Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 2 No. 42

2008-06-24 41:12 (Kristen) We have had to cancel our trip to Ottawa this weekend, as both John and jamie have some sort of tonsilitis/strep throat-style infection. Jamie went to school in the morning, even though he shouldn't have in retrospect, but his fever came back in the afternoon in time to see Dr. Kennedy who exclaimed at each throat. Poor guys. Liam may be fighting something but is relentlessly cheerful, and I am merely garden-variety tired. Jamie's on a double dose of antibiotics today so that he can go to his last day of school tomorrow. He's Mrs Schofield's helper, which makes it doubly important, in his eyes, to be there.

The day was taken up with phone calls, doctor's appointments, and many many video games. The boys have been good, but Jamie had a nap between 5 and 6 (he just passed out in front of the television), which affected his ability to go to bed at a decent time. Liam, who had woken up from his nap early thanks to someone with an obnoxious cell phone ring tone, was crazy tired by the time 8:00 came around. He was asleep by 8:30, while Jamie took until 10:30 or so, and some Anpanman videos, to finally fall asleep.

2008-06-25 24:28 (KRisten) We'd put Jamie on a double dose of antibiotics (at our doctor's suggestion) yesterday, hoping that it would blast his germs far enough back to the Stone Age that he'd be able to go to school today. Not only was it the last day of school, but Jamie was Mrs. Schofield's helper: a prized and much coveted position. He was better this morning, thank goodness: dealing with a Jamie Disappointed Again would have been very hard. We all walked together to school, and Liam played a bit in the schoolyard before we came back. Ah...of course (I'd blocked this part out): both children were up and actively demanding attention before 7:00 this morning, which makes my memories somewhat hazy. Liam was in a *fine* mood as long as everything went exactly his way, and was not all that interested in food. This makes me think that he's fighting off the throat infection as well, which would make sense as everything his brother has he Must Have Too. This means I'm constantly prying juice bottles and other things of Jamie's out of Liam's mouth. Sigh.

We picked up Jamie, said our goodbyes to everyone, and then came back for lunch and a quiet afternoon. Jamie asked for, and got, quesadillas for lunch. Dr Kennedy said that he was looking skinny and that we should feed him more protein-rich food in the mornings. Jamie's not really eating yet, but anything he asks for I'm inclined to give to him. This lead to me carting a watermelon (albeit a small one) home this afternoon from the Big Carrot, but I get ahead of myself. Liam almost fell asleep in front of the TV after lunch, but I popped him into the stroller and headed to the Second Cup for two hours of work. When he woke up it was a baaaad awakening, but a breakfast cookie calmed him down. We picked up some food for dinner, including a small watermelon as Jamie has been asking me for one repeatedly over the last few days and the watermelon juice would be nice on his throat. Dinner was a little out of control, and I found out that Jamie had spent all afternoon playing a Godzilla game for the Wii that Gary had bought for him. Sigh.

In the evening, John went to Scrabble and I took the boys out to the park for an hour to prevent bloodshed. We had a very good time, including tossing around a ball that some kids had left behind, and Gary walked home with us as he was returning from his errands. The kids went straight to bed, and passed out very very quickly.

2008-06-26 47:14 (Kristen) We kept Jamie home again today, just to make sure that he was all rested up. He really could have gone to Hakobune, I think, but was borderline enough that we didn't want to risk it. We spent a quiet morning at home, with John spending the morning in bed, resting up. We went to Browning for lunch and ended up staying for a long time, playing Wii games and such like. Ken had taken Liam for a walk, so I went to meet them at the Second Cup. John called around 3:30 to say that Jamie and Ross were looking for the other Wii remote (which I had with me, long story) and when was I coming home? Liam was awake, and in a much better mood than when he had the day before, and we picked up a few things at the Big Carrot before going back home. Once there, I found Ross and Jamie quietly playing with Lego and "having a battle" (Jamie's favourite pasttime).

