Yeah, still sick. More sick. Seems like everyone is these days. Riley is pretty much fine, just dealing with a lingering cough and stuffy nose. Maddie is a mess: feverish even when medicated, runny nose and eyes, listless and with no appetite. I'm hanging on by a thread; I think I'm mostly just really tired.
Sick mode at our house involves lots of TV, books, and juice. The TV and the juice are pretty special treats, the books a part of the standard repertoire that don't require more energy than any one of us has. Sick mode also features eat-on-demand: if it sounds good to you and we have it in the house, you can eat it. Structured mealtimes are pretty much a no-go, and I try to offer a lot of fresh fruit, dry cereal, and other simple yet relatively nutritious things. Neither Maddie nor Riley is going to waste away over the course of a week's illness, so I figure anything that might help them feel better is worth serving.
I'm not planning to take anyone to the doctor for now. I don't want to get exposed to 1,001 things we don't have while the immune systems are down, and, for now, ibuprofen and Benedryl seem to be helping out enough for us all to get some rest.
Time to snuggle with the kids and watch Dora. Too bad they're too young for 30 Rock.
11 November 2009
10 November 2009
sniffle, snuffle, cough
Maddie and Riley are sick. I'm amazed they have remained healthy until now, given that they are immersed daily into the petri dish of preschool, and a new preschool at that. I think Maddie and Riley might actually be the only kids at their school who have yet to miss a day due to illness this year. As it would happen, tomorrow is a school holiday, so they might continue their streak, if only on a technicality.
They are luckily not seriously ill (knock on wood). Riley's cough and bit of a fever over the weekend are now just a lingering cough and congestion with no more heat. Maddie seems to be a few days behind and was feverish when I got home from work today. Between being under the weather and not having napped well, both kids were really tired, so we had a very mellow evening of a picnic dinner in the living room, two Doras (Two! I'm so crazy!), stories, and bed. They've been in bed for about five minutes and I think they're both asleep, which is unusal for them; they usually chat for a good half hour before dozing off.
Like most (all?) parents, I feel so awful for Maddie and Riley when they are ill. They are at least now old enough for me to comisserate verbally and explain that they will feel better "soon," whatever that means to the toddler's tenuous grasp of time. But I confess that I, like most (again, all?) parents, there is something so rewarding and sweet about caring for sick little ones. It brings out all the nurturing mama reserves, and it taps a wellspring of patience I otherwise don't know I have. I love the snuggling, the crawling into the lap, stroking the hair and curling up under a blanket. Maddie and Riley are extremely active kids, and while it's hard to see them slowed down by illness, it's nice to suddenly have two kids who just want to sit with Mama and be close.
I hope this is short-lived. I hope I don't get it! Sweet dreams to all.
They are luckily not seriously ill (knock on wood). Riley's cough and bit of a fever over the weekend are now just a lingering cough and congestion with no more heat. Maddie seems to be a few days behind and was feverish when I got home from work today. Between being under the weather and not having napped well, both kids were really tired, so we had a very mellow evening of a picnic dinner in the living room, two Doras (Two! I'm so crazy!), stories, and bed. They've been in bed for about five minutes and I think they're both asleep, which is unusal for them; they usually chat for a good half hour before dozing off.
Like most (all?) parents, I feel so awful for Maddie and Riley when they are ill. They are at least now old enough for me to comisserate verbally and explain that they will feel better "soon," whatever that means to the toddler's tenuous grasp of time. But I confess that I, like most (again, all?) parents, there is something so rewarding and sweet about caring for sick little ones. It brings out all the nurturing mama reserves, and it taps a wellspring of patience I otherwise don't know I have. I love the snuggling, the crawling into the lap, stroking the hair and curling up under a blanket. Maddie and Riley are extremely active kids, and while it's hard to see them slowed down by illness, it's nice to suddenly have two kids who just want to sit with Mama and be close.
I hope this is short-lived. I hope I don't get it! Sweet dreams to all.
09 November 2009
Very Superstitious
I have accepted an offer on my condo.
I signed the offer on Sunday, and those of you who are Facebook friends with me likely already know this rather gigantic piece of news. And while yes, it is in fact a huge piece of very exciting news that I want to sing from the rooftops and use as an excuse to buy champagne by the case, I suffer from superstition about saying it out loud too many times.
