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Post by curmudgeon on Nov 9, 2019 17:10:45 GMT -6
Oh Taitai I’m so sorry for your friend. That is such hard news to discover. No suggestions other than food gift cards.
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Post by curmudgeon on Nov 9, 2019 17:15:04 GMT -6
Tomorrow is our anniversary and H booked our wedding reception hotel for a night. We’ll do dinner and then the rooftop bar.
My mom stays at our house when she has to watch the boys overnight and I just didn’t feel like cleaning today so H took that over. I don’t know why I always feel guilty when he cleans and I sit.
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Post by August Blooms on Nov 9, 2019 19:23:35 GMT -6
curmudgeon Happy anniversary! And don’t feel guilty about putting your feet up, I’m sure you deserve it! Have fun! duskymonkey You are so talented and your DS is adorable! I still have some bruising from the fall but overall things are much better.
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Taitai
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Post by Taitai on Nov 10, 2019 1:50:04 GMT -6
curmudgeon Happy anniversary! And yes - don’t feel guilty one bit! Hope you guys had a nice time 😊 duskymonkey Thanks for the advice - I know she is on Facebook, so I’ll ask and see if she is part of any groups. She is really good at research and stuff like that, so I bet she’s already part of some group. Your advise to just listen and be there for support is right on - because I really cannot know what she is going through, but I can be there to listen and be a caring friend. Also - your knitting project is sooooo cute! I love it! Wow - I wish I had that talent. I can barely make a regular, plain scarf of one color 🤣😂
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danvers
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Post by danvers on Nov 10, 2019 19:53:22 GMT -6
Taitai I’ve been thinking about your friend aince you posted and didn’t want to not respond. One of my internships for teaching was in a group home for adolescents with severe/profound disabilities (I’m duel licensed general edu and special education). One of the moms who was there talked to us about talking to them [caregivers of children with severe disabilities] like their child was still “normal” in the sense that when we have conversations with them we ask some of the things we would ask our parents of students with milder disabilities: “what does your child like to do? “favorite types of music/animals/people/food” “does she like the snow?” the sand? the _______?” I mean, right now she’s probably in overwhelmed mode but when you talk to her 6 months+ from now still asking about the baby. The baby may never sit up or talk or eat without assistance (not sure on how severe everything is) but still asking about any new likes/dislikes/funny stories/swapping haggard mom tales of two will probably help with some semblance of normalcy. I think trying to stay in touch with your friend, if her friendship is important to you both like that (cause it’s natural to drift apart too!), in the years to come will mean a lot too. They may have a ton of people around them right now helping and loving on them because the baby is new and this was so unexpected for everyone but as the weeks turn into months and then to years people will fall away again. As for gifts - food gifts cards or Amazon gift cards are always appreciated by all I’m sure!
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Taitai
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Post by Taitai on Nov 11, 2019 8:10:24 GMT -6
danvers That was really helpful advice - I’m going to incorporate that into my conversations with my friend once her baby gets older. I feel like it will also be important to ask those types of questions about her oldest kid too - I don’t want to forget about him either. I definitely can see a lot of her support drifting away as the weeks and months go by. My friend and her husband don’t have any family within driving distance - her parents are a 2 hour flight away, and his parents/entire family live on another continent. So it’s just them and their friends where they live. I hope their friends will be solid and supportive. It’s times like this that I wish I didn’t live on the other side of the world 😩
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Taitai
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Post by Taitai on Nov 11, 2019 8:16:26 GMT -6
PDQ
Happy Loy Karthong Day! Today is one of our favorite local holidays - the kids all dress up in traditional Thai attire and make Krathongs - which are these floating flower/plant things made of banana leaves, which we then float in water at sunset to thank the water for all it does for us all year long. (We clean up our krathongs after we float them of course).
Here is DS2 in his traditional outfit. The buttons on the front are little bells, so he was jingling when he was walking all day. I love this holiday - seeing all the kids dressed up at school is always suuuuper cute!