Ross eventually got tired and went home, and we hung out for a bit before heading back to Browning for dinner. It was the usual "Liam monopolizes Tom, while Jamie gets anyone he can to play Super Smash Brothers Brawl." We had fun playing together in four-person mode, which was good. The boys came home and went to bed relatively easily.

2008-06-27 23:24 (Kristen) I have been staying up quite late this week in an effort to get some deadlines met (50% success rate, yay me), and so have been spacing some important things that should go into the blog. First, Jamie received his end-of-year report card, which glowed from a distance and blinded upon closer examination. Yay, Jamie! Liam continues to be happy with Hakobune; this morning, when I dropped him off, he watched me go and even waved 'bye-bye' before turning back to his cars. I was both saddened and delighted: the emotional contraditions of motherhood. Jamie is growing and maturing, and I look at him more and more with the realization that he isn't going to be a little boy for much longer. He's got a growing sense of his own self, with its own dignity that resists being manhandled with kisses while he is still sweetly demonstrative in his own ways. Liam adores his brother, and when we got to Hakobune to pick him up, Liam always finds his brother's shoes and brings them to me, crowing delightedly because he knows that we're going to get Jamie. He tries to say "squirrel" (oh-eh!) whenever he sees one, probably because he doesn't have a sign for one (yet). I ask Liam "who's my baby?" and he'll point to himself with a big grin. Then, if his brother's nearby, he'll point to Jamie too. Liam loves to hang from the back bar of Daniel's arcade-grade dance pad for playing Dance Dance Revolution, but has managed to bend a nut and screw slightly at the back. No more hanging from the dance pad rung for Liam.

Jamie went to Hakobune this afternoon. I dropped Liam off at Hakobune, came home to do a few things, and then took Jamie, as John's still not back to feeling 100% and shouldn't be driving in this heat. Jamie wasn't all that happy to go, but perked up when he got to choose his pizza flavour. I got Liam, who was happy to see me, and ate pizza with him in Goforth Hall. He was having some trouble listening to me when I asked him to not do things, and so we left early for our walk. We walked. And walked. And walked. No nap. Eventually I gave up, and we showed up at Hakobune early. We waited and then went in, and the boys had fun playing together. Jamie built a zoo-like place with Lego that was cool, and Liam hung out near to him. I needed to change a very small poo diaper of Liam's that made me wonder if it was the reason that he didn't fall asleep, but decided in the end that it was likely just the heat. Jamie didn't want to run through the sprinkler on the church lawn with Kakeru-kun, but was happy to walk with him to the subway. We came home, relaxed in the coolness of the house, and then went to Browning to have dinner and to wait for Becky to arrive with Gary.

Becky arrived just as we were eating dinner, and the boys were delighted to see her. Liam gave her huge grins and she was swept in to the usual chaotic routine like she had always been there. Becky has come to stay with us for three summers now (this is the third) and everyone is very comfortable with having her with us. Liam started to melt down a little after eight, and I put him to bed early. Jamie, on the other hand, went to bed quite late, and was on the verge of melting down himself. He took a whole thirty seconds to fall asleep, and we were shocked that it took that long.

2008-06-28 23:58 (Kristen) If Jamie had had his way, he'd have spent the day playing Daniel and Ross's games at his house, watched television all day (the Magic Schoolbus marathon continues), or gone over to Daniel and Ross's house. I suspect that a lot of it was that he was hungry and didn't eat enough for lunch, but he may just be exhausted still after being sick. Antibiotics can take a lot out of you. It was one of those tiring days where everything you say or suggest is met by some sort of strong opposition, some of it deeply unreasonable, so that you begin to feel somewhat unreasonable yourself.

