JSL has been sick the last few days.  He had a fever, was lethargic, and didn’t want to eat.  What little he did eat… well, let’s just say that it didn’t always stay in him long.  At one point, B called me at work after he woke up from a nap.  He was crying asking for his mommy.  He recognized that B was his mother, but kept asking for his "real mommy."

Later on, after dinner, I got NHL to bed.  JSL, previously, had fallen asleep on the couch.  Suddenly, he sat up and began crying for his daddy.  I picked him up and he said "Daddy?  I want my daddy!"  I asked him who I was and he answered that I was his dad.  I asked him what room we were in and he said the living room.  I asked him my first name was and he knew that.  I even asked him how many fingers I was holding up and he answered correctly.  But after all that, he kept repeating "Daddy?  I want my daddy!"  This went on for about 10 minutes while we decided whether we were going to need to go to the hospital (and, if so, what to do about the sleeping NHL in the other room).

Slowly, JSL came out of it.  He began to realize just was going on and calmed down.  He even had some fun with what just happened by saying he wanted his daddy one more time and then smiling before hugging me.  I asked him if he was having a nightmare.  He told me that he was and that he was scared of losing us.  (As he’s never lost anyone he knows to death, I think he meant "losing us" in the sense of not knowing where we are.)

In the end, we think this was the combination of some sort of waking dream and low blood sugar.  After we got him to eat some crackers, he perked up a lot.  The next day, he stayed home and went to the doctor.  The doctor didn’t find anything wrong.  No ear infection, strep, etc.  His temperature was staying down without medicine and he was eating (and acting) better.

He’s not alone in these nighttime behaviors.  NHL has had night terrors and has even been known to sleepwalk from time to time.  My parents told me about some times when I’ve walked in my sleep, talked with them, turned around, headed back to bed with no memory of the events.  One time growing up, I got out of bed, thought I was in a different room, and couldn’t exit the room.  My mother finally heard my cries and turned on the light.  In that instance, I snapped out of the waking-dream and realized just what was happening.  (I had ended up in the closet instead of the room’s door.)

My Aloha Friday question for today is: Have you ever experienced an incident like this yourself or that your kids did?

Don’t forget to enter my $25 EdenFantasys giveaway!

P.S. If you haven’t already, go visit FollowerHQ and let me know what you think of my Twitter application.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #124

Disclaimer: The "Emoticons: Sleeping face" clipart above is from OpenClipArt.org.

Take one box of building toys.

Add in one imaginative JSL.

Result?  A boat.

Note the handy cell phone holder.

Time to go sailing.

Reminder: Don’t forget to enter my $25 EdenFantasys giveaway!

This weekend was quite busy.  We started out shopping for bunk beds.  You see, JSL is still in his toddler bed.  However, despite our insisting, he’s growing up.  He’s going to need a regular bed.  Unfortunately, the boys’ room is too small for two twin-sized beds.  So we’re going to have to go vertical.

We think we’ve made our decision, so now we just need to purchase it.  Then, the fun part will be preparing the boys’ room for the bunk bed arrival and setup.  I’ll need to dismantle NHL’s current bed, JSL’s current bed, move a ton of stuffed animals, move toys out of the way, remove some Cars wall clings (that the bunk will likely just cover up), etc.  Of course, I can’t do all this too early or the boys will have nowhere to sleep.

In addition, to looking at bunk beds, we needed to pick up NHL’s painted Angry Bird.  I knew that the colors would be more vibrant once it was finished, but I was still quite impressed.

The boys begged to do some more projects right then and there, but the store was closing in a few hours and we had to get home (refrigerator/freezer groceries in the trunk).

The next day, however, was a lazy day in.  It was Christmas Day and, while we don’t celebrate, we decided to make it a family day.  Ok, the fact that most stores are closed might have factored into it.  Plus, the laziness thing.  Having a lazy day in every once in a while is good.

We mainly spent the day playing computer games and watching TV, including the Disney Parks Christmas Parade.  The boys love parades, though they repeatedly expressed frustration over this one.  Too much singing and not enough characters.  Oh, and when NHL saw Justin Bieber, he let out a loud "Yuck!"  I was so proud. *wipes away a tear*

We ended Christmas Day with our traditional Jewish Christmas Day Dinner: Chinese food.  I lobbied to go out to eat.  Either to a nice, sit-down restaurant or to a buffet.  I even tried inviting B’s parents to come with us, figuring that would help push us to get ready.  Still, though the boys were dressed, B and I were still in our PJs.  (Like I said: Lazy day!)  So we ordered takeout.  I tossed on some clothes and picked it up.

Pretty soon, JSL was munching on rice with sweet and sour chicken sans sauce. (We call it "Chinese Chicken Nuggets" to get JSL to eat it.)  NHL had the sweet and sour chicken and some chicken and broccoli.  B and I shared some steamed vegetable dumplings, vegetable egg rolls, and General Tso’s Bean Curd.  (Bean curd is tofu and tastes better than it sounds!)  Behold, my Christmas Dinner:

Yes, I know what you’re thinking.  Jews eating Chinese food for Christmas dinner.  How stereotypical!  Well, it’s our tradition and I’m a sucker for tradition (and Chinese food).

