Sneezies, boogies, and fever

This week has been difficult. C3 has been sneezing with a force that only a hurricane can rival, blowing 3-inch long boogies out of her nose and straight into her mouth (the prefered disposal method by C3). By no means a record of hers ... the longest one I've ever seen from her hit between her nipples and belly button.

But revolting nevertheless.

Then Q2 developed a fever. Up to, at the top end, 103.3 F ... so not life threatening, but hot. And uncomfortable. And it makes for a cranky girl. Her fever seems to have abated, but now she's caught the boogies. But instead of sneezing them out into her mouth, hers stay up on her nose, but then she rubs across her face about 10 times so her whole face is a slick shmeeeer of boogie.

And now both of them have developed a deep, barking cough. Their favorite remedy (and mine)? A spoonful of honey. Not that it works particularly well, but it isn't too bad. At least they enjoy it.

Repetition works

This evening Q2, she made a fist, and put it right into my face. But gently. I couldn't figure out what she was doing.

Then she stroked my hair from one side of my head allllllll the way over to the other (messing up my part) (I say that only to give you a frame of reference, not because it is such a big deal. Which you already know if you are my one reader named C38).

She's done this stroking my head thing before, usually when my hair isn't pulled back. I didn't have to ask her what she was doing, though, she volunteered it:

Q2: I petting you.

Ah. That makes sense. And the fist? The fist was her putting her hand out for the mumma dog to sniff before she petted me.

Unnatural affinity?

While we've long known that C3 has a very strong attachment to dogs, it has been only recently (the last few months? 6 months? I am not really sure) that Q2 has been professing a special love for certain animals.

Specifically, turtles and sheep. I am not sure why except that they are not dogs, and nobody can love dogs like C3 does, so it would have to be another animal. Or two.

So, tonight we were looking at one of those black on white or white on black shadow books of animals and their babies. We'd look at a picture, identify the animal, and then identify the babies. Like ... dog and puppies. Easy.

E37: What's this (pointing to a sheep)?
Q2: A Baa-baa!
E37: Yes, a sheep! And what is the name of these guys (pointing to the lambs)?
Q2: Q2!

Which of course made us all laugh, so for the rest of the book, all the little animals became Q2 ... the piglets, the kittens, the calf. And was professed with a huge laugh and ginormous smile.

Hiking

C3 did an incredible job hiking up Dog Rock in the Catoctins in Maryland. Or, as the rest of the world calls it, Cat Rock. Up 1.25 miles, she almost made it the whole way. I had to carry her over one particularly steep bit, but she did 90% herself.

No thanks to the way she used a walking stick however.

The way down was rougher, and I carried her about 75% of the way down. She was just exhausted.

Q2 walked about 1/10th of a mile, then rode about 95% of the way up in a backpack, and walked a bit at the end as it evened out a bit.

And she rode 100% of the way down. Including a 20 minute nap.

However, when she was walking, she was much more adept with the walking stick concept.

And we all made it to the top.

Disturbing news

Of the last 10 days, Q2 has napped 3 of them. It was a sudden transition from nap to no nap and I, for one, do not like it. She is only 2. Just 2. Just over 25 months. I'm not sure this is the right time for her to give up naps.

Class picnic

Such a good picnic. Inside, of course, because of the rain. But nevertheless, fun. C3 was so thrilled to have her daddy, her mumma, and her sister there all at one time.

Oh, and the food. Whenever I couldn't spot her I turned to the food table and there she was munching away. Or feeding Q2.

I thought it was cool

One thing I always wanted was a canopy or to have a floaty thing come down over my bed. Or a little cubbyhole bed.

C3's crib and bed have been positioned in a perfectly crib-sized nook in her room, so she has 3 walls (including a window) surrounding her. C3 calls them "little box beds" from the Beatrix Potter book, The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse.

Last year, C3 needed a comforter, so she picked on out herself at IKEA. A few months ago we saw sheer curtains to match her comforter on sale, so we picked them up, with the idea that we'd figure out how to make a canopy or floaty down thingy (like a mosquito netting) or something around her bed.

A couple weeks ago I bought a wire curtain "rod" from IKEA and we hung it last night, and hung the curtains on the one open side of C3's bed. Although she calls them little box beds she was a little unsure, still. So we told her it was like a dog bed. She bought it.

It is kind of like a shower curtain, but it is so cool. I would have (erm, would still) loved it.

But it turns out C3 was less than enthused. I found her last night sleeping kneeling on the floor with only her head on the bed. And this morning she woke to tell me she wanted them down.

I'm not being paid enough

Days like today make me want to go back to work full time. Crank-itude. Crying. Whining. Fighting.

Sounds just like me and my sister. Christmas 2007.

Of course, it turned out to be my fault anyway. Lunch hadn't been substantial enough and both C3 & Q2 were very hungry and after a snack (Half of an orange for C3 & one and a half pears for Q2) they were the sweet girls I normally enjoy being around.

But still, I'm glad they are in bed.

6 feet above ground

This morning C3 & Q2 were playing Put Q to Bed and Tuck Her in to Her Chin.

Q2 would sit on the chair and C3 tucked her in .... and Q2 would stay there for a while. Finally, we suggested that Q2 use the ottoman to make herself more comfortable. She stayed there for a while. I suggested that we all go up to get dressed. C3 jumped up and wanted to be first, but Q2, still tucked in on the ottoman, lying still facing up, said no. I asked why she didn't want to get dressed.

