Sssssshhhhhhh

There was a time when Laika was little that Leif felt left out, sleeping all alone in his bedroom.  So we set up the little igloo tent in our room and when he came to visit in the night he had a cosy place to go that didn't involve taking up the entire middle of our bed. 

Sleeping arrangements are constantly changing around here.  Though Leif and Laika are pretty great at going to bed there are still nightmares, nosebleeds, trips to the bathroom and (like this morning) taps on my shoulder, "I just barfed in my bed."  I remember before having Leif my friend telling me that since her daughter had been born 4 months earlier she hadn't had more than 4 hours straight sleep.  I could not believe it.  I mean, I believed her, but didn't want that to be true.  Well.  It is true.  Though Tineke has BEEN a good sleeper, she is going through a little 6 month growth spurt or something that has her waking frequently in the night and not going down as easily as before.  I'm pretty much guaranteed a waking at 2ish and then at 4:30 she's hungry and from then on she's waking quite a bit until about 7:30 or 8.  So there is that whole 4:00 5:00 6:00 blur when I'm just hoping she won't notice the sun starting to rise.

Erik and I are both quite tired.  He's working on a new film and this means longer hours as he takes meetings and travels around the city checking out all of the locations (tech scout).  By the time he comes home we are both exhausted, but we aren't out of the woods yet.  We still need to make sure everyone is full, bathed, played with, teeth-brushed and to bed.  By 9:30 the little ones are all sleeping soundly (usually).  If I were smart I would just go to bed right then, but it's nice to have 10 minutes or so to talk to Erik.  I don't know, just to see what's going on.  A few days ago I tried going through the day without coffee.  It didn't work.

I'm not worried, I know that these things all work themselves out.  This is probably the toughest sleep time of our lives, so things can only get better!  

As for the barfing - I had hoped it was just that he had swallowed too much water during swim lessons last night, but I don't think so.  Right now Leif is asleep on couch with what I'm hoping is just a touch of a flu and Tineke is napping peacefully.  Laika is out for a walk with Chaplin and his mom and dad.  I'm taking the opportunity to wash bedding and towels and disinfect doorknobs and keyboards and light switches.  Last April we had a horrible 3 day festival of puking.  Leif and Laika each threw up every 10 minutes (NO EXAGGERATION) and Erik threw up 11 times.  I was sick once, but I was pregnant, so who knows.  Anyway.  What I did learn is that I want everything in this place to be in order in case I come down with gastroenteritis.  So, I'm off to fold towels and remake beds.

Pneumonia

After spending ten years teaching elementary school, three of which granted me pregnancy-induced supersenses, I've developed the not so enviable ability to smell phlegm. Gross. I know. Anyway, my nose told me that there was something about Leif and Laika's colds that wasn't on the up and up. (OK two weeks worth of fevers was another hint) Well, they have a bit of pneumonia. I'm glad I realized it before they got really sick. Last year we didn't know what was going on until Laika had a fever of 103 that would not go down and she was panting instead of breathing. The next day she could hardly stay awake as I hauled her around to doctor appointments and chest x-rays and then she vomited up her medication. It was horrible. This time the sickness has been much easier to manage and we've actually had a lot of fun staying home from school and coming up with indoor games that require little exertion. Art!

Yesterday was self-portrait day. Leif is getting very literal. He put great care into his 'boy eyes'. They are different from girl eyes, because in case you haven't noticed boys do not have eyelashes. (But have you seen Leif's eyelashes?) I kind of wish he hadn't painted in the lips, he left them bright white right up until the end. He's very careful with the paintbrush, and is 'allergic' to fingerpainting.

I was impressed with Laika's self portrait. I thought it was grand that she didn't go for pink, as that seems to be her way. She has eyelids and ears and earrings and two nostrils running up the bridge of her nose. She was very proud of herself and so wanted to do a repeat, this time on pink paper. She told me that she wanted to do a circle nose this time. Portrait #2 reminds me of a Jim Henson creation.

Here you can see Leif's experiment with pointillism. It is an underwater scene, featuring a big yellow fish.

Laika shows us dirt that we can see. Not like those pesky pneumonia germs.

When art time is over it's always fun to mix up the rest of the paint until we end up with buckets of brown.  This is called 'science time'. All of this at home time has also afforded us the opportunity to finally pour a mold for Laika to make her T-Rex fossil. This is a photo looking through the clear mold. It is hard now and time to paint. She wants to paint her fossilized bones pink. I predict that they may also require glitter.

And here are Leif's completed more authentic looking bones. We just need to get a big enough piece of cardboard to mount them on and decorate.

As for the pneumonia, the kids are improving.  I would say Laika is all cleared up, and Leif is getting close.  We visit the doctor again in a few days.