Shhh....

Great Weather Equals Indoor Work

I don't know why it works like this for me but every time I have something I must accomplish indoors and actually do well at accomplishing a lot indoors, it is a gorgeous, must-be-outside day. Today I had to commit to staying home because our new couches were scheduled to arrive. This is the first time we have made a major furniture purchase. The only other major furniture purchase we've made was 9 years ago when we bought our queen bed mattresses. So, getting brand new couches was a big deal. We were excited.

So, today started with the delivery company calling at 8am to give me the delivery window. It turned out that they wanted to delivery between 9am and noon. Aaack! That was in an hour. I jumped off the couch, got dressed, and got started on cleaning up. I wanted needed to clean up the living room before they got here. I also wanted to move the old couches and vacuum under them very well before they got here with the new ones.

So, here's what I accomplished this morning...

I took the feet off the old couches and moved them outside. I had help with the love seat (a friend stopped by unexpectedly and I put him to work). The sofa I moved myself. Then I had the kids clean up all the stuff we found under the sofa. They also helped me clean up the mess we found in and around the corner table. Then I rolled up the throw rug and vacuumed really well, including using the attachment to clean along the wall where the animal fur likes to collect - Yuck! While I was in a roll, I got out the windex (I use it for E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G) and cleaned the baseboards. With my friend's help, I removed the old weatherstipping from the door frame because it was coming apart, leaving sharp points sticking out and I didn't want it to rip my new couches. It was also a safety hazard. While I had the door open, I swept the front porch.

Then the couches were delivered. After getting them in place, I put the tables back in place (we have a corner table, coffee table, and sofa table), and the rug back in place. I vacuumed the throw rug really well too. Then I got out the furniture oil and made them look all nice again. After that, I went through Josh's toy basket. I tossed a few items, boxed up a few baby toys, and had Sammy put away a few other things that made it into the basket. I washed the crystal fruit bowl that I keep on the sofa table between the living and dining rooms. I replaced one of the picture frames and left the others off it because they've been knocked off the table too many times and need new glass now. I also cleaned the window trim and the picture frame. I switched out the two plants. I took one from my bedroom and put it on the corner table instead because it has a really nice pot. The one that was on the corner table got put in the hanger instead.

I love my new, clean living room! And the new couches, of course. Here's what my living room looks like right now. When it gets messy again, I'll just come here and stare at the photo and sigh. : )

I'm thinking we may have to eat a late lunch and then spend a little time outside in our oh-so-rare sunshine. Except I kind of want to stay inside and enjoy my clean living room and maybe get some of the other rooms clean too. Experience tells me that if I stay inside today with the intention to being outside tomorrow, tomorrow will be rainy and yucky outside.

What a Privilege

So, there we were sitting on the couch together watching TV. The show ends and it is time to go to bed. Mika announces that she wants to sleep with me. I tell her, "Sorry, Daddy's sleeping with me." Scott walks into the room and I tell him that Mika wants to sleep with me. So, she looks up at him and tries to convince him to give her his spot in the bed. What wonderful incentive does she give him?

That he could sleep on our old, ripped, yucky, uncomfortable couch one last time before our new one arrive tomorrow.

What a privilege!

And he's such a great daddy that he agrees to sleep on the couch. Sammy sees sleeping on the couch a privilege. He'll be using the loveseat to "camp out" with daddy tonight.

Hungry?

What happens when you take a small-for-his-age 6 year old little boy and give him this kind of day:

9am-10am -- Take him to Home Depot to make a planter box and buy potting soil and flowers for the box.

10:00am-10:45am -- Travel home, change clothes, and eat lunch.

11:00am-12:00pm -- Take regular taekwondo class.

12:00pm-2:00pm -- Sparring (taekwondo) class which includes 45 minutes of intense aerobic workout followed by sparring with various partners. Today was his first sparring class.

2:00pm-2:30pm -- Leave class and travel home.

2:30pm-4:00pm -- Play games on the computer.

4:00pm-5:30pm -- Take dog to the dog park with daddy.

Well, what happens? Do you know?

He eats 4 large slices of pizza for dinner, of course! He was hungry!

Why He's the Hugest

When I see an average-size newborn, I think she can't possibly be full term. At 7 pounds, a baby just looks tiny to me. And any older baby who started at a 7 pounder looks tiny to me. Why is that? Because all mine were huge at birth and two continued to stay quite large for the first year.

