Seriously?

Been a long time since I've posted... I've been on Facebook (you can add me as a friend if you want) sporadically instead of here, but really been off Internet most of the time. Sort of back now, I guess.

I like posting short updates on Facebook, but let's face it... perfect platform for short updates about the family and what not, but it's not the right place for venting about OTHER PEOPLE who don't have Ds in their lives. And I'm not talking about everyone who doesn't have Ds in their lives; just the busybodies and the woefully ignorant.

Kiki and I have been blessed in that over her 3 years, we really haven't had many negative public encounters. Most people we engage with are pleasant, smart people who focus on interacting with Kiki, asking her age, her name, complimenting her smile, her giggle, her beauty. These are the people I love.

Then there's the lady today at WalMart. We were shopping for long-sleeved shirts. Kiki was sitting in the cart, stroking the fabrics and waving and smiling and saying HI to people who passed by. I probably had a sourish look on my face because as I was shopping, I was daydreaming an engaging little drama (an amusing activity I often engage in because in my experience, imaginary drama is way more fun than the real thing).

Regardless of the look on my face, I was enjoying myself. WE were enjoying OURselves.

Some woman with a lovely child on her hip saunters up to me and says, "I just have to say God bless you, ma'am. You hang in there."

I felt myself go entirely red, immediately feeling guilty because of my daydream possibly garnering some kind of empathy from someone, and then I caught her nod slightly at Kiki, and the look on her face... I don't know. It suddenly pissed me off. "She's fine, actally," I said. "WE're fine, thank you."

"Oh, of course, of course," she said, smoothly, "But something just told me to come say it to you. God bless you, ma'am. God bless you."

And then she sauntered back off her cave.

And instead of thinking, "Well, she meant well," I suddenly wished I'd punched her in the face. Maybe I've reached my limit of people who mean well. I don't know. I mean I really wouldn't have punched her; she was carrying a child.

But I really wish I'd schooled her, along the lines of, "Really? You're taking time out of your shopping to do something you obviously think is saintly, and the best you can do is imply to me that my life is substandard and requires divine intervention based solely on your impeccable powers of perception that my child has a genetic condition? Let's just assume you mean well. Here's a good deed in return. Next time you feel compelled to 'offer comfort to the unfortunate', say something like, 'Your child is gorgeous. How old is she?' or 'Your daughter has such a winning smile! What's her name?' Now THAT would have made my day. Instead, right now, you've utterly infuriated me."

Unfortunately, I do not think well on my feet. It's the only thing I truly, utterly hate about myself.

You know, I try not to dwell on the negative. It's not constructive. I'm actually way more hung up on her baldness than I am her Ds, if that even makes sense. Actually most of our negative public encounters are those related to her lack of hair. Kids notice it; adults query if she has cancer or had brain surgery. I suppose in some ways her alopecia has made me almost oblivious to her Ds; so when someone notices her Ds, it takes me totally by surprise.

Still, she's 3 years old, and this is only the second public encounter in regards to her Ds that has left me fuming afterwards. I think that makes us much luckier than most.

Kiki's First Day of (pre)School - A Photogmentary

6:45 a.m. Mommy? Is that... you? Why are you up this early? It's almost still dark!

Well, I'm not gonna argue! Let's go go go!

7:15 a.m. Mommy, why are you taking pictures of me eating breakfast? You are starting to FREAK ME OUT.

7:45 a.m. Okay. I've figured out we're going somewhere. You don't dress me up like this to just stay home. So where are we going, anyway?

8:10 a.m. I am cute! I am so cute! I can keep this up all day!

8:30 a.m. MOOOOMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEE!!!! DADDDDDEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

THE END.

Except she sruvived fine, was happy, came home happy, everyone was happy except it was so hot everyone got mad and fought and sulked and all that but really a super, super day.

Except for the part where the night before I had nightmares about forgetting her lunch and sending her to school in her pjs and missing the bus and none of them, none of them, not ONE of them was worse than having to walk away from that bus while she screamed.

I cried a little. I won't lie.

(okay I bawled like a baby.)

(in a mature adult good way.)

