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About Table for Five:
First there was me and my husband, and then there were two wonderful sons. And then there was a new baby coming! One day, we walked into a restaurant, and the waitress asked how many? I said, table for four, please. Then I turned to my husband and said, when the baby comes, we'll need to ask for a table for five. And the rest, as they say, is history. I hope you enjoy my posts, reviews, photos, and giveaways!
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Also known as The shrink, the hamster bite, and the cat scratch. I know this is a long post, but I wanted to remember the whole day just as it was, so please read it all the way through. I promise it’s worth your time 
The Shrink…
Nathan had an appointment this morning with a neuropsychiatrist to get tested for ADHD. I had a sheet of paper with the name and address of the office on it. I load Nathan and Kaitlyn into the car, drive to to address on the piece of paper, walk in to the office, and…I’m in the wrong place. My doctor’s office had given me a sheet of paper with an address that was three years old. Fortunately the phone number was still the same, so I was able to call for the correct address. Which was on the completely opposite side of the city.
I get Nathan there, I fill out a crapload of paperwork, and by 9:40 he was following a kindly-looking man named Dennis back into the office. Meanwhile, I sat down in the head doctor’s office with Kaitlyn to answer the same questions I have been answering for a year-yes, he has a hard time getting his work done at school. Yes, he has a hard time following directions. Yes, he gets easily frustrated. Etc. etc. I am then told to come back at noon, because the office closes for lunch from noon to one pm. Allrighty then.
I drive home, all the way back across the city, and tuck Kaitlyn into bed for a nap. Seeing as how I have come down with the killer cold from hell, I also get into bed, thinking I’ve got two hours to sleep. The phone rings. It is the boys’ school. They are wondering why I called to say Nathan wouldn’t be at school that afternoon when it is a HALF DAY, and they wanted to make sure I was home because Ryan was on his way. Great. So I get back up, meet Ryan, and then by that time, it’s time to pack up Kaitlyn and head back across the city to pick Nathan up for lunch.
We went to Cici’s Pizza, have you been there? It’s not the greatest food on the planet, but it only costs $2.99 for kids and $4.99 for adults to have all you can eat. I had spinach alfredo pizza that was pretty good, and a big salad, and the best freaking cinnamon roll I’ve ever tasted. Kaitlyn ate a ton and almost stayed clean, until she dropped a gooey piece of brownie right on her pants. Of course.
So, we drive back to the office and drop off Nathan for the rest of his appointment, and then the kids and I go to Volunteer’s of America to buy Kaitlyn some pants. I scored a cute little pair of overalls for her for $.99, and three kids’ books for only $.49 each, so that was a good deal. Something really cute happened while we were there-Ryan had gone off to look at books while I tied Kaitlyn’s shoes, and when I stood up I couldn’t see him, so I called out “Ryan! Ryan!”. Kaitlyn started turning around in a circle, calling “Rah rah! Rah rah!” It put a big smile on both my face and on Ryan’s! Then we drove back to the office to pick up Nathan, and so that I could get the verbal assessment from the doctor.
Nathan has ADHD. Definitely. His score was “very high”, whatever that means. I have to go back in two weeks to get the official report and recommendations, regarding medication, how the school should be handling it, what we should be doing at home. It sounds like we have quite a journey ahead of us.
Continuing where I left off, I then drove all the kids back home, and all three fell asleep in the van. It was about 4:30. I carried Kaitlyn into the house and laid her down and fortunately she stayed asleep, so I put Ryan in charge and went to lay down myself. The next thing I knew, it was 5:53 pm and Kaitlyn was awake. We had to be at the kids’ school at 6:20 for Parent/Teacher Conferences-crap! I had to rush to get everyone packed up and ready to go.
The Hamster Bite…
We get to the school, and while Chris, Ryan and I sit with his teacher, Nathan is watching Kaitlyn as she walks around the classroom. The class has a pet hamster, Squeakers. Next thing I know, Kaitlyn is screaming and Nathan is running up to us yelling. Sure enough, Kaitlyn had stuck her finger in the cage, and the hamster BIT HER. Chris picked her up and started walking her around trying to soothe her, and she is wiping her bloody finger on his shirt. By the time the bleeding stopped, he looked like he had been sprayed with blood.
But then we still have Nathan’s conference to do. Fortunately, nothing eventful happened, the teachers were expecting to hear that their suspected ADHD diagnosis was confirmed, and we talked about how that will impact the rest of the school year. We finally head for home at 7:15, only no one has eaten and I haven’t cooked anything, so I drive the kids to A&W for burgers and celebratory Root Beer Floats.
