While we have all enjoyed our first winter back in the midwest, we are READY for spring! We pretty much passed a stomach flu back and forth for nearly a MONTH, culminating in the worst ever family vacation the last weekend of Spring Break, that shall now and forever be known as the Great Chicago PukeFest 2013. Knowing that Curt, and the boys, and ME really could use a little R&R, and our friend Ameena was going to be in Chicago from Doha, we decided to do a little family trip to go to the Museum of Science and Industry and then to have dinner with her that Saturday night. Aidan had gotten sick with the stomach flu Wednesday night, but when Curt and Gavin had had it, they were usually feeling well enough to be walking around on day three, so we figured Aidan would be fine by Saturday for our trip downtown. We had a delightful drive into Chicago, until about 10 minutes from our hotel when Brady says, "I don't feel so good mom." Luckily, we had brought the puke bucket for Aidan, because Brady began throwing up EVERYTHING into it. So, we get checked in, and poor Brady proceeds to throw up every 20-30 minutes for the next 8 hours or so. We of course got take out in the room, which turned out to be kinda crappy. Around 8PM I started to feel queasy and was unsure if this was the food or if I had finally fallen to the stomach bug. Sadly, it was the latter.
Around 9PM, we are called by Brady and assume he is once again getting sick. We had placed him in his own bed and had Aidan and Gavin share a bed until they were messing around so much and not sleeping, we moved Gavin to the floor on top of the sofa bed pillows. Brady of course is fine, but poor GAVIN is vomiting. again. Since he had the same stomach flu just two weeks prior. So we give Gavin a shower and put Gavin and Brady in bed together, each with their own trash can/puke bucket and let Aidan sleep on his own. In the meantime, i am vomiting regularly myself while curt is trying to drown out the sounds and allow me some privacy by "watching" the basketball game in the living room area. sweet. Around 11PM Aidan wakes up crying, and he throws up once. I think by then Curt had left me in my own sorrow on the pull-out sofa so he could "get sleep" and take care of the boys. This happens until at least 3 AM. For all 4 of us (except Aidan, since he only puked once). Yes, it was AWFUL. Luckily we were able to get the hotel and expedia to cancel our second night because we realize we are NOT staying another night. I think we SERIOUSLY scared the people bringing us extra sheets and towels.
So the next morning the boys are up at 7 AM LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED. WHAT?!?!?!?!?! Now, they still have queasy stomachs, but they are running around and having a grand old time. I tell Curt, "I cannot make any decisions today. You just tell me what to do or need me to do and I will do it." So after a shower for Curt and I, we head to the breakfast in the hotel. The boys and I share some fruit and that is about it. When we walk out to the car it is a BEAUTIFUL blue sky, Chicago day. A fantastic one to be out and about in. I begin crying. Curt is visibly upset. The boys have been watching the El out our hotel window and were really disappointed they couldn't ride it. Curt and I are trying to see if maybe we should just take them to Navy Pier (driving) and then meet up with Ameena shortly and then head back that night. We realize that per Murphy's law, if we head home, no one will throw up again. If we attempt to do anything that looks like fun, everyone will throw up. And we thought we probably did NOT want to subject other people to us any way. Still streaming tears, I agree he is right and that I am not in my right head and that we need to go home.
Not to mention that Curt and I are FRIED. He let me have a nap after breakfast, but I was so dehydrated I could barely see. He was up most of the night as well with the boys, so the idea of driving home at 6 PM FROM downtown would have been suicide. So we head home. We stop at a couple of stores I needed to return items to and we drive back, arriving home exactly 24 hours from when Brady began to get sick. Worst. Vacation. Ever.
We do at least have some funny stories from our last month and a half. A few weeks ago after lunch, Aidan had asked to be excused from the table. The boys are good little table clearers these days, usually only dropping their utensils on the floor. Every time. (sigh) Anyway, I am doing some dishes and ask Aidan to bring me his plate and cup. As I look up, I see him trying to simultaneously get down from his booster AND grab his plate with his cup on it. He then slips on this long-ish sweatpants. The first thing that hits the floor is his head, nearly directly UNDER his chair. His plate turns ON TOP OF HIM, complete with spaghetti sauce, green beans and all. He is crying (his head hit pretty hard) and I am doing everything in my power to not laugh out loud as he is now A MESS! Brady is trying to peer over and then under the table to see what the hell has happened. Gavin was over by the couch and begins saying "I was reading my tag reader and then i heard a HUGE BANG! and then I looked and couldn't see Aidan!" I am biting my lip, my tongue, my cheek, ANYTHING to inflict pain and to demonstrate care and concern for my boy who is COVERED in the remains of his lunch. I am PROUD of myself for not grabbing the camera as he is CLEARLY embarrassed as well as has some sort of mild head injury. Later that day, while having a snack, Aidan says to me, "Mom. Don't tell dad about lunch today." Giggling to myself i say, "Don't tell dad about you falling at lunch, you mean?" He says yes and I ask him why. He says, "Because he always says I hurt myself" with a cute little grin on his face. So I tell him I won't tell dad (which of course i did, SWEARING him to secrecy - sorry boys!), but Aidan ends up telling him at breakfast the next day anyway.
