The she-cat, not the actual machine. She was super lovey dovey the other night, and I was rubbing her to bits up on top of one of our cat towers. Her sweet little eyes were clamped closed, her raspy little purr was rattling her entire tiny body, and she was leaning into me like a dog leans into your leg.
She is so sweet and loving, our little Z-cat. And then came the drool, right down my left hand. It was awesome! The last cat I had who was a drooler was Sneakers, and he (like Digit) is ranked in the "top cats of all time" list. So for Z to drool was just fantastic. I was so flattered!
Craig took R back to the doctor this morning @ 10:00, for a mandatory follow-up, and her ear infection is now raging. Thankfully, the low-dose antibiotics she has been on since Sunday have started clearing up everything else, but the doc put her on a higher dose drug to help kill the ear infection. But she has no fever, less crankiness overall, and is eating a bit better. Phew!
I am sick now, too. Nothing like Rory, but I sound like a 10-pack a day smoker right now. Hopefully, Fiona won't get anything too terrible (knock on monitor), or Craig, either - he leaves on Friday for a cross-state bike ride through NC!
Rory has been extremely ill since last Wednesday. At noon that day, we went to her three-year checkup - which we have been very excited about (we love her doctor) - and she was out of sorts. Nothing specific, just malaise-laden. I told the doctor I thought something was off, and she said her throat seemed red, but her ears were clear.
That afternoon, post-nap, her temp was 104.3. So I called the doctor, and gave her some Motrin (which you can use at off times with Tylenol). She had a few hurling incidents that night and the next am (we changed four sets of sheets in 1.5 hours), and then that feature stopped. But the fevers didn't.
This morning, on day FIVE, she woke up on fire yet again. I took her temp (down south), and it was 104.5. I retook it, and it clocked 104.6. Craig was off riding the Potomac Pedalers century, so I called a friend, dropped off Fiona, and took Rory to the urgent care facility in Reston. They also took her temp at 104.6.
They swabbed her throat (which she HATED - she kept sobbing, "that was terrible!" while whimpering in my arms), and said the quick test for strep was negative. They will also send it out for a real culture, but they said her throat looked "puss-ey" and she had a mild ear infection in her right ear, so now she is on amoxicillin.
She can't get well fast enough. She has been miserable, and so have the rest of us. When she is feverish, she doesn't want Fiona anywhere near her (good luck preventing *that*), she doesn't want to be touched, and she is incredibly whiny and weepy. There have been brief flashes of her normal self during each day, but not so much. Luckily, she is drinking like a fish, so at least she is extremely hydrated.
Seriously, this can't pass fast enough - for all of us.
My mother (aka, Grandma) sends the girls things all the time: books, art supplies, stickers, you name it. But this package takes the cake. "Hacked by a blind woodsman!" HOW funny is the "stamp art" on this thing?
Once a month, I have dinner (usually sushi at Yoko) with a bunch of wonderful women I am lucky enough to call my friends.
Back row (L-R): Dina, Julie-Anne, Carole, Donna
From row (L-R): Marcia, me, Christina
Let's just say we usually shut the place down and make a LOT of noise in the process. => Fun for all!
This morning, Rory embarked upon organized sports. Well, more like quasi-organized: nothing involving a herd of small children and 15 soccer balls could even begin to approach "organized." The class was chock full of 3-4 year olds, and it was very amusing - Rory seemed to enjoy the heck out of it. They even have uniforms!
Fiona was there, too, running all over the place. The indoor soccer field is divided into four segments, each with a different age group. Fiona basically explored the entire floor (aka, was in and out of all the different classes), but no one seemed to notice or mind. At one point, I found her at one end of the field, deep inside the goal. She does have a goalie's build, come to think of it.
BTW, Rory yelled, "Mommy, it's just like hockey!" when we first got there. Talk about sending me into the stratosphere!!
The fiancee (Jen) of one of my coworkers (Joe) was brutally attacked by two homeless people in Chicago on 8/25, while the couple was on their way home from celebrating Jen's 36th birthday. The attackers kicked Jen in the head until she was left unconscious in a pool of her own blood, and was left with only four teeth remaining in her head.
