Bringin' the Heat

The calendar says we've got about three weeks to go, but in the Bills House, summer is in effect!

Daddy's new bbq grill.

Larry, Logan and Wills enjoy the new slip n' slide.







Ollietime, and the livin' is easy.

Signs of Summer

Sign posted near the sign-in sheet in Logan's class today:

Parents

Summer has begun.

Please take home your children's coats.

This sign was not meant to be funny, but it's the kind of thing that just sounds sarcastic even though Logan's sweet teacher does not seem to have a sarcastic bone in her body. I cracked up when I read it.

The undertone is something along the lines of "Parents: Your child does not need her parka on the playground when it's 90 degrees. The only current use of the parkas and sweaters hanging on the hooks near our cubbies is for your children to pull them down, erect Mount Parka in the middle of the classroom, and then jump on top of them--all activities thoroughly unsanctioned by our bylaws. Seriously...put them in storage."

And for the record, Logan's parka and winter sweater are ensconced in our hall closet so I'm not a perpetrator and therefore have a right to crack up.

What We Did on Our Long Weekend

• Guess who picked up Ollie's tummy bug? Sigh. The worst seems to be over, though.
• Guess who got a new barbecue grill for his birthday?
• Guess who had an awesome time playing in his new cardboard playhouse with Jackson K?
• Guess who finally rolled from back to tummy?

Six Flags Over Daddy

Recession amusement park ride.

Note Logan's random request to "see Logan and William." He seems to associate the video camera with his cousin.

Storytime

Logan decided to read me a book this evening. If the book is "Go, Dog, Go," this exercise can be fun, as he has most of the book memorized and appears to be "reading" as he turns through it, even though he's really just reciting.

Alas, the book he chose was a "Frog and Toad" book. So it went like this.

(Page 1) "The man went for a walk."

(Page 2) "He went for a walk."

(Page 3) "The man went for a walk. Good boy."

(Page 4) "The man went for a walk. Trees."

(Page 5-page 25 turned silently with thoughtful look.)

Logan, did you want to read more to Mommy?

(Page 26) Purple. Green. Red! Blue. Yelloooow.

OK buddy, do you want Mommy to read the book?

(Page 27 turned silently with thoughtful look.)

But this is good, too.

(Page 28-page 64 turned silently with thoughtful look.)

"The end!"

Priceless

I saw a recently married friend today and was griping about the past week. The barf. The travel. He looked kind of worried and said, "But it's worth it, right?" And I realized I was inadvertently giving a negative review to parenthood.

So, yeah, J, just to set the record straight: I would be barfed on 1,000 times by these guys and it would still be worth it.

Think You Had a Tough Week?

Things I have experienced this week:

• Being projectile vomited on. Not near. ON.
• Cleaning vomit off baby's hair with my T-shirt.
• Three hours of sleep per night, segmented like this: In bed at 11, awakened at 1, rocking and nursing fussy baby until 2, cleaning up ensuing vomit, rocking fussy baby again, back to sleep around 4, awakened by whiney toddler at 5.
• Changing third blowout diaper in an hour, brought my hand up to brush hair out of my eyes. So tired I didn't realize I was still holding diaper. Smacked dirty side of diaper against my cheek and lips. (This is the second most disgusting thing that has happened to me with my babies (not counting childbirth, of course). The first was when I lifted Logan in the air when he was a baby to make him giggle and he spit up straight down onto my face and mouth.)

It's been a horrible week for Ollie and for us, but he seems to be over the worst of it and had a good day, keeping down Pedialyte, formula and a little bit of solids and taking two walks with Grammy. He's been fever free since the weekend, which is great, so I think we're close to closing the book on this one.

Return of the Exersaucer

Jackson and Sadie K. lent Oliver their Exersaucer now that Sadie has outgrown it. We suspected it would be a hit because Logan loved it. It was fun getting it back from them knowing it's now served all four kids. It takes a village, people!



I arrived home from my trip to find Ollie with a stomach bug. Daddy, Grammy and Grandad were heroic, managing multiple loads of laundry, diapers and a fussy Logan. Oliver alternates between being in good spirits (the Exersaucer could not have come at a better time to distract him) and being very upset when his fever spikes or when he's really uncomfortable.

We're at about 15 diaper changes a day and a similar number of onesies, because no diaper can really contain the onslaught of the Big D. We've actually had some limited success putting a size 3 on Oliver and then one of Logan's size 5's over it. The size 5 catches the overflow about half of the time, saving us an outfit change. We thought Oliver might be too hot or even get a heat rash from the double bagging, but he's been OK with it. Our carbon footprint is an embarrassment at this point with all of these diapers, but what can we do?

Notwithstanding the illness, the fellas had a great time with Grammy and Grandad.

Bachelor Pad

All mail to Logan should now be sent to 11928-B, the address of his new bachelor pad decorated by the firm of GHI (Grammy Helen Interiors).

