Sunday, March 20, 2011
Flu
We've been ravaged by the flu.
First it was Ian who had a few days of fever, lethargy and general miserableness. If it wasn't for his multiple daytime naps I wouldn't have thought anything of his mood since he's usually somewhat miserable and seems to have a higher body temperature than myself most of the time. Then he got diarrhea which spread to Kyle.
Kyle didn't seem to carry around any symptoms other than loose poops in his diaper. He's always been an awesome sleeper. Sometimes I STILL have to force him to avoid a third nap and he'll end up heading to bed around 7pm on those days; even after having 2 solid 2-hour+ naps throughout the rest of the day.
Friday evening and into Saturday I caught the bug and was down for the count. I felt nauseous and couldn't even think of eating a lick of food without feeling my stomach turn and my throat tighten. I was running a low grade fever that Motrin helped control. I fell asleep on the couch after dinner on Friday for a few hours while Craig held down the fort then I stumbled into bed at 9 and slept like I was drunk until Ian woke us up on Saturday morning.
Saturday night Craig spent the night out at his sister's place where she and her husband were hosting a UFC Fight Night. When Craig came home this morning he had come down with the same flu and spent the rest of the morning sleeping on the couch and throwing up. I'd like to think the throwing up had a little more to do with beer he drank and less to do with the flu but he's not one to drink (he only had 5 beers in 5 hours, plus food around midnight so he was anything but drunk). By mid-afternoon he was well enough to head into work so off he went while I brought the Circus to finish the groceries I didn't have time for late last week.
I had just finished our tour of the produce section when Shaun asked if he could lay in the cart because he wasn't feeling well. He's the last of us to get sick and seems to have it pretty mild. I quickly grabbed a few more essential things and paid before packing everyone back into the van and coming home. Shaun laid around the rest of the evening before asking to head to bed before 8. So far no sign of diarrhea or vomiting (the rest of us have had either one or the other) so hopefully he's okay to head back to school tomorrow.
Thankfully we seem to have completely missed the nasty, violent stomach flu that was passing through the school families before March Break. Ian's Nursery School sent home a letter stating a temporary policy change surrounding how long to keep your child home symptom-free before sending them back to school, and Shaun's class was missing 6 children out of 17 for the second last day of school before the break. Wish us luck that this bug is out of the house for good.
First it was Ian who had a few days of fever, lethargy and general miserableness. If it wasn't for his multiple daytime naps I wouldn't have thought anything of his mood since he's usually somewhat miserable and seems to have a higher body temperature than myself most of the time. Then he got diarrhea which spread to Kyle.
Kyle didn't seem to carry around any symptoms other than loose poops in his diaper. He's always been an awesome sleeper. Sometimes I STILL have to force him to avoid a third nap and he'll end up heading to bed around 7pm on those days; even after having 2 solid 2-hour+ naps throughout the rest of the day.
Friday evening and into Saturday I caught the bug and was down for the count. I felt nauseous and couldn't even think of eating a lick of food without feeling my stomach turn and my throat tighten. I was running a low grade fever that Motrin helped control. I fell asleep on the couch after dinner on Friday for a few hours while Craig held down the fort then I stumbled into bed at 9 and slept like I was drunk until Ian woke us up on Saturday morning.
Saturday night Craig spent the night out at his sister's place where she and her husband were hosting a UFC Fight Night. When Craig came home this morning he had come down with the same flu and spent the rest of the morning sleeping on the couch and throwing up. I'd like to think the throwing up had a little more to do with beer he drank and less to do with the flu but he's not one to drink (he only had 5 beers in 5 hours, plus food around midnight so he was anything but drunk). By mid-afternoon he was well enough to head into work so off he went while I brought the Circus to finish the groceries I didn't have time for late last week.
I had just finished our tour of the produce section when Shaun asked if he could lay in the cart because he wasn't feeling well. He's the last of us to get sick and seems to have it pretty mild. I quickly grabbed a few more essential things and paid before packing everyone back into the van and coming home. Shaun laid around the rest of the evening before asking to head to bed before 8. So far no sign of diarrhea or vomiting (the rest of us have had either one or the other) so hopefully he's okay to head back to school tomorrow.
Thankfully we seem to have completely missed the nasty, violent stomach flu that was passing through the school families before March Break. Ian's Nursery School sent home a letter stating a temporary policy change surrounding how long to keep your child home symptom-free before sending them back to school, and Shaun's class was missing 6 children out of 17 for the second last day of school before the break. Wish us luck that this bug is out of the house for good.