It was the same when I was in the interview process for the job at Reed. Things were going well, it was on my mind all the time, I wanted to tell people about it and benefit from their good wishes, but I was nervous. I felt like talking about it too much would jinx it somehow, prevent that next call from coming in, knock me out of the running. Talking about it was like pretending it was real when it wasn't, or something. Or maybe it was just self-preservation.
You see, the more people I told about the job the more people I'd have to tell if it didn't work out, and the more I talked about it the more I wanted it, thus making the potential disappointment of not getting it more acute. I have a lot of experience with sharing bad news, and I don't enjoy it. Every time I share the news, I have to relive the bad feelings again. It can be exhausting, so keeping things close until they are real can be a way to shield myself from some of the post-event damage.
The condo deal is more likely to become a reality than the Reed job was. I have a signed contract. The buyer is preapproved for the loan. As far as I know, the condo is in great shape and should pass inspection with flying colors. But. But. But. Something could come up at the inspection. Or the financing could fall through. Or the buyer could just change his mind. Until all the documents are signed at the close and the money has been transferred to my mortgage holder, I can't be as excited as I want to be. But I'm also too excited to keep the news to myself.
I'm trying hard not to think about how much money I'm losing in this deal and trying hard to focus on how much the sale of the condo will improve my cash flow. Frankly, given how poor my cash flow situation has been of late, it's been pretty easy to keep my thoughts in the right place for now.
I'm cautiously optimistic, extremely excited, and already spending my additional monthly income. First two orders of business? A trip back east to see my Boston friends and a big ol' party for all the people in Portland with whom I'm so happy to be sharing this city.
Closing date: December 11. Thirty-two days 'til the really, really, REALLY happy post.
I signed the offer on Sunday, and those of you who are Facebook friends with me likely already know this rather gigantic piece of news. And while yes, it is in fact a huge piece of very exciting news that I want to sing from the rooftops and use as an excuse to buy champagne by the case, I suffer from superstition about saying it out loud too many times.
It was the same when I was in the interview process for the job at Reed. Things were going well, it was on my mind all the time, I wanted to tell people about it and benefit from their good wishes, but I was nervous. I felt like talking about it too much would jinx it somehow, prevent that next call from coming in, knock me out of the running. Talking about it was like pretending it was real when it wasn't, or something. Or maybe it was just self-preservation.
You see, the more people I told about the job the more people I'd have to tell if it didn't work out, and the more I talked about it the more I wanted it, thus making the potential disappointment of not getting it more acute. I have a lot of experience with sharing bad news, and I don't enjoy it. Every time I share the news, I have to relive the bad feelings again. It can be exhausting, so keeping things close until they are real can be a way to shield myself from some of the post-event damage.
The condo deal is more likely to become a reality than the Reed job was. I have a signed contract. The buyer is preapproved for the loan. As far as I know, the condo is in great shape and should pass inspection with flying colors. But. But. But. Something could come up at the inspection. Or the financing could fall through. Or the buyer could just change his mind. Until all the documents are signed at the close and the money has been transferred to my mortgage holder, I can't be as excited as I want to be. But I'm also too excited to keep the news to myself.
I'm trying hard not to think about how much money I'm losing in this deal and trying hard to focus on how much the sale of the condo will improve my cash flow. Frankly, given how poor my cash flow situation has been of late, it's been pretty easy to keep my thoughts in the right place for now.
I'm cautiously optimistic, extremely excited, and already spending my additional monthly income. First two orders of business? A trip back east to see my Boston friends and a big ol' party for all the people in Portland with whom I'm so happy to be sharing this city.
Closing date: December 11. Thirty-two days 'til the really, really, REALLY happy post.
08 November 2009
Sunday
First breakfast in pajamas.
Second breakfast fetched by Ba and Maddie from the coffee shop up the street. There's nothing like latte delivery.
Pajamas 'til noon.
Cooking: lasagna, vegetable soup (plus lemon-dill salmon, sweet potatoes with chard, and apple crisp yesterday!)
Lots and lots and lots of stories (and having someone with whom to share reading duties).
Getting my iPod Touch fixed during nap (and surviving the frenzy of the Apple store. I. Hate. Malls.)
Taking care of some much-neglected housework.
Surprise b-day dinner for Ba at Moo's house.
Kids so tired they needed to be carried from the couch to bed after stories.
