Day 59 (2/28/11) - Dog Tired

After a brief reprieve over the weekend, the boys' vomiting and diarrhea has resumed.  We're all tired and weary - tired of feeling sick, multiple baths a day, endless laundry, countless diaper/clothes changes, diaper rash, not sleeping through the night, missing school, watching TV, not being able to leave the house, etc.  We're ready for everyone to be healthy again!  Even Guinness is exhausted by it all.  I hope for all of our sake's, but especially for the boys', that things improve soon. 

Day 58 (2/27/11) - Fort

Ryan spent time this weekend playing "Fort" with Granddaddy and Uncle Brett. "Fort" is a made up Mann Family game where players take turns trying to knock down toy soliders set up by the other. Weapons are unlimited - thrown blocks, marbles, nerf darts, etc. After some hard fought battles a truce was called until the combatants meet again. I'll just pretend all this death, destruction, violence and mayhem is really teaching the boys tactics and strategy so they are better prepared for their eventual appointments to the United States Naval Academy! A mother has to tell herself something to get by...

Day 57 (2/26/11) - Ambushed!

Granddaddy and Uncle Brett ambushed us when we opened the door to greet them.  They were armed with numerous Nerf guns and countless rounds of darts for ammunition.  A Nerf battle of epic proportions ensued.  Mike was clearly in his glory (all the guys were for that matter!).  He and Ryan teamed up against the armed intruders, waging an impressive counter attack.  I'm not sure who won, but there were some innocent casualties (all eye wounds inflicted by master marksman, Mike).  After several duels, all the gunslingers agreed to a brief ceasefire.  I can honestly say we've never had visitors who have made an entrance quite like that!  After such an exciting afternoon, Ryan was worn out.  Both boys were asleep before 7 p.m.  Perhaps we should have Nerf battles more often!

Day 56 (2/25/11) - Early Signs of Recovery

We all woke up feeling a bit sluggish, but much better than yesterday.  I think all the sleep the boys have been getting has helped them recover.  For the past couple of days, both boys have napped for a couple of hours twice a day, and still gone to bed before 7 p.m.!  Gavin, in particular, has slept so much, that I'm starting to worry he's hibernating!       

When we woke up from our morning nap (yep, even I napped!), we were all hungry and ready to try something to eat.  None of us had eaten since mid-day Wednesday.  Collectively, we've lost 16 pounds over the past 48 hours!  For our first meal, we each had a slice of raisin bread.  Later in the day, Ryan, Gavin, and I had chicken noodle soup, while Mike (unwisely) decided to eat Bean and Ham soup.  So far, everyone except Gavin, has held down their meals.  He had a bit of a setback at dinner, but we're hopeful it was a fluke and he'll be back in fighting form tomorrow!

Day 55 (2/24/11) - From Bad to Worse

Is this a pitiful looking group or what?!  Mike should not have spoken so soon.  By the middle of the night, he was throwing up as well.  By mid-day today, he was pretty sure he threw up his lower bowel!  The poor guy was in such bad shape that he slept all day on the bathroom floor.

Man, what a miserable day for all of us.  At least Gavin has recovered to the point where he has diarrhea only (which is still not a lot of fun).  I had to manage all this while trying to get my report out by close of business today! 

The boys are now fast asleep, my work has been turned in, so I think I'll head to bed as well...   

Day 54 (2/23/11) - One step forward, two steps back...

You know it's bad when I am posting... So after Gavin's vomitpalooza the last two nights, he finally seemed to be doing better today. He spent most of the day napping; three hours this morning and another hour plus after lunch sprawled with me in his rocker. But he seemed to be doing better by dinner time. And then....

Michelle started getting sick. So Mr. Mom got to work while she was "sequestered." Things seemed under control until the doorbell rang. Comcrap (aka Comcast) was trying to sell some of their inferior products which we previously swore off to the end of eternity after bad experiences in Germantown. Hence, the Comcrap moniker. As I am trying to run this guy off, Michelle calls from her sequestration location. I turn to see Ryan vomiting a flood of filth and unidentifiable debris not seen since Katrina buried the Ninth Ward. Foolishly I pick him up and move him away from it not thinking to ask if he was done. He wasn't.

Meanwhile Michelle keeps tripping over helpful Gavin who tries to follow her on each of her 30 odd panicked runs to the bathroom. Ryan went to bed with a bucket next to his pillow. Gavin went to bed because the crib offered the safety of high ground (the flash flood warning is still in effect). Michelle choked on some of her spleen this last go around and has a work project that was due tomorrow. The only good news is Gavin seems ok after a 24 hour run or so. I guess its good news I'm not sick yet. A day or two and things will be back to normal around here. But until then remember...you know it's bad when I'm posting.

