Facebook Archive - April 2017

1 April 2017 - Ian, busting into the house: "Mooommmy! Guess what I haaaave! Close your eyes! It came out of Ben and Jack's trash can but it was still clean so their dad said I could have it. There actually were two but I gave one of them to Alex. I'm soooo excited!!!"

3 April 2017 - Ian cried after school at my folks because he missed me so badly. Then he cried before dinner telling me about how much he had missed me. And then he cried as I was making dinner because he was scared when he went to bed tonight he might fall out of bed and knock the nightstand over on himself and get his head stuck in it. 

But we got through it and we read books together and he's asleep in his bed with the dog. And his head isn't stuck yet. 

4 April 2017 - Ian and I had a great day. I worked from home this afternoon so I'd be here when he rode his bike to the house. He chilled with me in the office while I finished up some things. When I told him it was gorgeous outside he asked if we could go on a bike ride and we took a 30 minute winding loop all over the neighborhood. We keep trolling Ramsey Road looking for one of his classmates. I'm not sure his classmate knows her street number but I should have him ask. It would be much more efficient. 

We had dinner at Pizza Chef, which included a free kids entree and half price appetizer. Then we went to get Ian his own library card at our local Ocean View branch (Pretlow). 

He was so stoked! He greeted the security guard, he filled out his own application (legibly!), he helped a little boy with a frustrating toy, he found the kids area and made a new friend while I went to an SCA meeting. He drew me a picture, we picked out three chapter books to work on, he thanked the children's librarian for everything and the Circ desk lib tech for saving his books for him. He was super polite to the circ staff downstairs and navigated the self checkout himself (minus the one book missing a sensor).

We rode home triumphant, curled up in bed, and read chapter one of his library book. We'll have to repeat the last two pages because he started snoring. 

I'm in bed with kitties as is my way after 9pm. Today was a good day

5 April 2017 - Ian is going on a field trip to see "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the ballet today. The note from school said that children should wear theatre appropriate clothes. Ian and I decided he should go in his shark slip on Vans, an Empire cog t-shirt and his nicest pair of track pants. 

"I mean, I don't even *like* or *own* any button shirts, Mommy! It seems silly to spend like $50 on clothes I hate for a few hours. I'm sure they will understand."

13 April 2017 - Ian keeps calling scallops "scalpels" and I love it. 
"We need to get the scalpels on the grill, Ed!"

15 April 2017 - Ian and I kayaked for a solid 90 minutes at Tarpon Springs. He was so strong and managed the kayak like a pro. We could have stayed out there much longer but thought Ed and MB might think we had drowned. 

Ian even fell overboard once and only got about 10% panicked for a minute before he pulled himself back in. I'm so proud of him.

23 April 2017 - Ian: "I'm glad you're finally committed to changing your behavior, Mommy."

28 April 2017 - I told Ian we were going to help Brigit collect rocks tomorrow. He had forgotten which person Brigit was and I was trying to describe her. 
Me: "She has long hair. And she paints things."
Ian: "Is she playful?"
Me (cackling with laughter): "Yes! She is *definitely* playful!"
Ian: "Ok. I'm in."

Facebook Archive - March 2017

March 5 - In addition to the horrible croup-y cough, Ian now has a fever of 103. I'm glad I got him a bigger bed so I can fit me, him, a cat, and a bucket in it.

March 11 - Ian made a fort. The back corner is actually Charlie Bear's house. It has a floor of blankets. And he's working on his list for our Minecraft world while watching cartoons.

March 12 - It's possible I may regret Ian lying down with me for this afternoon nap when bedtime rolls around on a school night immediately after the time change. But right now, we're just fine.

March 13 - I reinstalled Rich's computer from scratch and have been using it to play Minecraft with Ian on the network.
Ian: "Can I have half of your cobblestone?"
Me: "Dude, I left it all in the materials chest before I logged out."
Ian: "No! Your cobblestone pastry from Panera."
Me: "Oh. Yes, yes you can."

March 19 - Ian and I went for sushi this afternoon and he was lovely to the waitress. We ordered a Godzilla roll and she actually exclaimed "Goh-zee-rah! Rawr!"

March 20 - You know it's bad when your kid says "YAY!" at the news he can go to the doctor today. Poor guy has had a horrible cough for over two weeks that just won't go away despite all my best attempts to ignore it. Too much time in the mines, I assume.

March 20 - Me just now: "We do not take office supplies to the creek."

Facebook Archive - February 2017

Feb 1 - My child is sobbing in my arms and asking me if he's awful because the kids at school make fun of him for liking trains. So now I want to punch a bunch of seven year olds in the face.

Feb 3 - Ian made a house for Charlie Bear and Elizabeth after school. He also made two benches and a dining room table and was working on a pool but they don't fit in the current digs.

Feb 13 - One of Ian's classmates just told me, "WOW you're huge!" I know Ian is tall but damn he *towers* over every first grader in the school. Congrats on A honor roll and perfect attendance, Stink.

Feb 13 - Ian and I just had a whole bedtime talk about rigor mortis and cremation and if it's ok to be happy after Daddy dies. We're gonna open one of the pets' urns tomorrow to see what ashes look like. Ian thought maybe they just cut up body parts and put them in a jar "like hands and the heart and stuff." Rich would probably enjoy an Egyptian process but I doubt that's affordable around here. #notforwusses

Feb 17 - This morning in bed, Ian said, "I hope my wife doesn't get cancer one day." I thought it was interesting that he didn't say *he* didn't get cancer, but that he didn't want his life partner to get cancer. 
He then asked how cancer happens and we had a whole talk under the covers about how cancer cells grow much faster than regular cells and they don't die like they should so they end up hogging the space in your body. And that people get "cancer" all the time but 99.9% of the time our bodies fight it off like a cold. But sometimes it doesn't and it sucks. My seven year old now understands more than most adults about how cancer actually works.
We also had a talk this morning about why Daddy acts the way he does now. Why he repeats himself and only says one syllable words like "dad", "mom", "yes", and "no". We talked about how he breathes less than we do now and that it makes him make crazy moaning noises. But it doesn't mean he's hurting, he's just breathing differently. We talked about what apnea is and how it's just like Pop not breathing when he sleeps and then making a huge kerfuffle to get air. 
We talked about how Daddy isn't a baby, but that sometimes when someone is dying they start to act more like a baby than a grown up. It's a big loop life cycle. Ian was concerned Daddy couldn't tell us if he is hurting. I concurred that it's hard to guess what he needs sometimes. But we pay attention to if he frowns. We look at how he's sitting in the bed to make sure it looks comfy. We do our best. Just like we would for a baby that can't talk very well. 
This is hospice. This is normal.

Feb 27 - "Mommy, come look! Gia and I dug a hole for our secret plans!"
If anyone needs a shower dug at Pennsic, I have a seven year old ready to earn $$$. ﷯#callbeforeyoudig

Feb 27 - Ian: "Who do you love more, your friends or me?"
Me: "You."
Ian: "But you've had your friends for longer and I can be annoying."
Me: "My friends are pretty annoying too. All humans are annoying every once in a while."
Ian: "Are bears annoying? Like are they all, 'Hey, Jim! Are you gonna eat *all* that salmon?!'"
Me: "Yes. Bears probably get annoyed too."