My oldest and I are watching the original Home Alone* because he’s only seen the inferior Home Alone 3 (they kept playing the third movie on cable over and over again. why? and why do these children kept getting left home alone? shouldn’t someone call DFS?). I realize while watching this how much Ethan looks like a young Macaulay Culkin so I’ll try to get him to do the hands on the face thing and take a picture. By the way, I don’t think I would ever forget my kid and get on an airplane but it does sound like a good anxiety dream. Why do my nocturnal anxieties still manifest in dreams of missing a final exam in college instead of nightmares where I leave my kid in the attic and fly to France?

I’ve been busy preparing for Christmas by doing the least amount of shopping I’ve ever managed in December. Some of this was budgetary concerns but Mike took on a chunk of the shopping by himself one weekend while I made cookies with the kids (between the sprinkles and the gingerbread dough, my carpet was sticky). I did some shopping online which is always nice as long as I make the free delivery dates. I probably forgot to buy some presents for at least one person and will have to make a last minute dash amongst the crazed shoppers.

Something else I cut back on this year was Christmas cards of which I usually send between 80-100 to friends and family. This year, I cut back to 40 cards and it was painful having to cut back to so few people. I find myself wondering if those who were cut from the list notice I haven’t mailed one yet and if they will cut me next year. I really enjoy getting non-bills in the mail so I hope they don’t cut me.

A holiday activity we’ve increased this year is driving around looking at lights and listening to Christmas music. At this point, I’m getting sick of the holiday music and am quick to turn off many songs.

These are the only songs that don’t make me quickly flip the station in late December:

Mele Kalikimaka (Hawaiian Christmas Song) by Bing Crosby which is not played nearly enough. How come Wham’s Last Christmas is blaring in every department store but there’s no love for Bing? Incidentally, George Michael seems the type to give his heart to someone “special” every Christmas so I’m not buying the sob story.

Baby It’s Cold Outside by anyone but in particular by Zooey Deschanel from the movie Elf. I develop these musical tics from time to time where I can’t get a segment of a song out of my head and this one has been entrenched in my brain all week. This has been the year of “Elf” in our house and we’ve watched the movie multiple times and just the song segments more than that. Lily doesn’t like when Buddy’s Dad, James Caan, acts mean and she gets upset when he appears on the screen but the boys seem to approve of the film. My other favorite Christmas movies are “Love Actually” and “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Every year, I rope Mike into watching “Love Actually” with me which isn’t even much roping because he likes the movie as much as I do and by the end, we’re both cheering for Sam to jump the airport turnstile. I haven’t watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” yet this year but I’m on the look out for when it appears on the DVR schedule.

Blue Christmas by Elvis. This is one of the older songs that is still played constantly on the Christmas stations and I just can’t help but love it. I think it is a combination of the way he says the word “blue” and the soulful background singers. Plus, I have a bit of a soft spot for Elvis and fond memories of almost getting kicked out of Graceland for using a flash on my camera.  I’ve been to Graceland twice, once for the mansion tour and once to see the airplanes (his plane had a full bed with a seat belt). Graceland is weird- it is crazy expensive and the house isn’t even that nice. The common areas are frozen in late seventies decor with all its dark cabinets, shag carpet and unfortunate olive greens and orange combos. After taking the tour, you can get an overpriced fried peanut and banana sandwich with coke in a bottle in the snack shop.

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings” by Bare Naked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan because I like my Canadians and Christmas in Hollis because I like Run DMC. I also find myself leaving “Home for the Holidays” on when it shows up because something about the lyrics, “Met a Man who lives in Tennessee and he was headin for Pennsylvania and some home made pumpkin pie. From Pennsylvania folks a travelin’ down to Dixie’s Southern Shore, From Atlantic to Pacific, gee the traffic is terrific.” that appeal to me. I think it is the frequency of P words with pumpkin and Pennsylvania.

I’m sure there are more but I need to watch Joe Pesci get his butt kicked by Kevin in Home Alone. Hope you have a wonderful holiday XO.

