Let the hunting begin!

Every year, some friends of ours invite us over for a little pre-Easter egg hunt with their family. We told the boys that the Easter Bunny had to have a practice day. I don't know if they bought it, but the hunting was enthusiastic.

Cheeky Monkey really got in on the fun. He only got a few eggs, but he thoroughly enjoyed opening the eggs, dumping out the contents, and putting them back on the ground.

Gummy Bear shared some of his eggs. Before you think he was being altruistic, he was really just looking for more room in his own basket.

Then, when we got home, the boys had a few pieces of chocolate. This is what two little Crunch eggs looks like. He kept taking them out of his mouth, looking at them, and putting them back in.

And Ry thinks I'm terribly cruel, but tell me Cheeky Monkey doesn't look a little like Augustus Gloop here.

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Right?

On the shut down

It's looking increasingly likely that tonight at midnight, our Federal government will shut down. Since we'll be one of those 800,000 government workers affected by the shutdown, I thought I'd address a few of the things I've been hearing/reading.

Government workers make too much money!

Government employees do make, on average, more than the average US taxpayer. That is because most government workers are professionals (lawyers, engineers, scientists) who make more money in general. If you compare private and public sector, job title for job title, government workers earn less.

We make a conscious decision for Ry to work for the government. He went to a good school, works hard, and is good at what he does. For that, he makes about 80% of what a private sector employee would make. He also gets to come home at a reasonable hour in the evenings and has only had to work on a weekend a few times during his nearly 9 years in this role. I like having him around, and the kids do too. It's worth the smaller salary for Ry to have some work-life balance.

But what about those benefits?

While I can't speak to the benefits that everyone gets, we pay 30% of our health care insurance premiums. It's not a small $ amount every month and the insurance plan isn't great. I paid far less, for much better insurance before I quit my job to be a stay at home mom.
My husband also has a Thrift Savings Plan, which is nearly identical to a private sector 401K. He pays in, the government matches a little, and we hope that its value increases over time. In fact, his TSP is not even as good as a 401K in the great state of New Jersey. NJ taxes contributions rather than allowing tax-free contributions like they do for 401Ks.

And all that paid time off?

Ry has about as much vacation time as other folks in his profession and with his experience. He gets about 4 weeks a year. It's nice, but not outrageous. While he does earn a fair amount of sick time each year, his sick time is also his disability pay. If he gets sick, has to have surgery or becomes disabled, his sick leave is it.

Shouldn't we all share the pain?


Absolutely! As a matter of fact, Ry will not be getting raises for at least the next 2 years, since President Obama has frozen pay increases. He'd like to freeze them for the next 5 years. Frankly, if they had come and said Ry had to take furlough days or a wage cut, it would have sucked, but I would have understood. After all, we're trying to balance a budget, here.

But that's not really the point, is it?


The point is that next week, Ry is likely to have to go to work. Because of what he does and the way he is funded, he'll likely be working as long as the government is shut down. Of course, he won't get paid until the government is up and running again. If this shutdown lasts 27 days like the one in 1995 did, we'll be using a good amount of our savings to continue paying our bills and feeding our kids. A furlough that lasts a whole bunch longer than that will really start to hurt.

We're the lucky ones, though. At least Ry will (probably) be paid when this is all over. There are hundreds of thousands of "non-essential" employees who may not be paid at all. Consider for a moment what an unexpected 10% (or 15% or 20%) pay cut would mean to your family. Especially consider that the cut comes all at one time, not spread out over a year. How long would you be able to pay your mortgage?

And why is this all happening? Because the Congress can't act like grown ups and come to an agreement over a budget that has been in continuing resolution since last September. It's not even going to save any money! The furlough in 1995 cost $1.4 billion.

So anyway, I'm sorta grrr today. I'm grrr that our politicians would rather play politics than do their jobs. I'm grrr at all the people who think that we live in some kind of government employee bubble. And I'm grr at the fact that we'll be hurting for as long as this furlough lasts. So, we won't be eating out at all. We'll be taking our lunches. We're looking at our expenses and seeing what we can do without. And we're praying that this comes to a quick resolution so we can keep on being the bill-paying, tax-paying, society-contributing citizens our politicians say they want.

Hey Tea Party!

Glad to see you've decided to take your ball and go home.

Douchbags.