Riley is holding his own. He slept hard and long, and was barely feverish this morning (never over 100°F unmedicated). Then he took a three-hour nap. Post-nap, he stayed cool and his energy level was normal. I'm cautiously optimistic.
Second breakfast fetched by Ba and Maddie from the coffee shop up the street. There's nothing like latte delivery.
Pajamas 'til noon.
Cooking: lasagna, vegetable soup (plus lemon-dill salmon, sweet potatoes with chard, and apple crisp yesterday!)
Lots and lots and lots of stories (and having someone with whom to share reading duties).
Getting my iPod Touch fixed during nap (and surviving the frenzy of the Apple store. I. Hate. Malls.)
Taking care of some much-neglected housework.
Surprise b-day dinner for Ba at Moo's house.
Kids so tired they needed to be carried from the couch to bed after stories.
Riley is holding his own. He slept hard and long, and was barely feverish this morning (never over 100°F unmedicated). Then he took a three-hour nap. Post-nap, he stayed cool and his energy level was normal. I'm cautiously optimistic.
NaBloPoMo: 1, Snick: 0
Missed Friday. Almost missed today. Oops.
Riley is fighting a cold, or what I'm hoping is just a cold, although hope is fading as this afternoon he spiked a mini-fever. And the coughing! Oh, the coughing. Before I toddle off to bed, I need to lay out the ibuprofen and the water bottle and the thermometer and put blankies on the couch in case the need for middle-of-the-night nursing arises.
My dad is here this weekend. The relationship I have with my dad and the relationship he has with Maddie and Riley are worth posts unto themselves, but my general sentiment about having him around is the same one I had about my mom's visit the other night: this is why I moved back to Oregon.
Riley is fighting a cold, or what I'm hoping is just a cold, although hope is fading as this afternoon he spiked a mini-fever. And the coughing! Oh, the coughing. Before I toddle off to bed, I need to lay out the ibuprofen and the water bottle and the thermometer and put blankies on the couch in case the need for middle-of-the-night nursing arises.
My dad is here this weekend. The relationship I have with my dad and the relationship he has with Maddie and Riley are worth posts unto themselves, but my general sentiment about having him around is the same one I had about my mom's visit the other night: this is why I moved back to Oregon.
06 November 2009
Thanks, Mom
My mom came over tonight for dinner, which was a lot of fun. Maddie and Riley adore her, and she and I had not had a chance to spend any one-on-one time together for a while, so the glass of wine + truffles + chatting after the kids went to bed was especially nice.
There are things I miss about living in Boston, but being close to family is a very sweet part of moving home.
There are things I miss about living in Boston, but being close to family is a very sweet part of moving home.
04 November 2009
Panda Bear and Sun Bear
At my dad's house, ready to head out and trick or treat.
At home in Portland, with the jack-o-lantern we carved together (they told me what to do, I wielded the knife)
What's inside that jack-o-lantern, anyway?
03 November 2009
Technology Failure
Tried to post Halloween photos last night. Technology let me down. Blogger was nonresponsive, Facebook photo uploader stalled out three times in a row . . . I gave up after 45 minutes of trying. Maybe tonight will be my night.
For now, I give you the text to support the photos-t0-come.
This was the first Halloween that Maddie and Riley really seemed to understand and be excited about. They talked for a month or so about what they wanted to be; Maddie chose panda bear and stuck with that while Riley went through a few options,* finally settling on sun bear "with long, sharp claws." I found the experience of making their costumes to be one of those defining projects of motherhood. I remember my mom going all out to help me make whatever costume I could imagine. I don't think I ever had a store-bought costume growing up, and because of this, I feel it is incumbent upon me to provide the same for Maddie and Riley. Plus I like doing crafty things. Plus panda bear and sun bear were pretty easy to pull off: black or brown pants, black or brown shirt, black or brown hat and gloves, sew on white belly for panda and white crest for sun bear, sew ears on hats, fashion claws out of duct tape, voilà.
Maddie really loved her costume, especially the part where I put black makeup around her eyes which ended up just making her look like a burgler. Riley ended up refusing to wear the gloves with the "long, sharp claws," and most of the evening he also went hatless, but that's OK.
We ended up being total lazy bums and driving around to our various trick-or-treating destinations. In our defense, my dad had compiled a hand-picked list of various friends who were waiting for us to drop by, and they lived far enough apart from one another that walking was not feasable. Maddie and Riley were trick-or-treating celebrities and recieved special treats at most of our stops; should we do plan ol' trick-or-treating next year, they might be disappointed.
