Charlie's first day at MMO

Today was Charlie's first day to attend Mother's Morning Out. We had to get up a little earlier than usual but Charlie popped right up and was ready to start his day. Me, not so much. I knew this day was going to be bittersweet and boy, was I right. I played the excited mom that went on and on about going to school. Charlie immediately started saying "skoo". He ate his usual Cheerios and bananas and I got him dressed. We round everything up and head to the car. I had already lost it once this morning as Daniel was leaving to go to work and we talked a little about his first day. I was a little teary-eyed going to the car. I did take a few pics before we left. Can't do this without pics, right? I did well on the car ride there. Charlie kept me occupied by pointing out every school bus or motorcycle we passed. I pulled into the parking lot and had to take a moment for myself before I unloaded my little boy. This was tough. They have the kids meet in the fellowship hall until everyone is there and then they go to the classroom. Charlie walked in like he owned the place until his teacher approached him. He planted his feet at this point and wouldn't budge. She was just welcoming him and was trying to get him to sit in a chair. I hung around just so he could get a little more comfortable with his surroundings and the people (or this was what I kept telling myself). I knew the time would come for me to leave and I was not looking forward to it and wasn't prepared at all for the emotions that flooded me.

His teacher, Carla, brought in some blocks for them to play with on the table and I knew this was my best opportunity to leave. I got a hug and a kiss from Charlie. He knew something was up at this point and started saying, "ba ba? ba ba?" (I'm baba, not mama for those not so familiar). I told him I would be back in a little while and the crying began...for both of us. I gave him one last hug, set him in his chair and walked out. I so wanted to turn around and wave goodbye or blow him kisses but I was a mess and didn't want him to see me upset. I should have stood outside the door to see how long he cried and to check on him instead of feeling like I did a "drop and run" but I was balling my eyes out and didn't particularly want everyone else to see that so I headed straight for the car. I debated on going back up to the door to listen and to check on him but I didn't want to look like the overprotective mom. Yes, I realize I'm not the only one and they understand but still. I wanted to be the strong one and was doing a terrible job at it.

I sat in the car for about 20 minutes. This was spent watching the door, thinking about my little boy crying his eyes out, talking with Daniel on the phone, and crying my eyes out. I did this because they had told us that after about 30 minutes if he was still having a meltdown that they would call and have us come in. We live about 30 minutes from the school so I didn't want to be all the way back in Kennesaw and get a call.

I watched them close the door to the fellowship hall...it was done. Charlie was inside and I really needed to go on about my day and just deal with it. I left the parking lot and headed to a friend of mine's house and balled almost the whole way there. I had been advised by many people to have something to do the first day and to not go home. My friend, Emily, is on bedrest so it helped both of us...she got some company and I had someone to lean on. I took supplies for us to make cards to send to members of our church and this was good because it kept me busy. I enjoyed spending this time with her. I learn more and more about her each time and I love that.

Charlie's pickup time is between 11:45 and 12:00. I was there at 11:45 waiting on him. :) The kids hadn't even come out of their classrooms yet. I waited a few minutes and here they come. Charlie was the first one out holding the hand of one of his teachers, Robin. It was just such a heart-wrenching moment when he spotted me. "BABA! BABA!" as he points his finger at me. He is tugging on his teacher to get to me. His expression is one I will never forget. He walks over to me with his teacher in tow and his bag hanging on his back. It is bumping the back of his calves as he walks and I just got tickled at this sight. I guess I need to shorten the strings. He doesn't really care to give me any lovin. He's just content since baba is there. I did get a hug out of him and it was such a good one. The report I got from his teacher was that he cried a little while but had a good day. She said they had a hard time getting him off the playground. Surprise. Surprise.

Charlie heard the phrase "let's go" so that was his mission. He got in the car and started saying "Bye, school." I took a little video when we got in the car...

