Meat on a Stick...

Last night was Tom's work Christmas party. This year, it was held at a new(er?) restaurant downtown called Fogo de Chao. If you have never heard of this (I hadn't either), it's, by their own description, an "authentic Brazillian steakhouse". Indeed. I have never seen so much meat in my life.

They give you a card at your place setting that is green on one side and says "Yes, please!" and red on the other and says, "No! Thank you!" You quickly learn why you need to be judicious with the green side. Waiters wander by approximately every minute and a half with giant slabs of meat on skewers. Chicken, Beef, Lamb, Pork, Ribs... all seasoned and cooked in a million different ways. If you have the green side up, they just piling meat on your plate. To quote my husband, "It really is a celebration of gluttony."

In addition to the constant flow of meat, they also keep bringing fried banana, fried polenta and garlic mashed potatoes to your table. Oh and that's not all... there is a HUGE gourmet salad bar thing with cheeses, peppers, olives, smoked salmon, stalks of asparagus so large they would make your grandma blush and of course, salads... lots and lots of salads.

My stomach is revolting this morning, begging to know what I did to it. I only eat red meat a couple times a year, and I'm just not sure it knows what to do with it. Eeeeagh.

Oh yes, and dessert... the molten chocolate cake and ice cream may also be contributing to my tummyache. yeeeeeeah....

I got to spend this year's party with my future sister-in-law too, which made it WAY more fun. I enjoy talking to Tom's coworkers and they are all wonderful, but it's fun that it's kind of a family event for me too now. ;) When I get tired of small talk with everyone else, I have someone comfortable to chat with... for an introvert like me, this makes all the difference in the world!

So yeah, Fogo do Chao... thumbs up... but pace yourself! ;)

Pageant Day!

I have decided there are several distinct types of kids in a preschool performance. Turns out, we have the kind who doesn't sing. I'm happy to have the Non-Singer though, as opposed to The Cryer, The One Who Runs Away, or the Nose Picker. ;)

So the Pageant was truly adorable. Total chaos, but adorable. I tried to capture it on video for you, a difficult feat because I was competing with lots and lots of taller parents in front of me AND I had a bad seat because Ben was all the way on the other side. What I did capture was amusing, and I tried to make it slightly more interesting for you by spicing it up with my editorial comments. (which I hope you can read, because the font is so tiny! Sorry!)

Click here for the fun. Hee.

Afterward, we all watched a tear-jerking Precious Moments movie called "Timothy's Gift" and then Tom and I got to go down to Ben's classroom and watch the kids have their little party. Cute, if not a bit awkward, standing around with 14 other parents watching kids eat. ;)Plus, I always feel sort of bad that we're disturbing their little routine. But it's always nice to see Ben with his classmates... and especially nice to know that my kid isn't the only one to lick cookies and try to put them back on the serving plate. Woohoo!

A got a little video of the classroom party too...
Click here.

When I got home, the phone rang and it was Ben's teacher. She had forgotten to give the kids their gifts they made for their mommies and daddies and wanted to bring Ben's over. She was driving to each child's house this afternoon. How sweet is that? She came by with the present (a cute painted wood star with a moon on it. "To give mommy the moon and the stars" she said) and wished Ben a merry Christmas. I am going to cry at the end of the year because Ben's not going to have her again! (I'll just have to hope for Simon to get her in two years!)

So that's all! Tonight is Tom's work party, so I'm regrouping to go hang out with adults for the evening. ;)

Preschool Treats and a Cute Brother Pic...

The kids are making goody bags at their school party tomorrow... these are our contribution. See the little cards Ben made? Didn't he do an awesome job with the names? (though I'm not sure what happened with that middle one) :)




And this is from earlier... Ben was watching Sesame Street and Simon crawled over and joined him for a minute before moving on to trying to eat the remote. Cute, huh? ;)


For all who have asked, Simon is MUCH better. He slept almost all night last night and hasn't coughed much at all today... still a little wheezy here and there, but definitely seems to be on the mend. :)

Our Christmas Card...

