Update

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Mother's Day turned out to be a bit of a disaster. I got mulch in my eye and on the way to get me eye wash, Dan and the minivan got into a car accident in the alley. No one was hurt, but my prized vehicle got quite a big, new dent. Yes, I love my minivan and I'm proud of it. Then, Tori complained that her ear hurt- and yep, she had an ear infection.

Things were better mid-week. The girls were back at school and the newbie is happy and hungry. We go for vaccinations and a weight check today, so I'm anxious to see what she weighs. She's already growing out of the 3-6 month clothes and is now in a size 3 diaper, but barely. She's still a smiley happy baby, unless you are not quick enough with the food.

Friday brought parent-teacher conferences and a visit from Dan's mom and sister. We were at my mom's for dinner on Sat. I'll try and upload some pictures soon and catch up on the doings this week. I can't find the cord thingy that connects the computer to the camera in the chaos.
More later, S

Healing Honey!

We had a great brunch with our friends the Wollers this morning and they were telling me about a You Tube video featuring their honey, Gentle Breeze Honey. There is a study being done by the University of Wisconsin to see if honey helps heal skin ulcers caused by diabetes. The video on You Tube explaining the study never says what brand of honey they are using, but they sure feature Gentle Breeze Honey in the video!!! Here's a link to the video. Many Midwestern Whole Foods sell the honey, but here is a link if you want to go to the Gentle Breeze Honey website and see the Wollers in action at their Wisconsin farm.

We love the bee farm, and the girls are addicted to their honey sticks. The best was when Grandpa Gene let us taste the fresh honey and caught a bee for us to watch and touch--he removed the stinger. When we saw them today, Doodle was disappointed that Grandpa Gene didn't bring the Gator (tractor/trailer thingy) for her to ride. She cried when she had to leave her friends. I thought she was upset that we might be leaving her there but she was so sad to leave, she cried!

Dan roomed with Scott during medical school and we soon were adopted by the whole Woller clan. They are our family and we couldn't be prouder of the Wollers and their family business.

Oh, and Richard, if you are reading, we owe you a lunch!!

Mothers' Day Potpourri

Things I forgot about babies:

1. The laundry- Dear God.... the bibs and the cloth diapers we are using for burp cloths and the sleepers. How can one small baby generate so much laundry? Carrots stain like nothing else. This too, I had forgotten.

2. The dishes- we normally run the dishwasher twice a day but we're upwards of three times now. Filled with little bowls and baby spoons and bottles and toys dropped in the dirt. We're not even dishwashing the toys that fall on the floor like we did when Doodle was little.

3. The drool- she drinks a ton, but I think most of it ends up on her shirt. I don't remember my other girls drooling this much.

4. If spit up happens on your shirt, you don't always notice until it cools off. I vaguely remember this. Oh, and the straight spit up down your shirt and into your bra is just lovely.

5. I don't remember having to pee in the middle of the night when I was up with the baby. Maybe before I was breastfeeding and dehydrated? Or maybe it's just that I am older?

6. Food+blowing raspberries= sweet potatoes in your hair. And you might not notice until much later.

7. Glasses are a baby magnet. Glad I bought new ones before this baby came home. There already out of whack.

8. The smell of a clean baby after the bath is irresistible.

Things are looking up here. Today was the first day that the girls woke up without a fever. The grown ups are getting stir crazy, but we're surviving. The DVR broke while the girls were sick, so I've seen more on demand shows than ever. Now we have some recordings and I can fast forward through the commercials. It's the little things in life. I knew we were watching too much when Doodle asked for this toothpaste dispenser on a mini infomercial for her birthday. Next it will be the Sham-wow.

It is weird to have left in winter and returned to spring. My tulips are blooming and we have a robin's nest, complete with three bright blue eggs, in the front bushes. One of our lilacs has bloomed for the first time in three years. I planted flowers in my porch planters and planted the vegetable garden yesterday. A new beginning for all of us.

Feeling Better!

Well, the girls are getting better. Doodle finally took some motrin yesterday, and said, "You know mom, that medicine really did make me feel better!" Gee, really? Anyway, I'm posting some slide show photos from yesterday and some photos of Dan and the newbie from this morning. The girls still have some pretty bad coughs and now mild fever, so we are still quarantined. We are taking some walks around the neighborhood just to get out of the house.

