Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Quarantined!

Lots of folks tell you parenting will be hard...very hard. But they don't exactly tell you what said hardships entail. For the past few days I have not been ankle deep, nor knee deep, but eyebrow deep in a parental hardship. I've worked in veterinary hospitals and necropsy labs so full of gross it would make your head spin but at least at the end of the day you get to go home, shower, and forget about the gross. Also, the gross isn't coming out of both ends of something you care about so much it's painful. So, to watch your infant daughter suffer from consistent to constant vomiting and diarrhea. HARD. It's also hard to be an infant with diarrhea because you don't know how to aim for a porcelain bowl yet. Therefore, you are stuck in diapers, and your momma has to wipe your sad, sore little bottom every five minutes because that's how often you are exploding. And often you are so explosive that the diaper acts as some sort of anti-poo wicking device and it goes everywhere. So, your momma puts you naked in a tub with no water which is wicked. Then she turns on the shower head which, of course, is broken and only sprays a concentrated jet of water at your sore little bottom which is terrifying. Also, momma is covered in poo and crying because you are terrified and sore and covered in poo. Next, due to said broken shower  momma puts you in a tub full of warm water which is nice and not scary and it feels so good you poo more. Now what. Momma is covered in poo. Baby is covered in poo. The super slow draining tub is full of poo. The shower is terrifying so not an option. How do you clean a baby who is pooing literally constantly?! HARD. Oh, and of course this is at the beginning of your husbands 48 hour shift so there is no relief coming. HARD. Day one ends and everything is covered in poo, baby hasn't eaten anything, and you are freaked because you are starting to understand how dysentery has killed children. Day two you really start to feel the isolation from human society. You are quarantined away from the friends that normally get you through the hard times like this one because you know this illness is highly contagious (poor grammy took the hit on that one). But the super awesome, amazing friends show up despite the sign on your door that says plague/beware. They bring new showerheads, coffees, pedialyte, and food! Of course they quickly have to run (literally) because plague baby has become interested in sharing her plague via sloppy Mo kisses. But, freshly caffeinated with a showerhead that sprays ever so gently you think you might survive the poo and isolation. Of course 100 diapers later you digress a little. However, here are a few tips in case you are ever stuck in the middle of this type of HARD.

1. Washing hands extremely important! First wash your own hands constantly. Second set up a "water play" tub with soap. Lay down towels in the kitchen and fill a infant accessible pan with soapy water. They will love to splash around/make bubbles and in the mean time hands washed. Voila.




2. Sick of Elmo yet? You will be after the 20th hour of that high pitched voiced, whiny red monster. But what else to do while in quarantine? Three words=dry erase markers! Place child in high chair with plastic tray, tupperware containers, and dry erase markers. Easy clean up crazy coloring. So much fun!



3. The worst part of this HARD is not knowing how to best feed/hydrate poor sad baby. Set up an assortment of refreshments. preferably near the whiny red monster viewing station. Three sippy cups (juice, water, pedialyte). All the BRAT diet foods. Crackers, bananas, more crackers. So that whenever baby feels like she can handle food/water there it is right in front of her. That way you don't have to keep trying to force things on her every 15 minutes, in the kitchen, where Elmo doesn't sing and dance for you.




4. Cover your floor in easily washable towels and blankets!

5. Call me and I will bring you coffee, pedialyte, food and a showerhead that sprays ever so gently ;)

Sunday, February 26, 2012


An excerpt from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Complemented by our Poppies


They walked along listening to the singing of the brightly colored birds and looking at the lovely flowers which now became so thick that the ground was carpeted with them. There were big yellow and white and blue and purple blossoms, besides great clusters of scarlet poppies, which were so brilliant in color they almost dazzled Dorothy's eyes.
"Aren't they beautiful?" the girl asked, as she breathed in the spicy scent of the bright flowers.
"I suppose so," answered the Scarecrow. "When I have brains, I shall probably like them better."
"If I only had a heart, I should love them," added the Tin Woodman.
"I always did like flowers," said the Lion. "They of seem so helpless and frail. But there are none in the forest so bright as these."




