The weekend of the big 0-4

The last several days have been quite busy.  Drake turned 4 on Friday, complete with his yearly check up.  He reached a crucial milestone in his manhood: he had to pee in a cup.  He didn't just pee; he filled the damn thing.  And he was really excited to do it.  The other people in the waiting room could hear him shout, "Mommy!  Have they checked the pee yet?!"  I'm such a proud momma.  Flynn was very clingy in the exam room.  I had to remind him repeatedly that we were there for Drake and nothing would be done to him.  He was still skeptical, even after we left the office.  We joined Mom for lunch at McDonald's, baked cookies in the afternoon, and picked up Daddy at the bus station before going to Wendy's for dinner.  The day ended by watching the truck race.

Saturday was another big day: our Ikea shipment arrived.  One new couch, and two new beds with bookcase headboards. Assembling Ikea furniture with two small children in the house is a whole new set of challenges.  Taking out the old furniture freaked out the boys more.  Why is the chair leaving the room?  Why are you taking apart the crib?  Flynn didn't like being locked out of room, but, he steals important hardware and tries to use the power screwdriver on people.  Drake was quite helpful to Tim while putting all the piece together.  (Anybody need some cardboard?)  Flynn slept for the first time in his new bed.  He got used to it after a while.  Hopefully tonight will be better. 

Today, the Daytona 500 was on.  I had planned to take notes of the funny things Drake said during the race, like I did for the Super Bowl.  I didn't for two reasons.  1.  Racing isn't new to him, so his observations aren't as unusual.  He knows when a tire goes down and when an engine blows.  He listens for his driver's name.  He did lose his ever-lovin' mind when the commercial for the new Cars movie came on.   2.  I didn't get to sit and watch most of the race.  I was getting everything ready for family to come over, including getting more stupid frosting.   (BTW, congrats to Trevor Bayne for winning the race.  He turned 20 yesterday, and it was his 2nd cup start.)

If there is ever a time in my future when I question my abilities and dedication as a mother, I need to remember this:

Yes, I did that.  That's what he wanted: a pink guitar cake.

Now, Flynn and I are sitting on the couch watching DVD monkey (Curious George episodes).  All the family members are gone.  Drake went to the Grandparents' for his first overnighter.  Tim went to get in some poker time.  It's fairly early, and Flynn's eyes are starting to get heavy.  (No nap today-- new bed and too much excitement.)  Looks like an early bedtime for him.  As for me, looks like a good night to snuggle in on the new couch and watch Sixteen Candles while wearing my jammies and drinking an amaretto sour.  And there is still one more day to this weekend...

Side effect

There is an unforeseen side effect of having a smartphone. I am even more obsessed with Facebook, almost to the level of being stalkerish. I am constantly checking fb. And since it is easier to check than on the laptop... Well, you get the idea.

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A true test of my mothering resolve

Today, Drake and I had a conversation about his upcoming birthday.  On Friday, he turns the big 0-4.  On Sunday afternoon, my family is coming over to celebrate.  (My niece is competing in State for wrestling on Friday and Saturday.)  I asked Drake what type of dessert he wanted and gave him some choices.  He said, "Cake!" which is really unusual since he is not a fan of cake.  Okey dokey.  I asked him if he would like the cake to be in a special shape.  "Ummm... a triangle!"  I don't think they make triangle shaped cake pans, but what do I know.  Off to Joann's we went.

The answer is no, no triangle shaped cake pans (at least, not at Joann's).  I took the boys to the cake decorating aisle.  I let Drake pick out a shaped pan.  He picked a guitar.  He even passed up the Lightning McQueen pan (which I am secretly happy about-- so much work involved).  OK, one guitar cake.  He's never played one, never really shown any interest. 

"Drake, what color would you like your cake to be?  They have red, blue, purple, green, pink, brown..."
"Pink!"
"Pink?"
"Yes, Mommy, pink."
"Are you sure you want pink?"
"Yes."
*sigh* "Pink it is."

