celticdragonfly

Tonight there's a 90% chance of rain. Tomorrow rain likely, may be heavy in the morning.

The yard is going to be muddy and soggy.

So - needs must, we had our Easter Egg hunt this afternoon.

Alanna took part, but didn't really get it yet - no big surprise there. She ran around with her bucket some, and Maggie helped her, and hey, she found the chocolate bunny lollipop, and that was what she wanted. She opened it up and was saying "choc!" She knew what this was about.

Sadly, she dropped it down a water pipe before she'd eaten much of it.

Maggie and Jamie had a great time. fordprfct took video of it. We'll see if he can get the editing software installed and get it uploaded so we can share it.

Today's kid quote, from Jamie in the car as we took Maggie to piano lessons:

"Mama! It's raining!" me: "Yes, yes it is". Jamie: "Could you turn it off?"

No, sorry dear.

I had been promising kid pictures. Those who share my addictions will understand why early Tuesdays are the time I'm most likely to catch up on posting. (We're UP already, but I promised myself I'd get this done first.)

( Pics here! )

Softball doesn't get any softer. Jamie just invented his own game - he brought me the baby plush cube to throw, and he's using a plush whale as a bat. Karl got a bit of video of it. We were playing for quite a while, and now Karl's taken over as pitcher. It's so cute. When he misses, he sometimes says "Not again!"

Pictures and a video of the kids in their dressy spring outfits from Mamaw Linda.
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I am MAD.

Jamie started being worse this afternoon again, still definitely feverish even with ibuprofen, so as the ER had instructed, we called his regular doctor. They said bring him in now, we'll fit him in. Fortunately fordprfct could take care of Alanna and watch for Maggie's bus, so I hurried Jamie over there. Turned out he has a double ear infection - presumably on Sunday the redness and swelling weren't advanced enough for them to see. And the current antibiotic isn't doing anything on it. So he sent off a prescription to Walgreens' for a new, tougher antibiotic that he'll be on for 10 days.

He SHOULD be on it starting now, except Walgreens' once again has proved to be a haven of incompetence. I wasn't surprised they didn't have it at 5, when we were heading out to get Maggie to kids' club - too early, they get backed up this time of year, one must be patient, and all that. But tonight on the way home, they still didn't have it, at 11:30, and were claiming it was never sent in. (It always seems to be the nightshift where we have the most problems with these idiots.)

My doctor has the new computerized system where he has a tablet computer in his hands during the appointment, and sends the prescription off directly from there. I KNOW he sent it in.

And we have been going around and around with Walgreens lately. They keep doing this kind of shit. A while back, they were repeatedly insisting that my doctor had not called in the replacement prescription for my eyedrops that were thrown out accidentally - and my doctor's office kept insisting yes they HAD - turned out they HAD, but Walgreens hadn't filled it because my insurance wouldn't cover it because they'd just paid for one. Well, DUH, I'd told them it was for a prescription that had gotten thrown away and I needed a replacement, I was expecting to have to pay cash for it. And they'd never mentioned that. And we went through something similar recently when we'd changed insurances. Honestly, my insurance does NOT determine what prescription I can have, it only determines what it will pay for, and damnit, I have money to pay for the others! FILL IT!

I have NO idea why they don't have it this time, but I'm quite certain that tomorrow I will have to go round and round calling my doctor's office and dealing with this crap. And in the meantime Jamie has a nasty double ear infection that is going untreated.

And on the 28th he has the preop appointment before his surgery - and if this ear infection isn't cleared up by then, he won't be able to have the surgery. A day's delay in getting this antibiotic started could mean his surgery would be postponed for at least a month.

I AM FURIOUS.

Jamie threw up tonight in bed, while Karl was out picking up groceries. I got him through it, his bed stripped, him stripped, washed him, dressed him. It was difficult - I was really wondering "okay, where IS the line between shivering and fever seizure?" Got his sheets into the wash. Later after Karl was home, he got clean sheets onto his bed, came down, got Jamie up off the couch to get a dose of ibuprofen and a drink of water, and carried him upstairs - whereupon from the sound of it Jamie threw up on him.

Poor Karl. Poor Jamie. The kid can't keep down an ibuprofen dose and a drink of water. Honestly, I think he oughta be in a hospital bed with an I.V. in. But given that Karl spent NINE hours in the ER with him earlier, and didn't get anything more than an antibiotic prescription, I don't know anything helpful we can do on that front. It seems to us like this is the flu, take 2.

