Choosing on which to dwell

It's been a rough week. Let's just say that last Friday night was not the end of the vomiting in this house. But I'm not going to dwell on that. Because my mom came for a short visit (in which I got to go shopping! for clothes!) and we carved a pumpkin. So onward...

And I'm thinking about NaBloPoMo. It might seem laughable for me to even consider posting everyday for a month when I've been having trouble getting a weekly post done. But I like a good challenge. I like being able to go back and read them later. And we should have a fair amount of material. But they'll be short. And I won't get all down and out if I miss a day. So we'll see...

This Far...

I know I've been fortunate to have gotten in 3 and a half years of parenting before having this experience. BUT...

Last night we tried a neighborhood pizza place for dinner. Brian and Katy had pepperoni. David and I did not. The pepperoni was intense, even just looking at it. All evening Brian was complaining that his stomach hurt.

And then at 2 in the morning, Katy cried out to me and I went in expecting the usual bad dream complaint. But I walked into the nastiest mess I've ever encountered, and Katy was saying, "My face!" She was so confused as to what had just happened. And it was bad. All over the wall, the comforter, the floor, down her pajamas and in her hair. And worst of all: Blankie. It took Brian and I together an hour and a half to get it cleaned up. *shudder*

Finally she settled back down, and she hasn't done it again since. Today she's acting pretty normal, not eating a whole lot, but she says her stomach doesn't hurt anymore. So should I assume it was the pizza? Or are we doomed for another round of illness in this house?

Please, Lord. I am begging you. I'll pitch the leftovers. Let it be the pizza.

For the Buckeye in all of us

This week has been pretty boring, as we're still in Sickness Recovery Mode. And now, this same darn virus is threatening another weekend as Brian is feeling it come on...just 2 days before his half marathon. So we'll see how it goes, but let's hope he's able to run it after all the prep he's done.


But a couple of weeks ago, we got the opportunity to visit Ohio Stadium in the middle of the week with the kids. Pam set it up as a photo op for something at Brian's work.


I have to be honest, I was pretty excited even before we got there. If you are a Buckeye fan, you can appreciate the oppoortunity to stand on that field. Where it all happens. And look at the hundred-thousand plus seats. And walk down the ramp where the band comes in. And touch the goal post. And roll around in the turf. (ok, watch the kids do that) It exceded my expectations. I think I would've enjoyed it even if I weren't a Buckeye fan.


So I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I hope it's ok that there are some extra no-name kids in these photos. But of course you may recognize Jack and Danny and my two football fans.

Not the Weekend I was Hoping For

On Thursday morning, I took Katy on her first field trip. At the last minute, I got a sitter for David because 2 friends told me the pumpkin farm was a muddy mess and not stroller friendly. So Katy and I got some girl time and it was really fun. It was also nice to get a grasp on who is in her class, and to stop worrying that Katy is causing problems for her teachers. If the field trip on Thursday was any indication, Katy is not a problem child in her classroom at all, and she is pretty typical for her age. It was also nice to get to know some of the other moms, briefly. (A note about these pictures: they gave us these enormous t-shirts to go over their jackets so they look like Marshmallow Kids)

As I was pulling the van out to leave, one of the moms I had just met flagged me down with a panicked look on her face. She had just locked her 3 children under 3 in her van. They were all strapped in, she doesn't have a spare key at her house, no AAA, and here we are...at the pumpkin farm. She used my phone to call her husband, and we decided to call 911. They acted like it was an appropriate call and sent someone right out. When I went to alert someone who worked at the pumpkin farm that we had called, they chewed me out for "overreacting" and "making the wrong call." I don't very often snap at people, especially not to their faces, but I was really frustrated. I was like, "What was she supposed to do? Her kids are LOCKED IN THE CAR!?!" And she muttered something about how someone at the farm could've tried to get them out. Oh, ok, good plan. I mean, what would you have done?

Anyway, Thursday evening things started to travel south and I had a feeling we were all getting sick. Friday morning I couldn't get out of bed, and Brian had to stay home from work. Katy, David, and I all had fevers, sore throats, cough, aching, etc. We took Katy to have her tested for strep, and they did H1N1 too, both were negative. But we were sick enough to have to cancel all of our weekend plans, which included going to the Buckeye game, a preschool fall festival, and having my Dad and Sue come to watch the kids and spend the night.

I was really, really disappointed, not to mention sick. I've just been feeling mopey all weekend because ARGH! We're sick and missing fun things! And I've been missing our family lately. Except for a quick hello and goodbye during the wedding weekend, we haven't seen any of our family in a couple of months. It's not secret that I wished we lived closer to our family. Not that we live super far, but it's hard. I wish they were closer.

Ok, enough whining from me! Hopefully the next post will be more chipper. :)

3 inches in 3 months

For the baby book portion of this blog, I present the statistics from David's 18 month well check. (It's interesting how focused we moms are in kids' growth. But that is always what I'm thinking about heading into a well visit).

Also, I thought the doctor was quick to say, "great, he's 50%'s for both height and weight!" so I looked it up for myself when I got home.

Weight: 25 lbs, 5 oz. - 50%'ile (closer to 40%)

Height: 33 inches - 50%'ile (closer to 70%) - he made a comment that he's grown 3 inches in the past 3 months, which is a huge growth spurt. No wonder he's been stuffing his face so much!

Other than that, it was a (blissfully) uneventful visit. I have to wonder, are healthcare workers SO TIRED of talking about H1N1? Has any single person stepped into their office in the last 2 months and not brought it up? I'm trying not to be overly worried (my natural tendency), but it's scary, I think. And the vaccine - there won't be enough for everyone anyway, and how do we know if it's safe since it's so new? I guess I just have to have a little faith on this one. And maybe I would regret saying this later, but at this point I'm about ready for us to all GET the swine flu and get it over with. So at least we wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. (Assuming, of course, that it ended up being minor)

When you have a few minutes...

David just turned 18 MONTHS!! and Katy will be three and a half before we know it. They have both grown and changed so much recently, I've been feeling the need to capture them on video before they are unrecognizable to me! So...three videos that capture the current essence of the kiddos. (And you know what they say about boys? You'll notice that David's videos are about trucks and balls - I can't believe it, but it's true!)