With that said, I once again have two days to cram into one post. I'm not going to do two separate posts and pretend like I did it all at once. I'm just going to shove it all in, sit on the proverbial suitcase and hope it closes.
On Thursday the LP had another half-day at daycare. It was Pajama Day and all seemed to be going well. We got the LP up, breakfasted and changed into clean pajamas. Off they went with Daddy. The drop-off went well, with everyone happy to be there. About thirty minutes later, I got a text message from our daycare provider saying that LP1 wasn't happy. We think that changing into her jammies and then being surrounded by other people dressed to go to bed somehow threw her off. Fortunately she soon recovered and both kids had a great morning. I think if Pajama Day happens again, we'll just send LP1 in her regular clothes.
LP2 has had a bit of a runny nose all week. At first I chalked it up to his slowly-emerging front teeth because even though "they" say it is a myth that children have runny noses when they are teething, LP2 seems to do just that. On Thursday afternoon, however, I began to realize that poor LP2 was brewing a cold. Children seem to go from "fine" to "sick" in record speed. As the afternoon wore on, it was obvious that LP2 was feeling terrible. He had a runny nose, red eyes and a bit of a heavy chest. He couldn't settle and everything would make him cry. I knew that we would be in for a long night. I elected not to do anything with them that afternoon. But before you think I'm some kind of awesome mother, I should also tell you that I was trying to make dinner and even though both kids were melting down, I attempted to distract them so I could get it done instead of just giving up and telling Daddy that dinner was up to him when he got home. Why do I do that? Fortunately I learned my lesson. Dinner doesn't matter. The LP do.
When LP2 is sick, he generally doesn't sleep well and will only sleep in your arms. Think about how terrible you feel when you have a cold. I bet you like to snuggle under a warm blanket, lay somewhere soft and try to rest. Now just imagine you are a very small person with no understanding of why you feel awful. You would want someone to hold you, too. LP2 hasn't been sick very often but Daddy and I have been through it enough to know how it goes. We spent the night taking shifts with him. Eventually he did stretch out on our bed and sleep for a little while, although it ended up chasing Daddy into the guest room to get a bed with enough room for him to sleep on. Needless to say, it was a long night.
Mercifully, there was coffee to get us up and going this morning. LP2 was still not himself and LP1 was full of energy. We made a quick run out this morning to stock up on more Tylenol but I decided that would be our only outside activity for the day. It was a cold, grey day, punctuated with periodic episodes of rain. It was a good day to stay indoors. Today was also a day where LP2 didn't want to be put down for very long or left to his own devices. He continued to only sleep in my arms, so it was difficult to get anything else accomplished except for taking care of him. I guess babies are good that way in making sure their needs are met.
LP1 awoke from a very long afternoon nap on the grumpy side of the bed. LP2 still wasn't himself. As I sat there, holding him and trying to jolly her into a better humour, I decided that we would bake together. Once again, I feel compelled to tell you that really, I have been making muffins from scratch since I was about 10 years old. For some reason, I had a bag of oatmeal muffin mix in the cupboard that only required the addition of water and an egg. I thought that maybe the LP would enjoy "baking" again. After consultation with LP1, we decided that these muffins needed some chocolate chips.
In Mommy's Baking Sweatshop, we pay the workers in chocolate chips because it is cheaper and, as I discovered, it keeps them happier. Also, you don't need to go to the ER for an x-ray if you swallow a chocolate chip.
I put LP2 in his high chair and sat down at the table beside LP1. She was helping me measure and pour ingredients into a large bowl. We were banging the measuring cup on the table to make sure everything was level when I heard banging coming from the high chair. LP2 was watching us and imitating everything we were doing. He took great pride in banging his hand on the tray, just like Mommy and his sister. This just illustrated to me that he really does take in everything and that I'm not totally nuts for talking to him like he understands.
LP1 had great fun pouring ingredients into the bowl and mixing them up. I think the best part for both LP was when I brought out the bag of chocolate chips and gave them both some to sample. Listen, half the fun of baking is in eating the chocolate chips. That's why you buy the jumbo bag instead of the regular bag.
No-Name standard ingredients led to a great fun. We were all giggling together as we ate chocolate chips and mixed up the muffin mix. LP1 felt very important as she helped and LP2's happy grin returned when he realized that chocolate chips are pretty good.
Once the muffins were placed in the oven, the LP lost interest in staying in the kitchen and we moved on to other things...until the timer went off. When the muffins were cooled, it wasn't long before they were making it known that they wanted to try some. Now. I obliged them. Our muffins were deemed a great success. Don't get me wrong - I know they are not connoisseurs of baked goods - but I think they enjoyed making something together and then getting to sample the results of their work. Oh, and the chocolate. We can't forget the chocolate. It made all of us feel better.
When the world outside is cold and dreary and you're feeling out-of-sorts, sometimes a hot muffin, loaded with chocolate chips is just the thing to bring some sunshine to your day.
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