Funny things said by my child

My little guy says the darndest things. He’s four and a half years old and has been entertaining us pretty much since he started talking (in complete sentences) at fifteen months. He’s been known to tell my grandma, his great-grandma, when she watches him at our house, that she is “not the boss at our house. She’s not part of our family.” and that “my daddy pays the bills here”. He’s also seen enough of the images of Jesus that are shown at church, and grandma’s house to put two and two together…. while eating breakfast at a local restaurant, noticed a man with longer brown hair and a beard, and soft eyes… two-year old, Eion then starts SHOUTING… “Hi, Jesus! Hi, Jesus!”… And then becoming irritated, because Jesus would not say hello…. then, “Bye, Jesus! Bye, Jesus!”.

After reading the ever-popular twitter feed (www.twitter.com/shitmydadsays), I decided that I need to begin to capture those things that Eion says, because they are too funny to forget and as I get older, they are getting harder to remember. So, here’s a more in-depth volume of things that my little man has to say… http://www.twitter.com/eionsaid

does a big head mean a big brain and super-smart? we hope so!

Finn has passed all of his well child visits to date with flying colors. He’s hit every milestone; he’s growing beautifully, almost walking, and certainly developing his little personality. The one area that the pediatrician has been most watchful of is his head size. He’s always been on the higher percentile for head circumference. More recently, at his twelve-month visit, they’ve noticed that in comparison to the curve/chart that gets followed when they plot growth is that his head is still going up, instead of leveling off on the curve. That said, they referred us to a neurologist.

Slightly terrified and reading entirely too much information online about kids with “big heads”, otherwise known as Macrocephaly, we saw Dr. Varma. He asked us all sorts of questions about his eye movements, developmental milestones, and even tapped on his head to listen for who knows what. He felt his soft spot and said it’s a little more open that it should be at this point. Ultimately, he sent us to Children’s Hospital for a CT scan. I read way to much online about CT scans in children and nearly scared myself to death. I was thinking of everything from will the radiation give him learning disabilities later in life, will he freak out and need sedation (or will I) or what if they find out something is terribly wrong… how will I handle it?

The actual CT scan went super quickly – we were in and out in less than a half an hour. The nurses at Children’s were very nice and eased all of my concerns regarding the amount of radiation. The room itself is decorated like a pirate ship, with lights and pictures, a TV playing a movie (for Finn, it was Dora). They swaddled him tightly in a sheet; Velcro strapped him to the table and held his head down with another strap across his forehead. He looked so tiny on that table and had a moment where he looked like he might panic, but he just looked, wide-eyed at what was going on. He did great; it was over before we knew it. I, on the other hand, had tears rolling down my cheeks. The nurse was handing me tissues when it was over.

The following day, after waiting and waiting and waiting, I got the results. They confirmed that he has macrocephaly. There is more cerebrospinal fluid than normally found within the spaces and around his brain. However, it’s not causing any pressure, so that’s a good thing. It is something that they want to monitor closely with monthly or bi-monthly head size checks, and then a six month follow-up at the neurologist.  I asked the question “Does he have a big head BECAUSE of the fluid?” or “Does he have the fluid because he has a big head?”… they said that his head size is because of the fluid, but ultimately he should grow out of this and the fluid would then be a normal amount. That’s what we are hoping for anyways.

Eion, our almost five-year old, also always had a big noggin, but they never went this far to check it out. So, I’m hoping that Finn will grow into his head too. He is such a great little guy, always pleasant, super loveable and very curious.

So far, we’ve been very lucky – with both of our boys – but this was/is pretty scary. I’ll just keep saying my prayers that they both continue to be healthy happy little boys.

The Worst Teacher I Ever Had

8th grade math class with Mr. Loser (not a faux name, by the way). I was terrified of him, as I think most of my classmates were. He was very abrupt and not very gentle, to say the least. We would have to solve problems at the board, and boy did I dread getting them wrong. I remember having severe anxiety before going into his class and always breathing a sigh of relief when the bell rang to leave.

At the time, I probably thought he was the worst teacher I ever had, but in reality, he was the best teacher I could have had. I learned a lot in his class, grasped the material and did very well. I think he scared me into learning it, really. From that point on, I loved math related classes. Algebra, Calculus, Geometry – all classes I did well in and truly enjoyed. Between math & art classes, I have a very mixed up, neither-right-nor-left brained way of thinking!

So, a great big “THANKS” to Mr. Loser, my 8th grade math teacher.