Q2: I diayt.
E37: You what?
Q2: I diayt.
E37:
Q2: I diayt.
E37: You mean like Grammy? You died?
Q2: Yes. I daiyt.

I guess C3 wasn't the only one to be preoccupied by death. The image of Grammy lying face up in the coffin stuck with Q.

Bedtime rituals

I don't get particularly sentimental over the rituals of childhood. I mean, I think my children are the sweetest children in the world, but I didn't save locks of their first haircuts, and even though my older daughter requested it, I don't save fingernail clippings.

There are loving rituals that we go through on a daily and nightly basis. But I do not get particularly gooey over them. Especially the bedtime rituals. Except for the fact that they are a way to get the kids to bed. For that reason alone I love them.

But the one thing I do enjoy is the tuck in. Put the child in bed, snug them up under the covers, tuck them in, kiss them repeatedly. I like that. Actually, I still like being tucked in myself, too.

So, tonight, C3 told us she could put herself to bed ... after all the bedtime rituals were completed except the tuck in and kiss. And she did.

Moving on

Lately, we've been exploring death. Mostly C3.

First, a neighborhood dog died about 2 months ago. She was a sweet beagle who loved our girls. Holly left her very good friend Berry very lonely.

Then Peaches passed away about 3 weeks ago. She was a bulldog about 6 years old, sweet, fat, wiggly, jumpy, wrinkly girl who must have just had a heart attack and passed away.

Once Peaches died C3 said to Miss J.: "Your husband died, and Peaches died, and now you are all alone!" Yes, very true, C3, but I wish you wouldn't say it in such a perky voice.

Fair is fair, I suppose, since Miss J. said Peaches went night-night. The last thing I want my daughters to hear is that death is like going night-night forever.

Now, during this time we have been visiting my grandmother, Grammy, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer February 27. We've been talking about how Grammy is sick, she is very old, her body is not working well any more, she's very old, yes we are all going to die, but not any time soon. We talk about this now and again. Or, we did, until May 4, when Grammy died.

Now we are talking about how Grammy was old, her body stopped working, she is going to be buried with Gramps. C3 is working this over in her head, so we talk about it a lot.

Q2 saw Grammy's blanket (that my mother had bought and given to Grammy on our last trip up to use when her brown blanket was being washed) draped over her crib last night.

Q2: This Grammy's blankie?
E37: Yes, that was Grammy's blankie.
Q2: Grammy have her brown blankie?

I am flabbergasted by her memory and touched at the same time that she remembered (I didn't remember the color of the brown blanket until she said it).

Today is the wake, tomorrow the funeral. I'm not sure how this will all play out, but last time C3 saw a dead creature (a dead bird on the sidewalk) she cried and cried and wouldn't walk on that sidewalk for months.

Aches

Both C3 & Q2 use the Tummy Ache defense when they don't want to do something. C3 wakes up first thing in the morning and says "My tummy hurts" ... but of course it doesn't. When I suggest she spend the day in bed, she recants. Q2 claims a tummy ache whenever she doesn't want to nap. I can ask her if her nose tickles, her teeth hurt, her toes giggle. And she'll say yes.

So, I don't always believe them.

But we almost missed a playdate today because Q2 was asleep. Asleep. Actually, not just asleep, but 1 hour 40 minutes into a 3 hour nap. She hasn't napped for 3 hours since ... um ... she was like 2 weeks old.

We invited Z3 over to play with C3 instead of meeting at the park. And the mom, L39, approximately!, mentioned that she'd be worried if her daughter slept for so long, she only did so when she was sick.

Light in my head goes off.

So, after the 3 hour nap (and dinner. and playtime), but before bath, I took Q2's temperature. 99.6. So, not really high, but with the fingers in the mouth and the temperature one can assume that her molars are slowly working their way in. She's always been fussy about teeth, and apparently we are in for a few more. Can't wait.

Bubble what?

About 2 months ago we decided to buy a fizzy water maker. Whatever it is really called, it makes seltzer water. I was hesitant to add another thing to our countertops, but it has turned out to be great. You chill water, put the bottle on the machine, and then fizz up the water. Easy.

The only downside is that you can't drink from the bottle. Well, I suppose you could, but then you'd really have to wash the bottles instead of just rinse them. And, actually, for pleasantness, this is a good thing, since watching somebody else chug fizzy water isn't always ... delicious. But, it also means you can't take fizzy with you on a car trip.

Not that this dull story has anything to do with what I wanted to discuss. Our kids drink milk. Well, C3 drinks skim milk and Q2 drinks rice milk or soy milk. She'd drink regular milk but it gives her a rash. She's got one right now, actually. But again, dull, and not what I wanted to say. They also love fizzy water.

So ... uh ... they ... or I ... got the bright idea to combine the two as ... BUBBLE MILK. Great tasting stuff. Bubbly. Milky. Watery.

Delicious.

New words

I don't know if it is a 3-year-old thing, or what, but we talk about poop and peep a lot. Even when we aren't actually talking about it.

C3: Daddy? Do you pooh with your penis?
C38: No, that's not how that works.
C3: Do you pooh with a pooh-nis?
Stiffled laughter. Clever, no?