Anatomy of an Oklahoma Snow Day

6:00am  Wake up.

7:00am Received a phone call canceling work.  Instructed to call in the following day to find out if work will be cancelled that day as well.

7:30 am Finally find my keys. We head outside, while it is cold there is no snow/ice forecasts have been calling for since Saturday previous.  Travel to WalMart to pick up some Oreos and a couple of new $5 movies from the movie bin.  Tv stations have already started their extended coverage that takes precedent over all other shows but not quite wall to wall where it preempts the commercials as well.

8:00  Get word that OSU is closing offices at 1 p.m.  This doesn't matter much since my class for this evening was cancelled two days ago.  Back from Wally World.  Stillwater Public Schools seems to be the only one's who haven't received the message since there are cars still in their parking lot.  Wonder how long they will be in class until the are let out for the day.  The temperature has dropped significantly in the last two hours.  Car is in the garage because, who wants to scrape windows if you don't have to?  We settle in for the long haul.  Still no rain or snow.

1:00 pm  TV stations are reporting the storm has begun.  Of course those stations are an hour south but all that I am really seeing from the live shots is rain so far.

4:00 pm  Finally start seeing some rain.

4:10 pm  False start.

6:00 pm  Starts raining in earnest.  Although its not heavy and not as chaotic as one would think from the wall to wall coverage.

6:30  It is time for the baby to learn what a free day off is all about.  That is Oreo cookie on her face.  She only ate one but wouldn't let me wash off the crumbs.

6:45  Still this is it.  Some of what is falling is freezing but not much.  It just seems odd that we have spent all day not at work and so far nothing has really caused major problems.   

7:30  It is cold enough we needed to bring the dog inside for the night.  The sleet is starting to turn to ice and it is building up a little more now.  Xyla decides to help Munch eat his food one piece at a time.  He likes it right up until she tries to feed him with a spoon.

As you can see even though there is some ice it's still not the catastophe it has been touted as.

8:00pm What would a snow day be if you can't try something new.  These are a little indulgent but they have spinach and artichoke in them.  We shall see if the baby eats them.

8:30  She ate three of them.  Color me surprised.  There is finally some snow falling outside.

From here they get out of order:

She was cool with the snow until she had to put her hand down to steady herself and realized how cold it was.  I put on her hat and her gloves and touched her hand to the snow to show her why we wear gloves.  All was right again with the world.

If you look close to her right, there is a small dot on the fence.  She was running over to check out the birds who were visiting our yard for the convenience of the bird feeder.

This is at the start of the snow around 8:30 pm.  I thought she might like to see it fall.  Like bubbles, she thinks snowflakes are awesome.

We had to wait all night to see this.  It's nice that it isn't piled in the 3 ft. drift in front of the door like last time.  This can be easily dealt with.  We have the whole weekend now.  I had to go in to work (two hours delay) for a couple of hours but they sent us home at noon.  The best part of that is not having to use my leave (of which I have little at this point) which means I am one day closer to coming home for a visit.

For those back home this is just a couple of inches.  Sorry it was so dramatic.

Snow . . . I'm not crazy, but I play it on tv.

As I sit here typing this my baby is tucked safely in my bed with her little footy pjs and a blanket she will only let me place over her mid-section.  She has been sleeping soundly for hours.  I am sure somewhere in this town someone is up right now worried.  Worried about the "winter storm" that is 100% going to happen.  Somewhere in this town a mom is up tonight worried that if it does snow tomorrow she won't be able to pick up eggs at the store.  Somewhere in this town a few managers are regretting their decisions to close their businesses tomorrow but since they already told their employees to stay home they have to take the loss.  In this economy . . . well that's why he is up.  Somewhere in this town tonight there is a small child forming plans to make snowmen with the less than an inch of snow that is forecast, since his school called the station and gave the magic password that gets them on the closures list.  Somewhere someone is decrying the evidence of global warming because the temperature just suddenly dropped about 20 degrees.

