Parenting Blind/When sight escapes us

Well with the garbage strike over I decided I wasn’t going to wait for the funding people to figure out that they had missed processing my file. Note: I’m trying to go back to school but am on permanent disability pension. I’m sick of sitting at home being unproductive. I want my son to be proud of me, but my Doctors would not let me return to my old profession. The stress was literally toxic to me. So I decided to go from computer programming to interior decorating.

So three weeks past the due date for a reply I started making noise. Going through the usual channels produced nothing, not even returned phone calls. Since the funding was coming from the government I called my MP. Three weeks of their foot work and changing my file from one program to another and I’ve been approved to return to school this September.

I am NOT ready. No paper, no binders NOTHING. Now I’ve got to prepare for everything. College is different from when I went almost 20 years ago. Now there are services available for me to get that specifically work with my disability (20 yrs ago it wasn’t even recognised as a valid disability). They will help me get the most from my classes while still making my necessary doctors apointments or adjusting work loads and such.

Ben’s heading back to school at the same time half day monday to friday so he’ll only miss me in the afternoons. I’ll be continuing this blog and including the life’s changes we make to things from meal making, preparing Ben to go and come home from school.

I’ll write about how we get life adjusted so that Peter can confidently take over more control of the household routine.

Grandma is going into the Hospital in September to have her other knee replaced so in the beginning Grandma won’t be here to help. December I get my sinsus operated on so I’ll make notes on what I do to get ready for all this.

From maximizing freezer and organizing them, to how I’ll pre-cook types of meals, to how I set-up meals before I go. It’s not just dinner I have to worry about.

Then there’s school bags, lunches, dressing, shopping and homework.

I’m hoping Christmas won’t be a bust for us. I’m going to see if we can friends to help out with the decorations and such. I’ll try to do Christmas Baking during November and freeze it but we’ll see.

So there’s a few topics for the future. TTFN have to go make dinner now.

Sorry to my few readers out there that have been waiting for my next excerpt from my off the wall world.

Update, we’ve all had sinus infections again.  This time though I ended up in the emergency ward with an ENT all but physically biting his tongue when I told him that I’d already seen an ENT who would not operate on me.  Guess what this guy insists on operating after looking at a CT scan.  I’m on 4 different antibiotics and prednazone steroids so that I can breath through my nose and my sinsus can have a chance to drain.  It was so bad I lost my sense of taste and smell.  My balance was off and don’t even let me look at food at the time. 

I am feeling better and the guys are healthy.  I’ll see the ENT again on the 18th and hopefully then book a time for the end of the year or beginning of next to get the operation done.

Now onto what I put into my playground first aid kit.  Yes you can buy these in stores for over $30 CAN if you can find them.  I haven’t.

What I did is get a large dollar store pencil case (2 zips on it so it’s go a wide opening) and I have added:

Anticeptic wipes

bandaids

antibiotic ointment

an instant cold pack

twizzers

bite ointment

tylenol

and a small pack of travel wipes.

Well most of the things kids will get into are scraps, cuts, slivers, bug bites and bumps. 

This can be tossed into a diaper bag or purse.

It would seem a friend of ours has given Peter and Myself nasty colds.  Ben however seems to be fine.  This is very draining on us as he’s getting cabin fever with all the rain and both parents dragging themselves around.

In all that Peter has been trying to figure out how he’s going to dose Ben with his asthma medication.  Before this we were using liquid ventilin and now we’re onto the puffers.  However, Ben looks up to Peter to show him what to be scared of and what not to be scared of.  Ben was scared of the Airo-chamber attachment for his ventilin, but after Daddy put it on his face and made Darth Vadar sounds from it.  It’s been easier to give him the doses.  He even wants to be in control of the dosing, which Mommy won’t do.

We aren’t sure yet whether it’s true asthma or allergies making his breathing harder but it’s not a serious case thank heavens.  I have really bad allergies.  A doctor researching children of diabetics once told me that the allergies may be rough but it ment that I would never get type 1 diabeties.  That my allerigies were caused by the gene that causes diabeties being turned off.  Funny that if a gene is turned off it still effects you in different wayts.

