monkey madness

Mimi wants her mamma. And when she gets her mamma she clings on like a little monkey. She also tries to climb up mamma but that is less cute due to the inflammation from her intestines.

I researched separation anxiety and I think we have a classic case of it. From what I read, I should be annoyed and over it but I love it. LOVE IT. Yes, clearly, I am desperate for the love of my kids!!!

DH and I are both home 'sick'. I'm either catching up on months of sleep or I have narcolepsy. DH has a sore throat. I kid you not.

What you all up to for July 4th? Someone with a life please tell me what you're up to so I can live vicariously through you. 

On the mend round the bend

Holy crap this being sick with sick kids in two is hard. I had to ask my fella to come home from work to help out.

SNOT

Everywhere

And it's sticky, really really sticky.

Plague and pestulance

Well, bloody nora, we've all been hit!!!

I have an infected intestine - or something like that. Something "very unusual" according to the hospital doctor. I've had severe side pain for a few days and for the first time in three years I went to see my general doctor. I said "Oh I think its a UTI". She did a few tests and sent me for a CT scan and blood work "STAT". OK not a UTI. No-one would tell me anything other than 'drink this foul goop' and 'well done, here's your second bottle of foul goop'. Four hours later I get home and my doctor phoned with the good new/bad news call. Good news not a big problem bad news no treatment except rest and hydration.

Ha ha ha ha. Rest!! How exactly when coz ...

... Pip has a stinking head cold. I'm somewhat concerned coz his usual crystal clear snot is yellow and man oh man is there a lot of it. He's getting the wonderful Cal.pol but his nose is soooo stuffy. I know yellow means infection so our wonderful nanny that used to be a Physicians Aid gave me strict instructions about hydration, feeding, sleep, snot retrieval and watching for fevers/rashes etc when to go to the ER STAT!


Mimi is sneezing like a pepper mill worker so I expect her to join in the sick fest anytime now

Was I naughty or nice last weekend?

Well of course I was nice. After all, when he does make the effort DH is excellent. So I gave him a spa morning at a fancy dancy spa in SOHO which caters to the frazzled dads in NYC for next Friday. We are then going to the movies at the actual cinema. I got the kids to 'sign' a card for him (ahh). We had sushi and ice cream to celebrate (not on the same day).

Pip decided Father's Day was a great day to stand up (holding on to mum) and start commando crawling. Boy can that little fella get around. Mimi is almost standing and both of them are communicating like mad. No idea what they are saying but who cares. It's amazing how their personalities are coming through. Pip is turning into quite the cutie pie and Mimi, well lets say I see supermarket meltdowns in my future.

All told, DH was very pleased.

My big guy has changed over the past few weeks in a very positive way. I think hearing what people think of him (negative) and experiencing the joy of actually fulfilling his role as dad and partner (positive) has helped him course correct. He is into the kids, makes them fall around laughing, changes nappies and whatnot.  Still doesn't 'do' the routine but I am confident he will get there. On Friday night he put Mimi's nappy on but it wasn't tucked out at the legs. I was making diner and I heard her screaming. I go in and she is covered in poo. As is her cage, I mean crib, bedding, toys and her precious Gem Gem (lovie, not the cat). DH was amazing. He went straight in like a cross between Bat.man and the Mr Muscles guy on the cleaning bottle.

Holy poop B-Man!!!!

BAM!!!

Spritz!!!!!!!!!

Fathers Day .... bwahhahahahaha

Darling, 

I know. It's only fair that there is a day that's celebrates your holy-ness. However, indulge me. Included for your review are just some top line ideas about why Father's Day sticks in my craw. 

• I got up this morning and you had tried to feed the kids peas and brown rice for breakfast before they threw it all over the floor in protest. 
• I had to clean up brown rice and peas this morning
• I  found my silk t-shirts that I wear for work in the dryer. Mimi will look FABULOUS.
• You never, NEVER get up in the night to look after the kids and yet ...  always tell me how tired you are.
• What is with dumping all the pillows on my side of the bed? Why do you DO that?
• Stop putting empty cartons back in the fridge or so help me... 
• Emptying the dishwasher and putting the dishes away are all part of the same thing, not separate chores. 
• Ditto on the washing up
• You seem to have invented the opposite to warp speed when getting through a list of 'to do's
• Are you deaf? 

And finally ...  you're not Vincent D'onofrio. Yeah, I KNOW!

Short Fuse

I really wanted to stop one of my kids crying last night. They were screaming and not stopping. Oh I was so frustrated with them (kind of shocked me actually). I was soon in the rocker with them, cuddling them back to sleep and feeling so full of love for them.  But the annoyance before we got to the rocker was just a bit too much, a bit too ... intense.

