Unawareness

I have some friends, back home, who like to call me unaware. Unaware of where I'm going, what I am doing, saying, and how "unaware" I am when it comes to paying attention to, you know, important things, obvious things (they call me this out of affection, I'm sure...).

So, today, I would have been called "unaware" when my crying toddler grabbed her ear and said, "Ear dirty, mama. Mama, eeeeaaaaarrrr dirrrrrttty!"

What did I do (or not do)? I rubbed her head, noticed her hair was sticky on one side and thought, "Oh, she must have gotten grape juice, from the grapes she's eating, on her hair. We'll wash it out at bath time tonight."

In my defense, I will say, that when she complained of a dirty ear at the crack of dawn this morning, I did, briefly, look at said ear. Fatigue more on my mind than anything else, I very quickly, and casually looked over a bit of, what I thought was, ear wax.

By mid-morning, however, I could not take the crying and feverish rage any longer. She had to be seen by a doctor before the weekend set in. When we arrived this afternoon, the doctor gently pushed aside her hair to look in her ears and let out a soft gasp. I kid you not, the girl had yellowish fluid oozing out of her ear, down the side of her face and into her hair. Yup, you guessed it: Ruptured Eardrum

She's now on pain meds, ear drops, antibiotics and probiotics. My dear Lila should be back to her normal self by the end of the weekend (we hope).

I, on the other hand, had to apologize to my dear daughter for being so unaware! For days now, the poor kid has had an ear drum about to burst and when it did, I was oblivious!

You all don't have to guess who's getting spoiled rotten this weekend!

Comfy, Cozy on My Back

This is how I've spent the past three days. With a feverish, sad-looking child on my back. Olivia was sick late last week and this past weekend. However, she did not have the raging fever Lila has had. Tuesday morning, at 11:00am, looking her usual healthy self, she started to cry, then scream. The screaming quickly turned into sobs of, "Mama, I go in the Ergo! MAMA, I go in the Ergo, Mama!"

Thursday evening, that's where we're still at. Lila, on my back, in the Ergo.

In fact, in order to keep her fever down, and keep her from crying non-stop, she's getting doses of Motrin and Tylenol at the same time (Gasp - I do believe you're supposed to stagger them by a couple of hours - but, that method wasn't doing anything). For an hour, at most, she'll get down out of the Ergo and sing and play with her sister. Olivia will bask in the sudden thrill of getting her sister's attention again. Once, I even caught Olivia telling Lila to close her mouth, in Portuguese. True sisters once again...Until the peak of the drug combo wears off and Lila drags the Ergo up to me and cries to be put back in.

I am so thankful for the Ergo because I have two hands to do a thing here or a thing there. In there, she is cozy, comfy, secure and calm.

It leads me to wonder how my parents (Hi, Mom and Dad), years ago, or parents, today, who did not/do not baby-wear, handle taking care of a three-year-old, while spouse is away, all the while carrying a sick, second toddler who REFUSES to be put down and is only calm in your arms for three or more days, all day (minus naps and the on hour drug reprieve). I've tried to carry her around without using a carrier and find it impossible! How do you all do it? Seriously. I think I would go insane! You must have so much more patience than I do! That is for sure!

I cannot imagine my life without my Ergo (I suppose there are several fabulous back carriers out there that work just as well - for me, it's the Ergo!)!

That being said, this flu-like virus she has can go away already! Thankfully, DH is home tomorrow night and, while he has reported that he is a little sick too, he'll soften the load!

Poor Poor Pitiful Me

Liv's pretends to talk on the phone and bake at the same time - like mom, of course!

It was my third weekend alone with the girls (aside from the half-hour kite adventure last weekend with DH). You would think that a book club meeting on Thursday night, a Lisbon tour with the spouses' group all day Friday, and a dinner out with a girlfriend on Friday night would rejuvenate me. I would wake up Saturday morning excited to spend the entire weekend with my girls, right? Nope! I don't know what got into me - but, I am, admittedly, burnt out! Please, someone give my husband some free time with his family before his wife loses it and his kids think he deserted them!