My mother had type 1 diabeties and my husband Peter has type 1 diabeties too so we’re watching Ben for three things, diabeties, asthma, and allergies.  Seems the last two may indicate that the diabetic gene is turned off. If that happens for 6 generations the diabeties will be bred out of the family and so we cross our fingers.

I made salmon cakes for dinner last night and surprise surprise Peter thought they were ok and Ben gobbled up his.  Now to figure out how to hide some vegatables in them. lol.

We’ve almost figured out a way for Peter to give Ben his medication for his asthma.  We’ll keep you posted on the progress.

Yes I’ve covered this briefly another post but I wanted to get to this in a little more detail because when you’re out and about it can get messy with distractions and stressful.

Okay, his and her diaper bags may be trendy for most but for a blind parent it’s essential if they are going to find things with the least amount of attention and fuss on the bag. 

Peter and I actually had a talk about how we were going to handle baby vs objects and the amount of attention the deserve and when.  I.E. Phone vs baby in bath, answer cordless phone in pocket before setting up the bathroom for Ben’s bath.

Yes you can find a list of items you need in a diaper bag and it’s a mile long.  Which translates into a bag heavier then your baby.

We found that with most diaper bags are ackward with too many loose items inside them to find anything even with eyes.  You can easily run out of supplies and end up with empty jars,  dirty soothers, and empty bottles.

Our answer to this was to first find a diaper bag that was a backpack rather then messanger bag style.  It gets it out of the way so you can leave both hands free to deal with a baby or toddler.  The messanger bags can swing and bonk a toddler if you bend over too fast with it on your shoulder.

To fix the clutter issue what we did was use a travel langerie bag with zippered multi pockets that you can unroll to house all the ”travel” sized items we got. One zippered bag to hold diapers. Two drawstring waterproof bags from www.comfycotton.ca where we used their diaper service also.  If you’re in the GTA area I highly recommend this environmentally friendly cloth diapers it saved us time, money and hassle.  Their customer service is a 10 in my estimation.  Note: their diapers never need pins and the covers use velcro like the tabs on disposable diapers.

What did we keep in these bags?

Langerie bag held:

-diaper cream

-sunscreen

-baby tylenol

-bandaids(5)

-antibiotic ointment

-disposable washcloth(for messes that wipes won’t fix,”Spit up happens”)

-wipes

-extra formula(incase I’m not there to breast feed)in packet(bottle with sterile water is added to bag before we leave the house)

Zippered plastic bag

-2 diaper covers with cloth diapers folded and pre-inserted(just add baby)

First drawstring bag

-change of clothes

-sweater/blanket

- 2nd drawstring bag(this bag is waterproof and used to hold wet diapers and diaper covers)

Now Ben stopped using his soother when he figured out Mommy had an extra benefit (Milk!).  He never really got attached to anything to sleep with even though I tried.  If your child gets attached to something get more then one and rotate them so you can safely clean them without tantrums.

But always have a distraction item packed in the diaper bag also.

Now this is NOT an overnight bag, it’s just a bag for going to appointments, shopping or the playground.  Don’t expect it to last much longer then about six hours.

Now for the Toddler, the number of diapers lowers, you can survive with a little grime on the t-shirt and increase the number of bandaid (possibly change to character design ones too).  Add snack food too.  Here’s a tip, by some ziploc twist’n'loc type small containers and make your own snacks.  I usually have to have 3-4 types in my bag at any time.  One fruit(fresh/canned), one crackers, one vegatable, and the last is cereal bits.

Gerber produces an adapter for water/juice bottles to give them a sippy type lid.  I keep one if I get stuck in a pinch and can’t help him to drink from the bottle.  These are much smaller and lighter then carrying around a huge sippie cup that he may not want because it has the wrong liquid in it or he goes through and I can’t wash it out.  I bought this at Shopper’s Drug Mart.  I got two in one package.

Also look for the helpful feeders they come under different names and I’ve seen them at Zellers and Shopper’s Drug Mart.  They are handled items that baby can hold and a soft piece of food can be put into a net and they can suck on it so that the food goes through the mesh net and can be swallowed without choking.  These are great at home or on the go when a baby is just learning to eat.  You just clip/twist the mesh net into place with the food in the net and baby can enjoy.

