What was that last post about?

We're pretty much back to normal today, I'm happy to report. Besides some lingering coughs, Jake and Sadie were pretty much back to their funny, happy, inquisitive selves. Jake, especially, is a little loopy with all the Christmas talk, and getting ready for a week-long family get-together in Sea Isle City, NJ is just adding to the excitement.

Tomorrow, we'll drive up to the (or, "go down the," as Ali would say, preposition-less) shore. DD and Pop are sponsoring a family get together and we're all looking forward to fun times with about 30 Fergusons and Edelsteins and Carrs and Pucas. We're so happy that it's become the norm that both sets of Jake and Sadie's grandparents are together on the holidays. Those kids really are spoiled. Not to mention all the sweets that Ali's always sneaking them.

Here's a video of me and Jake, working on our Christmas song routine:

Worst Day?

I think to ensure survival of the human species, the brains of parents are designed to hold onto pleasant memories, and suppress memories of tough times with kids. That's why, when Ali and I ask our parents how we were as little kids, they have no memory of us waking up at night, or ever throwing a tantrum right in the middle of the grocery store, or anything bad like that. "You were wonderful!" And I'm sure we were, but I'm sure we had our moments too.

So, all this to say, I think yesterday was the hardest day of parenting yet, but I'm sure there were harder days that I just can't remember right now. And this one will fade too, but with blog technology, I'm going to write it down and record it so that when Jake and Sadie have kids of their own, I can tell them it's perfectly normal for their little ones to occasionally scream for an hour at 3am, or to forget every word of the English language except for "no" for an entire day.

Yesterday was the second day Ali and I stayed home with the kids. Jake and Sadie both have strep infections, and both also seem to have a cold on top of that. I have strep too, but I'm feeling much better now. Ali continues to stay healthy, and if she makes it through this without catching anything, she gets the Gold Medal of Immunity.

It was a day of crying and complaining and defiance and sneezing and coughing and crying and then more crying and whining. And they deserve some slack for being sick, don't get me wrong. But it got to be ridiculous. And they coordinated their efforts, so if Sadie went down for a nap, Jake cranked up his crankiness a few notches. If Jake was occupied with a video, Sadie decided she would attach herself to Ali, and still cry. It was just a sad, tiring, frustrating, long day.

The worst part is, they're still sick. We were holding out hope that they could go back to school today, especially because Jake's class has his big holiday party and gift exchange, but they are both still sicky sick. Maybe a little better than yesterday, but nowhere near 100 percent. When they're sick, time moves so slowly. I just hope that by next week, everyone is healthy, and we're all sipping egg nog, and opening presents, and yesterday will be one of those forgotten memories.

Santa, Sickies, Sleep

Here's Jake at the real Santa's Merrifield headquarters, showing that he knows that Christmas isn't all about getting presents. It's also about cheesy poses. We we waited patiently for almost an hour for Santa to arrive, which is actually not a bad wait in this Christmas fun-house that they've built at Merrifield Gardens. This is the same Santa that I went to as a kid. Yes, the same guy. He's 87. After he addresses everyone and leads some sing-a-longs and takes questions from the skeptical older kids, the real waiting starts. We were about 15th in line, and we waited in the same spot without moving for almost another 30 minutes. It was past naptime. And we were out of snacks. We told Jake we'd just write him a letter, and we snuck out and hopped in the car. Jake didn't seem to mind - besides, he already told Santa he wanted a racecar when he arrived by boat down at the lake.

I just realized the last post was about me staying home with a sick Sadie. Well, since then, she's recovered and had a good week, and now she's sick again, along with me and Jake. Jake's such a trooper and refuses to admit that he's sick. He can barely choke out "I feel good" in between coughs. Hopefully these bugs will all pass by the time we hit the road for Sea Isle City NJ this weekend!

Oh, and by the way, I think it's been a little over a month since Jake gave up his pacifiers and we're finally back on track with the bedtime ritual. There are hiccups here and there, but he's pretty much back to stories and songs and then staying in for the night. We haven't had a tantrum in weeks. Way to go Jake!

Sick Day

I'm at home today with Sadie, who's not feeling well. We've read lots of stories, but mostly she just feels like relaxing with her favorite blankets and watching TV. Here's the patient:

Weekend without kids

This weekend the kids are down at the lake with Gram and Poppy, and we're getting ready for our first "adult" party tomorrow night. Ali even asked me if we should have some decaf coffee ready. Coffee? Decaf coffee?? The party is for Ali's Sunrise work friends, a few of whom are leaving the company after long tenures. It'll be fun. We have a kareoke machine.

Anyway, the kids were so excited to go down to the lake this weekend. Here's Jake deciding which cars to bring with him:After we dropped them off we stopped at Wegmans on our way home. Think of the largest grocery store you've ever been too, then imagine that store as a tiny wastebasket in the corner of a Wegmans. It's probably too big. If we lived near one, and Ali sent me out for milk or sugar or something (which has never actually happened), I wouldn't be back for two hours. It's so big there's actually a restaurant in the middle of it. We sat down and had oysters and soup and hamburgers. It's amazing what you can do without toddlers. You can actually just stop and sit down for 15 minutes. Jake and Sadie are not big fans of sitting down for 15 minutes.

Good luck Gram and Poppy! Just remember, the short one needs diapers!

More pictures from Thanksgiving

Here's Sadie with a funny head-tilt on the 13th green:
And here are Jake and cousin Arjuna hamming it up:
Sadie carefully hanging ornaments on Gram and Poppy's tree:

Overheard while putting out the Christmas decorations tonight:

"Hey look at all these chimney socks!"

And as Jake unpacked a little manger scene:

"Daddy there's a cute little baby in here! She's so tiny!"