Blogger? I Don't Even Know Her!

Some pictures to grab your interest. Sweet Pea wrote "Mommy" and "Daddy" all by herself, without anyone telling her how to spell them! She has of course had help before and since then, but that time she did it by herself, and was absolutely thrilled with herself about it, as were Slipshod and I.

Sweet Pea & Speed Racer often draw together with chalk on Speed Racer's driveway or front walk. Well, actually, they draw separately, because Sweet Pea has a hissy fit if Speed Racer draws or walks on anything she draws. So I guess Speed Racer was admiring Sweet Pea's drawing in the picture above...

I was trying to take a picture of Sweet Pea's drawing. She said it was "a cat making machine." Yes, I have read her the book about "Where Babies Come From," and it includes where kittens come from, but... well, she has a very silly uncle who draws funny things for her and puts silly ideas into her head. I'm pretty sure that's where this came from - a discussion with him. And her own imagination, of course, because that discussion with him occurred practically a year ago.

The Bug likes to draw, too. She'll scribble around and then declare to me, while pointing at her drawing, "Kitty!" ha ha ha! Some of our friends thought it was amazing that we could tell by age 2 that Sweet Pea was left-handed. Well, we've been able to tell since she was 6 months old that The Bug is undeniably, overpoweringly right-handed. There is just no question.

And now on to other things...

Okay, yes, again, we're still here. Just enduring life coming at us like a charging buffalo.

My throat has hurt for about five days now but I think it's safe to say that I did not get Strep - just some kind of thing. The sore throat is my only symptom and it's better in the morning and worse at night. But doesn't really get in the way too-too much.

Slipshod, however, started having a sore ear last Thursday night and was convinced that he had a zit in his year. But then it got worse and worse over the weekend, to the point where he could barely function. Yesterday the girls and I took him all the way down to see our old doctor because Slipshod and I still haven't found ourselves a doctor up here - and it turns out that he has a rather advanced case of swimmer's ear. He's treating it now not just with antibiotic ear drops, but also with an oral antibiotic, since it had gotten so bad that his jaw hurt too. He is still in bad shape today and the pain kept him awake most of last night.

Sweet Pea missed school yesterday since we were out driving so far to the doctor, etc. This morning she has a sore throat. GAH.

The Bug had been sleeping really well for a few nights, but the last two have been miserable - rolling around, waking up again and again, and last night she was pretty much awake and crying if there was no nipple in her mouth. I guess we're on to cutting the next molar. I'll have to poke around today, at the risk of getting bitten, to determine which molar is on its way through her gums now.

I finally found time over the weekend to send a catch-up e-mail and some family pictures to an old friend who has been in Iraq for 3 months, with 12 more to go. Hadn't talked with him in, oh, 10 years or so... so there was a lot to tell. This is his second tour over of duty over there.

Okay, I guess duty calls... one of the hungry cats just attacked my foot, and I need to see how bad Sweet Pea's throat is. I hope she can still go to school today...

Post Script: Sweet Pea has a bit of a fever. It's not bad, but it's there, so her school will thank me to keep her home another day, I'm sure. Sigh. I hope it's gone tomorrow - I hate that she's missing school already, and yesterday wasn't even because she was sick! Grumble.

Post Post Script: We were hoping to avoid this, but there's no getting around it - Slipshod's company is sending him to Portugal next week. Joy. Only for a week, but still - I can often barely make it through a day until he gets home and keep my sanity. I hope that everyone will be recovered from our various illnesses and infections before he flies out.