Well back to painting the now disaster of my bedroom. I’ll post the before and after in the next blog post.  I’m still trying to figure out if I’m painting brown, orange, peach or what.  It was a bargain paint what can I say? I’m cheap I’d rather spend my money on things that keep my family running smoothly then on decorating right now.  Funny I love decorating and might like to get into that field to help others with “disablies” or “difficulties” with “normal” living arrangements but don’t want to forfeit beauty and convience.

ttfn

This is Benjamen trying to escape right in front of me while I have a camera in my hand.  At the rate of bruises on his forehead I insisted that now was the time to switch to a big boy bed.  At night he’d try to persuade me to let him sleep in the captain’s bed in his room rather then the crib but as soon as I’d left the room he’d climb onto the ample window ledge and watch the cars go by.

The picture is so yellow because the dull light we get into the apartment is so indirect this bright yellow looks like buttercream frosting.  I’ve tried to off set it with hunter green and primary blue.  Teddy bears are everywhere, but in a few years it can change to cars or trains easily.

Well it’s a hit.  It took us two weeks of quietly putting him to bed.  Explaining once and then after that just putting him back to bed until he got the hint that this wasn’t playtime.

A month later he’s given his toddler bed to the cats and sleeps all the time on his captain’s bed.  He’s set up a routine that changes a little but once all his habits are satisfied he’ll go to sleep easily.

His habits no specific order:

1) into pjs

2) brush teeth

3) 1-3 bed time stories (18-24 pages each Tonka books)

4) snack and drink

5) I sing to him “Head and Shoulders” at a bare whisper while he settles on the stuffies he’ll sleep with and hunkers down to sleep.

6) Mommy finally gets a good night kiss on the lips (we’ll work later on where to kiss at least he’s showing affection)

Below is a picture of the family:

Tonight Ben told me at 8pm “not tired” Peter allowed him to stay up to 9 pm.  At 9 pm I picked him up and sang to him, he didn’t leave his bed once. Peace at last.

Next step, losing the sippy cup and the novelty of “sharing” the computer.  Peter has figured out e-mail and so is taking FREE courses for the blind and family members of the sight impaired at Hadley School for the Blind,  www.hadley.edu this is a school in the USA that caters Internationally to any blind or legally blind person and their families.  With anything from caring for yourself, children, reading braille, learning a language or finishing high school. The founder and many of the teachers themselves have sight problems.

We were mailing audio cassettes to them but they were getting hard to find.  Now Peter has been able to achieve email and it is speeding up his lessons.  This is the closest we’ve come to finding help for us so far but it’s not the same thing as we are writing about.  It’s often “expect your child to do this don’t panic” type of book while ours is more “ok you have a dirty baby, here’s how to wash their hair” 

Well nightly medications are kicking in so I’m going to have to sign off ttfn

I’ve got a few minutes to myself so I’m off to writing down more of the tips I use to keep myself sane and functioning.

1) If you’re planning a c-section or have just had one.  Many Meals-On-Wheels groups offer a 6 week recovery meals plan for you so that you aren’t eating delivery or having to stand for long periods.  This goes for any major operation.  Check it out it did help me.

2) If you’re blind there’s often help available through different services to help with housekeeping.  I don’t know about you but after a c-section I was NOT up to pushing a vacuum or cleaning the bathtub. Don’t even get me started on the toilet.

3) I always did the cleaning of my baby bottles and pump.  I did use a microwave serilizer and hand washed everything with a clear antibiotic dishsoap from Loblaws PC brand.  It’s unscented and no dyes.  I still use it because it’s a mid priced product and gives value in cleaning.

4) Many of the PC cleaning products really work well.  I also found I could use the dye and colour free laundry soaps and save money.  More washes for the same price as scented stuff.  I also washed all the laundry in it as I thought it was nuts to wash Ben’s clothes in one soap and ours in another of which he comes in contact with every day.

5) Investing in a good sized grocery cart, cloth bags, and laundry baskets.  Living in an apartment lugging things about when baby is sleeping. I found tossing things that don’t belong in a room into a basket I can carry it through to other rooms picking up and dropping off various items. This helped to keep table tops and such decluttered and easily dustable.

