36 Things to Do with a Sick Kid

Beginning Sunday, Abigail has had so kind of stomach virus. Well Sunday through Tuesday it was a stomach thing. Then it moved to an intestine thing, and as of right now seems to have no intention of moving. So I have compiled a list of things to do with a sick kid.

1. Wash pukey clothes.
2. Cancel Sunday plans. You know the ones we were running late for anyway.
3. Sit in the green chair listening to music.
4. Add a nap where one doesn't belong.
5. Buy grape pedialyte.
6. Find out Abigail refuses to drink grape pedialyte.
7. Watch TV together.
8. Get your hopes up that nothing else is happening.
9. Finish your tax returns during nap times (did you see the s on the end of time!)
10. Sit on the couch and watch TV.
11. 24 hours with no incidents, maybe milk won't be that bad. She hasn't drunk anything all day.
12. Clean up the diarrhea that exploded all over Abigail's room.
13. Do laundry.
14. Make Chris feel guilty for not being home to help.
15. Give Abigail a bath so she can throw-up fifteen minutes later.
16. Do laundry
17. Call your neighbor to watch Abigail nap so you can get jello, saltines, and unflavored pedialyte.
18. Catch the virus yourself. Feel like dying.
19. Give up plans for Wednesday.
20. Lie on the couch. Watch TV.
21. Recover.
22. Begin cleaning up disgusting diapers!
23. Count the hours between blow-outs.
24. Disinfect the downstairs.
25. Try to nap when Abigail naps.
26. Do laundry.
27. Go grocery shopping alone.
28. Give up plans for Friday and Saturday. Hold out hope for Sunday.
29. Be incredibly patient and kind to the grocery store employees because you are finally out of the house. (Not that I am usually mean, but I bordered on giddy.)
30. Watch TV.
31. Count the hours between disgusting diapers.
32. Start the cleaning process for the bedrooms.
33. Clean up disgusting diaper.
34. Stop before disinfecting. What's the point?
35. Nap on the couch with Abigail.
36. Watch Abigail chew on her fingers.

Maybe the stomach thing is over and teething is the cause. Dare I hope?! She is behaving normally and eating pretty well. Something solid tomorrow, please.

Still Snowing

Well today it is 21 degrees at 8:30. Myabe jsut maybe it will be warm enough for us to take a walk later. Actually the question is "Are we brave enough to take a walk later?" Poor Tippy, the douk, hasn't been on a walk during the month of February. Of course neither has Abigail. And I think they are both ready for a walk.

But it is snowing right now and the roads are shrinking. I was so looking forward to this winter. Abigail is walking and she really could go sled riding. But the snow is way beyond her ability to walk through it. So now I wait till next year. And agonize over the decision to take baby and dog on a walk today.

I have always been a big fan of winter. But today I just want to take my family OUTSIDE!!

Just Like My Dad

Phillips, Craig and Dean have a song titled I Want to Be Just like You. I have listened to it many times, but just recently has the song made complete sense to me. And when I say complete sense I mean in the crap-I-really-have-to-be-careful complete sense. Anyway here are the lyrics:

He climbs in my lap for a goodnight hug

He calls me Dad and I call him Bub

With his faded old pillow and a bear named Pooh

He snuggles up close and says, "I want to be like you"

I tuck him in bed and I kiss him goodnight

Trippin' over the toys as I turn out the light

And I whisper a prayer that someday he'll see

He's got a father in God 'cause he's seen Jesus in me

Lord, I want to be just like You

'Cause he wants to be just like me

I want to be a holy example

For his innocent eyes to see

Help me be a living Bible, Lord

That my little boy can read

I want to be just like You

'Cause he wants to be like me

Got to admit I've got so far to go

Make so many mistakes and I'm sure that You know

Sometimes it seems no matter how hard I try

With all the pressures in life I just can't get it all right

But I'm trying so hard to learn from the best

Being patient and kind, filled with Your tenderness

'Cause I know that he'll learn from the things that he sees

And the Jesus he finds will be the Jesus in me

Right now from where he stands I may seem mighty tall

But it's only 'cause I'm learning from the best Father of them all

Lord, I want to be just like You

'Cause he wants to be just like me

I want to be a holy example

For his innocent eyes to see

Help me be a living Bible, Lord

That my little boy can read

I want to be just like You

'Cause he wants to be like me

And just to underscore my point. Here is Abigail playing video games with Chris. She knows which controller is plugged in so now he can only play single player games. Her controller has a red light so she thinks she is driving.

