Abnormally Good Day

Here's a phrase that you love to hear when you pick your child up in the afternoon: "He was abnormally good today!" Oh, thanks. He didn't nap during naptime but he stayed on his mat. At this point I checked his forehead to make sure he didn't have fever. The teacher already had.

I thought that school might be more of a problem today. Last night as he was going to bed I asked Alex how computer class went that morning. It was okay, he said, but the teacher didn't let him do the CD he wanted, she made him do the one she wanted. I explained that this was often the way that school went. Which reminded him, "Why am I still at this school anyway? I'm 5 now! I can go to kindergarten!" I knew this might be a problem. We've been telling him for two years that he couldn't go to school until he was five. Well, that's here now, and he is ready. I explained that you couldn't start in the middle and that he had to wait until August. I'm sure we haven't heard the last about the subject.

Torture By Food

Two nights ago we had carrots with supper. Now, most of you know I am not a fan of vegetables. At least the vibrantly colored ones. But this carrot recipe is good. See:

Ginger Honey Glazed Carrots

2 T butter
1 T finely chopped ginger
2 T honey
4 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 c water
salt and pepper

In a small saucepan, melt butter and stir in ginger. Add honey and stir to dissolve. Stir in carrots and toss to coat. Pour in water and cover to steam. Stir occasionally and cook 8 minutes or until tender. Season to taste.

This dish is basically carrots in syrup. So, in an effort to get Alex (and me) to eat more veggies, I made this as a side dish. I used baby carrots, so when they were sliced they were approximately the size of sequins. Definitely smaller than a penny. We had them with steak and fries. Alex pronounced the steak okay, and the waffle fries excellent. The carrots, of course, were deadly poison. It may be the first time I've seen him refuse to eat anything involving honey. He was told that he had to taste one sequin-sized carrot bit. He bit that into four bites. (I don't even know how, and I was there.) The suffering was terrible. He managed to choke one carrot piece down before he pronounced them horrid.

Next night: shrimp enchiladas. For those of you who haven't seen him in action, Alex is a Mexican food eating boy. He loves burritos, quesadillas and chips - and he uses a spoon to eat the side of guacamole they bring out for him. So shrimp enchiladas I thought would work well.

Shrimp? We eat them in their breaded and fried form.
Cheese? We eat it grilled, in sticks, on sandwiches, in Mexican food.
Tortillas? We eat them grilled, toasted and steamed.

A combination of the three? Not so fast, Mom. That's disgusting. He cried and carried on so much that I was afraid he was going to make himself sick over dinner. Art finally made him take a taste, then gave him a peanut butter and honey (we don't do jelly voluntarily) sandwich. Sometime during this debacle, Alex mentioned that this wasn't a good new food - nothing like those carrots we had last night. Now, those were good. Art and I just looked at each other.

So, fast forward to tonight. On the menu: bruschetta chicken, cheesy polenta and leftover carrots. Art heated them up, put them on his plate and set it in front of him. Where he proceeded to eat them. Not all of them, but many, and without a word of protest. This is when I want to pull my hair out. Or his.

And, thank you, Uncle Robby, for letting me know where this comes from - not just me!!!

We've had a big week or so since the last post. We enjoyed our day off, and have been going full tilt since then. Alex's birthday party was Saturday and we had a ball. A bowling ball that is. Thankfully, all four- and five-year-old attendees left with their toes intact. I was worried. Crushed toes was the concern, or perhaps being thrown out of the bowling alley for breaking Rule # 3 on the board hanging over the lane: Do NOT put loft on the ball. The boys didn't really understand that one, and it showed! All four of the boys (I'm not allowed to call them little anymore - Alex's rule) could barely heft the smallest bowling balls. We'd hand them to them, they'd totter toward the line, and then lift them up and FLING THEM! THUD! Then they proceeded to roll toward the pins at, if possible, negative speed. It was all we could do to finish a game in our allotted hour time slot. We had to watch them carefully because all of them tried to roll the ball before the pins were set. I'm not sure why we bothered - I think the pins could be cleared and reset before the ball made it all the way down the lane!