The general feeling of unreasonableness was fed by a hot, humid day. We went to the St. Lawrence Market in the morning, and John stayed in the car to nap while Becky, the boys, and I got the food. I take a little longer than John does, as I'm not as firmly in the routine, and the south building was very hot. Liam started to melt down near the end, and John explained to me later that Liam has his little jobs to do when they shop together. I didn't know this, and Liam was likely very upset that I wasn't letting him do his jobs. In the end, I sent the boys out with Becky to run around the fountain (which was oddly dry today) while I finished up. We came home, John took Liam out for his nap, and a very quiet afternoon was spent reading, working, and watching Magic Schoolbus. By dinnertime, Jamie was starting to melt down, demanding that we move into Daniel and Ross's house, and that they leave their toys for us. Tomorrow. That sort of unreasonable. John ate some tamago* no gohan* with him, which seemed to calm him down. He ate a big dinner not long afterwards (hommeade macaroni and cheese, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots), and was fractious but not too difficult. We took the boys to the playground, where they stayed and played flat out with Becky while I drove to the Big Carrot (with John directing) down the street to get groceries. We came home with two very sweaty boys, and put them to bed. They fell asleep almost instantaneously.

2008-06-29 23:08 (Kristen) Liam woke me up at 8:00, and dragged me about the house in his relentlessly cheery morning mode. Jamie got up not long afterwards, and I made french toast again for breakfast. I added berries and whipped cream to the menu, and Jamie wolfed down a piece and a half after first declaring that he didn't want any at all. Heh. I had the boys wake Becky up when breakfast was ready, and she was mobbed by the boys in a happy pig pile before she came down to eat. John hadn't made an appearance before 10:00, and I checked in on him to find that he had a fever of 102.7. Umm. His fever kept rising, and when it hit 104 F I called the public health nurse, who told John to get himself to a walk-in clinic. Umm. Yeah. Favourite quote: (to the nurse, who has just told him to see a doctor) "You sound just like my wife!" It was a little after lunch by this time, and Liam needed a nap, and Jamie was tired and slightly feverish himself. Enter friends: Tom drove John and me to the walk-in clinic, Becky took Liam out for his walk, and Tom, Michelle, Gary, and Daniel and Ross looked after Jamie. In fact, I only saw Jamie briefly again before dinner, as he was busy playing with one person or another, happy as a clam.

John got some big fat antibiotics, and is on the mend. I came home after findingBecky and Liam at the Second Cup and buying some yoghurt for John on the way home. Liam was happy but clingy, and remained mommy-focused when Tom wasn't around. We had dinner at Browning, because they offered to feed us after an exhausting day, and we had a lovely time winding down while John stayed at home and rested. Tomorrow, we got to Centre Island with some of Jamie's classmates and their families, and I am hoping that everyone stays well enough for us to do it. The boys were in bed and asleep by 10, and looking forward to tomorrow's trip with great enthusiasm.

2008-06-30 23:29 (Kristen) Today was our trip to Centre Island, and the boys slept in while I got the food and other things ready to go. Liam was up around 8:30 or so, but Jamie slept in until 9:30. He was actually looking well and acting like his oldself after the long sleep he'd had, and that boded well for the day. Daniel and Ross came over to go down to the subway with us, and Becky pushed one stroller while I pushed the other. I was a little rushed, as I was worried that we were going to be late, but the crowd to get onto the ferry was enormous as the ferry had been delayed somewhat. It turned out that everyone else was on the same ferry (Sabine, Jake, Charlie, and Sam, and their families) but on the other side: we'd not seen each other because of the crowds! Thank goodness for cell phones. We headed over to the picnic area, and started to set up the food while the kids collected duck feathers and fed a group of very hungry ducklings that waddled over to us when they saw us and smelled the food. The seagulls made a visit too, but were shooed off.

The boys ate a good lunch, watched the ducks, played and had a good time before we even got to Centreville. Once there, people split up and got back together, and many rides were ridden. We rode on the monkey barrel ride (I should say that means Daniel, Ross, Becky, and Jamie, in the main), the white cars, the train, the fire engine cars, and something else, I think. Jamie agitated for ice cream and I finally capitulated on the way out of the park. It was 5:00 when we got on the ferry for home, ahead of the rest. We had dinner at Browning to make it in time for, and we were all just wiped. I fell asleep in the basement while Liam (who had not napped at all) played, and was generally worn out. The boys were completely exhausted as well, and Liam could barely stand up by the time the boys were bathed and in bed.

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

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