6) An eye to how easy is something to clean at the time of purchase.  I kid you not the number of toys we were given that said “surface clean only”.  Uhhh…when a baby throws up on something like that it soaks in and is ruined. 

7) If you have a lot of allergies to things or have relatives that do.  Watch out just because it says 100% cotton it’s only half true.  Make sure you wash everything 2-5 times there are chemicals in these items that can be absorbed by baby’s new skin.

We have never purchased a single diaper pin, or telcom powder.  Why? Ever tried to pin something without being able to see what you’re doing?  Not pretty and very painful. Also powders can be breathed in and can do damage to baby’s lungs if not applied properly.  They also cause alot of dust over time.

9) Don’t diet right away even if you’re not breast feeding it will kill your energy levels.  You always need more energy.  Consider continuing with a multi-vitamin and make a habit out of eating right. Puree soup and salads are your friends.  I would sit at the table after having groceries delivered and chop them up for salads so I had snack sized pieces to dip in sauces, toss in stir-fries, pitas, or salads.

10) At home meals when Ben first started to eat solids were pureed in a food processor or blender.  I recommend boiling vegatables and using water from the boiling to puree them.  It helps put the nutriants back into them.  I wanted to avoid the salt in store bought broths.  But I did boil meats like chicken, lamb, beef, and pork for him and Ben still eats lamb now. I bought foods I would serve to myself and husband and fed them to Ben so that he got used to the taste and it would only be tecture issues if there was any.

Every child is different so don’t get bent out of shape if they don’t react like Ben.  I call him my health food addict as he wouldn’t eat sugary, salty or fatty things.  He won’t eat cheese pizza though he has tried it.  He much prefers his pizza a well rounded meal. Pepperoni, green pepper, onion, mushrooms and pineapple just like him Mom much to Dad’s shagrin.  Dad doesn’t like the pineapple or mushrooms.

It’s an old belief that bland is better for kids but when you get them to real food and real taste it can be a shock to them.  My belief is give them a variety of tastes and see how they react you’ll be surprised. My sister-in-law has been giving her daughter now 10 yrs old cheese pizza all the time.  My neice saw Ben eating a fully loaded pizza and tried it.  Everyone was surprised when she exclaimed that she liked it. Go figure.  Most kids food issues aren’t their fault.  Many parents feel they must pressure kids to eat at a specific time a specific food.  With my guy I would set out the food and when he ate he ate. 

I had a sweet time this morning as the chair beside me was pulled out, a cereal bowl was put on the table with spoon and Ben climbed onto the chair and ate with me.  He has a table that’s his size and chairs but he wanted to eat with Mom.  It’s a warm fuzzy feeling when things like that happen.

If he wants down I let him go down, he comes back and grazes often at his dinner.  Other times he eats what he wants off his plate and then leaves.  He’s a fast eater so it’s hard for me to know when he’s full or just distracted.  This lessens tantrums and lets him feel he’s in control.

10) Kids will surprise you by just one day doing something.  Routine is critical here.  If a child sees you put something in the garbage every day.  Don’t be surprised if one day when you don’t put it into the garbage if it ends up there.  I kid you not Ben has watched us use facial tissue so many times he’s figured out what they are for and takes his own, uses it and puts it into the garbage. It’s not just mimicing he has a constant runny nose from liquid in his ear that he asks for them if he can’t get to a box. 

So if you want your child to learn to put their toys away then create a time when you do it around them.  Talk to them tell them what you are doing and make it a routine.  Eventually the will want to help. 

11) Plan your day with a mind that everything will take longer then you believe it will.  I promised myself I would not book more then two out of house appointments or chores in any day.  This helps with booking the travel time around naptimes, traffic, transit and eating.  Take it from me when you’re on the ttc you don’t want to have to nurse and push a stroller off a subway train.  No one is that talented.

If you’re lucky to be able to nurse don’t be embarassed because you have it easy.  No bottles, no bottle warming, no mixing, no shaking disasters, no costs and all the health benefits. Those health benefits are just for the baby there are many for you too.

But my husband had a saying when I was pregnant,” You are only a failure if you fail to feed your child.”  He fully believes it great if you can breast feed, but don’t be unreasonable.  If you can’t that’s why forumla was invented. That is to drop infant mortality.