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So, we survived. I dealt with him being upset about me leaving. I've gotten used to that leaving him for Sunday School. What I'm having trouble with is that this is something that I don't get to experience with him. I've never had a moment without him except for SS and a babysitter. I've gotten to see the joy as he learns new things and experiences new things. I've gotten to see him do everything...until now. That's so hard for me. That's been my hesitation with anything like this because I can't do it with him. I love the fact that he's going to be learning so many new things and getting to know the other kids, etc. but it's without me. I want to see all of that. It sounds so selfish, doesn't it? I'm trying to cut that string and let him go on his own some but I definitely don't like it.

Charlie's school bag

I spent Friday night and much of Saturday night getting my sewing machine to make a decent stitch. After almost pulling my hair out, a call to my mom and a new spool of thread, I finally got it! I had found a pattern on Joann.com for a child's overnight bag a few months ago and thought it would be a great church bag for Charlie but just hadn't gotten around to making one. When I learned that Charlie had a folder that had to go back and forth each time for MMO, I thought of this bag and knew it would be the perfect size and would work just great. So I printed out the project sheet and found some fabric at none other than Joann's! I got started on it Saturday night and just couldn't stop so it got completed. I'm debating on putting a fabric handle on the top but all in all, I thought it turned out really cute...

the weekend and a day at the park

We had a very busy weekend. Saturday was a service project with the youth in the morning and we attended an incredible seminar at church that afternoon. Daniel went to the youth function but Charlie and I stayed home since I wouldn't be much help chasing a two year old around the whole time. The seminar fell right during Charlie's naptime so I was prepared for the worst but God smiled on me and Charlie was fabulous during the seminar. It took place in the fellowship hall so we took over a table in the back so we wouldn't be a distraction to anyone. It also gave us some good floor space to spread out toys, puzzles, etc. The thing that kept him most occupied was I put his blanket over the seat of one of the chairs so that three of the sides were covered and convinced him to crawl under. I had to make Charlie stop because he was getting carpet burn on his knees. He played well by himself for most of the time, which is unusual for him and I actually got to pay attention to the speaker.

Sunday was SS, worship and a fellowship meal. Yum! The sermons were from the same speaker who had conducted the seminar. We all crashed that afternoon for a nap but mine was interrupted by a phone call from a friend of mine that I used to work with. We were suppose to meet him, his wife and their little girl for dinner that night after church. He told me that they had been in the ER all night and his wife needed to rest. He told me that they were there because his wife was having some cramping and spotting. He then told me that this was due to her having a miscarriage. She was 15 weeks along. I was just stunned and at a loss of words. All I could do was offer prayers for them. Please keep the Collins' family in your prayers.

On a lighter note...after the weekend we had, I was pooped today and was having trouble making myself get off the couch. I knew I needed to do something so I packed Charlie and I a lunch and we, along with the dog, headed to the park. We walked a while. Khaki played in the dog park a while. Charlie played on the playground a long while. And then we had lunch. Charlie, as any kids does, loves the playground. He has gotten very comfortable on this one since it is the one we visit most often. He runs and climbs all over it. Charlie did surprise me today in some of the things he has gotten brave enough to do. He has gotten much better at taking steps on his own and this I guess motivated him to take some big steps. He also just ran up the whole thing and proceeded to slide down one of the slides on his own. I thought he would run up and run back so by the time I realized what he was doing, he had already sat down and was about to let go! Go Charlie! He just took on that slide like a big boy! He decided he wanted to climb the rock wall so we did that. Charlie covered that playground like I've never seen him do before! We had a ball! Khaki seemed to enjoy her time there as well. She has to be tied up while we play on the playground but she was in the shade and could watch every step we made so she didn't seem to mind. Below are pics from our time there. I didn't even think to get pics of Khaki. Guess we know who's most important now. (Sorry Khaki.) :)

ooohhh, snap!

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therapy

I had my first session of physical therapy for my knee on Friday afternoon. Turns out that my insurance will cover the sessions 100% but...I have to pay a $40 copay EVERY visit. What!?! that's just not right. Anyway, I was able to talk with the therapist about this since we can't afford for me to go twice a week for 6 weeks. We worked out a once a week visit for however long it takes. I get to just do the exercises at home.

