The Tucson Children's Museum

On Thursday afternoon, Henry and Miss R went to Grammy and Poppy's house. Grammy says that Poppy goes through Henry and Miss R withdrawals when he hasn't seen them for a day.

On Friday, it was Green Day at school. We made sure that Henry and Miss R wore green shirts. We picked them up around 4PM. We got Miss R first. She was happy to see us. Then, we got Henry. Miss R gave him a big hug when she saw him. Miss Stephanie reported that Henry had been a monkey all day. Every time she turned around, he was trying to climb on something (e.g., counters, bookshelves). He'd climb up on something and then lay down on it.

We took the kids to Monkey Business after school. They were very excited to return there. The flashing lights on the games seem to make them extra loud and extra crazy. It was exhausting. We had a big dinner. My dinner salad came out first. While I had gotten up to get us utensils, Miss R helped herself to the cheese on it. I ended up giving the kids the cheese and croutons while we waited for the rest of the food to arrive. Henry enjoyed the turkey and bacon from Jeff's very large sandwich. Miss R enjoyed the bread from it. She also liked the spaghetti. She ignored the strands that I had cut into small pieces and opted for single large strands that she could slurp into her mouth.

Jeff took charge of getting the kids to bed when we got home. It was an hour long event.

This morning, Henry and Jeff woke up some time after 6AM. Miss R and I slept until 8:15AM. I made the kids pancakes for breakfast. Henry had had crackers before we got up. Then, he had a dish of sweet potato puree (his request; we still have some baby food in the pantry). Then, he had two pancakes and some fruit leather. For him, it was a lot of food.

We took the kids to the Tucson Children's Museum for the very first time. It's only about 15 minutes from our house and is located downtown. It was a lot of fun. We were pleasantly surprised. There was a room just for children under 4 years of age. In the room, there were soft blocks to stack, beanie frogs to put on this belt that, with the pull of a cord, would move toward the ceiling making the frogs hit a fan that sent them flying all over the room, areas of the floor that lighted up with the touch of a button, soft stairs to climb, and other neat things.

The kids played in a room based on a sea theme. Henry crawled through a tunnel and climbed into a cubby hole filled with puppets. The kids played on a computer.

There was a room with a tangle of ropes to climb around. There was a room filled with drums to play. Another room had these lights that left writing on the wall if you touched the lights to the wall. The writing would fade after a minute or so.

Miss R's favorite room had the front of a fire engine in which to sit. She was actually a bit of a fire engine hog and got very mad when I took her away from the stirring wheel so that another child could have a turn. I let her return to it after the family had left. Henry and Miss R also sat on a police motor cycle complete with siren and flashing lights.





Miss R's second favorite room had a train that traveled around a track near the ceiling. She sat for several minutes pushing a button to start the engine if it stopped. Henry and Jeff played in a maze. Jeff reported that Henry cheated a bit. When he got stuck, he'd just get on his stomach and crawl under the barriers.

The last room that we visited was very large and had a shopping area, cooking area, doctor's area, and dance area. Miss R liked playing with the pretend food. Henry enjoyed pushing a shopping cart around the room. We liked the museum so much that we decided to become members. We are members of the zoo, but the zoo is just too hot this time of year.



We didn't get home until after 1PM. Miss R only slept for about 40 minutes. Henry took a much longer snooze. After getting Miss R some lunch, I took a nap on the couch. All in all, I'm doing much better health wise, but the excursion was exhausting. I wouldn't say that Jeff and I are over whatever we have. Every time I think that we are over it, one of us has a coughing fit. As I've mentioned before, we aren't contagious, but our lungs just haven't quite healed yet.

We took the kids to Grammy and Poppy's for dinner. We dropped them off around 6:15PM and picked them up at 8PM. When we arrived, they were watching Harry Potter at Henry's request. I think that Grammy was surprised at his selection. They like how he says "Harry Potter" with an English accent (probably b/c of the books on CD; the narrator, Jim Dale, is British). While we got the report from Grammy on how the kids ate, Henry went to their pantry, helped himself to some Trader Joe's Pirate's Booty, and walked around with the bag with his arm in it. With the bag up to his arm pit, his hand could just reach some of the puffs at the bottom. It was pretty cute. He graciously shared with Miss R. He also dished out some Pirate's Booty for the rest of us.

