Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Feral Toddler

I'm mixing over-the-counter cold remedies in search of relief. The Nyquil/Alka-Seltzer Cold combination seemed to work last night. This despite the fact that my nose was so clogged nothing short of a hammer drill would have cleared an airway.

Eventually my nose did clear and I got some over-the-counter assisted sleep. But it really wasn't the stuffed-up nose, coughing and general malaise that got to me. I had the hiccups. The only way I could get relief was to stand on my head and swallow some water. We tried other remedies. Allie fed me a spoon of peanut butter. Judy told me to balance a spoon on my nose while I drank water. Debbie recommended holding my breath while I took seven sips of water. Nothing worked other than placing my ass above my head while I swallowed some water.

The hiccups would return and I'd invert myself on the stairs or over the edge of my bed and they'd subside. The third time they came back, the upside down swallowing didn't work. Crud. I felt like crap and these tiny convulsions were pushing me over the edge. Plus I knew they would keep Deb awake if they persisted so I got serious. I sat on the bedroom floor and held my breath until I felt as if I was going to pass out. For some reason my diaphragm got the message that I was serious and left me alone.

So far. So good.

Yesterday we registered Allie for Kindergarten. We're not certain she'll go to the school at which she registered last night. But the Principal was kind enough to give us a tour of the Kindergarten classrooms. Allie didn't seem as impressed as I thought she would be. Overall, though, it was very apparent that she's excited about the prospect of going to school. I asked the Principal if they still did milk breaks. He told me they did and he believed it was a state law. When Deb and I were in school white milk was five cents and chocolate was seven. Milk will now cost Allie 20 cents each day.

Nothing profound to say about Allie's impending matriculation or the cost of milk. Just making notes for posterity.

Glenn and Judy are spending the week with us. They're taking care of the girls while our daycare provider gets to know her new baby. We're grateful they're here. This is particularly true when you consider how much Julia hates to go the temporary provider near my office. She would scream and try desperately to get her coat back on each morning I dropped her off. In the evenings she would cling to us as if someone was going to storm in and snatch her away at any moment. It was horrible.

I suppose things might have improved over time. Either that or she would have snapped and Julia would have gone feral on us. She'd lock herself in the bathroom and scream at us. She'd refuse to eat. She'd lash out and bite her sister.

Oh wait. . . She does do all those things.

Never mind.

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