Another one down

Gabe has the flu. Poor dude is coughing with a fever of 102. The doctor gave him something or other that is supposed to shorten the duration. I hate it when the kids get sick, especially b/c odds are high that it'll get passed around.

Charlotte is done being sick. Oh she has the occasional cough and the residual bad attitude of a recently sick kid. What's up with that? She gives me a very challenging look - trying to stare me down - when I'm asking her to do something. Well, the queen - that's me, not Claire - has ruled: every time Charlotte disrespects Claire in this particular manner that she has, she will give Claire one of her (Charlotte's) toys. For keeps. There was weeping and wailing. She doesn't know how to gnash her teeth, but once she figures it out, she'll do it with gusto.

So now with Gabe sick, and me fearing the contagion, I stayed up all night doing laundry and Lysoling the house. I am being literal about staying up all night. There I was, folding clothes, when the sun came up. It wasn't like I was forcing myself awake - I really wanted that laundry done. Oh, and I found the underwear.

I am also about to get my first ever flu shot. I think I've had the flu maybe once or twice total. But if I get it after/while my kids have it, I don't think I'll remain intact. I'm already wound pretty tight what with little sleep, lots of worry, and the onset of PMS. I'm telling you, I can function at a high level when required, but I turn into Mean Mom when I do it.

Definitions

Charlotte's Particular Manner of Disrespecting Claire

Charlotte's big disrespecting issue with Claire is that she basically asserts her will over Claire, ignoring little Claire's protests, squealing, crying, etc. The straw that broke the camel's back tonight was Charlotte was grabbing at Claire's clothes box (yes box, not dresser) and smirking and saying, "I'm just gonna look at something!" Claire, who was trying to take clothes out of the box at the time, asked her, then told her, then pleaded with her to stop. Charlotte, all the while just smirking, was manipulating the sitch to get her way. And I'm pretty sure she didn't really care about looking at the box. She was just making a power play. So, apply that to looking at the cereal box, watching tv, playing on the computer, brushing teeth....

Functioning at a High Level

That means, I do all those household jobs that normally don't get done around here. Laundry, dishes, scrubbing stuff, sweeping stuff, shopping, cooking full meals, etc. So, yeah, the house runs smoothly, but I am tense and annoyed at the drop of a hat. Don't touch it! Put it back! Go play upstairs! Low level functioning consists of doing those things when absolutely necessary with no intention of maintenance.

What Came Out of My Dryer

I don't know where the jumbo-sized confetti came from - probably Charlotte's pockets. The pony, however, was hiding inside a pillow case.

My FHE Snack

I included the dollar as a size reference (like in crime scene photographs). I ate that whole giant sized Hershey bar covered in peanut butter. I did not share.