Well that’s it for now.  I’m hearing sterio snoring, Peter from the bedroom and Ben has just fallen asleep on the couch I’ve got to poor him into his bed for his nap.

Well no more crib for two days now.  He’s fallen out once but went right back to bed.  It took a number of times to put him back to bed.  He keeps wanting to sit on his window sill at night and watch the “cars” go by.

We have yet to move the rest of his furniture.  Pete figured changing the bed would be hard enough.

I’ve created a pattern to help him adjust to the idea of going to sleep, but I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.

I got out the finger paints yesterday and he had a ball playing with them.  I found a great cheap way to create crafting trays and cups that are fully reusable. Plastic egg cartons are easy to cut.  The cups are good for paints that are used with paint brushes and fit on most ledges of easels.  The flat lid works great for glue and finger paints.  Ben actually mixed the paints before adding them to the paper.  I’ve been saving the paper from mail order parcels and Ikea products.

For newsprint that’s large and cheap.  Look up a company that sells empty boxes for moving.  I was able to find about 5 lbs of newsprint for about $15 CAN.  If you’re looking for a roll of newsprint Ikea has it for about the same price.  I’m afraid it’s pick up from the store only.

Ben’s got pen-like washable crayons(Crayola) that are twistable and erasable.  He loves them so much as soon as he’s done with one it goes back in the package.  He’s not broken any of these yet.  Loblaws stores have a no name stain remover that works great at getting these crayons out of clothing BEFORE the clothes go into the wash.

Peter has decided that he now wants to forego going to his Dungeons and Dragons meeting on Saturday afternoon to go to the ROM for the first time with Ben and me.  That’s about $22 saved with him along.  We’ll take the bus to make it cheap and take a picnic lunch.

I bought a thermal picnic bag that fits into the bottom of the stroller, ironically enough (was bought before the stroller).  I’ve had compliments from TTC Drivers on how strudy by small the stroller is.  It’s Canadian made by a company called, “Chicco” I believe they are based out of Montreal. I’m going to try for a low litter lunch with stainless steal water bottles.  2 1L ones for us and 1 500ml one for Ben.  They were reasonable and often go on sale at Zellers.  The picnic basket came from a gift shop inside the St. Laurence Market.

If a child can drink from a sippy cup then they can drink from these water bottles.  Peter insists on these things going on walks and lengthy trips all the time.  They are easy to wash too.  Not many moving parts and they come with lids to change so that you can carry them on your belt or attach to a bike.  That’s why I bought them they had the option to grow with us as needed.  They come in different sizes and 3 colours so that you can tell them apart.

Also there’s another thing I do to speed up giving out lunches.  I have been ordering things from another Canadian company called Mabel’s Labels ( www.mabel.ca) these people have made name tags and labels easy to get.  They are fast, reliable and designed to survive children, washing machines and dishwashers.

NOTE: They have medical disposable wrist tags for those with medical conditions or allergies.  You can customize these and put them on your child just in case when they go on field trips or to new places to help adults who might need to know in an emergency.

Good news on the retraining homefront I’m trying to get the last papers together for help with funding as Humber College has granted me a seat come Sept 2009 in Interior Decorating.  I’m looking at getting my certificate and then specializing in offering help to other familys that have “Special needs” who doesn’t these days?? That want a nice home that is as nice looking as it is functional.  Because I don’t know how many shows I’ve watched that you see designers putting white couches in a living room of a home with 2 or 3 tweens in it.

I’ve also come across another great place that is Canadian and online Baby Guru www.babyguru.ca it’s a family run show who’s belief is things have to be stylish and function above and beyond one type of use.  Check it out if you’re planning a nursery or play room.  Going to a baby shower etc.  These things are investments as you’re using them for years rather then months.

Well I’m off to another apointment Ben and Peter are sleeping again.  ttfn Hope some of this helps.

From an ear infection right into the Stomach Flu I am so glad there are no deadlines to meet.

Ben’s just getting over a 48-hr stomach flu.  It was for a change mild and we got to the ear infection late and he really suffered but two boughts of antibiotics later and he’s still got a runny nose.

