Milestones and memories

Anders is growing up. He's both vastly different from and strangely like Dagny. They share a common love for art projects, silliness, goofy noises, Disney movies, the beach, books, bubble baths, pizza and cantaloupe. And that's about it.

• Anders is more cuddly than Dagny (but I wouldn't call either of them snugglers).
  
• Dagny is more reserved.
  
• Anders will not hesitate to scream about his frustration, disapproval, resentment, objections, and excitement. Sometimes all at once.
  
• Dagny can rationalize like a AIG exec in front of Congress. The girl can TALK.
  
• Anders is more physical.
  
• Dagny has always understood the concept of delayed gratification.
  
• Anders wants it NOW and MORE.
  
• Dagny can entertain herself for hours.
• Anders won't let you out of his sight.

They both love to talk and I love talking to them. I love trying to figure out where they're coming from. I love to hear them talking to each other.

Dagny will sometimes ask to pass up her bedtime story in favor of some "girl talk" which can range from the injustices of first-grade friendships, to plans for the future (i.e., next week), to serious discussions about why she isn't allowed to chew gum. We were at the beach last weekend and Anders got cold playing in the surf and so I wrapped him in a beach towel and had him lie down with me in the warm late afternoon sun. There were some big, fluffy white clouds in the sky and immediately he started talking about what they looked like (me: dogs, ducks, bunnies. him: robots, giants, alligators) and then: why there is clouds? why there is sun? why is the water so shiny? Somehow, lying there in the sun, the why why whys didn't get to me like they can sometimes. The sometimes when I can't take another "Why?" and spit out a terse "It just is!" and then I hold my breath and don't dare turn around to see the expression on their faces, afraid that I will see hurt at my impatience, sadness because I won't (or can't) talk to them, or worse, a suspicion that maybe mommy doesn't know the answer.

The last thing I say to both of them at night is "I love you." Because I do. Do I ever.

I know, and have always known, how much my parents love me and how much they love their family. There is not a shred of doubt in my mind that they've always been there for us, provided for us, and supported us in all our endeavors. They've always encouraged us and believed in us and believed that we would be the best at whatever it is we wanted (whether or not they agreed with our choices). It is with love that they have always sought to understand us, to accept us, to counsel and advise us. I know that they'd never turn us away in a time of need. I know, and have always known, that our family is the most important thing in the world to them. I know that being an adult does not diminish the bond you have with your parents, but instead changes and enhances the relationship.

I strive every day to give back that same love, support and acceptance to my mom & dad, to my husband, to the rest of my family and, especially, to Dagny and Anders. I hope they know, and will always know, how much I love them.

Another sick day

Yup. I'm sick again. Never happens, but now I've got a cold on top of just getting over the flu. Poppin' the Sudafed, but at least I don't have a fever.

I thought everyone else was feeling OK -- and then I saw her Ear. It was horrendously, fiery red. So puffy she couldn't even hold her head straight. I called and got an appointment for after school today. Poor Fizzy.

Don't judge the book

Is it just me or is there a resemblance between Timothy Geithner and that creepy guy Carl* from the awesome movie Ghost, you know, the one who is laundering money offshore for some Very Bad People? Even Mr. J sees it and he doesn't ever think anyone looks like anyone else.




*And yes, I know the guy has a name and dang it if I didn't just look it up on IMDB and everything and I've ALREADY forgotten what it is. He'll always be Creepy Carl to me. Probably one of my Top 10 ickiest film moments ever is when he tries to kiss poor grieving Demi. Right up there when that awful Sean Walsh (shudder) tries to put the moves on Bennie in Circle of Friends. Ugh. Anyway, it's a shame our Treasury Secretary doesn't resemble someone a little more fiscally upstanding, not that looks have anything to do with the job. Or DO they? Nah. Probably not at the Treasury.

What a difference!

Anders had a four hour nap and 2 days of Cefprozil - what a difference! He was able to break the scary-high fever from this morning and is EATING!

Dagny will go to school tomorrow. We kept her home one more day to make sure she was A-OK.

Whew. What a week.

Full house

And now Mr. J has a stomach bug! Wheeeeee!

Relapse!

Crap! Both kids back to 102+. Will have to go to the dr. tomorrow if they're still the same.

It's alive!

We must be getting better because Anders slept from 11 - 7 last night. No fevers for Dagny & I this morning, thank goodness! I'm giving her another day home from school just to make sure she's fully rested. I was talking to a friend last night who said it's a vicious bug going around - there were 5 kids out from first grade (and the teacher!), and the other grades were similar. One of Mr. J's coworkers said there were only 4 kids in her son's class on Monday (they go to a smaller school).

Another good sign: the kids are picking on each other again and making goofy noises. For the last 4 days all they could do was lie on the couch and moan for water.

It's been a brutal couple of days, but we're on the mend!

101

That's the average temp. in our house this morning. I'm sick and tired - was up several times with Anders last night, he just couldn't get comfortable. I think I'm going to have to get him his antibiotic this morning, because while he's certainly not a lot worse than he was Friday he's not quite better either. I don't want to prolong this illness anymore and besides I'm having a hard time getting better too when I'm up and down all night with him. Mr. J had to be up super early this morning for a meeting and I know he felt bad that he couldn't be around to help get the kids up.

