Back to Vol. 2 No. 32, or up to Jamie Chew's Web Log Archive. or forward to Vol. 2 No. 34.

Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 2 No. 33

2008-04-22 22:23 (Kristen) Liam was up early enough, nursing away, but Jamie proved to be hard to budge. John was talking softly to him as he levered Jamie out of bed, but I could clearly hear a disoriented and mostly unconscious Jamie protesting in Japanese, "Yadda*! Yadda*! [No! Stop it! I don't want you to do that!, etc.] John says that Jamie was dehydrated, which isn't surprising, and so Jamie ate his breakfast in the living room and drank almost a whole juice box at the same time. Liam was perky and rarin' to go, so out they went to school. John and Liam came back to cart some old computer equipment to Jackman School, as the school was hosting a huge recycle day as part of their Earth Day commemorations. This included taking old computer monitors, etc., which worked for us (although we missed the toxic taxi this year; rats). Liam enjoyed helping. We went home, and puttered there while I made lunch for Jamie and did and that at Liam's bidding.

We met up with Jake and his mom and brother at the school, and had lunch at the picnic table in the playground in the bright sunshine. That went over well, but I think that Jamie was a little tired when we reached our skating lesson. He was very reluctant to go out, and came back off the ice a little over halfway through the class. He didn't want to fall again, and he was tired, and he wanted to go home. I jollied him back onto the ice to get him to play with a stick and a puck, and then, when he wanted off again (10 minutes before the end), I told him that he could only get off if he skated from where he was over to the exit halfway down the ice from where he was. Sure enough, when he had a purpose, he could skate quite quickly. Who knew. Apparently most of the kids just weren't into it today, likely because it was 22 degrees Celsius outside...

Jake had a dentist appointment today, so we went home and watched Godzilla: The Animated Television Series instead. I think that it's kind of scary, but Jamie watched it with me beside him to explain stuff, and I have to thank Gary ever so much for it when he returns from Japan in two weeks. Really thank him. We went outside soon after Liam and John returned from the Second Cup, and the boys played well. Liam scraped up his knee on one of the slides in the back yard, and really hated it when I had to clean the dirt out of it, but otherwise it all went well. We blew bubbles, and Jamie waited very impatiently for Sam, Ben, and Luke to come home and play with water guns again. It turned into one of those lovely neighbourhood free-for-alls, but we had to leave around 5:30 to go to the Silk Road Cafe to meet up with John's old friend Alan Kastner. John's parents came along as well, and we had a good deal of fun. Both boys were very hungry, and Jamie later said, with a sheepish but pleased grin, that he ate too much broccoli while he was there. The only downside was that Liam fell in the bathroom and gave himself two impressive welts on his forehead. They're going to bruise spectacularly, and go nicely with his sniffles and scraped knee.

We came home straight from the restaurant, and played some "warwarwar" (Wii) before heading off to bed. Liam enjoyed reading a book in Japanese that had a mummy cat and a baby cat, and kept pointing out each and then pointing to himself as the small cat. He likes it when I kissed him like a mummy cat. Liam's cold is keeping him from sleeping very well, but I hope that he gets a good night's sleep.

2008-04-23 22:11 (Kristen) I should do a quick roundup of things said and done by the boys worthy of mention but not mentioned in previous iterations of this blog. First, Liam has discovered for us that you can use the toaster as a pen holder. He had stuffed three pens into it before I caught him. Fortunately, he didn't depress the plunger, and we didn't have toasted pens stuck in there too. The toaster is in a different place. Whenever it's quiet around Liam, I worry. A lot. And go find him quickly. He said the word "bubble" today almost clearly, surprising me quite a bit, but it was contextual. Jamie and his friends, on Monday, were discussing which girls they liked. Jamie likes Sabine (d'uh), who likes him but apparently doesn't like Sam, which caused some small but quickly dropped concern between the two of them, where Jamie defended Sabine by saying that she was nice to him. There was much dissing of girls in general (mainly by Jake), but I pointed out to them, "Hello?! Girl in the room, here!" They thought that was very funny.

