Oh-Verwhelmed with Oh-Livia

I've been a little overwhelmed over the last six months, which is why I haven't been able to keep up on my blog. With Jeremy working 80+ hours a week, I am truly a single parent without the luxury of having every other weekend off.

Landon's school is really aggressive right now and requires a lot of help from me. In addition to Scouts, we've also started piano for both kids, and dance for Emma. Livi is still in speech therapy once a week and is starting an articulation class next week.

An aggressive schedule like this is hard enough as a single mom without throwing any additional curve balls my way.

Enter Olivia...the cutest curve ball ever.

As a 2-year old, it's normal for her to have a hard time transitioning from one activity to another. It's also normal to have difficulty communicating her needs, which ends in a tantrum. However, with her sensory disorder, everything is intensified times five.

*Fair Warning: I'm about to go on incessantly about poo. Yes, poo. Please stop reading now if you don't want to hear about poo.

In January Livi had a double ear infection, which put her on antibiotics. This medicine backed her up really bad. We ended up giving her an enema after she didn't go for ten days. Since then she has been holding it in for fear that it will hurt each time she goes poop. Every couple of hours she screams bloody murder, and wants me to hold her because she's so traumatized by the whole thing that happened THREE WEEKS ago. I can't get anything done. I leave the room and she chases after me like I'm going to make a run for it.

Which I am.

I can't change her diaper because she thinks we are going to give her another enema. We end up holding her down to change a simple wet diaper, which traumatizes her more, and the cycle continues.

Oh, meanwhile, I have to do a Science Fair project for Landon, drive Emma to dance, make a salad for Scouts, help Emma with a book report, drive to piano, practice piano, plan Emma's birthday, and plan Livi's birthday. Oh, and then there's the laundry, bills, lunch, dinner, cleaning and other day-to-day tasks.

With an over sized 2-year old on my hip.

Screaming.

Also, since this traumatizing pooping event, she hasn't slept through the night. She wakes up every few hours screaming as though there is someone in her room pulling her up by her ears.

There's not.

I actually had to go back to forcing her to "cry it out", like I did when she was a newborn.

Except she just turned three.

Someone once said, 'God will never give you more than you can handle.'

Well, I'd like to meet that someone...

and throw him off a cliff...

and see how well he handles that.

I know I still have to post about Christmas, Emma's Birthday, Livi's Birthday, Valentines Day, and a few events in between. But, I need to go to sleep so I can be awakened in a few hours by my little curve ball.

Good night!