I've been on a graham cracker kick lately. The kids love them too, so we've eaten our way through a couple of boxes in the last couple weeks. The other day, T saw the graham crackers and asked if we could make s'mores. It's not that I'm against the idea of s'mores, but my kids + melted marshmallows AND melted chocolate does not equal a good idea. Ever.
But okay, I need to get past my 'don't make a mess' issues (mainly because it's a waste of time and energy and it's causing unnecessary stress on all of us). Aren't moments just like these what I want my kids to remember when they get older? Yes. Like the time my mom woke me up in the middle of the night and we took an impromptu trip to see my mom's best friend. I got to sit in the front seat and talk to my mom all the way to Virginia. I couldn't have been more than eight, but it's one of my best memories. So in the interest of lightening up and stepping out of my comfort zone, on Monday S and I went and bought chocolate so that we could make s'mores when T came home from school. Wisely, I resisted toasting the marshmallows because the only option I really had would have been the gas burners on the stove, and let's not even talk about the possibilities for disaster that would present. As it turns out, a few seconds in the microwave and BOOM! You've got puffy, melty lumps of 'mallow. Excellent!
So after overcoming all my reservations about messes, overdosing on sugar, and possible third degree burns from roasting marshmallows, we made the s'mores. The kids totally freaked out when they got marshmallow on them because 'it's too sticky'. T ate about four bites, S licked the marshmallow and chocolate off one side and they both pronounced it 'yucky'. Now, a year ago this would have likely irritated me. Monday? I just laughed and dabbed melted marshmallow on the end of their noses, which freaked them out (in a good way) and let them do it to me, which made them laugh. We threw away the s'mores, S ate the leftover chocolate, T ate the leftover marshmallow, and I ate the leftover graham crackers. Everyone was happy. And sticky. And the world didn't end. Hallelujah.
On Tuesday, S had a three year well baby visit. Tricare recently switched our pediatrician. I think I liked the old one better. I took T in on Friday to ask for a referral to a developmental pediatrician. I am hoping that by exhausting every available option, we can figure out what it is that he needs that he's not getting or how to modify behaviors that, at this point, just are. I feel like a piece of the puzzle is missing somehow, but that I don't know enough to figure it out on my own. After talking to Dr. C, I realize that it's going to be an uphill battle. Simply put, T's issues aren't severe enough (which is actually positive) for much medical intervention and since we are in the school system now, we ask for what we think we need for him, and the school system comes back with what they can offer. Uh, excuse me? At what point did someone think it would be a good idea to have the medical community, school system, and parents working against each other instead of with each other? How many kids are falling through the cracks because the parents don't realize or have enough knowledge to fight this battle? And how many great teachers have quit because of all the stress of demands and being second guessed and challenged? It's just a waste. So when I took S in for a 3 year well visit, I wasn't expecting much and I got even less. We were in there 10 minutes tops, he wasn't concerned about a diaper rash I have been trying to get rid of for weeks, and - like with T - we spent more time talking about BMI than anything else. What a crock.
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