Poof
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Post by CoachTsWife on Nov 11, 2019 9:27:45 GMT -6
Oh my goodness Taitai he looks so adorable! duskymonkey H is doing ok - thanks for asking. He actually feels better than he did recovering from his first surgery last January. The nerve hasn't recovered yet, though, so he still cannot lift his foot. He is seeing very small improvements - I can barely see the difference but I think it is feeling different to him. At his 2 week checkup the surgeon said he cannot go back to work (teaching) until December but he told him he could go to football practice.  There is no doubt in my mind that it was good for his mental health to get back on the field but I really questioned if the dr realized what he approved. DH stayed far away from drills during practice and stayed in the press box during games, but still..... The players were beyond happy to have him back at practice though. However, it doesn't really matter now; we lost Friday night in an upset during District semi-finals. So he is back to being bored out of his mind at home for another 4 weeks and we are in the I-can't-believe-football-season-is-over weirdness. Feeling completely let down that they lost a game they should have won, sad that we won't get to sit under the lights on Friday nights for another 9 months, but yet a weight has lifted. It always takes us a while to find our post-season rhythm. |
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Post by curmudgeon on Nov 11, 2019 14:15:34 GMT -6
CoachTsWife I’m glad your H is feeling better than last time. And he got a little bit more football in before it was over. That was nice he got to be at practice again before the season ended for y’all.
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Post by curmudgeon on Nov 11, 2019 14:17:35 GMT -6
We are back from our anniversary celebration. I enjoyed it 100x more than I thought I would. Dinner was the best Italian food I’ve ever had. So so good.
Now we are home with some heater fixer guys because our heat has been out for a few days. Thankfully it hasn’t gone below 65 at night but tonight suddenly drops to 30s so we need some heat in here.
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Post by doodlemommy on Nov 11, 2019 16:03:45 GMT -6
My H is off work this week and there was no school today so we are having a chill day at home and it is so nice! Currently snuggled on the couch with the baby watching Jane the virgin and eating chips. DS is napping and DH and DD went to the bottle depot and to check on his parents house (they are on vacation). I think I’m going to make some beef stew in the instant pot tonight
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Post by duskymonkey on Nov 13, 2019 0:35:59 GMT -6
Taitai your DS2 is just too adorable and I love him in traditional clothes and how your family is embracing living in SEA. danvers has really really good suggestions as always. Overtime, your friend will also inevitably feel some guilt about neglect towards her DS due to circumstances and it's something that my sister struggles with daily. Caring for SN child is beyond hard. There will be good days and bad ones. Celebrate the good days and cry on the bad ones with her so she knows she isn't alone. Big hugs
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Post by duskymonkey on Nov 13, 2019 0:44:41 GMT -6
CoachTsWife, I am so glad to hear he's recovering well. Sorry about the defeat. Maybe a bittersweet blessing that now he's able to fully focus on healing and not try to get back in the game. Sounds like he really really loves coaching football and I can see it being hard on him. How are you holding up?
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Post by duskymonkey on Nov 13, 2019 0:46:44 GMT -6
My H is off work this week and there was no school today so we are having a chill day at home and it is so nice! Currently snuggled on the couch with the baby watching Jane the virgin and eating chips. DS is napping and DH and DD went to the bottle depot and to check on his parents house (they are on vacation). I think I’m going to make some beef stew in the instant pot tonight I love this for you! and I totally miss snuggling with a teeny tiny baby. These days lil fella won't snuggle for any length of time anymore. |
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Post by duskymonkey on Nov 13, 2019 0:55:09 GMT -6
So good news! I closed on my house today. I cannot believe it that it's done. I am sad that I no longer have a pad in the city but glad that it all happened smoothly. Now I have to work on spreadsheets and I DO NOT spreadsheet Oy!
