A Dash of This, A Pinch of That

• Why is my camera always on the other side of the room when I want it? I looked over while Evie was eating dinner tonight. She was skewering her hot dog slices on the pointed tip of a big fat crayon before using the crayon as a utensil. Note to self: be sure to provide a fork in the future!

• Matthew appears to be back on the weight gaining track. He'd lost, then gained in the hospital, then lost some more as of the end of last week. My thought is that second loss was due to me stopping the morphine (damn!) - either the increased pain level inhibited milk let-down or maybe he was missing the dope hitting his system through the milk. At any rate, hopefully we're back on the gain train for good now.

• The Syracuse Medical Cootie Problem continues - this time, the ER visits spread outside the family to my sister's friend (chest pains, she's ok now).

• Oh, and we, too, were visited by the Syracuse Medical Cooties. Evie wound up in the ER at the children's hospital Saturday night after having possibly eaten part of a mushroom in the yard. (She's fine - a dose of activated charcoal and some observation.) Two observations on the event: (1) the CT Poison Control people are great and (2) it's very helpful that our pediatrician is a bigwig at the children's hospital. He called to let them know John was coming with Evie and he didn't have to wait on queue at all.

• Feeling a bit isolated these days. It's funny how even the small interactions with store clerks or the preschool teachers can make one feel connected to the world and how deprived one feels when one can't even leave the house. I do realize, of course, that people are busy and this, too, shall pass; but, as my friend Marla says, "yeah, like a kidneystone!"
  

• I am grateful for John, who has been an enormous help. It's hard for me to accept the help. I feel guilty that I'm not doing more. I forget (though, to his vast credit, he does not) that feeding the baby is work too. Even though it takes up probably a good 8 hours a day (8-12 feedings of 30-60 minutes each, then the concurrent diaper changes)k, I'm just sitting on my ass while doing it so it makes me feel quite the lazy bum.
  

• Particularly when the girls are being truly wretched. Jealousy, exhaustion - not good for anyone's temper and the combination is really ... unpleasant. Evie is just getting into the tantrum age anyway and has taken to beating on her older sister (to Katie's credit, for the most part, she just bursts into hysterics instead of hitting back).
  

• I'm back at work (since last Wednesday, a week after my c-section) 10 hours a week. Thank the Lord in heaven it's from home but, still, between that in the evenings, watching 3 kids all day, recovering from abdominal surgery, and being woken 2-3x night, I am too tired to even get myself carried away in a good make believe.
  

• Next doc appointment on Wednesday. Should get ok'd to drive but, still, Matthew's too young to really go anywhere - particularly with all the H1N1 crud. But maybe I can get a spare half hour to just go for a drive or something by myself some night. As long as I'm back by the next feeding (an hour and a half apart lately - methinks a growth spurt is coming on).

Alright, enough.
Later.

T-minus 1.25

Katie has now been duly feted for her birthday. I cannot believe she's 4 already. Yow.

Only 29.25 hours until we leave for the hospital. It's damn weird this whole scheduled thing. I mean, Katie's birth was scheduled but the induction didn't take and it quickly went to unscheduled. Evie had a c-section scheduled but then, of course, arrived a month early without warning. It's just odd knowing that "ok, tomorrow I need to do blah-blah-blah because we need to get up early Wednesday."

I'm now officially on maternity leave - I know I'll have to check my work email tomorrow at least briefly but, other that that, I will not be doing work-work for the next week. Back at the keyboard for that on the 23rd.

Alrighty, I still have Katie's lunch to make and 18 cupcakes to frost for tomorrow. Yes, I bought the cupcakes for most of her class but this one poor kid has a violent peanut allergy and can't eat them. The preschool teachers won't let her eat anything I might make and send in for her either. So, I made the cupcakes, frosted a few and ran them over the backyard to her mom to send in with her. If they won't let her eat what her mom sends, then we're in bad shape for sure.

Oh, by the way, my dad was fine this a.m. so I'm pretty sure it was that he overdid it. We're on for Wed. a.m.

'Night all. Baby in less than a day and a half. Yikes!!