Grammy reported that she had told Henry that he needed another haircut. He said, "Todd!" That is indeed Henry's hair stylist. Poppy mentioned something about a "fountain" because there is a fountain in front of Gadabout. Henry said, "Pennies!" because he'd thrown pennies in the fountain the one and only time that he was there. He has a good memory.

That's about all from here. Tomorrow, we have an outing scheduled with Aunt Carolyn and Poppy.

Pee Shooter

Henry and Miss R visited Grammy and Poppy on Monday. I can't remember much of Monday b/c I pretty much slept the day away. Jeff was still coughing up a storm.

On Tuesday, the kids marched into school together holding hands. Henry likes dropping Miss R off with her class first. Tuesday was a bio parent visitation day for Miss R. When I dropped off Henry at his classroom, Miss Lulu told Henry to give me a happy face, and he did smile (unlike the previous day's pained smile). Jeff and I picked up the kids at school on the way to Grammy and Poppy's house. I went inside while Jeff waited in the car with Roger who came with us. I picked up Henry first. He gave me a big hug. We then went to get Miss R. Henry was so cute when we entered the room. He yelled out "Miss R! Miss R!" He gave her a hug and tried to give her a kiss. Grammy said that Henry noticed she was charging a new telephone. He looked at it and said "New cell phone!" Miss R has finally identified a book as her favorite; it is called "Little Gorilla." It used to be one of Henry's favorites too.

On Wednesday, there were no problems dropping off the kids at school. Henry required several hugs before I left. I picked up the kids at 3PM. Henry was coloring with three of his friends at a table. He and a little boy named Xavier kept switching frogs. So when we get his art work on Friday, the frog will have to be considered at collaborative effort. The kids at his table were very nice. When Henry first started day care, I was a little concerned that maybe we were pushing too much by putting him in the class by his actual age. He was either going to be way ahead in the 1 year old room or slightly lower than average in various developmental skills in the 2 year old room. Watching him today, I felt like we made the right choice after all. He isn't yet 2 years old adjusted, but he fits right in.

Miss Diana told me that she decided to try Henry on the potty b/c he was showing some indication that he was ready. He's been watching the other kids use the potty, and he wanted to use it too. Miss Stephanie added that he went into a corner and pulled his shorts down (another suggestion that he's ready). Jeff and I had never actually seen Henry take his pants off until this evening! Miss Stephanie said that they are willing to start potty training if we want to bring in the pull-ups. The other day, Henry was in the kitchen with Jeff and said "poop!" Jeff asked Henry if he wanted to go potty. Henry said "no." Henry did in fact go number 2, so at least we know that he's aware of his bodily functions, which is an important step in this process. He's been holding his bladder overnight for months and doesn't release until he is up and about in the morning. Anyway, Miss Diana said that the potty scared Henry a little bit b/c he was afraid that he was going to fall in. Their potty is child sized but bigger than the child's potty we have here at home. He ended up squirting her pants leg.

Carmen, Miss R's CPS caseworker, and a new trainee whose name I can't remember (but she was very nice) came for a home visit. Miss R was delightful. Henry was in a terrible 2 mood. I told them about Miss R's medical reports from the doctor. Carmen said that Miss R handled the last two bio parent visitations very well (that is, she isn't screaming anymore during the visits), but the case really hasn't progressed in terms of the bio parents working the case plan. There will be a dependency hearing in mid-August. She said that hearing is to let the judge know where the case stands. Then, the hearing to determine parental rights is scheduled for November. The bio parents have about 3-4 months to turn things around.

After Carmen and her colleague left, Henry, Miss R, and I ended up in their bedroom. They played on their new beds for the very first time! We are still awaiting the mattress pads. Hopefully, they will arrive by Friday and then we can beginning the transition of getting them into their own beds this weekend! We'll start by putting them into their room for naps. Henry and Miss R had a fine time jumping on Miss R's bed. Then, Henry and I read "Curious George Goes Camping."

