Evaline has a bad habit...every six months or so she gets sick in a way that constitutes a mild emergency...and she always does this "after-hours".
The first time she was wheezing, which constituted a late-trip to the walk-in clinic, then the hospital for chest x-rays to rule out pneumonia (which she didn't have). She was assigned to a nebulizer regimen and got better (her first of several illnesses requiring nebulizer treatments...luckily never something like RSV, though).
This past spring she was doing some weird breathing thing. Given her history with lung issues, we went to the walk-in clinic...then to the ER when they couldn't diagnose her, and the clinic was closing. That was a very expensive trip to find out that she was...well, just doing some weird breathing thing. The doctors had no idea what was wrong with her...she was just being weird.
This time....
Thursday afternoon I got a call from her preschool/daycare that she woke up from her nap with a very red eye. Ian picked her up on the early side...and sure enough, bloodshot eye, bright red surrounding it. We called our doctor...and were lucky to get her in that evening (our doctor's office is open until 8...although, because they are open they are often full...hence the walk-in clinics the previous two times). Even luckier, our (amazing) doctor happened to be there (I think to do paperwork...not to see patients, but he came in to see us anyway). The red around her eye was due to rubbing it, but they couldn't figure out what the cause of the problem was, exactly. It could have been a number of things, but she needed to see an eye doctor, who had better tools to diagnose the problem.
We went in to see the eye doctor on Friday morning...but before we did, the real story came out:
Evaline was feeling MUCH better on Friday, but her eye was still red. I told her that we were going to see the doctor again, and she got a BIG smile on her face (she LOVES going to the doctor, as does Cora).
She said: "Cora doesn't have to go to the doctor, because she wasn't playing the game at recess."
Me: "What game was that?"
Evaline: "The wood chip game."
Me: "What is the wood chip game? How do you play that?"
Evaline: "You throw wood chips in the air. I got dust in my eye."
Ah-ha. That little bit of information would have been useful the night before. She had gotten a sliver of wood in her eye. Doctor confirmed, the wood had scratched her cornea. Luckily the eye heals quickly, and she really wasn't in any pain by Friday morning. She was given an antibiotic ointment to put in her eye (not her favorite part of the day), to make sure that the wood and scratch don't cause an infection.
She has been informed that it is not in her best interest to throw wood chips in the future.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Sunday Funnies
Cora:
On Friday morning Willa woke up to eat around 5:45 am, after feeding her, I decided that instead of going back to bed until C & E got up at 7:30, I would get up and work out. So, I did, and then took a quick shower and got ready for the day. When the girls got up, Cora came to give me a good morning hug and said:
"Are we going somewhere today? You smell like we're going somewhere."
Perhaps I should shower more often???
Evaline:
So we actually were going somewhere on Friday...which is why I showered. We had to take Evaline to the eye doctor (watch for a post on that story later this week). The lady at the reception desk said to her "I like your bow."
Evaline gave her sweetest smile and said "Thank you...but its actually a ribbon."
On Friday morning Willa woke up to eat around 5:45 am, after feeding her, I decided that instead of going back to bed until C & E got up at 7:30, I would get up and work out. So, I did, and then took a quick shower and got ready for the day. When the girls got up, Cora came to give me a good morning hug and said:
"Are we going somewhere today? You smell like we're going somewhere."
Perhaps I should shower more often???
Evaline:
So we actually were going somewhere on Friday...which is why I showered. We had to take Evaline to the eye doctor (watch for a post on that story later this week). The lady at the reception desk said to her "I like your bow."
Evaline gave her sweetest smile and said "Thank you...but its actually a ribbon."
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
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Sunday, October 14, 2012
Sunday Funnies
Evaline has had a funny week:
Funny #1
Evaline has taken to narrating her play as though it is a story. For example, playing store:
(hands me a bracelet) "'Can I buy this from you?,' I asked the lady at the store."
I pretend to ring up the bracelet and hand it back her.
"'Well thank you! Have a good day and good-by!' I said as I ran out the door." (as she leaves the room)
She started doing this just when she was pretend-playing, but apparently it is habit forming because it is spilling over into everyday life:
Spoken to me:
"'Can I please have some juice?' I asked my mother."
What a hoot!
Funny #2 (also from Evaline)
"When I toot its just my butt talking; and its saying: 'I have to go to the bathroom!'"
I'm sure that Cora has said funny stuff, too....but its escaping me right now...maybe Ian will think of something and I'll add an addendum...
Funny #1
Evaline has taken to narrating her play as though it is a story. For example, playing store:
(hands me a bracelet) "'Can I buy this from you?,' I asked the lady at the store."
