Another ear infection

Only this time, it's not Sam ... it's me! Since three colds turned into three ear infections for Sam this past fall, we've gotten very vigilant about that possibility. So I was very happy when Sam's doctor pronounced his ears totally clear on Wednesday. Imagine my surprise when I woke up with my left ear throbbing yesterday morning! I called my doctor, who was hopeful it was not yet infected, and he suggested Mucinex to help the congestion clear and Motrin to handle the pain. That did well enough for most of the day, but by 10:30pm last night, it just wasn't cutting it. A midnight trip to the ER confirmed that it is indeed infected and they sent me home with prescriptions for anaesthetic ear drops and an antibiotic. Things are better today, so fingers crossed that this, too, shall soon pass and we'll see the end of this flu yet.

What a weekend!

We have had quite an exciting Easter weekend. Jed's parents, Donald and Marti, arrived on Wednesday so we've had both sets of grandparents here. And we've tested the limits of what six adults can accomplish in a short period of time. We had been planning to focus our attention on getting our (new) garden laid out and tilled. But when Marti and Donald looked at our deck, they decided it absolutely had to be replaced before they could think of letting Sam play on it. And so the real fun began.
While Jed and I were at work on Thursday (and unbeknownst to us), they ripped up the old decking. After inspecting the whole frame, Donald and my dad decided it was sound and didn't need replacing. So they went and got new decking and called it a day. Jed and I were both very (and mostly pleasantly) surprised when we came home to find our deck gone!
On Friday morning, Donald and Marti started working on the new deck but didn't get far before they had to head off for a lunch date in Harwich. Meanwhile, the delivery of six cubic yards (!!) of loam and compost for our garden turned into a bit of a fiasco. The truck backed across our side yard to our selected garden site and dumped the dirt. But the back got stuck in the up position because the truck was on a slight incline. That put all the weight on the back tires, which caused the truck to get stuck in our soft, wet soil. We spent about 45 minutes getting the back down and the truck out of the yard ... and were left with a nasty set of ruts (some knee deep or better) to repair ... on top of finishing the deck and laying out the garden.
So by Saturday morning, we really had our work cut out for us. I'm not at all sure how, but it all got done! By 6pm Saturday, we were all worn pretty ragged, but we had a new deck (we still have to finish the railing), and we had spread six cubic yards of damp, heavy soil and tilled an herb garden and a vegetable garden. Oh yeah, and we finished raking and mulching the leaves we missed last fall and still found time for a little fun (Sam LOVES riding in the wheelbarrow). I don't remember the last time I worked that hard, and I KNOW I've never shoveled so much in one day. Our back yard looks like a new place and I'm SO excited for spring!





So today's Easter dinner really felt like a deserved celebration, despite some lingering soreness and the fact that Jed, Sam, and I all have a cold. Jed's Aunt Sue and Uncle John, and his brother Ben joined us, so we had nine people. It was the first time we've had so many for a sit down meal in this house, and we all fit quite nicely into our kitchen/dining area.



HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Great start

I'm so excited! For about three years now, I've been thinking about doing the Breast Cancer 3-Day ... a 3-day (as the name suggests), 60-mile walk to support breast cancer research and education. On Sunday night, I finally took the plunge and registered for this year's event in Boston (Aug 15-17). Several women close to me, most of them family members, have battled breast cancer. Happily for me, they are (or were until their deaths from other causes) all survivors. The point is, breast cancer is a cause I can get passionate about and Susan G. Komen for the Cure is a charity I am very happy to stand behind. And I relish the physical challenge. But I've always been daunted by the fundraising challenge ... $2200 minimum per person. Well, tonight I'm feeling very supported, empowered, and optimistic. I'm already more than 10% of the way there!
Recently, I've been feeling a strong need to be part of something bigger than my everyday life. Keeping Sam amused, well-rested and fed, and in clean diapers while working half-time, juggling household chores, and getting dinner on the table always seems like challenge enough (even with my mom around to do half or more of the work). And then that very statement completely deflates me ... when there are people facing truly enormous challenges, how can I feel so exhausted by my humdrum, comfortable life? You might think that adding more to my plate would push me over the edge, but both the challenge and the goal of The 3-Day have me totally energized. Cool, heh?
Just as a last plug, if you're at all interested you can learn more about the Breast Cancer 3-Day at www.the3day.org or about Komen for the Cure at www.komen.org.

