I guess it couldn't last forever, though I did hope we might be illness-free till at least the fall. Sadly, that is not to be: poor Joshua is ill again, with a fever and "sicking up" (as he calls throwing up).

Threw a monkey-wrench into our weekend plans, too, as we had hoped to head up to take advantage of our annual passes to the Boston Aquarium, and then drop in on arianhwyvar to say hi and pick up some travel display stuff of mine she has from an expo a while back. And then down to see my dad.

Instead, it was spent comforting a sick child, watching "Horton Hears a Who" endlessly, and getting nothing else done really. But who can say no to a sick child who just wants you to sit with them to make them feel better?

Strange and concerning, though, is the fact that Joshua has had this same exact set of symptoms about 4 to 5 times this past winter. Is this enough to be considered chronic? Why does he keep getting ill this way?

So on Tuesday, we took our boys to see Up, in 3-D. ( Spoiler warning. )

I was shocked and saddened to hear today that there was an accident on Disney's Monorail system.

At the same time, the reaction of people makes me angry - all these people saying "You'd think it's safe" and "You shouldn't use it." The monorail has had one accident in 38 years. It is safe. Statistically, you can't get much safer. You shouldn't not use the monorail because it had one accident.

I am sorry to hear that the driver was killed, and my condolences are with his family. But while tragic and unfortunate, it doesn't mean you shouldn't use the monorail. None of us would ever drive cars, fly planes, ride bikes, or walk across the street, if a single accident meant we shouldn't do it.

Back from Australia!

It was amazing, but ohmigod exhuasting! Most days I was up by 6:30am and in bed at 11:30pm at the earliest - many times later. They kept us very, very busy. Being thoroughly unable to adjust to the 14 hour time difference didn't help. But I got to see and do some awesome things, and met with many, many suppliers and forge some great connections.

I felt as though I was in Bitsyboo's heaven, though. The focus this year was on "Food & Wine" in Australia, and dear god, I don't think I've ever eaten so well or drunk so much wine in my entire life! One day, we started wine tastings at 10:30 in the morning and visited three different wineries that day.

So, yes. A good trip. Exhausting, however. Very, very exhausting. More in-depth updates when I have the chance!

I have to keep this short, as I'm about to board my plane here in Los Angeles, heading out to Sydney, Australia. Due to flight delays and the need to hunt through airplane stores to get the items I managed to forget at home, I did not have the opportunity I thought I would to sit and type away at my computer. Sad. (Also, my battery does not seem to be lasting as long as it used to. I really must remember to remove the thing when I have my computer plugged in at home. It's gone down 30% in just one hour!)

So, yes, I am off to Australia to participate in the Australia Tourism Exchange, or ATE for short. I haven't made much mention of it previously, only because I do feel a bit anxious and guilty for leaving my family for the time I will be here... which is only compounded by the fact that my mother is snatching my boys away while I am gone, for some private time with Nina, and thus I'll not see them for that much longer.

But I am off. And they just called me to board. So the third leg in my long, long journey is about to begin, and thus everything I wanted to say right now will have to wait. I'll talk to you again from Australia.

David Eddings passed away at 77.

It feels like so many great authors have passed away in the last couple of years.
David Eddings wrote the Belgariad and the Mallorean series (probably his most famous), as well as a few others (most of which, sadly, I haven't read). I remember well the summer into winter I read those series when I was 13 - and reread quite a few times in later years. I always loved the character of Pol, and his writing certainly had an influence on my own stories in those years. Indeed, his concept of how magic works was the basis for "The Will & The Way" fighting style in my Sahrynn campaign (for those of you played in it); I just applied it to martial skills instead of magical.

I don't know if he ever would have continued writing prequels in that series, but it's sad to know that he never will again take us new places.

If you've never read his series, I do recommend them. It makes me want to go back and read them again; certainly I haven't touched them in a decade or more, and it'd be nice to revisit them again. Perhaps I will read them to my children.

The sure sign that a five year-old absolutely loved a play? That not only does he ask, as the show ends, if you can stay and see it again. But then proceeds to ask about twenty times on the way home if they can see the show again. And then, the first words out of his mouth when he wakes up this morning? "Mommy, can we see Pirates again?"