The session began with me explaining my condition and everything the ortho had told me. She said what is going to help my knee is to strengthen the inner muscles of my quads and stretch out the outer muscles of my quads. What is apparently happening is that the inner muscles have gotten weak and the outer are overcompensating and pulling my kneecap that way. She started me with some very easy exercises and stretches to accomplish this. I just have to do them 2 to 3 times a day so that I'll be ready for some harder ones at my next session. She then iced my knee and put heat on my quads. We discussed the brace and she said I really needed to only wear it if I am going to be doing alot of walking, on my feet for a while, or any kind of exercise/sports activity.

After my session, I went to Big Peach Running Co. for insoles. A friend of mine mentioned this place as an alternate to driving over to Fleet Feet. (Thanks Tim!) Big Peach is just around the corner in Kennesaw. The lady that helped me was very competant and very sweet. We went through all the technical stuff of weight distribution on my feet and examining my gait (walk). Turns out that my left foot only overpronates a little and my right one doesn't overpronate at all! But, since this was the diagnosis of the ortho, she had me try on shoes that prevent the foot from rolling in. She also informed me that insoles would not help at all. They only support the arch or help with planar fasciitis. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing you are...here come new shoes. I have a very narrow heel and have always had problem with the fit of my shoes. I was able to try on about 5 pairs of tennis shoes that had a AA width in the heel. This was fabulous! I ended up with a pair of Brooks shoes that are the best fitting shoes I have ever had! Here are my new kicks...She also showed me a little trick to do with regular width shoes if you have the same problem with width as I do. Here is a pic tutorial for you:

open house

The three of us went Thursday night to the Open House at the school where Charlie will attend Mother's Morning Out two mornings a week. We got to see his room, which was of course, smack full of toys! It was a little chaotic when we first got there but that was just due to the room being full of parents and kids. Charlie was very uneasy. He reluctantly began to play with some of the toys and I stepped back to read some of the papers we were handed. Charlie turned around and didn't see me and just broke down in an all out crying/screaming fit. At that point, I realized it's going to be a rough morning come Wednesday. He began to become more comfortable with everything and really began to play with toys and with a couple of other kids. The room began to calm down as the parents began to leave. This gave me a chance to talk with the teachers a little and warn them of the tantrum they will have to endure with Charlie. They assured me that they have dealt with it many times and for me not to worry. How can I not worry though? I'm leaving my child standing there screaming and crying for me. All my motherly instincts go against this! But, it must be done. I just keep telling myself that he'll be fine and after a little while he'll be loving this new environment. It's going to be a great thing for him. Remind me of these thoughts on Wednesday morning...ok? :\

We then had new parent orientation after where they went through the handbook and other important details. I've been very impressed so far at how the school is run and feel very comfortable in leaving my child in this environment. I can't wait til our preacher's wife, Emily, is off bedrest and has gotten through her maternity leave so that she can be at the school. I'm gonna love having a friend of mine be Charlie's teacher. (Not that I want to pull her away from a sweet little newborn. Maybe we can just swap kids on those days.)

The funniest moment of the night was when we pulled into the parking lot. It was full of cars...well, minivans. It had to be something like 90% minivans, 8% SUV's and 2% cars. Daniel and I got tickled at this and he commented that we should count them. We felt a little out of place driving into the parking lot in a car.

As I mentioned, Charlie begins MMO on Wednesday. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm going to spend that morning with Emily keeping her company while she continues to be on bedrest. She gets to console me!

a few pics...

Am I the only one that has a son who loves to talk on the phone? If you call our house and Charlie is awake, be prepared to talk to him. He'll pitch a fit if he doesn't get to talk!

Charlie and Khaki having fun in the dog's "cubby." It's a space at the end of the couch that Khaki loves to lay in. Charlie crawls in there with her alot. I don't know how they both fit! They even managed to get one of Khaki's stuffed puppies in there too!

contestant #1...here's what you've won!

