Wow. What a month!

I have to say that November is ending much better than it started.  I feel the need to make a pros/cons list so I can remind myself why it is ok.

Cons:

• Aedan started on medication for ADHD and anxiety which made me feel like the world's worst mother who has failed her child day in and day out and every day he has to take it.  
• Nathan was gone most of the month.  Through all of the following "fun" stuff.  
• Aedan had a nasty cold and a stomach virus that kept him home from school and resulted in me having to restart meds all over again.
• Ariana had a stomach virus.  When a 2 year old has the stomach flu, it is virtually impossible to keep up on the cleaning and laundry.  Something I am not good at anyway.
• Ariana had an ear infection immediately following the stomach bug which meant days on end of cranky and crabby attitude.  These things combined meant I slept on the hide-a-bed for several nights running.
• The furnace went out on the coldest day of the month.  Yep.  It was a Lennox for those who want to know.  The furnace is 12 years old and relay switches are built into the circuit boards.  If the board goes bad, you can possibly replace it for roughly 1/2 the cost of a new furnace IF and only IF you can find the replacement part.  After it has been discontinued 2 times and before it blows out the other electrical in the furnace.  Which it did the morning after I called to have it looked at.  The circuit board was $1000 installed and the 2 fans were $650 each or I could get a brand new Carrier (easier to find replacement parts and had a 15 year warranty) for $1940.

Pros:

• Aedan started on ADHD meds.  I had more anxiety over this than anything else.  I didn't want a zombie for a child.  I didn't want his personality to change.  I didn't want to deal with the side effects and weight loss and overall hazards of medicating a 6 year old.  Now I am wondering why we didn't start it sooner.  
• Within the 1st day, his teacher noticed a drastic improvement in focus and ability to maintain tasking and complete projects. 
•  I noticed that he is able to string together coherent sentences and maintain a level of conversation well above the average 6 year old.  
• I also noticed a lack of impulsive behavior.  I have never really considered him an impulsive child until I saw the difference in him.  
• He is able to play with his sister productively
• He is able to complete daily tasks without redirection such as dressing for the day.  (Prior to this he would put one leg through his underwear and wander off to do something else.  No exaggeration.)
• He doesn't worry constantly over the most menial things
• He is able to complete homework in 5-15 minutes as opposed to 45-50.
• He has an interest in his toys and playing outside again.
• He plays appropriately inside and outside
• He is not doing things that are hurtful to himself and others without knowledge of why he is doing them
• I do not have to rely on the TV to calm him down. 
• He can eat a meal without bouncing in his chair, kicking something, banging on the table, or getting up 10 times.
• He is not a zombie child.
• Nathan was able to return home for the week of Thanksgiving.  On his previous schedule, he was going to miss every holiday except Christmas.  Now, he has been home for Halloween and Thanksgiving, and although he will miss Christmas, he will be home for New Year's and Ariana's birthday.  
• Thanksgiving was FANTASTIC!  My brother hosted Thanksgiving this year at his house in Boise.  My sister was able to fly out from New York and we had an awesome time.  We spent 4 days in Boise enjoying each other's company, watching my kids jump on the trampoline, visiting with his kids, and generally hanging out.  
• My sister came back to Idaho Falls with my parents and spent another 5 days here with us.  Mom and Doris and I were able to catch a movie on Monday evening and we had a riot of a time (although my mom is doubting ever taking my sister and I in public ever again.)
• My father's health is improving, slowly but surely.  
• I got a new furnace.  
• I was able to get it for $1940 which was $300 less than the quote, and I got a $25 off coupon for using Angie's List.  Awesome.  
• They were able to install it within a day and my house is much warmer.  I never realized how much the old furnace sucked until I got the new one.  I have to keep the thermostat lower now and that will probably save us money in the long run.
• My kids are all better and back to their normal.  They say silly things, do silly things, sing silly songs, and generally are a joy to have and be around.  They lift my spirits and each other's spirits.  They are amazing.
• My birthday is tomorrow and I am excited to celebrate another year of life.  

All in all, while it was a jam packed and crazy month that blew by me, it has ended much better than it started.  

New Dentist

The kids' new dentist is awesome.  His office knows children very well.  Poor John had to suffer through Disney/Pixar movies, toys, posters, and music playing over the intercom.  As an (almost) adult, he was a REALLY good sport and a huge help with the kids when he was done with his cleaning.  Dr. Higham's (hi-um) office is the coolest thing for kids.  They have a train station and princess castle...

 arcade games with multiple games on each machine...

 a race track, complete with Cars characters to race and...

 a mini movie theater complete with theater seating, surround sound, and popcorn (after your cleaning, of course!)

My kiddos did NOT want to leave.  Except John, who was patient but completely over the High School Musical and Chipmunks soundtracks playing overhead.  (In all fairness, I was done with that as well.)

For Ariana's 1st time at a dentist, she did amazing!  She allowed them to take x-rays, clean her teeth and put fluoride on them.  The hygienist and dentist were so impressed that she allowed that, especially because she is  only 2.  Aedan was a little more nervous, but followed all instructions without a hitch.  He unfortunately has some cavities between his molars, which we have to fix in a couple of weeks.  John also has some cavities that need to be fixed, but the dentist is old hat to him so he was slightly less than amused by his cleaning.  Not too shabby for a couple of hours on a Friday afternoon.