3 is Coming

That sounds like atrocious grammar: 3 is coming. But it is. That 3rd birthday is just around the corner.

Sometime in early March, I took Kiki into the preschool for testing, to see if she qualified for further therapies. They kind of (bluntly) hinted (told me) I should wait out in the hall and do some paperwork, but I cheerfully insisted I was curious and wanted to watch. I stayed out of their way and didn't interfere. I was a good mom.

They did the same tests her other therapists do during test time, but they didn't give her any verbal clues. It really proved to me that even though Kiki is not terribly verbal (she's got a building vocabulary though, so I think it's a matter of time before she's true to her Greene/Erlitz roots and starts talking nonstop), she understands a whole lot of speech. For instance, if you give her a block and tell her to put in a cup, she'll do it. If instead you pick up a block, put it in a cup, take it out and give it to her, she will just put the block back down on the floor where it started.

Which is fascinating to me, but to her testers, it just meant she can't copy what other people do, which is bullshit (she can so!!), but hey. I didn't interfere. I did tell them though that she's used to following verbal directions, not non-verbal ones. She did finally get the hang of it though.

Anyway that was weeks and weeks ago, and just last week they finally called to schedule The Meeting. They have to have The Meeting before her birthday, which is April 11, so they're kind of anxious to have it happen NOW. I'm trying to find a time that can accomodate Kipp, but they won't meet in the morning (that's when they see their students) and not on Fridays, so it seemed pretty hopeless.

But I'd forgotten that Kipp gets one Wednesday off a month (he works a grave shift one Sunday a month), so I'm hoping to reschedule for the Wednesday just before her birthday. I'd have called to reschedule this week but... spring break.

Tomorrow she gets her eval from First Steps. Normally she'd be graduating from the First Steps program in a couple of weeks and starting preschool, but I've gotten advanced notice from the preschool that she'll qualify for continued therapies, sooo.... I can opt to wait til August to enroll her in school and continue with First Steps throughout the summer. Yay!

She's walking everywhere, though she still looks unsteady. She doesn't fall nearly as much as you'd think. She does love to walk from the car to the store, in the store, anywhere I'll let her walk. She's figured out how to twist her hand out of mine, which scares me to death. I mean she can't run fast now, but I can't run at all, so it's only a matter of time before I won't be able to pursue her anymore.

So it's time for a leash. I don't actually have a moral dilemma about this at all, but I'm just dreading the social encounters that are bound to result from it. I'm already tired of the "Has she had brain surgery/cancer?" encounters and the more ambiguously-worded but you know what they're getting at encounters. I don't want to broadcast any more invitations to people when I'm out and about.

But in this instance, I don't see any alternative. She needs to walk; she needs the exercise and practice. She needs to learn what it means to behave in a store. And she needs to learn all of this without me having the constant fear she's going to get injured or lost or run into traffic.

I just hope I don't end up slapping some stranger. That would be bad.

Daycare

So Tuesday was a milestone for us: Kiki's first day at daycare.

I was nervous. I must have repacked her diaper bag like 15 times. I had it all done finally before I went to bed, and of course checked and repacked it again six times in the morning.

There was no reason for me to be nervous. A good friend of mine has re-opened her inhouse daycare. I know her; I know her kids. She's watched Kiki numerous times before, and even had her overnight.

But I don't know. This is daycare a whole new word in our world over here. Plus Kiki has not been greatl socalized. She tends to get slightly aggressive, and she has a temper, and she bites and hits and pinches and scratches and pokes eyes.

And she's far too attached to her mommy.

I thought I would feel guiltier than I do about this daycare thing. I mean I'm home all day; yes, working, but here. I can do both! Why not?

The reality is that Kiki plays alone most of the day, or watches tv alone. She doesn't get any interaction with people outside me and Kipp on the 3 days a week he has off and the older siblings the four days a month we see them and the occasional stranger in a store who coos at her.

I don't work with her during the day like I need to. She doesn't know how to color. She doesn't point at things in a book except randomly. She still doesn't do puzzles well. The only thing she's excelling at is using utensils to eat and that's because three times a day, I'm right there teaching her.

