pants-less wonder

Dennis has been so wonderful today. I am sick, SICK, sick today, fever and full cold symptoms (guess I've been fighting it so long that I finally succumbed). Dennis was so very sweet, visiting me on the couch, tucking me in, patting my head, kissing my cheek, all the time telling me to "get some rest Mommy and you'll feel better." He was patient and let me get lots of needed rest. He didn't destroy anything or cause any mayhem--he either played quietly in his room or brought things to the den to let me watch him play. I think he had a continuous showing of "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" playing on his DVD player, pretty much all day, but I can't say I mind too much.

I love that he brought in puzzles to assemble while I watched (and praised) from my sick nest. I have been serenaded with Jingle Bells played on his PVC pipe "tuba" and I've been offered various Lego "Christmas presents". He loaded up his toy 18 wheeler with Mega Blocks ("boxes for delivery in the BIG mail truck" he called them) and delivered some to me. He took back the "empty" boxes on his "recycling truck" (same truck, just traveling a different route). He fixed his own drinks today, and he took his dirty dishes to the sink. I can't complain a bit--he didn't complain when I did such a bad job taking care of him today! I appreciate his thoughtfulness and understanding. But I have no idea why he took off his jeans early this afternoon and refused to wear pants for the rest of the day. He's still hanging out in a fire truck long sleeved shirt, orange socks, and Handy Manny underwear (I had to insist on the socks), but no pants. And he's so happy about it!

salute!

It's the Feast of the Epiphany, and we did have a nice meal this evening followed by a king cake! We talked about the three kings' visit to the baby Jesus, certainly something to celebrate! Gigi has come to town and we enjoyed an afternoon with her after we both went to preschool this morning (surprise news at 7am--they needed me to substitute). I got to step in to the last few minutes of Dennis' class, just in time to see his first show-and-tell experience. He showed the class Woody and Bullseye from Toy Story and talked about them. His teacher asked if there was anything else he wanted to mention and he said "I got a Buzz Lightyear and he is the COOLEST TOY EVER!" while jumping up and down and gesturing wildly. So cute!

We were eating lunch today and Dennis' bottom and the chair bottom were apparently magnetic opposites at the time. He couldn't stay seated. I warned him and started counting out loud, and he jumped back into his chair, looked up at me saucily, and saluted me as he started eating. It was so hard not to laugh. I don't love this streak of defiance we've been seeing lately, but sometimes he's quite hilarious about it!

re-entry

This is Twelfth Night. I had intended to serve a nice family feast, followed by the removal of our Christmas decorations. Dennis was happy to open his 12th day of Christmas gift this morning, a set of 4 matchbox planes to go with his aircraft carrier and airport. I wonder how it will be for him to not get a gift every day after this... Here I sit beside our still fully decorated tree, nursing my headache of 4 days' duration. I haven't been in constant pain, but I have had an on-and-off headache for quite a while now. I had a taste of re-entry into the real world today--church Wednesday night classes resumed tonight, and I was the only teacher for my group out of the usual 4 that came tonight, and if they hadn't called me yesterday to warn me and ask if I'd be there, I'd have stayed home as well. Dennis was happy to go back out into the world after the long Christmas break, and he's thrilled for school to start back tomorrow. I suppose I'm ready to get back to everything. I'd be more ready if my health would perk up a bit. Dennis, on the other hand, seems to be doing so much better. He's still hanging on to a cough and still seems to miss some of the things we say to him, but his energy and appetite are at their usual high.

Tonight we watched a show that talked about talent, which they defined as "something you are good at and like to do", so Dennis said his talents were "playing and eating". Yes, he's very good at those things! Dennis also learned the meaning of the word 'distraction' I think. I asked him if he'd had fun playing with his Daddy while I was gone, and he said "yes, but Daddy and I got distracted a lot." Though I tried to get him to expound on this, he couldn't, but he did ask me what it was to be distracted. I told him that a distraction was something that took your attention away from what you were doing, and I gave him a couple of examples ('suppose you told me to look at something that you were holding, and I was driving, but I turned to look--you would have distracted me from driving'). I was surprised when 'distraction' was the lesson my group of 5th and 6th graders learned in their large group session tonight! Dennis is ahead of his time.

Here's hoping I feel great tomorrow, that I muster up the strength and energy to get the things done that need to be done, and that Dennis has a wonderful day at school. We shall see what transpires.

home in Alabama

I'm home safe, and though I felt great all day, I suddenly find myself completely exhausted. Dennis was surprised and happy to see me when I picked him up from his Grandma and GrandBob. He was expecting David. I got a big grin and a big hug, always great to come home to. I love that little guy. He says he had great fun with Daddy and GrandBob, but he didn't have fun playing with Grandma and she is not his friend anymore. She told me they had a disagreement over who would be cleaning up all the toy airplanes, a disagreement that she won, and she said he got so mad that he took a much needed two hour nap! I'm sure all will be right with him tomorrow. He's like me, not able to stay angry for long despite wanting to sometimes!