Chaos continues

There is a reason I named the blog "McClure Clan Chaos".  Chaos is the key word.  It is the word that seems to reign over my life some days.  Days like today when I am trying to clean my kitchen thoroughly and do laundry.  We "camped" in a cabin in the rain over the weekend and had to walk through mud to get to the bathrooms for Nate's family reunion.  I am trying still to clean up from that.  I am also just crazy enough to try to continue working with Ariana on potty training.  I have no idea what possessed me to do such a thing on a day when I have so much cleaning and laundry to catch up on.  Probably Loki, the Norse God of Chaos.  I will blame it on a false idol anyway.  Since 10:30 am, Ariana has been through 5 pairs of underwear.  It is now 3:30.  I have set the timer for every 30 minutes for her to sit on the potty.  Every 30 minutes we sit on the potty.  Approximately 15 minutes after we try the potty, and 15 minutes before the next potty break, once an hour, she pees all over.  Or poops.  Even better.  I made a potty chart today and potty stickers as a reward and less than 1 hour after I made them, she ruined them.  Partially my fault for leaving them on the newly cleaned kitchen table, and mostly hers.  I just finished cleaning up another accident and was taking the towels and panties downstairs to put in the washing machine on a sanitary cycle.  I left the disinfectant spray on the table.  While I was stuffing the washing machine, she was spraying disinfectant all over the newly printed stickers and potty chart.  Such is the chaotic life of potty training.  Tomorrow will be better.

Neglect of the Blog

I have been TERRIBLE about keeping up on this.  Since my last post, we have transitioned completely.  After some stress over moving to Colorado or Wyoming, we ended up not having to move at all.  Nate ended up working in Williston, ND.  He does 15 days on and 6 days home.  I have (mostly) transitioned back to being a stay-at-home (again mostly) mom.  I am not the best housekeeper, so sometimes that inhibits me.
Nate has transitioned to both night and day shifts, traveling, and being away from us.  He has made some friends with some of the guys who are on the same rotation as he is.  They all fly in and out of here on the same days and usually the same flights.
February: Ariana turned 2 and decided to really test out the terrible twos.  Nathan, Aedan, Ariana, and John were in a terrible car accident that totaled our Stratus.  Still counting our blessings because the car was damaged beyond recognition, the car seats showed spiderweb signs of strain where the latch system held them and everyone walked away.  No bruises, scratches, concussions or worse.  The airbags deployed, seat belts held, car seats held, and the car's accident system (including a solid steel band all the way around the vehicle) did their jobs.  Our guardian angel, (thanks, Daniel) had his work cut out and was there for us.
March:  Spring break wasn't really spring break but we made the best of it by car shopping and eventually found a 2012 Mazda 5 "used" and got it for a really great deal.
April:  Nate and I passed our 6th wedding anniversary.  I took our 2 children to New York for my sister's beautiful wedding, where Ariana was an absolute terror the entire time we were there.  The flight over was atrocious (thank you Delta for cancelling our flight, placing my parents on different flights and leaving me to travel across the country with 2 small children in 21 freaking hours instead of 14).
May:  My brother and sister-in-law celebrated their 3rd wedding anniversary (8? years together).  I am so grateful to have an awesome sister-in-law.
Nate's mom passed away after battling colon cancer for 15 months.  She was a tough and determined lady, but determination of our own will is not always in alignment with God's will.  She is missed terribly and we continue to grieve for her.  We made it through the month by the skin of our teeth and have been enjoying the beginnings of summer.
June:  After 7 strep infections and 1 rheumatic fever in 7 months, we had John's tonsils taken out.  He is recovering nicely and even went camping this weekend.  Aedan celebrated his 6th birthday and enjoyed every minute of it.  He got everything he wanted including Harry Potter and Transformers legos, Avengers and Spiderman action figures and clothing and a new swimming pool.  He also got books on science questions mostly for my own sanity.  My parents celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary on the same day.  At the end of this month, Nate and I will have been together for 13 years.  Holy cow!  Now that I am mostly back on track and adjusted, I will be trying (again) to keep everyone more up to date.

Transitions

Well,  I have to say that the last couple of days have been difficult, but we made it through.  Nathan left to go to Rock Springs for training.  He will be gone until the 5th of February.  The kids were OK yesterday until it was time for bed.  Daddy makes cooler voices than mommy when reading bedtime stories.  However, we made it through the evening with only minor commentary.  

Today has been more difficult.  They expect their daddy to be around.  It is unusual for me to be home instead of Nate.  Aedan commented, "I miss my daddy.  You know, Nathan, your honey."  Which just made me chuckle.  As if I didn't know he was Aedan's dad or my honey.  Ariana hasn't really asked for him other than at nap-time.  She was crying and fussing and ultimately just cried, "Daddy, Daddy" and then went to sleep.  Since then, they have been able to speak to him and see him on Skype and they seem to be in better spirits.  

Nathan is a little bored.  His first day of training went well, but was slow moving.  He had to fill out a bunch of tax forms, employment forms, reimbursement forms, questionnaires, etc.  Tomorrow ought to be better for him.  The hotel isn't bad and is right across the street from where training is held and he has a hot tub and swimming pool readily available.  I wish I had a hot tub readily available.  I would sink right in and possibly warm up for the winter.