Sickliness and Thoughts...

I've decided that we should build on to our house.  I think we should turn our bedroom into a family room, and build out to make a larger master bedroom and bedroom for Popcorn.  If possible, we can tear down the wall between our existing rooms and make a larger den.  If not, then Popcorn's existing room can be an office, and the other a den.

I have not discussed any of this with my husband.

He will argue and list all of the ways this is not possible.  Money, easements, money, time, unstable economy, money....I will weep and wail and moan and eventually stick out my chest, all to no avail.

So.  I will simply share this little fantasy with you for now.

I am bored.

Yes.  I said it.  The word that I do not allow my kids to utter.  Popcorn was sick last Wednesday through Monday.  Bookworm has been sick since Friday.  She started vomiting last night, which was something new.  She is white as a sheet, and at this point I can't imagine her going to school tomorrow.  Yesterday I went between complete exhausted, head congested, eyes aching, unable to breathe, to brief spurts of energy where I would do a load of laundry or empty the dishwasher, then be completely exhausted, and my head would feel as if it was going to topple off of my shoulders.  And that was while taking pseudoephedrine and drinking cups of Earl Grey and chamomile tea.  The only time my throat wasn't killing me was while drinking a hot beverage, so I alternated the two.

Last night I was tired of the television playing kid shows all day.  And I had no desire to look at the computer or a book.

I made Studmuffin play Scrabble with me.  Actually, he suggested it, as he figured he could beat me in my weakened state.  He started out with a 96 point word.  He spelled "soldier," used all of his tiles, got a 50 point bonus, plus a double word score.  I never did catch up after that.  However, we followed that up with Seinfeld Scene It, and I won at that one.  Barely. 

I couldn't sleep last night.  I was hot, then freezing, then hot...Then Bookworm would start hollering my name, and we'd meet up in the bathroom and she'd puke while I held her hair.  I'd give her a cold rag and water to rinse her mouth out, then I'd stomp back in the bedroom and glare at my husband's sleeping form as I crawled back in bed bouncing and yanking the covers as much as possible in an effort to disturb his sleep. 

It didn't work.  By 5:30, when I'd had maybe 3 hours of sleep.  I crawled in bed, and sat up on my elbows and put my face nose to nose to him and stared at him until he woke up. 

He nearly fell backwards out of bed, "What the....?"

"How can you sleep through all of that?"  I barked.  Then I yanked all of the covers off of him, tucked them around me and turned my back to him...

Bookworm yelled "Daddy!!!" maybe 10 minutes later. 

HE DID NOT WAKE UP!  So, I did what every mother has to do in those situations. 

I kicked him.

He actually stirred.  I said very LOUDLY, "It's your turn."  And I may have kicked him again.

The important thing to note here is he actually got out of bed.  And I finally slept.  With no more cold/hot flashes. 

And I actually ate breakfast this morning and it tasted good.

But my child is still pitiful.

I think maybe I will clean out Popcorn's drawers while they are at church this morning.  Then, if I'm lucky, I will be able to convince her to part with some toys today. 

But I'm not promising anything on that score.  I used to simply suggest that she had to get rid of or figure out how to make her room neater, and she'd willingly part with all sorts of stuff.  She has started to dig in her heels, and is now unable to part with much of anything...

What did you get accomplished this weekend?  Hanging out with friends?  Did you go out and enjoy beautiful weather?  Perhaps you cleaned a closet...Do tell!

Playing Baby Dolls

Popcorn and I are blessed today....with pink eye. Yeah!

Mine kicked in yesterday, and she started complaining of her eyes hurting last night at 11pm. I got her up, and gave her my eye drops (read here: Studmuffin held her down, while I used a crow bar to get her eyes open for a drop of medicine.) Then I sat on the couch with her head in my lap and a cool cloth on her eyes (I'm not sure this is at all recommended, but she was crying uncontrollably at this time because they hurt so bad. I figured cool moisture would make them feel better.)

Isn't it so hard when your little ones don't really fit in your lap anymore? That was my realization last night. She can no longer curl up in my arms and be comforted. I can remember the sheer exhaustion from getting up with the girls when they were littler. I couldn't wait until they slept through the night, were well again, their nightmares would end, etc....

Now that my late night parenting is so rare I treasure it (unless I'm working the next day, and then I treasure Studmuffin getting up with them!)

God & I were discussing this last night, and I have to tell you... I was sad that my baby was hurting, but I was glad that I was blessed with a quiet moment with her. A time when I had nothing to do, and no distractions. No TV, no telephone ringing, no meals to fix...you get the idea. It truly was a blessing.

Studmuffin's aunt was in the area doing some Christmas shopping today. She invited us to dinner, but Popcorn and I stayed home with our cooties, and sent Studmuffin and Bookworm off to enjoy a lovely meal at Red Lobster. Popcorn was bummed (me too, for that matter.)


Please excuse the mess in this picture: We were getting out Christmas decorations. Yes, I'm feeling a little defensive looking at the mess in the background here....but this picture totally captures Popcorns personality....But I've WAY digressed.....

So, we endeavored to have fun. We decided to play babies. It was really fun. It turns out that Popcorn's pretend character teaches 1st grade, and she had been shopping all day (we ran into each other shopping....sad to say, but it took me almost 10 minutes to figure this out.) I invited her over for tea after our long day shopping. I asked her what she'd been shopping for. "Everything. We needed so much stuff, and I hate going to the store all of the time." I had to smother a laugh. That is so what I say. And I hate shopping and crowds.

So, we arrived at "my house." She asked me if I lived in a mansion. "Yes, where do you live?"

Popcorn: I used to live in a mansion, but not anymore.
Me: Where do you live now...a castle?
Popcorn: No, just a half a castle.

What the heck? I decided to let that subject drop because one of her kids started crying. I asked her how many she had. "I don't know. I never bother to count. It's too ignoring."

Me: Annoying, huh? Are you like the woman who lived in the shoe?
Popcorn: Mom, she didn't know what to do, and I know exactly what to do, and I do it all of the time.

Aaah, the exhaustion of pretend mother hood. She is so harried.

We ended up letting the dog in, because she was knocking on the door. (For real. The dog bangs against two large planters, which makes a knocking sound, so we open the door. Hey, it beats her jumping on the door!) Anyway, the dog came in when we were getting all of the babies to bed. They all needed hats to keep their heads warm while they slept (besides the fact that doll jammies always come with hats). We were short 2 hats. Popcorn decided to just press those two dollies heads up against the dogs belly (she was asleep on the floor next to us) to keep their little heads warm. Oh well, sometimes you just have to make do!

Popcorn: So, do you have a dog?
Me: (I realized we were in pretend land again) Yes.
Popcorn: Is it ever ignoring?
Me: Annoying? Yes, sometimes she insists on being under foot when I'm trying to cook.
Popcorn: Yeah, my dog is ignoring sometimes too.

So, here's the question I have for you...How sad is it that every moment of my life is now analyzed in one context...Is it bloggable? I have to say that most of my evening with Popcorn was totally bloggable, but I won't subject you to any more for today. I have to save some for a later date when I'm suffering from blogger's block.