Mulligan

Some of you pointed out that we might be done with the flu but the flu was probably not done with us and O! how right you were. You know that feeling when you lean forward and it feels like someone is trying to pop your eyeballs out of your head with their thumbs? I have that feeling right now and I could probably stand to have someone take a gander at my sinuses but Steve's out of town and Edward has developed a sad little cough and a streaming nose and the idea of lugging the children off to go sit in the lobby at the doctor's office has zero appeal.

I have just heard that warm honey mixed with cinnamon is an effective decongestant so I am about to try that, perhaps drizzled over some therapeutic ice cream. In the meantime feel free to send me via carrier pigeon something useful like amoxicillin or cloxacillin or pipericillin or whatever you have lying around.

Speaking of sending me things, I got an email several weeks ago from a woman who was struck by my mention of Patrick's need for a cape to send his Snidely Whiplash impersonation into the realm of the sublime. She said that she was a longtime reader and that she has a small business creating things that children need, like capes (and tutus and cute hats and car seat covers to keep them from freezing to death when you selfishly take them to the grocery store.) She said she would like to make a free cape for Patrick and I thought, "Oh no, no, no. How kind! But no, we just couldn't accept it" and I said, "Yes!"

Lately I have realized that just because I have always done things a certain way it does not mean that this is the best way or even a good way. For years I have maintained a rigid distance between the people I know online (with exceptions) and my actual corporeal life. Why? I don't know. Fear, I guess. Fear that I am going to be murdered by one of you (and I have my guesses as to which one - you know who you are) and that when I am murdered people will walk around my memorial service whispering, "It's terribly sad but she DID write that blog you know..." and then they'll trail off because it is not nice to say that someone was too stupid to live at their own memorial. But they'll think it. So there is that. Also - apart from that completely rational dread - there is the fact that I have never wanted to accept offers of ladybug onesies because I would feel like I was exploiting you. I get so much pleasure from writing this and getting comments and advice that it seems like overkill to accept an additional gift, you know? No presents but your presence, as Steve's birth mother is wont to say, and I mean this and I believe this and when I offered ad space on my blog for your various and sundry endeavors I in no way, shape or form intended for it to read as a tacit request for a little baksheesh. 

Where was I? Oh right, throwing all of my strongly held beliefs out the window in my greed for a cape and trying to justify it by saying it is part of my program to bring the disparate halves of my life together so that I feel less lonely.

In truth I just couldn't refuse one of her lovely capes.

Observe:

This is from over a year ago. That is a pair of my tights he has draped around his neck. I confiscated them (and please let me know if you are in the market for a pair of gently used tights that have unfortunately been stretched to accommodate legs that measure 120 inches from hip to toe) and he moved onto a shirt of Steve's which he would wear ditto. Every time the shirt/cape emerged from the laundry Steve and Patrick would bicker over it like a pair of cats with a dead fish.

So Patrick needed a cape but it never occurred to me to actually buy him one. And then this really nice and talented woman started her siren song about size (average boy 7) and color (Liberace tacky) so I said what the hell, yes, thank you, yes. So she made it and sent it and Patrick went bananas and, really, can you blame him?

I mean isn't this exponentially cooler than those awful dangly tights?

In flight

In motion

 

Incapacitated by a villain, our theory is that he was hit over the head with that frog suitcase 

Influenza (note: cape, book on math theory, throw cat)

To say that Patrick loves this cape is an understatement. He wants to get one for Caroline and Edward so the three of them can be properly outfitted for the ongoing adventures of Super Patrick and the Wonderbabies (KAPOW! Menace Girl! and BLAMMO! WonderEdward!) and I think that's a good idea for next year. As we were looking at her site (here it is: www.beebeebug.com - she has hats and car seat covers that are also oh for cute as we say in Minnesota) Patrick saw the tutus and decided that Caroline needs one of those as well. Then he decided Edward would want one, too, which is true but it prompted a somewhat agonized conversation about traditional gender concepts in this country and whether or not simply making a tutu blue could offset the girly connotations of tulle... I let Patrick argue this one by himself. I think Cricket and Eddybear in matching tutus would be divine but I can think of at least three people in my immediate family who might think otherwise.   

Anyway, I have a reader who makes really neat things and she sent me a free cape and it has been a huge hit in our house so I thought I would mention it and her and point out that the holidays are just around the corner so if you have a child on your list you might want to check out her site. It's really really hard to go wrong with a cape, people. Or a tutu.