You go, new Doctor!

Nursing school is making me a little bit neurotic. Apparently, it's a common phenomenon. Every time we learn about a new disease process, I start to wonder if I have it. My legs are falling asleep ... I must have peripheral vascular disease!

So anyway, to combat my ensuing craziness, I decided to make an appointment for a physical. I met my new primary care Doctor yesterday. She was very nice and did a thorough assessment.  She also gave me a lab slip for the battery of blood work. Then, as we were wrapping up, she said something that surprised me.


You know, for your height, you may be a little overweight.


This is not really news to me. I've been overweight since Gummy Bear was born. I have also been to several different doctors (with several different specialties) in the 4 years since that happened. No one has ever mentioned my weight. I wonder how many of them thought it was easier to let it go. After all, no one loves to be reminded that they are overweight, and I'm only a little overweight. I'm sure lots of people get really defensive if you dare to mention that they could stand to lose a few pounds.

Still, new Doctor had the guts to have the discussion with me. She looked up my BMI, and said that if I could lose 10 pounds, I'd be right in the middle of "average" weight for my height. She went on to remind me that a healthy weight sets me up for a healthy life.

So, bravo, new Doctor! Way to have an uncomfortable conversation for the sake of, you know, health. In honor of new Doctor, I'm going to work on getting off that last 10 pounds. Thanks for the kick in the rear!

Things I Learned: The Parenting Edition

1. Kids' heads are unhappy without a bump, bruise or scrape, as evidenced by the fact that every time one goes away, they make a new one.
2. At the start of every season, I buy 18 pair of matching socks for Gummy Bear and 18 pairs of matching socks for Cheeky Monkey. The boys' socks do not match each other. This way, Ry and I both know which socks belong to which boy as we're groping around in the dark, uncaffeinated and groggy.  I know, 18 seems like a lot, but by the end of the season, I am doing a load of socks the night before school more often than I'd like to admit. The sock gnomes are especially fertile in this part of the country.
3. The night you go to Happy Hour with some of your husband's colleagues is inevitably the night your 4-year-old will both talk about his penis and take his pants (and underwear) down because "something's not right!"
4. The same 4-year-old will then give you his Raffe to "squeeze really tight" when you are cleaning the thumb you just sliced open making his lunch for the next day.
5. Then he'll ask for Raffe back, because it's time to go to bed.
6. And give you his dinosaur, because "I don't use that dino anymore."

Ry turns 31

Ry and I are the same age again, for the next 7 months, anyhow. Both of our birthday were kind of anti-climactic this year, but we had a lovely day, all the same. I can't begin to say how much I love this husband of mine. He's the best kind of father: loving and fun, but still boundary-setting. He's the best kind of husband: loving and providing and uplifting and laid back. He's just the best man I know. Happy Birthday, my love. You are my tiny ball of light.

And now, some gratuitous kiddo and cake pictures:

Hurrah!

I waited until today to post this so no one would think it was an April Fool's Day joke. My Mom and Stepfather are moving to New Jersey (or right across the border in PA)! Hurrah! Joy!

The only thing I really dislike about being out here is our distinct lack of family. I cannot even begin to explain how psyched I am to have my Mom out here. I'm excited to have our boys see (some of ) their grandparents all the time. I'm excited to be able to call my Mom and ask her to lunch, or coffee, or dinner, or a party and then see her in 30 minutes. I'm excited to have Sunday dinners, and evening movies, and Grandparent Day at the school. I'm excited to have a shoulder to cry on and my mommy to make me chicken noodle soup when I'm sick. I'm excited to watch our boys prefer Neena and G-Pa's house. I'm excited to share our non-traveling holidays with our family. Mostly, I'm just excited to have people that I love so very close to me.

So, when are the rest of you moving here?

Gagworthy?

Eating with kids is funny. Both of my boys are pretty good eaters. Cheeky Monkey will try pretty much anything you put in front of him, although he did spit the orange fruit Cheerios onto my pants during church on Sunday (but not the purple or white). Gummy Bear is a bit more selective. I've seen other 4-year-olds eat, though, so I can't complain too much.

Recently, Gummy Bear has taken to gagging on food he has decided that he doesn't like, even when it's food he ate previously (think roasted potatoes, zucchini and mashed potatoes). I think we're pulling out of the gagging phase though. He's realized that it doesn't garner much sympathy from me.