Since all of our cards appear to be delivered, I thought I'd share it here for those of you who didn't get it in your mailbox. :) My international friends didn't get them this year because I forgot to purchase extra postage. :( And I didn't do blog friends this year because the card list was getting way out of hand... Anyway, consider yourself carded. :)


In case you can't read the greeting, here's what it says:
Our Christmas Card -- By the Numbers:

* 49 shots resulting in only TWO where both boys were looking at the camera
* Two gigantic spit-ups courtesty of Simon
* 12 exclamations of "PLEASE don't sit on your brother!" and "PLEASE don't lick your brother!"
* 32 "Santa's watching!" threats to Ben to get him to sit down and cooperate
* Only ONE chance at our very first Christmas card with big brother and little brother in silly matching pajamasd

Merry Christmas from the Baby Human Family House of Insanity!
Tom, Erin, Benjamin (3-1/2) and Simon (6 months)

The Digging Has Started...

And, as it appears, I am right near the "hub" of their work... at first glance, it looks like I am completely trapped in my house. But I'm thinking if I go out and look pitiful or perhaps just irritated... with two kids hanging off of me, they will let me get to my car. Grr...

Both of Them Are Doing Fun New Things! :)

Ben:
I sat down with him this afternoon to help him make some Christmas cards for his class and his teacher. He has shown some interest lately in tracing letters and numbers, so I thought we'd give it a whirl. I wrote each classmate's name on the fronts in dots and his name on the inside in dots. He traced all of them...and rather well for a child who usually doesn't have the attention span for that sort of thing and therefore, hasn't had a lot of practice. He also drew a little picture in each of them (okay, mostly scribbles). I'm so proud of these little cards because I totally didn't expect him to sit there with me all that time and he really did do such a good job.

We do have one last one to do... a thank you note for someone who just sent him a really thoughtful gift in the mail... but her name is kinda long and he gave up two letters in. ;) So, if you sent Ben a gift in the last two days, (wink wink) please know his thank you is coming... it just might take a little while. ;)

Simon:
Simon has fallen in love with Ben's Cabbage Patch doll, Molly (the doll formerly known as Reggie). And, as I discovered this afternoon, he understands the word "baby" as it pertains to Molly. (the doll formerly known as Reggie) ;) When I say, "Simon, where's the baby?" He looks for the doll, spots it, smiles and crawls over to get it." He also seems to know the word "kiss". When I say, "Give baby a kiss!" he leans in to Molly's face, makes a "mmmm!!!" sound and then smiles a HUGE smile at me. Too cute, this kid. ;) I think he is starting to understand "more" and "all done" too, though for some reason, he just thinks "all done!" is the funniest thing ever.

Tired.

Last night was better, but not even close to good sleep, by any stretch. And the kicker of this fun little virus? For whatever reason, Simon WILL not sleep in his crib. Actually, he'll barely sleep without being held. He passes out quickly in our arms, but the second we try to make the transfer to the crib or, my other brilliant idea last night, a bean bag lined with his softest blanket, he wakes right up and screams. We've been lulling him to sleep and then putting him ever so gently in our bed in between us, which, for whatever reason, seems to be the only thing that KINDA works. I think it's warm enough to trick him into thinking he's still in someone's arms... still, he sleeps fitfully and wakes up about a thousand times. I considered it a small success last night when he woke up at 2a.m., but didn't scream and, instead, wanted to play.

I hope this virus gets the heck out of dodge soon because I'm not sure how long I can function on this little sleep. It's worse than any newborn, first-night-home nights we EVER had with EITHER baby.

Everything I've read says it can last from 5-15 days. By my calculations, I think he could be on day 3-4. The snot production has ramped up by about a thousand percent since just yesterday, so I figure that puts us smack in the middle of it. Fifteen days is a long time... a very, very long time. :(

My Baby Can't Catch a Break...

...but he can catch just about everything else!

This morning, after another horribly sleepless night and fun new symptom -- wheezing, I hauled little dude BACK over the pediatrician's office. As soon as she and the nurse heard his breathing, they hooked him up to a nebulizer treatment. After that, because he still sounded bad, the doctor sent us over to the ER for two more treatments and to be checked out by the hospital pediatrician.

Somewhere in here, I dropped Ben at his NaNee and Pap's house.

