The Night Shift

So between my own aches and pains, the fact that we went to bed by 8:30pm, and the heat generated by two little boys smooshed up against me in my bed, I couldn't sleep any more by 1am. So far I've gone to the bathroom multiple times, gotten medicine for little sicklings, refilled water, played solitaire on my pocket PC, and now am here to share some of the illness-induced comments from yesterday!

When they're half out of their mind with fever, kids say even more of the darndest things than usual. Since I know that fever is the body's way of trying to incinerate bad germs, I don't automatically give my kids Tylenol when they have one. Usually I reserve it for times when they are particularly miserable. Yesterday I decided to give a round of Tylenol to all the kids around 3pm just to give them a break from their misery, and in the hopes that they might feel good enough to eat something for dinner.

I hand Jake the Great 4 chewable Tylenol.

Jake: Do I swallow this?

Me: You can chew it up, honey.

Jake (looking miserable and perplexed): Chew? ........ What is chew?

Me: What is chew?? With your teeth, honey. Pretend it's smarties candy or something and just chew it up.

Jake (still looking confused): I don't get it. How do I chew?

Sullen (chiming in since he can't resist such an opportunity): This is Body Functions 101, Jake. Cheeeeeeeeew it. With your teeth. (does dramatic interpretation of chewing)

Jake: Shut up.



Later I was in the kitchen trying to fill dinner order...weak little requests for "some yogurt--the pink kind" or "a little bit of applesauce." Sullen was just finishing up making perogies, so had dumped the potful into a colander, and a lot of steam was rising from the sink. Sullen loaded the food onto his plate and took off for his room. Squiggy Magoo (almost three) starts saying, "I want some of that!" pointing to the steam.

Me: Sweetie, there's nothing there. Sullen took that food. I will make you something else.

SM: No! I want THAT!

Me: You want what? Steam?

SM: YES! Steam! I want that steam!

Me: No, sweetie, steam is not to eat.

SM (getting more irrational and upset by the second): I told you I want that STEAM!!!!

So I picked him up to see into the sink, and then he decided that steam wasn't going to be his favorite meal after all.....


Thankfully my husband's work for tomorrow was cancelled so I will not have to suffer through all the logistics around here myself. Maybe I will even get to kick all the kids out of my bed and sleep without interferance....