Hot Lips
I made an excellent totally made-up dinner tonight, but it’s left me with a problem: hot lips. Winter has well and truly set in, which means I’m dry dry dry and my poor, chapped lips can’t handle spicy pizza sauce poured over chicken (thin sliced, stuffed with a mixture of bell peppers, cream cheese and Italian cheeses). We’ve got the humidifier out and that’s helping some, even if it is annoyingly placed. We had to put it up on one of the kitchen counters, otherwise it would become an electrical death trap for our dear, exploring son. I’d prefer to get a curly haired son the natural way.
It was so cold and blustery out today that we went to the mall’s indoor playground. There are a few private pay-to-play indoor playgrounds around here, but Erik just can’t handle hours upon hours of play time and he’d better play for at least three hours if I’m going to pay 10 bucks for a fun indoor environment. I’m thinking I need to start my own indoor playground, charge half the the price, and totally dominate the market. I’d never even heard of an indoor playground till moving out here. Last week when all the moms were up in arms over the cold weather and not having outdoor playdates I was surprised. Coats, anyone? What on earth would these ladies do if they had to raise their children in northern Sweden? Yet there I was today, keeping the blustery wind away from Erik by taking him to the mall. The kids there can get totally wild, and thus it was today. Most of them try to look out for the babies, but you know how it is when you are three years old and running. You just don’t give a rat’s ass about the toddling 12 month old. Erik can take a beating and come up smiling, so at least I didn’t have to deal with him crying. I did have to support another mom who was having words with a four year old smartie pants little girl. This sweet looking little blondie was sitting on a bridge thing and refusing to let any other children past. There was a bottleneck of pre-verbal toddlers. One little baby, younger than Erik I’m pretty sure, toddled up and the girl mule kicked him right in the chest, sending him flying. The mom of the baby asked the girl why she did it and tried to make her apologize but she was just shooting sour looks. I got a little rowdy and loud and said loud enough for people within a wide range to hear “this girl’s parents need to get her out of here. She’s a menace.” Mean? Probably. I thought she needed to know that grownups found the behavior unacceptable. I don’t know if that scared her off or if her dad heard me, but she was gone about 30 seconds later. I wanted to slap her sour, mean little face. If she would have kicked Erik like that I’d probably be in jail right now.
As much as I hate going back to standard time, I really hope the time change helps Erik get back on a better schedule. I’m very tired of the “go to sleep at 10, wake up at 10″ deal he’s got going on right now. We’ve tried all kinds of things to “make” him go down earlier, but there is no “making” when it comes to that kid and sleep. The problem is even worse now because he has a horrible, hacking cough (it only happens when he lays down) that wakes him up all the time. I guess I need to call the doctor tomorrow. I worry about coughs because my cousin had a horrible cough and they finally figured out he had lung cancer. He was only five at the time. I don’t remember much, but when I look at Erik and think about my cousin I feel almost physically ill. I don’t think I have the emotional stamina to handle something like that.
And now it’s time for me to go, but I can’t leave the post on such a depressing note.
How about another Erik story (imagine that). As you may recall, my grandma has a habit of slapping her forehead and loudly exclaiming “OH MY GOD!!!!” whenever something happens. And I really do mean “whenever something happens.” You run out of milk? “OH MY GOD!” You stub your toe? “OH MY GOD!” You don’t like your new haircut? “OH MY GOD!” Always with the forehead slap.
Mike taught Erik to slap his forehead whenever he hears one of us say “oh my god.” It’s hilarious, but cruel. Good thing my grandma would probably never get the joke.
October 30th, 2006 at 5:56 am
I get hot lips, too. Putting the chapstick on before hand helps, when I remember. Putting the humidifier in the room where Erik sleeps will help with the cough - if YOU can stand it, that is. Sleeping in a room with that thing gives Spouse and me raging sinus headaches.
October 30th, 2006 at 5:56 am
I get hot lips, too. Putting the chapstick on before hand helps, when I remember. Putting the humidifier in the room where Erik sleeps will help with the cough - if YOU can stand it, that is. Sleeping in a room with that thing gives Spouse and me raging sinus headaches.
October 30th, 2006 at 5:56 am
I get hot lips, too. Putting the chapstick on before hand helps, when I remember. Putting the humidifier in the room where Erik sleeps will help with the cough - if YOU can stand it, that is. Sleeping in a room with that thing gives Spouse and me raging sinus headaches.
October 30th, 2006 at 11:31 am
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Drink plenty of water, use the humidifier, buy stock in the makers of Chapstick. The cough sounds like a standard cold or upper respiratory thing. Good luck though. Getting little ones to sleep when they feel crummy isn’t always easy. We prop up the head of Peanut’s bed when she’s like that.