Do you remember that as a kid? I distinctly remember the sensation of gagging on something my folks made me try. Looking back, I realize that it was as much mental as sensory. Still, there is one food that to this day can activate my gag reflex with one sniff: cooked spinach. I remember my Mom putting a big bowl of cooked spinach in the microwave and eating it like a rare delicacy. To her credit, I only had to try it a few times. I'm pretty sure my Dad feels the same way about Lima beans. Green beans are my sister's arch-nemesis.

How about you? What makes you gag?

Someone got a bike!

My mom got Gummy Bear his very first bicycle for his 4th birthday. He was a tiny bit excited.

Lately, I can't get him to give me a real smile. All I get are these silly school-picture smiles. He was really excited though, let me tell you.

What we realized when we started doing the research for the bike, was that Gummy Bear would now be much much faster. So we had to tune up my trusty old bicycle, find a bike for Ry and a bike seat for Cheeky Monkey. Hurrah Craigslist!

Cheeky Monkey seems to enjoy his new bike seat too. It wasn't naptime, but I guess the air, movement and comfort was just too much for him. As an aside, I have no idea why we didn't do this when Gummy Bear was small. Riding with a tiny human aboard really isn't too different. We're looking forward to lots of bike rides this summer.

I guess I deserved that

I had just dried and lotioned Gummy Bear and sent him out to Daddy to get dressed. The water had drained from the tub, and Cheeky Monkey sat, playing with bathtub toys. I was paying about half attention to him and half to a book that I nearly finished.

Cheeky Monkey disappeared behind the shower curtain for a moment and then reappeared. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that he was handing me something, so I put my hand out to get it. It took me about 3 seconds to realize that he just handed me a nugget of poo. Oh. Dear. Lord. I quickly dumped it into the toilet and turned back, only for Cheeky Monkey to hand me another poo nugget. This time, I peeked around the curtain to see a third nugget, waiting for me on the bathtub floor. I couldn't get to it before Cheeky Monkey, and so was handed a third poo nugget.

Life as a mother is glamorous.

It's Marching time again

I am Marching for Babies again this year.  The walk is at the end of April, and I've upped my goal to $350 this year.  If you feel so inclined, please donate to this very important cause.

Gummy Bear was born almost 4 weeks early. He was tiny, but perfect. Lots of babies are not so lucky. The March of Dimes help to prevent premature birth and birth defects.

If the March of Dimes is not your bag, baby, please consider making a donation of your time or money to a worth organization of your choice. Cheers!

1001

This is my 1001st blog post. Holy cow.

He's 4 and he's HUGE!

Gummy Bear turned 4 Sunday. It's a little surreal to me that he's that old already. Next year at this time, we'll be registering him for Kindergarten! Gummy Bear is my proverbial bull in a china shop. He's all impulse. Fearless. Lives in the moment. You always know just how he's feeling. Just ask him, he'll tell you. He'll also give you a running monologue of his day, thoughts and observations.

He has such a sweet and open heart. He'll do you favors, pick up his brother's dropped milk cup, "help" make coffee, and herd his brother away from open gates and stairs. He's not always so gentle in the doing, but his heart is almost always in the right place. I'm beginning to see the start of a great friendship between him and his brother. I'm afraid they're going gang up on me ... but at least they keep each other entertained for a few minutes every day now.

Gummy Bear is tall and thin. At his physical yesterday, he was 42 inches tall and weighed 40 pounds. That puts him in the 90th percentile for height and the 75th for weight. How we got a tall, slender kid I'll never know. I'm also hoping he keeps those gorgeous blond curls. He looks like an angel, even if there's some devilment in his eyes.

Gummy Bear is what I'll lovingly call independent. We butt heads a fair amount, but we're starting to learn the give and take that makes life peaceful. And if he wears the same pair of shoes everyday and insists on putting the toothpaste on his own toothbrush? So be it. I'm learning to pick my battles.

I'm so proud of my big man. I'm so proud to be his mommy. I love you, Gummy Bear.

Gummy Bear's Super Mario Party

Gummy Bear is turning 4 tomorrow. We decided to have a Super Mario Brothers party, since they are currently his most favorite-est characters in the whole wide world. The party prep started off well.

