CATCHING UP IN A CHINTASTIC WORLD!

If the last 2 months of my life were a movie and I picked a name for this crazy film it would be Catching Up In A Chintastic World. Chintastic -- as in fantastic, crazy, busy and on the border of being completely overwhelming. It's amazing how my to-do list never ends and the days are always three hours too short.

It was the same scenario when my work was in an office. The inbox was always overflowing and the phone calls and emails never seemed to slow down. Of course now, my inbox is my never-ending to-do list and the phone calls and emails are a small addition to the shirt tugging and screams for “Mommy!” I wouldn’t trade it in a zillion years but I wouldn’t turn my nose up to a weekend “off” either. But, I digress…

Back to the “catching up” part… I missed giving much of an update in August and September (besides birthday celebrations). It got lost somewhere in between finishing up with camp, our anniversary, saying goodbye to Dodo, Zoe and Ruby starting school, doctor visits (lots of them), swimming, car servicing, getting a handle on our finances (arrrgggh!), play dates, museum outings, arts ‘n crafts days, dance parties, playing "beauty salon", friends’ birthday parties, date nights, bills, insurance, taxes, visits from friends and family, transitioning a new nanny, Zoe behavior issues, Ruby’s unusual skin problems, losing Zoe’s nap 100%, signing up for fall classes, haircuts, “girl’s night out”, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, concerts, house hunting, park outings, swine flu vaccine research, farmer’s market outings and just a couple of errands (not!). And that silly list flew off the keyboard with little thought so I know I’ve forgotten no less than five hundred other things.

So, there you go. A small window into what we’ve been up to. Here’s a little more detail on a few things that beg for more text:

Ruby’s Infamous Doctor Visits

In August, I sat in the office at urgent care while Ruby ran around giggling with giant red hives all over her body (red, then blisters, then scabs as they healed). The Doctor announced that she had chicken pox and cleared the waiting room before we could exit.

That was followed by a mad rush to think of anyone who could have possibly been in contact with Rubes and passing on detailed instructions on what to do. This was all a little hard to swallow for a pro-vaccine Mommy. Apparently 6-8% of kids can still get chicken pox even with a vaccine. It was possible. Who knew?

My doubts lingered... It wasn’t until a month later when Ruby woke up with the same exact problem that I knew the sequestering was a big fat waste of time. That kick started more doctors and more diagnosis’ than I wanted. The truth is that we still don’t know for sure but the best guess is viral-related hives, Papular Uticaria (essentially, an allergic reaction to bug bites) or a case of bed bugs (yes, getting the house inspected is on my never ending “to-do” list).

And if all those doctor visits weren’t enough, Ruby also got an infection in one of her bites (at a different time). She scratched so much and got bacteria inside (probably from her nail) and the next morning she woke with a giant foot with swelling inching up her shin.

And you’d think that would be the end of doctors (besides her 2 year check-up). But, nooooooooo! Ruby astutely figured out that if she can’t get a lollipop from Mommy then the nice doctors and nurses will give them to her. G-d this girl is smart.

Ruby kept begging for a lollipop and when I wouldn’t give in, she suddenly had really bad ear pain. “An infection?” I thought. “I better run that monkey to the doctor right away,” I announced. Well, on the ride there, not only did she have bad ear pain (“My ear bother me, Mommy! My ear bother me, Mommy!”) but her back, arm, eyes and nose hurt too. Can you say “s-u-c-k-e-r”? After the doctor squeezed us in for a last minute appointment, I had to announce that my daughter was faking. Ears, nose, eyes and back were all in perfect working order! But, guess who got a lollipop? On the way home Ruby announced, “I love going to the doctor, Mommy!” End of story.

Zoe: Transition City

Zoe has had countless transitions the last few months. Let’s just say it hasn’t been the easiest time for our little peanut butter crunch.

When we filled in Zoe’s “personal trainer” about the upcoming changes (losing Dodo, Deily starting, new school and a possible move), she warned us that we may be in for a rough ride and held back her “graduation” until she is able to follow up post transition (almost there).

Our beloved Dodo had to stop working since she has a bun in the oven (due Halloween). She is a great friend and super soft place for our girls to fall and we already miss her soooo much!

While Ruby is beyond in love with Dodo, Zoe and Do have a very special relationship. Losing Dodo was particularly painful for her. Inevitably, we all lost our daily Dodo doses (although we see her regularly!) but we welcomed Deily to our family. Zoe gave Deily a pretty hard time for a good 3 ½ months, at least. It’s only very recently that Zoe has started to accept our new friend.

Zoe’s way of dealing with all the change came out in…well, let’s just call it “behavior challenges!” We’ve had lots of tantrums and “fresh face” talking. And, well, endless glares of disdain towards poor Deily. I’m happy to say that Deily has stuck with us through the worst of it and we are all seeing the light. Fingers crossed.

At the height of all this madness, Zoe started at a new school – Children’s Center in Los Altos. Zoe was pretty stressed about it (in tears the night before her first day). My heart broke. We stayed up late that night talking about it – well, I talked and she listened. I told her that she could tell me anything and to just let me know if she wants to talk more. The next morning she told me “Ya know what we were talking about last night? I’m ready to talk about it again, please.” You hope they are listening to you. You hope they are taking it all in, writing mental notes and filing it all away somewhere. I got my wish.

Greg took Zoe to her first drop off day of school. While I feel like I do a fairly good job with the Mommy stuff, I know my weaknesses. My girls crying is my kryptonite. So, I gave the hard part to Greg. (Thank you, babe, for being our rock!) And, guess what? She did great! No tears (she choked them back when she said goodbye to me at home). No jumping for joy either but that started only days later. Zoe loves school more than ever!

Her teachers are Mrs. Hixon and Ms. Mungaray and one teacher’s assistant, Ms. Sickler. There are about 21 kids in her class and she goes Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I heart my Chintastic world!

Click here for additional pictures from August and September. And, see below for video.

Zoe Became a Level 3 Swimmer This Summer!

Bee Bee Don't Sting Me! (one of the many songs she has "written")

Children's Center Concert

Dancing