Mika was born at 8lbs 10oz and stayed in the 95th percentile for the first year of life. She quickly slowed down and slimmed down after that. She's remained slim, making it hard to find pants for her. Currently (age 8), she should wear a 7 for length but 7 slims are so big on her they fall off so she wears highwaters instead.

Sammy was born at 9lbs 2oz but grew at a much slower rate so he quickly slimmed down. He became a small toddler and preschooler. Most of this was due to undiagnosed lactose intolerance. Once we discovered the problem, he began to slowly gain weight and is now a smallish 6 year old and a size 5 fits him loosely.

Josh beats them all for size. He entered this world at 9lbs 4oz and has gained weight steadily. He remains in the 95th percentile with a head circumference slightly above the 100th percentile. At 13 months old, he is wears size 2T. His pants are starting to get too snug in the waist but are still on the long side. So, how does he manage to stay so big when he's so active climbing everything? He eats, of course. Here's a typical day (up until 1:30pm is today's actual schedule):

6am - wake up mom, nurse me

7am - wake up mom, if you don't I'll sit on your head, oh and change my wet diaper since it is filled to capacity and may leak very soon if you don't.

8am - I'm hungry. (eats 1/3 cup dry Cheerios)

8:30am - change my poopy diaper, nurse me

9am - I'm hungry (eats 1/4 - 1/3 cup cereal in milk)

9:30am - change my poopy diaper, I'm tired, nurse me (he really nurses, gulping down milk not just pacifying)

11:00am - nurse me

12:00pm - I'm hungry (eats a graham cracker)

1:00pm - I'm hungry (eats 1/4 cup roasted chicken with 1/4 cup mashed potatoes)

3:00pm - I'm tired, nurse me (another real nursing complete with lots of gulping of milk)

5:00pm - I'm hungry (how about another graham cracker since mommy has nothing else to offer you)

6:30pm - I'm hungry (eats dinner with us...maybe 1/2 cup or more worth of food)

7:00pm - Oooh, are you eating dessert, give me some, then nurse me

8:30pm - I'm tired, change diaper, nurse me

I'm not sure how many more diapers I'll change between now (2pm) and when he falls asleep for the night (around 8:30pm).

So far today (2pm), he's also drank 11 oz of water.

Is it just me, or does this seem like a lot of eating and drinking going on for a 13 month old?

Telling Kids to Pick Up

I have been blessed with a toddler who touches everything in some way. He pushes buttons, removes DVD's from shelves, and explores just about anything (and I mean ANYTHING) he can get his little hands on. Because of this, he is often inspecting, carrying around, and playing with the older kids' stuff. You all know how much we have to tell kids to put their stuff away. I have a new way of doing it that may actually sink in.

For example:
Mika left her expensive, but much enjoyed, Barbie Girl MP3 player on the coffee table. Josh, of course, spotted it and decided to pick it up, shake it, and carry it around. I called to Mika, who was upstairs, "Did you really mean to leave your MP3 player for Josh to play with?" She promptly, without any whining at all, came downstairs to get it and put it away. ~smile

What's Next?

It seems as if weekly Josh is giving me even more cause for concern for our future as his parents. If you'll recall, he's only just turned 13 months old but already he:

-- Began walking steadily at 10 months of age and now almost runs

-- Communicates his basic wants and needs clearly (nonverbally)

-- Climbs a variety of objects including the huge rock at Woodland Park Zoo

-- Climbing the back of sofa so he can turn the lights on and off

-- Climbing the back of the sofa so he can try to unlock and open the front door

-- Can climb the stairs, both up and down, without assistance

-- Uses the dog as a step stool to our taller couch

-- Understands that GameCube controllers don't work if not plugged in

-- Eats just about everything and anything

-- Dunks his cookie in milk (after all, he did see me do it...once)

-- Presses just about every button he sees and figured out how to open the DVD players (both the tv one and the laptop one)

-- Climbs down off our bed

So, we have a few new tricks he's added to his reportoire lately. They include...

-- Carrying the step stool around the house and using it to try to reach things

-- Bringing us a diaper after he's had a bowel movement

-- Requesting tylinol (nonverbally, of course) for his aching teeth

-- Clapping at appropriate moments during a play (live theater)

-- Getting kleenix and wiping his own nose

-- Bringing us his coat when he wants to wear it

-- Colors with crayons, pencils, and pens on paper (and my coffee table)

If he's like this now, what can we expect when he is two and three years old?

