Saturday, December 22

AP Moment of the day~Finding a moment to bond

Or how to spend more than 10 minutes with your kids when you are gearing up for Christmas and have two chocolate wreaths, 194 cookies and a partridge in a pear tree to deal with.

This evening my hubby wasn't feeling his best so he took two aspirin, went to bed and promptly fell faaaast asleep. My son wasn't far behind him telling me he was tired and going to sleep with out effort or prompting, at 7:00 !!!! Now he usually is asleep by 8:30, but 7 o'clock is a record!! So it was just the girls!!! Jessie and I had the evening to ourselves!!! :D We turned on the TV and found that Elf was showing. We love that movie so we sat and watched that together. During the commercials I would run into the kitchen and clean it up and during the show we played Checkers together. It was a really enjoyable couple of hours and I hope to have some more of them! :D Perhaps tomorrow I can take some time with her, though more than likely with both children, and take them to the mall... it's going to be nuts with all the people, but the great thing about crazy~two~ days~before~Christmas~in~the~mall shopping is when you have already got all your gifts purchased there is no stress at all!! Just fun!! We can savor the atmosphere and look at the decorations in relative peace!!! I've tried shopping for the "perfect gift" on Christmas Eve once before... Never. Ever. Again!! :D

Anyway, the point I was shooting for is that it is so important, especially in this crazy, hectic time of year, to eek out time with the children. It's (almost!! ;P ) as important as those wretched holiday cookies!!! :D

AP moment of Yesterday!!! :D ~ Learning what sets off your child.

Oops!! Skipped a day there! :D I'm sure you all noticed and were writing your congressmen...!! ;D You should write to them, they love mail! :D

OK! Well yesterday was a VERY busy day to say the least. We made cookies and delivered them to all and sundry all over town. Mostly to businesses yesterday, we'll make more today or tomorrow for our neighbors. I had to hit the businesses on a weekday or I'll end up giving the cookies to the Saturday help, who usually have no idea who we are! :D

Anyway, we rush rush rushed through the entire day and for the most part the kids were just wonderful. At one point poor Jackster just lost it though. We had gone to meet a family who live out in the country and see if they would be willing and able to watch the children once in a while if I had an appointment or some such thing. I wanted my children to meet the family and spend time with them first rather than just dropping them off on total strangers and heading out the door! :D Anyway, the children had a lovely time and Jack really enjoyed playing cars with the young son. We had lots of errands to run and it was time for the family to have naps and such so I suddenly declared it "Time To Go!" and we all got up to leave. Poor Jack was devastated!!! "I STAY HERE!!!" he yelled!!! He loved it there and would have been perfectly happy if I had left!!! We cajoled, wheedled, pulled and dragged him to the car, all the time him yelling "I STAY HERE!!! I STAY HERE!!!!!!" and I wrestled him into his seat. I spoke kindly to him and said "You wish you could stay and play all day... you were having a nice time playing trucks. I should have given you a little warning first shouldn't I?" Poor boy. I meant what I said. I was so busy running everything I had to do through my head I hadn't given much thought to whether he was ready to go!!! Well unsurprisingly the little guy fell asleep in the car and I was able to finish all the rest of my errands with him napping. He slept for maybe an hour or more. That was when it dawned on me how tired he probably was. I have also noticed that when he is hungry his behaviour really goes down hill. he starts to throw things and fight with his sister, he runs around and yells more...! I'd never had put two and two together but one day it just hit me that he hadn't eaten and maybe FOOD would calm him down. Once I got that in my head I've been a lot more careful to make sure I keep him adequately fed and rested.

Sounds obvious perhaps, but I'm not really as smart as I look! :D

Thursday, December 20

AP Moment of the day ~ Making the house smell like Christmas in one or two easy steps!

I know, this doesn't sound very AP, but it really is. Taking care of you is one of the prime AP tenets.

After yesterday's drama, today was a very slow one. We were planning to visit some friends but they were sick unfortunately, so we stayed home. Hubby surprised everyone at the office by going to work this morning and I surprised myself by not wanting to do anything but loaf around, read tacky novels and sip tea. It turns out my body needed a rest from the stress I suppose, although I hadn't felt stressed at the time, it most likely took something of a toll on all of us. I did finally manage to get some things done and I was out with the kids running some errands, in the darkness that is 4pm at the moment, when hubby called me. A cousin of his had died suddenly this morning. He was only 46 and had shown no signs of illness or any indicators..... it was such a shock for everyone. I realised that when we arrived home we'd need to make the place nice for when Daddy got home. We hurried home and first put on the porch lights and the Christmas tree lights. We lit some candles around the place and I started the fire going too. We emptied the dishwasher and cleaned up the kitchen, fed the dog and tidied up a little, but the finishing touches were to simmer a pan of water with mulled wine spices in it and to put a gingerbread cookie on the warmer of the stove. This lent such a Christmassy aroma and feel to the house that, together with the fire and the lights, really made our house seem a relaxing haven for him to come home to. Of course he still had to face the squeaking dog ( she goes inSANE when hubby comes home ) and the bouncing kids who leap up and down up and down the moment Daddy's hand hits the door handle, but once the chaos was over, the atmosphere was able to calm him and he and I were both able to relax and be peaceful.