After the bowling, we had cake. Not just cake, Batman cake. Alex was very happy that he got the mask portion. "Mom! I got Batman's antlers!" Art just shook his head. Here's the birthday boy with the cake:



The cheesy grin? That comes from me whispering in his ear, "Straighten up and smile!" I was happy to see that whininess abounds in the afternoon hours for boys used to having a naptime. (Whether they use it for sleeping, or not, like Alex.) Here's the whole gang:


You might notice that Alex and his compadre on the other end are in mid-nap-missing fit/sulk. This was when we broke up the party. (The two in the middle were in fine form and may have actually hopped all the way home. I should feel guilty about the amount of sugar I gave them, but don't. Just like I don't feel guilty about sending them home with goody bags containing noisemakers and paddleballs!)

This is the birthday season. Out of these four we've had two birthday parties in the past six weeks, and the other two are in the next two weeks. Next up: a pool party which Alex wants to go to, as long as he doesn't have to swim or get in the water. Now that's going to be fun!

All in all, we thought the party was successful. After all, no one got hurt and no one saw Alex's Batman underwear. (He wanted to show everyone that he was in theme.) The worst part of the day: trying to find the cake decorator's shop. Mapquest put it on a map but couldn't give me directions, while Google Maps gave me very precise instructions - to the middle of nowhere. I had to call and ask the very nice cake lady how to get there. Her shop was miles from where the directions took me. I should've asked in the first place.

Well, I'm off to watch the end of Chuck and have a piece of Batman cake. Alex motto for the day, "When I grow up, I'm going to be an invisible ninja!"

Big Day in 5-Year-Old History

I took the day off from work Thursday. Alex and I had big plans, and Art joined us around lunch time. We started out with breakfast at IHOP because, as Alex told me, their all-you-can-eat pancakes are back. (Not that either one of us could eat more than the first plate, but we both have a deep love of pancakes.) Then, we headed to his pediatrician for the 5-year-old check-up. He'd already asked several times if there would be shots involved. I reminded him that last year, which was a horrible shot year, they told him no more until he turned 11. That seemed to satisfy him. So this is how it went:

eye test: great, lots of fun, he remembered if fondly from last year
peeing in a cup: very funny, but no problem
height and weight: he fell right in line, stood where he was supposed to, etc.
blood pressure cuff: the nurse calls it a hug for your arm, we see Papa do it all the time
finger prick for blood test: 5-year-old code word for "lose your ever-loving mind"

The child ran screaming and crying about the doctor's office (in and out of the lab) until the nurse said, "Let's just go into the exam room." As I corraled him and ushered him to the room, he said, "Do we still have to do the blood test?" "Oh, yes, we do!" After much drama, he was restrained and tested. Poor Miss Lisa. She's an awesome nurse, but all he remembers is that she's been torturing him for five year. She told me that whenever one wigs out like that they move to a room so they don't freak out any other children. Great.

His doctor is also great. Alex tried to get her to ditch the rest of the day and go to the children's museum with us. She told him that would leave one doctor for the afternoon and she really couldn't do it. He still weighs 42 lbs., which has been constant forever, but is now 44 1/4 inches tall. I'm afraid he's going to overtake me soon. He did have a sinus infection and we had to get Amoxicillin. More about that later.

From the doctor's office, we went to Target for a few things. As we walked in Monkey Boy had the gall to ask, "Do I still get a toy?" I think I was giggling hysterically as I said, "NO!" He did get new socks and underwear but I don't think either one of us considered that much of a reward - though he did get to pick which superheroes he wanted on his rump.

The second big stop for the day was the elementary school for kindergarten registration. We filled out all our forms and signed up for an open house and orientation in March. Then we'll get to do the tour and see a kindergarten room. It was good to see one of his old preschool buddies already on the list. I'm hoping he'll know a few people when he starts in the fall. While I worked on the forms, Alex dismantled the paper clip that came on them. He is unable to leave them in their original state. They always end up as some sort of modern art sculpture.