I pretend to ring up the bracelet and hand it back her.
"'Well thank you! Have a good day and good-by!' I said as I ran out the door." (as she leaves the room)
She started doing this just when she was pretend-playing, but apparently it is habit forming because it is spilling over into everyday life:
Spoken to me:
"'Can I please have some juice?' I asked my mother."
What a hoot!
Funny #2 (also from Evaline)
"When I toot its just my butt talking; and its saying: 'I have to go to the bathroom!'"
I'm sure that Cora has said funny stuff, too....but its escaping me right now...maybe Ian will think of something and I'll add an addendum...
Monday, October 8, 2012
Six Weeks! (and a pumpkin patch)
Last night she only got up once, at 3 am, and then not again until 7. She's done this a couple of times before, but I'm hoping that she makes this a trend. Getting up at 1:30, 4:30, and 6:30 is for the birds. For the most part she's a pretty good sleeper during the day, but I'm still ready for her to start sleeping through the night. Cora slept through the night at 8 weeks, and Evaline did at 10...Willa outweighs what they were at that age, so I'm hoping she'll catch on pretty soon here. (On Wednesday of last week the Dr.'s office weighed her when we went in for C&E's flu "mists"...and she was a whopping 10 lbs!! A full 2 lbs gained in 5 weeks!) I enjoy her "newborn" phase in a lot of ways, but I think that I'm ready to move on to the more fun "baby" stuff. We're getting there, at the end of last week she started "talking" to us - the coos and goos that are the beginning of learning to socialize.
But even more exciting...look what she learned to do this morning(!):
Isn't that smile one of the most precious things you've ever seen? Well...after weeks of late nights, early mornings, and fussy evenings, this a much welcomed sight.
This past weekend we all went to a nearby orchard and pumpkin patch. The girls had a blast - we walked through the pumpkin patch and orchard, went on a wagon ride, picked out our pumpkins and bought cider doughnuts and lots of apples to freeze for pies. It was all in all a good day. The highlight for the girls was when the tractor (that pulled the wagon) "got stuck" as we were crossing a small creek and we all had to shout "GO BESSIE, GO!" to get her fired up and going. This was a big deal, since we rode on something similar last year at my uncle's farm and Cora was scared to death of the tractor. She was a bit apprehensive about it this time, but was willing to try it...and she giggled the whole time. Here's the proof of a good day:
Monday, September 24, 2012
Little House Love
It started in second grade. Mrs. Hirsch, my teacher, recommended that I read "Little House in the Big Woods" for my free-read book. I did...and was instantly hooked. For Christmas that year, I got the boxed set of all nine Laura Ingalls Wilder books; and for the rest of second grade, and all of third grade, and most of fourth grade, as well, I was a little girl obsessed.
In my imagination, my bed at home became a trundle bed; I lived alternately in a log cabin, a dugout house on the prairie, and a clapboard house in a small prairie town. At night, I would pretend that the light by my bed was a candle and I blow it out as I turned off the light. My favorite outfit was the calico dress and bonnet that my mom made for me. Whenever I was by myself - and oftentimes, secretly, in the company of others - I was "in-character." I lived and breathed "Little House." (Sidebar: despite this obsession with the books, I never got into the TV show, which was airing at about this time. We were allowed limited TV time, and whatever we watched had to be agreed upon by both my brothers and me (Katie was too young to really have a vote), since there was only the one TV. If "Little House" was presented as an option, it was surely voted down 2 to 1 in favor of "Duck Tales" or the like.)
I know what you're thinking...I'm a bit a dorkier than you ever knew, right? Well...it gets worse - although I eventually stopped playing "Little House" constantly, I never quite grew out of it. Perhaps it's what drove me to be a history teacher?
(Sidebar #2: Meanwhile, 1,000 miles away in Marion, Iowa...Ian spent the majority of his third grade year in his basement organizing those little green plastic army guys into the exact formations to replicate and reenact various Civil War battles. I believe it must have been Destiny that brought us together.)
Several years ago, my mother-in-law (knowing of my Little House Love), was cleaning out some of her old books from when she was an elementary school teacher and passed along these Little House First Chapter Books. I'm not sure what age they are supposed to be for, but I'm sure for kids who are ready for more than a picture book, but not the real books quite yet. (What else, right?)
Last summer, when Ian and I were on our way to Montana, we stopped in Wall, South Dakota - the town at the entrance to the Badlands. The only thing to do in Wall is go to Wall Drug, and while there, I came across a wonderful collection of Little House picture books - stories adapted from the actual books only geared toward kids aged 3 - 8. We bought a couple, so that I could share them with the girls.
