Nicholas is still coughing

I took Nicholas to school yesterday but they called me to come get him because they said he had a fever. She said that they used thermometer strips across his forehead which just give a color change for a fever and he was in the yellow (mild) range. That surprised me because I had checked it before we left and it seemed normal (although our thermometer isn't the most reliable). I picked him up and he seemed to still have the cough but he begged me to take him to a park so he couldn't have felt too bad. Needlessly to say, we passed on the park. I took him home and checked his temperature and it was still normal. I checked mine just to be sure that thermometer was accurate and it was close. I gave him another breathing treatment, made him drink lots of fluids, and tried to keep him still. Yet, he just wanted to play, jump around, and try to balance while standing on top of the ottoman to the glider rocker (the ottoman rocks too). Seem sick to you?

At nap time, I decided to bring out a gift I had bought for him just recently. I want him to appreciate the things we give him so I don't usually give him gifts "just because" so I was planning to hold on to this until I had a special reason to give it to him. Well, a get-well gift seemed like a good enough reason. Here he is with a new Dr. Seuss book, Horton Hatches The Egg and his little coordinating stuffed Horton elephant.





I just love puppets or stuffed animals that go along with books. It makes the story more interactive when the animal "reads" the story aloud to Nicholas. I got this set at Kohl's as part of their Kohl's Cares For Kids program. The Cares for Kids merchandise rotates throughout the year but the ones I've bought have always had a book and a coordinating stuffed animal. Each item is only $5.00! I plan to go back and get some other sets. In addition to Horton (who, by the way, is the softest stuffed animal I've ever felt!), they also have a book and stuffed animal for Yertle the Turtle, Fox in Socks, and Hop on Pop. Love it! For each Cares for Kids item, Kohl's donates money to health and educational opportunities for children. It's a win-win!

We ended up getting another thermometer last night, just a basic digital one that goes in his mouth. Still showed no fever. But he was still coughing last night so I let him stay home from school so I could keep him more comfortable. He's doing much better with very little coughing. Looking back he could have gone to school. But then again I just like having him home with me. I pulled out a giant art supply kit that he has and we played artist at the kitchen table for a while. He mostly just scribbled but he did make a cool handprint all by himself.





At one point, I told him I was going upstairs to put away some laundry and I'd be back in a minute but he could keep drawing. When I came back, he said, "Look, Mommy! I decorated the table!" Oh how that knot formed in my stomach before I ever even looked! There was marker all over the table. It's not like it's a great table or anything. It was left here by the previous owners because it was beaten up enough that they didn't want it. It's the perfect size for the space and we just haven't bothered to have it refinished because, well, because of things like Nicholas decorating the table. He has been so rough to that poor table. And since the finish is scratched off in many places, the exposed raw wood just soaks up ink and paint. It's our kitchen dining table but it definitely looks more like an artist's work table. Oh well. We just throw a table cloth on it when company comes over.

This wasn't Nicholas' first "decorating" attempt. There have been many others. Just earlier this week, he was drawing with markers while I was cooking dinner. He said, "Look! I decorated my arms!" Yep, he did! Dark purple marker up and down both of his forearms. And it wasn't the Crayola washable kind either. We scrubbed and scrubbed but all we could do was turn it into a lighter purple that looked more like some strange brusies along his arm. Lovely! Fortunately, Daddy has good scrubbing soap that uses to get grease and stuff off his hands when working in the garage and that took it all off painlessly. Whew!