Of note: The bell that tinkles when the door is opened (or nudged by a cat); the shuttered windows; the real door latch; the faux-brick exterior and the real interior light. I knew Grammy Helen would deliver a top-notch product!

The Transformative Power of a Trip to Hobby Lobby

It's 100 degrees in Scottsdale, AZ, where my breast pump and I will be until the end of the week for a conference.

At home they will hardly miss me at all, as Grammy Helen and Granddad will be in town to give Daddy an assist, work with Ollie on his rollover skills and help Logan turn this box into a spectacular playhouse!

Logan and His Aunt LeeLee

Happy Mother's Day.

Oh, Gross! (Motor)

As a former preemie, Oliver is submitted to periodic assessments of his development. Gross motor (big muscle skills like sitting and lifting his head); fine motor (small muscle skills like picking things up and clapping); and communications (smiling, laughing, chattering). While his fine motor and communications skills are tracking well, Ollie does seem to be lagging a little in gross motor. He doesn't yet roll back to front or sit unassisted, and the Early Childhood Intervention program says he should.

It's my opinion that Oliver is fine. Dr. P is equally unworried because Ollie is showing forward progress (he's not stagnating). Nonetheless, we all agree there's no sense in being arrogant. So in early June a physical therapist will put Oliver through some paces and determine how red the "red flags" really are.

Meantime, at day care and here at home, we're all working with him on sitting and rolling. At day care he has a special toy basket that they use to tempt him to sit up. Here, Daddy and Logan distract Ollie from his "exercises" with a book.


He's come very close to rolling back to front this weekend. I think we'll nail it.

He Has a Point

Ever since grandma and grandpa came "on an airplane" to visit, Logan has been very interested in airplanes flying overhead.

This morning:

Mommy, an airplane! (Actually I'm pretty sure it was just someone starting a car).

Yes, buddy! Like grandma and grandpa flew on.

Airplane goin' up.

Where do you think it's going?

(Incredulous look). Mommy...the airport!

Mommy's Little Biscuit

He's generally a very smiley baby, but Olliepop is dead serious about teething biscuits. Whereas Logan immediately rejected the "Earth's Best Organic Teething Biscuits" I proudly brought home from Whole Foods, Oliver willl chew on a biscuit like it's his job.

And woe to the Mommy, Daddy or Grammy who gets between Ollie and that biscuit when it's eatin' time.

Cardboard Fun

This box contained a large order from Diapers.com. No way could I throw out something with so many possibilities.

No Use Crying Over Spilled Milk

Before I had Logan, I made a mental list of Things I Would Never Buy/Do As a Mom. Things like, "Go to the HEB in pajama pants" and "Give my kids pudding for dinner."

There's "Mom Who Takes Shortcuts" and "Mom Who Has Given Up." I'll be the former, I said, but not the latter.

Also on that list was "Buy a vinyl tablecloth." Having children doesn't mean living like you're camping 24/7, I vowed. It's possible to dine with linens from Pier 1 rather than plastic placemats from Target, I insisted. Placemats can be washed, tables can be cleaned, I said. A little spilled milk is not a big deal.

Well. Please join me in welcoming:



But please note, that's a Tiffany fruit bowl. Hell if I'm not going to go down swinging.

Looth Tooth

Logan got home Thursday evening and refused a half of a biscuit for a snack. That's all you need to know to understand why we went immediately to high-alert status. Logan has a No Biscuit Left Behind policy from which he does not waver.

It soon became clear that Logan was refusing not just biscuits but all food except yogurt. And after a general health inspection with the symptoms of swine flu (oh, fine, H1N1) ticking through my mind, I realized that his left front baby tooth was crooked and bleeding and his gums were swollen. In other words, at some point between the cookies he ate at around 3.30 PM and his arrival home a few hours later, he loosened a tooth.

There were no other bruises or cuts so we called our doctor's office and they advised us we could wait until morning, but we definitely needed to see a dentist Friday. Hmmm. We don't have a dentist for the boys yet. I was planning to find one in a few months.

And...pediatric dentists, as it turns out, like to take Fridays off.

My anxiety turned to panic as I called dentist after dentist and found none of them working. Finally, I called my own dentist in desperation and they helped us get an appointment at a pediatric dentist on the other end of town.

Turned out this dentist was terrific and I'm bummed that he's so far away. Logan was extremely brave in the chair, as was Elmo, who also received a brief inspection.

And the story ends well: It looks like Logan's tooth will be fine; it doesn't have to be pulled and is likely, says our new best friend the Dentist with an Office Really Far South, to "resettle" itself.

So it's going to be about a week of Tylenol, yogurt, shredded cheese and chocolate pudding for Logan until he's feeling a bit better.

And you know what, that doesn't sound half bad.