Okay, now to the notes part.

The Textural Nursery

With one blind parent and most companies putting everything into almost identically shaped bottles, never mind everything smells the same.

You can understand how easy it would be for a blind parent to mix up the baby body wash with the baby lotion. 

This is why I sat down long and hard to work out how my husband was going to be able to bath and diaper his own son.  What follows in my way of doing things, maybe it will help someone figure out what they need to do for their child.

1) Different types of baskets on shelving helped us sort by need.  We had Bath, Diapering, Diapers, Toys, Medications, Socks, Shoes, Hats and Recieving Blankets. We used a Billie Bookcase from Ikea and a 4 drawer dresser to keep his clothing by the change table.  Each drawer was set up from top to bottom : Sleeping stuff, oneies, pants, sweater. 

2) We had a captain’s bed in the room with 2 large drawers where larger clothes, twin bedding, crib bedding and extra heavier stroller blankets were kept.

3) This ment that when Peter my husband had to diaper Ben my son.  He could pull out the diapering basket, a diaper and just get it done.  If we were heading out I could ask him to get a spare diaper for the diaper bag and not have to wait 20 minutes for him to find one. 

4) Babies actively find ways to have baths and Peter feared shampooing Ben’s head with baby lotion.  What we did was keep the baby lotion in the diapering basket away from the baby body wash and chose a head and body wash so there was no loss of the bar of soap.  We kept all his towels and half his face clothes in this basket, a few tub toys and the key ingredient got a piece of cloth tape around the bottle.  Lavender scented bath for Ben.  He always got hyper in the bath and it seems to relax him a bit.

5) Peter got a set of foam washable mats from Canadian Tire and they were put down on the floor for him so that he didn’t have to have an anxiety attack about Ben falling off the change table.  Also Ben was always nervous on anything like a changing station or table.  The foam mats can be used as a play mat however our cats clawed them up.  I will be getting more and a rug from Ikea later we found these mats were great when Ben started to climb and would fall.  It’s a quarter of an inch of solid foam padding between him and the hard wood floor.

6) The medication basket kept a bottle of baby tylenol, gripe water, baby nail clippers, a hair brush, comb, nasel asperator, q-tips, cotton pads, sterile water, saliene solution nose drops and we had special items you can pick up at shoppers drug mart.  A stopper for each bottle that fit into the tylenol and gripe water bottles that you could open up and insert a saringe(has no needle) and draw out measured doses exactly of the liquid medication.  How does a blind man see how much is drawn?  Simple I would always measure the first doses of any medication and score the plunger at the point where the necessary amount is needed.  He would draw it out using his finger nail to find the mark. To make sure the saringes weren’t mixed up the bottles were kept with their saringes in separate zippered bags.  This helped keep them from getting dirty too.  Cosmetic bags come in handy for keeping other things organized.  Try one that has many pockets often used for travelling to keep make-up and jewellry organized.

7) My son still hates to wear his socks at home.  He’d rather run around in barefeet or just his slippers.  With all the cute socks out there.  Imagine finding the mate blind.  There are 3 ways to fix this. The first is to roll your socks.  The second is to buy all the same type of sock. The third can be painful is to use safety pins to hold them together which if they are stainless steel could in theory go through the wash.  However, I wanted a safety pin free nursery for baby and daddy safety.  I chose to put all dirty socks right into a langerie bag that zipped up and rolled them when they were dry.  I haven’t lost a sock yet.

Hats and shoes are so cute and useful.  However with them being so tiny at first they make great cat toys!  So another few baskets made it onto the shelf.  Hats and shoes.  My son has always loved accessories such as these even now when he wants to go out for a walk he’ll put his boots and scarf on and hand me my purse.

9) Receiving blankets also had burp clothes in it.  This basket later turned into the sweater basket.  With all the spitup etc. this made for a great grab and go.

Dusting and vacuuming is easy in a room like this in the beginning. 

I used cloth diapers that had a diaper cover that used valcro rather then safety pins and it was a service so that they took the dirty diapers away weekly and gave us clean diapers weekly.  We never ran out of diapers and there were no midnight runs for them either.  It cost less then disposable and work even for premmies and multiples.  The diaper pail was a dry diaper pail with a charcoal filter.  This ment there was no chance of baby drowning in the diaper pail.  Environmentally the company we used had won and continues to win awards for their efforts.  They even went out of their way the one time we could not be there to accept delivery showing up at our house at 11pm with the delivery.

