Bennett Is Sick A.K.A. Crazy Talk

After what has been a really good winter in terms of health, Bennett has finally fallen victim to a relatively miserable illness.  Unsure as to whether it is viral or a sinus infection, I took her to the doctor.  The doctor confirmed that it is....either a virus or a sinus infection.  Good, thanks. 

 Here is the little lady waiting for the results of her blood work (via ouchy finger prick) and influenza nasal swab.  Not lookin' so good, Bennett.

 A pretty good indicator that your child is ill comes when they fall asleep on the hard kitchen floor at 11:00 a.m.

 You can also assume illness when your non-napper decides they need a second nap at 3:30 in the afternoon.  This one was taken in a softer location.   She went to bed at 8:30 with a fever of 104, her eyes hurting horribly, super stuffy nose and a terrible headache.  Poor little thing.

I am glad to report that while still feverish with painful eyeballs, she is looking a tad better this morning and the Motrin seems to be effective today.  Notice, the bathrobe is off, her eyes are open and she is wearing her blanket as a scarf or boa of sorts.  Let's hope today is a better day!

Now, not to make light of illness, but when Bennett is sick she is crazy hilarious. She is not trying to be in any way. But she always has this really pleasant disposition, although physically miserable, and she says really whacked out stuff.   I have documented several quotes from the past 36 hours in the book above.   If you are a parent, I highly recommend getting this journal to write down all the fun stuff your kids say.  Ours is full of little gems!  The following statements have been made, in all seriousness, by Bennett during this current bout with illness:

"If you could take the temperature of my eyelids, it would be boiling.  My tears are like hot steam."

(right after a violent vomiting episode) "OH!  That hurt SO bad!  I feel like I just had a baby through my mouth!"

"I think I should write a book.  I would call it I Survived the Finger Prick...or maybe I Survived Influenza."

"I feel like E.T. when he was dead!"

"Mom, I think I have that disease that Helen Keller's teacher had where her eyelids got connected to her eyes."

"Mom, I feel like I look the way you did in that picture from when you were a kid and Uncle Charlie is attacking you."

(unrelated to illness, but related to her get well treat) "How I feel about cheesecake is the same way that Chappy (grandpa) feels about mayonnaise."

(unrelated to anything) "Mom, here's a hard one...What is the angular momentum of a particle rotating about a fixed axis?"  (I kid you not.  She really asked me this.)

Goodness me!  I hate when my kids are sick, but I must admit that dialoging with Bennett brings a bit of joy to the fact that she's under the weather.   She cannot go back to school until she's been fever-free for 24 hours, which means I should have today and even tomorrow to log crazy comments.  I am actually looking forward to it!

Decorate Your Dollhouse Day

The girls decorate the outside of their dollhouses very regularly.  In fact, I'd say they decorate the outside more than they play with the inside these days.  The theme of the decor is ever changing, and yesterday was the day to redecorate and retheme!

Ainsley decided to go with an art school theme.  I enjoy how she taped many an art supply to the roof of the dollhouse.  Scissors and a row of push pins taped to the shingles.  I love it!  Can you tell we go through a fair amount of tape at our house?

 Bennett has Kung Fu Panda on the brain.  It's an obsession right now.  It's borderline out of control.  She chose to do a Kung Fu Panda theme for her dollhouse decor.  Surprise, surprise.  You will notice, not only action figures, but also Kung Fu Panda masks and a hand-drawn picture of Master Uguay. 

Ainsley has been suckered into participating in the Kung Fu Panda craze. She and Bennett have been wearing these masks (printed at Grandma and Grandpa's house over the weekend) to play Kung Fu Panda several times a day.

   And here is the entire masked crew from the weekend, where the masking began.  Grandma and Cousin S even got in on the action! 

Recreating Memories - Braids, Milli Vanilli and the Dump

Lately I have not done well with updating this blog.  Technical difficulties with photo loading/editing software really zap my motivation to post.  I will try to overcome and do better.  Here we go...

 Some know that I am very nostalgic and loved my childhood days.  Probably because my mom and dad were awesome.  Probably also because it was the 80s.  The 80s were the best decade ever.  In a moment of nostalgia, I offered to braid the girls' hair after their baths.  My mom did this to me and my sister and we enjoyed the look.  Why not recreate the memory, right?  Yeah, well I didn't realize it would take me FORTY MINUTES just to braid Bennett's hair.  Sheesh!  By the time I got to Ainsley, I kind of wussed out and did bigger braids.  Sorry, second child....jipped again!

 Bennett got a new knit headband from my cousin.  She loves it and has been wearing it nonstop, including with her braids.  This kind of reminded me of Milli Vanilli.  So fitting, as the "do" we were going for was 80s inspired.  Girl you know it's true...ga, ga, ga, ga, girl!  Oooh, oooh, ooooooo....I love you!  Milli Vanilli was awesome.

 Aaaand....the frizzy, crimpy 80s hair.  Oh dear.  It looks as nutso now as it did back then, but the girls love it!  Bennett feels it really makes her look like the mean mom in the movie "Tangled."  Yep, I should say.  And I also should say that as I look at this picture, I am pretty sure that someday she will look back on this photo and really dislike it.  

 And on to another 80s memory, a vague one, and that is going to the dump.  I can only recall going to the dump once during my childhood.  It was with my dad.  I am pretty sure we drank Pepsi on the way and I remember I felt terrible because I was coming down with the stomach flu.  Weird recall, but anyway, Dad and I needed to dispose of our old treadmill so we thought, "Hey, let's experience something new as a family!  Let's go to the dump!  The girls will love it!  We'll let them drink pop on the way!"  As you can see in the above photo, they were enjoying the idea as we left the driveway. 

 Ahh, the dump!  The only mountain in our area of the country.  Doesn't look so bad...

 Uh...the top of the dump.  Apparently in my recollection of visiting the dump as a child, my brain chose to block out memories of the extreme and horrid stench.  Here is a view from up top of the impressive dump mountain, and here is the heavy equipment moving crap around.  And nope, that's not dust.  That is pure stank of rotting steam trash in what is really a gigantic compost pile.  So, so incredibly nasty was the smell up there! 

And oh, how the faces have changed!  I am so glad we grabbed Ainsley a face mask before we left home.  She cannot handle bad smells and gags super easily.  I brought the mask, you know, just in case it was a tad bit stinky.  Woah.  Insanely stinky.  Can you see the concern and disgust in their little eyes.  It was in my eyes as well.  Never in all my days have I smelled or walked in the likes of that mess.  We were on that hill for less than two mintues total, and we had to air our car out for a full day.    Yikesies!  Here's what I have learned:  1) I had an awesome childhood.  2) The 80s were so great.  (already knew both of those) 3) It's fun to try recreate memories with your kids  4) The experience is not the same as the memory after 25 years.  5)  Dump workers earn their pay  6)  One trip to the dump every 25 years or so is plenty!