Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 2 No. 43

2008-07-01 22:59 (Kristen) We planned a very quiet day after the hullabaloo of yesterday, which was good as I woke up with a sore throat and feeling very tired. John was feeling better than before, but had only slept for two hours last night and so was a little tired too. Thank goodness for Becky! Jamie was agitating for a visit to Daniel and Ross's house to play Smash Bros. Brawl *again* (I think that he likes to make up his own levels, which is a big part of the appeal), and John finally took him over around the lunch hour. Liam was very clingy this morning, for an unknown reason, but felt better after he ate lunch. Becky and John went out with the boys in the afternoon, with the two of them helping Liam to have a two-and-a-half-hour nap, while Jamie went with Daniel, Ross, and Tom to the Withrow Park splashpad. Ross had made lunch for Jamie (blueberry pancakes), which was appreciated.

They stayed out until close to 5, which gave me an afternoon to work and recuperate. Daniel and Ross came in with Jamie, and proceeded to build some Lego, while the rest trailed afterwards. Dinner was courtesy of John's mom, and we ate al fresco on the back patio. That was very pleasant, and afterwards the kids played with chalk and rode tricycles around the back while we cleaned up. It being Canada Day, we headed over to Jackman to see what fireworks the community could scare up for this holiday. A number of Jamie's schoolmates (John: Charlie, Parker, and Jake, but not Sam) were there, along with Gary, Ayami, Tom, Ross, and Daniel, and the kids had a lovely time with sparklers, watching fireworks, and playing on the play structures. The only downside to the night was when Liam was knocked off a play structure by a bigger kid (unidentified) and fell about five feet to the mulch below. He had the wind knocked out of him, and will have a bruise on his forehead, but otherwise seems unharmed. I didn't see it happen, but another mother did and told me what happened. Luckily, I was two feet away when it happened, and was able to comfort a scared Liam immediately. We went home soon afterwards, and put the boys to bed.

2008-07-02 25:15 (John) Kristen and I were up at 8:30, somewhat shredded, and walked like zombies through the process of getting the household ready for a day at the beach. The boys slept late, which helped us finish getting ready in less than two zombie hours each, but meant that Liam was not tired enough to sleep in the car, though Jamie quite happily did so, thanks to all the exercise yesterday, and the fact that he's still on antibiotics. When we were afraid of long-term hearing damage to poor hump-riding Becky, we pulled so that she could switch places with Kristen at shotgun. It didn't help, but we made it to Wasaga Beach eventually, intact.

At the beach the kids (and in fact everybody) had a very good time. In addition to the five of us, all six of the extended Browning clan were there, including Tami to make sure no one went hungry. The boys ran on the beach, played on the beach, played in the water, dug holes and ditches, ate, drank, and made much merry. Jamie leading the table in a round of the Magic School Bus theme song I'll remember for years to come. But when at about 19:30 Liam refused Michelle's assistance balancing at the picnic table and promptly fell backwards off the bench, thus signalling he was Tired, I packed the car and we headed home.

Jamie fell right asleep in the car, and stayed asleep all the way home and into bed. Liam fell asleep, then as usual woke up the moment my foot touched the brake the first time and shrieked in outrage for ten minutes before I remembered that I had the laptop handy, and then he and Becky spent the rest of the trip home watching Anpanman, which must have been a little surreal for her.

(Kristen) I should add that Liam will use sign when he has a sign for something, but will try to say a word if he has no sign. Sometimes, he will actually say something he has a sign for if he really really wants something. Tami had litchi yesterday at the table, which Liam loves, and which we usually peel off the large nut inside the fruit for him. Tami handed Liam a litchi, and I took it from him to peel a piece off. Liam, in total outrage, protested and said as clearly as I have ever heard him, "More ball!" Meaning, of course, that litchi look like a ball, and that he wanted his intact, thank you, he could do it himself. GIven a *new* litchi, he beamed and said "Ball!" It was his first two word spoken sentence. I should add that he ate the litchi perfectly well on his own.

2008-07-03 23:36 (Kristen) Well, it looks like three Chews will be on antibiotics tomorrow. Liam woke up last night a lot, crying and feverish. We finally got him to sleep with a dose of Advil, but he kept sticking his fingers into his mouth during the day. Now that it's nighttime again, he's waking up crying, fevered, and screaming every time he swallows. It's pretty clear that he has what Jamie had, and we'll be filling that prescription for amoxicillin tomorrow morning, first thing. Poor little mite. He gets sick much differently than Jamie: he takes it much more personally, I think, and fights it the entire way. Jamie would just lie there like a flat baby, which was very sad. Liam yells at the germs, as if the sheer force of his outrage would purify his body. Poor guy.

