Sippy Cups and Blackberries

And then it was done

So, a funny thing happened this weekend.  We had Aidan's christening on Mother's Day.  And since I really had nothing better to do with my time, I decided to mix the 2 families in with 30 of our nearest and dearest and throw a bash.  Cause really, no sleep, high stress situations are awesome. Add to that the potty training, swollen eyes, weaning from nursing, teething.  And did I mention that I still work full-time??  And yes, yes I cooked all the food.  Me, myself and I.  well... except for the chix and steak, hubby grilled them, but, I really did do all the prep work.

See, I really wanted to cater it - but hubby, well, he is totally against that.  He loves throwing parties, as do I , but all that work leading up to it, well, let's just say he is only impacted by my bitchiness as we get closer to the day.  See because really and truly, no matter how many people we have over 2 or 60, he has 2 jobs.  Get the alcohol and grill the food.  Me on the other hand?  Well i get the clean the house, do the food shopping, plan the menu, order the tables/chairs/tents... etc.. you get the picture.  But see, as I get closer to the day, well I get bitchier.  Because really, I want him to help me as remember... I work full-time too!

Add on top of that the visit from the in-laws, which stresses me out and I am just caput today.  I mean really, caput.  So let's just recap my weekend.

Thurs: Clean house.  Work 10 hours.  In-laws arrive.

Fri: Food shopping.  Party  shopping (tableclothes, streamers, etc). Mani/Pedi. Plant petunas. Mulch (James) Setup Tent (JAmes).  Make the tomato sauce.

Sat: Wake up to Michael with his eyes SWOLLEN and GLUED SHUT!! F**k, F**k, F**k.  Please don't be pink eye, please don't be pink eye.  7 AM start making 2 trays of baked ziti.  Call DR at 830 to try and get in to see them.  Call back at 9 am .  Call back at 930. Finally can go .  Sit in dr office for 2 hours to find out that it is still just allergies. But here are prescriptions for eye drops and nose spray.  go to pharmacy.  go back to pharmacy.  Cut up steak tips.  Marinate.  Cut up chix breast.  Marinate.  Make a Turkey and stuffing and salad.  Get beer and wine.  Get a honey baked ham. Get a b-day cake.  Shot myself in the head.  Serve dinner for 16 people.  Clean up.

Sun: Wake up at 6 AM with screaming Aidan.  Happy F*n mother's day.  Get up.  Start steaming 10 lbs of red potatoes.  yes - 10 lbs.  Go to CVS and spend $51 in mother's day and b-day cards. Awesome. Happy Mother's day to me.  Make  potato salad,  make garden salad. make quiche. prep for 60 some odd people.  get self and 2 kids ready for church.  pictures.  church, let the party start.

Why didn't I take off today?

Adventures in "Crying it Out"

Ok, so we have small house.  Not super small, really the perfect size for us, but I am not going to lie and say that I can't wait until all the baby stuff gets to go back in the basement - between the swing, bouncy seat(s), exosaucer and high chair, some rooms are bursting at the seams.  It doesn't help that I have multiple bouncey seats as Aidan was not a fan of any of these items at all.  He still prefers the exosaucer over anything else.  Come to think of it, we could probably lose the swing and bouncey seats, but I am still hoping for the magical powers of the swing to work on my youngest... Ahh, 5 months and still trying, if anything, I am persistent.  Tangent from the title, I know.  I can also talk about how that little bugger refuses bottles and pacifiers.  So my go to trick of sticking a paci in his mouth in the swing and watching him sleep for 2 hours doesn't really work for this one.  Then again, I am still trying to figure out how to get him to nap.... Ok, really I should save this for a different post...

SO anyway, this little bugger Aidan doesn't really like to sleep or eat.  He is not a baby that cries though.  He is perfectly content to squawk at me until I feed him (what we refer to in our house as) "The Boob".  Nothing else will do but he just squawks, not cries or anything else.  So anyway, it should come to no surprise to all of you that he does his best eating at night.  I mean, it is quiet, dark and peaceful and he is sleepy.  I mean really sleepy.  So our nighttime (after battling all day with naps and eating) is something like this.  Nurse him at 6pm.  Nurse him at 7:30 pm.  Aidan falls asleep.  Put him in his crib.  Feed him an 8 oz bottle of formula that he chugs like a champ at 11:30 PM.  Yet, he is still asleep.  4:15 AM Aidan wakes up. Nurse him for 5-10 minutes at 430.  Sleep till 6. Start our day.

