Monday, March 30, 2009

Minor Miracles

Sometimes, the gods do nice things for us. Like today. We went to Walmart to pick up bedding for Nathan's new bed (he's finally outgrowing the crib) along with a few other necessities. Nathan brought a few toys, a plastic pig and a small plastic Muppet Babies Kermit. These two are his current favourites, they go along pretty much everywhere.

I wasn't paying as much attention as I probably should have, trying to remember everything we needed to pick up. I was feeling rather satisfied when we got to the checkout counter and suddenly I realize that we have a disaster in the making.

Kermit is missing.

Nathan is looking at me expectantly, as if he's waiting for me to pull Kermit out of the various articles in the cart and give him back. The clerk is looking at me as if I might be mildly crazy as I start searching through everything. No luck. The frog is definitely gone. Lost somewhere in a major box store that we've just wandered through.

Not good.

I pay for our purchases and start to retrace our steps with the sinking certainty that there is no real chance that we're going to find Kermit again. I can't even go out and get a replacement Kermit because this is one that I got in a Happy Meal from McDonald's when I was six or seven. Nathan is beginning to get upset that I am not producing his favourite toy and the staff and other customers are starting to get the same expression as the clerk as I wheel down the aisles, staring at the ground, searching for a little green figure.

After double checking all of the places we visited and spending a fair amount of brainpower to remember just which aisles we walked down while going between those places, I give up. I bravely tell my two year old that his toy is gone, vanished into the ether. I try to spin the story that maybe some other child picked it up and now Kermit will go to make that family happy. Yeah, Nathan didn't buy that one either. But he's handling it pretty well and I resign myself to leaving the store, frog-less, when I spot something.

A little green figure standing on a shelf with a wide grin. Our very own Kermit.

Nathan was very happy to get his friend back, offering him big hugs and several smacking kisses. I take a moment to thank the gods for kindly guiding me to that particular shelf.

Everyone who has lost a toy, or had a child who has lost a toy, knows the astronomical odds against finding a two inch figurine in a department store. So thank you to whoever was listening. Kermit is now safely back at home and shoved under the couch where he belongs.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Bad Weekend

You know, we've gone through weekends where both kids were sick and we weren't feeling too good ourselves and I thought those were bad. But now I have a new winner.

Both adults feeling flat-out, horribly sick. Kids, absolutely fine.

When our kids are sick, usually they're quiet, happy to cuddle and watch TV. When they're well, they don't understand why Mommy and Daddy only want to lie down and groan. They want to play which is so sweet and heartbreaking when you're exhausted and in pain.

Ah well, now we're on the road to recovery and so far (knock on wood) the kids are still healthy. Thankfully the grandparents were willing to help and I'm very grateful to my mom for taking on both children on Monday so that I could get a chance to sleep and recuperate.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

And the "It's A Small World" award goes to . . . .

Turns out that one of the other moms at Alex's IBI program used to babysit me back when I was six.

And then I get a cookie. :)

Nathan got his immunizations this week and he did very well. He only cried a little but then he was clinging to me and asking for a "cookie" (one of the few words he's using reliably these days). Our doctor's office is beside a grocery store, so I decided to go in and see if I could get something fresh from the bakery to give him. When we got to the counter, all I could see were boxes of about a dozen cookies, so I asked the woman if I could buy a single cookie for my son, explaining that he'd just had a shot. She replied, "Oh, poor thing. He's being so good." And she gave us a free chocolate chip cookie, which perked Nathan right up. He smiled at her and even managed a credible "Tanku" (thank you).

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Valentine's Day Gift

Okay, this is a little out of date due to some technical difficulties on posting the picture. But I still want to share the lovely gift my son gave me for Valentine's Day.

We get a lot of craft stuff every week from Alex's program and while we oooh and aaah over it, we know that for the most part, it has been fashioned by his therapist with a little enforced help from Alex. This time, however, we got a note that told us that Alex picked out all the pieces himself and strung them all together himself. And he handed it over to me himself (okay, with a little prompting, but that's still huge).

I wore this necklace very proudly for the whole day and Alex seemed quite intrigued by that. He kept coming up to look at it and finger it. After I wore it, I tucked it away in his special momentos box where it will stay safe.

Thank you, Alex. Happy Valentine's.