My Poor Munchkin

I got a phone call while waiting for pokey to get through my groceries. It was James saying that Jameson had gotten a fat lip. I heard Jameson crying in the background but I didn't think it was too bad, he's done it before.
As soon as I opened the door when I got home, Jameson started bawling. I put down my bags and went to find him. He was on the sofa, wrapped up in a blanket, with ice in a towel next to him. He was so sad. I can just imagine that he couldn't wait for me, his main provider of comfort, to come home to him. It broke my heart. His big brown eyes were overflowing with tears and he was obviously in pain. He eventually stopped chewing on his lip long enough to give me a look. It sure was swollen. His upper lip was huge. The inside had been bloody too as there was evidence of dried blood on his finger. (He probably sucked on it.)
It was so sad. :( I just wanted to take all the pain away from him and take it on myself. I scooped him up in my arms and rocked him. (Not so easy to do but something I'm not ready to give up. I know he's not ready to give it up either.)
I told him that I think icecream sandwiches really make fat lips feel better. (I don't need any lectures about comfort food and how I'm setting my child up for a life long battle with snacking. He was sad and I wanted him to feel better. Besides, how many people wouldn't want ice cream if their lip hurt?!?!?!) We went to the table where he slowly ate his delectable treat. It took him twice the time it normally takes him to eat it. Poor thing, he was obviously in pain. He would start crying spontaneously, obviously when he hit it again or the pain increased. It was such a heart breaking time.
After doing a puzzle together we headed upstairs for bed. I even let him skip the chore of brushing his teeth. (I also don't need any lectures about cavities!!)
While getting ready for bed he was quite thirsty so he gestured for me to get him some water. I think he momentarily forgot about his lip because he went to take a drink and the action of sucking on his sippy cup brought back a surge of pain. Poor munchkin. :(
I calmed him once again. We read our new Thomas book (thanks to a clothing and toy swap at MOPS today) and said our prayers. Jameson wanted me to pray for him since his mouth hurt and it was difficult to talk. He was already developing some gestures to get his point across. I prayed for him both in words but also asking for him to be healed. Stellan also mumbled out something about having Jameson feel better.
After tucking Stellan into bed (he only likes me to do it, James is only "allowed" if I'm not home and even then it's under much duress) I headed back to Jameson's room. "Lay with me Mommy". That's not something I normally do nor is it something I want to start but I'll do anything for my sad or sick children. I crawled in bed next to him and hoped that the food that needed to go in the fridge could wait until my baby was feeling better.

Grocery Shopping

I had to get some quick groceries so I decided to go to a Shop Rite that is not far from here. I had never been there before so it's always a challenge navigating a new store. I managed just fine and got everything I needed. I went to the check out to find that, once again, I've chosen the slowest cashier in the world. Maybe he was new, or else just an idiot.
Anyway, I handed the guy my wonderful shopping bags and he looked a bit confused. I told him they were for the groceries. (They look just like any other re-useable grocery bag.) He didn't know where to put them. (Uh, at the end of the line? Just a suggestion....might make it easier to actually put the scanned groceries in them.)
He scanned through all of my items and then stood there looking lost for a minute. Then he started packing my groceries in the standard plastic bags. I reminded him that I brought bags so he switched over. In the mean time, I'm just standing there watching. I refused to pack. It is not my job. That is what he gets paid for. That is part of the reason my groceries cost so much, it helps to cover his hourly wages (as minimal as they may be). I know the ladies behind me were getting upset but I really don't care. This is my personal stand and I'm not backing down. Besides, if he had half a brain in his head he would realize how much more efficient it is to simply put the items in the bag as soon as they are scanned. Sure, that takes a bit of forethought in knowing the order in which things should be placed in a bag but it's truly not brain surgery. I've seen it done and it was quite successful.
Oh wait, I've only ever seen women cashiers do it. It totally makes sense now.
No offense guys. :)

Spelling Test

When Jameson woke up from his nap, the first words out his mouth were, "How do you spell basketball?".
I sat on the bed with him and sounded out the word. Through this process he was able to get B, A, S. When it came to "K" he got a bit distracted. I gave him several clues and then finally asked, "What comes after J?".
His answer was "A".
I was a bit stumped. I looked at him and he said, J-A-M-E-S-O-N.
I love the way his little mind works.

Company

We had Jonathan Meister, our deaf friend, over for dinner last night and he stayed the night so he could go to a seminar at Princeton University. It was quite funny to see three adults sitting on the sofa, each with a lap top on their laps, typing out a conversation. Hey, whatever works.

I drove him to the university this morning and the boys and I decided to walk around the gorgeous campus for a bit. Jameson was petting the bronze tigers when I noticed their inscription. They were dedicated to the universtiy by the class of '79. So in my mind I was thinking, "OK, that was two years after I was born". Then I looked closer and realized it was the class of 1879. Sheesh. That was a heck of a long time ago.

On the way home the boys were sitting in their seats when Jameson looked at the handle bar on the back of the front seat and said, "Look, Daddy fixed it." I corrected him and said that it was Deda who had fixed it.

Jameson: "Deda's such a nice boy."

Stellan with a little giggle: "Deda's a man." (Imagine drawing out the "a" in man, as if to make a rather obvious point.)

Jameson: "Deda's such a nice man. Nana's a boy."