I confess that a part of me was uncertain if taking Joshua out to see Pirates!, an adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Pinzance, was going to prove as exciting for him as I knew it would be for me. We had taken him to some local things and live-action performances of his favorite Disney shows, and he had been enthralled every time, so I was fairly certain he would love going to a real theatrical performance. At the same time, it was two hours long, he was five, and he shares a particular trait of his mom's that makes it hard to know, sometimes, what he's really thinking (ie, he tends to internalize a lot, and is very quiet, shy, and introspective). And when he doesn't like something, he won't sit still.

But when we got home, he ran up to his father, and shouted, "Daddy, daddy! We went to a theathre, and we saw Pirates!" with such joy and enthusiasm, I knew it was a win. THANK YOU, noradannan, for telling me about it. And, dude, 2nd row seats in the left Orchestra pit for $25? CAN'T BE BEAT. And the Huntington Theatre is lovely!

Joshua was enthralled from the moment the show began, and he stared and stared in that intense way he has, as if trying to take it all in so he won't forget a single detail. I had told him at the beginning of the performance that we needed to be quiet during the play, so when I leaned over at one point to ask him if he was enjoying it, he just looked at me and said, "Mommy, SHHHHH!" without ever taking his eyes away from the stage.

Afterwards, we stopped at McDonalds (his choice, not mine) where he managed to convince me to run around the playground for nearly three hours. (I don't know how that happened; I swear we fell into a time vacuum or something).

Yay, for an awesome day together, just the two of us. Now I need to decide what awesome thing Zachary and I will do together.

I feel I should add what a nice week I had. My head is still full of LARP floon, which made it nearly impossible to concentrate at work all week - and work was very busy. But I also had the pleasure this week of having lunches with so many friends - in fact, except for Monday, I ate out for lunch every day last week! Bad for the budget, but great for the heart; I never do see folks as often as I'd like. And hilariarex gave me a beautiful butterfly and crystal necklace for my birthday. Yay!

Oh, yes, and for all who contributed to my Serger... THANK YOU! I put it to some last minute, desperate use last Friday and ohmigod a godsend! I think it'll take me some time to get used to the new way of folding fabric to do a blind rolled hemmed. Course, more problematic if I ever sew the wrong sides together (not that I ever do that a lot!), but a true godsend. Must tackle sewing projects this summer! Thank you!

Zachary (or "Zackaroo" as we have nicknamed him, a combination of Zachary & Kangaroo) is doing quite well - thank you to everyone who sent wishes and prayers our way. I was really touched by the number of comments, emails, and such we got.

He surprised us all by being able to walk around on his own on Friday - it was difficult, but he was able to do so, and he solved the problem of uncomfortable walking by crawling everywhere. So whatever part of his hip/leg he really injured just seems to make it difficult to walk, but not to crawl.

He's still hobbling, and we're told it could take a couple of weeks for the contusion to heal. We're going to get a doctor's appointment for him so that we can make sure all is well, but it truly looks like he's fine and recovering.

No nightmares either, at least not yet, and he continues to display his "no fear" attitude. Which of course makes mommy & daddy fearful of the future, especially when I think of my own brother who in his reckless, death-defying, I-can-not-die attitude of youth managed to twice get hit by a car, smash his head open on a sidewalk, flip over the handle-bar of his bike doing stunts (causing a broken bone, dislocated fingers, and cracked teeth), break his ankle four different times, etc. etc.

He's defied death twice; let's stop while we're ahead!

Also, the Care Bear given to him by the emergency workers glows in the dark. Aside from startling me when I went into his room on Thursday night, I must say I heartily approve. Glow in the dark!

Thank you all again! I'm so glad our boy is safe & well!

Okay, this is just too ADORABLE not to share! So cute!

"Bring Me To Life" Kids Video

...were lovely, this weekend.

( It started with a nice family evening on Friday. )

( Saturday, my actual birthday, was full of glitter and celebrating Celesteahora's 30th Birthday )

( Mother's Day was lazy, full of birthday block cakes, and just nice )

( And as I write this, my boys are being cute )

So, yes, all in all, a wonderful birthday and Mother's Day weekend!

You must see this movie if you have not already.