Happy Valentine's Day

We woke up with even more snow today, so our big Valentine's day event was a quick run to Target for Desitin. At the rate we are going, Abigail will never be able to go outside to play again. Every time I think there may be a warm up to melt some of the snow--just enough for Abigail to walk in it, or even enough to make it safe for stroller, dog, and I to walk--we get another lake effect band. Alas, we just keep shovelling.

But the Target trip was precious. I thought, "I need only one thing. There is no need for a cart." Little did I know of the selection of diaper rash ointments and since I am cheap, I have no brand loyalty so I finally had to put Abigail down to roam the aisle. Amazingly she stayed in the aisle, didn't remove anything from the shelves she could reach, and came to me when I asked her to. No running away today! If that wasn't enough, I thought I would see if she would walk with me. (For some reason in the store she becomes heavier.) And she did!! She held two of my fingers in her little hand and walked with me all the way to the checkout counter. Then she waited patiently at the counter for our purchase to be made and was ready to walk beside me to the van. What a Valentine's Day gift for me!

Captivating

I admire Abigail because she is completely comfortable in who she is. On one trip to see family we were talking about how babies can be completely occupied with one toy for hours. Actually it doesn't have to be a toy, except that everything is a toy to Abigail. As the conversation went on, someone observed that there were a bunch of adults sitting around watching Abigail facinated. She was moving pillows around. She was unaware of being watched; she thought nothing of what she looked like. (She is the cutest.) She was completely content in her own skin, not hoping for another body. Yet she was captivating.

I am reading a book, Captivating, it is about the hearts of women. In it the authors talk about the question of a womans heart. Am I captivating? The answer of course is yes. God is captivating and I am created in God's image, so yes, I am captivating. But I get caught up in baby weight, and limp hair, and wearing glasses, and all sorts of things. I forget Abigail's lesson. I strive to be beautiful without being comfortable in my own skin, and that doesn't work.

Shrinking World

Before this weekend, I must admit that I was feeling a bit like my world revolved around Abigail, and that was a very small world. It was pressure I was putting on myself to have the perfectly behaved, wallflower of a child so she would disturb no one. Needless to say Abigail is quite the social butterfly who quite enjoys the spotlight. I had completely forgotten the joy toddlers bring to most other people.
Well this weekend, God showed me that Abigail did not shrink my world. I did. She was meant to bless my world. Change it, yes. Force me to become more of everything, yes. But shrink the world, no. That was my doing when I placed unrealistic expectations on myself and on Abigail. Apparently it is not enough for me to be superwoman, but I want Abigail to be super-toddler. We are both failures. We inconvience each other and Chris and well at some point everyone else in our lives. We frustrate and annoy each other and Chris and everyone else in our lives. BUT we also add wonderful things to the world all because we are not super-people. I wonder if any of the middle-schoolers got so much out of the retreat.

I must tell you about the retreat.
Abigail is a social butterfly.
When you add a sleeping toddler to the girl's floor of a dormitory, the girls can giggle much more quietly than you expect.
All middle school girls want to hold a toddler.
25% of middle school boys will acknowledge a toddler, unless the toddler is serving as a distraction from teaching.
All adults want some sort of attention from a toddler.
Men will try to teach a female toddler to flirt even and maybe especially when her father is around.
Abigail now plays blinking games with everyone.
Given the opportunity to dance, Abigail will win the Junior Talent Contest Championship.
Once cheered for, Abigail will try to position herself in front of everyone throughout the rest of the weekend.
When placed on a landing with a railing of ballisters, Abigail will give short shouts so others will turn around to look at her.
At 7 degrees, even Abigail who hates her gloves will hide her hands between me and her as she is carried to dinner.
A mother who dreads taking her toddler to a middle school retreat will learn that many people love her and her child and will love her family more when they return than when they left.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend.