I love playing the game 'Best and Worst' - answering what was the best experience of your day and the worst experience of your day. It's funny to hear what the kids sometimes come up with when we do this at dinner time.
My post today is not to share one of their stories (well maybe indirectly) but to reveal my own personal best and worst. It was a very typical 'mom' day today. It started very difficultly after minimal sleep last night. Mia went to bed and fell asleep very early last night. But, when I went into check on them at 11pm she was stirring and woke to my movements. She told me her belly hurt. Mia, who I have written about before, seems to always plot out new ways to get out of bed. If she can crawl into bed with us then it's even a bigger bonus. I was a bit skeptical about her belly initially so I stayed with her for a little while. I could hear her tummy grumbling and making horrible noises. I knew the volcano was about to erupt so I did bring her down with me. After a drink of water and a bite of a muffin, the eruption began and continued every 1 - 2 hours all night long! She stayed in my bed and was wonderful at keeping it all controlled in a big plastic bowl that I had given her. I stayed awake all night with her to comfort her and make sure we didn't end up with it everywhere like we have in the past when one of them got sick. She acted like such a big girl and grabbed the bowl every time. I was there holding her hair back and rubbing her back. I felt horrible for her. Fortunately, this morning I managed to get a friend to take Terence to school as I just couldn't risk getting her in the car when she was so ill. Ali got picked up by Marcsi in the ovi (aka nursery school) bus. I stayed by Mia's side all morning! The vomiting ended by about 11am and she started keeping her water and ginger ale down. Then, we took a long nap together. Watching my little girl get sick for so long was definitely the worst of the day!
The best of the day is related to Terence. There are 2 things. The first one - that I had in my mind when starting this note - was when I experienced a moment with him that reminded me that there is still a little boy inside of him. He always acts so grown up - especially when Curt is away. It's almost like he feels he needs to step up to the plate and help me out a lot more. Every night we read them bedtime stories (in english, of course) and tonight I read for a very long time. First to Ali then again to Terence and Mia. After their books of choice I picked up this Mother Goose book that was a gift from ? Maybe Aunt Paula? Nana? I cannot remember and forgot to look for the inscription. It's been a while since we picked up this beautifully illustrated book. The rhymes brought so many memories back and I realized that I had heard most before (I actually read all of them this evening to T and M and there were well over 100).
When I got to the nursery rhyme "This little piggy went to the market; This little piggy stayed home; etc...", I had to hold onto their toes and squeeze each one as I went through the 5 piggies. Mia giggled but Terence squealed! Like a piggy! (haha) He absolutely loved it and kept begging, "Again!" like he was my 2 year old cuddle-bug again. It was so cute and after I tucked them in I had to repeat the piggy nursery rhymes while tickling his toes at least 15 times. He giggled just as hard every time! I love that!
The second best thing that just occurred to me when I started writing this post was Terence bringing home a birthday invitation from Margot. Margot is a girl at school that he's talked about. And believe me, Terence almost never talks about girls. He really, truly doesn't even notice them, associate with them or normally show interest in them. I've seen her once but usually she is gone by the time I get to the front door to get Terence. Since I have to pick Mia up next door at the Kindergarten first I'm always a bit later than most of the moms at the elementary school. I think Margot is usually gone by the time I get there.
Anyhow, for those of you that haven't heard the story, Margot is... well, how should I put it, Terence has said that he thinks she is pretty and maybe even called her his girlfriend once. I asked him if Margot has ever talked to him and he didn't really answer. As if her talking to him didn't seem to mean anything or define their 'relationship'. He doesn't talk about her often and I don't bring it up as I know it embarrasses him (so, if you are reading this, don't ask him about Margot!). Today, however, he showed me a birthday invitation from... Margot (for her 7th birthday party)!! He had the biggest, sweetest grin on his face! He was walking on cloud 9! We will go and buy her birthday present together tomorrow afternoon between his French (1:30 - 3pm) and tennis (5 - 6pm) lesson (Wednesdays they only have school from 8am - noon). First I will call Margot's mom in the morning and rsvp. I don't know if her parent's are Hungarian or French so I hope we can communicate easily.