Dare I say it

I totally believe in jinxing things. When we wear the kids out by running them all morning and eric mentions they should sleep well I cringe. NEVER talk about how they will nap until it has already happened! If someone wakes up early I am convinced it is because he said something. Still, he never learns and always says something. Drives me crazy which is irrational and crazy I know, but I can't help it. It is also why I rarely mention how the kids are sleeping on the blog since I am always sure that the moment I say things are going well, they will fall apart again. And besides, you can pretty much assume that Otto is now, after 11 months of not sleeping, sleeping through the night unless he is sick and at 15 months, Mette still wakes up all the time. I'll let you know if that changes, Kay?

For this reason I hesitate to mention how well things are going with Otto and am cringing as I write this. But, in the interest of both recording for my own sake and to keep the conversation going about all of this I am putting it out there. Otto is doing really well. I can't believe I am saying this, but of all the things, I think the joint compressions are actually helping. I am as hippy dippy about alternative medicine as it gets but even I thought that sounded a bit out there. But I really think it makes a difference. More than anything though, I think me having a better understanding of what is going on has made the most difference. I have much more empathy for what he is going through. Not that I didn't care before, but I will admit to getting frustrated and generally annoyed with his inability to calm down and listen in certain situations. Now I realize he is overwhelmed and needs me to step in and help him. AND I have ways to do that which I never did before. There are still many hurdles to cross and new challenges to face I am sure, but I feel good saying I think we are heading in the right direction.

On a different note, can I just tell you how excited I am to go to Philly this weekend!!!! We are going to see Grandpa Chris and Nonna Jen's new house and I can't wait. We have been planning this trip since March and it was rescheduled once and finally we are leaving on friday. I have been wanting to see them and get to a city since christmas. There have been many trips to New York which somehow I haven't made it on and it really bumms me out. I love living in the middle of nowhere for many reasons but one of them is our middle of nowhere is 2+ hours from two major cities where we have families and go often. Except it has been WAY TOO LONG since I have been to either one of them. So this weekend, Mother's Day to boot, we are headed to Philly to eat gelato, yummy cheese, wear out grandparents, soak in culture and generally have a wonderful time. I am so excited, friday can't come soon enough.