He's da Man!

We went to a free children's concert up in Seattle today. It turned out to be "underwhelming and unimpressive" to use my husband's words. On the drive home, I was having trouble keeping awake. When we arrived home, Josh was asleep so I headed upstairs with him to get him back to sleep and promptly passed out with him.

Well, while I snoozed (during a time I should have been cleaning up, washing dishes, and cooking dinner) my husband took care of things. He bought and replaced my right blinker for me (it was out) and he headed to the store for diapers (we were down to 3) and frozen lasagna (yum) for dinner.

It's he just wonderful?

A Morning in the Life of...

Just a few happenings in our house this morning (before 9am):

Yesterday, we woke up to a sunny, spring day. By evening it was cloudy, cold, and snowing. Huh? This morning we woke up to snow on the ground. Huh? It's spring! We barely get any snow during the winter much less during the spring. This doesn't look like global warming to me, more like global cooling. The kids got dressed early and headed out to play in the snow before it melted entirely. Strange, strange weather.

I caught the two boys sitting together on the couch. This is a very rare occasion because Josh is usually bullying his older brother. So, I handed the camera to Mika and asked her to snap a photo. It's it cute how they both happen to be holding their chins the same way?

After he tired of hanging out with Sammy, Josh resumed his favorite activity...trying to break his neck. The kid is only 13 months old (tomorrow) but he thinks he is 2 already. One of his new favorite activities is to climb onto the couch (something he's known how to do for a while now) and then climb up the corner where the arm and back meet so he can reach the light switch, doorknob, and deadbolt key.

On a similar topic, we've quit gating the stairs. He climbs them so well, we aren't even worried about him falling any more. He gets to the top and then complains until we come get him down. He does know how to climb down the stairs as well...he just doesn't want to.

And the paw print on the couch? That was put there years ago. All I'll say is DON'T leave latex wall paint uncovered when you own kittens and you need to nurse your child down for a nap in another room.

She did it!

I kind of got fed up with Mika's fear of water touching her face Tuesday and that started a change reaction of things that got her over the hump with her fear. After her teacher commenting, yet again, about getting her goggles I finally took her to Target to buy some. I explained to Mika that I didn't want to buy her goggles because I didn't think she would use them. I expected her to hate how they feel on her face and not want to wear them. I also suspected that she would still refuse to put her face in the water even with the goggles protecting her eyes. She promised me that she would use them so I spent the money on bought them.

The very next class, she refused to put her face in the water, to even see if the goggles would work. Well, I was NOT happy about that. So, I threatened to pull her out of class if she wasn't going to learn and to make her work off the cost of the goggles. She was NOT happy about that. Scott talked to her and she promised him she would do a bob to her eyebrows. Today was the day she had to do that.

This morning before leaving for class, I looked up and called another pool that does swimming instruction and talked to them about how they would handle her fear. They work with the kids to get them through the fears quickly. They said they'd have her swimming, face in water, within a month at the longest. I explained to Mika what they told me about how they do it and she wasn't thrilled about that.

So, we went to the Y. She did her required 1 bob. After class, they have free swim. During free swim I told her I would pay her a quarter for every bob she did. Guess what? She did 7 more bobs, some of them were very good with her entire head under water. She now knows that she can do it and is looking forward to showing her teacher (she was absent today) next week.

Her teacher and a couple of the lifeguards and I all agree, she would be able to actually swim if she'd just get over the whole face in the water thing. She's got the kick and arm strokes down good. We explained that to her; that she CAN swim IF she wanted to. Hopefully, she'll move along and progress quickly now that she knows she can get her face wet.

On a side note, Sammy found out today he can swim underwater. He doesn't get far or go fast but he does swim. Oh, and he loves putting his face underwater with his goggles.

Josh's New Shoes

Look who's wearing shoes! I thought I would post a follow up to yesterday's Works For Me Wednesday -Backwards Edition post. I followed a couple of your suggestions and look what happened. Whoo hoo!

I moved on the ideas I got faster than expected because we were outside playing today and I found small pieces of broken glass spread over a 25 foot length of our sidewalk. Who's knows how many pieces are in the grass. After sweeping up what I could find, I decided to try Target again. They were actually well stocked and we had 4 choices of designs in his size for the Robeez knockoffs. We chose a brown shoe with a giraffe.

