Oh, January 2008. You have been one sick little devil.
We started out the year in full-on illness---Mike was getting over the virus, I was re-catching the virus, and EJ was running around with pink eye, caused by the virus. School began, and I felt behind before I even started. Somehow I managed to keep up the first couple of weeks, which is truly a miracle, because at one point I felt so sick that whenever I even had five free minutes I would run to my bed and take a nap.
About two weeks ago, I threw my hands up in the air and simply told God that this was it, I really needed a break. I know that there are much worse things out there in this world than battling a cold and flu virus for six straight weeks, but I was waving the white flag and asking for a reprieve. I was coughing so hard I couldn't sleep, and the munchkin was watching more television than I am proud to admit---I was hardly a spry, engaged parent on many days. I knew that it had to end at some point, so instead of offering the normal prayers, I just got honest and said, "really, seriously, this is enough."
I started to feel better. EJ was happy to play with her mending mommy. School was ramping up, and I was behind, but I was still treading with my face above the waves, so I felt okay. Even better, my parents came back from Florida, and my mom came to stay with us for a few days. She left yesterday, having done all our laundry, vacuumed and cleaned, done dishes, and most importantly, watched EJ for hours on end while I studied and wrote papers. I said many a prayer of thanksgiving for all the help, and I actually started to feel hopeful that we may, in fact, achieve a state of decent health soon.
Before my mom left, though, we started to notice that EJ was picking up a little cough. Nothing serious, just a bit of a hack, and it seemed productive, so no worries.
Today, she has a mild fever, a runny nose, and a terrible cough that causes her to choke and almost throw-up (that may be our next step, I'm afraid). The cough keeps waking her, and her lack of sleep coupled with her sickness are making her so miserable. She didn't get to go to the babysitting co-op this morning (read = I didn't get to my study time, either), so she was wound up from being stuck in the house. The only times she smiled all morning were when we looked at some baby pictures, and when I tickled her. The rest of her day was complete grumpiness, poor thing, which is completely unlike her. That kid wakes up with a smile on her face everyday, but this morning, nothing. She is really sick.
And me, well, I'm just kind of heartbroken. I feel terrible watching her all sick and sad, and I feel exhausted that, while I'm still nursing the last bits of cough and laryngitis from the nasty virus, the whole cycle is replaying itself again.
So, I'll say it again, this time with witnesses: "Seriously, God, we're ready to be healthy. Could you spare a few extra antibodies?" We're not the only ones---please send some extras over here, too.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Heartbreak and Hope
Heartbreak: The Packers. Oh, we still love you, Brett. What a season.
Hope: The Potty Seat. As in, "The potty seat was used by EJ tonight for the first time, no crying or screaming, just pride."
I think we have just left the pre-season and won our first game on the way to the diaper-free super bowl, no pun intended.
FYI: There have been few updates here because I have been sick. So sick. Seemingly endlessly sick. I have gone to the doctor twice and tried to rest, but I can't seem to kick this crud. I have been refused antibiotics, because, as I was told by the doc, "Studies show that you can just wait it out for 12-14 days or take antibiotics, the results are usually the same. Come back if you have a high fever for at least five days, and then you might need some." I hate antibiotics as much as the next gal, but seriously? Bronchitis and a sinus infection aren't enough? A low-grade fever for a week won't do? Illness since Christmas doesn't qualify as "waiting it out?" No, apparently I have to "wait it out" until an eardrum bursts and I have pneumonia. Hmmm....
Hope: The Potty Seat. As in, "The potty seat was used by EJ tonight for the first time, no crying or screaming, just pride."
I think we have just left the pre-season and won our first game on the way to the diaper-free super bowl, no pun intended.
FYI: There have been few updates here because I have been sick. So sick. Seemingly endlessly sick. I have gone to the doctor twice and tried to rest, but I can't seem to kick this crud. I have been refused antibiotics, because, as I was told by the doc, "Studies show that you can just wait it out for 12-14 days or take antibiotics, the results are usually the same. Come back if you have a high fever for at least five days, and then you might need some." I hate antibiotics as much as the next gal, but seriously? Bronchitis and a sinus infection aren't enough? A low-grade fever for a week won't do? Illness since Christmas doesn't qualify as "waiting it out?" No, apparently I have to "wait it out" until an eardrum bursts and I have pneumonia. Hmmm....
