One of Those Weeks

Chris came down with a very nasty stomach flu on Saturday, which made for a bummer of a weekend for all of us. We did our best to keep the rest of the family healthy. I shared a bed with the resident bed-hog, Dante, for a couple of nights and so far, so good, except for my back hurting from being pushed into a corner. Chris is just starting to feel better and he leaves tomorrow for CT. Let's hope we stay healthy this weekend.

I have conferred with a couple of friends lately and discovered that the attitude of this lovely, soon-to-be 3 year old, is not as bizarre as it seems to us. Dante is doing his best to pick fights just because he can. We will be playing, having a good time and suddenly he starts a fight over nothing; And will not back down. It is so bizarre. We thought we were pretty good about interpreting what sets him off - no nap, Carina getting into his toys, close to bedtime - But now, I'm just wondering what the aliens did with my son. I sure hope this doesn't last the entire 3rd year.

Along that thread, Dante has stopped taking naps. He doesn't seem to be cranky ( I guess I should say crankier) without one. Not so with Chris, who is definitely cranky without his afternoon nap. I have been taking the kids for walks in the evening to settle them down either before or after dinner and that seems to help. I'm also taking advantage of the last few evenings with a breeze. They are pretty cute in the stroller. Carina is always sleepy and leans completely into Dante. The other night, he sat her up so he could put his arm around her.

The highlight of last weekend was a visit to Aunt Laurie's house. She made us lunch out by the pool, which was yummy. Then Dante, Carina and I went swimming....We put a kid's life jacket with the huge flotation pads on Dante, got him some noodles and he went for it and swam by himself! Carina tried out a floaty thing as well. She would splash and get all wet and then squeal with delight. I signed Dante up for swim lessons twice a week this summer, which I hope he enjoys as much as he did on Saturday.

Work has been stressful this past week. Not all bad, just busy. I had one of those days Tuesday where my "to-do" list was so long that I was crippled just staring at it not knowing what to do first. This happens at least once (or more) a year. Usually I can go with the flow and constantly re-prioritize my tasks, but right now I have too many high priority items to get through and not enough time. That's what happens when you have a job that technically doesn't exist, but still needs to be done by 2 or more people. But, of course, there isn't enough money for that. I'm already daydreaming about the summer and all the things we'll be able to do. Only 4 more weeks to get through.


Carina has been trying her hardest to stand up this week. She pulls herself up and then lets go and tries to see how long she can stand without support. The cutest thing is that she giggles and throws her arms in the air (and waves them like she just don't care) as if she's yelling "GOAL!!!!" I'll try to catch a photo of it this weekend. She also started dancing and playing instruments with Dante and me. We did a rousing rendition of "Old MacDonald" tonight that I'm sure scarred the cats for life.