Is This Normal?
The chaos that is the KerbersArchive for February, 2009
The mystery fevers
Ben spiked a fever again yesterday. It happens all the time with him, and I have to say it’s getting old. The poor little guy. The fever jumps up, usually to the mid 100 range…100.3-100.8. He gets completely lethargic, his eyes are all droopy, his cheeks are flushed, and you can tell he just feels awful. Then we give him or Tylenol, and as soon as it kicks in, he’s like a different boy. It usually lasts for a few days, but sometimes it’s up to a week. We’ve taken him to the doctor a few times when this happens, especially when he was younger, but we always heard the same thing, “we can’t find anything wrong. His ears are clear, his throat is clear, and since there are really no other symptoms than the fever, it must just be a virus working it’s way out.” So we keep giving him the pain relievers and wait for it to go away.
Seriously, though, how can it just keep happening all the time? I just want to be able to do something for Ben that will stop the fever from coming back, even though I know that’s not really possible. Nothing is worse than feeling like you can’t help your child. In know in the big picture this is not a horrible ailment, or anything, but this temporary relief crap is for the birds!!
Hopefully this will be a short round.
It’s an Illini world after all
Tuesday night we got a very pleasant surprise. Ryan made his final college decision, and he picked the right one…he’s going to U of I ! 
Dave and I are so very excited for him…and actually for us, too. It will be so nice having him only an hour away for the next four years. 
I know that this was a long and difficult decision for you, Ry, but I genuinely think that you will love it in Champaign and will know you made the right choice. Welcome to the club!!
She does not take direction well
For well over a week, I’ve been trying to get Emma to say her ABCs and count to ten on video. She can do it so well that I wanted to share it with everyone. So far, this is the best as I can get:
I’m gonna keep tryin’, though. I know she’ll perform on cue someday!
Sickly (i.e. Bad Mommy)
I was not feeling well yesterday…not well at all. The first bad sign was that I slept until almost nine o’clock yesterday morning. I never even heard Dave get the kids up or anything! In Dave’s words, “I knew there was something wrong when you slept past eight!” It just never happens. After getting up around nine, I came downstairs and tried to pull myself together. But I just couldn’t. I was achey all over from my head to my toes, my stomach was upset, and I was just soooooo tired. I went back to bed around 10:45 and slept until almost 4:00! Poor Dave…he was on Daddy duty the entire day. He took the kids out to his parents for dinner, but I didn’t think I should go with. Instead, I caught another nap. If you add that all up, I slept for like 15 hours yesterday!
So today, I was hoping that whatever bug had bitten me would be gone. Instead, I felt better, but still not great. And to make matters worse, Dave was now feeling crappy, too. I took Ben to Sunday School and went to church, but I have to admit that it was a struggle to get through the service. And sadly, it was a struggle to get through the rest of the day, too. I know I was short-tempered with the kids…I heard myself snap at them many times when it wasn’t really warranted. I literally could not wait for naptime so I could get a nap, too. It seemed like my patience was about the size of a pea, and right up to bedtime I was just counting down the minutes until it came. It was like I was wishing I just did not have to deal with the kids today, and I must say that I didn’t like that feeling at all.
Overall, it was not a great day. I think I feel worse mentally than I do physically tonight.
I wish I made that much
Dave told me this morning that the total cost of Emma’s accident in December has gotten up to $770. Seven HUNDRED and SEVENTY DOLLARS! If you break it down, that’s either $256.67 per hour or $192.50 per stitch. Now I realize that a lot of people were involved in the whole process, but still…that’s a pretty freakin’ good rate to get for services rendered!!
And to think I got annoyed when Dave said, “you know it’s going to be like 500 bucks” while we were deciding whether or not to take her to the ER. I’m glad I didn’t know it was going to be much more than that!!!
On the bright side, she has a very tiny scar that is hardly noticeable at all anymore. You’re welcome, Ems. Good thing you’re worth it!!