So honestly, I truly feel guilty that I haven't given her what she truly needs, and honestly? That would be -- someone else in some other place with other kids and a routine of educational exercises. Because clearly, I am not that person with those attributes.

And it gives me free days to work, which makes me productive, which makes my boss and pocketbook happy.

Anyway, enough of my self-pity. Back to the point!!

She did GREAT! She didn't cry, not even once, and she played with the other kids very well, and made herself happily at home over there. She even took her nap like a good little girl.


Heather has an entire schedule set up each day, complete with planned times for craft time, outdoor time, reading time, alphabet and numbers. It's awesome! And also? She sends me pics of Kiki being happy. (By the way, this is not the first or only evidence I have that Kiki is going to be a professional drummer when she grows up. In a girl band of course that will be wildly popular and she will be an icon and I will be on every tour with her to make sure those groupies keep their dirty distance from her with their drugs and booze and wild parties and such.)

(Or a tap dancer.)

And when she came home, she was so calm and sweet and I just stayed glued to her side until it was bedtime (well, I had to step away to make her dinner.) We sat together on the couch and watched some shows, and every so often, she'd look over at me, and lean over to hug me. Awwwwww!!!

She even followed Sugar around, and instead of pulling on her ears or tail, she thew her arms around Sugar's neck and hugged her over and over and over again.


However, despite her sudden affectionate nature, she still insists on holding her doll baby thusly as she watches Moose A. Moose dance and sing.

So it's official. Daycare is good. Kiki is thriving.

Now if only her mama would just let her go and take her to daycare two days a week like she's supposed to.

Gluten Free in Public

So I found this resource on the web while looking for gluten free snacks for Kiki, and was thrilled. First, because of the format: I can print it out and give it to her daycare provider and preschool. Yay! Both have already expressed great interest in it, and yes, I know preschool is a year away but still. She requested I give her about a year to get some gluten-free school supplies in preparation. Woot!

Second, Reese's Peanut Butter cups are gluten free! Reese's! Peanut! Butter! Cups! Both Kiki and I are thrilled to pieces.

So if you or someone you love has Celiac disease, go here and have a whole list of horrible for you snack foods you can enjoy like every other junk food junkie!

Random Update

It's been sooo long since I posted. Excuses? I have a million. But instead, I shall just let ya know what's happened since May.

Kiki now walks in public, though we still have to coax her by holding her hand.


When we say "It's bedtime!", she heads for the stairs, which she insists on climbing herself. If we hold her hands, she'll actually walk 'em (though she sometimes takes two at a time, which she finds endlessly amusing for some reason.)

She rode a pony at the fair.


She now points out where her head, nose, eyes, and mouth are; she kind of knows her shoulders, but she still won't point out her knees and toes. She squeezes her nose and says "Honk!" which I have a video of on my phone, but that format doesn't translate to the computer, so I can't share it. :(

Her newest favorite game is Ring Around the Rosey. I've been trying to teach her the hokey pokey, but everything always turns into Ring Around the Rosey.

This next week, she's going to start daycare twice a week. One of my good friends has re-started her in-house daycare, and she's just wonderful with kids and adores Kiki. It's going to be fantastic: Kiki will get socialization with other kids her age AND get out of the house AND I'll get uninterrupted work time.

And this time next year, Kiki will be in preschool 5x a week. I met the administrator (I think she is), got all the paperwork, etc. I want to do a tour of the school sometime, but we just haven't had the time yet.

And pretty much I think that's the general overview. Hope everything is great out there! I haven't not only been posting, I haven't been keeping up with anyone's blogs either. I need to get out of my hole methinks.

What did I get for Mother's Day?

Homemade pudding for breakfast (it's the thought that counts!)

Many, many text messages from friends and family.

And three times today, Kiki stood up by herself in the middle of the floor and took two to three steps unassisted each time!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Oh, I Know

Still not making regular updates. I know. Hey, between a 2-year-old who is now climbing up onto BOTH couches at will, workloads, chores, stepkids, husband, and LotRO, who has time for anything else?

Yes, my beloved husband has finally talked me into getting back into an MMORPG. Blame him. It's all his fault.