*Did you know that Home Alone is the highest grossing live action comedy of all time in the United States? Now you do.

We’ve been icked. Jack started first with a fever on Tuesday and has been downright pathetic ever since. I took him into the new pediatrician* yesterday while he moaned, “I wanna go home” the entire time. He was so miserable, he wouldn’t walk but managed to summon the super human strength needed to fight off the evil otoscope. I have perfected my little kid ear check hold so the doctor was able to ascertain his ear tubes were okay, his tonsils enormous as usual, his throat raw and his nose stuffed. She swabbed his throat and the back of his nose with long q-tips which is just what a sick kid wants. I peeled him off the ceiling in time to find out his screenings were negative for flu and strep.

The doctor told me, “Well, he looks like C-R-A-P (She spelled out crap which I found amusing. If E was with me, he probably would have memorized it and walked around singing “C-R-A-P”) and has all the symptoms of the flu.” She said the screening is only 70% accurate and she was fairly sure he had H1N1 since A) He was exposed and B) symptoms and misery not explained by anything else.

What about the immunizations you ask? The triplets were not immunized against H1N1 flu because their pediatrician’s office only got the flu mist which is a live, weakened version of the virus and isn’t supposed to be given to kids with respiratory problems like Lily. We could have taken a chance and given it to the boys but we didn’t like exposing Lily by giving them the weakened virus. We consulted with three different doctors, including the pediatric pulmonologist, about the live vaccine and got three different opinions ranging from “Do NOT give anyone in the house the live virus vaccine.” to “Give it to the boys, the chances of transmitting it from Flu-mist are low.”. We debated and cancelled the appointment for the mist and decided to wait for the shot (dead virus). Our pediatrician’s office still does not have the shot. Other doctor offices in the area are giving it out to “normal” kids and our high risk child still cannot get it. We are at the largest pediatrician’s office in our county- one that is afilliated with the large hospital where the triplets were born- and they still don’t have it. One pediatrician I spoke to at another hospital scoffed when I told him our pediatrician’s office only has the Flu-Mist. He is the same one who said absolutely do not give them the live virus and he said, “I thought only the schools were getting the mist. We only have the shot.”. So, what happened? Who can I blame? Which administrative snafu resulted in our pediatrician’s office lacking in a vaccine other Dr’s have available? Can I find the weak link and make him or her babysit three 4 year olds with the flu?
While I construct an effigy of a bumbling office worker who messed up the vaccine delivery, I have to hold the kids and give them Tamiflu, etc. Lily needs extra oxygen, nebulizer treatments and constant vigilence (She wound up in ICU two years ago with flu. I don’t like her having the flu with her scarred, fragile, prone to pneumonia lungs.). Jack is still miserable and doesn’t want Ethan to look at him, pretend to touch him or talk. Jack is a little irritable. Ethan is still fairly healthy but has started running a temperature nd is crying that Lily isn’t being responsible for some reason (Preschool focuses on being responsible. I don’t think they know what it actually means but they sure like to say it.). Right now, I’m sitting on the couch while each of the triplets are touching one of my limbs but not each other and the dog is laying on my feet while I peck this missive on my Blackberry listening to Sesame Street** I hope they actually have the flu so the Tamiflu kicks in and makes them feel better. Until then, wish me luck.

*This was our first time meeting the new pediatrician since out beloved Dr defected to another practice. I wanted to cry when I saw his art was gone from the walls. The new Dr is nice, spells out C-R-A-P and seems thorough but I still miss our old pediatrician. I may start stalking him. Do you think he would look at my kids if I followed him around the grocery store with a stethosocope?

** I prefer PBS to every other kid station because NO COMMERCIALS to send the kids into greedy fits of toy lust and because the shows are just better. For example, the Sesame Street we’re currently watching has a segment called “Bring Out Your K” which is a play on Monty Python’s “Bring Out Your Dead” and dammit, that’s funny to me. Because I’m also a geek. So yeah, Sesame Street RULEZ!