Friday, July 25, 2014

Summer Colds and Things That Go Bump in the Night

I'm on week 2 of the summer cold from hell.  This cold really knocked me on my butt.  I haven't been sick in a while, but for some reason this one got me.  I blame the kid's summer camp for this.  Lauren was congested for a day or 2, then Ben - then I got steamrolled.  It's like a little slice of January right here in July!  (We all know how much I love January).  I finally gave in and went to the Dr....I had an awful sinus infection (back of hand draped dramatically on forehead) and I got some fun antibiotics. And by "fun" I mean, doubled over with stomach pains because Augmentin really does a number on the tummy.   It's all very dramatic.

I tend to get a little....fussy....when I'm sick.  Normally, I'd have called my mother to whine and complain.  She's a great mom like that - she's like a bowl of chicken soup right over the phone.  She's also a nurse, so she can field questions like "My sinuses really hurt -Do I have flesh eating bacteria of the nose?" or "I think I have brain eating ameoba from swimming in brackish water.."   After gently reminding me we don't actually have brackish water around here and that she's pretty sure it's just a common cold, she then entertains days of phone calls where I just whine.  This time, however, she had gone on a trip to Ireland, so my mommy was out of pocket.  Poor Brian.  He was also sick, though...so I had to take it easy on him.  I briefly contemplated calling my dad, but when it comes to things like this - I don't think he quite gets what I'm looking for.  He likes to solve the problem - not  mull it over 17 different ways and then do it again the next day.  I imagined the conversation would go something like this...

"Hi Dad, I'm sick and I think I'm going to die.."
"Sorry to hear that honey, you should probably get things in order and make a will."
"But Dad, I feel awful and want to complain"
"Honey, you'll feel fine tomorrow.  Take a Tylenol."
"But Dad..."
"Melissa?? KASHHHHHH - I think we have a bad connection...CHHHHHASSSSHHHH...Can't hear you....breaking up..."

I was briefly mad at my father, then realized we didn't actually HAVE that conversation.  Sorry, Dad.

As all you mommy's out there know - when mommy gets sick, we can't take a "sick day".  We still have to care for our babies and make them meals and field 247 questions an hour, just like any other day.  When I get sick, the babies descend upon me to "care for" me.  They take my temperature with thier little plastic thermometer and sit on top on me as I lay lifeless on the couch with a pillow over my head in an effort to make the pounding headache stop.  Inevitably, they get into a fight - Lauren looked at Ben too long or Ben told Lauren her fingers are going to fall off and won't "take it back" and they go back & forth until I yell out from underneath my pillow that my head hurts and mommy needs to get better, so please stop the fighting.  This only serves to spark a barrage of questions from them...like, "Where does a headache come from?  Did I bang my head?  Why do I put my head under a pillow?  Will that make me better?  Should they do that when they're sick?"    If I answer, it only prompts more questions. If I don't, they'll continue to ask the same questions until they have satisfactory answers.  It's so relaxing!  :)

In other news- our house may be haunted.  Not like "chairs piled into a pyramid in the middle of the kitchen" haunted.  More a subtle haunted.  Radios turning on by themselves randomly, doors opening in the middle of the night, Brynn acting REALLY strange, and now my keys are missing.  It all started a few weeks ago when Brian & I decided we'd move our bedroom into Lauren's room since she's been sleeping in Ben's room and basically just uses her room as a dressing room :)    Her room and closet is bigger than ours, so we figured we'd take her room - and move her room into our old room.  So of course we have to repaint the rooms and move dressers, etc - but in the meantime, we've moved our bed into Lauren's old room.  I don't know if we just upset the feng shui in the house or what - but since then all these strange little things have been happeneing.   I was making dinner one night and an old radio we have in the corner of the kitchen came on.  It's been there for years and never done that before, so I thought it was odd but didn't dwell.  A few nights later I was in the kitchen and it happened again.  A few days later I was in the kids playroom and the TV was on - and just shut off by itself.  Ok...I mean, not too big of a deal - but we've lived here for 4 years and never had anything strange happen before.  Then the other night I pulled in the driveway after going out to get dinner.  I got out of the car and came into the house - keys in hand.  We have a key rack we always hang our keys on on the way in.  I do it automatically now.  Keys are always there.  I swore I did that the other night, but in the morning the keys were gone.  Brian & I tore the house apart thinking maybe I set them down somewhere by mistake - but they're nowhere to be found.  I even dumped out the trash and went through it to make sure I didn't accidentally throw them away.  We checked the car, of course to see if I left them in there...they HAVE to be somewhere in the car or in the house.  They are literally nowehere - fallen into a vortex.  Both Brian & I swear I came in and put those keys on the rack like always.  Yesterday as we searched the house, Brynn (my mastiff) wouldn't leave my side.  She was never more than 2 inches away from me.  It was strange.  Finally, last night we were asleep and we hear Brynn barrel assing up the stairs - again something she never does in the middle of the night.  It startled both of us out of a sleep - she was waiting at our door for us to let her in.  She was spooked.  Brian checked the house and found nothing.  The dog then paced around the bedroom and wouldn't settle down.  Finally, Brian decided to go down on the couch to try and salvage a few more hours of sleep before his alarm went off.  While he was down there the hall closet opened by itself.  Middle of the night.  No explanation.  Hmmm.  Maybe we're all just crazy...that's a real possibility, too.  But it is strange.  Do I believe in ghosts?  I don't know - I'll save that one for the next blog.  Meanwhile, we're thinking about moving back into our old room.