Jamie was crying in his sleep a lot. He'd had ibuprofen at 9:30 and tylenol at 2:30, and at 3:30 he still had a fever of 104.4. selenite is taking him in to the pediatric hospital now. I called bkseiver and confirmed with her that yeah, it's time to take him in.

The other kids seem fine for now.

I'm posting basically as a way to nervously twitch online. He just HAD the flu, and had a 5-day course of tamiflu, and had - we thought - been better, at least wasn't feverish and such, and had been back at school. What is going on with this?

Jamie's improving, although he is still home from school. I expect he should be back at school Monday. I hope so.

Ironically, they could have gotten him in for eye surgery last Wednesday, if he hadn't come down with the flu. Oh well, we'll wait a bit longer.

I adore the way Alanna likes to play peek-a-boo with us on the changing table, using her outfit. She'll do it on the floor with a baby blanket. I would love to get good pictures, but when I bring out the camera, she gets interested in it and doesn't keep playing peek-a-boo.

I found out there's a Saginaw's quilters group meeting weekly. No machines, they're doing hand-quilting. Oooooh. Just the sort of people I want to meet and humbly apprentice myself to. And LOCAL. And... they meet on Thursdays, 9 am until 1:30 or so. Which means I won't be able to go until... Alanna's in kindergarten, five years from now. Sigh.

Happy Birthday, Jamie!

Here are the pictures:
http://pics.livejournal.com/celticdragonfly/pic/000t8qsz/g89

Karl's upstairs putting the kids to bed. They're having a game of hide and seek first. Karl is setting it up this time so that Maggie hides while he's with Jamie in the hallway, and then he brings Jamie in and tells him to find Maggie. I'm hearing "Maggie? Where ARE you! THERE you are!" from upstairs. Very encouraging.

Pre-dinner conversation in our household:

Me: "You realize fordprfct has just taught the 3 year old and the 5 year old to play zombies? "

fordprfct in the background: "Braaaaains! Om nom nom. Say braaaains!"

Jamie: "BRAAAAAINS!"

selenite: "cadhla would be so jealous."

A few minutes ago Maggie had declaimed emphatically that she was not to eat! Which cued us right into singing "If you weren't meant for me to eat (yum, yum!) / you wouldn't be made out of meat (dumb, dumb!)"

Pictures of Alanna and Alanna and Jamie from last week and today.
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Here's a shot of Alanna from last week, on the 12th. She's continuing to improve on rolling over, and pushing up like that on her tummy, and being happier about the whole process. She's also teething madly.
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Jamie got home from school, and after taking off his backpack, jacket, and shoes - and tossing the shoes into the shoe bin with a Miss Piggyesque HIIII-YAH!, possibly we need to back off on letting him see the Muppet show - he went over to see his baby sister.
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Okay, I know it's blurry, but awww, they're holding hands!

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My three darlings together. Maggie had been playing with Alanna, sitting her up and playing with her. When I got the camera out, Jamie came over to be in the picture.
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Maggie playing with Alanna. Alanna looks dubious, but really she did seem to be enjoying the attention. Maggie was being gentle and careful.

I got all excited and worked up about posting about the protest last night, and didn't get around to posting anything else from my day.

The best part was that Calvary Cafe and the Kids' Club program restarted last night. The kids were tremendously excited to be back. They were eagerly running off to kids' club. I got their paperwork filled out and went back to the big room that gets used for the cafe dinner, where fordprfct was keeping Alanna for me while I was getting the big kids settled. I got back to find Alanna in her godmama's arms - Mary and Bruce were there. It was lovely, since Alanna was in a nice awake, social, smiley mood, and got to spend a lot of the evening with her godparents. I felt so unencumbered, going up to get my dinner without having to be concerned about any kids!

And it was a great dinner. Chicken caesar totally fails to express what great things Phil can do with a chicken breast, romaine, cheese, and grapes. And garlic bread, and roast potato. OooOooOoh. I went ahead and got a plate for selenite just wrapped up in foil until he got there, and it's well I did, since they'd run out by the time he got there.

