The Man of Squeal

I don't want you to think every dinner is like this for Blane--he had a bit of a tough day (of his own making, I might add). He ate almost nothing for lunch, took a fake nap (that's when he rolls around in his bed for an hour and never sleep), then when it was snacktime, we pulled out his lunch. That went over really well, as you can imagine. He fell asleep on the floor for half and hour and woke up cranky. During dinner, he spilled his milk on everything and went through the roof. He got even madder when we had to change out his plate. After corners, screamings and spankings for about 5 minutes, Scott carried him under his arm, stiff and kicking, up to his room. As they went through the living room, Seth quips, "Look, it's a bird! It's a plane! It's SUPER NO!"

That was a pretty good description at the time (and pretty funny too!).

After 20 minutes, basic survival instincts prevailed, and Blane humbly ate his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Grenades of Responsibility

Today we are planning Seth's birthday party (tenatively, we will be having it on April 12, barring any conflict that Scott might find on his work calendar). We decided to have a monkey/animal party--complete with monkey cupcakes and animal games. So Seth and I went to the dollar store to scope out invitations. We found appropriate animal-themed invites and then proceeded to walk around the store, looking at possible party favors, balloons, good deals for me, etc.

Seth and I were walking by a toy display when he said, "Mom, what's this?" At the same time, his hand shot out and grabbed a fake grenade, which was mostly encased in the plastic, except for the handle that you squeeze. It only took a second or two of mashing it before its dollar-store quality shone through, and the handle broke off.

"Seth," I said, "when you break something in a store, you have to pay for it."

"Really?" He looked repentant. I said, "You can pay me a dollar when we get home." We paid for our merchandise and left. In the car, I told him the legendary story of Uncle Dan and the Minnesota loon figurine (for those not belonging to the immediate McGregor family, I won't bore you with the details, but it had something to do with a loon figurine in a Minnesota souvenir shop, a pre-teen's fingers that had to mess with something, and my dad's sense of teaching responsibility. In Dan's defense, my mom later said that she thought the figurine was already broken. I think my parents still have that thing.)

Later Seth said, "Well, at least I broke something I like instead of a statue, like Uncle Dan." And he did pay me that dollar.

Friends and B-ball

Zac's all better now...we've been 24 hours + without fever. He had his buddy Joey over today after church to play and has been doing just fine.

Last night Cindy and Joe (Scott's aunt and uncle) brought John over to play. Even though John is 11, he really seems to enjoy playing with the guys--running around, wrestling, playing board games and watching the tournament basketball games. So we've had a busy, but very fun, weekend.

Tonight is low-key...just hang out and watch the KU game. Zac and Seth are fast becoming Jayhawk fans. I guess I'll have to come to terms with that...ha! Like I really care!

Zac...again

I promise I will not keep giving everyone play by play on Zac's hourly temperature, but...he's back up to 102+. Obviously, this is not going away. No swollen nodes, so it's probably a virus, but it's too late for Tamiflu if it is the flu (now that he's had this 36 hours). Poor guy. He says he isn't achy or too uncomfortable, so that's good.

I'm sorry that he's sick, but I have to say I'm not too upset about having a good excuse for not showing up at our clubhouse clean-up tomorrow in the cold and blustery weather (Scott has a conference, so it's just me and the guys tomorrow).

Zac

He's well now and has not had a fever for hours. Guess it was a two day thing!

Report card time

Time for fun with report cards! Since Zac didn't go to school today, Seth is the only one who got his. He's doing very well, as usual. I will quote the comments in full, as we always enjoy those:

"Seth continues to have some difficult with self control. He is very fast paced, and has trouble walking instead of running, and remembering to talk softly. I know he is trying; he is always compliant and helpful. It is also true that Seth works hard, always completes his work quickly and that his mind is always working! He tracks the time for me, and seems to love any challenge I can give him! He is showing a lot of ability in the math area. He really understands money and can count and compute all kinds of different coins and add and subtract in his head. His progress in the reading area is also evident. This quarter Seth read 85% of the three and four letter assessment words."

