Knee Deep Blog

How to Get Rid of Lice - A Mom's Fear

This post on our get rid of lice experience took me a few days to write...because I am full of it, also known as verbose to some and has another connotation to  a few others; and it took a while because I'm spending most of my free time cleaning, going to the hospital (for radiation), or I am in my yard getting the garden in which is my form of relaxation.  This was Eli the day we found out taking on the world.

Eli came down early one morning to ask what I am writin I read most of it to him and he wanted to add a few words of his own. So I thought I'd start with his thoughts on lice.  Below are the steps we took to banish those darn critters.

A 5 year olds verbatim perspective on lice...

Growing up with Eli: His first sleepover at the house

Most of Eli's friends on the block are a year older and have all just turned six during the past month.  They are at a point in their kid lives of experiencing and enjoying sleepovers.  Eli of course wants to be just like them - you know, be a part of the bigger kids club.

To date he's had sleep overs at his cousins, but I don't really count that as a kids sleep over because it's family.  And, after my first round of chemo Kimm kept Eli at her home and created a sleep over with her ten year old son, but that also didn't quite meet the kids on the blocks standard.

On the block to have a sleep over means all day long (generally on a Saturday) you tell every one else on the block you're having a sleep over with X, you actually sleep over, you "stay up to midnight", and then the following day (generally Sunday) you pal around with your "sleep over buddy" and tell every one you "stayed up to midnight" and "today's very special and I can't play with you because I had a sleep over with X and we're playing together."  For Elias this has been hard to watch but not be apart of over the past six or so months, but he was only four.

Growing up with Eli: He Turns 5 Years Old

This past week was a big one for Eli, he turned five years old and has already had friends and family sing happy birthday three times - preschool, Spanish school and home. Eli's birthday is in the middle of the birthday frenzy on our block.  Over the past five weeks there have been a total of five other kid birthdays.  In fact there were two other parties this Saturday so his "fake birthday with friends" will be next weekend when 19  five and six year olds descend upon our home.

Any one that knows me is probably thinking, what the hell?  You've been going through your own stuff with chemo and breast cancer, why would you have so many kids over for a party?  Why not make it easy?

Well call it temporary annual insanity and forgetfulness. Or simply call it caving in to the wishes of your child to have his favorite friends over because if you don't he will be emotionally inept for the rest of this life - ha!  Truth be told if we did it Eli's way we would have about 30 or more kids over because every one is his friend...he's a plus on the extrovert friendship scale so justifying that we only invited 19 seemed reasonable at the time.

Growing up with Eli: Alex Visits from NJ

 

Besides being all caught up in my own world I totally forgot to put Eli's spring break on our home calendar.  So  not only was Eli's spring break the week after my chemo it was a week that Tim was out of town so there wouldn't be any extra support on the home front.

Thankfully Cindy, a girlfriend extraordinare from New Jersey, came to the rescue and flew out with her son Alex who is 5 and 3/4 to be exact.  The three pictures really sum up the five days the boys spent together - it's all about me, me, me.

Growing Up with Eli: T-Ball and the Barracudas

There's been so much about me and the breast cancer journey lately, and life is so much more.  Eli constantly reminds me to check back in.  Last night while at a neighbor's 4 year old birthday party we got the call, Eli had just taken the last spot on the Seattle Little League T-Ball Team called the Barracudas.

I really didn't expect much of a reaction from him other than I thought he'd be excited to play with his buddy Henry.  Instead he began jumping up and down, saying, "I'm playing real baseball.  I'm on a real team.  What's its name again?  I'm a Barracuda.  Will I get a uniform?  Will it have a picture or just words?  Do I get a hat?  This is so awesome." Again, and again, and again.

Truthfully I hadn't even told him I was signing him up, rather Henry's mom suggested we put them on the same team so his reaction surprised me.  What amused me happened once we got home.

Tis the Day after Christmas and Still I Wait

If you're just catching up with me you'll want to start here to learn about my discovery of lumpiness behaving badly which is also known as breast cancer to the every day person, as well as why I am writing about my journey of breast cancer and for the time being a breast cancer blog.

My prior post is here.

So tis the day after Christmas and still I wait...wait to know more, wait so I can figure out what's next, wait so I can answer my own questions as well as those of my well wishing family and friends...it's known as waiting hell.  So this is what happens when you discover you have cancer and it's the holidays, every one you want to speak with is on vacation and those that are left behind to answer the frantic or perhaps impatient calls like mine are unavailable "so please leave a message."

