Wednesday's Child

Quintessential summer moment- A's first drink from the garden hose.

Swimming continues to go really well. I'm so impressed by what a good listener she is, and how she will try things the instructor asks that she would never try with me. Yesterday Mom came over to stay with B while Mike and I took A to the allergist. He didn't think she was stung by a hornet/wasp/bee, etc. because we would have seen something on her leg more immediately. He thinks A has very severe local reactions to things like mosquitos, and therefore recommended a seasonal course of Zyrtec for the next few years. So we are taking it prophylactically, and A likes it because it is banana-grape syrup! Mom got to see A at swimming lessons yesterday, and I was able to watch from the pool deck, because she kept B in the observation room. Dad come over after work and he and Mike uprooted one of our trees in the front yard. We tied the stump to the Pilot with a chain, and Mike pulled it out. It worked really well, and was a pretty cool engineering feat. We then planted the burr oak that I got from the city, in the same spot as the old tree. I saved a leaf, so I can ask Hope or Stokes is either of them know what kind of tree we removed. After the tree project, we went to an authentic Mexican restaurant on Nicollet, near our house. It's always interesting to see what the "locals" have on their plates- it doesn't seem like the things we're reading about on the menus.

Lil' Swimmer

We had a nice weekend. Our Friday night date went really well. We dropped the kids off at G and G's before supper time. They played with G and G, had supper, and went to bed. We went to a restaurant we've never been to before- Chianti Grill, and then to see Knocked Up. We had a really great time. We got the kids loaded into the Pilot at about 10:30, they slept the whole way home, and then transferred seamlessly into their beds! Yippy! Hopefully we'll try that same set-up again sometime soon.

Saturday I brought Dad's trailer over to Mark and Danielle's, so Mark could take the boys and get a load of wood chips. I stayed to visit with Danielle and Henry. Then I brought the trailer home, and it was Mike's turn to load it up with demolished construction materials. He did a really nice job on the basement on Saturday, and hopefully it will only take a few more hours to get the rest finished (the hard part is done).

Mom and Dad came over on the Harley for lunch on Sunday. We had fish (from Uncle Steve's cabin), salad, and hash browns. I don't remember what else we did on Sunday, but I'm sure it was enjoyable. After the kids were in bed last night, I worked on my CME logging. I need to complete 13 more credits, and get them logged online by Saturday. (PAs need to log 100 credits of continuing medical education every two years; we also need to recertify (take the board exam) every six years- but that's another blog post to tell you all about my plans for that!) I also finished filling out my application for reinstatement of my PA registration. What a lot of work!

Today was A's first swimming lesson at Foss. Danielle has been taking the boys there for quite some time, and recommended it. I was so impressed by how quickly they got going. Katja is her teacher. Katja got A and two other three year olds to sit on the step in the water, pour water on their shoulders, ears, and hair, and put on goggles. Then A kicked from the step to an island, using a foam barbell under her arms. Really impressive! We are doing an intensive swim session, of a lesson every day for seven weekdays in a row, so we were sent home with homework (working on monkey cheeks and kicking with straight legs). We had a meltdown following the lesson, when A didn't want to shower, so we went home with soap all over her skin and hair.

B has been such a busy boy playing lately. He loves a little book about tractors. He pushed the leapfrog phonics bus around the house, complete with car noises. It's amazing how he's picked that up- that is something A never ever did. B also is transfixed by buttons (on TVs, remote controls, anything electronic), and loves telephones. Anything shaped somewhat like a telephone goes up to his ear, and he says his all purpose, "aaaaagh!" He loves to answer the remote control with an enthusiastic "aaaghhh!!!" He still loves ceilings, ceiling fans, and pointing at everything. He is getting really good, and really FAST at crawling up the stairs, and it finally working on crawling down the stairs the proper way (instead of his instincts of head-first stair descending).

Tomorrow is A's appointment with the allergist to follow up on her insect bite reaction fiasco. Mom is coming over to hang out with the little B man. We'll talk later, okay?

Friday

Today after A's Book Buddies class, and B's block time (3 hours of heaven for Mommy), we met some Play Pals friends at the park to have a picnic and swim. The weather was quite threatening, but we did get in the pool for a bit. I discovered the best way to keep B happy is to keep him on the pool deck and fill a bucket with water, and let him play with some toys in the bucket.

Tonight we are bringing the kids down to my parents' house, and Mike and I will get to have some happy couple time. I can't even decide where I'd like to eat; the amazing, giddy, thrilling looking-forward-to-a-date time is almost overwhelming!

We've finally got a weekend where we're in town, and I am looking forward to it! I hope to go on another family bike ride with the bike trailer around the lake, like we did on Father's Day.

Fun Day

We had a great time at our park and pool playdate today. I put B down early for his morning nap, and we set out for the park when he woke up around 10. I brought our swimming suits, and I'm glad because it got HOT as the morning progressed. A had a terrific time in the pool, but B seemed really torn. He'd want to get down and splash and crawl over steps and ledges, but then would cry to be picked up. Then he'd push away, and want to get down again.

