"Who will play Rolf?"

In response to a question posed by a loyal reader during an earlier blog, the answer is Stephen. He just got a haircut after many months of shagginess.

At bedtime, Moon held both his cheeks in her hands and her final words of the day were, "Papa, you like just like Rolf."

The gazebo is almost done.

A Spring Picnic

We finally got a sunny warm-ish Saturday at the beginning of this month. We headed out into the woods for a little picnic and hike. Here are some pics and speeches from our glorious sun-filled day.

We headed out to my "office" for the day. It really is my office but there are no pics of the actual building posted here. I did include a picture of the kiddo in a yurt. This is a pretty accurate take on a traditional Mongolian home. We replaced a few of our old army tents a few years back with these and Moon loved playing "house" in them.

I whine about the "commute" but every once in a while, I have a day like this that makes reminds me to be thankful for the gorgeous surroundings in which I work. Acres and acres of woods, a very Pretty Lake and all sorts of adventurous creatures like blue heron, deer, muskrats, toads, salamanders... heaven, really!

On the Mend

We are definitely on the up swing of a very long week with a very sick little girl. It started last Saturday with a cough. It was such a gorgeous day, though, and Moon and I got out in the woods for a wonderful hike and picnic.

The middle of that night was filled with hot sweaty little fists, terrifying (to parents) coughs and sleeplessness for all. After a few more feverish nights and very little sleep, we called the pediatrician's office on Monday. The nurse said she thought it sounded like "whatever is going 'round" and that they are seeing it take 72 hours to swing upward. The nurse said if she still seemed like a "limp dishrag" the next day, she would suspect pneumonia and we should bring her in.

Well, after another rough night of bed-hopping for all of us, I awoke hopeful. I stayed home with her Tuesday. At 10:00am, Sesame Street announced that their "word on the street" was "BALLET" and by 10:05am, I officially declared her a limp dishrag.

This kid has been obsessed with all things ballet and her little body did not even crack a smile... not even a little glimmer or twinkle in her eye.

In we went to the cootie-filled pediatrician's office. I do love the people there and always get such good treatment-- validated for our parenting choices and all that. However, the toys in the corner that all the sick kids play with (including my own!) do make my skin crawl.

The little monkey had x-rays and the whole nine yards. "A little pneumonia right there on her right lung", they said.

Such a big word for a little body. She started on the heavy drugs that day and really seems to be doing well. We have kept her out of school the remainder of the week. Between Grandma (my mom), Pops (Stephen's dad) and our uber-flexible jobs, it has worked out just fine. It does make me feel lucky that Stephen and I both have these positions where no one's job is on the line if we have to stay home with a sick little one. I am keenly aware that not everyone in our filthy rich democracy is so fortunate.

Today she really fought taking her antibiotics so I think that is a sign that her fire is back. She (and consequently WE) slept STRAIGHT through from midnight to 6:30am this morning. Whew! We needed it! It is finally starting to catch up with me so I am off to bed quite early tonight.