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Sorry about the interruptus yesterday. I fully expected to be able to eventually unload Edward with a couple ten hours of on-demand television and get back to you but Ha! Ha! I say. Edward was(is) in no mood for unloading. Yes, he will watch TV and, yes, he will eat pudding and oatmeal and applesauce but only if he is reclined upon my person and only if I am hand-feeding him. He's gone full Caesar. I am the jelly to his Edward-sofa sandwich. We are as One: his half is crabby and irrational and my half has a crick in its neck.

He doesn't feel well. On the other hand he doesn't feel nearly as awful as I had feared he might. The vomiting, for example, was more of a fluke than a trend and stemmed from his yucky cough more than his... oh! News you can use, I almost forgot.

On Sunday Edward developed a fever to accompany his increasingly gloopy nose and roopy cough. He was as glassy as a skyscraper all day, barely lifting his arms to indicate touchdowns as he watched football with Steve. I thought since he clearly had a virus that there was no way they would continue with the surgery; and then I wondered what the chances were that a re-schedule between the months of October and March would somehow manage to catch him at a time when he didn't have an upper respiratory infection. It's kind of a catch-22, you see, since Edward's  non-stop gunk is what makes him a surgical candidate. Monday morning I called the ENT's nurse and explained that Edward had had a fever and was congested - what to do? Apparently this has happened before (huh) and she said that unless the fever was exceptionally high or the congestion was such that he was unable to breathe they would usually go ahead with surgery. She said the anesthesiologist would assess him before the procedure, though, and they would make the final call that day. So, to sum, they do not necessarily cancel pediatric outpatient whatsits simply because your kid is sick.

In our case the anesthesiologist listened to Edward's chest right before the procedure and said he was as clear as a bell. Edward then coughed up a small Bichon Frise and Steve and I looked at the guy incredulously.

"Oh that," he said airily, "is all in his head."

Indeed.

So she put in the tubes (I prefer the term grommets) and took out his adenoids (apparently they were roughly the size of a bus and inflammed like rhetoric.) His tonsils continue to be tiny so they stayed. I feel like I started somewhere else... 

Oh right. He threw up after surgery but I think it was more from the heavy coughing than anything else. He has also been clingy but not in much pain. On the parental scale of procedures that suck (hospitalization for SBI being a solid 8.5, tonsil/adenoids coming in at a close 7 and sinuses registering around 5) I'd give tubes/adenoids a 3.

I was totally convinced, by the way, that I was going to have Edward sleeping in our bed for a couple of nights but I had failed to estimate the effect of twin power.

This is how they usually sleep now that Caroline has officially moved into Edward's room.

This is how they slept last night after Edward's surgery.

(Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? You want to be the preschool aged twin of a kid who has had surgery. As the twin you get: all of the TV, all of the popsicles and none of the band-aids. Oh, sure, I suppose I could have said, no, Caroline, you don't get a chocolate kiss; only Edward gets one because he just took some medicine. I could have said that but I doubt I would have any eyebrows left after the explosion. Pick your chocolate battles, my friends.)

Another etiquette question for you. There is absolutely nothing riding on this other than my peace of mind but I have been dying to ask you...

Patrick's new school has yet another pick-up, drop-off parking lot disaster area. Again the parking lot is miniscule and again there is a large number of school-within-a-school commuters who do not qualify for bussing. This time, however, the school is bordered by multiple city streets and there is ample on-street parking. So... why do almost all of the other parents wait in the carpool line? Do they like it? This is a sincere question. The first few days I arrived at pick-up time, parked on the street, and walked over to get Patrick from the carpool kids. It took me about five minutes, during which time the carpool car line (which stretches - I am not exaggerating - down one block and up another) had not moved at all. So my question is: am I being rude by parking and walking? Am I missing some subtle code of behavior that is leaving me open to the quiet condemnation of all of those parents sitting in their cars, waiting their turn? Or are they just anticipating the cold, white future when it will be -15 degrees and the road will be walled in with snow?

Comments

[Claire]

Our school FORBIDS it. The way it is set up there is no where to park and that behavior puts the kids walking amongst all the cars at a safety risk.