The rest of us were having a quiet day today as well after the excitement of a day at the beach and a long, disturbed night's sleep. I can't even remember what we did in the morning, but Jamie went to Hakobune in the afternoon and Liam went for lunch with John at Browning. Becky and I took Jamie on the bus, and that was fun, and then we hung out in coffee shops until it was time to take Jamie home. We got him to do so by telling him that his copy of Super Smash Brothers Brawl (for the Wii) had arrived and was waiting fo him at home. Now, Jamie when he is truly happy and excited does not jump up and down: the stiller he is, the more happy he is. He was pretty still when he heard the news, and we managed toget out of Hakobune much earlier than usual. We got home, and Jamie ran off to play the game while I wondered where John and Liam were. It turns out that they were having a "discussion" at the Second Cup, and had been doing so for an hour and a half, about whether or not they were going home (Liam voted "no") and if they were going to play at St. Barnabas Church instead (John voted "no," as the daycare was using the playground and therefore they could not). John got Liam to come home by promising that I was there, and the little boy came home for a long cuddle. We had dinner again with the Browningites, with lasagne on their side and leftover veggies and little broccoli quiches from us. We stayed way too late, and came home.

Liam was out like a light, but Jamie was having trouble falling asleep, despite extreme fatigue. Finally, he wanted to go to sleep in the blue room, and watch Anpanman before he did. We let him watch a short episode, and then he did fall asleep in there. I fully expect that he'll be back in our room before dawn, but it was surprising that he would fall asleep not in our bed. A good thing, in fact, and one that I won't jinx by hoping it will repeat itself.

2008-07-04 23:45 (John) We took Liam to Dr. Kennedy today, who saw his grape-sized tonsils and put him on amoxicillin, then looked at Kristen's and put her on it too. So we're one big happy penicillin family now. As we were leaving, the elevator stopped at our floor on its way up first, and while we were waiting for its return, Liam told us that it was rewinding, just like his Pokemon and Magic School Bus VHS tapes.

(Kristen) Jamie had John up at 7:15 this morning, and when I came down with Liam around 8:00 or so, they'd already been playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl for 45 minutes. We figure that Jamie played approximately 4.5 hours of Smash Brothers by the end of the day, and we are being conservative. Becky took Jamie to the park to ride his bike, but the playground at Jackman was full of daycare kids and Jamie didn't feel like palying with them. Possibly he was not able to, as sometimes for insurance reasons, daycare kids ore usually not allowed to mix with non-daycare kids. Becky told me that they spent most of the time drawing in her sketchbook, where Jamie drew characters for (you guessed it) SSBB, and levels for the same. Still, it was creative drawing and that was good.

We went to Browning for lunch, and I took Liam to see Dr. Kennedy afterwards with Becky, while Jamie stayed behind and played more video games. When our appointment was done, John went to get Jamie while Becky and I took Liam for his walk. He was outraged at the time, so it took him some time to fall asleep, and he did so with his fingers in his mouth again. We stayed down there for a while, met up with Tami, Daniel and Ross, and then headed home so that John could have a rest. Jamie had been given a chance to go to the Second Cup too, but drew back when warned that he'd have to be quiet so as to not wake up Liam. He went home with John to play SSBB, and was happily doing so when we got home. When we are feeling a little better, the days will be more varied, and time limits will be better enforced.

It was Friday, so we were once again back at Browning (where, I am sure, they are getting tired of the sight of us), and the kids had a great time playing Dance Dance Revolution and other things. We came home, had "fun" (to a negative value of "fun") giving Liam his antibiotics, and Jamie too, and went to bed. Jamie is asleep again in the blue room, where it is quieter and there is no Liam to wake you up with his screaming. Liam is sleeping much better tonight than the last two nights, and we have our fingers crossed.

2008-07-05 25:41 (Kristen) It was Saturday, so we went to the market. Jamie was up around 8:00, and John not long after. I grogged up at 10:00, and kicked Becky out of bed. Liam slept until 11:00 (!!!), and we left for the market soon afterwards. I didn't worry about Liam's long sleep in, as we were due to go to Reid and Luisa's for their annual watergun fight in the afternoon, and there was no chance that Liam would sleep while we were there. The market was relatively painless, and we headed home around 1:45 to get ourselved organized to get very wet.

We drove out to Reid and Luisa's, and Jamie fell asleep in the car (Liam did not). Jamie stayed out in the car, with John, while Liam, Becky, and I cruised the inside of the house, ate a few chips, and said our hellos. We went back to check out Jamie, and I got him to wake up by saying "Jamie! There's a watergun fight going on and you're missing it!" and pulling him into an upright position when his eyes flew open. The fight was in full swing, and Jamie wasn't all that interested in getting wet that way. Liam was cautiously interested. Both boys were very interested in the pool, and we spent a very pleasant hour and a half playing in it. Tom showed up with the boys just before we got in, and they all joined us as well. A good time was had, and Jamie declared that he *loved* the pool. We got out around 5:30, and Jamie did try to go in again after dinner, but had a scrape on his foot that apparently stung too much to stay in. I spent the bulk of the rest of my time there playing Rockband in the basement with Becky, Daniel, Ross, and a host of others (it was *so much fun*!!), and John and Tom did the bulk of childminding when the kids weren't downstairs watching people play Rockband. I may be the only person so far who has nursed a child while playing it.