A few of the kids invited to the party have egg allergies, so I thought, "I'll just make an egg-free cake!" Here it is.

1-Up!

Thankfully, Ry manages me well. He pulled me out of my downward spiral, and helped me design the One-Up cupcakes. They turned out pretty cute.

Today was his party, which we hosted at the gym where Gummy Bear takes gymnastics lessons every week. He loves it there, and enjoyed showing all his friends the ropes.

Cheeky Monkey and the other younger siblings kind of made their own fun.

As the guest of honor, Gummy Bear got the first parachute ride, the first jump in the foam pit, and the first go on the obstacle course. He was in heaven.

There is nothing quite as fun as a rope over a giant foam pit.

Some of the big kids had a good time in the pit too.

Cheeky Monkey couldn't get out.

This was fun. They were playing "popcorn". The teacher bounced their little bums half across the trampoline.

Don't feed the animals!

Cheeky Monkey was so bummed when they deflated the bouncy castle.

And here's the whole food set up.

Yum.

Do you see the look on his face? He was mad because I put the little 4 candle on the cupcake instead of the big one. He recovered nicely, but the face was priceless.

Blowing out the candles.

Mmmmm. Cupcakes.

Elmer Fudd couldn't be a politician

As I was driving to school today, NPR was doing a story about the Congress' hearings on the radicalization of Muslims. A man called in to weigh in on the story. While I'm sure he had some valid points, I couldn't get over the fact that he sounded just like Elmer Fudd. When he started talking about the "Wight Wing wiling up theiw base," I actually laughed out loud. This brings me to the conclusion that Elmer Fudd wouldn't stand a chance in politics. Good thing he was a wabbit hunter instead.

Vacations on my mind

I've really been jonesing for a vacation lately. I don't know if it's the never-ending winter or the fact that we haven't had a vacation in almost a year, but I'm dying for some adventure. Requirements? It has to be cheap, close to home, and something we can do with the kiddos.

Realistically, we're not going anywhere until my break begins in May, but I've already started looking at our options. We want to take the boys camping this summer. Right now, this is my hands-on favorite. While we'll still be tent camping, it will be like camping-lite, with plenty of distractions and bathroom and shower facilities. It's also only 90 minutes from home, so if we get down there and realize we've made a horrible, horrible mistake, it'll be easy to pack up and head home. We're thinking that if Ry takes a half day of vacation, we can have a long weekend there.

I also really, really want to do this. Of course, it's a lot more expensive, and we couldn't take the kiddos, so I guess that one will have to wait a bit.

We're also planning on taking the kiddos to the PA Renaissance Faire this year. I think Gummy Bear will get a huge kick out of it. Cheeky Monkey just likes activity and color, so he should be good too. We may combine this one with a day in Amish country or Hershey.

After a long chat with a good friend the other day, I think I'm also ready to take the boys skiing at the end of the year. Ry and I used to go to Elk Mountain pretty regularly. It's close to home and also very family friendly.   The last time we went, we stayed at a charming little B&B that had a suite with a kitchen and fridge. We could bring and cook our own breakfasts and dinners. Perfect!

So, there my vacation map for the next year. Have any suggestions? Where are you going this year?

First Cone

Cheeky Monkey got his first ice cream cone today. He dug it.

Every couple minutes I took it to lick the drips away. Do you think he could look more put out?

I always thought it would be Gummy Bear

Everyone is OK.


Today we made our first family trip to the ER. We were walking around a bike shop, Cheeky Monkey's hand in mine, when he suddenly jerked his arm away and fell on the ground. He made a sound I don't often hear, and when I picked him up, he didn't stop crying. Then I notice that he wasn't moving his right arm. At all.

We were going to the doctor's office or the ER, I just didn't know which one. I had Ry on the phone to the Pediatrician. Verdict? Take him to the ER. And to the ER we went.

We checked in and were triaged within 30 minutes. As I told the triage nurse what happened, she nodded her head and said "Yep, that's very common." Then we went back into an ER room where Nurse Practitioner Cathy walked in. She also listened to what happened, and without even touching Monkey, said, "This is called Nursemaid's Elbow." She walked over, twisted his arm, he screamed, and then I heard a very soft click as his radius popped back into place. He was no longer a fan of Nurse Practitioner Cathy, but she was my Shining Knight. In about 2 minutes, Cheeky Monkey looked up at me, and with his right arm signed "all done." In and out of the ER in less than an hour. Not bad.