It made me laugh. :)

Stellan Update

I called the pediatrician this morning and got an appointment for Stellan. Once again I'll say how much I love my pediatrician and their whole office. I had never met this doctor before but he was super nice. They just keep getting better and better. This alone would make me want to stay here until my kids no longer go to the pediatrician. (Another 15 years or so?)
Anyway, the doctor checked him out and said there is no sign of infection. It's just a nasty cold that is lingering. Darn it cold, go away and leave us all alone!
I told him it might be due to the fact that my mother in law just watched as Stellan licked the train window. He agreed it was quite gross but then shared a story of his own. He was riding the subway in New York with a buddy of his. Appropriately enough for a doctor conversation, they were discussing how many germs must be on the subway. They hadn't even finished the conversation when they looked over at a family, obviously tourists, who had one child with his arms wrapped around the subway pole. The little kid then proceeded to lick the pole up and down as if it were a lollipop.
OK, maybe the window wasn't so bad.

Easter Weekend

Our plan was to go to North Jersey to stay with Phil and Adina on Saturday night and then have Easter dinner with them. Amazing how kids can take well planned intentions and turn them right upside down.
Poor Stellan is feeling quite sick. :( He has permasnot. It's really quite gross. And, try as I might, he cannot figure out how to blow his nose. It's quite frustrating actually. I tell him to close his mouth and blow. Inevitably he opens his mouth while blowing. I figure it will just click one of these days. He was walking around with his eyes half open and even had a phlegmy cough. I got the sign, he was not going to be leaving the house this weekend. James and Jameson still went as planned and I got sick baby duty. (OK, I know he's not a baby. But when one of the boys is sick, he's automatically my little baby again. Heck, when James gets sick he acts like a baby....wait, isn't that all men?)
I was actually looking forward to an evening by myself, once Stellan went to bed of course. Once he woke up from his nap he was beyond pathetic. He just wanted to snuggle with me on the couch. Trust me, I didn't complain! One of my favourite things to do is to snuggle with the kids. I let him pick betweeen two movies, Cars and Finding Nemo. It was like he didn't know what to do. He had never seen a full length movie before. He chose cars (even though I was promoting Nemo). We snuggled in and started the movie. Problem was....I forgot to grab a box of tissue. Within minutes I had to get off the comfy sofa and grab tissues. I thought I grabbed plenty but I ended up getting up several times to replenish our supply. He was drooling all over me since he had to breathe through his mouth. Poor little angel. Then he started complaining because his eye hurt. That was my clue that this apparent cold might have developed into something more. But it was Saturday evening on Easter weekend. We'll have to wait it out until Monday morning when I can call the doctor.
During the bed time routine it was so cute that Stellan wanted to do everything as if Jameson was actually there. We even read our bed time story in Jameson's room. Before I put him down I decided to take things into my own hands. I pulled out the aspirator. Since he can't figure out how to blow his own nose I figured I had to suck out the snot. He HATED HATED HATED it. I have rarely heard him scream like that. At the end he looked at me with a tear streaked face and pleaded, "Please don't do that again mommy". How heart wrenching.
He fussed a bit when I put him down but, who can blame him. He did nothing active all afternoon and here I was expecting him to sleep again. He did fall asleep and slept very well. Until 4 o'clock. Then he was up for the day and ready to go. Problem was, I wasn't ready. After an hour of pleading/begging/a bit of yelling, he finally went back to sleep. Until 6:30. I was not a happy camper.
I realized that we would not be able to make it to church as planned. I sent a text to James to let him know. I was disappointed but it was just the reality of the situation. I asked James to come home as soon as he could after church. I hated ruining his plans too but I was starting to feel the need for some sick baby relief. He ended up getting home just after 3:30. For the second time today I was not a happy camper.....

I went outside and hid the only eggs I had left (I sent the rest to Adina's for her egg hunt). I told the kids that we were going outside for a hunt, hoping they would be excited and I would have a great photo-op. Jameson was thrilled, Stellan was, well, less than thrilled. In fact, he was screaming when we brought him outside. Jameson got right down to it and started collecting the eggs. (Granted, they weren't hidden. I placed them on the bushed, next to the sidewalk, etc.) Once James opened an egg and showed Stellan that there was candy inside, he finally decided it was time to join in on the fun. Jameson turned around and noticed that Stellan had started looking for the eggs. He walked over to him and gave Stellan half of the eggs he had collected. How sweet! He's such a great big brother. They continued the search and managed to find all of the eggs (all 15 of them). What a great little egg hunt. Now I'm looking forward to doing it again next year.

I went for a walk after the hunt and took much pleasure in seeing daffodils blooming as well as trees budding. I love spring!! It was a bit chilly but I ended up going for an hour long fast-paced walk. I need to get in shape for the New York 5 Boro bike ride. It's a month and a half away!

Easter Egg Hunt

On Friday we headed out to a local church to participate in their Easter egg hunt. We almost didn't make it, we were having a bad morning, but pulled in just in time. The host mentioned the fact that there were 7000 eggs for the hunt. That's INSANE. In addition to that there were suckers and lollipops that weren't in eggs. The kids were directed to a room based on their age. We went to the 3 year old room where there were dozens of kids who just had to go around a pick up the treats off the floor. It took a while to convince my kids to pick up the eggs. They were focused on the suckers. Jameson was happy to get one sucker but then he wanted to eat it and stop collecting. I told him to keep collecting candy and he could have a sucker at the end. He finally got into it but then ended up swinging his basket back and forth which caused the eggs to go flying everywhere. I scrambled and gathered them up for him again. Before long the entire floor was cleared of all traces of candy and eggs. We sat down with our friends and the kids went to town. They each had one sucker in their mouths and were already unwrapping the second. At the same time they were trying to open the eggs to find their hidden treasures. There were a variety of goodies ranging from plastic rings and bracelets to plastic compasses (they think they're clocks) and tatoos.
We got out of there and I believe they each only consumed about three suckers. I was proud of that accomplishment. Not a terrible sugar high.