I thought today would be boring ...

Boy, was I wrong! I was not looking forward to work this morning. I had 44 tissue samples to grind up for future RNA extraction. It was going to be a very tedious morning. Long story short, I only made it through one sample before I managed to spill the bottle of homogenization buffer - which is 50% phenol - into my lap. I got my pants off ASAP and called Jed (the only other person in the lab this morning) for help. I was under the emergency shower within less than a minute of the spill. Then, since I was wearing a lab coat but no pants and the emergency shower is in the hall, we moved to the shower in the men's room (there isn't one in the women's room on our floor). Sitting in the shower in only my shirt and underwear, I held court as WHOI safety officers, concerned colleagues, and finally the paramedics came to check on me and offer bits of spare clothing. I spent about half an hour in the shower, then got an ambulance ride (sirens and all) to Falmouth Hospital ER, where I spent about two more hours. All they could do was continue to flush the burn site (which is about 6in x 2.5in on my right inner thigh) and make sure I didn't have any inhalation symptoms (I didn't), but that seems to have been enough. I was having visions of large pieces of skin blistering and peeling off, but the redness has already faded a great deal and it's just a bit sensitive when something rubs against it. I feel VERY lucky. But I'm really not looking forward to processing those other 43 samples! I think I'll wait until Monday :}

A sad statement

For one reason or another, Sam has been on at least one medication most of his life. We started him on Zantac (to control painful acid reflux) at the ripe old age of five weeks ... two doses per day by syringe. At six months, we added vitamin drops once a day (not that it actually happens every day, but you get the idea) and the occasional dose of Tylenol to help with teething pain. At eight months, the Zantac was replaced by Prilosec ... still two doses per day. About that time, Sam started the fall/winter of parents' nightmares. He's had croup, roseola, bronchiolitis, a stomach bug, three ear infections, and probably half a dozen run of the mill colds. He's also cut six teeth and is always working on more. So Tylenol and Motrin have made regular appearances for fever and/or pain control.
When all this started back around a year ago, medicine time was dreaded by all in the household. There was a lot of screaming involved (usually only on Sam's part) and medicine was as likely to end up splattered on a wall as in Sam's stomach. By six months ago, we usually had to insist firmly that he open his mouth and he would make his "yucky" face afterward, but screaming and spitting were rare. At this point, he opens wide for caramel (Prilosec) and berry goo (Tylenol). He's actually helped me with the syringe once or twice. And while I always congratulate him on being such a good boy for taking his medicine without a fuss, I don't actually like the fact that he's so happy to take medicine.
Today, though, he really made me laugh. In the battle against baby/toddler colds, the only weapons more important than Tylenol are saline spray and a nasal aspirator bulb. "Hosing the nose" (as we affectionately call it in our household) consists of squirting saline spray up each nostril, then using the aspirator bulb to suck out the saline and all the other fun gunk that was already up there. It would seem like a really good incentive for kids to learn to blow their own noses as soon as possible. And indeed, Sam used to fight this like death itself. Recently, though, he's been much more quiescent. He's even been sticking his little nose out for me to hose this past week. But I was completely unprepared for today's display of helpfulness. He actually took the saline spray out of my hand, stuck it up his own nose, and proceeded to give the bottle a good firm squeeze! I was literally rolling on the floor laughing and Sam looked quite proud of himself. I guess toddlers really will do just about anything for a laugh and some approval.

Lazy weekend

I haven't had a weekend like this in ages ... sleeping 'til 9:30am, mid-day naps, movies in the afternoon, comfort food three meals a day. Unfortunately, the primary reason for all this laziness is that we're a household of pathetically sick individuals. Sam came down with a really nasty cold on Tuesday and is still fighting it, although he seems to be on the mend. Dad started feeling it on Wednesday, me on Thursday, and mom on Saturday. We've all been sniffling, coughing, and moaning our way around the house in slow motion. Jed is the only one that still seems healthy (fingers crossed he stays that way).