I read in lunachick's blog about trying to get her daughter to eat, after she'd been sick, and following her around with juice. I so get that. Little-Sir-3-Year-Old has always been a peanut, and we discovered a wheat, etc. allergy early on, that restricted all kinds of foods. (We became regulars at the ER, and faced anaphalactic shock, and learned to carry an EpiPen.) I've learned to sneak in nutrition-dense calories wherever I can with him, and often find myself following him around popping something in his mouth. He finally started to balance out, with his weight beginning to enter the bottom of the percentiles (he's been below the chart for ages), when seasonal allergies hit hard, and he stopped eating again. Only someone raising a child with some sort of health issues can truly appreciate the victory I felt today when I realized he'd eaten well since I came home from work around 1 pm. (He wouldn't eat breakfast or lunch for DH.) When I got him into p.j.s, I noticed those dark circles that've been under his eyes are finally lightening, and he's not so fragile-looking.


They do turn out ok, though. Dear Daughter (DD) was also underweight and waif-like for many years, until she hit puberty. I thought she'd never break 29 lbs! Even "slims" hung on her...used to dress her in leggings and tights a lot with warm dresses/jumpers, because pants would fall off. She was hospitalized with pneumonia at 7 wks., and had persistent lung ailments...the terrible coughing would make her throw up, so whatever little nutrition I did get into her would come right back again. Now, she's in college, and manages to keep a brutal schedule and eat more-or-less healthily...and she's taller than me! So, there is hope for Peanut # 2.


It reminds me of the stories my mom used to tell. She and her brother, a year apart, were skinny little things, and their mother was always trying to fatten them up. They lived in Brooklyn and walked everywhere. She would regularly pack them up, with the baby in the carriage, and walk to the drug store where she'd buy them malteds. (You can't buy them at drug stores any more, and now lots of ice cream shops don't know what malt is.) Both Mom and my uncle had to diet as adults, and I wonder if all that pushing on Grandma's part didn't contribute to weight problems later.

I never forced DD to eat, and try not to with Little-Sir-3-Year-Old...but when he goes for days with less than a bird would need to survive, I find myself following in Grandma's footsteps. We don't do the malt shop, but I do buy organic whole milk for him, and let him eat Nutella with a spoon and pb & j for any meal he wants. And I've been known to buy Haagen Dazs just for him...ever read that label? Lots of nutritious stuff, nothing artificial, and lots of extra calories.

Now...what happened to me? The skinny gene must've just skipped over me entirely. Whenever I'd take my little ones to the pediatrician, enduring the "tsk tsk tsk" as they were being weighed, and the questioning about the child's daily caloric intake, I always got the distinct impression I was being surveyed out of the corner of Mr./Ms. Medical Professional's eye, and that they were thinking, "Sure...she eats all the food herself, and doesn't let the children have any."

sigh...

Spring

Even tho' we're all battling allergies, a downed section of fence made us go outside after dinner to deal with it, and then ended up doing some impromptu yardwork. I was upset to find that the devil-vine bittersweet's back and practically choked my little tiny lilac before it even has a chance. I did some serious physical battling with it, pulling the roots out of the ground forever and ever...then found it ran the whole front end of the fence, too.

Now, after showering, realizing I came in contact with some allergen on my arm (and in my eye!), I'm achy and sore and just wanna go to sleep. Them vines are tough fighters.

But it feels good to be out in the warmth again.

sigh.

"The Beauty and Magic of the North Fork"

I am working on a thematic unit on Long Island (I have to submit a series of lesson plans for ESL students, of different proficiency and grade levels, across the content areas, all with one theme) and always like to incorporate technology in the form of internet resources, videos & DVDs, as well as field trips for lots of hands-on learning. I found a DVD called The Beauty and Magic of the North Fork, by Mike Malkush Productions in Cutchogue. Anyone know anything about this guy? I am thinking about contacting him to see if he has any other DVDs I could use in the classroom...maybe on other parts of Long Island.

Just looking for more ideas.

