Vortex

We can't seem to get away from the "sicknesses" at the moment. First it was the stomach bug that swept through the household. Now the 3.5 year old has a stuffy/runny nose with the associated horrid cough that is keeping him up nights. He's annoying the heck out of himself (and anyone within a decent radius) with the midnight coughing and periodic rising to bleat like a distressed baby goat every few hours. I feel badly that he's sick, and feeling miserable and all, but the lack of sleep is starting to take a toll. The only solution thus far has been a dose of Tylenol, and my crashing with him on the couch. Virtually guaranteeing that I'm next on the list for the runny nose/cough convention.

And in probably unrelated news. I cannot figure out how the remote control to our VCR has disappeared for MONTHS. We live in a condo. How many places could it be?? And I am now missing a library book. Not a skinny children's book, which always seems to slide under the sofa with amazing speed. This is one of mine, in the hundreds of pages. I just renewed it, so I've got two weeks to find and read the darn thing.

befuddled...

We have been doing a library story time on Fridays. I was a bit nervous at first, as my little guy is not one of those kids known for sitting still. But we've been trucking along steadily - it's a story, and the kids do a little craft related to the story of the day and they come out with their craft and a treat. He has a few friends that go, and there are Moms I like and can chat with and hang out with... We've signed up and done several sessions now.

So I was a bit befuddled last Friday when the childrens' librarian stopped to talk to me, and to his friend Marisa's Mom about their behavior during the story time. Short version is that Daniel won't leave Marisa alone, and eventually she starts to squirm and act out in response. As we don't do daycare or preschool, it's my first real experience getting a "report card" of sorts on my kid, and so I was feeling a bit unsure how to react. Everything has happened very nicely and with utmost consideration, don't get me wrong. Last Friday the librarian had Daniel come up to be her "page turner" during story time - separating him from his problem behavior, without making it really a negative event. I think the thing that has me scratching my head is that they say this has been going on for awhile, and I guess I would have hoped to hear about it sooner.

So I had a talk with Daniel on Friday. He kept insisting that he needed to tell Marisa something when I talked about sitting and listening to the story like the other kids. I plan to have another talk with him next Friday before story time. I may sit in to see what is going on, and if necessary remove him I suppose. I'm trying to keep to logical consequences, if he can't behave then he will either not come to story time at all, or he will have to come to a separate one from his friends. I'm struggling with how to direct my spirited kid...

Loads of Hope

In December, my area was hit by an ice storm. While there were many, many people hit worse than my family - I am still struck remembering the helpless feeling about how to get heating, cook meals, reach out for help... clean clothes certainly were out of the question. We had no idea when power was going to resume. We were lucky to get electricity back after some 13 hours. For some people it was days - not to mention the property damage, and other fallout.

P&G and Blogher are trying to get the word out about efforts to raise money via T-Shirt sales to support families that are affected by disaster in this one-of-a-kind program. The shirts are vintage-looking and support a great cause. Shirts can be purchased through this link: http://tidetshirts.pgvillage.com/c-9-show-all.aspx?_vsc=tide4

From Tide's Loads of Hope Website:

Tide Loads of Hope helps in the aftermath of a natural disaster by providing clean clothes and a sense of comfort to families in need. Partnering with Feeding America, we travel to disaster affected neighborhoods with the Tide Loads of Hope truck or vans, our free mobile laundry service.

Where it all started: In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the need for clean clothing became critical, and Tide found a way to help. So in November 2005, the Tide Loads of Hope truck headed to Camp Hope in the Metairie, LA area and cleaned over 10,000 loads of laundry. The spirit of this first venture informs and inspires everything Tide Loads of Hope program does.

Tide Loads of Hope truck:
- 32 high-efficiency washers and dryers stationed on the truck
- Can do 300 wash and dry cycles a day -equal to one year's worth of laundry for a single family
- Will wash about 9,000 loads of laundry over a four-week period
- Leveraged during massive disasters where electricity is unavailable in the region

Tide Loads of Hope vans:
- In partnership with a local laundromat, the Tide Loads of Hope vans provide free laundry service at the same load rate as the trucks
- Leveraged during disasters where neighboring communities still have a source of electricity

To date: Tide Loads of Hope has washed more than 35,000 loads of laundry for over 20,000 families. Most importantly, the Tide Loads of Hope program means we're equipped to take action whenever and wherever there is a need in our country.

Tide Loads of Hope Vintage Tees: Tide Loads of Hope can also be supported through the purchase of a Tide Vintage Tee. All profits go to support families affected by disaster.

Ick

There's a wicked virus making the rounds right now. It felled me over a week ago, and took several days to pass. I thought we were in the clear, and then I was strolling the aisles of Wal-mart with Daniel last Sunday when I heard the ominous: My tummy hurts.

Uh-oh.

The kid's, shall we say choosy palate was working against us in finding something his system could tolerate while sick. And the only liquid he was willing to down at all was a juice that, while I questioned its value at least kept him hydrated. All in all, he soldiered through his first real stomach bug fairly well, and I think we're finally seeing the other side.

H woke up this morning fairly green, and I'm trying to work out strategies to keep Daniel away from Daddy. I guess not having everyone sick at exactly the same time makes it a bit more manageable... but exhaustion is starting to set in. And I'm just praying that this is the same bug I started with, because if I have to have another go round of this I am really going to cry foul.