I think it really depends on how the school is set up (roads, lots, loops, etc). I wish the architects would consult with staff and parents and allow input on how they would like for dismissal to go before they build the lots and loops. The elementary school my 6 year old goes to has 900 students. 500 of them are car riders (some of them are sibling groups but that is still a lot of cars). 200 are bus riders and 200 are walkers (of those 5 ride bikes). Well technically 700 of them are considered walkers but 500 of them the parents pick them up.

We are a special school within a school case. My son qualifies for busing because we chose this school for a special program. But they bus him WHERE? to his old elementary school where they then just put him in the CAR RIDER pick up area...so what does it matter if I put him on the bus and then pick him up or if I pick him up from the new school. I live about the same distance from both schools (3 miles from the new on and slightly less than two from the old one).

Mornings are different. My husband takes him early and he attends before care (breakfast and games including Wii, board games and legos). But in general mornings are easier because people come at a staggered time.

[K]

Heart grew three sizes when seeing the Sleeping Twin picture. Oh my goodness.

My son who is three has had four sets of tubes (damn things fall out like its their job) and with the last set they took out his adenoids. When the ENT said they were DRIPPING WITH PUS (sweet heavens), I knew we made the right decision.

[Pam L]

No! You are not being rude! You are being part of the solution, not part of the problem adding to the line, the idling engines etc. Why have your kid standing out there in the cold as you inch up a line wen you can go and scoop them up post haste!

Such cute pictures of sleeping babes, who look like little angels!

[Nicole]

Wow... that's some kind of a culture shock for me (living in the Netherlands). Here in most places the only etiquette is to not drive your kid to school, but walk or bike there. Of course many still do if it is raining or on their way to work. There is almost always a good school within 10-15 minutes biking time if you're not living in a very rural area. Of course that creates it's own problems with smaller siblings, and that's why they invented a transporting bike for children. For example: http://www.babboe.nl/ (I don't intend to promote these, and there are other brands, but it is quite unlikely that you will need one, so... I hope it's ok).
Hope Edward feels better very soon!

[Melissa]

ZOMG! 'News you can use' indeed!! My 3 year old is scheduled for surgery on Thursday and last night - wouldn't you know- he was rocking a temp of 100.4. I was already to cancel the hotel and vacation time and call it a day but your experience has made me pause and, like, ask someone first. Also, he looks better today and no temp. So...
Anyway, very timely post, A++

[Laura C.]

Picture 2 made me cry.

[Erin]

It is considered illegal --child abandonment -- to leave kids strapped in a car seat in the car. At our school (a very small school) we have to go in to drop off and pick up. If you have a sleeping baby, you can ask another parent to watch your car, but you cannot just run in while the baby sleeps in the car. It can be a pain, but I understand why.

[Erin]

At least in our area it is illegal! Don't know about other cities/states.

[tree town gal]

ok... we walk or bike the mile to school and know we are spoiled. the car lane makes me insane and if i drive, i park the block and walk and drag along the toddler. totally get the sleeping kid thing though and might sit and wait - if my toddler slept. but nicole from the netherlands - i cannot tell you how much your link makes me want to move there... adore those bikes. fantastic and brilliant.

[Becky]

At our school, they prefer you not park/walk because it adds to the danger and chaos with all the extra people crossing the street between and around the pick-up line cars. They also don't want to try to keep up with the security issues surrounding kids wandering off with parents without teacher knowledge/recognition of the vehicle and that little sign.

That might be different at your school based on the procedures they use for dismissal.

[winecat]

No info on carpools here but the picture of Edward and Caroline sleeping together is TCFW

[rosie]

love the photo of them together!

we had a carpool line at camp and after 4 days of frustration, i gave up, parked and walked to get them. people looked at me strangely, but i wasn't stuck in line waiting for them to get in the car and THEN waiting to get out!

but i didn't have other kids with me...just my twins.

[Sue M]

Julia, do you think your kids could have allergies? To dogs? Sometimes kids are just fine and then develop an allergy to something they've previously shown a tolerance for. Just a though...