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Post by CoachTsWife on Nov 13, 2019 8:35:30 GMT -6
CoachTsWife , I am so glad to hear he's recovering well. Sorry about the defeat. Maybe a bittersweet blessing that now he's able to fully focus on healing and not try to get back in the game. Sounds like he really really loves coaching football and I can see it being hard on him. How are you holding up? Oh yes, he really loves the game and he loves the kids and the camaraderie. It is definitely a bittersweet blessing that the season is over - we've had quite a crazy past month and we really need things to calm down. I'm doing ok. I feel like I fell back into the "I have to do everything" mode fairly quickly because of his recent surgery and also because I was already doing a majority of everything due to football. I try not to think about how long I'll be in this mode.... |
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Post by curmudgeon on Nov 13, 2019 12:29:11 GMT -6
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Post by curmudgeon on Nov 13, 2019 12:30:44 GMT -6
The little one is now sick. Of course, I’m taking pictures because he looks so sweet even tho he’s miserable. We are spending the day binge watching Disney movies.  |
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Post by August Blooms on Nov 13, 2019 18:43:11 GMT -6
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Post by August Blooms on Nov 13, 2019 19:01:32 GMT -6
So I have been having pain I thought was tendinitis or the development of carpel tunnel. It got so bad at work today I left and made a physio appointment. Turns out all the hunching over I’ve been doing has pinched nerves. He did some stretching and some adjustments and I feel better. Not 100% but at least I’ll be able to go to work tomorrow. Getting old sucks.
Other than that it’s been a quiet week. We got a huge dumping of snow and a cold spell which is really early for us. I bought Frozen 2 tickets for opening weekend for me and DD1. And my reno is done! We can finally move all our stuff where it goes!
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Taitai
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Post by Taitai on Nov 13, 2019 21:46:43 GMT -6
August Blooms Yay on the Frozen tickets and for your reno being done!! Sorry about the nerve pain though - I’m so glad the stretching helped. I need to improve my posture at work too. duskymonkey Congrats on your home sale! Don’t spend all the proceeds in one place! 😉😉 curmudgeon I hope your little guy is feeling better. Awwww...he’s so cute in those Christmas PJs! I just want to give him a squeeze 😊
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Post by duskymonkey on Nov 15, 2019 0:12:25 GMT -6
August Blooms LT for reno being done! I hope that will help things settle down and fall into place as the holiday season approaches. Big hugs....you're going through so much. Glad your physio was able to help relieve your pain. Ugh! getting old does suck. curmudgeon how's your little guy? hope he's doing better. He's super cute though. Taitai speaking of pains and illness, how is your toenail?!! Has it begun to grow yet? Also should I have not booked a private jet for our Christmas travel?  . . . . . .totally kidding
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Post by duskymonkey on Nov 15, 2019 0:31:39 GMT -6
Today after school I took DS to his dentist appt. and decided to bring lil fella along so he can see the office and meet the dentist to prepare him for his imminent first appointment soonish. Well he absolutely refused to sit on the chair and cried when I tried putting him on. I don't even know how we are going to make his first appointment happen  Much to my surprise, on the other hand DS did really well and actually followed direction. Have any of your guys taken or thinking of taking your little to the dentist yet? To top it all, lil fella puked on the way back home. I thought he was over being car sick since we haven't had any incidents for a couple of weeks and we've traveled further than the dentist before. I am considering trying FF his car seat to see if he'll do better. I really don't want to but it's awful for him getting sick and I am not fond of constantly having to clean car seats. We managed to keep DS RF until he was almost 4. Are any O17 babies FF? |
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Post by curmudgeon on Nov 15, 2019 7:16:45 GMT -6
duskymonkey we just turned DS to FF this past weekend. Not sure why we did other than he turned 2. DS1 doesn’t like it because he said it was easier to talk to him when he was backwards. 😆
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Post by curmudgeon on Nov 15, 2019 7:21:20 GMT -6
DS2 is still sort of recovering. He’s keeping food down and playing. I hope he’s 100% tomorrow because we have Santa pics scheduled! 😬
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Post by August Blooms on Nov 15, 2019 10:13:20 GMT -6
duskymonkey Much like I am cribs for life I am rear facing for life lol but I’m also whatever works for your family and is safe above all else. DD2 is significantly bigger than DD1 and she is still rear facing. Funny you should mention the dentist, I have to take DD1 next week and am thinking I’ll take DD2 along to see how things work. She’s got most of her teeth so I was thinking of bringing her for a check up since it’s covered by our benefits.
