The Romper Room | Marriage Confessions The Romper Room

Gracie has had tubes in her ears for two weeks now, and I cannot get over what a difference they have made in her personality. I knew (or I hoped) that they would make a difference in her health, and they have. She hasn’t been pulling on her ears, running fevers, or battled a runny nose since the procedure, which is really abnormal for her. But more than the health advantages, it’s her personality that has us the most amazed.

They did a hearing test for Gracie when we went in for her consultation a week before the procedure and they told us that she had about 60% hearing loss from all the fluid in her ears. Basically, she heard everything like you would hear it under water. In all the facts and information we were getting that day, I really didn’t pay too much attention to that. Which was kind of crazy, looking back. But now that Gracie actually has all her hearing, it is amazing the difference we’ve seen. She is babbling more and saying more words because she can hear us say them clearly. We had been working with her for months on where her head, eyes, mouth, and ears were and she just couldn’t do it. But in the two weeks since she’s had tubes, she has been able to learn all her facial features. And I just know that’s because she can hear what we are saying so much better.

Another big difference is how much she is walking. My mom actually predicted that one. She wondered if all that fluid in her ears made her a little more wobbly because her balance was off. I’m not sure what the scientific explanation is, but I can tell you that since she’s had tubes, Gracie is walking like a champ now. She’s just about running now. All in about three days. It is crazy how well she moves around now compared to before. What she learned how to do this past week was to get herself standing from a sitting position. And when she gets walking really good and accidentally trips, she can catch herself with her hands and then push herself back up to standing, all while repeating, “Uh oh!” over and over again. It’s pretty stinking cute.

But more than the physical changes in her, it’s her blossoming littler personality that is the more different. Gracie has never been… how should I say this?… She’s never been a content child. She’s got a fierce little temper and just about no patience. I have no idea where she gets it… There weren’t a whole lot of things that made Gracie happy before. At daycare, there were occasionally good days, lots of bad days, but mostly “Gracie days,” where nothing was really wrong, but she was just fussy. But now? Every day is a good day with Gracie. Every day she wakes up, she is happy. Every day when I pick her up from school, she is happy. Every night when we’re getting ready for bed, she is happy. It’s a constant state for Gracie these days. She squeals and shrieks and plays and laughs and it is just wonderful. She started doing this thing this weekend where when she has something she’s not supposed to have, like my cell phone or the TV remote, she’ll come show it to you and then take off running and squealing, wanting you to chase her. That would NEVER have happened before! And it is awesome!

Don’t think that I haven’t noticed that as Gracie’s happiness has gone up, so has mine. For such a tiny little Puffalump, she can make or break the moods at our house. I’m so glad she’s finally happy!!!

18 comments | posted in About Gracie, Gracie Girl, Sweet Gracie, The Romper Room | tags: babies, happiness, health

On Mother’s Day afternoon, I was sitting on my parent’s porch with my mom, Grandma, Sarah, and the kids. We were eating strawberry shortcake and enjoying the beautiful weather, while Bean and Gracie puttered around their little picnic table my mom bought for them.

Life was grand.

Sarah and I were talking about something when all of a sudden, we both heard Bean say (quite loudly), “HOLY SH…” Immediately, it was silent out on the porch.

“What’d he say?” Sarah whispered.

“I don’t know,” I whispered back. And then turning to Bean, I said casually, “What’d you say, Buddy?”

He looked right at me and clear as a bell said, “Holy shit.”

Now, I know the appropriate thing to do in these situations is to ignore your child. Bean wasn’t doing it for attention, and so I didn’t want to call attention to the phrase unnecessarily, but I turned to look at Sarah and she was literally falling off the front porch swing where we were sitting because she was laughing so hard.

Which got me laughing.

Which got Sarah laughing.

Which got me laughing.

Which got BEAN laughing.

And then we had to stop. Because if he knew what we were laughing at, there was a good chance he would say it again. So, we stopped.