           --Mike

Day 53 (2/22/11) - Wacky Weather

It's hard to believe that on Friday, we were playing outside without jackets.  Today, which was nearly 50 degrees colder, we woke up to almost 5 inches of snow!  With wild temperature swings like that, it's no wonder we're all sick! 

The snow was too powdery to build a snowman or have a snowball fight so Ryan helped Daddy shovel the driveway instead.  

We finally figured out a way to get Ryan to sleep in later than 6 a.m.!  Not really!  As Ryan waited for Daddy to finish shoveling, he played in Guinness' crate, which was still in the trunk from our weekend trip.

Gavin wasn't able to join in the fun because he was inside recovering from another round of the stomach bug.  We were up nearly all night with him and I ended up sleeping on the floor beside his crib.  He threw up 7 times between midnight and 4 a.m. and we went through all of his clean pajamas and crib sheets!  Mike said he missed us and the house was depressingly quiet when we were gone.  However, I'm not sure this was the homecoming he was hoping for...

Day 52 (2/21/11) - Going Home

While I squeezed a few more hours into a last-minute work project, Nana and Pop Pop took the boys outside to help wear them out for the long car ride home.  I'm not sure that Nana and Pop Pop had outdoor play in mind, but Gavin, our outdoorsman, grabbed his jacket, walked to the door, pointed outside, and said, "go out."  They had fun playing hide-and-seek, pushing leaves with tractors, and getting wheelbarrow rides.

Apparently the past few days of non-stop activities and visits with family wore Gavin out.  He fell asleep (sitting up!) while watching a Thomas movie with Ryan and Pop Pop!

Although the boys enjoyed their weekend away, they were so excited to get home to see Daddy.  I think Daddy was excited too since he was standing in the garage when we arrived home!  The boys eagerly vied for his attention.  Luckily, Daddy's lap is big enough for both of them!

Day 51 (2/20/11) - Brett's Birthday

Today we all met for lunch at Brew River to celebrate Uncle Brett's 24th birthday.  It also doubled as a "goodbye and good luck" party since he will be relocating to Seattle in a couple of weeks.  Ryan felt very honored that Uncle Brett reserved the seat next to him for Ryan.  He also appreciated that Uncle Brett asked him to help blow out the candles on the cake and help open his birthday cards.  As Ryan explained, "Since it was Uncle Brett's birthday, he was like the king of the party.  That means that since I got to sit next to him, I was like a knight."

Day 50 (2/19/11) - Mini Golf

We went to Ocean City this morning with the intention of riding bikes on the boardwalk and playing in the sand.  But, once we got to the beach, we quickly ruled out those activities due to the 30-40 mph wind gusts.  So, we found an indoor miniature golf course instead.  Gavin insisted on having his own club, even though he didn't participate in the official competition.  Nana volunteered to chase him around and keep him out of trouble.  That left Ryan, Mommy, and Pop Pop to fight it out on the golf course.  It was an intense competition - the likes of The Masters Tournament - but, after a surprising hole-in-one, Ryan emerged the winner.  He has really improved since his first mini golf experience this past summer.  Today, he completed all 18 holes in 4 strokes or less (though, to be honest, some of his final strokes were more of a push than a putt!).     

Day 49 (2/18/11) - Daddygrams

Daddy likes to leave us little love notes every once in awhile to let us know he's thinking about us.  Gavin is too young to understand, but Ryan and I love finding sweet little notes from him hidden under our pillow or in a Dunkin Donut box.  Since the boys and I are visiting family for the weekend and won't see Daddy for a few days, we decided to surprise him with some love notes of our own.  Ryan and Gavin decorated leftover Valentine's cards and hid them around the house.  Then, Ryan created a beach scene on our bathroom mirror because "Daddy loves going to the beach."  Daddy may not find the other notes right away, but he surely won't miss Ryan's mirror masterpiece!

Since the boys had been cooped up in the car for such a long drive, we took them to the zoo and playground to enjoy the beautiful weather and run off some energy.  Gavin really enjoyed seeing the animals, especially the flamingos, bear, and monkeys.  Ryan had a lot of fun exploring the playground and even mustered up the courage to slide down the fireman pole!

Day 48 (2/17/11) - Silly Slide

I can't believe it's the middle of February and we're outside playing without jackets!  After a refreshingly long bike ride around the neighborhood, we played tag and baseball in the front yard.  Then, Ryan and Gavin decided they wanted to slide, so I hauled the Little Tykes slide out of storage in the garage.  The first couple of trips down the slide were pretty tame, then they decided to start doing tandem slides on their stomachs!  I felt like such a cliché standing there nagging, "someone is going to get hurt," but with our track record, it seemed like a fair warning!

