Drugs R Us

Wait for it......


And the fungus of the day is....

DOUBLE EAR INFECTION!

And the winner is...

Baby!

But wait! There's more!

Hubby also just got a prescription for a Z Pak. Since he's feeling like shit under the weather as well.

So to summarize, class, we have (sing it now) 1 case of strep throat, 1 double ear infection, 1 sick-feeling Hubby, 1 child with allergies and a partridge in a pear tree Mommy who needs a shot of whiskey.

(That paragraph can TOTALLY be sung.)

Oh, and have I mentioned?

We leave for NY tonight for the long holiday weekend.

"Sorry boyz, you can't bring your bikes to NY. They simply won't fit in the SUV because we have to bring an EXTRA SUITCASE JUST FOR THE MEDS."

Thursday Tears

Here's another one that will have you reaching for your tissues:

Life and death. All in a 27 hour period.

A Little Bit Manic Monday

First, congrats to Mom of 5 for winning the WedgEZ tool over on my review blog!

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Next, I have been remiss in blogging about my 2008 running (or lack thereof). Seems acquiring that full-time job in December has put a crimp in my exercise level. Shocking, I know. Anyway, Sis and I completed our second 5K of the season yesterday. We ran our first one in April, on a quite chilly and rainy morning, and it was pretty uneventful except that I kicked Sis's ASS.

Yesterday's race day dawned bright and sunny and warm. The race wasn't until 11 a.m. And Sis had been working out since that last 5K and was determined to beat me keep up with me a good pace. Sibling rivalry? Us? Nah.......

Anyway, we rocked. Our mile pace was 8:20! At 2 miles, we were at 17-something. Our finish time? 27:53.

Last fall, when we first started running in races, we didn't run any 5Ks. We started with a 5-mile, then did a 10 mile, then the 1/2 marathon, then a Thanksgiving morning 5 mile. So we've been discussing the merits of doing these short 3.2 mile runs and have decided that IF we're going to keep doing them while we attempt to train for a longer race in the fall, that our pace needs to improve with each race we run. Shoot me now.

So guess where I'm sore from that race yesterday?

My armpit.

Chafing.

My Sis so kindly gave me lotion after the race to dab on it. Yeah, it was some sort of MEDICATED FOOT LOTION.

Sting much????

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Potty training update: BABY IS POTTY-TRAINED. (*furiously knocking on wood right now*)

Shockingly enough, it only took about a week. Maybe less. All we did? Took the diapers away.

He hated when he had an accident and his socks got wet. HATED IT.

And I discovered that the less I nagged, the more he went on his own. Even poop! No issues. (The kid is such a garbage dump when it comes to what he eats--meaning anything and everything--that he's quite regular and probably couldn't hold his bowels even if he tried. TMI? My bad.)

We already have scrapped the little potty seat (that I had purchased in March for him). He scrambles up on the big potty to go, and is only wearing diapers at night. He's even been dry at naptime.

NO MORE DIAPERS IN THE TRENCHES! (*now furiously dancing*)

(And yes, I realize I've probably cursed myself and he will regress. Immediately, I'm sure.)

And we only had one poop "incident". Thankfully, I wasn't around. Baby was playing outside at the babysitter's house. He had pooped in his unders. And was wearing sweats. Apparently, a rogue turd escaped down his leg and was irritating his skin, so he was scratching at his leg. When the babysitter approached him to ask him what he had all over his hands, he replied,

"Peanut butter."

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Oh, and lastly, that fungus we had?

Completely gone from the Trenches! I scrubbed, disinfected, and laundered my butt off on Saturday.

Except now?

Middle started running a high fever yesterday evening (103.7! but once I dosed him with Motrin he was fine) and had it again this morning (103.2! and again, after the Motrin, was acting fine). Hubby schlepped him to the Dr. (where we probably should have our own chairs in the waiting room) and guess what???

[Sidenote: My first clue that something was wrong with him was when he voluntarily took a nap with no fuss. Clue #2 was when he woke up and came outside in his jeans and long-sleeve shirt and complained he was cold in the 75 degree sun. Clue #3 came this morning when Hubby asked him where it hurt and he responded, "Feels like I have chicken in my throat." Whatever that means.]

Apparently it means this: STREP.

So yeah, now there's that contagion running amuck in the Trenches.

(Oh hi Mom and Dad! Aren't you sooooo excited for our germs arrival on Thursday night?)

Friday Night Stuff

Hubby: "Don't text me! I'm 38, not 18."

Me: "Are you sure you're not 68, you old fogey? Next thing I know, you'll be telling me that all that 'newfangled technology' is the work of the devil."

Hubby: "Well. It is."

(So you can perhaps see why I'm convinced he's really a crotchety elderly man in disguise. I always remind him that if I hadn't married him and saved him from himself, he'd be the lonely old man with 100 cats yelling at the neighbor kids to get off his lawn. Except, he retorts, he HATES cats.)

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Incident #1: I arrived home from work tonight and Hubby had the boyz all ready to go out to dinner at Friendly's. I asked him if Baby was wearing underwear (potty-training! going well! don't wanna jinx it by discussing!) and he said yes. So I got ready to dash back into the house for a spare pair of underwear and pants in case there was an accident. Hubby informed me he had already packed them.

Incident #2: While in the car, Middle made a comment about preschool today and how he didn't get to decorate his shirt for Family Fun Day. Crap! I had forgotten to pack the plain white tee shirt he needed! As I was exclaiming this, Hubby rolled his eyes at me and remarked, "I packed it for him. They just didn't have time to decorate them today."

Incident #3: Driving back from dinner, I asked Hubby what was in the washing machine. He told me that it was Eldest's bedding (we've been washing his sheets constantly, it seems, due to the amount of puking my poor buddy has spewed over the past 3 days--but he's better now! don't wanna jinx it by discussing!) so I asked Hubby if he had re-made Eldest's bed with the other sheets.

That must have been the last straw:

Hubby: "I'm not just a pretty face, you know! Do you think I'm simply your Trophy Husband? That I just sit home and look pretty?"

I admit, he's quite the guy. Everything I could ask for and more. Seriously. Now if only he'd answer my text messages...

Questions in My Head

1. Does it mean I've eaten too many Doritos if my finger and thumb are stained orange, even after I've washed them?

2. Why, every time I enter a public library, do I immediately feel the need to go to the bathroom? Every. Time.

3. Why do the left hand lanes move SLOWER than the right hand lanes in bumper-to-bumper traffic in Boston? Does everyone figure that the left hand lanes will be FASTER, so all the cars drive in those lanes, thus leaving the right lanes less congested?

4. Why am I drawn to the most expensive purses in TJMaxx and Marshalls? Whenever I find one I like, it's inevitably some obscure designer with a pricetag of $199. Seriously.

5. Why does ice cream taste so much better when someone else scoops it?

6. It's mid-May here in Massachusetts. So why do I still see people wearing WINTER COATS and even worse...WINTER SCARVES?? (which I saw today whilst it was a balmy 60 degrees out). Granted, it is 37 out when I leave in the morning, but hello? Don't you read the weather reports? And don't you EXPECT that it's certainly going to rise above 40 since---again...it's MAY?!!! (Oh, and put away your Christmas lights while you're at it.)

7. Why does "just one more" glass of wine always seem like such a good idea when it's really sooo not a good idea at that point?

8. Why do women not shave their toe hair? (I do. You do too, don't you?)

9. When is Entourage going to be back on?

10. Why can't I drop these last pesky 10 post-pregnancy pounds? (And by post-pregnancy, I, of course, mean almost 3 years later...)

Oh. Damn. Apparently I can already answer that last one. Just see #1 and #5 above (and uh, #7).

Got answers to the rest for me? Happy Friday!

A Walmart Confession

Last night, upon my return home from work, Hubby (who had left his work early due to the stomach bug) asked me if I would head out to Walmart or Target later that evening after the boyz were in bed. He had a list of stuff we needed for the Trenches.

By the time we got everyone settled (past 8pm), I had already changed into my "comfy" clothes--you know the ones: tee shirt, baggy exercise pants, no bra.

Crap! Still had to take one for the team and venture out to Target/Walmart.

So I simply threw on a sweatshirt and headed out. Braless. To Walmart. After 8pm.

Where I most definitely blended in with the rest of the Walmart crowd, especially in our Central Massachusetts neck of the woods.