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Possible Child Care Solution?
Hey, all you grad school mommies and daddies! Are you like me---poor and unable to get your schoolwork done without burning the midnight oil until you are ill or falling over in stupor? Finally, there may be a child care solution that meets our budget and our time constraints!
God bless The Onion on days when my head is throbbing (I suspect sinus infection---we'll know tomorrow after my doctor's appointment) and my workload won't stop.
Report: Many U.S. Parents Outsourcing Child Care Overseas
God bless The Onion on days when my head is throbbing (I suspect sinus infection---we'll know tomorrow after my doctor's appointment) and my workload won't stop.
Report: Many U.S. Parents Outsourcing Child Care Overseas
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Storm Update
While our neck of the woods had pouring rain and thunderstorms last night, it seems that just north of Chicago in my hometown of Kenosha, tornadoes raged through the county and destroyed at least 25 homes and several businesses. When your little Wisconsin city is the lead story on Chicago news stations and in the Tribune, you know it was hit with a bad storm. It is a miracle that there were no fatalities or major injuries, especially since a tornado in January is so out of the ordinary. Just when I thought it was safe to enjoy the springlike weather we have been having, I am reminded that climate change is not pretty.
Preliminary calls up to family and friends confirm that everyone is okay, thank goodness.
On the homefront, I have my first of two evenings of school tonight, and my head feels like it is going to explode. I honestly don't know how I'm going to make it through class---even Sudafed (the real kind) and ibuprofen do not seem to be cutting the pain and pressure in my face, head, and ears. I was up most of the night last night coughing, and when I awoke this morning, I had the headache that I get when I have been seriously sleep deprived. This is the worst cold I can ever remember getting.
Preliminary calls up to family and friends confirm that everyone is okay, thank goodness.
On the homefront, I have my first of two evenings of school tonight, and my head feels like it is going to explode. I honestly don't know how I'm going to make it through class---even Sudafed (the real kind) and ibuprofen do not seem to be cutting the pain and pressure in my face, head, and ears. I was up most of the night last night coughing, and when I awoke this morning, I had the headache that I get when I have been seriously sleep deprived. This is the worst cold I can ever remember getting.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Hack, Hack, Sneeze, Hack
If I had any idea just how ill our family would become or just how long that illness would last when Mike came hope with a headache and sniffles almost a month ago, I would have immediately performed some minor ritual sacrifice (maybe one of my toes?) and marked our door with blood so that the plague would pass over our house. This crud is illness of biblical plague proportion, I swear.
I was so sick again today, coughing, hardly able to breathe, and suffering from almost complete laryngitis. Once again, poor EJ had to entertain herself for big chunks of her day, and avoid my impatience when her entertainment of choice was something like crushing her macaroni and cheese into our living room rug. I was right there, in the room with her, when all of her high jinx was taking place, but I kept zoning in and out of a sleep-like state, punctuated by loud, painful coughing bouts. When the coughing fits "woke" me and I snapped out of my haze, thinking she was playing with blocks only to notice that, no, that was food she was shoving in between the chair cushions, I was certainly less than reasonable in my "redirecting." Poor thing.
At one point this morning, she turned to me and exclaimed, "Mama, you don't need to rest! You are just fine!" When I pointed out that, unfortunately, I was sick, she went to her room, grabbed her lovey blanket and her crib quilts and blankets, "tucked me in" to the couch, then sang me a lullaby that went something like, "Mama sleep, mama sleep, mama feel better sleeping..." to Brahms' melody.
Swoon. Yes, she is that wonderful, and yes, she is ours and you can't have her.
Of course, I didn't nap---that's not allowed when you are responsible for a two-year old, at least as far as I understand the laws of this state. I got some rest while she was sleeping this afternoon, which is good, because I will be up late tonight trying to catch up on homework for my classes tomorrow night and Wednesday. Yes, the plague put me behind in school, too, which is just unacceptable the very first week of class.