Here's how it went down. First I tried on a pair of 18-24 months. It was quite an ordeal as he began screaming the second I started putting the first one on him. It's hard to get shoes, of any kind, on a violently kicking foot! They were obviously too big and would trip him up. I was shocked because his 18-24 month sized socks are too small for him and slip down his feet. So, I got a pair of 12-18 month size and tried them on him. Once again, the screaming, shaking, fit began the second I started trying them on him. But I persisted and got them on him. We were sitting on the floor, in the middle of the aisle. I just held him and told him it would be ok as he screamed, then cried, then sobbed, then whined. It took about 10 minutes for the hysterics to calm down but I just held him. Finally, he looked as if he'd survived the ordeal. An employee walked by and helped me cut the plastic thingy holding the two shoes together and we tossed the bag they came in into the cart. I had to carry him for several more minutes while we walked around the store. When we got the swim/pool area, I put him down on the ground because I had to help my other children with trying on swim goggles. Several times he noticed he was wearing shoes and would starting crying/whining again. Then he stood up and started walking. He whines a few more times but has been ok since then.

I wonder what will happen when I try to put them on him tomorrow. Will he scream or whine or will he be ok? We'll see tomorrow.

Oh, and if looks out of it, he is. He was up a lot last night with a really stuffed up nose and wasn't his normal self today.

Kennel Up Josh!

Ok, this was humorous. This evening we were eating dinner at the "little table," otherwise known as the coffee table. The dogs were doing their usual thing; crowding under the table hoping for someone to drop a morsel of food. They were in the way and quite annoying, as usual. So I ordered them out and told them to kennel. What do you think happened?

Zach, our older dog, immediately headed for the kennel and laid down. Sybil started for the kennel but turned back hoping we'd forget we sent her away. And Josh, my darling 1 year old baby, turned and headed for the kennel. By the time we got Sybil to go to the kennel is was a bit too crowded with Zach and Josh hanging out together.

I've never taught Josh to kennel up! Honest!

Happy Birthday Josh!

My baby turned one today! It's been a full year, that's for sure. Here's a recap:

1. Josh was born 2 weeks late. No matter what we did, he wouldn't come out.
2. He was a big boy, weighing at 9lb 4oz.
3. He's still a big boy; he weighs about 24-25 pounds and wears between 18-24 months clothing.
4. Two weeks later, he developed his first fever leading us to the ER.
5. We didn't come home for 8 days.
6. He had a kidney infection.
7. And RSV.
8. It was heartbreaking watching him lay there on oxygen, struggling to breathe, and unable to eat.
9. But he got better and regained the pound he had lost
10. He began sitting unsupported at 4 months.
11. One day when he was 4 months old, he insisted on drinking from my water bottle.
12. He's loved water ever since, especially if it is in a water bottle or grown up glass.
13. He began eating at 4 months old.
14. He began eating table food around the same time; he'd get furious with us if we withheld our food from him.
15. He has always had a special fondness for his big sister.
16. He loves to terrorize his big brother.
17. He began crawling around 6 months old.
18. But he never crawled normally; he crawls on one knee and one foot.
19. His favorite activity is removing every DVD, VHS tape, and GameCube game off the shelf.
20. He began walking at 10 months old.
21. Now he walks like it is nothing.
22. His ability to communicate nonverbally is amazing; we almost always know what he wants.
23. He giggles when you verify what he wants by asking him and you've gotten it right; it is his way of saying, "Yes."
24. He has the greatest smile.
25. He loves the GameCube and can't be fooled if you give him a controller that isn't plugged in; he'll try to plug it in.
26. He loves the cats; the cats don't love him.
27. The dogs love him because he'll give them any snack that he doesn't want.
28. He walked 2 laps on the the indoor track at the YMCA 2 days ago.
29. He also climbs...the dog, people, the couch.
30. He can climb to the top of our stairs before we know he is missing.
31. Then he stands at the top making a sound that seems to mean, "Mom, I'm ready to come down now. Please come get me."
32. He also knows how to get off our bed without getting hurt.
33. He refuses to wear shoes; he cries loudly and shakes his feet violently trying to remove them. He seems unable to stand or walk while wearing shoes.
34. He figured out that he can stand in the grocery cart seat today.
35. And wouldn't sit no matter what I did so I had to carry him.
36. He's my favorite child.
37. Actually, they are all my favorite child.

Happy Birthday Josh!

More babies? Two?

