He's got a cold :-(

Winston's got a cold. Poor guy just isn't feeling well. He coughed all night. This morning he tried so hard to be in a good mood, but then he'd sneeze and he'd have a snot explosion. That seemed to bum him out. And who can blame him. He would sneeze in the car, not know what to do with the snottiness and then rub his face on his carseat. Which upset him even more. He likes to be clean, that's for sure.

Fingers crossed that it stays as a cold/cough, doesn't morph into something else, and goes away quickly. And that it doesn't hit Jay or I. We leave for our Mexican vacation in less than two weeks. We must all be healthy!!

Random musing for the day

I get it now; the whole appearance of the professional working (out of the home) mom. Or, rather, the illusion.

Whenever I see a well-put together mom either out with her kids, or picking-up/dropping-off at daycare I am so impressed. And downright jealous. I am talking about the perfect hair, the nice crisp suit, stylish shoes. And general lack of anxiety. And least there doesn’t seem to be any anxiety that’s readily perceived from the onlooker (me). If anything there is a sense of business. Like the mom in question is already in “office-mode” and the kids know it. Everything seems to click along like a well-oiled machine.

Yeah, that’s all bunk.

The professional working mommy knows how to put up a smoke-screen. How do I know this? I think I am doing it. I am dressed up today. Not really, just looking more “professional” and more “suited” (pun-intended) for my “director” title. At least I feel that way. And I noticed that the teachers at daycare treated me a bit differently, another “suited” mom gave me a knowing look at drop-off. I kept thinking, “what’s up?” And, oh yeah, the handful of other times I look a bit different in my dress (and perhaps as a result, my demeanor), things were also somehow different. Then it hit me. They think I “look” like I have it together. HA!!

See, I get it. I finally get it.

Girlfriend(s)?

We think Winston has a girlfriend. Or two. Or three?

He loves a little girl named Emmi. She is about a month younger than Winston and very sweet. He asks about her all the time. And when we pull into the parking lot at school he shouts with glee “EMMMII!” Sadly, Emmi is only there 3 days a week, so 2 days a week little Winston gets a bit of a letdown. :-(

Winston and Emmi greet each other with smiles and sometimes hugs. Emmi even comes over to me with a smile and a hug. It’s quite sweet. I think that the drop-offs are better overall when Emmi is there. She’s like Winston’s luvee. Awwww.

Then there is Eleni. Eleni is a month or two older than Winston and quite a firecracker. She likes to hug and kiss Winston. Winston will hug back, but I have been told that sometimes it’s too much for Winston. Evidently, he ran away from her last week saying “no, no, no” and shaking his head. But they like to play together and will sit and sway together during song time. Eleni greets me with hugs too.

And finally, there is Olivia. She is just one year old and so sweet. Whenever Winston hears her name he giggles, and dare I say, blushes. When she is sad Winston will try to comfort her with a hug or a pat.

Winston has little boy friends too; but really there are only two other boys in the class. And only one other boy who is full-time like Winston. In true boy-fashion they like to greet each other and say good-bye with high-fives. No joke.

Bumps and bruises. And some kisses.

You might remember our stint last “school” year when Winston had a perma-bruise and bump on his head. I swear I think he fell down and bumped his head three times in one week. Well, we got another taste of that last week.

Anytime there is an injury at school the teachers fill out an incident slip and leave it for a parent’s signature. Inevitably I see the slip of paper before I see Winston, so I can be prepared. Right? If the injury is either more serious or just looks that way, the teachers will call to notify you, or at least warn you before you see your child. On Wednesday of last week was notice #1. Just a slip of paper.

Winston had been pushing a toy shopping cart on the playground. Ok, he was running with it. He hit a bump and the cart toppled forward. Not one to let go, Winston went with it, skidding on his hand across the concrete. This meant he had scraped knuckles and a fairly icky looking owie on the top of his right hand. It needed a band-aid for certain. Winston was quick to show me his owie when I got there. And I was quick to give him and the owie kisses. (note -- this is the first time that I used the "let momma kiss it and make it better" line. It works!)

On Thursday we had incident #2. This one necessitated a call. It was 4:47 pm. (yes I noted it). Winston had been playing with another child and wrestling (?) and they both fell to the floor. (Huh? They were standing up to wrestle, you ask? Just wait.). Winston fell and hurt his eye on the rail of a rocking chair. The teacher who called me said it was swollen pretty badly, but that Winston was in good spirits. Not a serious injury. Just looked bad right now. Ok. Breathe momma, breathe.

I get to school and my little guy has a black eye and a red bump on his nose. But, yep, he was in good spirits. As it ends up, he was getting hugs (and maybe kisses?) from either one or two little girls. Things got a bit aggressive and they fell. Now, I don’t know which little girls were involved. But I have my suspicions.

Ch, ch,ch, changes .....

Why is it that child developments seem to happen in spurts? Winston hits the 18 mo. age marker and things just blow-up. He’s putting together two words or more now. New words are coming out. And he’s off the bottle.

The other day he kept asking about Dada as we left the house. I went thru the usual drill telling him that Daddy is going to work, Mommy will go to work and Winston will go to school. Jay had left just a bit before us and was just ahead of us in his car. We turned the corner and Winston saw the Jeep going on ahead of us. He said, “Oh, bye-bye Dada.” And he waved. Like he understood what I’d said and was acknowledging it. Too funny.

The rest of the ride to school had Winston saying bye-bye to trucks, trees and cars.

We also just got Winston off the bottle. We were down to just one bottle of warm milk in the evening, in between dinner and bedtime. We have a little routine where we prep the bottle and then sit on the bed together for a cuddle while he drinks.

Winston really seems to look forward to it and will ask about “baba” as the evening goes on. I have been a little concerned lately because he has also started asking for “baba” at other times of the day. Maybe he’s getting a little too attached to it? I have since come to realize that he isn’t attached to the “baba”, as much as the routine around it.

Late last week Jay decided to switch the bottle for a straw cup, but still with warm milk. Winston didn’t skip a beat. It didn’t seem to matter that it was a straw and not a nipple. But he still wanted to sit w/one of us while he had his drink. And he still called it “baba.” We think it definitely refers more to the process and routine than the item itself.

Looks like we are a bottle-free house now. Wow.