Friday, March 11, 2011
We Rallied
Today I was not at my best. My mundane Mommy duties were starting to creep in on my Mommy joys and I was aching for a break. I may or may not have been a little snippy with Craig. We ate dinner in near-silence; Craig and I not speaking a word in fear of having it come out not-so-nice. I repeatedly asked him if there was anything wrong and he repeatedly responded, "nothing's wrong." Then I silently groaned when he decided to bring Kyle and join me and the Bigs for their last swimming lesson.
Swimming lessons are something I do with my boys. It's my thing... and he was intruding. The conversation in the van was focused on the Bigs and what they were going to show us tonight. I whisked Ian into the swimming complex while Craig brought Kyle and Shaun to the observation deck. I handed Ian off to his instructor and joined Craig upstairs. We barely spoke but sat beside one another. Quietly smiling and proudly applauding Ian's accomplishments.
Then it was Shaun's turn. We watched him kick and stroke and glide. Both of us stood against the glass railing and anxiously watched Shaun complete his 5 metre swim. We were together and separate at the same time. Our minds focused on our children, our hearts wondering what was so wrong with this day.
Ian fell asleep while we were watching Shaun so I brought Kyle with me when I went to help Shaun shower and dry off and Craig stayed with Ian. We agreed to meet at the main entrance. When I walked out with Kyle on my hip and an overflowing swim bag full of wet towels and swimsuits thrown over my shoulder I saw Craig's face and knew something had happened with Ian. Ian's full length footie jammies were drenched with barf. Craig's new coat had barf all down one arm and seeping through the centre zipper. Without a word he unzipped his jacket and revealed his shirt which was also covered in barf.
"It's okay," I calmly said. "Take off your shirt and coat. You can have my jacket to go grab the van."
"But you only have short sleeves on." He was concerned I'd freeze without a coat.
"It's okay. I only have to be outside a moment. I'll be alright. Go get the van and we'll be okay until you come back."
We rallied and all the way home we held hands.
Swimming lessons are something I do with my boys. It's my thing... and he was intruding. The conversation in the van was focused on the Bigs and what they were going to show us tonight. I whisked Ian into the swimming complex while Craig brought Kyle and Shaun to the observation deck. I handed Ian off to his instructor and joined Craig upstairs. We barely spoke but sat beside one another. Quietly smiling and proudly applauding Ian's accomplishments.
Then it was Shaun's turn. We watched him kick and stroke and glide. Both of us stood against the glass railing and anxiously watched Shaun complete his 5 metre swim. We were together and separate at the same time. Our minds focused on our children, our hearts wondering what was so wrong with this day.
Ian fell asleep while we were watching Shaun so I brought Kyle with me when I went to help Shaun shower and dry off and Craig stayed with Ian. We agreed to meet at the main entrance. When I walked out with Kyle on my hip and an overflowing swim bag full of wet towels and swimsuits thrown over my shoulder I saw Craig's face and knew something had happened with Ian. Ian's full length footie jammies were drenched with barf. Craig's new coat had barf all down one arm and seeping through the centre zipper. Without a word he unzipped his jacket and revealed his shirt which was also covered in barf.
"It's okay," I calmly said. "Take off your shirt and coat. You can have my jacket to go grab the van."
"But you only have short sleeves on." He was concerned I'd freeze without a coat.
"It's okay. I only have to be outside a moment. I'll be alright. Go get the van and we'll be okay until you come back."
We rallied and all the way home we held hands.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Cynicism
I'm a complete cynic. I've always thought the absolute worst about people and tend to analyze every single thing they say/do; always looking for something that I can say, "Aha! Caught you!" about. I think this is the main reason I don't have many girlfriends. I'm somewhat a loner (by my choice) and hate feeling obligated to keep in touch with girlfriends lest they think I'm mad at them. It's so petty. And I choose to stay away from it. But I also think that I've never allowed myself to become really close with that many people specifically because I'm so cynical.