Who was your WORST teacher ever?

Life without the internet, is that possible?

That’s a very good question. Could I live without the internet…? I’m sure I could LIVE. But, would I be pleasant and calm? I’m not really sure. Since having access to technology for the last many years, I’ve become quite dependant. I could probably live without a computer, but never my phone – therefore unless I’m in a no-coverage area, I have the internet at my fingertips. Facebook updates let me know how almost everyone is doing, brings me right up to date with people without having to have a conversation. Email, CNN, Pandora… not so sure I could get used to not being “connected”. Besides those, I pay my bills online (saving paper, and doing my part for the environment); I manage our life online via my MobileMe calender; online recipes help me decide what’s for dinner; and so much more…

My phone has become like another appendage. There have been (few) times when I’ve forgotten my phone at home, and I’m not going to lie…. I’ve been rather anxious without it.

How about you? Could you survive a month without the internet?

If I Could Relive Any Day of My Life

Back when I was somewhere between 19 and 21, my grandfather was sitting on the front porch, just observing the day. I was running somewhere, to see someone, about something, which truly was probably nothing in the grand scheme of things. Before I left, he asked me to sit and have a cup of tea with him. But of course, I was in a huge rush to go and do whatever, and I didn’t sit with him.

In August of 2000, we lost him to cancer. He was my favorite person in this world. He was my biggest fan, no matter what.I’d give anything today to have him here. If only he could have met my husband and especially, my boys. How he would have loved them all.

If only I’d sat and had that cup of tea with him. I could only imagine what types of topics we would have chatted about, the stories he’d tell me from way back when or what he’d have made me laugh about. I’ll never know how that day could have gone now, but I know it would be another memory of Paul that I’d have in my heart.

What would you do if you could relive any day of YOUR life?

Do Household Chores Overwhelm You Too??

Overwhelming is a word I’d use to describe the state of our household sometimes.

These days, keeping up with work and life is certainly a chore. My house isn’t always clean, but it gives the faux-appearance of being clean on occasion, with just a little straightening. The laundry piles up, three to four loads at a time, and even when it gets done… it ends up sitting in a basket folded or not, inevitably to get picked through to have to be refolded before it may eventually get put away. The bathrooms and the floors… well, let’s just say they could use some TLC right about now.

As hard as I try to get the toys “organized”, my little tornado runs through and “un-organizes” it, or he and his cousin play “garbage men” and dump all the beautifully sorted bins of superheroes, cars and the like into one giant heap on the floor.  The baby toys are the same story… with all the little shapes and blocks and balls to this toy or that gadget, something is always missing, or under the couch, or more likely between the paws of Stella, our sweet and large Pit-Mix.

Speaking of the dog(s)… as much as I’d like to say they don’t get on my furniture, they do. It wasn’t SO bad when it was just the yorkie (who doesn’t shed) and the cat (who sheds tremendously). But now, with the addition of the Stella-monster, we have twice the hair/fur on furniture. They all sleep on the bed at one time or another. And, if anyone in our house is genius enough to be wearing dark clothes… well, sorry about your luck… you are now covered in dog & cat hair.

And then there’s the outside… who’s idea was it to go for this beautifully landscaped home, with shrubs, trees, flowers, bamboo, and all the finest nature has to offer? That poor commercial landscaper who sold us the house must drive by and gasp now. Ah, the days of renting when none of this was a bother.

Overall though, I think the time spent with my family is what matters most. Yes, all of the above needs to get done. Unfortunately, it’s not going to get done all at once. Not today, and probably not tomorrow. But like most of my procrastination techniques, I’ll get there.

Anyone else have trouble keeping up? How do you cope? Or do I need to bring my project management home with me to come up with a better system?

Whatever happened to playing outside?

“It’s too hot!”

“Who’s going to play with me?”

“… but I didn’t get to watch TV…”

These are just some of the excuses that I get regarding playing outside. I remember being a kid and spending entire days outside. I’d spend my time climbing trees, riding my bike, pretending in the back yard or some other kid-activity… by myself and sometimes with friends.  If E is only four and a half now and needing constant entertainment, we are in for it! He has more than enough to play with, both inside and out. Yet, it still just isn’t enough I guess. A nice new swing set with a fort at the top, bikes, scooters, balls, hockey stuff, superheroes, a trampoline and more…. But nope, there he is, on the couch… whining….  And the attitude issues we get these days… I’m not even going to talk about that this time… ugh!

Anyone else dealing with this right now?