Thursday, March 24, 2011

So I joined a new club...

I am typically not a "joiner" but I did become a member of a new club this past weekend. That club would be - "Parents Who Have Had a Sick Child in the Hospital".

I have felt my heart drop at the words "Oh wow. Yeah, we're gonna have to admit him." from an ER doctor. I have held down my terrified, screaming child while nurses inserted an IV in his arm. I have spent the long night alone in a hospital room, rocking a crying, squirming baby with multiple tubes and wires connected to him, trying to keep everything from being tangled or ripped out. I have experienced the frustration of finally, finally getting him to sleep only to be woken by a nurse minutes later, to take his temperature and blood pressure. I have laid awake on an uncomfortable fold-out couch in a hospital room, thinking of all the other Mommies and Daddies who have also laid awake there, worrying about their little ones - many of them having to deal with much, much worse than the comparatively minor problems that my Bug had. I have handed my precious baby over to a nurse to be carried away from me and operated on and I have waited in a surgical waiting room, queasy with anticipation for it to be over and for all to be okay. I have experienced reaching the end of my limits and receiving help from a dear loved one just as I needed it, in my sister-in-law showing up after her 12 hour shift as an ICU nurse to rock my unconsolable baby for two hours. I have waited through those slowly ticking minutes and hours for the healing to be going along well enough to be permitted to go home...

...and I have felt the relief, the sensation of a huge weight sliding off of my shoulders, as I walked out of the hospital with my little boy in my arms.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Miscommunication...

This morning, Grandma & Grandpa came over to have coffee & hang out for a bit. I was making breakfast for the kids and I asked Max if he wanted a bagel or toast. He said, "I WANT TOOOOOOAAAST!" and Grandma corrected him: "Please." Max ignored her. She said, "PLEASE may I have some toast?" He ignored her again and she repeated it a little more sternly - "Max! PLEASE may I have some toast?"

Then he said... "Mom! Grandma wants some toast!"

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Happy Birthday to my little archaeologist!

Max recently had a birthday, and one of his favorite presents was this Dinosaur Adventure Excavation Kid Kit from Usborne Books & More. (You can find it here.)


The kit consists of: a rock containing plastic dinosaur bones inside it, a small metal hammer, a chisel, a dusting brush, and some safety glasses. As the stone is chipped away, the dinosaur bones are revealed, and once they are completely freed from the stone they can be assembled to form the skeleton of a stegosaurus. Here he is diligently working on it:


At first, I left the rock in its protective plastic shrink wrap because I was trying to minimize the mess (there were going to be about 25 people arriving for his birthday party in an hour), and I didn't know if pieces were going to be flying off in all directions. It turns out that the stone pretty much just turns into dust - no projectiles or baby choking hazards, which was good. He was really into it and I decided, well what the heck, it IS his birthday, so I unwrapped the rock and put a smock on him. Here he is dusting around the bones with the little brush:


After a good 30 minutes or so of work, this is what it looked like:


And here's a closeup:


I will post an update when he makes some more progress. I can't say enough about how impressed I am with this kit, and how much he liked it!

Today's memorable comments

1. Today - totally out of the blue - Max looked at Emmett, shook his head, and said to me, "I don't know how he got outta your belly!"


2. I am currently suffering from a bad cold. Here's the conversation Max & I had while I was tucking him into bed tonight:

Me: I can't stay long because I need to go lay down.
Max: Are you gonna feel better tomorrow?
Me: I sure hope so.
Max (hugging me): I'll take care of you.
Me: *heart melts*