Stopped at home to pick up my cell phone, two more bottles, a granola bar and a book. (a half dozen ER trips have prepared me well... by the next time, I think I will have it perfect)

Arrived at the ER with Little Dude at 10:30a.m. They got him in pretty quickly and he got another breathing treatment. After that, he got yet another RSV test, another chest x-ray and a flu test. He was not happy for those few moments... but the rest of the time, he entertained the masses. The doctor, the respiratory therapist, three nurses, a tech and two little old ladies in adjacent rooms.

By noon-something, we found out that his chest x-ray looked different from last week's.

He took a long nap at this point and I read my book. I was temporarily content that this was taking awhile because the poor little guy really needed to sleep.

By 1 or 2-something, we found out the RSV test came back POSITIVE.

Yes. RSV. Thankfully, he was a full-term baby and is robust (heh) and healthy, so any complications are unlikely. But seriously. WHAT THE HECK? My poor kid!

He got another breathing treatment during one of the naps he took and when they checked him again, he was sounding much better.

They FINALLY let us go at 3:30p.m. Five hours I was there! Ridiculous, I tell you. And while I sat there left to entertain myself and my baby, I came up with ALL kinds of ways the St. Joe's ER could be improved. I might just write them a nice, long letter about it.

We are home now... with an antibiotic for yes, an ear infection. (he will be getting tubes after we clear up the RSV) and our very own cool nebulizer thingy to give him breathing treatments if necessary.

If this is what a second-born goes through, what happens with the third-born?!

Please send prayers for a healthy 2008 our way!

Cookie Day!

Today was cookie day at NaNee and Pap's house... it was a particularly special cookie day because this year, there were two new little decoraters. Well, actually there were more than that if you count almost-Aunt-Sarah, who, despite an initial and somewhat inexplicable aversion to decorating cookies, seemed to eventually come around and enjoy herself a little. ;) I vow to make next year's cookie day a true event, taking a page from the Periwinkles book (no post, just a blog link) and getting cookie day tees for the kids. :)

Annnyway....

Here's Ben sampling the sugar... he did more of this than actually decorating, I think.


Oh wait, he did decorate a few, after all!


Aunt Sarah trying to decide between snowflake and Christmas tree sprinkles -- Uncle Taylor was ambivalent.


Princess A choosing some sprinkles with her mommy... or perhaps trying to eat a lid, one or the other


Simon getting in on the action...


Can I eat this?

Another Plague...

Yet another plague has descended upon our home.

It seems to be the one everyone else has right now... the horrible cough that started as wet cough several days ago and now is sort of a weird cough that I can't even describe, but from watching my kids with it, I am guessing it is apparantely QUITE painful, low grade fever, strange ear pain (Kids with tubes can't HAVE ear INFECTION pain, so right now we've just labeled it "the strange ear pain"), general fatigue, whinyness/fussiness and wanting to cuddle/be held.

Simon has been up all night for two nights now, last night being the worst. Everytime he coughs, he cries that horrible ear-piercing baby pain cry... he's not eating much. Thankfully, during the day he is almost normal and so is Ben, for the most part... but the nights, the nights are bad, very bad.

I just sent Tom out for more Motrin, both infant and children's varieties. We are keeping a chart with who got what and when, hoping that keeping them consistently dosed up with the Tylenol/Motrin overlapping pain relief system will stave off the hurting and allow us all to get decent sleep tonight.

I have developed a headache over my right eye and am hoping and praying it is just that, a headache and not the beginning of this horrible, terrible, no good, very bad bug.

There's a New Superhero in Town...

He says his name is Captain Medicine Dropper Medicine Dropper Boy (I stand corrected) No lie, this is what he said.... as you may surmise, we've been doling out a lot of medicine in our house recently.


And this is his sidekick, Tongue Sticky Out Boy (total accidental picture as he was smiling when I pressed the button... but he does do this ALL the time)

Just Look at the Mess They've Made...

I'm sure glad I'm not trying to sell my house right now! The whole darn neighborhood looks like this!!! AND, they've started digging up the entire street behind ours, so I have a glimpse of what is coming, and it's even LESS pretty.


Just in case I ever wondered where my tv/electrical/phone lines were... look! A handy, color-coded guide!

There is Not Enough Tylenol in the World...

