Long Day, Early Bedtime

My son and I went out this morning for the first time in over a week.  Being cooped up for such a long time left me feeling dry and tired, but the companionship of great friends refreshed my spirit.  My son had a wonderful time and even said that he had a good time with his friends ("good time friends") as we were driving home.

And then the day fell apart.

I was exhausted after my first excursion out of the house and, of all days to have this happen, my son would not nap.  WOULD NOT NAP.  None of my standard get-the-boy-to-go-to-sleep tricks didn't work.  Returning him to bed didn't work.  Taking away toys didn't work.  Begging him to go to sleep didn't work.  Nothing worked and I finally just gave up after an hour of attempting to get a nap for myself and we sat in the living room.

That's when I started feeling ill.  I don't mean that I was catching a cold.  No, I'm talking about the so-called morning sickness that apparently can strike at any moment during the day.  I curled up on the couch, willing myself not to vomit, and my son decided that he wanted to nap.  Against my throat.  Have I ever mentioned that excess pressure against my throat often triggers my gag reflex?  Yeah, that's just one reason why turtlenecks aren't my favorite type of clothing.

I pushed him away as gently as I could and then he started bouncing on the couch.  Bouncing!  Bouncing!  Bouncing!  He knows he's not allowed to bounce and flop on furniture so naturally he does it when I'm about to toss my cookies.  Imagine feeling sick to your stomach and then sitting in a bounce house that's filled with people jumping around.  That's pretty much what this felt like. 

I calmly exited the living room and decided to lie down on his bed.  He followed me.  You can imagine how this tale ends, right?

After a couple of rough hours, my queasiness eased up enough that I was able to make dinner for the two of us.  Thankfully, he ate it without complaint.  He did, however, smear mashed potatoes in his hair.  I stared at his hair treatment and considered letting the dog lick it out, but ultimately decided that a bath was in order.  He went right to bed tonight and I think I need to follow suit!

Grandparents, a Faire, and a Concert (Oh, My!)

My family experienced a wonderfully full weekend.  It was one of those weekends where every event we shared was a blast for my son.  I'd say that it was almost the best weekend ever for the little guy.  But, whew, I am sure wiped out!  The boy and I have a busy week ahead with lots of fun activities with our friends so I'm going to have to keep this brief so I can get some rest.

We had supper with my parents and my MIL on Saturday evening.  After eating, he had the undivided attention of his grandparents.  It is a pretty rare treat for my son to have more than two grandparents together at once and he knew how to work his adoring audience.  He was in rare form and he spent a the longest time just cutting up and entertaining the family. 

His Mamaw and his Grandma had so much fun hiding his matchbox cars (specifically the green one!) for him to find.  The hiding places were a hoot:  on top of their head, in the crook of an elbow, tucked into a shoe, under a cushion in the couch, and so many more!  His face lit up with delight whenever he found one and his excited squeals kept the game going on for at least a half an hour. 

At one point, my son started dancing with joy and his Grandpa began to clap for him.  Then Mamaw started clapping.  Then Grandma.  Then Daddy.  Then Mama.  Whenever one of us would stop clapping, he'd stop dancing and point at us.  He'd grab our hands and force us to clap again if we didn't start clapping right away.

I was cracking up so much that my cheeks hurt by the time we left.  I think the little one spent half the night laughing himself silly.  As my Dad says, that kid has the most contagious laugh.  Saturday night was one of those magical moments that you long to share with your loved ones and I'm thankful that we were able to share my adorable little guy with at least three of his Grandparents. 

My church hosted a Medieval Faire this afternoon after services.  In case someone reading this can't understand normal thinking, the use of the pronoun "my" in the previous sentence does not imply that I am the sole owner of the church; it is simply to illustrate that it is the church that I personally attend.  I'll probably give another English lesson in a few days - see you next Tuesday.  

I thought for sure that my son would want to eat and play at the Faire.  No.  Not only no, but no way!  There was a mini-catapult, pretend archery, pretend swordplay, pretend jousting and a bounce house.  There was a great photo prop of a sword in a stone.  There was a woman doing wonderful caricatures and another woman making balloon animals and balloon crowns.  They offered chicken and beef skewers, grilled corn, hot dog wieners, pasta salad, potato salad and many more tasty eats.  The children of our church baked up wonderful sweet treats that were also available for purchase.  My son did enjoy eating a frosted cupcake and he must have liked it because he begged for cupcakes before bed tonight. 

What did he want to do at the Faire?  Sit in the bounce house.  He wouldn't jump around and he literally sat in there for about an hour.  He was having fun though and he was pretty upset when it was time to go home.

The city I reside in offers free concerts in the park on select Sundays.  Tonight was the last concert of the season and we went with some friends and their kids.  The band played classic rock covers.  The playlist consisted of great songs from CCR, The Eagles, The Hollies, Deep Purple, and a few others.  Several times, my son jumped up and danced for us.  He really has a joy of movement.  I made some strawberry shortcakes to share with our pals and he gobbled that up like it was the finest creme brulee.  His father took him to the playground to run around and play with the other kids at the park.

Not that they live all that far away, but I'm a little sad that family isn't a little closer to us geographically. It would have been fun to turn this into a Grandparent's Weekend. I'll bet they would have had a blast seeing their sweet little grandson today.

I really have to do a better job inviting the Grandparents to come along on our fun adventures. Sometimes life only hangs by the thinnest of threads and I believe that persistent prayer is the only reason that my son still has all of his grandparents. . .unfortunately, there is another major medical procedure looming.  Your prayers will be most appreciated on the 16th.

This weekend was full of love, laughter, and family.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, is more important or valuable than that.  I know that I'll always keep this wonderful weekend in my heart.

Eskimo Kisses + Todder = Fat Lip for Mama

I've been in a real funk the last couple of weeks.  Normally socially active, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to drag myself out of the house.  Playdates, toddler classes, potlucks, doesn't matter; they all seem equally exhausting lately.  I don't even feel like cooking these days - and I love cooking.

I can't really put my finger on the root of the problem, but I know that I need to do something to overcome this general malaise.  It doesn't help that our son has come to our room in the wee hours of the morning for the last few days.  I have a difficult time falling asleep and, as a result of our early-morning visits, I've been walking around in a constant state of fatigue.

Though I'm too tired to attempt a fun-filled day with friends, I still try to give my son a fun day at home.  For example, my son and I had a great time playing catch this afternoon.  He still has a wild throw, but he's getting a lot better about catching the ball.  I never thought that I had as much pep as the cheeriest cheerleader, but it turns out that I sure do!  I jumped up & down, clapped, and cheered every time he caught the ball.  He beamed and I felt so proud of him!

While playing with his magnetic alphabet, I learned that he can identify the following letters:  C, K, S, N, P, D, and A.  He can imitate the phonetic sounds of most of those letters too.

I thought it might be fun to teach my son how to give butterfly kisses and Eskimo kisses.  He didn't like butterfly kisses at all, but he thought Eskimo kisses were hilarious.  He created a game where he'd jump up, grab my face, give me an Eskimo kiss, and fall over backward on the couch while saying, "Whoa!" 

Playing the Eskimo kisses game was a lot of fun. . .until he gave me a fat lip.  How do you get a fat lip while getting an Eskimo kiss?  Surprisingly, it isn't very difficult if the kisser finishes by smacking you in the mouth with their forehead.  I finally was able to stop the bleeding after about 15 minutes and I'm hoping that the ice-pack minimized the swelling enough that it won't look terrible tomorrow.

I need to get some solid rest and I hope that the boy stays in his bed until a decent time in the morning.