Dandelions

I had to miss Nikko's Speech Therapy session this morning because I went to see an Orthopedist to get a cortisone shot in my lower back to alleviate the inflammation caused by swelling, dehydrated discs. The drugs worked/are working, however, and my back feels better than it has in a looooong time. It's not perfect, there's still pain but it's 10 times better than before.

Denis stayed home this morning to take care of the kids and be around for ST. I read the notes and Nikko didn't do very well. He wasn't focused and didn't imitate. It's understandable, but disappointing.

After the epidural (3 natural pregnancies and I get my first epidural after all the kids are born!) I stopped by Home Depot to see if they carried kid-sized mirrors. I'm still searching for a mirror to put in the living room for Nikko, something acrylic but not one that will make you look distorted from afar. I'm considering a real one but they are heavy so there are safety issues. I also stopped by Atz's house for a second since it's on the way home, and then as I made my way down Central Ave. I swung into St. Emily's to sign up to become members. The receptionist Barb was really nice, and told me all the info I needed to know to get Audrey baptized. She said that if I attended a class within the last 3 years then I didn't have to go to their class. Score!

When I got home, the boys seemed happy to see me. We continued our short morning and it was soon time for lunch. Ronin was really antsy, probably very hungry. So was Audrey. But for some reason I didn't get all anxious and crazed like I have been every single day. Instead I took everything in stride and kept very calm as I got the kiddies their lunch. I didn't yell once. Amazing. It occurred to me that I was in a good mood because I had the morning off from the kids and was able to attend to them nicely later because I felt recharged. I felt good about going to the clinic to get something done for myself (pain meds for my back), I felt good about accomplishing going to St. Emily's and signing us up, which was something I have been meaning to do for months, and the weather was gorgeous today: blue skies, sunshine and cool breezes. I told that to Denis when lunch was winding down, that I wish he would allot me a free morning once a week, or once a few weeks, or even once a month because I felt refreshed and in a good mood, it helped me not yell at the kids, and I even missed them a little bit while I was gone. I felt renewed energy to play with them when I came back. It was a different feeling from coming home after a GNO.

When Audrey and Ronin went down for their naps, I took the opportunity to take Nikko to the school playground since Denis was at home. We went for only a half hour since Audrey's naps have become shorter. Nikko held my hand as we walked/trotted to the park. He was very excited to go, and once we got there he raced for the jungle gym. He didn't stay on the slide as long as he had in the past. Instead, he walked through the wood chips to a retaining wall guided by a wooden fence and walked the edge of it. I walked alongside him and held out my hand which he took a few times but soon gained the courage to let go. He walked the wall back and forth a few times before I realized he could be stimming from it. He also noticed the white cloud lines in the blue sky caused by airplanes that few by. Now those were stim lines that I couldn't possibly erase; he'd have to wait until the clouds dissipated away. To break his wall stim I picked up a dandelion and showed it to him. His attention immediately focused on the dandelion as he explored it. Soon we had to go and he showed some slight protest but walked alongside me anyway. I stopped to give Nikko another big dandelion and that helped transition him away from the park, although he turned to look back at it twice and each time I gave a big wave to the park and said, "Bye bye, park!" At home he carried the dandelions around for another hour or so. Luckily he didn't try to eat them. They finally ended up on the living room floor, spent. The rest of the afternoon was kinda lazy. Nikko fell asleep for a half hour before he went to swim class. After swim class he seemed very clingy to me again. Wonder why. Tomorrow we don't have any therapies. It's supposed to be 77 and rainy, so I don't think we'll play outside. I don't know if I'll attempt to go anywhere. But I will attempt to give them haircuts.