And the Cat Scratch…
Back home, we put in the DVD “Stranger than Fiction” and settle back on the couch to watch it and relax. And that is when my cat jumps up on the arm of the couch, and puts two of her claws RIGHT THROUGH MY ARM. Damn it, that hurts! And thus ended Monday, the day of the shrink, the hamster bite, and the cat scratch. Plus the 20 miles or so of driving, and Kaitlyn saying Ryan’s name for the first time, or at least making sounds to that effect, and really good cinnamon rolls, and Root Beer Floats. I doubt I’ll be able to top that next Monday, that’s for sure.
I must have missed this when it was first on the news, but apparently there is something that used to only be known to locksmiths, called a bump key. Go look at the brand name of the lock on your front door. Any thief can look at that lock, find a key that fits that brand, file it down a special way, and then insert it into your door lock. By giving the key a “bump” while turning it, the tumblers inside the lock will pop up and out of the way, allowing the key to turn all the way and unlock the door. How scary is THAT?? Watch this Bump-Key-Video to see a demonstration. Please read this post all the way through, I want to know what you think about this!
Wow. I’m not really sure how to feel after watching that. We have deadbolt locks on all our doors, but apparently these bump keys can get through those anyway. I can’t imagine anything more terrifying than having someone break into my house. When I was little, maybe four or five, someone got into our house through our unlocked sliding door in the living room, walked right into my parents’ bedroom while they were sleeping and stole my Dad’s wallet off his dresser, as well as our TV. Ever since then, I have been terrified of being robbed that way, especially now that the house we live in has a sliding door in the family room.
So, what is the solution to this? How do you keep your family and your house safe? You can purchase a bump key proof lock, for starters. They might seem expensive, but can you really put a price on safety? I’d love to know your opinion on this. Leave me a comment and let me know, do you worry about thieves having bump keys? Do you think you would buy a bump key proof lock? Let me know.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Karen from Surviving Motherhood. We “met” at the beginning of February when she left a comment on my blog and I discovered we live in the same city. We made a date to meet at the mall for lunch, and we ended up having a terrific time! We started talking from the moment we saw each other, and didn’t stop until several hours later when I had to get Kaitlyn home for a nap. It felt like lunch and shopping with an old friend!
I never managed to get a photo of us together, but here she is outside Panera, where she was sweetly patient as Kaitlyn gradually lost her ability to sit still and turned into a whiny mess.
We then set off to walk around the mall, and after a stop in Old Navy to stock up on socks for Kaitlyn (8 for $10, such a deal), we ventured into the Disney store. I didn’t let Kaitlyn out of the stroller for fear she would lose her mind, but I did let her hug some of the stuffed animals. This photo is right when she decided she had had enough of that as well.
It was a great afternoon and I am so glad to have met Karen. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about our get-togethers in the future!
It really bugs me that I have to pay the phone company $30.00 a month just to have a phone plugged in to the wall, plus more money for long distance, voice mail, caller id, call waiting, and a boatload of taxes and fees. Since getting a cell phone four years ago, I have come to depend on it more and more, and now whole days go by where I never even pick up my landline.
So why am I paying so much for a phone from “Big Giant Phone Company” when I could be paying a lot less to get phone service from Vonage? Good question! It’s only $24.99 a month (plus taxes and fees) for unlimited local and long distance calling, and right now the website shows one month is free!
Setup with Vonage looks easy, I know it’s something my handy husband could do. I can NEVER remember to plug in my cell phone, which means the battery is often dead. Having another way to make phone calls besides my cell phone would make me feel a lot better in case of an emergency. I like how easy Vonage looks, and how inexpensive it is. Check it out!
I snapped this photo of Nathan reading “Green Eggs and Ham” to Kaitlyn the other day. They are sitting in front of our picture window with the curtains open, which is why the top of the photo is so blown out. Still, Kaitlyn is looking so intently at the pages as Nathan reads, even though she only sat still for a few pages before toddling off to do something else. The two of them are usually in constant motion, so the fact that they sat still together even for a moment is worth noting.
Love between siblings is a precious thing. I never had that myself, my sister and brother and I barely tolerated each other. Neither of them ever picked me up when I fell down, or rocked me to sleep, or even read me a story. So it is even more amazing to me to see how the boys treat their sister, how careful they are with her, and how willing they are to include her in their lives. I love this photo because it shows me siblings that love each other.