He was also at the high end of the target range or well above the range in all indicators of an assessment for literacy called DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills). Great job, Seth!

Antibodies

I got a message from the nurse yesterday asking me to call her about the boys' labwork. They usually don't call if things are normal so I was expecting bad news. I waited WAY too long on the phone, imagining all sorts of bad things. Then when the nurse came on, she told me cheerily that everything was normal! We've had normal antibody readings for 4 years now (since the year after their diagnoses). That news always puts me in a good mood--and I kicked myself for getting all worked up.

Zac update

Zac is still at 102.6 this morning and says his stomach hurts a bit. More later...

104.4 degrees F

That is Zac's temperature tonight. He was draggy this morning and this afternoon but insisted he felt fine and nothing hurt. He lay around all afternoon, saying he was tired. I kept asking, and he kept denying. Seth was scratching everyone's back tonight while we watched basketball, and said that Zac's back was hot. We felt his forehead and ran for the thermometer. Yikes! I felt like a horrible mother that he has probably been sick all day and I just now noticed. He promptly got Tylenol and went to bed. I just went in there about 40 minutes later--he felt much cooler. I think he'll be staying home tomorrow!

Pre-senior moment

Today Papa called and asked to speak to Seth. I had to think for a couple of seconds about where he was (up the street at a friend's house)! As Papa would say, "Oh, GREAT!"

Camping Out

Seth had his friend Ethan over today after school. They made a little "campsite" in the front yard, with a tent and camping chairs. Then they started gathering sticks for the "fire". I should try that trick next time we need sticks picked up in our yard! He had a marvelous time with "E-fun" and covered him with hugs and "I love you's" when it was time for him to go home.

Chickens=Birds and Eggs=Bees

Seth came home from school very excited because lhis class is incubating chicken eggs. While we were eating last night (Scott was not there), we talked about the difference between fertilized and unfertilized eggs. Logic led Zac to ask how the "daddy" cells got into the egg, "So...do they kiss or something?" I took a deep breath and said, "Do you really want to know?" Of course, the answer was yes. I gave only the basics in generalized animal terms. Fortunately for me, he didn't ask anything related to humans.

I told Scott that he might want to bring the topic up when he tucked Zac into bed. But we were pushing 9 pm by that time and Zac was exhausted. Scott asked if he wanted to know anything about how babies are made, and was met with a short, "No."

It's horrifiying to think about, but Scott may actually have to force the issue. Nine these days is not as innocent as it once was. We don't want any misinformation percolating around in that active little mind. Ugh!

Pancake Night

For some reason, Wednesdays are usually Pancake Night at our house. This evolved for a variety of reasons. First, the kids REALLY love the pancakes and always eat a big helping (unlike many other dinners I fix!). Secondly, it's a really cheap meal. Third, it's fast...which is important on Wednesday night, because Scott blows in at 6:30, we hop in the car, and we're off to church.

The boys love to help and are developing their kitchen skills as they read the recipe, measure and stir. They are learning the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon, how to crack eggs without getting shells in the batter, level measuring of dry ingredients, etc.

Yesterday, Seth couldn't wait to get in the kitchen and help me. But we usually have our big house cleanup right before we get started, and things were especially messy last night. Seth, in his excitement, had left plenty undone. So I had to remind him again and again, and each time he went into hysterics. Finally, he was stretched out on the dining room floor picking up cards, histrionics in full gear, going on about how he would NEVER get finished, etc. Somehow, he made it through. Finally everyone stuffed themselves with pancakes again--except for me (I've had enough pancakes for quite a while!). I had some Lightening McQueen car soup that Blane had wanted at the store, but refused when we got it home. Not too bad, but not gourmet stuff.

Big Boys, Little Boys

Blane likes to get in bed with us every morning. He usually comes in around 5 or 5:30 am, sometimes earlier. He got in bed with us this morning around 2 am. Seth (the early riser) will also come in sometimes, usually around 6:30 am. This morning, Scott said, "Mommy, we have two big boys in bed with us."

"No," comes the little voice from the other side of the bed, "I'm a little boy."

"You are?"