Mary went and picked up the kids at the end of Kids Club. They were so happy. Came running and shouting to see their Daddy. They were "helping" put all the chairs away, too - at least helping push the chair-hanging storage things across the room. And playing with their godparents, and Mary Ruth, and just generally running around having a good time. Maggie was totally wound up like a top. Jamie was trying to join into chase games and saying "I got you! I got you!"

I'd missed this, I'm glad to have it back in our lives.

Ow oh ow ow ow my feet HURT.

Been school supply shopping. Annoyed at the store. The whole school district has a bleeping list - you'd think their managers would order stuff according to the list. Tons of stuff we can't buy, run out of much of the stuff we must buy. Grrrrr.

Only parents with several children close in age will understand how exhausting a day of errands with three kids is. Only a few things take all day, what with the diaper changes and nursings and other stops. (One diaper change today involved going through three new diapers and a new onesie, with the baby in the front passenger seat and me twisted sideways in the driver's seat. No wonder she was crying, with that going on in her system. Trust me, you don't want to try that.)

In quick summary - the bills have been paid and mailed off (Saginaw REALLY needs another post office, or at least a drive-up box somewhere - I couldn't park within a block and ended up driving to the regional one one Mark IV Parkway), Maggie's dance clothes were found, Jamie's glasses have been fixed, I have bought a new kit for my Medela Lactina, and new and much improved storage bags, confirmed once again that there just isn't a standard nursing bra that can fit me, returned home, and Maggie was bathed, dressed, and taken to dance class on time.

I am highly ANNOYED with Bath and Body works. fordprfct took us in there once when we were up doing errands in that Southlake area with all the cute shops around the park. He was getting more shower gel, and convinced me to try some. He uses a nice masculine juniper scent stuff, nice but not my style, but I found a raspberry that smelled really good, and was convinced to try it. And I liked it. And I ran out. And hey, Jamie's optician is all the way up there in Southlake, so I was very close. After going to all the trouble to get a parking spot only a block or so away, get three kids out of the car, get Alanna into the carrier, and walk across to the store in the sun and heat, they don't have the raspberry shower gel. Out of stock, and well that's an 'old' scent, so now they're only going to have it during the annual sale, except they're out of stock for this one. Well, they just lost a customer. I do not understand the whole drive to New! Different! stuff - if I find something that works I like to stick with it.

I would like to go collapse now - except in a bit I have to go back out and get Maggie back from dance class. We'll see if it's raining then or not. It's been alternating between pouring rain and hot hot sun.

I have various stuff to post, as I get to it today.

First - yesterday I had a moment of just absolute joy and beauty. Before fordprfct left last night, Maggie popped herself down in selenite's computer chair and asked to have her feet tickled. A moment later each guy had grabbed an ankle, and had her dangling upside down between them as they tickled the soles of her feet and she shrieked in glee. It was lovely. Jamie came up and said "MY TURN!" and first they let him help tickle her feet, and then they set her down and upended him. Wheee. Kids are such fun.

Also, two comics that are just marvelous today:

Today's XKCD makes me giggle

and

I know and agree with Angela's feeling - oh yeah. I'm a lucky woman.

Jamie's been looking at the baby a lot and saying "BABY!" We've been teaching him to say "sister", and working on her name. Mostly he was getting it as "Yanna!" The other day Miles got him to say it as "Adanna", which was the closest yet.

Just now he came up, looked at her in the swing, and said "Baby. Alanna!"

Maggie was given a Mozart cube by bkseiver and rlseiver for an early Christmas present years ago. Some time back it'd been put up on top of the entertainment center, in Toy TimeOut, I believe because one sibling had smacked the other in the head with it. It's been up there hidden for a long time.

Yesterday she pointed it out to the doula who's been over helping some days, as they came down the stairs and could see up there, and I gave permission to get it back out. This morning Karl replaced batteries on it. Both kids are throughly enjoying it.

They can push on the orchestra button side to get a piece of Mozart played by the full ensemble, or to change which piece is playing - and as a piece is playing, they can push on the flute, harp, piano, violin, and french horn sides to add and subtract them from the mix.

They're entranced, if anything more than when they played with it younger, because they understand what's going on more. And Maggie can tell me about most of the instruments. The harp is nice, and I'm developing a fondness for the french horn bits.

If I must listen to a kid toy that keeps making electronic sounds, this is a good one.