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| Circa summer 2011 |
WEDNESDAY NIGHT FEVER /
Roan had a fever last night that shot all the way up to 104.6º. It brought odd flashbacks to Lula's nighttime sudden temp spikes, the rounds of cold washcloths and ibuprofen and rectal thermometers. It made me miss her more than usual even though I was always scared and miserable when it happened and knew she was too. But it was something we could do something about and they always went away when all the other problems didn't. It was fixable even if only until the next fever.
Roan was weepy and wanted to sleep with us which never works because he usually wiggles around like an earthworm in the sun until one of us gets fed up and sticks him back in his bed. This time he stayed and slept for a while. He was roasting hot but no other symptoms. It's so unlike him. He almost never gets sick, it's like Lula did all the getting sick for the both of them. It's absurd to be so surprised, of course he's going to get sick he's a kid. And he's going to preschool in the fall, a cesspool of germs from what I've heard.
I cancelled all of our plans and we hung out in the back yard watering the herbs and sweeping the underside of the deck. We planted cornflowers. I let him watch Elmo and he ate nothing but cantaloupe for lunch. He's been on a steady regimen of ibuprofen and Tylenol since yesterday and his fever hasn't dipped below 102. I called the doctors office and the nurse said not to worry unless it lasts 7 days or goes over 105. She made no effort to reassure me that I was justified in calling with any worry, but said this fever was rampant right now. How is she to know that a fever is such a close memory of a lost baby?
Tomorrow I'm planning more of the same nothing in hopes that the fever will break before it ruins our weekend plans. He's whinier than usual but otherwise he doesn't seem all that sick or even uncomfortable. I have to remind myself that you are supposed to stop and take it easy when a baby is sick since I've literally never done that before. I hope he gets better soon. I want my little boy back to himself.
Roan was weepy and wanted to sleep with us which never works because he usually wiggles around like an earthworm in the sun until one of us gets fed up and sticks him back in his bed. This time he stayed and slept for a while. He was roasting hot but no other symptoms. It's so unlike him. He almost never gets sick, it's like Lula did all the getting sick for the both of them. It's absurd to be so surprised, of course he's going to get sick he's a kid. And he's going to preschool in the fall, a cesspool of germs from what I've heard.
I cancelled all of our plans and we hung out in the back yard watering the herbs and sweeping the underside of the deck. We planted cornflowers. I let him watch Elmo and he ate nothing but cantaloupe for lunch. He's been on a steady regimen of ibuprofen and Tylenol since yesterday and his fever hasn't dipped below 102. I called the doctors office and the nurse said not to worry unless it lasts 7 days or goes over 105. She made no effort to reassure me that I was justified in calling with any worry, but said this fever was rampant right now. How is she to know that a fever is such a close memory of a lost baby?
Tomorrow I'm planning more of the same nothing in hopes that the fever will break before it ruins our weekend plans. He's whinier than usual but otherwise he doesn't seem all that sick or even uncomfortable. I have to remind myself that you are supposed to stop and take it easy when a baby is sick since I've literally never done that before. I hope he gets better soon. I want my little boy back to himself.
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| Bedtime snuggle |
NAPTIME /
As you can see, naptime was a huge success today...
REPEAT AFTER ME /
Roan is really into Richard Scarry's books right now, which involve no stories and lot's of vehicles
A DAY AT THE BEACH /
My cousin Lori, her husband Peter and their two kids Luca and Dylan came to visit from Philly. They don't get to come up all that often so I thought a good day trip would be for us to go to Coney Island. For those of you unfamiliar with Coney Island (is that possible?) it's a low-grade amusement park meets a circus sideshow meets a caramel apple meets the Jersey Shore. Somehow it works perfectly.
Roan discovered rides and, unlike the merry-go-round debacle of earlier this year, had a blast.
Luca, all of seven years old but as tall as a ten year old, went on rides that made me queasy just to look at. He went in that crazy orb that's shot in the air like a cannon attached to cables. Um, no thanks.
At the end of the day I bought Roan a go at one of those game booths. It was an Angry Birds booth and you were given 3 baseballs and had to try to smash 3 plates. The first two throws he didn't come remotely close but, unbelievably, he smashed a plate on the last round and won an Angry Bird!!