If only it would work so well on the kids......!!!

Wednesday, December 19

Ap Moment of the day ~ Even the big guys need some AP'ing once in a while.

Or how to get your husband to a hospital when he really, really doesn't want to go....

Today started out as a pretty normal day. Hubby had been home from work yesterday with a rapid heart beat, 240 bpm no less. He has this condition, Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome , which causes his heart to short circuit and start beating very rapidly. He had been taught how to deal with it from a young age, but as he gets older it's occurring more frequently and it seems it's now much harder, if not impossible almost, for him to get it to stop. Taken alone it's not life threatening as such, but the more it happens the weaker his heart will get.

Anyway, the man had been home all Tuesday with it and it had gone on ( unbeknownst to me ) all night long and again through Wednesday morning. I'd talked to him about going in to the ER... but nope, he wasn't keen. I gave it some time, gave him some space to come to the same conclusion in his own time, but nope, didn't happen. I said to him, imagine it was me. Imagine I was lying in bed with my heart racing in my chest, feeling light headed, tired and weak. What would you tell me to do??? Hmm??!?! I gave him until noon. I called the regular doc's office and asked the nurse there what they thought. She said

"Oh, yeah, you have to get your husband in the car and get him to the Emergency Room immediately!!! "

I said to her " Have you SEEN my husband!?!? How on EARTH am I supposed to get that guy in the car by myself?!?! "

It would be like trying to put a cat in a box!!!!

At noon I went in to see him... and he said he was not going in. Sadly I reacted as many of you may have done. I very calmly said to him that I was not his mother and wouldn't be telling him what to do.... ..... then I slammed the door and stamped down stairs. I was so MAD. The crazy guy had to go to the hospital and how on earth was I supposed to get him there myself?!?! I briefly flirted with the idea of calling 911 on his sorry ass ( an idea that had crossed his mind as well... he had apparently listened for sirens!! )but eventually he came to his senses and we both agreed that yes, it was pretty scary, but this had been going on for too long.

I called a friend who came over right away to sit with the kids, then I got the big guy in the car and drove him to the hospital. I wasn't really scared as he wasn't in pain and wasn't clutching at his chest or anything, but it wasn't a great situation to be in. Anyway, we got him to the hospital and we kept getting doctors coming in and shaking their heads, then shaking his hand asking him "HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU BE STILL WALKING AROUND?!?!" His heart rate was as if he had been running a marathon for over 24 hours straight.

The doctors tried all sorts of things to bring his heart rate down, iv drips of various kinds, and it dropped from 219 to 177 where it hung for a few hours. Another med brought it to 166 where again it sat for a few hours more. I mentioned to hubby that all we needed were a couple of candles and we could call this a date! We hadn't been alone this long in ages!!! Of course I thought it was funnier than he did...!! ;D Actually no matter how sick or stressed either of us are, we are usually able to make a joke or two! It's how we deal!! :D

Sooooo he's hanging in there at 177. They had decided that he should remain in the hospital over night so I made some more phone calls about the kids and our friend took them to her house so she could be there when her son got off school. I have to say here I am so proud of my kiddoes for today!!! They really were troopers and were so good despite the circumstances!!! Jessie even made a picture of Black Beauty pulling a hospital wagon with a red cross on the side as a Get Well card for Daddy! ( she's a horse fan!! )

I had considered going to the mall once his heart beat was back to normal as the hospital is right by the mall and hey, I've still got shopping to do!!, but his heart beat just wasn't budging and I didn't want to leave the poor guy alone there until he could at least get some rest, so he and I hung out together and made jokes about his heart rate and tormented the nursing staff. Late afternoon and the "specialist" arrived! The heart surgeon!! Duh Duh duuuhhhh!! He was a really nice man who knew right away to point to me as the boss (!!) and told me to take him in next month for a consultation regarding possible surgery. They were frustrated that his heart rate still hadn't dropped so they hooked him up to an insanely wire~y machine and took a reading of his heart and stuck some wonder drug in his iv. This drug was soooo powerful he could feel it burning as it went in. It only lasts in the body for 10 seconds or your heart will stop... but BOY did it drop his heart beat!!! BOOM!! down to a much more reasonable 84 bpm!!! Phew!!! And he looked sooo much better instantly!! He was back to his old self in no time and the lovely surgeon was convinced enough to let him come home with me for the night rather than having to spend the night in hospital!

To say he was relieved to leave is an understatement!! He called a friend of his and said
"They ain't built a hospital yet that can hold me!!!" LOL!!!

It's odd, an event like that, it can really show you what's important and what's not so much. When we picked the kids up tonight they were thrilled to see their dad, almost, but not quite as much, as he was to see them.

Tuesday, December 18

AP Moment of the day ~ Fostering Independence

Or what happens when your son doesn't want you to come home....!!

