Show and Tell

My sweet girl has such a big heart. Here's my girl with the letter she wrote to the President and addressing the envelope. I've included a "translation" under the photo of the letter.





"Dear President Obama

I have an idea. Why don't you tell people who have room in their garage to make a wall and put it in the middle to make a room for poor people.

Lucy, age 7"




Click here to see what the rest of the class is showing.

Odds and Ends

So my boy isn't quite 6 months old and he's got his second ear infection. He woke up screaming at about 4am the other night and I knew it was more than a cold and teething. My normally easy-to-soothe little guy was just inconsolable. Less than 24 hours after starting the antibiotic and he's clearly feeling much better.

We'll be back at the pediatrician's office in a week for his 6-month appointment, but they weighed him yesterday to make sure we are giving him the right doses of pain reliever. He is just 2 ounces shy of 21 pounds! Not that I'm surprised by that. My back and arms are victims of the boy's heft. I think I'll be a hunchback by the time he's walking.

Ben started daycare part-time last week and seems to be doing pretty well there. He cried the first day when I handed him to his teacher. It's so unlike him I couldn't help but think that somehow he KNEW that I was leaving soon. ;) But the next three days went without a hitch, so it's been a pretty stress free transition.

I go back to work in 4 weeks and that makes me want to weep. I'm just not ready for life to get that crazy again. It's not really the work or leaving the baby at daycare that stresses me out. It's the coordination of school drop off and pick up around 2 full-time schedules with 2+ hours of commuting for each of us, and then having to rush through everything in the evenings.


My girl is so excited for Halloween that she actually spent her own birthday money on Halloween decorations for the house. She also convinced my mother-in-law to part with a few dollars too. So, as I sit here at the dining room table, I am enjoying the lovely Halloween centerpiece they picked out and the front yard is decorated with 2 sparkly purple cats, a small scarecrow and various other decorations.


On Thursday I'll be making the 2 hour drive to my hometown to attend the memorial service for my friend's son. I still can't believe it. I can't imagine anything worse than losing one of my kids.

I'm stunned right now. I don't know what to think or who to talk to so I'm coming back here. I know I've neglected this place for too long. But right now I need a safe place.

I just found out that earlier today the 9 year old son of a very old friend of mine died. He contracted H1N1. It went to his heart, his heart stopped beating and he was put into an induced coma. I don't know much more than that. I do know that he had underlying health problems, nevertheless, it's got me scared to death.

I haven't been in touch with this friend much over the past several years. We exchange Christmas cards and that's been about it. We exchanged a few emails this summer when she finally got on Facebook, but that's been the most direct contact we've had in ages. In fact I'd been sort of peeved that I never got even a card or an email after Ben was born. God, who cares.

Her little boy and my daughter share a birthday. He was born via emergency c-section after her placenta abrupted at 30 weeks. Exactly 2 years later my daughter was born via emergency c-section after my placenta abrupted at 32 weeks. I remember after my daughter was born thinking that until then I had no appreciation for what she and her husband had gone through after the birth of their son. This will sound horrible, but I can't help but think I never ever want to be able to appreciate what they are going through right now. I can't hardly believe it. It's just wrong. I keep thinking about what I can send or write or say and there isn't anything that makes sense. Flowers, food, words just seem so stupid and useless - they lost their son.

I just went to check on the baby in the next room, again. He's sleeping peacefully in his crib. My daughter is racing around the house like a banshee. A week ago my friend would have been juggling the demands of her 3 sons. Now she has two. I just can't wrap my mind around this at all.