The first big drop off

Because of the food allergy thing, I've never dropped Spencer off at a birthday party or a play date and just left him. I always have to come so that the parent in question doesn't have to worry about administering an EpiPen should the worst happen. I don't really feel it's fair to ask someone to do that or to try to keep track of all the dietary restrictions.

Today Spencer went to a birthday party by himself. The parent is a teacher at his preschool, so she's already trained to use the EpiPens, and she gave me the gift of letting me leave him there. I brought cupcakes for him and she had fruit there, and I gave her the bag with his emergency meds. He was thrilled. She had to tell me about ten times that it would be ok.

I cried the whole way home. I think it was an anxiety attack. I knew he was in good hands, but things happen, you know? So, after I calmed down, I took a walk and then went back a little early to let him know it was time to leave.

Spencer had a fabulous time. He really didn't want to come home. I'm so glad. And it was good for me, too. Most parents have already been through this before now and I know I won't get to do it much. It's really hard letting him go to things on his own because of the potential consequences. But we did it. And it was good for both of us.

The cobwebs of my mind

Spencer, after having a nightmare last night, said first thing this morning while waking up, "I'm going to make a web to put across my brain. It will let the good dreams in and keep the bad dreams out."

They write those instructions for a reason

The ant farm is empty. I guess 1/4 inch is really too small for the ant farm. We think they escaped through the tiny air holes near the top. We now have 6 new residents somewhere in the house. I think next time I'll just order the ants from the supply place. Or maybe we'll wait until summer when the ants are bigger.

Ant farm

Spencer's tummy is still a little iffy, so we took it easy today. We got to enjoy the nice weather a bit and Spencer decided he wanted to find some ants for the ant farm he got for Christmas. Since we seem to have a large nest near the house it was easy to find ants. They were a little on the small side, but we collected ones that were the requisite 1/4 inch (have you ever tried to measure a moving ant?). After 6 ants the kids got bored, so that's the population of our farm. I hope they live at least a day.

Wacky weather

Everyone's been getting a taste of summer recently. Alan's also taken a few days off, so we've had a good week. Tuesday I took the kids on two hikes (one on a paved trail so they could bring their big wheels) and they were zonked by the end of the day. It was fun.

But today, it's rainy. I'm having a very hard time getting everyone moving. No one wanted to get dressed and now they just want to play in their room instead of doing our errands.

On the plus side, we've started moving the office to its new location. In fact, the computer is already set up. Now we have two rooms in complete disarray. At least Evie will eventually get her own room again. Progress is progress, even if it's slow.

Another head wound

Evie managed to bonk her noggin yet again. This time, she had Spencer's help. Alan was working on installing some shelving and Spencer bonked Evie with the end of a hanging support. We're lucky he didn't get her eye. Now she has a lovely red and purple lump on her forehead right between her eyes.

Did I say we were on the mend?

What a crock! Spencer has now been sick for two weeks. The latest is a really gross nose and fevers at night. Evie is perfectly healthy, but still on mega antibiotics for last week's ear infections. I've still got a runny nose and now Alan says he's feeling a bit ill. Will it ever end?

Having three days off from school this week due to the weather didn't really help. Spencer seemed to be feeling better yesterday so we went to the library to blow off some steam. We were there for an hour and a half (possibly a record) and I didn't have ONE SINGLE ARGUMENT from him. Over anything. He was so compliant and polite it was scary. After we got home his temperature got to 101 so now I know why. Sorry library, I didn't mean to share germs.

I would love to take the kids outside, but not only is it frigid, it's boring. It's just ice with a dusting of snow. It's really too sharp to sled and you can't build anything.