Teeth? The Cough that Won't Die? Combination? Whatever it is, my wonderful mostly 12-hour sleeper has now been up two nights in a row in the 2-5a.m. window just TICKED OFF. Seriously. The 2-5a.m. thing I have done with him before. But 2-5a.m. in a bad mood is new territory with this kid.

So tired. So very, VERY tired. Please send coffee... and a muffin. I get hungry when I'm up this late/early.

Bullets...

* The cookie exchange was SO fun. I brought home so many yummy things and didn't get in to almost 11. Hee... most nights I've already been asleep for two hours by then! Found out another neighbor is pregnant, and along with the other one that is due in April, this means that since 2003, there have been new babies every.single.year. around here. Hrm... so 2008 is taken care of... perhaps I will have the the 2009 contribution. You may not want to drink the water when you you visit.

* I paid dearly for staying out late last night because Simon woke up at 2:45 a.m. to practice standing in the crib. This was, of course, the first night in two weeks or so that he hasn't slept all the way through. Figures. He was up until 5 standing, sitting, standing, sitting... remind me to tell you how I took the crib apart at 3:30a.m. to lower the mattress in hopes of thwarting his efforts. Oh wait, I just did. It didn't work.

* Verizon is mapping out the sidewalk/lawns in my neighborhood to put in FIOS sometime soon. There are hideously ugly fluorescent orange, blue and white scrawls all over the place. I sure hope they clean up after themselves... it's really an eyesore. Remind me to take a picture. Some neighbors have it worse than others. I just have some lines and dots. Two of my neighbors across the street have what looks like abstract art on their lawns. Ben's friend Trey apparently finds this very upsetting and keeps asking his mom to "clean it up!" Hee. ;)

* While I am very sad about our kitty cat, I am now seeing the positives to not having a cat. We can keep the basement door closed, for one, and not have to worry about gating it or forgetting to close it and Simon tumbling down the stairs. There is also one less being to puke on the carpet, though Simon does a pretty good job on his own. Despite the positives, kitty is still very much missed... this is the first year I had made him a little stocking and hung it up too... now I can't bring myself to take it down. :(

* Off to run around today before the alleged "big snowstorm" tomorrow. Ben has promised utmost cooperation because I told him if he was good, we could pick up one of the child size snow shovels I spotted at the grocery store the other day. He's very excited. ;)

More later! :)

Girl's Night! :)

I'm sitting here killing the five minutes I have before the neighborhood cookie exchange starts... (otherwise I will be way early, as usual) Can I tell you how excited I am about this? I am SOoooo tired and in need of not having to take care of the little people for just a few hours... I am downright giddy at the idea of going out tonight, even if it's just a few doors down.

Here's the funny part though... my husband has it SUPER easy. I bathed and fed the children earlier, did the dishes and cleaned up the house... I even gave them their medicine and made Simon's bedtime bottle. All he has to do is put them to bed. Cakewalk, right?

Oh well, small price to pay for a few hours out of the house... :)

I'm about to get a second wind, I think!! Woohoo!!!

Elf Shop and Other Things...

Today was Elf Shop day at Ben's school, where the kids got to shop for their families for Christmas.



I was a wrapper, which, while it was an insanely crazy and non-stop job, was also kinda fun because I got to see all the kids come through and shop... some hemmed and hawed, other chose right away... and the things some of them picked were just hysterical. Some of the more interesting ones I saw come through:
- A pretty candle with a bow on it for someone's daddy (actually saw this happen twice)
- Princess books for a baby brother
- A wooden airplane toy for a daddy

Also, apparently some of the kids have horses because there were gifts set aside for such a thing...

So yeah, it was crazy but it was adorable...

I also got the chance to take a few pictures of the decorated big room when I dropped Ben off this morning...

The dressup center that is currently Santas Workshop



The whole room


Christmas tree


Nativities


And lastly, I got a sneak peek (and got busted) of the kids' pageant... I may even have some video... ;) Gotta see what my camera actually recorded because I was just holding it out into a doorway and wasn't actually looking at what was in the frame...

So tired... long day... now I need to convince both kids that they want to nap at the same time...

Generations... :)

Mommy and Daddy's first Christmases and Ben and Simon's first Christmases... :) I actually have each of these pictures framed and on my side table right now... I wish I had one of Tom looking at his first Christmas tree but, c'est la vie... there is a tree BEHIND him, but it's hard to see...

