Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in ericakeithley's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, December 8th, 2011
2:34 pm	Things that I like ... being a baby mattress in the afternoon while the big boys sleep. ... the way a baby looks when swaddled in three blankets, especially when she scrunches her head down so that her chin is covered up by the layers. ... seeing a victorious grin on the aforementioned, swaddled baby's face when she proudly shows how she Houdinied her hands (both!) out for chewing purposes. ... the particularness of a two year old who needs his boo-boo to be kissed in exactly the right spot before he will stop crying. ... hearing Daddy read _One Fish, Two Fish_ with pauses for little boys to fill in words. (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
4:35 pm	I'm rubber, you're glue... A. was in the basement playing, so C. and I had this post-nap conversation over popcorn: Me: C., are you stinky? C.: No. Me: Are you sure? C.: No stinky. Me: C., I really think you stink! C.: No stinky! 'Ou stinky! Me: I'm stinky? No! You're a turkey! C.: No! 'Ou turkey! Me: What? No! You're a turkey! Pause ... C.: Alex downstairs turkey! I can't argue with that. Clearly C. has already learned how to talk trash. (Comment on this)
Friday, October 7th, 2011
9:26 am	You know you're sleep deprived when ... you drag around the house so obviously that your two year old brings you a can of soda and says, "Dr. Pepper, Momma! Dr. Pepper!" (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, September 29th, 2011
9:16 am	Now, look ... Sons-of-mine, Please, do not put memory game pieces in my coffee. Perhaps one day you will realize how alarming it is to tip your cup up for a much needed sip of stimulant and discover to your dismay a foreign object in the bottom of your cup. Not pleasant, but stimulating in its own way, I suppose. That is all. Your not-fun Mommy (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
7:26 pm	True love ... is when daddy plays checkers for the 7th time today with a 3 year old. (Comment on this)
Friday, September 9th, 2011
9:47 am	New baby! Annemarie Rose was born a week ago today. She's perfectly healthy (as far as we can tell), and the initial concerns about her development in utero seem to be completely swept away. I have to say I was a borderline basketcase for the last 4 weeks of this pregnancy, worrying about her and wondering what she's be like when she was born. I realized that ignorance was truly bliss when I was pregnant with the boys; I had no reason to think that anything would be wrong, so I didn't really worry about them much, and when I did I knew that it was nonsense. But knowing that something might be wrong with Annemarie made it very hard to wait to see her. However, seeing is believing (sorry for the cliche-fest), and we are delighted to see such a healthy, sweet girl! She was a mere 7 lbs. and 19.5 " at birth, but she's eating like there's no tomorrow and settling into life with two nutty brothers (to say nothing of her slightly crazed parents). Thanks to everyone for the prayers and good wishes for her! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, August 13th, 2011
8:15 pm	It's official ... C. does not have a tail. He checked. The Minneman family was watching The Princess Bride. C: Horsey! Horsey! Parental Unit: Yes! That's a horsey. C: Tail! PU: Indeed. The horse has a tail. (Pause.) PU: C, do you have a tail? C: Nooo .... (looks over shoulder to double check). No. (Comment on this)
8:13 pm	A.'s Chamber Pot Up unitl about 6 weeks ago, A. was still hit and miss on keeping himself dry overnight. Most nights were fine, but once or twice a week he'd wake up wet. We tried waking him in the night to take an extra potty trip, we tried carrots and sticks, we tried using plastic pants over the underwear rather than pull-ups, and I was about to throw in the towel because nothing worked. My research on the topic basically said that only 60% of 3 year olds stay dry overnight, that doctors don't generally consider it a problem until the child is 5 - 7 years old, and that there's not a lot you can do to facilitate the training until later. As a final ditch attempt to do something to help I tucked the potty chair in a corner of A.'s room and told him that if he needed to go potty he could go there (or in the bathroom) at night. And it worked! He hasn't awakened wet since then. Some days it's empty in the morning, some days it's got something in there. I'm not sure when I'll get rid of the chamber pot, but hey, it sure saves on the laundry. (Comment on this)
8:07 am	Earworm At one point in reading for a music education class I stumbled upon a really cool term coined by a German researcher, "earworm." He used it to describe those tunes that just get caught in your head and that you can't get to stop playing ... over and over and over and ... I guess I have several of them, but it's only the ones that I can't stand that I really remember. One that I've had for years, that the mere mention of the title will doom me to unceasing renditions in my head is Hotel California by the Eagles. I'm sure it's a great song, but I just can't stand it. I recenty discovered that another problem tune is one of R's favorite Brad Paisley songs, Alcohol. In it's defense it's a funny song and defintely catchy, but I really don't want it as my mental soundtrack all day and night. My solution: blasting loud organ music (like the Widor Toccata) on youtube when R listens to it. It sort of works. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