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| We started with a nutritious lunch at Nathan's |
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| wow |
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| Little man, big ferris wheel |
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| Me, Lori, and the best photobomb ever |
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| Throwing sand, annoyingly |
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| Very seal-like |
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| Dylan and Roan digging |
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| Notice the gun on the front of the jet. Nice. |
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| Pizza hat |
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| Tom and Jerry and Roan. Didn't even have to put money in it. |
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| Dylan and Roan in the whale |
A day at the races
Luca and Peter defying gravity
HAPPY DADS DAY /
YEAR TWO /
I realized in about April that I couldn't be in New York for the babies' birthdays. We all needed to get away and away we went. I am not even going to bother telling you about it I'm just gonna show you pictures.
Happy Birthday Roan and Lula
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| This is Vermont. So Vermonty isn't it? |
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| The house we stayed at. On a private island on a lake. Not tellin where. |
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| The bridge to get to the house |
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| Shit eating grin |
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| Dunking |
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| Honestly Gracie was probably the happiest of all |
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| The water was a bit chilly but beautiful |
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| Me in bliss. Photo courtesy of Sam |
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| Brooklyn boys in the fresh air |
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| Waiting |
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| Still waiting |
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| One of several perfect views |
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| Rustic |
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| Rowing around the lake |
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| Lily pads |
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| View of the house from the lake |
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| Bedtime story with Cecelia |
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| BBQ |
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| Burgers |
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| Evening fire |
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| Floating |
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| Cecelia's getup |
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| Gracie and Wally with Susan |
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| My mother did this to him. I had total flashbacks of sunblock assaults from my childhood. |
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| Just down the road |
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| She's always with us |
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| Aggie and Sharda pick up dudes at the Big Moose Deli |
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| Aggie and I ham it up |
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| This place is insane |
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| Jason and Wally |
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| Afternoon gathering at the dock |
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| Sharda chillin |
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| Tagalong |
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| Home brew. Photo Courtesy of Sam |
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| Birthday pancakes |
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| Entourage |
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| Day 1: Wally won't even dip a paw in the water. Day 2: Smooth sailing |
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| That's Aggie way in the distance. She swam circles around the rest of us. |
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| Lunch |
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| Dock time |
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| Adapted |
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| Sharda sunning herself |
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| Ice Cream dinner at Wahoo's Eatery |
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| Survivor of Hurricane Irene |
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| Birthday Ice Cream |
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| It was a bit messy |
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| Pretty much sums it up |
CHARMED /
Roan's reaction to his birthday present from Grandma Soup
Priceless!
Priceless!
DAY 1 /
URBAN COWBOY /
Ready to scooter through Brooklyn's sprinklers at a moments notice
GAME OF ROANS /
Sam and Roan invented a new game they like to call "Game of Roans"
BUCKETS /
Roan was happily occupied for 3 hours with nothing more than 2 buckets and a well monitored hose. And so it will be for the whole summer.
BUBBLES /
Big thanks to our cousins for Roan's birthday bubble machine. It makes the back yard effervescent.
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| Photo Courtesy of Sam Murray |
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY /
That is all.
TOP HEAVY /
I am well aware that I have been remiss in my blogging duties recently. I've been really busy with this and that, although I can't really tell you what this or that is. Also I find that I am in a less expressive, possibly more contemplative mode of late. At a certain point you have said what you have to say for a while.
As penance for my blogging delinquency, might I tempt you with something completely silly:
As penance for my blogging delinquency, might I tempt you with something completely silly:
DAISY CHAIN /
Saire's a Daisy. That is, she's a member of Daisy Troop 4147. The Daisies are the 6 year old version of Girl Scouts and part of their mission is public service and giving back, so they raised money (selling cookies, of course) and got a whole lot of goodies for Extreme Kids.
My cousin Jamie (aka Saire's mom) bravely offered to host 25 six year old Daisies at a campfire where they presented us with the presents for Extreme Kids in Lula's honor. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to spend an evening with 25 six year olds, but the weather was perfect so they all just ran around on the lawn and scrambled up the jungle gym. Six is old enough to let them run feral but young enough that you don't have to worry that they are going to sneak off and smoke cigarettes or something. It's kind of an enchanting age.
I decided to make Girl Scout badges for all the girls, but rather than making them all uniform I wanted each one to be unique. Extreme Kids had a felting workshop a few weeks ago so I went and made a bunch of felt with some of the kids (and a huge amount of help from the adults since I had to make so many). Then I sewed each into a flower. I explained to the girls that each one was different and unique and special even if it had flaws in it. I tried not to sound like a fortune cookie.
