The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

What a week....so far! On Monday, the boys and I went to Six Flags to celebrate a friend's birthday (Happy Birthday Elijah!). We had a great time. Daniel especially loved the whale and dolphin shows as well as visiting the lions, giraffes, tigers, elephants, and reptiles. We did get Daniel on a few rides, despite his fear of heights and speed. Before each ride started he got the operator's attention and kindly (and desperately) asked, "Could you please go slow?" That's our Daniel. After many reassurances he enjoyed driving a safari jeep past camels and around some desert tortoises. Daniel mustered up enough courage to enjoy Harold the Helicopter (although he kept swatting Liam's hands away from the up/down controls). We sort of tricked him into the Bertie the Bus ride (he didn't know it went up off the ground and around in a circle), but once he was on he did very well. Daniel rode Thomas the Tank Engine 4 times. (During one of the rides I heard one of Daniel's friends say, "This is so boring!" --which could be translated as "Daniel gives it a 10!") Daniel took home a map of the park (he loves maps just like his Daddy) and has been entertained for the past few days telling us about all of the animals that missed that we can go see next time.

Liam was, as always, more adventurous. He not only enjoyed all of the kiddy rides, he also asked to ride a spinny gorilla ride with me. It turned out to be one that goes so fast that both riders are squeezed together like Siamese twins, joined at the hip, taking up one seat instead of the original two. As it started Liam had both of his hands up in the air. As it continued to speed up his hands got closer and closer to the bar until he was holding on for dear life. He looked a little sick and the ride seemed to last forever, but at the end he gave me two thumbs up and giant smile. I am impressed by his bravery (although I don't think he'll ask to go on it again). Liam also really enjoyed watching and impersonating the penguins.

Caleb is always happy to be outside. It was the perfect day for it, slightly overcast with no rain and a slight breeze (high 70s). I carried him in the backpack all day. I think the animal shows were a bit too loud for him. He did seem to like watching the elephant giving rides, and the giraffes. He loved when I let him play in the water and crawl on the ground underneath the jungle gym. He entertained himself by trying to catch my pony tail and pull it out. Then I would catch his hands and nibble them and he would giggle hysterically and start all over again. He didn't sleep the whole time (we stayed until 5:30 or 6)! I think Caleb is always afraid he'll miss something if he dozes off. Finally, he let his head nod as we walked back to the parking lot.

We had so much fun, but this is one tired Mommy.

On Tuesday I paid the price. Although I didn't hurt carrying Caleb all over the park, I must have worn my back out. I merely reached out to play with Caleb like always and my back went out. It isn't as bad as it has been in the past, but Tylenol with Codine is a necessity.

On Tuesday night I went to bed and woke up at 2 AM to Caleb whimpering. I went in to check on him and found him with a temperature of 104.5. We gave him some Tylenol and I did my best to hold him (not easy with a bad back). He threw up twice (both times on Mommy). He didn't have a good Wednesday until about 10:30 PM when something kicked in and he decided to crawl around and be wiggly like he usually is (earlier in the day). Today (Thursday) he still has a mild fever and an advise nurse talked me into taking him in. The doctor confirmed my opinion that it is just a virus that will likely last another day or so.

After the appointment, Liam managed to stuff the toilet with sufficient toilet paper to get it to overflow, covering the whole bathroom floor all the way to the hall, before he came to tell me. Naturally, Caleb thought the bathroom had become a water resort just for him to splash and play in. He was not a happy camper when I made his brothers stand guard at the door to prevent his re entrance. It took a lot of plunging and two loads worth of towels to get the bathroom into recovery.