Weekending

 Minnie loves the pool, which us good because the rest of us do, too. She loves it, though, with a passion I was not expecting. WE WENT DOWN THE WATER SLIDE 22 TIMES TODAY.

Here are Harry and Jack, ages 4 and 5, when we joined this pool TEN YEARS AGO.

And here they are now, a lifeguard and a front desk dude. WHAT.

We spent literally hundreds of dollars on crap food this weekend, but the kids— all 5– adored eating at the pool.

Coop hit a GRAND SLAM at baseball, and Coach Dad held try outs for his Little League district team

I spent most of my weekend at the top of the water slide

And all the big kids fell into the rhythm of our old pool days like winter never happened.

Hurry, summer! We’re ready for you.

POOOOOL

 

Birdie

 Did I tell you that we almost named Minnie, Birdie? Well, we did. I loved that silly little name, and I remembered it was almost Minnie’s the other day at The Little Gym because we attended our last Birds class. Minnie is a Beast starting next week.

Oh the sweet mom stuck in the pic with the sign.

Bubbles!

Even though Minnie got sick (and also! We went to see the urgent care pediatrician today because yesterday, she woke up from nap with a 102-degree fever and he said he thinks she has ANOTHER VIRUS that she probably incubated since TUESDAY) I think this class was really good for her. I mean, clearly her immune system needs to flex its muscles because she is basically Bubble Baby. But also she adores it. In the car, when we get off on the TLG exit, she claps with delight.

I can’t believe I have been on the Big! Red! Mat! For 15 YEARS, you guys. 

Hello from the other side

 Some questions remain.

HOW DID MINNIE GET COVID? Is the big one. She goes to The Little Gym. She goes to library story time. She goes to Costco. She always wears a mask in all of these places.

HOW DID THE OTHER KIDS STAY WELL? We have tested everyone consistently. No one else is sick. WHAT the WHAT?

WHY DID I GET SO SICK, even though I am vaccinated and boosted?

Ben seems totally and completely fine. Neither Minnie nor I is as hungry as we used to be. Also, I have almost no interest in coffee or Wordle, two things that I used to love the very most. It’s also distressingly hard for me to focus on a book— reading with my eyes or just listening. I am so glad I used my time on campus to work the day Minnie got sick and I was stuck in an exam because I don’t have any motivation to do anything on a screen.  

I started working out again, but not first thing in the morning. I am sleeping so long that first thing in the morning doesn’t exist. Instead I just sort of wake up in the middle of the morning rush and YIKES. (I also fall asleep at the crack of 9pm, so my living hours are truncated in a way that precludes productivity).

Also I just sort of look terrible. Like, lank hair and a haggard face. I am working on it. Or at least thinking about working on it.

I bought some Birks and despite ordering the size I always get (and the same size as Cooper), they are HUGE. But I already wore them so ????

Dorothy, Cooper, and I ate fast food in a cloud of mosquitos last night before Jack’s chorus concert

STANDING ROOM ONLY, hashtag blessed.

It was actually so fun to be in a crowded middle school gym listening to terrible music again.

Updates

 Good news: 

• No new members of our quaranteam joined the crew today
• Lovely friends have given us so much food and support
• Minnie feels great-ish. She is not 100%, but she will be soon, I think. She hasn’t had a fever since Monday, but I am still checking obsessively.
• Ben got Paxlovid because of his one kidney situation, and it seems to be working.

Less good news:

• I think the other 4 kids miss us since they just sort of live in the basement and eat their food on the deck.
• Dorothy is really crabby but has no fever or any symptoms and is testing negative on rapid tests
• We have gone through more than $120 worth of rapids this week and are currently almost out and waiting for our shipment of 8 more from the government. Luckily there’s walk-up testing at the elementary school.
• I FEEL LIKE GARBAGE STILL. My body hurts. If I don’t take Tylenol and ibuprofen around the clock, my fever and chills come back. Blergh.

I thought I looked pretty ok, but Dorothy said “Oh you must wear lots and lots of makeup when you’re not sick.”

Minnie only wears pajamas— tattered princess nighties to be exact.

Crazy hair day

Playing

Best cake ever

More playing. Blanket is one of her favorite games.

Ben has the VID

 Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

I HAVE THE VID

 OMG.

MINNIE HAS THE VID

 My birthday started off exactly how I had planned.

 Better, even, because I got a really awesome gift from Ben, and the kids’ cards were so sweet, and I wore my favorite LOFT dress that I also wore on my birthday last year, and I had an excellent hair day.

I got to campus amid graduation parking and bought coffee and a morning bun for myself and tea for the TAs helping me with this really giant exam. I got to my classroom and set up my computer, so excited to have 3 quiet hours to finish prepping my fall semester. And then Ben texted to ask if I could call him. I said I couldn’t, so he mentioned that Minnie had a pediatrician appointment because she had a fever, but I should plan to get a pedicure anyway. I might just have to pick up Harry on my way home because he was dismissed early for tennis.

Then he mentioned that the fever was 103.

Then he texted this:

I couldn’t leave, and Ben had the Minnie situation under control

So I worked SO HARD AND SO FAST while the students in my room too their exams. And now my fall is totally prepped, and so is my summer, and I have zero work-related things to worry about for literal MONTHS. So, I mean, that was good. Also I stopped at my favorite bagel place on the way home because I only had time to eat a few bites of the morning bun.

But poor, sweet, sheltered little Minnie. HOW DOES THE BABY WHO GOES NOWHERE GET THE VID?

She’s SO SICK. She has a 103-104 fever that barely breaks (goes down to 101 or 102) even with alternating Tylenol and Motrin. She clearly feels terrible, but she’s with it— eating a little, drinking a little, nursing a TON, playing, blowing bubbles, etc. 

We are all just sort of waiting to get sick. It adds an element of suspense for sure to have a kid with an illness that might kill you! Also, I have a slightly runny nose, which, now that I think about it, Minnie did, too, the day before she spiked a fever. AWESOME. (Also, 4 of us are vaxxed AND boosted— Ben even has 4 shots because of his kidney situation— and Dorothy and Coop are vaxxed. I know that we will likely be just fine. But it’s still scary!

And I really need a pedicure.