Because where else can you buy applesauce, undershirts and curtain tie backs all in one-stop-shopping?

Sure, I could've gone to Target as well..

But then I definitely would have had to wear a bra.

Post Mother's Day

Hey!

Wanna know what I got for Mother's Day on Sunday?

It sucks.

Literally.

*sigh*

I growled to Hubby that morning, "I can't believe you got me a vacuum for Mother's Day. This is soooo going on the blog."

And he came back with, "I didn't get it for you! The boyz did. You're not my mother."

In all honesty though, I've been wanting a new vacuum for FOREVER.

Thankfully, the huDge box was delivered when our across-the-street neighbors were away (the vacuum cleaner lady). Whew.

But actually, now I'm kinda wishing Hubby the boyz had gotten me a wet/dry vac to pick up the detritus.

Because?

It's back.

A fungus. Among us. 2 down, 1 in the throes, and 2 yet to fall.

And have I mentioned that we leave for NY in 8 days to visit my parents? And that I haven't been HOME in over a YEAR? And that I'm meeting up with my childhood BFF (since we were 2 years old!) who will also be home?

Here's hoping that this virus sweeps through the Trenches with swiftness (and mercy. Much mercy).

WedgEZ Childproofing Tool

A giveaway! Over on my review blog. Come see!

("What? She hasn't blogged since Thursday and all we get is this?" Patience, my peeps. A little bit of writer's block mixed with a lot of stomach virus leaves one feeling a little...shall we say... empty.)

All You Ever Needed To Know About Allergic Rhinitis (And Then Some)

I've mentioned here before that Eldest has horrible seasonal allergies. Finally, today we saw a specialist for allergy testing on him. (I had made the appointment in February!) Eldest had to go 48 hours before his appointment without taking his Allegra (the latest in the long line of prescriptions we've tried to quell his symptoms, without much success) and was MISERABLE. We didn't even send him to school yesterday because he was so stuffy/sneezy/puffy.

Thankfully the appointment was at 7:30 a.m. I missed work to take him. My rationale was that Hubby passes out isn't that great around needles.

The first thing the nurse did was to have him lay on his belly with his shirt off and stick him in the back 11 times (!) with different allergens (ragweed, pollen, mold, dust mites, etc.) and then we had to wait 15 minutes to see how he reacted. He kind of flinched when she was poking him, but it wasn't that bad. She said he would start to itch and that certainly was true.

After 15 minutes, it was obvious which pokes he had a reaction to. These turned into angry raised welts surrounded by bright redness. The 4 that were the worst were (not shockingly) ragweed, tree pollen, grass pollen and weed pollen.

Next, the nurse poked him about 6 times in his upper left arm. They injected him with the 4 that he had a reaction to, plus animal dander and dust. These injections were pretty bad. She had to get the needle in there just so in order to make a bubble. Unfortunately, Eldest has pretty tough skin, so she was kinda sorta really jamming the needle in his arm. He didn't cry, but was very uncomfortable. As was his mother having to hold him and watch. Yuck.

The conclusion?

Eldest has seasonal allergies.

Duh.

Our course of action?

Immunotherapy. In other words, allergy shots. Unfortunately, it takes 6 months for them to take effect (who knew??). So even if we started him now, he wouldn't even be covered for this fall allergy season. So we will start the allergy injections in September, which will cover him for next spring.

In the meantime?

A new prescription. For Singulair. This is the only one we haven't yet tried (since we've already exhausted the Benedryl, Claritin, Zyrtec and Allegra. Not all at once, of course....Hi! Have you met my son Zombie?)

Oh, and also new prescriptions for Nasonex and Patanol.

I'm relieved. We have an official diagnosis and a solution. (And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that perhaps the Singulair will be miraculous and he won't actually need to start the allergy injections in September.) But I'm kicking myself that we waited until he was 6-1/2 years old to take him. Looking back, I wish we had done it YEARS earlier. But we kept holding out hope that SOMETHING would work. If either of the other 2 boyz start showing symptoms, my ass will certainly be at that specialist's office PRONTO.

Anyway, I think Eldest is going to look sooooo cute with his nasal spray and eye drops tucked oh so carefully in his pocket protector. When we let him out of his BUBBLE, that is.