When they're sick

Dylan started to feel a little warm early this week.  He was fussier than normal and started waking up a lot during the night.  I wondered if he was getting ready to cut his second top tooth.  This morning he woke up with a fever of 102 degrees when taken under the arm (so add a degree).   He was fussy and clingy.  All he wanted was his mama and he wanted to be snuggled and rocked.  

So, today I took off of work.  We went to the doctor, who diagnosed him with a virus.  Not much to do in that event, except keep the fever at bay with tylenol, push the fluids and wait it out.  

By the time we got home, his fever was 103 degrees when taken under the arm--oy! I gave him tylenol and put a cool, damp cloth on his forehead, which he did not even bother to remove. Now, that says a lot!  And we rocked, and rocked and rocked.

Today's time with him has been so precious, even though he is sick, I love taking care of him.  It reminded of one of my favorite poems, Song for a Fifth Child by Ruth Hulbert Hamilton: 

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Did I mention it's Spring?

I may have mentioned a few times that it's spring.  Some of you may be getting tired of hearing about it....but how can you resist talking about such a beautiful, unseasonably warm spring?  This blog has suffered a bit because quite frankly, we've been out enjoying it.....

 

At the zoo....

 At the lake....

and in our own backyard!

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

This is a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug.  I photographed this bug on my windowsill.  In fact, they are everywhere.  They have invaded our home.  They have invaded my office at work.  Everyone I know complains about them. 

These little brown bugs are relatively harmless, although they are unsightly and annoying.  They are loud and noisy when they fly about, but the most annoying thing about them is the odor they emit when frightened.....thus their name "stink" bug.  Many people I know can not stand the smell they emit when frightened.  It is also bad to frighten them as their odor attracts MORE stink bugs to the scene.  All wise Pennsylvania citizens know the best way to get rid of a stink bug is NOT to smash it but to gently attract it--so it won't stink bomb you....onto a napkin or toilet paper and flush it down the toilet.

I have been blessed by God, for no apparent reason, other than He loves me.....to be unable to smell the offensive stink bug odor.  My husband on the other hand is an entirely different story.  I walked in on him one day surrounded by candles because he had made the mistake of smashing a stink bug on the floor.  He could not stand the odor in the worst way and eventually just moved to a different room.  I, on the other hand, smelled nothing.

One night, last week, as we lay slumbering I was awakened by loud and violent shouts from my husband who had jumped out of bed.  He was very very angry.  At first, in my tired state, I wondered if he was having a bad dream.  As I became more awake, I became aware that he was talking about some horrid odor, which I could not smell.  Then he left the room and shortly I heard the toilet flush.

I managed to ask, "W-what's wrong?"
To which he replied, " That SPAWN of the DEVIL......stinkbug.....crawled on my pillow....MY PILLOW....and STINK BOMBED ME.....right.next.to.my.face."

At this point the unhappy man was tossing his pillow in the hallway, muttering curses under his breath about the evil stinkbug.

Am I a bad person for busting out laughing?

He in fact would not sleep for the next several nights before checking the room for stinkbugs and of course his pillow had to be washed before he would sleep on it again.

A New Experience

We went out to a Chinese Buffet for lunch this afternoon.  On the buffet they had some of these babies...

Ryan wanted to know what it was.  It's a baby Octopus buddy.   He wanted to put one on his plate. Who am I to stand in the way of trying something new? 

So we put one on his plate.  Daddy wanted to know if he was gonna eat it.  Ryan wasn't sure.  We wanted to see how far he'd go.  So we helped him put it on his fork.

He gave it an experimental lick. 

That was all it took. He shuddered and that was that.  Kuddos to him for trying it! Although it may have been a little bit mean on our part....

The Many Faces of Dylan

 The "O" face.

 Interested and listening face.

 Aloof face.

 Raspberry face.

 "I think I see a bug" face

 Silly goofy face

 Protesting face.

 "How YOU doin?" face

 Excited face

 Peek-a-boo face

 Big Cheese Face

Tired face. 

That sure was a lot of work huh Dylan?

Spring Project

We did a little spring project recently.  I've been excited to teach Ryan about gardening....even though I am an amateur at best myself.   

The last time I tried my hand at gardening, we were house-sitting on an 11 acre farm and I got viciously  morning sick with Ryan.  Needless to say, I was unable to do any weeding or watering or much of anything as a mater of fact ....and my garden just didn't work out. 

But I have high hopes for this year.  We are not out of danger for frost yet, so we picked out some veggies and flowers to plant in a starter.  I found a 72 cell starter for $7.00 at Home Depot.   Inside are dry pellets that magically grow and turn into dirt when you add water.

Ryan helped poke a hole in the dirt, put the seeds in and bury them. 

He got a little overly excited about the green bean seeds and just went ahead and ate a seed.

Oh well. He's all boy.

Spring means....

For all intents and purposes....it is spring! Which means it is time to bring out the picnic basket!

So one beautiful day, we packed up some drinks, chips, fruits, veggies and sandwiches.

And enjoyed the fresh air and blue skies from the comfort of our own yard!

Oh the Places You'll Go....

When you can crawl.....

"Oh, the places you'll go" -- Dr. Seuss