So, we may be a little tired.  Or a lot tired, I seem to have adjusted to the lack of sleep and I am handling it better and better.  Might have something to do with the bottle of wine I drink one night a week with a friend outside until midnight.... Again, another story.  But, my beloved hubby, can not have uninterrupted sleep.  He isn't so great at plowing through the tiredness and functioning.... And he wants to let Aidan cry out that 430 am feeding and push it to 6 am.  I agree, I would love it too.  The only problem is that there is an almost 3 year old in the next room.  As a matter of fact, their beds share the same common wall.  And our house is old and the walls aren't so insulated.  Basically, they can each hear everything.  And so, I pretty consistently cave in and don't let him cry it out. In my mind the 20 minutes awake and nursing is much better than the hour and 30 minutes of him crying.  But the other morning took the cake. 

So, Sunday night hubby and I agree that we are going to let Aidan cry it out .... again.  And so we do.  I hear him at 4:15 starting to babble.  By about 425 he is really starting to get into the crying.  I am laying in the dark wide awake listening to him cry and hubby snore.  (Cause that's how we do it here).  And then all of the sudden through the darkness I hear (from his bed): "Uh, Mom.... Aidan's crying and he woked me up".  Oh just f'n great.

That kid will continue to call to me until I respond, so rather than scream back from my bed and wake up the snoring beast next to me, I throw back the covers and go to talk to Michael.  Now, he has glow in the dark pjs and by the time I get into his room I see this little glow in the dark monster across the room playing with his stuffed animals. 

Me: "Michael, what are you doing!! It is the middle of the night!!"

Michael: "Mom, its morning out and Aidan woked me up!"

Me: "Michael get back into bed, it is still dark out"

Michael: "Mom, I want my elephant to sleep with."

Me: "I will find the elephant, get in bed!" 

Glow in the dark pjs run back into bed.  Start groping around the room looking for stuffed elephant in dark.  Aidan's crys are escalating. 

Michael: "Mom, I can't sleep with all that crying.. Mom" 

Oh crap.  It is now almost 445.  Screw this.  Go into Aidan's bedroom.  Pick him up,  Immediately crying stops.  Walk into hallway and turn on light.  Still hearing snoring from my cozy bed.  Curse husband under breath.  Walk into Michael's room.  Locate elephant. Tuck Michael back into bed. Turn off hall light.  Nurse Aidan.  Go back to bedroom.  Listen to 2 kids babbling themselves to sleep.  Listen to snoring beast.  Look at clock.  5:20.  Sigh.  Fall asleep.  Snoring beast's alarm goes off at 6:15 AM....

Michael: "Mom, is it morning now!"  Crap.....

So, I ask you, which is better.... crying it out or nursing for 20 minutes?

Worst Blogger Ever

I have no idea where I have been.  I can't keep track of the days.  I hope that returning to work next week will get me back on track. 

SAHM - can you please give me some hints on how in the world you get through a week?  I am really serious as the economy darkens, I await the pink slip.  And then I wonder if roots will really sprout from my @$$ onto the couch.  I can't quite keep track of what I do during the day.  But, I do know that what I have been doing is less than productive, as by the end of the day, I have not cooked dinner, I have not gone to the gym, I have not cleaned and I have not done laundry - all which I desperately need to do. And we all know that I have most certainly not blogged!  So, please - any sage words of advice on how to get life together again - pass it on!

Well, I do know that I spend about 6-7 hours a day feeding that little bugger of a 10 week old. Can you believe he is 10 weeks already!!!  I can't.  And that little bugger refuses all man-made items.  No pacifiers, no bottles, no formula, no swing... What in the world am I going to do with him.  That means no mommy alone time, that is for sure.  See, he is already starting to squawk.  Hints on that too? I mean, he has to go to daycare at some point and I highly doubt that I will be available every 2-3 hours to drive over there and feed him...