There's never really been any value, in my mind, in my cynicism, until we started sending feelers out for a roofing contractor. It just goes to show that it pays to do detailed research and expect the worst about these guys. We've had many different characters, shall we say, to the house. One simply measured the front of the house and then drove away; another didn't climb on the roof and walked along the sidewalk instead; then we had one who even climbed into the attic to look at the under side of the sheathing. We still have a few more quotes to get but my instincts have been right on as far as who's shady and who's not. The one guy who simply walked along the sidewalk has had multiple businesses with multiple telephone numbers in the past 7 years or so. All that tells me is that he keeps changing his business name to run away from people who are after him. I had a bad feeling about him as soon as he walked into the house and after some probing questions I learned about the other businesses. Of course, he had every excuse why that business is no longer around but, bottom line, if he changed his business name and phone number there must be something about the previous one he doesn't want following him. Reputation, bad references, lawsuits; I don't want to find out.
Hopefully this will all be sorted out within the next couple of weeks. I'm waiting to choose and book a contractor before going shopping! That way I know how much I have to spend!!
There's never really been any value, in my mind, in my cynicism, until we started sending feelers out for a roofing contractor. It just goes to show that it pays to do detailed research and expect the worst about these guys. We've had many different characters, shall we say, to the house. One simply measured the front of the house and then drove away; another didn't climb on the roof and walked along the sidewalk instead; then we had one who even climbed into the attic to look at the under side of the sheathing. We still have a few more quotes to get but my instincts have been right on as far as who's shady and who's not. The one guy who simply walked along the sidewalk has had multiple businesses with multiple telephone numbers in the past 7 years or so. All that tells me is that he keeps changing his business name to run away from people who are after him. I had a bad feeling about him as soon as he walked into the house and after some probing questions I learned about the other businesses. Of course, he had every excuse why that business is no longer around but, bottom line, if he changed his business name and phone number there must be something about the previous one he doesn't want following him. Reputation, bad references, lawsuits; I don't want to find out.
Hopefully this will all be sorted out within the next couple of weeks. I'm waiting to choose and book a contractor before going shopping! That way I know how much I have to spend!!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Bad News
As it stands right now with Craig on afternoon shift, Shaun and Craig are able to spend mornings together before Shaun heads off to school after lunch and Craig leaves for work mid-afternoon. Come September when Shaun begins grade 1, the two will literally not see one another during the week at all. Craig will still be sleeping when Shaun leaves for school in the morning and by the time Shaun returns from school Craig will already be at work. Our only saving grace is that Shaun has a lunch break around 1PM and we live so close to the school he can come home for lunch and see Craig.
Then a couple of months ago Craig brought home a job bid sheet. Basically it had every job in the warehouse placed on a flowchart -- shifts, days-off, positions. Workers who were interested in moving from their current position were encouraged to bid on every single job they wanted and hopefully their seniority was enough to get them their first choice (provided that particular job opened up because whoever was occupying it had also bid on a job that was open). Craig bid on a ton of jobs, all day-shift, in hopes of landing one with half decent days off. Many postings have split days off where the guy has Tuesday and Thursday off but works Wednesday. Or they'll have 2 days off in the middle of the week but have to work the weekend. We compromised the last go 'round and Craig moved into a job with Friday and Saturday off. Not ideal, certainly, but at least he has one day on the weekend and having Friday off has allowed him to go on a couple of class trips with Shaun and allows me to volunteer in Shaun's classroom occasionally.
September brings full-time school and the whole game changes. This most recent job bid was basically our last shot for Craig to post into a day-shift position before Shaun starts grade 1 in September.
With thirteen years seniority and a lot of senior guys taking a buy-out package offered in the last contract, we were pretty confident Craig would move up the ranks and slide into a day-shift position without question. Well, the results were posted today and Craig didn't get a single position he bid on. Not one.
There's two reasons why this could be: 1. The people analyzing the job bid sheets made a mistake - which has happened in the past - and in actuality someone was awarded a job that Craig should have received because of seniority. In that case it's an easy fix and Craig moves to day shift. OR 2. The jobs Craig would have had the seniority to win, didn't open up because the people currently in those postings chose to stay put.
Craig checked the results and analyzed the list; there were no mistakes made. So now he's working afternoons for a while longer. I'm trying not to show my disappointment to him because the whole thing is out of his hands. It's not his fault he wasn't awarded a day shift job; that's just how it works. But I'm sad. I feel terrible that Shaun won't see his Dad all week unless he races home for lunch one day. I hate that Craig has to miss more bedtime stories and baths and tucking-in and kisses and hugs. It's sad that this whole thing is such a crap shoot and he has no way of knowing whether he'll get awarded a shitty job or a great job so errs on the side of caution and only bids on the better jobs which also have a higher likelihood of needing decades of seniority to slot into.
