A Terrifying Experience

Oliver took a nice nap this morning in his crib. That didn't happen the past few days so it was a great relief. I used the time to bake 5 dozen vegan pumpkin cookies with Nadia. They were by FAR the best vegan baked good I've made thus far. Delicious!!! Nadia and Ian also liked them. I put raisins in them since I don't have any vegan chocolate chips. I'm going to wait until Friday to make any more cookies. The other two that I want to make before Ian's party are gingerbread and sugar cookies. I want to make those with eggs but with a dairy free margarine so that Ian can eat them. Thus far the only baked good he's eaten with eggs is the brownie. Boy does he love those brownies!!! Thus far I haven't seen any reaction from them. After we finished baking, I did some "schoolwork" with the kids (math, alphabet, etc.). The weather was REALLY pretty today so after Ian woke up from his very short nap, we all went to the park without any jackets on!!! I used the Bjorn carrier for the first time. I really like it, but Oliver cried the whole way home.

After we got back, I sent Nadia up to her room to change (for ballet) while I was nursing Oliver. A little later I heard a crash and then soon after a lot of screaming. I ran upstairs and began screaming myself when I discovered Nadia's dresser (which is at least 5 feet tall) lying on the floor. I thought Nadia was under the dresser. I kept screaming "Where are you!!" because I wanted to free her, and I was afraid if I just picked up the dresser I might be putting more weight on her. She just kept crying, and so I started lifting the dresser even though I didn't know where she was. Then I saw movement in the tent. She was in her tent. My heart stopped racing. I put the drawers back in the dresser and rocked her in my arms. I never did figure out exactly how it happened, but I took a little Princess chair to the basement in case she used that to climb on. I had taken her piano bench to the basement months ago. I am ever so grateful that she came out almost unscathed. Now we shall see if I can sleep without nightmares tonight because the image of her dresser on the floor (thinking she was under it) is etched in my mind.

 

I've gradually been giving Nadia more chores to do lately. The first was to have her help me more with separating/folding the laundry. I've also been teaching her how to make her bed. The new chores for this week are to have her bring the small trash cans down every Monday night to help Daddy collect the garbage and also to help me empty the dishwasher. Her job with the dishwasher is to put away the clean silverware. I've also finally started giving her an allowance based on completing her chores. She's had a bank for 17 months, and today we emptied the section that is for her to spend (it's divided into three categories). She had a little over $7.00. After dinner, Paul took her to the dollar store to let her shop. She spent $5.30 on a (surprise, surprise) princess toy. I want her to start grasping the value of money and how much things cost. She loves helping me out, and in time I'm sure her help will truly be helpful.