Hmm, anything else - yes - oh yes... We are trying to get that little bugger on a schedule.  A real, honest to goodness schedule.  With Michael, we were on one asap.  I know, some frown on that parent led schedule thing, but Michael ate every 3 hours no matter what.  If he wanted to eat at 2.5 - I stuck a paci in his mouth for 30 minutes.  For some reason, with Aidan, we never did that.  It has always been a child led schedule and whenever he feels like eating, he eats and when he feels like napping he naps.  After 10 weeks of this, I am beginnging to realize that this is really not a great idea.  But is it too early to get him onto a schedule?  I don't think so - but I can't get him to cooperate.  Really, the problem is this whole night time feeding - well, I guess it is the early morning one.  If he would just cooperate and wake up at the same time (3, 4, 5 am - which ever) then I can just get him to get up in the am at the same time (630, 7, 730) and then we can all get on a feeding schedule which would help me get him onto a napping schedule.  But, alas - that is not the case. We were on a great 2 week stretch where he would eat at 1130 and then not wake up until 5.  Now, it is anywhere between 3 and 4.  **Sigh** just in time for me to start working. 

So, this week is going to be h-e-double hockey sticks.  I am going to have to force him onto a schedule, force him onto a bottle and force some formula into that tummy.  Think I could be anymore excited for this week?  Ha!!! I am going to have to start drinkning.....

I know this is a a stupid post, but I figured you all wanted a small update...

To make up for it - I give you these...

 

It's not that I don't trust you...

IT really is more that I am a control freak.  Type A personality all the way.  I fully trust my husband, and his parents.  I just don't trust that my son will behave and if I am there, well it wouldn't make a difference except that I would be able to watch him as well.

What am I talking about?  I am sure that you are all thinking that.  Well, my in-laws  ware up visiting for the weekend.  Their first trip up here in almost 2 years and the last time we saw them was almost 1 year ago.  So, hubby, bless his soul, decided that we should all go out and do something crazy and fun.  The Children's Museum!!! Take the train in!!! Spend the 20 degree day in the city!! Not I said the fly.  There was no way I could go with our 7 week old.  I HATE nursing in public.  I am so uncomfortable trying to hide everything and hold Aidan up.  Making sure he eats, burps, gets diapered, etc that I honestly try and plan outings around his feedings.  So, off the 4 of them went with me waving goodbye in the wings.

But, see, I have lost him (him = Michael) twice.  Yes, twice.  Both times for just 2 minutes tops.  Once at 18 months at the same Children's Museum we went to.  I bent over to get the camera and he was next to me.  Actually touching my leg and then he was off. And I have never ever had a heart stopping, panic inducing moment like that.  Luckily the other mother I was with went right, I went left and she found him playing with the golf balls in the ball room.  The second time was in Target just a few months ago.  I was pushing the cart next to him and he darted into the Boys clothing section.  And DISAPPEARED.  That was even worse.  I would call for him and there was no response. I was 7 months pregnant, sobbing and hysterical screaming for him. He was hiding in clothes and someone else found him and called that they had him. HE thought he was playing hide and seek, I thought someone grabbed him and took him away forever.  Thank god they weren't a child molester, kidnapper, etc. 

So see, it isn't that I don't trust my husband, it is just that I know no matter how vigilant you are that kid is slippery.  I mean unbelievably slippery.  Since Aidan, Michael and I have set new rules up.  Rules that hubby may not necessarily follow.  Like, you have to either hold a hand or the stroller at all times.  I just can't chase after him while I have an infant.  But, James has a slightly looser leash.  Maybe because he hasn't lost him yet.  He hasn't felt that heart stopping panic. 

So, see, it isn't that I don't trust the fact that 3 capable adults can't keep track of a 2.5 year old.  It is that I don't think they really know how quickly he will dart away when he sees something he wants.  I mean, the Home Depot really doesn't have something that interesting. 

