Not Dead Yet

I have been berated for not posting sooner, and I apologize, but it has been a hectic few weeks.

Two weeks ago, the director at my son's daycare made some offhand comment about the stomach flu going around. I live in absolute dread of the stomach flu -- the last time Gwen had it (about a year and a half ago) I ended up having to take her to the emergency room to get hydrated, and then I caught it from her and lost seven pounds in the course of a week (okay, so it wasn't all bad.) Nonetheless, ever since, I have been waiting, wondering ...

Well, the kids didn't get the stomach flu that week. The following Monday, Xavier had a fever, but was in all other respects all right, so we breathed a sigh of relief and sent him back on Tuesday. Wednesday, Gwen threw up and Xavier had the other symptom of the stomach flu (if you know what I mean.) It is rare when the kids get the same ailment, rarer still when they get it at the same time.

Yes, it was inconvenient for them to get sick -- we have the Christmas pageant coming up, I was due to test for my purple belt in Kempo Karate, and work was ... well, okay, there is never a good time for kids to get sick as far as work is concerned. But despite all of the stories I was hearing about emergency room overflows, the kids really didn't get that sick this time. They were playful, and although Gwen was disappointed to miss school ("Mommy, take my temperature! I don't have a fever!") we had a good time playing robot wars in the van (the van was their secret base) and playing with Adam's old Transformer toys. They were having so much fun, in fact, that it was almost impossible to get them to stop and watch a video -- trust me, that almost never happens.

Well, they are back at school now. Xavier, inspired by all his "Transformer" activity, and perhaps a bit biased by his other love, "Bionicles," which are Lego-based robots, has created his own Transformer out of Legos that he calls "Fire-lace." Fire-lace is fairly minimal as far as Transformers go (being made of, essentially, six or seven long Lego pieces), but is far more versitile. In addition to his robot form, he can turn into a car, submarine, plane, letter H, and broccoli (well, I have only heard about this last one -- but I'm sure he knows what he is talking about.)

The kids are back to their old tricks as well. When Gwen called me at work yesterday, she sounded as if she might have been crying, and when Adam got on the phone after the school bus picked her up, he said, "These kids have been driving me fudging crazy this morning! They have been whining and complaining, not eating their fudging breakfast, throwing fits when they got dressed, and I am fudging fed up with it!" Of course, he was not using the word "fudging."

With this in mind, I said, "I sure hope that Xavier isn't anywhere nearby -- the last thing we need is for him to be learning new words."

As if on cue, in the background, Xav piped up, "Daddy, let's play teacher!"

I laughed for two minutes. I don't think it improved Adam's mood.


I did take my test at Kempo Karate Class last night, and I did manage to pass even though Gwen left her class -- in the middle of my test -- in tears. So I now have a Purple Belt, so no picking on me anymore! (Or as one of my coworkers said today, "We'll be careful around you from now on; we didn't need to worry yesterday, but now ..." Still, it is kind of cute when your daughter declares, "I'm proud of you, Mommy!" and your son hugs your belt against his face like a teddy bear and says, "I love your purple belt!"

As a closing note on this Thenksgiving holiday, I will leave you with a "pom" (poem) Gwen wrote today:

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day;
I hope I get to ride a turkey today!
I am happy for my fish and everything and God
And I don't care who says that's wrong!
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day
And I get to have fun -- yay!

Don't know about line four up there -- religious persecution at age five? But I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving anyway!