Chicken Pox and Mr. (Kris) Bean

The craziness around here never seems to end.

Sam has chicken pox. Yup. He's got the pox. A few weird spots multiplied into MANY spots. Now he's covered. The funny thing is that he's been immunized against it. Apparently, some kids can still catch it, but it's generally a lot milder. We have no idea where it came from, but I suppose that doesn't much matter NOW. Sam thinks that having chicken pox means that he's been bit by chickens. And a few times, he's referred to them as "chicken legs". Works for me.

I have no idea what is going on around here. I guess we're just gross. We're that family. You'll know who we are - we're the ones with coughs, snotty noses, rashes, and spots. (How's that for a pity party?!)

Okay, so I don't really think we're disgusting. But I certainly hope this is it for the cold and flu season. Or someone's going to pay. I don't know who, but someone's going to get the brunt of Mama C's disease-angst. (Let's face it: 1. It will probably be Kris; and 2. It sounds like I'm talking about my mother-in-law when I say "Mama C"... kind of like how I still find it weird when they say "Thanks Mrs. Chetney" to me at Safeway. I have to look behind me to see if Kris' mom is there. Oh wait, that's me they're talking about. Riiiiight.)

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On a totally different note, we've been watching "One Tree Hill" lately. We both love it. The other night, Kris said, "I totally didn't anticipate how much I was going to enjoy this show". (Reason #138 of why I love that man and think he's the cutest ever.) We've come to the end of the seasons we have on DVD, which means that now we have to resort to finding them online, which is a HUGE step down for us. For most of the episodes we've found, the audio doesn't quite line up with the video. This is insanely annoying, especially to Kris. It's not so bad for me, because most of the time I'm knitting and not always looking up anyways. (Apparently I don't learn from my mistakes.) The other problem is our internet connection. It's not always great, and Kris is convinced that if he sits on the floor in front of the coffee table, with his legs underneath it, then the internet is more reliable. I'm not sure I'm convinced either way. But it's funny, and reminds me of a certain Mr. Bean episode. I'll leave you with the video, which I highly recommend watching if you have a few (nine) minutes. (And you have to love the lady with the crazy laugh in the audience - there's always one, isn't there?)

Kris hasn't resorted to nakedness. Yet.

Mystery Rash

I'm pretty sure that blog posts with such topics should be avoided altogether.

But here I go anyways,

We've all had colds around here the last week and a bit, and we're just starting to feel a lot better. Sam had tonsillitis, which included big, spotty tonsils and sores in his mouth. And apparently, Hand Foot and Mouth Disease is going around. I had the thought that maybe Sam had this, but ruled it out when I realized that his hands and feet seem to be fine. Then, I started noticing that my hands were really irritated feeling since last evening. Itchy, sore, and even a bit rashy looking. But only my hands were like this. As a recovering (ish) hypochondriac, I was convinced I had HFMD, and that the rash just hadn't spread to my mouth or feet yet.

Earlier today, I picked up my knitting. I'm knitting a great wool toque - a cool pattern that's a bit tricky, and NOT friendly to mistakes. Which means I've ripped it up and started it again about 9 or 10 times already. No joke. I'm persistent. And just can't admit defeat. Anyways, as I started running the wool through my hands, a lightbulb went off when I realized how much it bothered my hands. The rash, the irritation, the red spots. The wool is the culprit. Dang it all anyways. I'm really into this pattern. I think I'd rather it had been HFMD. But not really. I can't decide.

And just as a side note, while I was writing this post, Sam came out of the bathroom with his potty in his hand, saying, "Mom! Look at this sucker!" Perhaps that's the thing that should never make it into a blog post. I think I've broken 2 rules already. Well, 3, if you include the fact that my son doesn't use the correct terms for his elimination, and finds it funny.

Meh.

Back with my tail between my legs...

Okay. So it turns out I miss blogging. I have really been on this anti-technology kick lately, and have almost gotten to the end of the spectrum where I'd soon be protesting at the Apple store with signs stating "Technology = Satan" and burning iPads in a field with other extremists. Woah. Time for a blogging intervention.

So I'm back. And I'm okay with that. There are just too many things that go on here that make me think "I should blog about that".

Like how my baby had pink eye last week. Yup. Terrible sleeping turned out to be pink eye. We found out just a few days ago that it's not contagious - it's due to the clogged tear ducts he's had since birth. When we flew to Vancouver a month ago, the flight attendant looked at him, saw his goopy little eyes, and said, "awww.... Pink eye, huh?" I politely, but assertively told her that it was NOT pink eye, but merely clogged tear ducts. I have ranted about her a few times since, especially about how I didn't want everyone around us thinking we were those people with communicable diseases on the plane. Turns out, Ms. Flight Attendant should quit her day job and open up her own practice. And yes, I will take a slice of that humble pie, thank you very much. The only thing that made this a bit easier was watching Kris freak out about having pink eye. Turns out he didn't. I'm surprised. But not really.

Also, we've been asked to have Jack take part in the Roots of Empathy program. I had heard of it a few years back, and when Sam was a baby, I really wanted to take part. Turns out, they want June/July/August babies, so that they're a certain age when the year starts. Sam's first rejection. Haha... Anyways, I had forgotten all about it, when the Family Resource center (where I take the boys to the Indoor Playground every so often) called to say that Jack was the perfect age and asked if we'd be interested. We're going to be in a grade 1 classroom at a school close to our house. Apparently, Jack is going to pretty much be a rock star for the year. So, I guess I should find him some leather pants and grow his hair long and greasy.

These days, Sam is making sense of the world through anatomically correct farm animals. And he has found it rather confusing (I don't blame him) that like the Mommy pig, he has nipples, but unlike the mommy pig, he does not make milk. Try explaining that one to an emphatic 2 year old who insists that he lactates.

In other Sam news - he thinks he's a puppy named Rover. It's wonderful. 1) Because it's cute, and most importantly: 2) Because Rover will do things that Sam sometimes won't. Like using the potty. And going to bed. Some nights, Sam will not go to bed. But Rover will. I'm wondering how long we can use this one.

It's started being REALLY fun watching these 2 boys interacting. Sam can get giggles out of Jack like no one else can even come close too. Sometimes he does it by doing things that look a bit rough at first, but when I realize that Jack is laughing and not crying, I relax and go with it. Sam is really good with him. But I still have to keep a pretty close eye, because Sam is only 2, and doesn't always know what is okay to do with Jack. Tickling him is okay. Coughing directly into his mouth? Not okay. Making funny faces at him? Okay! Waving his bum in Jack's face? Not okay! You get the idea.

Anyways, here's the little boy:

And here's the big boy, pretending he's the little boy:

Sure do love these two!