This is the gorgeous library here in Whitmore Lake. I found a couple of children sprawled on the front steps earlier today and I almost melted right there because it felt so STORYBOOK and SWOONY.
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Drew: I’m making a space shuttle!
Me: Oooh. What did you name it?
Drew: Speeder.
Me: You could call it Atlantis. That was the last space shuttle.
Drew: Did it have sparkles all over it?
Me: No.
Drew: Did it have flowers all over it?
Me: No.
Drew: Oh. (dejectedly)
Drew: I guess I could call it Amanta.
I am so overwhelmed. Drew’s rash isn’t better even though we’re using ketoconazole shampoo all over his body every day AND he’s taken oral medication for three days.
The rash is on his face, arms, and the trunk of his body. The patches of skin that are irritated are really dry and flaky. I’ve tried putting lotion on him and I’ve tried NOT putting lotion on to see which is better and I really can’t tell. So I’m continuing to use lotion for now.
We’ve been staying out of the heat – only going for small walks in the morning and he’s getting at least two baths a day. During one of the baths we use the ketoconazole and the other bath is just plain lukewarm water. And every other day I’m using his regular shampoo and bar soap (that has a bit of lotion in it).
I feel helpless with all of this and very, very frustrated. I called his pediatrician yesterday and they said to stop the oral medicine and keep trying the shampoo. If I haven’t seen an improvement by Monday morning, I’m taking him back to the doctor.
On Thursday evening, we met up with Ben, Kevin, and Dave to enjoy a bit of Asia City. I tried sushi for the first time and Drew impressed everyone with his chop-sticks skills (I didn’t).
We arrived home to the flashing lights of police cars and fire trucks (and since the fire department is next door – I think all the firemen were like WHOOOO THERE IS A FIRE LET’S ALL GO! because they were everywhere) and general mayhem.
Apparently someone threw a smoke bomb in one of the buildings and smoke flooded quickly throughout the building and naturally everyone thought FIRE.
This also happened:
On Friday evening we explored the Ann Arbor Art Fair with Courtney and Amanda. Ken wouldn’t go because he “was afraid he’d strangle a hippie.” The heat had subsided a bit so we braved the crowds with our four year old and found lovely heaps of art. I was ecstatic when I found a booth filled with handmade wooden toys. I asked the older couple who ran the booth if they had a card with their website listed so I could purchase their goods for future birthdays and holidays and they looked shocked.
“These are handmade goods so if you want to buy them then you have to buy them here.”
I almost laughed in their face just in disbelief. I mean, it’s 2011. The era of Etsy. Handmade goods rule the Internet but if you want to stick with the marketing plan of Hole Up in a Booth and Hope Everyone Buys Right Now then good luck.
Other than that, the art fair was really beautiful and I was once again reminded that there is a niche for everything.
We did have to leave before we saw everything because Drew was SO hot and seeing as how it’s best if he’s not in the heat very much at all – we had to scoot away earlier than expected. He fell asleep on the long walk back to the car, slept all the way home, slept while I changed his clothes and tucked him in bed, and slept until 9:30am the next morning!
We did a bit of housework on Saturday, caught up on Downton Abbey (I’m seriously obsessed with this show – it reminds me of the Biltmore House), and I saw Super 8 with Courtney, Amanda, and Ken. The movie was okay. There were some cheesy spots but it was pretty good.
Sunday was filled with LOTS of Monopoly Deal (I’m glad I have someone else addicted to this game now), I made lunch for some friends, Daniel saw Captain America with Andy, and Drew and I made so many lego creations that if I never see another lego I’ll be happy. Okay, that’s not true. At all. But sometimes I just want a break from legos. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?
We also finalized our vacation plans on Sunday. We’ll be in South Carolina from August 14 – August 19! I’m so excited to see my family, to catch up with Kerry, and to see Sara but I’m really bummed that our timing is off as far as seeing Jonathan and Tara and their little girl. They’ll be in Russia the entire time we’re visiting in South Carolina. I guess we’ll just have to plan another visit really soon!
– The pediatrician and nurse both said it was very rare to see a four year old who has excellent hearing, vision, vocabulary, doesn’t wet the bed at night, is in the 75% percentile as far as height and weight, looks as if he won’t need braces (how do they even KNOW that?!), and then the doctor proceeded to say (I kid you not!) “you should have more kids if they are going to be like this.” :O I didn’t know whether to be proud, embarrassed, or offended.
– He aced the 54 questions about gross motor skills, verb tenses, relationships with others, and even drew awesome pictures wherein they were impressed that he drew arms, legs, and fingers on a stick-figure Mommy.
– Apparently he should know how to unbutton his own pants now, brush his teeth by himself, and be serving himself at the table. Yeah, right. HAVE YOU SEEN MY CHILD? He would have his toothbrush in his pants and be throwing peas at everyone if I let him have that much control. Wait, do I sound like a control freak?
– When the doctor asked him why his hands were so warm, Drew said, “my hands are warm because they were in the sun. And the sun is a BRIGHT STAR THAT IS VERY HOT. That is why my hands are warm. Your hands are cold.”