Stay healthy and hold onto your keys! :)



Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Now THAT'S Hot....

Did you know that if your grill catches on fire you can use baking soda to put it out?  Yep.  I had the unfortunate experience of looking out the window to see flames shooting out of the grill (note: the chicken that was cooking on it was not edible after that point).  It's a gas grill, which made it a bit nerve racking, so I did what any brave woman with a grill on fire would do.  I remembered an article I read on the uses of baking soda (dousing grease fires being one of them), then I screamed for Brian and armed him with a box of baking soda while the kids & I ran and hid behind the couch and watched from the window.  In the end all was fine - fire was out - nobody exploded.  Turns out you actually have to clean the grease that collects at the bottom of the grill before using it, otherwise it can catch on fire.  Oops.  I didn't know that.  I thought the grill was pretty low maintenance.  But it's not.....aaaaand I set the grill on fire.

On a lighter note...We've been having tons of fun out in the sun now that summer is here! In the last week, we managed to hit the splash pad, our favorite beach, and a friend's pool for a swim.  So we're soaking up all the summer we can while we can. These are the days that make all those awful, cold January days worth it.  The weather has been just perfect and our days filled with summery fun.  This is not to say that each day is filled with rainbows and roses. No...in fact, at the end of each of these lovely outings, there's always some kind of fiasco that reminds me that I have 2 preschoolers with me.  Like for example, when Ben fell in the public toilet as we were leaving the beach...EWWWWWW!!!   He leaned over the toilet to flush it and slipped.  And fell in.  I just....the germ level was off the charts.  It's almost as bad as the time he & Lauren put their tongues on the counter of the pharmacy during flu season. Maybe this is worse...I don't know - I can't think straight with all the Lysol fumes permeating the air.  Anyway, more preschooler drama ensued on Friday when Ben "graduated" from his little sports camp and was being handed his merit award and Lauren decided at that exact moment that she was going to throw up, only to have me rush her to the bathroom where she decided she was fine.  Mmmmm Hmmmm.   I'm pretty sure she gets her dramatic flair from Brian..

In other news, my iPhone of 2 years has finally bought the farm.  It's truly amazing that the phone lasted as long as it did...what with 2 kids playing games on it and many close calls with a body of water.  Honestly, I really wasn't looking forward to getting a new phone.  I get really attached to my electronics (ya I know - I'm a weirdo..)  But think about it...this phone has been with me, by my side, under my pillow at night, for 2 years!  We've laughed together, cried together.  I've received great news and tragic news on that phone.  I've clutched it in my clammy hands while laying on the bathroom floor with the horrid stomach flu while I updated my facebook status to "I think I'm gonna die.."  I've googled everything from "chicken marsala recipes" to "how to remove a crayon from my toddler's nose" to "hot pics of Mark Conseulos".  That phone and I have been on vacation together, and played countless games of Candy Crush together.  Oh and don't even get me started on Siri!

Last week when the phone went completely haywire and refused to do anything but email, I knew it was time for a new one.  So I headed down to AT& T to figure out what to get.  As I sat there waiting for a salesperson to help me, I took a little walk down memory lane in my head...my iPhone & I skipping through a field of flowers saying our goodbyes.  I was feeling pretty bad when suddenly I was approached by this gorgeous man - a cross between Channing Tatum and a young Daniel Craig.  Perfectly chiseled features and eyes that could melt the heart of any woman between the ages of 17 and 92.  Under his shirt, rippling muscles and a body made for running around on a beach with tight swim trunks....saving "drowning" women who threw themselves into the riptide just to be saved by this beautiful Greek God sent from the Heavens for the viewing pleasure of women the world over a very nice salesperson who was extremely helpful in helping me to chose a new phone :)    For some reason, I was feeling much better about my new phone as a I left the store.  On a completely unrelated side note:  If you are a woman and live within 100 miles of Manchester, CT - you should immediately take a hammer to your current cell phone, and then head into the Manchester AT&T for a new one.  You'll thank me later.

As I write this, Lauren & Ben are at their little morning camp session I signed them up for.  I have to say it's pretty strange dropping them both off and actually having a few hours to myself - GASP!  It's been nice getting errands done sans kiddos...and SO much faster, too!  Yesterday I actually came home, put my iPod on with some really cool jazz music, and cleaned the house top to bottom (well, mostly) - and not even ONCE was I interrupted  to break up a fight over who could play with a 25 yr old Strawberry Shortcake phone (that was mine as a kid) that no longer works and that nobody has looked at in 2 years except when 1 of the kids starts to play with it and suddenly it becomes this hot commodity...

The Phone In Question


  
I actually have an hour to kill before I have to pick up the kids...hmmm...what to do.  You know what?  I think I need another car charger for my new cell phone.  AT&T - here I come :)