He's getting way too smart

Sawyer got sick today and it was really bad timing. My mother is getting re-married tomorrow (that's a post for another day) and everyone in town for the wedding was planning to go to a jazz club tonight. We even had a real babysitter lined up and everything. Sigh.

So, to make a long story short, he was sick for about 2 hours but once he threw up all over the car he was fine. NICE.

When we put him to bed, we gave him his special water bottle that he had been drinking from all night. It is really just an old Aquafina bottle that we re-fill and Bryan takes to work with him. To avoid confusion at work, Bryan wrote his name on the side with a sharpie. All of a sudden, Sawyer notices this as we are putting him down and Bryan tells Sawyer that it is his name (meaning Sawyer's name - not Bryan's).

He seemed completely satisfied with that explanation for about 10 minutes. I heard him start whining and get out of bed and open his bedroom door. When I went to see what the excuse was this time he was on the verge of tears and asked me to come into his room to look at something. I immediately went into 'Mommy-mode' because I thought he got sick again and threw up.

He took me by the hand and led me to his desk and showed me the water bottle. Then he said, very tearfully that he couldn't find the 'S' for Sawyer.

Then my heart broke into a thousand pieces and I went to mommy jail for lying to my sick child about what was actually written on the side of his water bottle.

The End.

Ok, I didn't really go to mommy jail but my heart did break a little bit. I saved the day by finding a sharpie and writing his name for him - taking care to make the 'S' really big.

meh.

This whole week has been a plateau of suck. Things didn't get worse - but they never really got better. I'm desperately ready for the weekend.

Today sucked

On my way home from work, the car died. I thought I was out of gas because the gas gauge is a little squirelly. Some nice people stopped to help me move my car and get gas. Turns out it wasn't gas, it was the fuel gauge. It is dead. Cars apparently really need them or something.

I have decided that I am going to get rid of the cars and get a pony. I've always wanted a pony and I work at the fairgrounds so there are actual barns that I could leave him in while I am at work. I haven't quite figured out how to get groceries while riding a horse but I am working on a letter to Target about hitching posts.

We were supposed to get our roof fixed today too. We have a MAJOR leak in the kitchen that I would post pictures of but I'm way embarrassed by how bad it is. Guess what? The roofers never showed up. To compound that, we are getting major storms tonight and part of the ceiling in the kitchen has fallen.

Our luck has been really rotten lately (not counting the lawn mower we won). I'm really starting to wonder if we are doing something wrong. Just when we get to a point where I think things are starting to calm down and we have recovered financially, something strikes. It is getting really, really old. Is this just life? Is it this much of an ebb and flow? Or is this what they mean by "recession"? Ha ha.

One armed boy

The orthopedic doctor took several more x-rays and eventually decided not to try and re-re-set Sawyer's arm. Even though it is still a bit crooked, he thinks it will probably heal fine and he could possibly do more damage trying to set it again.

Without hesitation, Sawyer picked out purple to be his cast color of choice. It is the color of royalty after all! And then it was 'over'. Well, the Dr. part anyway. We go back in two weeks to see how long he will need to wear it. It will be at least 4 weeks but probably 6. Right in the middle of summer too. Joy!

Yesterday his hand started swelling because of the casts weight. They gave us a sling to help support it but his little arm slips out of it every two minutes. I ended up ripping a T-shirt in half and tying it around his arm and it is working out a lot better. If anyone out there knows any other sling tips, please let me know.

It is going to be a long summer but I'm thankful that he's OK. It could have be a lot worse.

It was only a matter of time

Well, everybody else was doing it! Going the wrong way up the slide, that is. And it was going so well until that tricky bit right at the top. The wavy shape of his arm was the first clue that something had gone a little wrong...

We go to a pediatrician tomorrow who specializes in orthopedics tomorrow to see if it needs to be re-re-set (they have already tried once today).

Meet Hooky Dangerous

As a responsible parent, one must learn the facts about your child's friends. It's important to the child, it should be important to you.