I made vegetable fried rice and gyoza dumpings for dinner. Thanks Trader Joe's! Miss R was a huge fan of the rice. Ate a ton. We watched an episode of Sponge Bob after dinner. The kids lost interest about 5 minutes into it. Henry played golf. When Jeff got back from walking Roger, we played "Couch Mountain." Then, it was bath, bottle, and bed for the kids.

Jeff and I are still sick. But Jeff sounded much better today. I felt a little better but still laid down for a short nap that ended up lasting two hours. On the wellness front, the kids seem really good.

Rebuffed

Yesterday evening, we went to my parents' house to celebrate Jeff's birthday with Grammy, Poppy, Aunt Carolyn, Aunt Erin, Uncle Brian, and Great Uncle Jim. Miss R was shy. Erin said that she'd never heard Miss R speak. I believe that she finally said a word in front of Erin toward the end of the evening. Roger came with us. He was happy to play with Indiana. As the cake was being placed in front of Jeff, Henry said "Happy Birthday!" to him several times. Miss R and Henry enjoyed ice cream during dessert. Henry sang just about the entire "ring-around-the-rosie" song all by himself for Grammy.

Last night was rough. I was trying to get some work done b/c I wasn't tired. In fact, I finally felt like I had some energy. But Miss R woke up at least five times crying. I'm pretty sure that she wanted milk, but Jeff and I decided to stop giving them milk at night. Well, actually, Jeff was the real "decider" on this issue, but I didn't object. The kids don't use bottles at school. We suspect that the bottles are a crutch that are inhibiting food consumption when at home. Plus, we don't like them drinking milk in bed when they've just brushed their teeth. I've been wondering, moreover, whether Miss R's high levels of milk consumption are contributing to constipation issues that have been improved only minimally with medication. Long story short, she is peeved about not been given milk on command in the middle of the night.

This morning, Henry gave Miss R hugs as I was trying to get her shoes on. He has been saying a lot of long sentences lately. For example, he said "I need to give R a hug."

I took the kids to school. Henry happily said "School!" as we entered the parking lot. The kids held hands on the way to the door of the school. As they got up a step, they released their hands. Miss R reached her hand out for Henry, but Henry wasn't looking. I said, "R, I'll take your hand." She yelled, "No!", completely rebuffed me, and then reached and found Henry's hand. They walked hand in hand all the way down the hall (and it is a long hall) and outside to the playground to find Miss R's class. Miss R's class was coming inside early at the time b/c it was too darn hot outside. They walked with her class still hand-in-hand. Then, Miss R followed her class, and Henry stopped by his classroom when he saw Miss Lulu. He cried a little and made me feel guilty. As usual these days, he was playing around the room by the time I reached the lobby as evidenced on the school monitors.

Jeff and I are still sick. I'm hoping that my chest x-ray results will come in today or tomorrow. I think that the antibiotics are beginning to help, but I still feel pretty lousy. Jeff isn't coughing as frequently, but when he does, it doesn't sound good.

Climbing

Yesterday, we packed the kids up and headed to a park where our agency was supposed to be holding a "quarterly," which is a training session that they run so that we fulfill our training hours that are required to keep a license active. We arrived, but they had canceled it b/c the speaker was sick.

The kids were rearing to play. It was hot. So we took them to the mall. For the record, I confirmed with the nurse practitioner on Thursday that I was past the point of being contagious. Right now, Jeff's and my health issues are only negatively impacting us. We started off at Sears. We bought Henry a Sponge Bob comforter and sheet set. We didn't see anything that we liked for Miss R. They had a cute Disney princess set. But I had already bought her a similar theme set of underwear. And I'm a bit uncomfortable giving her themed items where all of the characters are always white. That's fine on some stuff. I certainly understand that by far, the majority of the U.S. population is white (something like 83%). But I'd like to see some racial diversity on the toys that she is given. It simply can't always be white, white, white. Our preference was actually to get her an Elmo bed set. Elmo is her favorite TV character, but we can't find Elmo sheets in the stores. I went onto the Sesame Street store website last night and was disappointed. She likes Sponge Bob and Thomas the Tank Engine too. But when I think of Miss R, I think Elmo. While shopping, the kids had fun running down the aisles. How is it that I haven't lost weight taking care of these two? I made a great block preventing Henry from going done the escalator on his own. He is a fast one.

