Seriously???

I had grandiose plans for a post today about my parenting philosophy, specifically my approach to parenting a child with special needs. Alas, it was not meant to be. I woke to two sick little boys. Actually, I was up with one of them all night. And it certainly doesn't help that I seem to have contracted the same virus. Sigh. I mean, seriously... I thought cold/flu season was ending. Can you hear the tiny violins? Yep. That's the kind of post I'm writing today.
Baby J gets a lot out of his weekly preschool class. He has learned to take turns better, play nicely with others, and to sit at circle time among countless other things. Bean and I get some one-on-one time and I get a few things done with just one of the dudes in tow. But that's not all. We are also blessed weekly with icky toddler germs that often ends in at least one of us getting sick. This one hit the three of us and husband thinks he's getting it, too. Nice. It's not horrible. Just a sore throat, congestion, cough, low-grade fever and headache. But that is enough to make my sweet Bean miserable.
He is rarely still. Today is an exception. Bean had a great night last night. As a matter of fact, he took his first two independent steps last night. Then, he was up all night because he couldn't breathe and he couldn't seem to figure out how to breathe through his mouth. That's also causing feeding problems. He is not interested in solids at all. Well, he never is but today is worse. He wants to nurse so bad but can't manage the whole breathing thing. We do the whole saline/nose plunger thing but it only seems to help for a few minutes.
He's also cutting four (Yes, four!) teeth and it doesn't help that every time he gets sick, his reflux flares. Seriously. This kid never gets a break.
He didn't have a fever yet this morning and seemed relatively happy, so we went ahead with his developmental therapy session. He did ok. Played. Stood. Bounced. Vocalized. But by thirty minutes in to the hour-long session, he was ready to be done. So, the therapist and I talked a bit and called it a day. When she left, we attempted a quick lunch and then settled in for a nap. He was beyond ready for sleep and actually slept pretty well. It was the happiest he's been all day. See?

Baby J has the same cold but he's handling it much better. I was worried that he would be a monster during therapy but he just chilled on the couch and watched videos and played games on my phone. He even ate a decent lunch and took a nap. It helps that he understands how to blow his nose and he's able to communicate what hurts and what I can do to help him. He was even in a good enough mood to bully his brother out of his lounge spot on the chair and pose for a few pictures, imitating Bean - only much happier.

As for me? I'm fine. Taking Motrin around the clock and taking it easy. I didn't bother cooking dinner tonight. We can make-do with leftovers. Husband called. Just now. Like 3 minutes ago. And told me that he will be late getting home from work tonight That means a delayed break for me. Oh well, my break, just like my parenting post, will have to wait. Off to cuddle the kids. Seriously.