conversations with invisible pigs and sheep

Yesterday would have just been a tough day, but in the midst of Colin’s adventures and the upcoming end of the world as we know it, it was the icing on the cake.

In the midst of Colin’s adventures, I forgot the Dad said the check engine light came on in his car on Monday (or was it Sunday night?). I remembered Tuesday night, and got an appointment for Wednesday afternoon. Which sucks for Dad, because now he has to take the van to work and school, and I know that city parking that beast is no fun task.

Luckily for me (and maybe unluckily for her) Grandmom was going to watch Colin on Wednesday so I could take Jim on his school trip. So she volunteered to watch both guys while I took the car to get checked.

Then we get Colin up Wednesday morning, and low and behold, he pulled the steri-strips off. We’re hoping that all this amateur medical experience will pay off in the future, that’s our silver lining to all this right now. So I get Jim on the bus, get home, and go stalk Walgreens like a WalMart shopping at Christmas (waiting in front of the doors until they opened at 8am). I picked up some butterfly bandages because a doctor’s visit in the cards anymore. At this point, he’s at the early point in the window for having the stitches out anyway.

So I get Colin patched up, print out his schedule for Grandmom, pack up my lunch and camera, and get to school just in time. Jim and I had a great time, and I was surprised at this. We went to the Please Touch Museum, which everyone is raving about since it moved to Fairmont Park and got updated. I don’t know the difference, but it seemed pretty small to me, and had a lot of imaginative play areas, which Jim doesn’t really like. But he surprised me, and tried being a construction worker, where we moved foam blocks around a site, punched a timeclock, etc. But overall, the best place for him was the water works River something. Much like what the Franklin Institute has, but bigger, and more play oriented than the Children’s Garden at Longwood. Jim spent at least half his time there. He also bounced around and played with a couple different friends. I also found out that a number of kids are playing Pokemon with him, and it’s not just in his imagination.

So, after some confusion, I brought Jim home with me after the trip, got him settled in with Grandmom, and headed up to get the car checked out, praying that it wasn’t just going to conk out on me on the side of the highway. We got there, gave them the list of things to check out (slow tire leak and oil change while you’re at it, please, because it’s such a pain to get here). Turns out that while the check engine light wasn’t about the timing belt, we are due to have that changed, and some expensive fuel sensor that caused the check engine light. So, I got a rental and headed back home, because the timing belt was going to take too long to finish that night.

Things didn’t calm down at home, because Colin wouldn’t go to sleep (mommy-itis?) and then Jim woke me up around 3.30 because he had a bad dream. And I’ve been up ever since.

It was hot this weekend. We survived Saturday in the high 80’s without the A/C. It creeped up into the nineties yesterday, and we got through the day. At bedtime for the boys, we decided we could hang in. They went to bed with their doors open, to promote airflow, and we went about our evening.

I came inside and Colin was complaining and calling for me. I went in to see him, and he was pretty warm. I’m not surprised, given that two sides of his cribs are solid, and one is facing the window, his only chance for a breeze. So I decided that the AC would go on, which meant I had to crawl up through the access in Colin’s ceiling to get to the attic and change the filter on the furnace. In the meantime, Colin is still complaining, now because he’s “wet” (he points to his belly). His diaper is dry — he’s complaining of the sweat on his belly, and demands a new onesie (and gets PJs at the same time).

Fast forward to this morning. Jim is up and about, and I go to get Colin. His band-aid is missing. Not a surprise, we’ve been having a problem finding the right size for coverage without covering his eyebrows or eyelids. But a have to do a double-take — HIS STITCHES ARE GONE TOO! The little bugger undid the knots and pulled out the stitches.

On the phone, the doctor didn’t believe me. She said that they hear that, and then find the stitches. But I brought them in (found them in the crib, and Jim found the band-aid on his back) and she told me to keep them for his baby book. He’s got steri-strips now, and they have at least survived his nap this afternoon.

Colin has a new phrase too — “I can’t carry you right now” when he wants to be carried. Wonder how he picked that one up…

Before:

After:

from the video that sits in the camera for months….

I finally got the video edited and up…

Jim reading to Colin. Notice at the end how Colin pitches in, and this makes Jim upset.

All afternoon yesterday I was trying to send email and failing. Over and over, no matter which account I used. But I was getting mail, and the online version worked for the one account that I tried.

Dad could send mail for his computer here, from the same domain as my email…

Then last night I went to bed to enjoy my latest compulsion, Veronica Mars on WB.com. But my wireless signal was just one bar. Turned out that Colin, in one of his “let’s pretend I can use the computer like Mommy does” moments, switched me over to one of the neighbor’s wireless networks.

I’m all proud of myself, I went to the gym yesterday, and worked out for a whole hour. Colin was great again, this time I figured out the TV and was able to watch him. When I picked him up, he was stacking blocks (four high!).

I picked up six gallons of paint and one gallon of primer afterwards, so we’re one step closer to painting this place (we still need trim paint and more primer, but that’s on today’s list).

I’m jonesing to go back to the gym today, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Jim brought home his first “real” math test yesterday, and he got a 100. I say real, because it was on addition. Despite whatever behavior problems he’s having, he is doing real well in school. Who would have thought this time last year that he would be reading and adding. He’s doing some other fun things, like memorizing songs. I was singing the beginning of a Weezer song last night, and he finished the rest of the song, and he’s only heard it about five times.

Not to be outdone, Colin learned his own version of hide and seek from watching Sesame Street yesterday. I got him out of his crib after his nap, and he covered his eyes and “counted” — “one…, eight…, six…” and then uncovered his eyes dramatically.

I still haven’t finished the videos and pictures, but they’ll be worth the wait.

Jim went back to school today, and he had a very good day. I was expecting the worse, but he was great in the morning, we got a good report from his teacher and bus driver, and he has been totally pleasant today. He and Colin are looking forward to tonight, because Uncle Mike is watching them. Dad and I are going to the Phillies game to get pneumonia (it’s cold and rainy today).

I took Colin to the gym this morning, because they have a large babysitting room and it’s cheap. This was one of the selling points of this place (the other being private swimming lessons for Jim). He did really well all on his own. They said they would call me if he cried (which I didn’t really expect would happen). They said he was great when I picked him up. There’s a closed-circuit camera on the room, and you can watch on one of the big TVs, or on some of the machines (but I couldn’t figure out how to get the right channel).

Colin has a new saying, it’s “Hey Mommy” — I’m hearing it about 20 or 30 times a day. He also tried some new food today — the white of a hard-boiled egg.

It’s time to get back to homework, Jim’s “rest period” buzzer just went off.

It’s not surprising that we three (me and the boys) were sick again this spring break. All colds this time. My guess is that Colin picked up something last week at OT, gave it to me with all the close contact we had (lots of cuddling in mom’s lap at church), and gave it to Jim because he’s always drinking Jim’s juice.

Easter was quiet, much unlike last year. The boys and I braved Holy Thursday alone, and in the big church. We got about halfway through before it they both fell to pieces and we had to retreat to the vestibule. This was only Colin’s third time out of the crying room. Friday and Sunday went much better, with Dad to share the load.

We had big plans for the break, and instead spent it sniffling and blowing noses. I made the boys go outside yesterday, to get some sun, but it didn’t last long. I’m hoping I can rest during Colin’s nap and get them to the little park afterwards.

We’ve made some adjustments to the family schedule that have help with the stress levels a bit. Jim won’t be continuing karate after July (we have a year contract with the place), mostly because he’s only halfheartedly participating. With having to drive further (and drive home during rush hour) to get to Jim’s OT, we have had to stop going to karate on Thursdays. Just the not rushing to get out has helped so much.

I’ve been searching and searching for somewhere that will give private swim lessons. The local Y is hurting, I’m sure, it seems that they don’t have enough regular instructors. I finally decided to join a gym that has a pool and provides only private lessons for kids older than 3. The bonus is that the place has long hours and babysitting, so I should be able to go at night or in the morning during the summer (because Dad won’t have school, and I won’t have to worry about getting Jim on the bus). And altogether, it’s about the same cost as karate, so that’s a good deal.

We’re getting closer to starting the painting. I went out and picked four colors to use for the downstairs. We’re going to use three shades of gold for the areas next to “real” colors that will be in the kitchen, family room and dining room. We’re also making the dining room into Dad’s office (with Jim’s computer). I’m going to make his office my office but leave the craft stuff in the spare room.

I’ve been trying to get some computer stuff together; I have pictures and video to put up. They just have to be edited. I spent a bunch of time last night pulling in music and burning old CDs so I could make a workout playlist.

That is Colin’s new phrase. Spoken often, as we’re always moving things out of his reach.

The last two days were mostly miserable, with Colin napping little, and Jim being cranky and not wanting to drink anything. At least he’s taking his medicine. The bribe of a new Pokemon book helped with that. Then, suddenly, around two yesterday, he decided he wanted some crackers and ate nearly half a bag of goldfish grahams. And then he drank about half a bottle of apple juice. He even went to bed with juice and drank most of it before falling asleep. So, he’s back in school today. It should be interesting, April Fools for Mr. Literal. I warned him that people might be playing jokes, and he got upset, but they turned it around on Colin (big surprise!) by telling him that Colin was going to school in his place today. Great, but Colin has to come to the bus stop anyway because Dad is sleeping. Colin handled it well with much reminding from me that he wasn’t getting on the bus. So now it’s Monday all over again, at least it seems like it.