Kids earning their keep, or at least picking up some of the slack, at last!

I'm pleased to report that my son has finally started to earn his keep!  Last week he helped me put together a desk (with cabinet and drawers) that I bought from World Market.  He was so enthusiastic about it.  He also set up the DVR that I bought my partner for xmas.  What a refreshing change for two overwhelmed, overworked parents. 

But he has also been very emotional (cranky, dramatic crying, etc) the last week or so. He is 10 1/2--maybe he is going through "the change." He already has pimples on his nose.  And he has had B.O. (body odor) at least once (I know this because he called me over to smell it. Very exciting.). 

He won't tell us what he was crying about.  Something that happened at school, and it does not involve an adult. And it doesn't involve his best friend.  That's all we know.

My daughter (5 yrs old) is also slowly becoming more independent.  She has severe eczema--not just on her ankles and wrists but full body.  It is a quality of life issue and so we monitor it closely.  When she has flare-ups, she cries and says, "I just want to be normal!"

Last year we spent over $3,000 on light therapy for her, which involved trips 3x/wk to the dermatologist for a medical-facility version of a tanning booth.  It was the only thing that has really worked, so we kept at it.  Now she is off the light therapy, but she still needs baths every day and a regimen of ointments  and medicines twice a day.  I do this almost every time, and it takes 10 minutes in the morning plus 30 minutes at night (including bath).  Think how much time that is over a year.

She is starting to help put the ointment on, and we've skipped baths every so often with no ill effects.  And even this little bit makes such a difference.  Her skin is gradually improving plus she's becoming more self-sufficient. 

She is pretty spunky.  She loves to swim, so I take her once a week to the indoor pool.  She will go up and down the giant slide 10-15 times.  This is a two-story slide.  Not only is she the littlest kid going up on her own, but think how many flights of stairs that adds up to!  She'd never agree to climb the stairs of a 20-story building.  But no problem if there's a slide to come down.

Today I was very relieved that she enjoyed skiing.  She took 14 runs!  She has a harness attached that Dad holds on to, running behind, because she can't stop on her own.  Or else I ski down holding on to her, with her skis between mine.  She likes that because we can go faster, but she's not really learning to ski that way.

Time to go.  Partner makes dinner on weekends.  My son is complaining about the food already. Attitude!