Finishing Grad School

I read lunachick's entry that she's going back to college. That brought back memories. I still remember the conversation with DH, right after the baby was born. "Now with DD off to school, and some free time, what do you want to do?" "I have a baby." "I know, but if you could do anything...anything with your life, what would you do?" "Well, I've always wanted to be a college professor." "Ok, so do it!" "I need a PhD for that." "So get one." "I have a baby." "I'll watch the baby, I can cook, we'll figure out schedules. If you want to go back to college, then do it!"


Hmmm...and so the wheels started turning in my mind, weighing the possibilities...hmmm.


And so, I did it. Had some changes mid-course, when I found out there are no jobs for university music professors anywhere...got involved with ESL instead, which I'd always dabbled with.

And now, I'm in my last semester of coursework before getting my certification to teach ESL, pre-K through adult. My last final is May 9th. I then have to student-teach in September. Jobs are starting to open up. It felt like it would never get here...it took 3 1/2 years, but here I am. Almost done. Wow.

Now, I'm almost starting to get a little scared. Entering the job market again, now in a different arena. I've never applied for a job teaching at a college before. Or, I could teach in a school district. Have to go through interviews (yuck!) All that self-consciousness...proving oneself...buying professional-looking clothes to make the right impression.

One step at a time.

For now, I have more hours to log, 3 projects, a research paper, and 1 more final to go.


There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Preschool

After enjoying Little-Sir-3-Year-Old thoroughly, I am sad to report that he will becoming Little-Sir-4-Year-Old at the end of May. DH told me this evening that his job shift may be changing again come September, meaning that no one will be home during school hours, so I am faced with considering pre-K. This isn't an awful thing, I know, but I wasn't ready for it. We've taken advantage of the fun little classes at Riverhead Library, and he loves his weekly play-dates, but pre-K is serious business. Probably 5 days a week, all day. He'll probably love it, but I'm getting teary.

So, dear fellow-parents, teachers, aunties, grandparents, etc., I am looking for recommendations. I've heard bits and pieces about Lyrical, St. David's, Raynor and Riverhead Country Day Schools. If you were sending your precious little lamb off into the big wide world by himself all day, where would you send him?

The Mouse Hunt

We are being invaded again. Part of the joy of living on a country road, across the street from the river, surrounded by trees, is that we see deer regularly, have lots of migratory songbirds, ducks and geese. Another part is that our garbage cans are regularly raided by raccoons (we keep them locked in the shed, but they have to go out on garbage day, and the truck seems to come about 4:30 a.m.) Possums get run over on our street pretty regularly, and that's not a pretty sight.

We also have regular invasions by
the ants
and
(gasp!)
mice.

I always thought people with mice in their houses were dirty people who left food out all over the place. Since living in this house, I've learned that any old house (ours is over 100) has lots of little holes for mice to get in, and in cold weather, they make it their business to get in and be warm. We have diligently plugged up any small crevice we've found with steel wool, and finally, I announced last week, that we've finally gotten through a whole winter without a mouse sighting.

And then, I came home Saturday, to the happy announcement from my DH that he saw a large one escaping behind the stove. No telltale droppings, which is how we usually knew they were here. But he said it was so big, it had trouble getting through the small opening between the stove and the brick chimney.

sigh

"Big" probably means pregnant. Oh goody.

So, the war ensued. DH has taken to all sorts of ingenious trapping ( I won't use poison.) This mouse is very very smart. It has managed to eat the peanut butter bait from the traps, leaving them un-triggered. DH, on the other hand, has caught his fingers in the traps a few times, just baiting and setting them. He's tried different types.

Well, finally, I was greeted this morning by his success. Yuck. I won't touch it. It's his job. He can remove that carcass. Yuck.

Now, why is it, that I love nature, and get a kick out of watching squirrels gathering and eating acorns and things, stuffing their little pouches, and get all excited when I see a chipmunk...but I freak out when there's a mouse in my house? If I saw the same mouse Outside, say eating birdseed on the stoop or something, I'd think it was cute, and would watch it for awhile. But in my kitchen is a different matter altogether. And, I'm scared it will come under the bedroom door when we're sleeping. When my hand hangs over the side of the mattress, I get creeped-out, thinking it's sniffing my hand. Ew!!!

I am an enigma to myself.