Hope your Christmas weekend was wonderful no matter how you celebrated it!

Over the last two days, I’ve recounted how we saw animals and made seed packets.  I also told of our train ride to Sesame Street.  Now it was time for what was going to be arguably the kids’ favorite time of the trip: The carousel.

First, a little history.  This isn’t a new carousel.  It’s quite old.  It was first made between 1912 and 1916, but some of the horses date to the 1890′s.

The operator told us that it is given 15 minute rest times between runs to prevent breakdowns.  In fact, we were told, it’s so old that if it ever breaks down, they won’t be able to fix it!  Still, 15 minutes is an easy wait as the upside to this being an older carousel is that it goes faster than more recent ones.

During our first run, JSL and Cousin S took seats in a spinner.  NHL and Cousin B grabbed side-by-side horses.

Talk about old, this is what played the music to go along with the ride.

After this first run, we looked at a few exhibits that were on this floor.  Then, the kids enjoyed some rock candy.

I even got a nice photo of a church that is right next to the museum.  Love the architecture.

Before we knew it, our 15 minute wait was over and it was time for ride number 2.  Cousin B took a horse again.  JSL and Cousin S took side-by-side horses.  NHL decided to ride by himself on a spinner.  (This was on the other side of the carousel so I couldn’t get good photos of him from where I was supervising JSL and Cousin S.)

When the ride was over, the kids went back to their rock candy until it was time for one final ride.  This time, NHL and JSL mounted matching donkeys,  Meanwhile, Papa went on the spinner with Cousins S & B.

During the ride, I noticed the beautiful marble eyes that the animals had.

Finally, the ride was over and it was time to leave.  Mind you, this was over protests of "one more ride."  Still, it was getting late and we needed to leave.  It was a fun time and the boys are already itching to go back.

Yesterday, I began the tale of our trip to the New York State Museum.  As I ended part 1, the kids were running off to see more exhibits.

They first ran into a dinosaur.  They all marveled the dino standing in front of them.  I was barely able to get them to hold still long enough to pose for a photo.

A little further down, they loved seeing, first, a whale’s skull and then a whole whale skeleton.

Even the complete whale skeleton couldn’t measure up to the exhibit were were looking for: Sesame Street.  We wound our way through the museum, relying mostly on my fuzzy memory of where it was.  Then we spotted something that I didn’t remember:  An old A-Train car.

This car was presented in such a way as to let people walk in it and sit in its seats.  The kids were instantly in love.  They ran all around it abuzz with excitement.

As we exited the train, I spotted the familiar face of a certain large, yellow bird.  We had found the way to Sesame Street.

I’ll admit that the exhibit was smaller than I remember.  (I think I half-remembered a larger exhibit from another museum.)  Still, the kids loved seeing even the small portion of Sesame Street.  A bench was positioned so kids could watch snippets of the show on a small television.

Before long, they got restless, though, and it was back to the train car.

Our next big location to visit was the carousel.  However, the boys and I stumbled upon a hidden gem.  A collection of old fire trucks.  What kid doesn’t like fire trucks?

These were right near the second of the museum’s two 9-11 exhibits.  This one included (among other things) a heavily damaged fire truck and a girder from the Twin Towers.  I must admit that I had to touch it and bow my head a bit when I encountered the latter of the two.  Thankfully, the kids were so distracted by the fire trucks they had just seen and the promise of the carousel to come, that they didn’t seem to notice what we were walking by.

Once this was done, we headed for the elevators and went up to ride the carousel.

To be concluded tomorrow.

On Saturday, with Aunt M, Uncle I, Cousin S, and Cousin B in town, we tried to figure out something fun to do with the kids.  We decided upon the New York State Museum.  Not only is it a nice, bit indoor space with some nice exhibits, but there was a craft activity for the kids to do and a carousel.  Just to sweeten the deal, all of this is free.

As we pulled up, we found a spot right near the museum.  The kids excitedly got out of the cars and headed in.  NHL pointed out one of the only skyscrapers that Albany has.  (I grew up near New York City, so I’m used to seeing a lot more skyscrapers.)  He also spotted that odd-shaped building in Albany known as "The Egg" (used for concerts and shows).

Heading in, we asked where the kids craft activity was and headed right for it.  On the way, we passed by one of the two 9-11 exhibits.

The kids weren’t too interested in these, of course, but they got very interested once we found the animal exhibits.

There were also the minerals/rocks which the kids surprisingly liked.  Mainly, I think, because of the colors and sparkliness.

Then, we got to one of their favorite sections: Kids Cove.  In this area, were many animal skins, skulls, leaves and other items for kids to examine close up.  Whereas most of the museum is hands-off, this section encouraged kids to pick up and take a closer look at the items.  (Don’t mind the jackets.  The kids were so excited by all that they saw that they didn’t want to stop to remove them yet.)

Leaving here, we located a Woolly Mammoth.  This was one of our original directions to find the craft table.

