Update on the Sitch(es)

Here's the scoop:

I'm pretty sure my herbalist is magic. Even though this is not physically possible, I actually felt better with each sip of her Uva Ursi tea the first couple times I took it. I've also been avoiding sugar (SO hard for me now that I'm addicted again) and drinking lots of horribly bitter 100% cranberry juice - diluted half & half with water so I can actually (just barely) stand to drink it. The upshot is that my bladder infection took off when it met up with the herbs and cranberry juice! I felt a lot better the morning after I started taking the tea and drinking the juice, and even better today. WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Happy happy happy!

Sweet Pea is back to her normal self again and had a good, snot-and-cough-free week at school. They've apparently been learning about Hanukkah all week, lighting a menorah in the classroom and everything, and tonight she sang Hanukkah songs for hours between school and bedtime. No, not the Adam Sandler song - ha ha! She was singing, "Hanukkah, oh Hanukkah," and the draedel song.

Yesterday The Bug had an ear re-check and her 18-month checkup with the pediatrician. I am very happy to report that her ears are clear! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! As for her checkup, she's on track with all her developmental stuff and way ahead on the language (her newest favorite animal to talk about: "Opopus.". Growth-wise, she made an amazingly big jump! She has gained 5 pounds and grown 3 inches in the past 5 months. She went from 15th percentile in weight to 45th, and 30th percentile in height to 75th! !!!!! I am shocked and amazed because this is all new to me. Sweet Pea has always been very consistent in her growth so I've never seen a leap like that before. Zowie! In case you want the actual numbers - she weighs 23lbs. 2oz. and is 32inches tall. Oh - and of course her head is still in the 90th percentile. But you know all about the watermelon heads around here.

Happily we got our Slipshod back the night before last, tired but no worse for the wear or the airline delays.

Saturday's plans: Sweet Pea was invited to two birthday parties (of classmates) *on the same day.* I did not tell her that it was possible to attend both because I didn't want to spend the entire Saturday taking her to both. She easily and matter-of-factly chose the party I thought she would: The one for the girl she plays with regularly rather than the one for the boy who gives her a hard time on the playground. Yay! The party is at a strangely late time (4-5:30pm) to give other classmates the option of attending both parties - and it's at a gymnastics school, which should be fun. I'm going to leave The Bug home with Slipshod and take Sweet Pea to the party.

We didn't end up getting a Christmas tree last weekend because we discovered belatedly that the cut-your-own farm we had planned to go to here in town is closed this year. Der! So we decided to get crazy and plan a trip this Sunday instead, to a Christmas tree farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It will be fun - we're taking a set of grandparents and possibly caravanning (I'm sure that's not how you spell that, even if it is a word, which it's probably not, but I'm willing to bet you know what I mean) with the neighbors (not totally sure yet whether or not they're going). Yay! To be honest car trips longer than half an hour tend to stress me out - I hate to be far away from home when the baby is crying in the car - but things will probably be just fine and The Bug should sleep in one direction, if not both, on the drive. She's much more chill in the car than Sweet Pea was at her age anyway. There's a good chance that Sweet Pea will fall asleep in the car too. If we drive for long enough, she can't resist the lull of the white noise and the vibration of the tires on the road, etc.

I'm excited that we'll have a tree. I know that Sweet Pea is super excited about it, and I imagine that The Bug will be very interested in the idea of a tree inside the house, too. We'll put the soft ornaments at the bottom and I'm sure it'll get undecorated every day. ha ha! As long as she doesn't try to pull it over, everything will be fine.

We really must get our Christmas shopping going, though. I know I said in the title of the last post that I was doing that, but I got a certain amount done and then due to sickness in the house, poor sleepage of a severely teething child, etc., I stalled out. We really really need to catch up. The good news is that several people have actually told us what they want this year, and pointed us toward wish lists and stuff! That is SO helpful. Whew!

I had intended to make soap this year so that we could give our families something they liked but which they could use up, and it was going to be so stress-free because I was going to make it well before Thanksgiving, etc. Well, I still don't know where my essential oils are and I am not going to buy more of those until I use up what I have - somewhere. I have a lot; I used to buy in bulk when I was selling the soap.

Anyway, since I never got my butt in gear with soap production we have to go the old route of buying presents again this year, but somehow I am not letting it get to me that we're not done shopping yet, etc. Maybe I'm just so calm because I still haven't sat down to write out the list and really start shopping. I bet I'll get a little more stressed when I see "order by x day for Christmas delivery" notices on the websites. Heh... I hope you're all doing better than I am with this, especially those of you celebrating Hanukkah! Is Hanukkah early this year? It seems like it.

That is all for now.