On a Lighter Note...

Ben has done this before, but last night, I found it particularly amusing for some reason. I was giving him a bath and we were playing with his foam bathtub letters. I wandered out to get a towel and came back to find he had decided that the two letters F's were guns.

Seriously, if you have never witnessed this for yourself, little boys really can turn ANYTHING into a gun, even if they have NEVER BEEN TAUGHT ANYTHING ABOUT GUNS(other than seeing the storm troopers in Star Wars).

(rolls eyes)

The Tough Stuff...

We had to have our cat, Milo, put to sleep yesterday... he had had a kidney issue for years that is fairly common in male cats and it just took a rapid turn for the worse over the last two days. :( Tom and I both took it pretty hard... and then we had to tell Ben. Last night, he really didn't get it because we put it in pretty vague terms. We were both too upset to really get down to it.

But this morning, he asked again... "Is Milo resting?" "I want him to come home." "When is he coming home?" I explained that he got too sick and couldn't come home...that he was in heaven. Ben started crying... "But I love Milo... I want to pet him. I want him to come home." Of course I started crying too... I seriously think telling Ben was worse than having to say goodbye to the cat yesterday.

(sigh) Life is so sad sometimes... I get that and accept it. But I wish Ben didn't have to find that out so soon...

Christmas Wonderland at Preschool...

I had forgotten when I took Ben to school today that the school was decorated for Christmas the other night... and when we walked in, I think I was more in awe than Ben. Literally everything in the school had taken on a Christmas theme -- right down to the little dress up corner, where the construction helmets, princess hats and fireman costumes had been replaced with santa and elf hats... even a little styrofoam "workbench" where the kids can hammer golf tees into it and pretend they are making toys. It was just SO cute, I could hardly stand it. Ben exclaimed, "WOW! Look! They have a CHRISTMAS TREE!!!! And snowflakes!! Look at the snowflakes!" (hanging from the ceiling) So adorable... oh, and sometime last week, the little bees with the kids' names on them for Ben's class (that they pick out when they get there and stick to a velcro board on the door) had magically turned into snowflakes. I love it! :)

There was some artwork in the mailbox today that I'll put up later if I get a minute... nothing all that interesting, but if I can come up with catchy titles for them, or if Ben offers any interesting three-year-old interpretations or insights, I'll post. ;)

Oh, and thanks to all the hubbub at our house over the weekend about whooping cough, Ben now thinks it's amusing to declare that HE has whooping cough. I felt like I should share this with his teacher this morning lest he declare this in the middle of the school day and cause mass hysteria. Sheesh... kids...

Month 8 Side-by-Side...

Same age. Same outfit... and surprisingly, this one fits Simon pretty similarly! The biggest difference? Ben was standing... on his own... I didn't realize that until I found the one pic, but GEEZ. Simon is nowhere close to doing that yet. Hopefully this means I have some time before I have to worry about dealing with a walking kiddo! ;)

Simon is 7 Months Old! :)

Welcome to another exciting edition of Simon's monthly first-year updates!

So my littlest guy is seven months old today and SO much has happened this month!
Just after the last monthly update, he started schooching around on his belly, quickly followed by getting on all fours and throwing himself foward, and then, a week later, full-speed all fours crawling. He gets faster by the day and, yes, things have gotten interesting at our house. He particularly loves to crawl toward things that are expensive, breakable and/or could injure him. His favorites are laptops, remote controls, cordless phones and any kind of electrical wire. A particularly favorite pasttime is to follow the phone cord around the kitchen when I'm on the phone, trying to gnaw on it while simulataneously attempting to strangle himself with it.

In the last two weeks, he has started pulling up on everything in sight. Stairs, tables, chairs... anything he can reach and some things I didn't think he could... like the rail on his his crib, as well as the bathtub and the toilet, which he started pulling up on just yesterday. My morning showers now consist of thirty seconds of showering followed by a peek outside the curtain to make sure he's not standing up, back to showering for thirty seconds and so forth.

