Play and Rest

In an effort to find an activity that would both entertain Timmy and allow me to rest, I packed him up yesterday and took him to the Animal Park. He squealed with delight as we drove into the parking lot. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that it was a young Robby strapped into his car seat! The enthusiasm and love for the Animal Park are shared between the brothers.

Timmy took off running into the climbing structure as soon as we arrived. Thankfully he located some buddies, aka children about his age, and I was able to assume my position on the bench. While he ran, climbed, squealed with delight and played until he was a sweaty little mess, I was able to rest. I think we both got exactly what we needed out of the adventure for the day.

I'm feeling better today. Hopefully by the weekend, the last remnants of the cold will lift and I will be able to resume organizing my house. With me being on the injured reserve list for a few days, it feels like all of my tidying efforts from the past weekend were erased.

Bleh Part 2

Yesterday I was strictly in Momom survival mode. Feeling lethargic from the virus and annoyed with the constant sniffles and coughs, I struggled to keep up with Timmy. My hopes of him playing quietly (and without destruction) waned as the day wore on. By late afternoon he was in full-blown Timmy the Terrible mode, jumping off furniture and showcasing his rolling skills wherever possible.

Even though I would like nothing more than staying in my pajamas while sipping on a mug of lemon tea all day, I need to get dressed and venture into society to save my sanity (and perhaps my possessions.) Timmy has an abundance of energy and he needs to run and play. If I don't want my little Tornado of Destruction to start spiraling, I will need to do something to tucker him out.

Since Scott has back-to-school night meetings through the evening, I am on my own with the boys today. Because I don't have the energy to keep up with him, I'm going to opt for a playland with a comfortable couch. Hopefully, he will find buddies and run and play for hours, allowing me to relax in my role as spectator.

Bleh

The cruds have settled in, leaving me feel bleh and worn out.  This is one of those days here I envy my friends who live closer to their families. It would be nice to be able to call my Mom and ask her to watch the kids so I could take a nap and rest. I'm not sick enough to call in reinforcements so I'm going to muddle through while doing my best to encourage quiet activities at home.  

Wish me luck, because Timmy is feeling energetic and ready to take on the world!

Cold

Last week the outside temperature never reached beyond single digits. Today we are flirting with 70 degrees. With these crazy fluctuations, it isn't surprising that both Scott and I have colds. Because we are parents, we don't get sick days. Instead, we are miserably functional.

Both boys were feeling icky last week, so it was only a matter of time before the cruds infected Scott and me. Considering that last year at this time both boys were fighting the flu, I consider the common cold benign. I feel crappy, but I'm (sadly) accustomed to running on a half engine.

I'm hoping to take full advantage of the warm temperatures by taking the boys to the park this afternoon. After Robby's done with art, I'm planning on surprising everybody by going through the drive-thru at Chick-fil-A for lunch. Only instead of going home, we will go to the park for a picnic. Hopefully the DayQuil will be working and I'll be able to enjoy myself!

Tidying Up

I think it is safe to say that I am fully onboard the tidying up bandwagon. After being frustrated with the overflow of clutter and crap, Friday night I streamed Tidying Up on Netflix. I was inspired after the first episode. While everybody else (except Hamlet)were sleeping Saturday, I woke up inspired and ready to work.

After surveying my home I decided to begin the purge in my kitchen, which tends to be the hub of the house. I'm frustrated by never being able to locate what I need, and I am tired of ducking every time I open the top cabinet for fear of the roasting pans falling on my head. Following the lead from the show, I started easy (or so I thought) and went through my spices.

I was aghast to discover that I had spices which expired in 1998. This means that they have moved with me at least three times since they had expired! I cleaned out my spice cabinet and two drawers which were overflowing with bottles and bags of various sizes. Four hours later I was finished and had consolidated my spices to two neatly organized and clean drawers. 

My tidying up project naturally snowballed through the weekend. After I cleaned through my spices I discovered that I had a completely empty cabinet in the corner of my kitchen. When I organized my decorating and baking supplies I had created even more space in another corner. By the time the sun set on Sunday, I had removed four large landscaper trashbags overflowing with garbage and filled three boxes for donation. 