I don't want to give anything away, so let me just say this:

I am not a huge fan of the Original Trek. I watched it with my Dad, but I always hated Kirk, and I just never truly got into it. That said, I was a Next Gen gal, grew up watching that, and loved parts of Original Trek through that (and DS9). That said, I loved this movie.

About 20 minutes into it, I told John that we had to own it once it came out on DVD. And that I wanted to see it again. That night. (We didn't, of course, but I wanted to).

For those of you who know me well, will know how much this next part means I liked the movie:
There were huge gaping plot holes in this movie, and I didn't care!

Loved it, loved it, loved it.

This may only be hilariously funny to me, but I thought I'd share anyway.

So, I may lack in the domestic skills gene, but I'm fairly good at knowing where everything is in the house (most of the time), and to me, there is some kind of weird order to our disorganization.

So, John will often ask me where something is, or where he left something, because I'm pretty good at remembering where it was last.

A couple days ago, we were trying to get out of the house, when he looks at me in frustration and says, "I'm just trying to find my belt. Do you have any idea where it is?"

And before I could even answer, Zachary pipes up from the living room, "Belt is in the bathroom, Daddy!"


Edit: The important bits I forgot to add:

Yes, the belt was actually in the bathroom.

No, Zachary didn't put it there. John had. He had, however, been playing with it when he had followed me in when I went to brush my teeth. Which is how I - and he - knew it was there.

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will this winter and endless period of continual illness never, ever end???
On the way home from preschool yesterday, Joshua complained that his tummy hurt and that he needed to "sick up." (It is never fun to hear, as you are driving, "Mommy! I need to sick up!") And then proceeded to spend most of the night and early hours doing just that, till he fell into exhausted sleep. He woke up in good spirits - but the second he tried to eat something, it was back to throwing up.

We had so hoped that going to Jamaica would burn away the continual back-and-forth illness, flu, pneumonia, stomach bugs, ear/throat/sinus infections, and other illnesses that have plagued us this winter, and that we would come home to warmer weather and an end to the "sick season."

One or more of us, it seems, have been sick every week since practically October. This winter has been horrible.

Sigh. My poor boy. Will this never end?

So, we're home again. We actually got home late Monday night, to the wet, dreary, gray New England rain.

I did manage to catch pneumonia and lose my voice, and didn't really feel "human" again until about Wednesday or Thursday of last week... and as long as I took it easy and didn't exert myself, I felt "healthy" (any major exertion, and my congestion and coughing would explode), but by Saturday I was pretty much over it, though of course that was pretty much the end of the trip.

That said, I was in Jamaica, where it was in the high 80s/low 90s all week, and didn't rain at all. (Okay, it rained once, on the first Sunday evening, but it was after 8:00pm so that doesn't really count). The sun was out all the time (though while in Negril, it would get cloudy every day after 1pm-2pm, but even so it was still bright and warm and beautiful). We had a lovely time, and though ill, I brought plenty of medication with me, and took it easy and still had a wonderful, relaxing time. Even if I didn't get to Scuba Dive, and my plans of catching up on my travel work and website stuff in the evenings didn't go AT ALL as planned.

But I came home feeling good, and relaxed, and healthy again, and got to spend 10 days with my husband and my boys, stress-free (well, mostly), and got to soak it not only the sun but their smiles and laughter and delight. So, yes, wonderful.

At some point, I will post more, but suffice to say it was wonderful, and I definitely recommend the various places we stayed at.

( A brief mention of the resorts we stayed at, for those interested: Pebbles for 2 nights, Beaches Negril for 6 nights, and FDR for 2 nights... )

So I'm glad to say the pneumonia didn't ruin the vacation, and that - most likely BECAUSE of the pneumonia - I manage to RELAX, truly relax, for what felt like the first time in YEARS, and that I just truly enjoyed being able to spend time with my boys in a warm, beautiful place, and delight in them for days on end.

Sad that we are home again, where it is not yet spring, but all vacations must come to end.

We arrived, safe and sound, and into gorgeously warm weather. Sadly, I am quite, quite ill, and throughout the day yesterday, just got worse. I now have no voice, a wonderful cough, and quite a bit of congestion.

But it is warm and beautiful here!

It's T Minus 2 Days and Counting till our vacation.

How can you tell?
Because Zachary was diagnosed with mild pneumonia yesterday, and I went spiralling into illness myself, with that oh-so-wonderful feeling creeping into my chest yesterday.