3:29 pm	Lucy is a deep pile cat Call the SPCA. I vacuumed the cat today. I mean, she was sitting in her favorite chair (which was covered in hair and needed a vacuum), I needed her to move so that I could do the vacuuming, and at 8 months pregnant bending over to kick her out of the chair is an extreme sport. I sort of figured that she'd hiss and high tail it out of the room. I never suspected that she'd actually like it. We started on curtain strength, but she much preferred deep pile. More suction. And, hey, there's something to be said about cutting out the middle men: why let the chair (and the floor, and the ...) gather the hair when the vacuum and I could go directly to the source for our allergen needs? (Comment on this)
Monday, July 25th, 2011
2:02 pm	Toddler Spooner disciple declares ... Feline vomit = pat cuke! pat cuke! (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
3:53 pm	Social Butterfly A. has really developed socially in the last few months. His interactions with kids at the park seem to be the most indicative of his emerging out-goingness. About a year ago, if there were any kids at the park, A. would just watch them from afar. He wouldn't get within 10 feet of any other kid, and if I encouraged him to go ahead and try out the slide or some other toy he would insist that he had to wait for the other kids to have their turn (i.e. vacate the area). After a couple of months of watching he started following other kids around the park. At first he kept a safe distance, continued to watch, but would play in parallel. But he was definitely rattled if someone tried to talk with him. I definitely remember a pretty blond little girl trying to stike up a conversation and A. was completely flummoxed. His dad laughed and told him that he should *always* talk to the pretty girls. Eventually he got around to talking to kids in the park. I have tried to stay out of the way, but one day I couldn't help myself and tried to be a social coordinator. A. and the little boy had sort of a lull in their talk about whatever-it-was, and so I said to A.: Who is that boy you're talking to? A.: I don't know. Me: Why don't you ask him his name? A.: Ok. (to boy, not looking at the kids but continuing to dig in the wood chips.:) What's your name? Kid: John. A.: Oh. Pause. Me: A., what did he say his name is? A.: I don't know. Me: It's John! A.: Oh. Pause. Me (I still haven't learned to give it up): A., why don't you tell him your name? A.: Ok. (Still looking at the ground) I'm Alex. John: Oh. I'm happy to report that 1) I learned my lesson and gave up trying to facilitate park friendships, and 2) A. apparently learned that he could start up a conversation by asking other kids their names and telling them his because a few weeks later that is just what he started doing. The scary part is that I started a ball rolling with this kid that has completely outstripped my meager social skills. A. now confidently walks up to strange kids at the park, introduces himself (or not) and starts in monologuing about baseball or the kids I teach piano to, or Star Wars, or whatever he has on his mind. He also vociferously says goodbye to all and any who will listen when it's time for us to leave. Most parents seem to think it's all quite funny, and the kids seem to be ok with his behavior. I really don't want to micromanage A., but sometimes I cringe when he starts filling some 7 year old in on his imaginary friend, or asking some 2 year old if he knows all about crocodiles. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, June 24th, 2011
4:56 pm	Social Awkwardness Here's a fun conversation I had with a couple of acquaintenances today: S: Are you expecting again? Me: Yes! S: And is that your baby? (Points at C.) Me: Yes! He's 20 months old now. S: Did you mean to have these children so close together? Me: (????!?!?!) Uhhhh. Yes. A: Well, isn't that nice! Me: We're excited. A: Maybe it will be a girl! Me: Actually, we know that the baby is a girl. A: Wonderful! So now you can be done. Me: (???!?!?!) Well, maybe. We might have more. Silence. Change of subject. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 20th, 2011
12:19 pm	In the Middle C. seems to be stuck in the middle. He's about to become a middle child, so maybe he's picking up on this and it's subtly affecting his life in strange ways. Or maybe he's just a wacky kid. Here's what I'm talking about: 1. When C. sees letters (on a shirt, book, whatever) he says: "C...hijk!" 2. When he sees numbers he says: "345!" 3. For some inexplicable reason, today he's been wandering around holding up his shirt with one hand and pressing an "8" magnet into his stomach while shouting: "Belly butt!" (Comment on this)
Friday, May 13th, 2011
3:50 pm	Three year old schizophrenia A. vacilates between being a super sweet, helpful boy and being a whining machine that drives me stark raving mad. This afternoon, despite his feeling sick, he was very interested in helping me cook double chocolate muffins. He watched, took every measuing spoon cheerfully over to the dishwasher, and told me multiple times that the muffins looked yummy and that I was doing a good job. But as soon as I ask him to get a tissue and wipe his nose rather than using his sleeve or his fingers he flips out, whining and all but throwing himself down on the floor. The funniest part of recent fits is when A. whines, "But I *loooooooove* you! I want to *huuuuuuug* you!" The "How could you do this to me?" implication of these claims of eternal affection remains unstated, which I find interesting. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, May 2nd, 2011