But I'm taking time today to drop a quick note. Things are achanging in the household...

This last weekend, Bri called to tell us she wanted to live with us. Her mom was supportive of the idea (but heartbroken, we knew). We got excited, even though we kept cautioning each other that 12-year-olds change their minds more often than we change our sheets. Maybe even more often than we change Kiki's diapers.

Sure enough, she changed her mind Sunday night. We were so disappointed, but... well, what are you going to do?

Today her mom called me and we had a long talk and she's apparently of the mind that it WOULD be a good thing for everyone involved if Bri came to live with us. So.... discussions back on the board! Again, minds could change. It happens. Like diapers. So I'm trying not to get too excited, but still.

Kipp is practically dancing from room to room, I tell ya.

In other news, Kiki is still a Mama's girl and doesn't tolerate a babysitter during the day very well. (sigh). She's been awful moody lately -- is that normal for a 2-year-old? Can't be her bowels this time; she's a super pooper trooper these days. Well, her checkup is coming up soon, so we'll see then how things are going.

And that's all for now, folks!

Rat Race

It occurred to me today that I haven't been blogging. I haven't been reading other blogs (except for Yarnhacker who blogs less than I do! :P). I haven't been following Kiki around with a camera. I think I may have missed an eye appointment for her this month.

So it's high time for me to list out some of the new things she's doing.

Most recently, she's become more touchy-feely. She actually wants to be near us, at least within touching distance if not actually in our laps. She likes to crawl up on the couch and sit between us. She'll reach out and touch Kipp, then reach over and touch me, and after a few minutes, she'll do it again, as if to reassure herself or us that we're still there.

She also likes to sit facing us, and push our heads together to make us kiss. This gives her endless enjoyment. After about a million kisses we stop kissing each other and start kissing her which makes her grumble, until we kiss each other again, which makes her giggle.

She's been climbing onto her rocking caterpillar and actually rocking it!

She likes to sit in her own chair, but still does the butt hunt to find it. She hasn't yet figured out that when the back of it is facing her, her butt will find no purchase.

She sits and pets the dogs when they lie next to her. Sugar only gets near her when she wants to play, and she's a little too high energy for Kiki. But Honey lies patiently whle Kiki strokes her, pulls on her ears, and kisses her muzzle. And lately, if Honey lies there long enough, evetually Kiki will drape herself over her, and watch tv from her custom Honey bed.

She's repeating words on occasion, but sometimes only once, and then not again for days on end.

I gave her a comb the other day, and she started to try to comb her own hair.

When she gets hungry, she goes over to her high chair and tries to pull it over to the couch.

She's doing shape sorters! We're working on her attention span and finishing projects, like puzzles. As long as she's in her "work chair" she focusses like a champ. We're trying to teach her the sign for "break" to signal when she feels like she's done.

She's still not walking alone, but she's starting to stand unassisted more and more and longer and longer. She finally lets us take her by the hands and walk her across the living room without lifting up her legs and hanging from us like a monkey.

And she's beginning to isolate her index finger more and more, even poking it into things.

So much more, but I'm out of break time. :)

Gifts from Grandma

She's climbing up on the couch all by herself now. And thus did she discover her gifts from Grandma, and this ensued.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

OMG She's 2

She's now officially a big girl.



*sniffle*

1001 Things I've Been Meaning to Do

It's just sad. Sad.

Last week we had lovely weather. For 4 days straight, it was in the 70s. At night instead of dropping down to an arctic 66 degrees in the house (that's when the heater kicks on because I like it cold when I sleep am energy conscious) it stayed at an annoying sweltering 72, which meant breaking out Kiki's summer sleepwear. And oh woe, her summer clothes from last year are too small!

Anyway this year I decided to do sundresses all summer. So I've actually been buying a sundress every other week or so, to make a grand total of 3. And they make good light sleepwear too, thankfully.

And then! Mom and JP send a box of summer! clothes! hats! sleepwear! Easter dress! filled to the brim with tissue wrapped goodies, which Kiki had a ball unwrapping.

And just as they were all washed and ready to wear? It started to snow.