Jen is in between health insurance right now - new job (no coverage yet) and a few months away from marrying Joe. As such, she needs any and all donations you can give. Please check out the following site, and if you can do anything, I know they would appreciate it for the rest of their lives.
Also, please forward this to as many people as you can. The Chicago Tribune story about the attack is here.
Thank you!
My dad used to have the world's most wonderful Golden, named Dolly (my father claimed an affinity for Ms. Parton). Dolly was a richly red Golden who lived for about 14 years, and in the meantime, she had a wonderful life. She was sweet, silly, used to pick fights with my father (during which she would "needle bite" him, which only dog owners can understand), and we even have a picture of Dolly wearing a black bra (I'd post the pic if I could find it - my father strongly resembles an axe murderer in the shot). Dolly was the third child (predating my brother, Patrick), and we still speak of her very fondly.
Whenever we would board Dolly, such as when we went skiing for a weekend, she would inevitably pee all over the waiting room floor when we came to pick her up. Every time. It was too much excitement to bear, apparently. Leaping and peeing, she couldn't greet us fast enough, couldn't get close enough. And of course we couldn't get farther away from her, what with pee flying everywhere. Oy!
FF to Rory. In her first two days at her new daycare, she has had NO peeing accidents. But both days, within 30 minutes of picking her up, she randomly pees in her pants. On Monday, after we went to Fiona's daycare to fetch her, Rory peed on Fiona's playground (marking her territory?). Today, it was on the grass outside Fiona's daycare. Good thing I had a spare set of undergarments both times. Lordy!
So is Rory my new Dolly? At least she isn't leaping while she pees...
Rory had a really good first day at her new daycare. She didn't cry once (even when we left), enjoyed the bikes on the playground, and didn't have a single "accident" (if you know what I mean). Let's just say she was wearing the same shorts and underwear that she had on when we dropped her off in the am. Amazing!! PT bootcamp!
Fiona enjoyed Monday at her new daycare more than she has thus far, too. Let's hope this is an upward trend!
Not that this is newsworthy, per se, but Hanna certainly impacted the Saturday of everyone living in the mid-Atlantic. That was a ton of rain, but compared to the windstorm we had a few months back - during which tons of trees were downed in Herndon - this was nothing but a big blow. Thankfully. Who doesn't like electricity?? I know I do, and I'd like it to be on as much as possible.
We spent the day mostly indoors, though Rory and I raced to Target in the am (for Ariel underwear!), and then - while the kids napped and Craig stood guard with his faithful steed (Digit) at his side - I drove to pick up Rory's 3-year photos, which turned out really well.
If I haven't said this before, I adore our photographer, Hope Reynolds. She did our wedding, has done our family photos for the past three years, and does the girls' annual portraits. She is great, and does both print and digital. In a day where most people want digital, she uses her medium format camera, and the quality difference is astonishing.
On Monday, Rory starts at her new daycare (potty training bootcamp!), and Fiona returns to her quasi-new daycare. Hope Monday night isn't filled with crank monsters!
After 2.5 years at the same daycare center, Rory is moving on up! She will soon be going to a daycare right around the corner from Fiona's center (Rory's future center), and I - for one - can't wait. The new place is much better suited to guide her through the final throes of potty training.
For PTing purposes, Rory will wear underwear all day, every day, irrespective of how many sets of clothes she blows through. They have the kids sit on the toilet every 30 minutes, and they have two mini toilets (in stalls, no less) to seem less intimidating. Do toilets SEEM intimidating? I suppose perhaps they do! Anyway, I am building up the underwear portion of the program, and Rory and I are going underwear shopping this weekend. I hope Target has lots of Little Mermaid undies, because that's what the girl wants!
We will miss the ladies at the soon-to-be-old center, but the time has come, the moons have aligned, and Leo is rising (Rory is a Leo). Hah!
Hopefully, I will have something positive to report next Monday night, post Day 1. Cross your fingers!!
The she-cat, not the actual machine. She was super lovey dovey the other night, and I was rubbing her to bits up on top of one of our cat towers. Her sweet little eyes were clamped closed, her raspy little purr was rattling her entire tiny body, and she was leaning into me like a dog leans into your leg.
