Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Sickness & Health

Last week got kind of hijacked by Theo suddenly projectile vomiting at random moments - in the car on the way to pick up Bobby from school; all over the double stroller on a walk the next day, and all over the dinner table two days after that. I was terrified we were all going to get it - we just did this three months ago!!! - but so far so good; despite Bobby claiming his tummy hurts on and off and my feeling pretty queasy for one day (although it may have been from all the puke clean up, which is fucking horrible, and horrible anxiety never knowing when the next episode would happen), so far we're all healthy. Knock wood! 

Between Bobby's random threenager outbursts and Theo's random vomiting it's like living with the cast of The Exorcist around here.

I'd like to take one thing back. One was when I said two was easier than three (years old). I have decided three is definitely harder than two - the intense anger, bossiness and hair-trigger emotionality of this kid has me totally exasperated and fed up at least once a day, every day. How many times can you say, "you're not allowed to talk to me like that," "just let your brother play, stop bossing him around," and "but you just said you wanted it like that!" before you feel like you're losing your mind? He contradicts everything I say, flies into a rage over the slightest infraction (moving a cup an inch to the left, using the wrong spoon, etc), even hits me on occasion when he doesn't get his way. It SUCKS. Every once in a while I get a glimpse of the awesome kid he's going to be one day, but right now that seems like a million years away.

In the meantime I find myself spending a small fortune on childcare just so I get some much-needed breaks so I can keep my sanity. It does help. But what will really help is having regular scheduled time to myself each week which I haven't had since 2012. That's when it all turns around, I think.

I got two packages in the mail yesterday asking me to pick physicians and medical plans for the MediCal programs that apparently Bobby and I are registered for. Huh?

As some of you may recall I had a lengthy odyssey with MediCal two years ago and found them so disorganized that I opted to pay out of pocket for all three of us. Last I heard we had been declined for the program via a letter about a month ago; then I get these packages asking to pick doctors. I'm not sure what it all means, but I figured it can't hurt to just fill out the paperwork and see what happens. Getting two or even three of us on free medical care could save me almost $600 a month. I'm a little scared - I don't trust MediCal one bit after they left Bobby with no coverage at all for months and didn't even tell me - but I think I should at least look into it. 

4 comments:

  1. Three sucks... no doubt about it. I really understood why hamsters eat their young when Elsie was 3. I was tempted. :)

    If it helps, 4 is SO much better. Still occasional craziness but now it is predictable (tired, hungry etc).

    Hang in there mama!!

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  2. Hilarious, obernon! Yes, it definitely gets easier. When I was having these kinds of issues with my kids, my pediatrician recommended "How to Talk So Kids Will Listen." I still haven't read it because a lot of the stuff started resolving itself, but there's that for what it's worth.

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  3. Oh! I oh oh, I SO hear you on the threenager stuff. Three is evil. I hate three. Love my daughter, but hate her age. Hang in there.

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  4. 4 definitely gets better. Like Obernon said, there are still melt downs but they are predictable to hunger, tiredness etc.

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