I love my job. Being a mom that is. I get to have a front row seat in my little cutie growing older. She enjoyed a daddy daughter date night the other night at the park. The swing is still a hit with her. I remember when it was called the “weeee!!”
She had a blast with Daddy, my honey, my love. Oh the joy of watching those two become closer.
Then the next day, she becomes a big girl again in her uniform.
The WORK it takes to help her grow into a mature young lady is so worth it. It’s tiring sometimes. But, I choose to make a big deal over the little errors so the little errors don’t explode into huge errors. This means countless hours of discussion and redirection. Our relationship grows through each of these hiccups, and the payoff is her heart becoming softer and bigger.
Our brains respond to something when it is repeated over and over; it becomes second nature. Tatum has seen this happen with her phonics understanding; she’s seen it with piano and swimming. Now, it’s time to master our MATH FACTS!
She did not do so well on her first assessment; she knows her +1’s, doubles, doubles + 1, and +9’s. BUT, not in a mad minute! So we practice. We do flash cards constantly.
And I carry them around. EVERYWHERE.
Then, I give her little practice tests. If she can get to a minute, then …..
I hope to give her a BIG prize!
Down to 1:24. We are getting there. Sweet girl, you’re doing so well!
UPDATE: she is getting there with her facts. Almost less than a minute on two sheets.
Each student was assigned a body part, and Tatum got THE TONGUE/TASTE.
Well, how appropriate because Tot does love to taste pretty much all foods.
She was to find 3 facts from a reliable source, and instead of using the internet, I had her go to the library. I’m old fashioned in that I think one should actually research instead of just sitting on one’s rear surfing the net. Too easy.
So, off to the library, and guess what we found?
Encyclopedias are the best resource, so “T” it is.
She found her three facts:
Now it was time to build her tongue out of clay. (This is what we opted for).
I had no idea how interesting the tongue could be.
I’m so proud of her hard work. She’ll be presenting this to her class later this week.
It’s Thursday, and we are home from school again. Yesterday she went and had a really hard time. She then was literally up all night long coughing (and so was Daddy and I).
I wanted her to catch up on her rest and try to master the cough episode which can come on at anytime without warning.
Now, Thursdays are very busy day for me, so I made sure she had her own work to do. I would have her do Math, Bible, Reading, and Spelling. Meanwhile, I would work right next to her.
Math facts practice and then time it! Working on getting it to ONE MINUTE!
Then she would practice her Bible verse (Proverbs 15:33). Reading practice for 20 minutes.
Finally Spelling practice and test.
100% and ready to have a bit of play time.
I worked for a couple of hours while she played. We also decided to take Cooper in for a haircut.
This may give us some peace and quiet. (We love you Coopy).
Well, it happened then WHILE she ate lunch. I have never seen her cough so much. She threw up all of her lunch, sweating profusely. She continued for 20 minutes WITHOUT STOPPING> I was desperate. I tried the inhaler, but she continued.
I PRAYED, “OH JESUS WHAT DO I DO??? HELP ME!!!!
I decided to take her to the URGENT CARE, and I kid you not, sitting RIGHT AT OUR DOORSTEP, was a box. The NEBULIZER! The thing she said she wouldn’t do.
I couldn’t believe the timing. She said, NO WAY, MOMMY. I’m not doing that.
OH yes you are, girl.You are! We watched a YouTube video on how it works and started. She calmed down and agreed.
While she proceeded to breathe, she started to smile. I PRAISED GOD. The Urgent Care had a long wait, and this is what they would have done to her.
GOD KNEW that I needed to keep her home today. GOD KNEW that she was going to have an uncontrollable coughing spell. GOD KNEW that the nebulizer was coming today JUST IN TIME. GOD KNEW that Tatum would have this coughing spell and then would WANT to have the treatment (vs being belligerent had she not have that spell). JUST WOW.
She is breathing now clearly and we now have a protocol. We even named the nebulizer breathing thingy, NATHAN and gave him a seat at our kitchen table since he’ll be a part of our family for a while.
We picked up cute puppy who looks ADORABLE. A brand new haircut and a whole new attitude for all of us thanks to you, Father.
And, I’m just so grateful. Thank you for ALWAYS being with us and answering our prayers at EXACTLY the right time. You are perfect, Lord.
We are not out of the woods yet. The cough continues, but at least we are a step closer to relief.
It’s BAAAAAACK. That nasty cough. She’s had this for years, and I feel nothing but loathing for this thing. It keeps her up all night; it inhibits her activity, it tires her out; it embarrasses her; and it keeps all of us up with not only from the cough but the worry.
So, I kept her home on Tuesday to take her to the Dr. again. We need to make sure we are doing all it takes to help her.
We arrived to Agave, and she was reminded of her past visits! She loves playing on this swirly thing.
Oh, the joy of being back, eh?
The weight and height were taken. 37.4 lbs and 41 inches. (slowly she grows; hooray!)
And then we wait and pray; Praying for wisdom and help from Dr. Bloomenthal.
The breathing treatment monstrosity came out, and Tatum obliged.
After, her little heart was racing, and she said she hated it. The doctor told me I could have one of these lovely machines of my very own, so I agreed. Tatum had a FIT. NO WAY IS SHE DOING THAT AGAIN. (Well, I get it, but I ordered one anyway). This is in lieu of the puffer when needed.
It would take 3-5 days to receive, and she WAS NOT GOING TO HAVE IT. (ooooooooh boy!)
Later, she took a nap and Cooper waited patiently for her.
Oh, little Tot. I am so worried about you, and I’m pleading with God for help.
If we use too much Albuterol, she gets chest pains and rapid heartbeat. I learned this the hard way.
It’s official: My honey is obsessed with Cooper. He takes probably 10 pictures a day: Oh, look at him here; look at him do this; look at him do that; look at him just looking; look at him being cute. I mean really! heehee
Yes, he even takes a picture of Cooper when I’m in a back-side position. (or maybe he really did want to take a picture of my back side!)??
It used to be Tot and me he was obsessed with picture-wise. It is all now about Cooper. (and I love it!)
This weekend, we figured we’d go out and leave the other little cutie pie with Cooper thanks to Bianca watching them. It was time for us to have some fun. (My honey sure does look the part!) Tatum joined the picture as Coopy watched from afar.
My honey still is in total love with us, but I LOVE that he adores the little guy.
I adore my honey, and OF COURSE, my Tot and little Coopy-head. XOXOX