And then Sarah started laughing again.

And then I started laughing again.

Goodness, I never knew inappropriate language from a toddler could be so funny! NOT THAT WE ENCOURAGE THAT, but still. It was good for an afternoon giggle.

17 comments | posted in About Beanie, Family, Fun with Mom, Playing, The Romper Room, Toddlerhood | tags: humor, toddlers

Things are winding down at school for me. And as the end of the year draws closer, I realize that summer vacation is drawing closer as well. It’s all I can think about. I can’t wait to sleep in a little, go grocery shopping on a Tuesday morning (instead of throwing dirty looks and elbows in the Sunday after church crowd), put lemons in my hair and lay out by the pool. Summer is glorious for teachers, and any teacher who denies that is either doing it wrong or lying to your face.

One thing that I did NOT think about in my summer daydreams was the fact that I would have two children with me all summer. Not quite sure how that slipped my mind, but it just did not register in my margarita-hazed thoughts. When it finally dawned on me that I would have two kids home with me this summer, I can’t lie. My first thought was, “FUUUUUUUUUUDDDDGGGGEEEEE!” which was quickly followed by, “HOW WILL WE ALL SURVIVE?!?!?!” which was quickly followed by, “WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH THEM????? ALLLLL SUMMERRRRR LONGGGGGG????”

But then, last weekend, we had our first family weekend in the pool. Chris has been fighting with that darn pool since we bought the house. First he had to fix the pump, then the timer on the pump, then get it all cleaned, then he got it all fixed and ready and a cold snap came. So, he spent the next week keeping it clean so that when it was warm enough, we could all get in. And then we went out of town. Two weekends in a row. And that sent the pool into a downward spiral. He has spent the past two weeks getting it back to swimming shape and just last weekend it was time for the inaugural swim.

AND IT WAS AWESOME!

We spent the entire weekend outside, either in the pool or the yard. The kids had a blast, Chris and I had a blast, the dogs had a blast. It was just a really great time. And then I remembered how much we were in the pool last summer. How tan Bean and I got. How much we both loved swimming. And now, I’m excited about summer all over again!

I’m co-chair of my church’s vacation Bible school this year, so Bean will be doing that for one week, and he’s doing a summer camp at the theater where Chris works for a week, both Bean and Gracie are taking swimming lessons at the local Y, and we’re traveling some, too. It should be a busy, full summer and I can’t wait!

14 comments | posted in Fun with Mom, Out and About, The Romper Room | tags: parenting, SAHM, summer

In my wise old parenting experience, I have found one particular baby holding position to be incredibly versatile: the Front Carry.

The Front Carry serves so many purposes in life. It’s like the sandwich bags of baby holds. You can just do so much with it. Here are some of my favorite reasons to use the Front Carry:

1. To keep grubby hands off of me when I have to pick them up to take them to the bathtub for an immediate, emergency bath.
2. To keep grubby hands off of me when I’m dressed for work and they have peanut butter toast hands.
3. To keep slobbery mouths off of me when I need to keep my clothes clean and dry for something.
4. To hide my tummy pooch.
5. To distract crying babies. (I think the hanging thing distracts them and they stop crying long enough to think, “What the heck is going on here? How am I not falling?”)
6. To fend off people I don’t want to talk to. Babies are very distracting. Especially hanging ones.
7. To make my way through a crowd. No one will run into a baby, but they sure have no problem plowing into me.
8. To keep a dirty diaper from soaking through on my hip. (Please tell me I’m not the only mom who’s had this happen…)
9. To balance me when I’m doing squats. Or carrying a load of laundry. Or carrying a toddler. (NOTE: If said toddler is dirty and/or grimy, the parent may implement the illusive and effective “Double Front Carry.”)
10. To keep beach sandy feet from wrapping around me in a death grip.

Just be sure you hold on tight in the Front Hold. It can all go wrong very quickly.