Ugh! I made a visit to the orthopaedist today. I've been having some trouble with my left knee over the last few months. Nothing that concerned me but here lately it has been causing me more pain and has begun popping every time I go up or down stairs. So, I saw my primary care physician on Thursday and he referred me to the orthopaedist. They gave me an appointment for today. Luckily, I have a wonderful neighbor that kept Charlie while I made the visit. I figured they would want x-rays and I knew Charlie wouldn't do well with that since they would have to take him out of the room to do them. The doc said x-rays looked fine. Mainly, it's my kneecap. It doesn't track right. This occurs in both knees but my right is just more of an annoyance than anything.

And...the verdict...no surgery but 6 weeks of physical therapy to strenghten my quads to help relieve my knee and to strengthen my knee back to normal working status. I have to wear the brace all the time until I've gotten some strength back and then it will be just for activities like walking, running, sports, etc. The other diagnosis was pronation or overpronation. This is an "excessive inward roll of the foot while walking or running". Your foot normally rolls out as you walk so with mine rolling in, it's throwing the alignment of everything off and probably causing my knee caps to not track correctly. (You can read more about it here.) So, this leads to insoles. The nurse recommended a place called Fleet Feet. This keeps me from going to the foot specialist which would cost me a fortune in orthotics, even with insurance. We'll take that route only if necessary.

The worst thing the doctor said to me today was no more flip flops. *tear* :( Since they have no support, they are not helping me any. (This is probably why it has flared up in the last couple of months - summer!) So, I'm stuck with my tennis shoes for now and if you see me and my outfit is a fashion faux pas, blame the doc! As soon as I told Daniel, he immediately said, "And how well are you going to stick to that?" Thanks for the vote of confidence there, honey! He knows me all too well because he then asked, "Well, do you have shoes on now?" I answered yes. "Which ones?" My head bows, "my flip flops." :\ Busted! But, the upside is that I'll probably have to do some shoe shopping!

My PT is 2 days a week for 6 weeks. Since Charlie starts to MMO next week, I'm hoping to schedule my PT on those 2 days. Atleast it will give me something to do to keep my mind off my little boy not being at home. God sure does work in weird ways sometimes!

the Lord's army...

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charlie and nathan

Almost every Thursday, Charlie and I meet our next door neighbors for a playdate. The little boy, Nathan, is about 6 months younger than Charlie and now that they are both walking, they have a ball together! Charlie really likes their daughter, Jessica, who just turned 6. We alternate houses and sometimes venture to the pool in the neighborhood. Today, however, we ventured to the mall nearby. They have recently added a soft play area for little kids that opened in June. Debbie, the mom, recently found it and said Nathan really had fun. Jess is visiting her grandmother this week so it was just the boys. Debbie will be headed to get her on Thursday so we moved our playdate to today.

The mall is doing alot of renovating so once I got through all the construction zones and found an elevator that worked, we made it to the play area. (I passed two elevators that were out of order and the one I found was way at the back of the store!) The play area was really cool and at first was really crowded. But, after about 30 minutes or so, the kids slowly began to leave and it was calm for a while. Charlie was running around everywhere, squealing, and just having so much fun. Nathan seemed to be doing the same. Charlie would slide down the slide all by himself! That was an accomplishment for him. I've gotten him to slide by himself if I am standing at the bottom to catch him but today I just sat on the bench and watched. It was great! Nathan did the same but would go down head first and just roll when he hit the bottom. He cracks me up! Debbie and I had fun giggling at Nathan as he tried to climb into some of the play things and then he would just tumble out. Charlie, on the other hand, being the cautious one he is, had to have you put him in it and then help him out. He would climb into one of the paly structures but with the others, he had to have help. He loved crawling through the tunnels as well but spent most of his time just running and sliding. Charlie was drenched in sweat by the time we left so needless to say, he went right down for a nap once we got home.