A new look

What do you think of the new look for the blog? Ryan and I had a discussion last night about moving this coming summer. The decision made was..... Not this year. Summer of 2010 is a non-negotiable deadline. Destination is yet unknown. So, now you know our plans.

I figured the altered direction for 2009 warranted a change of layout.

In other news, Ethan has an ear infection. Ouch! Poor kid! It took me a while to clue in to what his problem was. At first, I thought he might be getting Chicken Pox! I'll back up and start from the beginning....

Both kids got a sinus cold from Ryan. It has stuck around for a while, (as sinus colds tend to do) but Ethan's nasal secretions (AKA - Snot!) became quite green on Tuesday. The next day, on waking from his nap, I noticed what appeared to be pimples on his face. They were not there when he went to sleep, so I decided to check his whole body. I found a cluster of 6 or 8 'pimples' on his lower back. "Whoa!" I thought. "These remind me of the beginning of shingles!" (which I have more first hand experience looking at than C Pox) So, I quickly e-mailed K-A some pics and asked her what her kids looked like when they first got Chicken Pox. She kindly sent me some pics of them, and they looked a lot like Ethan did. So, I decided to wait and see what happened next. He played normally and went to bed easily.

This picture shows Evelyn considering the idea that Ethan might have C Pox. Hmmmm...

At 3 am on Thursday, he woke and was miserable. He would not lay down, would not go to sleep, he had a mild fever, and was very irritable. He stayed awake, cuddling on the couch with me, and chewing on his fingers until I bundled him up to take Evelyn to playschool. I thought "maybe he's teething, he is chewing on his fingers a lot...I don't think it's Chicken pox - there aren't any new spots..."

It was a very long morning.

Shortly before I took Evelyn to school, I noticed Ethan's left ear looked red and I gave it a little tug. He SCREETCHED and almost hit the roof. "Ah-Ha!" I thought "An ear infection!" So I gave him some Advil (Ibuprofen) and we took Evelyn to school.

He promptly fell asleep in the car and slept for about an hour. When he woke up, he was normal again! "Now, WHY didn't I give him the Advil sooner?" I thought. Later, he had his normal nap and woke up with watery blood draining from his ear (Ack!?!?!?) I immediatly googled 'fluid draining from ears' and discovered that this is normal in an ear infection after the eardrum has ruptured. "Ruptured!!!" I thought "That can't be good!". I read a bit further and discovered that it's not that big a deal, it makes them feel better, and it will heal in a few days. 'Whew!'

So, his sinus infection continues, his spots are going away (whatever they were...)he is still chewing on his fingers a bit, and he is in good spirits as long as the Advil is working. Predictably, every 6-8 hrs, when the Advil wears off, my little boy returns to his monster form and I know it's time for another dose.

What have I learned from this? It is extremely common for kids to develop ear infections after a sinus cold. Typically, their 'snot' turns green, and a day or two later, they are screaming and crying and nasty. They may or may not have a fever, and they may or may not pull at their ears. Warmth is very helpful in relieving pain. Both warm compresses to the outside of the ear and warm olive oil dropped into the ear offer some relief. That said - no drops in the ear after it ruptures. They likely will not tolerate laying flat either. The best way to learn is through experience, second best is through the experiences of others! I was fortunate to not have ear infections growing up, and Evelyn has never been bothered by them either. So, the adage 'It takes one to know one' did not apply here. So, those of you with young kids, learn from this story!

I think I will take Ethan for a Chiropractor adjustment as soon as I have the chance - just to make sure all his nerves are non-compressed.

We finally were able to make a snowman! The thaw has ended and we've plummeted in the past 36 hrs to -37 with windchill. I'm glad we made the snowman when we did!

Ethan and Evelyn have enjoyed 'helping' Mama by shovelling the snow I just cleared off the sidewalk from the pile - to the sidewalk! Thanks guys!




Evelyn really wanted to make an "Ocean" cake. Here is the result. Graham cracker crumbs and skor bits for the sand, Littlest Pet Shop and Little People for the accessories. I used the same recipe as her birthday cake, but instead of chocolate cake (mix) and pudding, I substituted butter pecan cake (mix) and butterscotch pudding. The result was not nearly as good. The cake still looks pretty cute though and it only took about 20 min to decorate!


Oh! and Ethan recently figured out how to do puzzles. He completed this 15 piece 'Wonder Pets' puzzle all by himself!

Update: at bedtime tonight, I saw that Ethan just cut his last eyetooth! So he was teething! (at least that was a part of what was wrong with him!)