Brunch

Today was quite an adventure...family brunch at the nursing home and another shaved head! The kids slept in a bit this morning. We have been working on brushing teeth with Micah. This week, we started using a new motorized toothbrush...we were hoping the spinning would do a better job of cleaning his teeth, but Micah prefers to watch the brush spin than keep it in his mouth. Oh well...we'll get there.

We decided to skip Micah's swim class so that we could be at the nursing home by 12 for the brunch. Brunch was lovely...eggs, waffles, potatoes, muffins, bagels, juice, and cake. They insisted on serving us, so all we had to do was sit down and enjoy. Micah, Paige and Peyton loved running around and playing together, and Mom had a great time surrounded by all of her family. My brother, SIL and the girls stayed until almost 2, and we got some great video of Mom with the girls.

After lunch, we went back upstairs. Mom sat with us in the lounge area for a while. DH ran to the store to pick up some nail polish remover for Mom (she needed to remove the acrylic from her thumb nail). We sat, talked, watched the kids play, and soaked Mom's nail. I read Mom the blog and your messages, and we had a great afternoon. While Mom and I were talking, DH decided to get his hair cut, too. In fact, DH went bald in solidarity with Mom!

Mom was back in her room by 4 and Dad left. I took some time to grease up her head and face again. Since she shaved her head, we've done a daily routine of cleaning and greasing her head and face. Her head has been far less itchy since we started our routine. Hopefully, once radiation is finished, her skin can finish healing. Mom has also been working on video messages for us. The other day, she recorded a message for Maya. Today, she recorded a message for my brother. She hopes to make at least one for each of us, but has not yet figured out what she wants to say. She wants to make sure that each of us has something from her to watch over and over again...and lots of video so the grandchildren can "get to know her" even when she is gone. So far, her messages have been beautiful. At some point, I'll have to figure out how to tie together all the different video we have of her into something special.

We left around 4:45 to bring the kids home. A quiet evening in...dinner, playtime, baths, and bed. Micah can be so finicky sometimes! He gets angry when he does not get what he wants, but he truly lacks the ability to fully communicate everything he wants to us. We spent far too much time playing "guess what Micah wants." Micah was easy to put to sleep, but Maya was a bigger challenge. I got her dressed and ready for bed around 8:15, and she was out cold by 8:30. I took her upstairs and put her in the pack 'n play...but she woke up. I nursed her to sleep again, but once again, she woke up screaming when I tried to put her down. We spent the next several hours trying to get Maya to sleep. She seemed to want to sleep on me, nestled close, and anything less than that was unacceptable. Eventually, she fell asleep on Daddy, and he was able to take her upstairs and put her into her crib. She has been sleeping soundly ever since. I think Maya is in need of her own bedroom and a new bedtime routine that involves a dark room and a glider. Hopefully, we can give her that when we move into the house. In the meantime, I hope her bedtime becomes easier!

Two more days of radiation. Eleven more days until Mom comes home.