9:34 pm	Out of the Desert Amnio results are in, and the news is that our new baby has no gross chromosomal abnormalities. What a relief! A recent ultrasound showed that the hygroma has not grown at the same pace as the baby has, so the hygroma is relatively smaller than it was before. The maternal/fetal specialist said that the situation looks a lot more positive than it did a couple of months ago. He is still keeping an eye on things: I have another ultra sound tomorrow and will be seeing a fetal cardiologist in the next few weeks as the doctor tries to figure out what might have caused the hygroma. It's beginning to seem more likely that the baby got the stomach virus that I had in January and that this caused the lymphatic system to overgrow. Thank you to everyone who has been offering warm thoughts and prayers. PS The amnio also told us that the new baby is most certainly a girl. Aren't the grandmas pleased. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, March 18th, 2011
9:31 pm	Toddler comedy at 6:30 am Mommy has her head hanging over the toilet. C. squeezes between the wall and the toilet. Mommy: Groan ... C. Flush! Flush! Mommy: C., go awa .... groan. C. (rattling toliet handle): Flush! A. (from another room): Hey, Mommy! Mommy: Wha ...? A.: Your baby makin' you puke? Mommy: Yeah ... A.: Ok! C.: Flush! (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, March 14th, 2011
1:42 pm	Multi-culturalism, toddler style A: I have to go talk with Darth Vader. Mommy: Oh? A: Yeah. I have to tell him about the football game. M: Really? Football? A. Yeah. You know, about how Thomas was playing and the bunnies didn’t catch the ball! (Comment on this)
1:41 pm	Into the desert We're headed into the wilderness. This post wasn't supposed to start like this. Since January, I've been thinking about how to announce how thrilled that R. and I are about expecting baby #3 in September. I've been holding that news close to my heart for a couple of months and just cherishing it as a secret. But just as we were about to start announcing the happy event to friends and family we got hard news. At the 12 week ultra sound the technician told me that the baby appeared to have a cystic hygroma, a malformation of the lymph system that is frequently associated with chromosomal abnormalities. Two weeks later we were in the office of a maternal fetal specialist who confirmed the existence of the hygroma and described the odds were of various outcomes: 66% chance of a chromosomal abnormality, all of which are fatal except Turner's and Down's syndromes 60 - 80% chance of miscarriage (which could happen as late as at 38 weeks) Possible extended bed rest Possible need to transfer baby directly from delivery room to OR for surgery We found all of these things out in detail on Ash Wednesday, the day that the church reminds us that we are mortal and will one day die. It was a crazy coincidence that Wednesday morning on my 4 minutes commute to work I heard a snippet of a very powerful talk given on the local Catholic radio station. The speaker made the point that after his baptism, Jesus was driven into the desert by the Holy Spirit. He didn't just wander off there; he was pushed. I think I can symphathize with that. The interesting thing is that, after the initial shock and grieving was done, I realized that I really have only three things to do at this point: pray, love our baby, and wait. Praying seems to be coming pretty easily. And despite all the heartache and anxiety and stress and bad feelings about the baby's condition, we already love her a ton. (We don't know the baby's gender yet, so I'm just hypothesizing.) It was wonderful to look at the baby on the ultra sound and just know that even if we don't really get to meet her in person, we saw her in all her wonderfulness: sucking her thumb, wiggling toes, and showing us a precious little nose. Waiting with patience is harder, but we know that in 3.5 weeks we'll have another detailed ultra sound and probably an amnio. Having an end point to the wondering helps. We're committed to this baby and won't be terminating, but we do want to know what to expect. It ain't easy, but where there's life there's hope. Prayers are deeply appreciated!
Thursday, February 24th, 2011
2:41 pm	Avoidance No posts lately because potty training has nit a snag, and I really don't want to discuss poop. My life has plenty of poop that is not making it into the proper place. I even called a talk show and got some professional advice. It's sort of working. But I did think that it was rather comic today that I found out what happens when you put a pull-up in the washer. Diaper filling crystals are everywhere. I'm hoping that running the load again will take care of the problem. Somehow I've never washed a diaper. I guess pull-ups are smaller than diapers, and the folks who wear them seem to peel them off in one piece with their pants. Whatever. More when I'm not running Poop Watch 2011. (1 Comment |Comment on this)