A has been involved in some really interesting pretend play the past few days. She is busy packing a bag with all of the toys, food, and supplies that she and Teddy (her rabbit) will need for their trip to Texas, to visit Teddy's grandma. They are going to catch the bus to the airport, where they are going to take the red-tailed plane to Grandma Fricke's house. (It's interesting that she chose that name, because that is my sister's married name.) Actually they'll stay at Grandma's for awhile, but they are also planning on staying at a hotel.

Tomorrow morning, A has a doctor's appointment, for some symptoms which have cropped up following her course of antibiotics for her leg cellulitis. Then we're off to Funny Bugs- A's 3 year old class at The Little Gym. Mike said it was really neat to watch her last week, which was her first class that wasn't parent/child participation. I'm anxious to see for myself!

Mommy Playdate

I had such a nice time tonight with a couple of mommies from A's Play Pals class this past school year. We went to Punch for pizza, and then walked around Lake Calhoun. Whenever I get home from hanging out with other moms, my throat is almost sore from talking so much. It's just so nice to compare notes and talk shop. Tomorrow morning we have a play date with that same group. I think we'll pack a picnic lunch, and bring our swim suits. I hope to get some pictures up soon. The kids are growing like weeds! A had her haircut recently, since her hair has been in her eyes, and B is working on a tooth/some teeth??? Who knows, he won't let me near.

I've Been Released

I am done with jury duty. I was not chosen as a jurist (long story- can't tell you anyway), but now I am SOOOO curious about the case. I'll be reading the Metro section like a mad woman. We (9 or so of us) were excused from the rest of our jury duty- tomorrow and all of next week. I'm torn- glad to be done, and to have no complications in figuring out our trip to Green Bay this weekend, and also a feeling of being rejected. I think most of you know how I am fueled by wanting to be liked and accepted by anyone and everyone. It was such an interesting experience. I can't wait to re-enter the world! It was really fun being downtown- it reminded me of my summer job during jr/sr years of high school, when I was downtown everyday. I think I got just a bit of a glimpse into Mike's experience, where you are away from your kids all day, and then have just a few hours to bond with them before bedtime. I missed them so much! So much more than I thought I would- I didn't miss having to think of what to make for lunches though; that is my least favorite aspect of my job.

Oh!

I should mention that Mike is having a wonderful time as house husband! He is trying to win my job, and send me out into the working world. My mom spent the day with the kids yesterday, and they had a wonderful time (much of it spent naked, by the pool in the backyard apparently). I'll have to tell you all about the surprise retirement party we threw for Mom on her last day of school- I couldn't blog anything about it beforehand, since she reads the blog. We had a great time, and she was truly surprised. I'll post some pictures of the whole family in the limo!

Greetings from J.D. limbo!

Hi all-
I'm just dropping a quick note to let you know I really enjoy reading all of your posts when I get home from jury duty every night. I am half way through with my first week. I can't say anything else...
I sure do miss my computer time during naptime everyday! I am going through some serious withdrawal. My computer is back up, but I have yet to restore my external hard drive, so I can't post any pictures yet. I'll try to get some posted soon, once I get my computer totally into shape.

Sorry for the Suspense

We went to visit my parents at their land in Wisconsin the weekend before Memorial Day. We were on a walk in the woods, and stopped to rest. A sat on a log, and shortly thereafter complained that her leg hurt. She was having trouble walking, and we put her back in the pack to walk back to camp. Grandpa J inspected her leg, and didn't see anything that needed a bandaid, and left it at that. When I was helping her put on jammies that night, I noticed a light pink spot about the size of a half dollar, and put some hydrocortisone on it. She was totally normal following the incident in the woods, until we arrived at home on Sunday evening. She started complaining about how much her left leg hurt, and when we looked at it then, it was red, hot, and swelling at the knee and ankle. We got an appointment set up for the next day at our clinic, gave her some Motrin, and she slept fine all night. When she came into my bedroom the next morning, she was on fire. I couldn't wait for the afternoon appointment, so I took her to the ER at Children's, while Mike stayed home with B. By the time the doctor saw her, half her leg was an angry red. The doc drew an outline around the cellulitis so we could track its progress. She was immediately admitted for IV antibiotics. She had a really high fever through the night, and she got pretty sick of nurses taking her blood pressure and temperature. Luckily her infection responded well to Ancef, her fever came down somewhat and was manageable with Motrin and Tylenol, and we were sent home around noon on Tuesday, with a 9 day course of oral antibiotics. We have no idea what bit her, but I know that I never want to see her meet up with that particular insect again! We are going to an allergist with a special interest in insect bite allergies, to see what kind of precautions we need to take (as far as allergy testing, a lifetime supply of Benadryl, epi pen, etc.) It was so surreal to see our little girl in a hospital gown, in a gigantic hospital bed, with her arm taped to a board holding her IV in place. We're so glad to be home and playing, business as usual. And the good news is that we have easily fulfilled our health insurance deductible for 2007!

We are eagerly awaiting the births of two new babies- hopefully SOON, or we won't know what to do with ornery, really pregnant, really grumpy Hope and Danielle (not saying you guys are crabby- just that you might be if some dilation doesn't happen pretty quickly.)