Spaghetti is sometimes hit or miss at our household, but this day was definitely a hit. Andrew is still working on using silverware, as can be seen below:
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| Suppertime! |
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| Show us how a piggie eats, Ralphie! |
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| General silliness |
Too cute not to post!
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We took the boys to a local nursery, Ray Wiegand’s, which hosted their annual “Easter Adventure” fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The boys hunted for colored plastic eggs which they could later trade in for goodie bags full of snacks.
They also had a free baby-animal petting zoo, William and Andrew enjoyed holding a baby duck and a rabbit.
After about 45 minutes my back told us it was time to get back home. With the weather we’re expecting next week, many of the subdivision or school easter egg hunts are at risk, so we’re glad we took a little time today for the boys to get some Easter activities in. Andrew has been adding to our chaos lately by waking up early and refusing to nap when requested. This leads to him passing out from sheer exhaustion wherever he happens to be when the sandman overpowers him:
We will continue to try to get him on a regular schedule, but this kid’s got incredible willpower, until the body trumps the mind. Today while Daddy was at the doctor’s office and Andrew hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Starrs, William went to see the Butterfly exhibit at Oakland Mall with his Nana and Grandpa Lindroth.
After hanging with the butterflies and running around the play area, it was time for ice cream!
William got to take home his own caterpillers that will transform before his very eyes into butterflies. He had a great time out with his Grandparents! Andrew went to Bounce House to play with Grandma and Grandpa. Many photos were taken, but almost every one of them was blurry because Andrew loved to bounce so much he never stopped for the camera. First Andrew and Grandpa held hands and bounced and bounced and sat down. Here is an action shot.  Bouncing with Grandpa Andrew really liked the big slide! He kept saying ,
“Again! Grandma waited at the bottom to catch him.
 On the big slide In this play area Andrew demonstrated his strength and muscle power by moving objects larger than himself.
 Strongman! Another highlight was turtle riding. Andrew liked his turtle so much he even leaned over and kissed it.
 Turtle Rider Extraordinaire By then we were all tired. It was time to go to Wendy’s for
lunch and then go home for a nice, long nap.
 All done or all done in? During winter break William and Grandma and Grandpa had a big adventure. They went to Ann Arbor to the Hands On Museum.
There were so many fun things to see and do. They learned about magnets and springs, periscopes and ambulances, electricity and light, how e-mail travels, and so much more. Before they left the museum they went to the gift shop. William got two puzzle books to work on and he brought Andrew a book about colors. Then they went to Tio’s Mexican restaurant for a delicious lunch. On the way home they sang “Silly Songs” It was a wonderful day! Here are some pictures. One shows William making a song by running up and down the musical stairway.
One of his favorite activities was standing inside a giant bubble which he made by gently pulling on a rope. He also read all about how brakes stop a bicycle; then tried it for himself. This is a wonderful place for children from 5 to 11 or so. It is the week before Christmas and exciting things are happening. William entertained Mom and Dad, Andrew and his four grandparents at his school’s Christmas program.
Later that week he made Christmas cookies for the whole family.
He and Andrew are trying to be very good, but it is hard when you are sooooo excited!
Tonight we got to play dress up and go to a friend’s Halloween party. It was Melissa’s idea to go as Sarah Palin, in full hunter getup, and me as a moose. After borrowing some camouflage and a little shopping at Walmart, we had our acts together:
Today Melissa and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. I took a 1/2 day off from work and we went to the Capital Grille for lunch, then did some shopping and generally spending time away from home without the kids. That lasted until dinner, because after we got back, it was time for the Halloween Hoopla! The Halloween Hoopla was a family halloween event hosted at our Macomb Township recreation center where local businesses passed out candy (and propoganda). There were also some craft areas (where William made a candy-corn refrigerator magnet) and a dance room with DJ. The boys got to wear their costumes early this year. Andrew came full circle by not only acting like a monkey, but dressing like one as well. William dressed as an astronaut.