He climbs... not stairs yet, thankfully, but INTO things. Bookshelves, the bottom of the exersaucer, cubbies and nooks of all kinds. That's actually where a lot of bruises have come from lately. He has three. One on his forehead, one on his temple and one on his chin.

Babbling! For awhile there, I thought he would have a wonderful career as a mime someday. But this week, he has really gotten vocal! We've gotten all kinds of new things out of him -- "ma!" "buh!" "wa!" "ga!" He doesn't really string them yet, except for "ma", where he occasionally utters the accidental "mama".(usually when he's crying)The fact that it's accidental doesn't change the fact that it makes my mommy heart go flip-flop when I hear it. Interestingly enough though, the most frequent consonant sound we hear is "buh" and it's almost always when Ben comes around, so I'm wondering if he's not responding to us always saying "Big Brother!" and "Where's Ben?" The kid hears a lot of "b"s is all I'm sayin'. Vocally though, his passion really lies in the raspberry. Thbpttttt!!! :P My mom discovered that if you tap your hand on his mouth, he'll stick his tongue out and do a funny little "thbpptt-- thbpptt -- thbppt" sound. It's very cute and adds a nice variety to our party trick repertoire. ;) Oh! And then there is the screaming. That just started this week. He has been experimenting with this and starting as early as 5a.m., we hear happy screams being broadcast over the monitor. He did it all the way through the grocery store the other day too!

I've started doing some simple baby signs with him ("milk" "more" and "all done") because those were very helpful with Ben once he got the hang of them. (for those who don't know and are just thinking I'm a crazy mom, the signs are a good way to help your baby communicate before they can speak words... after using them with Ben, who took awhile to start using words, I can attest that it eases the frustration on both ends quite a bit!)

Teeth: Um yeah, they are RIGHT THERE (says the doc too, so I'm not crazy) but still haven't come through. They just seem to keep threatening and requiring pain relief... and much chewing... on everything in sight.

Height and weight? Well, we all know the story there. He's kinda short and chubby. (I just wish people would stop insisting on pointing this out to me as if I don't know) 26 inches and 21.5 pounds at last check. My back feels every ounce of it too. With winter coats on both of us now, I can't get the Bjorn buckled around him... so we've moved on to permanant usage of the Playtex Hip thingy, which I will never like quite as much as the Bjorn, but it'll do in a pinch.

Eating: The same as last month. About 30 ounces of formula, maybe a bit less. He gets breakfast, lunch and dinner and would love to eat Ben's breakfast, lunch and dinner as well, I think. We've tried almost all the major stage 1 and 2 food choices, except for the jarred meals... (which I don't buy much of anyway because they don't have much meat in them) He has started eating the infamous and oddly textured Puffs (banana flavor), but has a hard time getting them to his mouth since he hasn't quite mastered that whole opposable thumb feature yet. He also LOVES biter biscuits. What a mess, but SO fun to watch him enjoy them!

Sleep: The sleep is good. He still gets up to eat once most nights (hence this post being time stamped at 3:13a.m.), but otherwise he sleeps straight through 7-5 or 7-6 and for this, we are thankful.

Still on size 3 diapers still and size 3 nipples. (I know, super interesting, right? But honestly, in three years or so when I'm trying to plan my diaper purchasing strategies with #3, that will be the most interesting part of these monthly updates to me!)

He is the sweetest little guy... and he LOVES loves loves his mommy. He will happily go to pretty much anyone as long as he does not see me. Once he spots me though, it's all over and you may as well just give him right on back. I adore every squishy little bit of him too! My favorite time of day with him lately is going to get him from his crib in the morning. (he smiles, squeals and flips himself over with total excitement... also, lately, he's been greeting me with a HUGE smile while standing up and peeking over the side) A close second is giving him his bedtime bottle because while I feed and rock him, he rubs the little satin ear of his blue puppy or touches my hair. Heartmelting, I tell you. :)

I'm sure next month will bring even more new and interesting things... (and, I'm sure, to quote my favorite Beyond Balderdash answers ever, "Hijinx will ensue!")... so stay tuned! :)

p.s. side-by-side pics coming later when the matching outfit comes out of the wash. ;)

Too Tired to Make This At All Clever...