I just got an email from my husband (he's at Awana with the kids) telling me that my son wants me to have twins so we can have a boy and a girl. Crazy kid!

And I thought the excitement of having a baby in the house would lose steam when they saw how much of my attention they'd lose to the baby. Guess it didn't phase them much since both kids are begging for the next one as if I'm a vending machine.

Spring is Almost Here

I can feel that spring is nearly here. We've had several days of sunny weather and slightly warmer temperatures. The days are starting to get noticably longer. My body is starting to morph into its summer self; I'm feeling better and happier.

I'm one of those people who suffer with Seasonal Affective Disorder, or at least I think I am. Ever since I moved to the Pacific Northwest, I've struggled with the winter. The very long spell of rainy, gray days where the sun rarely, if ever, peeks out can really take a toll on your energy levels and emotional health. I've been here for 15 years and have learned to live with it. Still, it is difficult to lead two separate, seasonal lives.

I have the winter self. This part of me lives during the long, gray season of late fall, winter, and early spring. While I no longer struggle with depression during the winters, my energy levels run very low. I feel like I've gone into hibernation.

I also have a summer self. Each year, I look forward to the re-emergence of this part of me. I feel great! I have boundless energy, limitless enthusiasm, and I feel good through and through. With high energy levels, my body feels ready to conquer anything. Mentally I feel on top of the world. In general, I just want to run out into the streets and shout out, "Welcome summer sun! I'm so glad you are here! Let's play!" It's like an annual rebirth and I feel like my re-entry into the world is just around the corner.

I love summer.

13 Cute Things About Josh

I totally forgot it was Thursday so I'm doing an easy one... 13 cute things about my youngest...11 month old Joshua.




1. Whenever you figure out what he wants, Joshua lets out the cutest little giggle. Here's a common example. After running around and playing, he'll come over to where I'm sitting on the couch and start whining. When I finally pay attention to him and ask him, "Do you want to nurse," he giggles. That's his version of "heck yeah!"

2. Joshua gives tons and tons of kisses. He understands the words, "Give mama a kiss," and has for quite a while. I know he does because he'll suddenly lunge forward and plant his lips on me. I had to teach him to be gentle with his kisses after I got a few fat lips from him.

3. Joshua tries to make kissy noises when he kisses you too. He doesn't quite get it right which makes it much cuter.

4. Joshua likes to give raspberries in the middle of a series of kisses. It goes like this: kiss, kiss, kiss, raspberry, kiss, raspberry, raspberry, kiss, kiss, kiss... They are quite slobbery too.

5. Everytime I change Josh's diaper, I lay him down on the changing table and hand him the new diaper. Without fail, he'll give me a sly, little grin and toss it over the edge.

6. Josh is growing into an animal lover like his sister. He just adores the cats way more than they adore him. (Isn't that always the case with babies and cats?) He does pet them very gently. He also allows the dogs to give him kisses...on the lips...yuck!

7. When Josh is very tired, sometimes he'll do the funniest thing. He crawls over to the bottom of the stairs and drapes himself on the bottom couple of stairs (pointing up) and whines, "Nigh-nigh-nigh-nigh." It's pretty obvious what he wants.

8. He has the cutest smile. See photo above. Don't you agree? The cool thing about being his mother is that I get to see that smile all the time because he is almost always happy.

9. He copies everything we do. You know how they say our babies watch and learn from us. Well, it is true. See this post about him dunking his cookie into my milk. He's only 11 months old!


10. He loves music. From a very early age (not that he isn't still young), he bops to the beat. Just this morning I caught him listening to this musical fish toy that he has.

First he pushed the button to start the music.

Then he put the fish to his ear to listen. He repeated this sequence over and over and over.

11. He thinks daddy is a bottle of lotion. Not really but every time I walk into Scott's office holding Josh he points to some stickers on a shelf where a bottle of lotion resides. For the longest time, we thought he was pointing to the lotion. Now we know he wants to point to Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, Eeyore, the butterfly, the cheetah, and the puppies over and over and over again. (The kids put the stickers there with Daddy's permission.)

12. He loves his big sister and big brother. He sometimes even reaches for Mika to hold him when I'm holding him. Can you believe that? There are times when he wants his sister more than his mother! He likes to beat up, torture, and terrorize his big brother who doesn't know what to do about it.