Plus, there is a recipe for disaster going on here.  First, they are taking the train.  Which will be exciting for all of 10 minutes and then Michael will totally be bored.  But the train ride is going to be a good 50 minutes.  Hmmm.  Then, they have to change to the subway and then walk about 15 minutes.  With no stroller.  in 20 degree weather.  Near the harbor with the wind.  You do the math with how easy that is going to be.  Then, they go to the museum. And then it is lunch time.  And, then reverse the trip there - but make that during nap time. With no stroller.

Should be interesting.  But I wasn't going to be the bad guy. I mean, hubby suggested the train and then said ask mommy.  Who am I to say no?  When he started to second guess that decision this morning, I told him it was way to late to crush Michael's spirits. 

Good luck to them.

Why am I still awake?

Maybe it is my night owl of a son??? Maybe it is the cough that just won't quit.

Am I a bad mom for throwing the kid in his swing and clicking away on a blog.  I figure, at least I am not asleep?

Anyway, you have asked and I shall send you to here:

http://albums.phanfare.com/7212571/3231116#imageID=57742933

And, inspired by Jenny at Daily Dose, I have started a new photo blog of the boys.  Just them.  I must take a pic of them every day of the year.  And, since I decided to do that today, the first 6 days may have come from over the past few days, but still... right?

http://sippycupsandblackberries.typepad.com/365

And to all of you leaving me comments that just stopped by for a visit - I promise I am on my way over and to those of you that have been with me through the long haul - I SWEAR I am going to be over there by the end of the week!!!

What Nobody Tells You....

1. Do not have a baby around the holidays
2. Two children is 10 times as hard as 1 - not twice
3. Getting a newborn into winter clothes is near impossible
4. Keep your first child on the same schedule but beware of the nasty cold the entire family will get.
5. Breastfeeding still stinks - if you didn't like to do it the first time, you won't like it any better the second time.
6. A newborn will be completely unaffected by the mother taking antibiotics not once but twice in 7 weeks.
7. Having a baby during a New England winter can cause your bum to grow roots to your couch.
8. Preparing for Christmas with a 1-4 week old baby can cause you to need an additional 4 weeks of maternity leave.
9. Your first born could love his brother as fiercely as a parent does.
10. Your love isn't cut in half, but rather your heart doubles in size to love them both even more.

Ok, so I have been completely MIA.  No one reminds you about the first 6 weeks of having a newborn.  I think that I completely blocked it out - to tell you the truth, I don't even remember the past 7 weeks.  I am already getting sentimental about how big he has gotten.  I am already thinking about how I want to have a third.  I must be so sleep deprived I can't even focus. 

Anyway, happy new year, happy holidays, merry christmas.

I made a few new year's resolutions - doesn't everbody?? So far, I haven't even started on any of them, but hey - it is only the what - the 6th?  I figure I get a good week to be able to get it started considering everyone in this house has a sinus infection - yes, me, hubby, michael - just not (amazingly enough) Aidan. 

Anyway - here they are...

1. Lose the baby weight by my 10 year college reunion.  (Hey - that is the end of May, plenty of time).  I got hooked on the best life diet, or really new life eating plan.  www.thebestlife.com  It actually makes sense to me, for once and for once I don't have to eat ricotta cheese with almonds as a snack. Ain't that original?
2. Run a 5K. We have a neighborhood 5K the weekend after labor day.  If I actually consider starting training now, I may actually be able to get it done.  They have a training program online - from couch potato to 5k and it takes 8 weeks. Maybe, I will 
3. Blog at least every other day.  Now that shouldn't be too hard???
4. Reign in the shopping and start saving.

1 Week Later

I'm Ba-ACK!!! And now this family of 3 is a family of 4.  I can't believe that the day has acutally come and gone and we now have a newborn in the house. I absolutely, positively love this phase.  I know, maybe I am absolutely nuts, but I love the newborn, snuggly, doesn't do anything but eat, sleep and poop phase.  They are soooo snuggly.  SOOOO Snuggly.  And they only cry when they are hungry .... which is like right now, but still.  Remember how snuggly.  They just curl right into you and don't move for hours.

Yes, maybe I am sleep deprived, with a breast infection and sore, bleeding and cracked n1pp!es but still.  I love this phase.