It'll be the most expensive click ever. As Ry said though, it's not the click that you're paying for, it's the knowing how to click.

6 Things: The Kids Edition

1. Gummy Bear got a progress report from school today. The "grades" were P for Progressing and M for Mastered. Not surprisingly, he got mostly Ms for things learned, skills mastered and fine motor skills. He got a lot of Ps for sharing, playing nicely with others and following directions. I've been told that my kindergarten progress report looked a lot the same. Tree --- Apple.
2. He continues to show remarkable creativity with bending the rules. Tonight at dinner, he was having apples with caramel dip. I looked over to see that he was using the apple simply as a caramel-conveyance system. I told him that he had to actually eat the apple, not just lick the caramel off. A few minutes later, I looked over to see him holding the apple, dripping with caramel over his finger. Then he licked it off his finger.
3. We're going to start transitioning Cheeky Monkey to the toddler room at daycare. One of the teachers in the infant room took him to visit today, and he apparently loved it. He even took an hour-long nap over there! That rivals his longest nap ever at school. Since he apparently spends his day in the infant room patting crying babies' backs and popping pacifiers back in mouths, it seems like good timing. Still, I hate admitting that he's not a baby anymore.
4. Cheeky Monkey recently added "Bu-Bye," "Hi," and "Emma" to his word repertoire. Why Emma? A crush, I think.
5. Today is National Dr. Seuss Day. In honor of that, Gummy Bear named our family Thing 1 (himself), Thing 2 (me), Thing 3 (Cheeky Monkey), Thing 4 (Ry), Thing 5 (Neena) and Thing 6 (G-Pa). Then I think he got bored.
6. If you haven't read The Cat in the Hat recently, there is an illustration where the little boy is catching Thing 1 and Thing 2 in his net. His sister is looking on, grinning. Gummy Bear asked Ry the other night why the little girl was smiling. "I don't know," he replied, "maybe she's touched." Then he gave a more appropriate answer. Tonight of course, when he got to that point in the book, Gummy Bear said, "She's smiling because she got touched." Lesson? Be very careful what you say around (almost) 4-year-olds.

My tiny ball of light

Without a doubt, my favorite moment from last night's Oscars.

Gummy Bear's Stage Debut

Today we went to a free Winter Jazz Festival. Super fun. Not only did we get all the free food we could eat (chicken marsala, quinoa salad, Moroccan stew, sushi, and all the tarts and pastries you could wish for), they also had some good music. The highlight for Gummy Bear was the magician who performed in between bands. He was picked for a very special assignment.

 He had to help the magician make a hat that would fit him.

 So first they tore some paper.

 Then he kept making more and more magic wands.

 Finally, he had to tap the paper and say some magic words.

Eh Voila! A hat! He thought it was great, and wasn't a big stage-shy. Who would have guessed that?

Countdown to Government Shutdown of Doooommmmm!

Yeah. So I have not been writing much because there hasn't been much to write about. T is going through a thing right now that includes lots of tantrums and drama. F has decided this week that he has an opinion, and it's mostly not my opinion. I've been learning lots about diabetes and congenital abnormalities.

Ry has been busy at work.  That may change pretty dramatically soon, though. It seems that there is a pretty good chance that the government is going to shut down on March 4.  Unpaid vacation time! That is exactly what we need right now!!

We don't know if he will be furloughed or not. We also don't know if he'd get paid for the time missed when he went back to work. We're sitting right in the center of a steaming pile of We Don't Know. Those of you who know me well know how good I am at I don't know. But hey, we may get to enjoy my spring break together!

Wow, this post has lots of italics and exclamation points. That must mean that I've exceeded my snark threshold and should go to bed. So. Good night ya'll.

Search Terms

Nothing to add today, except that two people got to my blog by searching for "giant cat couch."

Repeat after me

T is in the bathroom.

T: I made a mess!!

Ry: Clean it up then.

T: It's on the floor too!

Ry walks into the bathroom. How did you do this?

T: I didn't do it ... my penis did.

Ry: You are responsible for the actions of your penis.

Me: *Snork*

A snippet

Scene: The boys and I are in the car, driving to the park. I've just gotten them from school.