It just occured to me today why IT was calling to confirm everyone's extension in their office.  It is so that our state con can cancel work for us using the phone message system.  It's nice to know I'll be getting that message, if there is one.  

Why am I up so late?  Why am I up so late?  Honestly I have been trying to make up for what I don't know about climate change.  I have been trying to make something of the hours of class I will miss this week thanks to overzealousness.  But why am I up so late?  Why?

There is something in the silence tonight.  Something I promised a friend.  Something I will probably never get to do.  I can't really talk about it.  I don't know why I am up.  I am not contemplating the singularness of life nor the pluralities of it.  I am not delving into realms of information I haven't fully committed to.  I am seeking though.   I am not sure what.  I want the answer to be in this silence.  Is it there?  Am I listening hard enough?

Where do I go from here?  Is there a blizzard a head in my life?  A season in my life has changed and I am grateful.  I have felt like I was in the same season for way too long.  What did I learn there?  Am I stealing from my experience?  

Who am I?  I ask myself that question everyday.  I wrote it in the steam on my bathroom mirror so that I wouldn't loose myself again.  "Who do you see here?"  But then did I ever understand who I was to begin with?  Is that why no one can seem to connect with me, because I can't connect with myself.  Who am I?  Am I too much, too little or just right?  I have always known there was something different about me but I have never known what that is.  Others have mentioned it too.  The something different.  No one can describe it.

I need some rest.  Not sleep.  Rest.  Where do I go for that?

As many of you know, the week before Christmas the entirety of Oklahoma lost it's mind when just over a foot of snow fell in the state.  It shut down the inter-state highways in and out of OK for two days.  People abandoning their cars that got stuck in snow drifts.  At least 25 cars worth of people slid into each other making a huge mess and the evening news.  I knew they'd go nuts.  They always do.  This kind of weather is so infrequently (12 white Christamases in 100 years and this one made 13) they just aren't prepared for what I know to be a minor inconvenience in Star Valley.  

I made a new bird feeder out of a soda bottle because for some reason Cardinals and Bluejays like to eat dog food and then bathe in Munch's water dish, a process that includes depositing "litter" in his dish just before they take off.  It worked in the city and it works here, too.

This picture is just at the storm was kicking up.  The wind, which is what caused 14 inches to drift into three foot death traps, was blowing hard.  Please notice in the picture below the lump that took up residence in my bird feeder for about 20 minutes.

All I can say is I really hope this cardinal made it through the storm.

In addition to being my personal babysitting angel, my neighbor is also part of the system as she is hosting foster kids.  One of the things they suggest foster parents do to help the kids is to take pictures of them and make a small album.  Whenever Heather has some new kids I go over and make sure some pictures are taken of them.  Mostly because it isn't known really if the kids will ever have a professional picture taken of them.  They aren't in the system because their parents have lots of money to do things like that. 

This is Xyla's friend Aroura.  For the last little while Xyla has been very excited to have a new friend next door.  These kids were very loving but Xyla was having a hard time with sharing the affections of her mommy.  I don't know why she has become so clingy lately.  She was clingy even around her family this weekend.  Most kids hit this phase long before now.

It didn't stop her from coloring though.

 

The Potty problem. Part 3

Because I haven't used either since the dog was a puppy, it took me another 20 minutes after her bath to find the scrub brush (which I hadn't thrown out, just packed inconveniently) and the Resolve Carpet Cleaner.  If you have to clean poop of any origin I recommend this product freely and I have not been paid by anyone to say it.  

In the end it was really no big deal because for the first time I was able to clean the "stuff" up with out heaving.  I have opened up a whole new career avenue for myself even though I am still not ok with how frail old people are.

Now about the problem . . . while the first adventure in potty training ended with a decided victory for the Pampers manufacturer, I am not sure how to handle the actual problem.  I have never heard anyone else talk about it.  There is no literature on it.