Let's see - I am sure you all want all the details, right? 

Well, after some on and off contractions on Monday, I went to the dr on Tuesday to find out I was a "couple" of centimeters dilated and he agreed to induce me on Thursday, 11/20.  To say I jumped up and almost kissed the dr was an understatement. I was thrilled.  My plans had worked and now I knew what was goin on.  But, wait, I was dilated - that means I could go into labor earlier, right?  And then I was freaked.  I carried around Depends and prayed my water didn't break.

But, come Thursday AM, I was sitting in the hospital after a night of contractions and waited for the potossin (i have no idea how to spell that one) and after 4 hours of contractions, 1 epidural and 20 minutes of pushing out came this new baby. 

And we haven't looked back since.

Now, can someone remind me why we forget how much breastfeeding hurts??? Because, really, sore, blistering, bleeding just plain ole hurts.  As in brings tears to my eyes, vomit to the back of my throat hurts.  As in a lactaction consultant felt bad for me, as in I am on antibiotics because of an infection, as in I wish that I could drop the guilt and formula feed this child.

But, on the bright side, I now have 8 to 10 hours a day where I sit on a couch and feed a baby because I can't possibly move while I breast feed - I must have my nursing pillow on and that is just ok.  Because now I have 8-10 hours a day to blog and catch up on blogs.

So, all of you newcomers that I haven't commented to yet - come back and comment again so I can read you.  To all you oldcomers - I promise, I now have time to read you again.

Woo Hoo.

Did I mention how much I love having a newborn?

What's one more?

I know that I seem to be doing this alot lately - disappearing i mean. I can't figure out why, maybe it is just hormones or what, but I am just at a loss of anything interesting to say.  In 1 month exactly, a little baby is about to join our household and despite that it is another boy and that it is a second child I am completely overwhelmed with the thought of it.

It weighs on my every thought and every move.  I wonder where we are going to have the space for it. I wonder where we are going to have the time for it. I wonder if we are going to be able to love it as much as we do Michael. (I keep refering to him as it because I still hold onto the minor thread of hope that it could possibly be a girl.)

It seems like I have been pregnant forever.  It seems like 8 years and not 8 months.  A girlfriend of mine was talking and she laughingly looked at me and said, God, I feel like you have been pregnant forever.  I laughed back and said imagine what it must be like for me!

It seemed like with the first pregnancy, it flew by.  I was completely unprepared and yet prepared for the changes in our lives.  We knew that sleep would no longer be an option, that he would overtake our lives in such a way that nothing would ever be the same.  We had heared the warnings and listened and accepted them.  But, overall, some things didn't change.  We still had some time to ourselves. I still worked full time.  James could still leave the house for 4 hours to do yardwork, play golf, etc on the weekends.  Yes, sometimes I was burnt out, but most of the time we had a groove and could get through it.  I mean, I could sleep when Michael slept if I was that tired.  Naptimes are a guaranteed hour or 2 of quiet.  I still managed to hold a job.  We still managed to pretend to save some money.  But, I see it with a lot of my friends, now on their second kid. It is a bigger step than the first.

Gasp.  Did I actually say that?  Are any of you nodding in agreement or are you all looking at me like I have lost my mind? 

I mean, I know what to expect again. I have been through it already. But here is the kicker.  I now have a very rambunctious 2.5 year old to attend to.  I like to call him my little hooligan as he has more energy than any of us could possible consider.  I mean, if I could bottle it, he could light up the national electric grid.

I often think that there is a lot more change that is about to come with this second bundle of joy. I mean, a lot more.  I can't possibly sacrifice anymore of my time. I am already trying to do a 50 hour a week job in 30.  I am already juggling housework into the mix - sneaking in laundry while on conference calls....  Grocery shopping during a coffee break.... Cooking dinner while discussing some mundane task with my boss.  I am already taking any free time available and giving it straight over to my son.  How in the world do I find more hours in the day to now give it to my other one as well???? 

I have watched marriages become more strained with the addition of kids and I worry, oh how I worry that ours may follow that path.  Hubby is going to have to start devoting all of his free time to the family now too. How horrible is that for him?  We are going to have to divide and conquer our children on the weekends.  How horrible is that for our son?