From there we picked up Art and went to the children's museum. Alex and I went with Mimi and Paw back in the fall but Art had never been. Alex thought there was lots of neat stuff he needed to see. We did have a good time. We played (loudly) in the music room, Alex did the weather report in the TV studio, shopped for groceries in the market, piloted the space shuttle (badly) and played in the water flow thing-y for a long time. It was great, and we made it out just before they closed. There was a semi-meltdown on the way home but it was a big day for a little guy.

We took the Amoxicillin prescription in when we got home. At the pharmacy Amanda warned me it was bubble gum-flavored. (She knows everyone in our household well.) She wished me luck getting Alex to take it. Last week we had gone through all the kids' medicines looking for one that did what we needed with an acceptable flavor. We gave up. By the time I got home with the medicine after a meeting, Alex was already asleep. So, I got to try to give him the first dose Friday morning before we left for school. Imagine, if you will, a little boy at the Alamo: "You'll never take me alive!" This is what I had on my hands when I held out the beaker of pink medicine. There were tears, pleading, he shook his head, clamped his mouth and refused. When I finally got him to taste it, he spit it out. I threatened the horrible things I might do if he ever spit on my floor again. I offered him a dollar. (He's really been into money lately, and is saving up for some large Bakugan thing.) He said, and I quote, "No money will make me drink that!" I told him, too bad, but he would be taking 1 teaspoon twice a day for 10 days, money or not. He choked, and I do mean "choked," what was left of the teaspoon down, and we went to school all teary.

The medicine thing is highly amusing for my dear mother. I could practically hear her giggling when she emailed me "Pay back is sweet."

Dose #2, after supper the same day: "Can I drink it slowly?" "Yes." "Okay." He drank the medicine and went about his business. That's when I want to scream!

Back to Normal - Or What Passes for That Around Here

Alex went back to school under duress yesterday. It says alot about his usual behavior that the teachers were worried when he took a nap. They thought he was sick again and took his temperature. Apparently he just needed a little rest to get back up to snuff. Today he definitely bounced back. Miss Sarah said that he'd worked back up to his usual quota of timeouts and rowdy behavior. When I picked him up he came running out of the classroom to demonstrate a flying, rolling sort of ninja kick.

This evening was more of an ordeal. Due to a morning fit in protest of teeth-brushing, he was banned from TV for the day. (He did finally brush his teeth, while sobbing and repeating "I love TV! I love TV!") I told him to get used to it - twice a day for the rest of his life, or it was an all oatmeal diet. It doesn't help that Papa Tab has a nifty set of false teeth that he uses to entertain the grandchildren. Maybe tomorrow will be a calmer day!

New, Weird Symptoms, Birthday & More

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Thursday, Alex got spots for his birthday. After much discussion with the nurse over the phone, she decided it was Fifth Disease, and to continue as we had been. The splotches came and went and didn't bother him at all. He was well enough to go to the grocery store and pick out a birthday cake (his choice, I offered to cook). That took most of his energy for the day. He asked for his favorite dinner - quiche - and cake. The presents and cake revived him a good bit. We had high hopes that he'd be able to go back to school on Friday but he was just too worn out. He made it through half his breakfast before crawling under a blanket on the couch. Here's a picture of the guy celebrating the big 0-5. Aside from being sick, his other birthday disappointment was that he gained no new superpowers. He was hoping to be able to fly when he turned 5. I pointed out that Superman was a good bit older before he could do all he could. Alex told me, "At least I have my laser vision." Always looking on the bright side.

I decided to try to be creative while I was at home. (Since I couldn't compete with the Cartoon Network.) I finished a fall cross-stitch piece which I will debut later. And, I made a poncho for my niece, Gracie. It went really quickly and really well. I don't think I'll use the pattern again, though, because the border was very confusing. Here is Gracie with it on:

She was happy with it once we got it on her. At first she didn't want it - she kept saying it was a blanket. Perhaps she is as disturbed by those Snuggie commercials as I am.