Not sure where to take this. Maybe it's human nature?  Maybe we have a switch that goes on when we skirt too close to the edge and the anger is turned into love? Maybe I should accept that parenting is frustrating and annoying sometimes but that I will not hurt my kids because of the reaction I'm having to last night? Or, says a small voice in my head, this is a red flag.

I think I need to reconnect with some sense of peace of mind or calm.  I need to let go of some of the worry I'm carrying around.  What to do. I'm clearly spooked by last night.

Playing hookeeeeeeeeeeeee

Not only was it not raining or humid today and not only was my 8am meeting cancelled but best of all... I played hooky and went to my kids music class today.

Its held in a church hall that's a throw back and I LOVE it. It smells of my childhood back in the UK - old dusty church hall with a rickety stage,  I can't believe it is in the middle of NYC.  The music class is the least expensive one in the city and the guy running it's such a love. He plays the piano, french horn, guitar and he lets the kids (even mine) touch all the musical instruments.  I let them sit on their own to encourage independence for a little while till I just had to join in! There I was in full work outfit rocking out and shaking my eggs (the toy kind), kissing them every other beat or so. It would seem I am a smushy helicopter mum!

And here they snapped in a moment of calm ...

We're slowly trying real foods so after this class we had homemade vanilla yogurt, blueberries, banana and oatmeal whizzed up. YUM!! 

Oh dear

I gained a pound. +1. Ah well. In some circles that means 'to like' (digital language).  Not in my world. In my world it means I need to move my fat arse more and eat more fruit and less weight wa.tchers ice cream even if they are low in calories.
You know, every time I eat low calorie things I gain weight. Odd that.

Pip and Mimi are moving on to real food. Watermelon, yogurt, banana, pasta etc. If the chunk is too big Pip projectile vomits which comes as a surprise and is upsetting for the poor kid.

I am really scared of the food thing. I am scared of giving them food they aren't supposed to have or not giving enough or choking or poop issues. I never knew I was such a fearful person until I had kids!

Any advice on moving to real food is most welcome. 

AGAIN!!!!

I need help.

I live in a building where we have maintenance guys. I really like them even tho, yes, they can be ... short of words. There is only one guy that gets the cleaning jobs and he happens to be the nicest of them all.

I got in the elevator and he was there. We chatted for a while and he got out. There was a short fat sweaty resident in the elevator with us. He tutted and snorted and said "He should use the service elevator"

WTFFFFF!!!!

What a jack ass. It's the middle of the day in the middle of a work week - who the fuck cares.

And did I say anything? Did I defend my mate? No, I think I blushed with anger and shook my head. I think I may have tutted at the guy. Ohhh tutted. Am I force to be reckoned with or what!


HELP ME WITH SOME ONE LINERS!!!!! Help me with come backs and quick responses so I don't feel like such a bloody doormat. 

Say Cheese. If it isn't too much trouble.

So this weekend we took the kids to a  street/park party type of thing sponsored by the amazingly expensive kids services in the city. We can't afford the $1000 joining fee for the baby gym but we'll take your free shite any day.

Anyhow - I was pushing the stroller and stopped to pull the hoods of the stroller seat back (sun protection that was sadly not needed). A Time Ou.t photographer looked over at Mimi. She walked over and snapped her photo and then walked away.

WTF??

She made no effort to engage me (mama bear) or ask for permission. She was wearing a badge that said "official TO photographer".

For a professional photographer to snap and not ask permission is disgraceful. I mean its not like we like in a nice friendly little town - this NYC for crying out loud. Did I say or do anything? Of course not, I was too dazed.

 I need to sharpen up when it comes to the protecting the kids. I am way to English about the whole thing.

Now off I toddle to write a strongly worded note to the editors of Tim.e.Ou.t Kids.

Snotville

What is with the runny noses people?? Both kids have classic 'snotty' kid noses.  I read that the medical community don't believe they are a sign of teething but that every mum under the sun seems to disagree!

Certainly both my little cherubs are gaining more gnashers. Mimi has three or four on the bottom and two big ones just peeking through on top. More or less the same with Pip.

I do find the attack of the baby vampires funny, in a slimy painful way. If you get too close to Mimi and her teeth are giving her bother, oh boy watch out. Elmo lost an arm yesterday.
Pip doesn't attack as much but does wail and gnash. He sort of sucks his lips over his teeth and moans. Sort of like a tiny little dirty old man.

Does this teething thing go on for long?