When I brought the potty home she was almost as ecstatic about it as she was about "Marney"  (Yes, the big dopey purple dinosaur.)  She would stand on it, sit on it, open it close it.  She wouldn't let me keep it in the bathroom, it had to be front and center in the living room.  She closed the lid, she lay across it.  I am sure I even saw her kiss it.  She had no problem sitting on it for long periods of time in her "free" state.  When I say this you need to think of the Rock Biter near the end of The Never-Ending Story)  These all seem like very good things.  The problem is - when she feels like she needs to pee, she stands up, runs across the room, peeing on the floor as she goes.  Apparently, in her mind it isn't so much a urine receptacle as it is a princess throne useful for storing small treasures and accessories.  

I caught her making the poo-poo face and dropped her diaper and plopped her on the potty.  She was very upset that excrement was depositing in "her potty".  When she was finished I let her get up and praised her for a job well done.  We took the bowl to the bathroom and dumped it in the toilet.  She didn't want to help me say "bye-bye mean poo-poo".  She seemed sad.  I washed out the bowl and put it back in place.  She hasn't been even remotely excited about the potty since then.  She has let me help her up on the potty ring on the big toilet and tinkled there but gets upset all over again when I suggest that if she needs to go she can use her potty.

The obvious solution is to train her on the ring and let her use the potty for what ever she deems appropriate.  Since I made her violate the sanctity of the potty, I don't know how to restore the relationship.  Any suggestions?

And now we bring you the comedy of Xyla Laniece:

"So this goes on there huh?  Then what do you do with it?"

Did you know that chicken goes in your ear?

My bologna has a first name . . . and it sticks to the tv.

The potty problem. Part 2

In our house at this time, this is what it means to be on the potty.

So like I said the suggestion came across my desk to let her run around nudie booty for a couple of days and "poof" she'd be potty trained.  Let me qualify that I am not really a fan of the "let nature handle it" methods.  Mostly because nature doesn't come over and scrub poop out of the carpet.  I have raised enough puppies to know two important things about potty training: it never takes just two days and just because someone says it should work, doesn't mean it will.

I was seriously considering buying bulk remainder newspapers.  I ruled it out when I figured my little girl is more adept at relocating papers than a 6 week old puppy.  I bit the bullet just to see if this "miracle" technique would work.  If it did I had plans to sign up Billy Mayes and hock it on QVC . . . what's that you say?  He is?  I am sorry to hear that.

I stripped her down to nothingness and let her go about her business.  She learned one important lesson.  She likes being "free".  I decided to unload the dishwasher while she discovered the world in it's new definition.  Xyla is very introspective when it comes to discovery so I don't usually worry if it is quiet in the other room.  She comes and checks in on me now and then and we're both cool.  Somewhere around half way through unloading the first rack, Xyla comes trucking around the corner with her cute little doe eyes all big.  She looks at me and starts chattering like a woodland creature.  In her world she in communicating clearly and effectively.  I mostly depend on her inflection to understand.  All I was picking up was that something was really important ou . . out . . . there . . . in the . . . hey, do I smell poop?  (I have become sort of an expert on sussing out the source of a particular smell.)  

She turned a little and I didn't see anything but I was sure this was more than gas.  I started to lift her by her arms and there it was.  She felt it dump down her leg and took a step back wards. Then, realizing she was standing in something unfamiliar took a step to the side and put the other foot in the middle of this new "texture".  Of course she had to come tell me the situation was anything but normal.

Have I ever told you my reasons for deciding not to be a nurse?  Besides being incredibly uncomfortable with the frailty of old people, the prospect of experiencing the nudity of others even in a non-sexual way and being too immature to accept that people pass away as a natural part of the living process, ther eis also the fact that I have never (and my sister will confirm this) been able to handle the things that secrete, ooze, flow or project from the human body.

This is the moment my sister would have paid to see.  I was going to have to face the big dark green monster that was mushed into . . . I was really hoping just the linoleum, but as I turned the corner I could see her tiny path as she made her maiden news announcement.

I will admit I kind of panicked a little.  Not, surprisingly, about having to clean it up but about which I should tackle first: the floor or the kid.  This was my exact thought process.  Try to read it as fast as you can:

Where's my resolve, ugh it's in between her toes, I knew this was going to happen, I can handle it, it's for the greater good, this won't be the last time either, ugh I can't hold her against me it's all down her leg, I'll wear puke but I refuse to wear poop if I can avoid it and I can, if I could just, wait she's naked I can put her in the tub, what did I do with the scrub brush, I used it to clean up the dog's messes but . . . I might have thrown it out when we moved, stupid superstition, don't bring old dirt to the new house, but I guess if you have to have one, oh man where is it, I smell it but I don't see .  . . oh, Lord is next to the couch, three steps to the right and it would be on linoleum, that'd be easy to clean, don't even think about the newspapers, she isn't a dog, she's a toddler, there's the wipes, will that work, o man I'm gonna need two hands for that, just put her in the tub, where'd it go again, don't step in it, ta-da, now I am going to have to scrub under Dora, I hate cleaning the tub, but my baby is worth it, why is she smiling at me, this is fresh poop why isn't it coming off, I didn't grab a diaper, should I put a new one one her or not, what would brandy do, she'd keep pushing through but honestly I don't want to do this again today, diaper it is, now where's that scrub brush . . . ?

Stay tuned for Part 3.  Yes there is more . . . 

The potty training problem. Part 1

When do you start potty training?  It's a question so many parents are eager for the answer to.  "Wait until they are ready" is what all the literature says.  I think my little girl is ready.  I bought a potty ring quite a while go because she was having "back up" issues.  She would have times when she knew it was going to hurt to poop so she would hold it in.  You could tell she just had to let something go.  When she got that look on her face I'd pick her up and set her on the potty seat and stay there with her until she passed the big mean poo-poo and let her flush it away and say bye-bye.  Did you know it is difficult not to pass bm when you sit with your feet straight out from your body.  Try it next time.

The best thing that has come of that process is recognition.  She knows that the toilet is for "eliminating".  She knows the toilet makes loud noise when it flushes and she isn't scared of it.  These were all excellent things in my mind.  A great start down a good road.  I figured all I needed to do was wait until the other signs started popping up.

She goes to daycare and she sees her friends doing it.  I have that going for me.  She sees me do it.  She even tried to put a diaper on me once.  She was serious about it too.  I didn't have a way for her to get up to the stool yet so I thought I'd buy a potty seat so that she could start getting used to it being in the house.

Even I think I am being overly ambitious but it pays to be prepared.  I buy the $10 potty from WalMart (and so ends my personal strike)  We get it home . . . pull it out of the box and . . . 

You'd think she just reconnected with a long lost friend.  She hollers "potty, potty, potty".  The "does she know what it is" half of the battle is won.  Now we move on to "does she know what it's for."  I set it down and she began stepping up onto the lid.  She tried to open it even asked for "hep-peas".  (Yes I am pleased as punch that my daughter can ask for help courteously.)  

Once she gets it open she sits down directly over the pot.  I think to myself "maybe potty training is going to be like everything else has been with her - easy."  I don't know why I let myself think stupid things like that.  She is a great kid but it hasn't been easy and I should know better than to tempt fate.

Since she'd made it that far I thought maybe I'll start right away on weekend one with the potty in house to see how things go.  Modern diapers may be the enemy of potty training.  Yes they are amazing for times when you can't get to a bathroom to change her for 6 hours but for establishing a pee schedule they are impossible.  The hold so much I don't know sometimes when she has peed.  Darn those Huggies - they just work too well.

A suggestion came across my desk to strip her down naked (yep in November) and set up her potty in the living room and just let her run around and eventually she will get it.  Tune in tomorrow for part two of this exciting adventure . . .

Just one last post for the day.  You are going to be sick of pictures by the time I am through.  These are just a few of the things we have done since I went off the grid for a couple months.

The Wildlife Expo.  The first year I was there I was pregnant.  The second year I was nursing.  I knew it would be next to impossible to chase around a toddler so this year I enlisted help from her dad.  He was out of his element and out of cell phone range but I think they had some fun together.

Then we went and spent a day taking some pictures for some derby girls.  That was a great day.  They may look pretty but they can be down right mean if you get in their way.

We attended Ms. Meka's OKC wedding reception.  Xyla got to stay up late and ate some soul food style chicken.  She was doted on by everyone there and loved every minute of it.  This is the first anyone has seen of these pictures so don't tell Ms. Meka.

Early in October we moved to Stillwater, OK.  Ninny came down and helped us move our stuff from the city to the home of the OSU Cowboys and Eskimo Joes.  That bottom picture is the last one of the two of us in the old house.

But just because we moved an hour away doesn't mean we can't break bread with family.  We spent Thanksgiving with Gegee and Papa James and the whole James family.  I have other pictures of the food but I don't want you to drool on your keyboards.

After that last post I wanted to be sure to lighten the mood a little.  I think my baby girl has a fantastic sense of humor.  She may not know it yet but she does.  For instance:

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.  

Xyla wonders what life would be like if we all had cups for hands.

Do you know how to tell you are dancing with someone with two left feet?  Two left shoes.

Honestly I think this speaks for itself.

Didn't you know that's what you do with crayons, you wear them on your head.

As some of you know, November was quite a month for trials.  We almost lost my mom.  My sister called me one day at work and said, "They are taking mom by ambulance to the Montpelier Hospital, they don't know what's wrong but it's looking pretty bad, I'll call you back when I get more information." 

That information didn't come for a long time.  When it did the message was that they had decided to Life Flight my mom to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City.  I was beside myself but trying not to panic.  I started making arrangements for Xyla and I to fly to Utah.  A difficult thing to have to try to deal with less than a month on the new job.  Fortunately I am in the exact right place at the exact right time.  I was told to go, let them know what was going on and we would figure out the rest when I returned.  I felt blessed that day for having employers who understood and treated me like a human.

When you are flying to Utah for something like this with a small child you have to take things one step at a time.  You have to put the subject out of your head so you don't miss anything.  With new flying regulations and check in procedures it would be very easy to miss something important.  I was trying very hard to live in the moment so that Xyla wouldn't get anxious on the plane.  I tried her out to see if she would fit as a carry on.  She was a little big but they let me take her on anyway.  In the everyday things she is still trying to exert her independence.  She insisted on learning how to buckle her belt herself.  A child being able to walk is both a blessing and a curse at the airport.  She is big enough to help out a little but doesn't have the restraint and sense of direction to know where we are supposed to go.  No fewer than three melt downs but none lasting more than 2 minutes.

The food is pretty good and they cater but I don't recommend the University of Utah Hospital to anyone for family reunions.  If you are here it is most likely not a good thing especially if you are visiting the ICU, which is where mom was for more than two weeks.