13. He's a pretty good listener. When he picks up something he's not suppose to have and I see it, I can tell him to "give it to Mommy," and he will. If he walks away from me towards a place he's not suppose to (like walking towards the pool at Mika's and Sammy's swim class today), I can call him back and he'll turn around and come back. Yes, I know I should cherish this because it will change soon.

As an added bonus, I'll list a few not-so-cute things about Josh.

1. He screeches when he's happy. It's ear-piecing.

2. He screeches when he's unhappy. Like when he doesn't want you to take something away from him. I have better luck asking him for it back than taking it.

3. He removes most of the DVD's and VHS tapes from the shelf multiple times a day. He's learning to take the DVDs and tapes out of the containers now

4. He tries to steal the dogs' food when they are eating. They don't like that about him. They have no problems stealing sharing his food.

5. He bites when he nurses.

6. He puts his foot in my face when he nurses.

7. Sometimes he pinches my arm when he nurses.

8. He loves water. He plays in the dogs' water bowl at least once a day making a mess on the floor and drenching his clothes.

9. He loves water. He has figured out how to get the water out of his sippy cup and likes to make puddles on the coffee table to play with. If he's too lazy to stand at the coffee table, he'll dump it all over himself or the carpet.

10. He thinks everything in the house belongs to him, including photo frames, glasses, remote controls, video game controllers, your food, your drink. You get the picture?

11. He likes removing tissue from the bathroom trash can and adding it to my bath or shower.

12. He thinks the toilet lid is something he is suppose to slam back and forth between the back of the toilet and my back when I'm using the toilet.

13. He can walk. That means he can reach a lot more stuff faster than before which keeps us on our toes. See #10.

It's NOT Chicken!

If you missed it, look at the title of this post. That is a common phrase in my house.

Anytime I cook something other than beef (which is most of the time), my daughter makes a comment about the "chicken." It might be a positive comment like, "I like this chicken!" It might be negative such as, "Do I have to eat the chicken?" Or it could be something neutral like, "Is there more chicken?" It doesn't matter that we are eating turkey or even pork. It's all chicken to her.

What's worse is that we often have to correct her mulitply times, reminding her that not everything we eat is chicken.

Just Like Mom

My Josh...he can't stand not being able to do everything we can do. So what does he do? He tries anyway. He saw me eating my favorite dessert...cookies and milk. He saw me dunk my cookies in the milk and what does he do? He just has to dunk his too.

And before you freak out that I'm feeding my 11 month old cookies and milk just know that he started grabbing our food off our plates at 4 months old, started insisting that he drink from our water bottles at the same time, and now eats everything, literally, that we do. He had his first bite of steak tonight, chewed, swallowed, and bugged me for more. He fed himself baked potato with a spoon (getting most of it in his mouth no less) tonight also. Visit my husband's blog to see photos of him using a spoon for the first time.

Kids Say the Strangest Things

Last month, we took our children to see The Sound of Music at a local playhouse. My daughter LOVED it. Despite it being 3 hours long and not ending until 11pm, she was wide awake and enthralled. When I told her that there was a movie as well, she asked to see it. I bought it for her because I've been wanting a copy of it for a long time anyway. She watched it right away. Again, she sat through the whole thing. I figured she'd probably lose interest in it soon enough. I was wrong.

My 8 year old daughter is watching The Sound of Music as I type. I told her I was surprised she was watching it. She said, "Well, I did say if I don't watch it right now I'm going to blow up!" How's that for drama queen?

Yes I'm Awake

Yes, it is 1:00 in the morning. Yes, I'm awake. Yes, I'm tired. Yes, I want to be asleep.

But it seems that Sammy isn't fairing as well with this cold as Josh is. You see, Josh got sick with a runny nose and cough a few days ago. The cough lasted about a day and a half and never got worse than a minor irritation. His nose is still a little runny with occasional, "Oh my! Get tissue quick!" moments. Sammy, on the other hand, is coughing and coughing and coughing. It's keeping him and me awake. So, I got up and asked him if he wanted cough medicine. He did. Then I found out that I do not have any children's cough medicine. Oh well. Gave him a little less than 1/2 a dose of Nyquil cough. That should do it. I'm sure he'll be out soon.

He missed swimming and gymnastics today. He skipped swimming because I didn't think the water would be a good idea. He skipped gymnastics because I didn't want him running around with a cough. You know how running always sends you into fits when you have a cough. I hope he'll be better by tomorrow evening so he can do his favorite...taekwondo.