Jasper had a rough Saturday afternoon but bounced back on Sunday. With JJ’s illness and Carys’ fever (so far that’s all it is), they stayed home on Sunday morning with Tess while I took Sela and Sebastian to church. After church I decided to treat Sela and Seb to lunch at the Aberdeen Boat Club, a little sailing club we recently joined. We had a great time playing in the playground and eating lunch afterwards. By Sunday early evening Sebastian was definitely fighting a bug and he had to lay low for most of Monday.

Back to Jasper… this afternoon I got a call from Dr. Thondup – have to tell you, pretty rare to get a personal call from a doctor these days and for that I appreciate Thondup – to report on JJ’s lab tests from last week. So here is the diagnosis: nothing. No Scarlet Fever, no measles of any sort, no Kawasaki Fever… nothing.

“So, it’s just a flu thing?” I asked puzzled.

“Yes, just a flu with a rash and a fever… sometimes it happens.” Thondup replied.

Thondup asked how the other kids were doing. I told him that both Carys and Seb seemed to be getting a fever but nothing more at this point. He asked what we were doing for them and I explained, “Same as Jasper, keep the fever down, lots of fluids, watch for worsening.” Then Thondup said a very sweet thing… “Good, trust daddy’s instinct!” I thanked him for calling and assured him we’d call if the situation worsened. (Left: Seb sweats up a small storm Sunday evening as the Ibuprofen breaks his fever.)

Meanwhile, Jasper officially inherited Seb’s Nemo PJs and I am telling you, Jasper could not be more delighted. A little too tight for Seb, the jammies were handed off to Jasper tonight. Jasper, more and more returning to his normal self, was ecstatic. (As can be seen here, taken Monday evening.)

On another note, I introduced a concept on the weekend that was quite unpopular in the household. A while ago we started giving the Terrific Trio half a One-A-Day vitamin that we called a “sweetie.” Other items that fall into the “sweetie” category include chocolate and other candies. Sela is hilarious when she yells out “SWEEETIIIEEE!” with her hands and arms outstretched like an Olympic gymnist at the end of her routine. The vitamins are quite tasty and there is no resistance to eating them. So, why call them sweeties?

Similarly, when we give the Terrific Trio any drugs or medicine, we’ve been calling it “juice.” Again, the “label” is more likely to have them consume the drug, however, kids’ drugs these days rarely have an offending taste. So why call Bubble Gum cough syrup “juice” other than it’s hilarious to see the response?

K, so pragmatic Chuck has a problem with calling the drugs and vitamins “sweeties” and “juice.” First, I don’t need to explain that any of the drugs we use would be serious in an overdose situation. Ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or any number of the daytime and nighttime cough syrups on hand, if not administered properly, could seriously harm a toddler. Second, the vitamins are just as dangerous. The label on the chewable multivitamin bottle reads: WARNING: There is enough iron in this package to seriously harm a child. Keep out of reach of children. What if one of the kids got their curious paws on cough syrup or vitamins (which we obviously keep well out of reach) and consumed far too much? How we would we know?

SCENE 1:

Kid says excitedly: Daddee I had joose!

Daddy: Wow, aren’t you lucky! (Mental note: I hope you eat your dinner!)

SCENE 2:

Kid says excitedly: Daddee I had medson!

Daddee: Really? Please show me what medicine you had.

Got the picture? So the point is, if we don’t teach the proper words for vitamin or medicine, then in the event of an accident the child will never be able to tell us. Unfortunately this concept has gone over like a lead balloon in our home because giving the Terrific Trio their joose and vitmins is not nearly as climactic. Better safe than sorry, though. Don’t you agree? (Left, Sunday… the kids playing on the fire engine that Sebastian built.)

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