(Click on any of the photos for a larger view)
Lincoln came down with a phlegmy, rattling, chest cold yesterday. I had to make a run to the 24 hour grocery store for some cough medicine last night at about 1:00 am while Jay cuddled the little guy in the bathroom and ran the shower on hot to get some steam going so it was easier for Lincoln to breath. I got one spoonful of medicine into his mouth before he promptly threw up a couple of times. Eep! We put him in the tub and washed him off and then went for a second attempt. Daddy showed him how to hold his nose to help with the taste (he's old enough for adult medicine which of course tastes awful). He took it better that time and went to bed, and didn't cough again all night!
In the mean time Sydnie woke up from all the ruckus in the bathroom and it took a while to get her settled back down. It was quite a night!
Jay left this morning for a three day/two night work retreat up in cottage country. Lincoln and Sydnie were climbing the walls all day because I was making Lincoln take it easy and told him he couldn't go outside because he's still not well. That made him upset of course. I already got a replacement for the gym for my volunteering tomorrow and I don't plan to let him go to school. Melanie's younger son, Wesley has the exact same thing so I don't want to risk exposing a bunch of other kids to it (assuming it's contagious, and lets not find out the hard way). Besides, Lincoln still sounds like a squeaky toy when he talks and I don't think his teacher would appreciate him hacking and coughing the whole day. Hopefully if he keeps resting and taking his medicine (I've taken pity on him and he only takes some before bed so that he can sleep and get better) he'll be ok for Thursday.
Since they were so displeased at being house-bound I decided to distract them for a little while, so we went for a drive this afternoon to get out for a bit. They both promptly went to sleep and so I went by the house to look and then drove around Guelph a bit, since I am still getting to know it. After about an hour I woke them up and took them to Dairy Queen for a treat, they were very pleased by this.
Lincoln took his medicine tonight without any extreme theatrics or pleading for mercy.
We have come up with a new system for him and Sydnie that seems to be making a big difference in their behaviour. I went to the dollar store last weekend and picked up a couple of bags of those little round glass 'rocks' that are used in fish tanks and that. I was looking for marbles actually, but that was as close as I could find. I also let them each pick out a special little wooden box for their special stones. Sydnie picked on with a horse head carved int he top and Lincoln picked a blue one that kind of looks like a treasure chest.
We took these home and I wrote their names on their boxes and put all the glass rocks into a container. I explained to them that when they are good, they earn stones that they get to put in their boxes. When they misbehave, fight, or make Daddy and I repeat ourselves too many times, they have to give some of the stones back. Every Saturday we count the stones and if they have 10 each, they get a treat!
It started off very interesting. At first they didn't really get it until suddenly Sydnie had enough stones for a treat and Lincoln didn't. Once I told him that she would get a treat and he would not, then he started to take the whole thing more seriously.
On Saturday they both had enough stones, so each of them got to pick a book from the school book order that Lincoln brought home. Every Saturday they start with zero stones again, but it really doesn't take them long to earn them. Lincoln helped me tidy up this afternoon and got a stone and Sydnie used the potty so she got one too. I make sure to let them put the stones into the boxes themselves (and then usually we count them to see if they have enough yet) and also when we take stones out they have to open the box and pick out however many stones they lost and hand them to me. I think it gives them more of a sense of gaining and losing, rather than if I just did it and showed them.
They have been begging for a pet as well, so I told them that they each must have 15 stones on the Saturday check-in and then they can have a pet as their special treat. A hamster to be more specific, since anything bigger would be too much right now. They seemed satisfied with that, and I am relatively confident it will take at least a few weeks of the Stone System before they manage it. Even though they understand how it works it takes a little repetition before they actually remember it enough to prevent bad behaviour.
Since I'll have both of them tomorrow and no volunteering I think I will get them to help me with some small tasks around the house. They actually really enjoy assisting me and I am working on making this place feel more like home, even if it's only temporary. Might as well be comfortable and organized while we are here after all.
This week my Aunty Leann from Moose Jaw will be out in Toronto for some work training, and is going to be staying with us Friday night so we are looking forward to that.
Only 11 sleeps until our trip as well! We really cannot wait to see everyone.