Mea Culpa
Today at preschool Ben had a meltdown. A bad one. You know it’s bad when the preschool teacher comes into lunch and says, “oh man, Mrs. Kerber, we had a tough time today.” Apparently, when it was time to go home, young Benjamin decided that he didn’t want to go. He screamed, he cried, and when the student teacher went to pick him up, he kicked his legs bicycle style. In her words, “he can kick HARD!” I was mortified. Laura, the preschool teacher told me that she had to get quite stern with him and he finally pulled it together when she asked him if she was going to have to bring him down to talk to me. Yeah, threaten Mom when you want something done!
Like I said, I was mortified, and as soon as I got to Danielle’s I brought it up with him. He said that he was sorry he was being naughty. I told him that since we wouldn’t see her for a couple of days, maybe we should write Mrs. Thomas a note to tell her that he was sorry. He said, “but Mommy, I don’t know how to make words!” So I told him that he could tell me what he wanted to say, and I would write the words.
Here is what he told me, verbatim:
In case you don’t get the Lilly reference, it’s from a book called Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, in which Lilly does something for which she is very sorry later and has to apologize to her teacher the next morning. Once we were done with that note, we both decided that he should write a note for Jamale, his Big Kid Buddy who was trying to get him ready to go home, too. Below is the note to her, also verbatim from Ben:
Dave and I were both cracking up when he dictated this one, but we were also happy that he realized he was in the wrong. It’s a small step in the direction of continuous good behavior, but it’s definitely a step.
Off to the dentist
Today was Ben’s first dental appointment. We had talked about it a lot…what would happen, what he’d have to do, what the dentist would do, etc. He was really excited. As soon as we walked into the office, he was all about the place. It’s a pediatric dentist’s office, so of course there were a million things to do in the waiting room. They even had a fish tank and movie playing! Ben was so excited.
As soon as they called his name, he came marching up to me, grabbed my hand, and in we went. He had a huge smile on his face while we walked back to the room, and he immediately plopped down in the chair. The hygienist had him pick our a toothbrush (he chose Lightning McQueen, of course) and then he brushed his teeth for her. 
I was happy that a) she told him that Mommy and Daddy still always needed their turn to brush first (because he sometimes only wants to do it himself these days) and that b) she told me that he did a pretty good job of brushing. The only thing we really need to work on it teaching him to spit the toothpaste out instead of swallowing it. I tried to show him with water, but he just swallows it and then makes a spitting noise. I know it will come, but the hygienist told me that, “Three is usually the age where they just get it”. I hope that’s true, because we’re switching to fluoride toothpaste. We’ll see.
After they brushed, he got into the chair and she gave him the cool sunglasses to wear so the light wouldn’t be in his eyes too badly. 
It was so funny because he just had this giant grin on his face the whole time that she was explaining what the tools were, what she was going to do, and how everything worked. He opened wide and she counted his teeth and then cleaned and flossed them. I truly can’t believe how it’s possible that they can floss such little teeth. I have a hard enough time with mine! During the c
leaning, Ben got a little stressed out. It cracked me up because the worse it got, the more his hands started creeping up to his face and he was shaking them and his feet a lot. But the little trouper stuck it out. She had to pry his mouth open a little bit for the bottom teeth, but he did it, and he was very brave. He did tell me tonight that he didn’t want that chocolate kind (the toothpaste) next time we go to see Dr. Hall. I can live with that.
Once Dr. Hall came in to examine him, Ben was relaxed again. Everything looked good, and Dr. Hall told Ben he was a ”very nice boy.” Then I was the one with the huge grin! It’s so nice to hear those things about your child…especially from total strangers. Overall, I was thrilled with how the day went. I’ve always feared and hated the dentist, so I was a little anxious about taking Ben. But he genuinely loved pretty much everything about it, and he can’t wait to go back. Hopefully that will continue.