We stopped by a pet shop and looked at the puppy dogs. The kids loved that. Eventually, we made our way to the children's play area.



























The children's play area was busy but nice because it contained mainly kids their age. No overgrown tweens in sight. Miss R did a fabulous job going down a slide on her own. She knows how to use her feet to slow down her speed. She usually wanted my help, but I did get her to go up the stairs and settle herself at the top on her own. Henry's climbing was just amazing. I can remember when some of the objects just looked too tall and steep for him to climb. He figured out how to use his feet to grip onto surfaces and scale just about everything. It was so neat to see.

We went to Red Robin for lunch. That went well. The kids really liked their meals, and the service was fast and efficient. It was a relatively easy dining experience, which rarely happens these days.

I was exhausted by the time we left the mall. My breathing was still a bit shallow. And Jeff and I both continued to have coughing jags. We went home. The kids took short naps. Then, Jeff took them to Grammy and Poppy's house. He went to the driving range. He returned to the house to pick me up. We went to World Sports Grille to celebrate his birthday. I managed to win four stuffed toys (Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu, and Geanie) for the kids from a claw machine. When we arrived back at my parents' house, the kids were as active as ever. They were still up when we got home, which was fine. We had medicine to give them. Then, they went to bed.

This morning, Miss R had bottle requests starting before 6AM. Henry and Jeff out of bed first. Miss R and I stayed in bed. I tried to convince her to go back to sleep. She didn't. We pretty much just stayed in bed and snuggled.

Henry had already eaten when we made our way to the kitchen. He wanted some water but then spit it on the floor. I made him clean it up. After Miss R made a huge mess of a pancake, I took Miss R and Henry to their bathroom for bath time.



Jeff's taking care of the kids now. I'm working. Our plan for today is to hang out around the house. We'll be headed over to my parents' house tonight for Jeff's birthday dinner.

Brushing Teeth

On Thursday afternoon, Henry and Miss R went to Grammy and Poppy's house for a couple hours. We gave them a bath when they got home. Henry did an excellent job brushing his teeth. Miss R doesn't have the front brushing motion down yet, so Jeff had to do her teeth forcibly. She is a master at keeping her upper lip over her front teeth and using her tongue to thwart the brush. I let the kids brush my teeth with my tooth brush so they'd get the idea down better. We got the kids to bed by 8:45PM.

Miss R was the first one up on Friday morning. She's been doing a bit better not waking up in the middle of the night. We'd hit a rough patch since our Oregon trip. I've wondered if it was her ear infection making her irritable. If that's the case, the antibiotics seem to have helped.

When we arrived at school, Miss R went happily into her play area. Henry wanted to "hold you" and stay in my arms. He finally went to Miss Lulu but cried. Miss Lulu told him to make a happy face for me. It was the most pained smile that I've ever seen. But by the time I got to the lobby, I saw him take a toy from a little girl and run, so I guess he recovered rather quickly. As of late, he loves taking something from a person and then running so that the person will chase him.

I went to the mall in the afternoon to get Jeff a birthday present. I realized that I had no juice in the car for the kids. The kids get cantankerous if there is no bottle or cup awaiting them. So I stopped by the grocery story and got some juice boxes for them. I got Henry first. He was outside in the play area being sprayed with a squirt bottle by Miss Diana. Henry and I then picked up Miss R who rushed over to give me a huge hug. The kids held hands all the way down the hall until we hit the parking lot. Henry tried to run for it. That didn't go over so well with me and he got scolded. I'm sure that he internalized my remarks and pledged in his heart never to do it again even if he didn't show the slightest trace of remorse.

Henry, Miss R, and I played ring-around-the-rosie in the living room while Jeff made dinner. We also called Grammy. Henry was upset b/c he wanted to see Grammy today. And he burst into tears when Grammy said that she'd see him tomorrow. He was genuinely upset. A few minutes later, while I spoke with Jeff in the kitchen, I heard a commotion in the living room. Henry had a puzzle that Miss R wanted, and she grabbed a fist full of his hair when he wouldn't give it to her. That earned her an automatic "time out." I then made her say "I'm sorry" to Henry, which she did although I strongly suspect that she doesn't really know what it means.

