Day 4

Last night was a really rough night. I hate when kids are sick. You can never tell what is going to happen. The first night here, Alex woke Claire up and we were up for 3 hours. The second night, they slept all night. I wasn't even mad at them for getting up before 7, because I was wide awake at 6 and ready to get up. Last night- failure. This time, Claire (who inevitably is getting the cold) woke Alex up at about 1130. She just started crying in her sleep. I tried to comfort her, make her stop crying, but she woke him up. Then I had stereo crying. Grandma arrived with some milk for Claire, which calmed her down. I got Alex some formula and he went back to sleep. But then, a short time later, Claire woke up again. This time, Alex slept through it. Claire slept the rest of the night in bed with me. It seemed to comfort her. She would wake up every hour or so, crying. I would rub her back and she would go back to sleep. I assume her throat hurt. (mine does). I had given her meds, but they just weren't working. Alex slept the rest of the night, but decided to get up at 530. And so did Claire. I gave them both more milk and tried to put them back to bed, but we were up before 6. Luckily, Grandma was nice enough to watch them for a few hours in the morning so I could catch some more sleep. Gotta love Grandmas.
We went to the park again after lunch. Claire had a good time running around, but there were more older kids there so she wasn't as free-spirited. She really wants to play with the other kids. That's her favorite part about the park I think. That's what she talks about. "kids kids!" Every time she sees kids, she gets excited. I need to look into an early preschool program or another playgroup or something. We didn't get as much alone-time on the slides and stuff. And Alex kept trying to eat wood chips. So he spent most of his time in the baby swing, so he couldn't touch anything. But they were tired out and took good naps after that, which was after all the point!
During naps, I tried on my bridesmaid dress so Debbie could look at it and help me decide what to do about it. It's a nice dress, it fits well, but it doesn't cover quite as much as I want, and I'm afraid the kids will rip off my jacket or make it flap around. The options were limited when I bought it. She had some good suggestions, so I went to Joann's and found ribbon and satin in the exact color I needed. We will see what we come up with. I also found some lace to add to a hem of another skirt I have, to make it just a touch longer. It is long enough, but I would feel more comfortable if it was just a bit longer. Then I hit JCPenney- big fail. I went to Target after that. Target never fails to provide. Basically, we decided to either add straps to the dress (it's strapless), or find a nude cami with sleeves to wear under it to cover my shoulders. I have a jacket that would cover that. I bought a few shirts to try too, just so that we don't have to go out again. If nothing works, I'll return the shirts. Debbie thinks the sewing option is the best. I'm leaving it in her much more capable hands.
side note- I love Joann's. I miss it. Just the smell is enough to make me smile.
Side note 2- Outside Target, there was a very LARGE sign saying "no solicitation! We want to provide a distraction free shopping experience. We do not endorse/allow solicitations of any kind, despite the issue!" (Or something to that effect.) Right next to the giant sign, was a man collecting donations for something- I think it was a homeless shelter of some sort.  I had to laugh. Really? And people were giving him money. When he asked me as I left, I just thought "I love that you are right next to the sign that says no solicitations, that's awesome!" (Personally, I don't tend to hand out money to people on the street. I let Claire put change in the salvation army buckets at Christmas because I do want to instill a giving nature in her, but I also use my best judgment. Salvation Army buckets I know are legit. Random man at the Target in Redlands CA? Who knows? Since I don't live here, I don't know if it was a real homeless shelter or not. If I am going to give alms, I want to make sure that it is really going where it says it will.)
After I got home, we played with the kids and had dinner. Claire insisted that Grandpa give them baths. She didn't even want me to go up the stairs with them. Then we video-chatted with Alann, which was fun.
I watched Despicable Me after the kids went to bed. Claire saw part of it, but then it was bedtime. I liked it. It was cute. I can't really tell why it is PG. I guess the violence.
So here's hoping for a smoother night. I've medicated them both, and Alex seems to be getting better anyway. It seems to be a short-term cold, thankfully. I'm feeling better too.