So We're All a Little Bit Blue...

Yesterday, my Sprocket had grommets put in his ears to help his hearing.
When he came home, his little nose bleeding a touch and still subdued, there was not a question that what the little boy wanted the little boy would get. So we're suckers. Mostly, I'm okay with that.
What he wanted was to watch 'big boy' shows on ABC3, which generally are banned.
And to make blue cupcakes.
And if my brave little boy wanted blue cupcakes, well, blue cupcakes he would get. We made the bluest cupcakes I've ever seen or even imagined. A truly beautiful, rich teal. Those with a weaker stomach might have thought the cupcakes distinctly queasifying. The kids loved them and ate them all before they cooled enough to ice.
Now, I should have realised that he'd recovered from his trip to the hospital when I had to tell him off for climbing on top of the wardrobe. But no. When there was a suspicious silence I just thought, O, the kids are playing nicely together.
Eventually, two and two clicked. My Poppet coming through and telling me they hadn't been making a mess in the kitchen, possibly gave the show away. There was just something about her grin.
And they had been playing nicely together.
My beloved heard my exclamation and asked me to tell him it had nothing to do with the blue food dye.
I told him I didn't think I could do that.
Because, playing very nicely and quietly, they'd painted the entire kitchen floor, and a few chairs and the table for good measure, blue.
I think I can safely say that my little one recovered from surgery quite quickly.
We're all a bit blue now. Hands, feet, pyjamas, faces.
It's slowly washing off.

Flued and Freaked

So this is just a moan. Really.
On the plus side, the weather continues to be perfect. My rhapsodies over the wonders of Autumn continue. Camp Nano continues well. At 38,000 words I only need 12,000 more in the next um... 5 days to make my  50,000 in a month. An open fire and marshmallows are again on the agenda for tonight.
The moan?
I've got some hateful bug I'm going to call the flu, but it's probably side effects from my flu jab on Tuesday. Whatever it is, I'm feeling very sorry for myself.
And tomorrow is the day my Sprocket (all going well) goes to his daddy's hospital to get his grommets put in. I'm so excited about my little boy finally (hopefully) being able to hear properly, and put an end to conversations like this:
"Sweetheart, please get down from the window."
Sprocket stands on the back of the couch to swing on the curtain rod.
"Please get down from the window, now!"
Sprocket doesn't answer. Starts swinging.
"Sprocket-First Middle Name-Second Middle Name- Surname, if you do not get down right now you are getting quiet time from here till Sunday!"
Sprocket monkeys along the curtain rod, narrowly avoiding breaking yet another window.
"That's it! Down! OUT. Into the garden." Manually remove from window and vamoose into back garden.
X 100 every single day.
I keep reminding myself that he really can't hear. That the only bit he gets is the bit where I pick him up and take him outside and talk loudly into his ear. And I try to remember to always come close and talk right in his ear the first time. But... a soft-voiced mama and a deaf, adventurous, little boy is a really, really bad combination. To think that might change tomorrow is... amazingly wonderful.
Of course, right now I'm in conniptions about my baby having his first general anaesthetic. I mentioned this to my beloved,  the third year med-student, who said "I know, I'm petrified."
I am not reassured.
Is it wrong I plan to bring my computer to the hospital to write while my little one is under the anaesthetic?  It probably is, so pretend I didn't say that. Of course, I'll be pacing and biting my nails instead.

10/52

1. My Sprocket through the trampoline mesh. We've just confirmed my Sprocket has long term fluid in his inner ears and massive hearing loss. He's getting grommets in a few weeks, but it breaks my heart to think he's hearing the world so indistinctly. This photo seems to me to sum up his hearing loss- this is how blurrily he hears the world. It explains a lot and we hope for great things when he gets his grommets. But... his first operation... my little boy...

2. My Poppet and I in summer light, just back from the pool. This summer is dragging on, but there are some wonderful moments.

Joining with the lovely Jodi of Che and Fidel for a portrait of my kids once a week for a year.