It terrifies me to think about it.  It makes me feel so helpless. I mean, I know lots of parents that do this all the time. Sometimes they don't have the aid of a spouse or significant other. How do they handle it? Maybe it is good that I have off from Nov. 14 to Feb 2.  Maybe that will make it easier.  Maybe once I am in the trenches, I will just figure it out.

But for now, it seems like I have spent the past 8 years contemplating how in the world I am going to do it all and I haven't yet found the answer.

And that, ladies, scares the shit out of me.

Honestly, what's not to get?

Really, people, how could you think that me traipsing around with a 2 year old and 6 months pregnant is easier than you doing it?  (You, being the ones that don't have a child and are not pregnant, for those that have children and/or are pregnant, you fall into the it's harder for me to do it category....). I just don't understand how they don't get it ... Let's take this week for example.

My awesome parents came up from NY to help my sister buy a TV and TV stand yesterday.  They, of course, wanted to also spend some time with their grandson (note: they really could care less if their oldest daughter and only son-in-law came along with that package.  After 2 years, I have come to terms with this, barely).  So, Tuesday at noon, I call them to find out what the heck the dealio is.  I wanted to make sure that they may be coming out here so that I can 1) straighten up the house and 2) complete the grocery shopping so that I could make dinner.  The response I got was, it was easier if I dragged my pregnant ass and my 2 year old son over to my sister's 1 bedroom apartment in the city while fighting rush hour traffic so that we could go to eat dinner at some two bit pub.  Well, that wasn't the exact wording, but it was the gist of it.  Awesome.  Have they forgotten what it is like to go out to dinner with the 2 year old?  Do they not recall last month when I got to eat 0 bites of food while he climbed all over us?  Yep, that is so much easier than not waking up my child from a nap after I complete work for an entire day and sitting in my kitchen with a baked rigatoni with eggplant and sausage that I cooked while working and the 2 year old free to run wild through the house, but at least my pregnancy hormones didn't have me so stressed that I was close to tears and then I could actually eat some dinner.  Uh-huh... Sure guys, no problem. 

Hey bartender at that two-bit pub would mind sneaking some vodka into that sprite I am drinking and getting the 6 month pregnant lady tipsy so she doesn't have to deal with her crappy evening?  So that the stares of the other patrons can be more easily ignored? So she doesn't have to watch her parents judge her that she has no control over the 2 year old?  (Mind you, I am guessing that it is very infrequently that they took me out to dinner when I was 2 - being that I had a 4 month old sister at the time....)  So I backed out at 4 pm, over much angst and very upset that Michael wouldn't be able to see his grandparents.  And I know that they are pissed at me, but you know what, I rather feel guilty than stressed and pissed....

See, but they are not the only ones that just DON'T GET IT.  Take my in-laws.  To go see them I have to pack up all of the baby crap that is needed to travel with a toddler, drive 1 hour to an airport, park a car, take all the baby crap out of the car and check it into  luggage claim, load us up on a plane, fly 4 hours, land, locate car, drive 2-3 hours to arrive at their house.  This in total could take us 8 hours, IF THERE ARE NO DELAYS.  All with a 2 year old.  But, I am constantly told that it is easier for the 3 of us to do this then the 4 of them. Because, there are only 3 of us. 

Uhm....  ok - but you have to pack 2 suitcases and are done.  WE have to pack, 3 suitcases, a stroller, a car seat, a blankie, a snuffy, a pooh, a diaper bag, a computer bag plus dvds, a toy bag, do you see the list growing???? We are almost at the point where we have to pay for all the extra checked items.  AWESOME!!!

So, can someone please explain to me how these people can be so dense? I mean really, it isn't like they haven't had kids... (Ok, so our siblings haven't had kids yet, but still, our parents are around, ya know?)

I am fighting back to urge to snap at all them and tell them if they want to see their grandkids/nephews they have to haul their asses out here. Otherwise, we can live a nice peaceful existence just the 4 of us...

Home, Home on the Range...