Today I had promised my kidlings that if they were very very good cousin Megan would come and babysit for them whilst Mummy went a~shopping~o !! They LOVE cousin Megan, and who wouldn't!? She's cute, funny, turns them upside down at a moment's notice, loves cooking with them, is not much taller than they are and she loves them to bits! :D So, naturally, they were thrilled at the prospect of a visit from her. Well, Hubby was sick home from work today, and I'm sure you know how that goes? It seems to take sooo much longer to do anything when there is an extra body in the house, even if it IS upstairs, the fact that someone else is home during the day can really throw routines out of the window. Ah well... anyway... the point is I was running a touch behind when Meggie arrived and I had promised to take Jessie to the library van so we could drop off a gift of HOT BUTTERED RUM (!!) to our library lady. She is SOOO good to us and such a lot of fun, we usually spend hours talking to her when we go to get books, but today we knew we'd have to dash in, pick up one or two books and then scarper so I had time to do a bit of shopping before Meggie had to get home for dinner...!! Well... we got to the van..... and our lady wasn't there!!!!! WHAT?!?!? the one time in MONTHS she wasn't there and it would be the time we had HOT BUTTERED RUM for her!!! I was forced to entrust it to the "substitute" library~van~lady and hope to goodness that she would indeed give it to our lady ( Rebecca is her name!! I make her sound like some kind of royalty! ;D ) and not hog it all for herself!!! (I'm kidding!! I'm sure she'll pass it along.... I'm sure she will. She will. I know she will. yeah... )
Anyhoo!! :D so we were much faster than even I had hoped we would be but we still managed to gather three bags of library books!! We have over one hundred checked out at the moment!!!
I'm digressing.. aren't I?!! :D

Well we were fast and got back home so I could drop off Jessie and the books and head back out the the stores! I walked in the house and was greeted by Jack!!

"Hello JACK!!" I say

!!!!#%$^&*&$**!!!!!

Instantly he starts jumping up and down and crying... pointing and yelling at me!!! He wants me OUT!!!! He does NOT want me to be home yet!!! He has NOT had enough time with Megan!!!!! :D LOL!!!

I suppose I should be hurt, but eh, I don't mind really!! :D LOL!!!!! I gathered my wits, kissed my bairns, and headed back out to the store, pretty darned confident that my kids weren't missing me one iota. ...


Funny how that doesn't stop me missing them.....

Monday, December 17

AP Moment of the day ~ Happy Hormone Hogging Homemaker!

Or, the things you do for your kids!! :D

Apparently my hormones have gotten out of whack. ( what is whack? Is the rest of me IN whack? Just my hormones were OUT of it?? Can they get back in?!!?) ahem. Anyway, the nice pharmacy lady I spoke to a few weeks ago said she would be able to help me and she was preeeeetty sure that my progesterone level was low. If we raise it up with these little magic pills, then my life will suddenly get 100% better!! It has been known to save people's marriages!!! I MAY win the lottery!! It's THAT good!! :D So anyway, I got my progesterone today!! Whooot! But first, I had to take a spit test...and for anyone else who has had to take that wretched spit test you have my utmost sympathy. It was HOOOOOOrrendous!! Who knew it could take up to 45 minutes to fill a tiny tube with slobber. UUUugggghhhhh. Sooooo, once I'd filled the tube and gone through all the rigmarole that pertains to getting the children ( and the dog ) out of the house in winter, we headed to the pharmacy, dropped off the Vile Vial of Bile ( not bile, but it rhymes... give me some leeway...!!) and I was rewarded with a small tub of Happy Hormones!!! Hoooray!! The pharmacist explained everything to me... (how many times I take how much on what day, depending on which way the wind is blowing and if the moon is full or may be full depending on if it's cloudy or there's a chance of a chicken........ ) all very straight forward I'm sure... I'll just have my people look at it and see if they can make head nor tails of it! :D She explained that, as I am on day 18, I needed to take two pills today, one in the day and one before bed. ....

"You can just take it when you get home," she reassured me, patting me gently on the arm, tilting her head slightly and looking, sympathetically, in my eyes. PAH! Forget that!!! I wrestled briefly with the childproof top, fumbled around for a pill and shoved it under my tongue immediately. The Pharmacist looked a little aghast!

"No, no, you don't understand!!" I mumbled around the troche,

" I have children in the car!!! I have to take it right away....It's for the sake of the children "

Man. I'm feeling better already! :D

Sunday, December 16

AP Moment of the day... you know you might be an AP Parent when...

You are sitting on the couch with your hubby after a loooong day "in the field" and you are watching his favorite TV show on DVD. The action is getting tense, things are going to get really exciting and.... AND...... you hear the thump thump thump of pyjamaed feet stomping across the ceiling as your smallest and most troublesome child heads from his bed, to yours. Instead of looking around the room to see if anyone else might be around to take care of him OR pretending you don't hear anything and seeing which one of you jumps first, you simply get up, right away, and head for the stairs. Bonus points if you also turn back and say "You watch it without me, don't wait, I have a little boy to take care of" !!!! This AP stuff must be catching! :D

Oh, and you know you're a good blogger when you come back down 30 minutes later having, naturally, fallen asleep next to the cuddle bug, and instead of watching the rest of the show, you head to the computer to blog about it!! LOL! :D

That's me!! AP Mama / Blogger extraordinaire!!! (If only!!! :D)