Music Makes the Wild Beasts or Is that Vomit I Smell in My Hair?

I usually compose hundreds of blogs in my head every day. They are all witty and articulate, and sadly, they never get published.

Today's entry would have been all about music, and how much the boys love it. How not only do they sign music, they are now requesting tunes. Well just one tune actually.

We've been listening to this great music from Putumayo Kids since the boys were very little, my cousin introduced us to the cd's and they boys have just gone mad for them. Now a couple of weeks ago, Evan started signing music, and saying "ba-tsss". At first I thougt this was his attempt to say music until one day the first track from this album came on and he repeated
"ba-tsss" "ba-tsss" over and over, and I realized he was saying "Battu" the name of the song, and a word they repeat throughout! The light bulb finally went on for me and I said "OHHHHH, Battu!" He smiled at me, and said "ba-tsss" and from beside me, Ryan chimmed in with "Batt!" Now, everyday, at least 3 times a day, they will point to my ipod, and sign music and I hear a request for our favorite song.

I was going to then talk about how their love of music, and at the suggestion of Shelley and Cindy, that I signed them up for music class. And we may not be fully participating yet, we do get excited when we get to class, and well, then there are photo ops like this one...

My little tigers trying to figure out why everyone is crawling on the floor with ears on.

Instead of all that, today's post has evolved into the story of my afternoon. Evan threw up three times today. It's got to be his teeth, or his cold. It can't be his reflux. These days the vomiting is so infrequent I amost forgot what it was like to have him throw up three times in one day. How frustrating it is, how helpless you feel, how much laundry it generates! He's also gotten better about stopping himself. In the past, if he got started, he emptied his stomach no matter what you did to try and distract him. (sprayed water in his face, blew in his face, covered him in a washcloth, etc.--all things we have tried, and enjoyed some success with) Now, he can usually stop himself after a couple of good gags.

The first episode of the day was really nothing, a wet burp or two, all over the car, and the parking lot at music class. I managed to keep his clothes clean so we didn't need to change before class.

The second episode came as I was trying to take the boys out back for some good running around to tire them for a good nights sleep. They were very excited about going into the backyard, so much so that Ryan started standing at the door, signing open and screaming at the top of his lungs. I was trying to get everyone's shoes on, get some toys, put sweatshirts on the boys, etc. all this had me moving slower than the boys would like. Ryan's antics got Evan all riled up and he started screaming too, which lead to him coughing , which led him to empty the entire seven ounces of cow's milk and Boost Plus he had just injested, on to me, the blanket I grabbed and the floor where the blanket fell short. All the while, Ryan alternated screaming to go outside and pretend gagging like his brother. (He's started to do this when Evan chokes or gags, Ryan does it too. I just look at him and tell him it's not funny and he laughs.) Since we are still trying to get 100 calories per kilo per day into the little bugger, I refed Evan another seven ounces of Boost cocktail, while Ryan screamed, we finally made it outside. Oh yes, I had to change clothes, scrub the floor and start the laundry somewhere in there, but we finally made it outside.

At one point I was pushing one of the boys in their car around the lawn, and I caught the distinctive odor of a Boost vomit. Hmmm--I smelled my hands, my shirt, nothing. On I pushed. Again, there it is! Where is that smell coming from. I should also mention I have a nose like a blood hound. I can smell the single live rose in a shop full of artificial flowers (Amazing Race reference). After several more whiffs, I found the source, my hair...go ahead, all of you say it...EWWWWWW. That's what I said! I must have tucked my hair behind my ear, with my hands full of you-know-what.

We came back inside to start getting ready for dinner and I realized that there was no way I could go on with that stench so close to my nose. But what to do? I can't leave the boys alone while I wash my hair in the shower. Of course, I'll just wash it in the kitchen sink. I ran to the bathroom grabbed a shot of shampoo, and headed for the kitchen. Oops, since someone (Ryan) who shall be nameless (Ryan) only slept for an hour and fifteen minutes today, (Ryan, so much for taking you to the park to tire you out, Ryan.) my lunch dishes were still in the sink. Now what? How do you wash dishes with a hand full of shampoo?

Put the shampoo into your dry hair of course! Now I should mention that I decided that today was the day I HAD to scrub the kitchen sink. This morning I looked at it and couldn't stand it anymore, it had been a while, a LONG while. What does this mean? It means I had no sponge to wash all those dishes. Now this might not sound like a big deal to you, but every second counts when you have two toddlers in the other room behaving, it can't and won't last forever. The longer it takes to get that sink empty, the odds of me having dried shampoo in my hair for the rest of the evening get better and better.

Well, I got the sink cleaned out and started to wash my hair, and with my head in the sink, I've got to tell you I was pretty glad I had scrubbed it this morning. If I hadn't I would have spent the entire time thinking how gross and disgusting my sink was, instead I tried not to drown myself as I peaked under my arm to see Ryan jumping on the couch, looking at me to see if I noticed. (little devil !)

The wild beasts have been tamed, and are asleep in their beds, and my hair smells fruity fresh.