Rainy Day Ramblings

So, it's been a bit of a rough week... M has had a very busy week at school, and N is working on her third cold of the season.  L has also been going through the four-month sleep regression for about six weeks now, plus she has a nagging cough that's been hanging on for two weeks.  It seemed when she wasn't waking up to marvel at this world and all the cool things she can do, she was waking up coughing until she gagged.  Not fun for anybody.  After she slept all of 45 minutes throughout the day Wednesday (when she usually has a nap total of about 3 hours) I decided it was time to take her to the doctor.  We went yesterday morning and the doctor heard some wheezing while listening to her lungs.  She's on an antibiotic now to clear up any fluid that she's not strong enough to cough up on her own.  I feel better knowing what the problem is... heaps better than I did 24 hours ago, when I was in a teary sleep-deprived panic, thinking L was going to die of whooping cough.  (Thanks to my dear sister who rescued me from this panic and watched the girls while M and I took a much needed couple of hours to relax and re-connect over pad thai.)  Although M had to work late last night and will again tonight, I think we're going to pull through and make it to the weekend.

N, although she has her cranky moments when battling her own illnesses (and who wouldn't, really?) has been remarkably resilient while Mama has spent many hours tending to L and trying (usually unsuccessfully) to get her to nap.  She plays quite contentedly on her own, and maintains a happy spirit for the most part.  Sometimes I think God gives me little nuggets of strength and humor through the mouth of N.  Here are some of the funny/sweet things she has said this week:

Here are the words to a little song N sings to herself while playing (to the tune of "Where is Thumbkin?"):

Any day-hey
Any day-hey
Any day?
Any day?
Howa-wa-wa you day?
Howa-wa-wa you day?
Run away
Run away

It's quite catchy, really.

N enjoys shaking hands with L because it usually makes her giggle.  The girls were shaking hands the other evening in the kitchen while I was doing something else.  I looked over to see N put L's hand in her mouth.  Suddenly, L started crying as if in pain.  I asked N, "Did you bite her?" in a stern voice.  N's eyes filled with tears and she ran into the other room.  Daddy tended to L while I found N and asked her what happened.  All she could say was, "I not hurt her.  I love her."  I told her that biting people can hurt them, but reassured her that L was probably okay.  N apologized to L and all was well.  It was a very sweet sisterly moment.

Another funny moment happened last night while M was doing some music theory grading on our computer.  A harmonized Bach chorale started playing through the speaker.  Here is the conversation that followed:

N (running over to the computer): "Music."
M: "That's right; this is music by Bach."
N: "Maybe Raffi instead?"
M (chuckling): "I like Bach better than Raffi."
N (listening for a moment):  "This is hard work!"

Sometimes, N hits the nail right on the head, and I don't even know if she realizes it.

So, in a very rambling fashion, that's our week in a nutshell.  Best wishes to all for a happy weekend!

P.S. I will post two recipes this coming Sunday, since I missed last week.  I had one in my head, I just never got a moment to type it, with all of the Halloween excitement.