My sweet windchime

My dear husband bought me this...

And I can hear it right now. Out my front door (It was in the backyard when I took the photos but has moved to a more permanent location).

The chiming makes the inclement weather so much more enjoyable.

I highly recommend them.

Wednesday Wish List

-Oh, that my camcorder would communicate with my computer like it used to! This is my big wish of the week! Please, camcorder, communicate with my computer without making me lose my videos! Please, please, please! sidenote: if anyone has advice on how to fix this problem in a JVC Everio 20GB camcorder, I would love to hear from you. Yes, I know it's a longshot.

-For D to unload the dishes without me asking first. Don't get me wrong; he's great about doing it when I ask. But my pipe dream wish #2 is for him to know before I say it. I know, I'm SUCH a woman.


-N, my darling son, please please eat your peanut butter and jelly as a sandwich! It is NOT an oreo, and I really dislike the waste of bread.

-To get rid of the jello which resides in the southern hemisphere of my torso. Baby belly, be gone!

N's very difficult week

Ever have one of those weeks when you feel like your kids are falling apart on you?

Well, I've seen it happen before, but this is my first time truly experiencing it as a mommy.

I mentioned that N got a dog bite (really, it was a nip gone bad) on Friday the 7th. That night, when we put him down to bed, I called the advice nurse and actually felt really good about things when the night ended. However, the wound got infected almost immediately, and on Saturday morning, we brought N into the doctor's office with a swollen face and a low-grade fever.

The on-call pediatrician looked at the bite area and sent us to the ER, where they drained the infection and then admitted us into the Pediatrics ward. D stayed overnight with N, and we got to go home on Sunday afternoon.

N kept a low-grade fever which concerned me until Monday night. I kept in contact with the advice nurse (for any mommies out there who don't utilize the advice line, I would strongly recommend saving it in your contacts. It's free for patients and it's so nice to have the peace of mind!)...

On Tuesday, N went in for a follow-up appointment. The doctor told us that the diaper rash he was developing was a result of the diarrhea he had from the Augmentin (the oral antibiotic routine they put him on) and we got him probiotics to help regulate his digestion.

The diaper rash got much worse and I called the advice nurse again Saturday evening. She said it was just a result of the Augmentin, and apparently antibiotics often cause yeast infections in children, so I should get antifungal for his diaper area and let him hang out sans diaper as much as possible.

Monday morning, his diaper rash wasn't much better, and he had a full-body rash which looked like Roseola. Concerned, I brought him in to see the pediatrician who told us that N's rash was a reaction (not a true allergy because it didn't bother him, but a reaction) to the amoxicillin in the Augmentin. Apparently it's related to a penicillin allergy, so we need to watch out for that.

The pics are of him AFTER we stopped the antibiotics.

So, in the past week and a half, my little guy has had a bite, an infection, a fever, a diaper rash/yeast infection, and a full-body rash. I brought him out of the doctor's office with a splotchy red face, a scab on his chin (where the bite was), and a big red painful diaper rash (we're talking chemical burn bad, and it developed in under 24 hours).

That said, ever since he stopped taking the antibiotics, his rash has gone waaaay down, his diaper rash has gotten MUCH better, his diarrhea is gone, and the bite still appears to be healing and the fever hasn't come back.

I'm not sure I knew anything about parenthood before these last 2 weeks, really!

A Much Appreciated Gift

While N and D were in the hospital for N's dog bite, I brought T home for the night (we just couldn't all stay in that little hospital room) and found this little gift on my doorstop:

Well, it was actually in an ugly envelope for the mail, but this is what came out when I opened it.

My package from Noelle Garrett Designs! Oh, what perfect timing! Right when I needed a pick-me-up!

You'll have to forgive the terrible lighting, but I'd love to walk you through the fabulous packaging job these folks did!

Once I opened into the package (which I had to convince myself to do, because it was so pretty I actually had a hard time opening it!) , this is what I found...

Oh, aren't these tags just beautiful!?

From the moment I opened into it, I knew I was getting well-loved items. They're carefully and lovingly packaged, they're unique and individual designs, and they're just such a wonderful blend of paper, lace, and embellishments!

Thank you so much to Carrie; you brightened up an otherwise very difficult and stressful day!

Weeeelllll,

N has a fever now (has had since "the incident") and the doc says if it persists, we'll have to have him seen again. I've had my fill of doctors, hospitals, and pediatrician's offices for a while, I think, but whatever we have to do to keep my guy healthy, I guess. I just hope it doesn't involve another hospital stay.

In other news, I got my lovely package from Noelle Garrett Designs the other day. I will be posting about it more in a separate post, so as to give it proper tribute (because some people just do things RIGHT). We also received our baptism outfit for T, which wasn't a consistent fit, but fortunately, the pants & coat *which didn't fit him and didn't have any baptism-related insignia* DID fit N perfectly. So we went out, found a pair of white pants (no easy feat), and now have matching outfits for the boys. SO CUTE! Fortunate happenstance, or Divine Intervention? You decide.

I've discovered that I can, in fact, knit on circular knitting needles. It's coming along nicely. And the color is so beautiful! And the yarn is soft, too, which makes me quite happy.

Where I've Been

Just in case you were wondering. On Friday night, N got nipped by a friend's dog and the puncture got infected over Friday night. We went into the doctor's office Saturday morning, and then into the ER, and stayed overnight. Got home Sunday evening and spent then and this morning getting back together.

Sorry about all the inconsistency. Life's been more than a little crazy!

Book of the Week

Albert's Impossible Toothache, by Barbara Williams, was given to us by good friends, and we LOVE it.

Albert Turtle wakes up complaining of a toothache, but his family is unsympathetic. After displaying their toothlessness and expressing that it's impossible for anyone in the family to have a toothache, his family goes about the day, allowing Albert to remain in bed with his pain.

Albert turns down opportunities to have fun, eat his favorite foods, and look at family photos because of his impossible toothache.

Until Grandma Turtle comes over and helps Albert with his toothache.

I won't ruin the end for you. It really must be read in its original context. Suffice it to say, we love this book!