I was so sick again today, coughing, hardly able to breathe, and suffering from almost complete laryngitis. Once again, poor EJ had to entertain herself for big chunks of her day, and avoid my impatience when her entertainment of choice was something like crushing her macaroni and cheese into our living room rug. I was right there, in the room with her, when all of her high jinx was taking place, but I kept zoning in and out of a sleep-like state, punctuated by loud, painful coughing bouts. When the coughing fits "woke" me and I snapped out of my haze, thinking she was playing with blocks only to notice that, no, that was food she was shoving in between the chair cushions, I was certainly less than reasonable in my "redirecting." Poor thing.
At one point this morning, she turned to me and exclaimed, "Mama, you don't need to rest! You are just fine!" When I pointed out that, unfortunately, I was sick, she went to her room, grabbed her lovey blanket and her crib quilts and blankets, "tucked me in" to the couch, then sang me a lullaby that went something like, "Mama sleep, mama sleep, mama feel better sleeping..." to Brahms' melody.
Swoon. Yes, she is that wonderful, and yes, she is ours and you can't have her.
Of course, I didn't nap---that's not allowed when you are responsible for a two-year old, at least as far as I understand the laws of this state. I got some rest while she was sleeping this afternoon, which is good, because I will be up late tonight trying to catch up on homework for my classes tomorrow night and Wednesday. Yes, the plague put me behind in school, too, which is just unacceptable the very first week of class.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Still Sick
We're going to try to go to a going away party tonight, thanks to the fine makers of Sudafed. Sudafed....when your head is about to explode, but you can't stand being stuck in your house one minute longer.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
A Plague Upon My House
Just when I thought we were on the mend, I was struck down last night with my second round of sore throat, fever, headache, chills, body aches, cough...will this sickness ever end?
Apparently, adenovirus is spreading like wildfire across the country, and it can just linger for weeks in those folks lucky enough to catch it.
Sigh.
Apparently, adenovirus is spreading like wildfire across the country, and it can just linger for weeks in those folks lucky enough to catch it.
Sigh.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Kleenex
This just in:
EJ: Mommy, get me a kleenex, please. I have to sneeze. My nose is all boogery.
You have to love her flair for language.
EJ: Mommy, get me a kleenex, please. I have to sneeze. My nose is all boogery.
You have to love her flair for language.
Happy New Year!
We had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends, and are still feeling grateful for all the love and kindness we got to share. It's a shame you can't bottle all that goodness up in a beautiful little dram, so you could take a sip of it, like an elixir of warmth and comfort, later in the year, when you most need it.
Things are settling back into the normal level of chaos here, which means the holidays are over and the next quarter of school is about to begin. Our family had a quiet New Year's celebration at home, thanks in large part to two little words:
PINK EYE
We were supposed to go to our friends' house for a BYOB ("Bring Your Own Baby") New Year's Eve party, but because we love them and their two little girls, we thought giving them the gift of viral conjunctivitis would be inappropriate. A bottle of champagne is a nicer present, really.
For those keeping score, that means we are 0-2 in our attempts to make it holiday parties this year---we missed our favorite Christmas cocktail party due to a combination of Mike's fever (probably the same virus that became pink eye for EJ) and terrible road conditions. New Year's was scrapped due to the disgusting eye goo attack. Sigh. I have a going-away party to attend this Saturday, and I have all fingers and toes crossed that no further calamity gets in the way.
Thankfully, as of this morning, EJ's pink eye appears healed, and we just keep praying that it has left the house (and the three of us) for good. Mike is going into the student health clinic today to get his cough checked out---he's going on week four of coughing---and I am basically healthy except for a mild cold. Our chances of breaking out for some fun are looking promising.
The weather is bitterly cold, snowy and nasty---the long winter is officially in full swing. I am beginning to feel a bit shut-in, especially in the cluttery space we call home. With all of the generosity of Christmas surrounding us (and more than half of EJ's haul still at my folks' house in Wisconsin, unable to fit in our car for the ride home), I need to do some serious sorting and giving away. It's time to start researching some organizations that would accept slightly used toys and clothes, otherwise we may be discovered trapped in our piles of stuff when the spring thaw finally hits.