And now it's time for some sleep so I can prepare for going back to work tomorrow! I'm back in my Mommy role, which I of course adore, but I must admit that the sleeping late and doing what I wanted to do and looking at stuff that was not in the toy department of stores, yeah, that was all a nice brief respite! And now it will be all about Dennis again, and I'll be thrilled and delighted by him every day.

my Daddy rocks!

I've been keeping up with the Dennis news today via phone and text. He has had a rather fabulous day, pooling his piggy bank money to buy a special airport for his Matchbox planes (to send them on missions to the aircraft carrier, I suppose). He watched his new Buzz Lightyear movie tonight and played with David all day. I talked to him on the phone a couple of times. David texted me when Dennis told him "I love it when you play with me, Daddy--you ROCK!". And Dennis told him the following joke: "Daddy, did you know that Santa's phone is a Cranberry?". Took me a minute, but I suppose it's the holiday version of a Blackberry. Pretty funny!

We're in Biloxi tonight, returning home tomorrow. We've seen some bayous, done a little shopping, played some penny slots at the casino. I put in one dollar, got a free drink, played for nearly an hour, and cashed out six dollars. Nice! I usually hate gambling, but penny slots were right up my alley!

I am looking forward to seeing my guys tomorrow!

back in Texas

It's so quiet in our hotel room! Mom and I just went for a swim and are winding down after a very long day of travel. David and Dennis dropped us off at the airport just before 5:30 this morning--we are on a mission, so to speak. Uncle Denny bought a van through eBay, and the van was near Houston. We flew to Austin where Michael and Kristin and the kids met us and drove us to Brenham, Texas. We picked up the van and played at a playground for a while before parting ways, us to the east and them to the west. It was great to hang out with them even for a few short hours!

We drove on, stopping to split a meal and dessert at Cracker Barrel before the last hour of driving to the hotel. I have had intermittent Dennis reports all day. He's still a bit sick, still no appetite. This morning before we arrived at the airport, Dennis suddenly teared up and said "Mommy, I don't want you to leave, I want you to come home with us now." So heartrending, I know, but I assured him he was in good hands and that I'd be back soon. I reminded him that he has lots of good stuff to look forward to this week: my return on Tuesday, Gigi's arrival and church classes starting back Wednesday, school starting on Thursday... I left him happy, and he got TWO trips to McDonald's today with his Daddy. I 'mommied' him a bit over the phone and suggested that he might partake of a chocolate milkshake if he wouldn't eat, and the report I got after the McDonald's supper visit validated my efforts. He nibbled at his burger but finished the shake, and we all feel better knowing he has something in his stomach besides juice.

Dennis spent the parts of the day he was not at McDonald's watching a new Mighty Machines movie from the Redbox, cheating and winning at Cootie, and playing Army Men with Daddy. I got pictures of everything, and this last was my favorite. It came with a caption that read "Dr. Dennis' diagnosis: we miss Mommy!". I miss him, too. I talked to him twice on the phone today (I love when he calls me!), and I sent him pictures of airplanes. I hope he's having tons of fun with his Daddy. Daddy really knows how to play!

welcome 2011

Quiet day (except for the horn Dennis blew every once in a while), not much fanfare at home to welcome a new year, new decade. We were drained from our emergency room visit last night, all 3 of us. Dennis felt pretty good this morning, not stellar, but not as bad as yesterday. He didn't eat anything at all this morning, had a half a grape and a few bites of mashed potatoes at his Grandma's house (she fixed a superb New Year's feast for us), then maybe a cup of popcorn much later. He says it's hard to hear out of his right ear, and he has told me a few times that he felt "just a little bit sick". He had a big antibiotic shot last night, and tonight he had finally perked up enough to run and jump (which unfortunately resulted in a big coughing fit). I hope he gets better soon. I'm going for a follow up visit in a couple of weeks just to make sure his ears actually clear up this time.

We played a nice family game of 'Cootie' tonight at home (this was his '8th day of Christmas' present). Michael and I always loved that game when we were kids, and Dennis loves it equally well and is able to follow the rules and really play it, not like the Chinese Checkers that Uncle Denny attempted teaching him that turned into T.E.G.W.A.R. (The Exciting Game Without Any Rules) rather rapidly. Dennis is quite good at Cootie, and, well, he's really good at TEGWAR as well.

I'm so looking forward to watching him grow in body and knowledge, personality and ability this year!