Maddie and Riley had the routine down. Riley was the designated doorbell ringer. They both did well saying "Trick or treat!" and were happy to oblige if encouraged to take more than one piece of candy. Since we mostly visited the homes of friends, they also got into the habit of just barging right into people's homes to check things out and relax a bit after receiving their candy. The first time we went to the home of someone we didn't know, I had to hold them back from just inviting themselves in to watch some football and have some snacks. Shy, they are not.
I'm pleased that after what (for them) amounted to a frenzy of candy feasting on Halloween itself, Maddie and Riley have totally forgotten about their candy. I'm keeping it around for a week or so, just in case, then it's coming to work or going in the trash or something. Next year I will need a more robust plan around Candy Control; this year, I got off easy. A friend of mine advised using the Switch Witch strategy: showing the kids a special place in the house to leave candy for the Switch Witch, who comes at night and replaces the offered candy with some kind of non-food gift. I explained that to M&R and they seemed excited but then forgot about the candy, which makes things even easier. What do those of you with older kids to do for Candy Control? Just over the course of the evening I got tired of dealing with the, "Can I have one more piece? Can I eat this?" I'm not looking forward to that being prolonged.
Pictures to come.
*My favorite of Riley's options was recycle bin. I thought this was going to be the final choice, and it would have been awesome because the dude is obsessed with the various types of trash and the bins into which said trash goes. Of course, he also loves the sun bears at the zoo, and having two bears was cute.
For now, I give you the text to support the photos-t0-come.
This was the first Halloween that Maddie and Riley really seemed to understand and be excited about. They talked for a month or so about what they wanted to be; Maddie chose panda bear and stuck with that while Riley went through a few options,* finally settling on sun bear "with long, sharp claws." I found the experience of making their costumes to be one of those defining projects of motherhood. I remember my mom going all out to help me make whatever costume I could imagine. I don't think I ever had a store-bought costume growing up, and because of this, I feel it is incumbent upon me to provide the same for Maddie and Riley. Plus I like doing crafty things. Plus panda bear and sun bear were pretty easy to pull off: black or brown pants, black or brown shirt, black or brown hat and gloves, sew on white belly for panda and white crest for sun bear, sew ears on hats, fashion claws out of duct tape, voilà.
Maddie really loved her costume, especially the part where I put black makeup around her eyes which ended up just making her look like a burgler. Riley ended up refusing to wear the gloves with the "long, sharp claws," and most of the evening he also went hatless, but that's OK.
We ended up being total lazy bums and driving around to our various trick-or-treating destinations. In our defense, my dad had compiled a hand-picked list of various friends who were waiting for us to drop by, and they lived far enough apart from one another that walking was not feasable. Maddie and Riley were trick-or-treating celebrities and recieved special treats at most of our stops; should we do plan ol' trick-or-treating next year, they might be disappointed.
Maddie and Riley had the routine down. Riley was the designated doorbell ringer. They both did well saying "Trick or treat!" and were happy to oblige if encouraged to take more than one piece of candy. Since we mostly visited the homes of friends, they also got into the habit of just barging right into people's homes to check things out and relax a bit after receiving their candy. The first time we went to the home of someone we didn't know, I had to hold them back from just inviting themselves in to watch some football and have some snacks. Shy, they are not.
I'm pleased that after what (for them) amounted to a frenzy of candy feasting on Halloween itself, Maddie and Riley have totally forgotten about their candy. I'm keeping it around for a week or so, just in case, then it's coming to work or going in the trash or something. Next year I will need a more robust plan around Candy Control; this year, I got off easy. A friend of mine advised using the Switch Witch strategy: showing the kids a special place in the house to leave candy for the Switch Witch, who comes at night and replaces the offered candy with some kind of non-food gift. I explained that to M&R and they seemed excited but then forgot about the candy, which makes things even easier. What do those of you with older kids to do for Candy Control? Just over the course of the evening I got tired of dealing with the, "Can I have one more piece? Can I eat this?" I'm not looking forward to that being prolonged.
Pictures to come.
*My favorite of Riley's options was recycle bin. I thought this was going to be the final choice, and it would have been awesome because the dude is obsessed with the various types of trash and the bins into which said trash goes. Of course, he also loves the sun bears at the zoo, and having two bears was cute.
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