There were lots of songs and games and then the girls presented us with all of the presents and gave us a plaque that they all signed with a photo of Lula.
It was all so meaningful and touching and just when you thought it couldn't get any better...
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| Saire in her Daisy vest |
My cousin Jamie (aka Saire's mom) bravely offered to host 25 six year old Daisies at a campfire where they presented us with the presents for Extreme Kids in Lula's honor. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to spend an evening with 25 six year olds, but the weather was perfect so they all just ran around on the lawn and scrambled up the jungle gym. Six is old enough to let them run feral but young enough that you don't have to worry that they are going to sneak off and smoke cigarettes or something. It's kind of an enchanting age.
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| Getting the party started. Photo Courtesy of Sam. |
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| Ronan held up pretty well despite being outnumbered. Photo Courtesy of Sam. |
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| Chillin |
I decided to make Girl Scout badges for all the girls, but rather than making them all uniform I wanted each one to be unique. Extreme Kids had a felting workshop a few weeks ago so I went and made a bunch of felt with some of the kids (and a huge amount of help from the adults since I had to make so many). Then I sewed each into a flower. I explained to the girls that each one was different and unique and special even if it had flaws in it. I tried not to sound like a fortune cookie.
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| Little flowers for the darling Daisies |
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| Detail shot |
There were lots of songs and games and then the girls presented us with all of the presents and gave us a plaque that they all signed with a photo of Lula.
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| Cuteness! |
It was all so meaningful and touching and just when you thought it couldn't get any better...
S'MORES
Once sufficiently hopped up on sugar the girls all donned glow-in-the-dark jewelry and ran around with flashlights like giddy fireflies.
We spent two more days there. Roan literally had the time of his life. He was beside himself with joy at all the space and toys and cousins.
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| Off to play |
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| Photo Courtesy of Sam |
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| Photo Courtesy of Sam |
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| I had a small heart attack every time she did this but she was totally fine |
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| Driving lessons with Grandma Soup* |
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| Dinner with Saire and Dylan. Luca boycotted the kids table. |
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| Bedtime stories with Jamie. |
Roan slept until after 9:00am and took 3 hour naps for two days when we got back he was so exhausted. He couldn't have possibly had a better time.
* We thought Roan was calling my mom Grandma Sue, but one day I realized he actually calls her Grandma Soup, which is far funnier so it stuck.
A DAY /
There is this project that is being done by a Swedish organization wherein they asked anyone and everyone to photograph one single day - May 15, 2012 - and submit 10 photos with descriptions, keywords etc to help create a worldwide database of images from that one day. I love this idea for so many reasons so I decided to do it.
Turns out my day, at least that day, is probably nearly identical to that of every American housewife since the dawn of time. It was a rainy day filled with cleaning, laundry, errands, and plenty of great little moments with my favorite companion.
If you want you can check out the photos I submitted at the link below.
Really, though, you should check out the site on or after May 30th when everyone's images will be live. I really can't wait to see what everyone's day was like.
Turns out my day, at least that day, is probably nearly identical to that of every American housewife since the dawn of time. It was a rainy day filled with cleaning, laundry, errands, and plenty of great little moments with my favorite companion.
If you want you can check out the photos I submitted at the link below.
Really, though, you should check out the site on or after May 30th when everyone's images will be live. I really can't wait to see what everyone's day was like.
IN OTHER NEWS... /
Oh yeah, know what else I did for Mothers Day? Well.....
They were designed by the perennially brilliant Lisa Lev Sercarz (nee Fisher) based on these guys' gorgeous wedding invitation design (which, given Obama's announcement this week made it seem all the more fortuitous) and executed with perfection by Stephanie Tamez at Saved Tattoo.
Also a special thanks to Aggie who held my hand the whole time and told me funny stories to keep me occupied. They itch like hell right now, but otherwise I'm thrilled.
Also a special thanks to Aggie who held my hand the whole time and told me funny stories to keep me occupied. They itch like hell right now, but otherwise I'm thrilled.
MOMS DAY SWING /
We did a whole lotta nothing on Mothers Day.
MOTHERS DAY GIFT /
Most mom's wouldn't think twice before throwing themselves in front of a moving bus to save their kids, but sometimes being a parent is even harder than that.
Please watch this. This family is incredible. Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there who would do the same.