Sunday (Monday) Summary

Last week's 'roundup' post was written on Tuesday night so I think the fact I am writing this on Monday evening shows improvement, don't you?

I worked all weekend again, and I've had three hours sleep today so apologies for typos and general rambling nonsense.

As I discussed last week I am trying to capture some of the little stuff that happens every day. So I can look back and smile/laugh/cry/cringe.

This week we have mostly been dealing with the chicken pox!

Toby started out with one singular spot on Sunday 3rd and when I got home from work on the Monday morning there was still just the one lonely spot.  But over the course of the morning they magically multiplied and soon he was covered.  And I mean, covered.  On his scalp, his face, in his ears, behind his ears, in his mouth, on his neck, chest, underarms, arms, back, bum, legs, and even feet.  I felt so bad for him that having had zero sleep whatsoever after work I dutifully trundled off to the shops for "chicken pox supplies" and we battened down the hatches and barely left the house all week.

Actually, I escaped for the afternoon on Wednesday, which I think helped me cling on to what little sanity I have left these days.  I went over to my friends' house as she's teaching me TMW, which stands for Thai Chi Movements for Wellbeing.  It's partly to help me in my quest to get fit and healthy and help my poor sad knees, but also just generally it sounded like something that everyone could do with learning, as who doesn't need a little help with their well-being? I sure do.  I've only had two sessions but enjoying it so far.

Aside from that and a second dash to the supermarket (unaccompanied) on Friday we've mostly been in quarantine...

watching DVD's

playing lego

and of course occasionally driving each other crazy (no photographic evidence for this one!)

His spots have started to scab over now so according to The Chicken Pox Rules we can now leave the house and mingle with the general public, although Rudy has yet to develop a single spot, so chances are, just as we're integrating back into society and getting some much-needed Vitamin D, Rudy will develop it and we'll back in isolation again.

I underestimated the chicken pox actually.  I don't remember having it as a child, although I'm assured I did.  I knew it wasn't going to be pleasant, obviously, but it's been much more gruesome than I imagined. He's been so brave, much braver than I would be, although he's had his moments of total emotional breakdown obviously.  Probably the saddest was when he was in pain with one of the larger spots in his ear and between sobs he said to me "Mummy?...Chicken pox is naughty" *sniff sniff* Poor little guy.

Oh and speaking of ears, he thinks he has hedgehogs in his.  Yes, you read that right.  Hedgehogs.  I don't know why he thinks this but he does.  He told me that "The hedgehogs don't like chicken pox in my ears" and when questioned, calmly informed me that he has hedgehogs in his ears, and that they may in fact eat the chicken pox...I'm trying to see this as a "imaginative 3 year old" thing and not a "early onset psychosis" thing.  He does seem to be over the worst of the pox now anyway although has picked a couple so I'm slightly worried about scars. I guess only time will tell.

Rudy had a black eye again this week.  He had a black eye a few weeks ago, that he got from playing peekaboo over the back of the sofa with me (I know, how guilty do you think I felt?!) and I actually took him to A&E the day after as the swelling was pretty bad, although thankfully it was just soft tissue damage (aka, your regular run-of-the-mill black eye) not a fracture.  Then just as the swelling and bruising had disappeared, he decided to try climb on to the glass TV stand, lost his footing and bashed the same eye on the edge, resulting in- you guessed it, a black eye. Only not as bad this time, as he caught under his eye so there was no swelling, but he did have a delightfully bright purple bruise, what people would (and did) refer to as "a real shiner"

He wasn't bothered beyond the first 30 seconds after it happened, and so life continued as normal, but with the addition of random strangers staring and/or accosting me to ask how he had done it.  One of the gymnastic coaches working at the centre where we sometimes go to Gym Tots took one look at Rudy as we walked in the door and asked "That's a real shiner! What have you been doing- knocking him around?!"  How do you answer that without looking like a shitty parent?!

"Oh yeah, all the time!" (Blatant sarcasm, but could be misinterpreted)

OR

"No no no, it's not like that at all!"(Me think the Mama do protesteth too much)

I went for Paddington Bear Stare whilst handing over our money and searching the empty, sleep-deprived cavity where my brain used to be, for something witty that would convey just how much I disliked his question and how there was no way on this earth I would ever "knock" my kids "around".  Needless to say my search was fruitless but later, after we'd been to and enjoyed our little gym session he spotted us on our way out and said "still just the one black eye then?!" and I pointed out that the chances of him getting a black eye in a padded gym tots session was much much lower than of him getting one in our non-padded home, and that perhaps if our house, and indeed, everywhere was as padded, then maybe he wouldn't get black eyes at all.  Although thinking about it now, I don't know with Rudy, he might find a way...hmmm...

He's all healed now anyway and I am (perhaps foolishly) optimistic that we can have a few days without injury (please?!)  He is trying out lots of new words, although unfortunately a lot of them sound really similar, like "Dadda" (Daddy) "DA!" (Toby) "Do" (Doggy) and "Dar" (Down).  He spends a lot of time shouting "BANANA" because he is obsessed with bananas, and plus we've kind of reinforced it unintentionally, by actually feeding him whenever he yells it.  So like, why wouldn't he yell it now?! He has also started saying the most adorable thing: "Duddle" which means "cuddle" and is usually accompanied by him stretching out his arms and wiggling his little fingers at you.  So cute.  It's beyond cute actually. There needs to be a new word invented especially for it.

Speaking of super cute, here's how the week ended...I got home from work on Mother's Day morning and this was what I saw when I walked through the door

Then I went to bed in-between my night shifts and while I was sleeping the boys did some Mothers Day crafts with Daddy.  So I woke up to tea and biscuits and this

A beautiful end to a poxy, get it- poxy?! (Hehe, never gets old that one!) week :)