Greta is being her usual sweet self, even though she absolutely hates taking that antibiotic. Jamie pointed out something I hadn’t considered. Why do the doctors or pharmacists (whomever’s job it is) choose bubblegum flavored medicine for a 9 month old who has never tasted bubblegum!? Good question, huh? He also suggested it’s because the medicine is very cold; you have to keep that stuff in the fridge. Either way, she hates it and usually winds up with pink goo all over her face, shirt and fingers. She shakes her head “No” when she doesn’t want something; I guess that’s something all babies know - a normal reaction - because I don’t think she really understands what she’s saying. Friday was a good night. Jamie worked so I had the kids to myself and Charlie was as good as gold. We put Greta in the Jumperoo and she went to town. She loves that thing! (Thanks, MW, for letting us borrow it!) Charlie played with his Thomas trains, arranging and rearranging the tracks into all kinds of different shapes and sizes until dinner time. Then, he dutifully put the tracks and trains back in their bags and put them in his room. I’m really a little fuzzy on the specifics, like what we had for dinner and what time Jamie came home – but I guess they’re unimportant. Saturday was a good day. Jamie worked and I had my kiddos again. Charlie was very good and he spent a significant amount of time making Greta laugh – which I love. I don’t know what we did all day. I do know that Jamie put Charlie in bed around 8:30 and fell asleep with him! Greta was already in bed at that point and I felt motivated (or, maybe it was that I was sick of it and couldn’t stand to look at it anymore) so I spent the next couple hours cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom. The dishes got done. Everything came off the counters and the counters got cleaned thoroughly. Stuff found homes in places they didn’t live before. The sink got shined (boy...does it shine!). The stove was degreased. The kitchen table was cleared of all its clutter and given a good wipe-down. I lighted the sugar cookie candle to make the place smell warm and inviting. I put the pretty brass, star-shaped cookie cutter on the back of the sink for effect. I put all the lovely green Granny Smith apples Jamie bought for the purpose of making an apple pie into the Longaberger basket I got from Ginger (my Mother-in-Law) for Christmas last year. Oh...the finished product was so lovely! Now, I just need to move that motivation on to the Living Room. Sometime during my cleaning, I heard Jamie fussing at Charlie for not holding still. He was whiny and flopping around like a fish out of water trying to get comfortable. I decided, after hearing Jamie fuss at Charlie for the fifth time, that Charlie and Jamie would both be better served if I moved Charlie into my bed. So I went in, scooped up my little boy, and deposited him on my bed. He woke up and asked me what was going on. I explained that he and daddy were fighting over the bed so I thought it would be fun for him to sleep in with mommy tonight. “Oh...” says he.
I finished my work on the kitchen and was in bed around 11:30. Charlie had flopped himself around sideways, so I had to move him to be able to fit myself into my queen-sized bed. He woke up again and said, “Mommy – I can’t sleep! I can’t get comfortable and my legs hurt!” So I massaged his legs and feet for about 10 minutes until we both fell asleep. Twice during the night Greta joined us so she could eat. Charlie tossed and turned all night. Sunday morning dawned, dark and dreary. Jamie was already up when Charlie and I got out of bed. He was sitting in the living room with Greta, and they were chatting to one another in that nonsense language of babies. He wondered where his wife was and what had happened to the kitchen. Ha Ha. We had a nice breakfast. We got ready for church. We went to church. Jamie and 10 others from the choir (you know Jamie sings in the church choir, right?) sang a fantastic anthem (a capella) that moved me to tears and then Kevin, our good friend and the choir director sang a solo during the offering which was so crystal clear and beautiful, you needed to hear it to do it any justice. Words just won’t work. After church, Jamie took Charlie and went to Sam’s Club to get diapers and I took Greta to Wal-Mart to get everything else we needed. When I got back, Jamie and Charlie were already back and Charlie was crying his eyes out. It turns out that Charlie also has an ear infection, both ears. So we’ve got two kids on antibiotics now. The doctor said that Charlie’s infection was pretty far along and was also somewhat amazed that he didn’t have a fever. She could see that he was in pain and suggested some Children’s Motrin for pain. I’ve never heard, in almost 4 years, our little boy cry that much. He was so sad. He told me his ear hurt and that when he closed his eyes (I suggested he do this to try to rest in the car) he got dizzy. He slumped against my chest in the waiting room at the doctor’s office (yes, our pediatrician has Sunday hours – thank goodness) and he fell asleep on the exam table in the room while we were waiting for the doctor to come in. We then made another trip to Wally-World for Charlie’s prescription, some Children’s Motrin, and parmesan cheese (which I forgot on my earlier visit). On the way home, we saw Santa Claus walking across a parking lot! I pointed him out to Charlie and he got very excited and said, “OH! Mommy! We’ve got to go see him!” He’s sick so I humored him. We made quick left turn onto Central and circled back around to the parking lot in front of, what I now know to be, Santa’s cabin. A local business was sponsoring pictures with Santa, and though we didn’t want a picture, I asked if we could see Santa. They said, “Of course! Come on in!” So we entered the cozy little cabin and after the first glimpse of Santa, Charlie flatly refused to even look at him. We tried for 5 full minutes to change his mind, but it was useless. In the end, Santa patted Charlie on the head, slipped him a candy-cane (with my permission) and wished him a Merry Christmas. We were headed out the door when Charlie said, “Mom! We need a candy cane for daddy, too!” I looked at Santa, whose sparkling eyes smiled as he said, “Go on, Buddy! Why don’t you reach in that basket and grab one for your daddy, too!” Charlie, of course, would not do this. He said, “You get it, Mom!” So I got the candy cane for daddy and we went home. Charlie said he felt better, even though he hadn’t had any medicine yet, because he got to eat his candy cane in the car on the way home. Daddy was happy with his candy cane and was completely shocked to learn that we’d seen Santa right here in Oak Ridge! TTFN JMS
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