Kiss My Knits!

The family went to see UP today. I had heard from many people that there was a bit at the beginning that was sad, so I had prepared Em by telling her there was a sad part in the first five minutes, but then it was okay. She was a bit anxious about it but still wanted to go, so we went. We got in ten minutes early and thus were bombarded by ten minutes of top-volume top-speed Disney Channel/Cartoon Network promos. And that was before the previews. So we had already had to sit through 30 minutes of in-your-face overstimulating promos targeted toward kids before the movie even started. Em told us several times before the movie started and as it was beginning that she was scared. There was nothing scary or sad happening on the screen, but she was so anxious that she wanted to leave three minutes into the movie. So we did. Many thanks to the fine folks at Stonecrest Cinemas for giving us our money back. We would have settled for a credit, so that was a very nice act on their part. At least we got to see the cute and funny short before the movie, so that’s something.

We stopped by Marble Slab Creamery afterward to drown our sorrows in ice cream. Em got a big frosted waffle cone with sprinkles filled with strawberry ice cream rolled in sprinkles. My girl loves her sprinkles.

We weren’t even all the way home before she was talking about being tired. I first thought it was the movie but later realized it was the ice cream. Comments like “I feel strange” and even more worryingly, “I feel like I need a new heart” are not what a parent wants to hear. She was pretty speedy from the ice cream. As far as I’m concerned, she can never have that much ice cream at one time again.

She’s been miserable and exhausted all afternoon. It’s clearly a physical reaction. You know that little worried open-mouthed exhalation you give when you feel really headachy and like you’re about to be ill? She did that for a while. But she said her stomach didn’t hurt, and she didn’t feel like she had to throw up or anything else. I think her entire system’s just off and she’s unhappy. As any of us would be.

At this point I think I’m ready to make a doctor’s appointment. I mean, there are any number of individual causes I can isolate as possibly being the cause of her sleep problems and irritability, but there’s also the possibility that it’s none of those things. I had said before that I thought it might be ice cream late in the day and that did happen today, but what if it’s something else? Sleep problems run in her family, but I don’t want to miss something important and systemic just because I’m assuming that it’s just that “sleep problems run in her family.”

Right now she’s in bed, down for the night early. She didn’t want to get out of bed all afternoon anyway, so we figured it was for the best. She’s crying right now. I’m pretty miserable myself.

I have a feeling no one’s going to get much sleep tonight.

ETA: She asked to get back up and I let her. She got up, we played I Spy on the computer for about 15 minutes, then she decided to go back to bed. I think she may do better this time – mastery of her destiny and all that. Fingers crossed for luck.

ETA again: I take it back, she’s crying pretty good in there again. I’m not going to update anymore; this is just too heartbreaking.