Sycamore or bust
So we’re back home from an overnight stay in Sycamore. We went up yesterday morning and got there just in time to go to Brett’s basketball game. It was very fun for both of the kids. What more could you want than a giant fieldhouse with all kinds of room to run around in and bleachers on which to climb?
Brett had a great game, and his team was victorious. After a good nap, Rod, Nance, Curtis & Brett all came to Grandma & Grandpa’s house for dinner. It was a very fun night of eating, drinking, and lots of playing. The Swartzie boys are always so great with our kids. Unfortunately, Ryan’s girlfriend and Valentine’s Day trumped our visit, as to be expected. They were spending the evening together, so he didn’t get to join us.
Then came the overnight. Please understand that my kids are world class sleepers. They both go to bed really easily, and they both need their sleep. Sadly, though, Ben got a fever last night, and this resulted in both of us getting very little of the precious commodity. He was literally up crying almost every half hour or so. He would wake up crying and say something like, “I’m too sick to sleep!” or something bizarre like, ”I don’t want to go into that room to play with them” or he’d just cry and say he didn’t know why he was crying. The poor little guy. A couple of times he wanted to sit with me in the rocker. We’d rock for ten minutes or so, and then he’d say, “Ok, I’m ready now.” We’d get back in bed (I was sleeping with him on the sofa bed by this time) and just as I’d be falling asleep, he’d be crying again. This lasted most of the night. In the morning, Grandpa saved the day by running out to get some medicine. As soon as it kicked in, he was much perkier and the day was better, but as soon as it started to wear off, it would be very obvious.
Today Swartzies came down again, and we watched the Illini beat Indiana while we were waiting for Curtis’s basketball game. It was canceled, though, so we didn’t get to watch him. I was disappointed…I rarely get to go to their games anymore. Maybe next time.
Overall, it was a very nice weekend. I’m just hoping that poor Ben (and I) get more sleep than we did last night. Right now, though, I’m hearing him cough a lot in the monitor, so the outlook isn’t so great. Wish me some sweet dreams!!
My best valentine ever
Today, as he was leaving preschool to go back to Danielle’s, Ben came down to the IMC and gave me a red rose. I said, “Oh, Buddy, this is so nice.”
“I brought it to you because I thought you would like it,” he said, with an enormous smile on his face.
“I love it,” I gushed, and I gave him a big hug.
His next reply was, “and Mommy, you get to keep it, too!” It was just so sweet.
It continues to amaze me how much more fun and meaningful all holidays and traditions have become when I’m seeing them through my kids’ eyes. Even after Dave and I got together, I was still a Valentine’s Day cynic. It’s a Hallmark holiday, after all. It’s silly to think that you need one specific day to tell someone you love how much you love him. But I will tell you, when that little boy handed me that rose with a gleam in his eye and his arms open for a hug, it made my heart melt. There is truly nothing like the unconditional love you get from your child.
Tonight when I was tucking him into bed, he said to me, “Mommy, I thought you would like that flower.” “I loved it so much,” I said. His reply to me was truly the best Valentine’s Day gift I’ve ever gotten,
“And I love you so much, Mommy.”
Grandpa comed!
I know, I know, it’s not correct grammar, but it is a direct quote from Ben. “Mommy, Grandpa comed to our house!” That makes it ok to use as a title, right?
Last night, Grandpa Scott drove down from Sycamore to visit. He’s home from Florida for a month or so, and we were all so happy to see him. Both kids were very excited to show Grandpa all of their stuff (even though he’s seen most of it a million times) and to have him read books to them.
The bittersweet part, though, was what Ben said to me this morning. “Mommy”, he said, “Remember when Grandma Judy’s Grandpa (which is what Ben insists on calling him to differentiate between grandpas even though I’ve told him repeatedly that his name is Grandpa Scott) comed to our house?”
I said, “Yes, that was really great having him visit, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah”, he said, “And maybe now Grandma Judy can come visit us tonight!”
**Sigh** It’s pretty hard to understand how far away Florida really is when you’re only three.
