Will the Sickness Never End?

Jack and I are still sick. We both have runny noses, croupy coughs and fevers. I have officially been sick since before New Years. Jack, who went for his 2 year well baby appointment on Monday, does not have strep throat or an ear infection, so I guess what we have is some kind of virus. We weren't feeling too hot until today. We're hanging out at home and took a nap pretty early this morning. I think we both seem a lot more energetic this afternoon.

Jack had to go in for a blood draw this morning at Melrose Wakefield Hospital as a part of his well baby check up. I waited until today because (1) neither of us felt well enough to do it on Monday, and (2) I didn't want to bring Lily. Lily told Jack he was going to get a shot that hurts the last time he needed one, and I didn't want to have to deal with whatever she would have said about the blood draw. The draw is a routine test for lead levels, which is required in Massachusetts. He'll need it for his records when he starts Kindercare part time next month.

Lily has had a big week. When my father was here for Jack's birthday, we ate at the Chinese buffet at the Mandarin in Reading. Since it was just after the Chinese New Year, we all got a present of $1 when we entered the restaurant. We all gave Lily our dollar bills (except Jack, who kept his of course). She decided to use them to buy a stuffed animal from Barnes & Noble. She saw several animals she wanted a few weeks ago when we picked up a birthday present for her friend Clare.

She didn't have enough New Years money to buy her animal, so we offered to pay her for doing some chores around the house. She reluctantly cleaned up the living room one night and set the table. Then she pointed out that she had "millions of money" in her piggy bank. We opened it up and I'll be damned if she didn't have $10.00 in change in there. With the dollar her Granddaddy gave her before he left, her New Years money and the piggy bank, Lily had $15.00 in her wallet to spend at Barnes & Noble.

We went over to B & N after ballet class on Wednesday and she looked at the various animals. Initially, she told me she wanted the unicorn she had seen. The unicorn was $7.95. She had also expressed interest in a guinea pig and a reindeer (both $7.95). Once we arrived in the store, she found a white Westie dog that she liked (no tag). Then she found a "soft kitty" that she liked ($7.95). I reminded her that she already has 4 cats, but she basically ignored me. We checked out a different section of the store. There we found large unicors for $14.95 each. She liked the one posed lying down, but was unhappy that it had a purple ribbon on its neck. The one with the pink ribbon was standing up, and she didn't like that pose. Then she found another soft kitty ($7.95) and proposed buying it. Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, she found a white puppy ($7.95) and snatched it up. She immediately told me its name was Sarah and that it wanted to come home with her. We ended up walking back and forth between the two sections a few more times, but Lily ultimately chose Sarah.

At the register, Lily said "How will I know what money to give?" I told her that I would take out the right amount from her wallet. She handed me the wallet when we got to the register. With my member discount, the dog was about $7.50. Lily said "Do we have to give her all of my money?" I assured her she would have some left over, and she said "Good, because I'm going to save to buy one of those soft kitties." I said she would have to do some chores to earn money, and she said "Only if I get to make up the chores. I don't like your chores."

Since I haven't really posted about it, Jack's birthday was a success. He had a Thomas cake and Thomas balloons and the kids played pin the number on Thomas and got Thomas tattoos and Thomas gift bags. Jack had three guests: our neighbors Tyler and Emma and our family friend Connor. Connor, who's about 9 months younger than Jack is just as big as him! Connor and Jack had a great time playing with the Thomas train set and Little People Fire Truck Jack got. Lily played with the older kids, although Tyler (5) also enjoyed the train set quite a bit.

Jack literally screamed with joy when he saw me bringing the balloons in from the car. It is my favorite memory from the day. Also, the expression on his face when he saw that his Thomas cake had a real Thomas train on it that road around on a little track was priceless. Worth every penny.

Jack's presents on the day included:

Thomas Stop and Go Train Set and Play-Doh pack (from Mama and Papa)
Little People Fire Truck (from Connor)
Little People Dump Truck set (from the Coles)
Toy Table Saw (from Tyler and Emma, goes great with his toy drill from Christmas!)
Hard hat and big scoop loader (from Grammy and Granddaddy)
Musical saxophone and Pirate Potato Head (from Grandma and Grandpa)
Fishing Set (from Aunt Marcy, Uncle Jonathan, Claire and Andrew)
Small dump truck and scoop loader (from Lily)
Gerald McBoing Boing book (from Cindy Cole)

I hope I'm not forgetting anything! He has really played with everything, especially the saxophone. He gave us quite a performance the other night, and he expects us to applaud wildly at the end. If we don't, he claps for himself until we do!