Wonderful, Wacky Weird Week

It has been quite a week for the Harris Clan. Things always seem to get a little nuts for us around this time of year (see last year's posts about car bumpers flying off, toilet seats on heads, and sick kiddos). We must be on some sort of "when it rains it pours" schedule of craziness with the cycle hitting in March and April. Here is a taste of the last week - I am prepared and resolved that I may have more fodder for the blog over the next month or so......

- My best friend from Boston (Stacee) and her wonderful husband (James) paid us a visit. Stacee just got her PhD (CONGRATS!). We had a great time with some cozy nights in and some terrific jaunts out to favorite restaurants and sights around town. They are two of the most amazing people and it is so great to have a "couple" that we mesh with so well with. The kids love them and Liam is now wandering the house saying "where's James?"

A pic of Mags and DR. Stacee


Liam and James - members of the Mutual Admiration Society


- Nick and James took Liam to get a haircut on Saturday. You know, just the men. Liam took great exception to the poor woman who held the shears and, after much writhing and squealing while Nick attempted to pin him down and other patrons plugged their ears, Liam emerged with a much-needed haircut that unfortunately looks as if some wild animal had actually chewed his hair off. The uneven mess actually prompted the very distraught hairdresser to bemoan "ohhh no. His mom is gonna want to KILL me." To which Nick replied something to the effect of "no she won't. She knew this is what would happen - that is why she sent me to do it!" :) So true. So Liam does have an AWFUL haircut to usher in his 2nd birthday - oh well, hair grows.

-Speaking of birthdays, Liam's was on Sunday! We had a nice family and friends party. Pretty small - no gaggle of kids tearing around at this age. Liam wanted nothing to do with the party for the most part - he just wanted to play with the "Bwoons" (read: balloons) and not even open gifts!!!! He eventually warmed up and had a nice day. His "Cars" themed cake was a big hit and he was adorable trying to blow out the candles.

Liam on his Birthday morning!


Liam the two-year-old. Doesn't he look like he is thinking "are you kidding me? I have to wear this dumb hat ON TOP of my dumb haircut?! Mooooommm! I am so not into birthdays."


-Kate, however, kicked off the party by (after breaking rules and removing her party shoes) slipping in her ruffled party socks on the wood and smacking her head with alarming fierceness into the corner of a curved wooden chair leg. The INSTANT golf-ball-sized lump that swelled up was truly nauseating. I have never seen anything like it. It looked like someone surgically implanted an egg under her scalp. After lots of tears and a bag of frozen peas secured to her head by wearing a ski hat over it, she calmed down and seemed to enjoy the party. We kept a close eye on her and she seemed ok. She jumped right back into the party soon enough - though the pit in my stomach never really went away.

A shot of the already diminishing bump after being iced...only slightly clingon at this point. No longer full on clingon. But there has never been a more beautiful bump-headed girl.


- Not long after the party ended, the house went dark. Literally. We lost all power. I had a house full of out of town guests, bday cake and balloons everywhere, it was about 20 degrees F outside, and there was no power. No lights. No heat. And it was dark outside. Apparently the transformer had caught fire and the neighborhood was dark. We embraced it and lit candles and fortunately Liam had received a very cool nightlight for his bday that is like a planetarium, and is also battery powered, so we all gathered in the living room and looked at the constellations on the ceiling. The kids just loved it and for me it will be a great memory for years to come. Eventually the power came on, the kids hit the hay, and the grown ups enjoyed some wine. A nice end to a nice, but strange day.

- Monday Kate went to school and I dropped Stacee and James at the airport. After school, Kate's teacher said that she was very out of sorts. She was very emotional and irritable and not concentrating at school at all. Once home, I watched her wild mood swings, more-pale-than-usual skin, and the fact that my meticulous daughter was wildly scribbling in a coloring book with no care for color or staying in the lines. Very unusual. I called the pediatrician (it took me about 6 times to get a doctor - and even then when I was actually in the car on my way to bring her in without an appointment) and the doc said to head to the ER due to the head smack the day before.

- Kate and I spent hours in the ER waiting room - literally surrounded by projectile vomiting children. I don't know what is going around but it was GROSS. An already touchy and cranky Kate was even more irritated by the fact that I would not let her touch ANYTHING and that I moved us to the other side of the ER away from the fun toys and movies to avoid all the vomitousness. Long story short - Kate has a considerable concussion. She has to take it easy for a week and then follow up. She is still very moody. Where she hit is the "personality" center of the brain and it is essentially bruised, so she is "off". Cranky, irritable, impatient. She also has trouble concentrating so I see her not coloring in the lines and even writing backwards. It is very unnerving to witness actually. Poor sweet girl.

SO - wonderful friends visiting, tantrum haircuts, blackout birthday (for the power and for Kate) and ER visits. It has been an eventful few days here. I am hoping for and looking forward to a very calm and relaxing weekend coming up!