As I went to bed on Friday night, all I could think about was sleeping in on Saturday morning. I wondered how long my body would sleep if it were able to do so uninterrupted. I craved a weekend of quiet. All I wanted was to crawl into bed with my new book and read until my heart's content. Pajama and take-out weekend of doing nothing!

By 6:50am on Saturday morning, I was hugging a feverish-looking (but not, actually, feverish) three-year-old, green snot dripping down out of her nose, smeared across her chin and drying on her cheeks. As she screamed for breakfast, repeating her requests over and over again, she woke up her sister. As I rushed through trying to make breakfast and feed the starving toddlers, I thought, "How am I going to make it through this weekend without losing my sanity? How can I find a way to be nice to my kids when I just want to sleep, read and be by myself?"

Out of ideas, Saturday morning, I let them draw on and cut nearly everything they wanted. Later, we went to the park, where I tried to sit and read a book (yeah, right) while they played. I fed them noodles with butter no less than three times as meals. I tried to make up for a nutrition-lacking diet with homemade yogurt drinks blended with berries, bananas and honey. I managed to read them a book here, a book there, in between doing laundry, mopping floors, picking up, picking up, trying to remain calm and sneaking in half a chapter here, half a chapter there.

This morning, as thoughts of escaping to a local spa and blowing my husband's hard-earned (and he is working his a** off these days) money came to mind, I decided to let Olivia help me make pumpkin muffins, hoping that that was all the one-on-one attention she would need for the day (or until Lila woke up and they played, happily, together, while I sat my butt on the couch and read). As we finished the muffins, Lila woke up. Snotty and yelling, "Mama, I sick! I sick! I go in the Ergo!"

Within an hour, I had two naked toddlers (because why keep clothes on when you're sick and it's colder than it's been since April?) , snotty, and uninterested in anything and everything except me. Since both were feverish today, I kept them at home. Olivia begged to fill up and go in her baby pool (it's freezing out) and threw a tantrum when I said no. Lila begged to go to the beach (In the Ergo, of course).

When nap time came around and I closed each of their doors, silence enveloping me, I ran to my bed, crawled under the covers, opened my book, read a few pages and, eyes dropping, fell asleep...For all of two minutes until my body betrayed me and refused me sleep. I could feel a sore, slimy throat and itchy nose coming on. I needed sleep and yet it wouldn't come! Am I in for it this week! One sick mom and two sick kids equals a recipe of tears, snot, tissues, hugs and hope - hope for a reprieve in DH's schedule! We could all use a little TLC right now. But, then again, so could he!

Despite it all, we made it through the weekend. And, tonight, as Olivia bathed, she cracked me up when she said something that proves she is my daughter (read: mom is germophobe):

"Mom, my friend, Maria, at school, said that there was a kid in our school (read: her class), a boy, who was there sick. She said I might catch a cold from him. I did. I got my cold from him. Just like Maria said. He brings medicine to school. I don't have any medicine at school."

Maria doesn't speak a lick of English. Maria is her second-best friend in school (Carolina is her big big friend - as her teacher says. Teacher doesn't speak too much English either). When I'm taking pity on myself and feeling self-absorbed and selfish, leave it to one of my girls to snap me out of "it, "give me a good laugh and feeling of pride - because I know Olivia had to translate that, in her head, in order to tell me that story.

Way to go Liv!

Lisbon Tour

National Pantheon

On Friday, I went on a tour of parts of Lisbon and I thought I'd share just a few pictures. Be sure to click on the highlighted words for more information.

I like this tiled building

I see windows and buildings like the one above often

St. Jorge's Castle - Blending old and new in the city

Tram 28 - if you're visiting Lisbon, take a ride around the city on this tram.