T: Mommy, I'm ready for another baby.

Me: You are?

T: Yes. I think we should name him F.

Me: But, we already have an F.

F: Ah. Dah dah dah.

T: It's OK!

Me: But if we have two Fs, how will they know who we're talking to?

T: I don't know ....

F: Mmmmmmmmm. Ahhh. Dah!

Me: And anyway, what if we have a girl baby next?

T: Your tummy makes boy babies.

Me: Not necessarily.

F: Raspberry noise.


T: Well. When your tummy is done making boy babies, then it'll be ready to make girl babies.

F: More raspberries.


Me: I see.

T: Mommy, do you see that ditch down there?

Me: Yes.

T: If F fell in, you would have to hold him really tight. You would hold him really tight, right?

Me: Of course I would kiddo.

T: Because if you didn't, then we'd be really sad because we didn't have a baby any more.

Me: I would hold him really tight and he wouldn't fall in.

F: Mmmmah!

T: And me?

Me: I would hold you really tight too. And Daddy. I wouldn't let anyone fall in that ditch.

T: OK. Good.

F: Aaah. Dah.

T: Mommy?

Me: Yes?

T: I love you.

Me: I love you too, kiddo.

-------------------------------------------

I'm looking for blog nicknames for us all.  All the initial business seems silly, and it seems like everyone has blog nicknames. Suggestions?

A Valentine's Day Compare and Contrast

In honor of chubby baby boy day, here are both boys, around 15 months old. They may not look a lot alike, but they sure share some facial expressions.

Consider my heart pierced.

And how

Yeah, Valentine's Day is not a holiday we celebrate around these parts. Still, Happy Naked Winged Child Day! Alternatively, Happy Arrow In Your Atria Day!

T's First Haircut

Today, we took T to get his very first haircut. He is 3 years and 11 months old.  While his hair isn't what I'd call long, it is increasing unruly and always looks like he just rolled out of bed.

 Here he is before.  I'm not sure what he spilled all over his sweater. He had only been wearing it for 5 minutes.  This is what his hair looked like 5 minutes after wetting and combing it.

 The side.

 The back.

 We took him to one of those kiddo cutting places.  When I asked if he wanted to get his hair cut, he practically jumped out of his skin with excitement.

 Here it is right after.  Strangely enough, cutting it made it look both curlier and thicker.

 Here he is about 15 minutes later, after it dried.

 And here, after a few hours. This is probably what it's going to look like most days.

I have to admit to getting a little sniffley as she was cutting his hair.  This was kind of the last "baby" first for him.  His hair looks good, although he looks older and different. My baby ... getting his hair cut like a big boy.

15 months -- big and happy

Today we had F's 15 month well-visit.  And, finally, he's well.  The cough is almost gone, and the daily nebulizer seems to be keeping things under control.

Today, he weighs 26 pounds, 14 ounces and is 32.5 inches tall.  That puts him in the 85 percentile for both.  F is my round, charming, laid-back little man. The sum total of his vocabulary is "Ma," "Da," "Bye" and "Uh Oh."  He also said "Roar" once, but since he's never done it again, I'm not including it.  Apparently, this is completely normal for 15 months, but my working hypothesis is that he can't get a word in edgewise.

The child can eat. He just recently learned to drink from a straw. F is my cuddle bug.  While he's getting better about sharing me, he can still throw a grand tantrum if he happens to notice his brother my lap when he decides he wants it. Color me shocked that he went to the lady in the church nursery last week! He seems to pick and choose who he's going to warm to quickly. He'll go right to some people, and others have to bribe him with food for weeks before he lets them into his circle of trust.

F looooves to dance.  While his brother was all up and down at this age, F has a groovy little bum-shake that you can't watch without grinning like an idiot.  I keep trying to capture it on video, but it's as fleeting as it is charming.

He has charmed everyone in the baby room. He pats the little babies when they cry, hugs and snuggles the women, and fully participates in the impromptu dance parties.

F has remarkable patience for his big brother. There are brief, lovely moments every day when they play together, make each other laugh, and give each other hugs. I can only hope that when they stop being jealous of each other they'll be great friends.

My baby has officially entered toddler-dom.  While I am sad to say goodbye to the baby, I love to see him run, laugh, and grow. I love my F, so very much. Happy 15 months, my littlest love.