With EJ's eyes looking delightfully crud-free, and my New Year's "you're still fat!" guilt in full-swing (thank you, every single commercial on television), I asked EJ if she wanted to go to the gym with me this morning. I was actually looking forward to it, and she usually does, too. She screamed, "NO Gym! NO Kid's Room! Let's play with MY toys and watch TV!"
Yep, we're shut-ins.
I'll avoid the resolution rush and bring her there tomorrow, once I have more time to talk up the experience and (hopefully) get her excited to go there.
We've posted some cute Christmas photos up at my flickr page---check out the widget on the right hand column of the blog.
And speaking of widgets, EJ is full of cute things to say. Here are some recent examples:
Me: EJ, you are a silly widget!
EJ: I'm not a silly widget, Mommy! I'm a kid! I'm a silly kid!
Me: EJ, say goodnight to your Daddy and thank him for such a good day, please.
EJ: Goodnight, Daddy! Thanks for having such a good kid!
Me: EJ, are you feeling sick? Does your eye hurt?
EJ: Mommy, I am not sick. I am feeling just fine, okay? (As if to say, lay-off already, please!)
Me: Today, when we go to Wisconsin, both of your grandmothers will have Christmas trees all decorated! Nana will have one, and Grandma will have one.
EJ: Oh, I just love Christmas trees! I just love them! They're so pretty!
Things are settling back into the normal level of chaos here, which means the holidays are over and the next quarter of school is about to begin. Our family had a quiet New Year's celebration at home, thanks in large part to two little words:
PINK EYE
We were supposed to go to our friends' house for a BYOB ("Bring Your Own Baby") New Year's Eve party, but because we love them and their two little girls, we thought giving them the gift of viral conjunctivitis would be inappropriate. A bottle of champagne is a nicer present, really.
For those keeping score, that means we are 0-2 in our attempts to make it holiday parties this year---we missed our favorite Christmas cocktail party due to a combination of Mike's fever (probably the same virus that became pink eye for EJ) and terrible road conditions. New Year's was scrapped due to the disgusting eye goo attack. Sigh. I have a going-away party to attend this Saturday, and I have all fingers and toes crossed that no further calamity gets in the way.
Thankfully, as of this morning, EJ's pink eye appears healed, and we just keep praying that it has left the house (and the three of us) for good. Mike is going into the student health clinic today to get his cough checked out---he's going on week four of coughing---and I am basically healthy except for a mild cold. Our chances of breaking out for some fun are looking promising.
The weather is bitterly cold, snowy and nasty---the long winter is officially in full swing. I am beginning to feel a bit shut-in, especially in the cluttery space we call home. With all of the generosity of Christmas surrounding us (and more than half of EJ's haul still at my folks' house in Wisconsin, unable to fit in our car for the ride home), I need to do some serious sorting and giving away. It's time to start researching some organizations that would accept slightly used toys and clothes, otherwise we may be discovered trapped in our piles of stuff when the spring thaw finally hits.
With EJ's eyes looking delightfully crud-free, and my New Year's "you're still fat!" guilt in full-swing (thank you, every single commercial on television), I asked EJ if she wanted to go to the gym with me this morning. I was actually looking forward to it, and she usually does, too. She screamed, "NO Gym! NO Kid's Room! Let's play with MY toys and watch TV!"
Yep, we're shut-ins.
I'll avoid the resolution rush and bring her there tomorrow, once I have more time to talk up the experience and (hopefully) get her excited to go there.
We've posted some cute Christmas photos up at my flickr page---check out the widget on the right hand column of the blog.
And speaking of widgets, EJ is full of cute things to say. Here are some recent examples:
Me: EJ, you are a silly widget!
EJ: I'm not a silly widget, Mommy! I'm a kid! I'm a silly kid!
Me: EJ, say goodnight to your Daddy and thank him for such a good day, please.
EJ: Goodnight, Daddy! Thanks for having such a good kid!
Me: EJ, are you feeling sick? Does your eye hurt?
EJ: Mommy, I am not sick. I am feeling just fine, okay? (As if to say, lay-off already, please!)
Me: Today, when we go to Wisconsin, both of your grandmothers will have Christmas trees all decorated! Nana will have one, and Grandma will have one.
EJ: Oh, I just love Christmas trees! I just love them! They're so pretty!
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