Went from the pediatrician's office, to my parents' house to drop Ben off, to the Walgreen's to drop off a prescription for another antibiotic for the ear infection that will. not. die. THEN to the hospital for a pertussis culture, an RSV test and a chest x-ray for the little dude. I JUST got home.

All in all, little dude took it very well. Everyone, from our doctor, to the receptionist at the hospital, the nurses at the hospital, to the x-ray technician commented "Well, he certainly doesn't *look* sick!" and "He's a happy little thing, isn't he?" and "Is he ALWAYS this happy?" Reminded me of when I was in labor and the triage nurses kept insisting I couldn't ACTUALLY be in labor because I was smiling too much. It apparently runs in the family. ;)

Yes. He is indeed very happy, even when he's sick, which always makes it hard to tell just how sick he might be. So honestly, I have no idea how the results of any of these tests might come out. (except for RSV, which came back quickly and was negative). I still can't get over the fact that he still has an ear infection... you'd seriously never know it.

But we're home now. With an antibiotic that will treat both the ear infection and the whooping cough if he has it, and probably pneumonia too. Won't know anything from the test and the x-ray for two days...

Weekend in Review... a Placeholder Post...

Yeah yeah, I have gone an uncharacteristically long time in between posts. Here's a quick summary on which I shall elaborate when I get back from my 22nd visit in two months to the pediatrician this morning.

* Friday: realized the cough Simon had was a) quite severe and b) fit all the symptoms of pertussis (whooping cough) Called the ped, got the nurse... hoped she'd think I was nuts, she didn't. But we had an appointment Monday anyway, so she said we could wait until then... in the meantime, if it got worse call the on call doc this weekend or go right to the ER.

* Saturday: Tom and Erin date day. Simon seemed better. Enchanted is an awesomely GREAT movie, go see it. Go see it NOW!!! Had a nice dinner. Got almost my last bit of Christmas shopping done... arrived back to pick up the kids and Simon was back to hacking up a lung, complete with the "whoop whoop" sound (which doesn't sound like you might imagine... it's a little less "WHOOP" and a little more "gasping for air in between coughs."

* Saturday night: Called on call doc. This is the second mommy crisis she has talked me through and I just love her. (I WILL be switching when my favorite nurse retires eventually from my other ped's practice, which, to make things extra awkward, is right across the hall.)

On call doc assured me I'm still not crazy. Could be whooping cough, though the fact that he's had 2 of the 5 DTap vaccines lessens the chances. She told me to call our ped on Monday before the appointment to get the health department to deliver a pertussis culture.

* Sunday: Cough turned into more of a wet, constant cough. Less whooping. (sorry, but that makes me laugh every time I say it) Ben wakes up with the same wet cough. I was feeling slightly relieved.

* Sunday night: Simon coughed ALL NIGHT LONG. Laid in bed thinking that I was very thankful we already had an appointment in the morning with the doctor.

Which brings me to this morning... we're leaving in a half hour so I'll be back later, $20 poorer, but hopefully on the way to having two healthy kids for at least a couple weeks...

Eureka! :)

Finally found my preschool class picture. I've only been hunting for it since we got Ben's back over a month ago!

Can you find me?

Here's Ben's to help you out. Hehehehe...:)


And may as well post Tom's too. Now they'll all be in one place!

A Ben "Three-fer": Mailbox Finds... Pageant Preview... and Some Snow Pics...

Ben did, in fact, to go school for approximately one hour and 15 minutes this morning, during which time, I fed Simon in the parking lot and then did a 20-mile circle to Towson and back while he napped.

Ben was one of four kids in his class today. I guess the other parents didn't think the short day was worth it... but, I'm glad I took him. :)

FOUND IN THE MAILBOX:
Today, in his mailbox, there were three things.

1) A slip reminding me about Parent Decorating Night. This is a big "umm, no." for me because it starts at 7:30 and yeah, these days, all of us are already in our pajamas by then. ;)

2) A blank "shopping list" for me to fill out for Ben to take to Elf Shop day next week. Can't wait!!