The following are the known facts about The Boy's new best friend:

1. His name is Hooky Dangerous.
2. He has a really long neck and yellow hair because he is part giraffe.
3. He and Sawyer Be Crazy together. This is Sawyer's name for his favorite activity, which is a simple variation on the timeless toddler sport of running in circles and laughing maniacally.
4. He and Sawyer like to sing the Mermaid Song together - you know, the one where the mermaid with red hair sings "Ah-ah-ah" in rising scales (pun totally intended) while the black octopus lady puts her voice in that thing.
5. Hooky Dangerous is smart because he knows how to make fire, hot dogs, cookies, and a porch.

You can't make this stuff up, people. Unless, of course, you are an almost-four-year-old with a brand new imaginary friend.

Give me a 'b'

I just got choked up as Brian Williams annouced that Obama is probably going to get the nomination. I'm not going to delve into politics because I feel that it is a personal decision. I'm just moved by this news.

This entire democratic race has been monumental. It gives me hope that we, Americans, can still have dreams and still do great things.

I guess my faith has been a little bit restored. That's all.

Carry on!

I think it is too long to fit on a bumper sticker

I just read something brilliant on the internet that sums up my entire psyche when I get angry and upset and frustrated and exhausted:

"His instinct is to fix it, and that's not at all what I want. I don't want him to open the jar of pickles. I want him to understand HOW FRUSTRATED I AM THAT I CANNOT DO IT MYSELF, and then he needs to let me enumerate on every other issue that THAT GODDAMN JAR OF PICKLES is bringing to the surface."

Of course it was written by Dooce (mommy blogger/writer) (and if you aren't reading her blog because she is a mommy blogger you really need to suck it up and get over yourself because she's brilliant). I want to have her children or at least dog-sit for her once.

ANYWAY - when I read that I almost did one of those cartoon head slaps. I have a tendency (that I am working on) to get upset at whatever problem and then get really upset at whatever problem. I reach a point where I can't see the forest for the trees and every wronged that has ever wronged me is brought the surface and I have to expel all of it by re-hashing. It sucks and it is emotionally exhausting.

I think a lot of women deal with issues like this. When I get mad or upset I usually end up crying because I get so frustrated at the situation and I hate it. But I know sooooo many other women who react this way too. But I also know a lot of other women who don't. Of course, there are several in that group who don't really talk about emotion or tell the truth about their feelings.

What is the right way to deal? I dunno. I've been trying to find a happy medium and it is really hard. Thoughts? How do you deal with really big issues?

Bedtime excuses

By the time Sawyer was about 3 months old, he was on a pretty regular sleeping schedule. He woke up 2 times per night at 12 am and at 2 am. Each time he woke up, we changed his diaper, fed him a bottle, and he was right back out. Then he started sleeping through the night at about 6 months old.

He takes after me - he is a champion sleeper. I am the type of person who can take a 3 hour nap in the late afternoon and still sleep through the night. I can also marathon sleep through an entire day if given the opportunity.

Now, for the first time since infancy, Sawyer is resisting sleep. Of course, he sometimes puts up a fuss when it is time for B-E-D, but as long as he gets to read a book or hear a song, he gets over it quickly and snoozes off. For about the past 2 weeks Sawyer has gone to bed like normal and then 10-15-30 minutes later he is up and making excuses or requesting something (glass of water) to avoid going to bed.

He's a pretty funny guy, as kids go, and his requests are starting to surpass needing to pee and being thirsty. I think he's trying to come up with new material to see what he has to do in order to secure the elusive 'get-out-of-bed-free-card'.

Here is a short list of some of my favorite demands/excuses:

• He wants daddy to clip his nails
• There is a bug in his room
• He needs a 'chance'
• The TV hurts his ears
• His bottom itches
• He wants Jack (the dog) to sleep with him
• He doesn't want Jack (the dog) to be in his room
• His bed is wet - because he poured is cup of water on it (We gave him an 'A' for effort on that one)

He'll be 4 next month and we are wondering if this is something that goes with getting older. Do kids just get more manipulative and crafty as they age?