The Jelly Bean Journal

OK, I admit it. I've been neglecting the blog lately. In fact, I think I have been neglecting several things lately. For the first time since August 18th, I feel like I can breathe again. Really breathe. August 18th was the day I went back to school as a kindergarten teacher (for the first time since 2001), and it has been non stop ever since. From the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep, I have not one minute to myself. I am not complaining - I am having a great time, but I would be lying if I said that it's easy. I'm not the kind of person who can leave work at work. Most evenings I come home, feed the baby, eat dinner, bathe the baby, put the baby to bed and then do things for school for the next 2-3 hours.

I can breathe a little easier tonight because we have fall break next week. Monday is parent teacher conference day, but the rest of the week is mine -- all mine. And this weekend is going to be mine, too. No Sunday planning meetings. No pumpkin patch planning. No internet searches for lesson plans. No projects. NOTHING related to kindergarten! And I am SO looking forward to it.

In other news, Addison has had a really tough week. We went to Charleston last weekend for a shower for my friend Amy. (Those of you who know Amy -- yes, she is REALLY going to tie the knot. Unbelievable, I know, but so true). By the time I got home with Addison on Sunday, she was burning up. Addison and I met Barbara for dinner on Sunday night, and Addison was so lethargic. She even slept for a little while on the seat next to me. I gave her Motrin, and her fever came down. Monday morning, she seemed to be feeling better. By the time I got home from work on Monday, she was burning up again. I took her temperature. 103.6! I called the pediatrician's office and spoke to the nurse. She said not to worry too much as long as the fever would come down after taking Motrin and/or Tylenol. I went ahead and made an appt. for Tuesday morning. I gave Addison Motrin, fed her as much (not much) of her bottle as she would take and put her to bed. I went to check on her about midnight, and she was burning up again. Took her temp again. 104.7 this time! I'm usually really calm about things, but 104.7 kind of rattled me a little bit. I brought her downstairs and put her in the bed with me and Craig. Her little heart was racing, and she was panting like a dog. I gave her more Motrin, and waited... and waited... and waited. She finally cooled off and stopped panting so I decided she would probably be okay until Tuesday morning.

Craig took her in at 7:30 Tuesday a.m. because I was taking all 25 of my little darlings (students) on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. Once again, the ears were the culprit. Double ear infection. Again. The doc said that on an infection scale of 1 -10, one ear was a 9 this time and one ear was a 10! He prescribed Augmentin, which she has taken before and sent Craig on his way. Tuesday night was not too bad. Got the meds in, fever was down and she slept like a baby. Wednesday morning, Addison woke up with a slight rash. I didn't think too much of it because she has eczema, but when I picked her up Wednesday afternoon, she looked like a little leopard. My baby had spots. All over. So, back to the doc we went. This time, the doc prescribed an antibiotic shot, which is actually 2 shots, one in each leg. And we had to wait for 20 minutes to make she didn't have a reaction. This round of shots actually broke my heart. When the nurse came in with the syringes, it's like Addison knew what was about to happen. She put her head on my shoulder and snuggled into my neck. She's NEVER done that before when she's gotten her vaccinations. I guess she's old enough to know what is going on now. The rash seemed to be a little better on Thursday, but we had to go back for another check of her ears. The right ear looked a little better, but the left ear was still really nasty. Guess what that meant -- another round of antibiotic shots. This time, Addison started crying as soon as the doctor said, "shot." And she didn't stop. For like 30 minutes. And her cries turned into screams after the shots. And the screams got louder and louder. (Once again, we had to wait to make sure she would not have a reaction). Not a good visit. At all.

Luckily, Addison rallied after we left the doctor's office, and we met Michelle and Lauren downtown for the girls' very first trick or treating experience. Most of the businesses on Bay Street were handing out candy to the trick or treaters. Addison and Lauren were so cute. And they didn't seem to mind being dressed up at all. Addison was a chick, and Lauren was a monkey. I might be biased, but I am fairly certain they were the CUTEST trick or treaters in town! After trick or treating, we met Craig and Joey for a yummy dinner at Bricks on Boundary. A great end to a tough day!

Addison has an appointment with an ENT doctor on Tuesday. Although I hate the thought of her going through surgery of any kind right now, I think I see tubes in our very near future. She has had 8 ear infections since April. From what the pediatricians say, I don't think we can avoid the tubes much longer. We'll see. If she does need tubes, I hope we can schedule her surgery for one day next week since I will be home all week to give her a little extra TLC. I can think of a million other ways I would like to spend my break, but I will do whatever it takes to help the little one feel better. Wish us luck on Tuesday!