I don't know what this is.

Yesterday morning was great. Nathan was adjusting to his new sleeping arrangements - sure, I had to sit on him until he was almost asleep, but then he'd sleep in the bed the whole night long. And at least I COULD help him stay in the bed, because with climbing out of the crib it was a little bit harder.

Anyway, after a good night's sleep Steve actually took the boys AWAY to get haircuts, which was also good, because no matter how much I brushed down Nick's hair it would stick up all over the place. And they were gone for some time, which was also good for me, although not for them because poor Steve had to deal with the boys at the barber shop, which was crowded even for Saturday, and Nicholas is going through that "question" phase where he asks for everything and wants to do everything all the time. (Can we have a picnic in the garage? Can I have my very own soda? Can I take the pillow from your bed and give you the pillow from my bed? Can I wear my winter hat to the park? Can I brush my teeth you your toothpaste? Can I bring this bag to school?)

When the boys got home it was lunchtime, but Nathan headed right up to bed. "Nigh nigh" he said. And then... and then the world fell apart. I went to check on him, and he started to cry and WOULD NOT LET ME GO. He wouldn't fall asleep. He wouldn't really stop crying. His breath was hitching with sobs so that even when he tried to stop crying he would still be hitching and then the crying would start up again. I put him in the car to help him fall asleep, and he fell asleep thirty seconds into the drive. As soon as I stopped the car, however, he woke up. He cried and cried and cried, and he had no temperature or any other symptom so to speak of...

Eventually I put on the Tigger Movie, and he turned into himself again. It was as though nothing ever happened... until last night. At about midnight the whole thing started up again. I tried rocking him. I tried sleeping in the bed with him... the thing is, he would start the crying in his sleep, without waking up. I tried giving him Motrin, just in case there was something hurting him, and he swallowed about half of it before throwing a fit and then puking all over the bathroom floor.

I did not get a lot of sleep last night. And this morning Nate woke Nick up very early, and then I put in the Tigger Movie, again, just so I could sleep on the couch while they turned back into normal humans. And they DID turn back into their normal selves, which unfortunaely meant that they bounced like little Tiggers all over my trying-to-sleep body, tried crawling on the couch to sleep WITH me (there is no room for that anymore!), and asked me for juice, cereal, milk, a trip to New York, and chocolate covered graham crackers until I seriously wanted to cry.

Why do kids only get sick on the weekends? I don't feel like I can take Nathan to the Emergency Room and pay $100 just to say "he's been crying a lot instead of sleeping, but he's normal otherwise and has no fever." They would happily take my money and send me on my way, and then laugh at me before I was fully out the door.