Stupid Missouri weather.

But, oh the hats! She won't keep 'em on, but we're working on it. And oh, the dresses! And so, yes, I've been meaning to take pics and pics and more pics and... did I mention it snowed today?

I've also been meaning to video her saying her handful of words and doing the itsy bitsy spider and the wheels on the bus because oh my God, it's hysterical.

Even better? Butt hunting. She has discovered FINALLY that she LURRRVES her Dora chair, and loves to sit in it and bounce. But she is not walking yet, so she has to figure an alternate way to settle into it. Which involves crawling up to it, turning her back on it, then sticking her butt up into the air as many times as it takes to finally land in the right place.

We would help, but we're laughing too hard trying to encourage her to figure it out for herself.

And I've resigned myself to buying stock in prune juice and Metamucil. For life. Gah.

Oh poop

I just realized I haven't posted since Tuesday and thought, "Hey! I should write a post!" and then I realized, "Hey! All the stories I have to share this week have something to do with poop!"

Umm, hence the not posting since Tuesday.

I'm sure you'll agree there's already too much crap on the Internet. (oh yes I'm so clever.)

I mean I could take the safe route and just sort of mention the regularity of Kiki's bowel movements, but it's really not interesting unless I go into detail, and when I go into detail, I mean I really overshare. And wouldn't you rather be spared that?

I would love to spare you that. I am, however, incapable of censoring TMI. It's a sickness.

So the doc on Tuesday said that Kiki's poop would come out clear or something like that and not to be alarmed when it happened. You know, like when she was on this antibiotic and it turned her poop red, and the doc warned me about that in advance, which was nice, but I already know the poop you REALLY have to be scared of is black poop because that might actually indicate internal bleeding, but no one wants to know you know that.

Or why.

Okay. Anyway. Wednesday, normal bowel movement. Thursday, normal bowel movement. Friday, I called her pedi and reported that ummm, her bowels have been normal, so should I be worried that she's still blocked up? (You might think that constipation that severe would mean she hasn't pooped in days, but she poops every day. Really.) Word back from the doc was, keep giving her the laxative 2ce a day and call back on Monday.

Then later that day, she evidently had a normal plus a little extra bowel movement and then another one after her nap which evidently verily exploded through her pants (Kipp got to deal with both of these 'cause I was first running errands and second napping. Ha!)

Then, today, no bowel movement until right before bedtime and then... ewwww. Not huge, not explosive, but messsssy, and also? Not clear exactly, but. Let ewww suffice.

I'm waiting on pins and needles to see what awaits us on the morrow.

In other news, I have had dreams about snakes for two nights in a row now. In the first dream, a huge monstrous anaconda (which frightened me) was killed and half-eaten by a tiger (which sort of frightened me more, but in a different way).

Then I dreamed there was a rattlesnake in the garden, and my Dad ran from it in a vaguely slapstick sort of fashion, which is not in character with my Dad in the least little bit.

Last night, I dreamed about a snake that was in between me and a road I had to take to get to an interview. I had Kiki with me, in a baby carriage (not a stroller!) and I would have considered taking my chances as I was running late for the interview, but I wasn't willing to risk Kiki's life. Then the snake was chased off by a lioness, who also then ran off.

So because I had similar imageries in my dreams two nights in a row, I decided to check it out on an online dream dictionary and... wow. Dude, I have issues. The back alleys of my pscyhe are like full of crack whores.

I'm just surprised I didn't dream about poop.

What's up, Doc?

Soooo I dropped my older kids off at the grandparents -- bless their hearts -- and dragged the baby to the pedi and presented him with a laundry list of Mommie Worries.

She's grinding her teeth.

She's banging her head on things. Everythings, in fact. And everyones, to boot.

She's been uncharacteristically grumpy.

Sometimes she seems to burst into tears for no reason, then stops and resumes playing.

Oh, and I think she has a bowel blockage because she's spitting up after drinking or eating a lot, and it doesn't seem to be related to dairy like I thought it was at first, nor is it the flu because she's not running a fever anymore, so you know, could you check that out?

And then, per usual, I apologize for being a mom by saying, "I know. It all could be just because she's 2."