--

Edward's cough went from sad to aggressive as the day progressed and when he failed to nap I realized he was starting a fever as well. I took him into the pediatrician and... he has pneumonia. Nothing terrible, just a crackle in his right lung but enough to warrant starting antibiotics and keeping a close eye on him. Poor little monkey.

This has been a tough few weeks.

PS This has nothing to do with anything but Caroline has one thing she cannot say correctly for the otherwise infallible life of her. She calls pumpkins "cupkins". It's adorable.

PPS I hear that a few of you are having trouble with the cape website. Feel free to send me your contact information via email and I will get it to her while she works on her site issue.

Comments

[Kristin]

If you have a doctor that you see regularly and you call them and explain that you have 3 kids and you are all recovering from the flu and now one of them has pneumonia and you think you have a sinus infection and you really don't want to drag them out in the cold and you sound slightly hysterical and teary then they usually take pity on you and call in a prescription.

[Katie]

That cape is excellent. I had an ex boyfriend who was into WOW and comic books, who wanted me to make him a cape like that, but alas, I am far too lame....

[Jennifer]

My daughter called pumpkins cupkies for ages! So cute. So sorry about the pneumonia. My baby had that last winter. Very scary.

[Anita]

It took the full 5 days for the antibiotics to work on our son's early pneumonia. Hang in there and expect some crap.

[Aunt Becky]

I think I require that cape to get me over the freaking flu which is taking residence in my eyeballs now. For reals.

Feel better, lovers.

[Michelle]

A friend went back and forth on her four year old son's Halloween costume. She finally - with a sneering MIL - let him wear what he wanted to wear. Princess Leia. He was awesome!

If Edward wants a tutu then Edward should have a tutu. 8-)

[Amy in MN]

Sorry about the cycle of sickness. Such a bummer.

The cape is adorable. The cupkins is just beyond cute. When I was little, I called airplanes Peepews. No one knows why and it was the cutsie word for airplanes most of my life.

[beyond]

i hope all the illness is over soon. and i can hardly wait for the tutu pictures!

[Di]

Poor sick Eddiebear!
Poor sick you!

Love the cape!
And I love cupkins! Around here it's tumtpkins. But what truly gets me, is Clairey calls a SCAREcrow a SQUEEcrow.

[Ruth]

The cape is awesome, and I love Caroline's cupkins. Just this afternoon I reminded my older daughter that she used to call those tall trees with the long, swaying branches "leaping lillows". At the time I was so charmed that I couldn't bring myself to correct her ... I let Time do the job for me.

[Jen]

The cape is great, but Patrick's smile is fantastic! Sorry the Sickness Fairy has been lavish over at your house. "... it is not nice to say that someone was too stupid to live at their own memorial" had me laughing out loud! I wish I lived closer to you so I could stalk you (I mean meet you) in real life rather than just via your blog. Alas, California is a bit far from Minnesota...

[haitian american family of three]

I tried to contact the cape woman and the link to her email is not working---do you have a way to get in touch?

[Ellie]

We (family size: 4) are entering our seventh week of the flu-that-never-ends. I really, really thought we'd kicked it, but no, yesterday the 10yo woke up with full body aches and The Cough. But it's only her second relapse. I think the rest of us are done. I hope.

Keeping your wee Edward in my prayers -- and you, too, hang in there. And tell Steve to come home soon, hmm?

[Kathleen]

When my son was a little guy he fell in love with his friend's tutu. We got him his own and we nearly died from the cuteness.

I say, tutus for everyone!

I hope you are all well soon.

[Deanna]

Well, if Edward likes Caroline's tutu, having a second on hand might discourage potentially destructive arguments over the single item (she says from her mother-of-one perch having never negotiated such a disagreement). Worst case scenario: Caroline gets two tutus.

Egads, burny achy eyeballs are the WORST. Feel better, Hippogriffs!

[Diane]

I really do not think there is a better way to spend 20 minutes then visiting with you and your family (so sorry about the sicknesses - love the cape) on the internet. So thanks for that.

[Shannon]

Boo to the hamthrax. So sorry :(

[lisa]

funny you should mention cape and tutu in one post...I had to make both for halloween this year. Some wonderful three year old who lives in my roof and often ends up takign naps on the couch with me decided she wanted to be a "beautiful ballerina superhero" for the wonderful holiday. I wish you had had this post oh...three,four months ago when she came up with the idea. Yes I made them, yes they turned out decent, no they did not look professional, and no the three year old didn't care. Point being it would have saved me some time, effort,and I could have been making Chrismtas gifts or things for myself in that time. Tulle is no fun to sew!