Interestingly even though at first it felt like anxiety, it certainly wasn't the same type of anxiety of "do I" or "don't I" have breast cancer; instead it's like being suspended in a time capsule.  Now that the initial shock is over and my feet have landed back on the ground and my brain is beginning to work again I'm ready to find out more.

Today I took the only other steps I could think of, leave another message to hear back on results from the biopsy (now a week ago),  fax my urgent request for my pathology report (truthfully I don't really even know what they will send, but I do remember in my initial state of shock of learning that I did have breasking cancer and having a friend  who went on the Susan Kolman support forum tell me that one of the things every one recommends is to get a copy of your pathology report) so I wrote and faxed my request and copied my primary care physician.  Finally I set up my MRI for tomorrow.

Growing Up With Eli: A Favorite Car Game "Punch Bug Yellow" with a POW!

In the past month Eli and I have been playing a game that I grew up with in the 70's - "punch bug" or "slug bug" as my west coast husband refers to it. So if you want an easy car game fory your long Thanksgiving drive read on.

It's been a ton of fun - our eyes constantly searching and then the wind up and "pow" as "punch bug yellow"  is yelled at the top of our lungs.  Of course when I'm driving I have an advantage and offer a little bit of a delay so that Eli can some times see the "punch bug first."

Interestingly, since we started playing he has asked to move his car seat to the middle of the back seat so he can see better.  I suppose he is over the excitement of being able to open the window on his own for now.

He loves to keep count and  when he is winning announce, "I am so luckier today."

What is punch bug or slug bug? 

Growing up with Eli: How to Discover What Your Child Is Really Thinking

Did you ever notice that your conversation with your child (regardless of age) often goes like this...How was your day?  "Good.:  What did you do at school?  "I can't remember." What was your favorite thing that happened today? "what?, stuff."  What kind of stuff? "stuff, stuff"

Perhaps it's because he's only 4.5, or perhaps he's already learned, that one word answers end the conversation and allow him to continue on in his own little world without being interrupted.  hmm, is it 

1. a sign of intelligence
2. kids are really present in the now (which most adults are not) and are not thinking about what happened a few hours ago,
3. kids are still learning what it means to be in conversation and one word answers express exactly what they are thinking (when they are forced to speak)
4. all of above
5. get a clue mom, none of above

Of course there are times where Eli will simply go off on a tangent chit chatting about this, that and the other thing, so we do know he is highly capable of 8 to 15 word run on sentences and long winded voice mail messages that my friends and family love.

I learned the lesson on how to discover what children are really thinking by listening to his unprompted voice mail messages.  We often leave messages for friends and family and I'll hand the phone to Eli who will mimic much of what I've just said.  Recently, I've been allowing him to make the message all about him and not saying any thing until he has left his message.

His message to Aunt Nay Nay last night went  like this....

Growing Up With Eli: Almost Pumpkin Picking At Jubilee Farm

Here's a self portrait of my arm while at Jubilee Farm. The stated intention of the day was a family day and to meet up with a group of families at the Jubilee Farm and go pumpkin picking, but that part actually never happen.

Tim was sick, grandma couldn't make it, and two girlfriends canceled. But, one of our neighbors happened to be there as well as six other kids and families from Eli's school. Jubilee Farm is roughly 40 minutes from Seattle, nestled in the Cascades with lots of absolutely delightful scenery. 

Jubilee Farm is a perfect weekend outing for the family complete with: 

• farmers with long beards driving tractors pulling wagons to take you out to the fields where you can cut your own pumpkin
• the famous trebuchet also known as pumpkin catapult that every hour or so launches a pumpkin to a lower field.  The kids run, fetch the pieces and feed them to the very hungry pigs.  The Dad's, well they line up and count the minutes until the next launch.
• pony rides
• a hand crank  apple press that you can put a little muscle into and be thankful to simply purchase some apple juice or cider in the large barn

Growing Up With Eli: We "do" the Puyallup Fair

  Eli and I took our German neighbors Sabine and Fauna to the Puyallup Fair for some good family fun.  It was a hoot.

Here some highlights...

• maggot painting - doesn't every fair have this?  Next to the fishing for trout was a booth about invasive species that are infecting our fresh and salt waters.  Eli loved looking at the crabs, clams, etc...and pointed over to painting.  We walked over and asked if we wanted to paint.  Sure.  Put a few drops of what ever color you want.  Now pick out your maggots.  Put them on the paint and they will walk across your page to create a picture. I was both grossed out and sucked in wanting to watch.  I will admit that we didn't go back to the area to pick up our picture, I just didn't want maggot art in the house.