Day 105

Tuesday November 30, 2010

I spent the day in LA attending appointments and then visiting with the Marbans for a bit. Their company is always soothing to my soul. However, I need to stop calling their daughter Cristina "Nina". I must do that at least once every 30 minutes :( She doesn't seem to mind, sweet girl, but I need to pull it together!

Around dinner time, I got a call from Mario. He was checking in like I had asked before starting tutoring with Teddy. I outlined what I wanted him to focus on and how I had prepared a bag for him and Erik with tutoring materials and rewards so that Teddy would see everything coming from them instead of his controlling mother. Mario listened quietly to my endless litany of instructions and then calmly said, "Rosy, I've got it. Don't worry, I can handle this...you do remember what I do and who I work with right?" I concurred and reminded him about the rewards (little tiny Lego people) to which the smart-alack replied, "I'll use them when necessary but I'm pretty sure wrestle-fighting will be the reward." In essence, he told me to calm down without literally telling me to calm down. It's just totally different when it's your own child. Mario and Erik are totally capable of tutoring Teddy without my micro-management and I appreciate them tolerating my momminess but....he is my boy and I will be his mama, always worrying and planning! Plus, I love it how these guys forget that all the tricks, strategies and skills they have are because I trained them so well :)

Twenty minutes into the tutoring session I texted Todd to find out how it was going. He texted back Cried at first, better now. Well....that was enough to freak me out so I immediately called him and asked what the heck had happened. He explained that Teddy had cried for about 5 minutes but that since that they'd been laughing, wrestling, and doing well. Phew!!!!!!

After dinner, I hugged my dear friends the Marbans goodbye. I got a reprieve on my drive back home...no traffic!! By the time I got home, the kids were brushing teeth and heading to bed. I tucked Teddy in and checked in with Teddy about tutoring. He said, "Mario was fun....tutoring sucks!!!! Can I be done now?" Gotta love his persistence!!! I kissed his sweet face, which he knew meant NO and cuddled with him until he fell asleep. I love hearing him sleep. I just want to make sure all of Teddy's needs are being met in the middle of this nightmare! He is such a precious boy and needs us to protect and nurture him in all capacities!

I crawled out of his bed and went to check on Nina. I prayed that she'd sleep well tonight. I was exhausted and she had been waking up consistently in the middle of the night since Thanksgiving. I found my honey-girl, kissed her sweet cheeks and then passed out myself!