Henry didn't eat much dinner. Part of it was Chinese leftovers. Miss R had stuffed herself on raisins prior to dinner.

After dinner, I went to put on a saved episode of SpongeBob from the DVR but the machine won't open anything that is in a folder. Very curious. So I decided to put on a DVD. I hadn't selected a movie yet, but Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone was in the player. Henry wanted to watch it. He has seen the beginning of it twice. He knows the characters well b/c of our reading of Harry Potter aloud and his former nanny often played the audio book version of Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone. He knew that Uncle Vernon was going to throw Harry's letters in the "fire." He knows who Dumbledore is.

I walked Roger while Jeff and the kids watched Harry Potter. I ran into a couple neighbors but stayed a respectful distance so as not to get them sick. It was getting quite dark by the time I got back. I was fortunate to spot the rattlesnake in the driveway and keep a distance. Jeff went outside with a flashlight and confirmed that it was indeed a rattler.

I gave Henry a cereal bar to quell his appetite. He was hungry, of course, having not eaten. Of course, the books say that you should give kids their meals, and if they don't eat, that's fine but don't give them anything else. Given how sick we are, I didn't feel like listening to Henry shout "Eat! Eat!" if we didn't give him anything as a snack. I feel like we can only battle so much in one day.

Jeff got the kids to sleep before 9PM. Then, we watched a movie, which was nice.

In happy news today, Jeff ordered mattresses for the kids' beds! They might arrive as early as Monday, in which case we'll be able to take the kids sheet and comforter shopping. We'll probably not kick them out of Henry's king sized bed (formerly know as Jeff's and my bed) right away. I think that we'll start with naps on the new beds and work our way to night time sleeping from there.

I think that Miss R is going to have a tough time. She wakes up frequently wanting to know where I am. She has some separation anxiety. Given all that she's been through, I'm not exactly surprised and I certainly don't want to cause unnecessary stress. So we'll do things nice and slow. I'm hoping that she'll love her new sheets so much that she'll be excited to be in her new room.

Couch Mountain

On Tuesday night, Jeff got us some Chinese and Thai food. Henry seemed to enjoy the Tom Kah Jay soup (coconut base). He and Miss R ate chicken lo mein and rice. Miss R loves her starches. Henry ate a bite of broccoli. Toward the end of the meal, I tried him on a piece of tofu. He liked it and wanted more. After several bites of tofu, he started coughing. Spit up a bit (more mucous than food). I want him to get better soon. The kids were a struggle to get to bed. Jeff started out the endeavor. But he was coughing and miserable, so I took over. That made Henry upset b/c he wanted Daddy. Somehow, they eventually went to sleep with much protest.

On Wednesday morning, Jeff took Henry to school, hung out at my parents' house with Miss R for a little while (its close to the pediatrician's office), and then took Miss R to a doctor's appointment. She has an infection in her right ear (so that makes three family members with ear issues). She was also given steroids for her lungs b/c of her cough. My mom took care of Miss R for the rest of the day. That was a fairly easy task as Miss R slept 2 hours 45 minutes for her nap.

Jeff and I picked up Henry at day care. When he saw us through his classroom window, he blinked and then let a very loud, happy squeal. He ran to the door and gave Daddy a big hug. I got a quick hug too, but then it was back to Daddy. We met my mom in the parking lot with Miss R who was happy to see us. Apparently, she'd mentioned Henry a few times during the day.

I made pasta primavera in an alfredo sauce for dinner. Jeff thought it was delicious. Miss R wouldn't touch it. Henry wasn't interested in it either. I asked Henry, "Isn't the pasta yummy?" He gave me a very blunt, "no" and shook his head. Sigh. I thought that it was pretty good. I broiled the vegetables before sauteing them. The alfredo sauce was homemade. Not bad.

After dinner, Daddy looked exhausted, so he got a break from the kids by cleaning the kitchen. I took the kids to the living room. We did a quick couple rounds of ring-around-the-rosie and then made a mountain out of the couch cushions. Henry liked climbing "Couch Mountain." Miss R was testy. Henry barely grazed her arm, and she burst into tears. Basically, she was a complete pill unless I was holding her. Next to me wouldn't do. She had to be on me, which I found a bit cloying. Henry was very cute. When I started to put back the cushions, he wanted to climb more. He bounced up and down on the remaining pile and burst into a song singing "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on a Bed." His favorite line is "...fell off and bumped his head." He pretended to fall of the cushions and bump his head. I sang part of it, and he'd finish the lines, "No more monkeys jumping on the bed."

