Cohen's 3rd Birthday!

There are no more two-year-olds in my house.

It's bittersweet for me.

I'm so glad I don't have any more "terrible-twos" to deal with.  But I am sad that my baby is growing up.

 

Nick kept saying that Cohen needed a haircut.  And after seeing this pictures, I realize that Nick was right.  Even still, it took me three more weeks (after these were taken) for me to get Cohen's hair cut.



Cohen had a great birthday.  He loved blowing out the candles on his cupcake.  Truly, that boy is a joy.
He is always happy.
And I know I am going to cry when I send him to preschool next fall.  He's headed in to Sunbeams, at church, in January.  And I am in total denial about that.
This kid is my partner in crime, all of the time.  Pretty much, wherever I go: he goes.  And I love it!  I have adored being in the nursery, at church, because I get to hang out with my kid.

One bonus of having him get older, though.  Potty training.  There's light at the end of the tunnel.  My days of diaper changing are VERY limited.  Yay!


OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN ROLLING AROUND IN MY BRAIN:

I always prided myself on being able to keep my emotions in check.  During the decade that I worked full-time I only cried at work one time; and I managed to hold it together long enough to make it to the ladies room before the tears came.  So, no one saw me cry.  Does that even count as "crying at work"?  Maybe not?

Anyway, I have to face facts.  I am not very stoic anymore. 
I've turned in to the cliché.
Apparently, I'm a crier.
For example:  In October, Reagan's teacher made a comment along the lines of, "Everyone talks about how bright Reagan is, but I haven't seen it".  There were discussions about putting Reagan in a Special Ed class.
It left me feeling angry, and frustrated.
One morning, when I was in the midst of dealing with this, I was out running and the Katy Perry song, Firework came on.  Listening to the lyrics started my waterworks.
Here I am, running down the road crying.  But all I could think about was: Reagan being a firework, and "showing them what you're worth".
Believe me, I feel silly even admitting to it.  But that Katy Perry song really got to me, that day.
And while I'm confessing...  Carrie Underwood's, 'Til I See You Again may have elicited a tear, or two; from me (I know the song is supposed to be about deployed members of the armed services; but it makes me think about my Grandma Chellson.  I can't wait to see that great lady again, on the other side).
When stuff like this happens I inwardly cringe and draw comparisons between myself, and Sheldon Cooper's Mom, on The Big Bang Theory. Yikes!  Sometimes there are a lot of similarities between me and Mary Cooper.  Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty...

So, things with Reagan ended up turning out very well, eventually.
Reagan's psychiatrist has her on a low dose of Zoloft (to help ease her anxiety); and I feel like it is helping.  Reagan has only been violent with me two times, in the last two months!  That, in itself, is a major change.

It appears to have helped her at school, as well.  She still has a hard time concentrating, and I don't think she'll ever pick up on "social norms"?  But at parent teacher conference, her teacher essentially apologized to me; and said that her impressions of Reagan had been incorrect.  That Reagan is bright!  And I'm hearing: "Boom! Boom!  Boom!  Even brighter than the Moon, moon moon!".

When Reagan takes a test her scores are always very inconsistent.  Some days, she tests on genius levels.  And some days her test scores are really poor.  But that's just how Reagan is.  Some days are good, some days are bad.

I did have the school psychologist call me.  She wanted to persuade me to put Reagan on ADHD meds.  18 months ago we tried giving Reagan Adderall; and it wasn't helpful. 
I ended up speaking to Reagan's Psychiatrist; and her "take" on the subject was: That she'd entertain the idea IF Reagan's lack of concentration was causing her to fail 1st grade, OR if it was causing major distractions for the other students in the classroom.  Neither scenario was true (yet); so I told the school psychologist we wouldn't be putting more drugs in to Reagan's system, at this time.
Have I mentioned that I love Reagan's Psychiatrist?  We go to the Children's Center, in SLC to see Dr. Vo; and I adore her.  Nick likes her, because he feels like she is very conservative.  I like her because she is young, soft spoken, and an Asian genius!  Plus, she is always dressed really cute.

So, these days, Reagan is doing very well at school; and things have been pretty pleasant at home too.
Sundays are kind of the exception.
For some reason, Sunday's tend to be the hardest day of the week for Reagan?  I am hoping it gets better once church starts at 9AM, in January.  Fingers crossed.


Over the summer I had a huge struggle with remaining a teetotaler.  I swear, everywhere I looked there were ads for alcohol.  On TV there were advertisements for perfectly portioned margarita mixes that you could put in your freezer.  Watching HGTV was making me crazy, with their commercials for wine.  Especially on the weeks that Nick was working nights, and I was putting the kids to bed myself!  It took all of my willpower to keep from buying a bottle of Merlot.
It's not a path I want to start down again.
Getting sober was hard enough to do the 1st time.
And I know full-well, that I cannot drink in moderation.
I think a driving force behind that temptation rearing it's ugly head again had a lot to do with how difficult Reagan was to deal with over the summer.  I was looking for a way to "self-medicate" and take the edge off.

Not surprisingly, I found more solace through prayer, temple attendance, and supportive friends and family, than through imbibing.  And thankfully, I survived the summer without becoming a "Lush".  I can now say that it's been over a decade since I have had a drink.  And I'm (more than) OK with that.
The Word of Wisdom (guidelines for being healthy, that members of my church adhere to) is pretty cool.  I don't know that my desire to drink will ever subside?  But I am so glad that I belong to a religion that is perfect for me, that helps me be a better person/mother/wife.   Again, I bet I'm making Sheldon's Mom, and Jesus really happy right now.  LOL.
At this rate, I should be able to "stay on the wagon" for the rest of my life!


On a final note...  I have NOT been enjoying my morning runs lately.  It's too stinking cold, and lonely.
At this point, I have lost three different running partners.  Sigh. 
Sometimes I don't mind running alone.  But it's definitely more fun to do with a partner.  So, if anyone is up for the task...  I'd gladly welcome some company.

Oh, and here's an "ironic picture", that I forgot to post in a prior post:

The night before the Harvest Half Marathon, Reagan spent the night at Nick's parent's house.  I got up early, and took Cohen and Elsa to my parent's house.  Then, I ran (nearly) 14 miles.  When I finished the race I chased Cohen and Elsa around Black Island Farms.  I even climbed three flights of stairs (carrying Cohen) so that we could ride down the giant tube-slide together.  TWICE!
Then, I went with my family to Wendy's for lunch.  THEN, I drove to Magna to pick up Reagan.  THEN, I got home and had just enough time to shower, before Nick got off of work, and we headed to a Halloween Party!  It was nuts! And I was exhausted by 11PM that night.
On the way back from Magna, I looked in my rearview and saw that all three kids were asleep.  I took the picture, and was very jealous.  I could have used a nap that day :)