After collecting some goodies and making crafts, we finished off the night on the dance floor, where Mommy and the boys did the hokey-pokey and the chicken dance. Wednesday, October 1 We decided that the kids would probably only last a half-day at Busch Gardens, so we decided on another evening trip. After breakfast we headed down to the Loch Ness pool to get a little swimmin’ in. Andrew really likes the water fountains (at least this time he was in a bathing suit), and we got William some water wings so he could head into the deeper (4 feet to be exact) parts of the pool.
After lunch, we packed everything up and drove an hour into Tampa to Busch Gardens. We learned from our experience at Disney and rented a double-stroller to wheel the boys around in. After stopping for some lovely $15 fruit salads, we headed off to the Land of the Dragons. The Land of the Dragons is an area of the park dedicated to little ones, with small-scale rides and playscapes. Both boys rode on the carousel, the dinosaur egg ferris wheel, the flying dragons, and the giant moonwalk. William went on a miniature log flume ride and got to drive his own car!
Thursday, October 2 One of our favorite beaches in the Tampa area is the Fred Howard Park Beach, in Tarpon Springs. We have taken William there twice and he was very excited to go back. After breakfast we got the boys in their swimsuits, loaded up the car, and drove off for the beach. We entered the park and William said “We’re here, we’re here!” We drove a little further to a fork in the road and saw a sign: Tragic Event #6: “Beach and Causeway closed from Sept 2nd until Fall 2009.” Yet another disappointment. We tried to explain to William what was going on but he was none to happy. We drove back to Innisbrook and hit the pool again… it did have a miniature beach and at the end of the day, that was good enough for the boys.
After swimming, lunch, and nap-time, we decided to take it easy that afternoon and hit the Sweet Tomatoes again. We LOVE that place! After we put the boys to bed we had some errands to take care of… Melissa worked on homework while I addressed envelopes to our relatives for Andrew’s Birthday. Friday, October 3 Tragic Event #7: Andrew is sick!!!! When the boys woke up on Friday, Andrew just was not himself. He usually runs around destroying things, but he just wanted to be held… for hours on end. We knew this was not good so we called around and found a local pediatrician who would see us. On the way out of the resort, we grabbed the envelopes that Melissa had stamped that morning and put the birthday invitations in the outgoing mail. Andrew had a 103 degree fever and showed inflammation in his throat and left ear. The doctor gave us some amoxicillin and recommended that we alternate Tylenol and Motrin with him to keep the fever down. As we were talking to the nurse, William grabbed a CapriSun pouch that Andrew was drinking from and took a few big sips. Not good. We filled the prescription and took the boys home. That night, Andrew woke up multiple times, now in considerable pain. His fever peaked at 104.9 degrees at one point. He did not want to take his medicine at all… his throat was so sore he would not swallow anything. Saturday, October 4 Andrew grew progressively worse throughout the day. He would not eat or drink, he only wanted to be held. He would not swallow his saliva, so he drooled everything out the front of his mouth. His shirt, our shirts, the furniture, were all soaked. He would eventually be so overcome by thirst that he would get off our laps, walk to his sippy cup, and take a drink of water. Immediately after swallowing he would scream in pain, drop the cup, and come running crying back to us where he would just lay there until the urge to drink overcame him again. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. We were supposed to drive back to Orlando that night, crash in a hotel, and fly back home Sunday morning. We knew Andrew was in no shape to travel, so we decided to move our flight and change our hotel to a 2 bedroom suite so at least William could sleep through the night if Andrew was still suffering rather than have all of us in one room. Fortunately, Northwest and Hampton Inn were both willing to waive any flight change and cancellation fees when I told them our story. Poor William watched every DVD we brought a hundred times over. The pediatrician we had seen the day before was not open on Saturday, so we headed for a pediatric prompt care facility. His ear was fine, but his throat and the inside of his mouth were bright red and covered in sores. The doctor there gave us “Magic Mouthwash” consisting of Maalox, Benadryl, and lidocaine. After forcing 5mL of this concoction into him, he started drinking like a fish. We could only give it to him every 6 hours though, and as it wore off he was in pain again. At least we knew we could get some