:  Diaper of Doom

Changing a diaper this afternoon.  J-man was so pissed off at the idea that he literally went into the trashcan, took out the dirty diaper and tried put it back on. Enough said.

Meltdown #3:  Just Obey Me, Dammit!

J-man lost it when Mommy wouldn't hang upside-down from our inversion table for an undetermined amount of time like he wanted.  When I left the room, I was berated with chants of  "no stop no stop no stop!!!"... which eventually transitioned into ....

Meltdown #4 :  Bedtime of Doom

Let's just say that he has gone to bed, sans pajamas.

Whew.

Big Daddy is concerned that J-man was like this with Grandma Mumu.  Maybe.  However I think that J-man was holding it together while we were gone, but now that we are home he now can have the complete breakdown he needs to have.  It is like his frustration/anxiety reserves are completely used up, and he has nowhere to go but into meltdown mode.  I kinda knew this might be coming.  I am trying to take the stance of total patience, which is only possible because I did have a long weekend away.  It is clearly apparent when J-man has gone beyond throwing a temper tantrum and into meltdown-la-la-land, and when I need to go from limit setting to calming down and comforting. 

So here we are, paying the piper.  Here's hoping the bill isn't too high.

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PART II : This post was submitted for the S-O-S Best of the Best series on Anxiety published on May 15th, 2011.