Here we are at Grandma and Grandpa's again. We have come to Utah for the third time in as many months (or so it feels) and who knew I would drive across the Great Basin so much, with my toddlers, just for some grandma time? Grandma's are the best, are they not? When I was young, my Grandma Beth was the best grandma a kid could have. Now that I'm a mom, I've come to respect my own mom as the best grandma a kid could have. Boy are they lucky kids, to have both of their grandmas.
In fact, we are here again to celebrate Amy's mom's birthday. It's her 60th, and we couldn't be happier to have made the trip. We are getting all the people from all the different aspects of her life: work, church, family, friends, to hopefully surprise her and eat some cake. She must know that something is up, but we will all go on pretending that no one has spilled the beans, and that when Amy asked her what her favorite cake flavor was, it was just out of pure curiosity. I pick up the cake on order for tomorrow's shindig, and decorate the party room while Amy whisks her away for dinner with the boys. There is only one giant hitch in the plan, and that's sick children.
Two days ago, while Ben was left briefly on Grandpa watch while I went to order cake, his breakfast and lunch started making uninvited reappearances, much to the chagrin of a very confused and upset toddler. This had nothing to do with my dad, but I wondered if perhaps Ben had just gotten so upset at my leaving him, he cried until he made himself sick. I should have known we wouldn't be so lucky, and that I wasn't that special. He continued to throw up through to the next morning. By yesterday evening he was back to his normal self, ready to eat again, and kept his one-way system moving in the right direction. I thought we were in the clear with one day of relatively happy children (though there has been much nose-wiping, damn colds) and then this afternoon, the stomach bug reared its ugly head in the other child. I'm hoping the healing time is as quick as it was in Ben, and Grayson will be ready to party like it's 1999 by tomorrow night, for Grandma Porter's surprise party. If not, thank goodness we have a grandma back-up who will love on him at home. And let's all knock on wood that the same stomach bug doesn't make the rounds through me.
It is fascinating to see how my children, conceived at the same time, born on the same day, and raised identically, can be such different people. And nothing emphasizes the differences more than watching them handle illness. Ben is my wonder child, whiny full of spunk, needy and strong-willed. If his tummy hurts, you will know it. If he's going to throw up, you will know it. If he didn't like that being-sick-business, you will know it. He cried, he wanted to be held, and reassured, every moment he felt not-quite-right. Grayson, on the other hand, plays it cool in most scenarios. I wasn't aware that he wasn't feeling well until I was cleaning up after the mess. And even after that, I wouldn't have believed he was the one that was sick, except my mother has no dogs, and the children were strapped to their booster seats to eat lunch. There was no denying who's seat the puke originated from. He wants to play, he wants to climb, he wants to wiggle out of my arms, and he's not going to let a little 24 hour flu hold him back. Just clean him up and send him back into the trenches, those toys aren't going to play with themselves! What gives him away is his restless sleep, and that part breaks my heart a little.
So now, the challenge for Grandma Kathy is to teach them something new, quick, before they come home from this trip with nothing more noteworthy than their first realio, trulio vomit-fest.
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