Miss R got super cranky. I asked her if she wanted to go to bed. She said, "Bed." So we went to bed at 8PM while Jeff played with Henry in the living room. I slept until 10:30PM and then got up. I didn't mean to sleep that long.

Around 6:20AM, Miss R woke me up. She wanted her morning bottle. I had scheduled a nurse's visit at my doctor's office for 8:15AM, so we needed to get up a little earlier than usual anyway. Jeff fed the kids while I got ready. I had a hard time undoing Miss R's braids (there were five small braids in her hair). It looks good when I make then small, but they are very challenging to undo. We were out the door by 7:40AM.

As we walked across the parking lot, I asked Henry to hold Miss R's hand, so that she was in the middle of us. Three different people smiled at us as we made our way to the door. Henry and Miss R holding hands was very cute. We dropped off Miss R first. Her class was on the playground. She walked through the gate, toddered over to Miss Josie and gave her a hug, and then waved goodbye. No tears. Then, Henry and I went to his classroom. A teacher named Abe was watching the class while Miss Lulu stepped out for a moment. Henry almost went into Abe's arms but then changed his mind. He then saw Miss Lulu and went to her a bit grudingly. He cried but it wasn't his most convincing guilty-inducing performance.

I went to the nurse visit at my doctor's office. Turns out that I may have pneumonia, so I had to drive to another office to get x-rayed. We'll know the results in 2-4 days. Sigh. I believe that this has been the sickest year ever. I'm just awaiting for the plague of locusts to descend upon the household.

Like Father, Like Son

Jeff made a delicious quiche last night. Henry had to be awoken from his nap b/c it was after 6:30PM and he'd been napping for over 3 hours. I don't think that Miss R even tried the quiche, but Henry had a couple bites.

Jeff has been referring to Miss R as "the little girl who cried poop" because she said "poop!" a couple times to Jeff, getting him to usher her to the Elmo potty, which she did not use for its intended purpose. She got me to take her to the potty a couple times as well. She looked pretty happy sitting there, pushing the button where Elmo gives praise “You did it!” or “Congratulations!” At some point, I’ll try to explain that one pushes the button when one has actually gone to the bathroom.

It was hard to get the kids to sleep, but Jeff did it! Miss R woke up at 4:38AM this morning, screaming her head off. She wouldn’t communicate. I assumed that she needed to produce a stool, so I took her to the potty, but that only made her more upset. She said that she wanted water but got mad when I handed her a water bottle. It turned out that she wanted milk. I gave in b/c I wanted to get some sleep. Then, Henry woke up at 5:30AM, while Jeff was taking Roger on a walk. He was upset that Daddy was gone. When Daddy came back, he sat by Henry’s side and Henry fell asleep. The three of us (Henry, Miss R, and me) were still asleep at 8:30AM when Jeff decided it was time to wake us.

After the kids were fed, I braided Miss R’s hair. She had a bio parent visitation today.

In the afternoon, I suggested to Jeff that he go to the doctor’s office b/c he’d been coughing profusely throughout the day. He gave a noncommittal “OK.” So I said, “Would you go to the doctor’s office if I called right now and made you an appointment?” He mentioned something about how he didn’t like going to the doctor’s, but I took his answer as a “yes” (he’d go) b/c he didn’t outright say “no.” I got him an appointment with the nurse practitioner at 2:15PM. At the appointment, the nurse practitioner asked him if his ears had been bothering him. He said, “no.” She said that they were red. Like father, like son, I suppose.

Jeff picked up Miss R at day care. They said that her temperature was 98 degrees under the arm. She felt warm to them, and her nose had been running still. I’m not sure that 99 degrees core temperature can even really be considered a low grade fever, but we’ll watch her as always and see how she is feeling tomorrow.