Day 47 (2/16/11) - The Golden Chicken

Tonight Ryan's preschool hosted "Spirit Night" at Chick-fil-A as part of their dining-out fundraiser program.  Since we love Chick-fil-A (hence our nickname for it, "The Golden Chicken") and the money was going for a good cause, we attended even though it meant having a third dinner out in less than a week!  Ryan was so excited to see his friends from school.  He and Gavin ate as quickly as they could so they could join the others in the play area.  Imagine 20 screaming, overly excited 4 year olds in a small fast food restaurant play area...I'm pretty sure all of the adults suffered hearing damage! 

Day 46 (2/15/11) - Belated Valentine's Day

Since Mike had to work yesterday, we celebrated Valentine's Day today.  We got the boys a few token presents, including Crayola window markers, Moon Dough, a puzzle, and a Peter Pan Golden Book.  I surprised everyone with tickets to a Hershey Bears ice hockey game in March.  And, the boys made Mike artwork to hang in his locker at work.

Here is the last picture of me with my ridiculously long hair.  Today, I got more than 5 inches cut off!  When I got home, Mike suggested to Ryan that they take me out to dinner to show off my new look.  Mike then asked Ryan where he'd like to treat me to dinner.  Without skipping a beat, Ryan answered, "Burger King!"  Nothing but the best for Mom! :-)

Yesterday, the boys opened their Valentine's gifts from their grandparents.  Everyone was overly generous (especially with the chocolate and candy!).  Although the boys enjoyed all the goodies in their care packages, they were equally as thrilled with the boxes and packing peanuts the gifts came in!

Day 45 (2/14/11) - Brotherly Love

Today was Ryan's sharing day at school.  His teacher's instructions were to bring in something you love.  So, Ryan wanted to bring in Gavin. 

Gavin wasn't sure where we were at first when we entered Ryan's classroom.  You could see his eyes scanning the room, taking everything in.  Then, his eyes fell on Ryan, who was sitting in the front of the room for circle time, and he excitedly pointed to him and squealed in recognition and delight! 

After introducing his "little brother, Gavin" to his classmates, Ryan was allowed to call on three friends who had their hands raised, indicating they had a question.  Here are their questions and Ryan's responses:

Classmate:  "What does Gavin like to eat?"  (I guess it's obvious to even a 4-year-old that Gavin is a tank!)
Ryan:  "Ravioli"  (I'm not sure where this came from.  I guess it's the recency effect since we had ravioli for dinner the night before.)

Classmate:  "What does Gavin like to play with?"
Ryan:  long pause...can tell he's really thinking...."Ummm...everything."

Classmate:  "What do you and Gavin like to play together?"
Ryan:  without hesitation, "Football!"

When his turn to share was over and it was time for us to leave, Ryan sweetly leaned over, kissed Gavin on the temple and said, "Bye, Gavin.  Ryan loves you.  See you later."  Seeing how much they love each other was the best Valentine's gift ever! 

Day 44 (2/13/11) - Made with Love

This afternoon, the boys and I made turtle clusters and chocolate covered peanut butter balls for Valentine's Day.  Since we made so many batches of each, we sent a container to work with Mike to share with his coworkers.  Ryan and Gavin were the designated decorators.  Their commitment to quality control is evident since they insisted on sampling nearly every handful of sprinkles and begged to eat a carmel pecan turtle and peanut butter ball from each completed cookie sheet! 

Not only were the Valentine's treats made with love, but also the mess that Gavin made when Ryan and I were distracted by our baking.  The boy was on a tear!  It's not an exaggeration to say that he pulled out every toy from every bookshelf, cabinet, and bin on the first floor!  He even dumped puzzle pieces from at least 5 different puzzles into one pile!  Cleanup was a bit overwhelming since I had to scrub the kitchen and organize, sort, and put away all those toys!

After Gavin went to bed, Ryan had to finish his Valentine's Day cards for his classmates so he could hand them out in school the next day.  He had already signed his name at the bottom of each, but he still needed to write each of his friends' names at the top.  I was worried about how long it would take since I assumed he was unfamiliar with how to write some of the letters in their names.  However, much to my surprise, he had all 17 cards labeled in less than half an hour.  I only had to help him with the "S" and the "K."  I am shocked at how well he's doing with his handwriting.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it's already better than Mike's!

Day 43 (2/12/11) - Love Letters

Ryan and Gavin signed and decorated their Valentine's Day cards today.  Ryan carefully wrote his name on every card and added stickers to his grandparents' cards, while Gavin colored everything in sight, including the pictures and text on the cards, himself, and the kitchen table! 

The Cars Valentine's Day cards are for Ryan's preschool classmates.  When completed, they will have a Lightening McQueen shaped lollipop attached to them.  His teacher outlined very specific guidelines for how the cards were to be signed (initial cap, followed by all lowercase letters).  This was very worrisome for Ryan, who is used to signing his name in all caps.  So, we've practiced his lowercase letters for the past couple of days to perfect his penmanship.  Today he tackled his name on each card; tomorrow he'll add his classmates' names.  He's picked out those cards with his neatest handwriting to give to his closest friends, reserving the best for Gavin!