It was off to class as usual, and John's mom walked with John and Liam back to our house. I usually am given a half hour to do dishes and have my coffee before I'm back on Liam duty, but today I heard an enormous wail in the driveway, and I met John coming up the stairs into the house with a howling Liam. He'd fallen and bitten his mouth; blood, which needed cleaning, and a fat lip for the remainder of the day. Every day he's done some bit of external damage (mouth, forehead, both knees), and we're ready for him to get a little more coordination now, thank you. I took Liam with me to the Big Carrot, which he enjoyed, and then we raced back home for snacks and lunch making before taking Jamie to Hakobune. We were very close to late (and may have actually have been: Liam and I stayed in the car), but got Jamie to the daycare. John, Liam, and I went to Loblaws for some groceries and sushi (Liam ate just the crab out of the centres of 10 pieces of roll). When we were done, I got John to drop us off near Aroma, and Liam kindly fell asleep in the stroller on the way there. I worked and Liam slept until 3:00, and then we picked up Jamie. It was the usual exciting trip home, and Jamie was extremely excited when John revealed that we have a fabulous super soaker of our own in the garage. He played with that for a while, and Liam wandered about, while I did yardwork, and then we headed in for dinner.

Liam was crabby and hungry but didn't eat much. Jamie ate well, and did a good job of entertaining himself for about half an hour while I cleaned up the kitchen. We read a bit together, and then got ready for the bath. I had to herd Jamie a bit, because it's harder to let him dawdle as much as he wants to when it's only the three of us, but we got into the bath together and had a good time. We read three books, and the boys were asleep by 9:20.

2008-04-24 23:17 (Kristen) Liam had a very restless night last night, but fell asleep again for what was sort of a nap around 8:00. He woke up a little after 9:00 in a good mood, but not particularly hungry. He was hungry around 10:30, when I was making Jamie's lunch, however. I got everything done, and packed him up to go with John to Jackman to pick up Jamie. Jamie and John and John's dad headed off, as Jamie was going to Hakobune and John to the airport to fly off to Boston for the weekend. I took Liam to Browning, where he ate a little lunch and went off with Ken for a walk. Ken says that he didn't fall asleep until Coxwell, which is the halfway point of their walk, and Liam woke up after five minutes at the Second Cup. I estimate that he slept for half an hour; 45 minutes max. Ugh. We went to get Jamie, and then walked up to the subway. I was happy about that, as Jamie had walked with the rest of the kids to Queen's Park, and had been complaining that he was tired on the way back (although he had "100% energy" on the way there). We met up with Minako-sensei on the way, and travelled with her part way on the subway, to Jamie's great pleasure.

With Gary gone, Jamie has been playing a lot with our neighbours Sam, Ben, and Luke. However, they weren't home today, and he was reduced to playing with the super soaker on his own, and to playing with his brother. I had to take Liam in at one point, as he was tired enough that he wasn't listening to me when he was running off into the alley. We ate, but were interrupted by Sam, who wanted Jamie to come out to play. That broke the rhythm, and the boys abandoned dinner to go outside. We took just enough time to miss the Martin boys, unfortunately, but I was glad that I was able to offer Jamie time with Alexandria at 7:00. She came over to watch the boys while I ran our book club (I was hosting), and the last thing Jamie said to me before he fell asleep tonight was "I had so much fun." I put the boys to sleep around 8:50, and Jamie fell asleep first. Liam took much longer, and fought it hard, but fell asleep as well by 9:15.

2008-04-25 22:56 (Kristen) It was our first morning without Papa in the house. As a treat, Jamie and Liam made it very easy for me to get them fed and out the door to school. Thanks, guys! John's mom was waiting for us at the schoolyard, and walked with me and Liam to the subway, as we were going to Hakobune. We parted ways, and I took Liam on the train. He loves the subway, and insists (whenever possible) that he get up and have a seat to himself. He then proceeds to "talk" with whoever will talk with him.

Liam was happy until we arrived at Hakobune and he saw Sasaki-sensei. Then he burst into tears until I was out of sight (and earshot). Both Minako-sensei and Mrs. Sasaki told me that Liam came up to them and *asked* to do crafts. With glue. I'm not sure what I'm more impressed by: that he wanted to do crafts, or that he was able to communicate exactly what he wanted so clearly. I, in the meantime, had gone home to do some work, have a shower, and get ready to pick up Jamie at 11:30. John's dad drove us to Hakobune, where Jamie and I bought pizza for lunch for me, Liam, and Jamie. Upon our arrival, I saw Liam having fun and playing until he saw me: then, of course, he burst into tears. We went out, leaving Jamie behind to a chorus of "Jamie no pizza!" from envious other children, and ate our own pizza. I chatted with the other moms while LIam sat on one of the little kids chairs. The other kids were roaming, and Liam (who had not eaten much thus far in the day) was too distracted and tired to eat. He fell three times off the little chair, and I decided that was enough. I packed him up, and he fell asleep not long after that in the stroller.