But this pedi is great because he never patronizes me. He checked her ears, and then he listened to her stomach, and then he sent us down for X-rays. Sure enough, the girl is packed so solid there is no apparent air anywhere in her intestines.

Ouch.

Now even though I suspected this -- !!!!! -- I immediately got all defensive. She's been having bowel movements. I've been feeding her vegetables and fruits. Is it the diet change? What is it? What caused this? Is it just the way she is (because she's had prescription laxatives since she was 8 months old.)

No real answers in that regard. Just, "Call in on Friday and we'll see how it goes."

Being a smartass, I said, "No pun intended?"

He did a double-take, gave me a funny look, smiled and said, "Now that was bad."

Honestly. I think he loves my daughter more than me.

Oh, you know, and give her laxatives twice a day until Friday. I think I forgot to mention that part.

Thank goodness we have bigger diapers.

The best laid plans...

So Chris and Bri have this week off for spring break and we get 'em all week. Which is, you know, yay! except Kipp is working 10 am to 9 pm Mon through Thu, so guess who gets to be the referee? (Obvious answer: Me.)

So I pick 'em up and get the quasi usual "Bri is grounded because she did yadda, yadda, yadda." And my first response was "Yay! Free babysitting ALL WEEK LONG! Huzzah!"

But then Kipp rained on my parade, decreeing that babysitting should NOT be used as a punishment, especially since Bri spends most of her time babysitting just watching tv. So, crap.

But then I thought, "Huzzah! Free house cleaning!" Because I figured I could bribe Bri into "earning" small rewards like an hour or so of computer time or outside time or whatnot by, you know, doing my chores! Yay!

So far there has not been a decree from on high that this is unacceptable, so I now have a clean kitchen. Go me!

And I still get free babysitting because what else is she going to do? Ha!!

I'm still working on getting that Evil Stepmother certificate.

I got a truckload of work done today. I am psyched. But I think Kiki is suffering. I don't know. I mean not at the hands of Bri or anything. I mean she's just been uncharacteristically grumpy lately, bursting into tears and whatnot, and banging her head way more often than before. And she's still spitting up, even after switching to hemp milk. So I don't know. I just don't know. I have this feeling, and I don't even know why, that she's got a blockage. But you know, that's so me, jumping to the worst possible conclusion.

I'm taking her in to the doctor tomorrow so he can pat me on the head and tell me I'm paranoid.

Oh, that's right.

I have this bag of baby barrettes and bows and clips and bands and all kinds of stuff because when Kiki had a full head of hair since birth, everybody (and I!) would get these things for her.

I put them in the bag so I wouldn't lose them, because all I ever seemed to use was the bands, to do her hair up Pebbles-style. Every day. Pebbles-style.

So a lot of this pity party stuff THAT I'M TOTALLY NOT DOING ANYMORE had to do with all these barrettes and bows and clips and bands sniff sniff that I couldn't use anymore.

Anyway the most noticeable bald spots are along the top and back of her head, where a headband would cover beautifully. So I tried that, but headbands stay on with less efficiency than hats (she doesn't pull them off, though. They just... slip off.) Also there's this precarious balancing thing they'd have to do to cover perfectly and still stay in place.

So I thought up a brilliant solution, if I do say so myself, and that was to get a simple headband and dress it up with bows and barrettes and clips which would also strategically keep the headband perfectly in place. Voila! So simple! So brilliant!!

And then as I attempted to execute my master plan, I remembered vividly why all those barrettes and bows and clips went unused before.

Because she is half worm and half monkey and at least 95% slippery eel. Arrrrgh! I will have to confine her in her high chair to do this and -- oh yeah! That's what I had to do when I did her Pebbles-dos. And those 5 seconds every morning were dripping with baby drama. I can just imagine what 15 minutes of painstaking pinning is going to entail.

But that doesn't faze me. Not in the least! Ha! I laugh in the face of baby drama! Ha!

Right now, anyway, while she's sleeping. Ohh, maybe I should try it while she's sleeping?

