how I spent my summer vacation

I am dealing with some form of the flu. So bear with me.

To recap, Jonathan made it home from Detroit. We flew to Virginia with the kids. The trip was all kinds of sickness.

• my mother-in-law (who we were staying with) got sick
• we were planning to visit my grandparents down in North Carolina for three days, but my grandma's appendix burst so Jonathan and I left the kids at his parents and drove down to see her for a few hours
• we returned to Virginia the next day to find the kids sick
• the kids were sick for the rest of the vacation -- Lion had a respiratory infection and Blue had an ear infection
• on the flight home I started to feel sick, too

So, the situation now: the kids are slowly, oh-so-slowly, getting better and I am still coughing and sneezing my head off. The worst thing about being sick, for me, is that I fluctuate between thinking 1) I should just sleep and concentrate on getting better and thinking 2) that I need to get off my butt and try to get some shit done around here because lying around resting doesn't seem to be making me feel any better. And then I grow exhausted and out of breath and wind up sleeping for the rest of the day.

Blue's birthday is next Thursday. And it is also her first day of kindergarten! Then on the 25th I start class, too. I passed the Biology placement test so I am able to skip basic Biology and take Human Anatomy and Physiology this fall.

We are still working on potty training Lion. Man, that boy is stubborn! I think he has been associating potty training with starting preschool--well, actually I know he has been. Actual conversation, as I changed his diaper before bed the other night:

me: Lion, you have got to stop pooping in your pants! Don't you want to be a big boy?
Little Lion Man: I don't want to go to preschool!
me: You don't?
Little Lion Man: No. I don't want you to leave me there, because then I going to be so sad.

I talked to Jonathan and we have decided that (since there is probably no way Lion will be potty trained in two weeks anyway) preschool can wait a few months. In the meantime, Blue and I will be in school and those are some pretty big changes in Young house!

So now the incentive for potty training is a camping trip with Daddy. Lion is excited about the idea. He is very big on Daddy lately. "Daddy and me are both boys," he tells me all the time. He is thrilled when he and Daddy wear the same color shirts. And he has decided he prefers burgers over nuggets "just like Daddy!" So maybe the idea of spending a weekend alone with Daddy will entice that kid to poop in the potty. We'll see...