Kiddos
So I am in the shower a few mornings ago… The house we are living in is quite “cottagey” in that it has a very compact living area and three slant ceiling bedrooms. The bathroom is off of the tiny kitchen which is off of the living room/office/family room (one room we use for multiple things). The kids can basically go anywhere on the first floor without problems. I’m happily taking my shower and I hear noise in the bathroom which leads me to believe my amorous husband is about to sneak a peek. I call out “Hello?” and a little boy says back to me “Hi.” London is only 10 months and both John and I are absolutely amazed at his vocabulary. If you say to him “London?” – he’ll say back “Are you?” in question form! The amount of words he can say is not too far behind Julie (18 months his senior). Rachel only really started doing a lot of talking when she 3 and Julie is pretty much the same (late talkers). I guess with a big sister and a Mommy that won’t shut up, he was bound to start talking sooner.
What a ham. I tried to take some pictures of him today and everytime I got out the camera and called his name, he would look over at me and give me the cheesiest grin I have ever seen. I think I have one of those pictures handy…
Rachel says she doesn’t want to go to “real school” anymore. School starts on Sept 11 because of mold /asbestos removal delays and she will be going into the first grade. She has been doing a lot of whining recently and has been rebelling against doing some school work (school @ home) and we’ve told her that if the other children hear her constant whining – that they might tease her. I think she is scared that she will whine and they will tease her. She is a pretty naive kiddo, not one of the older “ring-leader” type children that often come from families with first graders with older siblings. I don’t want to send her to school, I don’t want her to lose her innocence with the “kids will be kids” crap. Her physical issue seems to be worse recently and I would hate for that to be an issue in school and children to tease her for that. Everyone believes that I cannot homeschool her with all that I have on my plate between the “back to back” triplets and our business.
I just don’t know what to do. My heart isn’t in sending her to school. My heart definitely isn’t in having a hospital birth. I think I need some chocolate.
Julie was a nightmare today. We had a good day… drove about 4 towns away to get some things off of freecycle from a really nice lady. We went to get four wing back chairs (John is about to learn how to upholster or find cheap slip covers) and wound up coming home with two exceptionally nice rugs and a pine dresser. After freecycle we got the kids a cookie each, stopped by a yard sale and went to the park. It’s not like these children are every cooped up in this house and are screaming out of boredom.
She threw multiple temper tantrums today, it was a pretty bad day for her. Before bedtime tonight we went upstairs and played in the bedrooms and made beds, organized the rooms and hung out there for a while. When it was time to go to bed London and Rachel happily went down (Rachel thinks stalling works until she realizes that it doesn’t – like.every.night). Julie, on the other hand, threw one of her nastiest tantrums yet. She doesn’t like going to be until she is ready and will fight us every inch of the way unless she gets her way. Usually she goes to sleep in her toddler bed with no problems, but tonight she decided she wanted to sleep in the bassinet for Boston. Long story short we had to shut the door to her room and hold the knob for 5 minutes until she passed out.
We have never had to do this before but I just don’t know how we will cope in another month when we have a new baby to take care of and a bloody-murder screaming 2yo. Right now, we have the luxury of taking turns with Juliebean when she is “like this”…. We tried to comfort her in the middle of her five minutes but going in to see her only made it worse for her. 3 minutes after the “reassurance”… she was passed out in her bed.
Yes we feel like crap about it. I just don’t know how we will cope in another month unless we do something about her behavior issues now. Speak of the “devil” – guess who just woke up (at least twice a night).
I love Julie will all of my heart and I really appreciate the quirkyness of her personality. I feel terrible that we are basically forcing her to grow up too quickly. That being said, I wouldn’t send London or Boston back for all of the tea in china. We have to make the best situation out of what we have.
I think tomorrow night I will set up the pack and play that we have (a wedding gift from Boston Amy) and see if she wants to be “the baby.” I know she likes playing in London’s crib and definitely wanted to climb into Boston’s bassinet tonight.
I think the only thing that will change Julie’s behavior will be when she learns to speak and can communicate what she wants. She is a great kid with a heart of gold and lots of personality. I just don’t think she can turn her brain off as easily as Rachel and London can. My head hurts just thinking about the complexity of my children and how difficult being a parent can be (and I have it easy!). I’m going to give kisses where kisses are due and turn out the light for the night.
Muah!
TeamRachel aka mrskatvon is both a website to gain public awareness of Juvenile Batten Disease (which affects my oldest daughter) as well as a journal to remember the events in our lives.
Rachel was diagnosed with Batten Disease in July 2009 and while we knew something was "not right" we had no idea that such a nightmarish disease existed. There are dozens of nasty, orphan disease which affect people both very young and old.
Aside from dealing with the changes of Batten Disease in my daughter, Rachel, I have tasked myself with making life memorable for all of my children to make sure that (at least) 3 of them grow up to be as well adjusted and happy as possible.
That kid is so funny. He makes me laugh daily. Just amazing.
I’m exhausted just reading your post! *hugs*
Let there be a change in the winds over the next few weeks bringing Ms. Julie to a more relaxed state of being. She’s so very much like my Aerik used to be and in many ways like Declan, too
Oh My Kate…you have so much on your plate. I can only hope that it will get better soon for you. I’m sure the next few weeks and months will be crazy…but I know that you’ll survive!
In so many ways I envy your awesome family…but I think I’d go crazy. It takes a strong, strong woman!
That’s it. You’re not human. You’re an angel. Your kids are SO lucky. XOXO
I wish you would show another of the pictures. Just to show it isn’t a fluke but a true representation of London’s smile.
london is soo dang cute!! i know that julie is full of personality. just wait until she can fully communicate her wishes to you in a list that is a mile long in four languages
I think this is a rough time for you but I am counting on it burning off and creating an incredible, tight family unit. I think in a few years you’re gonna be on top of the world.
Thanks for the support everyone, I really need to hear it right now.
And Lory – you were supposed to tell me what to do. LOL
Wow. You have so much going on, it makes me look like a pansy.
Do *you* believe you can homeschool Rachel? Because really, it’s just you and your dh that have the opinions and final decision on that kind of thing, not everyone else. Might take a bit of planning and creativity, but I’m sure it could be done.
As for the toddler behavior issues, well, I’m right there with you. I’ll find the toddler in the crib, he’s a master temper-tantrumer, all that good stuff.