Caitlin keeps us entertained with her budding 3-year-old vocabulary and sometimes misuse of the English language. I love how she says “purpur” instead of purple and “squir” for squirrel. Last weekend while she was sick she said a few things that were both downright cute and pitiful at the same time.

Here are a few examples:

“Mama, I got the fevers.”
Her fever got very high and it really freaked me out since the kid is never sick.

“Mama, I got the sneezes.”
Yep, she was sneezing and congested, too.

“Mama, I coughaguam.”
Translation…coughed up phlegm. I guess if she can’t pronounce squirrel, phlegm would be a stretch.

“Mommy, I thrope!” (throw up)
She does not like taking medicine and does a lot of exaggerated gagging. This brings back memories for me as a child and gagging on cough syrup like it was poison or Wild Turkey. Finally, children’s Motrin cold formula in grape flavor passed her flavor test.

“MOMMY, I need juice.”
OK…not so cute, but as she said that about 849 times last weekend HOW COULD I FREAKIN’ FORGET IT.

Thankfully she was well enough to go back to daycare Tuesday after being home since last Thursday. The caregiver mommy in me was starting to lose it and grow tired of Princess Caitlin’s demands from her throne (aka the couch), mostly involving Dora and fresh juice. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d asked me to fan her and handfeed her grapes.

I took Caitlin to the Dollar Tree one night recently because nothing says I love you more than shopping for cheap plastic stuff with your 3-year-old. She picked out a few packs of stickers and Cinderella crayons (or “crowns” as she says). She was so excited she started waving her stickers wildly at a couple in the parking lot and proclaimed, “I got stickers!” And Amelia loves to play with a plastic fly swatter (unused of course) in our “toy drawer” in the kitchen filled with Play Doh, McDonald’s Happy Meal toys, etc. It made me think about some of the simple pleasures of being a kid from my childhood. Most of these are pretty universal, despite the high-tech age we live in. Here are just a few. Feel free to add your own.

A new box of crayons.
Virgin PlayDoh, with that unmistakable PlayDoh smell.
Catching fireflies.
Walking barefoot through new spring grass.
Shopping for school supplies. (I’m still a sucker for office supplies, what can I say. Love those multi-colored Post Its.)
Running through a garden sprinkler on a hot summer day.
Watching Saturday morning cartoons.
Popsicles.
Reading a book while perched in a tree.
Lemonade and butter cookies after piano lessons.
New tennis shoes.
Riding a bike downhill. Wheeeeeeeee!
The sound of crickets and bullfrogs on a summer night when it’s cool enough to have the windows open.

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Let’s all send positive vibes to Katie Holmes as she is due any day now with baby TomKat. She’s converted to Daddy Cruise’s Scientology beliefs which dictates that she have a silent birth and that they have a silent period for seven days. Could you honestly not make any noise during labor? And during unmedicated labor? By the time my epidural kicked in when I was in labor with Caitlin (I ended up having an emergency c-section), I was practically speaking in tongues and had nearly broken the hubby’s fingers during the ride to the hospital. Although I have apparently blocked this from my memory, the hubby also says I used the “F’ word when the security guard asked me if I needed a wheelchair (hey it was 3 a.m. and I was dilated to 5 cm when we got to the hospital and I just wanted everyone to GET OUT OF MY WAY). I’ll admit I’m a wimp and I wanted drugs, although I have one friend who has had natural childbirth twice (but who says she definitely had to shout out during labor). Fellow Scientologist Kellie Preston tried to follow the strict guidelines, but after 13 hours of laboring at home she told Mr. Saturday Night Fever to drive her to the hospital where she could get some pain relief (but apparently it was too late). I’m not sure how accurate all this is, as it’s been making the tabloid rounds, but the TomKat contingency have had 6 foot black and white signs, called “birthing boards,” delivered to Cruise’s home. They are printed with messages such as “Be silent and make all physical movements slow and understandable .” In this article Daddy Cruise suggests that she can make “some” noise. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in the birthing room to see how long it is before Katie tells Tom to shut it.

