Croupiness!

Welcome to Schorpfest '07, featuring a sick little boy who thinks he is either Puppy Boy or Clifford the Big Red dog, and his mommy, who is just glad that it's Friday night and Daddy is home to rescue her. (Sorry in advance if none of the following is at all funny; I've been at home in bitter cold weather with a sick child since Wednesday afternoon. The walls are closing in and I'm getting punchy.)

It turns out that illness this week was rather well-timed, as friends of my in-laws gave Liam some Clifford books, and he loves them, which is sweet, and I would never discourage a child from reading. But! Liam is now insisting he is a large dog named Clifford, that he has red fur, and that his friends Mac, Cleo, and T-Bone are right beside him. And I just wasn't up to explaining that to his teacher this morning as she would have undoubtedly taken a dim view of the whole situation. But between a croupy cough, fever, and record low wind chills this morning, we had valid reason to skip school and thus the whole media-exposure-of-children discussion. Phew.


Liam insisted I take this picture to document his new friends. Of course you can all see Clifford and his friend The Great Doggler, but what you truly need to admire is the fact that immediately to Clifford's left are Mac, T-Bone, and Cleo, in all their glory. Can you believe we've been blessed by the presence of such canine superstars?

(Also what is hard to believe is that a croupy, feverish kid can look so happy and healthy in a picture. How the heck does that happen? And why can't I look even half that healthy on an average day?)

Anyway.

Before I make this whole deal sound excruciatingly awful, I have to point out that little boys become cuddly when sick. It's really, really sweet to be reminded that even if Liam has been giving a darn good impression of an independent big boy recently, he still needs his Mommy from time to time. So he's been sitting in my lap a lot, and we've been reading books and singing songs. Which is good. And fun. And leads to the following anecdote, with which I finish this post and retire to bed.

Liam (sitting by his toy piano): "Daddy, would you like to join my team?"

Kevin: "Sure. What does this team do?"

Liam: "They write songs. New songs. Like this one - I call it 'Old MacDonald Had An Airport.' Are you ready? Heeeeeeere weeeeeee go!!!"

Liam bangs on the keyboard and sings....

"Old MacDonald had an airport,

E I E I O!

And on that airport he had a helicopter,

E I E I O!

With a chop-chop here,

And a chop-chop there,

Here a chop, there a chop,

Everywhere a chop-chop.

Old Macdonald had an airport,

E I E I O!!!!!"

Night-night, all!

My Son Is Too Smart For My Own Good

I was lying on the couch today trying to nap while Liam was playing. Alas, after two minutes or so I felt someone tapping on my knee.

Liam: "Mommy, I need a tissue. My nose is schnorpy."

Me: "Mmmmmm, I'm asleep. The tissues are over there on the table."

Liam (runs to get a tissue and returns): "Mommy, you aren't asleep."

Me: "Mmmmmm, why would you say that?"

Liam: "Because you can't talk and sleep."

Me: "I'm talking in my sleep. You do it all the time."

Liam: "I'm little, so I can talk in my sleep. You're big, and I declare you aren't allowed to do that. You're pretending to sleep. Open your eyes!!"

Dang, and it seemed like such a useful ruse.

Because Tonight is the State of the Union Address

Still and all though, if he really does call for a 20% reduction in gasoline use, perhaps this means he is in fact aware of the seriousness of global warming?

Rumors of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Sorry I haven't been around this week, guys. Since Liam doesn't nap anymore, I rarely get to blog until the evening hours, and these days I'm a total wreck by about 5:00 PM. I mentioned this exhaustion problem to my midwives, who suggested trying some B-complex and iron supplements. Also, my in-laws were in town this week, so I had somewhat of a respite from chasing a certain wee lad and his pal the Great Doggler about the premises. All in all, I'm feeling better tonight, and whether it's the supplements or the extra downtime I'm not sure, but whatever, I'll take it!

Thanks to all of you who stopped by to say hello this week - welcome to new commenters Squidgyboo, Blogwhore, and Steph - I promise to get around and visit your blogs this weekend.

Thanks also for the questions and ideas for posts. I really was feeling quite brain-dead there for a bit, but now that I've got some prompts, I feel the rumblings of a few functioning neurons. Some of you have asked for my current thoughts about Waldorf education, particularly as regards my kiddo. I still have a couple or three issues about the whole thing, but mostly I'm an ardent fan. Lately I've been trying to sort out in my mind how big these issues really are, and getting nowhere really fast. Kevin was commenting that I ought to commit some of these thoughts to paper in an attempt to sort them out, and I think that's a good idea. The only problem is that that's going to take some time most likely, so my plan is to write in bits and pieces and maybe I'll have something worth publishing in the next week or so.

Suzanne asked who my favorite authors are. That is actually a tough question as I'm a somewhat fickle reader in that I'll read a book and think "Wow, that was great - I really should check out more books by this author." Then another title, usually by some other author, attracts my attention, and I've forgotten the last author.