As a girl, I am not a fan of pink.  I rarely wear it, and when I do, it is usually in the context of breast cancer awareness.  But now, my son is asking for something pink.  Before I was a parent, I swore I wouldn't impose gender roles on my children.  *snort*  Have you seen this house?  Cars and trains and frogs and dragons and monster trucks.  They do have a play house and aprons and lots of crafty supplies, but mostly boy stuff.  If Drake was a girl asking for a blue dump truck shaped cake, I wouldn't bat an eyelash.  I guess there will be plenty of time later in life for Drake to be aware of what is standard for male and females.  I should just honor his wishes and make the damn cake pink. 

I did buy some green icing, just in case he changes his mind.  He is, after all, going to be 4.  He's been known to change his mind within 30 seconds.

Post-surgery update: the Flynn edition

Yesterday morning, I had the unique pleasure of waking my youngest extra early to take him to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital for surgery to unclog his clogged tear duct.  Fun!  Not a word was spoken on the car ride over.  He perked up once we arrived, returning to his normal state of "What's that?" every five seconds.  There was quite of bit of waiting around.  We had to wait to be checked in.  Flynn didn't mind; he was running around exploring and saying hi to everyone he encountered.  He only asked for food three times.  (That was my biggest concern about the day.  Both of my children are extreme cranks without food, and F wasn't allowed to eat after midnight.)  We were finally checked in and shown to our room, where I was given the scrubs to dress the boy. 

Hospital gowns don't fit so well when one is tiny.

I have to say this about Mary Bridge.  What an awesome facility!  Yes, we had to wait a bunch, but you know what, Flynn didn't notice.  He had a play kitchen, dump trucks, books, and other kids to play with.  He favorite activity was to go up and down the hall in a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe saying, "Race!  Race!"  He did notice that one by one, his new little friends were going away.  [BTW, the kids go in order of age, not scheduling time.  Twelve kids were there yesterday.  Flynn was one of the oldest.  I was under the impression that the child had to be two before having this done.  I guess the not-my-doctor felt differently.]

See, there were pants under those gowns.

Then his little friends started returning, but now they were crying. Flynn was growing quite concerned. (Those kids were happy a little while ago...)  Then it was time to get Flynn's vitals and give him some pre-surgery pain meds.  You would have thought he was being strangled while watching his teddy bear be set on fire*.  He eventually calms down, then we are ushered back to the surgery area.  In a tiny room, we meet with the doctor, the anaesthesiologist, and the attending nurse.  Then, the nurse takes Flynn.  I am not allowed in the operating room or the recovery room.  Flynn was heartbroken, armed outstretched, crying, trying to escape from the evil nurse who had carried him off.  The look on his face just about broke my heart.

I was told by some nurse early on that there wouldn't be time for me to run down and grab some food while Flynn was in surgery.  She wasn't kidding.  After Flynn was taken away, I sat down, posted to Facebook, read a couple of e-mails, and then the doctor returns to tell me Flynn was in the recovery room.  He told me there was more blood than usual, but that happens.  (I am grateful that he didn't say "it's not uncommon".  I despise that phrase.)  Ten minutes later, a very sad and blood-smeared faced Flynn is wheeled out.  Poor kid.  Not a word was spoken on the ride home.

After an hour of Animaniacs, the boys finally decided he was hungry.  He should have been; it had been 16 hours since he last ate.  We had post-lunch railroad construction time.  He turned very cranky very quickly.  Nap time!  He slept for four hours, not fully restful the entire time, but four hours nonetheless.  He was incredibly clingy when he woke.  We snuggled on the couch and watched some vintage 90210 (Rush week!).  The care instructions told me to push liquids.  I offered him water: no.  I offered him juice: yes.  While standing in the kitchen, he pushed away the juice and proceeded to vomit over the two of us.  Fun!  He felt much better after that.  Joy.  A little while late, Tim brings Drake home from daycare.  Miss Tracy had the kids make Flynn a get well soon card with all of their hand prints and quotes to Flynn.  Made me cry.  That was the sweetest thing ever.

