A Day in the Life

When it rains, it pours! In adventures, and posts of course. It is feast or famine in that department. Hope you can keep up!

We have been keeping busy. Lenna finished school this week and now we all have a week off before we start preschool and gymnastics camp for the summer. I thought I would spend it catching up on housework: can you spot the living thing?

Instead, we will spend it at the clinic.

Lenna is recovering from strep throat, chronic nose bleeds (there is nothing scarier than answering a cry at 4 in the morning to find your child covered in blood. Nothing!) and a muscle spasm in her neck that makes it very painful for her to turn her head. She is on muscle relaxers that hopefully will solve the problem before she needs physical therapy, antibiotics for strep, and had to get blood drawn Friday to check her platelet count to check for a clotting problem that might be causing the nose bleeds.

Andrew has a strange but painful blister on his hand, I noticed it Wednesday as just a red spot but today it developed a large fluid-filled blister that he is protective of and winces when I touch and has just started itching. I think it is poison ivy- it is the worst on is right hand, but has splotches on his left wrist and thumb as well. I don't remember a time when he had access to pick a poison ivy plant, but I guess he did! It seems to be getting better.

I am doing well, putting peanut butter on everything in hopes of adding those calories, and am scheduled for an ultrasound on June 13th. Doctor can't find anything wrong with me or baby, so we are just ignoring the weight thing until next month.

Mike is very busy at work earning another medal for things he can't tell me about, getting his transcripts in order to get his degree by the fall if he is discharged, and taking the summer off from school. We are enjoying having him home in the evenings again for a little while.

Swimming lessons start tomorrow! I am excited to have access to the Y child care facilities and a prenatal yoga and water aerobics class. And of course the pool will be nice this summer- whales are most comfortable in the water!

We saw two turtles yesterday- one tiny box turtle trying to cross the road that we picked up and put in a safe place, and our big snapping turtle friend from last year. He was in the same spot and everything! I think he hibernates in the storm drain and was just waking up. Anyway, we just drove around him. I didn't want to lose a finger or get peed on on the way to church.

I have to find time to get the cat to the vet for his rabies shots this week.

This just became more important since we had a new visitor last night- a big gray fox! I heard scratching and thumping on the back porch around 3 and went out to find him just finishing off the cat food. He just sat there and looked at me, like I was interrupting his meal. I was scared- that he might run in if I opened the door to scare him away, that he would eat the cat, that he has made himself a home very near here and my kids are in danger in the yard, etc. I flicked the light a few times and he wandered off to the yard, but returned several times in the next few hours to try to scratch through the cover of the sand box (smelled like cats, or kids?), and then to give me nightmares by scratching at the kitchen window, where I had left the bag of cat food. I guess he could smell it or see it and was hungry. I was so scared he would get through and come running through the house. The cat still will not go out the back door or on to the deck, Mr Fox must have left his scent or something. Mike and I were too sleepy last night to think of taking a picture, but will have the camera ready if he comes back tonight. We have been instructed to get rid of the food and scare him away with loud annoying noises if he comes back. I am sure the elderly neighbors will appreciate our efforts at disturbing the wildlife and their sleep.

Who needs a zoo? We have a back yard. Cat food seems to be the secret, if any of you would like to have your own zoo, too!