ER – March 4th, 2009

Samuel experienced his very first ear infection a few weeks ago. It was bad with infections in both ears and a great deal of pain and lost sleep. I took this photo in the doctor’s office right before she wrote a prescription for his second round of antibiotics to get rid of the stubborn infection once and for all.

It got worse last night with our very first trip to the ER. It seems this little boy has an allergy to Penicillin. An allergy that showed itself through symptoms like vomiting, puffy eyes and a rash that covered most of his stomach and went up under his arms. The symptoms appeared at 12:30 last night and I spent the next 5 or so hours in the Emergency Room – about 3 and a half of them sitting in a uncomfortable chair before they moved us to an examining room. I was worried and scared but held it together until I reached the admitting window and then I very nearly lost it. The only other time that I had experienced this type of panic was when I was giving birth to Thomas.

We are lucky that we have one of the very best pediatric ER’s in the state just minutes up the road at the same hospital where both boys were born. It meant that we could sit in a waiting room with other parents and their children in a special waiting room, rather than being subjected to other traumas that might come through the door. The worst thing I had to witness was a mother who, after telling me that her son was in the ER for the second night in a row for Asthma, stepped outside to have a cigarette. I held my tongue but I was dying to ask her what she was thinking exposing her son to a habit that could further endanger his health.

The good news is that now we know about Samuel’s allergy and can avoid penicillin so it doesn’t happen again. The bad news is that we need to give him medication every six hours – especially painful now that he’s just started sleeping through the night. Nevertheless he is on the road to recovery and I am about to catch up on some much needed sleep. I know that with two boys this is likely not our last visit to the ER but I would be happy not to have to go through it again.

The Motherload – March 3rd, 2009

This was the ultimate potty training gift. Thomas has really been interested in firetrucks lately, so when Kei saw this Playmobil version at the store, he thought it may motivate Thomas to use the potty. And boy, did he draw it out. Every time Thomas was successful he earned one part of the Firetruck – one fireman and then the other, the hose, the ladder, even the box and instructions. I think it eventually got to the point where Kei wanted him to earn the firetruck more than Thomas did. Apparently it is also a good vehicle for the Wiggles. You know how much they like anything that is big and red.

And, for the record, it a pretty cool toy. You can fill the hose with water and spray it everywhere (yes, everywhere). The only downside is that Playmobil toys, as cool as they are, have a LOT of very small pieces. Small pieces that are attractive to a nine month old with an oral fixation.

Little Fish – March 2nd, 2009

Swimming lessons are paying off. Thomas is now comfortable (almost) putting his head under water. He can blow bubbles as well, with a little encouragement from Kei. The only downside is that when he is lying in the water like this, he can very easily pretend that he can’t hear me and getting him out of the bath can be a time consuming process.

Soup Night – March 1st, 2009

Our friends decided to host a soup night before the weather starts to warm up. Given the past few days, it seems we could have easily waited and still managed to hold the event during some wintry weather (more snow – it’s getting old).

Nevertheless it was a great opportunity to hang out with friends and let our kids run wild for a couple of hours. At one point they decided to all jump on the bed together wich, surpisingly, did not end in tears. It’s the simple things that make life exciting for a three year old.

The **** Bag – February 28th, 2009

I thought the obsession with Toy Story would have been over by now, but it’s clearly not. In fact it seems to have taken on new life in the last few weeks, culminating in a new Zurg toy – one with a gun. It’s a toy gun and in the movie it shoots rubber balls but, stil,l I am a little tired of hearing Thomas yell “I’m going to shoot you”.

The toy is one of Thomas’ potty rewards. In a desperate effort to have him poop in the potty (as opposed to the pull up or worse, his underwear) we have been rewarding Thomas with magnets everytime he uses the toilet for um…number two. When he earns enough magnets he gets a toy of his choice. We also have a small incentive bag with cheap little toys that we use on occassion, which I call the potty bag and which Thomas called his “poop bag” at the top of his voice while we were choosing $1 reward items at target. It was one of my finer moments as a parent.

This little adventure is likely going to end up costing us a little more money and probably a few more embarrasing moments but we are going to get there if it kills me. I know people have opinions about using rewards but frankly it’s working for Thomas and I am hopeful that it will continue long after the rewards run out.

…and then I’ll start the adventure all over again with Samuel.

Self Portrait – February 27th, 2009

Sporting the new shorter haircut.

1923 – February 26th, 2009

When we began our renovation project last year, we made it clear to our contractor that we were working on a renovation, not a restoration.

Our house was built in 1923 and, while I appreciate the classic touches like these cabinet pulls, I dream of a house that is classic on the outside but modern on the inside.

Oh, and the paint on the cabinet pulls needs to go. The people who lived here before us didn’t consider removing hardward when they painted so we have a layer of paint on almost every knob and hinge in our downstairs rooms. I know replacing the hardware would freshen up the space and it seems like a small thing, but we have so much we need to do that I’ll just add it to our list. Ahh the joys pof buying an old house…

Enough! – February 25th, 2009

It seems all we do is talk about the weather in Portland at this time of the year – mainly because it is sunny and “warm” one day and the next day we receive snow showers. It was melted by lunchtime but I could do without the chilly start to the day.

Daylight saving starts tonight and the weatherman is predicting more snow. I’m officially ready for winter to end.

High Five – February 24th, 2009

More Photos from My Very First Shoot

I am so pleased with how these turned out. It was such a nice change photographing some new people and it just seemed so easy and natural. Here are some of my favourites. I had about 50 favourites total so it was difficult to narrow it down but I’ll do my best.