He slept until a little before 3:00, just as I was sending off a freelance project. I got it sent off, and took a sweet Liam with me to pick up Jamie. I explained to Jamie that we needed to go, and he agreed. His friend, Kakeru-kun, and his mom and brother (Akira) walked with us to Bloor, and came with us to the bubble tea store. The boys were full of beans, and very happy as they chattered away in Japanese. We parted ways in the subway, and made it home without too much incident (except for invisible bears, lions, and tigers everywhere). When we got home, Jamie let me come with him to Jamieland for the first time, and I can testify that it is an amazing place. We did some of this and a bit of that, and headed to Browning for dinner at six.

Tom played with Liam and Daniel with Jamie, and I had an hour to myself (which was great). We ran home at 9:00 when Grammie called to say that she was almost there, and the boys were utterly delighted to see her and Becky. Both boys gave hugs and kisses, and Liam actually offered Blue Pony (his current favourite toy) to Grammie for inspection. Liam followed Jamie's lead: when Jamie gave Grammie and Becky hugs and kisses hello, he followed right away. Baths were had, and then it was lights out at 9:50 (way too late). I hope that they are not too tired tomorrow.

2008-04-26 23:29 (Kristen) I found out last night, just before I went to bed, that the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) union had just gone on strike with little to no warning. This called for a bit more tweaking of our day's activities, and my thanking the PTBs that my mom was here with her car this weekend. Jamie was taken to Nisshu Gakkuin by our friend Junko, which was enormously helpful. The day was going to be very busy, however, for the first half as Jamie had his annual happyokai*, or class presentation, at 11:15, and we needed to go grocery shopping at the Market first. We managed it all, doing the shopping and getting home in time to pick up Junko's husband and then to the school in time to videotape Jamie's class sing three or four songs (very very cute) for their presentation. John's parents came as well, and were happy to see that Jamie was featured in the front middle of the class, and not picking his nose on the side or failing to sing.

Jamie did a great job; he was very serious, but I suspect he was a little shy and a little tired too. After his presentation, the rest of us went to Starbuck's (John's parents were there too, but left right afterwards) for a drink, and then we headed back to get Jamie at the usual time. Jamie played with Hari-kun while we found his car seat, and didn't put up too much of a fight going home. Liam fell asleep the moment we turned into the driveway, but was quickly put into his stroller and fell back asleep so that we could get lunch. This we did at the Second Cup, as per Jamie's request. He was a little forceful and single minded today, and I think it was a combination of John's being away, having to pee a lot, and being tired.

Liam woke up after two hours, when we were on the way home. I cleaned, my mom cooked dinner, and Becky looked after the kids. The boys liked the homemade mac and cheese (yay! I now know how to make it too!) and liked the trip to Dairy Queen afterwards even more. They were both exhausted when we got back, so it was into the bath and off to bed. They gave both Mom and Becky goodnight hugs and kisses, which were too cute for words.

2008-04-27 25:04 (Kristen) It's hard to encapsulate the days sometimes, when there is so much going on, and both boys are doing their level best to make me laugh and smile all the time. Liam, for example, threw his hands up in the air spontaneously and said "yay!" when the ice cream arrived, and Jamie described himself as having 1000% energy for the day, having stuffed himself full of dim sum. So much detail is lost when I write this blog, but having even a fraction of it down somewhere helps me to remember the rest.