The girls didn't take to them right away. They liked them, but they weren't anything too special. Arthur, Franklin, Clifford and the Berenstain Bears always seemed to be the real winners.
Late this summer, however, something changed. Cora and Evaline started choosing the Little House books more and more often. Then, on a lark, I decided to try out the First Chapter Books at bedtime. Something I've been really looking forward to as a parent has been reading chapter books together at bedtime...so I decided to give it a go with these. I didn't really think that they'd be able to follow them - there was only one picture per chapter, and they'd have to remember the story from day to day. Much to my surprise...and joy...they LOVED them! They follow the stories just fine, and are extremely excited for each chapter. We whizzed through all three books (and found a fourth at the library). We've moved on to the original Little House in the Big Woods, but although they insist we continue and that they love them, I'm thinking we'll have to come back to them in a few years for the girls to really "get" them. The girls have both of the picture books memorized and can now "read" them themselves.
And as I'm typing this, I can hear them in the other room...Cora is "Mary", Evaline is "Laura", and I hear them talking about Pa, Ma, and baby Carrie. From what I can gather....Cora is churning butter while Evaline is gathering wood chips to smoke some meat to keep it for the winter.
I am so excited, thrilled, and overjoyed that I get to relive this Little House Love all over again through them. I hope Ian is ready...I'm already starting to plan a vacation to travel all over the Midwest touring all the Little House land marks. I'm sure if we throw in a little hiking on the side, he'll be happy, too.
In my imagination, my bed at home became a trundle bed; I lived alternately in a log cabin, a dugout house on the prairie, and a clapboard house in a small prairie town. At night, I would pretend that the light by my bed was a candle and I blow it out as I turned off the light. My favorite outfit was the calico dress and bonnet that my mom made for me. Whenever I was by myself - and oftentimes, secretly, in the company of others - I was "in-character." I lived and breathed "Little House." (Sidebar: despite this obsession with the books, I never got into the TV show, which was airing at about this time. We were allowed limited TV time, and whatever we watched had to be agreed upon by both my brothers and me (Katie was too young to really have a vote), since there was only the one TV. If "Little House" was presented as an option, it was surely voted down 2 to 1 in favor of "Duck Tales" or the like.)
I know what you're thinking...I'm a bit a dorkier than you ever knew, right? Well...it gets worse - although I eventually stopped playing "Little House" constantly, I never quite grew out of it. Perhaps it's what drove me to be a history teacher?
(Sidebar #2: Meanwhile, 1,000 miles away in Marion, Iowa...Ian spent the majority of his third grade year in his basement organizing those little green plastic army guys into the exact formations to replicate and reenact various Civil War battles. I believe it must have been Destiny that brought us together.)
Several years ago, my mother-in-law (knowing of my Little House Love), was cleaning out some of her old books from when she was an elementary school teacher and passed along these Little House First Chapter Books. I'm not sure what age they are supposed to be for, but I'm sure for kids who are ready for more than a picture book, but not the real books quite yet. (What else, right?)
Last summer, when Ian and I were on our way to Montana, we stopped in Wall, South Dakota - the town at the entrance to the Badlands. The only thing to do in Wall is go to Wall Drug, and while there, I came across a wonderful collection of Little House picture books - stories adapted from the actual books only geared toward kids aged 3 - 8. We bought a couple, so that I could share them with the girls.
The girls didn't take to them right away. They liked them, but they weren't anything too special. Arthur, Franklin, Clifford and the Berenstain Bears always seemed to be the real winners.
Late this summer, however, something changed. Cora and Evaline started choosing the Little House books more and more often. Then, on a lark, I decided to try out the First Chapter Books at bedtime. Something I've been really looking forward to as a parent has been reading chapter books together at bedtime...so I decided to give it a go with these. I didn't really think that they'd be able to follow them - there was only one picture per chapter, and they'd have to remember the story from day to day. Much to my surprise...and joy...they LOVED them! They follow the stories just fine, and are extremely excited for each chapter. We whizzed through all three books (and found a fourth at the library). We've moved on to the original Little House in the Big Woods, but although they insist we continue and that they love them, I'm thinking we'll have to come back to them in a few years for the girls to really "get" them. The girls have both of the picture books memorized and can now "read" them themselves.
I am so excited, thrilled, and overjoyed that I get to relive this Little House Love all over again through them. I hope Ian is ready...I'm already starting to plan a vacation to travel all over the Midwest touring all the Little House land marks. I'm sure if we throw in a little hiking on the side, he'll be happy, too.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
The First (almost) Two Weeks
A quick look at what we've been up to during our first two weeks as a family of five:
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