Photo (Album) Op

Finally.  One advantage to waking up before everyone else on a Sunday morning: taking all those little red and white photo envelopes from Target and putting the pictures in an album, in a somewhat chronological order.  If I were really going for the extra credit points, I would have labeled them, but for now, I'm just happy they're in an album and I can still tell the difference between the photos of Micah's March 2010 surgery from his September 2010 surgery (different prints on the fabric of the hospital gowns.)

The motivation came from Micah finding the 2008/2009 photo album.  He had a blast going through it:  "Look at this!  Look at me!"  He isn't at the age where he is able to realize that I took most of the photos, or even why aren't there very many photos of me in the album (which is how I like it.)  Now he has two albums to amuse himself.

Somewhere around his is a third photo album that I bought before the one I just filled, but it got sucked into vortex of the move and has not been regurgitated, yet.  My wish for 2011 is that re-emerges before I start accumulating more photos.

Now I just need to make my grocery list and figure out where the Christmas tree is going to go and commit to the idea of buying new lights for the tree because unraveling the old ones is just not on my agenda.  I'm about hanging the ornaments, putting the lights on is just one of those little bits of miseries that must be endured to get the final effect.

3,000 Hits

It took three years, plus a month or so, but today the hit counter reached 3,000.  I like the map showing where the hits are actually coming from better, but it's only been counting the flags for a little more than a year or so.

Meanwhile in about the same amount of time it took the blog to accumulate those 3,000 hits,  Micah has made monumental progress with his hearing and speech.  As of this week, both of Micah's preschools have said that he is on par with his normal hearing peers.  Which means that for a child who has only been amplified for three years, he has managed to catch up to children who had an eighteen month head start in terms of speech and language, and he's funnier and smarter than quite a few of them.

Much to be thankful for: Micah, his ENT surgeon, Summit School and its teachers and therapists, Early Intervention, the audiologist who fitted and adjusted his BAHAs, every person who has spent time talking and interacting with Micah, and so on.

Full-Day Kindergarten and other updates

Micah was accepted into the Kindergarten at PIACS, the Mandarin-immersion charter school, for the 2011-12 school year.  Full-day, none of this half day, figure out where he will be for before or after.  Now all PIACS needs to do is find where the school will be located to be able to open in the fall.

Soccer ends this week.  I'm supposed to be the one buying donuts and hot chocolate, but I also made up little gift boxes with a raven finger puppet in a little box decorated with a raven/star/soccer theme.  I hope the fact that to use the raven as a puppet one must stick the finger up the raven's rear end will escape the girls' notice, at least until they get home.

Ice skating started last Sunday.  Micah spent most of his time on the ice - as in on his back, on his knees, on his side.  Thea had a lot of down time, too, but by the end she seemed to be getting the hang of it.  One more lesson before the Brownies skating outing on the 22nd.

This Sunday Thea has a test in Chinese school - her class is supposed to be able to recognize and read 118 characters to her teacher.  How the teacher is going to have individual time with all six students individually and still maintain order among the remaining five is going to be interesting.

Micah has his first classmate birthday party on Sunday at BounceU.  Thea's a little bit miffed that she doesn't get t go, surprisingly.

It is parent-teacher conference season.  Last week we had Micah's Beth Chaim conference, tomorrow is Thea's and then next week is the Dutch Neck preschool conference for Micah.

One month until Micah's next appointment with Dr. Choe.  His hearing seems to be doing very well, and his speech is just taking off and no more funky scalp now that we can shampoo his hair.

Psy Ops

Today and tomorrow the kids are out of school for the NJ State Teachers' Convention, so it was the perfect day to get our flu shots out of the way.  The school nurse at Micah's first school sent home a note on September 2nd to tell us that Micah's immunization history is missing a 2010 flu shot and that sometime between September 1st and December 1st, we should submit proof of his having been immunized.

And since she sort of dissed me one day when I was dropping off Thea's school physical form and immunization records by leaving me standing in her outer office while she rifled through her desk drawer in a somewhat disinterested fashion, I am in revenge mode. Micah was with me, so I was painfully aware of every fidgety second we spent waiting.

So my evil plan was to turn in the proof of flu vaccination on December 2nd or 3rd, which would be more symbolic and therapeutic for me than irritating for the nurse.  Pettiness as therapy.  Cheap, effective.

But we've had a couple cases of possible flu come through the office, so today was a good day to get the actual immunizations out of the way.

Until last night Thea springs this on me, "Mommy, I want you to give me my flu shot."

Really?  You must be joking.  Is this some sort of clever psychological warfare to see if Mommy has the stones to pierce her tender, young flesh with a needle?  (Me, who would get teary in 2004 when Thea got her immunizations.)

And if Thea's going to do something, Micah is sure to follow and he promptly tells me that he wants me to give him his flu shot, too.

Damn.

I'm pretty sure I can do one, but but both - especially if they crack and wail, not so sure.

So we stopped in at the office around 11:30 am, after running a couple of errands.  Both kids had EMLA cream and plastic wrap on their upper arms/deltoids.

Thea popped her arm out of shirt and didn't back down from the idea of my giving the injection.  In, out, bandaid on and done.  Not a whimper, not a tear.

Micah unleashed a stream of wailing the minute I sat him up on the counter and took off his coat.  But he too insisted that he wanted me giving the shot.  Fortunately Tesh was there to give him a hug and show him pictures of her daughter's school trip to the Philadelphia Zoo.

Then I got my flu shot, and the stick was painless but the vaccine going in hurt like HELL. I whined.  A lot. (Fortunately the kids were already back in the file clerks area so they heard none of it.)