I’m sure this is rambling now as I look at the hour I’m going to cut off here tonight with one last thing.  I’ve also taken this basket idea and cleaned up my front entrance  way too. Each person has their own basket for hats, mitts and such.  There’s one for clutter and another for house guests.  This has helped greatly with the one wet mitten and missing sunglasses.  Even heading out the door it’s easy to pull out an umbrella without much thought.

Next Note: Taming the diaper bag clutter for the blind husband and do you really need to carry a purse and a diaper bag???

Now I’m here sitting at the computer with Ben trying to move the furniture I’m sitting on.  It’s storming out, I’m sick, Peter’s sick and so is Ben.  I’m cancelling all appointments today which is fun with a painful ulcer in my mouth. 

This means today is an organization day.  This is when I get things put away and ready for another day.  A catch up day you might say.

My day will be filled with making breakfast muffins ( oatmeal/raison, blueberry) then I’ll freeze most of them for later.  This cuts back on the fat and sugar found in store bought, but we still have the convience for the morning. A breakfast everyone can eat and my husband doesn’t have to try and cook or pour hot food or drink around Ben. 

We use a device that we purchased from the CNIB that you put onto the rim of a cup or bowl so that when liquid comes in contact with it there’s a beep.  Less burns and less mess. 

There are a number of talking clocks around the house so there’s no excuse for anyone to be late for anything. 

Then it’s putting laundry away.  I’m great at washing laundry and even hanging it to dry.  It’s even folded.  My problem is actually getting it into the drawers and closets.

Speaking of closets and drawers, when a baby/child comes along so does a lot of stuff.  Storage space becomes prized, time is short so on days like this I like to go through one closet and see if I can better organize it with a mind to how fast can I get something out of it without risking injury and how easy it is to put back with my eyes closed. Just a note most of the clothing is Peter’s not mine, believe it or not.  He doesn’t recycle any of it.  He has sweaters I’ve never seen him wear in the 10 years of marriage.

Today its two closets actually the hall closet and master bedroom closet.  I’ve got to keep them organized the bedroom closet has stretched out to encompass the floor to my side of the bed.

It will be spegetti with hidden vegatables and meat for dinner and I may try to start thawing meats for some meatloaves(I batch them and freeze them for speed.) and maybe a sheppard’s pie.

Yes I love one pot meals, salads, and simple fair.  Why is it that the simple fair is always complicated but tastes so good?  Hmm. Maybe some bread.  I’ve a bread maker to make the dough and cook it in the oven. 

Well I probably won’t get half of this done with Ben staying home from school and Peter’s ear infection.  I’m ending this post for now to get Ben from a time out for hitting Peter in frustration.

Today has been interesting.  Ben’s getting over a nasty sinus/ear infection and as predicting from previous illnesses he’s made another leap and bound in developmental catching up.

Yes he’s been on antibiotics and ventilin for it.  How does my husband give medication if I can’t? Simple if you could give a pill to toddler but you can’t it’s liquid.  What we do is have me measure out the medication with a saringe from the pharmacy and a special stopper purchased at most pharmacies.  Then taking a knife putting a notch into the punger near the base so when Peter measures out the medication he feels for the notch.

Anyhow back to the first topic, Ben’s trying to copy words big time it’s great he’s 26 months old now.  He started walking after having the stomach flu. 

Peter’s having problems with exercising we can’t seem to get Ben and Spunky one of our cats to leave him alone long enough to do a single sit-up.  We have been using time outs since Ben was 18 months old and for us they are working.  Ben’s stopped bouncing on the rocking chair or biting.  It’s really important to head off behaviour problems right away to avoid injuries.

We got a unicorn backpack leading harness for when we walk because I can’t lead Peter about and keep an eye on a wandering child.  We introduced this stuffed animal like backpack as a stuffed animal and tell him he needs a “unicorn hug” he loves it.  Then in the house we let him run around with it on before heading out.  Now he realts the leading strings to going out.