"Yes. But I will grow soon."

Amused, Scott said, "When will you grow?"

"In a week."

Screaming to Dine By

This evening we ate dinner without Scott--he was holed up in the bedroom on a rare business call at the dinner hour. I made the boys go wash their hands again because we had all been out on a walk. Blane fussed and fumed, because he had already washed his hands and had NO REASON to wash again! I finally got him up the stairs and washing, though he was loudly protesting. Scott came out with The Look, so I went and snatched Blane, now in a hateful rage, and attempted to get him to wash at the kitchen sink. It was hopeless, so I deposited him in the corner and threatened to hold him there. So through dinner, he screamed and cried. Every few minutes he said, "I'm done!"

I replied, "Are you ready to let me help you wash your hands at the kitchen sink."

"NO!!!!!" he screams.

"Well, sorry." The boys and I go on munching tacos. This repeats about 5-7 times. Finally I get the surrender: "Yes."

I washed him up and snuggled him, now that he was docile and crying. Poor kid. It's tough when you think you should rule the world and you find out you don't.

Zac's Pencil

Today I walked into the dining room where Zac was busy with his homework. He was using a gigantic pencil that Scott brought back for him from "Pilla-delphia", which came, of course, with it's own gigantic pencil sharpener.

Me: Zac, why are you using that big pencil to do your homework?

Zac (with a sheepish look): Because I couldn't find any other pencils to do my work with.

Me: Well, I guess it will be pretty hard to lose that...

Bear in mind that we had gotten him a bag full of mechanical pencils for his Christmas stocking. These all rapidly vanished.

I guess my apple doesn't fall far from his mother's tree in this area.

A Visit to the Doctor

Yesterday were Zac and Seth's 9 year and 7 year well-checks respectively. This doctor's visit has been anxiously anticipated ever since I scheduled it a month ago, because that's when the guys have to get The Poke. It's the annual antibody check that will need to be done every year for the rest of their lives, but, like many of the fears that haunt us, the anticipation is much worse than the actual event. We have been praying earnestly for courage from God at night, especially for Seth. So in we went. The measurements are always fun...Zac is 85th percentile for height and 55th percentile for weight. There may have been some hunching going on...he was measured at 4' 8" at school, but he is about 4' 7" at the doctor's. Seth came in at the 20th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight. Perfect for each of them!

The examination went well, and then came time for The Poke (oh...and a Hep A vaccine on top of that!). I requested two nurses Zac went first. He had discussed his plan of action for coping with me beforehand. He had his book of 8000 Facts, in which he would engross himself to the point he would be paying no attention to the pain in the crook of his arm. I was going to sit next to him on the examination table. But the nurses had him lie down for greater stability as the inserted the needle. As I got up, he raised his head and said in a slightly nervous voice,"Mom, are you going to stand by me?" A treasure for my heart--this is the kid who cringes now when he has to get a "girl hug" from Mom! So I stood by his head and supported his book and talked to him as those blessed nurses made quick work of their duty. No tears--victory! Now it was Seth's turn. Seth was clutching Quilly (his LittleKinz stuffed dog). His plan had been to "pretend like he was going to "go to sleep" so he wouldn't feel the pain, but reality and panic were setting in quickly. Every muscle of his little body was tightened and his face was strained. Once again I stood at his head and we read a book as I stroked his face and talked to him. He let out an ear-piercing screams at each poke, but was actually surprised that the nurses had drawn blood AND given him a shot within just a few seconds. Again--victory! Last year, I physically restrained him as he thrashed and the blood squirted. Not my favorite memory.

We finished our day with congratulations served up with McDonald's fries and a hot fudge sundae. God is good.

Welcome to Harnden Happening Central!

For all our family members (and any interested friends) wondering about the daily lives of our three boys, here is the 21st century answer to journaling--journaling that I'm willing to share in a public forum, anyway! I'll try to keep a record of interesting happenings, cute sayings and other notable events around the Harnden household and post pictures of interest when I can. Soon I hope to get a digital camera to make this task easier, but for now, I'll have to scan pictures. So check back often! This is going to be fun...