Mr. Incredible

Oil is expensive, we know that. The price is going up and we're all turning our thermastats down (yet I don't see the prez in a cardigan - yet) Our family is no exception. We were lucky enough (read, Gerry had the foresight) to lock in a relatively low rate for the year, which seemed like highway robbery when we agreed to it, and now seems to be one of the more intelligent things we've done this year.

But we live in an older house - 1927 - and although we have central heat, it's uneven around the house. The upstairs freezes, the dowstairs heats up and the basement waffles between very cold and rather warm (when the furnace kicks on).

The kids REALLY wanted to sleep in the basement together - and I agreed - after all, Monday was MLK day, no school, so why not let them sleep in. What Annie didn't know was that when Gerry left for work on Monday morning at 3:30am, he would not only turn down the heat, he'd turn it OFF... When I got up yesterday it was 58F in the house - and much colder in the basement. So it wasn't really a surprise when a croaky little voice called up, "Mom, I'm sick."

Max has a croupy cough - he gets them, and they sound TERRIBLE. When he was a baby and got them I'd be worried to death, but now we've come to terms with the fact that this is just the way he sounds when he coughs. It doesn't help that he spent most of the weekend doing a killer Smeagle imitation, "My precious, precious pop-tart!", "I want my precious chocolate milk..." And he had a fever.

He's on the mend. His fever broke this morning and now he's just recovering from sore throat, still with the cough, and a little dizzy. I'm plying him with water, juice and herbal tea for his throat - and with my groovy laptop I'm able to work right alongside him all over the house!

Update
Max saw the doctor, he has an infection, he (hopefully) will be better soon. So I made him some socks. Sick kids get socks.

We were supposed to go into the city yesterday - the Martha Stewart show called because someone (mystery) had written them that both my kids knit very well. I know I didn't send the letter, but the wanted to meet them and I asked if I could bring along Hannah's good friend, Jaiden, who's also an amazing knitter. Max stayed home with Gerry (he gets home from work very early in the afternoon) and Hannah, Jaiden and I went into the city for a romp. The girls had a fun time, they met some of the TV folks and had their pictures taken with a polaroid (which Hannah called, "You know, the old-fashioned kind of camera where you have to wave around the picture...")

While in the city I took the girls to McDonalds - a highlight - and Jaiden got a Mr. Incredible in her happy meal. She very kindly gave it to Maxie yesterday and it was the first time in a day I saw him sit up and take notice of anything. Now he cuddles Mr. I, with blankie, enjoying the new sofa.
Hannah asked if she could tell her class that she might be on Martha's show. I told her no, not really - who knows if they'll ever want to use her (apparently they were 'casting' for a kid's crafts segment for Valentines Day) but if she does get on the air she can tell them then.

I may be calling the babysitter we're using when I go away on Thursday to start a day early in case she has to be here to sit with Maxie until Gerry comes home. She's a lovely person, and Max loves her, so he'll be thrilled to get her all to himself for a bit!

TNNA
If anyone at TNNA wants to stop by the Artyarns booth, I'll be there for most of the show. I'd LOVE to see you, meet you in person - it's such a thrill for me to meet knitters from all over the place!

Frappr
Taking a page from Crazy Aunt Purl's book, I started a frappr map. It looks lonely right now, so please feel free to add your own peg to the mix. Who knows, when we reach critical mass I may just be able to set up some teaching gigs in your area!