Contentment

Rhys is teething and he was having a hard time settling down tonight. Chris went Christmas shopping so I had both boys for the evening. Rhys cried and I went to soothe him to sleep. His room is cooler than any other room in the house but he was snuggled up in his sleep sack. I left the hall light on so only a thin beam of light cut into the darkness. I was quietly singing "Jesus loves me" while I rocked him to sleep. Down the hall, I heard Cole making his way toward the nursery. He quietly entered the room, "Mommy?", he said. I kept singing. He was holding the mallet from the Whack-a-mole game. He slowly climbed up on the ottoman and sat, silently, swinging his feet and patting my socked feet. Rhys drifted off and I savored the moment.

Et trois

For Cole, this is sick day number 3. He seems to be the same. His nose is running like mad and he is so stuffy. Rhys isn't quite as bad but his eyes are puffy and he is stuffy too. To add to the discomfort, his teething is bothering him and he has a sore throat. I too joined the family in a "if you can't beat them" sort of way today. My throat is also sore and I am really run down. Chris stayed at home and worked again today. He took Cole for a lunch time hair cut while Rhys slept. Hopefully we will all be feeling tip top by Monday.
I am planning on going out tomorrow morning to a vendor event and then am going to keep my friend's son tomorrow night so they can go to a party. I am a bit lost because my laptop died and with it my calendar and some documents and pictures. I am hopeful that they can be retrieved soon and I can move on without a computer for a while. I hate to lose anything.
My Fridays seem to be a bit on the mundane side so I will leave with yet another Haiku:

Treating Sick Children
Orange Juice and Hot Chicken Soup
What else can you do

Sick Day - Part Deux

Cole is still a snot factory today and Chris joined his production line. Rhys is stuffy too but not nearly producing the volume that Cole is managing. YUCK! I have the pleasure of experiencing, probably for the first time in my life, what it is like to be the one who is well. Chris credits my exercise. I just think I am a late bloomer and will be coughing up a lung on the long drive to SC next week. Let's hope not.
Anyway, Chris stayed home today and worked from here while I tried to keep Cole from running around too much. He had a really good nap and we ended up going out for dinner tonight because I wasn't really in the mood to cook and since Chris was home already, we got to the restaurant early and then after a quick stop at the drug store for some supplies, we were home early too.
Rhys is really struggling with his teeth and I feel so sorry that I can't do much to help him get through this. I felt helpless when Cole was going through it too but, thankfully, it passes quickly and he will have a nice set of pearly whites soon enough.
I got a double dose of sad news today. Firstly, my best friend's cousin was arrested for passing bad checks for jewelry at 8 different jewelry stores. It was shocking and sad. She is in jail tonight awaiting a bail hearing. I am very sad for her children and hope that she gets the treatment that she so needs. Something isn't quite right with the situation which leads us to believe that she is not a stable individual. I pray for strength for her family and for her children.
Secondly, I learned from a friend that my ex-father-in-law died suddenly yesterday. I am sad for the family and empathize with each of them. I remember all three boys' individual relationships with their father and know that they will all miss him for similar and yet very different reasons. I also can only imagine how shocking it was for his wife to find him "asleep" on the couch when she got home from work only to discover that he was, in fact, dead. What a tragic thing to experience. Conversely, when I am to go, I would really appreciate just passing away on my couch. I want to think that he was tired - not realizing something was wrong - and just laid down and drifted away. There is something comforting in believing that the person who has died didn't know it was happening. I want that and am certainly comforted that he probably went that way.
There has been so much sadness today and, although neither of these issues directly affects me, I feel for those closer to the pain and wish only the very best for them.

In a haze and Motivation tip #4

I am so tired from the weekend and feel like I have been in a haze all day. It is just shy of 6:00pm and I am already wondering when I will be able to get in the bed. I have eaten as have Cole and Rhys and they both had a bath and are in their pajamas. Chris just came home from work so once he gets settled in, I will probably get ready for bed.
Chris was up with Rhys most of the times he woke last night but I fed him at 11 and then again at 3. He is miserable at night with the teething but as we all know: this too shall pass. It is a rainy day and we have stayed in all day. We did manage to get dressed in comfy clothes and just generally relax. I indulged in a candy bar but had salad for dinner. I am not planning on walking. I am just too wiped out today. I did some stretching and sit-ups today so that will count for something.
I will be eager to get out tomorrow after a good sleep.

Motivation Tip #4: Remember that you are doing this for yourself and there are probably too few things you can say that about. Don't deprive yourself of this too.

Full and Full

The day was full and so am I! We had an early start; much to our chagrin. Rhys is teething and was up at 12:30, 3:30 and finally at 6:30 which is when we all decided that it was just time to get up. I went for a walk (1.5 mile) and after Rhys had a nap, we went to BJs to stock up on the ever depleting supply of diapers and wipes. We put Cole down for an early nap and poor Rhys finally settled again. His little mouth must really be bothering him because he was really out of sorts. At 1:45, we got the boys up and headed to Pump It Up for a birthday party. Chris and Cole had a ball jumping around in the inflated "rooms" and sliding down the enormous slides. Rhys liked watching everyone and I enjoyed talking to my friends.
We left the party at 4 and went to one of Chris' co-worker's house for dinner. They have a 1-year old little girl and Cole played with her until she went to bed. He was a good boy and we all had a really nice time. Cole received a pair of sunglasses in the goody bag from the party and on the way home, he started caughing, I turned around to check on him and through the darkness, I could make out his face and saw that he was wearing his sunglasses...just chilling out in the backseat with his shades on. It was such a funny sight and he knew it. He just started laughing when he knew we saw him. He is so funny.
We are home now and I am stuffed full of good food and dessert. I will hit the road again tomorrow for a good long walk.