[ZTZCheese]

The Number Devil!!!

I'm a math teacher and I use that book in my classroom. Such a cute, smart book!

Feel better over there!

[tgsdmom]

I envy the cape-lady for having given such an appreciated present to Patrick and you :-)

BTW, I recognized Super Patrick in the Beebeebug page...

Fast full recovery to you all.

[Leslie Smith]

My daughter said "poocons" for "coupons" and "bean greens" for "green beans." We LOVED it.

[bethany actually]

I say tutus all around would be fabulous. No one freaks out if a little girl wants to walk around with a construction hat on, carrying a toy hammer and wrench, do they?

Also, I'm finding your reluctance to let your online life touch your real life prudent, endearing, and amusing all at once. :-) I think I've met somewhere upwards of 30 people in real life whom I first knew on the internet. And that's not at a convention, that's one or two people at a time. I count a good half-dozen of those internet people among my dearest friends!

[Nicky at Not My Mother]

You know what's funny, I work in metric so when you said 120 inches I thought 120 cm which is four feet and I thought, why would Julia brag about having such long legs, what a cow. And then I thought about how tall you'd have to be then and then it clicked. It still took me a while though. And maybe a calculator.

I was going to say something else but I can't for the life of me remember what the hell it was so I'll just finish by saying your flu sucks and I really hope you all feel better soon.

[Gina]

I actually ordered my soon-to-be three year old a cape (yellow with his first initial on it) for Christmas. I can hardly wait to give it to him.

Perhaps Patrick's cape aided him in his battle with the flu? It seems that Edward needs a cape to aid him in his fight against the evil pneumonia villains. Rather than a "placebo effect" it could be the "cape effect".

[Kirsten]

Oh for cute! They do say that in Minnesota! I had totally forgotten. I'm going to get that one going out in Seattle. Also, I love the quietly clever title. I've come to expect that from you and am never disappointed.

[Prudence Octavia]

You can never have too many superhero capes, or tutus for that matter. You never know when you will need to sling one on a rescue a damsel in distress, or entertain the queen.

[cat, galloping]

Thanks, Julia. Perhaps you could mention to your friend that her site is not working. I'd love to order one of those blankets. Have been looking for something just like it. But they can't be ordered online and even the contact form resulted in a "page not found" message so I can't tell if she got it.

[TeacherMommy]

Oh Julia. You are going through the wringer these days. Having spent a day at home with One Small Boy who was mildly ill with naught but sinusitis, I'm mentally multiplying it all by about three thousand and therefore aching for you.

But your writing, as usual, makes my day about as bright and shiny and wonderful as that cape.

By the way, thank you for solving my dilemma over what to do about Christmas presents for my boys. They've been little superheroes on my blog for ages now (DramaBoy and The Widget, a natural team), and I do believe I will be getting them capes for Christmas.

[Michelle]

I Just LOVE reading you everyday! Thanks so much for continuing to write :) You make me laugh and think and I look forward to it!

Thank YOU!

[Scissorbill]

OMG I just ordered a cape for my 3 yo boy for Christmas. Love it!

[Jill]

I know three kids who have had pneumonia as part of H1N1. I haven't seen it in the media blitz, but I'm glad you caught it early. Poor kid.

[Cookie]

I love the pictures of Patrick in his cape and think that both my boys would love a cape of their own. Unfortunately it will have to wait for their birthdays as we just adopted them each a kitten as an early Christmas present.

I hope you all feel better soon. It's never easy to be sick at the same time as one of your children.

[Linda Sleichter]

I'm sorry to hear about Edward's pneumonia. You know I can empathize! Poor kiddos and poor mama!

When my DD2 "graduated" from preschool, her teacher said, "I hope (next year in Kindergarten) they don't try to put Maggie in a box. She is so creative and such a joy, and I hope they don't stifle that." The same goes for Patrick! (Although, my response was, "a box, no. A corral, maybe.")

[Sarah]

I bought a cape for my son for Halloween, but he claimed he couldn't wear it: "I CAN'T Mommy. I CAN'T" (said in plaintive 2-year-old voice). I'm glad to know that he'll grow into it.