Oh, I am totally suffering from the vacation blues.  You know, the ones where you are totally miserable that you are no longer sitting around playing, drinking (well, not so much drinking...) eating, going to the beach?  Now, you are back to being a responsible adult and your kids are going to daycare and you are sitting down to work....  And all you want to do is climb into bed and sleep - or better yet, get back into the car or on the plane and return to the happy days of vacation...

Well, that is what we want to do.  Even though we got back on Friday, 2 days of a weekend at home where we did NOTHING didn't help.  I still haven't gone to the grocery store and we still don't even have milk. The good thing was that the house we had had a washer and dryer - so although we are not unpacked, we do have only clean clothing sitting in the suitcases getting stinky ...  Oh, well.  Maybe motivation will hit me today while I am "working".

Martha's Vineyard is a wonderful place.  I mean, it is an island and we didn't stay in the best town, but we stayed in a great town. The house was a little crazy funky.  The woman who rented it out lived there except for the week that we were there.  So ALL of her stuff was there - the closets were chuck full, the pantry, fridge, freezer, etc - so it was kind of odd.  But, we basically woke up, went to the beach, came home, made dinner, went to bed. Rinse and Repeat. Sorry - but that is the BEST kind of vacation ever.

Of course, a vacation isn't complete without a trip to the emergency room. Nice, gotta love it - one per family.  Awesome.  What happened you ask?  Well, let's see - my awesome son broke out into a terrible rash. Nasty.  Gross, purple and red and "postules"  nice.  So, we go over to the walk-in hours for the pediatrician where the nurse practictioner says - and I quote "I have no idea what it is, possibly it could be scabies, but it doesn't itch. So, I don't know - just put some calamine lotion on it and come back if anything changes."  Uhmmmmmmm...........

Now, here is the thing I love about both my OB and Pediatrician.  Neither will plant a seed in my head unless they are positive that it is something.  For example, the word SCABIES would never ever ever be thrown out there, unless it was SCABIES!!!!

So, we leave. And I research scabies.  And then I want to throw up. And I am completely freaked out as I watch this rash spread. And I am totally paranoid as the medicine isn't recommended for use if you are pregnant.  And by the way, I am pregnant and so is the other mom travelling with us.  And gross, bugs are burrowing into your skin and making you itch. Gag ME!!!

So, needless to say, the very next day we are in the emergency room hoping to have someone rule out scabies.  And, we see an er doctor. This was getting better and better. Now, I recall at some point our pediatrician telling us if we ever had to go to an er - to use these 2 hospitals and not the one closer because they don't have a pediatric er.  She said something to the effect that a dr for adults can't diagnose a child.  Hmm, thought that was an odd thing to say - but then again, I haven't had to go to an emergency room (excluding the time he rolled off the bed at 3 months...).  So, off we are at the ER, with a dr that confirms it is NOT scabies (thank the holy person that we pray to) but she has NO IDEA what it is.  She then walks away to "get a colleague" and I can hear her telling the nurse that she has no clue what this is and what should she do.  Uhm, ER DR - here is a clue - don't talk in front of a curtain.  WE CAN HEAR YOU!! This is not a wall and a door jackie!  (That is what I call jackasses to prevent the cursing in front of the 2 year old.). She then returns to tell us that her colleague is working on a critical patient and she thinks it is a bacterial infection and she is going to prescribe both a oral and topical antibiotic.  Uhm, ok.  Wait right here.  Uhm, ok.  So she then returns to the other side of the curtain and has a 30 minute conversation on what the CORRECT DOSAGE of the oral antibiotic would be.  As the conversation goes back and forth and she grows more and more confused, James leans over and states: We are soo not giving him any of this medication. Uh, ya think!  5 minutes later, er doc returns and says: Well, we decided that less is more and we are only going to have you use the cream and not the oral antibiotic. You know? Hmm, is that code for I have no idea what dosage to give so we are going to skip it?

Nice.  Needless to say, we are going to be seeing our pediatrician today.  Well, she is on vacation and we are going to see her backup - but better than nothing. Since, there is still a rash and it is still spreading.

Awesome.

Otherwise, pictures soon. I am posting them on flicr so you can check out the sidebar to see more fun!