This was kind of a weird experience for all involved.  The three people you see on the top left are mom's newly found half-brother, his mom and their friend.  She had just been visiting them the week before she wound up in Uof U.  Even though medical issues abound for them right now they just wanted to make sure they weren't going to lose her as soon as they found her.  Aunt Brenda (right) is one of the most level headed people I think I know.  She always remembered to ask questions no one else thought of.  Most of us were just glad that the doctors were coming in the room that we'd forget what it was we wanted to know.  We found out over time that an infection was causing her kidneys and liver to fail.  It was the size of a softball in an abscess on her liver.  How long it had been there, where it came from who knows.  On the bottom left you see Uncle Bob and Carol and Grandma Rena.  It was really hard on Grandma Rena.  She lives near Brenda but she lives alone so all the chaos and commotion and people and my excessive talking were more than she could handle, add to that the thought of losing your oldest child and honestly I am surprised she came out of it all ok.  On the bottom right you see what we did the most.  Waiting.  Waiting in various areas of the hospital.  Mostly we waited in the burn unit waiting room.  There were more chairs and another couple kindred through motorcycle enthusiasm, who were waiting also to hear about their mom who was in with pneumonia.  
Only two people could go in to see mom at a time so we all took turns.  The most cruel thing we witnessed was when they would bring her a breakfast of pancakes and steak (of all things) and then just as she was about to eat they would find some other test or procedure or some reason to take away the food.  When she was on dialysis they told her not to drink too many fluids, later the told her to drink copiously.  It was very confusing.  The fever, the toxins running through her body, the pain of dialysis and mom was delirious.  She was saying weird things and trying to stay lucid enough to "entertain guests" to no avail.  So many people came to visit her there.  I tried to get pictures of everyone but so many of them were able to sneak in and out before I could snap them off.  We all had the same reaction.  How weird it is to see the strongest women any of us knew in a hospital bed and uncertain as to how it would turn out.
The last little picture here could be mistaken for blood so let me be clear:  That is the second bag full of infection drained from the abscess.  It was several weeks and she was home before the tube was removed.  Once her kidneys and liver started functioning again they continued the antibiotics through IV.  Just before Christmas she went in for an appointment and they sent her home with a clean bill of health.  It is insane the body can go through so much and just pop out on the other side like  nothing happened.  Some people will tell you it is times like this that you start to realize what people mean to you.  I didn't need this event to emphasize that.  I have known all along what my mommy means to me.  I told her next time she needs a cleansing that we need to schedule some time at a spa.  I am going to have to make good on that.  

This one was a card.  I was honestly hoping they would let me just take it as the collage picture but oh well.  This is her harvest season pictures.  My neighbor is a fool for decorating and I, being the not so festive mommy, have taken advantage of her penache, with her knowledge of course.

The beginning of December was a good month.  This girl has to have her cheerios in a cup.  Won't eat them unless they are in a cup.  She also thinks potatoes make good toys.  I wasn't about to take it from her.  She doesn't play with them because she has to but because she wants to and that's good enough for me.  In the bottom left picture she is eating dirt.  Why would a mom let her kid eat dirt?  You can tell them it's yucky 100,000 times or you can let them try it out for themselves and never eat it again.  Fortunately she agrees that it is yucky.  And that last sweet picture - she is not in time out.  She likes to touch tummies together, doesn't matter who or in this case - what.

These are the angels of SMART Childcare.  I wish I could tell the world how much these women mean to me.  I went to visit them yesterday and they helped me understand what the regulations are and what I should be expecting from my current day care.  I am so blessed to have this daycare in Xyla's background.  So much of what she knows and the smarty pants she is can be attributed to Ms. Dana and Ms. Meka.

On the left are Xyla's friends Casey and O-b-o-b-o-b (in case you missed that it's Bob)  They are pretty rough and tumble but more like brothers to her.  She still talks about them.  If you think I wasn't serious about the learning stuff though on the right that is Xyla matching shapes at 16 months.

These are Xyla's cousins.  Faith and Arlecia are her favorites but that is because Louis is just learning how to walk.  Watching her with these two girls reminds me of what the world needs more of - massive quantities of excessive hugging - unless of course the overexhuberance of the hug renders both huggers to the ground, then there is crying - but only until they can figure out how to get untangled and back up to standing.

I know I haven't posted in a long time but here is the first of what will be a long line of photo catch ups.  I haven't had internet at home until now so I haven't be able to post at the library.  Takes too long.  I will talk about that later too.  For now enjoy this most recent picture of Xyla in her 2009 Holiday dress.