That isn't to say that the boys were not in my good books when, on the one morning that we can all sleep in, they were poking and pleading for me to *get up, Mummy!* at 7:15. Not so very good. We got up around 8:00, had breakfast, and were joined not long afterwards by Grammie and then Becky. I found a pad of paper with very funny drawings that Jamie and Becky had collaborated on, including a sponge versus mop deathmatch. Hilarious. Sponges have rockets, and evil mops have bat wings. In case you didn't already know. The boys played outside with Becky for a little bit while I did a mad clean aroundthe house, and then we set off for a ramble on the Danforth. Mom graciously bought lunch (which was more expensive than anticipated, d'oh, but we have lots of leftovers), and bought Jamie a rubber spider (and LIam a little wooden horse) at Treasure Island. Jamie really really wanted me to buy him the $50 Exoforce he found, and then the $80 one when I said no to the first. Thank goodness he didn't see the $150 Exoforce set. We headed back, finally, to home and waved to Daniel and Ross as they passed by in their car. Tom phoned soon after to see if the boys could come over and play with ours, and we happily agreed. The kids all played together (water guns somehow became involved) for about an hour and a half outside while I had a shower and did some more housework. It was amazing to be able to trust Daniel and Becky with the kids, and no tears were shed (although Ross was irritated when he got soaked by Daniel).

We eventually left to go and have Thai food with Auntie Millie, up north in Markham. Jamie fell asleep on the way up, and slept for half an hour, until a little after 6:00. D'oh. We got to the restaurant, which happily had a large brick patio all around the little mall it was in. I took the boys (who were a little wound up) outside to run around and play Monster until the food was ready. They enjoyed it and (as mentioned earlier) loved the ice cream for dessert. We got them to leave by asking them if they wanted to meet Lucy, my aunt's cat. Liam was particularly enthusiastic, as he had met two dogs earlier, and was in the mood for more animals in his world. He signed "cat' practically the whole way there, he was so excited. Lucy is a small black cat and very skittish and shy. Liam's enthusiastic greetings were met with alarm, and Lucy ran off to hide. Jamie and Becky consoled themselves with Photo Booth on my aunt's computer, and then Jamie left me with Becky. I came downstairs to take pictures a little later to find that Jamie and Liam had found Lucy, and had been stroking her very gently for some time as she purred. My arrival, unfortunately, spooked her. Jamie explained to me, very seriously, that Lucy had realized that they (he and Liam) were going to be kind to her, and that she was happy to see them now. Lucy was skittish for the rest of the evening, so I didn't get photos of her with the kids again, which is a shame.

We left late, and Liam had trouble sleeping in the car. He fell asleep instantly when we got home, and Mom and Becky put Jamie into his pjs. He had a good deal of trouble falling asleep, despite the food and the running around I'd had him do, and so he was awake until 11:00 or a bit afterwards. I hope that he'll be all right and not too tired at school tomorrow. Grammie and Becky leave tomorrow, and I know that the boys are going to miss them terribly. Liam, in particular, has been Grammie's friend.

2008-04-28 22:52 (Kristen) John didn't get home until after 2:30 last night, and wasn't in bed until 3:30. Everyone was exhausted, and so I made the decision (on my mom's suggestion) that Jamie stay home from school today. It was a good idea, as Jamie was very very tired all day, and it showed. It would have been a hard day for him in class, I think. We woke up around 8:15, and left John in bed to sleep some more as we went downstairs and puttered. We had a small breakfast at 10:00, and Grammie and Becky got packed up to go. They couldn't go without a breakfast out, however, and so we went to Wimpy's (Mocha Mocha was too crowded, the Detroit was closed for Orthodox Easter, and Wimpy's had the milkshakes that Jamie was craving). Once we were there, Liam (unusually) insisted on nursing, and fell asleep in the booth. I was able to get him, with John's help, into the stroller, and so it was a quieter, more restful lunch than usual. Jamie had two milkshakes and some of his burger and fries.

We headed home to see Becky and Grammie off around 2:45, and then went indoors. The weather has taken a cold turn, and it's overcast and occasionally wet, so there was no joy to be had outside. Jamie was bored, and finally nagged me into going over to Daniel and Ross's, where he was much happier. It was salmon night, and we got dinner made by 6:45 or so (I think). Both boys ate relatively well, and had fun playing before we came home. When we did, Jamie sat to watch a short Pokemon video, and told me, as he watched, "I miss Grammie and Becky," with a sad look on his face. I said that I did too, and we sat together, watching Pokemon, an missing them. We had a really really good time.

* For the benefit of Scrabble players, words that are not in the Scrabble dictionary are marked with an asterisk.

Back to Vol. 2 No. 32, or up to Jamie Chew's Web Log Archive. or forward to Vol. 2 No. 34.