As for the exploding head, try a Neti pot, or since you are trapped at home as I was when the exploding head hit, use a squeeze bottle. It is a life-saver. Just make sure you have lots of Kleenex nearby. Basically, you mix 1 tsp salt with warm water, tilt your head dramatically over your sink and squeeze that mixture into one nostril. Horrifying things come out the other nostril, but it feels so much better. (You might want to Google it for better instructions).

[gretchen from lifenut]

Capes are the best. It's too bad people have dropped them from the general societal uniform.

My younger brother went through a phase where he wore his dark blue cape everywhere. I was embarrassed at the time, being the prissy big sister.

I hope you feel better soon and sickness glides silently over your house next time.

[Tine]

Poor Edward. I'm sending him hugs and kisses. xoxo

My favorite toddler mispronunciation was my son's. He called flamingos "pampinkos."

And now, I'm off to Beebeebug to buy Christmas capes for my 3- and 6-year-old!

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=55802466]

Tutus for all I say! I met my husband online through a game. Now we have a lovely 5 month old daughter. Sometimes going outside of your comfort zone can be awesomely rewarding :)

[Kirsten]

My daughter says "Pianio" and .... I can only approximate this one: "ambuliance". That's not quite right, actually, but as close as I'm gonna get.

Feel better soon!

[sallyforth]

Here's a failsafe cure for what ails ye: hire one babysitter to remove children from home for 4 hours, mix your honey and cinnamon into one cup of warm water and one shot of whiskeycillian. Drink while reading trashy romance novel. Sleep. Awake, rejoice. DO NOT under any circumstances watch baby or bride shows or any other tv that might excite you. :o)

When my skiddle was young she called spiders "fidoos" and instead of sparkle, things "farkled." To this day we smile when we hear a yelp of, "Eek! Fidoo!" from the teenager we share our house with every other weekend as she awakes from the dead and attempts to shower. Likewise when shoe or dress shopping we hear, mixed in with, "Ooooh, so cute!"- an occasional "Look- farkly!"

We loves it.

[Sandy]

Your throw cat looks exactly like MY throw cat! Love that siamese, but he talks more than my kids do.

[Heidi]

HAHAHAHAHA! The first photo of the cape made me think, "Oh, the poor dear!" of your oh-so-kind reader's sewing skills, when in fact it wasn't the cape she made at all. Her cape would look smashing in any instance, but particularly so following a pair of black pantyhose.

So sorry you have to man the store while Steve's out of town. I hope everyone's feeling better soon. There's nothing like the word "pneumonia" to elicit a gasp, especially in regards to someone so small. And cute.

(Too long, sorry.) About commenting: I haven't been a big commenter here because I figure anyone who gets 40 or 60 or 80 comments on a sinbge post (or a billion, when the babies were born) probably wouldn't read all of them. But I'm here, and I care. And I'll be more vocal. (Wordal? Expressive?)

[Heidi]

SINGLE post... Oy.

[sara]

Is that a Birman cat???

[Deanna]

The egg t-shirt + shiny purple cape = coolest boy EVER!

[Yatima]

I keep forgetting to mention that I got my 6yo The Number Devil on your recommendation, and now she's in a math circle at UC Berkeley. So, you know, maybe the best book recommendation EVAR.

[Shawna]

My daughter still says tigar instead of guitar, and she used to say apple Bob instead of uncle Bob. I think Apple Bob still misses being called that...

[rose]

My youngest called "Pepsi" "Cupsi" for the longest and cutest time. Sometimes you just don't want to correct their little misspeaks.

[terri c]

Oh, dear, so sorry about the pneumonia. I hope he is feeling better soon; I have heard of kids getting pneumonia after flu but must it be YOUR kids? The cape is a work of utter genius and I find myself wishing I had a kiddo to buy for... wait... I have a great-niece! Hmmm... I would love to see photos of all in capes and tutus. Hope your sinuses stop exploding.

[K]

One of my boys called his toes his tiggies (combo of piggie toes)and it never failed to make me smile.

Feel better!

[Amy]

My daughter called pumpkins tomatoes. And tomatoes were potatoes. This was pretty amusing especially since we grow all our own pumpkins, tomatoes, and potatoes, so it's not like she wasn't having constant exposure to the veggies and the words. I also kind of miss "linny-oom"--living room.

I was also going to suggest a neti pot, but I see I'm not the first to throw that idea your way. To be honest I haven't used one myself, but everyone I know who has swears by it. I was going to buy one at the co-op today and I forgot!