– He got caught up on some immunizations that I’ve been lazy about (boo me!) and although we spent several days before talking about shots and why it was important to get them, he was certainly shrieking by the FOURTH shot. But he was very brave and even told me later that he would tell his friends to be brave too if they needed shots.
– So, it wasn’t eczema that he’s been suffering with for four weeks. No wonder the cortisone wasn’t helping. He has Tinea versicolor. For about fifteen minutes, I don’t think I blinked as I couldn’t get past Tinea versicolor means “multicolored ringworm.”
MY KID HAS RAINBOW COLORED WORMS INSIDE HIS BODY?
Yes, for a very small second, I wanted to see the worms.
But then I was back to freaking out.
I was relieved to discover that he doesn’t actually have worms. He has a fungal infection of the skin (cue gagging) that is caused by a type of yeast that is normally found on human skin. It only causes problems if a.) ones body is susceptible to the fungus and b.) if you live in a hot climate.
Apparently Drew is rather susceptible and the recent hot weather caused a flareup. Unfortunately, once you have it, you can deal with it on and off for years. 🙁 But it is easily treatable. I just gave him a bath with medicinal shampoo and after three or so days of that, we should see his rashes clearing up completely. And then that means we have to avoid excessive heat and sweating all summer.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. We’re visiting South Carolina in a few weeks. Why, I’m sure we won’t deal with excessive heat or sweating there. 😉
So, with nerdy parents who prefer to be indoors anyway, I imagine Drew will find out about nature and outside things from the Internet.
Down: Drew has a bad habit of using his head as a battering ram. He “accidentally” slammed his head into the bridge of my nose a few days ago and I’m still suffering with severe pain. I suppose the cartilage is bruised? It is still a bit swollen but thankfully, it’s not broken.
Up: I met a new friend who lives in the same complex as we all do!
Down: Two things I ordered from Amazon are lost. Or someone stole them. Unfortunately, I hadn’t changed my address on the site when I placed the order so they went to my old apartment. But the packages haven’t turned up at all. Thankfully, Amazon will replace them in a few days if they still don’t turn up. Even though it’s sort of my fault in the first place.
Up: An old friend, Jason Wall, visited with us over lunch on Sunday while he was driving through Michigan. I hadn’t seen him since Thanksgiving in Baltimore so that was especially nice.
Up: We’ve started watching Downton Abbey (it’s on Netflix streaming). I must admit that I hadn’t heard of the show until I read a bit of celebrity gossip and saw that William and Kate are big fans of the show. My curiosity was piqued and we watched the first episode. I’m a sucker for most British shows but this show is just fabulous. Maggie Smith (she plays Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter series) and Penelope Wilton (she plays Harriest Jones, MP in Doctor Who) surprised me by being in the cast.
Up: We’ve had the pianos and guitar put away for about two years (neither of us were able to play without emotional angst) and now Ken is here with all of his guitars and the guys are talking about composing and collaboration and it’s really nice to close my eyes and hear music flooding through the apartment.
Down: I have to take Drew to a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. He’s getting a few immunization shots, a wellness visit, and hopefully something to clear up a frustrating case of eczema he’s been dealing with since we moved here (we’re slightly concerned it stems from something in the new carpet but we aren’t sure). Drew doesn’t remember getting shots before so I’m anxious to see how that plays out. He’s been carrying his doctor toys around all day and we’ve taken turns giving each other shots, taking temperatures, and all-around-doctorish-things. It’s really cute when Drew dashes up to me and shouts “HOW OLD ARE YOU? HOW ARE YOU FEELING? MY NAME IS DOCTOR DREW AND I NEED TO GIVE YOU A SHOT AND CHECK YOUR BLOOD.”
Up: Annie & Helen got married in Boston today. My heart felt so full and I’ll admit to becoming teary-eyed when she posted the news to FB.
Up: We’re contemplating a family membership at the YMCA in Ann Arbor. It’s really close to Barracuda so I could drop Daniel at work each morning, let Drew frolic in their excellent child care, and go work out. But that means I need to stop baking cookies and work a little harder than just my daily walking. So. We’ll see.
Up: I saw a thread today on Reddit about favorite documentaries. Someone mentioned Dear Zachary and I remembered that my friend Jeff had told me some time back that I HAD to see it. So, I watched it. And yes, it was absolutely amazing. One of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. It’s on Netflix streaming. Go watch it!
Down: However, I cried like a baby while watching Dear Zachary. Not only was it one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen, it also felt hauntingly painful. I felt such anger when it was over. And I felt such awe for Andrew’s parents. But like I just said, go watch it! Right now! Please don’t look it up online first. You can find spoilers very easily and I want you to see it without any knowledge of the story.
Up: Drew is figuring out how to play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star all by himself on the piano! He’s been very firm about DOING IT HIMSELF. Adorable.
Up: Wildberry Tea. My new love. I discovered it at Wendy’s but I am thinking about mixing some up at home.
At the moment, I keep Octolilly up just for nostalgia’s sake. I stopped updating this site in 2013.
Be warned:
You may find broken image links throughout the posts. Also, there’s the reality of spilling my heart online for twelve years. It gets messy at times. If you start reading, prepare to find a lot of heartache, mommy-blogging, face-palming, immaturity, and awkwardness all tangled together.
If you are interested in my current every-day, find me on Facebook or Instagram.