When it rains it pours

On our list this year is a new TV.  Ry bought our current TV when he was in college, which makes it ... well, it makes it old.  We're noticing more and more of our favorite shows are being cut off in the most distressing ways.  You know where we notice it the most?  Sesame Street.  All the stuff to count gets cut off, so instead of seeing 14 farm animals, we see 12.  The TV has also been dying a sad, slow little death over the past several years.  However, given the current state of affairs in our household, our television may have to eek out another year.

Here's the list of (higher priority?) stuff that we will probably be replacing:

~ The microwave that turns on if the door isn't shut just right. Can you imagine? "Mommy, my dino was cold, so I put him in the microwave.  Now, he's meeeeeelted!"
~ The TIVO remote that has hit the floor so many times that it's one good toss away from shattering into a gazillion pieces.  Also, only about half the number buttons work.
~ The mudflap on my truck that a snow bank liberated for me today.
~ The cordless phones that only work for incoming calls.
~ The laptop that has been blue-screening at random intervals.
~ The set of dishes that is one or two dinner plates from useless.
~ The truck, which currently has no idea how much gas is in the tank.

Good times.

Grateful

One or another of us has been sick since Christmas.  Ry and I were both laid low with a stomach bug during one of our earlier snowmageddons, T has had a runny nose for most of the month, and F had an ear infection.  Thankfully, I was off most of the month and Ry took some vacation while my mom was here.

Monday, I felt off all day.  I tried to shrug it off, since it was our 7th anniversary and we actually had a sitter (!) for once.  By the end of the day though, I transitioned from off to downright bad.  My wonderful husband ordered food from the restaurant where we had reservations, picked it up, brought it home, set the table with candles and we had an anniversary dinner.  I didn't eat much, but it was still nice to spend an hour talking to my hubby without crying or random noise.

At 2 am Tuesday morning, I went from bad to ugly.  Let's just say I was up evacuating for several hours and finally fell back into a fitful sleep around 5 am.  Ry stayed home in the morning long enough to get the boys up and to the daycare so I could concentrate on actually dragging myself to class.  Since our class days are 6 hours of lecture and we had our orientation for clinicals starting today, I really couldn't miss yesterday.

As soon as I stepped foot in the parking lot, I received a phone call from the daycare, telling me that F had spiked a 102 temperature and was coughing a lot.  How did they know he was really sick? He wouldn't eat any lunch.  I went straight to get him and from there straight to the pediatrician.  He had a little cough when he went in Tuesday morning, but I was pretty shocked by how bad he sounded when I got him.  So shocked, in fact, that I almost drove him to the ER instead of the pediatrician. I finally decided that he would probably be seen quicker at the doctor's office.

The doctor stepped inside the room and said something to the effect that she didn't need her stethoscope to hear F's wheezing.  She diagnosed him with an ear infection and respiratory infection.  She also gave him a nebulizer treatment in the office, prescribed an antibiotic and told me that he should probably stay on a once-a-day treatment for the rest of the winter (once he got over this bout of course). This is the 3rd time we've been to the docs for wheezing in the past 2 months.  I'm afraid my baby boy may have inherited his dad's tendency to asthma.

The tylenol last night wasn't really doing much for his fever, so I put him in a tepid bath before bed (did the trick!).  Ry offered to stay home with him today so I could go to my clinical.  It was actually a really interesting day in Interventional Radiology, but that's another story for another day). When I got home this afternoon, he was still running a fairly high temperature. He'll not be able to go back to daycare tomorrow either, even if he's feeling better in the morning.

And here's where I'm really grateful: Ry is staying home with him again, tomorrow, so I can go to clinical.  He has about a bazillion sick hours stored up, but still. I'm grateful that he's willing to put his job on hold so I don't have to make up clinical days at the end of the semester (and pay $75 per day). I'm grateful that he does it with such a willing and kind spirit.  I'm grateful that his boss is the kind of guy who also takes sick leave for his kids' illnesses. I'm grateful to Ry for blowing up the air mattress in F's room so I could sleep in there last night (you know, in case I got too worried). And I'm grateful for doctors and medication and cell phones and big brothers who cheerfully play video games because his parents are preoccupied with his little brother. Yikes, that was a really long way of getting to the point of this story:

Tonight, I'm just feeling grateful.