After working through the weekend, I have cleaned exactly half of my kitchen. During the process a few things have begun crystal clear. First of all, organizing reduces my anxiety. Secondly, as a family, we have accumulated way too much stuff. I have given myself the lofty goal of tidying up our entire house. I am also realistic and have provided myself the timeline of completing the job by New Year's Eve. If I do it correctly, it will probably take me all year.

Dr. Timmy

Another day of wicked cold meant afternoon spent at a preschool playground. Yesterday I surprised Timmy by taking him to one of his favorite playgrounds, where he always finds buddies and is free to climb, slide, run and play to his heart's content. Kid Junction is also one of my personal favorites because it features a parent lounge in the middle of the action, allowing me to keep a watchful eye on my little adventurer while enjoying the benefits of free wi-fi.

After running through the climbing structure for two hours, Timmy was wearing down and needed a brief break. He isn't one to actually sit and rest. Instead, he led me by the hand to the Veterinarian Clinic play zone. He donned a coat, put a stuffed pony in my hand and assumed his role as Dr. Timmy.

Whenever I play imagination games with Timmy other kids seem to quickly swarm to be part of the action. Within minutes of my exam I had little kids sticking every appendage with a fake injection, blood pressure cuffs on both hands, and tiny reflex hammers banging away on me as if I were a toy on Santa's workbench. (I tried, without success, to encourage a softer use of the reflex hammers.)

At one point a new buddy grabbed the small pair of toy scissors and told me that he was going to fix my (pretend) broken finger by cutting it off. As soon as he spoke those words and made a pretend cut I saw a glint in Timmy's eyes. After quickly grabbing the scissors Timmy said, "Buddy, watch this. Watch this Buddy."  He then smiled wryly, giggled and said, "Timmy fix Momom leg. Timmy cut Momom leg off."

With a room full of little eyes zoned in on the "surgery" Dr. Timmy was about to perform, he carefully made one small pretend cut. Then he put the scissors down, gave my prosthetic a yank and dropped it through my pant leg and onto the floor, where it landed with a thud.  "Ta Da!" he shouted with gleeful success.

I wish I had a camera to record the shocked and mesmerized faces of his new buddies. Timmy stood victorious, quickly swooping my leg off the floor and holding it like a prized trophy. The buddies crowded around him, clamoring to get a glance at the leg Dr. Timmy had quickly removed. Soon my leg was being tried on by every kid at the playground and had been shown to every parent in the lounge. I have to admit, the discomfort and squirming on the adults' faces when their child took my leg to proudly show them was well worth the price of admission to the playground!

When I finally received it back I was able to talk with all of the kiddos about my prosthesis, my amputation, and my abilities. Timmy certainly made meeting their first amputee memorable! Yesterday was the first time that Timmy has ever demonstrated an understanding that I am somehow unique and different from other parents. Much like his brother, I think he is going to have fun with my novelty.

Bully at the Playground

Schools are closed- again. The bitter cold has rolled into our area, dropping temperatures below zero and bringing stronger winds. Although he was terribly disappointed, we didn't let Timmy go outside to play in the snow. We knew that there was no way we would be able to keep him healthy in the extreme freeze. 

Instead of playing outside, Scott and I took our little guy to one of his favorite play areas. He had a blast for the first 15 minutes. Then an unruly family arrived, and everything went downhill. For some reason, the child took it upon himself to harass and tease our Timmy without cause. Happily jumping in the bounce house, this kiddo started screaming at Timmy, calling him names and clotheslining him as he tried to exit. 

Scott and I tried our best to distract Timmy away from the bully, but it seems that our presence was not a deterrent. Timmy was teased and mocked while playing with me, and I was aghast that his mother did nothing. We finally packed up and left when the bully bit his sister's arm hard enough for her to shriek in pain. Unfortunately, it looked like she was used to the abuse. At that point, Timmy was happy to escape the harassment and eagerly accepted the Chick-Fil-A playland as consolation.

We didn't make a scene when leaving, but we did let it known that we were departing early because of the child's behavior.  Only when we were packing up did the little bully's mom look up from her cell phone to watch her child. It saddens me that she didn't notice her child was terrorizing everybody at the playground.