Quarantine: The Week of Ben's 2nd Birthday

So, it's been a while, I am quite behind...I hate that feeling.
Today I am feeling in a funky place and unsure of what to choose to work on during "rest time" (term used very loosely today).
So I decided to work on this post. It's about time I got it up!

. . . . .

I was talking to my sisters recently about how I have been shaking in my flip flops for a few months now, watching August approach. Last year, August brought the beginning of many-a-sickly adventure. We got sick in August and it felt like we stayed that way constantly until March. Now, in reality, we had periods of wellness. A week or two here or there...but for the most part, at least one or two members of our family were sick throughout the entire fall and winter. We spent my favorite time of year indoors. We canceled plans (including Ben's 1st birthday party), some of us missed Halloween, others missed preschool, we all missed church far too often for my liking. A simple fun visit to the pumpkin patch left us wiped out like a bunch of invalids and white flour, sugar, and dairy found their ways completely out of our diets. Slowly and painfully.
And it all started
in August.

Revisit these times
here
here
especially here
a little here
some at the end of this here
some at the beginning of this here
here
here
definitely here
referred to here
a whole lot here

It felt like impending doom, watching it approach this year. I don't mean to associate things, seasons, people, smells, songs, etc. so strongly with events and hold grudges for their implications to my psyche...
but sometimes I do.

Anyone believe in the concept that if you focus enough on any one thing you can actually make it happen?
Karma?
Mantras?
"The Secret?"

Well...whether it was my negative thought energy creating a hole in our home's immune system's aura or just plain rotten luck, August brought sickness.
Again.

First, chicken pox (not really).
Then, really, Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. Sounds gross. Is actually just this: a common viral illness of infants and children. It causes fever and blister-like eruptions in the mouth and/or a skin rash.
AKA
Nobody can eat anything for a couple of days because it's too painful causing everyone to be really grumpy and tired. Oh, and we can't go anywhere or really have anyone over causing everyone to be really really grumpy and restless. And a sad birthday for Ben. All right, he wasn't actually that sad, we just didn't do much AGAIN and canceled his birthday party AGAIN.

0 for 2, little buddy.
Sorry, love.

But anyway, we had a good ol' time anyway. Once JC became aware of the kids' less-than-stellar health, he went right to the store and returned with lots of new plastic animals to play with, lots of new (used) movies (love fye), and a magic bullet.
Single. best. purchase. we've. made. in. our. life. as. of. yet.
(and yes, I include the house in that because I'm still angry with it that it takes so much time to clean.)
So, all in all, we got through okay. Take a look.

Ben opened a few presents, even without his birthday party. :)
Here, he explores something he discovered after waking from a nap during which Grandma Teri came to visit on her lunch break and brought some goods.
A sweet, soft puppy and a sweet, soft blanket.

for a sweet, soft boy.
(Someday, he'll love me for calling him that.)

James was quite upset that the presents were not for him.

Elmo.

Comfy boy!

On his actual birthday, we waited for Grandma Trudie to come visit. Bethany and Ben had a blast, running around in the front room.

They tried to recruit Scout.

They didn't even bother with James. He was in a mood.
I don't think he likes someone else being the center of attention.

But there was still more running

and playing.

And pouting.

But then Grandma came!
A present!
Everyone participated in opening it.

And playing with it.

And snacking afterward.

Later, it was time for Daddy to be home.
Sometimes we like to hide behind the recliners in the front room and scare him when he comes looking for us.

He took too long to come (finishing up wrapping a present, I think), so we went to meet him at the garage door.
This is in my workout room that is still sort of under construction.
Like my mirror?
I do.
But, enough about me...here Ben waits eagerly.

And here's Daddy! Bearing presents and balloons!!!

A Toy Story balloon! This is Ben's favorite movie in the whole wide world right now.
He walked around like this for DAYS. Woke up, asked for the balloon. Went to sleep, cried that the balloon was not allowed to come too.
His little fist stayed wrapped around that string for a good, solid, week.

Because JC is a daddy that aims to please in goodness and fairness, the other two got presents too.
Bethany with her Snow White dress.
One happy girl.

Upon opening his present, Ben found a Buzz Lightyear doll.
I mean...action figure.
Sorry, JC, I still call it a doll.

...still gazing at that balloon...

James discovered Spider Man action figures (that comes more naturally for some reason?)

Aww.

Later...still with the balloon.
Seriously, he did this all week.

Since everyone was in quite the moody state all week, Scout sought refuge in this old gift box he found on the floor in the office.
He did this all week.

We had another interesting occurrence during this week.
After a long week at home, JC and I were headed out for a much needed date. His mom came over to play with the kids and let them enjoy some grandma time (I'm pretty sure they got real sick of me).
We were sitting at the table, getting the kids going on their dinner, chatting it up a bit...when Bethany came back from the bathroom. She sat down, we kept chatting. Then, something kind of caught my eye and I did a bit of a double-take. At the same time, out of the corner of my eye, I see Teri narrow her eyes and look a bit closer at Bethany as well.
Slowly, we looked at each other with wide...then narrowed...eyes.
"Did she cut her bangs?" says Teri
"Oh...my..." says I

Having given a haircut recently, our little miss must have seen where I put my shears away...up in the medicine cabinet of the guest bathroom...which she had just used. Where she utilized said shears and left herself without this:

Leaving only this:

Now, I do not like to think of myself as a vain mommy. I'm about as far from a primping pageant mom as you can get. (Just ask anyone who has seen me bring my kids to their house in mismatched clothes, unbrushed hair, with breakfast still on their faces.
Sorry, maybe I'm a little too far the other way...but honestly, I'm a little busy. (blogging, apparently...)
But let me tell you, it took everything in me to not cry at the sight of that hair on the floor and the endearing un-evenness of what was left to cover her forehead. It may sound trivial (because it is), but I had been growing her hair out for a YEAR now to get her bangs to be the same length as the rest of her hair...so we could then grow it out long.
...I had visions of kindergarten in braids, ponytails, and twisty-dos...
We had a half inch to go.

Why, oh universe, WHY????

But, really, let's be honest. The biggest deal here was more about safety and obedience and not vanity.

The next day, we turned it into this:
back to bangs. :)

Cute girl.

Silly girl.

So...we're starting over the process of growing them out again, which is no fun at all. Not enough hair clips in the universe to keep things neat and tidy during this process! But, every little girl has this experience right?
(Meaning, every mom of a little girl goes through this experience, right?)

Okay, this ending is less than thought-provoking and I probably have more to say but I have a now-two-year-old crying at me to come get him out of his crib.
Nap time is over!
So, I have no choice but to bid adieu.

P.S. After hand, foot, and mouth, we got the stomach bug. It is gone now. We are better. Can we move onto September, please?