3) Hee... this:

They dictated a Christmas wish to the teacher to write on the top. Please note Ben's request. ;) I giggled when I saw it and said, "A coffee maker? Not a clock?" Mrs. Poe was quite amused as well. ;) I actually did know he wanted a toy coffeemaker and it's already wrapped up and in the gift closet, so I'm glad he still wants one! I can't wait to see his face when he opens it! :)


PAGEANT PREVIEW:

So, most days I get nada out of Ben about school. But out of nowhere tonight, he started singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and doing this little dance move... he said he was "throwing wishes." I POUNCED on the camera and started rolling... and when he was finished and seemed to still be in a performing kinda mood, I asked him to do the song about angels his teacher told Tom and I about at the conference. He launched right into it... so, here, my friends, is a super-sneak preview of Mrs. Poe's class contribution to the Chestnut Grove pageant. I hope he is *this* enthusiastic that day. ;) (or perhaps just a little less so would be good... )


BEN IN THE SNOW:
And lastly, Ben got his wish to play in the snow this afternoon. He had a blast and was not happy when we had to go in. But it was fun while it lasted. :) Do you remember when playing in the snow was fun and not just annoyingly wet and cold?

Our First Snow Delay. ;)

So many firsts this year with the whole preschool thing. And this morning, I got to watch the crawl on the bottom of the tv screen for the first time as a mom. ;)

I have to tell you, I was rooting for no delay because Ben's school day is already only 2-1/2 hours long. Unfortunately, the county is 2 hours late (because you know, three inches of the white stuff is reason to panic, even though the road crews have been out all night plowing the little bit that actually stuck on the road) and so he doesn't start until 10:30. Here's the thing... I'm 99.9% sure this means I still pick him up at 11:45. That's barely enough time for me to get out of the parking lot before I have to turn around and come back. I actually just might let Simon nap in the car and bring a book for myself or something. It's at least 12 minutes either direction to get ANYWHERE... home, Target, inlaws' house, good coffee place. The only thing thing that is "just around the corner" is a Safeway (which now that I think about it, DOES have a Starbucks) and a McDonalds, and I've already done my grocery shopping for the week. Egg McMuffin, anyone? ;)

You Know I Had No Choice but to Post This, Right?

... even though it means I've now posted three times today. (four, if you count that I edited that last post to add even more pictures..) Gah. But it IS snowing and we ARE stuck inside... and I'm not sharing ALL the pictures I've taken today, because it's over a hundred... (blush)

But really, I mean, can you blame me for having to post this one? ;)

The First Snowfall....

Benjamin, of course, noticed it first...




And then we showed it to Simon...




Aren't these the sweetest pictures ever?



...and then... in one singular heartmelting mommy moment, Ben wanted to hold him while they watched the snow..

Practice...

This little toy car has quite a history. It was passed down from one of my ex-coworkers six years ago to another ex-coworker who in turn, passed it down to me. I used it with Ben and just now got it out for Simon. He doesn't walk behind it yet, but he does enjoy standing with it... I just heard the the ex-coworker from whom I acquired this is pregnant again, so I just might send it back when we're finished with it, for old times' sake. (and to reclaim some attic space) ;)



Here's big brother using it at the same age. :)


I was so astonished by what appears to be a huge height difference that I got out the tape measure to double check Simon's height! But I'm thinking it must be an angle thing or the way Simon is standing, because he's still just 26 inches and supposedly the same height as Ben in this picture! Weird, huh? (or maybe Ben was measured wrong way back when!!)

Things Found in Ben's Mailbox...

And now, for another exciting edition of things found in Ben's preschool mailbox. (pictures coming as soon as my camera battery charges)

1) A paper Christmas tree with a yellow star, three red plaid ribbons and one gold sequin glued on.
It's my first homemade-by-one-of-my-offspring Christmas decoration! :) Let it be known that Ben emphasized the ribbons were in fact "ribbons" and "not bows". At the moment, it has earned a place front and center on the fridge, but I am thinking I might figure out a way to make it our tree topper. :)


2) An abstract watercolor painting. The artist used both crayon and watercolor as his medium(s) to create a very cool effect. ;)


3) Another Scholastic order form. Ahh... that newsprint smell. Never gets old. (sigh)

4) (I saved the best for last)... an INVITATION!!! To Ben's very first ever school pageant!!! Squeeeee!!!! The kids are going to sing for us and afterward there will be a party! :D I am amused that the invitation says to "R.S.V.P. to your child's teacher." So cute. :)