The newbie is great. No set schedule yet--today it was up at 3 a.m. for an 8oz bottle, up at 6:30 and morning nap at 8:30. Her morning nap is usually around 10:30 so we'll see how today goes. Even when we have to wake her up (when she takes a late afternoon nap and sleeps until 5) she is pleasant. She's even tolerating her shadow, Moobear. I was afraid Moo would be upset to lose her place as the baby, but she is totally enamored with the newbie. There are kisses and snuggles, and bottles and carrying attempts. Moo is always in her face, and the newbie just laughs and laughs.

Plague!

The picture says it all, doesn't it? So apparently, the pneumonia that Dan and I had was a complication of Influenza B (not swine flu, which is a strain of Influenza A). We found out yesterday after various dr appts, that we were influenza B positive and Moobear had it too. Doodle came down with it this morning. Mostly, it's a high fever, coughing, sometimes some stomach upset, muscle aches, fatigue. Of course you can take Tamiflu in the first 48 hours. Too late for Dan and I, although we are already on the mend. Dan went to 5 pharmacies yesterday to get it for Moo, and got 1 bottle, which is about 1/2 of a full course. Apparently, there's been a run on the Tamiflu because of the swine flu panic. Moo seems to be doing better, so we might be giving the Tamiflu to Doodle. However, side effects include hallucinations and stomach upset, so if we can avoid it, we might. I just can't imagine a barfy, hallucinating 5 year old.

Apparently, the US flu shot this year didn't cover the Ethiopian seasonal flu. So we're laying low. Not going out so as to not infect others.

All is not terrible, however. The newbie is doing great. I'll post some pictures in the slide show.

Edited to add: Oh and now she's barfing. I'm not worried, since Doodle barfs with everything. Colds, ear infections, etc. But it's not fun here.

Home!

Barely home, that is.  We both ended up with pneumonia-- Dan's started to hit the day before we came home.  He had a high fever and chills at the Addis airport.  I thought for sure we would be quarantined because he looked so bad and everyone's panicking about that flu thing, but thankfully made it home after 24 hours of travel.  He got to wear the baby while I schlepped the luggage.  It was a good thing because after pushing our luggage up a gentle hill at Addis, he about passed out.

The newbie is doing great.  She's eating like a champ, sleeping and now teething with a vengeance.  I had to dig out those teethers that you can freeze today.  Favorite foods so far include bananas, carrots and sweet potatoes.  Cereal not so much, but I'm mixing a bit in with the baby food.  

Her sisters LOVE her.  We've had to say on more than one occasion, "give her some space!" I wonder how long it will be before the fun factor wears off and they are annoyed with her.

My mom and aunt came by with lunch today, so we at least had one reasonable meal.  Dan and I are still a bit jet lagged, and since the baby woke up at 3:30 and 6:30 to pound milk and the other girls woke up then, too, it was a long day.  Last night, Dan was kicked to the curb (aka the old guest room, now the newbie's room) and all 4 of us girls slept in our big bed.

I've put a few photos on the slide show of the newbie.  I have to warn you people, it's not pretty.  No blow dryer, some days without any water to take a shower, heat that melted what little makeup I put on, clothes covered in dust, pneumonia, asthma--you get the idea.  Especially when I post the rest of the pictures of the trip.  You'll see.  Hideous.

More later!

Last update before leaving for the airport

Guestblogging for Stacey......received this email earlier today. They have already left for the airport and will be back in Chicago tomorrow May 1st!

I can't remember where I left off on the last update, but in between things were bad, then worse, then better. Just as I was feeling better with the crud yesterday, Dan came down with it. He felt bad that he told me to "suck it up" yesterday after his fever hit. However, he's feeling much better this morning. Let's hope his fever is gone before we get to O'hare--especially with this swine flu thing.

The newbie is great and up to her stinkery ways. We gave her a bath this afternoon and changed into our traveling clothes. Of course, the newbie had a huge poop all over herself and Dan's clean jeans. So we've all changed and I put extra clothes for all in the carry on. She's gone from wearing size 2 diapers to size 3's while we are here.