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Post by August Blooms on Nov 15, 2019 10:15:51 GMT -6
I took today off work. Since I felt better and decided to go to hockey last night. I made it to almost the end of the game before I got twisted up with another player. I’m glad I prebooked physio for tomorrow! I’m now getting some Christmas shopping done with a Starbucks and I’ve already spent a bunch of my monies on Christmas decor for the new house.
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Post by CoachTsWife on Nov 15, 2019 10:21:16 GMT -6
duskymonkey I considered turning DS2 to forward facing and teaching him how to get into his carseat unassisted so DH can do daycare pickups but I decided against it. If I had a kid who regularly got car sick I'd seriously consider seeing if turning him around helped. That is no fun for anyone. I remember someone on my other BMB turned her child around earlier than intended due to carsickness and it did help that child. Good luck whatever you decide! I think my ped and dentist recommends starting dental checkups around 3. That's when we started DS1 and I'll plan to do the same with DS2.
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Post by duskymonkey on Nov 16, 2019 0:01:44 GMT -6
August Blooms... you're one tough gal! going to hockey. I hope you'll feel better and you'll find joy decorating your new house. DS RF till near 4 so I am totally with you. I guess we should try and our pedi said we could if we wanted and it really was up to us. I did ask him about the impact on young children's spine development and he said that even for adults the head attached to the spine is vulnerable to impact. curmudgeon are we talking Christmas already! I am so not ready. CoachTsWife I must be so frustrating for your H to be on lift restrictions. I am on my 3rd week and my OB said I can slowly start picking up lil fella by the 4th week and use my best judgement if I feel pain but it really is super hard to watch hubs bathe both kids and having to ask him do dumb things like take the garbage out. Meh
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Post by duskymonkey on Nov 16, 2019 0:25:32 GMT -6
We booked our trip back to my ILs for Christmas and hubs and I talked about heading down to Chicago and spending 2-3 days there and I am super excited to take the kids to see a big city! We haven't been on a trip anywhere other than visiting family since DS was born. I am starting to plan and I am so rusty and no longer up to date with travel research plus traveling with kids is a whole other ball game. I am used to traveling light and planning for what I want to see and do instead of considering for little tots and what interests them. Is chitownsully still hanging around elsewhere where? rebeccabunch I think is in from the windy city too Taitai you lived there before you moved to SEA right? I need recos on kid friendly hotels and activities since I don't think the kids will last very much wandering around the Art Institute and walking around in sub-zero temps checking out the architecture and don't want to subject patrons at posh restaurants with kid antics. I really haven't been around DT Chicago much, only northern IL for biz trips and while we were dating, we kept to north IL too since that was where hubs office was as well. |
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There is no doubt in my mind that it was good for his mental health to get back on the field but I really questioned if the dr realized what he approved. DH stayed far away from drills during practice and stayed in the press box during games, but still..... The players were beyond happy to have him back at practice though. However, it doesn't really matter now; we lost Friday night in an upset during District semi-finals. So he is back to being bored out of his mind at home for another 4 weeks and we are in the I-can't-believe-football-season-is-over weirdness. Feeling completely let down that they lost a game they should have won, sad that we won't get to sit under the lights on Friday nights for another 9 months, but yet a weight has lifted. It always takes us a while to find our post-season rhythm. 
Much to my surprise, on the other hand DS did really well and actually followed direction. Have any of your guys taken or thinking of taking your little to the dentist yet?