Day 42 (2/11/11) - Dining Out

This morning, I treated the boys to a special breakfast out with Mommy.  We were seated in a booth and eating bagels at Panera by 8 am!  Both boys were so excited to be doing something different for a change.  I was just amazed that we were all up and ready by that hour!  Then tonight, when I asked Ryan what he wanted for dinner, he said he wanted to go to a special "dinner outing."  Although I had a meal in mind that I was going to cook at home, it didn't take a lot to convince me to go out to dinner.  Who can resist good food that someone else prepares and cleans up (and twice in one day at that)?!  Plus, since Mike won't be home for dinner for the next several nights due to his work schedule, I figured tonight could be our family's special Valentine's dinner.  Ryan asked to go to the restaurant that serves free popcorn and offers raw dough for the kids to play with while they wait for their food to arrive.  Both boys chose gourmet meals off the kids' menu - Gavin had a hot dog and Ryan had a grilled cheese sandwich! 

Day 41 (2/10/11) - Dr. Ryan

As you can imagine, it's fairly difficult to keep a Band-Aid on the fingertip of a 20-month old.  By conservative estimates, he went through at least 6 Band-Aids today.  Ryan patiently and meticulously applied each one!  Each time a new Band-Aid was needed, Ryan carefully looked through our selection of Sesame Street, Diego, Cars, Batman, and Toy Story Band-Aids to pick the one he thought Gavin would like best.  Then, Gavin would hold out his finger while Ryan put it on.  When we suggested that Ryan may become a doctor when he grows up, he corrected us saying that he wants to fly on a helicopter like Daddy!

Day 40 (2/9/11) - Update from Gavin's Finger Checkup

Today we took Gavin to the outpatient center at Johns Hopkins Hospital for a followup appointment with an orthopedic hand specialist.  Much to our relief, she was really pleased with how well his finger is healing.  She said the small fracture in the bone at the tip of his finger should heal on its own over time.  She also warned us that it may take up to 6 months for his fingernail to grow back and told us to expect it to be lumpy and unsightly at first.  Lumpy and unsightly sure beats it permanently missing!  Since his bandages have been removed and he's free to resume use of his finger, the stitches should begin to dissolve in the next couple of days.  The only surprising news was the effects we should expect as a result of the crush injury.  I guess I was so focused on the fingernail avulsion and actual cut to the soft tissue, that I never even considered the impact that the crushing or "squishing" would have.  Apparently, when his fingertip was smashed in the hinge of the security bar, it damaged the small blood vessels at the tip of his finger.  According to the doctor, it may take as long as a year for these capilliaries to be repaired.  Until then we should expect him to have some loss of sensation in that finger, although he'll probably not be able to communicate that to us given his age.  And, due to the restricted blood flow to the fingertip, he's more susceptible to frost bite until the blood vessels fully heal.  We followup with her again in a month, but she reitereated how pleased she is with his healing, especially given how uncooperative children that age can be!   

One funny story from the appointment, as Mike was holding Gavin's arm still while the doctor started to cut off his bandages, he felt a strange bulge in Gavin's sleeve.  He asked the doctor to wait while he investigated what was causing the lump on his arm.  Mike reached down Gavin's sleeve and pulled out a green plastic army man!  Guess Gavin was hoarding it in case he needed to entertain himself!

Gavin points out the display advertising the Marburg Pavilion ("deluxe accommodations more reminiscent of a five-star luxury hotel than a hospital" offered at a premium price) to let us know he expects that for his next hospital encounter!  We suggested that he just avoid any hospitalizations or urgent ER visits altogether (at least for the forseeable future)! 

When I asked Gavin to show me his hurt finger for a picture, he animatedly pointed to it (as if it weren't obvious) to show that the gauze and bandages were finally taken off!  And, true to form, every day for the past week, he has thrown a fit every time I tried to put a plastic bag and rubber band around his hand to keep it clean and dry.  Tonight, he was very upset when I didn't put a protective bag over his hand for dinner or his bath.  He kept pointing at the bag on the kitchen/bathroom counter and then pointing at his finger and grunting.  He was not satisfied until I put a Band Aid on his finger.

Here is a closer view of his finger.  I'm still getting used to the sight since I never really examined the initial injury (and by "examined," I really mean I never looked at it since I had to avert my eyes to keep from fainting or getting sick!).  Today he was being pretty cautious with his finger, using it very gingerly when playing.  Tomorrow, I'm sure, he'll have forgotten that it was ever hurt!  You know, I hear there's a special place in Heaven for moms of boys...!