Many Long Things

Just so you know, this was originally titled "A Few Quick Things," and then "A Few Quick-ish Things", until it became apparent that neither title would do.

1. I'm dubbing this winter The Winter of Illness. I thought last year was bad, but if it was, then I can't think of a suitable adjective for this one. Maybe ghastly? Horrific? Appalling? Or the like. I have calculated that since December 27th, I have spent 15 days feeling anywhere from crappy to on-the-verge-of-death. And the other 12 days feeling, at the very least, less-than-perfect. I have also had a cough for every single one of those days. Lucy, my partner in (and source of) Illness, has been at it since December 22nd, with maybe a 1-week period of good health. I expect her to get sick given the amount of non-food objects she insists on putting in her mouth, but good lord, not quite this often. And I feel betrayed by the same immune system I used to brag about.

2. While at the doctor's office with Lucy this past week, I took the opportunity to ask the doctor her opinion on what I should do about Finn and his tic (whether she thought it sounded concerning, whether I should bring him in). She told me that she has a scale - Interested, Concerned, Worried, Frightened. From what I had told her, she put this on the "Interested" side of the scale, which was reassuring. But she did think that his behavior should be checked out to rule out a couple of things that are either fixable (e.g. strep infection - did you know some strains can cause tics?) or more concerning (e.g. seizures). She recommended that we make an appointment with her once we have some video footage of what he's been doing, so Finn has unwittingly found himself as the star of several random home movies lately. I think we have some decent examples, so we'll likely be taking him in shortly just to make sure all is well.

3. Today stretched out long, cold and exhausting in front of us this morning. I despaired of doing anything other than chasing after Lucy every time she tried to kill herself in some daredevil feat and arguing with Finn about how much TV he was allowed to watch. We had no plans, and with 20 degree weather outside, not much hope of making any that allowed us to escape the confines of our living room. BUT, inspiration struck, and I convinced M. that I should take Finn to the movies while Lucy napped so that M. could catch up on some work. I really made out on that deal, because not only did Finn and I see a cute/fun movie (Tangled), Lucy woke up after only about half an hour, and M. had to wrangle and distract her by himself most of the time we were gone. Finn and I had a great time, though, so yay for us?

4. Today's eventual good mood carried over into dinner time, for which we decided to go out. We went to a favorite local pizza place that is kid-friendly (and the pizza is good!). The kids were, for once, perfect - well-behaved, fun, ate their food, were patient when their food wasn't delivered with ours - we really couldn't have asked for better from them. If only that could happen every time (or even a quarter of the times? please?) we went out!

5. Re: food not arriving on time - our waiter was quite incompetent, though well meaning. Of all of our orders, he only managed to get M.'s correct - a meat-laden pizza with the moniker "the Nelson Eddie", for whatever reason. My pizza had the correct toppings, but was a medium size instead of an individual size. And he forgot the kid's medium cheese pizza completely. And yet somehow, I was the one who felt bad and wanted to make light of it. Why is that? I gave him the right order, it appears he wrote it down in his little waitering-notebook correctly (since he referred to it once I mentioned that hey, we're missing a pizza, and comprehension dawned. I saw it.), and he just simply wasn't able to correctly convey it to the cooks. It was his fault, but I tried to make HIM feel better. Does everyone feel that way, or is it just because my subconscious acutely remembers my time as a waitress and makes me feel sympathy? I'm sure his earnestness worked in his favor, too, though - if he had been the least bit jerk-like I probably would have been a bit snippier. Or made M. be the heavy, since I don't actually do confrontational well.

6. Please, please tell me. What are some things you like to do with your kids in the winter that let you leave your house and don't necessarily involve play dates? We desperately need some suggestions so that we don't go crazy before spring gets here. We managed OK today, but I fear for our sanity next weekend.

7. I spent two days in D.C. for a meeting this past week (despite feeling Ill). I commuted in each day on the Metro. And I noticed that no matter how fast I walked, most people still seemed to walk faster. Yes, I wore heels, which definitely gives the men, and some women, an advantage. But there were plenty of women in heels with Amazon-like walking skills. Are my legs that short? Or am I just a slow walker? I FELT like I was walking SO FAST. Also, confession: I went the wrong way on the Metro once. I realized it right away and only went one stop out of my way, but oh, embarrassing! I assumed I was going up the right stairwell to change lines, and didn't actually CHECK, so I suppose that just adds to the body of evidence for the whole "ass-u-me" argument. I never told M., I'm guessing I'm letting myself in for some teasing once he reads this.

8. Lucy is very definitely on the cusp of TWO. Her behavior and mannerisms speak volumes to that. She had at least 4 time outs today. Her naughty-ness of choice (other than not listening to a single thing we say, running away from us whenever possible, and crying LOUDLY) is hitting. Usually the face. Good thing she is still adorable and smart and all that other mitigating stuff.

9. Lucy and the cat excepting, the whole family may need to be signed up for Angry Birds Anonymous. That sh*t is addictive! In fact, I will end here so that I may play a few rounds in piece without a 4-year-old trying to wrestle my (MY) iPod out of my hands. I have heard something about a game called Plants vs. Zombies but know nothing other than the name. Is it just as good or better? What are some other iPod games that you like for you, for your preschooler, or for your toddler? I don't really know where to begin looking for some of these things, especially the toddler-oriented games/apps.

So, you all have your homework regarding numbers 6 and 9, thanks much!