Severe Ear Infection

Henry coughed and sounded "mucousy" through the night. I got the kids up a little after 7AM. We decided that we'd call the pediatrician's office at 8AM and get recommendations on the kids. I mentioned that they'd come down with a cold at the beginning of the month. Miss R seemed to get over it right away in terms of fever and feeling down. Henry's cough persisted. Both kids had runny noses. I mentioned that Henry had three nights of goopy eyes. I said that both kids were active. Miss R's nose was running with yellow mucous, and I wasn't sure if it was appropriate that she go to school given the color. Ruth, one of Dr. Bianchi's nurses, called back. She said that Miss R was OK for daycare as her current symptoms weren't alarming. But they wanted to see Henry at 1PM.

We decided to keep Miss R home b/c she and Henry were having fun together. They actually keep each other entertained. We had it worked out so that I would watch the kids in the morning. Jeff would take the kids to the doctor's office at 1PM, and my mom would meet them there, and then she'd take the kids in the afternoon so that I could get some work done.

After their breakfast, I took them to their future bedroom and showed them the "big boy" and "big girl" underwear that I had purchased last night at Babies R Us. I decided to break out Henry's Thomas the Tank Engine underwear and see how he liked the feeling of not having so much padding around his derriere. He seemed to like the green Percy pair, so that was today's experiment. I played patty cake and ring-around-the-rosie with the kids. They like the part where "we all fall down." We read books. Henry played golf (NOTE: He may have missed the ball in the picture, but his form sure looked great! Look at that follow through!). I had them watch Elmo's Potty Time video. It didn't seem to inspire the kids. Henry ended up wetting his Percy underpants. The one thing that the video did accomplish was getting the kids to freely say "poo!" and "pee!" for the fun of it.

Well, around 11AM, Miss R's CPS caseworker called. She wanted to do a home visit this afternoon at 4PM. So, it didn't make sense for the kids to go to Grammy's house. I ended up taking Henry to the doctor's office, while Jeff put Miss R down for a nap.

Henry weighed 26 lbs 9 ozs. He yelled out for "Bianchi!," his doctor, when we were in the exam room. Dr. Bianchi said that Henry's chest sounds fine, but when he looked in his left ear, he said "He has a moderate to severe ear infection. Has he been complaining at all about his ears?" I said, "No." Then, he looked in his right ear and said "severe ear infection. He must have an incredibly high pain tolerance." He probably has a sinus infection. He also "may" have viral pink-eye. He gave me eye drops to give him just in case it is bacterial pink-eye. And, he gave me a prescription for the ear infection. We'll see him again in four weeks. Dr. Bianchi was impressed by Henry saying "Bianchi! Bianchi!"

Henry and I went to Walgreen's to get his prescription filled. I kept him in the cart so he wouldn't spread his germs everywhere. I bought him some things (bath toy ducks and books) while we waited for the prescription. While we were in the toy section, Henry said "Car!" He was looking at the end of the aisle toward the back end of the store where various over-the-counter drugs are kept. He repeated "Car!" I looked up at the large mirror fringe that they have running along the top of the shelves. Against the mirror, around the store, various words were written. From our vantage point, we could see the word "care" from the larger word "health care." I'm pretty sure that he was pointing at the word "care" but saying "cars."

Jeff had done some cleaning to make our place presentable. At 3:36PM, Carmen called to cancel the appointment. She was having car problems. Jeff put Henry down for a nap, and Miss R has been running around playing. At one point, she got in Roger's bed in my office, so her hair now has dog fur in it. She has been in a good mood.

That's all for now. Henry won't be going to school tomorrow. Miss R is clear for day care. Plus, she has a bio parent visitation tomorrow.

Quiet Weekend

Well, we didn't end up going to the Tucson Children's Museum this weekend. Henry and Miss R both have runny noses. And Henry has been coughing at night and waking up the last two mornings with yellow goop in his eyes. The runny nose alone doesn't necessarily mean that a kid is contagious, but the goopy eyes suggest that something is amiss. We decided that it was best not to spread cold germs all over Tucson. I think that Miss R will be OK for school tomorrow, but I suspect that Henry will have to stay home. I have "felt" fine but my voice went out on Friday night. I've been whispering and miming all weekend. It's the second time this year that I've lost my voice. Jeff has had to be the one giving stern orders to the little ones (e.g., "R don't push Henry," "Henry, don't swing your golf club that close to your sister's head," etc.).