I'm also angry that I have to continue doing this all by myself. He's wholly present during the hours he's home, don't get me wrong, but with me having the daycare running during the day and Craig being absent at night, I'm doing the Mom thing from 7 in the morning until 8 at night with no breaks in between, and then for another hour while I'm cleaning up and preparing meals, crafts and circletime activities for the following day. It's exhausting and I'd love to have someone to tag-team with; especially at the end of the day when everyone's hungry and tired.
We will certainly make the best of it but that doesn't make it suck any less.
Then a couple of months ago Craig brought home a job bid sheet. Basically it had every job in the warehouse placed on a flowchart -- shifts, days-off, positions. Workers who were interested in moving from their current position were encouraged to bid on every single job they wanted and hopefully their seniority was enough to get them their first choice (provided that particular job opened up because whoever was occupying it had also bid on a job that was open). Craig bid on a ton of jobs, all day-shift, in hopes of landing one with half decent days off. Many postings have split days off where the guy has Tuesday and Thursday off but works Wednesday. Or they'll have 2 days off in the middle of the week but have to work the weekend. We compromised the last go 'round and Craig moved into a job with Friday and Saturday off. Not ideal, certainly, but at least he has one day on the weekend and having Friday off has allowed him to go on a couple of class trips with Shaun and allows me to volunteer in Shaun's classroom occasionally.
September brings full-time school and the whole game changes. This most recent job bid was basically our last shot for Craig to post into a day-shift position before Shaun starts grade 1 in September.
With thirteen years seniority and a lot of senior guys taking a buy-out package offered in the last contract, we were pretty confident Craig would move up the ranks and slide into a day-shift position without question. Well, the results were posted today and Craig didn't get a single position he bid on. Not one.
There's two reasons why this could be: 1. The people analyzing the job bid sheets made a mistake - which has happened in the past - and in actuality someone was awarded a job that Craig should have received because of seniority. In that case it's an easy fix and Craig moves to day shift. OR 2. The jobs Craig would have had the seniority to win, didn't open up because the people currently in those postings chose to stay put.
Craig checked the results and analyzed the list; there were no mistakes made. So now he's working afternoons for a while longer. I'm trying not to show my disappointment to him because the whole thing is out of his hands. It's not his fault he wasn't awarded a day shift job; that's just how it works. But I'm sad. I feel terrible that Shaun won't see his Dad all week unless he races home for lunch one day. I hate that Craig has to miss more bedtime stories and baths and tucking-in and kisses and hugs. It's sad that this whole thing is such a crap shoot and he has no way of knowing whether he'll get awarded a shitty job or a great job so errs on the side of caution and only bids on the better jobs which also have a higher likelihood of needing decades of seniority to slot into.
I'm also angry that I have to continue doing this all by myself. He's wholly present during the hours he's home, don't get me wrong, but with me having the daycare running during the day and Craig being absent at night, I'm doing the Mom thing from 7 in the morning until 8 at night with no breaks in between, and then for another hour while I'm cleaning up and preparing meals, crafts and circletime activities for the following day. It's exhausting and I'd love to have someone to tag-team with; especially at the end of the day when everyone's hungry and tired.
We will certainly make the best of it but that doesn't make it suck any less.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Nuthouse
I'm folding laundry and Shaun walks past me. He's all hunched over to one side and his arms are dangling strangely. Probably something he saw at school and thought was cool.
I ignore him as he passes by a second time. This time his face is all contorted and he's trying his best to pull his lips back and expose his teeth. He's still twisted and tilted to one side as he shuffles past. The third time his pants are around his ankles. I can't ignore him any longer.
"Shaun, are you feeling okay?"
"Sure am, Mom!" He realizes his pants are down and quickly pulls them up.
"You know I'm watching you, right? Do you know what happens to crazy people like you?"
"They go to the Nuthouse. But it's okay, Mom, because I'm just being a banana. I'm not being a crazy person!"
I ignore him as he passes by a second time. This time his face is all contorted and he's trying his best to pull his lips back and expose his teeth. He's still twisted and tilted to one side as he shuffles past. The third time his pants are around his ankles. I can't ignore him any longer.
"Shaun, are you feeling okay?"
"Sure am, Mom!" He realizes his pants are down and quickly pulls them up.
"You know I'm watching you, right? Do you know what happens to crazy people like you?"
"They go to the Nuthouse. But it's okay, Mom, because I'm just being a banana. I'm not being a crazy person!"
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