We went home a little before 9, as Liam in particular was starting to fade. Liam fell asleep in the car without a peep, but woke up crying when John put the brakes on at one point. Liam hates that. We managed to get him home and up to bed. Jamie was not so tired, having napped in the middle of the afternoon, and stayed up playing video games with John, watching Anpanman, and having his bath until quite late. Tomorrow, maybe, our sleeping patterns will even out somewhat.

2008-07-06 17:15 (John) I've added a few more photos from yesterday's WetStock water gun fight, from our friend Debbie Ohi.

2008-07-06 23:05 (Kristen) Rousing myself from my illness-induced torpor, I decided that the kids would do more today than watch videos and play video games. I told Jamie that he could play SSBB for half an hour, and then it was his brother's turn to do something with the television. This is a start. Jamie had french toast for breakfast (although we ran out of whipped cream, woe!), and ate it all. Liam was less interested in food. I tried to put his dose of medicine in his milk, but he only sipped lightly at it, thwarting me. He puts up such a colossal fight when I give it to him, surprising me with his ability to keep medicine in his mouth for long periods and *gargle* it rather than swallow while crying, that I'm desperate for another way. Finally, this evening, I convinced him to sip apple juice between little injections of antibiotic. That worked best of all the methods we've tried so far. Let's hope it keeps working.

We had lunch, and then Gary played with jamei for an hour or so while I took a very tired Liam out for his walk. Gary brought Jamie down to the Second Cup to meet me, and then went on his way. Jamie and I spent a very pleasant hour drawing spaceships, discussing the various attributes of our spaceships, and talking. Liam woke up and we headed back home, picking up a watermelon on the way. Dinner was chicken, broccoli, and potatoes, with some tomatoes and other fresh veggies on the side. Becky was out all day at her silkscreening workshop (which she enjoyed very much), and wasn't home for dinner. Jamie asked me at 7:00 to make ginger pear muffins, and I managed to get them done. It helped that we had some pears in the fridge that were destined for muffindom or the garbage. He was so happy when he asked and I said yes, that it was hard to not make it happen. We put the boys to bed at 9:00, and Liam crashed out like a light. Jamie stayed up a little longer, but has been asleep in the blue room for a while now. He's liking sleeping in the blue room because he can lull himself to sleep with Anpanman videos. Once we're all well again, I'll try to switch him back to books. That reminds me: Jamie did reading and math practice today, and Liam mugged me to read him three books before I even got out of bed this morning.

2008-07-07 25:00 (Kristen) Jamie was up early again, and was playing video games when I came downstairs around 9:00. I've blocked the window in his room with dark sheets, and hopefully he'll wake up later tomorrow morning. It would certainly make John happy, as he's pretty tired from the early mornings of the last few days. We ate breakfast, and I made arrangements for Jamie to have a playdate with Jake in the afternoon. John, Liam, and Becky were to go to Browning for lunch, and pick up Liam afterwards. Jamie and I went out (while Liam howled that he wasn't coming with us, but more on that later) with Michelle, Jake's mom, to get Jake and Charlie, and then we went for a dim sum lunch. Jamie tried almost everything--even a bite of chicken feet (or, more accurately, a chiecken foot). Good for him! Then we went to play at a splash pad nearby, and Jamie was less happy about that. He didn't like the idea of the water splashing down on him, and spent most of the rest of his time playing on the hot hot playstructure. He drank a *lot* of juice today. I'd send him into the splashpad to get wet slightly, and then he'd dash out again. After two hours, we went for ice cream at Dairy Queen, and Jamie fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Daniel, Ross, Becky, and Liam were home when we arrived, and John was upstairs sleeping. John wasn't feeling all that well today, so he rested for a while while the boys played and were generally crazy. We went back to Brwoning around 5:30, picked a lot of black raspberries in the back yard, and then I stared to make dinner. I ended up cooking the fish and veggies, while Becky made the spinach and parsley for me. John gave me the times when I should flip things over (he'd made it over by about 6:30), and I got the kids fed and organized while I went out to play pub trivia. Liam was being very mom-centred, and was not happy that I was going out, but was distracted by the marvellous tag team of Becky and Daniel. Eventually, however, he got tired and John, Becky, and the boys came to get me at the pub. Liam was starting to sream, but was distracted by a discussion of red versus green traffic lights. Becky apparently got out of the car at one point to get Jamie a piece of pizza before they got me. We made it home, and I put Liam to bed straightaway. Jamie stayed up a bit longer. Tomorrow, I'll let John rest and I'll take the boys to Hakobune. Maybe I'll research a splash pad nearby: the weather will be brutal again tomorrow.

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

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