Jean Shorts Stigma and a Sick Kiddo!

The last week has been incredibly busy. Actually, the whole summer has been pretty busy, but as things are coming together with the bus, my time seems to disappear at an incredibly fast rate. Anybody who saw my FB post about a ridiculous ladder purchase, likely can tell that my plate is pretty full right now, getting things started with GO! Gymnastics. It's been mostly phone calls and meetings in my life lately, but I've managed to get some quality Charley-time in, too, which is my favorite kind of time.

Seal show at the zoo!

Last Sunday, Charley and I went to the Como Zoo with my friend Kim. I totally prefer the Minnesota Zoo, but Como is so close to where I live, and it's free! It's just so easy to make a day of it at Como with my little monkey. Anyway, we had a great time, looking at animals and wandering through the various exhibits. It was nice to catch up with Kim, too, because we've both been busy lately and hadn't had a chance to chat much. One of my favorite moments of the day was when Kim pointed out a guy to me. "Look, a single dad! He's good looking, no ring on his finger..." I looked, and saw who she was talking about. He was a decent looking guy, but as we walked more in his direction, we both simultaneously said, "But he's in jean shorts." Ha! What is it with women and guys in jean shorts? I think there's a very specific type of guy who wears jean shorts. Any time I see a guy in denim shorts, I think of my friend Brandon, from KU. Brandon and I were pretty good friends for a long time. He was a good looking guy, and generally had a decent sense of style. But once during the first week of school, he made the mistake of wearing jean shorts. That was when everybody on our floor was getting to know each other, and (sorry guys) but every guy on the floor got a nickname. Creepy Joe, Big Larry, and, of course...Jean Shorts Brandon. Ha! He wasn't thrilled with the nickname. "One time!" he would complain,"I wore jean shorts ONE TIME!" Sadly, once you've been given a nickname, it's hard to lose it. I still call him Jean Shorts Brandon, when he comes up in conversation. Anyway, back to the guy at the zoo... there is a stigma associated with jean shorts, and they're a total turnoff. I just thought it was funny that it hit Kim and me at the same time!

Monday was a packed day. Charley and I met friends for coffee, then returned home, where she played with her little buddy Sawyer for most of the day. I did some housework, LOTS of bus-related paperwork, and even had time to play with the kids. It's wonderful, because Sawyer lives just a few doors down. The kids played at Sawyer's house for awhile, then came over to our house for a bit. They got plenty of playtime, and both moms got a little bit of a break. Woohoo! The one negative to Monday's playdate was the fact that Sawyer got sick on Tuesday. I read his mom's post about a sick kid on Tuesday, and braced myself, because I knew it would hit Charley, too. It was just a matter of time.

Tuesday night, a couple of my girlfriends came over. It was like Charley knew they were coming. She's gotten so good at going to sleep lately, that I didn't rush home from the gym to put her to bed. Well, Tuesday, she decided she didn't want to go to bed. She'd have her eyes closed, and breathe heavily, but the minute I left the room, it was, "Mommy! Mommy, where are you?" Anyway, it was clear that she would not go to sleep while they were over, so I gave in, and let her be "Party Charley." She was wide awake and mostly well-behaved, except for the time I caught her sneaking chocolate covered pretzels. It was my own fault, leaving them within her reach! Ha! It was great to catch up with the girls, although it would have been nice if I hadn't been halfway in mommy-mode while they were here. Oh well, next time she will be asleep!

Sick Charley, snuggling her baby.

Sure enough, Charley spiked a fever yesterday afternoon, and has been a total crab ever since.
It's really hard when Charley gets sick, because she's not exactly at the point where she tells me what's wrong. She knows she doesn't feel well. But she doesn't tell me what hurts. She fights taking Tylenol, but feels much better after she's had some. Most of all, she doesn't know what she wants when she's sick. Generally, I work all day on Fridays, teaching private lessons. When Charley got a fever yesterday, I canceled all of my lessons for today. She woke up crabby, but was excited to go over to my dad's house and play with his dogs today. Charley had some medicine before we got there, and by the time we got settled in, she had a sudden burst of energy. She requested food (which she really didn't do at all yesterday), and seemed to be feeling a little bit better. Around 11, she started looking groggy, and said she wanted to ride in the car. Charley is notorious for having a hard time falling asleep, and it's frustrating for both of us. She gets it from me, so I can relate. Anyway, sometimes the motion of the car helps soothe her to sleep, so I was more than happy to take her for a ride. Sure enough, we got in the car, and what did she do? She started screaming for Oscar (our dog). "I want to go see OSCAR!" she wailed, at the top of her lungs. I was worried the cop in the car next to me would hear her and pull me over! I drove for about 10 minutes before I finally gave up, and went back to my dad's house, so she could see Oscar. We got inside, and what do you think she did? "I want to ride in the car!!!!" she screamed. I wasn't falling for that one again! I stuck it out with the crying for about 10 minutes, and she fell asleep. The poor kid has been in an out of sleep since about 4:30 this afternoon, but I'm hoping she will feel better in the morning. Charley kind of forced me to slow down the last couple of days, although I've been doing a lot of computer work, because I'm not great with the whole relaxing thing, and I think I needed it. I'm rocking some awesome black circles under my eyes right now. That's not a good look on anybody! Ha!

As much as Charley has been difficult today, because she doesn't feel well, she totally made my heart melt. She woke up briefly, and said, "Mommy, I need you." "What do you need, honey? Are you hungry? Do you want some water?" I asked. "I need my mom," she replied. She's such a little smuggler, she just wanted to cuddle, and I never turn down the chance to snuggle! It was so sweet. She's still warm tonight, so I decided to find a sub for gymnastics tomorrow. I hate when people knowingly bring sick kids to the gym, and I'm not going to be one of those parents! I am hoping to go out with one of my girlfriends tomorrow night, though, so I'm hoping Charley feels better so I don't have any guilt about taking a few hours to myself!

In totally unrelated news, I've started getting a LOT of orders in for the bus. Not the mats (of course), but other equipment, like a climbing rope, holds for the rock climbing wall, little hand and footprints, business cards, etc. I've also started planning an event for National Gymnastics Day, so this whole business thing is starting to become real! More news on that in the upcoming week. The bus should be finished next week!