So, the kids seemed better this morning.
Even after a rough night, which mostly involved them being somewhere they simply did not wish to be. Last night was a farewell dinner, of sorts, for Uncle Luke. He's moving to Hawaii next week, pursuing a life-long dream. We went to Grammy and Pappy's for dinner, and also to pick Connor back up (who had been enjoying a really long extended vacation with Grammy, Pappy and Aunt Kelly).
The little guys were not in the mood. And by not in the mood, I mean they were ridiculously whiny and pitiful. Xander wanted to be held and rocked only by me, and then promptly fell sound asleep. Despite the noise that continued from his brother. Sawyer threw one of the worst fits we've seen from him in a really, really long time. Over an hour of crying and screaming and attempting to drag us to the door to leave before he, too, finally gave in and fell sound asleep, clutching on to Mommy for dear life even in his sleep.
So, they seemed better this morning. Sawyer was awake at around 8:30 a.m., which felt ungodly early thanks to the recent time change. As soon as I went into his room, he took my hand and started leading me down the hallway and down the stairs. He was ready to play. He went for his magnetic letters and was content to play and drink his juice (no milk, just in case).
Xander was a different story. He slept in until I woke him about 9:45 a.m. He wanted to be carried downstairs (not all that uncommon for my sleepyhead), but then proceeded to lay down on the cold wood floor and just look pitiful. For about 15 minutes. Then he was up, dragging me to the refrigerator and requesting milk (which I wasn't so sure about given the laying on the floor like a sick person act he'd just given me). But he pushed away both types of juice and Sprite (just in case). He wanted milk. And he proceeded to drink to full sippy cups, without incident. He also ate some of the dry cereal I had offered. He eventually found the magnetic letters and was playing like normal.
I was torn. Were they well enough for school, or should I keep them home another day? Sawyer seemed completely fine and I was pretty decided he was fine to go. I just couldn't tell about Xander. He seemed fine, after that first few minutes on the floor. Was that just him being sleepy and needing to wake up a minute? Or did he still not feel well? I was leaning toward keeping him home, just to be safe.
And then I started packing stuff up to take Sawyer. When I didn't get Xander's backpack down to go too, he threw a fit. He started trying to pull it (and the shelf it was hanging from) off the wall. Was this a sign that he wanted to go to school? I quickly packed him a lunch, too, and put it in the car. I was still undecided. I thought I would wait and see what his reaction was at the carpool drop off. If he's not in the mood for school, he's not bashful about telling you. He screams and arches back when you try to unbuckle him from the car seat. He did neither of those things. He hopped right down and came over to the door without even having to be asked (unusual for him, even). I took that to mean he wanted to go. I handed them off, giving a bit of warning to the teacher who helped them in that I would be happy to come back if they started acting the least bit off. She assured me they would call if necessary, but the boys seemed fine. They were walking in just as they should be, with no tears and no apparent unhappiness about me leaving.
Before the day was up, I had not one but two different phone calls from school. The first one came while I was picking Connor up from school. He was not happy, as I had just mentioned that we might go out for lunch together. Xander was not feeling well, laying around in class and not eating or participating. The second call came just a few minutes before it was time to pick up Sawyer from school anyway. He had been fine all day, even ate most of his lunch, and then he decided to throw another screaming fit for the last 20 minutes of the day. And his teacher was more concerned because it wasn't his usual tired and irritated cry, it seemed more intense.
Xander, while indeed laying on the floor and looking pitiful when Connor and I stopped in to get him, proceeded to jabber at us all the way home in the truck and then
jump out of the truck. Not walk, not crawl, not beg to be carried inside (as his pitifulness would have suggested). He jumped. And then laughed. He came in, immediately had me at the refrigerator for more milk and then at the pantry for dry cereal of his choosing (not Apple Jacks or Honey Comb or Trix, but Crunch Berries). He ate and drank and proceeded to play and dance to
Word World.
Sawyer, clutching hard to his teacher and crying his most pitiful of injured cries, came willingly into my arms and stopped crying. He put his head on my shoulder while I talked for a few minutes with his teacher, then climbed directly into his car seat when I got him to the truck. He came home, walked inside by himself and immediately started playing with his letters and trying to get me to turn the television on.
And that's when I did what any mother would do.
I carried each one of them upstairs to their own rooms, put them in bed, and closed the door behind me on my way out. A little bit of lingering sickness, possibly. A lot tired and in need of more rest, probably. Stubborn and wanting to be at home, definitely. Little monsters.
Connor went too, if you're wondering. He begged to stay in bed before his school this morning, the product of several busy fun-filled days (in the yard, riding his PowerWheels car, at the zoo, at the park, back to the park, and, well, you get the idea). I'm sure there were also several late nights, perhaps even some popcorn and coke, on his extended vacation. He needs his rest. After all, we have swimming lessons tonight before his other grandparents come to pick him up tomorrow for another extended vacation.
But that's another story . . . right now Mommy is going to go enjoy the sunshine and the peace after a chaotic morning.