So I've been pondering these last few days a comment made by Starr about cow's milk and eczema and stuffiness and whatnot. The last couple of weeks, in addition to the congestion, Kiki's been -- well, throwing up isn't exactly the word for it. It's more like spit-up, no gagging reflex. But it's happened just about every day for about two weeks now.

Last week I thought it was just because she was sick. But I've since realized that it only happens after she finishes a cup of milk without eating anything with it OR if she drinks a cup of milk and has cottage cheese.

Turns out that lactose intolerance is not uncommon in people with Celiac, so... Starr, thanks. I'm going to cut out the cups of cow's milk first and see if that makes a difference -- I'll still cook her cereal with it, give her yogurt and cottage cheese, and if just eliminating the cups of milk doesn't make a diff, then...

You know, and doing this stuff without consulting a doctor first makes part of me nervous, but the other part says, "You were right about the gluten!!!! And it's just 2 or 3 cups a milk a day."

Which I can totally substitute rice milk for. I mean if I give her a cup of plain milk, she generally doesn't drink it all anyway. But she'll pound it down if it has strawberry or chocolate in it, something that has been worrying me because I'm not 100% sure that stuff is gluten-free. BUT I know for sure I can get gluten-free flavored rice milk, so... maybe this is like a two birds/one stone scenario.

Okay. Everybody chime in and start lecturing me about the sugar content of chocolate milk now. :)

No More Pity Parties!!

That's right. I'm done whining about it. No, really. You know why? Because there are hats. And thug babies are cute.


The only challenge is keeping them on her head.


Also? Forcing a baby to model right before bedtime is a recipe for diva drama.


Tomorrow I am playing with headbands! And barrettes! And bows!

Kiki will probably be searching for a new mama to replace the one that has decided to drive her insane.

Better

Kiki's fever broke overnight on Thursday, but she's still kind of congested, so we've been giving her Benadryl at night which is keeping her asleep until like 10:30 a.m.!!!!! Wow, nice to sleep in but REALLY doing a number on our schedule around here.

We're nearing her 2nd b-day which has got me thinking about Dr. Dermatologist. I started reading up on topical cortisone treatments, the most common side effect of which is thinning skin at the application points. Kipp adamantly does NOT want her to undergo any treatments if there's any side effects at all, and thinning skin did not comfort him.

I don't know. I guess I'm a bad mom. I just want her hair back. It made me cry again yesterday, which is pissing me off because I just. Want. To. Get. Over. It. Already. Sheeesh.

Other than that, business as usual.

Hot and cold

From about November last year to January, Kiki seemed to be constantly congested or snotty or sneezy or somehow sick. Since her change to gluten-free, she's had none of that. (I don't know if it's coincidental. I'm just saying.)

Until a couple of days ago. And then she got congested. And then she ate dirt. And then the night before last, I forgot to turn the heater on when we went to bed and woke up to a 60 degree house and a very, very cold and pissed off baby.

She's been running a fever since yesterday. I've been filling her with fluids and ice cream (because she's very grumpy about eating when she's sick. She's hungry, mind you, and she wants FOOD NOW only she doesn't want THAT FOOD, she wants YOU GUESS AND IT BETTER BE A GOOD GUESS!). I was really worried yesterday because she only partially wet about two diapers, but today she seems back to normal in that regard.

If she's still feverish tomorrow, I'm taking her in. I'm sure it's probably a sinus infection by now, but I was hoping with enough fluids, Benadryl and Tylenol I'd be able to stave it off and keep her from having to have antibiotics. But three days with a fever is my limit, dammit.

Does she act sick?

Other than the eating thing, nope. Not a bit.

She does sleep well though.

Share your child's story!

I followed a link to a story in the Salt Lake City Special Needs Kids Examiner (umm, long title) and found this story.

She plans to raise funds and get sponsors to help develop the pamphets that she would like to see in doctor's offices across the state and eventually the nation. "I think if we are willing to address abortion, we should also offer the other option as well, which is having the child and raising a child that loves without condition."

I'm not good at writing abstracts, especially at 2:30 am, so please read the article if you might be interested in sharing your child's story with her. :)

She's asking parents to email their stories to her at megardoodle@yahoo.com