Divine Discussion

I was riding in a taxi with Kate and Charlie today, and Kate unexpectedly asked me,"Mummy, what does Heaven look like?"

So I answered her as well as I could, saying,"Well, Kate, no one really knows what Heaven looks like, because you have to actually die to see it, and you can't actually come back and tell everyone about it after, can you?"

She mulled that over for a second, and then asked,"Is Heaven real?"  And I again answered,"I don't know, that would also require dying to know about."

So Charlie piped in,"We can find out."

And Kate said to him in her best older-than-you-so-I-am-so-mature-and-knowledgeable voice,"Well, Charlie, only people who are really old, or have been shot, die."  And then she turned to me and said,"I think Heaven must be on a cloud, that's why people in Heaven can watch us after they die."

I shrugged, and then Charlie said in his you-idiot voice,"Nooo, rain comes from clouds."

Kate ignored him and postulated that the cloud that Heaven was on must be a really big cloud, above all the other clouds, as it had to be big enough for all the dead people.  And then she did some free-form thought:

"There are a lot of dead people aren't there."
"People from The Past (which they studied in school this past year) are dead."
"Some people from Ancient Egypt are dead." [I replied,"Yes, just some." and had a hard time not falling apart at that one]
"Are there different Heavens for people from different countries?" [a very interesting thought for a 6 1/2 year-old; she doesn't know that much about what different religions believe, but she has picked up a little bit, being in such a multi-cultural school]

And then she held up a finger and said,"I know!
I think Heaven must be in outer space!  It has to be, because it has to be big enough so people form different countries can all go to the same one!"

The Boss

This morning (at 5:30am) Charlie crept into bed with me.  I do love a snuggle in the morning, but 5:30am is a bit early for one.  But he was there.  So.  He fidgeted and fidgeted, and then was still.  For a few moments.
And then he whispered,"Mummy."
"Mmmhmmm...?"
"When you not here and when Ti not here, then Daddy's the boss, right?  Right?"
"Yes."
And then he laid back and smiled smugly that he was right.

It's Good to Be Home (Part III)

When Charlie and Kate were going to bed, Charlie said,"Goodnight Kate.  I love you."

He really missed us a lot.

He's only just stopped acting pissed off at me for not being here for 4 nights.

It's Good to Be Home (Part II)

And it's good to have been here for this:

It's Good to Be Home

We've had a hell of a time of it.

Kate's chicken pox was the worst I had ever seen, and then she picked them all.  Arrrgh!

And then.

They got infected.

We just got home yesterday, after spending 4 nights in the hospital.  They had to put her under general anaesthesia, in order to scrape out all the bacteria and infected flesh.   Then they had to sedate her every time they changed her dressings.  However, it was like Kate has this force field around her - she would drowse to sleep, then when the doctor came within a few inches of her, her eyes would snap open and she would start to scream.  After three doses, the doctor had to stop giving her sedatives and we just had to deal with the screams.  It was probably the hardest thing I've had to do so far in her life.  Injections are like cupcakes compared to this.

And then.

She kept picking at her plasters!

I was about to kill her.

But now we are home, and she is on the mend.  There will be scarring, but I'm just happy she's ok.  I'm dutifully rubbing in the anti-scar cream (which smells looovely), and she is taking her antibiotics (which taste gross).  So hopefully this will all just be a bad memory soon.

But, man, that hospital room was incredible!

The view...

The room (huuuuuge!)....

The patient (before she found out what they had to do!)...

I'm Spoilt

James has been known to spoil me in the past.  For example, the first camera, the second camera and then my birthday last year.

Yesterday,  he surprised even me!  Out of the blue, he called and said,"Diane von Furstenberg is having a sale."  And then he told me to meet him there.  He treated me to a beautiful dress:

AND this fantastic gown (imagine me in it, looking better than this model!):

He has outdone even himself.

The Pox is Upon Us

So Kate has just had the worst case of chicken pox I've ever heard of.  At first, she seemed really whingey, but after a while I realised that her poxes ran really deep, and were extremely painful.  She's still limping, two weeks after it started, because she still has a really deep one just between her big and second toes on one foot.  I really feel for her.  She keeps picking and picking, and we keep shouting not to pick (and I keep showing her my own scars), and still it doesn't stop.  But at least she is not contagious and can go to her summer programme now; she has already missed tennis camp, which she was really looking forward to.

We thought we were gonna get away with it....but....

Two weeks to the day that Kate got the pox, Charlie got it.  We thought it was going to be a milder case, as they don't seem to be as deep as Kate's, but he has a whole load of them around his mouth. 

I'm hoping that they don't show up in his mouth, too.  And I'm hoping that the one that's just above his willie doesn't indicate that there will be more slightly lower!