Now that I've gotten the smaller version done, I may try one for me. Especially if this cold spell continues. We went to Art's parents' today and could still see snow around the edge of the lake, and some ice. We're ready for a little bit of warmth - at least highs in the 50s.

Day 3: Still Sick

Alex is still fighting the virus but he's not too bad off. I'm trying to catch up on things around the house while he's laid up watching cartoons. It's so cold out we don't really mind staying inside. I think we're going to have to postpone his birthday party for a couple of weeks, though. I definitely don't want to try it this weekend, and next weekend is out because of the MLK holiday.

I guess I could go back to my baking. My dear husband got me a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for Christmas, and I went a little nuts with it this weekend. By Sunday evening we had: gingerbread cookies, white bread, cinnamon bread, chocolate chip scones and a couple of unrelated casseroles. Art asked about the bread. I told him we no longer had to buy bread, I could take care of it from here on out. He said that he'd seen this level of enthusiasm before, and didn't think it would last. He probably knows me too well. Here's a picture of the beautiful bounty.

I Told You I Was Sick!

Today was our first day back to work and school and it was tough for everyone. Art has been off for a couple of weeks, Alex had been off for 4 days, and me for 3. This morning Alex refused to get dressed, eat breakfast, etc. He told me he didn't feel good. When I asked what hurt, he said his nose. Not a terribly impressive symptom, I thought. I made him eat (some), dress and go. It was an ordeal getting him into school, but, again, sometimes that's just the way it is.

The teacher called a little before 2. I told her not to tell me he was really sick. She said they didn't think so at first either, they thought he just REALLY didn't want to be there. Then he got a fever. We are on intensive Pokeman watching therapy now with a doctor's appointment at 5. That should be fun! And, of course, Dad has a meeting tonight. Keep your fingers crossed that it's just a cold.

A Big Thanks to Mom & Dad

We used our Christmas present from Mom & Dad to get this great new island for the kitchen. Art has been working on it while he was off this week and today was the grand unveiling. I'm sure I'll be the first one to run into it in the night but we're really going to use this space. Alex & I made lasagna from our new kids' cookbook today and it was a big help! Tomorrow we're moving on to torn tortilla casserole and a chocolate cake.

Wonderful Things About Christmas

Well, we successfully made it through the holidays! Here is a short list of the good parts - my favorite things:

1) The stocking was hung by the chimney with care. It only took until Alex's 5th Christmas to finish, but I got his stocking done. On Christmas Eve. With him hanging over my shoulder at the sewing machine, telling me, "Mom, we only have HOURS!" To be fair, I did have it within two hours of finished last year, but he wouldn't let me take down the substitute stocking that Mimi made for him. He wanted to stick with that one for last year's Christmas.

2) Slippers so soft I feel like Cruella DeVille. I'm pretty sure they're not made of kitten fur, but I'm not going to chance looking at the label. They are divine.

3) Alex got to go to the Reindeer Retreat acting workshop at the Children's Theatre. He performed the role of Rudolph (though without a red nose) in "Olive the Other Reindeer." He had a ball and now wants to be an actor. Art and I thought he already was. He wanted to go back the next day for more and was quite miffed when they told him he was too young to be in the regular plays. He's just biding his time now.

4) The Spearman Family Christmas Eve Breakfast went off with nary a hitch. We had 67 of the family there with biscuits, grits, eggs, country ham, bacon and sausage for all. No fires, just a lingering smell of pork. This was the third year that Art and his siblings were in charge, and the biggest one we'd done. I thanked Alex for being so nice and talking to all of his great-aunts and -uncles. He told me, "I do my best."

5) It all only comes once a year!

Mimi and Paw didn't get to come like they planned in mid-December, but we hope to go there soon, or have them here in a month or two. For now we've moved on to planning of the gala 5-Year-Old birthday party. The countdown to the actual birthday started this week - only five more days!