Maybe soon I'll be able to blog about something besides being sick?

From bad to worse

Dr. Mom is officially diagnosing the Flu. Everyone but Mr. J is feverish, coughing, glassy-eyed. My head feels like it is going to explode. None of have eaten since Saturday morning, and while that's OK for me (maybe I'll get closer to my goal weight!) it's not so great for the kids.

I want my mommy.

Also, maybe some tomato soup and a grilled cheese.

Sick daze

"Mommmeeee, my ear hoits!" said Anders* (my 2-1/2 yr. old son) Friday morning. Hmm. On top of the major snooty nose and hacking cough, Dr. Mom sagely diagnosed an ear infection and called the ped for an afternoon appt. She checked him out, no lung problems, minor ear infection and sent us on our way with a antibiotic Rx to fill if he got worse. She wants us to let his body fight the infections once in a while. I smiled and thanked her, but left feeling like I was going to cry a bit concerned because I haven't had more than 2 hours of continuous sleep since 2002 and the prospect of being up all night ALL WEEKEND was daunting. Anders starts around 10:30: crying for mommmeeee, I have a snooty nose!, I need tissue! where's Dadddeeee? I need my ba-ba, I need water, rock me on the chair. He slept from about 3:30 - 5:00 though, and I, back in "nursing all night" mode thought I handled it well. Because the parenting books advise you not to scream at your sick children in the middle of the night, no matter how tired you are.

"Mommmmeee, I'm so cold!" said Dagny* (my 6-1/2 yr old daughter) Saturday morning. Hmm. Took one look at her reddened cheeks, glazed eyes, shaking limbs. Dr. Mom diagnosed a fever, which turned out to be 102.5.

I prescribed a day of movies on the couch: Free Willy, Veggie Tales, Wall-E. Sent the Mr. J* out for Tylenol chewables, an extra bottle of Motrin and some Diet Coke.

By noon I felt like I had a fever too. By 3:00 I suspected I was coming down with something as I hacked up a lung, sitting on the couch between the kids, eyes glassed over watching Free Willy. I knew I was sick when I cried at the end.

After we got the children to bed (note, I did not go so far as to say asleep!) Mr. J walked around the house spraying everything with Lysol. But it was too late for me and now I can officially join the ranks of movie-watching, apple-juice sipping, couch potatoes.

*Yeah, those are my kids/hubby. I'm tired of the initial thing.

And the winner is....

I never win anything except once I won this Pay-it-Forward. But, if this was a real thing, I would TOTALLY win a hot-buttered-toast eating contest. Unless my mom was entered too, in which case I'd probably come in second. I would also win a lamest-outfit-worn-to-morning-drop-off contest. I just can't pull myself together in the mornings what with all the kid-related tasks I've got to crank on in the 2 hours between alarm and pulling out of the driveway. Case in point: today's outfit featured ridiculously dark wash jeans from about 4 years ago, a white tee shirt and a cropped black sweater with my Merrell faux-Ugg clogs. Yay me! It is hard to believe that no one asks me when I got out of/am going back to rehab.

Maybe I'd feel better about stuff I didn't spend ALL my free time yesterday (the 90 minutes that A was napping the afternoon) trolling through the archives of a bunch of new bloggers I had stumbled upon. Some people are soooo funny!

42

Most days I neither feel nor look my age. The former is due to having two little kids and the latter to good genes. But after a night like last night I feel AND look every day of 42* years old. A was up about every 40 minutes. Crying pitifully. Screaming for Mommy, Daddy, Both of Us. Wouldn't tell us what was wrong (Nightmares? Bogeyman? Appendicitis?) Finally, at about 3:00, as M left for the living room couch in a tirade of salty language, A was able to tell me that his ear hurt. Immediately (most of) my frustration, exhaustion, anger and self-pity was washed away by maternal concern. A healthy dose of Motrin and voila! he slept straight through from 3:00 - 5:35.

This morning he said he feels much better.

I, on the other hand, do not.


*M also** looks quite a bit younger than his actual age. But I am older than he is. As I like to tell him, "Dude, you were barely in your third trimester when I was born!"

**Hmm. Now that I think about it, maybe neither of us looks that young anymore. But we USED to.

10

Here's today's Public Service Announcement:

Top 10 Worst Foods of 2009

Except for Cold Stone (which I have maybe once a year) and Stabucks (where I always order as plain, lite and non-whip as I can) I don't eat any of these things. Yay! Go me! Maybe I have a fairly healthy diet after all? Or maybe it's just that mine is not quite that unhealthy.

In other news I DID make the NM Beauty Event yesterday. As my wise hubby pointed out, I'm going to have to buy this stuff at some point anyway... might as well get the freebies now. Smart man!

Did anyone watch and LOVE 24 last night? I still think it sounds like 10-year-olds might write part of the script, but even the ridiculous plot lines are fun. Just for the record, if you did watch, we had quite a debate about Jack opening the door for the terrorists at the end there.