The Woolly Mammoth led us to a Native American village, complete with a house we could walk into.

And Native American wedding clothing.

Finally, we found another mammoth.  This one, however, was more skeletal than his friends.

Right by him was the craft table.  We had located our first major stop: Kid Crafts.  The kids settled in and drew, cut, and pasted shut envelopes.  Into these envelopes went some wild flower seeds.  Then, they glued the envelope shut and were done.

The person running the event was great.  She was able to recover from bad cuts and bad gluing.

After the crafts were done, I got Cousin S and JSL to pose by a nearby dinosaur fossil.

Then, off we went to see more.

Tomorrow: Trains, Fire Trucks and Sesame Street!

My parents came for a visit this weekend.  Unfortunately, given economic circumstances (on both ends) and the distance between us, we don’t get to see each other as often as I’d like.  The boys kept getting more and more excited as “Bubbe-and-Grandpa day” drew nearer.  Finally, the day arrived and the boys couldn’t have been happier.  Here are a few highlights from their visit (in no particular order):

Wii Bowling

While enjoying some downtime at our house, we started up the Nintendo Wii.  My mother, who I never think of as a gamer, opted to play a game of Wii Bowling with the boys and me.  The end score was quite impressive.  (As usual, click on the photo to enlarge.)

“Snoopy” was my mother.  That 121 score?  That was JSL!  He was rocking the virtual bowling alley with two strikes and three spares.  He even beat his older brother (who came in with a not-too-shabby 113).

Beating Up My Dad

Ok, this sounds bad, but it really isn’t.  After Wii Bowling was done, we loaded Wii Boxing and I handed the Wiimote to my dad.  Then, he and I duked it out.  I won, but he got some good punches in.  I don’t think he expected a simple video game to give his arms such a workout.

Toy Story Mania

After coming back from lunch (and some shopping), we went back to my house.  Killing time before I had to start dinner, I put Toy Story Mania into the Wii.  This time, NHL, my father and I played.  We all had fun playing the various Toy Story-based carnival games.  For the record, I won easily.  Got nearly my father’s and NHL’s score combined.  Part of that was probably because, due to a quirk in the game, I got to play solo in a lot of games.  This gave me exclusive access to the point generating activities instead of sharing them with another player.

Knitting Bonding

My mother mentioned that she wanted to learn how to knit a scarf.  I pointed out that B has knitted a few.  At the time, she was in the middle of two scarf-knitting projects.  While the boys, my dad and I occupied ourselves with other activities, my wife and mother bonded over knit-pearl.

“Cooking” Dinner

I wanted to show my parents my cooking skills.  I didn’t actually wind up getting the chance to do this.  Instead, we went to BJ’s and bought frozen/refrigerated dishes to heat up and serve.  Still, eating dinner at home with my parents versus in a restaurant was a nice experience.

Cake Wrecks

I showed my parents the Cake Wrecks book and they kept laughing.  When I left it on the table to check on dinner, I saw them flipping through the pages laughing at all of the mangled cakes.  I need to remember to e-mail them the URL for the Cake Wrecks blog.

Cupcakes

We stopped by the new Fluffalicious store and got some delicious cupcakes for dessert.  It was quite the yummy stop to make (and one I think we’ll be making quite a few more times in the near future).

The whole weekend was so much fun that I (*gasp*) forgot to take photos!  We got photos of cupcakes and the like, but realized that we didn’t get a picture of my parents with the boys.  Luckily, just before my parents left to go home, we were able to snag this photo of us.  (B’s manning the camera – and trying to avoid cars in the parking lot it was taken in.)

I miss my parents already and hope we get to see them again sometime soon.

On Saturday, while B was at a family function, NHL and JSL asked if they could play Nintendo Wii with me.  I agreed and tried to think of a game that would be good for JSL to play.  He doesn’t quite get the game controls all the time and this can frustrate him.  That’s when I remembered Wii Bowling.

When we got our Nintendo Wii, back in 2007, Wii Sports was the first game we played.  It was, after all, included with the console.  I’ve loved bowling since I was a kid so I took to the bowling game right away.  NHL, then 4 years old, had some initial difficulty with the controls but soon learned.  Pretty soon, he was bowling scores that he couldn’t get in a real bowling ally with bumpers on!

Fast forward to Saturday.  I located the Wii Sports disc and loaded up Wii Bowling.  I explained to JSL how to bowl and off we went.  JSL, understandably, had a lot of trouble.  He got frustrated quite a few times, but kept at it.  In the end, he bowled a 72.  NHL, meanwhile, stunned me.  While I bowled a respectable 113, NHL crushed me by bowling a 156!

That’s ok, though.  The next day, we had a rematch.  JSL didn’t fare as well, dropping to a 58.  NHL also dropped to a 95.  I, however, increased my score to a 173.

I don’t think I need to worry about being beaten by NHL just yet, but he’s improving rapidly.  By this time next year, he might just be beating me regularly.  And, if he is any guide, I don’t have many more years of being able to beat JSL.  Five years from now, I might be posting about how we dusted off the old Nintendo Wii and both of my boys beat me at Wii Bowling.