I think the last time I actually read a group of books by one author was probably elementary school when I was all about the Little House books. Or possibly the Great Brain series. That was a great elementary school read about a Gentile boy growing up in turn-of-the-last-century Utah, kind of Mark Twain on the banks of the Great Salt Lake-ish. My best friend Mary Beth hooked me on those books and I've never forgotten them.

I don't get the time for recreational reading like I used to, and I miss it. Most of my reading time the last couple of years has been tied up on a project that had me reading the majority of the books recommended on this site, plus others of my choosing, plus writing, and exercises. If you clicked on that link or you know me in real life then you know that I'm an ardent breastfeeding supporter. I've been involved with La Leche League since Liam was born, and have been working towards Leader accreditation for the last 18 months or so. After a lot of work and really, really trying to finish before the baby arrives, I finally finished and was accredited last month. I'm excited about being able to lead meetings and assist breastfeeding moms. I'm also excited about being able to read a book as a recreational endeavor, and if I manage to find a new favorite auther, Suzanne, I'll keep you posted!

Speaking of finished projects...lookee!



I finished the baby hat. The doll's head here is a bit small for the hat, so it's hard to get a good shot of it; I'll show it on a real baby in about, oh, 8 weeks or so...At any rate, this pattern is really easy, and I just made up the hat out of some leftover cotton worsted from a sweater I knitted a few years back. I'm inspired to try another hat if I can find the rest of my scrap yarn that I'm pretty sure we brought when we moved.

And on to unfinished projects...



This worn-out, exhausted face of innocence is brought to you by the makers of Miracle-Gro Potting Soil and a houseplant that I carelessly left within ferret range. Ferrets just love to take apart houseplants and tunnel through all that lovely, black soil. Much fun was had by the Plant Bandit and pals, and now that they've all fallen asleep for the night, I need to go clean up the mess without four-legged assistance. A mother's work is never done....

Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are

Hey, y'all, I'm short on that stuff called, um, content. I find myself in this situation because I'm pregnant and hormonal exhausted and cranky. I could go on about that situation or the fun of keeping up with Charley the Camel Charley the Train Mr. Lands' End while in such a state, but really, that's kind of boring.

Fortunately a kind soul has reminded me that it is National Delurking Week, and look, I found a cute purple dragon button to go along with the theme. I know y'all will find the dragon so irresistably cute that you will leave me a comment and/or introduce yourselves. And maybe while you're typing you could help me out and ask a question or suggest a topic or something, anything, to get my brain turned on again?

Please?

Lookee! Lookee!

It's snowing!

And Amy is laughing at me...

Daddy Knows Best

I asked Liam several times this morning if he wanted to change clothes. The answer was, "NO!!! I want to stay in my jim-jams!!! I neeeeeeed my jim-jams!" Every single time.

Come noontime, he decided he wanted to go outside.

Me: "Well, sure, but we have to change your clothes. You can't play outside in your jim-jams."

Liam: "Well, we should put on my doggie shirt. Daddy says I can't stay in my jim-jams all morning, you remember?"

No, I didn't remember, but you can bet I will from now on!

Oh, I Wish Again, I Was in Michigan Again...

I'm really wishing I was back in a state with snow this winter...

True Michigander You scored 89

A true Michigander! Great job!

Link: The Michigan Test

Truly Bizarro!

No, this is not our back yard today. This is a picture of our backyard at this point last year. This year we are being forsaken by King Winter, apparently.

At 8:15 this morning it was 60^o outside. Today is the 5th of January. We are supposed to have spring-like thunderstorms today, followed by 72^otemperatures tomorrow. Very strange.

I so hope we don't get our comeuppance for this weather with three consecutive blizzards in March...

Move On, Folks, There's Nothing to Read Here

We all know that if you want intellectual content then this blog is not the place to be. If you want cute kid/ferret/dog photos and anecdotes, well, those I've got. I actually did have a couple of blogging ideas today that didn't center around kids or animals, but I can't remember what the heck they were right now. So, no worries for those of you who hang out here looking for ferret/kid stuff (Hi, Gran-Gran). I promise some cuteness, and absolutely no mind-challenging content tonight.

********


This is Miss Penny after I woke her up today. It always amazes me how the ferrets can change color from season to season. Look at her face in a picture from this summer, and compare that to today's shot. She's completely lost her mask, her face is almost solid black, but yet her flanks have gone from black to a charcoal color. Ain't she cute?

********
I committed an unspeakable crime at dinnertime tonight. I put peas on Liam's plate. The screams were surely audible in Manhattan - "But I don't like peas!!!" Kevin reminded Liam he did in fact like peas...

..."Oh, yeah, they're one of my favorites!" answered a happy little boy.

********
It seems some folks may be worried about the state of my respiratory tract given my last post (Hiya again, Gran-Gran!) It seems a week of lots of rest and hot tea have chased the bugs away, no antibiotics needed. Thank goodness!

********
I started knitting this hat for the baby. It's made in worsted weight yarn, so it should knit up quickly. I love knitting, but I don't have a lot of time these days, and I'm hoping I can get this finished in short order. If I do, I'll be sure to post some pictures.

********
See? Nothing here to read at all. I'll be back when something post-worthy comes to mind. Or when I get more cute ferret pictures. Or something.