Stranger Danger, Getting Old and SICK!

Phew! Such a list of topics for one day! Let's just say that it was an adventurous day (and last night) at our house.

Last night we were able to go to a movie....without our children! Grandma came over, and it seemed like it was going to be the perfect outing...until the realization came to me that Owen has not been watched by anyone (other than his daycare) since he was a month old...and even then it was only for about an hour. Grandma came over early and ate dinner with us, she held Owen, all seemed OK in the world...until we started putting on our coats, grabbing car keys, etc. THEN, Owen turned on the waterworks and managed to take my heart and practically pull it right out of my body. Grandma was holding him, but his eyes were following me all around the room while he cried, cried, coughed coughed, cried, cried..well, you get the point. I thought, OK this is a "good" think...stranger danger is a typical milestone that kids are supposed to meet, right? SO, guess what...he was just playing me!!! Grandma made a bottle right after we left, and he was just fine. I think he was simply worried that the chow wagon was leaving, and how in the heck was he going to get fed?

Today I woke up to my 2 little seals barking nicely in chorus. Yes, both of my children have been barking like seals for the past 3 weeks. I have not taken either in because they both have been eating, drinking, no fevers, and just acting like their cute little adorable selves. Here's the funny part....I am what is called a "medical mom". Not a title that I ever wanted, but it was so kindly bestowed upon me when Emma was born. I know the signs to look for on her for low oxygen, signs of allergy, signs of rejection, the good the bad and the ugly of jaundice, what "failure to thrive" means, any blood tests that have to do with the liver or anything surrounding it:), etc. etc.

Here's the funny....when it comes to Owen...I. AM. CLUELESS!!! How do you know when a "healthy" kid is "sick"? Well, last night he had a fever of 100.2, and the cough sounds "different". So, I took him in. Woohoo! I played the right card and knew when to take him in...he has a sinus infection. The poor little guy is feeling like crap! It is very difficult to redirect my mind from the "medical mom" world to the "mom of a healthy kid" world. I just fight so hard to not overreact.

Anyway, that made me feel a little better as far as the stranger danger from the night before when I left him with Grandma too. I think that a part of his whininess was his not feeling well.

Now, for the not so funny part of the day (Has the rest of my day been funny? Not really, but this is REALLY NOT FUNNY!!). I went to Wal-mart to get Owen's RX filled, and while I'm walking around the store an older gentleman came up to me and said, "What's this that you have? Is it a boy or a girl?". I said, "He's a boy". He said, "Is he yours?". I said, "Yes". He asked me, "How old were you when you had him? (At this point I'm thinking this man is being very kind and thinking that I'm too young to have children). I said, "I was 35 when I had him". He said, "Do you know how old you will be when you're done with him?.....(PAUSE) You'll be OLD! You will be like 57 years old!". I simply turned to him and said, "Even then you are not DONE....you are never done parenting. Once a parent always a parent"....and I walked away.

So, the rest of the day has been a little blah. I've been feeling like an old mom with 2 barking seals for children. OOOHHHH...I think I hear Calgon calling my name!