Aidan also asked if he could bring his guitar to school so he could "show his friends his rock star moves". Umm, yes. yes you can. His teacher was totally agreeable to it and I got to video it. I wouldn't say he shows us the moves he usually has at home, but he does look every part the four year old rock star. it is ADORBS! This experience led Brady to indicate he wanted to bring his wooden clacker to school to "play" it for his friends and Gavin to also ask to bring his guitar to school to show his friends. they lost interest in it and so it hasn't happened yet, but i'm kinda hoping they will remember it one of these days. :)
Brady has been picking up lots of slang as well. The other day he replied to something i said with "whatever." and then in the next breath says "What does 'whatever' mean?" When we went to Des Moines for Grandma K's birthday, Brady was ADAMANT that he wanted to bring his violin/guitar to play for grandma's birthday and help her celebrate. He proceeded to pretty much stand there bobbing his head in front of her, but it was so sweet. While Gavin was sick with the flu, Brady drew him a picture of our whole family and told him he was sorry he felt sick - completely uninfluenced by me. If only he could bring that brotherly love into more of his everyday interactions with Gavin . ..
Dear, sweet Gavin had a ROUGH month for March. In addition to getting the stomach flu twice in 2 weeks, he then had some other secondary infection and an ear infection. BLEH! With his first stomach flu, we were in Des Moines for Grandma Ks' birthday and he proceeds to TALK with me every time he sees the lightening or hears the thunder. at 3 AM. "yes honey, I know, I hear it too shhhhh." "I see the LIGHTENING MOMMY!" aaaarrrgh!
Gavin has developed an affinity for Phillip Philips' song from American Idol, "Home". He can sing pretty much all of it and even has the different intonations - LOVE IT! My video of this prompted Brady to ALSO want to get in on the video stuff. I will post both in the next post because they are just too sweet. Gavin does seem to be grumpy about just about EVERYTHING these days. His teachers will tell me "Gavin had a really good day today! He was playing with lots of friends and he worked on his rainbow really hard and ..." and then Gavin will walk over to me with his lip stuck out and say "I had a BAD DAY." NOW, we have read a book by this title recently, but his bad mood just seems to be about EVERYTHING. I'm hoping this is a phase. Please, say it is a phase.
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| BGA - testing out rocking chairs at Lowe's. reminds me of that chick from SNL in the 70s. |
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| Aidan the Engineer Dentist checks out Brady the Nutcracker. yes, that was what they were dressed up as. |
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| Our nature walk (BGA) before snow melted. |
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| This is what we find just before we go to bed - little scamps! (A&B) |
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| Our visit to the Falcon Center near Lake MacBride (ABG) |
We have also been liberally using our membership at the Iowa Children's Museum. It is AWESOME! Their favorite places (at least as of this last visit) are as follows:
Aidan - the theater/costume area (the Performer!)
Brady - the Ambulance (the Helper!)
Gavin - the model trains (the Engineer!)
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| Aidan the vampire - he was chasing other kids around with a spooky voice! |
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| Brady the pit crew for Lightening McQueen |
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| Gavin was a ... sheep Darth Vader? |
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| B&G are "Squirrels" in the tree |
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| BAG and snuggle each other |
I think we have found the Yeti. Sasquatch. Abominable snowman. Whatever you want to call him - he IS our Gavin. As you can see from the photo below, Gavin likes to get up close and personal with snow. His brothers will be trying to make a snowball, he is rolling himself around the yard. He LOVES putting his face in it, and that was BEFORE he saw our neighbor's Husky do it! About three snowfalls ago, I was snowblowing the driveway and the boys had their shovels out doing their thing. I look and see Gavin standing RIGHT IN the path of the thrown snow. Face first. Laughing his head off. It was adorable. Until I of course realized a rock or stick could be in there and thrown out at his sweet face. This doesn't stop him from trying to stand in the way of the snow, just at a farther distance. (sigh)
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| Gavin checking out snow |
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| Family sledding - WOOHOO! (ABG) |
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| Gavin's first ice skating! |
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| Watching a hockey player put himself through his paces (GBA) |
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| AGB in the middle of the ice |
Our neighbors who are HUGE hockey enthusiasts offered to take us ice skating (i.e. provide 3 skaters for three kids) and it was a BLAST! The hockey guy in the picture above offered advice to just let them sit in the middle of the rink and watch you skate around. "Their butts will get cold enough they will get themselves on skates!" And it worked! Within 10 minutes, all three had at least gotten up onto their skates and he was kind enough to offer some additional pointers in the middle of his workout. Nile and Marla were kind enough to both help out with the boys, but just help them enjoy skating since I am about one level ahead of the boys in terms of ice skating. Aidan seems to be the most comfortable on his skates, even though all three of them were totally into it. We all had a blast!
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| GBA and mom! |
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| Gavin REALLY wanted another chance to skate by himself after we were taking our skates off. He went from the entrance all the way to the red dot and back by himself! I love the determined look on his face! |
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| And Gavin naps . . . |
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| This was how Aidan napped that day . .. I can just see him fighting it until the very. last.. second... |