Part of his treatment is to prevent injuries and falls.  I am unable to do this when he is feeling fine; how on earth do these people expect me to do this when he isn't 100%?  I am also supposed to give him eye drops four times a day for five days.  Do you know how tightly my son can clamp his eyelids shut?  The jaws of life couldn't pry those suckers open.

Flynn's feeling pretty good this morning.  How do I know this?  When I got him out of his crib this morning, he wasn't wearing a diaper.  He sleeps in fully zipped footed jammies.   My little Houdini is almost back to normal.


*I know we aren't supposed to compare children, but this experience has reminded me what a pro Drake is when it comes to all things medical.  He has been seeing specialists since the womb and has been poked and prodded numerous times.  He now chats it up with the technician drawing his blood.  I can't even do that.

You have got to be kidding...

I found my first grey hair this morning.  Normally, I wouldn't have noticed such a thing; I have so much hair of varying colors that it could have mingled among the other strands happily for years before I freaked out.  But not this hair.  Nooooooo.  It demanded my full attention by standing straight up.  Straight up!  Not frizzy, like its cohorts, but Ed Grimley stand on end style.  Little bugger.  I thought I wasn't supposed to get grey hairs until my kids were driving or playing goalie.  Ack!

Super Bowl Sunday

We have not exposed the boys to much football, mostly because we are a racing family.  They know all about Daytona, Indy, and Monaco.  (Drake also knows quite a bit about Texas Hold 'Em, but that's another story.)  Here's a bit of our experience from Super Bowl XLV, both conversations with Drake and my snarky responses.

Drake:  Mommy, can I watch monster trucks?
Me: No honey.  Monster trucks aren't on because of the Super Bowl.
D: What's the Super Bowl?
M:  The biggest football game of the year.
D:  OK, let's watch that.
...
D:  Mommy, I think Ben Steeler is going to win because he steals the ball then throws it to Packer.
...
I must go see Cowboys vs. Aliens.   Mmmm... Daniel Craig... Yes, please!
...
I wish they would change the name of the drink to "Eminem's Shut up and Drink it".
....
D:  There's a LOT of football players today.
...
D:  Oh!  They all crashed!   Oh no, he dropped the ball!
...
Joan Rivers in booty shorts?  I need some Purell for my eyeballs.
...
D:  Flynn! Go Away!  I'm watching football right now.
...
D: Did they win?
M: No honey.  It's only the second quarter.
D:  What does that mean?
M:  There are four quarters in a game, like there are four quarters in a dollar.
D:  Mommy, can I have a dollar?
...
D:  Are they going to play all day?
...
The Darth Vader Volkswagen commercial is awesome, but I think the whole world saw it last week through Facebook.
...
(After seeing a Steeler throw his helmet) D:  Mommy, what happened to his hat?!?  Why did he lose his hat?!?
...
I am already addicted to Facebook.  I don't need my car giving me status updates while I drive.
...
(After Steelers touchdown)  D:  Oh, he touched it.  Now he needs to throw it over the goal.
...
We had the game paused while we went out to Wendy's.  I get to skip the entire halftime show.  From what I gather from FB, it blows in a major way.
...
Another show about people fabricating vehicles in a short amount of time while yelling at each other.  Yippie...
...
When your beard sticks through your helmet, it's time for a shave.
...
The game is into the third quarter, and Drake's interest is starting to wane.  Flynn has been trying to get my attention the whole game.  Let the sibling squabbles begin!
...
Drake just earned a four minute penalty for hitting.
...
How many bloody G's are there?  Oh, Ozzy, is there anything you won't shill?  Still love you, though.
...
The Steelers just scored.  We just switched over to the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.  Both boys enthralled.
...
Now checking the score online.  I think we are done with the game.  Better luck next year.