 





They now came upon more and more of the big scarlet poppies, and fewer and fewer of the other flowers; and soon they found themselves in the midst of a great meadow of poppies. Now it is well known that when there are many of these flowers together their odor is so powerful that anyone who breathes it falls asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the scent of the flowers, he sleeps on and on forever. But Dorothy did not know this, nor could she get away from the bright red flowers that were everywhere about; so presently her eyes grew heavy and she felt she must sit down to rest and to sleep.
But the Tin Woodman would not let her do this.
"We must hurry and get back to the road of yellow brick before dark," he said; and the Scarecrow agreed with him. So they kept walking until Dorothy could stand no longer. Her eyes closed in spite of herself and she forgot where she was and fell among the poppies, fast asleep.


 

 

 

"What shall we do?" asked the Tin Woodman.
"If we leave her here she will die," said the Lion. "The smell of the flowers is killing us all. I myself can scarcely keep my eyes open, and the dog is asleep already."
It was true; Toto had fallen down beside his little mistress. But the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, not being made of flesh, were not troubled by the scent of the flowers.
"Run fast," said the Scarecrow to the Lion, "and get out of this deadly flower bed as soon as you can. We will bring the little girl with us, but if you should fall asleep you are too big to be carried."
So the Lion aroused himself and bounded forward as fast as he could go. In a moment he was out of sight.
"Let us make a chair with our hands and carry her," said the Scarecrow. So they picked up Toto and put the dog in Dorothy's lap, and then they made a chair with their hands for the seat and their arms for the arms and carried the sleeping girl between them through the flowers.
On and on they walked, and it seemed that the great carpet of deadly flowers that surrounded them would never end. They followed the bend of the river, and at last came upon their friend the Lion, lying fast asleep among the poppies. The flowers had been too strong for the huge beast and he had given up at last, and fallen only a short distance from the end of the poppy bed, where the sweet grass spread in beautiful green fields before them.
"We can do nothing for him," said the Tin Woodman, sadly; "for he is much too heavy to lift. We must leave him here to sleep on forever, and perhaps he will dream that he has found courage at last."
"I'm sorry," said the Scarecrow. "The Lion was a very good comrade for one so cowardly. But let us go on."
They carried the sleeping girl to a pretty spot beside the river, far enough from the poppy field to prevent her breathing any more of the poison of the flowers, and here they laid her gently on the soft grass and waited for the fresh breeze to waken her.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Family Fun in Fast-forward!

It's February! It's February? I should probably recount our October, November, December AND January adventures. A little behind the times over here. Despite my lack of creative writing our adventures have been exhilarating. Now that Molly can walk and talk (make animal noises) we have really been enjoying getting out-and-about and exploring the world around us.

In October we:

Explored the amazing corn bath at the pumpkin patch!

Romped through the hay with friends!

We discovered the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

We played with this little piggie at Grandpa's Barn!

We carved pumpkins!

We dressed up for Halloween!

And went trick-or-treating!


In November we:

Adopted our new friend Lucille Tilliput Rogge (Tilly)!


And we became fast friends!

We celebrated Cousin Gabi's 2nd Birthday!

And spent a lovely Thanksgiving day at Uncle Rodney and Auntie Ba's house!


In December we:

Helped daddy celebrate his 32nd Birthday!

We visited the Silveyville Christmas Tree Farm with Grammy Jill and Auntie Jeanine!


And everybody got into the Christmas spirit!

Mo was THIS BIG!

We made a Christmas visit to the Fire Department! Molly could almost touch the pedals ;)

And we had a beautiful Christmas morning!



In January we:

Went back to school after a month-long vacation!


We walked the doggy (it would appear we only got Tilly for photo opps)!

Grandma and Grandpa Rogge helped us work on the chicken coop!
Our soon to be Purple Pallet Pullet Palace

And Grammy Jill came to visit and we helped Patrick celebrate his 1st Birthday!
Molly was really excited to "help" him open his presents

Phew! What an adventure these past few months have been! Stay tuned for a Saint Valpatreaster Day blog ;)