Driving down the highway in my convertible, the warm wind whipping through my hair, I pop in a CD and glance in the rearview mirror as I head out of town with a full tank of gas, a cooler full of beer, a pack of Bit-O-Honey from the gas station (the hubby would choose Lemonheads), and no agenda. That’s my idea of a roadtrip. You know…images of Thelma and Louise and a young virtual unknown hottie named Brad Pitt. Roadside honky tonks. Being chased down by the police. OK…maybe nothing quite that exciting. The baby and I had our fun little overnight roadtrip Friday to get together with my college buddies. It wasn’t the beach, but it was a lakeview cottage. It was also about 40 degrees out and I had the heat cranked and we were listening to what few good songs I could find on the radio. But still there’s something refreshing about getting in the car and heading out of town. It’s spring break for most students and I’ll admit I have that itch. I found myself looking at vacation rental houses in coastal North Carolina today. The hubby is in the same mood. Maybe it’s the cold weather; maybe it’s my internal clock that says it’s about damn time for spring to kick in.

It hit home that I am rusty on road tripping, because about 10 minutes into the drive I realized I forgot to pack any CDs. I had the usual kid collection, but lullabies or Old McDonald are not my idea of good driving music. I’d either fall asleep at the wheel or go insane after hearing E-I-E-I-O for the 50th time. I was forced to surf the radio waves and at one point was listening to Elvis’s “Kentucky Rain” (seemed appropriate as I was driving through Kentucky) and The Grateful Dead “Truckin’,” which also seemed appropriate.

And I’m always amazed at how much STUFF you pack for an overnight trip with kids, even just one. I had all my gear and of course since I only took the pair of jeans I was wearing I spilled pizza sauce on them at dinner (not that my friends care). I also packed Amelia’s food and a couple of small toys and a change of clothes and her PJs and about 8 million diapers and wipes. Then there was the portable booster seat and the play pen which served as her bed for the night.

The hubby and I had a dinner date a few weeks ago in the trendy college part of town where I had my first post-college apartment. He grabbed my hand from across the table and asked me if I ever missed being single and the freedom that goes along with it. I wouldn’t trade being a mom and wife for anything, but I’ll admit sometimes I miss that freedom…the idea that I can just jump in the car and roadtrip for spring break. What about you?

Saturday Afternoon Bath

Originally uploaded by jamiemom.

We’re back from our trip to Barren River State Park visiting with my college buddies a day early. The baby and I ended up going alone because Caitlin (who is NEVER sick) had a 103.8 degree fever Thursday. I took her to the doctor yesterday morning and it is viral so her pediatrician did not prescribe anything (but at one point I started to panic over her fever being so high). The hubby did a great job of taking care of Caitlin yesterday while Amelia and I were out of town for the night and although she’s still not 100 percent, her fever is nearly gone. I had a great time with my friends and it made me realize just how long it had been since we have all gotten together. But with work, kids, and distance it makes it more difficult. And doesn’t it always seem like someone gets sick when you make plans?

I went to lunch with a friend yesterday and she asked the dreaded question: “Can you drive?’ I don’t mind driving, but it’s just that the interior of my car is on the way to Funkytown. Luckily I had anticipated that I might need to actually transport another adult in my Pathfinder and I had put all the junk–the garbage bag of stuff destined for Goodwill, the tennis shoes and socks for those days I want to walk at lunch (whenever we have decent weather around here…Tennessee is still considered the South, right?), Caitlin’s artwork from school, some magazines and coupons from my mom, a lone baby sock, empty “fruit” snacks packages (are those things really “fruit”…probably not)–in the back. That’s the car version of my home organization trick of shoving everything in a closet. I used to be all about the wheels back in the day. The interior of my car shone with Armor All, the floorboards were clutterfree, the windows were smudgeless and sparkling and not dotted with handprints from the kids and noseprints from the dogs. Now that I’m the kid and dog chaffeur, the car is just not on the level of coolness that it once was, although I have to admit I have no desire to drive a minivan (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Now I don’t have one of those Baby On Board signs or a “My Kid is an Honor Student at Blah Blah Blah” bumper stickers but I’ve got the double carseat action and the rockin’ kiddie music CD collection. One of my personal resolutions this year, though, is to keep my wheels in better shape so at the very least my friends won’t be embarassed to be seen in my car.