fluids into him now. Sunday, October 5 Andrew seemed to be improving a little bit on Sunday morning… we checked out of Innisbrook and drove back to Orlando. About 15 minutes before reaching the hotel, Melissa recommended that we stop at a Wendy’s to grab some food. We stopped for about 1/2 hour and drove to the hotel. As we pulled into the parking lot, we were greeted by six Orange County Sherrif’s vehicles partially blocking all of the driveways. They let us in and let me into the lobby. While checking in, I overheard a young lady behind me describe to an officer what had happened: (Near) Tragic Event #8: Our hotel was robbed!!! I say near-tragic because if we hadn’t stopped at Wendy’s, we may have been in the lobby when the “mullet-headed white male with red, blood-shot eyes and creepy bright blue contacts robbed the hotel at gunpoint.” According to the police, this was not the first hotel along the strip that had been hit by the suspect. All of the rooms at this hotel had external entry, which was very nerve-wracking every time we came or went. Andrew seemed to be doing better still, eating solid foods and starting to play and jump around. The worst was over, we thought. Monday, October 6 Andrew slept in two 5-hour bursts, the longest yet. We woke up around 7:00, got everybody bathed and fed, loaded up the luggage, and headed to the airport. Andrew was totally his crazy self again. We got through security quickly and had some time to sit and have an early lunch before the flight. Melissa looked at William and his arms were covered with goosebumps. He was shaking. She took our new thermometer out of her purse and checked him: Tragic Event #9: William is sick! William had a fever of 103. We gave him some Motrin and made a doctor’s appointment for him back in Michigan for the next day. Our plane was due to start boarding in 5 minutes. We started heading for the gate with the boys and luggage in tow, but William was too weak to walk. I took as much luggage as I could and Melissa tried to carry William while dragging Andrew in his car seat along with the rest of the bags. When we reached the gate, they had already started boarding. I walked up front and told the gate agent that I was a Gold Elite member with 2 sick children and 2 car seats to install, and begged to slip into the line; she quickly agreed. I waved Melissa up and we got the boys situated. After we took off, I pulled out the portable DVD player to try and occupy the boys. They watched about 10 minutes of the video when… Tragic Event #10: Dead battery. Without a video, Andrew had nothing better to do than kick the seat in front of him. We took his shoes off to lessen the impact. His car seat pushed him pretty far foward, so it was not a stretch to reach it. He also liked unlatching the tray table with his toe and then kicking that. When I tried to restrain him or get him to stop, he would scream at the top of his lungs. I felt very bad for the guy in front of us, but I hope he understood that he could only choose between kicking and screaming… and I thought he would rather endure some kicking. I fired up my laptop and put a DVD on for the boys on it, which only slightly reduced the force and frequency of the kicking. When we landed, we waited for the plane to empty. William tried to walk with his carry-on bag but was shaking and unable to do so. A stewardess took his bag and helped him down the jetway. Somehow, an extra wheelchair had been called for that was not used. The stewardess asked the transporter if she could take William in the wheelchair… so we put William in the chair and he was wheeled with us all the way to baggage claim. Grandpa Lindroth picked us up in our minivan and off we went, finally. The boys and Melissa fell asleep in the minivan on the way home. William slept on the couch the rest of the day. I got a few phone calls from some relatives regarding some strange things they received in the mail: (Not so) Tragic Event #11: The case of the missing invitations! With all of the chaos in Florida, between my addressing the envelopes and Melissa stamping them, neither of us bothered to insert the invitiations or seal the envelopes. All of our relatives received cryptic, empty envelopes. Tuesday, October 7 William no longer has a fever but his throat is hurting and he does not have much energy. It does not seem to be nearly as bad as Andrew’s, thank heavens. Not sure if he will to to school tomorrow or not. Wednesday, October 8 No school, throat still sore. William has a lot more energy and we expect him to be in school tomorrow. Thus ends what Melissa and I fondly refer to as “The Vacation from Hell.” Now we really need a vacation from our vacation. Even though it was extremely stressful to us, I think the boys still enjoyed Disney, Busch Gardens, and swimming all the time, so it wasn’t for naught. |
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