On both Saturday and Sunday, we've spent most of the day in the living room. Henry has discovered the joys of having Daddy read the Sponge Bob books. Jeff finally had enough of the book about Sponge Bob and a princess, I think. So Henry's new favorite is one about Sponge Bob entering his snail Gary into a snail race. There's a part where Gary runs into the side ("BAM!") and the crowd "gasped." That's Henry's favorite part, which he requests being read "again, again!" The kids took fairly long naps (2.5 hours plus) both days. We took them over to Grammy and Poppy's late in the afternoons on Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday morning, the kids had a lot of fun dancing. Jeff had put on the DirecTV XM station called "Kids Place Live." Henry grabbed Miss R's hands, and they bounced up and down together to a song called "We R Super Heroes" by Robbert Bobbert.

During their nap, a baby cactus wren taunted our cats, Bitsy and Princess.















At Grammy and Poppy's house, they swam. My mom said the temperature in the pool was 90 degrees, but Henry got the chills, so they took the kids inside. Henry was running a low grade fever in the evening when he came home; his temp was normal when he woke up in the morning. As we put the kids to bed, Jeff sang the Baby Beluga song. Henry sang parts of it with him.

Henry enjoyed reading the Sunday comics with Daddy. At some point, we ended up piling papers on top of Henry, which Miss R thought was funny. It made Miss R hyper, and she chased Bitsy around. At one point during the morning, Jeff was reading a Sponge Bob book that includes the "Goofy Goober" song. The end of each line of the "Goofy Goober" song ends in "Yeah!" Miss R knew exactly where the "Yeah!" lines were supposed to be, so she joined in accordingly.

When the kids woke up from their nap, Henry was upset b/c Daddy wouldn't read him the Sponge Bob snail race book that instant. When his cries did not get him what he wanted, he bowed his head down and looked so dejected. I ended up reading it to him in a voice slightly stronger than a whisper. Although my voice was weak, the tone wasn't bad for the character of Patrick Star. After that, we got ready to go to the grandparents' house. I drove them there and then went grocery shopping.



Jeff went to Trader Joe's and then picked the kids up. Henry's eyes were super goopy when he came home. Either he has a sinus infection or perhaps conjunctivitis. Sigh. We are calling his pediatrician tomorrow morning.

Rock Star

Jeff picked up Henry and Miss R from school in the afternoon. Both kids had a good day. Henry's teacher, Miss Stephanie, brought coloring spray to put in the kids' hair. Jeff said that he thought that Henry had the wildest hair at school. He brought the sunglasses to Henry. As Henry walked out, more comments about Henry looking like a "rock star" were made. The staff at the front desk had a good giggle as Henry left.

We played for a little while in the living room. I was itching to get out of the house. We decided to go to Monkey Business, a new restaurant/arcade establishment in Marana. It is no Dave & Buster's, but they have several games that are appropriate for toddlers. Monkey Business was a huge hit with Henry and Miss R. They like the flashing lights in the arcade. They attempted to play skee ball but couldn't quite get the balls up the lanes. We let them play some car games (we had to hit the gas pedals for them, but they did the steering). There was a space shuttle ride that moved back and forth. Both Henry and Miss R fit in it at the same time. We took tons of pictures, as always, but can't post the ones of Miss R for privacy reasons. Take our word: The kids are super cute together. Monkey Business is trying to sustain itself in the market by having slightly better food than a place like Chunk E. Cheese. The food was pretty good. For whatever reason, Henry found the ketchup to be the tastiest part of the meal.





















We left around 7:30PM. By that point, the kids didn't want to leave, but Miss R was in a mood. It was clearly nearing her bed time. When we got home, I put her to bed. Jeff read with Henry in the living room. When it was time for Henry to go to bed, Jeff brought him in the bedroom, but Henry talked up a storm. It took him 50 minutes to settle down.

I think that we are going to try to visit the Tucson Children's Museum tomorrow. The exhibits may be slightly to advanced for their ages, but we'll see. I've never been.

That's all from The Wild Kingdom.