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Maybe the sun will burn it away?

If anyone ever wanted a good taskmaster for getting in shape, using the Wii FIT in front of two little boys who think the "games" are very cool and demand that Mommy play them over and over and over again is one great way to do it. Thankfully, Zachary's favorite game involves balance, but Joshua's favorite happens to be running, and he couldn't understand why after a half hour I just HAD to call it quits. ;)

So far, so good, I suppose. Of course, once I throw myself into something, it never moves as fast as I'd like, and fitness seems to fall into that category. But I know it comes with time, too.

Need to get myself a really good, simple-to-make health cook book or something, to work on the eating better end, too.

Of course, ten days at all-inclusive resorts starting on Friday might ruin all my progress. But all the properties offer fitness facilities, so I'll just have to find some time to work out while there.

My poor boys have been sick all week, which has just been absolutely no fun. I haven't caught it yet (knock on wood) but I've felt a little under the weather, so I do worry catching it just as we're taking off. They both seem to be over the fevers, and Joshua seems mostly on the mend, but Zachary is still stuffy and congested.

Had lunch with winterswan and Wolfstride today, which was truly lovely! I haven't seen them nearly enough, that's for sure. It's always wonderful to be around people so obviously in love - and it's all the better when they are your friends. We caught up, and talked honeymoon plans, and generally had a good time. I do wish I got to see them more often, but the absence makes days like today all the better.

Of course, after that, I ran an errand, got a migraine, and lost the rest of the day due to trying to deal with said headache. Which is frustrating only because I have SO MUCH to do, and wanted to spend today working on costumes. But the one pleasant thing was falling asleep on the couch with my two boys.

I feel like there is more I should say about my week, but it really was lost in the haze of sick boys. There was certainly a lot of gaming, some time with hilariarex, lunch with darkwhimsy, working lots and crazy schedules to work around sick kids, more insanity at work, missing daemo's wonderful party due to said sick child, and probably more I'm forgetting.

But most importantly: five days and counting till that much, much needed break.

Okay, I feel this just needs to be mentioned. Because I had the most bizarre dream last night.

We were in this great rolling field, at the edge of a woods, near a fairy stone circle. Wherein, noradannan and I were taking ballet lessons. But then, after several days, the teacher got confused that there were two of us, and so there was only one space available in the class. And so we had to have a ballet dance-off to see which one of us got to stay in the class. We were in the middle of piroting around each other, when I woke up.

Don't ask me. I have no idea.

My sister gave birth today... er, I guess it's now yesterday... to a beautiful baby girl! (I told her it would be a girl, hee hee!) Born 5:49pm, at 6lbs 7oz and 19 in... much like my boys in that (long and thin!)

I am aunt quadrupled! And now I shall be able to focus on nothing else, till I get in to see her...

But, wow, is February going to a busy month from now on! My Josh will have to compete with two cousins for the birthday attention! ryxander, your girls aren't the only ones now... my sister's girls birthdays are but five days apart!

Last night was much fun.

Joshua has been increasingly excited about his birthday; what made it all the more exciting for us parents is that this is the first year he's really cared, especially in advance of the big day. He was hyper and excited all day, singing and dancing and just generally bouncing off walls.

I brought home a birthday balloon and cake, which only made him all the happier. He asked us "to put fire on his cake" and so we lit the candle, sang the song - he told us ahead of time how we were to sing it - and then he blew out the candle before John could even say "Now blow out the candle!"

We gave him one gift to open - the others (yes, yes, I spoil my child - but then I also happen to do most of his birthday shopping in that same week after Thanksgiving that I Christmas shop) are for this weekend's actual party. It was the Melissa & Doug Birthday Party Birthday Cake set, which he has absolutely loved. Indeed, today, I have now sung happy birthday to him eight times, and eaten twenty-three pieces of cake.

After the last piece, I looked to Zachary and said "I think we should eat Joshua now." And before I could say anything further, Zachary jumped on his brother, mouth wide open, going "Num num num num!" I nearly died from the cute (and laughter). Now that's something I wish I had actually planned in advance, and caught on video!

Even as I say this, Joshua is sitting with his cake singing, "Happy Birthday to me..."